Many times in Jiang Zhongyuan's life, he had wished for the sky to brighten earlier. Now, he only wished that the sky would darken like a normal night.
"Witchcraft! This is witchcraft! "the bodyguard yelled with a pale face. Jiang Zhongyuan glanced at the bodyguard. He couldn't tell if the paleness was due to the shock or the reflection of the white light.
Jiang Zhongyuan didn't think this was witchcraft at all. This thing was clearly the same as fireworks, but its effect was much stronger. He didn't even need to patrol the top of the walls. Just from the sound of the cannons, he could imagine the devastation the walls had suffered under the illumination of this white light.
To be able to turn night into day, Jiang Zhongyuan knew that this night was destined to be a sleepless one. Perhaps his life would also end on this night. After straightening his clothes, Jiang Zhongyuan strode out of the mansion. The bodyguard was quite quick-witted. He stopped his meaningless howls and followed Jiang Zhongyuan out the door.
When Jiang Zhongyuan arrived near the city gates, the bombardment ended. The air was filled with smoke, dust, and the stench of blood. The sky had also returned to its usual darkness. Many houses near the city gates had been set ablaze by the cannons. The red flames dimly illuminated the surroundings. The wounded Huai army screamed for help, and the citizens of Su Province who had been affected cried out loudly. Huai Jun, who wasn't injured, was already scurrying around in fright. There were also some people who were frightened by this incomparable accident. Some people were crying, and some people were laughing strangely.
The sky was as dark as the bottom of a pot. The insubstantial darkness surrounded Jiang Zhongyuan, making it difficult for him to breathe. It was as if he was about to be swallowed by this darkness.
For the entire night, there was no sleep in Su Province. The Huai army had finally stabilized their troops, but the statistics were despairing. More than ten thousand Huai army were currently near the city walls. Under this fierce bombardment, there were more than four thousand casualties. The loss of weapons and equipment was even greater.
Jiang Zhongyuan had no choice but to let his subordinates handle it. He sat in the room in a daze, watching the clouds on the horizon grow brighter and brighter through the open door. Day had finally arrived. What kind of fierce attack would the Liberation Army, which had artificially turned the night into day, have during the real day? Jiang Zhongyuan couldn't figure it out.
Nothing much happened during the day. The Liberation Army just continued to build the fortifications surrounding Suzhou. Although there was a short period of artillery bombardment in between, the bombardment stopped when the shells could accurately hit the top of Suzhou City. There were foreign instructors in the Huai army, and they knew that this was called correcting the shooting data. When these corrections were accurate, the Liberation Army's artillery could accurately strike the entire top of the city wall at any time in the future. If breaking through Suzhou City was like hanging, then correcting the shooting data was like firmly tying a noose around the necks of the Huai army who were about to be executed.
The only thing the generals of the Huai army could say was, "Sir, send someone to ask for reinforcements!"
In one day, Suzhou City sent out three or four waves of people to ask for help. The density was so great that even the panicking generals knew that they could not send more people.
Jiang Zhongyuan didn't lose his composure. He actually knew that his time of death was almost up. As a loyal official of the Qing Dynasty, he could clearly see the storm that was brewing in the Qing Dynasty. The capital would not send the troops guarding the capital to help Suzhou. Even if they could, it would take two or three months for them to make a round trip. Suzhou could not hold out for that long.
As for Ceng Guofan's Xiang Army and Sengrinchen's Mongolian Eight Banners, they would not come to help the Huai army. Even if the Nian Army did not wreak havoc, they would not take the initiative to fight the Liberation Army. That would only be sending them to their deaths. Whether it was the Xiang Army's tortoise tactics or Sengrinchen's Mongolian cavalry, they could only be destroyed in the face of last night's artillery fire. As for the Huai army's reinforcements, Suzhou would probably fall before they arrived.
Therefore, Jiang Zhongyuan could only return to the Inspector-General's Office and sit quietly. He waited from morning to afternoon, and from afternoon to night. The expected siege did not happen. Jiang Zhongyuan was so sleepy that his eyelids were fighting. He laid on a bed in his study and woke up to find that it was already dawn. The siege did not happen.
Liu Kunyi finally arrived at Huoyang, the former bandit's lair. Huaibei Fortress was still peaceful. Jiang Zhongyuan's brother, Jiang Zhong? F was stationed in Huoyang. He rushed in when he saw Liu Kunyi. Jiang Zhong? F was shocked. He quickly stepped forward and held Liu Kunyi's hand. "Why are you here?"
Before Liu Kunyi could answer, Jiang Zhong? F looked at Liu Kunyi's hand. His wrist was swollen, and so was his palm. Although Liu Kunyi's face was yellow and there was a circle of blisters around his mouth, his eyes and neck were swollen.
"I rode a horse from Suzhou. I didn't get off the horse at all," Liu Kunyi said with difficulty.
"What happened?" Jiang Zhong asked. F's face became extremely ugly. To be able to force Liu Kunyi to this extent, there must have been a huge change in events.
