Three Kingdoms.

  Chapter 2418 Weapon Fighting

   Taixing six years.

   Xia.

  The temperature gradually picked up.

  In history, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of battles have often been fought, but when it comes to actual combat, there are not many people who are really on the fighting line.

Take this battle between Cao Cao and Sun Quan as an example, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dispatched by both sides, and then can it be said that these hundreds of thousands of people just stand in one place and fight each other face to face every day? Woolen cloth?

Obviously not.

  Generally speaking, troops of tens of thousands or more need to be divided. In the era when instant communication was underdeveloped in the Han Dynasty, it was undoubtedly very difficult for one person to directly command more than tens of thousands of people.

  Sun Quan attacked in three ways, and Cao Cao also responded in three ways, and Cao Cao sent troops to play the game after confirming that the Guangling-Xuzhou line was Sun Quan's main line of attack.

  This is the best way to deal with it besides opening the perspective of God.

On this day, Cao Jun's sentries roared back and forth, occupying a large area of ​​the battlefield. People in each camp shouted horses, and the sound of drums and horns continued. The civilian husband and auxiliary soldiers pushed the siege equipment out of the construction site and placed it in a safe area two miles away from Ling County, waiting for orders.

  The Jiangdong army in Ling County did not attack, it seemed that they were just waiting in battle. The Jiangdong soldiers on the city wall shouted loudly, and some people were also urged to carry rolling stones and trees.

  On the starting position, all the soldiers of Cao Jun's first wave sat on the ground. On the one hand, it is to maintain physical strength, and on the other hand, it is also to control order. All the corporal leaders are in the queue loudly preaching the points to be paid attention to during the battle. No matter how much they can listen to, if they listen to at least one more sentence, they may live three more points when the time comes.

   On both sides of Cao Jun's vanguard array are archers. These archers are checking the bow strings and arrows, rearranging the arrow feathers one by one, and then neatly inserting them into the quiver. The bow strings and bow arms also need to be tested to eliminate certain hidden dangers. Even so, in addition to relatively "normal" injuries, archers often encounter situations where their own bowstrings break, and then they accidentally injure themselves or others...

Beyond the archers is the cavalry array. As the most flexible mobile force on the two wings, it does not engage in direct siege battles, but it is not easy, except to detect Ling County and Ling County all the time before the battle. In addition to the surrounding dynamics, he also had to deal with emergencies, such as the surprise attack on Ling County's opening of the city gate and so on.

   After the front line, there are all kinds of siege equipment.

  Cao Jun has enough manpower, and there are many artisans accompanying the army. It is unambiguous to build these siege equipment. There are a large number of siege tools, ladders, crash cars, etc., displayed in a large row.

   Behind the siege equipment is Cao Cao's middle army.

  The Chinese army also has various arrangements. Those in charge of guards, deployments, transfers, and reserves all act according to the flag orders on the high platform of the Chinese army.

  The responsibilities of the rear army are relatively simple. One is to take care of some wounded soldiers and separate them from severe to serious.

  In addition to the banner golden drum on the high platform of the Chinese army as a way of transmitting command orders, there are also order soldiers holding small order flags high in the array, which are specially responsible for transmitting orders to the outside. Whenever Cao Cao issued an order, the flags on the high platform shook and the golden drums roared, and these messengers would immediately rush to the corresponding troops to confirm whether the order had arrived...

  The complexity of a battle formation may not be able to be simulated even by some games in the name of simulation in later generations, at most a tenth of the simulation would be great.

  The larger the number of people in the battle formation and the more complex the arms, the more experienced and keen the overall situation is required as a commander. To give a simple example, just like the coordination of steps in the tactics of later generations, the siege also requires the coordination of infantry and siege equipment, but it seems simple to say, but it is often not so easy to do in practice. Yes, either the infantry is moving fast, the siege equipment is not in place yet, and the momentum of the infantry's charge has been defeated, then the siege equipment on the way will advance or retreat?

  Good commanders are dispatched like flowing clouds and flowing water, and they cooperate smoothly with each other. Those who are poor commanders have their left leg tripped over their right leg, and the back bumped into the front.

