In the 15th year of Chong Zhen, when Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng, he thought of and used a tactic. He dug a big hole in the city wall of Kaifeng, buried a large amount of gunpowder, and then detonated it. As a result, all the gunpowder gas rushed out of the hole, like a Hawaiian volcano suddenly erupting on the city wall. But the funny thing was that the city wall was still quite intact.
It turned out that Li Zicheng's peasant army did not master the method of using gunpowder to blast. Gunpowder was not a mature explosive in modern industry. The reason why it could be used as a gunpowder weapon was because gunpowder produced a large amount of gas after burning violently in a closed space. The peasant army did not fill the hole and compacted it. Moreover, there was no way to fill the hole on the city wall. Even if it was filled, there was too little soil, so the gas could not be sealed. This caused the gunpowder gas to form a directional explosion outside the city wall, killing a group of peasant soldiers.
During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Taiping army became much smarter when it came to using gunpowder to bomb cities. The Taiping army organized the silver miners in Gui County and the coal miners in Moyang into camps. They dug tunnels from the empty houses outside the city to the bottom of the city and buried gunpowder. The Taiping army called them landmines. Each landmine was wrapped in a quilt and poured with tung oil or placed in a coffin to prevent moisture from entering. Then, they evacuated the tunnel and filled it with soil before detonating it.
Zekelu said, "Overturning a giant city is like tearing a piece of paper."
The gunpowder used in the Daming was no different from the gunpowder made by the Taiping army in the late Qing Dynasty. It might be more refined. Therefore, there was no reason why the Ming Army could not do what the Taiping army could do. It was just that they did not think of it.
At this moment, Wei Xuezeng was scolding his generals for losing more than a thousand soldiers after attacking the city for three consecutive days. The generals were all scolded like quails and could not raise their heads. They were more or less dissatisfied with Wei Xuezeng. He built the city so firmly, and now he wants us to attack it. What is the meaning of this? It's not like you don't know how strong the city is. You only give us a few thousand people. Do you think we are supermen?
Wei Xueceng was also infuriated. Ma Gui and Xiao Ruxun had turned the situation around to this extent. The rebel army was only left with one city, but they still couldn't break through the city and end the rebellion. This was too much of a failure! It was his dereliction of duty! Wei Xuezeng was well aware of his Emperor's personality. If he didn't do his job well, he might even be imprisoned!
The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. Although Wei Xuezeng knew that the city was terrifyingly sturdy, he still had to take it down!
The Emperor only looked at the result, not the process.
As a result, Wei Xuezeng was rather irritated. Looking at those crooked generals, his mood worsened. Just as he was about to open his mouth to scold them again, a soldier suddenly came to report that General Xiao Ruxun of Ningxia was requesting an audience.
The moment she heard this name, Wei Xueceng's mood became better for some reason. The rest of the generals also seemed to heave a sigh of relief and shifted all their attention to Xiao Ruxun. That animal-like gigolo is finally here?
Speaking of which, everyone's feelings towards this brat were very complicated.
The great victory of Pinglu City was what Wei Xuezeng had officially defined as a great victory. This was indeed a boost to the reputation of the generals. After so many years, it was rare for them to win such a great battle and behead 6,000 people. Only Cheng Zu had such a great harvest during the Northern Expedition. It was indeed a good thing. The nine factions of generals were of the same breath and branch. If one person ascended to the heavens, the others could also bask in the glory. But this brat had won such a great battle and beheaded 6,000 people. Do you have to be so fierce? If you are so fierce, won't you make us especially incompetent soon?
These few days, Wei Xuezeng had often mentioned Xiao Ruxun. He said that if everyone wanted Xiao Ruxun to not have to worry about him, then it would be great! It was indeed great! Everyone was also in a bad mood. They looked at Xiao Ruxun as if he was someone else's child. Not satisfied with marrying a fair, rich, and beautiful woman, he actually wanted to become a tall, rich, and handsome man and build a career. His opening was so resounding. Can't you give us all some time to catch our breaths?
Wei Xuezeng would not care about the petty thoughts of a few mediocre and incompetent generals. He only cared about true talents. Regardless of civil or military affairs, whoever could help him solve his problems, he would value that person and reward that person. Right now, Xiao Ruxun was without a doubt the number one meritorious general in the northwest. He had just made a great contribution, so Wei Xuezeng had to personally come out to welcome him.
