Chapter 987
: Siege at Dawn Tomorrow
Chapter 987: Siege at Dawn Tomorrow
In the camp,
The bonfire was lit, and the flames rose, illuminating the surrounding night. However, in the silent night, the wailing sounds were extremely harsh.
Zhang Jinyu did not leave the rear camp. After the messenger left, he felt a little strange. After the last battle, there were heavy casualties, but there were not so many wounded soldiers in the camp. Why was this?
"Da Lang, I am a little confused. Why didn't I see so many wounded soldiers after the last war? Why is that?"
It stands to reason that the last fight had more casualties than this time, but I have never seen so many wounded soldiers as before. Who would have thought that Song Dahui would be so straightforward?
"My Lord, it seems that the last fight was even more brutal. The seriously injured could not hold on, and only the lightly injured could return to the camp safely. Therefore, not too many people were consumed. This time when the enemy army attacked the city, they threw logs and stones from high places, and there were more people who were seriously injured but not dead. In my humble opinion, it is the same whether to save them or not. Those who can hold on can return, and those who can't will die within three days. My Lord is kind, but we have always been like this."
Song Da bent over and accompanied them carefully, with a look of reluctance on his face, but the rules have always been like this. Even if they are treated, some people have too severe internal injuries and cannot survive for more than three days.
Zhang Jinyu also sighed. How could he not know these situations? But how could he bear it?
"I understand. When the herbs arrive, we will try our best to treat him. Whether he survives or not depends on God's will. Whether we can do it or not depends on the righteousness of the generals."
"Yes, sir, I will do my best."
Song Da nodded and looked at a temporary charity hall in the camp, which was already filled with the bodies of wounded soldiers who had died due to serious injuries. A trace of sympathy flashed in his heart, and then his expression returned to normal.
Zhang Jinyu couldn't bear to go in any further, so he led his men out of the rear camp. At this time, looking at the empty camp, he no longer had the leisure time he had before, so he simply sent someone to invite His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to come over, preparing to test the power of the Thunderbolt Chariot at night.
"Come here, inform Tian Feng and General Song to gather here. Also, send someone to inform General Yin, General Duan, and General Hu to complete the deployment of troops tonight and prepare the siege equipment. We will attack the city tomorrow. We won't wait any longer."
"Yes, sir, I will go and pass the order immediately."
The personal soldiers behind him immediately scattered. Upon seeing this, Song Da remained silent. Having been in officialdom for many years, he knew how to listen without speaking, and this was the only way to ensure safety.
The group came to an open area on the left side of the camp. There was a bonfire in the camp. Tian Feng and General Xuanwei Li Zongbao were already supervising. Soldiers from the entire left camp were chiseling and grinding stones together, while others were filling bags of kerosene bombs.
As soon as Zhang Jinyu and his party entered, they were spotted by General Li, who quickly put down the blueprints in his hands and gathered around with a group of officers to pay their respects.
"Greetings, sir,"
"Well, General Li, how are the preparations going?"
Zhang Jinyu looked at the camp and saw three catapults and five thunder chariots that had been set up. He was full of curiosity. The catapults were so huge that they could not be concealed at all. However, the thunder chariots were of a reasonable size. Compared with siege vehicles, they were not that big. He wondered how powerful they were.
"My Lord, there are still five Thunderbolt Chariots that have not been assembled. The rest can be assembled in less than an hour. There are only three catapults, so assemble them first. As for the stones and kerosene bombs used for throwing, they are still being produced at a rapid pace."
General Li pointed to the left camp near the river bank. It was really busy and full. Some soldiers were still holding chisels and banging on the rocks. No one knew what they were doing.
"General Li, you have worked hard. I wonder how these stones need to be polished?"
I was a little curious. The huge stones were probably used by the catapults, and the small ones were definitely used by the Thunderbolt Chariots, but it was hard to hit them accurately.
now,
Tian Zhushi had come with a craftsman. When he heard what the Marquis asked, he clasped his fists and bowed.
"My Lord, the reason for this is to classify the size of the stones. If they are too big, they can't be thrown far, and if they are too small, they won't be lethal enough. So after testing, I decided that palm-sized stones are for the Thunderbolt Cart. As for the catapult, I don't know which one is suitable. I can only make a simple calculation and try to choose a heavier one."
