allendalepharm Chapter 1433 At this point, Shengjing City was broken!
Chapter 1433 At this point, Shengjing City was broken!
Chapter 1433 At this point, Shengjing City was broken!
Shengjing City, the next day——
As the granaries in the city were completely burned down, Dorgon ordered the wealthy households, princes and ministers in the city to collect the grain and fodder in their mansions and use them together, mainly giving priority to supplying them to the soldiers defending the city.
On this day, as drums roared, a large number of soldiers from the Beijing camp poured out of the barracks and besieged Shengjing City.
"Dong dong..."
The rumbling sound of cannons rang out, and soon, cannons fired at the city walls one after another. Bulletin fell on the top of the city, and there was a crackling sound. Then the exploding shrapnel scattered instantly, killing and injuring everyone.
At this moment, a large number of soldiers carried a wooden ladder and held cowhide shields in their hands, climbing towards Shengjing City.
There were also a large number of Han troops below, shooting at the city walls with powerful bows and crossbows to cover the attack.
The morale of the Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers on the city wall was obviously affected by the burning of food and fodder the day before. As soon as they engaged the enemy, they were completely suppressed by the Han army.
Before they knew it, a large number of Han troops climbed onto the top of the city wall, quickly occupied the entire section of the wall, and began to support the main army.
After a short while, more soldiers from the Eight Banners of the Jurchens could be seen rushing over, holding shining sabers, trying to drive away the Han army's attacks.
"Dangdang..."
But one could hear the sound of swords and guns clashing and weapons clashing.
At this moment, Lekedehun led his personal guards and horsemen to the top of the city wall. His resolute and cold face was as gloomy as water. The precious sword in his hand was like a ray of moonlight, and he killed the Han soldiers who rushed to the top of the city wall first.
The general of the Han army's capital camp also led a large number of soldiers to climb up the city wall and fight with the Jurchen soldiers.
And in Shengjing City, the palace garden——
Dorgon stood on the top of the palace wall, wearing a black armor. He looked far into the distance at the top of the city wall, listening to the increasingly earth-shaking shouts and screams. A hint of worry appeared in his cold eyes under his thick eyebrows.
Now, it is like a leaking roof and a rainy night, and a broken boat is caught in a headwind.
The Han army planned to take advantage of the fire and attacked the city specifically after the granary was burned.
Dorgon looked worried and said in a deep voice: "Husai, you lead the Zhenghuang Banner to the top of the city to support the war."
Husai's face turned serious and he responded loudly. Then, accompanied by his entourage, he began to mobilize the soldiers of the Plain Yellow Banner within the palace wall.
The several thousand soldiers of the Plain Yellow Banner were the last elite force of the Jurchens. They were originally used to guard the palace, but had never been used.
The situation was now extremely critical and Dorgon dared not retain any more troops. He transferred them all out, and the only ones guarding the palace were a group of palace guards.
Dorgon was just looking out at the sight. At this moment, a young guard with a beard came up and said, "Prince Regent, the Queen Mother invites you to come over."
Dorgon dispatched a large number of soldiers from the Plain Yellow Banner to guard the palace. Naturally, Concubine Zhuang, who was on the top of the city wall, noticed it and became a little anxious.
Upon hearing this, Dorgon took a deep look at the people fighting on the city wall, and then, accompanied by several groomsmen, went to the Xiande Hall in the palace.
At this moment, Concubine Zhuang sat on the embroidered cushion in the hall. Her fair face looked extremely haggard. She stared at Dorgon and said, "Fourteenth brother, how is my job guarding the city?"
As a shrewd and intelligent woman, Concubine Zhuang obviously knew that the whole Shengjing City was in panic after the previous food and fodder were burned.
Dorgon frowned slightly, and looked at Concubine Zhuang with a resolute gaze, saying, "The Han army's attack is fierce, and there are many emergency calls on the city walls. I just dispatched a group of soldiers to defend the city walls."
Concubine Zhuang's eyes were as clear as water under her willow-shaped eyebrows. She asked, "Fourteenth brother, can Shengjing City be defended?"
By now, some things have become a foregone conclusion and Shengjing City can no longer be defended.
In other words, the hope of a comeback is already quite slim.
Dorgon said in a deep voice: "It is not easy to defend Shengjing City now. If the city is breached, you and Fulin will lead people out of the city. At this moment, Shuosai and Mandahai are still leading a lot of troops outside."
Concubine Zhuang's face, as clear as snow, turned pale at this moment. She said softly, "Fourteenth brother, the Han army is everywhere now. Where can I go?"
Dorgon looked reluctant and said, "Take Fulin with you to Mobei, and go west all the way to Junggar."
