"What do you think they would do if our intentions were discovered on the mountain?" In front of the military camp at the foot of the mountain, Sun Tu looked at the large area of the mountainside that had been cleared, and hundreds of soldiers who were constantly transporting large amounts of wooden parts. , suddenly asked with a smile.
As Lu Yuan had judged, this time the Qingzhou Army had planned to use more powerful siege weapons catapults against Jintang City.
As early as he knew that Erlong Mountain was easy to defend but difficult to attack, Sun Tu had already focused on these heavy weapons that were of little use to ordinary cottages. Because many of the bandits' fortresses were built on steep, rugged and narrow mountains, the officers and soldiers could only fight in hundreds or hundreds of rounds. Naturally, those tall and bulky heavy weapons could not climb up.
Moreover, most of those mountain strongholds are still built on the top of the mountain, a hundred feet away from the ground. Even if the catapult is launched at full strength, the stone will be hit more than ten feet high, and it will not hurt the enemy's skin at all. Therefore, the general army attacks the mountain capital. You can only fight hard in the simplest way.
But Sun Tu planned to use other means to attack the mountain this time. He didn't want the Qingzhou Army to pay an extremely heavy price just to level Erlong Mountain. Especially after the first attack on Jintang City failed, he was even more determined in this idea. Only then did the battles in the next few days only for containment, but not for a fierce attack. At the same time, they quickly selected a location. , cut down a large number of trees on the mountainside, and paved the way for the subsequent transportation of catapults up the mountain.
The results of the past few days are quite remarkable. Now there is an open space on the side of the mountain less than twenty feet away from Jintang City, enough for three or five catapults. When Sun Tu and the others shouted, Under the command, the soldiers have been transporting the disassembled catapult parts upwards. As soon as they are assembled, they can send stones to destroy the entire Jintang City.
Despite the hard work of the army during the previous attack, in fact this so-called Jintang City just took advantage of its location on a steep mountain road. If you really want to talk about it, this kind of city wall cannot even compare with ordinary county towns. It couldn't withstand several rounds of bombardment from catapults.
Yang Zhi and others also showed joy at this time: "If they are smart enough, they can save their lives if they retreat now. Otherwise, once our catapult is launched, no one will be able to leave. And if they dare to go down the mountain A sneak attack will only kill you faster." This confidence is shared by both officers and soldiers. Once they lose their geographical advantage, these bandits in Erlong Mountain will be vulnerable to a single blow.
"Yes, I really hope they can continue to defend. Killing them more will make the next battle easier." Sun Tu said coldly: "Get everything ready tonight and launch an attack early tomorrow morning. , this Jintang City will be ours tomorrow!”
In Jintang City, several leaders had also received news from above. After learning that the army had actually deployed catapults on the mountainside not far away, these people also showed panic, and they all set their sights. Zeng Tao's body was waiting for him to make his final decision.
This man now also has many injuries on his body, but his face is still resolute: "If we abandon the defense of Jintang City like this, our brothers will definitely not be willing to accept it, and it will definitely greatly damage the morale of our copycat army and even affect the next war. So. I decided to continue to lead people to guard here.
I want to see how capable his officers and soldiers are in defeating our Jintang City! "
"But..." The person who came to deliver the message hesitated to say something, but was interrupted by Zeng Tao with a wave of his hand: "But we can't take too many risks, so I only need two hundred people to stay here with me, and everyone else can go ahead. Retreat to the mountain, especially those brothers who are injured, so that they can take care of themselves."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was in awe of him. Zeng Tao was not very impressive in the past, but unexpectedly he was quite responsible at the critical moment. After some exchanges, everyone unanimously approved their decision. Immediately, the people in the city started to move. The remaining two hundred who could still fight stayed behind with him. The other hundred or so injured all retreated to the mountain at night, and then Just wait for the officers and soldiers to launch a new round of attack tomorrow.
When the moon sets and the sun rises, and a new day arrives, the sound of trumpets quickly sounds from the bottom of the mountain, and then those at the top of the city see the catapults that have been erected, and those who are busy placing countless large and small stones into the The officers and soldiers in the net pockets at the rear. Today, when the horn sounded, no officers and soldiers launched a diversionary attack on Jintang City as before...
Inspired by Zeng Tao's selfless performance, everyone who stayed in Jintang City today was in high spirits, thinking only of a big kill so that the officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain would know how powerful Erlong Mountain was. But the momentum they had gathered had nowhere to vent, until a fierce drum beat sounded, and they saw the three trebuchets suddenly undulating under the control of people, and the net bags that were originally drooping at the rear were suddenly lifted up. The ground bounced, and then countless large and small rocks, wood and other objects hit their heads like hailstones with a whistling sound.
