A thousand-gold sword, a thousand words of strategy, but wasted time. When I was drunk, I murmured to myself on the wall, and when I woke up, I was in a trance. I don’t hate that the years are gone, but I am afraid that the youth is distracted and half of it is spent. I am willing to help everyone who is sick, and pay homage to Vimalakirti.
——Excerpt from "Water Melody Songtou" by Liang Qichao
…
Just hearing the strong wind roaring, the trebuchets in the Yan army's position threw several huge rocks high into the sky, hitting the North City tower.
The city wall made of a mixture of granite and blue bricks is strong and solid. When huge rocks hit the city wall, it did not cause any major breaches in the wall.
But the huge boulder that fell on the city tower was extremely destructive, smashing defensive equipment such as beds and crossbows into pieces; when it fell on a crowd, a huge boulder could break the bones and tendons of more than a dozen Tang Army soldiers, killing them on the spot.
The only remaining trebuchet of the Tang army aimed at the trebuchet of the Yan army. The two sides attacked each other and each suffered damage.
When the last trebuchet on the tower of the Tang Army was destroyed, the Yan Army ordered the entire army to attack the city violently.
The Yan army soldiers hid behind the ladder bunker and slowly pushed the ladder towards the city wall.
The Yan Army crossbowmen on the Yunti Archery Tower used arrows to suppress the Tang Army's firepower and buy time for their own attack.
The Yan army's arrows rained down like rain, and their firepower was strong. Under the cover of the arrow screen, the Yan soldiers swarmed forward.
In addition to the crossbowmen firing thousands of arrows, the Tang army also used the eight-ox bed crossbow fixed on the winch to fight back. Once the giant arrow of the bed crossbow hits, one arrow can turn the Yan soldiers into meat skewers, even if they just scratch the edge,
It's either death or injury.
If it hits key parts, the Eight Bull Crossbow can also destroy the ladder, but the effect is still not as good as the trebuchet.
After a round of arrow rain, both sides suffered casualties. However, the Tang army's crossbow arrows failed to stop the progress of the ladder.
The ladder was pushed to the bottom of the city and the springboard was lowered.
The Yan soldiers behind the ladder bunker quickly climbed onto the siege tower and entered the tower through the springboard connected to the city wall.
Suddenly, several ladders approached the city wall, and the Yan soldiers jumped into the city wall and fought with the Tang army at close range.
Although the ladder is as powerful as a human being, there are ways to break it.
As soon as he saw the Yan army dispatching the ladder, Bai Fu thought of Zhang Xun's method of burning the ladder when he was guarding Suiyang:
It is only necessary to dig hidden holes in the city wall, and every three holes are in a group. Use an iron hook to hook the ladder at the first hole so that it cannot retreat; use a steel fork to hold the ladder against the second hole so that it cannot get closer.
The city wall; a torch stretched out from the third hole, burned the middle section of the ladder, and ignited the ladder.
Bai Fu quickly informed Li Guangbi of this method.
Li Guangbi was overjoyed and immediately passed down the order and implemented it in accordance with the law.
The walls of the North City are strong and it is not easy to cut hidden holes in the walls.
The Tang army adapted to local conditions and inserted steel forks and iron hooks into the gaps at both ends of the battlements (jagged walls). The hooks were used to hold the ladders so that they could neither approach the city wall nor evacuate.
The Tang Army's crossbowmen on the "Ma Mian" and "Tuan Tower" fired through the arrow holes from the left and right sides of the ladder, shooting rockets at the ladder, not to kill the rebels, but to burn the ladder.
Several ladders quickly fell into the sea of flames. Yan Jun, who was hiding on the top of the ladders, died tragically like a roasted pig in a furnace.
The Yan soldiers on the ladder had no choice but to jump off the tower to escape. They would rather fall to death than be burned alive.
The powerful ladder suddenly became a nightmare for the Yan army. There were screams in the Heyang city and the smell of burnt air filled the air.
The small group of Yan soldiers who stormed the tower had no follow-up reinforcements and were quickly annihilated by the Tang army.
Seeing this scene, the slow-moving Lou Cao did not dare to step forward and could only fire from a long distance, with limited damage to the Tang army.
When the puppet Prime Minister Zhou Zhi saw that the ladder was broken, his face turned pale, and he immediately ordered the "Xingnu Wall" to attack.
The "walking girl wall" is a large cart covered with rawhide on all sides. The body of the cart is made of hard iron wood, which is not afraid of arrows. At the same time, because the walls of the cart are covered with rawhide, it is not easy to ignite even if it encounters a rocket.
The four walls of the "Xingnu Wall" have window holes for crossbowmen to shoot arrows, and there is a ladder on the roof for siege climbing. It can be regarded as a combination of two siege equipment, the wooden curtain and the cannon.