When Concubine Zhuang heard those ominous words, her heart skipped a beat. Her sparkling eyes seemed to be filled with tears under her curved eyebrows. She asked, "Where is Fourteenth Brother?"
Dorgon said in a deep voice: "I am a descendant of the Aisin-Gioro clan. I will live and die with the city! The Qing Dynasty will never allow the Han army to interfere!"
As the regent of the Qing Dynasty and the de facto successor emperor, he saw the Qing Dynasty fall into its current state in just a short year. How would he face his father and brother after his death?
When Concubine Zhuang heard this, her heart was shocked. She looked up at Dorgon, who was determined to die and was shrouded in a deadly aura. She felt a lump in her nose and almost shed tears.
Dorgon said: "Go back and pack up your gold and silver. The city can still hold out for some time."
It can be said that when the granary was burned down, Dorgon knew that Shengjing City could not be defended at all unless a miracle happened.
Concubine Zhuang nodded her head heavily and said with a sob, "Fourteenth brother, take care."
If it were just her, she would be willing to live and die with her fourteenth brother, but she still has Fulin, who is still young and cannot be without his mother.
Not far away, Fulin, who was already twelve or thirteen years old and had grown into a young boy, looked at Concubine Zhuang with tearful eyes.
Dorgon said nothing else, turned around and went towards the palace wall again.
At this moment, on the outer city of Shengjing City, many Han soldiers wearing black armor and holding weapons climbed up the ladders to the top of the city and began to fight with the soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Jurchens.
But the situation finally improved after Ding of the Zhenghuangqi Banner joined.
Lekedehun led the eight banners under his command, stood on the battlements of the city wall, holding bows and crossbows, and shot at the soldiers who were like an endless tide below.
"Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding..."
The crossbows hit the cowhide round shields, making rough sounds, mixed with the painful groans of some soldiers.
Soon, a large number of soldiers climbed up the city wall along the ladders.
"Puff, puff..."
The sound of sharp weapons cutting through leather armor and hitting skin was accompanied by groans and shouts of killing.
Then the Han army rushed to the top of the city wall in large numbers, completely suppressing the Han knights on the top of Shengjing City with their military strength.
At this moment, three miles away from Shengjing City, Jia Heng was holding a monocular telescope in his hand, looking at the city in the distance where fighting was taking place.
Chen Xiao's cold face showed curiosity. He turned his eyes to look at the young man and said, "Today's siege situation is better than in the past."
Jia Heng said: "The Jurchens have sent in more troops. We probably still won't be able to capture the city today."
This is the famous general's keen intuition about the rhythm of the battlefield.
Some predictions and judgments can be made roughly based on the situation of siege and defense.
Just as Jia Heng thought, until the evening, accompanied by the "clang clang" sound of the gong, the Han army, which had been attacking the city for a day, left behind a large number of corpses and weapons, and then slowly retreated like a tide.
The soldiers began to return to their tents and had their meals.
Jia Heng and Chen Xiao also returned to the central army tent, sat down, and called the Jinyi Guards to call over Xie Zaiyi, the Marquis of Loyalty and Diligence.
After a while, Xie Zaiyi took a few quick steps and entered the military tent, clasping his fists and saying, "General."
Jia Heng nodded, his eyes flashing, and asked: "How is the siege going today? How many casualties have there been?"
Xie Zaiyi said in a muffled voice, "The city still had some strength to defend. After our army reached the top of the city and made some progress, the Jurchens transferred another batch of troops, and the siege failed."
Jia Heng said: "Although the food and fodder in the Jurchen warehouses have been burned, they are not completely out of food yet. The army's morale is still strong. Next, all the troops in the Beijing camp will attack."
At this point, there is no need to rush to attack the city, but to be cautious in everything.
Xie Zaiyi paused for a moment and said, "What the commander said is very true. They can still deploy their forces on the first day, but they will not be able to hold on in the next few days."
Jia Heng nodded and said, "In addition, we must be careful not to let the Jurchen cavalry escort the royal family inside the palace walls to escape to the outside world, which will become a serious threat to our Han Dynasty."
He really didn't want to see this kind of drama of exiling the small court, escaping from the capital, restoring the country outside, and constantly causing trouble.
Xie Zaiyi asked, "General, I will send out cavalry to keep an eye on the movements in the city."
Jia Heng nodded and said loudly: "Now that the four gates are surrounded, it will not be easy for the Jurchens to escape. However, it is necessary to send cavalry out of the city gates to prevent the Jurchen royal family from escaping."
After Xie Zaiyi left, Jia Heng also left the meeting tent in the central military tent.
Chen Xiao said: "It's time to eat."
Jia Heng nodded, then came closer and sat down.
