Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 789: The City is About to Be Broken

There were loud shouts and cries outside the city gates. The archers and crossbowmen of the Wu army kept firing at the top of the city walls, covering the soldiers climbing up the city walls with ladders like a tide.

It has to be said that the Wu army was well-trained and had selected elite troops to attack the city. They had superior strength, higher morale and stronger combat effectiveness than the Southern Han army, and they quickly climbed up along the special ladders.

In TV dramas, ladders are often very simple, just a simple ladder. In fact, in ancient times, ladders were large-scale war equipment for climbing over city walls. They were not simple ladders, but a ladder with wheels underneath for propulsion, equipped with anti-blunt winches, grappling hooks and other equipment, and some even had pulley lifting devices.

At the same time, since the main body of the ladder adopts a fixed device, the ladder setting procedure is simplified and the time of setting up the ladder is shortened. When attacking a city, the army only needs to park the main body under the city, and then set up the auxiliary ladder on the main body, and then they can climb up the wall.

This ladder is an important invention of Master Lu Ban, but even so, climbing the ladder is still quite dangerous. The first person to climb the ladder has a high chance of becoming cannon fodder. So why are there always people willing to be the first to climb the city wall? The answer is actually very simple, that is, the reward for the first person to climb the city wall is unimaginable.

The first person to climb the city wall was called "xiandeng" in ancient military terminology, which means the first to reach the city wall. The first to climb the city wall was also known as the first meritorious service, and his reward was even greater than that for beheading a general and capturing a flag.

As long as you make it to the top and stay alive, you will be promoted and rewarded. Even if you die in battle, your family will receive a generous pension.

In addition to ladder warfare, there were even more violent siege vehicles in ancient times. The most basic siege vehicle was a battering ram, which was a large log mounted on a frame and pushed by soldiers to the gate to ram the city gate. There were also catapults not far away, which continuously threw stones and fireballs at the top of the city, posing a threat to the top of the city.

Under the complex siege coordination, Hezhou was like a boat in the wind and rain, in danger.

But the Southern Han defenders did not sit there and wait for death. Instead, they fought back with catapults, crossbows, rolling logs, and battering rams. Constantly, Wu soldiers who were halfway up the city wall were shot by arrows and fell off the city wall. Some fell into the moat. Soon, bloody corpses floated on the water under the city wall, and the river water was stained with blood.

Pan Mei was very experienced in sieges. He did not keep up the attack all the time. Instead, he designed a rhythm, with fierce attacks and relaxations, one wave after another, and rotating the siege teams, so as to give the wounded enough time to replenish their forces.

When Su Chen saw this scene, he nodded slightly, approving of Pan Mei's use of troops.

In fact, Su Chen still has a trump card that he has not used yet, which is black gunpowder. It is a secret weapon researched by Su Chen. However, he has to use it when dealing with the Song army, and it has to be used in a key battle. It cannot be exposed in advance, otherwise, the black gunpowder will soon no longer be a secret.

In dealing with Southern Han, Su Chen did not want to take shortcuts, because he had the idea of ​​training his troops. If he could not easily defeat the corrupt Southern Han army, wouldn't it be even more difficult to deal with the Song army in the future?

It is possible to take shortcuts in a certain battle of a war, but a war between two major powers requires the coordination of strategy and tactics, and the combination of open and secret plots. It cannot be changed by a single weapon alone; it requires long-term combat and a real confrontation of strength.

"Kill!"

The Wu army continued to attack from morning to afternoon, with four rounds of rotation, each time with 10,000 people. Both the left and right armies had tried to attack the city, but they did not capture it in the first time.

Su Chen ordered the troops to withdraw temporarily and to besiege the city on three sides, leaving only the East Gate unblocked in order to give the people in the city a way out.

Not completely besieging the city was equivalent to "letting them off the hook." This would undermine the morale of the soldiers in the city, allowing more civilians to flee, which would reduce the amount of assistance from the civilians in the city and also prevent the defending soldiers from having to die.

However, there were arrangements outside the East City Gate. Su Chen sent people to set up an ambush in order to block the scouts from transmitting intelligence back and forth and to block the reinforcements. This is what it means to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

"Withdraw the troops and set up camp, and continue the siege on the city tomorrow!" Su Chen gave the military order, and the army retreated three miles, selected a location, and set up camp.

Su Chen shot some more archers and shot arrows without arrowheads into the city. The arrows contained a letter of persuasion, which described the emperor of Southern Han's debauchery and immorality, and the corruption of the court, which was not worth serving. The Wu army went south to enforce justice and solve the problems of the people of Southern Han. This kind of psychological warfare would also be useful. The guards patrolling the streets in the city picked it up, and the people picked it up and read it carefully, discussing it.

"Are the Wu army really here to rescue our Han people?"

"It's possible. I heard that the commander-in-chief this time is Jiang Zuo Su Lang. He is both civil and military. I would like to read his novels!"

"The greatest heroes serve their country and their people. I also love to read this book. I really don't want to be an enemy of Jiang Zuosu Lang. I am a fan of his books!"

Some soldiers expressed their helplessness. They liked the martial arts novels written by Su Chen very much and could be considered "martial arts Su fans". Now that their idol was leading troops to attack the city, they were a little hesitant.

"Let's wait and see. We can't hold out for long anyway!"

The soldiers in the city were actually not optimistic.

The next day, Su Chen personally went to the front line and commanded the three armies like three giant dragons, rising from the cities on the south, north and west sides at the same time and launched a more fierce offensive against the enemy.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of war drums resounded through the sky, the sound of fighting shook the earth, and arrows poured down like raindrops, covering the entire city.

Chen Shouzhong, the governor of Hezhou, stood on the top of the city wall with a worried look on his face, looking at the surging Wu army like a tide, feeling endless helplessness and frustration in his heart. He knew very well that facing such a fierce enemy, the road to defending the city would be extremely difficult.

"Sir Governor, you see, the siege is even more fierce today." The military commander Xiahou Nan stood beside Chen Shouzhong and said worriedly, "And our soldiers, after a night of exhaustion, are no longer as motivated as before."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shouzhong sighed deeply and said with emotion: "Yes, if this trend continues, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for much longer."

An hour passed quietly, and the figures of Wu soldiers appeared on the top of the city wall. They were engaged in a fierce battle in hand-to-hand combat with the Southern Han army.

"The city is about to be broken!" This shout, like thunder exploding above the city walls, foreshadows the critical situation.

"The Wu army is mighty!" The Wu soldiers saw their comrades bravely climb up to the top of the city wall, and their morale was greatly boosted. They shouted to cheer. The soldiers on the ladders and plows were even more excited. They rushed to the top of the city wall like tigers descending from the mountains without hesitation.

Gradually, the Wu army's offensive became more fierce, and they began to suppress the Southern Han army on the city walls. The situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Southern Han army.

"Governor, something terrible has happened. We must break out quickly and evacuate through the east gate!" Du Yuhou Xiahou Nan hurried over and made an urgent report to Governor Chen Shouzhong.

Chen Shouzhong looked at the fierce battle on the top of the city, his heart filled with helplessness and heaviness. He hesitated for a moment, but finally made a decision. He nodded and decided to withdraw, no longer to live and die with Hezhou.

(End of this chapter)