Liu Xiang stood under the tooth flag and looked at the shield formation headed by the soldiers in front, followed by two thousand crossbowmen and twelve thousand spearmen, advancing slowly and unhurriedly little by little.
The enemy camped with its back to the water, surrounded by water on both sides, which made it easier to defend, but also cut off its own retreat.
The wall of the village had been smashed to pieces, and the enemy troops defending the wall were beaten to their knees, especially the archers posted on the watchtower. There were very few survivors.
The large-scale shield formation has been destroyed by artillery vehicles, and the remaining people have to face the Anping Army's attack with stone bullets, crossbow bolts, and flying shuttles.
The shield array was advancing. Under the leadership of the soldiers, heavy shields protected the body, spears, and halberds stabbed and chiseled each other, steadily moving forward step by step.
The crossbowmen followed up and suppressed the enemy archers. Relying on the long range and large numbers, they quickly wiped out the few archer units that survived.
The spear throwers showed off their skills. The seven-foot-long shuttle was thrown forty or fifty paces with the spear thrower, and landed not far in front of the shield formation, on top of the densest enemy formation. The shuttle, which weighed more than a kilogram, flew from When it is pierced on the top of the head, it is like a toothpick piercing a grape. The juice splashes out and the brain fluid flows horizontally. The lethality is extremely shocking.
Twelve thousand spear-throwing soldiers took turns to throw forward, and the shuttles flew endlessly in the sky. It was really like the endless rustling of falling trees, which was heart-breaking and brain-splitting.
Wang Xing couldn't bear it anymore and ran to Liu Xiang to ask for his orders: "My lord, let me take the car camp up there to test its power. The men and horses in Zhuo County have not left the city. I am itching and unbearable."
"The battlefield is too small. If you bring people up there, they will be crowded together and it will be difficult for the troops to switch smoothly. You have been leading troops for a day or two. Do you need me to teach you this?"
Wang Xing was very sorry and looked at the battlefield melancholy, looking like he was hungry and thirsty.
Liu Xiang patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Wang Xing, you have fought many battles, and now you are also the leader of an army. You must always be vigilant and not act on impulse. As a general, you must stay rational and fight fiercely. War is dangerous and one must not be careless."
Wang Xing was excited, pondered for a long time, and said respectfully: "Thank you, my lord, for your advice. I must have kept it in mind. Because I cared too much about the car camp, I lost my sense of proportion. Fortunately, my lord reminded me, I almost made a big mistake."
Liu Xiang nodded, said nothing, and continued to observe the battle ahead.
The soldiers of the Anping Army have forced the enemy on the south bank of Taoshui. The shield array is pushing forward, and the enemy's space is being compressed smaller and smaller. The killing efficiency of shuttles and crossbow arrows is getting higher and higher.
Some people have already jumped into the river and swam to the other side. The river is wide and the current is fast. Their life or death is uncertain.
As the number of deserters increased, the enemy's will to fight became lower and lower, and many people cried and wanted to surrender.
Liu Xiang ordered the sentry cavalry to pass the order: "Stop the attack and shout for surrender."
The soldiers of the Anping Army shouted loudly: "Kneel down and surrender, those who resist will die."
The enemy fell to their knees, and anyone who stood was shot dead by the crossbowmen.
Those who jumped into the river began to swim back to ask for surrender. Those who refused to turn back were often shot to death by the crossbowmen who rushed to the river.
This battle lasted all afternoon and ended in the evening. Statistics of the military meritorious service: more than 3,000 enemies were killed, more than 6,000 were captured, 500 carts were seized, 5,000 intact swords, and large spears were captured. Six thousand halberds, one thousand bows and arrows, thirty thousand feathered arrows, and more than a thousand tents were badly damaged and needed to be repaired.
There was very little food and grass.
Liu Xiang did not expect to seize the grain and grass. It was right at the door, so there was no need to store grain.
His goal was to eliminate flank threats and seize a large number of iron weapons. He still had many soldiers using wooden spears to throw spears. This capture could arm more than 10,000 people, which was great.
In view of the performance of the spear throwers in this battle, the shuttles and spear throwers had to be manufactured in large quantities. The actual combat effect was really good. I originally thought of making a transition, but the result gave him a big surprise, which was very good.
Liu Xiang left all these trivial matters to Wang Xing and Zhao Yun, such as withdrawing the troops back to the camp and placing the prisoners.
He took Su Wei to the east gate of Zhuo County.
The moats on the east and south sides have been filled with sixteen passages, the civilians have withdrawn, and the seven-shot cannon is still pounding the battlements relentlessly.
Liu Xiang counted carefully and found that more than half of them had collapsed, which showed how high the hit rate was.
The sky was getting darker and darker, and the accuracy of the seven-shooter cannon was even worse.
"Order to stop sending stones and withdraw the troops and return to camp."
The seven-shot cannon and stone shells were all moved back to the camp. The light vehicle camp and the civilians were busy at the two artillery formations. Liu Xiang approached the east gate and watched carefully.
The defenders suffered heavy losses, with thousands of corpses scattered above and below the city. Including the military camps outside the city, Zhuoxian lost at least 15,000 people.
But why the fight was like this? Liu Xiang was confused. What did Wen Shu think?
No matter how many men he had, he could not withstand such squandering. How could he maintain the morale of the army with such great damage?
The composition of these defenders was complex, including private soldiers from powerful families and newly recruited young and strong civilians. What confidence did Wen Shu have to fight the Anping Army in street battles?
Street fighting is not something you can just do if you want to. It requires a certain amount of morale and organizational skills. After the enemy invaded the city, many troops' morale collapsed and they fled in all directions. They had no idea of fighting in the street.
Liu Xiang really didn't want to engage in street fighting. That kind of fighting was like a quagmire, like a meat grinder, and you would have to peel off your skin if you entered it. Whenever possible, he wanted to avoid falling into such a situation. He couldn't let the troops become too large. of damage.
So he wanted to assassinate Wen Shu before, but now he was trying his best to figure out Wen Shu's military strategy.
"We can't just rush into the city and get stuck in the quagmire. It will be difficult to escape." Liu Xiang reminded himself that the damage was so great and the soldiers were so complicated, but their morale did not collapse. There was something wrong here.
He looked at the crumbling gate tower and shouted loudly: "Please tell me, Governor Wen."
After a while, someone from the city replied: "The prefect said, let the bandits come and fight, no need to talk nonsense."
If you can't see him, you can't shoot him.
Not giving him any chance is not a good person.
Liu Xiang was frowning and thinking, but Shi A was very angry at the side: "Old Wen Shu, you should despise your lord so much, you really deserve to die."
Hearing Shi'a's words, Liu Xiang's heart moved, and he sighed and said: "The Wen family of Taiyuan is a prominent family in the county. They think very highly of themselves. They can look down on humble people like me. Most of the family members are like this. In this world, That’s how it is, so I want to change something.”
Shi A pondered for a long time, took a deep breath, made up his mind, and said in a deep voice: "Today our army has a great victory, but the lord is unhappy, but because of that old man Wen Shu?"
"Wen Shu organizes the people to fight with our army in the city. Street fighting will cause too much damage."
Shi A gritted his teeth and said, "I heard someone say a saying, that is, the king worries about the humiliation of his ministers. I think it makes sense. Don't worry, my lord. I went to take old Wen Shu's life and put away this troublesome place for my lord." thing."
Liu Xiang sighed. Although his goal was achieved, he was not happy at all. This was a person who could die for him, and he was a little helpless.
"Are you sure you can escape unscathed?"
Shi Asaran smiled: "The ancient assassin, a generous tragic song, is longing for someone in my heart."