Chapter six hundred and fiftieth chapters are soldiers
March 24th of the first year of Dalong Yongping.
After failing to persuade Songzhou to surrender, Dalong cavalry sharpened their swords and prepared for an attack on the city.
At the same time, the 350,000 soldiers and horses commanded by the North Vietnamese king Wan Mingliang on the other side of Dalong also failed to persuade them to surrender, and they also began to prepare for an attack on Muzhou City.
As soon as the dragon's soldiers and horses arrived at the city, the soldiers and horses guarding the two cities seemed to be ready to die to serve the country.
Liu Mingzhi once said that Dalong is by no means unique to those who generously serve justice.
The Jin Kingdom, which was a nomadic people a hundred years ago, was deeply influenced by the Dalong culture after the founding of the country by Emperor Taizu, and the habit of retreating when it couldn't be defeated has changed to this.
I have an extraordinary feeling for the land beneath my feet.
Military camp outside Songzhou City.
Dozens of generals gathered around the sand table around Yunyang and began to discuss the situation. In the final analysis, they were fighting over who would be the main attacker.
Yunyang looked at the high-spirited generals around him, feeling both pleased and helpless. He tapped the edge of the sand table with the bamboo pole in his hand.
"What's the point of making a fuss? I have my own choice of who will attack the city, so you don't have to fight over it."
All the generals immediately fell silent, looking down at Yunyang in silence, waiting for his orders.
Yunyang took a look at the sand table, picked up the telescope at hand and walked towards the outside of the military tent. Upon seeing this, a group of generals behind him followed him slowly.
Yunyang raised his telescope and observed Songzhou City for about a stick of incense.
"Xiao Guo Wei Dongfang Ming listens to the order!"
"The end is here!"
"The terrain of Songzhou is very similar to that of Ganzhou City that you are guarding. You have led troops to resist the Turks for many years, and you must have considerable experience in this aspect. In this case, you will be the first to attack Songzhou City tentatively.
You immediately lead 30,000 soldiers and horses to launch a tentative attack on Songzhou to detect the strength of the garrison in the city."
"The general will get the order!"
Dongfang Ming held the command flag in his hand without hesitation and ran towards the Chinese army, preparing to attack the city with troops.
After Dongfang Ming left, Yunyang looked at Jiang Lei happily: "Jiang Lei obeys the order!"
"The end is here!"
"Looking at the whole army, there is no general who is more amazing in using artillery than you. It is up to you to suppress artillery."
"The general will get the order!"
Although Jiang Lei is relatively young among many generals, no one dares to look down upon this junior.
The reason is nothing more than Jiang Lei's superb ability to use artillery.
Suppressed by the artillery under his command, the enemy troops on the city wall's counterattacks against the siege army were reduced by about 60% at least.
Yunyang looked at Jiang Lei's back, stroking his beard and nodded with a smile.
"Neither arrogant nor impetuous, and possessing the demeanor of a general, he will definitely be one of the pillars of our frontier in the future!"
The generals nodded in agreement, and they all nodded in agreement.
Although Jiang Lei was much younger than them, and even similar to his nephews, his ability to lead troops was definitely not inferior to that of himself and others.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The soldiers and horses under the command of King Bingjian can be said to be full of outstanding people.
Jiang Lei ran to the artillery camp with the order flag in hand.
"See General!"
"No gift!"
"Thank you General!"
Jiang Lei frowned slightly as he looked at the hundreds of single artillery pieces placed next to the artillerymen who came forward.
Although these artillery pieces were the second batch of improved artillery pieces cast by the Ministry of War, they were still a bit too single compared to the various artillery pieces in the hands of the prince.
In this way, the suppression of artillery fire on the city wall will be weakened somewhat.
Jiang Lei raised his telescope and looked at the top of the city wall. He also observed the terrain outside the city for a long time, and he probably had a plan for how to deploy the artillery.
"Xue Rang, Yi Xiangzhi listens to the order!"
"The end is here!"
"Xue Rang, lead your brothers to lead one hundred artillery pieces in a straight arc."
"Yi Xiangzhi, you and your generals each command fifty artillery pieces. The first group and Xue Rang are placed thirty steps in front of the artillery formation. Use a pickaxe to dig down the artillery wheels ten inches and lower the muzzle ten inches.
.
Another pair of soldiers and horses placed fifty artillery pieces on both sides of the Songzhou City Gate Barbican, and launched an artillery attack on the City Gate Barbican at an angle, making sure to destroy the Barbican when Brother Xiaoguowei rushed under the city wall."
"The general will get the order!"
Jiang Lei looked at the two of them and waved the flag in his hand gently a few times.
