There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 427 Everyone has their own agenda
The Han army's artillery bombarded the area for a day before finally ceasing fire in the evening.

Several sections of the moat of Huai'an City have been filled in, and the outer city wall is in a state of disrepair, with spiderweb-like cracks and pits all over its surface.

Even the parapet above the city wall was blasted into several gaps by cannon fire.

On the city wall, only a few braziers were lit; most sections of the wall were pitch black.

It wasn't that there were no defenders, but rather that the defenders dared not light any braziers, for fear that the Han army would see them and bombard them with cannons.

Near the city wall, there is a slightly safer house.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao were sitting around a table with a city defense map of Huai'an Prefecture and two cannonballs that had just been brought in by the soldiers.

The shells on the left are somewhat normal, they are the standard shells of the Red Coat Cannon, while the shells on the right are rather terrifying.

Tie Bao reached out to compare the size of the shells, then touched his head.

Good heavens, it's bigger than my head!

"The Southern Army actually has such powerful cannons?" Tie Bao exclaimed in amazement.

Kang Jitian said, "I have heard of this cannon before. At that time, the Southern troops were still 'trapped' in the Huguang region, and both the court and the government regarded it as an exaggeration by local officials to shirk their responsibilities. I didn't expect that such a cannon really existed."

Tie Bao said, "The problem isn't the cannons themselves, but that the Southern troops have already brought out such powerful cannons. If we don't come up with a countermeasure, not only will Huai'an City fall, but the morale of our troops will also be shattered."

Kang Jitian thought for a moment and said, "There are always ways. First, we can use our cannons to bombard the Southern soldiers' cannons..."

“No,” Tie Bao immediately shook his head. “Our cannons are no match for the Southern Army’s giant cannons, let alone the Red Coat Cannons. Moreover, too many of our newly cast cannons have exploded. The remaining cannons simply cannot suppress the Southern Army’s giant cannons.”

Kang Jitian added, "Then we have no choice but to go out of the city and take the initiative to fight them. We don't need to defeat the Southern soldiers, but we can try to capture their giant cannons. If all else fails, we can destroy the Southern soldiers' cannons and at least buy them some breathing room."

After listening, Tie Bao fell into deep thought. Kang Jitian's methods sounded increasingly flawed, but they were among the few solutions available at the moment.

It was impossible to hold out by simply defending the city; even without siege cannons, the Han army couldn't hold out for very long.

The reason was simple: the morale of the army was too low, and the gap between the soldiers was too large; they were no match for the Han army at all.

The Han army brought only elite troops, with ample artillery and armor, and they also ensured that they did not harm the people in the slightest.

Landlords and gentry offered to donate grain and provisions, but these were all refused. All the grain, fodder, and meat that were accepted were paid in cash and with IOUs.

With inferior morale and popular support, and an absurdly large gap in combat strength, how could the Qing army defend the city?

Tie Bao and Kang Jitian compared the city defense map of Huai'an Prefecture and discussed it repeatedly for a long time. In the end, they decided to use all three strategies.

On one hand, orders were given to bring out all the newly cast cannons, and even the old cannons piled up on the city walls were being cleaned of rust and debris from their barrels overnight, in preparation for using the numerical advantage of cannons to offset the firepower suppression of the Han army's positions.

At the same time, brave and fierce soldiers were selected from the army to serve as suicide squads, and they went out of the city to take the initiative to fight the Han army. They did not expect to capture the Han army's cannons, but only to destroy and blow up the Han army's artillery and weaken the Han army's firepower.

The following day, the Han army opened fire again from their positions.

"Boom boom boom!"

The three massive siege cannons began bombarding the city walls of Huai'an Prefecture.

One of the three cannonballs missed, while the other two hit the city wall, causing the Huai'an Prefecture city wall to shake violently.

The Qing soldiers and artillerymen on the city wall suppressed their fear and crouched down as they approached the gun emplacement.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao went all out. In order to motivate their soldiers to fight to the death, they promised to reward them with ten taels of silver if their cannonballs hit the Han army's position even once.

A reward of one hundred taels of silver will be given for destroying a Han army cannon.

The silver had already been carried to the foot of the city wall in boxes, showing that they were not deceiving the soldiers; if it could be done, they would really give out the silver.

With a generous reward, there will always be a few hotheads.

"Boom boom boom!"

On the city wall, the Qing army's cannons finally opened fire on the Han army's positions.

Although the Qing army's cannons were all small in caliber and power, they were numerous enough and had a superior position.

For a time, they really did suppress the Han army's cannons in terms of sheer force.

They only suppressed the enemy in terms of momentum; in reality, their firepower was almost nonexistent.

The Qing army's cannons had a very short range, and most of the gunners were novices with virtually no experience in firing cannons.

