After marching all the way, within two days, I heard the rumbling of cannons in front, thinking that we were approaching Jining City.
General Lin was leisurely discussing Jinling and Hangzhou with the high chief. Which one has the bigger ass? Hu Bugui came in a hurry and reported: "General, twenty miles ahead is the city of Jining." . The two armies on the left and middle have surrounded the north and east gates of Jining. The navy has also blocked the south gate's escape route to Weishan Lake. These three groups of troops have clashed with the White Lotus Army defending the city. As long as our army moves north and traps the west gate, we can surround the White Lotus Army in the city and prevent them from moving."
Jining City is close to Weishan Lake and is the birthplace of the northern end of Weishan Lake. With the naval blockade, the White Lotus Army naturally has no way to escape.
Lin Wanrong sneered and said: "The naval blockade? Can you believe this? When we were in Pei County, weren't we also in a blockade? Didn't the bastards of the White Lotus Sect come along the lake and attack us without knowing it? ."
Du Xiuyuan, who was following him, said: "The general doesn't know anything. Since the attack on Peixian that day, Marshal Xu has thoroughly investigated the Weishan Lake Navy and appointed a new commander. This time, it is absolutely impossible for the bandits to come from Weishan." Escaped on the lake."
It turns out that Lao Xu has done this before. Why didn't I know? It seems that the old man did not deliberately target me last time. Lin Wanrong nodded and said: "In that case, tell the brothers to slow down and take a break every five miles." Camp, there is a fire within ten miles, everyone travel slowly."
Hu Bugui said in surprise: "General, how can this be done? Three armies are currently attacking the city, and they are all waiting for us to encircle them."
"Encirclement? Encirclement is nothing." Lin Wanrong said with a smile: "After the encirclement, we will start a siege?"
Hu Bugui asked doubtfully: "Don't we want to fight a siege?"
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "Brother Hu, although I have never been to Jining, the White Lotus Sect has been entrenched in Jining for many years. If this city can be captured so easily, then does it still need Marshal Xu to personally command a hundred thousand troops to attack it?"
Hu Bugui was from Jining. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "What the general said is absolutely true. The White Lotus Sect has been entrenched in Jining for many years and has already managed Jining into a piece of iron. The city is solid, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Besides, this is Bailian's last At the stronghold, all their elites have gathered in the city, and they will never lose the city easily. If they insist on attacking the city, the resistance they encounter will be extremely stubborn. Our army will definitely suffer heavy losses."
Du Xiuyuan smiled and said: "Old Hu, your analysis makes a lot of sense. It seems that you have become a lot smarter recently."
Hu Bugui said proudly: "That's natural. If you follow General Lin, how can you not learn to be smart?"
Lin Wanrong laughed and scolded: "You guys should be less flattering. Slow down the march quickly, let the brothers eat and drink enough, and have a good rest."
Du Xiuyuan said cautiously: "The three parties in front are expecting me to go to the right to encircle Jining. Why does the general ask the brothers to slow down?"
Hu Bugui also said: "That's right, has General Lin forgotten that Marshal Xu said that whoever breaks into Jining City first will be the first to take credit in front of the emperor."
Please take credit? I really haven't cared about it, but Hu Bugui and Du Xiuyuan still have to rely on their military exploits to be promoted. Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "Brother Du, let me ask you a question. If you are the leader of the defenders of Jining City, How do you feel when you see that there are large armies besieging you on three sides and only the west side is silent?"
Du Xiuyuan thought carefully for a while and then said: "Then I definitely don't dare to take it lightly. The absence of movement does not mean that there is no danger. On the contrary, the less movement there is, the more vigilant I should be. If I were to defend the army, I would definitely reserve capable forces. Be wary of the west. Oh, I understand. What the general means is that we block the west and encircle it without attacking. This not only reduces the sacrifice of our army, but also makes the enemy restrained everywhere and dare not put all its troops into the other three areas. Go aside."
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "You are only half right. We surrounded but did not fight, which was a huge pressure on the White Lotus Army. They were psychologically panicked first, and their combat power naturally weakened. Of course, the brothers from the other three groups There may be some complaints against us, but half of our ten thousand brothers are cavalry and are not suitable for attacking the city. If the other five thousand infantry battalions are used to attack the city, then Bailian will definitely mobilize all its forces to defend it. Even if the city is broken, we ourselves will definitely The casualties were heavy. This business is not cost-effective. How about we guard the west gate and conduct offensive and defensive drills from time to time so that these bandits dare not act rashly. This can also appropriately reduce the pressure on the other three sides. There are always people who can understand our painstaking efforts. ."
"An offensive and defensive drill?" Du Xiuyuan said, "What is an offensive and defensive drill?"
Lin Wanrong smiled mysteriously and did not answer, but Hu Bugui asked again: "What if the enemy chooses to break out?"
"It's good to break through." Lin Wanrong said with a smile: "Our five thousand cavalry have not been put to use yet. I would like to do this kind of thing every day. If they really dare to break out, we will encircle the cavalry and attack with infantry." Let's go to the city without delay. Hey, aren't we brothers who are the first to enter the city like this?"
Only then did Du Xiuyuan realize the true meaning. General Lin was indeed far-sighted and it was a brilliant plan.
Lin Wanrong led the troops on the right and pushed forward slowly. The twenty-mile journey did not arrive until noon. At this time, the other three troops were shouting to attack the city with drums beating in unison.
