Unless the resistance will of the Song monarchs and ministers collapsed in this siege battle, it would be impossible for the original army to capture "Shangqiu" with only long-range attack weapons.
In the follow-up, the original army continued to use long-range weapons to attack for more than a month. The attack by melee troops was just a temptation and did not launch a real city-climbing operation.
Before the siege began, Mo Zhai imagined more than once what kind of effect the city defense equipment he supervised could have, but he never expected that it would be placed on the city wall and allowed to be destroyed.
So, didn't Mo Zhai know that the original army had a trebuchet? How could he not know? It was just because the intelligence was too backward and he didn't know that the range of the original army's trebuchet had been increased and its accuracy had been greatly improved.
Currently, the former army's trebuchets have a range of up to 330 steps, and the accuracy of aiming at the target is within 15 meters.
The range of fifteen meters is quite large, it just depends on where the attack is launched and what weapon is used.
The former army's trebuchet can fire 35 kilograms of stone projectiles from nearly 500 meters away with an error of no more than 15 meters. To be honest, it is quite an achievement.
"Our troops originally came to attack the city. We mobilized 80 riprap towers from the 'Hulao' arsenal, and then deployed 230 catapults from 'Puyang'. When we arrived, we built another 50. That is to say, we dispersed the catapults in all directions, and each side was responsible for the attack.
There are ninety stone-casting pagodas." Zhi Xuwu looked proud.
Of course, the trebuchets will not be deployed evenly. The original army's main attack direction is in the west, and 150 trebuchets are concentrated to throw stone projectiles around the clock.
As time continues to go by, newly built trebuchets will gradually join in. As long as the original army is not so eager to capture "Shangqiu" and continues to bombard it again and again, it is not a certain city wall section of "Shangqiu".
Being bombed means that the morale of the defenders continues to be low.
The Song army tried to use bed crossbows to counterattack, but unfortunately the bed crossbows had insufficient range and could not threaten the original army's trebuchets.
At the same time, the Song army opened the city gate and sent death squads to destroy the trebuchet. Not far forward after they left the city gate, they were covered by reinforcements' archers and crossbowmen hidden in the trenches.
The few surviving Song troops could not reenter the city through the closed city gate, and the original army's crossbowmen did not shoot the surviving Song troops. As a result, these Song troops were trapped outside the city gate and screamed day and night. It can only be said that
It looks so desolate.
The original army's trebuchets were launched for more than a month, but they always avoided the city gate and did not attack.
Siege equipment capable of projecting heavy objects, such as catapults, was created. After being used in siege battles, it was rare to hear of examples of city gates being smashed. It was not simply because of poor accuracy. It was always possible to try again and again.
It can be fooled a few times, but the attacker with the catapult just doesn't want to do it.
Why is that? In fact, it is absolutely right not to target the city gate immediately. Once the defenders have not lost their faith in defending the city, but the city gate collapses, even if the attackers get in and capture the city, the casualties will be huge. If they cannot attack, it will be huge.
After forcing the defenders to completely block the city gate.
The original army's trebuchets are already accurate enough. Are they trying to concentrate some trebuchets to smash down a certain city wall section? It is true, but they have been smashing for several days, and one section of the city wall was hit by dozens of people in a row.
Nowadays, the city wall has dents and cracks, and there are no signs of collapse for the time being.
In other words, the thickness of the city wall is at least four meters. Whether it is made of pure rammed earth or covered with bricks and stones, even in the era of the emergence of bronze cannons, it is not that easy to use bronze cannons to collapse the city wall.
If you really want to blow down the city wall, in the era of firing solid bullets, unless the caliber of the cannon is exaggeratedly large and the projectiles fired are also super large, otherwise you can't even think about blowing down the city wall.
Even after the First World War, small-caliber artillery bombardment still couldn't make a big gap in the city wall. To knock down the city wall, you need large-caliber cannons or mortars, or use main guns with a caliber of more than 280 mm on battleships.
gun.
As for the plot in some divine dramas where a pack of explosives brings down the city wall? Otherwise, how can we call it a divine drama?
To use explosive charges, you must first dig a tunnel to reach under the city wall, and then bury at least three thousand kilograms of gunpowder.
There are relevant combat examples. The Red Army used 3,500 kilograms of gunpowder to bomb Sha County, and used 12,000 kilograms of gunpowder to bomb the gate of Linfen City. The Japanese invaded the southern border (intentional typo) and used 6,000 sacks of explosives to blow up a wall more than ten feet wide.
Kouzi.
So, using only one explosive charge to blow down a city wall that was at least three to four meters thick, what else is it if it’s not a drama?
As a time traveler, has Zhiyao ever tried to make gunpowder? It is true that he has, and he has successfully made it.
However, after Zhiyao developed gunpowder, he never put it into use, and even killed several craftsmen who participated in the research.
