The war drums roared, Liu Bei mobilized 80,000 troops, and brought a large number of siege equipment to surround the entire Yuanshi City on three sides! Among them, there were 20,000 troops on the north and south each to lead the Yellow Turban Army, and his main force was at the east gate.
Zhang Yan and others who were stationed at Yuanshi City were all shocked. They thought that Liu Bei's army would retreat after the snow fell, but they did not expect that Liu Bei would do the opposite. They really wanted to defeat them completely in a battle!
Yang Feng on the side sneered: "Isn't this better? We are no match for Liu Bei in the field, but in this weather, we still have the protection of the city. I don't believe that Liu Bei can still break through the city wall! We can take advantage of the city wall.
Kill a large number of Liu Bei's men, and maybe there will be a chance to counterattack! Liu Bei is too arrogant, and he will pay the price for his arrogance."
Zhang Yan remembered the defeat a few days ago and sighed: "Why can't we defeat the imperial soldiers and horses in the field? How many times have we resisted and failed again and again? I don't even know how to start such an uprising."
Should I help everyone resist the imperial court, or lead them to death!"
Starting from Zhang Jiao, the Yellow Turban Army has risen three times in Jizhou, but each time they started to attack like fire, but when the elites of the imperial court came to attack, they were immediately defeated. There was no exception, not once.
He watched with his own eyes as millions of his men died under the iron cavalry of the Han, and even a resolute person like Zhang Yan felt a little despair.
Yang Feng looked at Zhang Yan who was a little desperate and comforted: "No one is born to fight. We are not getting better every time. If it weren't for the betrayal of the Jizhou Army this time, we may not be Liu Bei's opponents."
"And some of us are good at fighting. Not only did Lei Gong defeat the Xianbei people's 100,000 cavalry, but he also broke through Yanmen Pass some time ago. As long as our envoy persuades Lei Gong and asks him to send troops to merge with the state, or even send troops to Jizhou, we will be able to turn defeat into victory.
Opportunity!"
When Zhang Yan captured most of Jizhou, the news that Lei Gong defeated 100,000 Xianbei cavalry also reached Jizhou. Only then did Zhang Yan think of Lei Gong as an ally!
He excitedly sent an envoy to contact Lei Gong, planning to make an alliance with Lei Gong and let Lei Gong attack Bingzhou. Their Yellow Turban Army occupied Jizhou, so that their forces would be connected together, and they would be able to communicate more easily. The threat to the Han Dynasty would be greater. If they
We can also conquer places like Youzhou and Qingzhou, and the power of the Yellow Turban Army will not be inferior to that of his teacher Zhang Jiao.
It's just that Zhang Yan didn't expect that he would be defeated so miserably. In less than a month, his envoy might have been defeated by the Han army just after arriving in Mayi. Now he can only rely on the three counties to defend against Liu Bei's attack.
"Lei Gong!" Zhang Yan showed a complicated expression. Although the outside world regarded Lei Gong as a member of the Yellow Turban Army, only Zhang Yan and other generals of the Yellow Turban Army knew that Lei Gong was not actually a group. They, the Yellow Turban Army,
All the generals were students or disciples of Zhang Jiao, and they were all members of the Taiping Sect. Only Lei Gong appeared suddenly, and they were not part of the same system as the Yellow Turban Army.
Although Lei Gong helped them get a lot of ordnance, in fact Lei Gong's Tengjia Army was not far away from the Yellow Turban Army. Zhang Yan saw that Lei Gong wanted to form his own system, and Xu Wei gathered a large number of Yellow Turban Army to oppose Zhang Yan's Yellow Turban Army.
He was a veteran of the army, so Zhang Yan was wary of Xu Wei.
However, this defeat woke Zhang Yan up. Without strength, everything is useless. His biggest enemy now is the Han army.
He solemnly said to Yang Feng: "No matter whether we can defeat Liu Bei this time, we must send generals to Lei Gong to learn how to train and fight. Lei Gong's men have one year less combat experience than us, but they can defeat the Xianbei people.
The iron cavalry can also defeat the Han army. Obviously Lei Gong’s ability to train troops is much better than ours. If we can repel 100,000 Han troops, we won’t be unable to capture even one Jizhou!”
Yang Feng said worriedly: "I'm afraid that Thunder Lord won't teach us!"
Zhang Yan said: "As long as we pay enough, Guild Thunder will teach us!
It must be said here that although the Yellow Turban Army has been defeated many times, with the crowbar, their ability to obtain supplies has skyrocketed. Now almost all the Wubao in Jizhou have been breached by them. Nowadays, few noble families in Jizhou live there.
In Wubao, because it is not safe, they are now concentrated in big cities, which is safer!
After breaking through so many Wubao, Zhang Yan and the others naturally gained more money and food. It can be said that most of the money and food that Jizhou's clans collected for more than a year went into Zhang Yan's hands, and Zhang Yan learned the lesson from last year and took advantage of it early.
These money and grains are transported to his own nest in Taihang Mountain, so he can be so heroic.
At this time, Liu Bei's attacking troops were getting closer and closer, and even their bows and arrows were shooting at the city wall.
