"General, Yan Jun has come to attack the enemy again. General Li asked the general to go quickly to supervise the battle." The soldiers rushed into the hall and shouted hurriedly.
It was nearly dusk, and Yan Jun's previous wave of attacks had retreated for less than half an hour, and now they suddenly attacked again.
Xia Houyuan's expression was shocked. Without thinking much, he jumped up, picked up his sword and walked out.
Watching Xia Houyuan leave, Xiahou Juan's eyes were full of admiration, and he pouted and said to himself: "Yan Liang, the thief, with my uncle Xiahou here, it's just a dream for you to break through Yangping Pass, huh."
…
The setting sun is setting in the west, and the big flags with the word "Yan" flying in the rustling autumn wind.
In the previous rounds of attack, it was Huang Zhong and other vanguard troops who attacked the key point. At this time, it was Yan Liang who led the army in person.
When Yan Liangjin arrived at the pass and glanced at the city shape of Yangping Pass, he realized why Yangping Pass was the most majestic pass in Yizhou. Facing such a majestic pass, no matter how many soldiers and horses were deployed to attack the pass, it seemed a bit redundant.
Because this Guancheng is built across the mountains, the narrow terrain in front of the pass can be covered by two to three thousand people.
Moreover, the Yangping Pass is still two to three feet higher than the ground in front of the pass, so his troops still need to attack upward.
The mountains on the north and south wings of Guancheng were as high as the sky and impossible to climb, making it impossible for him to use troops to detour from the two wings.
"Zhang Lu was in such a dangerous position, but he couldn't stop Cao Cao. It seems that the magic stick is just like Liu Zhang, he is a waste with a lot of money." Yan Liang looked up at Guancheng and sighed.
"The terrain of Yangping Pass is indeed dangerous, but as long as this pass can be breached, the road to Nanzheng will be smooth. Let's attack a few formations to test it out." Fazheng, who was accompanying the army, suggested.
At this time, the morale of the soldiers was high, claiming that they would wipe out all the soldiers in Hanzhong in one go. Now facing the Yangping Pass, they felt a little guilty.
The gates built by Hengshan are all built with solid rocks. They are connected one after another from west to east. There are nearly three or four lines of defense, and the first line is a little higher than the previous line. It is so condescending. If
Defending with strong bows and crossbows is really difficult to attack.
At this time, Pang Tong also said: "This Yangping Pass is built of solid stone. There is no need for fire attacks. Since the thunderbolt chariots have been transported by water, it is better to blast a few rounds first to see the effect."
After hearing the advice of the two counselors, Yan Liang issued an order. He ordered Huang Zhong, who was good at mountain warfare, to launch a tentative attack with 10,000 troops.
The order was passed, the flag waved, and the sound of war drums shook the sky.
Amidst the thundering drums, Yan Jun's formation began to change. The big flag with the word "yellow" slowly came out of the formation. Two thousand shieldmen held the big shield high and went ahead, followed by three thousand crossbowmen. Then behind.
Covering more than a hundred Pili vehicles, they slowly drove towards Yangping Pass.
Following closely behind the Pili chariot were three thousand elite Changsha soldiers who were best at fighting in the mountains.
These three thousand elite Changsha soldiers are veterans who have followed Huang Zhong since Jingzhou. They are best at attacking cities and mountains. Whenever there is a difficult battle, Yan Liangduo will send this army into battle.
Amidst the rumbling of war drums, this sophisticated military formation slowly advanced towards Yangping Pass.
Above Guancheng, Xia Houyuan's solemn expression revealed a hint of disdain.
"It turns out to be a thunderbolt car." Xia Houyuan's solemn expression gradually became a little disapproving.
When Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong and Yangping Pass, he also used thunderbolt chariots, but in the end it was in vain.
Now the roles were reversed. Xia Houyuan, who had personally experienced the defeat of the city siege, saw that Yan Liang also used the thunderbolt chariot, so he naturally felt disdain.
Despite this, Xia Houyuan did not dare to take it too lightly. Seeing that the enemy's formation had advanced within the range of the crossbows, he immediately ordered the crossbowmen on Guan City to kill Yan Jun fiercely.
As soon as the drums sounded, arrows rained down from Yangping Pass.
It was truly falling from the sky. With his condescending attitude, the arrows fired by Cao Jun not only increased their range, but also doubled their power.
Countless arrows, as dense as locusts, were overwhelmingly heading towards Yan Jun.
Facing this torrential arrow attack, the shield bearers in the front row could only hold their shields high and move forward fearfully, only to be overwhelmed by the dense rain of arrows.
The crossbowmen hiding behind the shieldmen could only reluctantly look for opportunities in the gaps in the shield array. If there were gaps, the enemy would shoot more than ten arrows, and they could only reflect one or two arrows, and there was no accuracy at all.
On the first day of the battle, Yan Jun's bows and crossbows fought at a distance, but they were completely suppressed by Cao Jun, who was in a favorable position.
However, none of these brave Yan Jun soldiers flinched and continued to move forward with difficulty despite the enemy's fierce arrows.
After losing hundreds of people, the swordsmen, shieldmen and crossbowmen finally gained a launching distance for the thunderbolt chariot behind them.
More than a hundred thunderbolt vehicles, under the cover of their companions in front, quickly loaded the stone bombs. Following an order, the first wave of more than a hundred stone bombs, carrying the fierce sound of wind, took off into the air and roared.
It blasted towards Yangping Pass.
The moment the stone bullets soared into the air, it was like a downpour suddenly stopped. The dense rain of arrows on the city stopped instantly. Cao Jun's crossbowmen, who were afraid of the stone bullets, crouched under the parapet to avoid the incoming bombardment.
