The spring sun is shining high, and the slightly dry wind is blowing on the land of Yunzhou. Outside Yunzhong City, the Han Dynasty's war flags cover the sky and the sun. Since the launch of the attack, the sound of the majestic war drums has not stopped, in order to provide relief to the soldiers.
The cheering and beating drummers changed several times.
Although it was an siege, there was not much fighting on the Yunzhong city wall. All the energy of the Han army was put on the soil work. The infantry formations were displayed under the city, and the cavalry was cruising around, not for attack, but for the purpose of attacking.
as cover.
A large number of army auxiliaries and civilians, like groups of hard-working ants, threw bags of soil from the rear into the ditch under the city, continuing the unfinished work before, filling it up and leveling it.
The defenders had already anticipated the actions of the Han army. After all, part of the trenches had been filled in during the previous probing attacks. The trenches were uneven and many of the Han army's weapons for storming the city were ineffective and posed too great a threat to the city walls.
.
In this regard, the Liao army naturally used bows and arrows to attack the soldiers and civilians. Braving the rain of arrows on the city, although there were some protective equipment and facilities, there were still many casualties. Of course, there were also crossbowmen below the city.
Shooting against it, because Yunzhou City is too tall, it is difficult to have a good suppression effect.
However, after filling the trench, the next actions made the Liao army unable to sit still. The earth bags continued to be piled up, fixed with logs and rope nets, and then filled with clay. Thanks to the hard work of the soldiers and civilians,
The earthen walls pile up higher and higher, and a slope gradually takes shape and continues to rise...
Yelu Talie was on the North City, watching the movements of the Han army. With his eyes, he naturally knew what the Han army was doing.
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the city gate and sent cavalry out to harass the city, hoping to interrupt the Han army's dangerous project. However, the Han army's infantry and cavalry waiting in formation below the city were not just watching the show.
This oppressive posture forced the Liao army out of the city.
Because of the small space, although the number of Liao cavalry leaving the city was not large, they could not move at all. In terms of melee combat, they were no match for the Han army's formation. Although there was cover with bows and arrows on the city, it had little effect.
.
Soon, the Liao army that left the city could not stop them. Instead of destroying the mountains, they lost more than 600 soldiers and hurriedly withdrew into the city. Seeing an opportunity, the Han army took advantage of the situation and rushed to the city gate, hoping to follow the Liao troops who returned to the city.
Riding inside. If the defenders on the city hadn't spared no effort in throwing arrows and rolling stones, and Yelu Talie decisively poured fire oil to stop them, and personally commanded to stop the enemy and lowered the Qianjin gate, perhaps the Han army would have been able to break through.
Although there was no danger, Yelu Talie was also frightened. At the same time, he calmed down, knowing that it was difficult to leave the city when the Han army was so close to the city. The risk involved was really too great.
But on the other hand, facing the Han army who kept piling up mountains of earth and building high walls, the anxiety in my heart could not be increased.
The Han army's civil engineering work this time was even more excessive than the one in Tanzhou. The earthen hills were piled closer together, wider and higher. This was also because the Liao army also spent a lot of effort on defense.
Yelu Talie had carefully communicated with Xiao Siwen and Han Kuangmei about the details before and after the fall of Tanzhou, and made targeted preparations.
After one winter, the city wall in Yunzhong was raised to nearly four feet, widened and thickened by more than ten feet. All the houses and other wooden buildings around the city wall were demolished, and sand and soil were widely prepared. At the same time, a large amount of kerosene was also stored. This is how
As a result, heavy siege equipment such as the Han army's ladders have basically lost their effectiveness and are not high enough. Of course, it is not impossible to modify, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive, inconvenient to transfer, and unstable...
Therefore, they simply built a few mounds according to local conditions, so that the people could be spread out more widely, and they could also establish an advantage in height. The Han army had no shortage of resources, especially men.
