The defenders put on a desperate posture and fired their bows and arrows very closely.
Several city crossbows were also launched one after another, and a few crossbows were fired amidst a strange creaking sound.
The power is stronger than the walking bow, but its strength is limited.
The shooting range is over a hundred paces. Occasionally one or two are slightly stronger, and you have to be lucky to hit one or two knights. But at most, it can knock the knight off the horse or knock the horse down, causing no casualties at all.<
/p>
The reason is that the age of this thing can be traced back to the time when Li Chengzhi's grandfather Li Qi was appointed as the Wuwei Town Army. After Wuwei withdrew the town and established a county, this thing became useless.
But because it was an important weapon registered in the military, it could neither be thrown away nor dismantled, so the new governor moved it into the military warehouse, where it remained in a pile for ten years and allowed to eat dust.
When Li Shao took office as the governor of Liangzhou last year, he inspected the arsenal and dug it out. He also ordered craftsmen to piece it together. Only seven or eight pairs of old crossbows were made from nearly fifty pairs.
But after ten years, even iron has become extremely rusty, let alone wood. How much power can it have if it is made of wood?
To be able to shoot a crossbow gun and shoot it a hundred or ten steps away is already a craftsman and a scholar, and he has to rack his brains. Li Shao can only be better than nothing and place it on the city wall to strengthen his military power.
……
Yuan Hui hid behind the crossbow, squinting his eyes tightly and staring northwest.
But the more he looked, the more frightened he became.
Arrows were like a rain of locusts, thrown down on the city in waves. Although the enemy formation was extremely sparse, fortunately, the arrow rain was extremely dense, and many of the front troops under the city were shot like hedgehogs. From time to time, there would also be crossbows.
Shoot down the gun and knock the enemy cavalry over.
But the strange thing is that the enemy did not fight back, such as drawing their bows and throwing them at the city, nor did they dodge, as if they had accepted their fate.
At the end of the day, we should move the front line back to avoid the direct range of the defenders?
At this time, the west and north cities were already raining arrows, and even chariots and crossbows were brought out. The east and south cities were still standing still. Anyone who was the enemy commander would have suspected that the defenders would move west or to the west.
Breakout from the north.
But what happened below the city was still the same at this time. The enemy general did not send an extra soldier from the east and south to the west and north cities for reinforcements, or even patrolled behind the formation to intercept them.
Yuan Hui couldn't figure it out: Did the enemy commander think this was a trick to mislead the enemy, or did he think he had a chance to win and decided that it was a breakthrough inside the city? No matter which side he approached, it would be impossible to succeed?
Staring at the nameless flag in the enemy's rear formation, with only a golden sun embroidered on it, Yuan Hui frowned more and more.
If it is really Li's tribe, there must be firearms to help. But I looked around, and I didn't see the small stone cannons and oil tanks that were used to project thunder weapons that I had seen in many secret memorials of the Embroidered Clothes Envoy.
things.
But we can’t wait any longer.
God knows where and how many enemy reinforcements have arrived?
With every extra moment spent, the hope of escape becomes slimmer.
That being the case, why not just take advantage of the situation?
Just go to the west city. If you leave the city from the north gate, you can also escape across the Yellow River or escape to Bogulu.
At least you can avoid the enemy general...
Yuan Hui gritted his teeth and shouted in a deep voice: "Su Pu!"
A general took two hurried steps, cupped his fists and said, "Shi Jun!"
"Where is the Chinese army?"
"We have gathered under the city, just waiting for Mr. Shi's order!"
"Let's go to Beicheng!"
Yuan Hui took three steps and two steps at a time, and quickly went down to the city. A group of personal guards followed closely behind, protecting him and running towards the north city.
……
"Prefect Xin, Mr. Shi has an order: All soldiers in the west and north cities who can draw their bows are ordered to move to the south city..."
Just now, he was still firing non-stop. How many seconds later are he going to switch to Nancheng again?
