Daming kill

Chapter 146 Siege
In the early morning, Mi Cang, who had had breakfast, led the seventeen people under his command and followed a large group of people towards the city of Yicheng.

Last night, the sound of gunfire and shouts of killing rang out all night under the city.

Even though the rebels had been attacking the city day and night, Mi Cang had gotten used to it.

But last night, Yicang didn't sleep well.

Although it is impossible for the low-level people like Mi Cang who are struggling to survive in troubled times with a pretty girl like Mi Cang not to have seen blood in their hands, but Mi Cang has never been in battle, and he is even more unfamiliar with siege.

He is very disturbed.

Looking at Geng Hu, who was at the front leading the team with his head down, Mi Cang was in a daze for a moment, as if many issues were no longer important in the face of life and death.

Geng Hu was obviously scared. This guy, despite his bluffing, has done many bad things, and it is said that he was a ruffian in the original countryside.

But for fighting, Geng Hu should also be a beginner.

Otherwise, this guy wouldn't need to run away from Li Shengcai, who has the worst military discipline.

If it wasn't for the fact that the rebels were under strict supervision and had nowhere to run, Mi Cang believed that Geng Hu would run away again.

Although Yicheng is small, it is a brick city.

城有六门，基宽3丈、顶阔1丈、高2丈（明量地尺约32.7厘米，1丈10尺），城楼、垛墙俱全。

The most important thing is that the defenders are strong-willed and extremely tenacious in resistance.

About a few hundred steps away from the city, Geng Hu ordered everyone to follow the crowd and stop dozens of steps behind a long cavalry line.Then, they formed several horizontal teams of about 20 by 4 and lined up with several teams of friends and neighbors.

At this time, there were already two densely packed fronts in front of them, connected by a line of more than a hundred people.

However, the horizontal teams in these front lines are generally longer than those of Geng Hu and Mi Cang, because there are many more child soldiers in these teams.

Because Geng Hu's team is newly built, most of them are officers and soldiers. At present, there are only a few children in their teens.

That's right, today's military operation requires all the main army and child soldiers to be dispatched.

But strangely, all of them were unarmed.

Instead, everyone is holding various large wooden shields and thick coverings such as large wooden boards.There are also messy things such as iron spines, hammers and shovels in the arms or waists.

There are also many carrying various bamboo baskets, bamboo baskets or cloth bags.

Their task today is obviously not to go to the city to fight hand-to-hand, but to carry out some kind of earthwork.

This is an order issued by their old master Yuan Zongdi or a changed method of siege.

For six whole days, Yuan Zongdi underestimated Yicheng, and also suffered a big somersault.

Yuan Zongdi was one of the eighteen cavalry who broke out with Li Zicheng in the Battle of Tongguan Nanyuan in Chongzhen's 11th year, and he was also one of Li Zicheng's most trusted and capable generals.

He is currently 32 years old and in his prime.

Geng Hu and Micang's ability to vote directly under Yuan Zongdi's subordinates can be regarded as a big backer, but it's hard to say whether it's just luck or misfortune.

Originally, the conventional siege method of using ladders to attack the city was not commonly used by Li Zicheng's troops. They were more adept at attacking the city by digging or gunpowder blasting.

But Xiongguan Xiangyang is so easy to get, and Yicheng is so small, Yuan Zongdi seems to have no reason not to despise it, even though Yicheng seems to be determined to resist.

As a result, Yuan Zongdi's judgment was obviously wrong.

When six consecutive days of regular storming and even the use of baby soldiers failed, Yuan Zongdi had to switch back to his best but time-consuming and manpower-consuming attack of attacking the city.

Although Yicang and the others have not participated in the attack before, they belong to the new force and should be the vanguard.But after all, they were newbies in attacking the city, so they were not placed in the first front.

"When a city is chiseled, it will be returned with one brick, and the day will prevent it from attacking again, so that people can enter." This is the simplest requirement for attacking the city, which means that each person only needs to take one risk per day.

The task does not appear to be difficult, if the Rebels mean what they say.

However, both Geng Hu and Yicang were somewhat skeptical about this point, and it was rare for Geng Hu to leave Micang alone after the discussion to seek opinions and ideas.

This is also the reason why both of them are very nervous now.

