Shu Chen

Chapter 517 Attack

"The flying stone weighs twelve catties, it is sent by a machine, and it can walk two hundred steps."

—— "Fan Li's Art of War"

Since the beginning of the Spring and Autumn Period, catapults have been used in warfare.

After years of inheritance, it has almost become a necessary weapon for offensive and defensive positional warfare.

In Wei State, it was called Thunder Chariot because during the Battle of Guandu in the past, all the earthen towers and sculls built by Yuan Shao were destroyed by Cao Jun's stone carts, so Yuan's soldiers feared and called it.

But it is undeniable that Wei Guo did make some modifications to the catapult at that time, making it even more powerful.

Now, the Han army has seized some thunderbolt chariots of the Wei army in previous battles, and the prime minister has also made some modifications to make them have a longer range and a stronger and more durable throwing arm.

The generals of the Wei army guarding the city of Chencang have a deep understanding of this.

May I ask, what does it feel like to be pelted with stones by more than forty thunderbolt cars day and night?
The Wei soldiers didn't know how to describe it.

But they are all frustrated.

It's not that he was smashed to death.

Also from the Spring and Autumn Period, the city defenders had a way to resist flying stones.

As Mozi said, "Borrowing Mo is eight feet long, seven feet wide, and its wood is five feet wide, and borrowing Ju (jū) as a bridge to rope its ends" is to claim that when the enemy's siege catapults are in full swing, , the soldiers defending the city used oranges to hang up the barrier to block the thrown objects and play a protective role.

Therefore, under the protection of the wooden city and other objects, Chen Cang's defenders did not suffer many casualties.

What made them helpless was that the stone throwing by the Han army was almost endless!

The Han army had more than a hundred stone catapults outside the city, but it was only because they were limited to laying them out in a single word and the city wall was not attacked that much, so they only used more than forty catapults.But with the advantage of quantity, they don't need to worry about problems such as damage to the throwing arm and the frequent launch of the engine, and the cracking of the rivets and wooden wedges.

One is damaged, and when it is pulled out for repair, the other one is directly filled in the vacancy.

In this way, it is possible to throw stones in a steady stream.

In addition, there is Longshan Mountain behind the Siwei meeting, and it is very convenient to open the mountain to get stones, which also makes it easy for the Han army to store countless stones.
In fact, this is the method used by the prime minister to clear obstacles.

The arrow towers on the city wall were smashed down with flying stones, and the defenders at the top of the city were prevented from sniping with bows and crossbows. This allowed the Han army to pull out the barbed wire, fill up the pits and moats, and burn down the antlers and deer villages.

At first, things went well.

Under the pressure of Feishi, the Han army cleared all the obstacles outside the moat in just four days.

It was when the moat was filled that there were setbacks.

At this distance, the defenders on the top of the city can shoot and kill the soldiers of the Han army without projectiles, and they can shoot the crossbow arrows directly from the crenel.

But this little thing can't help the Han army.

The prime minister asked some catapult carts to throw the stones and trees outside the moat first, and when night fell, he quietly sent soldiers to push the stones and trees into the river.

This approach cannot prevent the soldiers of the Han army from being sniped, and it will take longer.

However, under the cover of night, the defenders' bows and crossbows were much less accurate, and the Han army's dedicated large scull and shield soldiers cooperated to cover and go, which reduced the casualties a lot.

Therefore, it took ten days to fill up the moat on the side of the west gate of the city.

Moreover, more than [-] of the frequently fired catapults were completely damaged and could not be repaired.

The soldiers also suffered more than [-] casualties.

It is the price the attacker must pay.

Because when Guo Huai saw the Han army sneaking into the night to fill the moat, he saw that the bow and crossbow were difficult to restrain, so he switched to smashing down with thunderbolt chariots, making it difficult for the big oars to defend.

And the antlers and deer villages that fell against the root of the city wall are easy to clean up.

Hang the jar full of fat on the crossbow and shoot it with a rhubarb crossbow with a long range. Just throw some rockets to solve the problem.

In the first ten days of May in summer, all obstacles outside Chencang City were destroyed.

It also kicked off the real offensive and defensive battle.

The sun is sunny, the wind is light and the clouds are light.

Outside the west gate of Chencang, banners and flags were flying, and war drums were thundering.

The various Han armies that filed out, chanting neatly, pushed the ladders, well rails and siege vehicles forward step by step.

On the other hand, on the top of Chencang City, which was destroyed day and night by riprap trucks, most of the turrets and arrow towers have been destroyed. The yellow rammed earth of the city wall crenels is exposed to the sun, and the potholes are even more messy.

But the big banner embroidered with the word "Wei" still flutters with the wind, indicating the ownership of the city.

In the formation of the Han army, the prime minister stood on the tall nest car and watched the battle, his clothes fluttering in the wind, and he fixedly looked down at the soldiers who were looking down at the city, with a ray of worry and pity hidden in his eyes.

Gein seemed to be suppressed by the catapult, and the Wei army, who watched helplessly as the Han army cleared the obstacles, actually did not exert any force.

For example, the thunderbolt chariot hidden in the city and the bed crossbow on the top of the city, Wei Jun has never used it, let alone guessing that they must have prepared countless ointments!

It was this way of saving materials that made the prime minister feel emotional about the tragedy of the siege.

Not surprisingly, Guo Huai would only use supplies when the Han army approached the city wall.

For example, use thunderbolt chariots and bed crossbows to contain the high and high wells pushed by the Han army, burn the ladders that the Han army wanted to attach to the city with ointment, and use huge stones to smash the siege vehicles that wanted to break through the city gate, so that the Han army wanted to board the city. The hope of the city head is stifled.Maximizing the barrier of the city wall can also make the city last longer.

As the attacking side, the Han army has no advantage in front of the high city walls.

The only way is to consume these supplies with human lives, and fight for the chance to reach the top of the city with the tragedy of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Ugh.
Once the siege starts, I don't know how many good men my big man has, who will drink their hatred under this city wall and bury their bones in the meeting of Siwei, and their souls will not return to their hometown.

The prime minister sighed quietly in his heart.

His eyes shifted from the soldiers who had already pushed the ladders, well rails, and siege vehicles to the formation three miles away from the city, to the Han army banner and two banners behind them.

These two flags are also very large, with black characters embroidered on the red bottom, which are "Revive the Han Dynasty" and "Return to the Old Capital".

Rejuvenate the Han Dynasty and return to the old capital.
I will die forever!

After watching silently for a while, the prime minister's gaze slowly became determined.

The small command flag in his hand waved down.

"Boom!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, there was a loud drumming like thunder.

Guan Xing, who commanded at the front and acted as the governor of the city in this battle, drew his sword and came towards Chencang City, and ordered loudly, "Siege the city!"

"war!"

"war!!"

The morale of the Han soldiers echoed loudly and neatly.

Stepping on the small sound of their respective uncles, with the determination to see death as home, they walked towards the city wall step by step.

But it was the catapult that took the lead.

creak~~
Accompanied by the sound of the engine, the long throwing arm was suddenly released, throwing countless pebble-sized gravel into the air, and after drawing a half-arc, it left the city with a sharp whistling sound.

This time, the defenders of Wei State no longer curled up under the wooden city, but held shields and sculls to perform their duties.

Standing in front of the big banner, Guo Huai turned a blind eye to the roaring gravel, squinted his eyes, and looked at the towering well that was getting closer.

(End of this chapter)