"What do those Liao people want to do?" In the afternoon, as the Liao army's drums and trumpets sounded again, the cavalry began to gather for the attack, and the defenders on the city also picked up weapons again, getting ready to resist the strong attack.
Unexpectedly, this time the Liao army did not launch an offensive immediately as before. Instead, while an army slowly pressed forward, two lines of cavalry protruded from the left and right wings, heading straight towards the east and west sides of Zhuozhou.
Of course, this was not the reason that surprised the soldiers. What really puzzled them was that not only were these Liao cavalry few in number, but the horses were also dragging thick tree trunks behind them. What on earth were they planning? But the more this happens, the more uneasy it becomes.
In fact, after these two days of attack and defense, the officers and soldiers of the Changsheng Army knew that the Liao army would soon divide its forces to launch an offensive against the other three gates of Zhuozhou. However, because they had been prepared before, mines were laid on the roads on both sides of the road, and they had seen the power of such firearms, everyone was quite confident in this. They felt that if the Liao army wanted to successfully reach the east and west gates, they would have to pay an extremely high price. A heavy price to pay. This can be confirmed from the result of the division of troops of the Liao army during the initial confrontation yesterday.
But today, things changed. Just looking at the preparations of the Liao army, it was obvious that they came to deal with this layer of mine defense, but the soldiers did not understand their intentions for a while. However, Sun Tu, who came after hearing the news, only took a distant look and frowned: "Xiao Qian is indeed worthy of his reputation. He actually found a way to break my mine array so quickly..."
While they were talking, there was a burst of shouting from the front line of the Liao army under the city, and then two groups of cavalry rushed forward from the left and right, quickly embarking on the road that they had found difficult to parry yesterday. The horses in front were galloping hard, and some tree trunks in the back were rumbling on the ground with some branches and leaves. For a while, the smoke and dust were flying, almost covering these people and horses.
And just after running for dozens of steps, there was a sudden explosion of thunder accompanied by fire, causing a cavalryman and his horse to fall down. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and it was extremely miserable. But this time the reaction of the Liao cavalry was very different from yesterday. The others were not disturbed by this and continued to fight their horses before and after, dragging trees along.
A moment later, there were several more bursts of thunder, and this time it was caused by the mines being stepped on by the horses or by the trees they were dragging behind them. The former caused some more cavalry to fall, but the latter did less damage. It blew up the branches and leaves of the trees, but it could not damage the cavalry more than ten feet away.
It was only at this time that the soldiers at the top of the city came to understand: "They... the Liao people actually used this trick to break my divine thunder? It's really a cruel and awesome method!"
Sun Tu also smiled bitterly and shook his head. He originally thought that relying on this primitive mine formation could at least drag the Liao army away and prevent them from dividing their forces to attack the four gates. In this way, the ever-victorious army would only need to guard the northern side, which would greatly alleviate the problem of insufficient troops. But who would have thought that in just one day, Xiao Qian would have figured out such a seemingly stupid, but actually extremely clever way to crack the mine array.
After all, the firearms brought by the Qingzhou Army this time were limited, and more than half of them were used to delay the Liao Army's march, so the number of landmines planted on the east and west sides at this moment is really not many. When the Liao army used this method to sweep away the landmines, the effect was immediate and probably took less than half a day. This was used to block the mines on the east and west sides.
The array is completely useless.
In fact, in the final analysis, it is related to the fact that today's mines are too weak and crude. If they can be replaced by mines that can be buried deeper and can be triggered by adjusting the pressure, then why worry about them using this method to clear mines? As for now, all they can do is watch the Liao army destroy all the minefields they painstakingly arranged with only a broken tree at a very small cost.
The continuous roars made the Liao army agitated. To be honest, they had suffered a lot from this landmine during their journey. Although the number of casualties was not too many, the problem was that the psychological pressure on them was too great. They were afraid that if they did not make the right step, they would be bombed. Flesh and blood will fly everywhere. Now it's better, with the prince's decision to clear the mines, this thing is no longer a problem, and we will soon be able to launch attacks on the east and west gates of Zhuozhou smoothly.
Xiao Qian even showed a rare smile and looked thoughtfully at the top of Zhuozhou City over there. Along the way, he has been thinking about how to crack the enemy's firearm, and now he has finally succeeded. It seems that he will win this battle!
"General Dong, we must quickly add troops to defend the east and west cities. I'm afraid the Liao army will send more troops to those two sides. And Nancheng, we can't relax at all." Sun Tu quickly calmed down. , reminded in a solemn tone.
Dong Kuang, who was beside him, was shocked, and then he loudly called out the names of a group of generals, and then quickly ordered: "Everyone, you each take charge of your troops and rush to the cities on the southeast, southeast and west for defense. You must not let Liao attack." The army took the lead!"
"General, obey the order!" These generals all looked solemn. After crossing their hands and agreeing, they quickly ran down the city and went to the military camp to gather troops and horses to prepare for the more brutal battle to come.
