Zhao Kuangyin personally walked up to the top of the city where the fierce battle was taking place, and looked down at the city. The soldiers and horses were so vast that it looked like a vast ocean, and the tall ladders looked like monsters in an ant colony. The noise was like waves of sound, making people's ears buzz. The stones thrown by the catapults and the crossbow arrows of the crossbows flew down one after another, and the rockets danced brilliantly in the air. It was a big battle, but it was like small stones falling into the East China Sea, not even causing a wave.
At this moment, he imagined that there was a huge wildfire that could spread across the wilderness below the city, or a tornado that could roar past, which would surely wipe out so many troops and horses in the open air. But no one had the power of a god, and mortals could only use mortal weapons to attack the mighty army with little effect.
Even the unexpected catapult used by Guo the blacksmith, although scary, could not reach the power of godly power.
However, attacking and defending a city is a very old method of warfare, and sometimes a small advantage can affect the balance. What also amazed Zhao Kuangyin was the morale and combat effectiveness of the Zhou army's siege troops. Normally, the most elite troops would not be sent out to attack the city. He heard the Shu dialect in the shouting below the city, and roughly judged that the siege was by the surrendered soldiers of Shu. The surrendered soldiers dared to climb the wall to attack. This kind of attack required courage and morale no less than a charge in a field battle.
Zhao Kuangyin was an experienced military commander. He certainly knew that even if there were an army of 100,000 on the battlefield, most of them would just follow the generals' orders and march to the rear. They would rarely have to face situations where they were ready to fight to the death. Therefore, an army with strict military discipline and the ability to obey orders was considered a powerful army. But it would not be easy for them to have the courage to charge into battle in the front. It was a test of the individual qualifications of the soldiers.
He had to re-examine the combat effectiveness of the Zhou army.
Arrows were flying overhead and shouts of killing were heard below. Zhao Kuangyin's personal soldiers were holding shields in front, guarding nervously.
At this moment, the shouting sounds not far away attracted Zhao Kuangyin's attention. He glanced sideways and saw three soldiers lifting a heavy round stone weighing 100 kilograms. It was thrown by the Zhou army's gunpowder cannon. The Northern Han army should use the stone bullet to attack the Zhou army.
There was nothing in front of them, the parapet had collapsed due to bombardment, and a ladder was set up in this gap. Suddenly, there was a scream, and a soldier carrying a stone was pierced through the chest by an arrow. The weight of the stone immediately made him lose balance and fell to the ground, and there was another scream of pain, and another soldier fell to the ground, screaming, and the heavy stone hit his feet.
The general behind shouted: Push the stone down!
But after a lot of trouble, a Zhou soldier had already climbed up the ladder. He shouted: I am the first one to climb the wall. According to the Zhou army's military merit law, the first person to climb up to the top of the city wall and survive during a siege will be recorded for great merit, and the soldier will immediately be promoted to deputy commander of the command, effective immediately, and this kind of person will come into the emperor's sight.
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of Northern Han soldiers holding lances rushed to the gap, and the lances stabbed the Zhou soldier randomly, making the sound of metal colliding. Several lances stabbed him but failed to penetrate his armor. However, the fierce stabbing of many people threw the soldier backwards, and the man staggered and fell on his back. Immediately, a terrified scream was heard, followed by a muffled bang.
A moment later, another soldier jumped up. He saw a large group of spearmen guarding the wall. They shouted with red eyes: "Long live the Great Zhou!" He rushed up with swords and shields regardless of his life. A moment later, he was stabbed to the ground by the chaotic soldiers. The soldiers of the Northern Han Army surrounded him shouting and stabbed wildly at the feet with their swords and spears. There was a sound of clanging and clanging. Blood splattered in the crowd. Some soldiers had blood on their heads and faces.
Two more Zhou army soldiers rushed forward one after another, and the two sides fought desperately. The sound of swords and spears hitting armor sounded like iron forging in a blacksmith shop.
At this time, a soldier came up with a barrel of black oil. A general of the Northern Han army took the barrel and poured it down. As a torch was thrown out, flames and black smoke rose up, and waves of miserable screams came from below.
Fire oil is very effective against cloud ladders because it is very sticky. Whether it is tung oil or sesame oil, when it is poured on the cloud ladder, it will flow away from the gaps between the ladders just like water; but fire oil is different, it will stick to the ladder and flow along the wood. It's a pity that there is too little to consume. These things are shipped thousands of miles from the south by sea, and then passed to Youzhou.
Logs and bricks were rolling up and down the city walls, fires were burning on many ladders, and the smell of blood and burnt food was diffused amid the shouting.
Soon, the Zhou army soldiers under the city finally abandoned the broken ladders beside the city wall and retreated like a tide. The Northern Han army soldiers on the city wall shouted and celebrated.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin said: Let's go down the city first.
So he led a few generals and their personal soldiers down from the inner side of the city. As he expected, after a while, he heard the sound of cannons outside the city, and large rocks rolled up to the top of the city. A large rock hit the densely guarded crowd of defenders, and blood and flesh splattered everywhere. A group of people panicked and dodged. There were also stone bullets flying up and hitting the parapet, which was more lethal. Although the city wall was spacious, the space was still limited. The soldiers who had just fought desperately against the Zhou army's siege were very dense. The bricks and stones of the parapet were hit violently and flew everywhere. Some soldiers covered their faces and screamed, and blood seeped out from their fingers.
A large number of densely packed infantry were ordered by the generals to evacuate to the city. Several earthen stoves and pots that burned gold juice were destroyed by stone bullets, and the gold juice flowed on the ground. The tiles on the city wall were smashed and splashed, and the ground was in a mess.
The stone bullets were so powerful that one might not kill a person, but they could not withstand the continuous bombardment of hundreds of guns. The Zhou army mobilized countless able-bodied men just to quarry the stones.
Occasionally, a stone would fly over the city wall. Zhao Kuangyin looked up and saw a round stone rolling down and flying rapidly into a two-story attic. With a bang, the heavy stone smashed through the roof, breaking the beams and the entire roof collapsed. Wood and earth fragments fell all over the street, and a lot of dust rose.
Zhao Kuangyin looked back at the neighborhood near the city wall. Many houses had been destroyed. It was like an earthquake.
Shi Shouxin said: The Zhou army's tactics seem to be to consume the Jinyang defenders, first attacking the city and then bombarding it.
Zhao Kuangyin pondered for a while and shook his head: It seems to be so at present, but I think that Guo the blacksmith is a person with high comprehension and never sticks to the rules. If I am not mistaken, he will soon reformulate tactics.
What other tactics are there for siege? Shi Shouxin frowned.