What the hell is Yuanhui up to?
Xin Xiong was suspicious: "General Su, may I ask where the prefect is?"
"It's in Nancheng, waiting for the prefect!"
"Then who will be stationed here?"
"Naturally, it will be replaced by Mr. Shi!"
Su Pu pointed towards the city, "When the defenses of the two cities change and the eunuch is attacking the south city, the enemy in the north city will definitely relax. Then it will be a good opportunity to break out. A certain person will lead more than a thousand armored cavalry to charge directly into the enemy's formation.
Even if the enemy thieves have strong armor and thick shields, but there are still more than a thousand, and they have to surround the city wall for four to five miles, how thick can the formation be? They will be able to collapse in a single charge... When someone breaks through, Shi Jun will take advantage of the chaos of the enemy thieves
On this occasion, close the city gate..."
Xin Xiong followed the direction of Su Pu's finger and looked down the city. Indeed, as he said, the city wall was more than four miles long with just one wall. There were only a thousand enemy cavalry. No matter how sparse the formation was, how many lines could there be?
Layer thickness?
It's also strange. I have never seen such a battle. Did the enemy general never think that the defenders would send cavalry to break through?
Or is it that the enemy still thinks that Wuwei County is as usual as in previous years, with only a thousand guards, few pieces of armor, and few horses, and that it can be trapped to death with only a few thousand cavalry?
Xin Xiong guessed the enemy's formation, but never thought that Yuan Hui would play tricks. He responded in a hurry and shouted at the archers on the city to move to the south city.
Seeing that there were no more arrows thrown on the city, Li Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.
Although there are no casualties yet, only dozens of injuries, the pressure of the arrows raining down from the sky, and the forward troops shot like hedgehogs, makes people breathless.
Fortunately, the front formations are all old Jingzhou troops, which can be said to be strong soldiers in hundreds of battles. If they had been replaced by new troops or three battalions of Huqi, this formation would have collapsed long ago.
He hesitated for a moment, and was about to order the army to change defenses so that the front troops could take a rest, when he suddenly heard a whistle from the south.
This meant that Li Zhang was on strict alert. Li Zhang relayed the order and thought of Li Liang's explanation. He couldn't help but feel nervous: Is it possible that the defenders in the city would break through from the west and north gates at this time?
It's really possible.
Although the offensive of the defenders in the west and north cities only lasted for half an hour, arrows were thrown towards the lower city as if they were free. This sudden pause made even himself, the general, feel relieved, let alone his subordinates.
Soldiers?
If he were to be the defender, there was no guarantee that he would not suddenly be surrounded when the enemy troops were relaxed outside the city...
With such suspicion in his heart, Li Zhang repeatedly ordered the front line not to act rashly and to be on strict alert.
Then he concentrated again and looked towards the city.
Today, Li Zhang is on the up and up compared to two years ago. He has more than doubled in size. This look really showed him some tricks.
I saw smoke and dust rising faintly in the city, like a mist dragon, slowly floating up. If you look carefully, it seems that from south to north, it seems to be thicker as you go north, and lighter as you go south.
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Li Zhang's face changed slightly, and he jumped off his horse as fast as flying, lying on the ground and listening for a few breaths.
This was clearly the dust stirred up after hundreds or even thousands of armored cavalry ran past. Judging from the appearance, they should be running from the south to the north of the city. However, there was no sound of horse hooves in the ears, indicating that the armored cavalry had already gathered in one place, just in the north.
Near the door...
He suddenly stood up and shouted: "Quick, put the firearms camp on alert, the enemy thieves are going to leave the city through the north gate..."
Without even a moment's delay, I raised my copper whistle and blew it twice. The sound of the whistle turned two corners, and the order was transmitted clearly and unmistakably, referring to the North Gate.
The soldiers on the other side waved flags violently, one to assist the sentry, and the other to warn Li Liang in Nancheng, indicating that the defenders should break the formation to the north.
