Zhang Liao thought about it for a while and agreed to give it a try. After all, there is really no good way now. He is surrounded by soldiers he has personally selected, and some are even related to him like Zhang Zhao.
It is very difficult for the tribesmen to fight to this level. If it were an ordinary army, it would not be able to hold on long ago...
The same is true for the remaining soldiers of Fei Qian. The private soldiers of the gentry often suffered both losses and prosperity with their masters. This is why the Han Dynasty often encountered generals who were defeated but could still escape.
Because these private soldiers are often not one person, but the entire family is attached to the general. If you abandon the general, it means that all your family members will be guilty. Therefore, the private soldiers beside your general are often more than ordinary soldiers.
Soldiers are more resistant to pressure...
But the next battle may be even more cruel. If the reduction of troops continues, even with Zhang Liao and Fei Qian as the backbone, they may not be able to maintain the army. In the end, the army may collapse due to too much losses...
From the day Hangu Pass was built, it was mainly to defend the east side, not the west side. Therefore, the west wall of the city is not only not as majestic and wide as the east side of the city, but the terrain is not dangerous enough, and it is also lower, which is not particularly conducive to
Defense.
And for the east city wall, there is a long inner city wall after entering the east city gate, which is equivalent to an elongated urn city. There is no urn city in the west of the city, and there are only residential buildings on both sides of the road, so once you break through the city gate
, that is, direct access to the city!
If the east city wall is the most majestic pass in the world, then the west city wall is at best an enhanced version of an ordinary county town...
Zheng Kuai's soldiers took advantage of the sky to darken and launched a new wave of offensive. Zhang Liaofei's soldiers were exhausted, and so were Zheng Kuai's soldiers. At this moment, they often hold back their last breath and look.
Who expelled that breath first?
Several Zheng Kuai's soldiers pushed the crash cart straight towards the city gate. In the previous attacks, the crash cart was the key target. As soon as it got close to the city wall, rocks of various sizes were thrown at it until the crash cart was completely destroyed.
The lack of long-range strike capability is Zhang Liaofei's biggest frustration. If there are two hundred or even one hundred more archers, relying on the city wall, they can also cause a considerable blow to Zheng Ke's troops...
It's a pity that the current long-range strike capabilities are only Fei Qian's remaining thirty-odd soldiers who can shoot bows, plus a small part of Zhang Liao's cavalry...
However, the cavalry's bows are completely different from those of the infantry, and the so-called cavalry archery is not as invincible as the so-called popular science encyclopedias of later generations said, because in the Han Dynasty, many Han cavalry were not as capable as the Huns and Hus.
You can use all bows, but when facing the Huns, there is no big problem with one against five. Even if you don't know how to ride and shoot, you can still beat the Huns and the barbarians to the point where they can't find their way.
The biggest factor is the crushing iron technology on weapons and armor. It is normal for the Han cavalry to not be able to draw a bow, because most of the time they still cut and kill...
And only the Xiliang cavalry, Bingzhou cavalry and Youzhou cavalry have some cavalry that can ride and shoot, and most of the other states and counties don't understand...
At this time, Fei Qian really realized what Cai Mao meant with his slightly proud expression when he said one hundred archers. Indeed, in the Han Dynasty, archers were a relatively advanced unit and required good physical strength - in addition to normal infantry
In addition to the swords and armor of the pawn, he also needs to bring an extra bow and thirty arrows; he must be agile - if he is clumsy, he should become a pikeman, as long as he stabs him in various ways; he must be able to listen to and understand orders - volley fire
In order to exert the greatest power, and often interspersed with other infantry formations; the most important thing is to have good eyesight - if you have bad eyesight, you should become a sword and shield soldier, at least you can see the enemy clearly...
Therefore, although Zhang Liaofei Qian is on the defensive side, his shortcomings are still obvious. He does not have an absolute advantage, which is also an important reason why the current battle is so miserable...
Fortunately, Fei Qian and Zhang Liao have shortcomings, and so does Zheng Ke.
