Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 150 Attack
In Guangzhou City, on the morning of the 18th, just after dawn, continuous drumbeats were heard outside the city. Countless civilians were driven across the river by the Qing army to start attacking the city. Rumbling artillery fire was soon heard from all sides of the city.

In the north of the city, Jiao Lian stood on the city wall. The cannons on the top of the city roared, and the shells flew out and hit the crowd hundreds of meters away. The civilians immediately scattered with tears.
Jiao Lian looked at the fleeing civilians, but his face was not happy at all. Instead, he looked solemn. A messenger ran to Jiao Lian and reported:

"Reports from various places in the city, the Qing army is attacking the city from all sides. Except for the southern city where General Yang Keguan is close to the river, the open space outside the city is small and the number of Qing soldiers is small, but large numbers of Qing soldiers are attacking the city from both the east and west sides."

"General Bai Gui in the east and General Zhao Xing in the west have both reported that the Qing army is attacking the city very quickly. Qing soldiers have appeared outside the two cities. The two generals are requested to send reinforcements as soon as possible."

Jiao Lian looked at the civilians pouring in from the north wall of the city again, his face gloomy. He thought for a long while with a gloomy face, and then he spoke in a deep voice:

"Since there are few Qing troops in the south, let Yang Keguan dispatch 100 Guangzhou guards to the east and west."

"Tell Bai Gui and Zhao Xing that the Qing army's main attack direction is the north of the city. If you find Qing army soldiers attacking the city, use artillery to bombard them. If they get close, shoot arrows to kill them. The Qing army in these two places is just a feint. As long as they fight back resolutely, the Qing army will definitely not fight to the death to attack the city."

The messenger hurriedly retreated, but Jiao Lian's expression became more solemn.

Last night they received intelligence from outside the city, and learned that after Tong Yangjia led his troops to arrive, they would launch a general attack today, and the Qing army's main attack direction would be the north of the city.
After the people in the city learned the main attack direction of the Qing army last night, they not only transferred most of the imperial guards to the north city, but also transported all the 16 cannons that had been hidden before to the north of the city.
Now, there are 20 cannons on the north wall of the city. This is the last resort of the Ming army in the city.
If the intelligence outside the city was wrong and the Qing army chose a wrong direction for the main attack, the city would not have time to move the deployed artillery.
If there were no artillery to intercept the main attack force, once the main force of the Qing army rushed to the other walls, Guangzhou City would definitely be breached today.

In order to confuse the Qing army outside the city, four cannons were deployed on the other three sides except the north city. Only four cannons were used on the north wall.
As the Qing army began to feint and test the enemy, artillery fire was fired from all four walls to defend the city. For a while, the city was filled with the rumbling sound of artillery fire.
After driving away several waves of civilians and probing the artillery deployment in the city, the Qing army finally stopped hiding and launched a general attack.
Outside the north wall of the city, under the bombardment of artillery, a group of civilians left behind several broken bodies and fled to the two sides behind.
After the civilians fled, the Qing army's cavalry finally stopped killing and driving them away. Suddenly, countless soldiers in black and blue uniforms emerged from the Yuexiu Mountains outside the north city.

In just a few moments, the open space between the Yuexiu Mountains in the north of the city was already filled with Qing soldiers holding swords and shields. There were probably as many as seven or eight thousand of them.

Guangzhou is adjacent to the Pearl River in the south, with moats on the east and west sides, and Yuexiu Mountain and Baiyun Mountain in the north. The Qing army took advantage of the fact that the Ming army could not leave the city to investigate last night, and quietly hid thousands of troops in the Yuexiu Mountain.
Jiao Lian stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the dense crowds of Qing soldiers outside the city wall. His face relaxed and he finally let out a long sigh.
The Qing army soldiers had finished forming their battle array, but they did not give the people in the city time to prepare. Outside the city, the sound of military drums rang out. Immediately afterwards, except for about 2,000 soldiers who were guarding the rear, the remaining 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers suddenly formed their battle array and rushed towards the north of the city.
These four or five thousand people were divided into groups of several hundred people. In front of each group were shields and wooden boards, while the soldiers in the back carried ladders and rushed towards the city wall at a very fast speed.
Although the Qing army outside the city tried their best to disperse, there were too many soldiers dispatched at this time, and the army formation was still extremely dense.

This formation is certainly vulnerable to artillery fire, but the Qing army has already found out that there are only four artillery pieces in the north of the city.

The Qing army was ready to rush all the troops to the city wall under the impact of several artillery pieces in the north of the city, not giving the Ming army time to mobilize artillery and manpower.

The Qing army's move meant they had decided to launch a general attack!