"Deploy the cannon with orders!"
"As commanded."
Thousands of artillerymen followed Jiang Lei's order and began an intensive artillery deployment operation. The sound of war drums suddenly sounded from the center position on the left.
Accompanied by the melodious and heroic sound of the horn, the army of thirty thousand Xiaoguo Guards slowly approached Songzhou City.
The sword and shield soldiers were in front of them, covering the siege vehicles, rammers, ladder soldiers, and archers behind them, and they were approaching the gate of Songzhou City with all their might.
Yunyang and other generals also personally boarded the observation tower and observed the situation on the Songzhou city wall with a telescope.
Looking at the crowds of people and shadows on the city wall, the expressions of the group of people gradually became serious.
The strength of the Songzhou garrison far exceeded what I and others had previously expected.
Jiang Lei used his telescope to keep an eye on the progress of the Xiaoguo Guard's 30,000 vanguard troops. When the sword and shield soldiers approached the approximate position where the Songzhou garrison could counterattack, Jiang Lei's command flag suddenly waved.
"One test shot, adjust the artillery to fire three times rapidly, and the artillery fire covers it!"
"The general has an order, test fire one round, adjust the gun body and fire three rapid rounds, covering the area with artillery fire!"
Jiang Lei gave an order, and hundreds of artillery pieces lit up the fuses on the barrels with black smoke. In an instant, thunder rumbled amidst the sound of drums, two hundred artillery pieces flashed with flames in the blink of an eye, and two hundred artillery shells fired like thunder.
The force moved towards the Songzhou city wall and bombarded it.
Songzhou, a fortified city that had been attacked by artillery fire twice, faced artillery bombardment for the third time.
Even if only half of the two hundred shells hit, it would still be enough to cause heavy casualties to the Wolf Guards on the city wall.
The Canglang Guards, who were preparing to fight back, were hit by artillery before they had time to bend their bows and arrows, and fled away. They huddled behind the battlements and did not dare to show their faces easily.
When the 30,000 Xiaoguo Guard soldiers who were attacking the city saw this, the drums suddenly became louder and they charged towards the city wall with shouts of death.
The two hundred artillery pieces behind the adjusted cannon once again bombarded the Songzhou city wall with smoke billowing from it.
In just a short moment of burning incense, Songzhou City, which was covered with dark clouds, was greeted by a violent storm of dragon troops and horses.
The soldiers and horses on the city wall suppressed by artillery did not dare to show their heads.
"General, the enemy's artillery fire from Dalong is very intensive, and the brothers dare not show their heads at all."
Hu Lüda quickly leaned forward and looked outside the city: "Order the brothers to avoid the artillery fire as much as possible. When the enemy's siege troops approach the city, they have to fight back despite the artillery fire to push them back.
Now send the order to record them and start the plan of "Every Tree and Plant Were All Soldiers"!"
"The general will get the order!"
"The general has orders and acts according to the plan."
Following Hu Luda's wandering shout on the city wall, the Canglang Guards who were huddled behind the city wall immediately started to wander around leaning against the battlements.
In just a short moment, three or four strong men would wrap a thick rope around their thick and powerful arms and pull it up every thirty steps or so.
In the blink of an eye, the deserted Songzhou city wall was filled with figures, and soldiers and horses began to move around.
However, these wandering soldiers and horses all had ropes tied around their waists, and they looked nothing more than straw men and wooden men wearing armor.
These armored dummies were dragged by thick ropes and swayed on the city wall. Archers immediately stepped forward from the battlements in front of them to fight back against the charge of the dragon's soldiers and horses.
Even though Jiang Lei was holding a telescope, he still couldn't clearly see the true appearance of the thousands of soldiers and horses that suddenly appeared on the city wall, and instinctively waved the command flag in his hand.
"Send the order. Fire two rapid bursts of explosive shells on the city wall!"
In the blink of an eye, the sound of cannons exploding on the city wall was deafening, and the billowing smoke made it even more difficult to see clearly.
Even though the Canglang Guardsmen huddled behind the battlements, several hundred people were killed directly by the bombardment under several rounds of artillery fire.
"Ahem...General, they have too many artillery pieces, and our brothers suffered heavy casualties."
Hu Lüda covered his mouth and nose to prevent himself from inhaling the billowing smoke, and took the opportunity to look under the city wall.
"Instruct the three armies to immediately use the smoke to fight back.
The artillery fires to bombard the rear troops and horses, and the archers shoot at the center troops and horses.
The thundering stones and rolling wood, the spearmen and halberdiers, and the hand-crossbowmen pushed down the ladder-men and siege engines of their front army for me."