There was already a hint of regret on Lin Guowei's slightly aged face. He had originally considered whether the enemy might be pretending to attack Huayang, but actually wanted to capture Loushanguan. He had already noticed this from various intelligence obtained some time ago. He also made corresponding arrangements for the determination of the Machi Khans, but he still did not expect that the Machi Khans would dispatch such an unprecedented large army. He didn't know that the Northern Romania War had broken out at the same time, but he knew that the number of enemy troops on his frontal battlefield alone would not be less than 150,000, which was already more than what he had placed in Huayang-Loushan. Guan - the total of Yushan's front-line battlefield troops, and in terms of combat effectiveness, only the most elite first legion of the company can compete with the opponent's army, and local troops such as the garrison division, Having never experienced a real bloody battle, Lin Guowei doubted whether they could survive this battle.
It is too late to regret now. The intelligence obtained by the scouts shows that a large number of Machi Khan's mobile light cavalry have been discovered near Huayang Fucheng. The mottled horses are very dazzling. You can tell at a glance that they are a specialty of the Maji Khanate, and There were also some wildebeest cavalry mixed in from time to time, and the Machikhans probably came out in full force this time.
Lin Guowei had anticipated the enemy's tactics and used cavalry to intercept the reinforcements from Huayang and Yushan, and then concentrated his superior forces to attack Loushanguan. Once Loushanguan was lost, the battle between Huayang, Yushan, and Jiangchuan would be The connection link was cut off, and the troop movements between the three places were likely to be attacked by the enemy troops from Loushanguan. This move was not without its viciousness. Fortunately, I also deployed sufficient troops at Loushanguan. Two elite divisions plus a garrison division, totaling nearly 70,000 people. Given the steepness and solidity of Loushanguan, no matter how rampant the Machi Khans are, if they want to capture Loushanguan in a short time, it is purely An illusion is that although Huayang and Yushan cannot send troops to reinforce Yushan without authorization, they can provide reinforcements to Loushanguan without being affected. In this way, the success or failure of Loushanguan becomes the key to this battle. , thinking of this, Lin Guowei regretted not insisting on leaving the garrison division in Loushanguan. At least in terms of defending the city, the garrison division could still play a lot of roles.
However, Lin Guowei underestimated the determination and courage of the Machihan people. Since they dared to pull out the nail in Loushanguan, the Machihan people had the consciousness not to be afraid of casualties or sacrifices.
Loushanguan is located at the strategic junction of Huayang, Yushan, and Jiangchuan. Although it is called Loushanguan, it was actually just a small fortress built on a slightly higher gentle hill. For a long time after the Lin family took control of Sanjiang, because the Yuejing Kingdom in the east was not Sanjiang's imaginary enemy, the importance of Loushanguan was not in the eyes of the Lin family at all. It was not until the Machi Khans annexed the Yuejing Kingdom and directed their troops towards Sanjiang that the importance of Loushanguan became increasingly apparent. The Lin family also began to expand the Loushanguan Fortress on a large scale. After several years of expansion and repair, Loushan Pass was Guan has also become a choke point connecting the two prefectures in the east of Sanjiang and the capital Jiangchuan. Especially after the Lin family's disastrous defeat in Guanxi, the combat power was declining day by day, and the requirements for city defense facilities became higher and higher. There was also greater investment in Loushanguan. Not only did the city walls be reinforced and raised, but huge sums of money were also spent to install them. Catapults and ballistae were powerful defensive weapons that were originally only installed on the walls of cities such as Fucheng.
However, with the full preparation of the Machihan people, these facilities in Loushan Pass pale in comparison. Although the Machihans had arrived at Loushan Pass a day ago, they did not launch any offensive. The densely packed camps stretched for more than ten miles, with flags covering the sky and the sun, and golden drums shaking the ground with thunder. The infantry formations with bright armor and high spirits were constantly practicing formations at the foot of the pass. The zebra cavalry and wildebeest cavalry galloping back and forth in front of the camp gate were not just provocative displays of force as they rushed to the pass not far away. This made the general of Loushan Pass of the Sanjiang Army feel cold when he climbed up to spy on the enemy.
However, the Machihans who have not launched an attack have made the Sanjiang army commander even more uneasy. Such a strange phenomenon can only prove that the enemy will have more vicious and cruel methods behind them. Once this offensive is launched, I am afraid that It is the ending of the city being destroyed and people dying without rest. But the situation has developed to this point, and there is no room for turning back. The only hope can only be placed on reinforcements from the three surrounding governments.
When the sound of horns once again attracted the generals of the Sanjiang Army to the tower, they finally saw for the first time the true combat power level of this country known as the largest military power in the southern part of the Eastern Continent.
