People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 79 Good, good, good

The Yellow Turban army of 9,000 men swept in. After the dust settled in the sky, Xu Chen did not launch an attack immediately. Now that he had shoes on his feet, he could not attack the city with all his might as before.

After the main force arrived, they set up camp on the spot for defense and stationed three miles away from Pinggu.

After spending a night like this, the baggage train slowly arrived from the rear. At this time, the army had better means of attacking the city. Unlike before when they could only climb up with ladders, the Yellow Turbans now had engineering equipment such as ladders, catapults, and battering rams.

Fortunately, this time it was a close-range battle, so it could be delivered directly.

If it is an expedition, this kind of large equipment cannot be transported at all, and is usually built on the spot after arrival.

Now that the equipment has been delivered, it is naturally time to go into battle with real weapons.

Under the protection of Tian Shitou, Xu Chen went up to the viewing platform, while Wang Dang stood aside in armor and holding a sword, waiting for military orders.

From afar, the Pinggu city wall was crowded with people, and there were faint sounds of shouting and yelling, as if they were also shouting in front of the station to boost morale.

Xu Chen looked around at his own position and saw several yellow flags erected with the natural emblems on them rolling and fluttering in the wind. All the soldiers shouted in unison, "Carry out justice on behalf of heaven." The sound was earth-shaking and reached the sky, directly suppressing the voices of the officers and soldiers.

Before the two sides officially started fighting, they were already competing in momentum and voice.

There were nearly nine thousand troops, seven thousand of whom were young and strong warriors, and another five thousand of them were the originally powerful Yellow Turbans. There were also tall siege machines neatly arranged. Just looking at the battle formation, Xu Chen felt very at ease.

In the past, an army of 5,000 could capture Yuyang in one day. Now the conditions are much better, and the army has been preparing for battle half a month in advance. Their morale has reached its peak. How can they not capture your small Pinggu?

He smiled and looked at Wang Dang: "General Wang, are you willing to go to Pinggu?"

Wang Dang's body trembled, and he stood up straighter involuntarily. He looked around like Xu Chen, and then an expression of great confidence emerged on his face: "Don't worry, Master, we will definitely conquer the city today!"

"Good!" Xu Chen praised and laughed. At this time, he felt quite proud and high-spirited.

Fighting all the way until today, the Yellow Turbans have become braver and stronger, and it seems that the local officers and soldiers have become trash in their eyes.

Now he is commanding an army of tens of thousands, and the soldiers move at the touch of a finger. How can a man not feel proud of himself when he can be so majestic?

Xu Chen's blood boiled. He walked to the side and took the drumstick from the soldier: "Since that's the case, I will beat the drum to boost the might of our army!"

After saying that, Xu Chen raised his hand high and then smashed the drumstick hard on the war drum.

With a loud "bang", the entire Yellow Turban army was shocked, and a strong fighting spirit was suddenly aroused.

Wang Dang said no more, stepped down from the platform and mounted his horse: "Soldiers, with the leader beating drums and casting spells for our army, our army will win this battle. Attack the camp first and follow my orders!"

At Wang Dang's command, 2,000 of the 9,000-man army immediately charged from the left and right sides, and ladders, battering rams, and catapults also moved forward.

Everything was in order. When they reached two or three hundred meters from the city wall, the vanguard stopped.

After the trebuchet was stabilized, the huge arm of force fell with the counterweight, and the rope at the other end was quickly thrown away. Then the stone cannon inside flew into the sky under the strong centrifugal force and smashed down hard into the city and the top of the city of Pinggu. A total of more than a dozen trebuchets worked together one after another. Although the final bombardment effect was not dense, it was also very spectacular.

Stone cannons continued to hit Pinggu. Some unlucky officers and soldiers were blasted into meat paste. Most of the stone cannons that fell into the city continued to destroy houses and supplies. Only the stone cannons that fell on the city walls were useless except for splashing sand and gravel.

The trebuchet is a weapon that falls to the ground at random. It is not used to directly kill the enemy. Its main function is to deter the enemy and undermine their morale. If you are lucky, it may even destroy the fortifications and create favorable conditions for attack.

They continued firing like this for nearly a quarter of an hour, and soon all the prepared stone cannons were used up. Only then did Wang Dang draw his sword and lead his troops to charge!

The huge ladder began to move towards the city wall under the push of the soldiers. The structure of the carriage below was not slow under the full push, and the distance of two hundred meters was quickly reached. Then the wide wooden ladder at an inclined angle was supported by the top of the carriage and flipped up.

After the ladder was erected, it was like building a staircase in front of the city wall at a height of four or five meters, providing excellent conditions for climbing the city wall.

The soldiers, protected by their shields, charged quickly under the hail of arrows.

They quickly attacked forward on ladders, and soon the entire city was filled with shouts of killing, and fierce fighting began instantly.

Metal clashed, hot soup splashed, blood splattered, and howling sounds rose and fell.

Under the fierce attack of the Yellow Turbans, the officers and soldiers suffered continuous casualties. The powerful combat capability of this almost elite division made them feel tremendous pressure.

But the Yellow Turbans on the other side were equally tragic. Not only did the soldiers find the enemy unusually excited and tenacious, but even Wang Dang realized something was wrong when he engaged in the battle.

These officers and soldiers looked like they were risking their lives, with a ferocity similar to that of the Yellow Turbans when they desperately attacked Gu'an.

Wang Dang, who was fighting on the ladder, had just cut off the arm of a soldier, but the soldier still rushed over with red eyes. It was not until Wang Dang kicked him down from a height of four or five meters that he fell motionless.

The fighting lasted for about half a quarter of an hour. Wang Dang immediately blew a wooden whistle hanging on his chest, but chose to retreat after a brief engagement.

Fortunately, the Yellow Turban officers had all been carefully trained by King Xu Chen and possessed considerable qualities. They did not panic during the battle, and when they heard the signal to retreat, they immediately led their subordinates to retreat one after another.

After a while, the battlefield, which had been chaotic and noisy just now, became quiet, and the shouts of officers and soldiers were heard from the top of Pinggu City.

Although Wang Dang was furious, he could only retreat to the main army position. The result of this first wave of exploratory attack seemed not to be very good.
When he returned to the general's platform, he saw Xu Chen's face was solemn. It was obvious that Xu Chen also realized that something was wrong: "How could the enemy be so brave? This is definitely not the fighting power that ordinary county soldiers should have."

Wang Dang angrily threw out a man, who was the soldier he had kicked down: "I don't know, why not ask this guy!"

Xu Chen took a look at the soldier and ordered the accompanying military doctor to perform an emergency bandage on his broken arm. However, during the treatment he also interrogated him and only then did he learn about Zhang Chun's generous reward.

Zhang Chun’s reward is so high, it’s no wonder that the soldiers fought so desperately.

Xu Chen felt a little headache: "Okay, okay, let's play it this way, eh?"

(End of this chapter)