Southern Ming Rebel Army

Night, in Zhenjiang city.

Ma Deyang was already uneasy, fearing that Meng's army would attack the city and that a breach would be created in the East City by artillery fire. For two consecutive days, he fought during the day and did not get enough rest at night. Not to mention the dark circles under his eyes, he even had huge bags under his eyes.

Just when he was so sleepy that he barely fell into a light sleep, a dull rumbling sound came, and Ma Deyang woke up at once. He stood up hurriedly and shouted to the guards at the door: "Go and see what's going on!"

The guard agreed and rushed out. Ma Deyang put on his armor with the help of the maid. As soon as Ma Deyang was fully dressed and walked out of the door, the guard ran over in panic and said anxiously: "General, the enemy blew a gap in the east city and a section of the city wall collapsed."

Ma Deyang's face twisted when he heard this. Sure enough, there was no good news. He then shouted, "Gather the soldiers and block the gap!"

……

Outside Dongcheng.

Meng Jun stood in front of the camp gate and put down the telescope after a long while. The city wall in the distance was too dark to be seen clearly, and at this time all the generals hurried over. It was almost the hour of Yin, and in about an hour, the auxiliary soldiers would start cooking.

Lin Shiqi looked anxious. He couldn't see the situation of the city wall clearly. He said to Meng Jun anxiously: "Commander-in-chief, I will take someone to take a look."

Meng Jun was also eager to know the situation in Zhenjiang City, but he still shook his head and said, "No, it will only take more than an hour, let's talk about it when it gets light."

After Meng Jun finished speaking, he turned back to the camp. Wang Fugui praised him, "As expected of a Grand Commander, he is calm and composed."

Meng Jun could not fall asleep until he returned to the camp. He was excited. Although a breach in Zhenjiang City was caused by artillery fire, it must be a pile of rubble and it would be impossible to pass through unobstructed. However, as long as sandbags were piled up and the army rushed forward, Zhenjiang City would be captured today.

Ma Deyang and his men rushed to the collapsed part of the city wall, and were shocked when they saw it. The city wall, which was originally more than three zhang high (about ten meters), had now collapsed to only one zhang, and the gap was two zhang wide.

"How do we fix this?" the guard at the side asked in panic.

Ma Deyang said angrily: "Put the cannons below, and the archers form a circle. Shoot the enemy as soon as they show up. I will shoot as many as they come."

Several personal guards hurriedly ran to make arrangements, and the news of the collapse of the city wall also reached Deputy General Wang Yuan, who also hurriedly led his men to the East City.

When Wang Yuan arrived, he saw more than ten crouching tiger cannons placed below the gap, and a large number of archers surrounding the gap. Ma Deyang was somewhat proud of this. Seeing Wang Yuan, he asked with great interest: "Deputy General Wang, do you think this arrangement is appropriate?"

Wang Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "General, your arrangements are very appropriate. The enemy will have to pay a heavy price if they want to come in through the gap, but the city wall above cannot be ignored either."

Ma Deyang looked up and his face suddenly turned ugly again. Yes, the city wall was broken into two parts, and it was difficult for them to support each other. After a moment of silence, Ma Deyang gritted his teeth and said, "Today, the enemy army will surely attack the East City fiercely, and the South City will also send troops over. I don't believe this evil."

At this moment, the sound of artillery fire that had been silent started again, and the sharp sound of artillery shells came again. After a while, the already damaged east wall was hit again.

Wang Yuan's face changed. The enemy had cannons, which were difficult to control. Moreover, the city wall had been destroyed. Even if Ma Deyang defended the gap to the death, Wang Yuan had a premonition that he would not be able to hold on today. Wang Yuan's family members were all in Shanxi, so he could not surrender. The only way now was to keep a useful voice. However, he could not say this to Ma Deyang, a reckless man. What he didn't know was that Ma Deyang had already been prepared.

At dawn, in the Meng army camp, the soldiers had already eaten their fill and the army was lined up. As the sky brightened, the condition of the Zhenjiang city wall became clear. Under the continuous artillery bombardment, the gap had become slightly larger than last night.

In the Meng army camp, flags were flying and the soldiers were in high spirits. Yesterday, when the city wall had not yet collapsed, they had already climbed up to the top of the city wall many times to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Now, the solid city wall before them had collapsed, and victory was at hand. Everyone was full of confidence - the day of breaking the city was today!

Along with the exciting sound of war drums, all the siege equipment in the Meng army camp was slowly pushed out, including ladders, siege towers, and battering rams. A great war began again!

The auxiliary soldiers in the camp had already packed bags of sand. As the order was given, teams of auxiliary soldiers approached the city wall under the cover of shield carts in front. As they entered the enemy's firing range, soldiers were hit by cannonballs or arrows and fell in a pool of blood.

The gap was not too big. With the crazy accumulation of auxiliary soldiers, a long slope had been formed, leading directly to the top of the gap.

The battlefield was filled with deafening cries of killing and shouts of killing. The Meng army soldiers fought bravely forward, while the defenders fought back with artillery, bows and arrows, stones and other weapons, trying to stop the Meng army's offensive.

Seeing that the two sides had already engaged in battle and a large number of ladders were leaning against the wall, the battalion officer Liang Sanhu led the way, wearing iron armor and leading his soldiers to rush towards the gap. As Liang Sanhu charged, the soldiers behind him followed closely.

Liang Sanhu was bold but careful. He also knew that the Tartar army must have set up defenses below the gap, so when Liang Sanhu reached the highest point of the gap, he first stuck his head out to look, then immediately retracted his head. He saw that the area below the gap was extremely rugged and full of rocks, making it impossible to step on. Moreover, the Qing army had placed a circle of artillery below, with the muzzles facing directly at the gap. Even the brave Lu Bu would have to kneel down if he came.

Liang Sanhu cursed: "You son of a bitch, you almost killed me with such a big cannon down there!"

Liang Sanhu thought for a moment and shouted to his men, "There are artillery pieces down there. Throw the sandbags over first, then send the archers to shoot these bastards to death for me."

As the order was given, hundreds of archers formed double rows, holding strong bows. They leaned back, aimed diagonally toward the sky, pulled the bowstrings to their full extent, and concentrated all their strength on the bow.

With the command of "shoot", more than a hundred archers released their bowstrings at the same time, and arrows flew out like lightning, drawing arcs in the air, passing through the gap with the sound of breaking wind, and with a sharp whistle, the arrows shot towards the Qing army below.

Liang Sanhu poked his head out again and saw an enemy general jumping up and down in anger. Dozens of Qing soldiers were shot, some fell to the ground motionless, and some were wailing in pain. Seeing that Liang Sanhu dared to show his head, Ma Deyang yelled in anger: "Blow up that bastard for me!"

There were bursts of artillery fire, rocks flew everywhere. Liang Sanhu covered his head, crouched on the ground, and yelled, "Shoot again, why are you stopping? You are not allowed to stop for a moment without my order. Shoot again!"

From time to time, nearby archers gathered below and shot towards the gap. For a moment, the arrows were as dense as raindrops, pouring down on the Qing army.