I am a nobleman in Spring and Autumn

Chapter 531 The Situation Is Complicated
Unless this siege battle was due to the collapse of the will to resist of the monarch and ministers of the Song Dynasty, otherwise, it would be impossible for the original army to take down "Shangqiu" with only long-range attack weapons.

In the follow-up, the original army continued to use long-range weapons to attack for more than a month, and the attack by melee troops was just a temptation, and did not launch a real battle to climb the city.

Before the siege battle started, Mo Di imagined more than once what kind of effect the defense equipment he supervised could play, but he really didn't expect that it would be placed on the city wall and let it be destroyed.

So, didn't Mo Di know that the Yuan Army had catapults?How could it be possible not to know, but because the information was too backward, they didn't know that the range of the original army's catapult vehicles had been increased and the accuracy had been greatly improved.

At present, the range of the original army catapult vehicle can reach 330 steps, and the error of aiming at the target for projectile is within 15 meters.

The range of 15 meters is quite large, but it depends on where the attack is launched and what weapon is used.

The original army's catapults fired 35-jin stone bombs, and they were able to launch them from nearly 500 meters away with an error of no more than 15 meters. To be honest, it is quite a remarkable achievement.

"Our troops originally came to attack the city. We mobilized 230 stone-throwing towers from the 'Hulao' arsenal, and then deployed [-] from 'Puyang'. When we arrived, we built another [-] towers. It was scattered and projected in all directions, and each side should have [-] towers. There is only a riprap tower." Zhi Xuwu looked proud.

Of course, the catapult vehicles will not be deployed in an evenly distributed manner. The main attack direction of the original army is in the west, and 150 catapult vehicles are concentrated to throw stone bombs around the clock.

As time goes on, new catapults will be added one after another. As long as the original army is not so eager to take "Shangqiu" down, it won't be a certain part of the city wall of "Shangqiu" if it keeps bombing like this. Being bombed down means that the morale of the defenders continues to remain low.

The Song army tried to use the bed crossbow to fight back, but unfortunately the bed crossbow had insufficient range and could not threaten the original army's catapults at all.

At the same time, the Song army opened the city gate and sent death squads to destroy the catapults. They were not far away from the city gate, but they were covered by reinforcement crossbowmen hidden in the trench.

The few surviving Song troops could not enter the city again through the closed city gate, and the archers of the original army did not shoot the surviving Song troops, so that these Song troops were trapped around the city gate outside the city and shouted day and night. It looks so bleak.

The original army's catapults have been launched for more than a month, and they have been avoiding the city gate and not attacking.

Siege equipment such as catapults capable of throwing heavy objects was created. After being put into siege battles, it is rare to hear examples of city gates being smashed.It's not purely because the accuracy is too bad. If you try so hard, you can always get caught several times. The attacker with the catapult doesn't want to do it.

why?In fact, it is completely correct not to target the city gate immediately. Once the defenders have not lost their belief in defending the city, if the city gate collapses, the attackers will go in even if they conquer the city, and the casualties will be huge. Completely block the city gate.

The original army's catapult vehicles are already accurate enough, are you trying to gather some catapult vehicles to smash down a certain section of the city wall?Indeed, it's just that it has been smashed for several days, and a section of the city wall has been hit dozens of times in a row. The city wall has dents and cracks, and there is no sign of collapse for the time being.

In other words, the thickness of the city wall is at least four meters. Whether it is made of pure rammed earth or covered with masonry, even in the era when bronze cannons appeared, it is not so easy to use bronze cannons to bombard the city wall.

If you really want to blow down the city wall and shoot solid bullets, unless the caliber of the gun is exaggeratedly large and the projectiles fired are also super large, otherwise you can't even think about blowing down the city wall.

Even after the First World War, small-caliber bombardment of the city wall still couldn't make a big gap. To blow the city wall down, you need a large-caliber cannon or mortar, or you need to use the main gun on the battleship with a caliber of more than 280 mm.

As for the plots in some dramas where a pack of explosives will blow down the city wall?Otherwise, how can I say it is a drama.

If you use explosives, you must first dig a tunnel to reach under the city wall, and then bury at least three thousand catties of gunpowder.

There are related battle examples. The Red Army used 1 kilograms of gunpowder to bomb Shaxian County, and [-] kilograms of gunpowder to bomb the gate of Linfen City.The devil hit the southern border (intentional typo) and used [-] sacks of explosives to blow up a hole more than ten feet wide.

Therefore, what is it if it is not a drama to blow up a city wall with a thickness of at least three or four meters with only one explosive bag?
As a time traveler, has Zhiyao ever tried to make gunpowder?There really is, and it was successfully produced.

