The development of the matter confirmed Zhe Keqiu's fears, Shaanxi County had been captured by the Song army.
This news left Zhe Keqiu speechless for a long time. He rushed over immediately after receiving the order. Unexpectedly, he was a step too late. If he had known it, he would have sent a cavalry to kill him first.
Zhe Keqiu felt extremely regretful, but it was useless to regret now. After having to face the reality, Zhe Keqiu began to think about what he should do next?
First of all, he wanted to know how many Song troops were in the city? He also wanted to know what the situation was like at Hangu Pass. In addition, he also wanted to know where the Song troops came from and occupied Shaanxi County?
But the first question stumped him. They didn't bring a siege ladder and couldn't attack the city. How could he know how many soldiers were in the city?
After thinking for a long time, there was nothing he could do, so Zhe Keqiu had to give up the first idea temporarily.
Deputy General Hu Mei stepped forward and suggested: "Commander, why don't we go to Hangu Pass first?"
Zhe Keqiu shook his head, "When we go to Hangu Pass, our retreat is cut off. Once the Song Army in Shaanxi County cuts off our retreat and cuts off food, wouldn't it mean that the entire army will be annihilated?"
Another general said: "Since the commander is afraid that his retreat will be cut off, he might as well retreat to Mianchi County first and send someone to Hanguguan to inquire about the news."
Mianchi County is about a hundred miles east of Shaanxi County and is also the starting point of the Weihan Ancient Road. It is a good place to stay. At this time, the 20,000-strong army only brought five days of dry food and had been on the road for three days. What else could be done?
Waiting where they were for two days was definitely not an option. Returning to Mianchi was their only option.
But Zhe Keqiu was still a little unwilling. After thinking for a long time, he ordered: "Continue to Shaanxi County!"
Zhe Keqiu had rich experience. He suspected that the opponent was just a scout team of two to three hundred people coming over the mountains. However, there happened to be no defenders in Shaanxi County. The Song Army took advantage of the situation and occupied Shaanxi County. He didn't know anything about the situation.
If we retreat in such a panic, won't we be ridiculed by everyone in the world?
The army continued to move forward. At the fourth watch, the army arrived at Shaanxi County. Nothing could be seen on the city top, only the dark city walls and gates.
"How did you discover something was wrong?" Zhe Kezhi asked the spy leader.
"We came up to call the door, but the answer was bows and arrows!"
"Call the door again!"
The spy leader had no choice but to lead dozens of soldiers towards the city gate. He heard them shouting from a distance below the city: "We are under the command of General Zhe and are coming from Luoyang. Please open the city immediately..."
"
Before he finished speaking, a burst of arrows were shot down from the top of the city. Although the soldiers were prepared, several people were still hit by the arrows and let out a series of screams. The spies were so frightened that they fled back.
"Reporting to the commander, there are a lot of arrows on the city, and three of our brothers were injured!"
Zhe Keqiu frowned. He could see clearly that more than a hundred arrows were shot from the top of the city. This arrow could not explain the problem.
He thought for a moment and then told his deputy Hu Mei: "Take a thousand brothers to chop down a big tree nearby, something that can be used as a battering ram!"
"Follow the order!"
Lieutenant General Hu Mei left with a thousand soldiers, and Zhe Keqiu ordered the entire army to sit down and rest.
At the same time, Zhe Keqiu sent another team of spies to Hangu Pass to inquire about the situation.
.........
It was getting daylight, and Hu Mei also led his soldiers to cut down two tree trunks that could be used as battering rams. All the branches were gone, leaving only the main trunk, which was about two feet in diameter and seven to eight feet long, which could accommodate seventy or eighty soldiers.
Hold it and rush to the city gate.
Zhe Keqiu squinted at the top of the city. He could see clearly now that the top of the city was densely packed with soldiers. But were these soldiers real Song soldiers? Or were they temporarily looking for some young men in the city to pretend to be? He had to test the attack.
I found out immediately.