As Tian Zhushi explained, everyone suddenly realized that this was the truth. It seemed that whether the catapult could hit the target depended on God's will, so the most important thing was to rely on the Thunderbolt Chariot. As for the city gate, they could only burn it with kerosene.
By the river, I saw some soldiers carefully holding a funnel and pouring kerosene into a sheepskin bag, then sealing it. The kerosene eggs were ready. These people were really smart.
Just when he was thinking about going to see the Thunderbolt Chariot, outside the left camp, Jin Wang Zhou Ding came hurriedly with the imperial guards. He looked around with curiosity, and he was in good spirits, without any signs of illness. The officers and soldiers present all saluted.
"Meet the prince,"
"Please excuse me, everyone,"
King Jin waved his hand and looked at the soldiers in the camp, all hammering and banging, with eyes full of curiosity. Zhang Jinyu did not explain much.
"Your Highness, these are stones and kerosene for the catapults and thunderbolt chariots. The thunderbolt chariots are in front of us. I am ready to test their power. If it works, I will not wait any longer. I will prepare to attack the city tomorrow. I will attack them by surprise and launch the main attack at dawn. The outcome will be decided in one battle."
This was also Zhang Jinyu's sudden idea. Whenever attacking a city, they would line up in the early morning, fight in the morning, and fight in the afternoon. So why not prepare in advance and fight in the early morning to not give the enemy time to breathe?
"My Lord, don't you want to mobilize more troops?"
Zhou Ding was a little surprised. Why were they so anxious? Only General Song had sent troops here. Of the other generals, only General Li had led troops here. Wasn't that too few?
"Your Highness, we need to mobilize troops. It is already night, and the troops are on the way. So I think the time has come. Even if we attack the city, it will take a lot of effort to encircle and annihilate the bandit army. The longer we delay, the greater the variables will be."
It was not a sudden idea, but he wanted to give it a try. The King of Jin suddenly realized that Luo Yunhou was really a master in military strategy and was not bound by formalities.
"Okay, everything will be arranged by the Marquis. At three o'clock in the morning, the Marquis must remember to wake up Xiao Wang."
King Jin nodded. This was a good opportunity. He was just afraid that he would oversleep, so he reminded him. Zhang Jinyu quickly agreed. Seeing that the Thunderbolt car in front was ready, his eyes lit up and he said;
"Your Highness, I will remember it. The Thunderbolt Car looks ready. Let's go take a look. Your Highness, please."
The King of Jin had been waiting impatiently for a long time. He walked over in a hurry and saw a huge thing about four feet long. It was nothing special. It looked like a few rolling logs put together. There were a few ropes strung inside, just like a crossbow. There was not much trickery in it. He said casually,
"My Lord, this is not surprising at all."
Zhang Jinyu has already circled the Thunderbolt Chariot. The structure is simple, except for the lever and rope in the middle for throwing stones, which are a bit complicated. The rest, even the four wheels are bent wooden carriage wheels that move with it. It takes a genius to put all these together.
"Your Highness, the simpler the things are, the more useful they are. If they are really complicated, they may not be useful on the battlefield. Come, try to test their power."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
The soldiers standing by the side followed the captain's call and came over to fiddle with it. They first got on the capstan, pressed down the mouth of a bowl-shaped bag, put down a small pile of stones, about the size of a fist, and then fixed it. There was a mechanism similar to a bayonet at the bottom, and there was another person standing there swinging a hammer, probably to smash it down.
"Three hundred steps ahead, throw high, get ready, release."
At the captain's command, the soldiers swinging hammers smashed down hard, and the mechanism suddenly loosened, and a huge force pulled up the bag mouth. The lever suddenly rose, and the stones in the bag quickly rose into the air. When the lever suddenly stopped, the stones inside were instantly thrown out, turning into a rain of stones that flew out.
It was said to be three hundred steps, but after waiting for a while, a dull sound came from the front, and the smoke and dust dissipated. Yun Ben had placed some stones and some armor there, which was already a mess. This power was really amazing.
Not only was Zhang Jinyu surprised, but all the officers were also amazed.
"Quick, measure the distance, and bring the weapons over for us to have a look." "Yes, my lord."
A personal soldier ran over behind him and soon removed the armor standing in front of him, moved it back and put it on the ground. Zhang Jinyu walked over and squatted, knocking on it carefully. The originally smooth heavy armor was now full of dents and pits, especially the position of the bright mirror on the chest, which was directly dented. If a person was inside, he would be dead immediately.
