Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 203
The sound of "Booming~" sounded outside the city. The huge red cannons threw solid shells at the city wall, smashing the old city wall of Yongding City to pieces, and countless broken bricks peeled off from the city wall. , Leaving deep pits one after another, it will be a matter of time before they collapse.

Du Yinxi's troops retreated into Xiangxi in a hurry, and lost all their supplies and artillery. The Ming army, which was good at firearms, was bombarded by the Qing army with artillery fire, and they were completely powerless to fight back.

Geng Zhongming led the Zhengbai Banner of the Han Army and a Green Battalion with Xushungong Shen Zhixiang, a total of 1 people guarding Changde, while he led a total of [-] troops with the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army and the remaining Green Battalion, and will block Yinxi by more than [-] troops. People surrounded the city.

Du Yinxi sent Jin Shijie, a student from Lizhou, to Changsha to ask for help, but He Tengjiao said that the army was newly defeated, the soldiers had no morale, and they were afraid that the Qing soldiers would attack from Changde, so they could not divide their troops to rescue each other.

Shijie was shocked when he heard the words, knocked his head on the ground and said: "If the supervisor doesn't send troops, he will stop blocking the public!"

But He Tengjiao said: "The men and horses of the Chuangbu are good at fighting, but they can defend the city to the death. Now the governor is going, and he is not an opponent of the Qing army. It seems like a drop in the bucket, but lost the troops of Changsha. Shijie can go back quickly and wait for the Duke of Chu to stay and fight. Bureau also."

Shijie cried and begged after hearing this, but He Tengjiao and Fu Shangrui ignored him and left in a huff.

The governor of Shijie couldn't make it, so he wailed loudly, so he had to go north to find Wang Yan. He got on his horse and cursed out of the city, looking at Yuezhou.

But he said that Du Yinxi was in Yongding, looking forward to the arrival of Changsha soldiers, but there was no movement. His men were defeated and chased by the cavalry all the way, and escaped into Yongding. Most of the armor and weapons were lost, and most of them were wounded. It is pain.

On this day, the Qing army under the city suddenly sent a letter into the city, saying that an old man wanted to meet Du Gong and had something to say to Du Gong.

Du Yinxi ordered people to let the envoys into the city. He was also Huang Shu, the censor of Guangxun of Daming Lake.

Huang Shu made a salute to Du Yinxi and said, "I am here to persuade Duke Du under the order of King Huaishun. Since ancient times, those who know the current affairs are heroes. Today, the lands under the control of Jiuli belong to the Qing Dynasty, and there are only isolated cities. In the first district, there is no food and grass inside, no rescue soldiers outside, and it is in danger. Why don’t you follow Shu’s words and submit to the Qing Dynasty, then Jingchu can be restored and the lives of the whole city can be saved. I hope you will think about it.”

When Du Yinxi heard the words, he was furious, "In the past, you instigated Zuo Zhendong to rebel and ruined the overall situation of the court. Today, you surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. How can you persuade me?"

Last year, the suspicion between Zuo Liangyu and the Hongguang court deepened. As the censor sent by the court to the local government, Huang Shu not only failed to mediate, but instead used Zuo Liangyu's military force as a backing, trying to take the opportunity to improve his position in the court. On June [-]th in Jiashen, he cursed Ma Shiying with ten crimes and instigated Zuo Liangyu to side with Qingjun.

Today, Ma Shiying is still leading the remnant soldiers and fighting against the Qing soldiers in eastern Zhejiang, but he himself voted for the Qing court.It can be said that treacherous ministers have become loyal ministers, and loyal ministers have become treacherous ministers who have forgotten their ancestors.

Seeing Governor Yinxi like this, Huang Shu felt embarrassed, but he didn't give up, "King Huaishun has good intentions. He wants to save the king's life. If the king resists him, the whole city will be slaughtered if the city is destroyed! , then immediately high-ranking officials and nobles, why are you so obsessed with obsession?"

Du Yinxi said angrily: "I am a minister of the heaven's dynasty. How can I betray my righteousness and surrender to the barbarians! If the city is broken, there will be death. Jade can be broken, but its whiteness cannot be changed. Bamboo can be burned, but its integrity cannot be destroyed. Don't do too much." Say, get out of the city quickly, let Geng Zhongming and Ben Fu fight to the death!"

