The troops of the Marshal's Mansion occupied the flat land, hills, terraces outside Bajiao City, and the city's due west and south. Flags of all sizes were flying everywhere.
Liu Chengzong and his guards gathered on the tall earth mountain surrounded by terraced fields in the west of the city. The Baishiya Xifan monk guide sent by Li Wanqing said that a Xixia princess might be buried under this earth mountain.
The defensive facilities of this city are very special. It has eight outer corners that were smoothed out to become sixteen outer corners, twenty inner faces, and four inner right angles. Each side of the city wall has horse-facing walls and city piers to eliminate blind spots for shooting...<
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There is a moat and a moat outside the city wall, and there is a low sheep and horse wall inside the moat, which not only blocks the city wall from shooting arrows at the siege troops, but also serves as a means of defense after the moat freezes in winter.
Just this thing is enough for the defenders to hide behind the sheep and horse wall and shoot the civilians filling the trenches like rabbits.
Although the construction area of this city is not as dangerous as those mountain cities in northern Shaanxi, it has superior defense due to its special structure.
Especially at this moment, the defenders are compressed within the sheep and horse wall. With tens of thousands of defenders gathered in the not-so-large city, it can be said to be impregnable.
Under the fluttering flag, Liu Chengzong looked down from a high position and used binoculars to observe the buildings and defenses in the city.
This city can be seen as five squares put together. There are two city gates that are not on the front, one is in the northwest inner corner, and the other is in the southeast inner corner.
This kind of inner angle will bring great difficulties to his siege army. If they want to enter through the west gate, the west and north walls, the north and west wall and the two horse-faced walls will form a structure similar to an urn, with their troops shooting from all sides.<
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Liu Chengzong put down the telescope, turned his head, took a deep breath, and said: "Start."
The city's defenders are sufficient, and the siege army does not have an advantage in terms of strength. It cannot build a ladder to attack hard like the attack on Zhenyuan County. If you want to break the city from the west gate, you must first clear the defenders on the two city walls and the horse wall.
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On the hillside not far away, the artillery troops had modified the mountainous terrain to form a position suitable for artillery placement. Heavy artillery pieces were loaded on brand-new artillery carts, and were pushed forward and backward by the soldiers, and were transported into the position with difficulty.
There are a total of twelve new heavy cannons in this batch. Liu Chengzong prepared the copper material to cast thirty cannons, and planned to cast a total of twenty cannons, allowing him to withstand the loss of ten defective cannons.
However, it is much easier for Shicheng to cast heavy artillery of this size than to cast small artillery. He has experience in casting thousands-jin red barbarian artillery in Sanyuan, and he knows the artillery modules made by Wang Zheng by heart, and the success rate of casting is very high.
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The guards with small flags on their backs ran quickly along the repaired mountain road. When they arrived at the artillery position, the artillery soldiers were leading mules to unload boxes of artillery ammunition to the position.
After all preparations were completed, Huang Shengxiao took the order flag and waved it in the direction of Tushan.
Following Liu Chengzong's nod, Tushan's flag was waved, and the artillery troops of the Marshal's Mansion began their attack on Bajiao City.
The Lion Cannon was the first to launch the attack. On the 200-step wide front on the west bank of the moat, thirty-six Lion Cannons were used intensively across the moat to bombard the sheep and horse wall with the command.
The artillerymen on the side of the gun body bent over and covered their ears. The lion cannons burst out one after another from north to south. The loess in front of the formation swayed like ripples. The gun body pushed the car body and suddenly sat back in the dust and smoke.
, each iron bullet drew a parabola in mid-air, hitting the defenders behind the sheep and horse wall.
Accompanied by the sound of landslides and ground cracks, iron bullets were embedded in the six-foot-thick wall of sheep and horses with the sound of whistling wind, and the five-foot low wall with parapet was beaten into the ground. More shells fell into the wall of sheep and horses.
Behind the wall, the defenders' line, which was holding bows and preparing to throw, was smashed to pieces in an instant. They cried for their fathers and hid behind the sheep and horses wall.
The artillery shells flew and hit the corner of the parapet, and the shattered rammed earth fell on the heads of the defenders wearing red tasseled leather hats. Their eyes turned black and they fell to the ground, sprawled on the battlefield.
More defenders crossed over their fallen comrades and squatted behind the wall of sheep and horses with bows and arrows. Every vibration of the earth wall made them feel out-of-body fear. People had not yet recovered from the first bombardment.
God comes, the second bombardment has arrived.
In front of the military formation of the Marshal's Mansion, the flag-carrying artillery team was shouting hoarse on the battlefield filled with smoke and dust. The smoke in their mouths and noses made them cough violently: "Load smoke bombs!"
