The crossbow was one of the rarer pieces of equipment in this era.
In terms of attack distance, penetration, and accuracy, crossbows are much stronger than ordinary bows and arrows. However, because their production costs are too high and the production process is too complicated, bows and arrows are still the mainstream long-range attack equipment on the battlefield.
Most of the princes believe that crossbows are far less valuable than bows and arrows, so although they have crossbows in their hands, they are not in large numbers. Currently, Qin Hao's family is probably the only one who has actually improved them and built them in large quantities.
The new crossbow that Xin Qiji exposed this time is several times stronger than the old crossbow in terms of range and attack power. This also made Liu Xiu feel a little uneasy. After all, why didn't Xin Qiji use it before?
"The quantity must be small, so I want to use it as a trump card."
Liu Xiu comforted himself in his heart, but when he ordered an all-out attack on the city, he realized how wrong he was.
Judging from the density of the crossbows fired, there are at least 500 powerful crossbows on each wall of Yicheng, and the total number on all four sides will definitely not be less than 2,000.
With two thousand strong crossbows, in addition to bed crossbows, catapults, etc., Yicheng's defense equipment was extremely luxurious.
In this world, Xin Qiji had not been exposed at all before. Didn't he know clearly that he was feinting, so he deliberately reserved his strength?
After learning this, Liu Xiu felt even more uneasy. In order to capture Yicheng with minimal losses, he began to contact the aristocratic families in the city.
Originally, the aristocratic families in the city had agreed not to open the city gates from the inside before Liu Xiujun could enter, but now there was no movement at all. Apparently, they had been completely suppressed by Xin Qiji.
After the road to attack Yicheng from the inside was completely cut off, Liu Xiu had only one way to attack Yicheng fiercely, so he began to attack Yicheng at all costs.
Although Yicheng is a small city, its defense facilities are complete, and the city is well supplied with ammunition and food. It is also guarded by famous generals such as Xin Qiji and Yang Zaixing, and there are no flaws in the command.
As soon as the Jingzhou coalition forces entered the attack range, Yicheng fired thousands of arrows and stones, and they didn't care about the consumption of arrows and stones.
Fifty percent of the coalition soldiers responsible for the siege died on the way to the siege, four died while climbing the ladder, and only 10% of those who finally made it to the tower were quickly strangled by Yang Zaixing and his men.
Liu Xiu personally directed the attack for a long time, and the Jingzhou coalition lost 3,000 troops, while the Yicheng side did not even have 300 troops.
If this trend continues, even if Yicheng can be finally captured, the coalition forces will surely pay tens of thousands of casualties, which is unacceptable to all the princes.
Such huge casualties made everyone silent. Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, Liu Xiu decided to put Yicheng aside for the time being.
There are only more than 3,000 defenders in Yicheng, which is of no importance to the overall situation. The top priority of the coalition forces is to deal with Bai Qi's reinforcements. By then, it will be easy to attack Yicheng with a great victory.
"Wei Wentong, I now order you to lead an army of five thousand to surround Yicheng. Until our army defeats Bai Qijun, no one in Yicheng is allowed to escape."
As soon as Liu Xiu's order came out, Wei Wentong immediately stood up, cupped his fists and said, "No."
Liu Xiu nodded and continued to order: "Feng Yi, Zhu You."
"The end will be here."
"Bai Qi must be eager to fight when he comes from afar. You two will lead three thousand troops to challenge. Remember, you can only lose but not win. You must lure Bai Qi's army here."
"promise."
"Deng Yu, Wu Han."
"The end will be here."
"There are many dangerous places along the way to Yicheng. Each of you will lead an army of five thousand and look for dangerous places to set up ambushes. When Bai Qi's army fails, we will attack from both sides together."
"promise."
After issuing several orders in succession, the big tent became empty. Liu Xiu looked at the map in front of him and thought to himself: "Bai Qi, no matter what plans you have, they are of no use in the face of absolute strength. "
——————
Bai Qi's 31,000 troops were less than thirty miles away from Yicheng at this time. When the army reached a valley, they happened to collide directly with Liu Xiu's vanguard.
"Listen, you bastards of the Qin army, I am Zhu You, a subordinate of Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou. Who among you dares to fight with me?"
When the generals of the Qin army saw this, they looked at each other in shock. Li Cunxiao couldn't help but said in a low voice: "Old Bai, you are wrong again. Liu Xiu really sent someone to challenge."
Bai Qi glanced at him and said calmly: "If you have no superiors, you will be punished with fifteen military sticks."
Li Cunxiao's eyes widened and he said in disbelief: "Old Bai, are you a dog? The war hasn't started yet, but you punish me first?"
"Thirty military sticks."
"..."
"Okay, General, I realize that I was wrong. I beg you, General, to allow me to accept my guilt and make meritorious service."
Bai Qi's eyes were as calm as water, as cold as ever, and he said: "Well, it's up to you to go to the battle. You won't be allowed to lose. If you win, you will be exempted from the military stick. If you lose, it will be doubled."
"Thank you, General."
Zhu You saw that before he had even scolded him, a general from the Qin army came out. He was overjoyed and quickly galloped over, preparing to fight a few moves and then pretending to be defeated.
Zhu You ranked eighth among the twenty-eight generals in Yuntai, and he was also the only general among the twenty-eight who had ever been captured. However, Liu Xiu cherished his bravery and instead of blaming him, he reinstated Zhu You and treated him favorably. He sent them to attack new fields and everywhere, and they all won.
"Name the enemy generals and come here. I, Zhu You, will not kill unknown people." Zhu You shouted while running.
Li Cunxiao smiled disdainfully and said coldly: "Remember, I am Li Cunxiao, and your life belongs to me."
Zhu You was shocked when he heard this. He just came here to test. Who knew that a great god would be revealed this round? If he had known it, he would have asked his name before taking action.
Although Zhu You was very confident in his own martial prowess, he was not stupid at all as he had served under Dong Zhuo, and he knew the gap between himself and the top three military commanders.
There was no turning back when the bow was fired. Now the distance between the two was less than ten meters. Zhu You couldn't run away even if he wanted to, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
Knowing that the opponent was much stronger than himself, Zhu You used his full strength as soon as he came up.
"Ding dong, Zhu You's skill 'King of Guns' is activated, the force is 3, the base force is 97, and the current force has increased to 100."
After feeling the fluctuations in the opponent's internal energy, Li Cunxiao's eyes flashed with surprise. Normally, he would have chosen to capture him alive, but he had just been made quite angry by Bai Qi, so he was about to vent his anger on Zhu You.
"Ding dong, Li Cunxiao's 'God' is activated, with force 6, basic force 109, equipment 2, and the current force has increased to 117."
As soon as the two soldiers collided, Zhu You was struck by Li Cunxiao's overbearing force, causing the tiger's mouth to crack open and the spear in his hand to be released.
"No……"
Zhu You roared unwillingly, but Li Cunxiao didn't care and cut off his head directly.
In just one round, Zhu You, ranked eighth among the twenty-eight generals, died at the hands of Li Cunxiao.