Even so, Mao Wenlong's deployment was cautious. Except for the enemy who intercepted Pukou, where there were more troops, there were not many troops deployed on the other two sides, which was just a bluff.
If the troops were too dispersed, it would be easy for Jianlu to leave the city and defeat him, which would cause a chain reaction. Therefore, if Jianlu abandoned the city and fled, Mao Wenlong was prepared to accept such a result.
The record is enough. The next focus is on grabbing food and supplies. The elimination of Jianlu has been relegated to second place. Of course, if there is an opportunity, we still can't let it go.
You must know that what you get by eliminating the Jianlu is not only their heads, but also their armor and weapons. For the Dongjiang Army, it is also the basis for growing strength.
In terms of human resources, the military and civilians of Dongjiang Town are stronger than Jianlu in terms of potential. It is not only the Liao people currently on the island who hate Jianlu, but also the people of Liaodong who are trapped in the cruel rule of Jianlu.
Dongjiang Town has a unique advantage in competing with the Jianlu people for the hearts and minds of the Liao people. They are of the same race, and they are all Han compatriots. As long as the resources can keep up, and as long as the people can be liberated from the Jianlu hands, Dongjiang Town can continue to expand.
Of course, Jianlu also realized the importance. Since Huang Taiji came to power, he is gradually changing the high-pressure rule when Lao Nu was alive and adopting a relatively relaxed policy.
Even so, the rule of Jianlu was still cruel. Historically, the cruel escape law had not been completely abolished until the Qing Dynasty.
Guo Dajing had personal experience of the misery of the Liao people under the rule of the Jianlu. He had a stronger motivation than others to attack the Jianlu-controlled areas and liberate the Liao people.
The war drums were rumbling, the siege troops were ready to go, and the defenders were also in full formation. The offensive and defensive battle began.
Guo Dajing looked around, Shang Ke smiled happily, and Zhang Pan smiled with his jaw raised, all showing signs of obeying orders.
With a faint smile, Guo Dajing's face became solemn, he waved his hand forward and loudly ordered: "Attack!"
Upon hearing the order, the commando team of hundreds of people moved towards the city wall, carrying ladders, pushing siege vehicles and simple siege vehicles, shouting and charging towards the city wall.
Guo Dajing squinted his eyes and watched the figure of Jianlu swinging on the top of the city, with his bow and arrows ready to attack the enemy attacking the city.
When it was almost done, Guo Dajing issued another order. On one side, the gong was sounded to stop the charge, and on the other side, the trebuchets opened fire and bombarded them.
The test firing of the trebuchet has been completed. After reloading, it was activated upon command, throwing hundreds of stone projectiles and mines out, passing through the air, and smashing into the city head in a dense black mass.
Concentrating firepower and attacking one point was another unique tactical approach adopted by Guo Dajing. More than fifty trebuchets lined up to attack the city wall more than thirty meters wide.
Dust and stone dust flew from the city wall, occasionally mixed with black smoke and flames from mine explosions. It could be seen that the prisoners on the city were frightened to avoid the blows falling from the sky.
The soldier operating the trebuchet quickly pulled down the long arm with a rope, hung up the iron hook, put the stones or mines into the magazine, then slammed the iron hook open and fired again.
The city wall was smashed again, causing dust and debris to rise and splash, and the Jianlu soldiers once again suffered a lot of casualties.
After three consecutive rounds of trebuchet bombardment, Guo Dajing raised his hand to stop the trebuchet from continuing and issued the order to charge.
The stopped siege troops once again let out deafening shouts and advanced towards the city wall with great momentum.
Supplementary prisoners appeared on the top of the city, more and more, and the siege troops below the city also entered the range of bows and arrows.
"Ming Jin, bombard!" Guo Dajing issued two orders in succession.
The siege troops stopped advancing again, and almost at the same time as the black stone mines passed through the air, a wave of arrows rained from the city.
The first firefight between the offensive and defensive sides ended in a disastrous defeat for the Jianlu. The trebuchets continued bombardment, causing considerable casualties to the Jianlu on the city.
The bombardment stopped, and the siege troops received the order and charged again with shouts. When they were fifty or sixty meters away from the city wall, they heard the sound of golden gongs and immediately stopped.
Stones and mines hit the city wall, and the city walls and crenellations were damaged visible to the naked eye, but the ones who suffered the most damage were the prisoners guarding the city.
The siege troops rushed from more than 200 meters to within 100 meters. The troops in this area had been replenished twice, and the casualties were already more than 100. But they could not give up, and only relied on the defenders on the flanks to resist the siege.
Because the ancient city walls were straight and not in the shape of a western bastion. In order to be able to kill enemies from the side while attacking the city, horse faces were usually built to assist.
