Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 405: Two Cities Fallen
The fire tonight broke out suddenly, which not only caught Xing Ne by surprise, but also surprised the three generals of Hanzhong.

After all, they were forced to make this plan when the Tartar reinforcements were about to arrive.

If there was any helplessness, these three battle-experienced generals would not rashly launch an attack with only a few rockets and ladders.

This is probably due to the circumstances.

For Li Dingguo, if they could not completely capture Hanzhong, then when Hauge's reinforcements arrived they would have no choice but to retreat. Having missed this opportunity, he didn't know when he would get another chance to avenge Zhang Xianzhong.

For He Zhen, whether he surrendered to the Qing or rebelled against the Qing, no matter how difficult his situation was when he surrendered, no matter how unfair his experience was when he rebelled against the Qing, any superior would label him as a traitor.

Under such circumstances, if he doesn't get a contribution that he can show off, his life in the Ming Dynasty will not be very good.

As for Sun Shoufa.
A man who persisted in guerrilla warfare for two years after the country was lost, a man who suffered several military defeats but never compromised.

It was reasonable for him to make such a choice at this time.

just
"Marshal, the fire is on!"

As the fire in Cangxi gradually grew, Sun Shoufa in Cangdong just had a sullen face and said nothing, as if the ever-expanding fire had nothing to do with him at all.

This was the plan the three of them finally decided on after several discussions.

Regardless of whether He Zhen could light the fire or not, Li Dingguo would launch an attack from Cangnan, and when the enemy's attention was attracted there, Sun Shoufa's troops would take advantage of the chaos to attack the granary from Cangdong.

Looks cumbersome, doesn't it?

However, He Zhen's link was not stable. Even if he would lead his troops to rush straight to the wall when the warehouse failed to be successfully ignited, the effect would certainly be far inferior to setting the warehouse on fire.

So under such circumstances, Sun Shoufa's position is the real main attacking position.

Thanks to God's blessing, the Tartars did not make any major changes to the layout of the warehouse. As the fire continued to expand, Sun Shoufa's heart, which had been hanging for a long time, finally settled down a little.

"Send the order to prepare, we will start in two sticks of incense."

"Order!"

At the command, the soldiers went to convey the message, and the experiences of the past two years could not help but emerge in Sun Shoufa's mind.

There are twists and turns in the road, and finally a bright future.

During the past two years, Shaanxi was first occupied by the Chuang army and then fell into the hands of the Tatars. He was like a moth to a flame, fighting and being defeated again and again, causing headaches for both sides.

But this headache is just a headache. His actions in Shaanxi have not changed the overall situation at all.

In fact, he knew very well that the troops of several towns of the imperial court had been defeated one after another, and people like him were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

If nothing unexpected happens, defeat will happen within a year or so.

Fortunately.
"Marshal, General Li is attacking."

"How? How did the Tartars react?"

"I don't know the exact number, but they hadn't withdrawn when I left. I guess they were standing firmly on the wall."

Just when Sun Shoufa's mind was a little distracted, a soldier ran over from a distance. After listening to his report, Sun Shoufa looked into the distance, and when he saw the fire in the warehouse getting more and more fierce, he spoke loudly to the soldier behind him.

"We have been fighting in Shaanxi for two years, all we wanted was to be loyal to our country. Now that we have this good opportunity, we must fight to the death for our country! Kill the Tartars!"

"Kill the Tartars!"

After a conversation, Sun Shoufa took the lead in rushing towards the granary wall. In just ten breaths, his men had arrived under the wall.

At this time of year, there is no need to hide your whereabouts.

To get back to the root, the fighting had already started on both sides, and the defenders in other places would naturally be on full alert.

But then again, no matter how alert they were, the defenders only had a limited number of troops. If they were fully prepared, they could have guarded the granary tightly. However, with attacks from three sides in succession, the defenders' deployment would be a bit chaotic anyway.

Sure enough, when Sun Shoufa climbed up the wall along the ladder, there were only three or four Qing soldiers in front of him. Even though there were other defenders within ten steps around them, when they arrived, the Ming troops behind them had already climbed up to the city one after another.

"Don't fight too much! The key is to form a battle formation!"