All the cannonballs fired landed at the foot of the city wall, not a single one hitting the Han army's position, and they barely even reached the position.

When the Han army's artillery positions first saw the Qing army using city defense cannons, they quickly pushed up shield carts for protection. However, they soon discovered that the Qing army's artillery was simply not up to par; their cannons had too short a range, and the gunners were firing almost haphazardly.

Yang Fang laughed, "Hehe, so these are the Tartars' cannons. Just like the Tartars, they're utterly useless. Pass down the order: fire! Aim at those smoking city walls and give them a good beating!"

Commands are issued quickly.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army artillerymen turned their cannons around and aimed them at the Qing army's cannon positions on the city wall, and opened fire in unison.

Under the simultaneous bombardment of more than twenty cannons and siege cannons, the Qing army's artillery positions deployed on the city wall were destroyed one by one.

The Qing army artillerymen either fled in panic or suffered heavy casualties from the shells.

Several of the city defense cannons, due to years of neglect and lack of maintenance, and insufficient cleaning of the cannon barrels, actually exploded mid-fire.

"Oh!"

"Boom! Boom!"

"Oh!"

During a day of artillery barrage, the Qing army suffered nearly twenty cannon explosions.

One-third of them were even newly cast cannons.

The casualty rate among gunners wasn't high, but the gunners were terrified!

The total number of cannons in Huai'an Prefecture, including the old city defense cannons and the newly cast cannons, can be maintained at around 120.

No more than two-thirds of them can hear the sound.

Twenty cannons exploded in a day, which, rounded up, is equivalent to a quarter of the city's defensive firepower in Huai'an Prefecture.

How is this played?
The loss rate was higher than the casualty rate, meaning that artillery is an inanimate object and will not break down.

If it were soldiers suffering a quarter casualties every day, the whole thing would have collapsed long ago.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao originally wanted to use artillery to scout the way and check the situation, but on the very first day, they realized that their firearms were no match for the Han army's, which had far superior firearms.

That night, it was dark and windy.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao each selected 200 brave soldiers from the Cao (Green) Camp and the He (Green) Camp, and together they formed a 400-man night raid suicide squad.

At midnight, the Qing troops responsible for the night raid quietly left the city.

Although they were terrified, the two governors had assured them that as long as they could destroy the rebels' cannons, even if they died, the governors would ensure that their families and children would be well-fed and clothed.

Having no choice but to do it anyway, the Qing army captain took a deep breath and prepared to bypass the Han army's sentry posts and sneak into the Han army's camp.

Suddenly……

"Woo! Woo! Woo!" Bugles sounded one after another from several Han army outposts.

The Qing army captain in charge reacted quickly, instantly realizing he had been exposed. Without having time to think about where he had been exposed, he tried to get up and run away.

However, his reaction was quick, but the Han army moved even faster. No sooner had the bugle sounded than a large contingent of torches rushed towards them.

Good heavens, it's the middle of the night, and it's so dark. How did the rebels find them?
The Qing army commander was terrified and abandoned his 400-strong night raiding squad, fleeing for his life.

"kill!"

Behind them, the Han army, carrying torches, chased after them, shouting battle cries.

The 400 elite soldiers that the Qing army had painstakingly selected in Huai'an were easily driven away and scattered by the Han army.

In the dead of night, the Han army camp was surrounded by torches, accompanied by loud battle shouts.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao stood on the city wall, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Without the sound of artillery explosions, and judging from the Han army's large-scale movements and battle cries, it was obvious that the night raid had failed.

But the question is, how did it fail?
"It seems the Southern soldiers had a trick up their sleeve, able to prepare for a night attack in time. We've fallen into their trap!" Tie Bao said solemnly after a long pause.

Kang Jitian nodded slightly. He had actually thought of that as well. Although he didn't know exactly what methods the Han army used, they were clearly not afraid of a night attack.

It should be said that these related intelligence reports were already received before the south had completely fallen. The fact that the Han army won so many night raids with almost no losses clearly indicates that they had some tactics specifically designed for night raids.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao had anticipated this move, so they specially assigned a somewhat experienced centurion to lead the team. They also knew to bypass the Han army's sentries instead of foolishly charging in under the cover of darkness.

However, in the current situation, the Qing troops who launched the night raid were detected in advance, as if they had gained supernatural eyes in the dark.

Strictly speaking, it really is a case of "eagle eyes".

After all, in the current era, the night vision equipment provided to the Han soldiers at the outposts was a devastating blow to the Qing army.

Kang Jitian and Tie Baoming knew that the Han army definitely had some tricks up their sleeves, but they never dreamed that the night was no different from daytime in the eyes of the Han army's sentries.

The night raid failed, and the situation in Huai'an Prefecture became even more precarious.