Although it is not far from the city, because there are two lines of friendly troops in front of Mi Cang, and there is such a long cavalry line blocking it, it is difficult for Mi Cang to see the situation under the city wall. In the huge gap between the horizontal lines and the gaps between the cavalry, we can probably see something about the not-so-tall city of Yicheng.

After six days of bloody battle, the city of Yicheng is of course dilapidated.

The city tower had been burned long ago, only some bricks and stones were left to support it, and many of the battlements were seriously damaged, but there were still many dilapidated and black flags standing proudly on the city wall.

Then, there was an inexplicable smell in the air.There is blood, there is burnt smell, and there is foul smell...

Fortunately, this is winter, otherwise the taste would definitely make people sick.

Amidst the sound of drums, a large group of infantrymen and archers with various firearms walked leisurely from behind the rice barn, and some of them even hugged some small cannons.

They passed through the huge gaps between the front lines, crossed the cavalry line, and slowly walked towards the city wall.

Most of these people have numb expressions, unable to see joy or sorrow.

Mi Cang knew that most of these soldiers with firearms were the soldiers of the master Xie Yinglong, and they were mostly covering the siege during the day and night in the past few days.

Xie Yinglong was originally the servant of Luo Dai, a general of the Ming Dynasty. He was proficient in firearms. He joined the peasant army with Ren Jirong and Tian Hu in Luoyang.

In the Battle of Zhuxian Town, the Peasant Army seized a large number of official and army firearms, so Xie Yinglong's troops did not lack weapons and gunpowder.

Another round of drums sounded, and Mi Cang vaguely saw those people in the first line wearing iron helmets and mostly wearing thick armor started to move forward, but the second line and Mi Cang's line did not move. .

Swarming forward will only increase unnecessary casualties, and Yonekura and the others don't have any armor yet.

As soon as all the soldiers in the first line wearing helmets and armor passed through the cavalry line, various firearms began to crackle and crackle under the city of Yicheng.

Yone Cang immediately began to poke his head forward curiously.

However, with the heads of people looking around and the cavalry line in front of him, it was impossible for Mi Cang to see what was happening under the city. He could only vaguely see a large amount of flames and thick smoke that gradually appeared.

And then there was that creepy scream coming from all around ahead.

Yone Cang's heart was full of strange feelings, he couldn't tell if it was fear or confusion, or something else.

After a long while, the first man wearing armor finally emerged from the cavalry line in front, and ran towards the original second line of troops with some excitement.

Then the second, the third...

These people quickly threw their heavy armor in front of the second line, and easily walked to the rear from the huge gaps between the horizontal lines, while the scattered cavalry patrolling in these huge gaps were watching closely. with these people.

However, some of the people who took off the thick armor did not look relaxed, and some people were visibly moaning.

When one of them walked past the rice warehouse, the rice warehouse could clearly see a large area of ​​huge blisters on the person's face and hands.

Yone Cang's heart began to sink again.

After an unknown amount of time, Micang's line finally became the frontmost infantry line, and two new lines followed behind them.

……

Among the piles of armor, the already numb Mi Cang picks and puts them on his body in a chaotic and quick manner. Some armors are too hot, some armors have too much blood on them, and some armors are covered with inexplicable liquids of yellow, green, green, and white.

Finally, he supported the wet and hot iron helmet on his head, and after taking a deep breath, Mi Cang walked forward with a spliced ​​wooden board in his hand and a small bamboo basket.

One brick is taken, and one basket is needed to take soil.

After crossing the cavalry line and gradually approaching the city wall, Mi Cang's face became paler and paler. The cruelty and bloodiness of the battlefield exceeded his imagination.

Fire and smoke enveloped almost every part of the section of the wall they were attacking.

Below the city wall were all kinds of tragic corpses in strange shapes, some were frozen hard, some were still soft, and some were still scorching.

The splashing of quicklime, the choking smoke, the stones and debris everywhere, the disgusting smell of meat, and the burning fire made this place look like a Shura field.

The officers and soldiers defending the city obviously adopted the most intense and more targeted defensive measures.

Although the archers and firearmsmen who were tens of meters away from the city wall were still shooting intermittent suppressive shots that could not be seen clearly, this did not give any psychological help to those who approached the city wall.

