As the sky was just bright, dense cannons sounded in the south and southeast of Wuchang City. Shuangfu, who was awakened by the cannon, jumped up and hurried to the temporary requisition yard. He opened his blood-scared eyes and looked to the south of the city. The Taiping Army actually started to attack the city early in the morning. It seems that the arrival of Senggelinqin's reinforcements also put a lot of pressure on the Taiping Army. I guess that if we hold on for a few more days, the siege of Wuchang will be relieved.

He was originally the admiral of Jiangnan, but when he passed by Wuchang, Yuezhou was lost. Governor Chang Dachun tried his best to keep him and asked him to stay on the spot to recruit bravely to defend the city. At that time, he was disdainful of the Taiping Army and was greedy for merit. Xianfeng also followed the situation and appointed him as the admiral of Hubei. When he heard that the Taiping Army had 100,000 people went to Wuchang, he regretted it so much that he was so regretful that he was even lost.

General Wang Jinxiu walked in quickly. Seeing that he had already stood up, he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to him and said, "The tunnel excavated by the bandits is initially expected to arrive at Wenchang Gate. The last general begs to organize soldiers to go down the city to obstruct."

"When I go down the city, wouldn't it be a meat bun to beat a dog?" Shuangfu said in a muffled voice: "Didn't the blind man bury the water tank at the base of the city wall to listen to the sound? Are they all decorations?"

Wang Jinxiu smiled bitterly and said, "The army gate is so cunning. The sound of guns and cannons rumbling when siege the city, and the gongs and drums are beating when resting. Those blind men are useless at all."

After pondering for a moment, Shuangfu said: "Although the reinforcements of the Monk King have arrived, you have seen the battle situation yesterday. The defense of the bandits is not flowing, and the reinforcements cannot enter the city at all. This situation is probably difficult to change for a while. The bandits are attacking the city more and more urgently. They take turns to attack, so they don't have the chance to breathe. How many casualties were there in one day yesterday? At this time, we will send troops down to the city and die. For only two days, we will have no soldiers to defend the city!"

As he said that, he waved his hand and said, "The most urgent task is to prevent the bandits from climbing up the city. As for the tunnel, don't pay attention to it. Catch a few more blind people, bury a few more large water tanks in the city wall, and monitor it day and night. The tunnel is close to the base of the city wall, and it will definitely not escape the ears of those blind people."

Outside Wenchang Gate, Taiping Army Territory Camp.

Senggelinqin's pursuers arrived and the offensive was strong. Yang Xiuqing from Wanshou Palace in Hankou could not hold back any more. He crossed the bridge early in the morning and rushed to the earth camp outside Wenchang Gate. He attacked for the light, dug tunnels and buried the city gate and collapsed the city walls, and carried out simultaneously, one light and one dark, which was the strategy he decided to attack Wuchang.

From the first day of attacking Wuchang City, the earth camp chose the location and direction to dig tunnels day and night. The Taiping Army's earth camp is not small in scale. Although the organization is only at the level of the division commander, there are 5,000 soldiers. The soldiers are all miners - miners who dig coal, silver copper, lead and tin mines. They are mainly responsible for digging trenches, building earth walls and forts to play tunnels. In fact, they are engineering soldiers.

Upon hearing the arrival of the King of Dong, Liu Daiwei, the commander of the local battalion, hurriedly came out and entered the military tent. Yang Xiuqing asked, "How is the progress?"

"Go back to Your Highness of the Eastern King." Liu Daiwei said calmly: "The main tunnel is almost approaching Wenchang Gate. Now it is preparing to split and dig branch tunnels. Considering that the walls of Wuchang City are as high as the thick, the subordinates are preparing to excavate two branch tunnels and detonate at the same time to ensure that they can collapse in one go."

"We need to speed up the progress." Yang Xiuqing said in a deep voice: "The monk's head-shaking pursuit has arrived in Wuchang. Qing Yao also has reinforcements to go up the river. We have not much time left for us, and we have taken turns to attack each day, and there are quite a lot of casualties."