At this moment, a Jinyifu guard picked up a tray full of dishes and put it down in front of the table.
Chen Xiao handed over a pair of bamboo chopsticks in his hand and said, "Mu Sheng sent a pigeon message saying that his soldiers have led the Korean coalition forces to sweep across the entire Hetuala City. Today, he has led his troops to break through Fushun. It won't be long before they arrive at Shengjing City to join us."
Jia Heng said, "Didn't they send a letter by carrier pigeon earlier, asking them to send troops to the northern border to guard against the Rakshasa Kingdom in the north?"
"Troops have been dispatched to guard against the Rakshasa Kingdom." Chen Xiao said.
Jia Heng asked: "How is the grain supply? Is it guaranteed?"
Chen Xiao paused for a moment, and said, "We only transferred a part of the troops, not all of them. There are about 30,000 cavalry, and the rest of the troops are in Hetuala City."
Jia Heng nodded and said, "This troop will be transferred here to cut off the escape route of the Jurchen troops. We will deploy troops again after a certain period of time."
Chen Xiao picked up a pair of chopsticks and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, let's eat."
Jia Heng didn't say anything else and started eating with Chen Xiao.
In this way, the Han army in the Beijing camp launched a fierce offensive in the next five or six days, attacking the city continuously.
In this way, until the early September of the 19th year of Chongping, the entire Shengjing city fell into a panic of food shortage. Dorgon temporarily stabilized the situation through the "limited rationing system".
Especially as the war became more brutal, the consumption of food and fodder by the Eight Banners of the Jurchens defending the city became increasingly huge.
On this day, the autumn weather was clear and the sky was high. It was already late September of the 19th year of Chongping.
Above the boundless blue sky, white clouds were like cotton candy, and a gentle breeze was blowing slowly. At this moment, the entire Shengjing City was filled with a bloody aura.
Broken swords, guns and arrows could be seen everywhere below, as well as some flags that had burned into pieces of rags, black smoke and dirt.
The moat, which was once crystal clear, is now covered in blood.
In the city, at Sun's house——
Sun Shaozu, wearing a neatly-cut military officer's uniform of black and red brocade embroidered with ferocious tigers, sat on an embroidered cushion in the living room of his house. He picked up the teacup on the small table beside him and began to sip the tea in the cup, with a look of deep thought on his face.
Since the last granary burning, Sun Shaozu received orders from Dorgon and Lekedehun to start investigating spies, but after so much time, nothing was found in the city.
After a while, his wife Qiao, accompanied by several maids, came up to him with her willow-like waist, and said softly, "Master, the rice in our house is almost gone."
Sun Shaozu was thinking about how to take the city from the inside. When he heard this, he raised his eyes and said in a clear voice, "No one has been sent to the Ministry of Revenue to collect this month's salary."
Qiao frowned slightly, her eyes sparkling and clear, and she said in a wronged tone: "The Ministry of Revenue said that the rice grain will be distributed in half now."
Sun Shaozu frowned upon hearing this and said, "I remember now. Today, the Regent sent someone to tell us that we will continue to distribute the grain as usual. I will give you the token later and you can go to the Ministry of Revenue to get the grain."
Whenever there is a shortage of materials, the distribution of materials cannot be equal. As Dorgon's "trusted minister", Sun Shaozu naturally enjoys certain privileged treatment.
When Qiao heard this, she immediately smiled and said, "Master, I will send someone to get some food right away."
Sun Shaozu nodded and said, "The city has been unstable recently. The Han army may enter the city at any time. I will send a few more soldiers to escort the servants to get food."
It is said that before the collapse of a city, people will be in a panic and it is unknown when it will happen.
Qiao lowered her voice and asked, "Master, is this city undefendable?"
Sun Shaozu was silent for a moment, his eyes sparkling from beneath his thick eyebrows, and he said, "The city may not be able to be defended."
Qiao's expression suddenly changed, and she asked, "What should we do then?"
Sun Shaozu said: "Take one step and see what happens next. What else can we do?"
Qiao nodded and said, "Master."
Sun Shaozu's eyes were fierce under his thick eyebrows, and he said softly, "Don't worry, the Han people have already shot in a letter of surrender. It has been agreed that after the city is captured, as long as you surrender, it won't be a problem to fight."
"My ancestors were merchants from Shanxi. The imperial court originally targeted Shanxi merchants for colluding with Liaodong..." Qiao said with hesitation gradually showing her fair face.
"Now the Han court doesn't even care about the Han people who openly rebelled, let alone the Han people who had previously colluded with Liaodong?" Sun Shaozu said.
When Mrs. Qiao heard this, a hint of joy appeared on her beautiful face again, and she said, "That's right, Master."
