Tibet

Li Bi smiled slightly and said: "I don't think Your Highness needs to worry about this. We have an army of 180,000 and can fight on two fronts. What's more, our naval force is strong and can completely block the Han River. Even if the Yan army develops a new pontoon bridge, they can't. To build a bridge on the water, it is impossible to fly across the Han River. We have thousands of stone warships! We also have such powerful kerosene weapons."

Speaking of firearms, Li Ye suddenly thought of something and said quickly: "Yu Chiguang led 10,000 camels to pull Khanna, and he will come back next spring. If the Tibetan army cuts off the Hexi Corridor, it will be troublesome."

Li Bi smiled and said: "So Your Highness must attack Chang'an and force Anlushan's army to retreat. Only then can Guo Ziyi lead his army to join forces with the Anxi Army to open up the Hexi Corridor. As long as Your Highness's move of sending troops to Guanzhong is successful, the whole game will be successful." "

Li Ye nodded silently. He had to make this move in advance.

He took a small triangular red flag and placed it on the Wuguan Pass on the sand table. The first move was to capture Wuguan and Shangzhou.

Li Ye did not wait for the following spring to take action. He had his own strategic steps. Five days later, on the eighth day of December, Li Ye personally led a 60,000-strong army to march north.

He left Li Mi to guard the Han River and Xiangyang, and dispatched 30,000 naval troops and more than 1,000 warships to blockade the Han River, and then led the army northward.

Wuguan is the most important pass on the Shangluo Road and the southern gate of one of the four fortresses in Guanzhong. It is also the leading pass in the entire Dengzhou-Jingxiang area.

Of course, Wuguan is blocked from the north and south. The city wall is tall and solid, commanding from north to south. It is located on a high ground in a canyon, with the cliffs of Shaoxi Mountain on both sides. Therefore, for the Yan army's defenders, Wuguan is It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and more than a thousand defenders can defend against the attack of tens of thousands of enemy troops.

But it would be much easier to attack Wuguan from the north. It is for this reason that the Yan army in Guanzhong entered Shangzhou with overwhelming momentum and quickly occupied Wuguan.

But with the use of some new weapons, it is not that difficult to capture Wuguan.

Sixty thousand Jianghan troops and 20,000 camels were marching through the mountains. This was between the Qinling Mountains and the Xiong'er Mountain. The army was winding along the mountainside. The road on the mountainside was only one foot wide. On the other side was a cliff ten thousand feet high. The cliff was high and the valley was deep. It was narrow and difficult to navigate. For this reason, Jiang Han's army did not use large transport vehicles. Instead, they used 30,000 camels to carry a large amount of grain and grass supplies.

But there is a heavy battering ram weighing several thousand kilograms which is more difficult to carry. It is placed on a large wooden cart and hundreds of soldiers are responsible for dragging it forward.

In the evening, the army arrived at Longju Village. It is actually an open area with more than 300 residents, who basically open shops and do business. All travelers and caravans coming from the south to the north will basically be in Longju Village. Rest and replenish supplies.

Longju Village is still forty miles away from Wuguan, which is just a good time for the army to rest. Pei Xiu led a vanguard army of 5,000 people to continue northward, preparing to attack Wuguan.

Li Ye told Pei Xiu: "The key to using Fire Kites and Cyclone Cannons for the first time is to accumulate experience and conduct experiments for future large-scale use."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely gain experience in my humble position!"

Pei Xiu immediately set off with 5,000 troops and 500 camels, followed by dozens of craftsmen from the Weapons Department, and also brought heavy battering rams.

The new siege weapons specially used by the Jianghan Army this time were the Fire Harrier and the Cyclone Cannon. The Fire Harrier is also called the Iron-billed Fire Harrier. It is a large grass bird made of straw. It has an iron beak and a tail sprinkled with gunpowder. After lighting the fuse, it is ejected or thrown into the enemy's city and used to attack the enemy's tents and food.

Its biggest advantage is that it does not burn in the air and is almost black, making it difficult to detect. The sharp iron nozzle pierces the tent, the gunpowder is ignited by the fuse, and the fire kite will burn rapidly. Its range often reaches one mile, which is A very good remote arson weapon.

At this time, the role of gunpowder is to support combustion. This also shows that the current development status of Jianghan Army's firearms has only reached the stage of supporting combustion.

The cyclone cannon is actually a small trebuchet that can throw objects weighing two kilograms three hundred steps away. Because it is installed on the back of a camel and can be moved and fired, it is called the cyclone cannon.

The cyclone cannon existed hundreds of years ago and was mainly used in desert areas to shoot stones.

But the Jianghan Army's cyclone cannon is an out-and-out high-tech weapon. It is not projectile, but fired like a crossbow. Its biggest advantage and feature is its accuracy.

The standard projectile weight, stable launch force, and all influencing factors are very precise, and the target will naturally be hit very accurately.

This kind of high-tech precision shooting was no longer a problem in the Tang Dynasty's weapons inspection. The large bed crossbow could accurately hit a target five hundred steps away.

Of course, accuracy is relative. It's not like a crossbow. If you want to hit the head, you won't hit the chest.

This kind of accurate cyclone cannon cannot be achieved. Its accuracy is only equivalent to that of a large trebuchet. Large trebuchets often deviate from the target by one or several feet, or even more than ten feet.

The cyclone cannon can deviate from the target by no more than five feet, which is accurate.

If the Fire Kites were attacking the inside of the city, then the Cyclone Cannon was attacking the top of the city. A ball-shaped clay pot weighing two kilograms was launched with a small stone cannon and landed accurately on the top of the city.

In the dark night, the army gradually approached Wuguan. It was still two miles away from Wuguan. There was a turn in front of it. After turning the corner, Wuguan could be seen.

They chose the day specially. The weather was gloomy tonight, with no moonlight or starlight. It was pitch black, which was very conducive to attack.

Pei Xiu raised his hand and the team stopped advancing.

"Prepare to attack the city!"

Pei Xiu gave an order, and the soldiers unhooked 200 Fire Kites and 300 Cyclone Cannons from the backs of camels. 1,500 operating soldiers rushed forward with 500 firearms, followed by 1,000 more Fueling soldiers, once the city is on fire, they will use kerosene bags under the city to spray kerosene on the city.

The fire kite is relatively simple and does not require precision. It is almost enough, but the cyclone gun requires precision. For this reason, a craftsman dressed as a woodcutter made a special trip during the day and determined the reference object of three hundred steps. A tree beside the mountain road Solitary pine tree.

Five rows can be arranged on the mountain road, and fifty cyclone cannons can be fired at the same time. After one group is fired, they are taken down and another group is fired forward. A total of six batches are fired.

While the Fire Kites and Cyclone Cannons began to be deployed, a thousand refueling soldiers continued to run forward. Each soldier carried a ten-pound bucket of kerosene and a push-pull pump, which was very similar to the children's toy water guns of later generations, but Made of bronze, the kerosene in the wooden barrel is pumped into the pump through the copper pipe, and then pushed out. The range can reach seven or eight feet, which is twice as far as spraying directly from a leather bag.

About a hundred steps away from the city wall, a thousand soldiers stopped running and squatted on the ground.

At this moment, with a series of muffled sounds, dozens of fire kites were ejected into the air, flying toward the city in a black mass, with the match rope behind their tails 'chi! laugh! ’ burning with sparks,

Tens of steps away from the city wall, the Yan army soldiers on top of the city suddenly discovered a strange flock of black birds in the sky, and they pointed at it and shouted.

The fire kite instantly crossed the city head and flew into the city.