Without Zeng Tao's orders, everyone spontaneously shrank and hid under the city wall, and many people even held up weak shields. The roaring momentum alone had already destroyed in the blink of an eye the momentum they had just built up to dare to fight.
And something even more terrifying happened. After arriving at the head of Jintang City, the stones all over the sky fell suddenly. Many big stones hit the wall heavily, immediately smashing the city wall built of wood into pieces. It was so unbearable that large areas of the wall collapsed and shattered. The small stones scattered in all directions, covering a large area of the city head, and all of them hit those who were huddled behind the city.
The stones that fall with momentum can make holes even if they hit the wall. Now that they hit those flesh and blood bodies, the consequences will naturally go without saying. Suddenly, there were screams on the top of the city. Even the person holding the shield on his head was beaten to death and bleeding, and the shield was shattered. Others were even more miserable. Dozens of people were killed by this in the blink of an eye. The storm-like attacks completely knocked him out of combat.
The Qingzhou Army's catapult did not intend to just use the last round. After the first stone was knocked out, the officers and soldiers quickly started to take action, loading the stones into the net bag again, and then using the power of leverage. Launch again. In this case, in just one hour, they had fired five rounds at Jintang City and more than ten net bags of stones, using up all the ammunition they had prepared before.
At this time, Jintang City had long been turned into ruins, and the wooden wall in front of it, which had withstood the army for five or six days, had long since
More than half of the city collapsed, and the top of the city was even covered in smoke and dust, and not a single living person could be seen. After discovering the terrifying lethality of this catapult, Zeng Tao led his men to escape from the city. But even so, their losses were still serious. Only less than 60 of the 200 people survived, and all of them were injured. . What's even worse is that they have already lost their courage, and even their weapons were thrown away while they were busy running for their lives.
When the offensive on the mountainside stopped completely, a horn sounded again. The elites of the Jiazi Battalion, who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain for a long time, quickly rushed up. This time, their speed was faster than ever before. Five or six They rushed through the mountain road inside and reached the undefended Jintang City in a blink of an eye.
This time, they didn't need to climb the city wall anymore. They just picked up the logs they brought up and hit the already damaged city gate. They broke the door open and then rushed into the city while shouting.
The Erlongshan people who were still in a state of confusion in the city immediately became desperate when they saw the officers and soldiers coming in. They did not have the courage to fight to the death with the opponent. With the screams, they quickly turned around and fled back. In front of the simple wooden gate, dozens of people jumped up the mountain like a lost dog. Even Zeng Tao, who was quite courageous before, was no different at this time, just running around after the others.
Their fighting spirit has been completely destroyed by the powerful lethality of the catapult, and they also know how huge the gap between their own country and the official army will be once there is no city to defend, so at this time everyone has only one thought left, and that is to escape.
Seeing this, everyone in Jiazi Camp naturally became very energetic. They immediately followed closely and quickly headed towards the mountain to kill. Many people even have an idea in their minds that maybe by fighting all the way up, they can knock down the entire Erlong Mountain in one go. The great achievement was so close that no one was willing to lag behind. Even Zhou Xing strode to the front with a knife, constantly slashing to the ground the one or two thieves who fell behind.
The generals on both sides of the mountain and down the mountain saw this scene completely, and Deng Long, Lu Yuan, and the others turned pale in an instant. Although they thought that Jintang City could not withstand the power of the catapult, they did not expect that it would be defeated so quickly and so miserably. The two hundred people who stayed there died almost in vain.
"Quickly, let people defend the sky and never let the officers and soldiers go any further. Shoot arrows and rocks will fall! We must teach them a big lesson!" Lu Yuan was already panicking at this time and did not bother to discuss with Deng Long. The order to block the attack was given loudly.
Only then did the leaders on the mountain react and quickly ran down to deliver the order. The more than 100 guards at Yixiantian are all ready...
At the foot of the mountain, after a burst of joy, Sun Tu and the others also realized that Zhou Xing and the others were advancing too hastily. He immediately shouted: "Hurry up and ask the people of Jiazi Camp to stop the pursuit and stick to Jintang City!"
However, when he issued this order, it was already a little late. Zhou Xing, who was eager to kill the enemy and make meritorious deeds, led his men to chase the enemy. When they turned around a mountain road, a cold voice suddenly came from above: "Fire the arrow!"
Then they discovered that the road in front of them suddenly shrank sharply, allowing only one or two people to pass side by side. Dozens of arrows and stones had roared from a height more than ten feet away...