Zhu Neng died of illness in the army. According to military law, Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng and the Right Deputy General of the Expedition to the Barbarians, immediately took temporary command of the Eastern Route Army of more than 100,000 troops and continued to march into the territory of Annan. In mid-September, Zhang Fu captured the Beijiang Prefecture and advanced to the north bank of the Dajiang (Red River).
Soon after, the imperial edict from the court arrived at the front line by express horse, ordering Zhang Fu to officially command all the Ming troops in the Eastern Route.
At this time, the two armies of the Ming army, totaling 300,000 soldiers and civilians, had completely advanced to the north bank of the river; the army was stationed in the east and west, facing the Annan army's thousand-mile defense line.
When Zhang Fu arrived at Zhu Gaoxu's army with his cavalry guards, Zhu Gaoxu was preparing to besiege Muwanzhou City.
...Muwanzh
The feng shui of Muwanzhou is not good. It is located at the arch of a curved river, which can neither hide wind nor gather water. If it were on the south bank of the river and the city was built in the river bend, the feng shui would be much better... So now Muwanzhou is under siege by more than 100,000 people.The clear sky was already covered by a thick cloud of dust and smoke, as if the clouds were pressing down on the ground. In the hazy smoke, the roar of artillery fire flashed in all directions, with large cannons and muskets that flashed like stars.Zhu Gaoxu, riding a brown horse, was surrounded by a group of cavalrymen and crossed the battlefield in the smoke. He saw ladders set up everywhere outside the city wall, battering rams, artillery carts, and countless infantrymen advancing continuously. There were noises everywhere, shouts of killing, and screams.People were falling from the city walls all the time, including Ming soldiers who were shot
It was as if a river had burst its banks, and the muddy river water mixed with all kinds of debris rolled into the city; on the streets of Muwan Province, crazy crowds and war horses were running like a flood.The fleeing Annan soldiers were also running, and from time to time someone was knocked over or tripped, or shot and injured, and would soon be drowned in the crowd by the crazy Ming soldiers, and die without a complete body. A young Annan man was holding a musket in his hand, looking up and gasping for breath, running desperately with the crowd.After a while, he realized that the musket without ammunition was as useless as a stick. At this time, the generals and soldiers could no longer recognize each other and had no time to stop to reload and fight back. The young man thought the musket was unnecessary, so he threw it away and continued to run."Ah ah ah..." The person in front suddenly shouted, and everyone slowed down. The young man also hurriedl
The winding tributary (Duong River) flows into the river, and Thang Long is not far from the other side of the river.There were many bamboos growing on the river bank, and on the plains a little further away from the river bank, there were scattered forests, rice fields and villages. The scattered Ming soldiers were holding bows and crossbows, carefully searching in the woods. There must be Ming soldiers within five steps.Zhang Fu, the right deputy general of Pingyi, was at the edge of the woods. He used his scabbard to sweep away the weeds, walked to a tree, slapped the trunk with one hand, and looked up at the branches and leaves above.He needed to find suitable trees to build warships as soon as possible.Although Thang Long seemed to be within easy reach, the Annan army had already moved or burned the large ships on the river near Bac Giang Prefecture on the north bank of the river. The Annan army also deployed the main force of the navy on the
Wang Bin's vanguard troops built six floating bridges near the island in the middle of the river. More than 80 warships were deployed on the east side of the floating bridges to escort the Ming army's crossing of the river.The Ming army's temporary navy, relying only on dozens of captured Annan warships, was obviously not enough to resist the main force of the Annan navy. However, the Annan army did not mobilize the navy to counterattack in time.Scouts in Jiangbei reported that the enemy warships that had escaped from Muwan Prefecture were still retreating eastward; no Annan army fleet had been spotted yet.After receiving the military report, Zhang Fu's army of more than 100,000 responded very quickly. They had already moved camp and marched westward a few days ago and were approaching Muwan Prefecture.Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and thought that it was inevitable that the main force of the Ming army would cross the river from the floating bridge
In October, those who were in the capital of the Ming Dynasty would definitely feel the chill of winter. But on the plains of Annan, people don't feel cold even in the early morning, and can get by with just a single layer of clothing underneath their armor.The shadows of the tall black towers of Duobang City were vaguely visible in the haze. The mist in the air was so thick that it was hard to tell whether it was the moisture from the river last night or the heavy smoke from the gunpowder.On the city walls, artillery and muskets were flashing everywhere, and in the gray mist, rockets were flying all over the sky with black smoke. The deafening explosions had long drowned out the people's shouts, and the "buzzing..." sound between heaven and earth never stopped.The moat had long been blocked, and was divided into sections of stagnant water, filled with dead bodies, weapons, wheels, wheelbarrows, broken wood chips... the water was as turbid as the air at t
In the southwest corner of Duobang City, gray dust and fog were everywhere. In front of Liu Da, there was a line of rosin fire burning, and the smoke and black smoke from the burning rosin were lingering. He held a bow and arrow in his hand, staring blankly at the fire on the city wall in front of him.A huge fire started on a ladder, and the young men screamed and turned into balls of fire and kept falling down from above. The Annan soldiers on the top of the city were still throwing porcelain jars down, and the oil in the jars immediately added fuel to the fire.The ladder on the left front side was already broken! A general not far away pointed his sword at that side and shouted, "Fire!""Boom, boom, boom..." Liu Da was quickly shrouded in white smoke, and he coughed. At this time, Baihu Yin Desheng's voice shouted again to release arrows. The row of soldiers where Liu Da was sitting lowered their bows and arrows, and lit the oilcloth wrapped around the a
The walls of Dobang City have been rebuilt several times and are now a large city with walls three zhang high (more than eight meters).But now it seems not so high. Corpses are piled up beside the wall. In order to push the ladder to the front of the city wall, the Ming army directly covers the corpses with soil to build a road. Large slopes are formed outside the city wall, swallowing up the height of the wall.Nearly half of the centurion Yin Desheng's troops had been killed or wounded, and he himself was stuck on the slope, unable to move forward or backward. The enemy soldiers on both sides of the city wall kept shooting at them with muskets, and Yin Desheng felt more and more that his men were like living targets on the execution ground."Ah..." Another soldier on Yin Desheng's left was hit by a musket. The soldier dropped the weapon in his hand and screamed while holding his chest. A moment later, the cannon behind him roared like thunder, and a stone
In the thick smoke of Duobang South City, the sound of footsteps and horse hooves resounded through the heavens and the earth. On the ground, patches of red tassels swayed, and wide-brimmed iron helmets and a forest of swords and spears spread northward like a torrent.The Annan army on the other side seemed to have more people, with groups of war elephants armed to the teeth, and infantry following closely on both sides. The heavy footsteps of countless war elephants stepped on the brick ground together, and the earth seemed to be shaking."Boom boom boom..." Suddenly, large and small artillery pieces roared in front of the Ming army crowd, followed by the crackling of muskets, and a large cloud of white smoke rose with a sound like thunder."Woo..." The elephants began to cry out in fear. The war elephants, wearing leather armor and sharp weapons, were tall and terrifying, but when the firearms were fired, they ignored the trainers' shouts and turned aroun