Sun Shoufa blocked the knife that was chopped towards his neck and immediately counterattacked, but the Qing army in front of him was not an ordinary one and they retreated out of the attack range of the sword.

If it were an ordinary battle, Sun Shoufa would probably take advantage of the situation to pursue, but at the moment, the most important thing was to form a formation to guard the climbing point. Then he slashed the sword in his hand fiercely, and after forcing back the surrounding enemies, he formed a small formation with the soldiers beside him.

The situation had reached this point, and the number of troops in the two armies on the city wall had gradually widened over time.

However, in addition to the many Qing army servants, there were also many Zhengbai Bannermen belonging to Xingne in the city. Even though they were outnumbered, several of them still launched an attack on the gradually improving Ming army formation.

But then again, such an attack did not pose much threat to the Ming army, which had an absolute advantage in numbers. In just ten or so breaths, most of the surrounding Qing troops were killed or wounded, and the rest fled.

After all, after the great trials and tribulations of the past two years, the soldiers under Sun Shoufa's command have become considered strong, while Xing Ne himself is just a Jala Ezhen, and his subordinates, apart from various servants, are just ordinary bannermen.

At this time, the Ming army had the advantage of a surprise attack, so it was not surprising that they easily captured this section of the city wall.

What happened next can be easily seen. After gaining a foothold on the city wall, Sun Shoufa led his subordinates straight to the granary gate. After another battle, the sturdy wall became a complete decoration.

A granary is just a granary after all. Although it occupies a large area, it is just a granary. In about half an incense stick of time, Xing Ne, who is in the core position, has already understood the situation everywhere.

"Master, let's retreat! The prince still needs someone to report the details, and you can't get stuck here!"

At this time, Xing Ne had gathered hundreds of core troops together, but when the military intelligence came, his personal generals began to persuade them without hesitation.

"How dare you disrupt the morale of our army!"

Normally, if such words were spoken at this time, even if the general had ten heads, they would not be enough to chop off. However, it was not known whether it was because he had followed for many years or for some other reason, but after Xing Ne shouted loudly, the knife in his hand just stopped in mid-air and did not chop down for a long time.

"Ah~~~~, forget it, just lead them to escape. I have the important responsibility of defending the city, how can I do that?"

Xing Ne's tone was dejected, and the sound of shouting and flames that could be heard faintly could not be described as bleak. However, he didn't know what happened today, but the general who had always been quite obedient to him kept contradicting him and started shouting at the top of his voice before he could finish his words.

"Master! Forgive my disrespect, we have retreated to the granary for such a long time, but the reinforcements from the prince have not arrived yet. Now the enemy has sneaked in through the secret passage. How can it be our responsibility?!"

"Nonsense! If it's not my responsibility, how can it be the prince's?"

"Master, now that things have come to this, we can no longer hide anything. We are all members of the Zhengbai Banner. The prince is probably hoping that we will all die soon!"

As the general's words spread, not only was Xing Ne shocked, but whispers were also heard among the surrounding soldiers.

"That's right. Our flag master and Prince Su don't get along. How could he care about our life or death?"

"Pay attention? If our master hadn't been alert, he would have ended up like the one from the Bordered White Banner."

"Yes, He Luo would be a great general, didn't Prince Su find a reason to kill him? Let's just go back to Beijing and let the prince, the flag owner, make the decision for us!"

"Yes! Go back to Beijing! Find the prince!"

Normally speaking, the soldiers would not know about these struggles among the high-ranking officials in the court, but there were only a few Manchus, and through twists and turns, anyone could be connected to a prince or a duke.

At this time, the general spoke, and everyone shouted out what they knew. In the end, Xing Ne was confused by the shouting.

"You guys, are you really going to trap me?"

"Master, we have tried our best, but the reinforcements have not arrived yet, and the enemy has taken advantage of us. If we stay here any longer, it will only increase casualties. Moreover, the flag owner, the prince, must know the situation ahead. If you are trapped here, won't Prince Su be able to confuse right and wrong?"

As the passionate words continued to reach his ears, Xing Ne's expression kept changing, but the soldiers present all agreed with the general, so he, the Jiala Ezhen of the Zhengbai Banner, had no choice but to follow the crowd's opinion.

"In that case, I will take you to ask the flag owner, the prince, to administer justice!"