  Cao Cao was sitting on a high platform, surrounded by banners and banners. He looked forward, and there were some auxiliary soldiers leading civilian husbands, holding wooden shovels and shoveling forward...

   Of course, it is not to use wooden shovels to shovel the city, but to fill up some potholes on the road ahead so that the siege equipment will not cause unnecessary trouble due to bumps when moving forward.

   This is the details before the battle. Some generals may not care about this, but Cao Cao is different. The details of these battlefields, in turn, can be used to infer the style and preferences of the commander-in-chief.

  Cao Jun is doing a lot of preparations before attacking here, but what about the Jiangdong Army in Ling County?

   It seems that there is no commendable correspondence, just a routine, passive response.

  Then why?

   Man Chong stood behind Cao Cao.

  Cao Cao's eyes were sharp, as if he had penetrated the city wall of Ling County.

   Man Chong was silent and didn't say anything. He has made some meritorious service in the early stage. Cao Cao's previous words can be regarded as the final conclusion, and it can be regarded as the end of Man Chong's mission. Unless otherwise dispatched, Man Chong is basically equivalent to being taken back of military power. By Cao Cao's side Be a staff officer.

   After all, you can’t spoil all the limelight by one person, can you?

   Right now...

  So what if there is fraud?

  Cao Cao smiled slightly, then waved his arm, "Let the stone cannon go forward for a test fire!" The front soldiers protect it! Watch out for the wings! 』

  The golden drum roared, and the flag fluttered.

  Amidst the sound of the chant, the auxiliary soldier artisan and others began to push the catapult forward. The soldiers in the front line also lined up in front of the scheduled stone-throwing site, taking a defensive posture.

  Cao Cao's face is calm, but there are some waves in his heart.

   Hussar General Fei Qian quickly pushed Hanzhong, and even when the news of Keyang Pingguan and Nanzheng was passed to Cao Cao, Cao Cao was also frightened.

   Back then, Zang Hong called Yuan Shao incompetent, virtuous, disloyal and unjust, and then rebelled against Yuan Shao, and then Yuan Benchu ​​besieged and attacked the city. How long did it take? Going a little further, when the Jujube League was held, there were enough soldiers, but facing Luoyang City and Hulao and other passes, they still dare not act rashly...

  Siege warfare should have been the most difficult part of the cold weapon battle.

  But now Hussar General Fei Qian seems to have changed something, and then made everything different.

  Nanzheng...

  Yangping Pass…

  Perhaps there may be internal agents who have been ambushed by hussars in advance, but how can such a pass and a strong city with a well-established defense system that has been in operation for many years be captured so easily?

  Later, according to some more detailed information transmitted overtly and secretly, Cao Cao learned that during the siege of Hanzhong, the catapult became the main means of breaking the city, which also stimulated Cao Cao's research and development on the siege vehicle.

   People, aren’t they forced out?

   This time when he went south to fight, Cao Cao brought craftsmen with him, and wanted to test the change of combat mode brought about by this technology.

What? Why not use it when attacking Changxi? Hehe, isn't that obvious, anyone who understands understands...

  Cao Cao had a catapult before, and it doesn't mean he didn't know anything about this kind of equipment. It's just that using a catapult to throw fire oil was indeed a brand new way of thinking and combat mode for Cao Cao.

  The Jiangdong garrison in Ling County did not seem to have the intention of going out of the city to fight and destroy the catapult.

  As the catapult was erected, a stone bomb whizzed through the air, then crossed the moat, and hit the root of the Ling County city wall, causing the city wall to drop dust.

   Cao Jun's soldiers shouted in unison, obviously excited that they could hit a direct hit with one shot, even though the hit was somewhat reluctant.

  The Jiangdong soldiers on the city wall let out a loud exclamation.

  Cao Cao stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes slightly.

   After the test firing, the remaining catapults also began to load.

  Accompanied by the sound of a drum, the catapults began to throw kerosene bombs at Ling County one after another.

   The oil bomb is not a secret. Even if you don’t understand it, you can know what it is “in general” through a simple description.

  Because the overall weight of the kerosene bomb is much lighter than that of the stone bomb, so the stone bomb is shot under the root of the wall, and the kerosene bomb can almost hit the city wall, or fly directly into the city wall.

