The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 341 Li Yan
"How courageous."

Gao Qian held the knife in his hand, his leopard eyes slightly opened, and he looked at a man who looked like a scribe standing not far in front of him, without concealing his murderous intention.

"Mr. Song dares to break into my military camp alone. Aren't you afraid that I will kill you with a knife?"

"With Mr. Song's head, it is enough for me to be promoted to the next level, and all my faults will be compensated."

The scribe who was firmly tied up in the tent looked calm. Facing Gao Qian's threat, he still looked calm and calm, and answered in a neither humble nor overbearing manner.

This scribe is none other than Song Xiance, Li Yan’s counselor.
"If General Gao wanted to kill me, there was no way I would be brought to this central military tent. The general would have sent someone to execute me outside the tent."

Gao Qian's eyes moved slightly, and his body leaned forward involuntarily. His murderous intent rose again, and he pulled out the Yanling Saber from his waist by half an inch again.

The lights in the tent swayed, shining on the half of the unsheathed blade, and the reflected cold light was caught by everyone in the tent.

All the soldiers guarding the tent were holding their swords and guns, ready to attack.

The two armored soldiers who were escorting Song Xiance placed the Yanling Saber directly on Song Xiance's neck.

"Emperor Ming was mean and ungrateful, but he was somewhat loyal to his country. He was a general who fought hard on the battlefield, but he was punished just because of one defeat."

"The general was able to escape this disaster with the help of Song's head. I wonder if he can make up for it again if he encounters another defeat next time."

There was no trace of fear on Song Xiance's face. Even if the swords were drawn together, he still stared calmly at Gao Qian who was sitting at the top.

"When Song proposed the mission to His Highness King Xin, he had already anticipated the possibility of failure. If General Gao has no intention of doing anything wrong, Song's good head is here, and the general can take it for himself."

The atmosphere in the field slowly changed due to Song Xiance's words, and everyone subconsciously held their breath and concentrated.

Gao Qian stood at the top, keeping the action of drawing the sword. The light in his eyes flickered, and his face turned green and white. He didn't know what he was thinking.

The expressions of the military schools in the tent were also constantly changing.

The generals in the imperial court were always mean.

They, the generals from the mainland, are not valued.

It comes when you call it, and it goes away when you wave it.

Military pay is never enough, and salaries are always withheld.

When you use it, you receive a military order, but when you throw it away, it's like a piece of shit.

No matter how hard the battle is, once the army is defeated and damaged, it will suffer the wrath of the thunder.

This time Zhengzhou was defeated and they tried their best to escape.

Kaifeng City even refused to let them enter the city and drove them directly to Xiangfu County.

This is undoubtedly an insult to them...

After a long time.

The silence was finally interrupted by the sound of a sword being sheathed.

Gao Qian had already put his cold Yanling sword back into its scabbard.

"Relax...Mr. Song..."

Gao Qian sheathed his sword, his voice was low but clear, and all the soldiers in the tent returned to their positions.

The two armored soldiers escorting Song Xiance also put their Yanling swords back into their sheaths at this moment.

Then Song Xiance felt his body loosen, and the rope that bound him lost its binding effect, and he fell weakly downwards.

"A tall bird roosts in a good tree, a wise minister chooses a bright leader and supports him, and turns his back to the dark to turn to the bright. This is an ancient rule."

"Decades later, when General Gao looks back on this moment again, he will definitely thank himself for making this choice."

Song Xiance calmed down, knowing that the dust had settled. The letter he had sent before and his words just now had indeed moved Gao Qian.

Gao Qian acted like this before just to find a step for himself to climb down and suppress the fear in his heart about the unknown future.

After all, rebellion is a business of beheading, and becoming a rebel means being a rebel for life.

Unless you can sit on the throne of the emperor, hold the entire world in your hands, and become orthodox.

But who can 100% guarantee that we can finally reach that point?
……

Above and below the city, there was smoke.

The cannonballs were flying, and despite the huge noise, the wails and screams were still clearly visible.

This is already the fourth day of the siege of Kaifeng City by the Ten Thousand People's Army.

Not only are there artillery in Kaifeng City, but the Wanmin Army also has a large number of artillery.

The current artillery of the Wanmin Army was naturally not cast by them, but captured from the prefectures and counties that were captured along the way.