Looking from a distance, Jining City is indeed extremely strong. The white lotus soldiers who defended the city, their heads wrapped in white gauze, fought fiercely with the officers and soldiers attacking the city on ladders with swords and guns in hand. These White Lotus soldiers and horses were well-trained. Although there were only ten thousand in number, they were able to forcefully kill several groups of officers and soldiers who were attacking the city due to the high walls of the city.
Lin Wanrong remembered what Xu Wei said before the military camp, saying that the White Lotus Sect only had 5,000 troops, and they were all rabble. Now it seems that some of them are completely untrue. The total number of soldiers and horses in the White Lotus Sect may be more than 10,000. People, and they are definitely not a mob, and they don't know where they recruited their troops.
When the White Lotus garrison saw the army coming from the west, they immediately became nervous. Thousands of soldiers stood on the city wall and did not dare to slack off at all.
Lin Wanrong ordered someone to move a chair, put a tea cup, sat on the chair leisurely, drank a few sips of tea, yawned a few times while facing the west gate of Jining, and suddenly shouted: "Li Sheng, where is Li Sheng - —"
"The general is here!" Li Sheng responded hurriedly.
Lin Wanrong said: "Aim your five divine cannons at the head of the west city and fire a few hard shots. Tell these bastards that my brave and invincible army on the right is coming."
The Shenwu cannon played a huge role in the attack on Bailian. The ten artillery pieces of the plaintiff Shenji Battalion were far from enough. Xu Wei mobilized twenty newly refitted cannons from Anhui, Shandong and other places and transported them to the front line. During the reorganization of Feng County, Lin Wanrong's right army was divided into five gates, and Zuo Zongyou's left army was also divided into five gates. Only the middle army led by Tong Cheng had more cavalry, so Xu Wei allocated twenty heavy artillery pieces to them for their siege.
Li Sheng turned the muzzle of the gun and aimed it at the west gate of Jining with a fierce blast. With a loud banging sound, large chunks of dust fell from the west city gate, and several White Lotus soldiers who had been shot fell down onto the city.
Lin Wanrong winked at Hu Bugui, who turned over and dismounted and said loudly: "My sons, charge with me -"
Thousands of elite cavalry and three thousand infantrymen behind him let out a scream, but then charged together behind him.
The White Lotus Army guarding the city hurriedly fired a shower of arrows, which fell far away on the ground and could not hurt the officers and soldiers at all.
Hu Bugui was halfway through the charge when he suddenly waved his hand and all the soldiers behind him stopped. The formation changed, the cavalry returned to the cavalry, the infantry camp returned to the infantry camp, and they no longer charged forward. They actually started practicing unscrupulously in front of the defender.
The White Lotus Army guarding the city did not dare to slack off at all and watched nervously the actions of the officers and soldiers. Unexpectedly, within a moment, the officers and soldiers in front of them had finished their drill and lined up neatly to return to camp.
The defenders just breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly there was another shocking blast, but it was the officers and soldiers' Shenwu cannons that roared again, blasting the city gate to pieces. When the artillery stopped, Du Xiuyuan led another wave of troops to charge forward, but he also followed Hu Bugui's example. Halfway through the attack, he changed formations and started practicing again.
The White Lotus Army was at a loss, but they could not slack off, because no one knew when this exercise would turn into a real siege. Suddenly, there was a roaring sound in the city, and the White Lotus Army was extremely anxious.
Lin Wanrong chuckled, I have plenty of artillery shells, ask Li Sheng to keep firing them day and night, so that you can't stop. Tens of thousands of soldiers were divided into three waves, taking turns to come forward and practice to see if you were afraid or not, and whether you were defensive or not. Damn it, don't say I have more people, I'm just bullying you, what's the matter.
Hu Bugui turned back, dismounted and said with a smile: "General, it is indeed a clever plan. Our real and fake halberd will not hurt a single soldier. However, those bastards from the White Lotus Sect are always nervous and afraid that they will urinate." It's time to come out."
The other three sides were filled with the roar of artillery, and the sound of fighting became more and more intense. It was obvious that they had entered the stage of attacking the enemy.
"Report to the general, the commander of the Central Route Army, General Tong Cheng, sent a message asking us to cooperate with them in attacking the city!" a messenger reported.
"Report to General Tong and say that our army is conducting siege drills." Lin Wanrong said.
Seeing the messenger walking away in a hurry, Hu Bugui said with a smile: "I didn't know until yesterday that Zhai Canghai, whose leg we broke, turned out to be Tong's brother-in-law. Zhai Canghai's sister was Tong Cheng's favorite. The third concubine."
Really brother-in-law? Damn it, I just guessed it, but I guessed it right. This Tong Chengcheng and Zhai Canghai came to the forefront, and he really has a good reputation. Lin Wanrong glanced in the direction of the Central Army, and saw more than twenty cannons, firing all the way at Jining City. The bursts of fire were dazzling, and the dust kicked up by the explosion covered the city head in smoke. middle. This Tong's firepower is really damn powerful. If he fires a few shots at me, I will die no matter how good my skills are.
Ten thousand soldiers and horses practiced this back and forth several times. The Bailian soldiers guarding the city became more and more nervous and did not dare to relax.
Listening to the rumbling sound of cannons and fighting coming from the other three sides, Hu Bugui said anxiously: "General, I'm afraid this Jining City will be destroyed. If we don't attack the city, others will take the lead——"
Before Xu Yin fell, he heard a shocking shout, the west gate of Jining opened wide, and a group of people came out with a roar.