"Report, Lord, the distance has been measured, it is 350 steps, much longer than expected."
General Li was filled with joy. With such a powerful Thunderbolt Chariot, they would surely win a great victory in the battle tomorrow. King Jin was even more excited, his face flushed. Such a simple mechanical device could be so powerful. Wouldn't the other three catapults be even more powerful?
Looking at the towering trebuchet, it is so heavy and difficult to try.
How could Zhang Jinyu not think of these things? Looking at the catapult in front of him, it might also be a killer. If the siege reaches a critical moment, three huge stones falling from the sky will definitely cause the morale of the enemy army to drop greatly, which will also help reduce casualties.
"Li Zongbao, tonight, find a way to measure the specific throwing distance of the catapult. Tomorrow, roughly calculate the position of the city wall and put the catapult in place."
"Yes, Lord, I have already discussed this with Chief Tian. We will try to launch a catapult tonight. After calculating the distance, we will aim at the city gate tomorrow. With three catapults, we will be able to hit one,"
General Li's eyes were filled with excitement. If one of them hit the city gate, even the reinforced gate would not be able to stop it.
"Okay, I'll give General Li credit for this. Your Highness, please go back to your tent and rest. Don't waste any more time."
"My Lord, remember to wake up the little prince tomorrow."
The voice gradually faded away and disappeared into the night.
Jiangnan,
In the Jinling City Supervisor's house, at this moment, only Su Chong, the superior, was sitting in the main seat in the main house. In the hall, Xu Changwen, the magistrate of Chunyang, and Xu Dong, the magistrate of Yongning, were also sitting there.
Coincidentally,
In Jiangnanchun Restaurant,
After the officials from the government office finished selling the land, they returned to the high platform and had a banquet with Eunuch Yang. After the meal, they briefly discussed the disaster relief and then went their separate ways. After Su Chong left the restaurant, he ran into the carriages of the two county magistrates at the corner of South City. He then asked his servants to stop them and gave them a few instructions, saying that he had something to discuss with the two county magistrates.
In this case, Xu Changwen and Xu Dong also wanted to ask Lord Su something after hearing this.
Of course, he agreed and followed Lord Su back to the mansion.
This is how the scene came about. In the quiet hall, the lights on the table flickered. In the antique house, there were decorations with a Jiangnan flavor. Hanging everywhere were the finest Su brocade produced by the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. In the firelight, they exuded soft colors.
The three of them didn't talk at first. They sat there and drank tea, sobered up, and ate some cakes. Then the atmosphere became a little more relaxed, and there was no more tension as before.
Seeing this, Su Chong smiled slightly, gently placed the tea bowl in his hand on the table, and said with a smile;
"You two are both young talents. You are highly valued by the court at such a young age. You have a bright future ahead of you."
They clasped their fists and smiled, and Xu Changwen and the other two naturally returned the greeting.
"Your Excellency is overpraising me. I was given this position by the imperial court, and I don't deserve your praise."
Xu Dong also bowed and smiled in reply. Only Xu Changwen frowned. Although he also bowed in reply, he still felt a little unnatural. After Xu Dong finished replying, Xu Changwen asked;
"Sir Su, I would like to ask one more question. Now that the land has been sold, can the grain for disaster relief be shipped? How should the grain for spring planting be arranged? And how should the victims be housed?"
In a hurry, he asked three questions in a row, which made the originally relaxed atmosphere disappear. Su Chong seemed extremely shocked. Looking at the anxious but righteous Xu County Magistrate, he was really speechless. No wonder he scolded Ma Tongpan in the government office that day.
"Haha, Magistrate Su is really quick to speak. The relief grain will be shipped tomorrow, but the quantity is reduced by half. The spring planting you asked about can actually be done at any time. As for the place where the suffering people can stay, now that the flood has receded and the ground is dry, they can return home."
Su Chong was not speaking without thinking, but he made the decision after discussing with Lord Jing and Eunuch Yang before leaving. After hearing this, Xu Changwen was puzzled. Why was the relief grain reduced by half? All the land in the four counties was sold out. What was the use of keeping so much grain?