Especially after the capture of Luoyang, the large number of artillery dismantled from the city of Luoyang greatly increased the quantity and quality of the artillery of the Wanmin Army.

The artillery in the Wanmin Army still uses old-fashioned gun carriages, and the artillery troops move slowly.

The improved artillery traction device and gun mount invented by Chen Wang were only implemented in the north of the Ming Dynasty for the time being, and had not yet spread to the south.

The marching speed of artillery troops is difficult to catch up with ordinary troops. This is a common practice in this era.

Like the Hanzhong Army led by Chen Wang, the artillery troops and ordinary troops can even maintain the same speed as the cavalry for a long time. It is simply a fantasy.

The artillery of the Wanmin Army arrived at Kaifeng City at dusk on the second day after the siege broke out.

Then the Wanmin Army paid a heavy price and built artillery positions within the range of Kaifeng City's artillery.

Chen Wang originally commanded the battle from the tower at the main gate of the West City.

After the artillery of the Wanmin Army arrived, he also moved the command post to the tower of the Wengcheng at the rear, and did not bring the conspicuous banner with him.

It is indeed difficult to capsize in the gutter, but the probability is not zero.

Through the telescope, Chen Wang could clearly see the artillery positions of the Wanmin Army.

In the main artillery position of the Wanmin Army, there are a total of thirty-one artillery pieces, all of which are general cannons with a range of more than one mile.

Most of these general cannons were removed directly from the city walls of Luoyang City, mounted on gun mounts, and then transported all the way.

In addition, there are many auxiliary artillery positions scattered throughout.

Most of these artillery positions are medium and heavy Fran cannons, totaling more than two hundred.

Most of these Fran cannons were captured by the Wanmin Army in the Battle of Zhengzhou, and they were once weapons of the Henan Army.

In the Battle of Zhengzhou, Li Xianfeng was defeated and died, and the troops in Henan were defeated. A large amount of weapons and equipment were obtained by the Wanmin Army led by Li Yan, which greatly enhanced Li Yan's strength.

The artillerymen who manned the artillery were all surrendered Ming troops.

In the victory of the Battle of Zhengzhou, the results achieved by the Wanmin Army were actually far better than the capture of Luoyang.

The defeated Henan Army not only left a large amount of armor and weapons to the Wanmin Army, but also added a group of new troops with combat experience.

He also contributed to it the most rare fire cannon.

In the west of Kaifeng City, there are only eight general cannons in total, and the remaining dozens of cannons are Fran cannons.

However, Li Yan directly displayed thirty-one general cannons and more than two hundred Franco machine guns in the west of Kaifeng City, instantly gaining an overwhelming advantage in firepower.

Under the fierce artillery suppression of the Wanmin Army, it was almost impossible to stand at the crenellations in the west of Kaifeng City.

The main city tower suffered a devastating blow.

After two days of shelling, most of the main tower had collapsed.

Some residences and buildings near the city wall also suffered varying degrees of damage, and the morale of the defenders on the city was greatly reduced by the fierce artillery fire.

Although the damage was limited, being beaten but unable to fight back was undoubtedly extremely demoralizing.

Although the artillery in the west of Kaifeng City worked hard to fight back, the effect was not very good.

There was a special fort as a bunker. Although the artillery was not damaged, the quality of the gunners who operated the artillery was not high, and they were not able to achieve much results in two days.

Kaifeng has been in peace for a long time, and ordinary soldiers in the inland camps have neglected to drill, and these artillery units have little time to practice on weekdays. Even if there was time to practice, there were not enough cannonballs and gunpowder for them to train.

In addition to the artillerymen of the Ming army who received regular training and were quite proficient in gunnery, most of the artillerymen in the inland camps and towns could only fire artillery.

As for where the artillery shells can hit, it all depends on God's will.

To the west of Kaifeng City, under the dark black banner.

Li Yan stood on the observation deck built with civil engineering and looked at the battle situation in the distance. His face was calm and he listened quietly to the red lady telling him about military affairs.

"The twenty battalions of new recruits have been rotated back and forth. Each battalion has suffered different casualties. Someone is counting the casualties. A rough estimate is that our army's casualties have exceeded 6,000 in the past five days."

"The medicinal herbs in the army...are no longer enough to treat so many wounded...the doctors can't handle it either..."

