If we are attacking a city outside the mountains, it is very simple to use the weapons and equipment of the Qingzhou Army to break through a city like Jintang City that is only five feet high. We only need to use trebuchets to suppress it, and then send a ladder team to quickly climb up. Go up to the city head. But today they were fighting up the mountain. These heavy and large siege equipment could not go up the mountain for a while, so they could only use the simplest means to forcibly climb the city.
Dozens of elites from the A-shaped battalion threw ropes and hooks up to the city, and then continued to climb up under the cover of the rear archers, intending to scale Jintang City in one go. The movement below also quickly frightened the Erlongshan men who were guarding the city. At this time, they no longer had to dodge the arrows that were constantly being thrown up. Instead, they rushed to the edge of the city wall and kept cutting the ropes to stop the officers and soldiers. Climb the city.
At this time, the losses on the city increased rapidly. From time to time, some people screamed and fell down after being hit by arrows, but others remained unmoved because they knew very well that once the army was really on top of the city, Jintang City would be destroyed! They have experienced the powerful combat power of the Qingzhou Army. As long as there is no geographical advantage, they will have no choice but to be slaughtered.
Not only the hundreds of defenders on Jintang City understood this, but Deng Long and others in the rear also knew that the situation was urgent. They quickly ordered the defenders at the two checkpoints behind to quickly dispatch troops down the mountain to support them. They also brought a large number of bows and arrows with them. Go down and use it to suppress the officers and soldiers near the city head.
Once the guards of Jintang City tried their best, the situation in Camp A below was somewhat unfavorable. The ropes were cut off one by one, causing them to fall to the ground again. At the same time, stones and arrows continued to fall down as if they were free. As they watched, After people kept getting hit and fell down, even Zhou Xing began to hesitate. Is it really worthwhile to continue fighting like this
You must know that this is the first line of defense in Erlong Mountain, and it is also the easiest to defeat. There are two difficulties behind it. If you really suffer too much damage here, the next battle will be even more difficult. .
At the bottom of the mountain, Sun Tu also frowned. He really didn't expect that Jintang City would be so difficult to break, so he still underestimated the guys like Erlongshan. After just thinking for a while, he had already made a decision: "Ming Jin asked Camp A to retreat, and Camp B to replace it. However, this time, don't attack as fiercely as Camp A, just consume the arrows on the mountain!"
The sound of gold ringing sounded again in the army, and everyone in the A-shaped battalion breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately retreated to the rear in an orderly manner. Compared with the previous chaos of the Sanshan soldiers who just ran for their lives and left many corpses behind, their actions were much more simple. Much more regular and straightforward.
Those guarding the city were also feeling short of breath at this time. After two battles, they were exhausted and wanted to rest, both physically and mentally. But the officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain obviously did not give them a chance. As the A-shaped battalion retreated, the B-shaped battalion took its place and launched another attack on Jintang City.
Although Yiziying had received Sun Tu's order and no longer had to attack the city with all their strength, their strong combat power and the constant arrows thrown onto the city still put enough pressure on the enemy, and many people died as a result, which put pressure on the defenders on the city. Even bigger, many people have thought of giving up here and retreating up the mountain.
This offensive and defensive battle around Jintang City lasted for a whole day, and it was not until dark that the officers and soldiers finally withdrew from the mountain. In this battle, the casualties of the official army reached more than 300. Although most of the casualties were the Sanshan soldiers who attacked the mountain in the first round,
But the casualty figures are still so shocking. After all, the Qingzhou Army now only has about 1,400 people.
As for the casualties on the Erlong Mountain side, there were fewer casualties. Less than two hundred people died in this battle. However, when the exact figures were reported, the leaders were still panicked. This was the first day of the official war. If the army continued to attack the city with all their strength, I am afraid that the brothers on the mountain would soon be unable to bear the pressure and collapse.
Erlong Mountain does not have the strong cohesion of the army. These people stay on the mountain just to live a better life. If they really knew that they would die if they stayed on the mountain, not many people would risk their lives. Deng Long was also aware of this, and was even more worried at this time. After walking around Lu Yuan who kept looking down the mountain for a while, he sighed: "I didn't expect that the Qingzhou army was so fierce. Military advisor, what should we do?"
Lu Yuan looked at the billows of smoke rising from the barracks below, and his expression seemed quite calm: "Captain, brothers, there is no need to panic. The heavy losses suffered by the officers and soldiers today must be beyond their expectations. I predict that tomorrow Their offensive wouldn’t have been so ferocious at the beginning.”
After a pause, he glanced at the people around him, and then said: "Youdao is working hard. They only wanted to capture our Jintang City quickly, so they completely ignored the casualties. But the result was not as he expected. Hopefully, will they still dare to give it a try tomorrow? You must know that their military strength is not much greater than ours."
