If the Song State had not deployed so many troops around "Shangqiu", and the Song army from other places would come to join the battle, the original army would not have delayed so long before launching a formal siege on "Shangqiu".
Do you think this is very slow? In fact, it is fast enough.
There are many sieges with cold weapons, and the fighting on the outside lasts for more than a year. The attacker may not even be able to touch the city wall and have to retreat.
In more than three months, the original army repelled seven reinforcements from the Song Army to "Shangqiu", and also pulled out all the large strongholds within 30 miles of "Shangqiu". The remaining small strongholds have never been
It will affect the battle situation. Secondly, the location is not important. There is no need to completely clear it before siege.
With the arrival of a new day, the original army had breakfast early. A large number of soldiers left the camp under the control of the officers. They came to the rear of the trench dug by their side and began to form an array.
When the soldiers of the Song Army on duty discovered the movement of the original army, they sounded the warning gold (bronze) instrument. The rapid sound of the gong could be heard outside the city, and then the entire city was illuminated by a bright light that could be reflected by the clouds.
The fire needs to be big enough so that the clouds will reflect the light. In this state, the starlight will be obscured and people will no longer be able to see the Milky Way clearly.
When the first ray of sunlight shone on the earth in the morning, the original army had already set up formations in the four directions of "Shangqiu".
Song Junluan personally came to the city wall to watch. With a clear enough view, he felt panic in his heart.
There were too many original troops arrayed outside the city, at least 10,000 in each position, and there were an extremely large number of siege equipment.
"Mo Qing?" Song Junluan called Mo Zhai, that is, Mo Zi.
Mo Zhai looks too young, and he is indeed still very young. He is only twenty years old this year.
Song Junluan asked: "There are many enemy siege towers, is the golden hook really capable of doing the job?"
The so-called "golden hook" is a bronze hook with a rope. It has a spearhead installed on the front end and is fired with a crossbow. It can penetrate wood and then hook it.
The Song army must have prepared this kind of equipment to target the siege towers of the original army.
Mo Zhai is a descendant of a down-and-out aristocrat. He had a complicated early life and received a complete family education. Later, he became a Confucian teacher and learned exactly the theories of Confucius.
Later, Mo Zhai felt that Confucianism was not suitable for him. Instead, he was very interested in the craftsman's work and chose to return to the Song Dynasty in order to revive his family business.
If we want to talk about why Mo Zhai devoted himself to the career of craftsmen, it must be said that he was influenced by Zhiyao.
In other words, Mo Zhai personally traveled to the Yuan Kingdom, saw some waterwheels of the water system, and saw how new things helped the Yuan Kingdom's national strength. He originally wanted to join the Song Kingdom to make some agricultural tools that he had seen in the Yuan Kingdom.
After demonstrating his skills, he was recommended to Song Junluan by the nobles of the Song Dynasty.
For the Song Dynasty, waterwheels and other tools that could help agriculture were of course important, but the world situation had changed a lot, and what Song Junluan wanted more was to quickly increase his military strength.
Under Song Junluan's repeated inquiries, Mo Zhai made it clear that he could improve the bed crossbow and manufacture other military equipment. He actually improved the bed crossbow on his behalf, increasing the range of the Song army's bed crossbow to 250 steps.
, and even added aiming components to make it more accurate, which suddenly made Song Junluan feel like he had found a treasure.
Because Song Junluan paid enough attention to the relationship, he granted Mo Zhai a title in a very short period of time, and also gave him a mansion and servants in "Shangqiu", and granted fiefs and subjects in other places.
The restoration of glory that Mo's ancestors dreamed of was accomplished by Mo Zhai when he was less than twenty years old.
Of course, whether we can keep that glory depends on the actual effectiveness of the siege equipment invented by Mo Zhai in this battle.
The reason for this statement is that even if "Shangqiu" was captured by the Yuan army, the Yuan country would definitely recruit such a talented person.
Therefore, the fate of the Song Dynasty is not the key to Mo Zhai. The real key is the effect of those instruments.
Mo Zhai exchanged words with Song Junluan for a while, then found an excuse to leave.
Recently, Mo Zhai feels that many instruments can be improved. For example, instruments equipped with two blades of metal should not be fixed in one place. Instead, a bronze rod or a sufficiently strong piece of wood can be added as a support point, and a pulley can be installed to make it
Can be moved left and right.
As for the racket shaft, maybe you can add one or more undercuts, and then turn the shaft into a soft but tough material.
Many things are definitely not perfect when they first appear. Basically, they are gradually improved and finally become the optimal final style.