Zhang Yan looked at Liu Beijun and said, "Leave this to me, and you go to the south to take command!"
But the entire Yuanshi City entered the shooting range of bows and arrows. Liu Bei commanded a large number of archers to shoot, hoping to suppress the Yellow Turban Army on the city wall.
"Boom!" The dense long arrows, like a heavy rain, made a terrifying roar and suddenly fell on the city wall. A large number of Yellow Turban soldiers were shot, and many even fell off the city wall.
Zhang Yan shouted: "Raise your shield to defend, archers to counterattack, don't let the enemy get close to the city wall!"
"Boohoo!" The Yellow Turban Army also shot a large number of long arrows. Any soldiers who dared to approach the city wall were shot into hedgehogs by their long swords!
"Attack!" Zhao Yun roared, taking the lead and leading the siege soldiers to push a modified siege vehicle forward quickly.
"Kill the enemy!" In order to cover up Zhao Yun's actions, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei rushed even more bravely. They led their soldiers and carried ladders to hit the city wall quickly! Then the two of them charged at the first place with a knife in one hand and a shield in the other.
Wire!
"Knock down the enemy's ladders, throw stones and wooden stakes, and don't let them climb the city wall!" Zhang Yan personally stood on the front line and threw stones at the Han army's ladders.
The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army were so energetic that they also imitated Zhang Yan's actions and threw stones at the city wall. The stones all over Yuanshi City poured down like rain. Many soldiers on the ladders were killed and the ladders were also smashed.
break.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei saw a large number of their men dying, but they were still unfazed and climbed to the top of the city wall. But at this time, the soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army saw that they were about to rush to the city wall and immediately threw huge rocks at them. Zhang Fei did the same.
Not afraid, he used his shield to block the stone, but he lost control of his body and fell to the ground.
"Third brother!" Guan Yu shouted. Then he climbed up even more angrily!
At this time, several spears struck at the same time. Guan Yu slashed down, and the spear was cut off instantly. Then he climbed up with his legs and rushed up the city wall.
"Here is a large army rushing up the city wall, stop him quickly!" a soldier of the Yellow Turban Army.
"Kill!" The soldiers who defeated the Yellow Turban Army rushed towards Guan Yu, but Guan Yu was not afraid and flew up and down with his sword, instantly clearing the surrounding Yellow Turban Army soldiers.
Zhang Yan immediately rushed to the place where Guan Yu attacked. By this time, Guan Yu had killed more than a dozen people, and the ground was covered in blood, and then quickly froze.
Zhang Yan commanded: "Stab this Han army to death with your spear!"
More than a dozen Yellow Turban soldiers thrust out their spears at the same time.
"Kill~!"
Guan Yu instantly waved his sword into a circle and cut off more than a dozen spears. He was not seriously injured. However, his range of activities was suppressed by the Yellow Turban Army. Moreover, the Yellow Turban Army's spears came over again. Guan Yu saw
Unable to gain a foothold on the city wall, even if the soldiers behind followed Guan Yu up the city wall, they did not have Guan Yu's martial arts and were killed quickly. Guan Yu could only fight alone. After killing more than a dozen people in a row, he had exhausted most of his energy and knew that he would not be able to fight again.
I was afraid my life would be in danger if I continued like this, so I jumped off the ladder!
While Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and the others were fighting hard, Zhao Yun also led his men close to the city wall. Then they took out crowbars and stabbed them hard into the city wall. With one force, a city wall brick was pried off!
"Everyone, use your strength!" Zhao Yun used all his strength, and the whole crowbar was halfway in, and then he pressed hard with both hands.
"Boom!" The inner lining of the city wall, which was almost like a rock, was pried off a large piece! Although the other soldiers were not as strong as Zhao Yun, they were able to pry off bricks, and the entire Yuanshi City wall became pitted!
Zhang Yan, who was on the city wall, observed the battlefield situation, noticed Zhao Yun's actions and shouted: "No, the Han army is trying to pry the city wall!"
This was originally a unique skill of the Yellow Turban Army in attacking the city, but Zhang Yan never thought that Liu Bei would deal with him in this way!
"Everyone smash these siege engines!"
"Boom, boom, boom!" Dozens of heavy stones were smashed down one after another. The siege vehicles were smashed to pieces. Many soldiers were directly killed. Zhao Yun looked at the sky with one glance and pried off the wall with one hand. His whole body was as flexible as
Like a monkey, he dodges left and right and never gets hit by a stone.
Zhang Yan asked his men to pour water down the city wall. Zhao Yun and others who remained under the city wall were soaked in water! But they still did not give up using crowbars to penetrate the city wall and pry open more soil from the city wall.
Liu Bei on the side saw that the walls of Yuanshi City were watered by Zhang Yan, making them crystal clear. The soldiers fell down before climbing up the city wall. Not only did they suffer heavy casualties, but they did not achieve much victory. Looking at Zhao Yun and the others, they not only suffered heavy losses, but also suffered heavy casualties.
And my body started to freeze.
So he asked people to withdraw their troops with gold!
"Ding ding ding!" Ming Jin's voice of withdrawing his troops spread throughout the battlefield, and the soldiers retreated one after another.
