The arrows from the city were like locusts and were shot at the top of the city, suppressing the soldiers on the top of the city, making it impossible for the soldiers on the top of the city to lean down and shoot.
The attack speed was very fast. Although they were sneak attacked by Song Army crossbowmen behind them, and people kept falling with arrows, there were too many enemy troops attacking the city. Dozens of soldiers took the lead in climbing onto the battlements and started a fierce battle with the Song Army at the top of the city.
If they want to jump on top of the city, the other side will drive them down.
The two sides fought in a melee, and the Han army's crossbow array also stopped shooting and began to retreat quickly, out of the Song army's shooting range. In just a quarter of an hour of bow and arrow battle, the Han army's crossbowmen suffered nearly 400 casualties.
But without their cover, the Han soldiers would not have been able to attack the city so smoothly. In fact, the casualties of the crossbow soldiers were exchanged for a smooth siege.
This is also the rich experience accumulated by the enemy general Xia Jin in long-term combat. He knows very well that he must pay a price to gain anything.
The fierce battle on the top of the city was in a stalemate. The Song soldiers relied on their tenacious will to fight fiercely with the enemy, constantly assassinating enemy soldiers one by one and throwing them out of the city.
The soldiers guarding the city were pierced by enemy spears from time to time, and fell down and died...
The soldiers of the Song Army who defended the city were all new soldiers with no experience in defending the city. Even the commander-in-chief Chen Qing had no experience in defending the city. He and Yang Yuanqing each led 30 soldiers as mobile reinforcements. If there was danger on any side, they would rush forward immediately.
support.
The Song army was very passive in this offensive and defensive battle. It clearly had the advantage of being at a commanding height, but it failed to fully utilize it.
Chen Qing has already understood that the root of the problem is still on the siege ladder. If the enemy's siege is not destroyed, the enemy will still continue to attack him, and finally defeat him with superior force.
At this moment, a soldier shouted: "Commander, Xicheng... has broken through!"
When Chen Qing turned around, he saw that the embankment had broken in the far west, and countless enemy soldiers were attacking the city.
He yelled, "Follow me!"
Chen Qing swung his big iron gun and led thirty soldiers to kill to the west.
In just a moment, Chen Qing rushed to the breach of the embankment. Dozens of enemy troops had been killed on the top of the city. The westernmost passage was completely opened. The enemy soldiers were still pouring upwards. More than twenty Song soldiers
They tried their best to resist, but the enemy troops were too numerous, and they were forced to retreat steadily as they were killed.
An enemy general was flying up and down with an ax in his hand. His face was full of flesh and his appearance was extremely fierce. At his feet lay the corpses of five Song soldiers. Some had their heads missing, and some had their heads split in half, with red and white brains.
The ground was covered with blood, and the death was extremely miserable.
"go to hell!"
Chen Qing shouted loudly and stabbed the enemy general with his spear. The spear was as fast as lightning and powerful.
"Well done!"
The general held two axes and held down the spear heads with considerable strength. Chen Qing sneered and raised his arms. The general yelled and the two axes were thrown into the sky.
‘Poof!’ The spear had pierced his chest, the general shouted, and he was killed instantly.
Chen Qing grabbed an ax falling from the air and handed it to a soldier behind him.
"Take it first!"
He swung his spear and stabbed at the enemy like a storm, killing five or six people in an instant. Thirty of his men also rushed forward, killing more than ten enemy soldiers in a row, and divided the enemy army into two.
Chen Qing stabbed the three soldiers who had just rushed to the top of the city and knocked them down. He turned around and shouted: "Where is the ax?"
The soldier quickly handed the sharp ax to Chen Qing. Chen Qing leaned out of the city and struck hard with the axe.
‘Crack!’ The left handrail of the siege ladder was cut off, and the siege ladder suddenly tilted and teetered, and the dozen or so soldiers below shouted in fright.
Without hesitation, Chen Qing raised his ax and brought it down, cutting the handrail on the right in two. He then pushed hard and the siege ladder lost its hook. He lost his balance and quickly slid to the left. A dozen soldiers on the ladder
Screaming and falling into the ditch,
The last dozen or so enemy soldiers who stormed the city had no way out and were killed by the Song army in despair.
Chen Qing ordered sternly: "Pass my order to cut off the binding belt of the siege ladder as soon as possible!"
The iron hooks of the siege ladders were tied together with the ladders with belts. Cutting off the belts meant that the siege ladders were unfixed and the defenders could overturn them into the city.
The Song army found the enemy's weak spot in the siege. They cooperated tacitly. As each belt was cut off by the sharp sword, in just a stick of incense, the remaining seven siege ladders all lost their iron hooks and began to rush.
He was overthrown by the Song army, and the Han soldiers on the ladder fell into the city, suffering heavy casualties.
