In the past two days, Wu Jun had moved almost all the stones that could be moved around Changshu City. With only half a day and one night, even if he mobilized tens of thousands of people to collect stones, he could not get more in a short time. In the end, What was piled behind the catapult was only half of what was thrown into the city yesterday.
But in the eyes of Wu Jun, this small amount of stone was enough to completely blast through the northern city wall of Changshu. After all, the city walls were damaged by a round of bombardment yesterday and would not be able to withstand another round of bombardment.
Amidst the shouts of tens of thousands of generals with great morale, the soldiers operating the catapults quickly stepped forward and got to work immediately. As for the corresponding actions of the defenders at the top of the city, they were completely ignored. Since even Pang Shuai didn't think those bed crossbows were much of a threat, ordinary people took them in his eyes.
At this time, the soldiers at the top of the city were making final adjustments and aiming under Hua Rong's orders. Hundreds of people were busy with his orders such as "three points lower and half an inch to the left." But Hua Rong was completely immersed in it at this time. His eyes kept scanning back and forth between the bed crossbow and the ready-to-go Thunderbolt workshop below. His whole body exuded an unprecedented momentum.
In the past, Xiao Li Guang was indeed brave in battle and had excellent archery skills, but that was just his personal martial arts. It wasn't until today that he truly found his greatest value. He believed that as long as he defeated today, his name as "Little Li Guang" would change.
"Qianji, can this really happen?" Many people watching on the side had doubts, and even Yue Fei asked softly after enduring for a long time.
"I believe in Hua Rong's ability. It's just five crossbows. He will definitely be able to shoot the most accurate arrows!" Sun Tu still looked confident, but it made everyone around him feel at ease.
At this moment, Hua Rong suddenly straightened his back, took a deep breath, and shouted decisively: "Add the arrow and pull the string!" However, all the directions and heights were adjusted to the best position, and it was time to take action. .
In a moment, the soldiers moved quickly and deftly, loading the crossbows with spear-like arrows as thick as their arms, and then slowly shook the handle on the side to twist the bow string into place. This bed crossbow, known as the Eight Ox Crossbow, has a pulling force of more than a thousand kilograms. It cannot be easily pulled by human power, but it is much simpler under the action of the machine.
Just a moment later, all the preparations were completed, the five-sided pyramid at the top of the spear shone with a frightening cold light, and fifteen sharp arrows were ready. After glancing at Sun Tu and seeing him nod, Hua Rong gave the final order without hesitation: "Fire the arrow!"
"Bang bang bang..." The five wooden hammers quickly hit the machine bracket behind the crossbow, causing the two-finger-thick bow string to quickly decouple and rebound, and also pushed the spear that was tightly buckled on the bow string to snap. After that, he quickly sent it forward. In the blink of an eye, fifteen spears made a sharp whistle through the air, flew high into the air, and flew like meteors towards the Wu Army's thundering chariot formation several miles away.
At the same time, several catapults were ready. At the general's command, they quickly popped up the net bag behind them and threw countless fine stones high to the top of the city.
For a moment, the spears and stones flying through the air passed by. But this did not affect their respective flight trajectories. They were staggered behind each other and headed towards their respective goals.
The mark suddenly fell.
After the stones flew to the top of the city, they fell again like raindrops. But this time the defenders were already prepared. With loud shouts, the soldiers quickly raised their shields and shrank to some corners where they could hide. Important figures like Sun Tu and Peng Yongzhen quickly set up a dozen shields around them, blocking all the stones that flew in front of them.
However, everyone was so busy dodging and resisting the rocks coming from the sky that they didn't bother to check the catapult below. They could only vaguely hear a few roars and screams.
After all the stones fell, all the soldiers took the risk to look down. Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then a wave of cheers sounded from the top of the city: "The Thunderbolt Chariot has been broken!"
I saw that half of the catapults in the row below were torn apart. Not only that, but many soldiers next to them also fell to pieces, either injured by the spears that passed through, or by the shattered catapult structures and structures. The stone that had not yet been sent was wounded. This scene fell into the eyes of Sun Tu and others who came forward to check. Even they cheered. Hua Rong was filled with a sense of accomplishment, and his face turned as red as if he had drunk several kilograms of strong wine.
It turned out that just as the soldiers at the top of the city were avoiding the stones coming at them, those arrows hit the catapult like thunderbolts. Then, under the astonished gaze of all the Wu troops, these spear-like arrows hit five catapults hard.
These arrows were fired with a thousand pounds of force. Even the city wall built with blue bricks could be easily blasted by them. How could these catapults made of wood be able to withstand it? So after a loud noise, the catapult instantly shattered and scattered, catching the surrounding Wu troops by surprise, and many people were injured.