"Send the order, five thousand archers march forward!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The war drums sounded.
Five thousand crossbowmen were divided into five square formations and ran in formation, surging forward like a great tide.
On the top of the city, Tang Qian frowned and said to Liu Qiong: "The opponent has no siege ladder, how can he attack the city?"
Liu Qiong said coldly: "They must have cut down trees to make a battering ram to break down the city gate!"
He immediately ordered: "Follow my orders and prepare fire oil and gunpowder!"
Five thousand crossbowmen rushed in and fired arrows at the top of the city from a hundred steps away. The arrows hit the top of the city like raindrops.
There are three thousand garrison troops on the top of the city, consisting of two thousand Song troops and one thousand new surrender troops. Needless to say, the two thousand Song troops are very experienced, and the one thousand new surrender troops are also well-trained troops.
They squatted on top of the city and fired blindly. They did not need to aim at a specific enemy. As long as the number of arrows was sufficient, they would still have great lethality.
In the dense rain of arrows from both sides, a siege team rushed towards the city gate. The siege team consisted of more than 200 people, more than 100 people held up shields for protection, and the remaining 80 soldiers held battering rams on the left and right.
, rushing towards the city gate.
"Powder keg ready
Liu Qiong shouted, "Get ready for kerosene!"
Dozens of soldiers have prepared two gunpowder barrels and dozens of bags of kerosene. The best way to deal with the enemy siege is kerosene and gunpowder. Rolling wood and stones are of little use. Experienced soldiers can use shields to remove them skillfully.
The impact of rolling wood and rocks.
But no one can stop the all-pervasive liquid fire oil and the dense poisonous nails when it explodes. Moreover, there is also a psychological offensive. When a fire is ignited on the body, or when the poisonous nails are shot into the body, every soldier will have a strong feeling.
The fear is enough to break their will.
The siege army had already approached the city gate, and the firearms soldiers shouted: "Attack the gunpowder barrels!"
The Western Army has specialized firearms soldiers. They are experienced and specially trained. They know when to throw gunpowder barrels and where to throw them.
For battering ram soldiers, they usually throw it thirty steps away from the city gate. The throwing point is not on the team. They have dense shields to resist it. They must throw it to both sides, so that the flying poison nails can be shot from the bottom of both sides.
Two pieces of gunpowder were thrown down at the same time and exploded when they hit the ground. There were two loud noises in succession. Thousands of tiny poisonous nails flew in all directions. The legs of dozens of shield-hand soldiers outside were shot into the legs by poisonous nails.
The soldiers on the periphery screamed and fell to the ground with their legs weak. The dense shield defense suddenly dispersed, revealing the soldiers holding the battering ram inside.
"Impact!"
The leading enemy army roared and the battering ram rushed towards the city gate...
At this time, dozens of jets of black fire oil sprayed down from the top of the city, drenching dozens of soldiers in the front section. Dozens of torches were thrown down at the same time. 'Boom!' The flames burned rapidly and spread quickly.
In the blink of an eye, everyone who was doused with kerosene was set on fire.
The battering ram was still a dozen steps away from the city gate, but the dozens of people in front of it all turned into burning men. They screamed and ran in all directions, and the battering ram crashed to the ground.
In the chaos, arrows rained down from the top of the city. The soldiers behind were hit by arrows and fell to the ground. The battering ram fell to the ground and was engulfed by the fire on the ground.
In the distance, Zhe Keqiu could see clearly. He could tell from the opponent's arrows. There were at least several thousand experienced Song troops on the city wall. They were not the small team he imagined. He could only sigh and said, "Retreat!"
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
The withdrawal bell rang, and the puppet Qi troops on the battlefield quickly withdrew like an ebbing tide, leaving behind more than 800 corpses, most of which were crossbowmen killed by arrows from the city.
The puppet Qi army did not stop and retreated directly towards Mianchi County. The defenders on the city suddenly cheered, and many of the newly surrendered soldiers were even more excited. Many of them tasted victory for the first time.