Zhang Yan on the city wall breathed a sigh of relief, but he was worried when he saw that many gaps had appeared among Yuan's people.
"Don't stop, keep watering, let the entire city wall freeze. Let's see how Liu Bei attacks the city!" Zhang Yan ordered inside.
Now he just hopes that the ice can cover these gaps!
Zhao Yun led his soldiers to retreat back. Liu Bei immediately helped Zhao Yun take off his armor and arranged for several people to rub Zhao Yun's body together. Of course, the men who followed Zhao Yun back also received the same treatment.
Zhao Yun was so cold that he trembled and said: "Mr. Xuande, my subordinates are almost digging through Yuanshi City. Why do you have to pay money to withdraw your troops? This is not to waste all your previous efforts!"
If he doesn't continue to attack in this weather, all the pits he dug will definitely freeze! By then, the ice will be stronger than the city wall, and even the crowbar will probably not be able to pry it open.
Zhang Fei on the side said: "If you don't withdraw your troops without paying the money, Zilong, you will freeze to death. Next time you attack the city, you need to bring some raincoats or some oilcloths!"
Guan Yu also said helplessly: "The morale of the Yellow Turban Army is high. Even if I attack the city wall, it will be difficult for me to gain a foothold. If I have more time and consume the morale of the Yellow Turban Army, I can still attack Yuanshi City even without digging the city wall!"
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Second brother, third brother, you are all fierce generals who can be defeated by thousands of people. I naturally believe this. How can the mere Yellow Turban Army be your opponent?"
Then he said to Zhao Yun: "Don't worry, we can dig open the city wall and naturally find a way to melt the ice. At worst, we can get some ointment to ignite and melt the ice, and the ointment is not afraid of water!"
"Ointment! It's so luxurious!" Zhao Yun said in surprise.
In this era, fat is considered a valuable luxury product, and Sangao food is the healthiest green food. Even the top nobles in the world like to eat it. The cost of melting ice with ointment is unimaginable!
But Liu Bei smiled and said: "Compared with the health of warriors like Zilong, spending some ointment is nothing, and Jizhou also supports us with a piece of ordnance, including a lot of stone paint, which has a better igniting effect than ointment. Zi
Long, you don’t have to worry about the city wall. Let’s take our time and sooner or later we can dig through the wall of Yuanshi City!”
During this era, oil had already been discovered and started to be used.
Ban Gu, a historian of the Eastern Han Dynasty in China, recorded in his "Hanshu Geography" that "there is flammable water in Gaonu County." Gaonu County in Han Dynasty is located in the northeast of Yan'an, Shaanxi Province. What is mentioned here is that there is spilled oil floating on the water.
Fan Yezhi of the Southern Dynasty recorded the collection and utilization of oil by the ancients in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Chronicles of Prefectures and Countries": "There are mountains in the south of (Yanshou) County, and the rocks are as large as springs. They burn extremely brightly and are inedible. People in the county call them stone lacquer.
."The so-called "stone paint" in the article refers to petroleum at that time.
Therefore, there was oil in this era, and Jizhou was one of the most prosperous places in the Han Dynasty. Businessmen also came to Jizhou with oil to sell it. However, when Liu Bei supported the Jizhou army, Jizhou officials even gave up the entire Jizhou arsenal.
Liu Bei opened it up, and he brought over hundreds of barrels of oil.
So, when he attacked the city the next day, Liu Bei used the same tactics and surrounded Yuanshi City on three sides.
Then Liu Bei lit a dozen barrels of oil, and black smoke billowed out. The Yellow Turban soldiers on the city wall couldn't open their eyes.
Zhang Yan instantly knew what Liu Bei and the others wanted to do, and immediately shouted: "Pour water to extinguish these flames!"
"Boom, boom, boom!" But it was of no use at all. The water only made the flames bigger.
At this time, two generals, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were outnumbered by thousands of people, kept attacking the city wall. Zhang Yan led the soldiers to continuously surround the two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
When Zhao Yun waited for the flames to be extinguished, he once again led his men to dig into the city wall.
Half a day later, the city wall made a loud noise, and Liu Bei's army outside the city gate cheered in unison. The wall of Yuanshi City was finally penetrated.
"Brothers, kill them, kill them..." Zhang Fei raised his sword and shouted wildly, and rushed into the city with his soldiers, slashing all the way. There was no enemy in their hands. They came to the city gate and quickly opened it.
The city gate fell. The east city gate fell, and Yuanshi City's defense collapsed immediately. Yang Feng found Zhang Yan and said, "Let's escape quickly. As long as we escape to the Taihang Mountains, we still have the capital to make a comeback."
Seeing that the morale of his troops was completely lost, Zhang Yan was running around and agreed with Yang Feng's opinion. The two of them escaped from the west gate with their subordinates who obeyed the order!
The Yellow Turban Army, which had lost its leader, was in great chaos, running away like headless flies.
Liu Bei sent his soldiers to shout: "Those who surrender will not be killed!"
"Ding, ding, ding!" The Yellow Turbans who were still in the city immediately dropped their swords, and more than 10,000 people surrendered.