Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 94: Climbing the City

The 19th, sunny.

On the battlefield of Hangzhou, the city gates were closed and the defenders in the city were ready for battle. The artillery of the Meng army opened fire first, and dense shells kept hitting one area, making the city wall bumpy and even cracked in some places.

Outside the city, a large number of loyal soldiers began to pour in like a tide, carrying ladders, siege towers, cave houses, and various siege equipment. The drums of war thundered and the shouts were deafening.

Yesterday was a fierce battle all day long, with the ten battalions of the Service Army taking turns to fight. This bloody battle was extremely brutal, not only did the Service Army suffer heavy casualties, but even three of the surrendered generals died on the battlefield. The loss of nearly 20% of the 20,000 Service Army surrendered soldiers was even greater! The battle lasted from early morning until nightfall, as if there was no end. The entire battlefield was filled with a strong smell of blood and death. When one battalion was defeated, another battalion would be replaced, never stopping, not giving the Qing soldiers in the city a chance to breathe.

The soldiers of the attacking side pushed the huge ladder and charged towards the city wall. They approached the city wall with difficulty under the rain of arrows and stones. The defenders on the city wall kept throwing stones and shooting arrows to stop the attack of the Meng army.

Finally, some ladders were successfully placed on the city wall, and the attacking soldiers climbed up bravely. They fought hand-to-hand with the defending soldiers, with swords flashing and blood everywhere. Under the city wall, the cave house was constantly digging at the wall, trying to dig a gap.

Both sides were fighting desperately, and the battlefield was in chaos. Inside and outside the city walls, corpses were everywhere. If they advanced, they still had a chance of survival, but if they retreated, they would surely die. The flagpoles that originally had dozens of human heads on them now had more than ten standing, and hundreds of human heads were hung on them with hideous faces, swaying in the wind.

The fierce battle continued until the afternoon. Meng Jun saw that the enemy had already climbed the city wall, and immediately issued an order, "Changlin Town, advance!"

The drum beats never stopped, and as the flags were waved, the soldiers of Changlin Town surged forward like a raging torrent. They were all wearing cotton armor, holding sharp weapons, and charging towards the city wall with high morale.

The loyal soldiers in front made way for them, and the Qing troops on the top of the city kept shouting. Archers hurriedly shot at the soldiers of Changlin Town, and countless soldiers fell on the road. "Climb the city, hurry up!" shouted the captain Liang Sanhu.

The soldiers who were climbing the ladders were constantly shot down by slings and arrows from the city walls. Liang Sanhu was furious. He grabbed a shield, put it on his head, and with a big knife on his back, he quickly climbed up the city wall in two steps. The stones from the city walls made Liang Sanhu's arms hurt. He gritted his teeth and finally jumped onto the city wall. The soldiers below shouted excitedly.

Liang Sanhu leaped onto the city wall like a tiger, and the moment he climbed onto the city wall, he fiercely smashed the Green Camp soldier in front of him with his shield. With a "bang", the Green Camp soldier was hit back by the shield and then fell to the ground.

Then, Liang Sanhu quickly pulled out a big knife from his back, and in the flash of the knife, several Green Camp soldiers screamed and fell in a pool of blood. His knife skills were fierce and fierce, and the Green Camp soldiers in front of him had no power to resist. The rest of the Green Camp soldiers were so frightened that they dared not move forward, seeing that Liang Sanhu had already suppressed the top of the city.

Behind Liang Sanhu, the soldiers following him also quickly climbed up the city wall. They surrounded Liang Sanhu tightly and fought bravely. In the blink of an eye, they successfully occupied a small area.

"Okay, okay," Meng Jun shouted excitedly while slapping his thigh as he looked at the scene in the telescope. Yang En and Gu Yanwu beside him were both looking forward to looking at the city wall in the distance, but they couldn't see anything clearly. They didn't dare to ask Meng Jun for it. Yang En secretly swore that he must get a telescope when he returned, otherwise it would be really itchy.