"I understand." Liu Daiwei bowed quickly.

Yang Xiu nodded and said, "How about you have any requirements?"

Liu Daiwei smiled embarrassedly and said, "Your Highness, brothers, dig tunnels day and night, and they consume a lot of physical energy... Can you arrange midnight snacks?"

The Taiping Army Logistics troops were stationed in Hankou, Hanyang on the other side. It was indeed difficult to cook and deliver lunch across the river. However, Yang Xiuqing said without hesitation: "No problem, I will arrange for a brigade to cross the river to cook for you, five meals a day, and guarantee two lunch meals a night!"

"Thank you, Your Highness." Liu Daiwei was overjoyed and bowed to thank him. Yang Xiuqing waved his hand and said, "Not only you, the attacking Lu Camp also took turns to attack, and the meals must be guaranteed."

"Your Highness is wise." Liu Daiwei flattered him and said, "The authenticity is close to the base of the city wall, and I'm afraid it can't be hidden from the Qing Demon."

Yang Xiuqing stood up and said, "Don't worry, Qing Yao will not have the opportunity to attack or destroy the tunnel!" After the sound of the sound, the commander of a brigade quickly stepped in and reported: "Report to Your Highness, the Wing King sent someone to report, Qing Yao on the opposite side divided his troops north and headed towards Zhongxiaomen."

Zhongxiao Sect is stationed by Wei Changhui, the Northern King of King Wei. Can Qing Yao divide his troops to break through Wei Changhui's position? Yang Xiuqing didn't intend to pay attention to it, but then he thought that Wei Changhui's army did not have many artillery. If the Qing Yao was torn open, he would fail. He immediately said in a deep voice: "Tell me the order to reinforce Zhongxiao Sect and pay close attention to Qing Yao's movements, so that they can't let them enter the city!"

Since the Taiping Army occupied all the commanding heights and favorable terrain outside the city, and the fortifications were gradually improved, Senggelinqin's division of troops failed to break through the Taiping Army's defense line, and the battle situation was deadlocked. It was so close that it could not break through the Taiping Army's defense line. Senggelinqin jumped straight and cursed countless times at the Wuchang City defenders who took the initiative to give up all strategic areas outside the city. Seeing reinforcements arrived, they didn't know how to voluntarily send troops to attack inside and outside.

After five days of stalemate, Taiping Army soldiers finally dug two other branches under the Wenchang Gate in Wuchang. They dug three large holes near Wenchang Gate and put them in full coffins to detonate. With a huge muffled sound, the tall and thick Wuchang city wall was blown down more than 20 feet.

Lin Fengxiang rushed into the gap with the fear of life and death, who was afraid of death and desperately defeated the elite veterans as the vanguard, and a large group of soldiers followed closely behind and swarmed in. Huang Yukun, Luo Dagang and other troops also climbed the city ladder from the four walls, and Wuchang fell after ten days of persistence!

When entering Wuchang, the Taiping Army quickly occupied the entire city and issued an edict: "Do not keep the officers and soldiers, the people will not be injured." Refusing to accept the surrender of the defenders, the governor Chang Dachun hangs himself, the censor Ruiyuan committed suicide, the academic commander Feng Peiyuan threw himself into a well, the governor was promoted to double blessings, and the governor Liang Xingyuan was killed... More than a hundred civil and military officials in the city, none of whom were spared, were all paraded and sentenced to death.

Three days after the break of Wuchang City, Yi Zhizucai led 5,000 Marines to the city of Wuchang and set up camp on the shore of Shahu Lake. Hearing that Yi Zhizu personally led his troops to help, the anxious Senggelinqin Light Cavalry Jian walked around Wuchang City and hurriedly came to meet him.