Sun Shaozu said, "You go ahead and do your work. I have something else to do later."
Mrs. Qiao nodded, and then walked out of the hall accompanied by her maid.
After Qiao left, Sun Shaozu also stood up, his face as gloomy as dark water.
Because he was assigned the task of spying on Han officials and generals, Sun Shaozu now knew better than anyone else which ones were the "traitors".
Time flies like water, and before I knew it, three days have passed.
The Han army launched continuous attacks on Shengjing City for three days, and the food and fodder in the city was rapidly consumed during this period.
On this day, Mu Sheng, the prince of Dongping, led a cavalry force from Fushun in a mighty force, with flags and banners covering the sky. Another group of Han troops came to encircle Shengjing City.
Accompanied by his royal escort, Jia Heng left the Jingying camp, looked at Mu Sheng, and said softly, "Brother Mu."
Mu Sheng, on his side, dismounted, took a few quick steps, clasped his fists and said, "General Jie."
Jia Heng asked, "Brother Mu, what's the situation in Hetuala City?"
Mu Sheng paused and said, "Hetuala City has been occupied by our Han army, and the Mongols in the city have surrendered."
Jia Heng asked, "Prince Mu received the letter sent by carrier pigeon earlier. Has he sent troops to the Rakshasa Kingdom in the north?"
At this time, there should be no grave digging and corpse whipping for the time being. Although it is extremely satisfying, it is also likely to arouse the common hatred of the enemy in Shengjing City.
Many things may make you feel relieved, but they are actually not beneficial to the overall situation.
Mu Sheng nodded and said, "We have already sent a troop of soldiers to guard against Luosha State. We took into consideration that there were still Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Fushun, so there was nothing else to worry about."
While everyone was chatting, he strode into the military tent.
The Han army's further reinforcement undoubtedly caught the attention of the defenders in Shengjing City. Suddenly, a mood of panic and anxiety quickly spread in Shengjing City.
"Dong dong..."
A cowhide drum sounded with such dense and loud sounds as raindrops, the Han army attacked Shengjing City like a surging tide.
Looking down from the top of the city, it was like a ball of fire surging towards them. The Han army in black and red satin was like a ball of fire rushing towards the top of the city.
A large number of Han troops from the Beijing camp attacked on all fronts.
Jia Heng mobilized all the red cannons. At this moment, one or two hundred red cannons fired at the city walls, booming like thunder.
At this moment, the city wall, which was already somewhat dilapidated, became even more dilapidated.
Through the telescope, Jia Heng looked at the many people climbing up the wooden ladders toward the city wall, then turned to look at Chen Xiao standing beside him and said, "If everything goes as expected, the city should be able to be breached today."
Chen Xiao said: "I think so too. The morale of the Jurchens has dropped a lot."
After several days of continuous siege, especially due to the shortage of food and fodder in the city, the Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers on the city walls.
It can be said that at this moment, Shengjing City has indeed reached a critical moment.
Lekedehun was dressed in black heavy armor and a red cloak on his burly figure. His entire body was covered in blood. He held a long sword in his hand and killed Han soldiers back and forth.
But the Han soldiers kept coming in an endless stream, and it seemed that they could not be killed all.
At this moment, Jia Fang had already climbed up the towering city wall with the soldiers. His eyes flickered constantly, and when he saw Lekedehun, a burst of murderous intent surged in his heart.
The two had fought countless times before, from Liaoyang City to Shengjing City, and Lekedehun had escaped from Jia Fang's hands countless times.
Jia Fang's face was as cold as ice. In his hand was a long iron sword, wrapped in a frosty cold air, as he charged towards Lekedehun.
Lekedehun also recognized Jia Fang at a glance, and rushed towards Jia Fang with the long sword in his hand.
"Dangdang..."
The two men fought together in an instant, with blazing sword lights entangled with each other, and the surrounding soldiers did not dare to come forward for a while.
However, Jia Fang's fight with Lekedehun was of little help in the offensive and defensive battle on the majestic Shengjing City.
A large number of Han soldiers attacked the top of the city continuously, came down from the horse road on the city wall, and fought with the Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers who were guarding the winch of the suspension bridge.
"Dangdang..."
However, at this moment, there was a commotion at the west gate.
The shouts of killing shook the heaven and the earth.
The person was Sun Shaozu.
As he was speaking, a large number of soldiers from the Eight Banners of the Han army slammed open the two paulownia wood city gates with vermilion lacquer and copper nails.
At this moment, the Han soldiers who were originally outside the city rushed into the city gate in a black mass and joined the Han army in the city.
At this point, Shengjing City was broken!
(End of this chapter)