There was silence on the top of the city, and everyone was staring nervously at the dark army formation below the city.
Jiao Lian looked at the dense army formation outside the city with a serious expression on his face. When the army formation had already moved a hundred meters away and the patterns on the Qing army's shields could almost be seen, Jiao Lian shouted loudly.

"All guns ready"

"put!"

The flag bearer beside Jiao Lian waved the flag, and the gunner who was already ready immediately fired the gun.
Boom boom boom

Suddenly, there was a loud sound of cannon fire from the top of the city wall. The rumbling sound of the cannons made the city wall seem to tremble.
The artillery on the north wall of the city fired simultaneously. Twenty shells penetrated directly into the army formation, plowing bloody passages in the dense army formation.
Wherever the shells passed, the Qing army, whether they had shields or not, were all cut to pieces. A cloud of blood immediately rose from the Qing army's formation.

Twenty shells whizzed past, almost instantly knocking the Qing army in the front line stunned. For a moment, the Qing army in the front line felt as if shells were coming from everywhere, and the flying limbs and blood around them made the Qing army instantly in chaos.

However, before they could sense it, a huge roar sounded again on the city wall.

This is the advantage of the Portuguese cannon. As a breech-loading cannon, although it has the disadvantages of insufficient airtightness and inferior power and range to the same weight muzzle-loading cannon, its firing rate is unmatched by muzzle-loading cannon.
The falconet adopts a design that separates the main gun and the secondary gun. When the secondary gun is loaded in advance, as long as the barrel can withstand the pressure and not explode, the falconet can be fired almost continuously.

Within 300 meters, anyone hit by this artillery weighing hundreds of kilograms would be instantly crushed to dust, regardless of whether they were men or horses, or whether they were wearing armor or not.
Ten shells whizzed past again, and the front row of Qing troops melted away like ice, leaving a large area of ​​​​the enemy in an instant.
The bloody smell rising from the army formation, the body parts flying everywhere, the horrible artillery shells whistling in, the entire Qing army formation immediately became chaotic, and all the soldiers fled to the rear like crazy.
After the ten shells were fired, there was almost no pause before the roar of cannons could be heard again from the top of the city wall. Ten more shells slammed into the densely packed army formation ahead.

The Qing army in the front finally collapsed completely. Wherever the shells passed, they were almost instantly turned into bloody pieces of flesh. No one could withstand such a horrific impact.
The battlefield was full of Qing soldiers running and shoving each other. Even the supervisors in the rear were fleeing. If they didn't flee, they would be pushed down and trampled to death by the terrified soldiers in the front.

In the case of a densely packed army, no matter whether it was the Green Camp soldiers or the Bayala, no one could launch an attack under the bombardment of twenty artillery pieces.
The main force of the Qing army, which had just gathered, was instantly crushed by artillery fire as soon as it entered the range of 100 meters of the city wall.
In this round, the Ming army on the city wall fired four rounds of 60 shells, 20 in the first round, 10 in the second and third rounds, and after the second and third rounds were finished, the first batch of cannons were reloaded, and then another 20 cannons fired at the same time, sweeping away the fleeing Qing army again.

After three rounds of artillery fire, the Qing army finally escaped the range of the artillery. Under the sudden and terrifying bombardment, thousands of Qing army siege troops collapsed in an instant. In addition to the soldiers who were trampled to death, more than a thousand Qing soldiers were killed or injured.

The Ming army on the top of the city wall cheered loudly, but under the flag of the Qing army at the foot of Yuexiu Mountain, the air was so heavy that it seemed like water was dripping out. Everyone was looking at the roaring fire on the top of the city wall. The place was so quiet that you could almost hear a pin drop.
"Li Chengdong, these are the sixteen artillery pieces you told me about. This is what you found out."

"First you lured me to attack the city, and then sent the imperial army to be killed by the Ming court's artillery. Li Chengdong, you deserve to die," Tong Yangjia's face was distorted, and he shouted at Li Chengdong.
Everyone in the field was speechless, only Tong Yangjia kept roaring and shouting
However, Li Chengdong turned a deaf ear to Tong Yangjia's angry shouts. He kept his eyes fixed on the city wall in the distance, with a very gloomy expression on his face.
How could he not know that he must have been tricked by the Ming army in the city?
The Ming army in the city must have discovered from somewhere that the Qing army had a large army coming, so when they attacked the city in the first two days, they held back and only used 16 cannons to defend the city.
Until today's general attack, the Ming army in the city took out all the remaining artillery in the city and dealt them a heavy blow.

The Ming army in the city was really ruthless and patient. But the more so, the more murderous Li Chengdong became. There were only a few hundred people in the city, but these few hundred people not only made his surprise attack plan fail, but also tricked him twice in a row, causing him to lose many soldiers.
No one can play tricks on him like this!
A hint of cruelty flashed in Li Chengdong's eyes

"Li Chengdong, did you hear that? What's going on with those cannons in the city? There are no less than twenty cannons in the north of the city alone. There are probably no less than forty or fifty cannons in the entire city. Screw your sixteen cannons!"

