The attack was launched at the four gates of the Roman city at the same time. Under the cover of bows and crossbows, tens of thousands of Han soldiers rushed to the top of the city risking their lives. The attack on the south gate was the most violent. All the ladders and chariots of the Han army were blocked.
They concentrated on the south gate, and even used cavalry to attack the city head with mounted archery. The sound of horse hooves and war drums masked the sound of tunnel excavation outside the city, which convinced Caracalla that the main direction of the Han army's attack was the south gate.
The three gates are just a feint attack.
Caracalla couldn't wait to mobilize the main force of the Qin army to the south gate. Although the Han army changed its main attack and feint attack many times in yesterday's battle, the Roman city walls were strong, and Caracalla was not worried that any of the walls would be destroyed in a short period of time.
After the fall, he had time to re-adjust his deployment, just like yesterday. However, Caracalla still gathered heavy troops at the south gate to guard against the tunnels dug by the Han.
Most of the soldiers transferred to the south gate were gathered on both sides of the trench, holding giant axes and broad swords and nervously watching the trench in front of them, for fear that Han soldiers would suddenly jump out of the tunnel.
More than half an hour passed, and suddenly there was a strange sound of horns outside the city. The Han soldiers who had been violently attacking the south gate of Rome just now descended like a tide, even abandoning the ladders and rams used for siege.
Already.
Caracalla stood on the top of the city, watching the Han army retreat, full of doubts. If the Han army changed the direction of the main attack, it would only reduce the intensity of the attack, but it should not withdraw. Moreover, the retreat was so complete that the infantry retreated behind the cavalry.
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The Qin army did not have such a treasure as a telescope. Even if it did, the dust raised by the galloping horses completely blocked the line of sight. However, although Caracalla could not see the movements of the Han army clearly, it did not prevent him from reasoning. Thinking of what he discovered yesterday
, Caracalla concluded that the Han army's tunnel was nearly completed, and the retreating siege troops were preparing to enter the tunnel and attack Rome. These cavalry were running back and forth in order to continue to cover up the sound of digging the tunnel.
Caracalla immediately ordered: "Let the water go!"
It turned out that after a night, Caracalla came up with an excellent way to deal with the tunnel, which was to fill the trench with water. As long as the Han army dug the tunnel, the water would rush in and flood all the Han soldiers inside.
Death. Although there is no decent pond around the trench and no river to divert water, Caracalla has its own solution.
Rome was one of the largest cities in the world at that time. In addition to the 200,000 troops, there were more than one million people in the city. Caracalla gathered more than 100,000 young and strong men on both sides of the trench, and each man prepared two bottles of wine.
The water buckets were waiting for his order to pour water into the trench. The reason why the trench was not filled with water in advance was because Caracalla was worried about being discovered by the Han army and losing this great opportunity to severely damage the Han army.
At this moment, the Han cavalry galloping outside the city also began to retreat. The sound of horse hooves became smaller and smaller. The craftsman lying on the ground under the city wall did not hear the sound of the Han army digging tunnels. This made Caracalla Bai
I am puzzled. Could it be that the Han army was still waiting for the opportunity?
Suddenly, Caracalla heard a loud noise, and then the whole earth seemed to tremble. Before Caracalla could understand what happened, he felt his feet loosen, and the solid Roman city wall collapsed instantly. Caracalla stood on the top of the city.
Kara also fell down with a large pile of rocks and could not stand up again.
It turned out that Liu Xin had no intention of digging a tunnel into the city of Rome, but only dug under the south wall of the city, and then used a secret weapon, gunpowder.
The research institute has actually produced gunpowder a long time ago and made improvements. However, the role of gunpowder has always been limited to making fireworks and firecrackers. Liu Xin also thought about producing artillery and muskets, but due to the limitation of smelting level, the guns produced
Cannons are prone to explosion accidents and cannot be used at all. However, during this expedition to the Qin Dynasty, Liu Xin still carried a large amount of gunpowder with him.
This time, because the city of Rome was too strong to be shaken even by a trebuchet, Liu Xin suddenly had the idea to try to see if gunpowder could be used to blow open the city wall. When the tunnel was dug under the southern wall of Rome, the gunpowder also
They were buried inside. Since there was no fuse, in order to ignite the gunpowder, some soldiers volunteered to be suicide squads. With a loud noise, even if these soldiers were not killed on the spot, they were all buried in the collapsed tunnel.
No chance of surviving.
It was the sacrifice of these soldiers that led to the collapse of the entire southern city wall of Rome. Not only did the garrison soldiers on the top of the city suffer heavy casualties as the wall collapsed, but also the Qin soldiers guarding the trenches and those who went towards the trenches.
The young and strong man who was filled with water was also buried alive under the rubble in an instant, and only a few escaped.
The Han cavalry who had retreated shouted in unison, braved the dust and smoke raised by the collapse of the city wall, and rushed into the Roman city. The Roman city was broken!
However, the ensuing battle was not easy. More than 50,000 Qin soldiers died because of the collapse of the city wall. Adding in the Qin soldiers who died under trebuchet attacks, 80,000 Qin soldiers were killed, but the remaining
The more than 100,000 Qin soldiers under the Qin army still resisted stubbornly and refused to surrender, and launched a fierce and cruel street battle with the Han army. The whole battle lasted until the evening, and then gradually subsided. The corpses of soldiers from both sides were everywhere in the Roman city, and the air was filled with
The disgusting smell of blood.
After paying more than 20,000 casualties, the Han army finally took complete control of the city of Rome. The remaining Qin army no longer resisted, but abandoned their helmets and armor and hid in people's homes. The Han army had strict military discipline and would never allow infringement.
Ordinary people. However, this battle against Rome was the heaviest loss in the history of the Han army. Except for the Sixth Army that went to teach Parthia a lesson, the casualties of the other three regular legions all exceeded 30%. Killings
The red-eyed Han soldiers began to search for young and strong men from house to house in the city of Rome. Anyone suspected of being a soldier was immediately executed. Many innocent people were also killed.
Liu Xin still kept a clear mind and immediately ordered a crackdown on military discipline. Even so, nearly 100,000 people in Rome had been killed by angry Han soldiers. These soldiers were supposed to be punished under military law, but Liu Xin
Taking into account their mood and the fact that they were killing Daqin people and avenging the dead businessmen, they were pardoned.
However, Liu Xin was not so kind to the senior Qin officials and nobles in Rome. All their properties would be confiscated to make up for the losses of the Han army in this siege. At the same time, Liu Xin sent envoys to