When Huang Shu saw that Du Yinxi issued the order to drive away the guests, he hesitated for a moment on his face. Seeing this, Du Yinxi was furious and drew his sword to kill him, so Huang Shu left Yongding in a panic.

Geng Zhongming received Huang Shu's report, cursed secretly, and then urged the army to step up the attack on the city. After the city was broken, the whole city was killed without leaving any dogs or chickens behind.

When the Qing soldiers heard the order, their morale was immediately boosted, and they stormed Yongding City every day, while the Ming army fought repeatedly with the Qing soldiers on the low city wall. Without taking a step away from the city wall, the Ming army managed to persevere despite the extremely disadvantaged situation.

It’s just that the Ming army was defeated after all, and half a month after the Qing army besieged the city, there was no food and grass in Duyinxi, and no reinforcements outside. The Ming army has slowly reached its limit. After a few days, it will only start to eat people.

At this time, the Ming army had just repelled an attack by the Qing soldiers. On the city wall, a group of Ming army generals, guarding a middle-aged man in his forties, walked from the tower to a section of the city wall that was completely devastated under artillery fire. The tarnished armor on their bodies, as well as the colorless official robes of the men, all told the difficult situation of the defenders.

"Boom~"

A cannonball hit the wall, and the gravel splashed. A nearby Ming soldier screamed and was blasted down the wall. Seeing this, the general guarding the man immediately raised his shield to protect him.

The man was Du Yinxi, governor of Hunan Province. He waved his hand to signal the soldiers not to be nervous, "General Gao, is this here?"

Gao Yigong raised his hand and pointed at the city wall wearily and said: "Master Futai, just look, there is already a one-foot crack there, I am afraid that if you bombard it a few more times, it will all collapse, and then~"

Du Yinxi looked at the place he was pointing at, and couldn't help letting out a long sigh, knowing that the day when the city was broken was just around the corner.

"He Tengjiao has not sent troops to rescue for a long time. Yongding City is not a big city. We were totally unprepared and came in a hurry. To be able to defend until today is all thanks to General Gao's ability to fight to the death with the sons!" Du Yinxi looked at it at this time. Looking at the many generals and schools around him, I couldn't help feeling sad.

Half a month ago, they were still high-spirited. Nearly 30 people besieged Jingzhou, and they were on the verge of swallowing Jingchu, but now they have come to the end of the mountain.

The Battle of Jingzhou failed, Li Guo waited for nearly [-] main forces on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and retreated into western Hubei, while Du Yinxi gathered the defeated troops on the south bank, and retreated all the way to western Hunan.

When he recruited to surrender, he may have made many promises to Shunjun, but now he has not fulfilled any of them. Instead, he has brought the Shunjun who believed in him to death, so Du Yinxi feels guilty for a while.

"General Gao, before the city is strong, you can take your men and horses to break through tonight~" Du Yinxi's face was full of helplessness, "From Yongding to the west, the terrain is extremely steep, and Geng Zhongming's fine cavalry can't play a role. If you stay in the city for a day, you can get rid of the pursuit, or go north to join General Li, or go south to Chenzhou, where Yungui is supported in the west, Chenyuan is controlled in the east, Sichuan and Hubei are controlled in the north, and Guangxi border is controlled in the south. You can still fight!"

Hearing the words, Gao Yigong couldn't help but tears filled his eyes. In the past, when they fought against the officers and soldiers, even though the casualties were heavy, he didn't feel the slightest sense of tragedy. But this time when they fought against the Qing soldiers, his heart was full of sadness, which made his throat choke , "Futai~"

But Du Yinxi immediately interrupted his words with a wave of his hand, "General Gao, don't need to say too much, it's up to you to make up your mind, go get ready~"

Hearing the words, Gao Yigong had no choice but to cup his fists and salute in grief and indignation, "No~ the last general takes orders!"

Du Yinxi turned back to the city tower again and began to write his last words, "I will not die in Jingzhou. I originally wanted to go to Changde in the south, based on northern Hunan, and regrouped. Reluctant to give up, besiege the ministers in the city. Today, the towns of Changsha are willing to bear the country's grace, and withdraw their troops without authorization. When they see danger, they will not save them. The envoys are trapped in death. , to repay His Majesty's favor!"

(Thanks to Shushanqin climbing, shyion, 3281 for the reward, thanks to Shushanqin climbing, the monthly ticket of Feisa memory, thank you for your support.)
(End of this chapter)