Tong Yangjia roared loudly. Li Chengdong turned around and looked at Tong Yangjia behind him. A trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes.

But looking at Baiyindai, Li Yangchen and others who were quietly surrounding him, Li Chengdong quickly calmed down and said in a deep voice:
"The Ming army in the city was extremely cunning. Two days ago, the general climbed up the city walls several times during the siege, but the Ming army in the city only used 16 cannons to defend the city."

"The Ming army in the city must have deliberately concealed this batch of artillery, preparing to use it to delay time in a critical moment. What I said is true. I really didn't know that the Ming army in the city had hidden a batch of artillery."

Li Chengdong spoke in a deep voice. In fact, he still hadn't figured out why there were so many cannons in Guangzhou. If the city was using red cannons, he would accept it. It was not unreasonable for a big city like Guangzhou to have red cannons to defend the city.
But the city was full of those small cannons, and the number was outrageous. How could a Ming army of only a few hundred people have so many cannons?
Tong Yangjia saw Li Chengdong bow his head in a deep voice, but the fury on his face did not diminish at all. He sneered and said

"You don't know, right? Then just wait and tell Beile that you don't know!"

After Tong Yangjia finished speaking, he stopped looking at Li Chengdong and spoke coldly to the general behind him.

"Pass my order, assemble the whole army, abandon the siege, and retreat to Zengcheng"

Li Yangchen and others below were about to respond, but Li Chengdong's face immediately changed and he said

“Can’t withdraw”

In order to attack Guangzhou, he lost more than a thousand men.
And today, their two armies suffered more than a thousand casualties under the city. If they return empty-handed, I am afraid that Bolo of Fujian Province will immediately dismiss his military power and convict him after hearing the news. How can this be feasible?
Tong Yangjia also understood Li Chengdong's thoughts, sneered, and said

"Can't retreat? Then just attack slowly on your own. I won't accompany you any more."

"Li Chengdong, you are crazy for besieging a city as big as Guangzhou with dozens of artillery pieces, but I am not crazy."

Tong Yangjia was about to send a message to the four cities to withdraw their troops, but Li Chengdong immediately spoke

"Sir Governor, the Ming army was unwilling to use these artillery pieces when I attacked them several times a few days ago. But today they used all of them. These artillery pieces must be the last trump card of the Ming army in the city. It also proves that there is no other force in the city to defend the city. As long as we can rush to the top of the city, Guangzhou will surely be taken today."

Li Chengdong's voice was low, but Tong Yangjia was completely indifferent and sneered.

"So, how are you going to charge to the top of the city wall with these dozens of artillery pieces? How are you going to let my soldiers charge forward with the artillery pieces?"

"Li Chengdong, if you have the ability, go and capture Guangzhou by yourself. If you can capture Guangzhou, I will give you the credit for entering Guangdong."

"If you fail to conquer us, Li Chengdong, you will be punished by the imperial court."

Li Chengdong saw the cold look on Tong Yangjia's face, and his heart sank. If Tong Yangjia retreated at this time, he would probably have to wait for the court to punish him. It would be impossible for him to capture Guangzhou at this time.
Thinking of this, Li Chengdong gritted his teeth and said
"I'll attack"

"I will personally lead the troops to attack the city, and you, the governor, only need to stay behind to support them. If I can attack the top of the city, you will lead the troops to follow. By then, there will be no time for the cannons to fire. If I cannot attack, you can leave at ease."

"Your Excellency, the Ming army in the city has no more means at this moment, and we must not retreat."

Tong Yangjia's expression relaxed slightly after hearing this. He also knew what Li Chengdong was thinking. Unless they could capture Guangzhou, the Qing army's defeat would definitely be blamed on Li Chengdong.
Li Chengdong has no way out now, so he has to attack the city desperately.

"This time I only want to make up for my mistakes. If we can attack the city, it is also because of the good command of the governor. I dare not compete with the governor for credit," Li Chengdong gritted his teeth and said
Tong Yangjia thought for a moment after hearing this, and finally made up his mind. Since Li Chengdong wanted to fight to the death, let him fight.
Li Chengdong used his own people to block the artillery in the city. Whether it succeeded or not, it would not be harmful to him. Thinking of this, Tong Yangjia finally spoke.

"In that case, General Li, go ahead."

"I will beat the drum to cheer for General Li here. If Guangzhou can be captured, I will definitely ask for credit for General Li."

Li Chengdong listened to Tong Yangjia's words of praise, but his face was expressionless. He just bowed to Tong Yangjia and turned away.
(End of this chapter)