There are seven earth slopes more than 40 meters high. The amount of work is indeed huge. Even if Han Ruren borrows 10,000 war horses, the East Camp still cannot keep up with the siege progress of several other camps.
The most advanced soldiers of the South Camp were close to the defenders' 200-meter cordon, and they would be exposed to the defenders' sight if they took more than ten steps forward; the iron beasts of the West Camp were still advancing slowly but firmly, pushing against
It was only a matter of time before we reached the city wall; Beida Camp's progress was a little slower, but Jinglan was already killing and injuring the defenders, so he had the most merit in battle.
Han Ruren became famous again. She was arrested and put into solitary confinement on the order of the commander. She was the first division commander affiliated with the small imperial court. However, no one dared to laugh at her. Without Ding Kui's care and love, it would be difficult to win this honor.
Yuan Jinhui hurriedly ran down another slope and took over the command of Dong Daying.
"You too, take command on the general platform! It's not a bad thing to lead by example, but you have to take charge of the overall situation first. What if the enemy comes to sneak attack? You can organize the battle formation just by running down." Ding Kui scolded him, and said:
It doesn't matter whether Yuan Jinhui is the commander in chief or not.
"Yes, yes, the general realized his mistake." Yuan Jinhui could only shoulder the blame.
The coach is partial to Han Ruren, and anyone who asks will say "yes!" It is also right for him to take the blame.
There were many people in Nanjing suffering from insomnia. Shao Dianxi inspected the city defenses many times, personally giving pensions to the seriously injured officers and soldiers, and providing the defenders with vegetables grown in the garden of the county prince's palace to improve their food.
After the army of the small imperial court besieged the city, the supply of fresh vegetables was cut off, and everyone who could afford to eat the vegetables was rich and powerful. This move by Zhou Mu could indeed boost morale.
Wei Shiwen stuffed a handful of tea leaves into his mouth and ran up to the West Tower without even taking a sip of water.
Under the cover of the iron beasts, the siege troops in the west opened up two archer positions. The tireless archers began to cover the wall with rockets, and trebuchets also appeared. The trebuchet troops in the west city were seriously damaged.
The supply of siege equipment has priority. The south side will supply trebuchets first, the west side will supply iron beasts first, the north side will supply wells first, and the east side will supply civilians first. After the best ones are supplied, the next-level trebuchets will be supplied, and the south side will supply trebuchets.
When enough is enough, the newly prepared ones will be supplied to the west, and eventually the siege troops on all sides will have them.
Bang, as soon as Wei Shiwen climbed to the top of the tower, a stone bullet hit the guardrail, but it did not cause any damage.
"Changing the cupping pot, are you stupid? Still shooting stone bullets!" He then discovered that his trebuchet was still shooting stone bullets.
Commander Xicheng said, “The purpose of cupping is obvious.”
"Idiot! The cupping cans are still lethal after being crushed. At least they can illuminate the battlefield. Don't think about the inventory, just smash all the cupping pots out!" Wei Shiwen wanted to draw his sword and kill people. The commanders of the city defense forces in these places have rigid thinking and do not know how to adapt to changes.
It is easy for the enemy to seize the flaw.
Facing an elite army, some tiny flaws will be caught and expanded, and everything will be lost if you are not careful.
As soon as he finished speaking, oil tanks were smashed up from below, rockets followed, and the three trebuchets on the city immediately caught fire. This completely proved that "if you are polite, the enemy will not learn from you."
There are reserves in the city. If the trebuchet is broken, you can replace it with a new one, and if the soldiers are killed or injured, you can replace it with a new one. There will be no shortage of supply in the short term.
The cruelty of war made the defenders realize more. Soldiers whose whole bodies were on fire were rolling and wailing on the ground. The officer went up and shot him directly in the throat, and then said, "Everyone who can't be saved, please help me, it can reduce a little pain."
This kind of thing has a relatively big impact on the local army, and it is normal in the eyes of the regular army. However, the siege troops are equipped with a large number of medical officers, less than half of whom are recruited from nearby cities.
Ding Kui had already prepared for the siege, and repeatedly delayed the siege to make preparations more complete. Medical officers in the four military camps were also rotated to treat wounded soldiers on the front lines at any time to minimize troop losses.
A ray of green light shot to the head of the head coach, and the refreshing vitality drove away the fatigue of his body.
"Why are you here?" Ding Kui knew it was Li Fei's handiwork without looking back.
"You refuse to go home as soon as you go out, and you don't take good care of yourself even if you are injured. Your Highness will be killed if I don't come." Li Fei handed over a wet towel.
Ding Kui had just come from Dong Daying, so he couldn't help but get some dust. He didn't pay attention to it. He took the towel and wiped it off, saying, "It's like this on the battlefield. Don't keep using nectar spells on me. The blue on my head doesn't look good."
"Keke, boring!" Li Fei's understanding was different, "Why isn't senior brother here? He led the team and left for several days."
"I went somewhere else. I'll be back tomorrow. You're here just in time. Come with me to the front line to treat the wounded soldiers." Ding Kui even arrested his own wife.
Wounded soldiers in the initial stage should be treated early so that they can catch up with the middle and later stages of the battle if they are in good condition. Seriously wounded soldiers can only be sent to Anyang County for recuperation.
The defenders acted quite tenaciously, and the trebuchets basically never stopped after they were launched, causing a certain amount of damage after the attackers entered the shooting range.
As the front moved forward, the elite regiments could not avoid losses. Most were burned by cupping jars, a few were injured by stone bullets, and none were killed.
The coach and his wife appear on the front line to rescue the wounded, which can boost morale more than reward money. The shield bearer at the front adopts bolder tactical moves and is not afraid of injury.