The so-called horse face is a protruding square wedge built on the city wall, on which the defenders can attack the sides.
But Xuanchuan is not big, and there is no Xiuma face. It is necessary and indispensable to resist the opponent's attack head-on.
Jianlu suffered a loss and made adjustments. He no longer added too many troops to the city. Instead, he stood on the city wall outside the strike area of the trebuchet, ready to rush forward at any time to suppress the enemy attacking the city.
The siege troops charged again, and soldiers were shot down by bows and arrows one after another, but the gongs did not sound and the footsteps kept moving. Fifty meters, thirty meters...
Jianlu began to send troops to defend. The enemy had reached the city. Archers and musketeers had entered the shooting range. They began to shoot at the city to suppress it. It was too late to avoid the bombardment of the trebuchets.
Seeing the captives on both sides quickly concentrating on the bombardment area, Guo Dajing issued an order to withdraw his troops.
The siege troops who had rushed more than 20 meters below the city wall immediately stopped and quickly retreated back. This was an action that had been planned before. Although some responded slowly, most of them still distanced themselves from the city wall.
All the trebuchets were launched, and stones and mines were thrown out in such a dense manner that the sky became dark.
"It's broken!" Jianlu's officer was extremely angry and quickly ordered a withdrawal. However, Jianlu, who was unprepared, could not stop or reacted slowly.
Screams, wails, and exclamations rang out from the top of the city, and Jianlu, who rushed to fight, suffered another heavy blow.
It is obviously difficult to maintain a distance of more than 20 meters with firepower and rely on the accuracy of the trebuchet. But if the siege troops are prepared in advance and can retreat in time and distance themselves from the city wall, they can still
Let Jianlu be included in the calculation.
There were only a thousand soldiers guarding the city, and they could not withstand the continuous consumption. This was the conclusion drawn by Guo Dajing's analysis.
Because it was not Guo Dajing's group who attacked the city. Mao Wenlong personally directed the attack on the west gate, and Mao Chenglu led his troops to attack the other side of the west gate.
There are three breakthrough points to contain Jianlu, and they have to beware of the Dongjiang Army in other directions. How many men and horses do you think Jianlu can have to resist?
Boom, boom! A loud roar came from the west gate. It was the siege troops using the tactic of blasting the city gate.
Screams, drums, explosions... the attack and defense on the west side of Xuanchuan City has entered a fever pitch, and the city defense is already in danger.
Obviously, Jianlu was not aware of the Dongjiang Army's new weapons and new tactics, let alone not accustomed to them. They would never have imagined that they would fall into complete passivity in a short period of time.
The gate tower of the west city gate had been destroyed by mines, stones, and fire bombs, causing flames and smoke to rise into the air, causing panic among the defenders.
The war drums were rumbling, and Guo Dajing commanded the troops to launch another charge against the city wall.
This time it should be true. Officer Jianlu felt that his judgment was correct.
But he couldn't hear the change in the rhythm of the war drums. This was another false charge, and there would be no gong to retreat. It all depended on the command of the officers in the charge.
"Don't be too fast. Turn around and run after twenty steps." Officers at all levels kept saying, reminding the soldiers not to rush too far.
This time the charge was closer to the city wall, and the ladder was even thrown down only a few feet away from the city wall. Jianlu was fooled again and organized troops to supplement the defense.
But the siege troops stopped suddenly, turned around and ran away. A mass of black stones and mines hit the city wall in the air.
Dust and dust were flying from the top of the city, and gravel and dust were flying everywhere. Some stone bullets bounced off the city wall, and the fragments accidentally injured Dongjiang Army soldiers who were only about 20 steps away from the city wall.
Although it was not particularly perfect, the casualties of the Jianlu troops and the price paid by the siege troops were completely out of proportion.
The Jianlu officer was knocked down at the top of the city, with blood all over his head and face. The blood flowed into his eyes, and the scenery he saw in a daze turned red.
The stone was still falling, just a short distance away from him, and the flying debris hit his face. His evasive steps were jumbled and panicked, and he was stepped on twice.
If I had known this was the case, would I have held on to the city and been quite confident?
Officer Jianlu shook his head and tried to get up. A smoking object fell in front of him. It was wrapped in weeds and rolled on the ground. It suddenly erupted. The fire and black smoke instantly obscured Officer Jianlu.
.
The rhythm of the war drum changed, like a violent storm, beating on the hearts of the soldiers, arousing their high fighting spirit.
Louder shouts burst out from their chests, and the siege troops turned around and charged towards the city wall filled with smoke and dust.
The general attack finally began. The brutal fighting was still unavoidable, although Guo Dajing tried his best to kill as many captives as possible and reduce the casualties of his own troops.
