The Zhuozhou offensive and defensive battle had already entered a fever pitch from the very beginning.
As the trebuchets of the Liao army outside the city raised their arms, countless stones as big as millstones and as small as fists all hit the city head like hail. A section of the city wall that was right outside the city wall was immediately filled with rammed earth, and the city wall with outer city bricks was filled with stone chips and pitted. It even caused the entire section of the city wall to tremble.
And more stones hit the defenders on the city fiercely. Although the defenders were well prepared and raised their shields to protect themselves, they were still no match for the stones that were falling with ferocious force. For a moment, The screams were loud and the small trebuchets at the rear were all smashed and damaged. Only a few of them were rescued and sent down to the city.
As for those important generals, when the enemy started to use catapults, they immediately moved into the fortifications at the top of the city, and finally gained temporary safety. But everyone still looked unhappy, because the Liao army's crazy offensive and full preparations still exceeded their expectations.
"We must first find a way to destroy long-range weapons such as catapults, otherwise we may not be able to defend for too long." Sun Tu said solemnly: "Are there weapons like bed crossbows here now?" Speaking of which, bed The crossbow is the most powerful tool for defending the city against the trebuchet, especially since Sun Tu has Hua Rong who has great experience in using the bed crossbow. As long as he is given a chance to get familiar with it, he might be able to use it in a short time. Destroy the catapults outside the city.
But the generals of the victorious army around them all shook their heads: "There were originally a few crossbows in the city, but they were all old and out of use. And we don't have the relevant technology at all..."
Sun Tu was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then he understood. After all, the Ever Victorious Army was not a regular army. Naturally, they could not compare with the imperial armies of the Liao and Song Dynasties in terms of weapons reserves and development. They can still build simple trebuchets based on experience, but more complex bed crossbows are beyond their capabilities.
"Then what should we do? Bows and crossbows alone can't hurt them at all, and our trebuchets are far from comparable in terms of number and attack range." A general said anxiously.
Before the discussion on this issue came to a conclusion, there were sounds of killing again outside. Sun Tu and others immediately understood and ran out of the fortification, climbed to the top of the city again, and looked outside. However, they found that the situation had become worse. Because of the trebuchets behind them, the Liao army's siege equipment could move forward safely. At this moment, three trench bridges had approached the moat, and the bridges had begun to be laid. At the same time, the left and right sides were being replaced. Thousands of Liao troops kept firing arrows upward to suppress them.
However, the stone-trebuchet that had been violently hitting the city head just now temporarily stopped its attack because it was worried about accidentally injuring its own soldiers. But even so, the damage to the northern city wall was extremely huge. Not only was the entire wall as pitted as a pockmarked face, but several sections of the battlements were destroyed, and hundreds of soldiers were injured or killed. This also severely dampened the morale of the defenders, so that at this moment they could only retreat behind the city wall and did not dare to take the lead easily again.
"What are you doing? If you continue like this, in less than half an hour, the ladders of the Liao army will be set up in front of us. Get up and fight back!" Dong Kuang was really furious when he saw this, and immediately shouted loudly, almost Stepping over to the city wall, he kicked a few soldiers who were still huddled in the corner and rolled all over the ground. The sword on his waist was even worse.
He pulled it out, pointed at everyone and shouted: "Get up! Life and death depend on this. Can't you bear this little danger?"
Sun Tu also rushed forward decisively, grabbing the bow and arrow that had been dropped on the ground. After calmly dodging a few arrows that hit the top of the city with obvious force and loss of accuracy, his head suddenly popped up, and he raised his hand, An arrow shoots directly at the enemy below. His arrow was extremely accurate, and he immediately knocked an enemy who was still bending his bow to the ground. At the same time, he shouted: "Fire the arrow! We have a geographical advantage, how can we be suppressed by their bows and arrows?" !”
Under the urging and example of the two men, the soldiers finally recovered, and they all shouted and picked up their bows and arrows again, and kept calling down. Sure enough, just as Sun Tu shouted, the defenders high above the city were naturally much stronger when shooting at them. The victorious army, which had gathered its military morale, fired several rounds of random arrows, and immediately suppressed the Liao army under the city.
At the same time, the two sharpshooters Hua Rong and Fan Qi decisively selected the Liao soldiers who were still controlling the trench bridge. They fired a barrage of arrows, and a large number of enemies fell around the trench bridge, which scared the others and hurriedly Move to both sides.
Seeing this, Dong Kuang was even more happy and urged: "Put the kerosene and torches on these things, they must be burned!" Naturally, the city was busy again, and soon, those earthen jars appeared again . But a more troublesome problem arose. Across the moat, it was difficult to throw the jars onto the moat bridges just by throwing them. However, half of the trebuchets that were supposed to be used to throw the jars were destroyed. Half of them were sent down the city and would not be able to come up for a short time.
