Liu Ziqiu laughed and said: "That troop will be led by Liu himself!"
Wen Hao hurriedly advised: "Lord, you absolutely must not!"
But Liu Ziqiu waved his hand nonchalantly and said: "Walking through the culvert is an adventure. If Liu himself doesn't move forward bravely, who will fight first? No need to say any more, let's go separately!"
Everyone did not dare to persuade him any more and had to disperse.
…
Two days later, several white pigeons fell from the sky and landed in the military camp. These were carrier pigeons specially trained by Liu Ziqiu. Although there were no carrier pigeons in this era, Liu Ziqiu, who was born in the special forces, certainly knew the role of carrier pigeons and also knew a little about cultivating and training carrier pigeons.
Method. However, homing pigeons are only suitable for use in the Central Plains. On the Mobei grasslands, it is more convenient for large eagles to use them.
Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. When the first group of caravans returned from the Western Regions last year, Liu Ziqiu sent spies to infiltrate them. These spies lurked in Chang'an and Luoyang, and they were found both in and outside the city.
While spying on intelligence, they also began to train carrier pigeons. Because carrier pigeons are still a new thing, they are currently only letting carrier pigeons fly a few times inside and outside the city, and they are not yet able to engage in long-distance communications. But for Liu Ziqiu,
It's enough.
According to the news sent from the city, the two exits of the drainage culvert located at Yong'an Canal and Qingming Canal in the south of the city did not attract the attention of the defenders in the city, and there were no soldiers guarding them around. However, the exit at Longshou Canal was on the palace wall.
Within a few days, the secret spies Liu Ziqiu sent into the city have yet to find out the results.
Although he was unclear about the situation at the exit, Liu Ziqiu decided to act as planned. Late that night, the army quietly came to the Guangtong Canal, and groups of soldiers waded into the river. The entrance to the drainage culvert was covered with grass, and if Yuwen hadn't been there,
According to Kai's instructions, it is impossible for ordinary people to discover these entrances. It is the dry season now, and the water in the culvert is not deep, only about up to the calf. However, the weather in early spring was extremely cold, and it was not possible to walk far, and many soldiers' legs and feet were injured.
Everyone started to feel numb. From time to time, one or two disgusting mice would scurry under their feet.
Liu Ziqiu walked at the front of the team and whispered: "Brothers, hold on, we will win once we enter the city!"
His lord was able to take the lead, which played a huge role in inspiring the morale of the army. The soldiers gritted their teeth and persisted, and soon they reached a fork in the road. Yu Wenkai waded through the stagnant water, walked a few steps to Liu Ziqiu, raised his hands and said: "My lord,
It leads to the south of the city to the left, and to the palace city to the right."
In fact, Liu Ziqiu wanted Yu Wenkai to stay outside the city. After all, talents like Yu Wenkai who are proficient in construction, machinery, water supply and drainage are very scarce and valuable in this era, and Liu Ziqiu was reluctant to let him take risks. But Yu Wenkai listened.
When it was said that Liu Ziqiu was going to take the secret passage of Longshou Canal in person, he insisted on following Liu Ziqiu, even risking his life to prove his ambition. Liu Ziqiu couldn't defeat him, so he had to take him with him.
Hearing Yu Wenkai's firm instructions on the direction of these forked roads, Liu Ziqiu nodded and said: "Master Yuwen, you go to the left, and everyone splits up!"
The situation in the south of the city has been discovered, and there are spies lurking in the city to provide support. It is relatively safer to go to the left. The exit of Longshou Canal is in the palace city, and there is no knowledge of what is going on around it. Unknown means that
The risk increased greatly. However, Yu Wenkai refused and gritted his teeth and said: "I will follow my lord!"
Liu Ziqiu didn't expect that this gentle Xianbei man was stubborn, so he had no choice but to nod and let him follow.
After walking for more than five miles, a smell gradually came from the culverts. This smell was not the stench Liu Ziqiu had originally imagined. On the contrary, it also had a faint fragrance of powder. In fact, these culverts were filled with
Connected to the rivers in the city, the water in the culverts is relatively clear. In this era, feces were important farm fertilizers and would not be discharged into the culverts. Even some domestic sewage was much cleaner than in later generations. Undercanals
The biggest difficulty is not the sewage, but the fact that from time to time we encounter some low places, making it very difficult to pass.
However, for Liu Ziqiu, who has trained for many years, these difficulties are nothing. Under his leadership, the team is still moving forward smoothly.
…
There was no daylight in the culvert, but outside the city, a glimmer of dawn had already risen on the eastern horizon. Zhang Liang ordered a feint attack to the north of the city. In order to make the feint attack more realistic, Liu Ziqiu allocated Zhang Liang 20,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry.
The cavalry galloped under the city, shooting arrows at the top of the city, trying their best to suppress the defenders at the top of the city. The war drums were beating, and groups of soldiers carried long ladders and rushed to the top of the city with shouts. In addition, there were
The rams used to hit the city gates, the toad trucks used to fill the moat, the ladders used to climb the city walls, and the tall and movable archery towers used to launch attacks on the city from outside the city were all involved in the battle.