The ladder was set up on the city wall, and the soldiers struggled to climb up. Muskets and bows fired at the city, suppressing the reinforcements of the prisoners on the left. The trebuchet adjusted its angle a little, loaded and fired again, and bombarded and intercepted on the right.
The two wings can effectively intercept and suppress, and the captives in the main attack area will die one by one and cannot be replenished. However, the siege troops will continue to flow, and they will gradually gain an overwhelming advantage.
A soldier climbed up to the top of the city, but was beaten down again. The falling figure stung Guo Dajing's eyes.
Another soldier risked his life and climbed up. During the exchange of weapons, he started fighting with Jianlu.
Both the enemy and us were furious. Guo Dajing saw a soldier fighting with Jianlu and falling to the bottom of the city together; another soldier was hit by a scimitar, but he tried his best to slash the enemy with the knife in his hand, and blood and flesh were flying everywhere.
Falling together...
More ladders were put up on the city wall, and more soldiers climbed to the top of the city. The battle was fierce, but the battle situation was turning towards the siege.
The several killings of Jianlu and the blockade on both sides worked, and the number of troops that Jianlu could invest was already stretched.
Finally, a dozen soldiers stood firm at the top of the city, resisting the invaders side by side, and protecting a ladder that could continuously transport their comrades to the top of the city.
The occupied area continues to expand, more ladders are protected, and more warriors climb up unimpeded to join the battle group.
"The city is broken!" Li Weiluan exhaled a long breath, and with his rich experience, he was finally able to be sure.
Shang Kexi nodded vigorously, urged his horse forward, and said loudly: "I'm going to personally supervise the formation. The first victory in breaking the city is ours. When I get to the city, I'll send the signal."
Neither Mao Wenlong nor Mao Chenglu sent out a signal to break the city. In other words, this side is the fastest, but it needs to be consolidated before it can be considered the final victory.
Guo Dajing bowed his hand to Li Weiluan, urged his horse forward, and rushed straight towards the city wall.
Li Weiluan stretched his hand into the air, then reluctantly took it back, leaving him to take charge of overall command and send out signals.
Zhang Pan waved his hand and ordered his own soldier captain, "Chen Tie, take people to follow General Guo and protect him well."
Leading the way, maybe! In Guo Dajing's heart, he didn't compete for the first victory, he just wanted to do his best and kill more prisoners.
Every general has his own bodyguards, who must be both loyal and elite. Guo Dajing is an exception. His bodyguards are the two hundred musketeers, who are currently firing under the city to suppress and intercept the captives.
Shang Kexi and Guo Dajing went to the city one after another, which was quite smooth.
"I'm on your left and you're on your right." Shang Kexi confessed, then led his soldiers to charge to one side.
To the left is to the north, which is the west gate of the city where Mao Wenlong is mainly attacking. Shang Ke was selfish and wanted to let Marshal Mao see his bravery, defeat the prisoners on the city, and welcome Marshal Mao's troops to attack the city.
Without thinking much, Guo Dajing rushed south along the city wall with a shield in his left arm and a sword in his right hand. Zhang Pan's soldiers quickly followed up, guarding him and fighting forward together.
A Jianlu officer hurried over with dozens of his men. He should be responsible for the city defense in other directions. He ran up the steps to the city wall and met Guo Dajing and others head-on.
"Kill--" Officer Jianlu pointed his sword and charged towards him with a howl.
Guo Dajing inserted the knife into the sheath with his right hand, took it out from the pocket of his left hand, held the slingshot in his hand, pinched the projectile from his right pocket, and raised his hand.
Ah - the howl of the Jianlu officer turned into a scream, blood and flesh splattered on his face, and he immediately lost his combat effectiveness.
Guo Dajing took out his ammunition and fired again. He shot and wounded several prisoners one after another at a very close distance.
Taking advantage of Jianlu's momentum being suppressed, Chen Tie shouted loudly and quickened his pace, led his troops past Guo Dajing, and fought with Jianlu.
Guo Dajing did not fight to be the first, but jumped onto the battlement, condescendingly, and continued to shoot at the prisoners with his slingshot.
This style of play is a bit opportunistic, and can even be said to be sinister and despicable, but this is a life-and-death battlefield, and it is quite effective.
Jianlu screamed repeatedly, or his eyes were beaten, or his nose was broken, or his front teeth were knocked out. No matter where it was, if he was hit on the face, he would immediately lose his fighting ability, or at least he would no longer be able to fight the enemy normally.
Swords and guns flashed, flesh and blood flew everywhere, life and death were only on a thin line, how could there be room for Jianlu to go crazy?
The battle was fierce, but it did not last long. Dozens of soldiers rushed up from behind, wielding swords and guns, shouting to kill, and soon killed this group of soldiers with corpses scattered on the ground.