   Of course, the deviation of the catapult is still quite large, and the accuracy is impressive. If the two stone bombs or kerosene bombs fall within ten meters, you have already won the big prize. In most cases, one flies to the southeast and the other flies to the northwest. Nothing could be more normal.

The kerosene bombs hit the city wall of Ling County, and many of them flew into the county seat. The kerosene splashed out was ignited, and the raging fire ignited. human voice...

  The flames are raging, and the black smoke is rising.

   Cao Jun’s soldiers shouted one after another, some of them held their gun handles on the ground, and some slapped their shields with their sabers. They felt their own strength and their opponent’s weakness, so they cheered involuntarily and their confidence doubled.

The horses of Cao Jun cavalry on the two wings also felt a little uncomfortable because of the sudden restlessness. Although the horses are all short-sighted, their keen instincts as animals still made these horses aware of some abnormalities on the battlefield, and from the raging fire above Ling County City, they felt a little uncomfortable. , The heat wave is rolling, even if there is some distance, it still makes these war horses uncomfortable.

  Although it is only the rudimentary form of God of War, which is extremely superficial, it still makes people feel trembling...

   Cao Cao watched, but his smile was slightly stiff.

  『Burning…』

  『The minister is here. 』

  Cao Cao pointed to Ling County in the distance, "Look at the power of this bullet, is it comparable to that of a hussar?" 』

  『…』 Man Chong was silent.

"Ok? 』Cao Cao turned his head slightly, squinting at him.

   Man Chong lowered his head and said, "Maybe it's not as good as..."

  Cao Cao laughed loudly, "Bo Ning is really upright and kind!" Someone thinks so too...」

   Smiling and laughing, Cao Cao seemed to be still happy on the surface, but a trace of worry and helplessness flashed in his eyes.

  Fire oil, on the surface it seems that everyone has the same, but in fact...

  The raw material of fire oil in Feiqian is mostly petroleum.

The earliest record of the discovery of oil in China comes from the "Book of Changes", which says "there is fire in the marsh" and "upper fire and lower marsh", which means that there is fire burning on the water surface. It may be ordinary oil, or it may be oil and natural gas. Burning on the water. The record that can be clearly identified as oil is the "Hanshu Geography" written by Ban Gu.

  The book states, "There is flammable water in Gaonu County". Gaonu County refers to the present Yan'an area of ​​Shaanxi, and Weishui is a tributary of the Yanhe River. It clearly records the place of origin of the oil, and shows that oil is a liquid like water and can be burned.

   Later, traces of oil were also found in Jiuquan and Yumen...

  So the Han Dynasty is more convenient now, and the oil that can be directly collected is basically concentrated in the northwest. It was in Fei Qian's hands, which made Cao Cao's teeth itch even thinking about it. Why does this guy always find good places?

  So what are the raw materials of fire oil for Cao Cao and Sun Quan?

   Vegetable and animal oils.

  And these vegetable oils and animal oils were originally edible. In other words, Fei Qian's kerosene bombs were limited by oil production, while Cao Cao's kerosene bombs were dug out from between his teeth, which made Cao Cao's poor dining table even worse.

  In addition, because the kerosene bombs of Feiqian contain oil, and the oil itself is adhesive, so its burning effect and lethality are naturally more ferocious and terrifying than the burning of ordinary vegetable and animal oils.

  The kerosene bombs of Feiqian were said by the describer to be "falling under the scorching sun", but Cao Cao's kerosene bombs don't seem to have the momentum of "scorching sun". To put it simply, it is the difference between small fireball and big fireball in magic games. And the napalm bombs of later generations are probably meteorites...

  On the other side of the city wall of Ling County, amidst the flames and black smoke, there were constant screams and the sound of some houses collapsing. In the face of the power of water and fire, personal bravery is really not worth mentioning.

  After a few rounds of projection, Cao Cao ran out of kerosene bombs and had to change them to stone bombs.

no way.

   That's all. Even vegetable oil and animal oil are limited. After all, the livestock and so on are still dominated by Feiqian, while Cao Cao's number is relatively small.