.
Boom boom boom
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred stone bullets hit Guancheng like meteors.
For a moment, the sound of the sky collapsing and the earth cracking was like thunder, with stone fragments flying, and the sound was extremely terrifying.
Yan Liang, who was watching the battle, frowned slightly.
Although the momentum of the Thunderbolt Chariot was huge, the effect was not very good. From a distance, there were only a dozen or so of Cao's soldiers killed on the spot by the stone bullets.
This is no wonder, because the city-building technology of this era was limited, and most of the gates and ordinary cities were built with earth. Therefore, this thunderbolt chariot can play a huge role when attacking Zengtongjian City.
However, the Yangpingguan City was built of mountain rocks, and its sturdiness was far better than the earthen city of Zengtong.
The stone bullets falling from the sky hit the thick city wall. Although the noise was loud, the destructive power was really limited. Apart from flying away a few edges and corners, they actually did not cause any substantial damage to the city wall.
Influence.
However, the power of this thunderous chariot overwhelmed Cao Jun, forcing them to huddle under the parapet and not dare to show their heads to fight back.
At this time, the Yan army's crossbowmen, who had been suppressed, could calmly launch a counterattack against the enemy city. Suddenly, the rain of arrows and stones fell down, suppressing Cao's army on the city until they could not lift their heads.
"Lord, the time has come to attack the city." Fazheng keenly noticed the opportunity and advised.
Yan Liang whipped up his horse whip and shouted: "Beat the drum. Attack."
The third war drum roared.
Huang Zhong from the front army received the order, raised his sword and shouted loudly: "Shengcheng team, let me attack the city."
"kill"
Amidst the loud shouts, three thousand attack teams moved with a roar, carrying ladders and rushing cars. They swarmed up to Yangping Pass like a tide.
There is no moat in front of Yangping Pass. Huang Zhong's elite Changsha soldiers can easily enter the city and calmly launch operations on the city.
But Xia Houyuan on Guancheng remained unmoved and still looked confident.
Because Xia Houyuan was extremely confident in the defense system of Yangping Pass.
The entire Yangping Pass inner city and outer city are well constructed, with numerous arrow towers and urn walls. Besides the main city wall, there are also large and small stone villages scattered around, forming a three-dimensional defense system with the main pass city on the front.
What Huang Zhongjun is attacking now is just the first line of defense of the outer city of Yangping Pass.
When the Shengcheng team entered the city, the thunder chariots did not dare to fire any more to avoid accidentally hitting friendly troops. At this time, only a few thousand crossbowmen who could provide cover for the siege soldiers were left behind.
When these elite Changsha soldiers began to set up ladders and began to attack the city, they were surprised to find that the city wall was narrower than where they had previously formed their formation.
More than three thousand Yan's troops were crowded under the city, but the space that could be used to climb the city at one time was only about five or six hundred. The rest of the soldiers crowded under the city wall became targets for Cao's army.
"Stand up for me and fight back immediately. Anyone who dares to cower again will be killed immediately!" Xia Houyuan on the city drew his sword and shouted fiercely, intimidating Cao's army.
After the stone bombardment stopped, Sergeant Cao's soldiers dared to stand up and, under the command of Xia Houyuan, began to counterattack.
All of a sudden, trees, rocks, and arrows rained down one after another.
Although the defenders counterattacked very fiercely, these elite Changsha soldiers showed great military discipline. Without an order to retreat, they feared neither life nor death and bravely climbed up the ladder to the top of the city.
However, the strength advantage of this attack could not be used, and the crossbowmen under the city could not suppress the enemy's long-range firepower. In addition, the city was extremely high. In a short time, the three thousand elite soldiers lost three to four hundred people.
But no one could successfully climb Guancheng.
Yan Liang, who was well versed in the art of war, clearly witnessed the tragedy of his own army. He understood very well that Yangping Pass was too dangerous and that if he continued to attack like this, he would only lose his soldiers.
At this time, Fazheng, who was next to him, also said: "Lord, our purpose of testing has been achieved. Now the offensive is unfavorable. It is useless to continue to attack forcefully. It is better to retreat first."
Yan Liang then issued an order, ordering the gold to be withdrawn.
As soon as the golden sound rang out, the soldiers who fought hard on the front line retreated in an orderly manner as if they had been granted amnesty. After leaving hundreds of corpses behind, they retreated in an orderly manner.
Cao's army above Guancheng also breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Yan's army retreating.
At this time, Xia Houyuan originally wanted to take advantage of Yan Jun's retreat, rush out of the city, and strike back.
However, Xia Houyuan soon discovered that Yan Jun's army was in good discipline and even if he retreated, there would be no chaos, giving him no chance to pursue him alive.
"Yan Liang, a thief, has an excellent way of running an army..." Even though he was an enemy, Xia Houyuan couldn't help but praise Yan Liang secretly in his heart.
The three armies retreated, and Yan Liang's tens of thousands of troops slowly retreated back to the base camp.
It was nightfall at this time. After returning to camp, Pang Tong, Fazheng and other counselors gathered in Yan Liang's Chinese army tent.
"Yangping Pass is so dangerous. It's not easy to attack head-on." Fazheng said with emotion.
"If you can't attack hard, you can only outsmart him. But facing such a dangerous situation, it's not easy to outsmart him." Pang Tong also frowned.
There was silence in the big tent, and all the generals and top counselors were thinking hard about strategies to defeat the enemy.
But at this time, Yan Liang, who had been silent all this time, had a mysterious sneer on his lips, and murmured: "You don't need to waste your brains, I have a plan here that can definitely defeat Xia Houyuan."