The Struggle of the Reborn Prince

The imperial tent was placed on a high platform, with a clear view of the surrounding situation. Xiao Zhonggong looked south and saw flags on the embankment outside the city blocking the sun. The flags were raised high. It was obvious that the enemy was in front of the city. A hundred steps away were hundreds of gates.

Cannons with high muzzles, thousands of fine cavalry arrayed around, and naval warships gathered on the river outside the east gate, with masts and masts like a forest, the huge Liaoyang City was deep in it, and our own soldiers could be vaguely seen on the top of the city.

"Master Xiao, how is the military power of our Song Dynasty?" Zhao Tong asked Xiao Zhonggong with a twisted face.

"Huh, it's just that, it's far different from the tigers and wolves of our Kingdom of Jin." Xiao Zhonggong knew that Zhao Er was demonstrating to himself in an attempt to break his will and take the initiative in the negotiation. Of course, he couldn't fall into the trap.

, replied coldly. But at this time, in his heart

It's like overturning the river and the sea. I can't help but think of the Song Dynasty Minister Liu Ru who told Li Ye when he was on an envoy to Bianjing in the year of Jingkang. He said that the Jin Army's "men are like tigers, horses are like dragons, they climb mountains like apes, and they descend into rivers and lakes. Their power is like Mount Tai, and China is like a tired egg."

But these words can only describe Song Jun.

"Haha, Mr. Xiao didn't mean what he said, but I don't blame you if everyone is their master!" Zhao Tong smiled instead and said nonchalantly, "You have experienced the Battle of Jinzhou, you should know the artillery fire of the Song Dynasty.

It's so powerful that after all the cannons are fired, not a single tile remains. God has the virtue of good life,

Three days ago, I ordered people to shoot letters at the soldiers and civilians in the city. I will not send troops to intercept anyone who wants to leave the city within three days. They will stay or leave voluntarily. I just don’t want the people in the city to suffer unreasonable disasters, but Wanyan Yong refused to open the city gate and let the people out of the city. He wanted to lead all the people.

Rather than being buried with him, Mr. Xiao, would you like to persuade me again?"

"Haha, please don't waste your efforts. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Liaoyang City have long been determined to live and die with the city and will never surrender. However, the king should comply with public opinion, do benevolent and righteous things, and negotiate an early peace to save the people from war.

." Only then did Xiao Zhonggong understand the purpose of being summoned by Zhao Er. He wanted to be a lobbyist, but of course he refused angrily.

"Okay, that's well said. Mr. Xiao, twenty years ago, you were also in and out of Bianjing as a peace envoy. How proud you were of coercing and luring our emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty. Have you ever thought about begging for peace today? Since you refuse me

If you have good intentions, then let you watch the Song Dynasty's thunderous fury and fire!" Zhao Tong looked at Xiao Zhonggong, who was trying to remain calm, and said with a sneer.

"fire……"

"fire……"

"fire……"

With a loud bang, Xiao Zhonggong knew that the artillery bombardment had begun. At first, he could still distinguish the sound of the artillery, but after a while, the sound of the artillery had become one. It was difficult to distinguish them. The ground under his feet seemed to be timid, and there were bursts of sound.

Trembling. He looked up and saw countless smoke rising from the east, south and west sides of Liaoyang City.

The projectiles flew into the city with fiery red trajectories. The sides of the naval warships parked on the water were also spitting out tongues of fire, and hundreds of shells could be sent into the city with each shot. Xiao Zhonggong had already felt that the Song army was

The artillery used at this time far exceeded that of the Battle of Jinzhou, and the damage caused by it would also far exceed that of Jinzhou.

Xiao Zhonggong felt good. This time, three artillery brigades, all the artillery battalions directly under the Fifth General and more than 20 Yongzi-class warships of the Dengzhou Navy were used to bombard the Song Army. They used more than a thousand large and small artillery pieces. Far more than Jinzhou.

The amount of artillery used in the battle was in the east, south and west directions of the city. They were arranged in echelons according to the range of the artillery. The target of their first round of attack was not the city wall. Instead, they used projectiles to drive the explosive shells into the city.

.

As the largest city in Liaodong and even the Northeast, Liaoyang City is naturally extremely prosperous, with dense streets, including low-rise residential buildings, shops, and military camps, as well as majestic and tall palaces, government offices, and temples, filling the city to the brim. But

In this era without steel and concrete, most buildings were made of wood.

The explosive bomb used this time is a new type of gunpowder, which is much more powerful than the simple black powder in the past. After the explosive bomb exploded, it easily overturned the roof of the building, and the air wave generated by the explosion destroyed the building.

The doors to the inner rooms were blasted open, making each building a through-structure. In this city surrounded by high walls, the roofs of the buildings were lifted to expose the beams and pillars. They looked like firewood being put into the stove.

.

The first round of shelling, which lasted for an hour, stopped for two quarters of an hour to cool down and replenish ammunition. The second round of shelling began immediately, but this time it was replaced with incendiary bombs. Those seemingly ordinary black clay pots were

They were continuously thrown into the city, and were smashed to pieces after falling. The black sticky substance contained inside splashed everywhere. But when they were touched by a little spark, they immediately burned quickly and spread in all directions.