  Although magic attacks are more terrifying, the damage value of physical attacks is not low.

   It’s just that the quality of Cao Cao’s catapult is obviously not very good. In such a short period of time, two long arms have broken, one’s fixed structure has fallen apart, and one is stuck by something and can’t rotate…

   There were twelve catapults in total, and four of them broke within an hour after they were put into actual combat.

Even so, under the attack of the catapult, Ling County was like a man in rags. When the wind was blowing and the snow was blowing, the remaining rags could cover the top but not the bottom, so he could only curl up in the In one place, trembling.

Yin Li, who was waiting for the order to attack at the front line of Ling County, couldn't help but took out his wine gourd from his arms, took a sip to suppress his shock, and then felt that the dryness of his throat was slightly better, coughed twice, and pointed at the people around him Xia Houjie asked: "Captain Xiahou, when shall we... go?" 』

  Cao Cao's messenger saluted Xia Houjie, then turned away. I don't know if it's because the battlefield is too noisy, but Cao Cao's messengers delivered orders close to Xia Houjie's ears, which was slightly different from the previous ones shouting by pulling their necks.

  Although Yin Li felt a little strange, he didn't care about it.

  Xia Houjie glanced at Yin Li with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

  Yin Li thought that Xia Houjie was looking at the gourd in his hand, so he smiled and handed over his wine gourd.

   Alcohol is not allowed in the military.

This is a military regulation, but Yin Li himself was born in Taishan, and there were no decent regulations before. In addition, Yin Li himself likes to drink, so he secretly hid a pot of wine. The scene was so shocking that he forgot about the question for a moment, while Xia Houjie stood aside, Yin Li opened his mouth to ask, and the smell of alcohol was naturally smelled.

Xia Houjie was stunned for a moment, then smiled, took the wine gourd as well, raised his head and took a sip, then returned it to Yin Li, and said, "Be careful that you will be caught... Thirty army sticks are not a joke." of…"

  Yin Li smiled and hid the wine gourd, because such a sip of wine made Yin Li feel closer to Xia Houjie. In Yin Li's view, if they can drink together, they are brothers.

  Xia Houjie looked at Ling County, "...When the fire is about to die down, it will be your turn..."

   This is the first time Xia Houjie has seen the scene in front of him.

  Yin Li was a little shocked, so why not Xia Houjie?

The Jiangdong soldiers in Ling County have never seen such a scene. Most of their kerosene is used in the battle of battleships, and they will be attacked by fierce fire on the city wall and in the city. It was completely beyond their expectations. Now they are in the middle of the fire, and there are stone bullets roaring, the screams are endless, and the morale has plummeted.

   Fortunately, because Cao Cao's kerosene bombs were not strong enough to attach and burn, the burning time was relatively short. After some utensils were ignited, some smaller fires were extinguished.

  As for those buildings that have been set ablaze, the Jiangdong Army has nothing to do but watch them burn.

  In the panic, Jiangdong soldiers ran back and forth like ants on a hot pot. Fang felt that the fire seemed to be a little bit weaker. After taking a breath, he heard the drums of Cao Jun outside the city gate roaring!

  Cao Jun's infantry has begun to attack!

  The sergeant of the Jiangdong Army howled, warning and warning, organized and organized, and then became more and more confused.

  As the war drums roared, the first wave of Cao soldiers, about 2,000 people, rushed towards the city of Ling County, pushing more than a dozen chariots used to fill up the moat and trenches.

  轒辒车车has four wheels, on which wooden boards can be erected, and soldiers can also be hidden. Ordinary arrows, wood and stones cannot cause any damage to the soldiers inside.

  These 轒辒carriages will carry the wooden boards on the moat and trenches, and use them as pillars to build passages, which will facilitate subsequent soldiers to go straight to the city.

The Jiangdong soldiers on the head of Ling County began to counterattack, but I don’t know why, maybe it was because the chaos caused by the previous fireball technique had not subsided, or there might be other reasons. The situation does not seem to match very well, the arrows shot seem a little scattered and sparse, and the lethality of Cao Jun's soldiers is really not worth mentioning...

  (end of this chapter)