However, after Zhiyao developed gunpowder, he never put it into use, and killed several craftsmen who participated in the research.

Why not?It's not that Zhiyao made it more difficult for her own hegemony. The root cause is that gunpowder is a magic box. Opening it before making all the preparations is basically a kind of thing that hurts others and hurts oneself.

Using gunpowder but wanting to keep it secret?It is simply taken for granted.

Because the metal formula has been used in the smelting process, it means that all the elements have been quenched and solidified. Unless the formula is obtained, otherwise there is no possibility of reverse in the current era.

Gunpowder is different. If you have enough patience, you can figure out the materials, and then test the proportions of the materials one by one. It will definitely be imitated.

If a thing is used, it is a joke to keep it secret. It depends on whether the technical barrier is high or low to determine when the enemy will imitate it.

The original country is superior to other countries in terms of cold weapons in an all-round way. Why should it use gunpowder to give other countries a chance to overtake in a curve?
"Prince, [-] Chu troops have arrived at Chaojia." Zhixu Wu found Zhikai who was watching the launch of the catapult and reported.

Zhi Kai asked, "Who is the chief general?"

Zhi Xuwu replied, "Doctor Pu Sao Zhaoban."

This person Zhikai has never heard of it, but it seems that the prefix is ​​Zhao's.

Their original army currently has two battlefields, the first must be the "Shangqiu" front, and the other is the Jushui front.

The forces of two legions trapped "Shangqiu" to death, and the other legion fought fiercely with the Song army who wanted to rescue "Shangqiu" on the Jushui line.

The state of Chu sent reinforcements to the state of Song, and then the original army on the front line of Jushui became the allied army of Chu and Song.

Zhi Kai asked, "Do you need help?"

Zhi Xuwu thought for a while, and replied: "Reinforcement at this time may scare off the Chu army."

The current development of the war is infinitely close to the previous situation of the "Battle of Xinzheng". The difference is that the number of Song troops trapped on the "Shangqiu" side is smaller than that on the periphery.

Yuan Guo wanted to take down "Shangqiu" and then further destroy the Song State. It would be best if he could eliminate more Chu troops along the way in this battle.This is also one of the reasons why Zhikai has not taken a strong attack on "Shangqiu", not because it simply does not want to play an ugly battle loss ratio.

Zhi Xuwu was silent for a while, and said: "The battle of Donglai lasted more than half a year. The Vietnamese army was trapped in the north of 'Langya'. Both sea and land routes have been cut off. The victory or defeat may be decided in the near future."

With the addition of the Navy, the Yuan State used more troops in Donglai than in the Song State. It could wipe out the main force of the Vietnamese army in Donglai, and then there was no need to dispatch three legions to invade the mainland of Yue.

Zhi Xuwu hopes that Zhikai will be more stable, trap "Shangqiu" slowly, attract more troops from Chu State, drag them to Sima Rangju's troops to destroy Yue State, and then go west, and join forces to fight with the Chu-Song coalition forces A big battle.

In order to achieve that goal, it doesn't matter even if "Shangqiu" is not captured for a while, the field forces of Song State are wiped out in the field, and a sufficient number of Chu troops are wiped out. It will be easier to attack "Shangqiu" later, and for the next Come down to attack Chu State and prepare the foundation in advance.

Zhi Kai seemed a little hesitant, and asked, "It's so obvious, how can the monarch and ministers of Chu be fooled?"

Zhi Xuwu knew Zhi Kai's thoughts, and said: "Just like the early years when the Jin State died to protect the Wu State, the Song State is the country that the Chu State must save."

If there is no accident, the Yue Kingdom will soon perish.

Once the Yue State perished, only Yuan State, Chu State, and Song State remained as kings.

Yuan State made it clear that it wanted to take Song State away, and Chu State had to defend Song State no matter how unwilling it was. Otherwise, after Song State fell, Yuan State would have no chance to resist the conquest.

For Chu State, the most ideal state is to let Yuan State be trapped in Song State, and turn Song State into the quagmire of Yuan State at any cost.

At the same time, the state of Chu hurriedly ended the internal fighting, cherishing every minute and every second to prepare for the war, as long as it can be delayed, until the original state's national strength is exhausted, and then launched a counterattack.

Examples of similar things can be found. During the "Hundred Years War" between Chu and Jin, Jin's monarchs and ministers used such methods to hold back Chu, and used Wu and Song to repeatedly bleed Chu.

If only Jin and Chu were to compete one-on-one, maybe Jin would win in the end, but the price to be paid would definitely be heavier.