"Sir Su, I have something I don't understand. All the farmland in the four counties has just been sold, so why is the food for disaster relief reduced by half? They say that after the flood recedes, we can rebuild, but where will the money for the manpower and material resources be? In addition, we don't even have spring planting or a place to live, so why should we contribute?"
Xu Changwen was simply unbelievable. Many disaster victims had been infected with the disease and were extremely weak. Now asking them to return to their hometowns for spring planting would be like asking them to die.
These questions were serious, but they were well-reasoned. Even Xu Dong was puzzled. Shouldn't disaster relief come first, followed by reconstruction of homes, and finally spring planting? Besides, these fields were sold to those people, so they should also be responsible.
"Yes, Lord Su, although what Brother Changwen said is unpleasant to hear, it is also reasonable. If we let those disaster victims go back now, I'm afraid that only half of them will survive. In this case, let alone spring planting, I'm afraid there will be no one left."
Seeing the two of them so determined, Su Chong smiled bitterly. He knew all this, but there were some things that he couldn't decide. When he talked about Jiangnan with Lord Jing and Eunuch Yang, he realized that Jiangnan was not as prosperous as it seemed. In addition, the urging from the Ministry of Internal Affairs was really a big hole.
Looking at the two people's determined eyes, he shook his head slightly.
"My two magistrates, it's not that I don't want to provide disaster relief, but the government office is unable to do so,"
He smiled bitterly, and seeing that the two wanted to ask more questions, he raised his hand to stop them from speaking, and continued;
"Jiangnan may seem peaceful, but it is not. This disaster relief is very expensive. This is the first reason. The second is the matter of the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau. This year, Eunuch Yang ordered 800,000 rolls of silk. The raw silk required is huge. Even the Su brocade hanging in my room has stopped production. It can be seen that the pressure is huge. Third, the five counties in northern Jiangnan were almost rotten after the flood. They were already in great poverty. In addition, the court reopened the jade mines and ordered jade to be sent to the capital every year. Do you think the food and grass sold will be enough?"
The dark words were like a cold wind in March, chilling the two people in the room. How could they not know about the jade mines in Jiangbei? In the previous dynasty, it was because of the jade mines in Jiangbei that the Jiangnan region was in turmoil, so that the rebel army rose up in Jiangnan. After the chaos in the tax-heavy areas, the previous dynasty was like the moon reflected in the water, and it collapsed at the touch of a button.
Now it is going to be used again. Will it repeat the same mistake? Xu Changwen was stunned for a long time before he came back to his senses.
"Sir Su, these jades are to be sent to the Changle Palace in the inner palace for the emperor to use in his religious life. Don't you know that Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion was exiled for this? How can we do this?"
In a fit of rage, Xu Dong quickly stopped him from speaking nonsense, shouting;
"Brother Changwen, be careful with your words!"
A scolding,
Xu Changwen finally came back to his senses, his face flushed, feeling aggrieved, while Su Chong waved his hands, sighed, and replied helplessly;
"Don't worry, you two. This must not be spread. We can't interfere with the affairs of the palace, let alone the affairs of the palace. The transportation of these jades was organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the specific arrangements were made by Eunuch Yang. The people who went to mine were also managed by people in the government office.
Who among us can or dares to take care of it? We can only take it one step at a time and settle the disaster victims first. This official's intention is to provide disaster relief first, then find a place to build a large farm together, and then plant in the spring."
There was nothing that could be done about it. It shouldn't be difficult for the government to recruit laborers to build the manor. With a place to live, most of the problems would be solved. This was all that could be done for the people. As for the rest, Su Chong shook his head secretly. He couldn't control it, not even his mentor could.
Looking at the still somewhat excited Xu Changwen, he sighed in his heart. He was also like this when he first entered the officialdom. Now he can only think about it.
"Sir Xu, today's conversation starts today and ends today. First of all, we need to save the victims. As for the rest, Sir Xu, you are just a county magistrate. How can you take care of these things? There is another matter. Although the breach of the Xinbei dike was man-made, it involves huge consequences. I dare not take action lightly. The two county magistrates are newcomers of the imperial examination. You must be careful in this major case."
This is also a piece of advice. If it was really done by Ma Tongpan, it would definitely implicate Eunuch Yang and others.
"Yes, I will listen to you, sir."
Xu Dong quickly agreed, and saw Lord Su pick up the tea bowl, drag Xu Changwen and leave.
(End of this chapter)