Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 585 Do you want a shot?

After October, the weather in Jianghuai becomes increasingly cold.

Because the water level of the Huaihe River dropped significantly, the Han navy's raids were much less frequent. Therefore, the Wei army had a clear advantage on the battlefield and stepped up the siege of Zhongli City.

The increase in strength will increase the force, but because Lu Xun is eyeing the lower reaches and wants to garrison troops in Shaoyangzhou and Huaibei, Cao Ren and Cao Xiu lead 50,000 troops and 10,000 to 20,000 civilians, which is more than ten times the number of Zhongli's defenders.

Cao Pi had been supervising the battle in Huaibei for several months and was feeling tired. He was about to drive back to Qiao County in order to worship his ancestors during the twelfth lunar month.

Before leaving, Cao Pi handed over command of the army to Cao Ren and asked him to be responsible for attacking Zhongli City.

Cao Pi also encouraged the generals in the big tent and expressed to everyone that he hoped to see Zhongli City defeated before the first month. Then the two armies converged at Sikou and swept across the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.

The old man Cao Ren was young and eager for revenge. He immediately issued a military order to Cao Pi, saying that he would defeat Zhongli before the first month.

Cao Pi became very strong and returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors in a happy mood.

Outside Zhongli City, the trenches have now been filled in by the Wei army's anthene chariots, and siege equipment such as ladders, ram chariots, and wooden curtains have been put into the battlefield by the Wei army.

The overwhelming Wei army arrayed outside the city with great momentum. The Wei army surrounded it from the north gate to the west gate, with flags fluttering in the wind.

Looking down from the city tower, we can see that Wei soldiers pushed the city equipment to the bottom of the city in a loose and orderly queue. For example, several wooden carts are gathered in a row, and the crossbowmen are behind the wooden carts, pushing the carts towards the city.

Chongcheng, driven by dozens of warriors, shouted slogans and headed straight for the north gate of Zhongli. Prepare to break down the city gate and then attack the city.

In addition to the conventional ladders, catapults, and nest carts, the Wei army will push the anthone chariot to the north of the city, preparing to use the anthone to build a mountain of earth under the city.

Following the dull horn on Zhongli Tower, the crossbowman operated the crossbow and used the wooden hammer in his hand to hammer the crossbow machine. The spear-like crossbow arrows ejected from the crossbow bed and fell outside the city with the sound of howling wind. In the tide of Wei soldiers.

"Tuk!"

A crossbow spear penetrated the ram car with great force, and with its huge elastic potential energy, it penetrated the cowhide shield on the ram car. The crossbow bolt shot into the sergeant's neck, and the sergeant didn't even groan. He was nailed to death by the terrifying crossbow bolt on the spot.

A few pieces of flying sawdust also scratched the faces of the others, and blood flowed from the faces of the others. And they endured their fear and continued to push the cart, only praying that the next crossbow arrow would not hit them.

Although the three-bow bed crossbow is powerful, its strong impact makes it slow for the crossbowman to load the bed crossbow, making it difficult to shoot and damage the enemy in a large area. Although the soldiers of Wei were frightened, they had to use arrows if they wanted to cause damage.

As the Wei army soldiers gradually entered the shooting range, the Han army soldiers on Zhongli City were condescending and directly operated their bows and crossbows to aim at the Wei soldiers below the city, and a steady stream of sound of breaking through the air could be heard.

The arrows on the city fell like locusts, hitting the wooden curtains and rushing cars with a whistling sound, making a "knock-keep" sound. Even with the engineering equipment as cover, a few Wei soldiers were still shot to the ground.

After a period of unilateral shooting, the Wei army's wooden chariots gradually stopped. Under the cover of shields, oars and wooden curtains, the Wei army's crossbowmen fired back at the Han army on the tower through the holes in the wooden boards.

Thousands of arrows were thrown towards the Han army overwhelmingly, sliding in arcs in the sky, and Han and Wei launched an offensive and defensive battle again.

In addition to crossbows, the Wei army also had trebuchets. After simple calibration, hundreds of trebuchets, operated by strong men, projected strangely shaped small stones.

Hundreds of stone bullets roared fiercely in the air, either falling into the air, flying over the tower, or hitting the tower together with arrows. The female wall made of rammed earth was hit with stones and a small crater was created on the spot. If it hit the soldiers, they would definitely be killed. The sound was particularly scary.

Listening to the whistling sounds on both sides, the Han soldiers could not help but feel nervous or panicked. They hid behind the parapet and used the gaps in the battlements to release arrows outside the city.

"stand up!"

Xu Sheng walked around the north gate wearing armor and holding a bow. He was not afraid of enemy arrows or stone bullets. He shouted loudly: "Stone bullets are useless. Although they sound loud, they can hit people in trouble. Now I have a bed crossbow. The military drills fired back with bows and crossbows."