For a whole day, the soldiers of the Han army did physical work and large-scale construction projects. Even so, they were not completed. That night, the Liao army attacked again, hoping to take advantage of the darkness of the night to take advantage of the possibility of the Han army slacking off and destroy the mounds.
.
However, the Han army was unprepared. Behind the high wall on the mound, there were elite soldiers secretly ambushing them. When the Liao cavalry came out, bows, arrows and crossbows rained down on them, causing them heavy losses and they fled back in embarrassment.
The next day, the same method was used again, and it was more efficient. Taking Beicheng as an example, a total of three mounds were built, all of which were at the same level as Yunzhong City, or even higher. The mounds were separated by half a mile.
The platform at the top of each mound can accommodate two thousand soldiers, and the cavalry can ride directly on it.
Of course, the four walls all progressed at different speeds. Murong Yanzhao's side was the most efficient, after all, because of the experience of Tanzhou City. It took three days to build all the mounds and high walls.
On the fourth day, the Han army marched out with all their chariots. One hundred and fifty thunderbolt chariots, kerosene, and stone bullets were mobilized at each city gate, and they were thrown at the city for free. The overwhelming "cannonballs" seemed to be coming.
It was like smashing the city down. It was like this all day long, without any hesitation.
Faced with the Han army's tactics, even though Yelu Talie had been prepared for it, he still felt powerless and aggrieved when he actually faced it. In fact, after the Han army's mounds and high walls were erected, the Liao army defended
The soldiers were completely locked in the city, with no room for attack.
In view of this, Yelu Talie was also in the city and took countermeasures, such as blocking each city gate with earth and rocks to show his determination to defend. Yelu Talie was familiar with the art of war and knew that blindly defending was unacceptable.
.In his idea, even when defending the city, the cavalry's maneuverability must be fully utilized to harass, destroy, and assault. However, the Han army did not give them a chance at all.
Originally, Yelu Talie hoped that Yelu Jing would leave a force of elite cavalry and a general on the line of the Great Wall to integrate the prefecture and county soldiers in the Yinshan area and carry out attacks outside. The number of troops and horses does not need to be large, as long as it can provide a certain degree of containment.
Function, echoing the inside and outside of the city's defenders.
However, one did not expect that the Emperor of Liao was defeated by Yang Ye again, and there was another problem with the Yelusha army, which made it difficult for the soldiers to retain their strength. The other unexpected was that the rebellion within the Liao Kingdom was far greater than imagined.
The situation is serious and the impact is far-reaching, and it is impossible to take care of the war situation in Yunzhong.
Although Yelv Jing still left Yelv Xianshi to lead the troops in the south and coordinate with Yunzhong, the Han army was not unresponsive. He found two opponents for Yelv Xianshi, one was Shi Shouxin and the other was Guo Chongwei, with 20,000 soldiers.
On foot and on horseback, we set up defenses on the front line of the Great Wall.
Therefore, the clouds are like an isolated city. Under such circumstances, the Han army still remained stubborn, fought sluggishly, made suffocating preparations, and oppressive attack rhythm, which was completely breathless.
Although a Tanzhou city was strong, it was far behind compared with Yunzhong. Therefore, Yunzhong became a city that truly tested the Han army's siege strength and demonstrated its offensive art.
Of course, no matter how many facilities and buildings there are, they all serve people. The victory or defeat of the war still depends on the soldiers. Until the sixth day, under the command of the general, a battle that was "richer" than Tanzhou officially started.
Already.
More than 200,000 Han soldiers and civilians were divided into three groups. They took turns to rest and attacked continuously day and night. In an extremely strong and confident manner, they showed the bravery of the Han army to the defenders in Yunzhong.
The Liao army in Yunzhong was not as helpless as the Tanzhou defenders. They had also been trained to defend the city. Under the overall command of Yelu Talie, they also resisted tenaciously and fought with their lives.
However, the Han army was so outnumbered and the Han army was too strong. The defense of Yunzhong Outer City, which Yelu Talie had worked so hard to build, lasted for three days and was broken.
