As Li Delu had predicted, things unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.
The first large-scale looting thoroughly ignited the anger of the people in the vicinity of Jinzhou.
Especially after receiving assistance from the Divine Might Army, the militia teams in various villages and communities developed rapidly.
In some villages and communities, almost all able-bodied young men joined the militia.
After extensive training, they became the backbone of the resistance against the Liaodong defenders in the vicinity of Jinzhou!
The scouts from the Liaodong garrison inside Jinzhou City who went out to gather information had nowhere to hide.
Whether you take a side road or a main road, you can see members of the village militia everywhere.
Dozens of militia members surrounded them, and six or seven scouts were quickly captured and executed.
Some scouts, seeing the militia members arrive, immediately knelt down and surrendered.
In just a few days, the scouts outside Jinzhou City were almost completely wiped out.
News from outside Jinzhou gradually disappeared.
After the news stopped, Jinzhou City was like a blind man, completely bewildered.
Left with no other choice, Li Delu ordered most of his men to go out of the city to gather information.
However, even a large force of thousands of people encountered harassment from militia members after leaving the city.
Hidden in the snow, in the mountains and forests, and in the villages, the militia members were as numerous as sparrows in the mountains and forests.
Despite their rudimentary weapons, the sheer number of militia members, through sheer numbers, inflicted heavy casualties on the Liaodong defenders.
This was not only the case near Jinzhou City; after news of the Liaodong garrison plundering civilians spread throughout Liaodong, militia training was strengthened in various places.
In Kaizhou, Yingzhou and other places, militia teams are also being built up in full swing.
Reserve troops from Dongning also dispatched a large number of personnel to villages and communities in various prefectures and counties to guide the training of militia teams.
With the guidance of the Dongning Reserve Force, the militia was formed more quickly and the results were more obvious.
With the assistance of the Seventh Battalion of the Divine Might Army, members of the militia in the Yingzhou area even launched an attack on Yingzhou City.
In the Battle of Liaodong City, the Yingzhou reinforcements suffered heavy casualties.
Although Sun Zhen, the garrison commander of Yingzhou, was eventually able to escape, he returned to Yingzhou with only a little over a thousand men under his command.
With this small force, if no large army attacks the city, they can still hold Yingzhou City and become a local tyrant.
However, after the Prince of Xin's army launched its attack, Sun Zhen and the others also felt some panic.
Seeing the militia members everywhere filled Sun Zhen with even greater fear.
The artillery company under the 7th Battalion of the Divine Might Army launched a fierce bombardment of Yingzhou City.
Under the bombardment of artillery shells, the city walls of Yingzhou collapsed section by section.
In just over half an hour, the entire city wall of Yingzhou City's east gate, which was more than 30 zhang long, collapsed.
The soldiers of the Seventh Battalion of the Divine Might Army also launched an attack, carrying Dongning-made flintlock muskets, and rushed towards Yingzhou City.
Meanwhile, militia members followed closely behind.
The dense crowd startled the soldiers guarding the city wall of Yingzhou.
Especially under the constant bombing, the walls of Yingzhou were already badly damaged.
Before long, the soldiers of the Seventh Battalion of the Divine Might Army rushed into Yingzhou City through the gap in the collapsed city wall.
Under intense firepower and combined attacks from a large number of militia members, the garrison of Yingzhou gradually lost ground.
After an hour of fighting, Yingzhou City was completely captured.
Sun Zhen, the garrison commander of Yingzhou, was captured by militia members before he could escape.
A huge banner bearing the character "信" (trust/faith) fluttered in the sky above Yingzhou.
Thus, another city in Liaodong Province fell into the hands of Dongning.
The only cities still occupied by the Liaodong garrison were Jinzhou and Kaizhou.
However, the situation in Kaizhou is not good either.
After clearing out the Liaodong garrison outside Kaizhou City, militia members gradually gathered in the Kaizhou City area.
After nearly a day of attack, Kaizhou City fell completely.
Upon receiving two pieces of news in a row, Wei Jun, the commander of the Divine Might Army, was overjoyed.
"pretty!"
Wei Jun looked at the staff officer and asked, "Check which militia units participated in the siege."
On behalf of the Divine Might Army, hereby issue them a commendation order!
These militia members fought bravely and deserve commendation!
We desperately need loyal and courageous men like these!
"yes!"
The staff officer quickly responded.
At this moment, Wei Jun was even happier.
After capturing Yingzhou and Kaizhou, only Jinzhou City remained in Liaodong Province, still under the control of the Liaodong garrison.
Apart from that, everything else fell into Dongning's hands!
In this way, the Shenwei Army soldiers who were fighting guerrilla warfare in various places could also retreat to the vicinity of Jinzhou City.
After reinforcing the troop deployment around Jinzhou, preparations for attacking Jinzhou began in earnest.
During this period, after recruiting a large number of new soldiers, the total number of soldiers in the Shenwei Army reached more than 10,000.
However, this number is still far smaller than the Liaodong garrison in Jinzhou.
Fortunately, the people in the neighboring cities have all been mobilized.
Especially after Wei Jun, Zhang Cheng and others issued the order to launch a general attack on Jinzhou City and avenge their defeat, some villages that had suffered all kinds of humiliation and plunder from the Liaodong garrison sent militia teams to help the Shenwei Army attack the city.
These militia members, though not as formidable as the soldiers of the Divine Might Army.
However, with so many militia members, the pre-war preparations were carried out much faster.
With the help of the militia, Wei Jun, Zhang Cheng, and others dug trenches around Jinzhou City.
It was already March, and although the ground had not completely thawed, the large militia force managed to dig trenches into the ground.
While trenches were being dug, the entire city of Jinzhou was thrown into complete panic.
Li Delu, the commander of the Liaodong garrison, was particularly stunned when he saw this scene.
"General, what should we do?"
A general with a grim face warned, "If we wait until the Prince Xin's army outside the city has dug the trenches, then our Jinzhou City will become an isolated city!"
And the city's food supplies are still limited!
With 60,000 to 70,000 people, I'm afraid we can't hold out for long!
General, the most urgent task is to find a solution as soon as possible!
"Think of something, think of something! What can we possibly think of!"
Li Delu was also somewhat angry and roared, "Are we supposed to go out of the city and kill all these people?"
"Can you beat them?"
At that moment, everyone fell silent.
The aide beside him shook his head with a wry smile and said, "General, we can't just watch their plan succeed."
Otherwise, we would all die here.
We may not be able to defeat them, but we can retreat!
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