Saying that, Xu Sheng set an example and observed the Wei soldiers outside the city, then quickly stood up, aimed and shot outward, and then squatted down again.

After shooting one person, Xu Sheng shouted loudly: "If there is anyone who is crouching or lying in fear of fighting, he will be killed immediately!"

"promise!"

With Xu Sheng's encouragement, the sergeants used bows and arrows to fight back one after another. The large and small crossbows on the city tower were designed to shoot at the wooden curtain carts outside the city. If they could hit the wooden curtains and shields and oars, they could often kill the enemy invaders.

Huo Jun's generals have different preferences, and their subordinates are each good at things. Xu Sheng personally valued archery, but Xu Sheng's sergeants were superb in archery. Therefore, when Xu Sheng was guarding Chaisang in the past, he fought with the soldiers and horses led by Huang She, and directly shot and exploded the Jiangxia soldiers.

When Zhongli was defending the city today, Xu Sheng and his men took advantage of their heavy shooting skills, and their hit rate was slightly higher than that of the Wei army outside the city. Even if the Wei army moved forward in a sparse square formation, those who were good at shooting could always hit.

Xu Sheng shot the Wei army's crossbowman with a bow and arrow again. When he wanted to take the arrow and shoot again, he saw Zhang Gui, who was responsible for operating the Eight Ox Crossbow, took out his bow and arrow at some point and started shooting with the Wei army outside the city.

"Zhang Gui, why are you here?"

Xu Sheng pulled Zhang Gui and hid under the female wall, and cursed: "I asked why the Eight Ox Crossbow made no sound. It turns out it was you who left the guard without permission!"

Zhang Gui, who was hiding under the female wall, held a walking bow and explained: "General, the Eight Ox Crossbow is strung too slowly. It takes dozens of people to pull it open. Now that the bandit army is approaching the city, I have asked the crossbowmen to disperse to the surrounding areas. Act as an archer and try to kill more enemies!”

"Snapped!"

A stone bullet hit the parapet, and the dust shook, scaring the surrounding sergeants to scatter.

"Get back!"

Seeing this situation, Xu Sheng was angry and cursed: "Use the bed crossbow to aim at a distance, you can shoot the catapult, but you can't let the enemy easily operate it."

"promise!"

Seeing Zhang Gui about to leave, Xu Sheng held him back and shouted: "Be careful, don't get bitten by stray arrows. You promised me to shoot the thief's head before, so I can't break the promise."

"Ok!"

Hearing the kindness in Xu Sheng's words, Zhang Guihan laughed and said, "Someone still remembers the general's wine!"

"roll!"

Zhang Gui ran with his waist hunched over, calling out to the crossbowmen he had dismissed along the way, preparing to continue operating the Eight Ox Crossbow.

The reason why Xu Sheng values ​​Zhang Gui so much is not because Zhang Gui has a close relationship with him, but because Zhang Gui is extremely talented and has a very high talent for operating crossbows. Otherwise, Xu Sheng would not have put Zhang Gui in charge of the three eight-niu aircraft at the north gate. crossbow.

Not long after Zhang Gui left, the voice on the tower suddenly became enthusiastic, shouting: "Rush to the gate tower."

"Get on the big hoop!"

Xu Sheng hurried towards the gate tower and shouted: "Get on the big iron ring, trap the rush car, and then let people pull it down."

"promise!"

"Where are the hoops?"

"here!"

"Here we go, let's move down!"

When the 20-meter-long ram under the city tower was approaching the city gate, how could the big iron ring be lowered from the tower and just block the huge head of the ram.

"Trapped!"

The observing Han soldiers saw the iron ring surrounding the chariot and shouted happily to the crowd. "pull!"

Xu Sheng abandoned his bow and arrow and stepped forward to grab the thick rope. Hundreds of Han soldiers behind him pulled hard to the left.

The ram car under the city tower turned sideways uncontrollably to the left under the huge force. The Wei soldiers under the ram car were caught off guard. They watched the ram car tilt and shouted in fear.

Taking advantage of the gap exposed by the tilt of the ram chariot, the crossbowmen on the tower were well prepared and raised their crossbows to shoot at the exposed Wei soldiers under the ram chariot.

"what!"

Under the dense arrows, the Wei soldiers suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the charging chariot was in danger of rolling over, they all fled backwards.

"Ha ha!"

Xu Sheng laughed heartily when he saw that the Wei army's plan to attack the city with chariots failed.

"Boys, let Wei Gou know how powerful we are!"

"shoot!"

"promise!"

On the battlefield, bows and arrows were exchanged, Wei attacked and Han defended, each showing his ability. You use the iron ring to break my charging chariot and prevent me from attacking the city from the front; I use the chariot to maneuver from a high position, and then let the Wei soldiers climb the tower with the ladder. For example, when the Wei army ascended the city tower, the Han army greeted them with spears and bows and crossbows, and drove back the Wei army that had ascended first.