More than a dozen high-altitude nest vehicles stand in the air, and more than ten strong crossbowmen can ride in the fighting room of each nest vehicle. Several giant trees are used under the fighting room to support it from different angles, making it very stable. The combat room was tightly wrapped with thick cowhide and painted with fire-retardant paint, leaving only a few combat holes for shooting; the nine-bow powerful ballistae was dragged by wildebeests and moved forward step by step, with the giant wooden frame on the vehicle One by one, the soldiers sent the large iron-headed javelins on a super-large powerful crossbow made of solid wood, horn, hard glue, and mechanical accessories such as machine springs and winches into the crossbow box trench, and then a The weapon is tightened, waiting for the final launch. Once a crossbow with great impact is launched, it is enough to pierce through any shield made of any material, and even easily pierce the bodies of several people.
Large catapults are not a rare item, but hundreds of catapults are pushed onto the battlefield at the same time. Such a huge shock is enough to make any general tremble. And next to the catapults are tanks full of oil. barrels of supply trucks, the rocks were immersed in oil barrels, ignited before being launched, and dropped into the pass through catapults. It is not known how long the Sanjiang army in the pass can sustain such a blow; the siege vehicles are also different from those commonly seen. The same thing, the wheels have been wrapped in thick cowhide to facilitate propulsion and prevent damage. The attack slope is smaller, which is more conducive for the soldiers to use inertia to rush to the city head. There are even two activities attached to the two wings of the siege vehicle. The spare slide can be moved with pulleys, allowing the siege vehicle to launch attacks from multiple angles more flexibly.
In addition to these large-scale equipment, many siege equipment such as movable ladders, ramming vehicles, and mobile arrow towers were put on the front line without reservation, and those standing between and behind these siege equipment were full of desire. The eager soldiers of Machihan and officers from all departments have already put on heavy armor and come to the front line in person. This momentum alone is enough to overwhelm the Sanjiang soldiers huddled in Loushanguan.
As the siege weapons continued to advance forward, the cavalry units originally arranged in the front line also began to disperse to both sides, making way for the siege weapons to attack. The various infantry squares also dispersed, clustering around. Behind the giant sliding oar shield, followed by the movable ladder and siege vehicle, making final preparations for launching the first attack wave.
The dull "Woo Wu" sound of the horn finally sounded, and they kept moving forward slowly. The various instruments that had been pushed to the edge of the long-range strike weapons attack by the defenders on the city wall suddenly accelerated. The soldiers shouted and pushed the ramming vehicles and siege vehicles. , movable ladders, and scull shields suddenly rushed forward, and the high-altitude nest vehicles, mobile arrow towers, catapults, and bed ballistas that followed were also accelerated forward by the pull of animal power or human power. Once they entered In their respective attack areas, they launched an overwhelming and crazy attack according to their own attack procedures.
The catapults and ballistas on the city wall have already poured out the first wave of arrows and boulders under the city wall at the first time. The defenders who have a high altitude advantage can always launch an attack first at this point, giving the enemy the greatest threat to themselves. The primary targets of the attack are naturally the enemy's mobile catapults and siege vehicles. The former will cause great damage to various arrangements on one's own city wall, while the latter is the main means for the enemy's infantry to launch attacks. As long as the enemy's offensive capabilities with these two attack methods can be effectively weakened, then this battle will be invincible.
Huge boulders flying from the sky continued to fall around the moving catapults, and the crossbow arrows that filled the air were like waves of migratory locusts coming to this position in a dark and dense manner. The soldiers responsible for protecting the catapults A few of them held up a huge anti-aircraft shield to prevent the boulders falling from the sky from damaging the objects they were protecting. However, boulders weighing hundreds of kilograms or even hundreds of kilograms fell with the help of inertia, and the impact it brought was astonishing. It was not something that ordinary shields could withstand. To hold on, the soldiers in front worked hard to open a protective barrier made of multiple layers of raw and cooked cowhide that looked like a big umbrella to protect the soldiers from the crossbow arrows. Although offensive and defensive drills had been conducted before the war, when it came to actual combat, the tragic conditions were unmatched by ordinary drills.
The huge falling boulders hit the shield, often causing the shield to scatter. The soldiers' mouths were shattered, or even their arms were broken, and they fell to the ground. There were "crash" cracking sounds, "crack bang" crunching sounds, wailing screams, and soldiers. The shouts and the sound of the "Puff" machine spring formed a harmonious and realistic sonata on the mobile trebuchet position. No one knows whether a huge boulder will fall from the sky and hit them on top of their heads at the next moment. At this moment, they only know their responsibilities to faithfully carry out their duties. They take the rocks, soak them in oil, put them in the throwing box, ignite them, and pull the wires to launch them. The cycle starts over and over again, just like a rigorously running machine. It's a precision machine, every link is so interlocked, there is no pause in the middle, as soon as one shot is fired, the other stone bullet is immediately loaded into the throwing box according to the program. Even the best at using this kind of attack with this level of proficiency When the Famini Empire training experts from City Equipment came to the scene, they couldn't help but admire the other party for their hard work in this regard.