Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 296 Soldiers Siege Wuchang City

Wuchang is located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River. It is located in the south of the Yangtze River, surrounded by large lakes, choking the main water and land routes. It was called Xiakou in the Eastern Wu Dynasty and renamed Ezhou in the Sui Dynasty. It has a long history and is the most important in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Ayutthaya.

According to the "Huguang Tujing Zhishu", Wuchang City in the Ming Dynasty was full of alleys, government offices, government schools, tribute courtyards, Confucian temples and other cultural buildings, and a gathering of literati and scholars. It was like a city landscape of a political center. One of the important city walls.

When Wuchang was in Ming Dynasty, it was the provincial capital of Huguang, with a circumference of more than [-] li.

Whoever occupies Wuchang will be able to see the southeast as a tiger, and it is a place that military strategists must contend for. Therefore, after the Qing army was defeated in Huguang one after another in February and March, it began to fully manage Wuchang.

Wuchang has been in a state of combat readiness since the end of April. Tong Yanghe tried his best to manage all the resources from several prefectures around Wuchang to the city before the Ming army attacked. , Captured a large number of Qingzhuang, reinforced the city, widened the moat.

Tong Yang and Luck Dehun are much more conservative. He is not as eager to win a big victory as Luck Dehun. He is ashamed before Yixue. He understands the strategy of the Qing court, which is to defend Wuchang and wait for the Qing army to break through Xiangyang from the north. line of defense.

He knew very well that his task was to hold back the Ming army attacking Wuchang, and give Azig and Wu Sangui the opportunity to break through Xiangyang and enter the Huguang Confederation. As long as he can defend Wuchang, he will be a great achievement in the future.

At this time, it was already daylight, and the city of Wuchang began to become tense. Although Tong Yanghe had doubts about whether Luck Dehun could successfully defeat Wang Yan before, when he really saw the defeated Qing army appearing by the Xunsi River, he felt very nervous. Still lost for a while.

He stood at the top of the city, watching the Qing cavalry unable to cross the Xunsi River and fleeing southward, his heart was full of bitterness.This will mean that he will bear the important task of defending Wuchang alone, and it will also mean that the main force of Wang Yan's Ming army will soon come to the city.

At this time, under the city of Wuchang, 15 to [-] Qihuang rebels under the banner of the Ming army had gathered from the east. If Wang Yan's main force was added, the Ming army besieging Wuchang would have at least [-] people.

Tong Yanghe had rehearsed many times in his mind for various situations, but he never expected that he would face such a severe situation. He couldn't help complaining that Luck Dehun had ruined the good times of the Qing Dynasty in Huguang, and also He, the governor of Huguang, was driven to death.

Now there are only three thousand and eight banners of Tulai in the city, and the green battalion soldiers from all over Huguang who have retreated to Wuchang. Among them, the three brothers Wang Guangen, Wang Guangtai, and Wang Chang who retreated from Xiangyang have 7000 soldiers, the general Yang Wenfu has 6 soldiers, Jing There are [-] guards Liu Kaiwen in the southern branch, and Sun Dingliao, the governor of Huguang in the Qing court, has [-] soldiers, with a total of more than [-] soldiers and horses. In addition, there are more than [-] Huguang Qingzhuang who were arrested.

The troops in the city were not very sufficient, and it was quite difficult to defend Wuchang, but it was impossible for Tong Yanghe to surrender to the Ming army. He had to live and die with Wuchang City.

He is a Han Chinese who has been turned into a Hu in Liaodong. His family was incorporated into the Eight Banners and enjoys superior rights. The only way to raise peace is to fight to the ground.

In order to prevent the Ming army from attacking the city, Tong Yanghe made a lot of preparations. He not only prepared a large amount of grain, grass and supplies in the city, but also demolished all the houses in the city near the city wall to prevent them from being burned when the Ming army attacked the city.

On the city wall, 240 various artillery pieces, 180 stone cannons, and nearly a thousand fire oil tanks were erected. Well, prepare to live and die with Wuchang.

