SFS Chapter 709 Siege Cannon Fodder
Chapter 709 Siege Cannon Fodder
Chapter 709 Siege Cannon Fodder
The next morning, Wang Wenzhou learned that Zhu Yi and the others had all been killed in battle.
At breakfast, Wang Wenzhou hugged Gao Guiying and said sadly, "That idiot Zhu Yi, I told him a long time ago that if anything went wrong, he had to surrender. But this guy is so stupid, he refused to surrender!"
Gao Guiying drank the milk and fed it to Wang Wenzhou, saying softly, "Boxin, isn't it good to have such a loyal subordinate? What are you complaining about?"
Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "Sister! It's good to be fearless, but to seek death when you shouldn't is just asking for it! My special forces battalion is not easy to train! They are all the elite of the elite. That idiot Zhu Yi not only brought death upon himself, but also lost two hundred soldiers from my special forces battalion. What a pity!"
Gao Guiying rolled her eyes at Wang Wenzhou; her enemy's thoughts were truly unconventional.
"Sigh..." Wang Wenzhou sighed and said helplessly, "Refusing to surrender is both a good thing and a bad thing. The advantage is that if you are not afraid of death, your combat power will be off the charts. The disadvantage is that unnecessary casualties are too great. In some battles, since there is no hope of victory and no need to delay, you should surrender."
Gao Guiying shook her head. She did not understand Wang Wenzhou's statement and believed that surrendering was a shameful act.
After breakfast, Wang Wenzhou went to the front lines and ordered an attack on the city.
"Bang bang bang..."
Wang Wenzhou's artillery battalion began firing. A total of two hundred cannons were involved, some captured from the Spanish, and the rest manufactured using technology provided by the Spanish.
The cannons had been firing for over half an hour, and Wang Wenzhou's brow was furrowed. Damn it, the power of cannons in this era was far too weak, and the walls of Beijing were far too thick—over ten meters high and twenty meters wide. Even if all the cannons fired at the same spot, they still couldn't breach the walls.
Wang Wenzhou thought about it and realized that this couldn't go on. Not only were the ammunition consumption too high, but it was also too much of a waste of time. Now that his army was besieging the city, all parts of the Ming Dynasty must have already heard the news. In a few days, troops from all over the country would come to the aid of the emperor.
Wang Wenzhou wanted a quick victory, and the reason he sent Zhu Yi to launch a surprise attack on the Forbidden City was to achieve victory with minimal losses.
"Jian Fengyu, pass down the order: cease fire on the cannons and begin the siege!" Wang Wenzhou commanded.
"Yes!" Sheng Lan quickly relayed the order.
In no time, the war drums began to beat.
The first to attack the city were the Hammer Suicide Squad. Hammer, clad in heavy armor and wielding a hammer, led his men, braving arrows, climbing ladders and charging towards the city walls.
On the city wall, Yang Changsi, the Minister of War, personally directed the defense of the city.
The soldiers in the three major battalions within the city were considered elite, and the Donglin Party members, contrary to their usual behavior, were particularly resolute, determined to defend the city even at the cost of their lives. They not only donated a large sum of money to fund the military, but also sent their own retainers to guard the city walls.
The Donglin Party was forced into this situation by Wang Wenzhou. For political reasons, Wang Wenzhou didn't openly rebel, but instead used the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials." After all, the Ming Dynasty had existed for centuries, and Wang Wenzhou was a high-ranking official; if he had directly rebelled, his popularity among the people certainly wouldn't have been high.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Wang Wenzhou still chose to use the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials." The people he was purging were the Donglin Party members, who understood that if Beijing fell, given their past grievances with Wang Wenzhou, they would be the first to be killed. Thus, the Donglin Party was essentially a cornered rabbit in this situation.
Qian Qianyi, a prominent figure in the Donglin Party, not only dispatched his household servants but also personally led his sons and nephews to defend the city walls.
As a result, Wang Wenzhou's attacking forces were caught in a fierce battle, with heavy casualties on both sides. The hammer-wielding suicide squad that had scaled the city walls was quickly driven off.
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and ordered, "The Youth Army shall begin the assault on the city!"
"Yes!" Sheng Lan immediately relayed the order.
Soon, the young soldiers, all dressed in white mourning clothes, began their attack.
The young soldiers were all orphans from the orphanage, adopted by Wang Wenzhou's daughters, Sheng Lan and Liu Ru. After their deaths, the boys felt as if they had lost their own mothers. Now, seeking revenge for their mothers, the boys were filled with righteous indignation.
Sheng Lan watched the battle on the city wall from afar. She recognized a brave young man. After thinking for a moment, she remembered his name, Yang Defu. Speaking of which, she was the one who gave him this name.
"Ah!" Sheng Lan suddenly screamed in fright. Yang Defu was unfortunate; he was slashed by a soldier guarding the city.
Knowing that his days were numbered, Yang Defu threw himself on a Ming soldier and tumbled off the city wall with him in his arms.
Sheng Lan was heartbroken. What a wonderful child, how could he have died like this!
Sheng Lan felt a pang of guilt, after all, the soldiers in the youth army were her children. She thought for a moment, then walked to Wang Wenzhou's side and advised, "My lord, a direct assault would result in too many casualties, and we wouldn't be able to take the capital in a short time. Let's continue the siege."
Wang Wenzhou shook his head and said with a wry smile, "There are always deaths in war, and I don't want it to be like this either. But we don't have much time left. In a few days, the armies from all over the country will arrive to defend the capital. At that time, we may be surrounded by them, and then we will be at a disadvantage!"
"Sir, the soldiers of the Youth Army are still just children!" Sheng Lan said sadly.
Wang Wenzhou said helplessly, "No matter when, wars always need cannon fodder. If we don't use the youth army as cannon fodder, we have to use others. You just saw it, even the Hammer Suicide Squad, with such strong combat power, couldn't hold their ground after scaling the wall. We can only send the relatively weak youth army to wear down the enemy's strength first, and then send other troops to attack."
Sheng Lan looked at Wang Wenzhou as if she didn't recognize him, bewildered. "When did you become so heartless, my nemesis? Those boys all call you 'father'!"
"The adults are still children..." Sheng Lan wanted to persuade them.
Wang Wenzhou said irritably, "Shut up! Jian Fengyu, you're getting more and more outrageous. Why are you always so nagging? Who wasn't born of parents? They weren't children from the day they joined the army! And the older they are, the more foolish they are, and the easier it is for them to be fooled into risking their lives."
If it were any other unit attacking, they probably wouldn't have lasted long; they'd all be terrified. Throughout history, there have only been a few ways to boost morale: either lead your soldiers into battle, or train them into heartless beasts.
Sheng Lan was startled and quickly shut her mouth. She didn't want her nemesis to get involved himself. Besides, based on her understanding of her nemesis, he was terrified of dying and probably wouldn't do such a thing.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Actually, thinking about it, it's my fault. I've been training soldiers all along, even teaching them to read and write. These are valuable talents! I should have recruited some cannon fodder back then. Now, there's nothing I can do!"
"My lord!" Fu Xingping ran over and said hurriedly, "The youth army has already occupied a section of the city wall. This humble general requests to lead his men in an attack!"