Because Zheng Ke's reinforcements were originally scheduled to arrive two or three days later. After learning about the fall of Hangu Pass, they were urgently recruited temporarily. A considerable part of them spent money to recruit some idle and aggressive people.
He has not experienced much training, let alone an archer.
The soldiers with powerful crossbows who had fought against Guo Pu before had their baggage burned when Zhang Liao attacked the camp last night and lost most of their crossbows, especially the crossbow arrows placed in the baggage carts.
Everything above was burned to the ground...
Crossbow arrows are not something that can be used just by cutting down a piece of wood and whittling them down. Without the crossbow arrows, a strong crossbowman would find the wood too heavy even to hit someone with a crossbow.
So Zheng Ke and Zhang Liaofei are basically on the same line, and they both don't have much long-range suppression ability...
And because he was in a hurry, Zheng Kui did not make a complete car crash. He just had a wooden frame carrying thick long wooden stakes, and some branches were added on top to act as a cover. The soldiers pushing the cart were actually
Most of them are exposed and are easily targeted by the soldiers guarding the city.
But this time, perhaps because the rolling stones had been exhausted, or because the sky was darker and it was difficult to see clearly, Zheng Ke's car crashed and only killed a few soldiers, and it actually reached the underground of the city gate intact...
Several Zheng Kuai's soldiers quickly pulled the long wooden stake back with all their strength. When it reached the end, they ran to help the wooden stake. They only heard a roar, the city gate of Hangu Pass trembled, and the dust came crashing down.
Fall down.
Although Zheng Ke could no longer see clearly the details of the situation on the other side, he heard the huge crash and understood that the collision had already begun. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and shouted loudly: "The city will be destroyed at this time! Go ahead and enter the city."
The one who kills the general will be rewarded with a hundred gold pieces! The one who kills the general will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces!"
Soldier Zheng Ke also heard such a huge muffled sound, and was stimulated by a large amount of money. He couldn't help but roar, and frantically climbed up the city wall along the simple ladder...
Fei Qian was wearing a suit of armor and a helmet that fit too well, and he was also on the city wall. The previous suit of armor made by Huang Yueying was stored in Luoyang and he didn't bring it over, so he had to make do with it.
Although Huang Cheng had been fighting for a day, he still stayed by Fei Qian's side, guarding Fei Qian's safety.
In TV movies and movies of later generations, the ladder was pushed down, and then the soldiers on the ladder fell down like dumplings. In the least case, the nose was bruised and the face was swollen, and in the more serious case, the arms and legs were broken...
But in fact it is not that simple. The ladder itself is made of thick trees. The newly cut trees are wet and heavy. In order to be able to grab the city wall, two curved rods are often added to the top of the ladder.
Once the iron hook is set up on the city wall, it will be covered with soldiers in the blink of an eye...
The weight of the person plus the weight of the ladder itself makes it really not that easy to push it away. Someone needs to knock down the connecting iron hook first, and then several people use long wooden forks to hold the top of the ladder, and then push hard
Pushing outward, of course, only needs to be pushed past 90 degrees, and the rest will not matter. Even if the soldiers on the ladder do not fall, they will be killed or injured by the heavy ladder.
Fei Qian just hid at the end of the long wooden fork and held his hand, pushing three or four ladders. He was already out of breath, his armor was tilted, and he looked like a bandit soldier.
"boom!"
"Zheng Guanling, I think you can rest in the city today!" The general behind Zheng Ke finally showed a smile and said in a deep voice.
"That's natural!" Zheng Ke replied proudly. He was a low-ranking collateral descendant of the Yang family of Hongnong. If he hadn't failed before, he wouldn't even bother to talk to him.
Although the Zheng family in Xingyang is not as good as the Yang family in Hongnong, but a descendant of a branch outside the fifth service and has no official position in the court, what qualifications does he have to point fingers in front of them?
The number of times an archer can shoot continuously is limited. Borrowing arrows from a straw boat...ahem...not to mention the grass thing, just arrows cost money. Why did ancient archers usually carry about thirty quivers in one quiver?
Arrows? Because an archer can shoot almost thirty times in battle... In fact, the strongest of the Han army is the crossbowmen...
