Because the barracks were badly damaged, most of the garrison outside the city had entered the city, leaving only some security forces to prevent the Qingzhou Army from returning and sneaking under the city wall to blast the city wall.
In fact, after yesterday's battle, everyone in Cao's army was full of confidence. They felt that the Qingzhou Army was unlikely to come back to die. After the grain and grass supplies were delivered from the rear, Cao's side might have to counterattack.
Along the way from Rencheng to Gaotang, there were many fortifications, but with the Thunderbolt Chariot, what did the mere city walls mean? The speed of the counterattack may not be much slower than the speed of the Qingzhou Army.
By then there will be police in Gaotang, and the Qingzhou army will be hard-pressed to take care of its head and tail. Isn't it clear who will win the battle?
The truth is true, but things in the world often do not necessarily follow the truth. Just after dawn, there was a rapid sound of horns outside the city, waking up all the generals of Cao's army who were slumbering in their dreams.
.
"What's going on?" Xia Houyuan rubbed his eyes and asked in dissatisfaction.
He was having a sweet dream. In the dream, he captured Zhang Liao, beheaded Huang Zhong, and led the army to sweep through all the counties and counties in Qingzhou, all the way to Gaotang. Before he could dream about capturing Wang Yu's family members, he wanted to
How to deal with it, I was woken up by the sound of trumpets outside the city, and of course I felt very unhappy.
"General, please send a warning outside the city. The Qingzhou Army has returned and is five miles north of the city. They are attacking at the same time."
"Here it comes again? How is it possible?" Xia Houyuan patted his cheek, wondering if he hadn't woken up and heard something wrong. The enemy army was defeated so miserably yesterday and came back so soon?
The soldier who reported the news said cautiously: "General, it's true. General Lu has taken people out of the city to set up a defense line. Before leaving, I sent someone to ask you if you want to push the Thunderbolt Car out as soon as possible?"
"Well, Zi Ke's concerns are reasonable. Maybe that's what Zhang Liao and Huang Zhong had in mind, and they wanted to block the Pili car in the city." Xia Houyuan woke up a lot, rubbed his face, and ordered: "Pass
I will order Mancheng to command the slinging troops and form a formation fifty steps outside the city. Zi Ke will lead the crossbowmen to cover. Make sure there is no mistake. I will arrive later."
"Here." The bodyguard took the order and left.
Xia Houyuan sat on the couch, carefully calculated, and felt that his arrangement should be fine. Even if the opponent also had a powerful weapon like a thunderbolt chariot, he could move forward and retreat freely. After thinking about this, he washed himself, put on his clothes, and led his army to fight.
When Xia Houyuan led his troops out of the city, he found that the two armies were confronting each other outside the city, but there was no sign of fighting. Seeing Lu Qian approaching from a distance, Xia Houyuan asked in a deep voice: "Zike, what is the situation now?"
Lu Qian cupped his fists and replied: "The Qingzhou Army came very quickly. When General Mo left the city, they were at their current position. General Mo was worried that they would rush up in one go to block the Pili Cha.
Inside the city, they have yet to take any further action, and their movements are very suspicious."
"There may not be anything suspicious about it."
Xia Houyuan looked at Lu Qian and Li Dian's strict formation. He put aside most of his thoughts. He shook his head indifferently and said: "The Qingzhou Army withdrew twenty miles yesterday and even abandoned the camp outside the city. Today there are more troops coming."
It's so early, how much time do you have to rest? If we attack non-stop, even if we break through the defense line you set up, wouldn't it be the end of our efforts?"
He sneered: "There is a saying in the art of war: one can make a strong effort, then it will weaken again, and three times it will be exhausted. Now, although the Qingzhou Army has not reached exhaustion, I see that its morale has been lost, so there is no need to worry. It will be defeated with a single blow.
Then, pass my order..." Just as he was about to give the order for the whole army to attack, Xia Houyuan was suddenly startled and asked in surprise: "Hey, what is that?"
Lu Qian took a look at the sound and replied hesitantly: "Have the general seen those wooden frames too? The general is also wondering what they are. Just now he discussed with Mancheng and felt that this thing is somewhat similar to a thunderbolt chariot...
"
The wooden frame made of thick wood seemed to be in the shape of a square pyramid. The craftsmen were still passing the wood one by one in the direction. Neither Lu Qian nor Li Dian were sure what it was, but it was not building a camp or something.
Watchtower.
Looking at the wood and iron parts, it seems that they are all custom-made. They only need to be tenoned, tied and reinforced to get the finished product. The shelf was set up very quickly. The height is already over seven feet, and someone has hung two cylindrical wooden cages.
On both sides of the wooden frame.
Except that there are no wheels, the shape of this wooden frame is indeed very similar to the upper structure of a Pili car. Lu Qian proposed to invite Ma Jun to take a look, but yesterday he also saw Xia Houyuan's dissatisfaction with Ma Jun, and he didn't want to do anything about it at this time.
If you dare to make a rash suggestion, you might offend the other person.
"...Come here, go and ask for Dr. Ma!" Xia Houyuan was silent for a moment, his face changing, and finally he sent someone to ask for Ma Jun.