Why not use it? It’s not that Zhiyao makes his dominance more difficult. The fundamental reason is that gunpowder is a magic box. Opening it without making all the preparations is basically a thing that can hurt others and yourself.
Using gunpowder but trying to keep it secret? It's just too natural.
Because the metal formula has been used in the smelting process, it means that all the elements have been quenched and solidified. Unless the formula is obtained, there is no possibility of inferring it in the current era.
Gunpowder is different. If you have enough patience, you can completely understand the materials and test the proportions of the materials one by one. You will definitely be able to imitate it.
When a thing is used, it is a joke to keep it secret. It depends on whether the technical barriers are high or low, which will determine when the enemy will imitate it.
The original country is superior to other countries in terms of cold weapons, so why should it use gunpowder to give other countries a chance to overtake them in a corner?
"Prince, 60,000 Chu troops have arrived at Chaojia." Zhi Xuwu found Zhi Kai who was watching the launch of the trebuchet to report.
Zhikai asked: "Who is the general?"
Zhixuwu replied: "Pushao doctor Zhaoban."
I have never heard of this person Zhikai, and I see that the prefix is someone from the Zhao family.
Their original army currently has two battlefields, the first must be the "Shangqiu" front, and the other is the Jushui front.
Two legions of troops trapped "Shangqiu", and the other legion fought fiercely at the Jushui line with the Song army who wanted to rescue "Shangqiu".
The State of Chu sent reinforcements to the State of Song, and then the original army on the Jushui front line became the allied forces of Chu and Song.
Zhikai asked: "Do you need help?"
Zhi Xuwu thought for a while and replied: "Reinforcements at this time may scare off the Chu army."
The current development of the war is infinitely close to the situation of the previous "Battle of Xinzheng". The difference is that the number of trapped Song troops on the "Shangqiu" side is less than that on the outside.
If the Yuan Kingdom wanted to capture "Shangqiu" and then further annihilate the Song Kingdom, it would be best if they could eliminate more Chu troops in this battle. This is also one of the reasons why Zhikai has not launched a forceful attack on "Shangqiu".
It’s not that I simply don’t want to create an ugly battle-loss ratio.
Zhi Xuwu was silent for a while and said: "The Battle of Donglai lasted for more than half a year. The Vietnamese army was trapped in the north of Langya. Both sea and land routes have been cut off. The victory or defeat may be decided in the near future."
Including the navy, the Yuan Kingdom used more troops in Donglai than in the Song Dynasty. It was able to eliminate the main force of the Vietnamese army in Donglai, and then there was no need to dispatch three legions to invade the Yue mainland.
Zhixuwu hopes that Zhikai will be more stable, trap "Shangqiu" and grind slowly, attract more Chu troops, drag him to Sima Ranju's headquarters, destroy the Yue country, and then go west, join forces to fight with the Chu and Song coalition forces.
A large battle.
In order to be able to achieve that goal, it doesn't matter if "Shangqiu" is not captured for a while. It will be easier to annihilate all Song's field forces in the field and also eliminate a sufficient number of Chu troops. It will be easier to attack "Shangqiu" later, and it will be a good way to take over.
Prepare the foundation before coming down to attack Chu.
Zhikai seemed a little hesitant and asked: "It's so obvious, how can the kings and ministers of Chu be fooled?"
Zhixuwu knew Zhikai's thoughts and said: "Just like the Jin Kingdom defended the Wu Kingdom to death in the early years, the Song Kingdom is a country that must be saved by the Chu Kingdom."
If nothing else happens, the Yue Kingdom will soon be destroyed.
Once the Yue Kingdom was destroyed, the only remaining kings were the Yuan Kingdom, the Chu Kingdom, and the Song Kingdom.
The Yuan State made it clear that it wanted to take the Song State away with it. No matter how unwilling the Chu State was, it had to defend the Song State to the death. Otherwise, after the Song State was destroyed, the Yuan State would have no chance to resist its conquest.
For the Chu State, the most ideal situation is to let the Yuan State fall into the Song State and turn the Song State into the Yuan State's quagmire at all costs.
At the same time, the Chu State quickly ended its internal fighting and cherished every minute and second to prepare for war. It would take as long as possible until the original country's national strength was exhausted and it could no longer support it, and then launched a counterattack.
Examples of similar things can be found. During the "Hundred Years War" between Chu and Jin, the kings and ministers of Jin used this method to hold back Chu, and used Wu and Song to repeatedly bleed Chu.
If there was just a one-on-one contest between Jin and Chu, Jin might win in the end, but the price paid would definitely be heavier.
Judging from the reinforcements sent by the Chu State to the Song State, the top leaders of the Chu State have obviously thought of that?