"Wei Ni surrounded Suzhou City!" Liu Kunyi said with difficulty. Other than sleeping because he couldn't take it anymore, Liu Kunyi didn't sleep at all for the past two nights. His throat felt like it was on fire, and he couldn't speak clearly.
"Drink some water first!" Jiang Zhong held back his anxiety and quickly let Liu Kunyi take a break. Things had come to this point. A few moments earlier or later wouldn't affect the overall situation. And this moment of rest was too important for Liu Kunyi.
After resting for a while, Liu Kunyi slowly recovered. With great difficulty, he told Jiang Zhong everything he knew. F。 Liu Kunyi didn't know much, so he explained it clearly in a dozen sentences. Next, they talked about the situation in the next two days. The two senior officers of the Huai army had the same judgment on the latest situation. Suzhou must be saved. Even if they couldn't defend Suzhou, they had to save Jiang Zhongyuan. As for the Liberation Army, both of them believed that the Liberation Army wouldn't attack Suzhou so easily. The counties in the south of Huaibei were probably also under attack.
This was a very common judgment, and it was the truth. The Liberation Army's field army was slightly larger than the local army. There were 180 people in one army and affiliated troops. The army attacking Fuyang surrounded Fuyang City. After the artillery plowed the top of Fuyang City, they broke through the west gate. The more than three thousand Huai army in Fuyang didn't have the ability to resist at all. The defenders rushed out from the east gate. In order to stop the Liberation Army from penetrating the city, they mercilessly set fire to the houses in the city. At this time, the city was filled with thick smoke and flames. Those who were afraid of the war and hiding in their homes could only run out to put out the fire in order to prevent it from spreading. The narrow street was now packed with people.
The Huai army hoped that these people could temporarily stop the Liberation Army's pursuit. It would take the Liberation Army a lot of time to disperse the people. Even if they chose the simplest way, which was to kill all the people who blocked the way, it would still take time. After breaking through the people's obstruction, the fire on every street could also stop the Liberation Army from penetrating the city. The general of the Huai army didn't know how long they could stop them. He only knew that he would be in trouble if they caught up.
Therefore, more than two thousand Huai army started to escape with a string of carriages as the core. The carriages were filled with the families of the officers and the property they had plundered over the years. This convoy was prepared on the first day the Liberation Army began to besiege. The Huai army weren't stupid. How could they not know that they couldn't defend the city? The reason why they didn't flee on the first day was because they didn't know the direction of their escape.
"Commander Zhu, it's up to you!" Commander Zhang Jianjun said with a smile.
"Don't worry. The Commander in Chief has prepared so many good horses for us. We won't let the Huai army escape." Brigade Commander Zhu Yaozu saluted Commander Zhang Jianjun and then skillfully mounted the horse.
Zhu Yaozu was probably the one from the north of the Liberation Army. He was from Tianjin, Hebei. When he was young, his father, who was a horse dealer, offended the government and ran to Linqing, Hebei to avoid trouble. When Vézé fought his way to Qinghe during the second northern expedition, Zhu Yaozu's father, who had strong anti-government tendencies, brought his whole family to the Liberation Army.
If the father was like this, the son wouldn't have any love for Manchu Qing. A few years later, the 16-year-old Zhu Yaozu joined the Liberation Army and entered the cavalry unit with his family's skills. Zhu Yaozu was extremely happy to be able to chase after the Qing Army. The Arabian horse seemed to be able to sense its owner's emotions and began to get excited. Even though the reins had not been released, it was already impatient to run. Zhu Yaozu patted his beloved horse's neck to calm it down. Zhu Yaozu, who had been working with animals since he was young, completely understood why the ancient people called the thousand-mile horse a precious horse. This Arabian horse was really intelligent. No matter how uneven the ground was, it could run as if it was flat ground. As the rider, Zhu Yaozu only needed to tame this precious horse, and it would be much easier to drive it.
He had come from a professional background and was now specialized in cavalry. Zhu Yaozu was extremely supportive of the northern expedition. After the northern expedition was successful, they would be able to go further north, where they could raise more precious horses. This was the only reason why Zhu Yaozu firmly supported the northern expedition. Not to mention, after learning about it, Zhu Yaozu's horizons had been greatly broadened. He knew that far away in Xinjiang, further north, they would reach Dawan. Dawan had the legendary Ferghana horses. With the vast land in the north, the brand-new horse-breeding technology, and such fine breeds, Zhu Yaozu firmly believed that China would be able to breed invincible cavalry in the next 20 years.
Behind Zhu Yaozu was a large group of cavalry. All horses can be called big and strong. Horses in the south were generally small in size, so Vézé had imported fine stallions from Europe and used the power of the country to search for large mares.
Behind Zhu Yaozu was a large group of cavalry. All horses can be called big and strong. Horses in the south were generally small in size, so Vézé had imported fine stallions from Europe and used the power of the country to search for large mares. The thousands of horses of the cavalry were all tall and strong, each of them extraordinarily handsome. Born into a family of horse traders, Zhu Yaozu knew that without Vézé's method of artificial insemination, even if the few stallions were exhausted to death, they would not be able to produce so many horses.
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