The casualties of six thousand people are not a small number.

The daily casualties exceeded a thousand, and the wounded barracks were expanded several times.

There are not many medicinal herbs that can be used to treat injuries in the army, and there are not many doctors. The vast majority of injured soldiers have difficulty receiving treatment.

It is foreseeable that many of the slandered people will die soon.

Li Yan's eyes were lowered, and he cast his gaze from the smoke-filled city top to the troops advancing in waves below.

"Everything is implemented according to the previous plan..."

The red lady's body trembled slightly, and a trace of unbearability flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed this unbearable feeling in her heart.

Li Yan's plan was to only treat experienced veterans and abandon ordinary wounded soldiers.

Those ordinary wounded soldiers could not get even the simplest care.

Looking at Li Yan's face, it was a very familiar face that she had seen a thousand times, but she didn't know why, but it felt so strange to her.

Along the way, Li Yan continued to change, becoming increasingly different from the Li Lang she remembered.

Up to now, Li Yan has become more and more taciturn.

The red lady looked at Li Yan's side face and had a lot of thoughts in her heart.

Something suddenly clicked in her.

She didn't know when she started, but she rarely saw Li Yan's face anymore.

Most of the time, Li Yan turned his back to them and everyone.

Li Yan has always stood in front of them and everyone.

The red lady lowered her head, her thoughts in her heart even more confusing.

But before she could think too much, she felt her hand being held by a big warm hand.

Looking up again, what he met was Li Yan's eyes that were always as bright as stars, those eyes that were still shining even in the darkness.

"I know these things are cruel, but when we go down this road, we really have no choice."

"Do you still remember what I said when I was in Qixian Prison?"

"We have reached a point of no return."

The red lady was slightly shaken, looking into Li Yan's eyes, her heart was full of guilt.

"Li Lang..."

If it weren't for her, Li Yan would still be living in Qixian now...

"Sorry……"

"do not say sorry."

Li Yan held the red lady's hand tightly and said seriously

Husband and wife are connected, and before the red lady has spoken, he already knows why the red lady wants to apologize to him.

"you're not wrong."

"It was only a matter of time before my family was broken up and I was imprisoned. The thieves just found an excuse. It was you who saved me."

Li Yan looked at the red lady, his eyes were firm and serious.

as always.

He has changed a lot, but he has never changed.

"My heart is not stone, I know, I know everything, but now we don't have any choice."

"The world is in turmoil. The Chinese war is incessant now, and the dust is flying to the sky. The great age has come. The strong will become strong, and the weak will perish."

"Not everyone can make it to the end. The road to success is never easy, and most people will sacrifice on this road."

He changed from Li Xin to Li Yan.

The appearance has changed a lot, and the personality has changed a lot.

As he said, he wanted to be a rock, a rock that would stand firm despite all the hardships.

But no matter how many hardships, how many tortures, how many difficulties he went through, at the deep end he was still the benevolent and righteous Li Xin.

His back is always straight and his head is always high. He will not bow down for power or bow down for high officials.

"Actually, I don't always have a plan in mind."

"Sometimes, I don't know where to go."

"But I can't say it because everyone is looking at me and pinning their hopes on me."

Li Yan's voice was very soft, but extremely firm.

"I don't know if I can take you to the end of this road."

"But now, we have no way to look back. Now we can only keep moving forward."

Li Yan is very aware of their current situation.

The sun is rising in the sky now, but in fact they are just flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water.

The wheels of the world are rolling forward, and Li Yan can only take advantage of the situation and keep moving forward.

Talent will no longer be crushed and destroyed by the huge wheels rolling forward.

The torrent of the times carries the fate of individuals.

The fate of being trapped by the times can only rise and fall with the times.

The red lady looked at Li Yan, a little mist could not help but appear in her eyes, and tears slowly overflowed from the corners of her eyes.

until now.

Only then did she understand Li Yan's difficulties.

Only then did she realize how heavy the pressure was on Li Yan's shoulders.

The red lady held Li Yan's hand tightly, and Li Yan also held the red lady's hand tightly.

"I don't know how far we can go."

"There are only two things I can tell you right now."

Li Yan turned his head and looked towards the smoke-filled Kaifeng City in the distance.

"Luoyang is not our destination."

"Kaifeng will not be our end either..."

(End of this chapter)