At the foot of a cliff, a dozen soldiers who knew how to blacksmith were sweating profusely and swinging hammers. The fire was burning brightly, and the red iron bars were being forged repeatedly under the soldiers' hammers.
There was no pig iron in Guancheng, so they melted some of the damaged weapons to obtain pig iron, and then forged them into weapons needed by the army.
Several prepared weapons were already placed nearby. The weapons that the soldiers worked hard to build were not spears and knives, but V-shaped iron forks used in the countryside to fork straw. It would become a sharp weapon against siege ladders.
Chen Qing made a slight modification and left two small horizontal iron spikes at the bottom to prevent the bottom of the iron fork from being embedded in the ladder.
Chen Qing picked up an iron fork, examined it carefully, and asked the leader of the escort a few words.
"Commander!"
Zheng Ping ran over excitedly, clasped his fists in salute and said with a smile: "Ten marksmen have been selected for my humble duty, please command to test them!"
These days, Chen Qing mobilized soldiers to offer suggestions, and once adopted, he would be heavily rewarded, which aroused the enthusiasm of the soldiers. The soldiers offered suggestions one after another, and Chen Qing received a lot of useful opinions.
For example, the soldiers suggested increasing the number of medical soldiers on the city so that injured soldiers could receive treatment and stop the bleeding as soon as possible. This is the experience that the soldiers summed up in their lives. Most of the soldiers failed to stop the bleeding in time and died of excessive bleeding.
If we can get the fastest treatment, even bandaging to stop the bleeding, we can save many lives.
For another example, the soldiers suggested adding a little wine to the kettle. Although drinking too much will cause trouble, drinking a few sips can help people overcome timidity and inspire soldiers' courage.
But this is not a new method. In fact, both Khitan soldiers and Jurchen soldiers carried wine. Drinking a few strong drinks can not only keep out the cold, but also stimulate murderous intent at critical moments.
Another soldier named Lu Gui proposed that if the top two rungs were cut off at the critical moment, the enemy would be unable to enter the city.
Although Chen Qing cut off the handrails of the siege ladder with his axe, that was because he was powerful, and those batches of siege ladders were crudely made and completely substandard. The real handrails of the siege ladder were very thick and strong and difficult to cut off.
, the iron hook is also tied in multiple places, and it makes no sense to just cut off one place.
So this soldier found another way and proposed cutting off the rungs, which was very practical.
Chen Qing personally conducted an experiment for this purpose and cut off two beams of the only complete siege ladder. Although his hands could still touch the city head, his feet could not use the strength to climb up.
This method won the best proposal, and the soldier Lu Gui received a reward of thirty taels of silver and was promoted to an axe-man escort.
But the prerequisite is to transform a batch of long-handled axes.
Selecting a group of sharpshooters was an idea proposed by Chen Qing. He also summed up the experience and lessons of the first city defense battle and the experience of his later generations to establish snipers.
Chen Qing discovered that the enemy troops who broke through the city wall were often not ordinary soldiers, but at least generals such as Dutou or Centurion. Such generals were particularly brave, powerful and powerful. One person could deal with four or five enemies, making it easy to break through.
The best way is to kill these enemy generals before the battle on the city wall, then a group of soldiers with strong archery skills are needed to act as snipers.
Zheng Ping selected ten soldiers for Chen Qing, and all ten of them were recognized as archery masters.
"I need ten tiger shooters, it depends on whether you are qualified or not!"
Chen Qing pointed to the divine arm crossbow on the ground and said to the ten people: "This is your weapon. There is a wooden target a hundred steps away. Shoot for me one by one!"
………..
Preparations for the Jianxiao Pass continue to be carried out in full swing. At the same time, the Battle of Monk Yuan has also begun. Fengxiang General Wanyan did not stand up, and East Road General Wanyan Huonv led an army of 30,000 Jurchens and tens of thousands of Han
The army met at the Weinan camp.
On the second day of March, the deputy general led an army of 10,000 to launch a tentative attack on the western front of Monk Yuan. Wu Lin, under the command of Wu Lin, led an army of 3,000 to counterattack the enemy by relying on terrain advantages.
The two sides fought fiercely for two days and two nights, and the Jin soldiers lost nearly half of their troops and had to withdraw from the battlefield.
The Jin army camp was stationed at Huangniupu, ten miles away, to confront Monk Yuan's Song army. Wanyan Meili sent thousands of Han troops to attack Monk Yuan in turn every day, implementing a harassment strategy.
Wanyan Meili had realized that the losses in the attack on Monk Yuan would be too great, and he had to carry out a north-south pincer attack to win. Everything was ready, except for the east wind, so the Jin soldiers waited for the West Route Army led by Wanyan Wulu to arrive in time.