Due to the special environment, the fire caused by the shelling formed a strong cyclone between the ground and low altitude, creating many huge fire pillars over the city, hundreds of feet high and several miles in radius. Their combustion absorbed a huge amount of air

, making the area over the burning area

The oxygen is exhausted, the temperature is scorching, and the cold air from the outside rushes in due to the temperature difference. At the same time, people and objects on the ground are sucked into the fire. The temperature of the central fire field rises rapidly. Flowers, grass, trees, and all objects that can burn are

It's burning, everything is melting.

Listening to the explosions one after another, looking at the Liaoyang City gradually submerged in gunpowder smoke and the fire dragon hovering over the city, Xiao Zhonggong, who had experienced the purgatory of fire and iron, slowly closed his eyes, but countless creatures were struggling in the blood.

The situation of his fate still appeared clearly in his mind, and he trembled all over and allowed two lines of clear tears to fall...

…………

"What's the situation in the city now?" The shelling lasted all morning, but the fire gradually diminished until the next morning. Wanyanyong stayed up all night. He ordered people to go to the scene early to inspect, and even if he hid in

Inside the palace, the smell of burning and gunpowder smoke was still nauseating.

"Excuse me... Admiral, the loss is huge." Wanyan Zhehe replied tremblingly, and his body was also trembling.

"What's the situation like?" Wanyan Zhehe can be said to be a capable general who is accustomed to fighting, but when he went out to take a look, he looked like this. Wanyanyong knew something was wrong, so he stood up and asked urgently.

"Commander, it's so miserable!" Wanyan Zhehe suddenly fell to his knees and cried.

Wanyanyong was shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to help him up and comfort him for a while before he gradually calmed down. He also learned about the situation in the city after it was shelled from Wanyanzhe's intermittent narration. In the three districts of the east, west and south cities

Most of the buildings on both sides of the street are

It was destroyed by artillery fire, and some broken walls occasionally stood among the ruins, none of which was intact. The residents living there and the troops stationed there suffered heavy casualties. Only some of them died in the same round of shelling, and most of them died later.

Fire.

"Commander, corpses are everywhere in the city. The stench is extremely burnt. There are almost no living creatures. There is hardly a green tree or flower. The water in the ponds has been dried up and is piled with the corpses of people who jumped into the ponds to avoid the fire.

The stone slabs paving the streets were burnt into powder, and even the city

After the fire, the wall was red and cracked like a pottery kiln, and some places had collapsed. General Mo inspected a blacksmith shop in the city, and the iron materials piled there were burned into one piece." Wanyan Zhehe face.

He twisted into a ball in pain and sobbed.

"Then...how many casualties are there?" Wanyanyong was also filled with excitement after hearing this, but he still forced himself to calm down and asked Fu Yin to speed up the sudden attack.

"Commander, the government office in Nancheng was also destroyed by the fire. Most of the officials and officers were killed and injured. The mayors of various cities and towns died and fled. In addition, some families were left homeless and no one survived. It is difficult to make accurate statistics.

However, Xiaguan estimated that no less than 60,000 people died. Now the survivors are temporarily resettled.

In areas where the North City and the inner city were not ravaged by artillery fire, many people's property was lost in the fire and they are in urgent need of relief, and the corpses in the city are also in urgent need of burial, otherwise the epidemic will be triggered." Wanyan Tuhesu also rolled out of the mountains of swords and seas of blood.

Yes, but the tragedy at the scene still moved him, and he said with sadness on his face.

"Sixty thousand people?! Sixty thousand people died in just two or three hours. Zhao Er is really a living hell. He took away so many lives with just a wave of his hand." Wan Yanyong sat down and murmured,

He didn't know that Zhao Tong had been called the King of Hell for a long time.

"Commander, yesterday the enemy's artillery fire destroyed the warehouse in the east of the city. All the grain and grass hidden in it were burned. Most of the defensive equipment stationed under the city were damaged and unusable. We still need to find ways to raise them, otherwise the Song army will use this to attack the city.

We will have nothing to use." After Jiagu Wuli inspected the city, he found that not only the soldiers defending the city suffered heavy casualties, but also all the supplies stored in the city were lost. If the city gate had not been blocked, the door might have been opened.

"Then the Song army is preparing to attack the city?" Wanyan Yongzai couldn't calm down and asked in a panic. He knew that if the Song army launched an attack at this time, it would be difficult for the army with no morale to resist.

"Commander, the Song army has retreated to the camp five miles away overnight, but it still maintains a siege posture and has no signs of launching an attack." Jiagu Wuli added, but he actually understood in his heart.

The reason why the Song army took the initiative to withdraw its troops was probably because they couldn't stand the burning of the fire in the city and the stench emanating from it.

"Order people to step up emergency repairs of the city defenses, set up obstacles in the city, and distribute the grain and grass stored in the inner warehouse to temporarily alleviate the crisis and stabilize people's hearts." Wanyan Yong sighed, and the plan to use the buildings in the city as a basis to carry out street battles with the Song army was also discussed.

The fire burned without a trace, and the supplies in the city were in short supply because the east of the city was close to the river.

, to facilitate transportation, so the warehouses were built in the east of the city, but now most of them have been destroyed. It is impossible to hold on until the autumn. But it is hard to say how many days Liaoyang City can hold on in such a state. Emergency supplies are stored in the inner city.

I don’t know if it will be useful if I keep it, so why not use it to stabilize people’s hearts first, so as not to take advantage of Zhao Er.

"Commander, the Song army outside the city shot books in the north city and sent troops to shout loudly to persuade them to surrender. Now the people are panicked and asked to escape from the city to avoid the destruction of both the people and the city." At this time, Li Qiong hurried in to report...(

To be continued)