The barrel of the Lion Cannon was skillfully cleaned by the artillerymen, and the cylindrical shells were ignited by the artillerymen and stuffed into the barrel, followed by continuous gunfire.
Boom!
The ignited cannonball flew out of the barrel with its fuse, spinning over the moat and landing in front of and behind the sheep-horse wall. However, the power of the shooting this time was quite different.
Some cannonballs hit people, and the people who were hit felt like they had been punched hard, without the effect of penetrating the body. The cannonballs that hit the sheep and horses wall were only lightly embedded, and then made a light pop.
There was a muffled sound, but the shell was pushed out and fell to the ground, emitting a large amount of choking smoke.
The Mongolian soldiers in the garrison who had experienced fighting with the Ming army suddenly panicked. They were not so scared when they were bombarded by iron bullets, but at this moment they did not even care about their bows and arrows, dropped their weapons and shouted: "
Poisonous smoke, poisonous smoke, cover your mouth and nose!"
For a time, the defenders were so frightened that people no longer dared to hide behind the sheep and horse wall and fled towards the city gate.
Poisonous smoke is a common weapon used by the Ming army. Smoking shells made of arsenic, realgar, wolf dung, soap powder, ginger powder, etc. are spicy to the eyes, irritate the nose, and are poisonous.
Although it seems that Liu Chengzong's cigarette cartridges are similar to the Ming army's poisonous smoke, he did not know the origin of arsenic, so the cigarette cartridges can only produce smoke, which is non-toxic and harmless. They both have the purpose of covering the battlefield, but the methods to achieve the purpose are different. p>
The source of poisonous smoke is that it makes people unable to open their eyes, while cigarette cartridges can only block the vision. No matter which type, the smoke does not last long in the exposure environment.
The Mongolian soldiers also quickly discovered that the smoke bombs in the Marshal's Mansion did not have poisonous gas. Chooktu Taiji would not let them in anyway with the city gate closed. They had no choice but to regroup under the leadership of the nobles and throw rain of arrows in all directions outside the smoke. p>
Taking advantage of the smoke, two Centuries advanced slowly along with two carriages, advancing 250 steps outside the city.
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The height of the building cart is usually not customized. It is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The height is related to the height of the city wall.
Liu Chengzong's chariot had four floors, driven by the manpower of thirty soldiers on the bottom floor. Fifteen heavy gunners on the second floor were responsible for suppressing the sheep and horses wall. The third floor was level with the city wall and had nine heavy gunners. The top floor had nine heavy gunners.
Eight soldiers used strong bow projectiles to suppress the defenders on the city wall.
The main purpose of this thing is to serve as the first echelon in the siege to suppress the defenders and provide a safer environment for the trench-filling soldiers.
The same goes for the two centurions under the carriage. They are a hundred gun-carrying groups summoned from various ministries.
The soldiers carried half a bench and a long sign and ran forward. The smoke bombs fired from the lion cannon flew over the battlefield above their heads, covering their rush to the dangerous area. They placed the gun racks made of half a bench in a line.
Then, in coordination with the spearmen, the heavy gun was set up and the long card was picked up.
The defenders fired arrows through the smoke and struck in front of the formation. The Mongolian generals on the wall used loud arrows to provide guidance to the defenders whose sight was obscured outside the city. Then a row of firelights flashed in front of the formation, and everyone raised their guns in unison.
Sweeping across the city head, the generals who defended the city did not dare to raise their heads.
Liu Chengzong was very satisfied with the first stage of the attack. With his mediocre attack and his precise calculation of the range of various weapons, the line of gunners could just suppress the city wall, while the defenders and catapults on the wall could not hit them.
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The gun bearer is only within the maximum shooting range of the archer behind the wall of sheep and horses.
He turned around and ordered Fan Sanlang to wave the command flag and order the second echelon of siege troops to press forward.
The second echelon of siege troops was mainly composed of Basan soldiers, divided into two groups, a total of thirty-five hundred troops.
Five centurions were in front, carrying a large number of vehicles and advancing 150 steps outside the city. They unloaded the wooden parts of the catapults and trench-filling vehicles under the eyes of the defenders, and slowly assembled them.
Catapults and other siege equipment do not have to be assembled within the sight of the defenders. In the final analysis, Liu Chengzong wanted to destroy morale. He wanted the defenders to watch him assemble the siege equipment and enjoy the frustration of being powerless.<
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Four trench-filling trucks were assembled. This thing is actually a square frame. The front, top, left and right sides are covered with thick wooden boards. It can accommodate several people inside and looks like a large wooden container with eight wooden wheels. The soldiers covered the top of the trench-filling vehicle with loess to prevent fire, and then pushed it into the trench. The front of the vehicle was suspended in the air beside the trench, protecting the internal space from dozens of soldiers from being disturbed by arrows and allowing them to concentrate on filling the trench.
