The asymmetric combat method adopted by the Haihan Army undoubtedly put great pressure on the defenders in the city. If the commander does not go to the top of the city to understand the movements of the enemy troops outside the city, he cannot issue combat orders. However, once his whereabouts are exposed, he can easily be shot by snipers on the high platform outside the city.
But you have Zhang Liang's plan, and I have wall ladders. It's not impossible for the defenders to deal with such tactics. Using flags to divert the opponent's attention, disguising the general as a soldier before going to the city, and using solid and thick shelters to cover can all effectively reduce the chance of being sniped by the opponent.
Therefore, although sniper tactics have a certain effect, they are far from being able to influence the situation of the battle. To tear through the city defense of Zhenjiang City, we still have to rely on the use of heavy weapons.
It's just that the city defense conditions of a prefectural city like Zhenjiang are far better than those of ordinary county towns. The city walls that are more than ten feet thick cannot be destroyed in a few blows.
Moreover, the defenders gathered a large number of manpower in the city and were constantly repairing and strengthening the city's defenses. Haihan's cannonballs made a hole on the outside of the city wall, and at the same time, the thickness of the inside might have increased by another foot.
After the bombardment continued intermittently for more than an hour, Yan Chujie received a battle report from the northern front, that is, the armed fleet on the river.
The remnants of the Ming Navy appeared again after the battle began, but this time they did not continue the nearly suicidal attack method yesterday, but carried out harassment on the periphery. Presumably it was because they had consumed most of the self-destructing boats. We cannot give away the remaining large ships that still have fighting capacity.
Although the Haihan Fleet's main attack direction today is Zhenjiang City, it cannot turn a blind eye to these naval warships. After all, these ships are equipped with a lot of artillery. Even if the performance cannot be compared with the artillery on the Haihan battleship, it is by no means a decoration.
The Haihan fleet had to allocate part of its forces to deal with these Ming warships on the river, which would more or less affect the fleet's artillery offensive against Zhenjiang City.
Although the Haihan Fleet has a large number of artillery pieces and a high intensity of bombardment, the results it has achieved so far are average, and the degree of damage to city defenses is far less than that of the Army on the Eastern Front.
The reason is that the Army has fixed artillery positions, which are calibrated while firing, and the accuracy of hitting the target is already quite good.
The warships on the river are in a different battlefield environment. They have to beware of enemy attacks from the river bank and the upper reaches of the river at any time. Therefore, they cannot anchor to the shore. The ship must always maintain a speed roughly the same as the speed of the river and sail against the current with natural accuracy. There is no way to talk about it. We can only win by quantity and suppress the northern line of Zhenjiang City with constant bombardment.
However, this tactic also had some unexpected gains. Many of the cannonballs originally aimed at the city wall flew directly over the city wall and into the city, knocking down some houses, which made people panic for a while. However, the Haihan Army was outside the city and had no way of knowing the situation inside the city.
As soon as the Haihan infantry outside the city approached, the number of defenders on the city wall immediately increased greatly. With bows and arrows and muskets, they shot at the Haihan army outside the city without hesitation.
The lives of the Haihan Army were precious, so Yan Chujie naturally would not let the troops hold up the siege ladder to storm the city wall. Seeing that the opponent still had the power to fight back, he asked the infantry to retreat and continue to bombard the city.
The battle lasted until noon, when the Haihan army retreated.
The urn city outside Chaoyang Gate in the east of the city has been bombarded to pieces and collapsed in many places, but it is still far from being able to break into the city. After the temporary truce, it is estimated that the city will send people to repair the urn city immediately.
With the foreshadowing of yesterday's battle at Xiangshan, Yan Chujie knew that the Ming army had a strong will to resist, and that taking a big city like Zhenjiang was not something that could be accomplished in a few clicks. Looking at the situation in front of them, if the Ming army is determined to defend the city, the Haihan army will really have to spend some time here.
When Yan Chujie was convening a meeting of officers from various ministries to discuss tactics, a soldier came in and reported that there were several visitors outside the camp, claiming to be local gentry in Zhenjiang, and they had something to say to the commander-in-chief of Haihan in person.
At this time of war, he actually dared to visit the enemy's military camp. This obviously had some special purpose. Yan Chujie thought for a moment and decided to meet the visitor to see what kind of medicine he was selling in his gourd.
Later, the three visitors were taken to the tent. When these three people saw Yan Chujie, they bowed and introduced themselves.
The fat man in a sapphire robe is named Gu Dingbao, and he claims to be the son-in-law of Duan Shengshi, a magistrate in Zhenjiang.
The old man in black clothes and white hair is named Kuang Guanglu, and he is the uncle of Kuang Yong, the commander of the Zhenjiang Guards.
The man with the goatee is named Fu Yuanxiang, but he has no official background. He is the steward of the Fu family, the richest businessman in Zhenjiang. However, he can appear here with these two people, which shows that the relationship between the Fu family and the government is not simple.
"It must be no small matter for you to choose this time to visit. If you have any intention of visiting, you might as well tell me directly."
Yan Chujie didn't want these people to waste his precious time, so he introduced the topic concisely and concisely.
The three of them exchanged glances, and Fu Yuanxiang was the first to speak: "Your Excellency, the purpose of my visit, which I am sure you already know, is to stop this war as soon as possible so as to avoid loss of life and suffering for the common people."
Yan Chujie said: "Our army has no plans to cease the war yet. If the defenders of Zhenjiang have such an idea, it is very simple. Open the city and surrender immediately. I, Yan Chujie, can keep the whole city safe, including all the personnel of the government and the army."< br>
Fu Yuanxiang responded: "Your Excellency, you have misunderstood. We are not here to discuss the surrender of Kaicheng."
Yan Chujie snorted coldly and said: "Then what are you here for? Do you want to let our Haihan Army let go of Zhenjiang City just by saying something?"
Fu Yuanxiang said: "There are several big families in the city who are willing to raise a sum of money and grain in exchange for the Han army to retreat. Master Kuang and Master Duan are guarantees for this matter. The specific amount can be discussed. I wonder what your wishes are?"
Yan Chujie said: "You may have misunderstood one thing. Our army is not attacking Zhenjiang for the money and food in the city, nor are we planning to come here to plunder and then retreat. From now on, Zhenjiang must be placed under the rule of Haihan!" ”
"This war will only end after our army takes Zhenjiang City."
Yan Chujie saw that the faces of these three people were ashen, so he added: "Since you guys came to me to negotiate terms, you should also want to find a way out. If you can help our army break the city, then I will provide you with a way out." ”
"As long as you are willing to work hard, you can continue to be an official and the richest man after the war. I, Haihan, can give whatever the Ming Dynasty can give, and I can also give what the Ming Dynasty cannot afford!"
"Think clearly whether you want to sink to the bottom with the Ming Dynasty's broken ship, or jump on my big ship."