In the Wei army, under the banner.

Cao Ren looked at Zhongli who had been unable to break through for a long time, feeling frustrated and ordered: "Send the charger up again, be careful not to get caught in the iron ring this time. Have the archers and catapults aim at the tower to see if they can break the city."

"promise!"

Under Cao Ren's military order, he sent an assault vehicle out to try to break through again. Catapults and crossbowmen aimed at the Han army on the city tower, trying to suppress the Han army's outcrop and cover the rush to the city gate.

As the charging chariots advanced, the battle between the Han and Wei armies focused on the city gates and towers. Zhongli City is not high, and there is no urn. Its steepness lies in the moat that is more than ten meters deep outside the city. Now that the moat has been filled in, Zhongli City is no longer dangerous except for the city wall.

Looking at the fierce battlefield, Cao Ren raised his whip and horses in order to supervise the army and said: "Come forward with the big banner, beat the drums to encourage the soldiers, and see if we can break the city in one battle!"

"Da Sima, be careful!"

Du Xi stopped Cao Ren and said: "The rebel army has a powerful crossbow in the city, which can fire seven or eight hundred steps. The great commander can be a thousand steps away from the city to supervise the army, so why do you need to step forward to supervise the army?"

Cao Ren held up the reins and said: "A thousand steps is too far, how can the soldiers see the big banner. Only when I and the big banner go eight hundred steps can I inspire the soldiers."

As he spoke, Cao Ren pointed at the city with his whip and laughed: "As for the bandits' strong crossbows, although they can shoot seven or eight hundred steps, they are not accurate. They are like arrows that have been exhausted and cannot be feared."

The Eight Bull Crossbow is extremely powerful and can shoot seven to eight hundred steps. It may be difficult to say that it is accurate at seven hundred or eight hundred steps, but at least it is not as weak as Cao Ren said.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that Cao Ren has never seen the Eight Ox Crossbow. This was the first time that the Eight Ox Crossbow was used in the battle of Zhongli.

When Cao Ren took the banner more than 800 steps away from the city, its glorious banner appeared on the battlefield, and the enthusiastic drums encouraged the Wei soldiers to break the city.

The changes that occurred outside the city were seen by the crossbowmen operating the three-bow crossbow.

"Look at the thief's chief banner!"

The sharp-eyed crossbow finger pointed at the 'Cao' banner and shouted: "Is there a thief general below!"

"Too far!"

The older crossbowman stretched out his thumb to measure the distance and said: "It's more than 800 steps. Although the crossbow spear can reach it, it can't shoot accurately. There are people on the left and right, and I don't know who is the leader of the thieves."

"Be a horse rider!"

"Brother Gui, why don't you give it a try!" someone asked.

Zhang Gui did not speak, but stretched out his thumb to look, and then looked at the flag. He saw that the flag was only slightly raised, and muttered: "More than eight hundred and twenty steps, no strong wind!"

"can!"

Zhang Gui said loudly: "Try it, it won't hurt anyway!"

"Listen to my orders!"

"Adjust the direction of the bed crossbow!"

"promise!"

In the north corner of the city, the crossbowmen adjusted the direction of the three-bow crossbow. Under Zhang Gui's command, in order to achieve the goal, they adjusted the angle many times until the spear of the three-bow crossbow was almost in line with the big shot in the distance. Zhang Gui was satisfied with the smoothness of the paper.

Zhang Gui glanced at the small figure watching the battle under the banner, and shouted suddenly: "Shoot!"

"stretch!"

The crossbowman wielded a heavy hammer and struck the crossbow machine, and the crossbow spear on the bed crossbow was ejected towards the 'Cao' banner at a very fast speed.

Under the banner, Cao Ren didn't notice the flying crossbow spear at all, but stared at the charging chariot that was about to arrive at the city gate.

"No~"

It seemed that someone had discovered something. He lost his voice and wanted to shout something, but it was too late!
The crossbow spear roared and flew for more than 800 steps, but it still had enough power to shoot towards Cao Ren under the banner.

"what!"

The next moment, Cao Ren screamed, and the crossbow spear shot by Zhang Gui directly penetrated Cao Ren's lower abdomen. The bloody spearhead shot directly into the soil, and Cao Ren was tilted on top of it. He was heartbroken and screamed miserably.

"Da Sima!"

Everyone on the left and right rushed forward bravely to rescue Cao Ren.

At this moment, the chariot that Cao Ren was thinking about was smashed by a stone mill falling from the sky, and the sergeant under the chariot fled to death.

On Zhongli City, Zhang Gui squinted his eyes and tried to see the situation clearly, but unfortunately it was too far away to see what was happening.

"Did you hit it?"

"Looking at the crowd of people, I should have been shot!"

"Did that shoot the thief's head?"

"do not know!"

(End of this chapter)