"twitter!"

Although Xing Ne did not choose to fight to the death, he had no choice given the current situation.

After all, when Hauge went south, he had already suppressed the troops of the two white flags in various ways, and in the end only Xingne's army was left in Hanzhong.

At this time, the three armies joined forces to attack together, and the loss of Hanzhong was inevitable.

Of course, Hauge's actions were not entirely due to factional struggles. If it were not for the alliance between Dashi and Daming, it would not be difficult for Xingne's troops to resist Li Dingguo's troops.

However, all kinds of changes on the battlefield will involve everywhere. How could he have imagined that Sun Shoufa and He Zhen, who were roaming around Shaanxi, would stay around Hanzhong? How could he have imagined that his great victory would put Hanzhong in a dead end?

I can’t figure it out. I really can’t figure it out.

In a war like this involving hundreds of thousands of troops and several provinces, every army and every general has to make his own judgment based on the current situation.

And under such circumstances, how could the commander-in-chief of the central army possibly calculate all the causes and consequences?
"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Just as Hanzhong was ablaze with flames, the sound of artillery fire in front of Qipan Pass had been heard for half the night.

After meeting with Luo Luohun yesterday, Zhu Cilang ordered Mei Chun to move all the more than 20 small cannons of the rear army to the front of Qipan Pass.

He naturally knew that small cannons of this caliber were not used to attack the city walls, but the road on the Jinniu Road was rugged and difficult to travel, and larger cannons would take another day or two to arrive, but Hauge had already led his troops to rescue Hanzhong.

Under such circumstances, it would be better to just wait and bombard the enemy with cannons for two days. Who knows, you might get some unexpected surprises.

This is not to say that Zhu Cilang was being optimistic. After all, the Ming Dynasty had been established for hundreds of years, and checkpoints like these between the two provinces were probably just barely maintained.

If it was really as he thought, this small cannon might not be able to destroy him.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Another round of artillery roars was heard, and Zhu Cilang, who was standing behind the artillery position, seemed to faintly hear the sound of projectiles hitting the city wall.

"Did you hear that?"

Upon hearing what His Majesty said, Xiang Rensheng and Mei Chun, who were standing behind Zhu Cilang, looked at each other, not knowing what His Majesty was referring to.

"Your Majesty, I heard nothing but the sound of cannon fire."

"Oh, I was anxious."

In fact, he also knew that the so-called impact sound was probably just his imagination. After all, this place was more than a hundred steps away from Qipan Pass. How loud a noise could a bullet that was almost the size of Xiang Rensheng's fist make?

But then again, we have been bombarding for nearly a day. Although we cannot see the situation due to the weather, I think we will be able to achieve some results after dawn tomorrow.

"Your Majesty, it's windy in the mountains, let's go back to the camp first."

"It's okay. I've just been to the Ministry of War Prison. This little bit of wind is nothing."

After replying with a smile, Zhu Cilang turned his attention back to the dark night. After three or two breaths, he seemed to have thought of something.

"The Tartars didn't react much during the day, but I'm afraid they won't be cowards tonight."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. General Mei and I have already made arrangements around the artillery positions. Even if the Tartars really attack, it will not delay the artillery attack on the city."

But over the past year or so, Zhu Cilang has achieved many victories through night attacks.

The Tartars in Jinniu Road may not know this, but Xiang Rensheng and Mei Chun, who are his trusted generals, know it very well.

Therefore, it is only reasonable to arrange some defensive measures outside the artillery positions.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

As rounds of artillery roars continued, the night gradually darkened. After an hour or two, Zhu Cilang finally couldn't stand the two men's nagging and decided to return to the camp to rest. However, after walking only ten steps, he seemed to hear some noises.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard it. I thought it was the Tartars coming out."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately turned around and went back to where he had stood before, but he was stopped by the two generals before he took a step.

"Your Majesty, we have made all the arrangements. Please return to the camp and wait for news."

"Get out of the way, I"

"Boom~~~!!!"

Faced with the obstruction of the two generals, Zhu Cilang naturally would not do as they wish. But who would have thought that he had only said half of his words when the sky and the earth seemed to be collapsing at Qipan Pass.

Is this broken?

(End of this chapter)