When the sky turned white, Ding Kui took Li Fei back to the main tent to rest.
"Aren't you going to rest?" Li Fei saw that Ding Kui had no intention of taking off his armor.
"Today is going to be a hand-to-hand fight. I have to watch. You go to bed first."
After a night of hard work, except for the eastern battlefield, the other three battlefields were within the shooting range of the defenders' archers, and the final distance of less than 200 steps could be broken through at any time.
The city of Nanjing is surrounded on all sides, and the defenders have long blocked the city gates. The only ways to attack the city are to climb the wall and dig tunnels. Digging tunnels is more dangerous than climbing the city wall. It is more appropriate to choose to climb the wall when the quality of the soldiers is more worrying.
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After daybreak, Han Ruren rushed out of the tent impatiently and slapped Long Shuang by the door. "You sleep like a dead pig. The enemy sneaks in and kills you without even knowing it."
Long Shuang shook his head and said, "Enemy! Where is it?" By the time he saw clearly, Han Ruren had already jumped on his horse.
The wall of fire has been extinguished, the black smoke has dispersed, and the grass dung ash on the ground has been covered with soil. The crossbow carts were pushed to the top of the slope and began to suppress the long-range troops at the head of the city; the crossbow phalanx was lined up neatly down the slope.
, specially aimed at the trebuchets on the city; the infantry were still carrying mud bags back and forth and laying seven roads leading to the city wall.
The troops of the Twelfth Army were equipped with a large number of powerful crossbows, and the proficiency of the crossbowmen was higher than that of the Eighth Army. Nanjing City began to be attacked by organized crossbowmen.
Commander Dongcheng shouted, "Buman, bamboo shed, come up quickly!"
The defenders had long been prepared to deal with the light crossbows, but their reaction was within Han Rujian's plan, and the crossbow's flat fire disrupted the defensive formation.
This is why Han Ruren did not send out crossbowmen with a long range first, but waited for the slopes to be built and set up the crossbow cart before sending out crossbowmen.
The east city wall, which had been quiet all night, was suddenly attacked. The defenders who rushed into battle could not stand their ground. Even their heavy shields were shot through by the ballistae, let alone the people holding bamboo sheds and curtains.
With the unremitting efforts of the infantry, archers joined the siege sequence, and rockets began to fly up the city, causing Buman to completely withdraw from the ranks of defending the city.
Han Ruren stood on the platform eating, holding a telescope in one hand, and cheered loudly from time to time.
"General Han, please sit down first, I will be in charge of command today." Pi Zhi reminded, sitting at the back.
The 113th Division was full of energy after a night's rest.
"Ah, I, um, just take a look." Han Ruren still had something in his mouth, "I'm not trying to steal it from you. I can join the siege sequence at any time. Don't forget it."
"Good morning. Look, the enemy has come up on a cart. They have deployed multiple layers of heavy shields. They have ways to deal with the ballistae. It's not that easy to get close to the city wall." Pizhi noticed the changes on the city.
Two layers of heavy shields can prevent crossbows from attacking, and three layers of heavy shields can ensure no harm. The defenders knew that the 111th Division had crossbows, and studied how to deal with them. Beicheng also used this method to defend against the crossbows on the well.
There are no invincible weapons on the battlefield. The magician put a layer of magic shield on the heavy shield to withstand the giant crossbow arrows. After a period of confusion, the defenders gradually stabilized their position. The trebuchets and archers were able to fight back under the protection of the heavy shield.
The trebuchet is different from the ballista. One is for projectile and the other is for horizontal shooting. A heavy shield will kill the projectile, so the stone projectile can only be dodged rather than resisted.
Long Shuang returned to the front line, and the fearless knights had to protect the infantry, specializing in dealing with stone bullets dropped from high altitudes. They would either shoot their spears to intercept them, or use their spears to challenge them. One person could protect a whole area.
The mud transport team, engineering team, and plow team are all within the range of the city defense attack. Heavy armor and elite infantry have become the pioneers on various battlefields, covering the teams clearing the fortifications against the city defense attack.
Shao Dianxi's eyes were bloodshot, and he stared at the handsome flag in the distance without saying a word. If his angry gaze could turn into a physical attack, the "D" flag floating in the air would have been torn to pieces.
"Your Excellency, Your Highness the County Prince! Let your subordinates leave the city." Lou Xiao once again made a request to negotiate with Ding Kui.
Seeing that Zhou Mu didn't respond, he continued, "Gongsun Mi has selfish motives, and the tenth army is weak-minded. Continuing to defend is not an option. There is no invincible city in the world."
"Here comes someone! Lou Xiao lied about the military situation and deceived the morale of the army. Arrest him and put him on death row!"
Lou Xiao's face suddenly turned pale, and his hands and feet were shaking slightly. When the guard approached, he struggled to say four words, "Thank you, sir!"
Wei Shiwen stood aside with a sullen face and did not speak to persuade.
Shao Dianxi turned away and said silently in her heart, "Bless yourself."
On the surface, he was punishing Lou Xiao, but it was actually protection in disguise. If Ding Kui captured Nanjing, he would probably not embarrass Lou Xiao who was on death row. Wei Shiwen, who was responsible for commanding the resistance, would not be able to escape death unless he left through the portal.
What gave him a glimmer of hope was the improvised rescue force assembled by Shao Diantai and the three northern counties. Reinforcements would arrive if he persisted for at most one day.
At this time, Shao Diantai was in Huaining City, about a hundred miles east of Nanjing City. After the entry of the Tenth Army Corps, emergency martial law was declared in this city. No entry or exit was allowed. The people in the city could only stay at home and were not allowed to go out.