Judging from the fact that Chu State sent reinforcements to Song State, the top management of Chu State had obviously thought of that level?
The next thing to see is whether the top leaders of the Chu State will transfer the [-] Chu troops who are attacking the Yue State to the "Shangqiu" battlefield. If they do this, it means that all members are in a state of sobriety.

Zhi Xuwu said a very crucial sentence, saying: "The [-] Song army will definitely return to aid, and whether the [-] Chu army will come will be known in the near future."

To tell the truth, Zhikai still wanted to get the credit for destroying the Song Dynasty, and while consolidating the crown prince, he would also make an immortal contribution.

What Zhixu Wu was afraid of was that Zhikai was too obsessed with destroying the Song State, but ignored the benefits of destroying more Chu troops in the Song State.

If Zhikai insists on winning "Shangqiu" first, Zhixuwu will not object.

It's just that Zhixuwu will write to Zhiyao, suggesting that Zhikai be recalled to the center.

"Since this is the case, may the frontline army of Jushui be able to retreat?" Zhi Kai looked a little depressed, obviously extremely reluctant.

Zhi Xuwu stopped him and said: "No! If you retreat rashly, the temptation will be revealed. If you retreat, you can retreat if you are invincible."

Treat everyone in Chu and Song as fools, and they will become the real fools.

As the capital city, "Shangqiu" determined the survival of the Song State. Most of their monarchs and ministers were trapped in the city, and the Song army must save "Shangqiu".

The State Council of Chu is very willing to continue the war in "Shangqiu". The damage caused is the property of Song State, and the delay in agricultural production or other things will not be paid by Chu State. It is better to keep fighting in "Shangqiu" than to move the battlefield to Chu State. territory.

What is the most important thing?The more precarious Song State looks, the more desperate Song State will be, and the greater the consumption of Yuan State will be.

Zhi Kai thought of something, and said: "Chu Wangyan... I'm afraid I won't be able to eat next year's new wheat."

There is an allusion here, Jin Jinggong was sick and asked the "Bian Que" of Qin State to treat him. The doctor from Qin State could not directly say that Jin Jinggong was hopeless, and contributed an idiom of "terminal illness" to Chinese history. It's Jin Jinggong who can't eat the new year's wheat rice.

Jin Jinggong was the only monarch in the history of Zhuxia who fell into a latrine and drowned. Some historians speculated that Jin Jinggong died of the murder of the Qing family based on the national conditions of Jin at that time.

What Zhikai said meant the same thing. Under the current development of the world situation, Gongsun Ning would definitely get rid of Chu Wangyan.

If Chu Junyan does not die for a day, Gongsun Ning will not be able to take power in a legitimate way.

How can Chu State, which is in a state of continuous internal strife, fight a life-and-death battle with Yuan State?

Because Gongsun Ning believed that only he could save the state of Chu, even if he was notorious for killing the king, he would choose to usurp the throne quickly.

More than a month later, the news of Chu Junyan's death came from Chu State, which confirmed the correctness of Zhikai's guess.

At the same time, the [-] Song troops who had previously invaded the Yue State returned to their divisions. They did not choose to come to "Shangqiu" to join the war. They invaded the original land and made a gesture of attacking "Puyang".

The state of Chu did not transfer the [-] troops that invaded the state of Yue to the state of Song. They were busy attacking the mainland of the state of Yue, and they opened their mouths to annex Wu and Yue together.

Gongsun Ning, the newly promoted usurper, chose to compromise with the lords of various places and recognized the autonomy of the lords. He put together more than 5 Chu troops to go north and enter the territory of the Song Dynasty.

Zhikai received bad news, but Mizi still learned that Yuanguo had launched a war of annihilation against Songguo, and lost control of his emotions and had a miscarriage.

Zhi Kai was stunned for a long time when he heard the news, he couldn't believe it was true.

Mizi was pregnant with Zhikai's first child, and she disappeared all of a sudden.

Returning to his senses, Zhikai wrote a letter to his father Zhiyao, requesting to be executed for disclosing the news of the war between Yuan and Song to Mizi who knew.

And for this matter, even though Zhiyao, who had been a grandfather for a long time, was furious at the failure of the first grandson to be born smoothly, he did something that could be called brutal since he took power, and executed the person in charge. Everyone who served Mi Zi was imprisoned.

Yes, the news that Yuan State was trying to destroy Song State was revealed to Mizi by the concubine of Chu State, and Mizi lost control of his emotions and led to miscarriage.

However, Zhiyao only imprisoned the concubine from Chu State, and did not kill the retainers and servants who came with the marriage, mainly leaving it to Zhikai to deal with.

(End of this chapter)