Li Liang sat upright on the horse, looked at the smoke and dust that had faded to almost no trace, and nodded slightly: Li Zhang has made rapid progress, and now he is somewhat like his father.
"Send the order to the east and south battalions to prepare to break through!"
"No!"
The confidant conveyed the order in an orderly manner, but Lieutenant General Li Xiaoyan was a little confused: "Brother, what does this mean?"
His thought was simple: since Li Zhang did not warn and the defenders wanted to break through the northern formation, the gates of the north city must be open. Even if the city was broken, they should take advantage of the gap and enter through the north gate. But why did Li Liang do the opposite? "It can only be considered as a precautionary measure to be prepared for any disaster!"
Li Liang was not very sure, so he just muttered: "Mr. Lang often said that Yuan Hui has little ambition and talent, has a good eye but a low skill, and is corrupt by nature. He is greedy for life and afraid of death. As an embroiderer, he caused the late emperor to be assassinated. Only this
A pile, he is a capital offender.
But he was extremely good at maneuvering, flattered Gao Ying, and did not hesitate to bribe Gao Zhao, Yuan Ying, Yuan Cheng and others, so that he could be exempted from crime. How much backbone and blood does such a person have?
Therefore, Yi Liang thought that since he had experienced our origins, he knew that his fate was not long, and he would most likely die to beg for words and break out of the encirclement. Yuan Hui could only get a chance to survive by blending into the armored cavalry that broke through. As for the soldiers and civilians in the city, as well as the officials in the state city, if they knew that Yuan Hui had abandoned the city and fled, how could they have the intention to defend it? If Li Zhang could defeat the north city, the south city would naturally be defeated like a mountain, and he might even open the city and surrender...
…”
Is that so?
Li Xiaoyan expressed his admiration.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a drum sound in Beicheng.
Did the defenders really break through from the north gate?
……
Why would Li Liang rather brave the rain of locust arrows and force the front army to stand a hundred steps below the city?
It’s not just that we are afraid that being too far away or forming too sparse a formation will leave a larger gap, which will give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage.
But the firing range of the fire crossbow is only a hundred steps, and no matter how far it is, it will not be able to reach the top of the city or the city gate.
This is also one of the reasons why the former army is all former White Armor troops.
Just because in the entire Western Sea, now only the four thousand soldiers who followed Li Song to the west know how to use various firearms and thunder weapons.
At this moment, as soon as the city gate opened and the drawbridge fell, a brigade of front troops raised their crossbows and aimed at the city gate.
However, they did not fire the crossbow immediately. Instead, they waited until more than a hundred cavalry had rushed out of the city gate before the soldiers blew the fire stick and lit the fuse at the end of the crossbow.
The principle is very simple. In fact, it is just to tie a tube of gunpowder to the crossbow arrow, but the weight is not light. One tube weighs a pound, so a three-stone crossbow that can shoot a hundred feet away can now shoot more than a hundred steps. p>
……
In just a few breaths, three to four hundred armored cavalry jumped out of the three gates, just before half time. Looking at the enemy cavalry under the city, they were still in a sparse formation. They neither stepped forward to intercept them nor saw the enemies from other cities.
Yuan Hui was surprised and delighted when the army received reinforcements.
How can this mere three-level cavalry formation stop the charge of a thousand armored cavalry?
Naturally, Yuan Hui also saw the crossbow in the hands of the captured enemy soldier, as well as the sparks and blue smoke igniting from its tail.
But his impression still stuck on the steps of the secret recipe presented by Li Chengzhi, thinking that all thunder weapons must be in the shape of a jar, must be shaken before blasting the enemy, and must be projected with a stone cannon.
What is shot with a crossbow is just a rocket.
The rockets are powerful, like maggots attached to bones, but they only take a few hundred steps, how many arrows can they shoot?
A thousand armored cavalry were killed and injured, and three or four hundred of them were in the sky...