Upon hearing the news that Senggelinqin came, Yi Zhizu hurried to the camp gate to greet him. As soon as he met, Senggelinqin bowed and said, "The Guocheng has finally arrived, but fortunately, it's not too late."

"I didn't expect that in just ten days, the Taiping Army broke into Wuchang." Yi Zhizu said with regret: "After all, I'm going to be one step late."

"Time, luck, fate!" Senggelinqin sighed softly, "Although the bandits are fierce, the defenders in Wuchang City are too idiots, otherwise why would they be here?" As he said that, he turned sideways, exposed Jiang Zhongyuan behind him, and introduced: "This is Jiang Minqiao..."

Jiang Zhongyuan? Yi Zhizu has been famous for this Hunan Army ancestor for a long time. Unexpectedly, he would meet under such circumstances. He immediately bowed and said, "I have heard of the name of Brother Min Qiao for a long time, so I'm lucky to meet you."

Yi Zhizu is a first-class marquis. Now he is reinstated and appointed as Minister of the Nanyang and Admiral of the Nanyang Navy. Jiang Zhongyuan is just a prefect. The status and status of the two are extremely different. Yi Zhizu is treated with peace and manners. Jiang Zhongyuan was very surprised and hurriedly bowed to the court and the country and said, "The Marquis's voice is shocking and the country is famous overseas. He has admired him for a long time. I have seen him today, so how lucky is he."

"Let's talk about it after entering the account." Yi Zhizu reached out to give in.

Walking along the way, Senggelinqin asked as she walked, "Did Zeng Disheng come with Brother Guocheng?"

"He came along with a fast horse, but he couldn't keep up with him." Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "He and Qi Manufacturing Platform are on the way. I guess they should arrive within two or three days."

After entering the big tent, Xu Li sat down, Senggelinqin couldn't wait to ask: "Where has the fleet arrived now?"

"Jiujiang." Yi Zhizu said: "The fleet is stationed in Jiujiang. The Taiping Navy has too many ships and the Yangtze River is not wide. In order to prevent fire attacks, the fleet dare not drive to Wuchang."

Senggelinqin nodded slightly. Indeed, the Taiping Army's ships were estimated to have tens of thousands. If it was a fire attack, it would be impossible to resist. After pondering for a moment, he said: "Okay, stationed in Jiujiang and intercepted the Taiping Army's way east along the river, at least it can protect the Southeast without worries."

"I didn't expect the Taiping Army to collect so many ships in a short time to form a large-scale navy." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "With this navy, the Taiping Army is enough to be invincible."

"Yes——." Senggelinqin sighed lightly: "The navy is huge in scale. The land battle has captured Wuchang in ten days. The Taiping Army is now considered to be full of wings. It is not easy to destroy it." After a pause, he said: "We should not consider that long-term. It is important to recover Wuchang now. How many troops has Brother Guocheng brought?"

"Five Thousand Marines."

Only five thousand! Senggelinqin was slightly disappointed and pondered for a moment before he said: "The Taiping Army fought with us in a row. Now he has learned his lesson. He has played with trenches and built earth walls, and then supplemented with artillery, and the Minnie gun cannot give full play to its advantage."

Yi Zhizu said: "Where is on the city wall?"

"So the same." Senggelinqin smiled bitterly: "They stood on the battlements with thick wooden boards covered with quilts, and the people hid behind them and shot them diagonally, which greatly offset the advantage of the Minnie gun."

Jiang Zhongyuan interrupted at this time: "Can you attack the north and south, burn down two floating bridges on the river, cut off supplies in Wuchang City, and besieged for a long time, and trap the bandits in Wuchang City."

Yi Zhizu glanced at him and said, "It is not difficult to burn the floating bridge, but don't forget that the Taiping Army still has tens of thousands of ships and 15,000 navy troops. How to encircle the river in the east of the city? Not to mention camping, even digging and repairing fortifications will inevitably be attacked by the Taiping Army inside and outside, and it will not stand firm at all. In addition, the Taiping Army will definitely recruit soldiers and horses in Wuchang to expand its troops."