When he saw the tall wooden frames opposite, he felt frightened and had an ominous premonition, so he didn't dare to charge directly with his troops. Just as he led his troops out of the city to form an array, it seemed that the thing had been completed.
Now, no one is passing materials to it anymore, the craftsmen on the wooden frame are just doing the final debugging.
Ma Jun came over quickly. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes and his red eyes, he probably had been busy most of the night, focusing all his experience on the research and imitation of the ballista.
Seeing this, Xia Houyuan couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had gotten along with this person more harmoniously, and had told him to recharge his batteries and leave the city with Lu Qian, he might have been able to make a judgment earlier and take corresponding countermeasures.
"Dr. Ma, what do you think this is?"
"This...is also a catapult." Ma Jun quickly gave the answer.
“Yes?”
"It's not as good as a thunderbolt car."
"..." Ma Jun answered so cheerfully that Xia Houyuan was a little dazed for a while. It took him a while to come back to his senses and asked urgently: "Not as good? How much is the difference? Where is the difference?"
"The principle of the catapult is to rely on lever transmission. The longer the throwing pole, the greater the power. The thunderbolt cart is built on a vehicle, so it is naturally inferior to one built directly on the ground. How big the difference is needs to be measured in detail.
Just known……"
"Corrupt Confucianism ruins my affairs!" How could Xia Houyuan have the patience to listen to Ma Jun's popularization of his knowledge of objects? He pushed Ma Jun away and shouted loudly: "Send the order, march!"
There are more thunderbolt chariots on his side, but the range cannot reach the Qingzhou Army's position. If Qingzhou's large catapult is stronger, it may be able to hit more than 800 steps and directly hit the military formation with stone bullets.
.At this time, of course, you can't hesitate. The best way is to rush forward and start a close combat.
His decision was not unpleasant, but in the end it was still a little late. The counterweights of the first trebuchets on the opposite side rose to the top and fell suddenly. The stone bullets at the end of the lever were thrown out at high speed and turned into a black streak.
The shadow flew high into the air, attracting countless soldiers to look up.
A flash of fire suddenly lit up in the sky, making people wonder if they were hallucinating, as the sun was still hidden by the mountains and rivers in the east.
First there was one, then several black shadows, all of which were covered with fire. From a little spark to the whole thing burning, it took just a blink of an eye. The few black shadows turned into several big fireballs, with orange-red flames beating.
, thick black smoke came out, pulled out a bright and strange arc in the air, and slammed down on Cao Jun's military formation!
The landing point is the junction between the Thunderbolt car array and the army!
"Boom!" The first fireball fell accurately on a catapult, and the whole ball of fire suddenly exploded, like a cloud of mist, instantly filling a space of several feet in radius, covering the entire catapult and surrounding areas.
The civilians and slingers were all surrounded.
It’s a long story, but it actually happened in the blink of an eye. No one had time to react, until the entire Thunderbolt car burst into flames and was affected. The soldiers who turned into burning men let out heart-rending screams, and the surrounding people were surrounded by people.
Only then did the people realize what had happened.
"Help, help!"
"Quick, put out the fire!"
"The sky is on fire, the sky is on fire! Is God angry?"
"Run away, run for your life!"
Cao's army was also a well-trained elite force, but under this unimaginable blow, it was still in chaos. The officers tried to suppress it, but fireballs fell from the sky one after another. Everyone within the strike range
Everyone is in danger, there are screams and cries everywhere, as if the end is coming, is there anyone who cares about obeying orders?
What's more, those who pushed the catapults were all civilians, and the slingers were all craftsmen. How could these people compare to the real elite? Under such a terrifying blow, there was no way to maintain order.
Although the Qingzhou Army did not have as many catapults as 200, there were nearly a hundred in total. As more and more catapults were completed and began to join the attack, the whole world changed color.
The sky is full of flying and roaring fireballs, and the blazing fire has surpassed the rising sun!
Dozens of fireballs fall at the same time. Regardless of whether they hit the target, they can stir up a large cloud of fire, which are connected together, almost turning a radius of hundreds of steps into a sea of fire!
You don't need to be in it. You can feel the heat rushing towards your face more than ten steps away from the sea of fire, which makes your liver and gallbladder chill. People who are in it, even if they are not affected by the fire, can only see up and down
Everything was red on the left and right, and he was desperate. If he wasn't going to be burned to death, he would be scared to death.
The two hundred Pili cars that were built yesterday were all caught in the flames. Because they were all wooden structures, they quickly began to burn, further fueling the fire.
Li Dian reacted quickly and pulled Ma Jun out of the death zone in time. Lu Qian was dumbfounded, not knowing whether he was in a dream or reality.
Xia Houyuan, who had experienced many battles, was the calmest. As soon as he saw the fire, he knew something was wrong. When the fire spread, he made a decisive decision and shouted: "This thing must be far away but not close. Sons, kill it and break through."
With the bow and crossbow formation, we can win!"
After saying that, he took the lead and killed him, and the guards on the left and right followed closely. Behind him was a sea of fire, and the general took the lead again. Cao's army aroused the momentum of fighting against the water, and the 20,000 troops rolled forward and swarmed up! (To be continued.
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