Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 168 Battle of Zhenjiang (1)

Dozens of senior generals gathered in the military tent and discussed the siege. Some said that the army was surrounded on three sides and lacked one, while others said that they should gather the elite troops in one place to break through the front. Some wanted to dig a tunnel, while others wanted to mobilize the navy of Shen Tingyang to join the battle. They should attack from all sides and make the defenders overwhelmed. For a while, there was constant debate.

Meng Jun felt a bit overwhelmed after hearing what he heard. He pinched his forehead, then knocked on the table, asking everyone to speak in a lower voice.

At this time, Lin Shiqi said to Meng Jun: "Commander-in-chief, the land near the river in Zhenjiang City is moist. Although it is difficult to move weapons, the foundation of the city may be unstable. If we attack with artillery, in my opinion, it may be easier to destroy the city wall here."

Bai Yongfu refuted: "Who knows how long it will take to destroy a city with artillery fire? When we bombarded Hangzhou for several days, it still didn't fall. It was only with the help of brave warriors that Hangzhou was conquered."

"There were only a few cannons at the beginning, and how many more are there now? Governor, if we can destroy a city wall, the enemy's morale will drop, and it will be easy to capture the city, and the casualties of the soldiers will be minimized." Lin Shiqi said in a deep voice.

"Governor, we can't afford to delay any longer. We can't just rely on artillery fire to bombard the city. We have to attack with force," Bai Yongfu also said to Meng Jun.

Meng Jun pondered for a moment, made up his mind, and said in a deep voice: "Then concentrate the artillery and bombard the east city. The large army will gather outside the city and cannot move out. Zhenjiang City faces the river to the north, and only has three sides, east, west and south. The three towns of Guwu, Wuning and Wuxing will attack the city from the south, and the three towns of Changlin, Ningwu and Wuan will attack the east city. Take Zhenjiang as soon as possible."

"Yes, Governor," everyone responded in unison.

February 24th, sunny, the war began.

Warfare is all about courage. Firearms are not yet popular nowadays, and perhaps the form of the battlefield will change in the future. But right now, at this moment, the bravery and will of the warriors are still needed to decide the outcome of the war.

In the battle of Jingzhou City, the Loyal Camp was defeated so badly that it left a shadow in Meng Jun's heart. When the army was lined up, scouts were sent out everywhere. Although Meng Jun knew that Lekedehun would never be able to reach Jiangning so quickly, the scouts still went out dozens of miles away from the army to shield the battlefield and cut off the communication between Zhenjiang and Jiangning. Zhenjiang was like a blind and deaf person at this time, unable to get any news from the outside world.

Accompanied by the low and powerful "woooo" sound of the horn, the sound seemed to have a kind of magic, which made the soldiers who heard it feel excited.

"Fire!" The officer of the artillery battalion let out a heart-wrenching roar, and the command flag was waved. Fifty-three cannons made a loud rumbling sound, the sound was so loud that it resounded through the heavens and the earth. However, these soldiers of the artillery battalion already had experience. All the soldiers of the artillery battalion blocked their ears with thick cotton cloth, but even so, their ears were still painful from the vibration.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, bullets whizzed out, they streaked across the sky like meteors, forming parabolas with a fierce momentum, and the sharp and piercing "whoosh" sounds resounded through the sky.

These solid bullets smashed into the Zhenjiang city wall like dense raindrops. Loud rumbling sounds were heard continuously, and even the thick Zhenjiang city began to shake. Bricks and stones were scattered, dust was flying, and there were constant exclamations from the city wall.

Below the city, flags were flying like a forest, war drums began to sound, the army lined up and prepared to go, with siege vehicles, shield carts, ladders, pontoon bridges, and other siege equipment arranged neatly.

Following Meng Jun's order, the soldiers began to advance slowly towards the city wall, and the army slowly surged towards the city wall like a tide.

Since the artillery was concentrated on attacking the right side of the east city wall, close to Beigushan Mountain, the infantry attacked the left side to prevent accidental damage by their own artillery.

Slowly, the soldiers of the service army began to approach the range of the defensive weapons on the city. As the artillery on the city wall began to show its power, the Meng army suffered its first casualties since the expedition. The projectile hit a shield cart, smashing a soldier behind the shield cart in the waist, and two other soldiers were injured by the wooden spikes of the shield cart.

The officer ordered urgently: "Hurry up and build the pontoon bridge over!"

The soldiers carrying the pontoon bridge rushed towards the moat under the city, getting closer and closer, and were already within the range of bows and arrows. As the arrows were shot, soldiers fell to the ground from time to time.

Meng Jun put down his telescope and ordered, "The musket battalion will move forward to cover the infantry in attacking the city."

The range of a musket is longer than that of a bow and arrow, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. However, intensive shooting will not allow the Qing army to attack recklessly. Besides, the musket battalion has never seen a war since its establishment, so it needs some actual combat.

As the fire gun battalion arrived at the foot of the city, they quickly formed three rows of battle lines. Following the orders of the officers, they raised their fire guns and aimed at the Qing troops on the top of the city. Then, dense fire gun sounds rang out, and dense bullets quickly poured towards the top of the city.

The Qing army on the city wall was frightened by this sudden attack. As a result, more than a dozen unlucky guys were hit on the forehead and died on the spot. Although the casualties caused to the Qing army were not great, it still made the defenders feel worried.

Time passed minute by minute, and the soldiers suffered more than 600 casualties. Finally, they built dozens of pontoon bridges between the moat and the Zhenjiang city wall. These pontoon bridges were close together and could allow siege equipment to pass through.

The soldiers of Meng's army were still guarding the bridge. From time to time, the defenders on the city wall threw down kerosene cans in an attempt to burn the bridge. The soldiers of Meng's army on the bridge tried their best to put out the fire and cover it with sand. The bodies of the Meng's army on the bridge were increasing.

Before the pontoon bridge was built, the siege equipment in the rear began to be pushed up slowly until it stopped outside the range of the artillery on the city wall. As soon as the pontoon bridge was built, the auxiliary soldiers used all their strength to push the siege equipment frantically.

"Go!" Lin Shiqi gave an order, and Ningwu Town began to rush towards Zhenjiang City as the vanguard. Ningwu Town was guarding Suzhou alone. Although it did not follow Meng Jun to fight in Zhejiang, it had excellent weapons and its morale was relatively high.

Finally, after destroying some of the equipment, three ladders were successfully placed on top of the city wall, and two siege towers also reached the wall. At this moment, the soldiers of Ningwu Town surged onto the ladders like a tide and began to climb the city wall.

In an instant, the entire battlefield became more chaotic. The defenders on the city wall shot arrows desperately, and the arrows fell like rain. The people below the city wall kept firing muskets, and the flames flickered. The archers who arrived at the city wall also began to shoot at the top of the city wall. Arrows intertwined and roars were endless.

On and below the city walls, there were shouts, screams, and the sound of weapons clashing. The air was filled with smoke and dust, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The first day of the Battle of Zhenjiang was a brutal and bloody battle!