Chapter Fifteen: Experts These Days Are Not Reliable Either

  Li Yunzhong will bring all 10,000 troops to the north of the county town and come with the generals to inspect the terrain. In fact, a small county town has no terrain, just four walls plus a moat, Li Yunzhong's capture of a small county town is really too simple, even if they have defenses it would be useless. Because he had prepared some gunpowder.

  In order to win the first battle of the uprising and not let Luo Daguang and Su Sanniang look down on the God Worshipping Society, they deliberately let the rear army attack the city first. Several thousand people attacking a county seat defended by less than a thousand was indeed easy.

  Order the vanguard to prepare siege equipment, Li Yunzhong hinted that Meng Shangsheng can attack the county first.

  Everything is ready, and all troops are requested to attack the county town.

  "Lord Meng Shang has taken the initiative to ask for orders. 'The lower officials have prepared the siege equipment, please let the general allow it.'"

  "Alright, I'll let you lead the rear army in attacking the city." said Li Yunzhong.

  "General, it should be that the vanguard attacks and breaks through the enemy's formation, and then the rear army can sweep in." Luo Daguang also asked Li Yunzhong to go into battle.

  Li Yunzhong leaned towards supporting the rear army and did not hit the front army's enthusiasm. He said, "Since the rear army first proposed attacking the city, why don't we let the rear army try it first, and the front army will prepare."

  Li Yunzhong and the generals of the Central Army and the Front Army stood on high ground to watch this siege.

  Meng Shangsheng ordered the vanguard to fill in a section of the moat, and then shouted "Charge!" as he led the charge towards the city wall. The entire rear army followed close behind, covering a distance of one li in no time. A group of people arrived at the gate first, hesitated for a moment, and then together used their bodies to ram the gate.

  Li Yunzhong was stunned in the back, not to mention seeing or hearing it before, but someone actually used this method to attack the city, and he hadn't even thought of it. What is Meng Shangsheng doing? Is the engineering tool he prepared just that big wooden stick stuck behind the crowd?

  Perhaps someone finally remembered to use the large wooden beam, and they hastily called out to the people blocking the road to move aside. They carried the beam to the bottom of the city gate and struck it together, at which point a sparse shower of arrows fell from the top of the city wall, causing many people to start panicking and hiding. Seeing that the city gate really couldn't be broken open, the attacking officers quickly lifted up the wounded and retreated down the mountain. This attack on the city didn't even last half an hour. It was truly a loss of face for the righteous army.

  Li Yunzhong caught a glimpse of some generals in the vanguard revealing mocking expressions, while Luo Dagang and Su Sanniang both had expressionless faces. Li Yunzhong thought they must be enduring great hardship to remain silent.

  Meng Shangsheng stood in front of Li Yunzhong with a dejected expression, accompanied by several travel companions. Li Yunzhong was furious and wanted to go up and kick each of them a few times to vent his anger. He walked up to them and said in a low voice, "You've all disgraced me."

  "General, the vanguard is all set, can we launch the attack?"

  "Attack" Li Yunzhong said.

  Luo Dagang waved his hand, and the vanguard moved forward in an orderly manner, slowing down as they approached the moat, before coming to a complete stop.

  Li Yunzhong couldn't help but sigh: "Attacking a city is a technical job, and only experts can do it well."

  Ten teams of men ran out from Luo Da Jiang's army, each team carrying a ladder and rushing towards the city wall. Then another team ran out from the troops, carrying an even thicker log than before to ram the gate.

  Li Yunzhong thought: Why did ancient people like to use wooden logs to ram city gates? Didn't they already have explosives?

  Seeing the enemy approaching the city gate, the Qing soldiers on the city wall not only shot down arrows but also threw down stones of various sizes from time to time. This attack was another tragedy. Li Yunzhong could no longer bear to watch: The soldiers of the current army climbed up the ladder and found that it was one section short when they reached the top, and they couldn't climb onto the city wall. They were stuck halfway, unable to move up or down, and then they were brutally beaten off the ladder by the Qing soldiers above and fell to the ground, unconscious. The people below did not understand the situation above and continued to climb up.

