Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 594: Invasion of Shenglong City

Yan Keyi still believed in the reputation of the Qian Dynasty and the guarantee of the Qingluan Guard. However, before getting all of this, he must first ensure that he can live to that time. After all, if a person is gone, all the guarantees will be empty words.

Yang Dafu's purge of Yan Keyi's old subordinates inevitably caused the morale of his army to decline and the command of the army was affected. However, Thang Long City, which was defended by Yan Keyi, was not a solid wall.

No matter how much Yan Keyi said, it was still considered as killing his master to establish himself. Especially after Li Chengdong's entire mansion was destroyed, everyone saw Yan Keyi's true face. It was him who assassinated Li Chengdong, and it was also him who killed the entire family to silence them. Although Li Chengdong had a bad reputation, Yan Keyi's reputation was not much better now.

Therefore, in order to stabilize Thang Long City, Yan Keyi, on the one hand, promoted low-level officers on a large scale, and on the other hand, filled the backbone with his own personal guards, trying to control the army firmly. If given time, then this method would naturally have no problem, but now, what Yan Keyi lacked was time.

As soon as Yang Dafu's army arrived at Thang Long City, they immediately used local materials to cut down trees for siege. At the same time, they sent people to the four walls to loudly read out Yan Keyi's act of killing his master and establishing himself as the emperor.

The sound of shouting spread from outside the city into the city. When the defenders on the city wall heard these words, their expressions varied. The officers promoted by Yan Keyi and his personal guards all scolded the bandits, saying that they were disrupting the morale of our army.

However, Li Chengdong had just been assassinated, and many people were suspicious of Yan Keyi. Suspicion among soldiers was a big taboo in military operations.

On the tower, Yan Keyi heard the announcement outside the city and his face turned livid. He glared at Yang Dafu's army outside the city, clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Yan Keyi said hatefully, "Yang Dafu, you thief, you want to fight if you want to, but you still want to scold me!"

Yang Dafu stood in front of the central army tent, looking at the chaotic scene on the city wall, his mouth slightly raised, revealing a smug smile. He turned to Wu Wenxian beside him and said, "First, we need to disrupt the morale of the army and the people. When the siege equipment is ready, it will be time to attack the city. Yan Keyi is known as a fierce general. I want to see how he dies this time!"

Wu Wenxian nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, if it weren't for the Marshal's promotion, how could Yan Keyi have become so famous in Annan?"

Wu Wenxian is now somewhat relieved that Yan Keyi sent him out. If he were still in the city, he would be crying out to heaven and getting no response from heaven or earth.

Just as Yang Dafu was making equipment and preparing to attack the city, a team of fast horses came galloping. As soon as they entered the camp, they rushed to the main tent and asked to see Yang Dafu.

After reading the military letter, Yang Dafu looked worried. Wu Wenxian, who was standing beside him, wanted to ask something, but was afraid that Yang Dafu would suspect him, so he opened his mouth but closed it again.

Fortunately, Yang Dafu did not suspect anything and handed the report to Wu Wenxian. Wu Wenxian unfolded it and frowned, saying, "Did the Qian Dynasty send troops?"

"Yes, now that the northern defense line has been occupied, it seems that it is only a matter of time before the Qian Dynasty's influence extends into Annan." Yang Dafu sighed and said slowly.

Wu Wenxian said hesitantly: "With the northern defense line gone, even if we take down Thang Long City, it will not be easy to drive the Qian Dynasty back!"

Hearing this, Yang Dafu touched his head, shook his hands, took a long breath, and said, "Who cares? Let's take it one step at a time. Let's take down Shenglong City first and kill that Yan guy first!"

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After several days of intensive preparations, the siege equipment built by Yang Dafu was finally completed. Outside the city, there were tents everywhere and various siege equipment was neatly arranged. Although it looked very crude, it was still quite intimidating from a distance.

Li Chengdong governed Annan for several years. During these years, he was busy suppressing rebellions, killing people, and plundering land. He had no intention or conditions to develop high-tech products such as firearms.

As for firearms, there were only a few antiques looted from Guangdong and Guangxi, left over from the Ming Dynasty. These antiques had never been used since they were used once by the Ruan family's elephant soldiers. Therefore, in this battle, even the ancient catapult was made by Yang Dafu.

The catapult looked very tall, with a large number of irregular stone bullets piled up beside it. With Yang Dafu's order, the messenger waved the flag, and in an instant, the war drums thundered, the shouts of killing shook the earth, and the army rushed towards Thang Long City like a surging tide.

The catapults launched the first attack, and one stone bomb after another whizzed over the attacking soldiers and hit the top of the city like raindrops.

Although the catapults could hardly cause damage to the city walls, they dealt a heavy blow to the lives and morale of the soldiers. Many people were hit by the flying stones and fell down screaming.

At the same time, a large number of soldiers carrying flying bridges approached rapidly. One flying bridge after another was placed on the moat to form a simple floating bridge. Many soldiers held shields and guarded their comrades as they reinforced the bridges.

As the flying bridge was fixed, a large number of ladders were pushed forward, and Yang Dafu's trusted subordinates quickly approached the city wall despite the rain of arrows from the city.

They leaned the ladder against the city wall, and as the iron hook fell, the ladder was stuck firmly on the top of the city wall. Many soldiers held up their shields and climbed up bravely.

Seeing this, the defenders on the city wall used spears and stones to resist, some trying to push down the ladders, and some trying to shoot down the soldiers climbing up. For a moment, shouts and screams were intertwined on the city wall and below, and blood dyed the walls red.

Facing such a fierce attack by Yang Dafu's army, Yan Keyi tried his best to command the resistance, but the people in the city were already panicking. The morale of the soldiers was low. Yang Dafu attacked from three sides, and there were emergency letters and letters for help everywhere. After a long time, even Yan Keyi lost confidence.

In fact, with more than 17,000 people under Yan Keyi's command, it would not be easy for Yang Dafu to capture Thang Long City as long as the morale of the army was stable.

After all, Thang Long City has always been the capital of the Zheng family of Annan. The city walls are thick and solid, and the food in the city is enough to feed Yan Keyi's more than 10,000 people for three years.

However, now the army's morale is unstable, and coupled with the strange death of Li Chengdong, many soldiers are resistant to this battle and have no desire to fight.

By dusk, under the fierce attack from three sides, the defenses on the west gate wall gradually showed loopholes. Hundreds of Yang Dafu's men had climbed up the wall. They gradually occupied the wall, while many of the defenders fled. As more and more troops rushed up the wall, the defense line on the wall collapsed instantly.

The collapse of the city wall defense line also led to the loss of the city gate. The subsequent army poured into the city like a flood. The city suddenly fell into chaos. The streets and alleys were filled with fighting and crying. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yan Keyi led his few confidants to try to break out from the south.

It took Yang Dafu only four days from arriving at Thang Long City to conquering it. Yang Dafu rode his horse and slowly entered the city, his face filled with pride of victory.