Not far in front of the rice barn was a soldier who was looking relaxed and didn't take any cover. The man moved very quickly and approached the root of the city wall over the fire and the fetters on the ground.

But just when he was about to get into the door-sized holes that had been opened on the city wall, a piece of smoking yellow liquid fell from the sky and poured on the man's helmet.

Then in an instant the man started screaming.

The rice warehouse holding the wooden plank staggered, but after hesitation, he still decided to move forward along the track of the man's previous movement.

Immediately afterwards, he clearly saw the soldier covering his neck and face and running back from the original path howling, and the two quickly met face to face.

The peculiar stench of excrement also rushed into Mi Cang's nasal cavity in an instant, and Mi Cang knew that this person was in fact beyond saving, and would die in pain.

Yicang did not stop, he continued to move forward, and he tried his best not to pay attention to any scenery and changes that hindered his progress.

When he finally got close to the root of the city, Yonekura felt something hit the wooden board he was holding.

When he instinctively raised his head in surprise, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a fire man not far away, bumping around under the city wall.

Mi Cang hurriedly ignored him, threw away the plank and got into a hole the size of a door in front of him.

After entering the hole, Yicang noticed that the hole is not big yet.

The inside was only more than one meter deep, and a soldier who had taken off his armor was hitting the hard rammed earth with an iron awl and a hammer in front of him. A thick layer of crushed soil had already piled up under the soldier's feet.

This strong and skilled soldier should be a veteran.

Hearing the rice warehouse squeezed in, the soldier shouted without turning his head: "Don't worry about packing the soil, hurry up and clear the broken soil under my feet before leaving."

Mi Cang was stunned for a moment.

But he still took off the iron helmet that was in the way, and faithfully carried out the orders of the soldiers who were digging the city.

When Mi Cang pushed all the debris out of the cave under the flames outside the cave, the soldier who was digging the city turned his head to look at Mi Cang, and then asked:
"You're a nice kid, what's your name?"

"Rice barn."

The soldier who was digging the city took another look at the rice warehouse, then smiled and said, "You are too thin. That's it, load the soil and let's go!"

After hearing the words, Mi Cang didn't say anything, filled his bamboo basket with soil, put on his iron helmet and rushed out.

As soon as he ran to the cavalry line and stopped, a familiar figure lying on his back jumped in front of Mi Cang.

Although half of this person's face was festered and covered with stench, Yicang still recognized this person.

The dead man with a few more blood holes on his body was Mi Cang's subordinate, and he was also the relaxed soldier who ran in front of Mi Cang when he approached the city just now.

This cavalry line was not set up to watch the battle, nor was it simply to cover the rear.Their most important task is actually to examine the retrieved items in the hands of the scuttlers and to kill the cowardly and those who do not retrieve their items.

Mi Cang couldn't tell whether it was a kind of luck for this subordinate to die here. He just silently poured the soil in front of a cavalryman, then looked up at the cavalryman, and then walked behind the cavalryman.

There was no excitement in Micang, nor the joy of surviving after the catastrophe. There was only a faint feeling of vomiting, and he just walked forward numbly.

After a few hundred steps away from the lines that were still in formation, Mi Cang was stopped by someone. Those who had completed the siege of the city needed to regroup and return to their camp.

Then Mi Cang saw Geng Hu, Wu Yougen, and most of their team.

Those who should be alive seem to be alive, and the casualties do not seem to be large.

Notes:

Note 1:

Li Zicheng's peasant army attacked the city more than defended it, and his usual siege methods are described in detail in "The History of the Bandits", "The Chronicle of Ming History" and "The History of Ming Dynasty: Li Zicheng Biography".

This article has been edited, but not fabricated.

However, the "History of the Ming Dynasty" said that "every time you attack a city, you don't use the ancient ladder method" is not accurate.

Note 2:

After Xiangyang, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai split up and attacked.Who initiated the attack in the Battle of Yicheng?What kind of siege method was adopted?I did not conduct serious textual research, but based on Yuan Zongdi's participation in the attack on Chengtian Mansion, I also placed the attack on Yicheng on Yuan Zongdi's head, of course, for the needs of later writing.

All the things that are not in line with the original history in the future should be regarded as butterfly effects, and there are many things that must be changed according to the needs of the plot.

(End of this chapter)