Song Junluan's expectations for Mo Zhai were very high, to an extent that Mo Zhai could not imagine.
The original country was so powerful that it assembled three legions to fight fiercely with more than 100,000 Vietnamese troops on the east side. At the same time, it also gathered three legions to invade the Song Dynasty.
If you know the Yuan Kingdom, you will know that six legions are not the limit that the Yuan Kingdom can mobilize. It is precisely that Song Junluan has been collecting intelligence about the Yuan Kingdom. Although it is not very detailed, it is difficult to touch the core parts. Just the ones that have been explored
It was enough to make him feel uneasy.
Song Junluan is already very old, and his thoughts are actually still stuck in the past, and he has not been able to keep up with the times.
For example, this time, Song Junluan never expected that the Yuan Kingdom would start a war with the Yue Kingdom at the same time as the Yue Kingdom.
When Song Junluan thought about it, the original Wang Yao had just asked the prince to marry Mi Zi as the crown prince, and the Yue King Gou Jian sent more than 100,000 troops to the north. He should be happy for the Song State to join the attack on the Yue State. He never expected that the Yuan State would not only be unwilling,
The action taken will be so drastic.
Not to mention that Song Junluan didn't expect it, nor did many people in the external countries and the original country.
To be honest, according to common sense, the Yuan State is already at war with the Yue State, and what they should do is try their best to win over the Chu State and the Song State.
No one expected that kind of reaction from Zhiyao. Only the Yuan Kingdom's invasion of the Song Kingdom would be sudden.
What was unsatisfactory about the Yuan Kingdom was that the Song State had always lacked a sense of security. Even if they did not expect that the Yuan army would invade at this time, they began to strengthen the city defense facilities in "Shangqiu" very early.
As for why the gathering speed is so fast? Among the surviving vassal states, any country can gather its army very quickly. This is the basic survival ability of countries in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. People like those in later generations are already experiencing invasions, so they need to
After spending more than a year gathering an army, the country would have been destroyed long ago.
However, the territory of later dynasties was too large, so it was understandable that they were slow to assemble the army.
However, many dynasties were slow to assemble not simply because of their large territory. To put it bluntly, it was the administrative system or officials at all levels that were holding them back.
Song Junluan had seen enough. When he was about to leave, he heard the sound of drums coming from the opposite side and subconsciously stayed to take a look.
A large number of former soldiers outside the city marched forward to the sound of drums. At first, they moved to the rhythm of the drums, but gradually the soldiers' steps covered up the sound of the drums. As they stepped forward neatly, the walls of the city could follow the rhythm of the former soldiers.
The propulsion produces vibrations.
"It's so nice to have some free time..." A wry smile appeared on Song Junluan's face, but she quickly calmed down.
In the future, it was said that the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system. The current system of the original country may have changed. The military system and bellicosity and good war actually retained the tradition of the Jin army.
Master Chu Zifei quickly came to Song Junluan's side and whispered: "Please return, Your Majesty."
The original army has already launched an attack on the city, and it is too dangerous for Song Junluan to stay here.
Song Junluan said: "Please leave this wall to the general."
Master Chu Zifei saluted carefully and replied: "I am in the city!"
Song Junluan took one last look at the numerous siege equipment being pulled forward slowly by oxen, and left with a sullen face under protection.
The Song army on the city wall was busy, the archers were ready to shoot, and many civil servants carried missing arrows, wood, and stones to the city wall with fear on their faces.
Some bronze cauldrons also began to boil, and the contents inside gave off a strong stench. They were boiling feces and urine.
This is another method that Mo Zhai came up with. If it is really used, it will become the first of its kind.
The main reason was that the Zhi family had never fought a city defense battle, otherwise it would not have been Mo Zhai's turn to become the founder.
And Mo Zhai could think of using this method to kill the siege party, it can only be said that people are really different.
This does not mean that boiling something was used for the first time against siege parties, specifically boiling feces and urine.
Chu Shizi Fei held his breath and watched the original army advance step by step. He did not order the crossbows on the city wall to be fired when the original army approached the city wall 250 steps.
The Song army's bed crossbows were placed every fifty meters or so, and there were about twenty of them on each city wall.
Under Mo Zhai's suggestion, the bed crossbow will be turned into an instrument used to carry out beheading tactics. The Song army will only cover and shoot when it finds valuable targets, or it will launch hooks with rope sleeves specifically to target siege towers.
A rapid banging sound came from the original army, and the next second a dark cloud composed of crossbow arrows rose from the ground.
This is when the crossbowmen of the original army entered the shooting range and were the first to cover the defenders on the city wall with arrows.