Next, it depends on whether the top brass of the Chu State will transfer the 100,000 Chu troops who are attacking the Yue State to the "Shangqiu" battlefield. If they do this, it means that all the troops are in a state of sobriety.
Zhixuwu made a very crucial statement and said: "Thirty thousand Song troops will definitely return for reinforcements. Whether one hundred thousand Chu troops will come will be known in the near future."
To be honest, Zhikai still wanted to take credit for destroying the Song Dynasty, and while consolidating his position as the crown prince, he also wanted to make an immortal contribution.
What Zhi Xuwu was afraid of was that Zhi Kai was too obsessed with destroying the Song State, but instead ignored the benefits of destroying more Chu troops in the Song State.
If Zhikai insists on taking "Shangqiu" first, Zhixuwu will not object.
However, Zhi Xuwu will write to Zhi Yao and suggest that Zhi Kai be recalled to the center.
"In this case, maybe the troops on the front line of Jushui can be forced to withdraw?" Zhikai looked a little depressed, obviously very reluctant.
But Zhi Xuwu stopped him and said: "No! If you retreat rashly, your temptation will be revealed. If you retreat, you can retreat only when you are no longer strong enough to defeat the enemy."
If you treat everyone in Chu and Song as fools, they will become the real fools.
As the capital, "Shangqiu" determines the survival of the Song Dynasty. Most of their monarchs and ministers are trapped in the city, and the Song army must rescue "Shangqiu".
The Chu State is very willing to continue the war in "Shangqiu". No matter how much damage is caused, it is the property of the Song State. It is not the Chu State to pay for the delay in agricultural production or other things. It is better to keep fighting in "Shangqiu" than to move the battlefield to the Chu State.
within the territory.
What is the most important thing? The more precarious the Song Dynasty looks, the more desperate the Song Dynasty will be and the greater the consumption of the original country.
Zhikai thought of something and said: "Chu Wangyan... I'm afraid I won't be able to eat next year's new wheat."
There is an allusion here. Jin Jinggong fell ill and sought treatment from Qin's "Bian Que". The doctor from Qin could not directly say that Jin Jinggong was hopeless, which contributed an idiom of "terminal illness" to Chinese history.
It’s Jin Jinggong who can’t eat wheat rice for the new year.
Jin Jinggong was the only monarch in the history of the Xia Dynasty who fell into a manhole and drowned. Some historians speculated that Jin Jinggong died of a murder by the Qing family based on the national conditions of Jin at that time.
What Zhikai meant was that under the current development of the world situation, Gongsun Ning would definitely deal with King Yan of Chu.
As long as Chu Junyan does not die, Gongsun Ning will not be able to take power legitimately.
How can the Chu State, which is in a state of continuous internal strife, fight a life-and-death battle with the Yuan State?
Because Gongsun Ning believed that he was the only one who could save Chu, he would choose to usurp the throne even if he was accused of regicide.
More than a month later, news of Chu Junyan's death came from the Chu State, confirming the correctness of Zhikai's guess.
At the same time, the 30,000 Song troops who had previously invaded the Yue Kingdom returned. Instead of choosing to come to "Shangqiu" to participate in the battle, they invaded the original country's homeland and made a gesture of attacking "Puyang".
The State of Chu did not transfer the 100,000 troops that invaded the State of Yue to the State of Song. They were busy conquering the mainland of the State of Yue, as if they wanted to annex Wu and Yue together.
Gongsun Ning, the newly usurper, chose to compromise with the feudal lords in various places and recognized the lords' autonomy. He cobbled together more than 50,000 Chu troops and marched northward into the Song Dynasty.
Zhikai received bad news, and Mizi finally learned that the Yuan Kingdom had launched a war of annihilation against the Song Kingdom, and she lost control of her emotions and gave birth to a miscarriage.
After hearing the news, Zhikai was stunned for a long time and couldn't believe it was true.
Yako was pregnant with Chikai's first child, and it was gone all of a sudden.
After coming back to his senses, Zhikai wrote a letter to his father Zhiyao, requesting that he be executed for revealing the news of the war between the Yuan Kingdom and the Song Kingdom to the people Mizi knew.
And for this matter, even though Zhiyao had become a grandfather and grandpa a long time ago, he was furious that his first legitimate grandson could not be successfully delivered, and he did something that can be called cruel since he came to power, and executed the responsible person.
Everyone who served Mi Zi was imprisoned, and the concubines from Chu State were also imprisoned.
Yes, the news that the Yuan Kingdom was trying to destroy the Song Kingdom was revealed to Mizi by a concubine of the Chu Kingdom, and that was how Mizi lost control of her emotions and caused a miscarriage.
However, Zhiyao only imprisoned the concubine from Chu State and did not kill the retainers and servants who came with the marriage. He mainly left it to Zhikai to deal with it on his own.