Wu Jinxi mobilized nearly 48 volunteers to cooperate with Wang Yan in the [-] village of Qihuang. After the rebels found out that Luck Dehun led the main force of the Qing army to leave Wuchang, they rushed over and surrounded Wuchang.

In the city, there were too few reliable Eight Banners soldiers in Tong Yanghe's hands. He didn't dare to do any damage, so he didn't send troops to fight, and the Qihuang Rebel Army didn't take the initiative to attack. There is no experience and equipment to attack the big city.

In the morning Wu Jinxi saw the defeated cavalry of the Qing army fleeing to the south, so he came to Wang Guangshu, the leader of the rebel army, and said, "Since last night, there have been defeated soldiers of the Qing army who have come to the Xunsi River. After dawn today, all the defeated soldiers have gone south again. It is the Duke who defeated Luck Dehun, and his troops will arrive in Wuchang in a few days, and the village master Wang still needs to make arrangements to repair the bridge as soon as possible, so that the army can cross the river."

The cavalry of the Qing army that began to appear last night made the rebels nervous until now. Wang Guangshu was relieved after hearing Wu Jinxi's words. He agreed and arranged for soldiers to build the bridge.

In the afternoon, there was a burst of gongs and drums in the field, and the forward of the Ming army finally appeared outside Wuchang City.

On the field ten miles away, teams of cavalry galloped back and forth, smoke and dust filled the sky and the earth, and the brigade of infantry lined up boundlessly in a murderous spirit.

At the front of the team, Yuan Zongdi held a spear and walked slowly on his horse, looking majestic. Behind him was a banner, and the gun was like a dense forest, exuding bursts of murderous aura.

Wang Guangshu, Yi Daosan, Wang Ding and other leaders of the rebel army looked at this Ming army that had just defeated the main force of the Eight Banners of the Qing army, and immediately praised in their hearts: "A really majestic army~"

At present, Yuan Zongdi led the army across the Xunsi River and joined forces with the rebels. They did not attack Wuchang, but began to build new camps around Wuchang to prepare for the arrival of the main force.

After Wang Yan led the army to Jiangxia, Li Guo came out to plead guilty. Wang Yan didn't mean to blame, but he just broke Zhou Zebin, but it made him a little sad, so he couldn't explain it to Zhou Zhiwei.

At this time, news came that Yuan Zongdi defeated Luck Dehun, captured 5000 Green Battalion, killed most of the Eight Banners, and confiscated more than [-] war horses.

Although the Ming army failed to capture Luck Dehun and fled to Jiangxi with more than 2000 remnants, Wang Yan was still very satisfied with the results of the battle.

The Qing soldiers in Huguang had no other available troops, and it was too late to transfer troops from other places. The Ming army captured Wuchang, and it was almost a foregone conclusion.

At this time, Wang Yan sent a message to He Tengjiao, who was still in Hekou Town, and Dai Zhifan, who was in charge of the luggage and equipment, to come to Jiangxia to join them, and then they went to Wuchang together.

Five days later, two large flags appeared outside the city of Wuchang. Tong Yanghe boarded the city to watch, and saw the boundless Ming army coming from the west.

The 11 Ming army, more than 5 rebels, and [-] civil servants gathered under Wuchang City to form a sea, and Wuchang City seemed to be a flat boat in the center of the storm, which would be submerged by the huge waves rolled up by the Ming army at any time.

Tong Yanghe was fighting in the city, his heart was filled with the feeling of black clouds pressing down on the city, and the Qing soldiers on the city were all full of fear, with no heart to fight.

Seeing this, Tong Yanghe's heart tightened, and he thought, "It seems that we must find a way to make Luying willingly serve the Qing Dynasty, otherwise the governor will be sold out by them before the Ming army attacks."

(Thanks to book friends Xindong, Shushanqin Climbing, Yuedong Nest Core, Wild Boar Skin Full of Insect Cleaning Company, Zhenzu for their rewards. Also recommend the fantasy masterpiece "Yaoyuezhu")
(End of this chapter)