Boom boom boom The sound of artillery outside Jinyang City was loud every day. Guo Shao coughed from time to time, and the choking smell of gunpowder drifted with the wind, almost filling every corner. The artillery array was still some distance away from where he stood, but the sound of the artillery never stopped, and it seemed as if there was a constant buzzing in his ears.
In such an environment, Guo Shao felt a little dizzy and his thoughts were a little confused. He rubbed his temples, sat down on a rough wooden table under an open shed, and looked through the map drawn with a brush. Li Chuyun had now arrived near Shiling Pass in the south of Xinzhou, and the Xinkou Town and other places in the north of Xinzhou were still under the control of the Northern Han Army.
Zuo You walked into the straw hut, and Guo Shao said: Once the Liao army approaches Li Chuyun's troops, report to me immediately.
Zuo You bowed and said: “I obey your order.”
As soon as the main force of the Liao army came into contact with Li Chuyun, Guo Shao planned to personally go north to supervise the battle. Because once the Liao army went south, whether it could resist the enemy would affect the outcome of the entire war. Guo Shao believed that his presence on the battlefield could increase morale. He had a high prestige among the warriors. He was also the emperor, and the soldiers would feel differently when they performed military exploits in front of the emperor, as they would think that the emperor was paying attention to their performance.
Ten days later, the spies in the north reported that the Liao army had passed Yanmen Pass and arrived in Daizhou. Xiang Gong in the east also reported that the Liao army in Youzhou was approaching Niangzi Pass.
But at this time, preparations for the siege of Jinyang South City had also begun to take shape.
Guo Shao personally led the cavalry to within 200 steps of the city wall to watch. He ignored the advice from his left and right, and rode calmly and slowly. This distance seemed dangerous, but in fact, the crossbows and arrows were definitely out of reach. The only danger was the catapults in the city and the remaining crossbows on the city wall; but the possibility of the catapults and scattered crossbows accurately hitting the moving targets was too small.
The soldiers around him looked up at the sky nervously, as if they were afraid that a stone might fly down.
He looked carefully and saw that the top of the earthen slope seemed to be less than half a person's height from the city wall. The parapet of that section of the city wall had been completely destroyed by a large number of artillery bombardments. The Zhou army soldiers did not need ladders to attack from there. They could climb up with their bare hands or with a simple ladder.
A general reminded: A tunnel has been dug and gunpowder has been buried. The tunnel of the Northern Han army should not have been discovered yet.
Guo Shao nodded, and after seeing clearly, he immediately turned his horse's head and ran back.
He went straight back to the central army, and the civil officials and generals followed him into the tent, discussing the matter in the central army tent. Guo Shao took a ruler and repeatedly measured a more elaborate map. After a moment, he said: I think
Everyone quickly stopped talking and turned around.
Guo Shaodao: The Youzhou army is limited in strength, and there is Xiang Gong's army at Niangzi Pass, so the threat to Jinyang is not enough for the time being; the main threat comes from the Liao army in the north that has entered Daizhou.
Wang Pu immediately nodded in agreement.
Guo Shao glanced at him and continued: I want to stay and see what the situation is like when we attack Jinyang. Send a quick message to Li Chuyun immediately. Once the Liao army passes Xinkou, report immediately.
Wang Pu said: I will ask someone to issue the military order later.
Guo Shao raised his head and looked outside the tent. His voice became lower and lower, as if he was speaking in a cautious tone: It’s only morning. We should launch the attack today, so as not to delay and allow the Northern Han army to be more prepared.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Guo Shao added: The attacks on the breach in the city and the breach in the earthwork will be carried out simultaneously. He looked back and took the explosion of the underground gunpowder pit as a signal. The buried gunpowder may not necessarily collapse the city wall, but it will certainly explode, and the momentum will not be too small.
Wang Pu said: The defenders in Jinyang should be prepared. The gap is too small. For this kind of siege, it is best to use elite troops in the front. The right wing of the Huben Army has many cavalry infantry, which can be the vanguard.
Guo Shao agreed.
The generals proposed various tactics one after another. Guo Shao continued to measure the map with a ruler and did not speak for a long time.
He weighed the pros and cons repeatedly, rubbed his temples, and seemed to be a little hesitant. But when he really made a decision, he summoned the generals above the commander of the artillery formation of the Huben Army and the Jiannan Army to deploy specific strategies; at this time, there was no hesitation at all, and all kinds of arrangements were very skillful.
Soon, the sound of artillery continued to be heard everywhere, but in the Zhou army camp, the sound of drums and trumpets continued, the flags moved, and the troops were frequently deployed.
In such an open place, under broad daylight, the large-scale deployment of troops is clearly visible, and it is probably impossible to hide what they are doing. The roar of artillery has been continuing, no longer stopping in waves like in the past, allowing Zhou's troops to approach the city wall in batches; the sky above the siege fortifications is filled with smoke, which even the wind cannot blow away.
Guo Shao rode his horse in the drifting smoke and silently watched the mobilizations in various places. The large number of troops and horses slowly approached the first line of fortifications in a mighty manner, which was completely different from the situation in the past when a large group of people were pushing wheelbarrows. In addition, the earthen fortifications had been completed, and the Northern Han army could also see it.
Guo Shao judged that this siege could not be a surprise attack like the one in Shouzhou, and it would not be easy to break through directly; but at least such a siege could pose a real threat and pressure to the Northern Han defenders.
