Chapter six hundred and eighty fifth pressing attack
In Lingzhou, 200,000 troops surrounded the city from four directions. A few miles away from the city, there were large tents in a row, with great momentum and flags flying. Cavalry were constantly galloping between the camps, echoing each other.
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The city was also full of Song troops. Faced with the enemy's massive siege, the defenders did not panic at all. They had enough confidence. There were 50,000 troops deployed in Lingzhou City, as well as 200 small trebuchets and a
Thousands of bed crossbows, kerosene and gunpowder are essential items. The general Liu Cui has rich experience in defending the city.
Even in order to resist the enemy's siege, the Song army dug a three-foot-wide moat outside the city, poured water from the Lingzhou River into the moat, and built a suspension bridge, turning Lingzhou from a Western Xia city into a Song Dynasty city.
city.
General Liu Cui stood on top of Nancheng and squinted at the main camp in Nancheng. He received a report from the peripheral scout Feige that the garrison in Nancheng was different from the other three places. It seemed to be Jurchen cavalry.
Liu Cui also discovered that there were a lot of horses in the civil war in Nanda Camp, and there was a very vast horse racing field to the south. Thousands of Jurchen soldiers were training on the horse racing field, constantly flying on the horses.
"How many troops does General Xiang think the Jurchen Army has?"
Next to him is Liu Cui's deputy general Xiang Ying. Xiang Ying was also a puppet Qi general who surrendered to the Song army. He was about thirty years old. He had excellent marksmanship. He could hit an arrow from a hundred steps away without missing a mark. His martial arts was very strong. In addition, he was an upright man.
, rewards and punishments are clear, and he is very popular among soldiers.
Guan Shigu specially recommended him to Chen Qing, and Chen Qing appointed him as the commander. After becoming the general of the Western Army, he made many military exploits. He was just promoted to the commander of the upper army and is currently Liu Cui's deputy general.
Xiang Ying smiled and said: "The big tents in the military camp are not only used to house soldiers, but also horses, so it looks like there are 60,000 to 70,000 troops, but in fact it has to be reduced by half. I estimate that there are about 30,000 people.
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Liu Cui smiled slightly and said: "The heroes have the same opinion. I also think that the opponent has about 30,000 people, but the cavalry is obviously not for attacking the city. They are stationed in the south city, and their target must be south. They are waiting for our main force to go north."
Xiang Ying frowned slightly, "Their intention of deploying this way is actually very obvious. Aren't they worried that we will use the Eagle Letter to report to Mingsha County?"
Liu Cui shook his head, "This is a conspiracy. It is clear that we will fight the Song Army. If the Song Army does not dare to come, then they will harvest all the wheat this year. In fact, it is not a loss. I guess at least the Xixia people have this attitude.
This is an idea, but our commander-in-chief will never retreat just because the enemy is strong, and he will definitely lead his army northward."
"Then what measures do we need to take?"
Liu Cui smiled and said: "What we have to do is to wait patiently. Although the commander-in-chief will lead his army northward, he will not be controlled by the other party. He will definitely go northward according to his own plan."
At this moment, outside the east city wall, war drums rumbled, as if the enemy troops were beginning to attack the city.
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The Xixia Army brought 300 siege ladders. Interestingly, the Xixia Army's siege ladders were almost exactly the same as the Song Army's simple siege ladders. They were both simply made of fir wood. The commander Li Kan actually did not want to attack the city.
He hoped that after the Jurchen cavalry defeated the main force of the Song army and the defenders in the city were forced to break out, he could win without a fight and retake Xiping Mansion.
However, Wuyan Puluhun wanted to see the Song Army's ability to defend the city with his own eyes. From the ability to defend the city, he could see the morale and training level of the Song Army. He would be more prepared to face the Song Army, so that his eyes would not be completely dark.
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Under the pressure of Wuyan Puluhun, Li Kan had to agree to use 20,000 soldiers to conduct a tentative siege.
The dull sound of war drums beat outside the East City, and the low sound of horns kept blowing, 'Woo--Woo--'
An army of 20,000 was quickly assembled. This time, Li Kan used a group of veterans recruited from the herdsmen. They were relatively experienced and highly trained. Li Kan also had a faint hope that maybe they could capture the city.
At this time, the city also began to respond quickly. A thousand crossbows were set up on the east wall, two thousand barrels of kerosene were transported to the city, 16,000 troops were deployed at the east city, and 6,000 people with spears in hand prepared to attack.
The enemy troops fought fiercely in the city, but before the enemy troops attacked the city, they were temporarily responsible for operating the crossbows, while 10,000 crossbowmen crouched behind the female wall, preparing to launch a powerful bow and arrow array.
A large number of rolling logs and stones have been prepared, and the soldiers are ready.