After all, the defense of Chang'an City was much stronger than that of the counties they encountered along the way. After carloads of mud warriors fell, they could only fill in a few narrow roads on the moat, and it was impossible to completely fill the moat. As for
The tall city walls and the long ladders used by the army could not even reach the battlements. The city was well-defended, with arrows falling like rain. Zhang Liang's men suffered heavy casualties, but it was difficult for them to set foot on the top of the city.
In fact, what Liu Ziqiu told him was just a feint attack and did not allow him to make such a desperate posture. However, Zhang Liang himself was dedicated to meritorious service. The so-called general will not accept the order of the emperor. Since Liu Ziqiu handed over this army to him, he
We must try our best to turn the feint attack into the main attack!
Seeing the casualties of his subordinates getting heavier and heavier, Zhang Liang gritted his teeth and said viciously: "Someone, push the trebuchet over here!"
The people on the left and right hurriedly advised: "General Qi, my lord has given an order. In this attack on Chang'an City, no trebuchets are allowed!"
Zhang Liang said without any doubt: "Execute the order!"
The military orders were overwhelming, and the subordinates had no choice but to push out the trebuchets. At that time, the army had 800 trebuchets, most of which were concentrated in Mu Duoli's barracks. However, due to the rush of time, there was no time to gather all the trebuchets. Zhang Liangjun
There are still more than a hundred left in it.
Although there were only more than a hundred trebuchets, their power should not be underestimated. Following Zhang Liang's order, the trebuchets started slowly, and a deafening roar came from outside the city. When Yang Xuangan heard it in the city, he couldn't help but be shocked.
He kept asking: "What's this noise?"
But no one could answer it. Right here, the sky turned dark, and countless stones fell. Liu Ziqiu equipped the trebuchet with many kinds of stone bullets. Zhang Liang's first wave was
A kind of small stone bullet, each one is only about the size of a baby's fist, and a trebuchet can throw dozens to hundreds of them at a time. This kind of stone bullet has no damage to the city wall, or to ordinary buildings.
However, this kind of stone bullets are still quite powerful when they hit people, ranging from head injuries to bloody injuries, and at worst, death. Zhang Liang's purpose of throwing this kind of stone bullets is mainly to adjust the impact point of the trebuchet, because large stone bullets are manufactured
It is inconvenient to transport and transport, so you need to use small stone bullets to test the attack angle first.
Yang Xuangan had been in the army for many years and had seen a lot. He couldn't help being surprised and said repeatedly: "No, thunderbolt chariot! Prepare a big shield quickly!"
To deal with such small stone bullets, a large shield is still very effective. But if the opponent uses large stone bullets, it will be useless even if you hide in a house. If a huge stone bullet falls from the sky, almost all houses can be destroyed directly.
.
Right here, Zhang Liang had ordered to adjust the angle of the trebuchet, and the second round of bullets fell on the top of the city. The soldiers defending the city were smashed and scattered everywhere. The soldiers who were in charge of the feint attack in the north of the city took the opportunity.
He rushed closer to the city, and several ladders had even been set up on the top of the city. Seeing that the attack position of the trebuchet met his requirements, Zhang Liang ordered: "Change to a larger size!"
A large stone bullet weighs as much as thirty small stone bullets, and it takes two soldiers to put it into the trebuchet. More than a dozen soldiers twist the iron rope together. There is a loud "boom", and a huge
The stone bullet drew a beautiful arc in the sky, mixed with a loud roar, and accurately hit the city wall on the north gate. The entire north wall of Chang'an seemed to be shaking, and the defenders on the city were panicked!
After the attack, a huge crack appeared above the north gate.
Zhang Liang ordered again: "Load and prepare!"
"Wait!" Suddenly, a group of cavalry came galloping over. Mu Duoli sat upright on the horse and shouted loudly, "Who gave you permission to use the trebuchet!"
After the first wave of trebuchet attacks, Mu Duoli, who was guarding outside the east city, heard the noise and hurriedly led a group of soldiers to rush over. During this period, Zhang Liang launched two more waves of attacks, and the fourth wave of large-scale
Stone bullets have also been loaded into the trebuchet.
In Zhang Liang's eyes, Mu Duoli is just a woman Liu Ziqiu stole, so he looks down on Mu Duoli at all. However, he also admires Mu Duoli's archery skills, especially Mu Duoli's magical arm bow, which he dreams of.
treasure. Seeing Mu Duoli approaching, Zhang Liang pretended to be respectful and said: "Madam, it is difficult to break through the city wall without a trebuchet. The general will not bear to see the casualties of the soldiers too heavy."
While speaking, Zhang Liang quietly made an attacking gesture behind him.
Although most soldiers in the army know that Mu Duoli is Liu Ziqiu's woman, in today's battle, their commander is Zhang Liang, and they must obey Zhang Liang's orders unconditionally unless Liu Ziqiu personally stops it. On the other hand,
Only the nearest trebuchet operators could hear Mu Duoli's words, and the trebuchet operators in the distance had no idea what was going on.
So, when Zhang Liang made the gesture, most of the trebuchet operators began to pull the iron rope, and the loud "boom, boom" sound completely covered up Mu Duoli's voice. Mu Duoli could only watch another batch of
The stone bullets rose into the air and flew toward the north gate of Chang'an City.