"Quickly, bring up the trebuchet!" Dong Kuang shouted sternly. This was all about competing for time and speed. Because he had discovered that more Liao troops were beginning to gather forward, and it was obvious that he wanted to quickly put the trench bridge in place and build it on the other end of the moat before this happened.
Speaking of which, this moat bridge is indeed a great weapon in the army. Not only is it long and wide enough, it can build a thoroughfare on the moat, which is much more convenient than cutting off or filling the river with sand. However, this weapon also has certain shortcomings, that is, it is very heavy as a whole, and it takes a long time to reach the other side. The siege army must completely suppress the city head before it can be easily accomplished.
Therefore, after the Liao army realized that the counterattack had resumed at the top of the city, they decisively moved forward with additional troops regardless of casualties. They must rush to erect the bridge deck before the victorious army's trebuchets could be used again.
In an instant, arrows rained down from above and below the city again, and screams continued, but no one could do anything to anyone, forming a subtle balance of power. But as the Liao army increased its troops, the trench bridge began to move again, and a huge mobile bridge began to slowly fall down. It seemed that it would not take long before the bridge could be successfully paved.
At this moment, a thunderous explosion suddenly sounded in the east of the city. Before the Liao army could react, there were two more explosions in succession, and fire and black smoke rose up. After only a moment, Xiao Qian quickly understood, and at the same time his face became extremely ugly: "They actually buried that insidious firearm here again?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the same movement came from the west, and this time, the entire Liao army showed panic. You must know that along the way, they have suffered a lot from such firearms, and many people have psychological shadows about this. It’s not that this landmine is very lethal.
In fact, it was too hidden, and the appearance of the casualties was extremely miserable. Even the brave Liao people would feel scared when faced with such a situation and would retreat.
Sure enough, after a while, the Liao army that had been ordered to attack the east and west sides of Zhuozhou retreated in a panic. Although only a few landmines were triggered and only a dozen people were injured, the fear in their hearts made the two cavalry temporarily give up the siege. After all, they were just testing the truth and had no intention of attacking the city.
In this regard, although Xiao Qian looked gloomy, he did not blame a few close subordinates for it. He just ordered: "Give me all your strength to suppress the city. As soon as our ladder rushes up, Zhuozhou will definitely not be able to hold it. Both sides The firearms will be useless!"
These words immediately inspired the Liao army, especially the two cavalrymen who retreated. In order to atone for their sins, they actually dismounted at the same time and rushed forward on foot to support the troops in front. But he really planned to use his troops to fill the geographical gap between the upper and lower parts of the city, so that all kinds of siege equipment could be moved under the city in one fell swoop.
What to do? Seeing that the enemy army was fighting more and more fiercely, more than half a day had passed and there was still no intention of taking a break. However, the defenders at the top of the city couldn't hold on any longer. Even Sun Tu began to feel a little flustered and at a loss.
The decisiveness and ferocity of the Liao army really exceeded his expectations. Unexpectedly, Xiao Qian used the simplest and most difficult force attack this time, which made him use all his subsequent methods at once. Not coming out.
Yes, siege battles sometimes rely on momentum and ruthlessness. Whoever is ruthless enough can achieve the final victory. It was obvious that the Liao army was really prepared this time. Not only were they fully equipped with all kinds of weapons, but the momentum of the entire army was aroused to the extreme. And this was the unexpected harvest they gained from their slow march, and it was something Sun Tu, who was bent on delaying their steps, never expected.
"General, how about the last general leading the army to rush out of the city and destroy the enemy's weapons with all his strength?" A general asked with a determined expression at this time, looking at Dong Kuang who looked anxious.
This may be the last resort at the moment, but once we attack Kaicheng, we may just play into the enemy's hands. Originally, the Liao army was much stronger than the ever-victorious army in terms of military strength, but the only thing they could rely on was such a strong city.
"This... let me think about it." Dong Kuang tried his best to calm down and think of a better countermeasure, but he couldn't come up with it for the moment.
Suddenly, a deep voice from the side sounded: "How about we give Sajia a try!"
"Huh?" Sun Tu glanced at Luda, who had been standing by and was of no use, and it was he who said these words. It is said that although Ruda is very skilled in martial arts and extremely fierce, after all, it is a battlefield where two armies are fighting head-on. In an offensive and defensive battle like now, he has nowhere to use his power.
But looking at his current expression, it's obvious that he has something in mind. And just after Sun Tu nodded subconsciously out of trust, Ruda took three steps and two steps at a time, and came to the earthen jars filled with kerosene.
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How are you doing this Chinese Valentine's Day? Or has it passed
Anyway, just by looking at the punctual updates from passers-by, everyone should know that I am the one who failed. . . . .