There were strange rocks and cliffs between the green mountains. It was said that there were gods in Wushan, but Guo Shao felt it was very mysterious. The shouts and screams of the soldiers on the stone road echoed in the mountains, and the echoes were really creepy.
The fighting had already begun on the mountain, but soon a group of soldiers were seen retreating with the wounded. Seeing this, Guo Shao knew that it was not his fault that the vanguard Dong Zunhui did not fight well, as the terrain was indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Wang Zhaoyuan was planning to let the military camp guard for half a year. Guo Shao turned around and said: Let's take down the Wushan military camp today.
Hundreds of heavily armored infantrymen were ready to go. Guo Shao called in the commander of the first heavy infantry of the left wing's first army. More than 500 of the most well-equipped imperial guards were equipped with the latest forged plate armor, chain mail, and full armor including masks.
The commander of the first command was Zhou Tong. Guo Shao appointed him as the commander of the formation during the war against the two Lis. After the victory, he was awarded the military rank of commander of the imperial guards based on his military merits. The military commanders of the Zhou army depended on their military merits, so it was impossible to be awarded a high military rank all at once. However, military merits alone obviously did not necessarily lead to a fast promotion. Zhou Tong was different. He relied on his relationship with Guo Shao, and as long as he tried his best, he would have a future.
Therefore, when Zhou Tong heard what Guo Shao said, he immediately clasped his fists and said: "Just wait for the order from Inspector Guo, I will not frown even if I face the mountains of swords and the sea of fire."
Guo Shao looked at him and nodded, then looked up at the queue of elite armored soldiers and said loudly: Why did Jingnan bow down to our army when they saw it? Why do people in the world respect the imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty? Because we are brave and good at fighting. If we are afraid when we encounter a fierce battle, what kind of elite army are we? He pointed to the tiger flag in front and said, "I hope the battle flag on the left wing of the Tiger Jie Army will now be renamed the Tiger Ben Army. The honor and reputation are what we have fought for on the battlefield. I hope all the soldiers will bravely move forward and set off.
The army shouted loudly, "Victory is inevitable." The soldiers who had just retreated looked sideways.
A captain in front drew his sword and led a team of 14 soldiers to advance towards the mountain road. The soldiers lined up in a narrow column because the road was not wide.
Amid the clanking of armor, the drums of war pounded, stirring up the blood of the people on the battlefield, and the atmosphere gradually became heated. A minor official was standing by the road, holding a piece of paper and shouting: A letter from home picked up by the vanguard. My parents, the king's army has entered Wushan, the road is rugged and the terrain is dangerous, and the battle is getting closer. I know that this journey is a life-or-death struggle, but I have no regrets in order to serve the country, unify the world and end the war.
Inspired by the recitation of family letters and urged by the sound of war drums, the soldiers in the front quickly approached the first line of defense of the Shu army in the mountains. However, there were curses and scoldings from the generals, which mixed with the high-sounding words of righteousness and were very abrupt.
A stone road that can only accommodate two or three people at most is carved out of the stone and is very steep. As we go up the road, we can see that the Shu army has built fortifications at the intersection above, with earth walls and wooden embankments. The wood is arranged very densely to prevent arrows from passing through, and there are arrow holes in the middle.
As soon as they approached a hundred steps, arrows began to shoot out from the arrow holes. Due to the terrain, the arrows were not dense, but there were only two or three people in front of the Zhou army, and they were immediately hit by arrows. However, the arrows bounced off the plate armor and were useless.
The soldiers were encouraged by seeing that the man shot by the arrow was fine, and shouted as they charged upward. At this time, they heard a few creaking sounds of wood, and a few crackling sounds, and saw a few stones flying over their heads. With a clang, a soldier was hit by a stone and fell down screaming in pain. Everyone climbed the mountain road while looking at the sky.
At a distance of 100 steps, arrows and stone cannons kept flying. The frequency of the stone cannons was very slow, but the arrows took turns to shoot quickly from the arrow holes. I don't know how many rounds they shot. But none of the Zhou army soldiers died. They were all blocked by armor. When there were only 10 or 20 steps, the two infantrymen in front had been shot like hedgehogs. It was too close, and the powerful heavy arrows could still penetrate the plate armor, but there was also chain mail inside, so ordinary arrows could not penetrate it, and even if they did, they would not cause too much damage.
The troops gradually rushed to the fortifications. The terrain was slightly wider. The Zhou army soldiers poked the arrow holes with their spears, and some shot at the arrow holes with crossbows. Screams could be heard from inside from time to time. At this moment, a big man in iron armor came up with a big axe and chopped the fence with a big axe. A large area collapsed with a bang, and the Shu army turned around and left. Everyone pushed down the wooden fortifications together, chased them, and shot them from behind with crossbows. The Shu army fled upward along the road.
The Zhou army's heavy infantry ran slowly and could not catch up, so they had to chase after them and continue climbing up.
The Shu army was defeated several times in a row, and the morale of the defeated soldiers was affected, and they were defeated very quickly. When they saw a group of iron-like soldiers, they were frightened at first, especially because the masks looked scary.
In less than an hour, the Zhou army, which had only a few hundred men, reached the top of the mountain along the stone path. This section of the road was different. The slope forty or fifty steps above was carved into a groove-like shape. A group of Shu soldiers were climbing up the slope, and the Zhou soldiers were shooting at them with bows and crossbows below. People kept dying on the way, and some rolled down the steps directly.
Zhou Tong rushed to the front, but did not rush to order an attack. He had learned from the prisoners that this section of the road was the most difficult line of defense to break through.
Looking up, the fortifications above are very different. The wall of rammed earth and bricks is like the wall of a city. The difference is that the city gate is a semicircular hole at the bottom, not like a door for people to walk through, but more like a dog hole.
Zhou Tong waited for a long time, waiting for the soldiers behind to carry stones and other tools up, and then ordered a team of more than 20 people to slowly move up in a sparse formation. The bows and arrows on the wall were still shot from a high position, but they had no way to deal with the Zhou soldiers. When they were halfway, they fought back with bows and crossbows, and shot and killed several Shu soldiers.
When they were about to attack the wall, there was a sudden rumbling sound, and a large round stone was pushed out from the dog hole. The slope was high on both sides and low in the middle, which limited the stone's track, and it rolled over along the road. The two soldiers in front were unable to escape and were knocked over by the round stone. They screamed twice and were crushed under the stone, and they were silent immediately. The stone was stained with a lot of blood and rolled down along the road.
The Zhou soldiers behind dropped the stones they were carrying and turned to run. Fortunately, the team was sparse. Everyone shouted: "Run faster" and ran down the slope. With a loud bang, the round stone hit the stone, and suddenly jumped up and deviated, falling straight down the mountain. The heavy stone was also hit and slid down along the broken road. Everyone waited for it to slow down before holding it up with a big wooden stick. Then they continued to use thick hemp ropes to tie it up, and several people carried it in front and behind and continued to go up.