After a while, Senggelinqin said, "In this way, it can only be a strong attack?"

Yi Zhizu nodded and said, "We can't attack with the Taiping Army? But we have to wait until we dismantle the artillery from the warship."

After hearing this, Senggelinqin couldn't help but smile, "I forgot that Guocheng is an expert in using artillery. There are thousands of artillery pieces, and I am afraid that I can't get a mere Wuchang city?" As he said that, he asked, "How long does it take for the cannon to arrive in Wuchang?"

Yi Zhizu said: "It has already started, but it is difficult to carry artillery, so it will take at least five or six days."

"Then let them be arrogant for another five or six days!" Senggelinqin smiled.

Jiang Zhongyuan said, "Thousands of cannons are enough to block the surface of the river."

"It seems that Brother Min Qiao had expected that this marquis would come to Wuchang with his cannons." Yi Zhizu glanced at him and said with a smile: "There are as many as a thousand cannons, but there must be no artillery on the warships. The Taiping Army is not all people with a good fortune. Once it is judged that the warships have no artillery, what will happen?"

Once the Taiping Army judged that there were no artillery on the warships of the naval fleet, the Taiping Army would definitely take this opportunity to float down the river. Jiang Zhongyuan's face became hot and he bowed quickly and said, "I am eager for quick success and short-term gains, but I am not careful in thinking, and I am really ashamed."

Yi Zhizu looked at Senggelinqin and said, "The Marine Corps lacks a person who has a comprehensive understanding of the situation in Wuchang. Can you borrow Minqiao for a few days?"

Senggelinqin smiled and said, "Today I came here specially with Minqiao, for this."

It was late at night, and a small group of people entered the Shahu Camp in the dark. The leader was Yin Youcai. After entering the camp, he ordered his subordinates to go and rest first. After he came straight to the Central Army tent, which was still on, he was carefully looking at the Wuchang map and said carelessly: "I'm back, what's the situation?"

"I went back to the principal and saw Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing."

"It seems that they attach great importance to it." Yi Zhizu said, and walked over slowly and said, "Sit down."

After sitting down, Yin Youcai said: "Hong Xiuquan clearly stated that he was unwilling to be an enemy of Yuan Qi, but said that Wuchang was in a very good position and was close to Jiangnan. It was most suitable for worshiping God to build a small paradise and it was easier to attract the attention of the court. I hope the principal would consider it carefully."

Yi Zhizu sneered: "It seems that he doesn't cry until he sees the coffin." After pondering for a moment, he said: "Can the Taiping Army recruit soldiers in Wuchang City?"

"Wuchang City is almost a large military camp now." Yin Youcai said: "The Taiping Army continues to implement the system of men and women's camps. Men live in men's halls, women live in women's halls, elderly people, children, and disabled people are assigned to the tail hall. Twenty-five people are a hall, and the soldiers are supervised. Each person is allocated a ration for food, a cup of oil, and a three-member rice. Family and couples are not allowed to meet."

"The Taiping Army is planning to sweep the people of the entire Wuchang City." Yi Zhizu snorted coldly, "I have a little too big, and I am not afraid of being choked." After pausing, he asked, "Is there any warning to move the senior leaders of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to Hanyang?"

Yin Youcai hurriedly said: "It's very clear and solemnly warn them that he hopes that the kings and the capable generals will be transferred to Hankou, Hanyang within three days."

Yi Zhizu nodded and said, "You are tired too, go down and rest first."

When Yin Youcai retreated, Yi Zhizu slowly lit a cigarette. For the Taiping Army, he did this, which was a merciful and righteous one. As for whether the other party was obedient, he would not care about his business. When the artillery was transported up, Wuchang City would definitely not be able to defend it. It would be not easy to evacuate and retreat back to the other side. In front of Senggelinqin, he would not be able to let go of water. I hope Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing can know each other a little.
Chapter completed!