Therefore, Wei Xuezeng tidied up his clothes, tidied up his hair and clothes, and steadied his aura before slowly walking out of the camp. From afar, he saw a tall general walking over with majestic steps and knew that it was Xiao Ruxun.
When Xiao Ruxun got closer, he saw that the general had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. His appearance was upright and dignified, and he even knew to tidy up his clothes after walking so far away. Thinking back to his previous literary name, it was obvious that he was a scholarly general with good living habits. This kind of person was very likable. There were two small strokes of mustache above his lips and a short beard on his chin. He was different from the young and impetuous young man in his twenties that Xiao Ruxun had in mind. His whole person gave off a calm and reliable feeling.
Knowing that these old people in the officialdom often said that a young man without hair was not reliable, they were very worried about letting young people do things. Therefore, Xiao Ruxun took special care to grow two small strokes of mustache. He also took care to grow a beard on his chin, maintaining the demeanor of a scholarly general. This could give people an extremely good impression, especially to the civil officials in the military. They liked this kind of person even more.
As expected, looking at Wei Xuezeng's sparkling eyes, Xiao Ruxun knew that his homework was not in vain. Walking closer, Xiao Ruxun knelt down on one knee and cupped his fists in salute. In a calm voice, he said, "I, Xiao Ruxun, pay my respects to the commander!"
"Hahahahaha! Xiao Ruxun! Hsiao Jixin! I have been waiting for you for a long time! " As expected, Wei Xuezeng nodded his head in admiration. He walked closer to Xiao Ruxun and personally helped him up. Looking at Xiao Ruxun's handsome appearance, he was even more satisfied. "You are indeed the young man that Eunuch Yang thinks highly of. Well fought, very well fought. I have already asked for the merit for you and General Ma Gui. If His Majesty knows about this, he will definitely be very happy! Hahahahaha! "
"This lowly general has only made a small contribution. It was all because of Zhitai and the other generals that I was able to obtain this small victory. To receive such praise from Zhitai, this lowly general is ashamed!"
"Hahahaha! It is good for young people to be humble, but don't be too humble. It is not good to be too humble! Hahahahaha! " Wei Xueceng clearly knew that this was bootlicking, but she also felt a little refreshed by this light bootlicking. Her impression of Xiao Ruxun went up a notch, and she increasingly felt that he was very different from these rough soldiers. This kind of educated son of a general should obviously take the imperial examination and become an official scholarly general, but he chose to be a general. Sigh!
When the other generals saw how Xiao Ruxun received Wei Xuezeng's smile and admiration so quickly, they felt a little sour in their hearts. However, Xiao Ruxun also complimented them. As the saying goes, one does not slap a smiling person. This pretty boy knew how to conduct himself and was not an arrogant person. This flattery made everyone feel embarrassed to take it seriously with Xiao Ruxun.
Wei Xuezeng didn't care about this. He held Xiao Ruxun's hand and walked into the tent. Xiao Ruxun smiled at the generals kindly and then entered the tent. The generals looked at each other and didn't know what to do …
After walking into the tent, Wei Xuezeng let Xiao Ruxun sit in the seat of honor. His intimate look made the other generals feel sour in their hearts. Xiao Ruxun also didn't know why Wei Xuezeng had such a good impression of him. Shouldn't these scholars look down on people like me? Aren't you making it hard for me to act in front of these generals?
Xiao Ruxun was also helpless. He could only go straight to the point and said, "Zhitai, I came here to attack the city. These few days, I have been observing the walls of Ningxia and realized that the walls of Ningxia are very strong. Not only is there a barbican, but there are also three city gates inside. If we attack the walls by force, the losses will be too great. If we don't have enough time to provide support, we will be blocked by the enemy within the two city walls.
"Oh?" Wei Xuezeng's eyes lit up. "What Ji Xin said is true. Then, what plan does Ji Xin have to teach me?"
Teach? Do I dare?
Xiao Ruxun smiled bitterly and said, "I don't dare to teach. It's just that I have an idea. If it succeeds, we can definitely break the city within a month. But …"
Before Xiao Ruxun could finish speaking, Wei Xuezeng grabbed Xiao Ruxun's hand and said agitatedly, "No buts. In military discussions, the speaker is not guilty! Ji Xin, please speak. I'm all ears! "
The other generals also straightened their ears and prepared to listen to Xiao Ruxun's' exquisite theory '.
Xiao Ruxun braced himself and said, "I's idea is to use gunpowder to blow up the city walls!"
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