Yuan Hui took a sudden breath and shouted sternly: "Come together, Yafeng, kill..."
With an order, the three groups of armored cavalry soldiers gathered together, formed a push formation, and fired an arrow of a large size towards the north.
At the same time, Li Zhang fiercely waved his hand. A drum sounded and hundreds of crossbows fired.
The first round of one hundred crossbows were all fired with fireworks, just to disrupt the enemy's formation. There was a chaotic sound of "eating, eating, eating" and "popping". Although the sound was not loud, one of the ten horses immediately
I was shocked.
As soon as Yafeng picked up the speed of his horse and rushed ten feet away, there was no formation left. Hundreds of horses were running around like headless flies.
The explosives were fired in the second round, but they were shot at the rear of the enemy cavalry, which was close to the city gate and drawbridge.
Without it, it's just that the frightened war horses no longer distinguish between ourselves and the enemy, and are afraid of hurting our own side after rushing over with bombs.
The reason why we fired the rear formation was that firstly, the bombs would have exploded when the frightened horses were at least halfway through the charge. Secondly, we took the opportunity to blow up the drawbridge and the city gate so that the defenders in the city could not reach them.
After only three rounds, a thousand cavalrymen were already in chaos. Not to mention the horses, even the people were frightened and were in a panic.
My ears are full of people roaring and horses neighing, and I can no longer hear what the orders are. And because of the smoke and dust all around, I don’t know the direction.
Yuan Hui's face was ferocious, and he kept slashing the horse's buttocks with his knife. The horse neighed in pain and kept charging forward, but the surrounding horses were either frightened or rioting soldiers, how could it possibly charge out?
He felt like five thunders were striking him, and he had only one thought in his mind: It's over?
Why does Li Chengzhi’s secret recipe never mention how firearms can be used in this way?
Since there is such a sharp weapon, why did the Li family generals not use this weapon to attack the city as soon as they besieged it?
And since using this thing is like hiding one's ears and stealing a bell, one cannot hide its origin, so why would the enemy commander bother to pretend to be a Hu Qi?
Hearing a sudden explosion and feeling his ribs shake, Yuan Hui felt like he was flying.
The pain of no menstruation attacked the nerves like a tide. When he was dying, Yuan Hui felt like a blessing to his soul.
The reason why the enemy general surrounded and refused to attack was clearly because he was sure that he would jump over the wall and break out of the encirclement.
Since we can seize the city with fewer casualties, why not?
The reason why he pretended to be Hu Qi was naturally to deceive the court. The enemy commander must have been 100% sure that not a single soldier or civilian in the city would escape, let alone even half of the information leaked.
Li Chengzhi, rebelled...
With such thoughts in his mind, Yuan Hui completely lost consciousness...
……
Five hundred crossbowmen fired only one round, one hundred fireworks, and four hundred explosives, and Yuan Hui's thousand-armor cavalry was defeated.
The city below was even more like purgatory, with mutilated limbs everywhere and howling everywhere.
Li Zhang has seen this situation so many times that it has become boring, and his nerves have been trained like steel.
He sat on his horse, standing a hundred feet away from the city gate, with his eyes like lightning, trying to take in as much of the battle as possible.
If there was a broken soldier escaping somewhere, he would give an urgent order for the rear armored cavalry to surround them. Just like this, not a single fish slipped through the net and escaped.
The former army has stopped firing crossbows, the smoke and dust are gradually falling, and objects can gradually be seen in the eyes.
The city gates and suspension bridge have been blown to pieces, and the foot-deep moat has been filled more than half with human and horse corpses. The defenders on the city have long disappeared.
Through the doorway, you can vaguely see the cavalry who have not left the city, milling around in the barbican city, daring not to enter, but with nowhere to retreat.
Haha, the defenders actually closed the inner city gate?
Li Zhang chuckled and shouted loudly: "The front army is on guard, the rear army is filling in the river!"