He glanced sideways and saw Wang Pu gazing at the distance intently. Wang Pu's face did not show much flexibility, but it was very serious. Guo Shao looked at it and felt that Wang Pu had the same judgment as himself. After all, a city like Jinyang was defended by the elite main force of the Northern Han Army. It was difficult to attack it by force after less than half a month of attack.
In the first line of defense in the distance, the Fourth Army of the Huben Army's right wing had already lined up and was waiting, consisting entirely of soldiers on horseback.
A group of soldiers and horses facing Leishan opened the gate of the defense line and rode out slowly in rows. In front of them, several flags with tigers embroidered on them fluttered in the wind in the smoke. They were the flags of the most elite Tiger Guards of the Zhou army. The soldiers and horses were arranged in rows of more than 20 people, with a total of more than 20 rows. After all of them were dispatched, no follow-up soldiers and horses followed. There were about 500 soldiers and horses under one commander, forming a square formation and marching slowly.
Not long after, similar phalanxes came out of the camp on the two wings at the rear. Three groups of people and horses formed a V-shape and advanced towards the phalanx on the mountain.
The cannons were still roaring, and white smoke was rising from the Zhou army camp in the rear. The city wall opposite was already riddled with holes and in a mess, with stone bullets constantly falling on the wall and earth and rocks flying in the distance.
The first commander of the Fourth Army on the right wing in the front center gradually approached the city wall. Stones fell on his head from time to time. It was the catapults deployed by the Northern Han Army behind the city wall that launched an attack. There were also observation posts on the city wall who risked their lives to check the distance of the Zhou army. Some people kept watching there, and some people shouted amid the sound of artillery fire.
At this time, the first commander gradually accelerated, the war horse cantered forward, and the originally very neat cavalry formation began to bend.
There was a row of uneven flags in front of them. They were the fifty-step marks made by the Zhou army before, and they had not been completely destroyed. At this moment, the loud and sobbing trumpets sounded in unison from the camp behind, and a large green flag kept shaking.
The sound of the cannon stopped immediately. The sound of the horses' hooves suddenly roared. It wasn't that the sound of the horses' hooves had just started, but as soon as the louder cannons stopped, the sound of the horses' hooves immediately became more prominent.
The cavalry gradually accelerated, and the central unit and the left and right wing commanders charged forward.
The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, with layers of distance; three commanders were charging in the front, and a large group of troops in the fortifications behind were also spreading out from the defense line like a tide.
At this moment, the ground suddenly trembled violently as if there was an earthquake. Everyone saw a flash like lightning in the distance to the east, and a large cloud of thick smoke and dust rose up. Immediately, a loud earth-shaking explosion was heard. Everyone's faces changed, but it was not the first time that a large number of the Hu Ben Army soldiers had seen such an explosion.
The three commanders of the Fourth Army rushed frantically towards the city wall, and soon the remnant flags at the fifty-step mark were covered by the galloping horses.
The man at the front of the battle for the Great Zhou Emperor drew his sword and raised it high, shouting. The soldiers immediately shouted loudly.
The vanguard rushed across the moat that had been filled up and rushed to the bottom of the slope of the earthen hill. The soldiers immediately dismounted and the people in front climbed up the hillside with swords and shields.
The one who rushed to the front was a captain in heavy armor. He climbed desperately, his mind was blank. All the generals of the Tiger Guards were experienced in many battles, but he rushed to the front in such a scene. He knew that he would surely die. The captain was really scared, even though he had fought in the battle more than once. But he could not stop, and he had to run as fast as possible, so that he could set an example for the soldiers behind him. He had to rush faster. He had to take on this responsibility. If he stopped, he would drag down the entire command, and the military law would definitely not forgive him after the war.
Fortunately, most of the soldiers of the Tiger Guards were veterans of the battlefield, otherwise, in such a situation, they would be so frightened that their hands and feet would go limp and they would not be able to hold their weapons before they even saw the enemy.
Ah Dutou roared loudly, the sound was not only a roar, but also full of fear, killing
He had already climbed up the slope. There was a short flat dirt road at the top of the mountain. In order to prevent the Northern Han army from using the unbroken 100-jin stone bullets as rolling stones to counterattack. The captain ran a few steps and saw some Northern Han soldiers who had remained on the city wall during the bombardment approaching the city wall in a mess. Some were holding spears and some were pulling bows and arrows. At this time, he had passed the most terrifying early stage. His rich experience in battle made him calm down a lot. It was either you die or I die. There was no other way but to fight.
The arrow commander raised his sword and shield and shouted.
The crossbowmen behind shot arrows one after another, and screams were heard from the city wall. There were also people who were wounded by the crossbows and screamed in the back, but the most common sound was the clanging sound of metal colliding.
The captain held his sword and shield tightly in both hands, and was the first to press against the edge of the city wall. He pushed his left foot against the ground, and suddenly pushed his body upwards, and raised his right foot to step on the city wall. He felt a pain on his forehead, and the violent sound and vibration of the metal made him feel dizzy. A soldier of the Northern Han army had already rushed to the front, and swung his sword at the captain's head. His eyes were blurred, but he did not faint. He subconsciously pushed his body forward and immediately bumped into someone, and both of them fell to the ground.
The Zhou army soldiers behind them shouted and climbed up the city wall desperately.