The assembly of 20,000 soldiers was completed. The commanding general was Li Kan's eldest son Li Ke. He waved his spear and shouted: "Beat the drum, the first army attacks!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The rapid beating of war drums sounded, and ten thousand soldiers rushed towards the city wall. They carried siege ladders and long rafts. The siege ladders were used to siege the city, and the long rafts were used to build moats and serve as temporary bridges. This kind of rafts
It is also made of fir trees, four feet long and eight feet wide, with large iron nails on both ends, which are driven directly into the soil. They hold the raft on their heads to resist bows and arrows, and run at the front. Their first task is to prepare for those behind.
The army paved the way.
On the top of the city, the deputy general shouted to the eagle, "Ready the bed crossbow!"
The soldiers on the top of the city quickly loaded arrows and prepared to start shooting. The Western Army's bed crossbows were no longer of the tile type. The tile type took up too much space and was difficult to arrange on the city top. The Western Army invented the barrel several years ago.
A crossbow with five arrows in a barrel is fired at the same time. It requires two people to string it, one person to load the arrows, and three people can operate it.
This type of barrel-type bed crossbow is actually no longer called a bed crossbow. It is called Jackdaw Crossbow or barrel crossbow within the Western Army. Its range is not as far as the previous flat-bed type bed crossbow, only 500 steps, but it is enough, and
It was reduced from the five-person operation of the bed crossbow to the three-person operation, and its size was reduced by more than half, so it could be placed on the city wall for launch.
"Fire the arrow!"
With the sound of bangs, a thousand crossbows were fired at the same time, and five thousand jackdaw arrows were shot out powerfully, drawing parabolas in the air and shooting towards the main force of the Xixia army five hundred steps away.
The soldiers of the Xixia Army who were running raised their shields to defend themselves. Unfortunately, they encountered the indestructible Jackdaw Iron Arrow. The powerful Jackdaw Arrow penetrated the shield and also penetrated the body behind the shield. The soldiers screamed in agony.
Some soldiers fell to the ground, some were shot through the head, some were nailed to the ground, and some soldiers had their shoulder bones shattered, rolling on the ground and wailing in pain.
The powerful crossbow killed and wounded more than 950 Xixia soldiers in the first round.
But the Xixia army did not waver at all, and continued to speed up and run wildly. Soon they ushered in the second round of crossbows. The powerful iron arrows roared down, and a series of soldiers fell head-on. Nearly 900 soldiers disappeared into the attacking team again.
middle.
The enemy troops had already rushed within a hundred steps of the city, shouting to the eagle: "The bed crossbow retreats, the Ten Thousand Arrow Array shoots!"
A thousand crossbows were moved away, and the 10,000-step archers squatting beside the female wall simultaneously opened their bows and fired arrows. Suddenly, thousands of arrows were fired from the top of the city, forming an arrow net in the sky.
The soldiers under the city shot him over their heads.
The arrows are two feet and five inches long and are made of high-density jujube or beech wood. The shafts are thick and long, and the arrows in front are also quite heavy. These arrows are fired with large city-defending bows, but their range is not far.
, with an average of only seventy or eighty steps, it is thrown down from the top of the city. Its penetrating power is no less than that of a jackdaw arrow. If the quality of the shield is not too strong, it can still be penetrated by soldiers' arrows.
Of course, the Xixia army also has high-quality thick shields, but these high-quality shields are all in the hands of the Emperor's Guards, and these herdsmen bring their own weapons, armor, and horses. The so-called shields are all made of leather.
The shield, as simple as it sounds, could withstand the Song army's powerful standard-issue arrows.
Under the attack of thousands of arrows, casualties were extremely heavy, with a kill rate as high as 30%. Two thousand five hundred attacking soldiers were hit by arrows, and the city was wailing. Before they could even reach the city wall, there were more than four thousand casualties, and the casualty rate was even
surpassed the puppet Qi army.
This is also a consequence of backward equipment. Of course, it is also related to national strength. The armor and equipment seized from the Song Dynasty have been almost exhausted. In addition to the 50,000 elite soldiers in the hands of the Emperor's Guards and Brother Li Cha, who are well-equipped.
The troops were poorly equipped, which fully reflected the declining national power of Xixia.
Even Wuyan Puluhun shook his head secretly. No wonder the Xixia army was defeated by the Song army. The equipment was too crude and could not withstand the Song army's bows and arrows.
Li Kan lost his temper and shouted loudly: "The second army is also coming!"
Li Ke hesitated. If he attacked the city like this, even fifty thousand people would not be able to capture it. He might as well withdraw his troops. But his father's military orders were overwhelming, so he had to bite the bullet and shout: "Second Army, attack!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The war drums sounded again, and the 10,000 men from the Second Army rushed forward like a tide.