Fenghou

Chapter 504 Pingliang

The gunpowder barrel was invented by Chen Qing when he was defending Jiandao Pass. In fact, it appeared in the army of the Northern Song Dynasty. Chen Qing invented a rope-type fuse. In the past, a long-nosed gunpowder tube was inserted into the gunpowder barrel. If the red-hot soldering iron is ignited and thrown down, it is easy to cause the gunpowder tube and barrel to separate, thus turning into a squib, and the success rate of the explosion is not high.

But the success rate of the rope-type fuse is much higher, especially after several years of development and the introduction of double-layer gunpowder barrels, the success rate of the explosion has reached more than [-]%, and the timing is very precise. There is no time for the enemy to react.

When Song Jun launched the gunpowder barrel, he began to study how to prevent it. At the beginning, he set up an axe to smash it before it exploded.

Later, it was found that it was too late to smash, so they began to train the soldiers again, lying down immediately and protecting their heads with shields. This trick worked very well, basically reducing the lethality of the explosion by [-]%.

The gunpowder barrel itself is not very powerful, the main reason is that the poisonous nails inside are terrible, but the directions of the poisonous nails are all oblique upwards, as long as you lie down, you will basically not be hurt by the poisonous nails.

Last winter, craftsmen of the Song Army sewed a thirteen-layer linen cloth with a layer of asbestos inside, which has a very good fireproof effect. The fire cloak was born, and every attacking soldier wore a fire cloak.It can prevent the body from being burned by fire.

However, during the experiment, it was accidentally discovered that it could also resist the penetration of the poisonous nails of the gunpowder barrel. This discovery made Chen Qing overjoyed, and immediately sewed it on a large scale. So far, only [-] cloaks have been sewn .

In other words, out of the [-] siege troops, [-] were not equipped with this kind of fire raccoon cloak.

They still can only rely on lying down to protect themselves, and the soldiers on the siege ladder are equipped with fire raccoon cloaks, and they are not afraid of powder barrels and poisonous nails.

This is also one of the purposes of Chen Qing's siege, to test the effect of this fire cloak in actual combat.

There were one hundred and twenty siege ladders, and there were five firearms soldiers under each siege ladder. When the opponent's powder keg was dropped, the firearms soldier immediately shouted, "Lie down!"

The soldiers fell down one after another, 'Boom! With a bang, the gunpowder barrel exploded, and the poisonous nails flew in all directions. The soldiers lying on the ground were not harmed, while the soldiers on the siege ladder wrapped their bodies and faces in fire cloaks, and the poisonous nails crackled and shot into the fire. On the cloak, it really couldn't pierce it.

Without any danger, the soldiers of the Song Army continued to climb up, and the two sides fought fiercely at the top of the city. . ,

The firearms soldiers of the Song Army began to counterattack, spraying fierce kerosene, throwing gunpowder barrels, and throwing torches one by one.

There were constant explosions on the top of the city, and the flames were blazing. The soldiers guarding the city panicked, and soldiers of the Song Army began to break through the defense and rushed to the top of the city.

Seeing that the gunpowder barrel didn't work, Li Cheng was shocked and angry when the opponent counterattacked sharply.

Li Cheng didn't want to follow Chen Qing too much in defending the city. Although he had prepared [-] barrels of kerosene, he would not use it unless he had to. The city is on the top.

He shouted an order: "Dump the fire oil!"

Soldiers on the top of the city dumped barrels of kerosene down the siege ladder, and many soldiers were splashed all over their heads. This move is the ultimate poisonous move for defending the city. It is basically unsolvable. Three thousand six hundred barrels of kerosene were dumped.

Even if there is a fire cloak, it can only be used to open up a passage, but it still cannot extinguish such a powerful fire oil.

Countless torches were thrown down, and a raging fire was ignited on the top and bottom of the siege ladder, and the surrounding area was immediately filled with thick smoke and flames.

At the same time, Chen Qing issued an order to withdraw troops: "Retreat!"

'when!when!when!when! '

The bell for the retreat sounded, and the soldiers of the Song Army began to retreat wrapped in fire cloaks. Many soldiers who were covered in fire jumped into the moat, but many soldiers were seriously injured and were carried back by other soldiers.

At this time, the city was also in chaos. The puppet army had no experience in fighting fires, and the thick smoke and fire made them rush left and right, forming a mess.

Not long after, thousands of troops retreated, and Niu Gao came forward to report: "I have reported to Dutong that [-] brothers died in battle, and most of them were killed during the siege. Because the retreat was timely, no one was burned to death." soldiers, but more than [-] people were burned, more than [-] people were seriously injured, and more than [-] people were injured by arrows during the attack."