"What if they change the attack to a siege? The food stored in our village is only enough for one month." Someone immediately raised a new question.
"That's exactly what we want to see. If we can sustain it for a month, can the army? Don't forget that Han Benshan set fire to the official warehouse in Qingzhou before he came here. Let alone a month, it is ten days and a half. I don't think they can survive. Moreover, the key reason why they are so eager to attack the mountain is lack of food.
"There are also reinforcements from Liang Shanbo, which should arrive within this month. By then, with our combined efforts, we can attack from both inside and outside. Do we still have to worry about being unable to defeat this Qingzhou army?"
Lu Yuan's analysis really lifted the mood of everyone present. The psychological pressure caused by the previous urgent scene in Jintang City was finally relieved a lot. At that moment, these people all went back, leaving Lu Yuan still outside looking at the military camp below, with a flash of doubt and worry in his eyes.
He could easily see these problems. Wouldn't Sun Tu and other officers and generals know about them? Then why do they dare to attack Erlong Mountain without any scruples? What do they rely on? It was precisely because he couldn't see through this that Lu Yuan was uneasy, but he couldn't tell others about this worry, otherwise it would only disturb the morale of the army.
In the end, he could only remember everything he had seen from a high position in his mind before sighing secretly and turning back to the temple to eat and drink. No matter what situation you are about to face, the most important thing is to eat enough and drink enough first and keep your spirits up.
The battles in the next few days were just as Lu Yuan had judged. I wonder if it was because the price paid for the first attack on the mountain was too heavy. From the next day, the offensive of the army became much weaker. Although there are still troops taking turns to attack the city every day, their threat to Jintang City is far less than the first day. The casualties on both sides continue to decrease, and the violent attack has gradually turned into a tug-of-war and attrition war.
It seems that starting from the next day, the army has changed its strategic purpose, from forcibly breaking through the barrier to consuming various weapons guarding the mountain at the minimum cost, in order to achieve the purpose of bringing down Erlong Mountain.
But Lu Yuan still had concerns in his heart. Even if the battle was no longer fierce, he would still check what was happening below from a high place outside Baozhu Temple every day. On the fifth day, he really noticed something fishy, and immediately sent someone to invite Deng Long and others.
"Military advisor, is the mountain going to attack the mountain again?" Deng Long hurried over after hearing the news. He was relieved when he saw no more than a hundred officers and soldiers in front of Jintang City firing arrows towards the city from a distance.
But Lu Yuan's face looked extremely solemn: "Captain, look at the area from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside over there." As he spoke, he pointed in a circle on the left side with his hand.
"Well..." Deng Long and others looked at the area carefully with some doubts. To be honest, they never paid much attention to that area, because there was really nothing worth paying attention to except the large forests. Of course, they also found that the area was different now, and the trees were much sparser than before.
Seeing that they all looked confused, Lu Yuan could only explain patiently: "Zhai leader, brothers, those trees were cut down by the army. They must have spent a lot of thought on it in the past few days, so they No more forcible attacks on our Jintang City."
"So what? Can they still threaten me, Erlong Mountain, by cutting down trees?"
Lu Yuan secretly sighed, these guys really don't have any strategic ideas except fighting and killing. At this time, he could only continue to explain: "The reason why our Jintang City was able to stand before was because the army could not use heavy siege equipment, but Once they can use it, a small city will not be able to stop the offensive of the army... "
"Even if they want to build siege equipment on the spot, it will take a long time..."
"It's not that they were built. The officers and soldiers should have brought these weapons a long time ago, but they have not used them due to terrain restrictions. In the past few days, they have been opening up the roads that hinder their progress. Once that area is completely vacated, let them If weapons such as catapults are sent up the mountain, our Jintang City will be completely destroyed!" Lu Yuan was really anxious this time, and expressed his worries loudly and almost red-faced.
As soon as these words came out, everyone else's expressions changed, and Deng Long even said anxiously: "What should we do?"
"There are only two ways. One is to send troops and horses to attack the area at night before they are ready, hoping to destroy all those catapults. But this is extremely risky. Maybe the government troops have already been there. There's an ambush set up there, just waiting for us to run into it."
When Deng Long heard this, he shook his head decisively: "This is indeed impossible, it is too risky." After several battles, he had long been afraid of the Qingzhou Army, how could he dare to send troops rashly.
Lu Yuan smiled bitterly, and then said: "Then the only solution left is to abandon Jintang City and defend the sky. That can save the lives of our brothers. Fortunately, the mountain road behind Jintang City is steeper and narrower. , it will be impossible for the army to transport heavy siege equipment in the future."
"This..." Deng Long and the others suddenly fell into entanglement again. They were really unwilling to give up a pass like this.