During the preparations of the soldiers on both sides, the Liao army, which had opened the roads on both sides, finally launched a large-scale attack on Zhuozhou City early on the third day. This time, they divided their forces into three groups and aimed directly at the three cities in the southeast, west and west of Zhuozhou. Their momentum was many times greater than in previous battles. And the real dilemma of Zhuozhou City emerged.
The battle of the previous two days seemed dangerous and fierce, but because the Liao army only attacked one side of the city, the defense of the ever-victorious army was actually more than sufficient. Most of the troops could even take turns to rest, and the combat power of the soldiers could be maintained at a very high level. high position.
But as the roads on the east and west sides are cleared by the enemy, and the whole city will be attacked by the Liao army on all sides, the pressure on the Evervictorious Army will rapidly increase. I am afraid that soon, the problem of insufficient troops will also be exposed. After all, Zhuozhou City is not small. Twenty thousand soldiers and horses were scattered just enough to defend the four cities, which left their logistics with almost no guarantee. After all, there are no common people in the city now, and even those who prepare tea and meals for the soldiers cannot be found. The battle that follows will definitely be extremely difficult, and the psychological pressure on the soldiers will inevitably increase.
Of course, such hidden dangers will not be exposed in the short term. After all, the current victorious army soldiers have no time to think about these details.
Because the enemy's offensive was so fierce, the ever-victorious army with thin troops was already unable to cope with it. Under the protection of many shield bearers, the Liao infantry reached the moat in one charge, and then their archers also fired arrows at the city head to suppress it in all directions. As a result, the ever-victorious army fell into Passive.
Fortunately, the Liao army's many sieges
Most of the weapons had been destroyed the day before, especially the moat bridge had been burned, which prevented them from quickly passing through the moat and rushing directly to the city. However, despite the huge gap in combat power between the two sides, they still started excavation work in the Xicheng area, interrupting the process and diverting the moat water elsewhere. To the east, the Liao army transported sand, earth and rocks from elsewhere, intending to fill in the moat.
When these conventional siege methods were deployed, the Ever Victorious Army was really panicked. They could only desperately shoot arrows to hinder the progress of the enemy's project, which caused the consumption of arrows in the city to increase rapidly. Obviously, this was not a long-term solution, and it was more like drinking poison to quench thirst.
Compared to the raging offensive and defensive battles on the east and west sides, the north side has quieted down. The Liao army was no longer in a hurry to attack, but only sent a small group of troops to patrol and demonstrate in front. At the same time, they were always paying attention to the movements of the flags and soldiers and horses on the city head. It was obvious that Xiao Qian's purpose was to hold back the main force of the victorious army here. .
The Liao army's inaction put greater pressure on the soldiers here. Because everyone knew that the main force of the Liao army at the front was still there, they did not dare to easily transfer the elite here to the east and west for assistance. However, the battle reports that were constantly coming from both sides were not optimistic. The gap in military strength and combat power was undoubtedly revealed at this moment.
This made Dong Kuang even more restless. At this moment, he was walking back and forth at the top of the city, constantly looking at the enemy camp below the city. He gritted his teeth and said: "This is not an option. General Sun, there is really no better way to defend the city. ?"
Sun Tu shook his head helplessly: "Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, we really can't come up with any clever ideas. We can only rely on the soldiers to fight hard. As long as we can survive this period, we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory."
"But… "
"General Dong, the Liao army is also a human being. They will also feel tired and panicked. Now it is just because they think they have found a perfect opportunity to break our Zhuozhou, so they are so reckless. But as long as we block this attack With the offensive, the situation will naturally be alleviated and improved." Sun Tu immediately said earnestly: "The attack and defense of a city is not something that happens overnight. The competition is who is more tenacious and who can last until the end."
Dong Kuang knew that what Sun Tu said was reasonable, so he could only nod his head bitterly: "Pass on my order, and you must guard the city gate. Let the defenders on both sides not be stingy with arrows and weapons, and must stop the enemy for me. Come!"
Not long after this order was issued, another even more shocking battle report came: "Report, the Liao army under the West City actually used a ladder as a bridge and built a short bridge directly on the moat, allowing countless enemies to kill under the city wall! "
"What?" Dong Kuang and Sun Tu shouted almost at the same time, their faces even more distorted with anxiety.
"Feiyan Cavalry!" The name of this elite Liao army immediately appeared in Sun Tu's mind. He still remembered it clearly. It is said that this elite soldier also has powerful climbing skills. Once he is allowed to get close to the city wall...
"Wusong Ruda, please take my Qingzhou Army officers and soldiers to support quickly! General Dong, the troops here..." Just when Sun Tu was shouting urgently to ask Dong Kuang to dispatch a troop of troops from the north to defend the west city, outside Suddenly there was a sound of drums and trumpets, followed by the killing sounds of the Liao army's massive advance.
Obviously, Xiao Qian, who already knew the situation there, decisively chose to send troops to attack the north gate at this moment, not giving the Chang Sheng Army any chance to save the west gate.