But this is not the most critical thing. The most terrible thing is to see with your own eyes that the weapon you rely on to break the city is actually shot and exploded by the enemy from a long distance. The psychological impact and blow are so great that it actually scares several other vehicles. The Wu troops behind them all fled back. They no longer dared to control the catapult to attack the city head.
Even Pang Wanchun, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, was stunned for a long time after this astonishing scene happened, and then he muttered: "How is this possible... Although the bed crossbow is powerful, it has never been accurate. How did they do it?" The one who shot our Thunderbolt car from a long distance?"
"Pang Shuai, bring back the remaining Pili cars quickly, otherwise it will be all over!" It was not until the general on the side reminded him loudly that he woke up from a dream and quickly ordered: "Quickly, drag back the other intact Pili cars! "The Wu army has few thunder chariots, and they are all retained by the original army. If they are all destroyed here, their combat power will be greatly reduced.
But this reaction was still half a step too late, because Chengtou had taken this opportunity to adjust its direction again, and fired all the remaining dozen or so arrows at the Thunderbolt Chariot that was still there. With the previous experience, Hua Rong became more and more proficient in controlling the bed crossbow. After some orders, the arrows flew out and shot three catapults again. Only three arrows were deflected due to being too eager. direction.
But even so, it completely reversed the unfavorable situation and defeated Wu Jun's attempt to break the city with a catapult.
The idea also severely damaged the morale of the enemy's troops. Just after this new round of arrows was released, the sound of tinkling gold came again from the rear of the Wu army. The Wu army, which was ready to attack and wanted to seize the opportunity to rush into Beicheng, could only retreat in anger, and as soon as it retreated, it retreated. Seven or eight miles away.
When they saw this scene, the Huainan army on the city even cheered: "The Song Dynasty will win, Sun Qian will rule with might, General Hua will be mighty..." The cheers continued for a long time, and even infected the defenders of the other three cities, and also made They let out bursts of shouts and cheers.
For the Huainan Army, which had always been on tenterhooks and passively beaten, the battles in the past few days were unprecedented. The ups and downs made them feel the joy of fighting under the command of Sun Tu. This was something they had to do with Peng Yongzhen before. A joyful feeling that can't be found in an ignoble life.
At this moment, everyone was shouting for joy, venting the grievances they had suppressed for many days. At this moment, everyone had forgotten about their generals and just cheered uncontrollably. At this moment, many people even had some strange thoughts in their minds - if they could always follow Sun Qianha from now on, it would be much better than following Peng Qianha!
Peng Yongzhen also felt a burst of joy and relaxation at this time, but did not notice the unreasonable cheers of the soldiers. After a long while, he came to Sun Tu, raised his hands and said sincerely: "Sun Qian, I am really convinced this time. In terms of using troops to fight, you must be stronger than all the generals in Jiangnan today. This time our Huainan army can fight with The Shandong Army merged to kill the enemy, which is really my greatest blessing, Peng."
"Haha, Peng Qian's words are serious. The credit for this battle still belongs to Commander Hua." Sun Tu glanced at Hua Rong approvingly, but his face did not look proud because of this. It is of great use in the use of firearms.
At this time, Hua Rong stepped forward and said humbly: "The general is just following Sun Qianji's orders and does not dare to take credit. Moreover, it was Qianji's previous tips that allowed the general to quickly grasp the crossbow and shoot arrows. He knocked on the door and took advantage of the situation to defeat the rebel catapult."
"Okay, you don't need to be modest anymore. You should take the lead in defeating the enemy today. Of course, everyone else has also contributed. I will report the truth to the court when the time comes." Sun Tu said this with a smile. After that, his face became serious again: "But don't be too happy, everyone. Although the rebels retreated, they only retreated temporarily. Their vitality is not damaged and they will come back soon. Our city of Changshu is still in crisis!"
"General, I understand that we will continue to guard the city strictly and never give any opportunity to the rebels!" Hua Rong said immediately.
Peng Yongzhen also clasped his fists: "Our Huainan Army has determined that Sun Qian will be in charge of you, and we will not dare to slack off at all!"
Seeing the reaction of the soldiers, Sun Tu finally showed a satisfied smile on his face: "Okay, I feel relieved after saying this. Then quickly mobilize the soldiers to repair the city wall. While the weather is cold, use ice To cover the city wall, before the enemy can react, we must complete the renovation of our northern city."
"Here!" Under the unanimous agreement of all the soldiers, Beicheng became lively again.
After this change, the battle surrounding Changshu City has slowly changed from a one-sided fight to a protracted see-saw confrontation...