Chen Qing nodded, "Soldiers who died in battle will be given double pensions, and wounded soldiers will also receive good care."

"Follow your orders!"

After a pause, Niu Gao said again: "I feel that the opponent is completely inexperienced in fire attacks and firearms attacks. In the end, we have soldiers with seven siege ladders going up to the city. We can actually take the city!"

Chen Qing shook his head, "Taking the county will require a street battle with the opponent's [-] troops. Even if we win, it will be a miserable victory, with at least [-] casualties, and the city will be devastated. This is not the victory I want."

Niu Gao said ashamedly: "I understand!"

Chen Qing asked again: "Did the soldiers from the upper city withdraw in time?"

"Report to Dutong, all have been withdrawn!"

Only then did Chen Qing say to the crowd: "Let's talk about it, everyone! Where is the experience in this siege? Just now General Niu Gao said that the opponent is not good at defending against fire and firearms, what else?"

Yang Zaixing clasped his fists and said, "The fire cloak is very good. It can resist the poisonous nails of a fire extinguisher, and it can also resist the fire. This time the soldiers escaped thanks to it. I suggest mass production, so that each person has one piece."

Chen Qing nodded, "Huo Huancloak made the first contribution, and the effect is very good."

Everyone chatted and talked about their own feelings.

Turning his eyes, Chen Qing saw that Zhao Yong's face was flushed, and he hesitated to speak, so Chen Qing smiled and said, "What's General Zhao thinking?"

Everyone looked at Zhao Yong. It is said that Zhao Yong is brave and resourceful, and everyone respects him. I don't know what shocking words he has?
Zhao Yong is a surrendered general who has just surrendered, and he was still a little embarrassed in front of everyone. He blushed and said, "The humble officer observed the fire under the city. It wasn't that the entire lower part of the city wall was destroyed by the fire. In fact, there were only more than a hundred fire points. I was pouring kerosene on the siege ladder, and I was thinking, if our siege ladder can move horizontally, and leave the fire scene quickly after the fire, so that the siege and retreat will not be affected by the fire."

Everyone's eyes lit up, this is indeed a good idea, Liu Cui frowned, and said again: "But there are hooks on it, which can hold the city wall firmly, what should I do?"

Niu Gao smiled and said: "This problem is not that big, there is a telescopic siege ladder that can solve this problem."

Liu Qiong also suggested: "You can wrap a layer of fire cloth on the siege ladder, so you won't be afraid of fire."

After everyone said something to me, they gradually perfected Zhao Yong's suggestion.

Seeing that Chen Qing was in deep thought and remained silent, Yang Zaixing asked with a smile, "Do you all think this plan is flawed?"

Chen Qing shook his head with a smile, "Everyone said it very well, I was deeply inspired, actually I was thinking that the reason why we were attacked by kerosene when we attacked the city was that we were too close to the city wall. The city wall, if you attack the city outside the moat, can you avoid the burning of fire oil?"

Everyone laughed and said in unison: "Then use the ladder!"

The aerial ladder has always been a siege weapon in the past dynasties. It is actually a large platform with wheels. A ladder is installed on the platform to lead directly to the top of the city. The fire ladder of later generations is the aerial ladder.

But it also has great disadvantages. It is huge and difficult to transport. In addition, when soldiers climb on the ladder, it is easy to become an arrow target. Of course, if the protection is done well, it will not become an arrow target. For example, if it is made into a gangway, There are thick wooden boards on both sides to cover, the bottom is solid, and it is not afraid of arrows, it depends on how the craftsman designs it.

The cost of the ladder is very high, and it is impossible to mass-produce it. It can only be used with the siege ladder like a nest car.

Chen Qing looked at Pingliang City again, and sighed slightly: "It seems that we are indeed not ready, pass my order, the army gives up attacking Pingliang Mansion, and retreats westward!"

He then ordered: "Send an order to the defenders of Siyang County, ordering them to abandon Siyang and withdraw to Qinzhou!"

Everyone has no objection to this order. If Pingliang Mansion cannot be taken down, Siyang County is of little significance. Moreover, without the containment of the Wu-level army in Heshangyuan, the Jin soldiers will send a large army to kill at any time to capture Siyang County. The county is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and thousands of people can't defend against the attack of ten thousand people, so it is very wise for the coach to decide to abandon Siyang County.

Chen Qing smiled at the crowd again: "We retreat westward to capture Longshan Pass and Liupan Pass at the same time. As long as we guard these two passes strictly, we can come back at any time."

(End of this chapter)