Xia Jin could see clearly from a distance. He knew that there was no hope of attacking the city today, so he ordered: "Retract the troops!"
'Dang! Dang! Dang!'
The bell rang to withdraw troops, and hundreds of Han troops retreated like a tide.
In this battle, the Han soldiers suffered more than 700 casualties, while the Song soldiers defending the city also suffered more than 60 casualties.
………..
Xia Jin led the Han army to slowly retreat to the camp outside the canyon.
Chen Qing ordered the city gates to be opened to clean up the battlefield, especially enemy soldiers to be burned and buried deep to prevent the outbreak of disease.
On the top of the city, Yang Yuanqing sighed and said: "Today's battle was fought very passively! I didn't expect that a Han army could be so powerful."
Chen Qing said solemnly: "This siege is a mirror that reflects our shortcomings, but it also brings us valuable lessons and experience, telling us that we cannot underestimate the enemy anytime and anywhere. If we underestimate the enemy, we will be defeated."
!”
Yang Yuanqing felt ashamed and said: "The commander is right, we did underestimate the enemy a bit."
Chen Qing simply sent someone to find Yang Hua and three other generals.
"I would like to use this opportunity to summarize the experience and lessons of this siege for everyone, and everyone can add to it."
Chen Qingping said to everyone: "Vice General Yang said that we were very passive in this siege. We were indeed very passive. I think there are three main reasons!"
Yang Hua, Zheng Ping, and Luo Gan all looked solemn as they listened to the general's summary.
"On the one hand, the opponent's general was more experienced and used bows and arrows to suppress us. At first, I didn't understand. Our crossbowmen were all hiding behind the battlements. What was the use of his crossbow formation? Later I found out that his army
When attacking the city, there was almost no pressure, and we successfully reached the city head."
Yang Yuanqing nodded, "On the one hand, the opponent's general has experience, but I have to admit that their soldiers are very brave and brave, completely different from the Han army we usually interact with."
Chen Qing smiled and said: "You didn't realize that although they are called Han troops, they are not actually Han people!"
Yang Yuanqing was stunned. He thought for a moment and said, "Commander, I haven't noticed it yet. It seems like this. His face is different from ours."
"They should be the vassal soldiers, Qiang people, Dangxiang people, etc. in the Western Army. They are good at fighting in the mountains. Attacking cities is also their strong point. Their combat effectiveness is no less than that of the Jurchen Army. Today I have seen how powerful they are."
Chen Qing glanced at Zheng Ping, Yang Hua and Luo Gan beside him, and continued: "The third reason is that we lack experience in defending the city. We don't know that dealing with the enemy's siege ladder is the key, and we are clearly in
The use of rolling logs in Qilin Village played a huge role, but when we were defending the city, we didn’t think of using big rocks and rolling logs. It really shouldn’t have happened!”
When it comes to quarrying, Zheng Ping has the most say. He quarried a piece of "Emperor's Stone" weighing several thousand kilograms and deceived the defenders of Jianxiao Pass.
He smiled and said: "Commander, it is easy to quarry stone in the canyon, and it is not difficult to cut wood. There is a pine forest in the open area two miles to the south."
"You're right, it's never too late to make amends!"
Chen Qing immediately ordered Zheng Ping and Yang Hua to take two hundred soldiers each to quarry stone and log, and prepare to roll the wood and stone.
............
After Xia Jin's army tentatively attacked Guancheng, they did not continue the attack. Xia Jin received a message from Wanyan Wulu on horseback, ordering him to build siege weapons in Longzhou.
Xia Jin forcibly recruited more than 300 carpenters and blacksmiths in Longzhou, and ordered his soldiers to cut trees in the surrounding areas, collect iron tools from people's homes, and start building siege ladders.
At the same time, Wanyan Wulu led 10,000 Jurchen cavalry, 20,000 Han troops and thousands of carts to leave Pingliang Mansion and attack Jianxiao Pass in a mighty manner.
On the pass, the black mass of golden soldiers stretched for more than ten miles, with flags waving, drums rumbling, and horns wailing. In front of them were ten thousand Jurchen cavalry. They all looked fierce and strong, riding on war horses, with bows and arrows on their backs and shields in their hands.
Spears, murderous intent, and everyone's eyes have a kind of beast-like cruelty.
Behind them are 20,000 Han troops. They not only participated in the battle, but were also responsible for logistical support. The 20,000 Han troops had bright helmets and high spirits. Each man carried a spear on his shoulder, and the spear tips shone with cold light. The densely packed spears turned into
Ocean of spears.
Behind them were more than 3,000 carts, carrying a large amount of various military supplies and even siege weapons, but there was no food and grass. The food and grass transported by Xia Jin was in Liyang County, so there was no need for them to bring more food.
.
At this time, the preparations for the war in Jianxiaoguan City have reached their climax.