Everyone echoed one after another, feeling how lucky they were compared to the Qing soldiers who perished in the flames.

Hu Daxiong sniffed, as if he smelled the aroma of barbecue, and even swallowed subconsciously.

"It was a bit hard to dig the soil and dig the trench, but I can finally have enough to eat!" Hu Daxiong felt quite satisfied, especially compared with those guys who were struggling desperately in the sea of ​​​​fire but to no avail, he was so happy.
p>

"I wonder if we will be used during the siege?" Someone asked the question, and they sounded quite expectant.

If you have the opportunity, you must pursue progress. People want to go to higher places, and no one wants to be a coolie all their lives. The same goes for being a soldier and eating food, no matter who you work for.

"Hehe." Hu Daxiong grinned twice and thought to himself: "It depends on the Ming army. Do you still have to make the decision yourself? You can do whatever you are told. Just listen."

At the top of Wushan City, there was a dead silence and a solemn atmosphere.

Li Guoying seemed to be a wood carving and clay sculpture, and as if time had frozen, motionless as he looked at Gaotang Temple, which was burning red through half of the night sky.

Beside him and behind him were a group of Qing army generals, all with serious expressions. They didn't even dare to cough, and even their breathing was deliberately suppressed.

Although they were woken up from their sleep, Li Guoying and others could not feel sleepy at all in the face of this unbelievable tragic scene.

Gaotang Temple was burning, but there was no heat coming from them. It was more like they had been poured cold water on their heads, and their hearts were chilling.

As a corner of Gaotang Temple, Yuzhen Mountain can also be said to be the barrier of Wushan City. When the Ming army last attacked Wushan, they killed a large number of Ming troops under Gaotang Temple.

But now, just one day after the formal attack, Gaotang Temple was easily destroyed by the Ming army in this way. How can it not make people frightened?

Finally, Li Guoying moved. He turned around slowly, glanced at the generals, but said nothing. He reached out and called the young officer on duty in the city, and asked.

The young officer trembled and described what he saw.

He didn’t have much education, and his language organization skills were average, but after Li Guoying’s repeated questioning, he still figured out what happened.

Li Guoying waved the young officer to retreat. After thinking for a while, he looked up at the generals and asked in a deep voice: "The thieves have a rocket that shoots far and is very powerful. The navy was defeated a few days ago for this reason.

."

The generals suddenly realized that this was the case. But even though they understood it, how should they deal with it?

Li Guoying looked at the eyes of the generals who were betting on him, sighed secretly in his heart, and said lightly: "This headquarters has no solution for the time being. In order to reduce losses, order the troops in Yuzhen Mountain to withdraw into the city!"

Gaotang Temple has been destroyed, and it is equipped with two to three thousand defenders and more than 20 artillery pieces; Yuzhen Mountain in the east of the city has no thought of the role of horns and mutual support.

"General, I will obey the order." Admiral Zheng Jiaolin bowed to accept the order.

Li Guoying glanced at the generals and said slowly: "The bandits will probably use their same tricks again, setting fire to the city with rockets, burning all the food and supplies, and making our army self-defeated without a fight."

"Therefore, disperse and store grain and grass supplies overnight, and make preparations for fire prevention and fire fighting. You are responsible for the divided areas in the city, and you must not be negligent."

The generals hurriedly bowed and agreed.

Li Guoying looked back at Gaotang Temple, where the flames were still rising, hesitated for a moment, then turned away resolutely.

………………

It was another sunny day, and Huang Li got up not too early.

There is really no need to work too hard. Gaotang Temple has been destroyed, and the remaining work is to continue digging trenches and approaching the city. Someone is responsible for this, so there is no need for him to do everything personally.

The Battle of Yiling not only achieved a great victory, but also trained many officers who were able to change their thinking and learn new tactics, one of which was close-in operations.

Under the protection of his guards, Huang Li appeared again in the west of the city, observing the progress of trench excavation and listening to the report of the officer in charge.

"Yes, well done." Huang Li first praised and then suggested, "It would be better if the trench has a slope so that the artillery on the city cannot hit it."

"The trench that separates Gaotang Temple from Wushan City needs to be accelerated. It is not only to seal the city gate, but also to protect Gaotang Temple. Our army will set up artillery on it to bombard targets in the city."

The officers took the order and left, and Huang Licai breathed a sigh of relief. According to the current progress of day and night construction, the trench around the city will be dug and the west gate of Wushan City will be blocked by tomorrow at the latest.

A good Qing army is a Qing army that stays in the city honestly. Huang Li hoped for an unchangeable victory, forcing the Qing army to retreat into the city and concentrate on defending the city, which would be the most ideal.

Today, it was Dang Shousu's men who came out of the camp to prepare for the Qing army's battle out of the city. Seeing Huang Li, Dang Shousu stepped forward to greet him and greeted him respectfully.

Huang Li returned the courtesy and said with a smile: "Marquis Xingping has worked hard. Although it is unlikely that the Qing army will leave the city to fight, we must be prepared just in case. Once the trench is dug, it will be easier."

Dang Shousu smiled and said: "Mr. Huang's running around to arrange arrangements is really hard work. As for the Qing army, they were frightened by the fire last night. The sentinel just reported that all the Qing troops on Yuzhen Mountain in the east of the city had withdrawn.

It’s inside the city.”

"It's better to retreat into the city. When the city is breached, we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop." Huang Li smiled and cupped his hands, "Let's go down to Gaotang and see if we can deploy artillery to bombard the city."

Dang Shousu said: "Sir, it's better to wait. I have already sent people to clean up, and it may not be possible until the afternoon."

Liu Xiang interjected: "Sir, it's better to go in the afternoon. The fire has just been extinguished for more than an hour, and even the ground is still hot. Burnt corpses are everywhere, and the smell is suffocating."

That's it - Huang Li hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and followed the advice without insisting.

Seeing that Dang Shousu's eyes were always looking at the telescope he was carrying, Huang Li simply reached out to take it, handed it to Dang Shousu, and said: "I can't use it for the time being, so I'll lend it to Marquis Xingping for use!"

Dang Shousu was not polite, stretched out his hand to take it, and said with a smile: "I heard from Tianbao that if there were transparent crystals and jade carving craftsmen, could Mr. Huang create similar treasures?"

Huang Li nodded and said: "The performance is definitely not as good as this one, but it can also see far, which is quite helpful for commanding battles."

"I will definitely send people to search extensively and get the telescope made by Mr. as soon as possible." Dang Shousu agreed, and he couldn't wait to raise the telescope and look into the distance.

Huang Li saw Lu Sanwei and others busy at work from a distance, so he rode over and asked about the survey results.

"Sir, there is no problem in tunnel excavation." Lu Sanwei pointed to the city and reported: "There is no moat, but the trench is still an obstacle. Of course, this is much less difficult than Yiling City."

Huang Li nodded slightly, all of this was expected.

It's just a trench, so it must be filled in. Instead of filling it all in, just like the attack on Yiling, just fill in the attack channel and solve the problem of exposure during tunnel excavation.
Chapter completed!