Author: Gongsun Wujiu

The sudden increase of 600 soldiers greatly boosted Zhang Yue's confidence.

After he received the news from Luntai, he immediately changed his plan.

He had ordered Lu Han to lead 100 new cavalry, the Yi Cong Right Team and two hundred field soldiers to come to Yancheng carrying the trebuchet just completed by the Craftsman Battalion.

The trebuchets made by the craftsman camp are very different from the trebuchets made by the Han army before.

Because it uses mechanical principles, the number of operators is greatly reduced, while its range and power are greatly increased.

These trebuchets actually had a very famous name in later generations, and its name was "Hui Hui Cannon!"

This is the most powerful siege weapon in the cold weapon era, but it was born too late in history. Not long after the "return artillery" appeared, it entered the artillery age.

Although these catapults are still relatively simple, they are enough to deal with the Kucha people.

Of course, even with 400 more soldiers, Zhang Yue never thought about actually attacking Yancheng.

Everything he did actually had one purpose, which was to shock the countries in the Western Regions and buy time for his development in Luntai.

After some discussion, the Kucha nobles reached an agreement that they would never agree to such harsh conditions of the Han army.

While the nobles were discussing, Luo Duo kept asking to be allowed to lead troops to attack the Han army at night.

It's a pity that all his suggestions were ignored. The battle during the day had a huge impact on the nobles. No one except Luo Duo had the confidence to defeat the Han army in the wild.

If the conditions proposed by the Han army were not too harsh, Moro or other nobles would have negotiated peace with the Han army long ago.

The nobles now plan to defend Yancheng and wait for the Han army to retreat on their own.

On the second day, Zhang Yue sent two teams of cavalry to Yancheng to invite a fight. Unfortunately, the Kucha people had already made up their minds to be like turtles.

Just turn a blind eye to the various provocations of the Han army.

It was like this for four consecutive days. The Han army provoked every day, but the Kucha people hid inside the city wall and did not make any response.

On the fifth day, the Kucha people suddenly discovered that a reinforcement force from the Han army had arrived.

Although the number of supporting troops was not large, the Kucha people still felt inexplicably nervous.

The reinforcements of the Han army were from Lu Han, whom Zhang Yue transferred from Luntai. However, to Zhang Yue's surprise, Lu Han brought not 400 men, but 600 men.

The extra two hundred men were the newly arrived garrison troops, the two teams with the strongest combat effectiveness.

"Commander Lu, what's going on with these two hundred soldiers?" Zhang Yue asked

"My lord, this is what Li Junhou asked me to bring. When the garrison heard that my lord was attacking Yancheng, they asked for battle from top to bottom."

"The Marquis of Li Jun said that the soldiers should not be discouraged, so he asked me to lead two more teams of garrison troops."

"Well, that's not bad. Originally, I was worried that the garrison soldiers were new to Luntai and would not have the fighting spirit. This time, you and Li Junhou did a good job."

"When this battle is over, I will ask you for credit again!" Zhang Yue patted Lu Han on the shoulder and said.

"By the way, how many trebuchets did you bring this time?"

"Thank you, lord. This time I brought three trebuchets, which are definitely enough for these Kucha people to drink from!" Lu Han said with a grin.

"good!"

"Let the brothers rest for a day today, and let the Kucha people have a taste of the power of this trebuchet tomorrow!" Zhang Yue said with satisfaction.

…

The next day, just after dawn, the Kucha people discovered the strange movements of the Han army. This time the Han army was completely different from the previous days.

Except for a small number of soldiers who stayed in the camp, all the rest of the soldiers were mobilized.

Moreover, the Kucha people were surprised to find that their own soldiers who had been captured by the Han army a few days ago actually lined up and stood in front of the Han army's formation with weapons in hand under the command of the Han army.

And three tall objects were actually erected behind the Han army...

Just when the Kucha people were wondering what the tall objects behind the Han army's formation were for.

The horns of the Han army have already sounded.

"Woooooooo..."

The sound of the trumpet was the order to attack, but what surprised the Kucha people was that the Han army did not move out of formation, and they still maintained their formation.

While the Kucha people were still puzzled by the Han army's actions, Zhang Yue had already issued an order to attack.

With a short shout, Wang Hu led several gunners to pull open the hook on the gun barrel. The unconstrained front weight box suddenly sank, and the long rod at the back quickly bounced up, and the stone on the tail tip

The bullet was pushed out hard, drawing an arc in the air and flying towards the distant city.

The huge wooden frame of the cannon shook, sending up a cloud of dust. The Han gunner couldn't help but turn around and cover his eyes with his sleeves.

The stone bullets emitted a deadly scream, smashing the walls of Yancheng into pieces, and generously brought despair and death to nearby soldiers and civilians.

Screams of fear rang out in Yancheng, and the Kucha people who encountered the trebuchet attack for the first time were at a loss.

Zhang Yue was very satisfied with the results of the trebuchet test firing.

"Attack with all your strength and let the Kucha people have a taste of their power!" Zhang Yue ordered.

Wang Hu excitedly commanded his three trebuchets to continuously fire stone projectiles into the city.

After a period of attack, Wang Hu discovered that the city walls in some areas were obviously weaker.

So he quickly adjusted his main attack targets. All three trebuchets aimed at weak points to attack.

Selective shooting at weak points in the city wall had good results.

"Sometimes the shells destroyed entire sections of the wall, sometimes a section of the wall, sometimes a tower, or a section of parapet. No wall was strong enough to withstand such a lightning-fast attack."

Later, an eyewitness at the time described it this way.

When the merchants and envoys from various countries in Yancheng witnessed this scene, they were all dumbfounded, frightened and at a loss.

When the first stone bullet fell from the Han army, Luo Duo had already galloped from the palace to the east gate barracks. He planned to encourage the soldiers in the barracks to join him in launching a counterattack against the Han army.

Just as he was about to turn the corner of the city, there was a muffled sound in his ears. He was slightly startled and then continued to ride forward.

Listening to the sound, it seemed that it came from outside the city. There was no vibration in the city. It should have hit the ground outside the city.

I galloped to the east gate city wall and just reined in my horse when I heard a roaring sound coming through the air. A stone ball the size of a watermelon hit the street heavily and then rebounded, creating a bloody path along the way.

Luo Duo, who was only ten steps away, was covered in splashes of mud, mixed with gravel and hit his body in great pain.

The horse under his crotch was frightened and suddenly stood upright. The unprepared Luo Duo was suddenly thrown to the ground.

A wooden board flew from nowhere and fell on him.

"Damn Han people..."

"Counterattack...counterattack...must fight back...!"

He shouted as he struggled to push away the wooden board on his body.

By the time he got up despite the pain, the horse had already run away and Luo Duo limped towards the city wall.

A loud shout was heard from the top of the city. An unlucky soldier was hit hard and fell from the wall. He saw that he could not survive.

Today’s third update is here, thank you for your support!
Chapter completed!