However, at this moment, a roar sounded. It turned out that the leader of the Eight Banners Army stationed in Hangzhou, Jiala'e Zhen Zhuma La, led a large number of banner soldiers to rush over. Zhuma La was burly, with a face full of flesh and a hint of ferocity in his eyes. He held a sword in his hand, wore armor, and rushed towards Liang Sanhu and others with great momentum.

"Kill!" Liang Sanhu gritted his teeth and roared, and then the two sides started a fierce fight on the narrow city wall, and soldiers from Changlin Town kept pouring in from under the city.

Liang Sanhu took the lead and slashed at Zhumala with his broadsword. Zhumala also slashed horizontally with all his might. The two swords collided, making a crisp sound and sparks flying. They blocked each other's blows several times in a row. Each swing was full of power and murderous intent, vowing to split the other in half.

This short battle was thrilling. Liang Sanhu's breathing was rapid and his clothes were soaked with sweat. After another collision, Liang Sanhu was stabbed from chest to thigh by Zhumala. However, Zhumala was not feeling well either. His left palm was chopped off by Liang Sanhu's knife. Both of them took a step back screaming in pain.

The soldiers beside "Master Qian" were nervously guarding in front. Liang Sanhu was sweating profusely. Seeing that the climbing point had been suppressed by the Eight Banners soldiers, Liang Sanhu whispered painfully, "Retreat!"

Meng Jun sighed. In the telescope, he saw Liang Sanhu, supported by several soldiers, slowly retreating from the city wall. Seeing that the attempt to break the city had failed, Meng Jun ordered, "Sound the horn to withdraw the troops!"

In the Meng army camp, Han Xiong angrily smashed his helmet on the table and cursed, "Damn it, we went up to the city and were driven down again. If we hold on for a while, the city might be breached." After being in the army for a long time, almost everyone swore. Even scholars like Gu Yanwu, Yang En, and Han Xiong were no exception.

After they sat down and drank a few sips of water, Meng Jun said, "Although we failed to capture Hangzhou in today's battle, we have a thorough understanding of the Qing army's strengths and weaknesses. If it weren't for Zhuma La's Eight Banners soldiers, we would be in Hangzhou now if we only relied on the Green Camp."

Han Xiong suggested, "Yes, the Eight Banners soldiers are few in number after all. In my opinion, it is useless to surround the East City with the entire army. Why don't I lead Kewu Town to the North City and besiege the East City and the North City from both sides?"

Hearing this, everyone nodded and agreed, "Yes," and "That makes sense."

Meng Jun also nodded and said, "Then let's do this. Tomorrow we will dig out the places where the cannons have been bombarded in the past few days to see if there is one that collapses. As long as one collapses, everything will be easy."

…………

Meng Jun, Yang En and Gu Yanwu came to the wounded camp. The air was filled with blood and pain. The wounded were groaning in pain. The wounded were lying or sitting, with bloodstained bandages wrapped around their bodies. Military medical officers were busy shuttling between them, doing their best to treat the wounded. Painful cries were heard from the tents from time to time.

When Meng Jun sent out his troops, he had already recruited nearly a hundred doctors to form a military medical team, but there were still too many doctors and too little porridge. Meng Jun stopped a doctor passing by and asked, "Where is Liang Sanhu?"

"I don't know, find it yourself. Damn it, don't block the way," the doctor cursed angrily.

"How dare you! This is the Grand Commander," Yang En beside him said angrily.

Meng Jun hurriedly stopped Yang En and said, "Hey, doctor, please don't blame me. You go ahead and do your work."

The doctor was stunned, then startled, and murmured, "Please forgive me, sir. Is Liang Sanhu a general? If so, he is in that area. If not, I really don't know."

Meng Jun nodded and said, "Thank you, doctor. You go ahead and do your work first," then quickly stepped aside.