The "Xingnu Wall" was even larger, and the Tang army's steel forks and iron hooks could not reach it.
The moving speed of the "Xingnu Wall" is much faster than that of the ladder, and it can even turn the front of the car to attack the crossbowmen of the "Ma Mian" and "Tuan Lou".
The "Walking Girl Wall" has the advantages of size and speed, but sacrifices height. The siege tower on the roof is still one foot away from the city wall, and you need to climb a ladder to jump into the city wall.
Seeing this, Li Guangbi ordered people to distribute anti-climbing weapons such as hand axes, "Yakshas", and "Wolf Fang Beats" to the tops of each city.
Bai Fu's eyes were opened. In the past, he had only seen Master Tadatsuki draw sketches of these instruments on the sand, but this time he saw the real ones.
The hand ax is similar to the crescent shovel used in Buddhism. The difference is that the blade of the crescent shovel faces outwards, while the blade of the hand ax faces inward.
"毑" is a weapon smashed from the top of the city, used to shoot down climbers, with iron chains attached to it for easy recovery and use after the attack.
"Yaksha" is a type of yaksha. It uses a huge tree as a trunk, with barbed mace nails inserted on it. Wheels are hooped at both ends. During war, it is smashed into the enemy's densely populated areas under the city, and then the rope is rolled up with a winch.
Pulling back, throwing and pulling can cause fatal damage to the enemy attacking the city.
"Spike Pat" is similar to "Yaksha". A huge iron plate is cast with barbed spikes. When the enemy climbs the wall, it will be suddenly smashed down and then recovered by the windlass on the tower. It can be reused.
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Bai Fu looked at the sharp barbs on these city-defending weapons and shuddered as he imagined the ferocious power of their attacks.
…
Dozens of "walking female wall" vehicles were not afraid of arrows and rockets, and quickly attacked the city.
The crossbowmen of the Yan Army exchanged fire with the crossbowmen of the Tang Army through the windows on the four walls of the carriage and the tower on the roof, and they were equally matched.
During the stalemate between the two armies, the Yan Army's death squads in the car took the lead in charging. They held shields in their left hands and knives in their right hands, climbing ladders and trying to break into the city.
The Tang army soldier beside Bai Fu suddenly put down his hand axe, and then suddenly pulled it back.
The blade heading towards the city head was quickly recovered along the edge of the ladder's handrail, like a sickle harvesting rice ears, cutting off Yan Bing's fingers and ankles that were attached to the ladder.
Only a few screams were heard, and dozens of Yan soldiers who were climbing had their hands and feet cut off, and one of them fell upside down from the ladder.
Bai Fu had a cold war.
When Bai Fu saw the sketch of the hand ax that day, he was skeptical because of the reverse-edged shape of the weapon. When he saw it today, the lethality of this weapon should not be underestimated.
The Tang army soldiers on the other side threw "Yaksha".
The huge "Yaksha" roared down from the city tower, no less than a huge stone thrown by a trebuchet, hitting the densely populated area of the Yan army, smashing the fish scale array built by the Yan army with giant shields into a lump of meat pie.
The Tang army then used the winch to roll up the rope and suddenly pulled it back. The barbed spikes crushed the Yan soldiers on the ladder into a bloody mess.
"Yaksha" is like a life-seeking evil ghost, touching and touching death. Wherever it goes, no one can survive. The barbs are covered with stumps, broken arms, and scattered pieces of flesh...
Bai Fu is also a man who has been on the battlefield for a long time, but this bloody scene still sent chills down Bai Fu's spine and made his hair stand on end.
Bai Fu looked away from "Yaksha" and glanced to the right front.
On the "Ma Mian" and "Tuan Tower", dozens of strong men of the Tang Army brandished "iron owl feet". This is a giant cast iron flying hook similar to an anchor. In addition to using its weight to hit people under the city
In addition, it can also hook people when it is retrieved.
The strong man at the head was the camel who was born with supernatural powers.
I saw the camel throwing out the "iron owl's feet" like a lasso. The cast-iron anchor drew an arc and fell even faster, making the Yan soldiers who were attacking the city unable to guard against it.
The camel chuckled, and like a fisherman reeling in a net, he alternated his hands and began to reel in the line.
When they were dragged back, the two Yan soldiers were caught in the pipa bones by flying claws and were caught like live fish. They were not completely dead, and their hands and feet were still moving around, struggling to death.
Bai Fu seemed to see the tragic scene in which he was pierced through Pipa's bones with an iron hook by the jailer when he was in the prison.
"Oh!"
Bai Fu only felt that darkness was possessing him, his hatred could not be eliminated, and his whole body was filled with countless grievances to vent.
Bai Fu looked up to the sky and screamed, his eyes were scarlet, and he jumped out from the city wall. With a knife in the air, light flashed, and a "walking female wall" that had just approached the city was cut into two pieces!