Wu Jie stood on the camp and looked at the Jinbing camp ten miles away. He asked Wang Yan next to him in a deep voice, "What do you think Wan Yan is waiting for?"
Wang Yan smiled lightly, "He is waiting for the troops on the Western Front to arrive behind us. Facts have proved that they have no advantage in a one-sided battle. Only when we are attacked from both sides can they have any hope of victory."
Wu Jie deeply agreed with Wang Yan's judgment and asked, "Is there any new news from Jianxiao Pass?"
"There is no new news yet, but I guess the war over there has also begun. Chen Qing will not let us down."
Wu Jie thought for a moment and said, "I'm worried that they don't have enough troops. If Wanyan Buli discovers that the Western Front Army is blocked, he will definitely send troops to attack Jianxiao Pass from the south. Once Jianxiao Pass is attacked from both sides, it may be difficult to defend it.
"
Wu Jie's mind is very clear, and every link is clearly presented in his mind. If there is a problem in any link, he will lose the game.
He glanced at Wang Yan and saw that Wang Yan had no objection, so he said decisively: "I will immediately send troops to support Jianzhi Pass!"
…………..
On the top of Jianxiao Pass, every soldier's heart seemed to be weighed down by a big mountain.
Below Guancheng, the black army lined up in the canyon, with no head visible at a glance, and the spears raised high seemed to form a forest, with murderous intent.
‘Woo——’
The low sound of horns echoed in the valley, and tens of thousands of people raised their spears and shouted: "Kill——"
The shouts were earth-shattering, and the faces of the soldiers on top of the city changed.
Chen Qing squinted his eyes and stared into the distance. A large siege weapon vaguely appeared in the distance.
This should be the weapon used by the opponent to attack Dashan Pass.
At this time, a cavalryman came running from the team, holding a bow and arrow with a letter on the arrow, riding his horse and galloping towards the city head.
Chen Qing took the divine arm crossbow from the soldier and raised the crossbow to aim at the cavalry. Before the cavalry could get close to Guancheng, an arrow shot out with a 'Whoosh!'. Two hundred steps away, an arrow hit the cavalry's throat. The cavalry covered their throats.
He fell to the ground with his throat in his throat.
The officers and soldiers of the Song Army on the city wall were all awe-inspiring, and the commander's arrow represented the will of the Song Army. They would fight to the bitter end without any room for negotiation.
The Jin soldiers were in an uproar. General Wanyan Wulu looked extremely ugly and said coldly: "Since they want to die, then let them do it!"
He raised his signal and said: "Retreat!"
The demonstration of 40,000 troops ended, and groups began to slowly retreat, returning to the camp outside the valley.
At this time, retreating is not a retreat, but like a beast retreating in order to better attack forward.
"Commander, I'm afraid the enemy will take action tonight!" Yang Hua stepped forward and pointed to the trench under the city.
Chen Qing nodded, and he also thought that if the enemy army wanted to attack Guancheng, the first thing they had to do was to fill in the trench. A trench of more than thirty feet could be filled in by thousands of people in one night.
Chen Qing looked up at the clear sky. It should be good weather tonight. He sneered and said: "We can't stop them if they really want to, but since it's a war, they have to pay the price!"
………..
"Wanhu, I dare not disobey the military order, but I only have 2,300 people. I have to dedicate part of my troops to protect the trench-filling soldiers. I'm afraid I won't be able to fill the ditch overnight. I kindly ask Wanhu to give me a few days of grace."
Wanyan Wulu looked coldly at Xia Jin who was kneeling below, and said calmly: "General Xia, I remember that you are from Xixia. Your original surname was Li. You changed your surname to Xia in order not to forget your homeland. Am I right?
"
Xia Jin said in a deep voice: "The resume of the humble position has always been reported truthfully and there is nothing concealed. However, if the trenches are filled in overnight, the subordinates of the humble position will inevitably pay a heavy price. Army training is not easy. I beg General Wulu to think twice!"
"What does the Emperor of Xixia say? Anyone who bargains with the coach can be killed three times! Since you are from Xixia, this sentence should be familiar to you."
Xia Jin had no choice but to clasp his fists and say: "I obey the order!"
Wanyan Wulu snorted again and said: "If the trenches are not filled before dawn, the entire army will be killed!"
………..
At the first watch, Xia Jin led more than 2,000 soldiers to appear one mile outside the city.
Xia Jin's face was gloomy. Why didn't he expect that Wanyan Wulu would deal with him like this? Just because he failed to capture Jianjun Pass, he would punish his army to fill in the trench today.
How could more than two thousand people fill such a deep trench before dawn? Especially under the threat of enemy force, but Xia Jin had no choice but Wanyan Wulu was determined to deal with him.