  Li Yunzhong once again had the good fortune to witness a scene of attacking the city, unprecedented in the past and unmatched in the future. He couldn't help but sigh, "How can experts these days be unreliable?" He turned around and instructed Meng Shangsheng, who was watching with great interest, for a few sentences, and then ordered Zeng Shuiyuan to call Luo Dagan to withdraw.

  No wonder the peasant uprising was chased by the government army at the beginning and ran everywhere, this performance is also too ridiculous.

  Seeing the rebels retreating, the Qing soldiers on the city wall cheered. The county magistrate said to Zhang Fugui, "This time, thanks to your timely arrival and assistance, otherwise it would be unbearable to think about. I didn't expect the rebels to be so fierce and fearless of death. Now that the rebels have retreated, I will write a letter to recommend you to the Zhenjiang General."

  Zhang Fugui said, "Thank you, sir, for recommending me. I recognize the rebels below. One is Lai Wang, who rebelled last year. He's a member of the Tiandihui. I've defeated him several times, but he always escapes into the mountains or rivers. Another rebel is Li Yunzhong, a follower of the Lord of Heaven, who was rescued last time. They're just a mob, please don't worry, sir."

  County Magistrate Ni Tao stroked his beard and looked at Zhang Fugui with approval, the more he looked, the more he felt that his future was boundless. He deliberately made friends with him and said, "You are indeed a pillar of the country. Now that the society is in turmoil, it is the right time for heroes to show their skills. Your name Fugui is somewhat vulgar and may affect your future. Why not change your name to Guoliang?"

  Zhang Guoliang bowed to the county magistrate and said, "Guoliang will never dare to forget the kindness of your promotion, I swear to defend you with my life."

  Li Yunzhong comforted the front army generals again: This time, the failure to capture the city is just that the ladder was made a bit short. Next time, we must measure the length carefully before making the ladder. You, the front army, go back and reorganize, and I will arrange for the central army to attack the city next.

  Luo Dagang said, "I'll have someone remake the ladder right away and make it a few feet longer."

  "No need, you stay here and watch how the Central Army attacks the city. This time we must break through this city." Li Yunzhong complained that Luo Dagang's idea of attacking the city was always to make ladders, but he clearly remembered that the Yuan Dynasty had already used gunpowder in siege warfare, and even the strongest city gates and walls could not withstand the power of gunpowder.

  "General had already made a ladder, and now he's telling the vanguard to make several more just like the one the General made." Luo Daguang looked at him with admiration.

  Li Yunzhong was left speechless and stopped discussing the siege with Luo Dagang, turning to look at Su Sanniang, only to receive an even greater blow.

  Su San Niang said: "I see that there are less than 2,000 Qing soldiers on the city wall. Adding to that the Qing soldiers defending the other three sides, I'm afraid that even if we take the city, our casualties will be heavy. At that time, the imperial court's troops will surely come to launch a surprise attack. In my humble opinion, it would be better for us to retreat to the mountains first and make further plans."

  Li Yunzhong felt that the beauty not only underestimated the Qing army, but also underestimated himself. He drank a small vinegar and his voice became louder: "I, Li Yunzhong, since the day I started the uprising, have never thought of hiding like a bandit. If you are afraid to attack even a small county town, how can we talk about great undertakings? You really disappointed me. As for the other three sides of the city wall, there may not be many soldiers, they just made a false show of strength."

  Su San Niang saw that he not only did not agree with her opinion, but also ridiculed her as a bandit. She walked away in anger, but fortunately remembered that she was still the deputy general of the central army on the battlefield, and came back, but no longer paid attention to him.

  Luo Dagang also stood beside him with an awkward expression and no longer spoke up.

  At this time, Meng Shang came up and reported: "The gunpowder has all been loaded into three boxes and can be used."

  Li Yunzhong, who had been feeling down and depressed, rode his horse to the front of the troops and shouted loudly: "This time we attack the city, squad leaders and company commanders will lead the charge, those who retreat will be beheaded, after entering the city, looting is not allowed, violators will be beheaded." Fortunately, most of Li Yunzhong's troops were trained by him, so they quickly regained their morale.

  Li Yunzhong waved his hand on the city wall, and Wang Gang, the commander of the second brigade of the central army, personally led 50 men to charge towards the city gate. Among them, three people carried boxes as large as basins on their backs, which were filled with gunpowder prepared by Li Yunzhong.