Chapter 247: Battle of Xi'an 3
Wu Sangui had been feeling extremely depressed and uneasy these days. More and more people were falling ill in the barracks, and the morale of the troops was still showing signs of instability.
He called Jiang Xiang to discuss what to do. Jiang Xiang said, "Your Highness! Now we have to think of a way out! If Duoduo doesn't order a withdrawal, even if we capture Xi'an, we may not be able to hold it!"
"I will go to see him and explain the seriousness of the matter to him! If he insists on going his own way, we will join forces to take him down." After saying this, Wu Sangui made a chopping gesture.
"Okay! I'll listen to you, Your Highness!" Jiang Xiang said.
Wu Sangui gave a bitter laugh and said, "What prince? You and I will call each other brothers from now on! I think my time as a prince will soon be over!"
"Why don't we occupy Shanxi first and then declare ourselves king!" Jiang Xiang said.
"We'll talk about it later! Go and prepare first! Wait for my order!" Wu Sangui said.
After Jiang Xiang left, Xia Guoxiang entered the tent and asked, "Your Majesty! Can you trust Jiang Xiang?"
"I don't know either! But we must be fully prepared!" said Wu Sangui.
Xia Guoxiang took the order and made preparations, while Wu Sangui took his personal soldiers to find Duoduo.
After the report, Duoduo's personal guards invited Wu Sangui to come in. Wu Sangui spoke first, "Your Highness, please accept our condolences! Prince Ying's untimely death is a loss to the Qing Dynasty!"
"This is all done by that man named Zhao! If I catch him, I will tear him into pieces!" Duoduo said gritting his teeth.
Wu Sangui thought to himself, "If you can capture my brother-in-law, Zhao Xiaofei, it's unlikely." He has nearly 300,000 troops heading towards Xi'an, yet he hasn't failed once. He even captured Haoge at the foot of Gongji County and sent him to the capital to be surrendered.
But he said, "Prince Yu will definitely get what he wants! I came here today to discuss with you. There is an epidemic in the army. More than a thousand people are sick every day. If this continues, I am afraid..." Before Wu Sangui could finish his words, Duoduo said, "Attack for two more days. If we still can't take it, we will withdraw!"
Duoduo is now like a gambler who has lost all his money, always thinking about turning the tables. He always feels that there is still a chance!
Wu Sangui said, "The Ke Nan army will arrive in three days. If we continue to attack for two days and withdraw in one day, I'm afraid many soldiers will be eaten by the Ming army."
Wu Sangui's Guanning Iron Cavalry had already gone out to scout, and estimated that Zhao Xiaofei's troops would reach the battlefield in three days. They could still leave now or tomorrow, but if they left two days later, those elite infantry would only become a burden to the entire army, and their own strength would be greatly reduced.
"Do you think that if you withdraw your troops now, Zhao Xiaofei won't be able to catch up with you?" Duoduo asked.
"At least the chance is greater!" Wu Sangui said anxiously.
"When the time comes, we should sacrifice some of our soldiers! Those who survive are the elite! It's useless to have so many soldiers. Can you afford to support them? Can our Qing Dynasty afford to support them?" Duoduo's voice suddenly became a little harsh.
Wu Sangui was startled, realizing what Duoduo meant. He was using this opportunity to weaken his own strength, fearing he would fall back into the arms of the Ming. But if hundreds of thousands of people followed this pattern, they would probably be lucky to have only 50,000 left after fleeing back.
"But, I..." Wu Sangui wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Duoduo: "I have made up my mind about this matter. No need to say more, you will personally supervise the battle tomorrow!" Duoduo said.
At this moment, Zhao Xiaofei's reconnaissance team had arrived at the outskirts of Xi'an, observing from a distance with high-powered binoculars.
The Jianlu artillery was arranged in several square formations, and they were all large general cannons that required more than a dozen horses to pull. These cannons were designed to defend against Portuguese warships, and were heavy and bulky, with poor maneuverability.
The artillery Zhao Xiaofei had brought from modern materials was light and strong. A single horse could pull it everywhere, even over mountains and across ridges without much effort.
The Jianlu artillery array consisted of perhaps a hundred cannons, all aimed at the north gate. A Han commander was directing the gunners to load ammunition. In a short while, the cannons were loaded, the command flag was waved, and the hundred cannons fired in unison.
The rumbling sound made the earth tremble, and a large area of bricks and stones fell from the Xi'an city wall. Occasionally, you could see people falling with the bricks and stones!
However, the overall damage to the city wall was not great, and it did not affect the rebels' continued defense of the city. It was just that the defenders were unable to raise their heads, or there was no one on the top of the city wall. They were waiting for the artillery fire to stop before climbing the city wall.
As expected, the cannon fire stopped and the drums of war began to sound. A large group of densely packed Han troops began to attack the city, pushing shield carts and setting up ladders.
First, the archers and musketeers approached and began to suppress the invaders who had climbed up the city wall. Musketeers and arrows continuously rained down upon the walls, forcing the invaders to retreat without even a glimpse of their own. Then, the infantry began to attack the city, using ladders to place on the walls and begin to climb upwards.
At this time, the Jianlu and Han troops below the city were quite dense, and the artillery on the city began to work. Shells hit the Jianlu and Han troops one after another.
The Chuang army was still targeting solid iron balls. Initially, they were hit directly, but the rest was basically just a scare. Of course, for the fully armored Jianlu and elite Han troops, it was difficult for them to dodge. With dozens of kilograms of heavy armor on their bodies, dodgeability was a matter of luck.
From time to time, Han soldiers fell from the city walls, and some were pushed down along with the ladders. From the top of the city walls, one could see that the Jianlu and Han soldiers had established themselves on the city walls and were engaging the Chuang army in close combat.
It can be seen that the most powerful are the Jianlu soldiers, followed by the Han army. The Chuang army is much weaker at first glance, probably because there are too many new recruits with little actual combat experience.
A handful of Jianlu could fight dozens of Chuang troops, but the dozens of Chuang troops were noticeably slow in their movements, their expressions timid and confused, at a loss as to what to do. They scrambled to form a battle array. Relying on their superior numbers, they managed to draw even with the Jianlu. Furthermore, the Chuang troops lacked the heavy armor of the Jianlu, providing little protection.
Often, the Chuang army would finally chop or stab the Jianlu, but the Jianlu would hesitate for a moment and then continue to chop at the Chuang army with their knives.
Of course, this situation did not last long. Soon, the elite troops of the Chuang army, wearing heavy armor, quickly supported these openings. After a few rounds, they drove the elite troops of the Jianlu and Han army off the city wall.
The members of the Kenan Army's reconnaissance battalion put down their binoculars and rode back on horseback.
Zhao Xiaofei smiled after receiving the report and said, "It seems both sides are sick. They're still killing each other without knowing the consequences. Let them fight each other, and we can save some energy when we get there!"
"We can't be careless! Our army must be prepared. If Li Zicheng and the Jianlu join forces, we will be in trouble!" said Li Sihong.
"Impossible! They are not the same kind of people!" Zhao Xiaofei said proudly.
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