Marching during the day and setting up camp at night was a huge test for the army's execution ability. Fortunately, the Anhua Army did not relax due to fatigue. In fact, no one complained except Cao Yi.
As for Cao Yi himself, it was also because he didn't understand why Ye An dug ravines in the ground.
In his opinion, the situation between the two sides has now reached a stage of confrontation. Unless one party launches an attack, there is no way to break the situation.
The Xiqiang people are not stupid either. Three thousand Anhua troops outside the city have already surrounded them. They either rush out of the city and attack actively, or they wait for reinforcements to arrive and defend Pingyuan Village, or they attack from the gap.
Stand out from the encirclement.
But a fool also knows that there must be an ambush in the gap that seems to be a way out. The purpose of surrounding three and one missing on the battlefield is never to give the enemy a way out, nor is it just to reduce the enemy's will to defend the city, but to fight.
Disrupting the order of the defenders of the city.
As long as there is a gap, there will be cowardly people escaping from the city. If one person escapes, there will be two, three, ten, or hundreds of them. Of course, these people who escape will not be safe.
If anything happens, he will definitely be robbed and killed by the rangers.
The psychology of the battlefield. The ancestors of the Han family have long been very familiar with it. What kind of tactics can't be used? The so-called war is not tired of deceit. It means that no matter what tricks are used on the battlefield, it is not shameless, because this is
The battle between life and death.
Ye An himself has experienced many unknown wars. The battlefield he saw never had any "winner or loser", only "life or death".
They took Tieniu and his soldiers to dig ditches with the soldiers. The labor force of 3,000 people was not in vain. In addition, the Minzhuang people who transported the logistics were nearly 6,000 people. They were already at Pingyuan Village before midnight.
A criss-crossing ravine was dug outside this small military stronghold.
With these ravines, the Xiqiang cavalry had no chance to attack at night, let alone rush out of the city...
Ye An collapsed on the ground tiredly and asked his soldiers to give orders to rest. Cao Yi was also tired and paralyzed like him. Although this guy objected at first, he gradually understood what Ye An was going to do.
He didn't take it to heart at all that the command power was usurped by Ye An. He just smiled and said: "You have some skills in leading troops in war. Are these all taught by your adults?"
"My elders didn't teach me exactly how to do it, but there is a four-character mantra that I need to keep in mind!"
"tell me the story?"
"Flexible use!"
"Hey, isn't this the same as what I didn't say? The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and it can change everything in the blink of an eye. How flexible is it? How to use it? Your parents never taught you?"
Cao Yi's dissatisfaction also made Chen Lin beside him nod slightly, but the attitude of these two people made Tieniu and a group of soldiers around Ye An very dissatisfied.
But they could only stare. Cao Yi and Chen Lin had long been used to it, snorting like two scoundrels.
"Right now, the Pingyuan Stronghold does not occupy a large area, but the advantage lies in its high position and solidity. It is definitely not cost-effective to attack by force. The only way is to retreat to advance and to defend to attack! Liu Kang did the most correct thing before leading his army to break through.
One of the things we did was to burn the excess food and grass. According to the habits of the Western Qiang people, they only carried enough food and grass for five days. We had been on the road for three days, and there were still two days left before we reached the limit of the Western Qiang people.
, Greed made them stay in Pingyuan Village for too long. After today, how many days can their food and grass last?"
Chen Lin suddenly realized: "There are still two days, no! I can still last one day!"
Cao Yi had known this for a long time, and said nonchalantly: "It's not a way to besiege without attacking. Starting from tomorrow, the Xiqiang people will probably break through the gap crazily, right? Although we have three thousand people, if we want to
Stopping more than 2,000 Xiqiang people would be as difficult as climbing to heaven."
Ye An smiled: "Do you think the Maling River at the gap can be easily swam across? Soldiers who live near Maling Mountain told me that the Maling River must have a flood season every July, and the water in the river swells violently.
Maybe the tidal flats can be flooded overnight. I have asked Cheng Gongshou and Xu Yongzhang to take elite cavalry to the Maling River. Sure enough, they saw the poles left by the Xiqiang people on the tidal flats. You wouldn't know that they were made.
What's it for?"
Cao Yi frowned slightly: "Pole? Of course it is to measure the depth of the river and cross the river...Why do you plan to pull the pole away? What's the use of that!"
"Come on, come on! Let me see what your Cao family's family knowledge is used for? Why did you destroy those poles? Not only cannot they be pulled out, but they must be left in place to make the Xiqiang people mistakenly think that the river is empty.
It’s gone up too high!”
Cao Yi was slightly stunned. He seemed to understand Ye An's intention. As for Chen Lin, she nodded slightly: "She does have some skills!"
In fact, all these ideas came from the soldiers in the Anhua Army. What Ye An did was just sort out the ideas and find ways to connect them and use them on the battlefield.
A siege can't let the Xiqiang people sleep well at night!
When the sky dimmed, Ye An ordered people to cut down thick trees. Maling Mountain was next to it, and thick wood was everywhere. As for what to do with the wood, Cao Yi and Chen Lin asked, but Ye An just smiled mysteriously: "Here."
The Xiqiang people send you a big gift!"
Ye An has already drawn the drawings and handed them over to the carpenters in the army and personally guided them in making accessories. Simple catapults are relatively easy to make, but the catapults used by the Han army rely entirely on manpower to pull them.
The equipment is larger and more manpower is consumed.
What Ye An made was a counterweight trebuchet, or a load-bearing trebuchet.
Under Ye An's command, the carpenters sent by Zhou Guozuo finally came into play. When they first arrived, Cao Yi and Chen Lin were a little confused as to why Zhou Guozuo sent the carpenters. After learning that it was Ye An who requested it in the document,
After that, I just kept my curiosity in my stomach.
In the middle of the Anhua Army camp, carpenters assembled the finished wood piece by piece according to Ye An's requirements. The axes and planers could easily make various required shapes in their hands.
Assembly is even simpler. These craftsmen, who are full of labor wisdom, only need to understand Ye An's requirements, and they can immediately make the required mortise and tenon structure for assembly and connection, so that the original structural strength can be strengthened again.
Unfortunately, there was a lack of iron axles, so Ye An dismantled his carriage... Only the axle of his carriage was made of iron. This was a test product, so the best materials must be used for measurement.
At the limit, the remaining axles can only rely on wooden bearings.
Pour vegetable oil into the axle for lubrication, and fill the large wooden box with stones and sand. Four soldiers with big shoulders slowly raised the heavy wooden box by pulling the rope, and at the same time hooked the rope to the trebuchet.
On the base, the base has been buried in the ground, and huge stones have been placed on top to ensure that it will not overturn.
The other end of the trebuchet had reached the ground, and the huge stone bullet was carried over. Ye An ordered people to pour strong kerosene on it and ignited it, so the blazing fireball flashed in the horrified eyes of the Anhua Army soldiers.
After passing a long curve, it landed in front of the city wall of Pingyuan Village and only burned...