After repeated improvements, the Yuan Kingdom's crossbow has a range of up to 420 meters.
While the crossbowmen were shooting arrows, the advancing troops stopped.
The Song officers on the city wall kept shouting "raise your shield" and "dodge".
Of course, the Song soldiers who had shields raised their shields to protect themselves and at the same time cover the robes behind them.
Many soldiers of the Song Army approached the female wall, and they squatted down to hide behind the female wall.
The civil servants who were originally busy carrying supplies ran desperately towards the passages up and down the city wall. In the chaos, many people were pushed and fell, and then they were trampled and screamed.
The dark clouds composed of crossbows fell, and noises were heard. The civil servants who had no time to remove the city wall suffered heavy casualties in an instant. Even the Song soldiers hiding behind shields or parapets were not absolutely safe.
Master Chu Zifei saw something, his face changed drastically and he ran towards the aisle desperately.
That was the former army's large trebuchet making a rocking arm movement, and soon a round of stone bombs would be fired.
If the arrow is missed, he can still rely on the cover of shields and parapets. Faced with stone bullets, he can't withstand any protection. Chu Shi Zifei thinks that he who is responsible for the command cannot die like that. He really didn't run away out of cowardice.
The crossbowmen of the original army did not just fire one round and be done with it. They would always obey the order and fire continuously. The shooting would stop depending on when the melee troops officially climbed the city, or when there were not many defenders left on the city wall.
The stone bullets fired by the trebuchets fell with a roar, and more than 70% of them hit the city wall platform, sweeping away the Song soldiers above again and again. The rest either hit the wall or crossed the city wall and smashed into the city.
Mo Zhai, who had left and returned, was looking at the former army's trebuchet from a distance, murmuring: "You can't see clearly! If you can watch it close up, you will definitely be able to imitate it."
In fact, the trebuchet has far more parts than the bed crossbow, and the principle is much more complicated. It is really not easy to successfully imitate just by looking at the appearance.
The Yuan country's rock-trebuchet is already in its fifth generation. While the structure is more complex, the compactness of the components has been strengthened, which has greatly improved the hit rate.
As if he thought of something, Mo Zhai's face changed and he shouted loudly: "Sure!"
The Song army arranged a lot of defensive equipment on the city wall. They were just there in plain sight. Without arrow coverage, they could not destroy the defensive equipment. Stone bullets weighing dozens of kilograms would definitely destroy them once they hit.
What Mo Zhai said was a disaster. It wasn't just the equipment that defended the city. The Song Army had a pot of boiling excrement and urine every twenty meters. If they were hit, they would be scattered everywhere. It was nothing, but how many of them were there? Song Jun was burned to the point where his skin ulcerated, and he later died of the disease?
Yes, Mo Zhai knew very well the consequences of pouring boiled feces and urine mixed with mud, so he suggested to Song Jun to use boiled feces and urine instead of the ointment mixed with mud.
Are you having evil thoughts or something? Isn’t war just about using any available means to kill and injure the enemy and give your side more guarantees of victory???
As expected, just as Mo Zhai feared, the first round of stone bullets fired by the original army hit the boiling feces and urine, and instantly splashed everywhere, triggering shrill screams.
Mo Zhai looked at the tragic situation not far away, and his face suddenly turned pale.
In other words, even if you don't boil feces and urine, you will cook other things, and the defenders on the city wall will also suffer.
Mo Zhai suffered a huge psychological test because of the advice he gave.
So, the Song Army clearly knew what long-range attack weapons the original army had, so why did they still put those things on the city wall? In fact, it is the same thing whether they knew it or not. No matter what kind of city defense equipment they were, they were very difficult to move. It's impossible to wait for the war to be fierce before setting it up because you know it will be destroyed.
After all kinds of long-range weapons of the original army were put into use, the Song army only left a very small number of soldiers, and the rest of the living people retreated from the city wall.
After there were not many targets to attack, the melee troops of the original army carried long ladders up.
The Song army waited for the original army's long-range kill delivery to stop and returned to the city wall again.
As a result, the former army troops who launched the offensive turned around and ran quickly, and the next second the former army's long-range attack weapons began to attack again.
This approach is too common, and it is just a state of mind.
The original army occupies the comprehensive advantage of long-range anti-personnel weapons, and will definitely want to maximize this advantage.
If the Song Army did not react due to a certain melee charge by the Yuan Army, the Yuan Army would definitely launch a city-climbing operation based on the situation.
Therefore, even if there are casualties, the Song Army must respond every time.
This siege battle is going on in this kind of repeated testing...