The success rate of a night raid was low, something both of them had anticipated.

In fact, as long as the night raid has some effect, the artillery doesn't even need to be destroyed. As long as they can make some noise, Kang Jitian and Tie Bao will dare to lead their troops to attack. They don't need a big victory, just a small one will boost morale.

Defend the city!
That's it. To stick to a rigid, unwavering stance is pure idiocy.

In true city defense, a troop is usually stationed outside the city. Even if no troops are stationed outside, a gate will be left open for them to go out and fight from time to time.

Of course, in most cases, a smart defender will be very sensible and know when to leave the city to win. He doesn't need to win everything; just winning a battle on the surface and being able to leave unscathed is enough.

Because if we can't win, it means our morale will be low, and if morale is low, we're not far from losing the city.

Throughout history, prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat. If a city is constantly defended, the soldiers and civilians will feel oppressed, their morale will gradually decline, and they will lose their fighting capacity.

For example, in Huai'an now, the fighting had been fierce for the past two days, and the morale of the Qing army's defenders had become extremely low.

Kang Jitian and Tie Bao risked a night raid, one of their purposes being to destroy the Han army's artillery, and the other being to find ways to boost morale.

Now, it's all over!

Seeing that Kang Jitian remained silent, Tie Bao couldn't hold back and asked first, "Now that the night raid has failed, what else can we do?"

Kang Jitian glanced silently at Tie Bao, then turned to look outside the city. The commotion outside the Han army camp had been quickly quelled. A mere 400 or so Qing troops who had launched a night raid were as easy to capture as catching chickens.

Kang Jitian said, "There is another way, which is for the two of us to mobilize all the elite forces of our headquarters, take advantage of the night to leave the city, and launch a decisive battle against the Southern Army!"

"!!!"

Tie Bao almost thought he had misheard, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Kang Jitian, on the contrary, looked ruthless and said, "We have no way out. The Southern Army is right outside. You, Iron Commander, know how powerful their cannons are. Only at midnight will the Southern Army's artillery and firearms lose their effectiveness, and the strength of the Southern Army's regular troops is not much different from ours. As long as we take our elite troops out of the city and take advantage of their surprise, since the Southern Army will not use firearms and will fight with real swords and spears, we may not necessarily lose."

"..."

Tie Bao remained silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "How confident is Kang Shuai?"

Kang Jitian shook his head: "What confidence do we have? If we don't leave the city now, staying in Huai'an is just waiting to die. Only by leaving the city will we have a glimmer of hope."

Upon hearing this, Tie Bao closed his eyes and pondered for a moment before nodding and asking, "When will it be launched?"

"Tomorrow night at midnight."

"it is good."

"..."

The night passed quickly, and it was the morning of the third day.

As always, the Han army attacked the city, while the Qing army defended it with great difficulty.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Han army's artillery continued to bombard the walls of Huai'an Prefecture, providing cover for the civilian laborers below the city to fill in the moat, while many civilian laborers were digging tunnels in the camp.

Judging from the current progress, the tunnel will reach the city of Huai'an in less than half a month, and the moat will be almost filled in.

With so many laborers, the Han army didn't even have to worry about food. The food was provided by the local gentry, who completely trusted the Han army's IOUs, or perhaps many didn't believe them at all, but were still willing to provide the Han army with provisions and help them attack Huai'an.

After a full day of siege, the Qing army lost another ten cannons.

The problem was caused by firing too frequently, which led to overheating of the cannon barrel and gas leakage, resulting in a barrel explosion.

Fortunately, Kang Jitian provided timely compensation, which temporarily stabilized the morale of the troops, but they were already on the verge of collapse.

Night fell, at midnight.

The darkest night before dawn is also the time when people are most exhausted after a day of fighting.

The east and west city gates of Huai'an Prefecture were quietly opened.

Kang Jitian and Tie Baobing split into two groups and went out of the city to launch a night attack on the Han army camp, catching the Han army off guard.

"General, we've gone the wrong way. That's the northwest. Shouldn't we be heading southwest?" The lieutenant saw Kang Jitian heading northwest as soon as he left the city and quickly stepped forward to remind him.

Kang Jitian hissed angrily, "Shut up! Let's get out of here now, or none of us will be able to escape."

The lieutenant finally realized that the commander-in-chief was planning to run away with them.

Meanwhile, at the other side, the east gate.

"General, shouldn't we be heading southeast to join General Kang in fighting those rebel Southern Army soldiers..."

"Kang Jitian is in a daze, do you want me to be in a daze too?"

"..."

Very well, the two Qing army commanders of Huai'an Prefecture agreed verbally to launch a night attack together.

In reality, they were all thinking about escaping, and they all had the same idea.

Indeed, birds of a feather flock together!
(End of this chapter)