The remaining thirty centurions dug trenches 300 steps away from the city. The excavated earth and rocks were filled with Lele cars captured from Ahai Daiqing and transported to the front line to fill the trenches.
Although I forged twelve thousand-jin cannons for Liu Chengzong when I was a master, using artillery to destroy such a two-foot-thick city wall was just an unrealistic fantasy.
Of course, the iron pestle was ground into a needle, and the trench that began to be dug was Liu Chengzong's preparation for completely demolishing the city wall.
He will first attack the west, then the south, then the north, and then the east, connecting trenches on all sides to completely surround the enemy in the city, and no one can escape.
The Lion Army even brought farm tools, and in a few days he would harvest all the fields outside the city, plant some vegetables and wheat, and wait until next April to reap the joy of a bumper harvest.
As long as the Thousand-pound Cannon keeps bombarding, the city wall will probably collapse by then, but most likely before the city wall collapses, Chuck Rabbit will have been pissed to death by him.
Trench-filling trucks stopped next to the trenches, and the Lele trucks loaded with earth and rocks behind them were transported to the trenches. For the thousands of defenders on the city wall, it was very painful to see these things. They were obviously only so close, but they
There is nothing you can do about these weird looking things.
One by one, the generals clamored for battle, but no one could get Chuoktu Taiji's permission. He found no loopholes in Liu Chengzong's siege camp, and only saw traps to lure him out of the city to fight in the field.
The generals were furious on the city wall. Ahai Daiqing risked his life by leaning on the crenellation, stretching his arms and pointing to the other side of the moat: "Shoot them to death!"
A sudden fire broke out from the top of the mountain in the distance, and with a whoosh, the seven-pound cannonball passed over the moat with almost no arc, grazed Ahai Daiqing's helmet, and fell straight into the city.
When everyone's eyes followed the cannonball and looked into the city, when they looked back, Ahai Daiqing was still standing on the battlements as if he had been cast a restraining spell, maintaining his posture of shouting curses outside the city.
Ahai Daiqing's wide-open eyes became cross-eyed, the cold hairs on the back of his neck stood up one by one, and the red tassel on his helmet and gun that was ruffled by the gunfire slowly fell down.
It lasted for several seconds before Ahai Daiqing moved her legs with difficulty, her knees softened and she fell to the ground.
But no one noticed his embarrassment, because on the hilltop a mile away, another thousand-pound cannon had adjusted its angle and blasted towards the city.
This time the shells hit even lower, and the solid iron bullets were buried in the city head, firmly embedded in the rammed earth city wall, creating cracks of more than ten inches in the surrounding area, and large pieces of earth fell from the wall with a crash.
After a brief pause, several cannonballs were fired towards the city head in succession. Every cannonball hitting the city wall was heart-shaking. More cannonballs passed over the city head and crashed into the city. The chaotic neighing of cattle, sheep and war horses was everywhere.
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There was also a cannonball hitting the parapet of the battlement, smashing the foot-thick parapet to pieces. The rolling cannonball also hit the soldiers' feet, and the heart-wrenching shouts resounded over the Bajiao City.
Ah Hai Daiqing is still a little delirious. Liu Chengzong's cannon must contain witchcraft. The cannonball ran over his head. Even if his soul left his body and saw someone else inheriting his wife, it actually allowed him to find someone with his hair standing on end.
Feeling.
"Witch!"
Seeing how fierce the shelling was, Ahai Daiqing bowed down the city wall and still said to himself: "It must be witchcraft."
Ahai Daiqing, the Haojigar of Khalkha, is he famous in vain? There is no hair on his head!
Twelve thousand-jin heavy artillery bombarded the city head non-stop. Ahai Daiqing stood in the shadow of the city with his face raised, listening to the frightened and anxious shouts mixed with curses and wails from the city head, and watching a cannonball flying overhead from time to time.
After that, helmets and severed limbs were occasionally blown away by cannonballs, and I fell into deep contemplation.
What I am brooding on has nothing to do with the war situation.
With the combined fire suppression capabilities of large artillery shells, small artillery shells, large lead bullets, and small lead bullets, Ahai Daiqing believed that he was no longer worthy of considering issues such as war situations.
I thought that the long musket that could kill people at a distance of 200 steps was already Liu Chengzong's secret weapon. With the help of the city wall, I could fight with a hard bow, and I could make a dozen catapults to achieve a well-matched result.
At this moment, artillery shells are flying over from a mile away. This thing is not a gap that can be bridged by tactics.
Ahai Daiqing was very confused. Qinghai should be the place where people like them came. Everyone was at war with each other around the two questions of 'This is my grass' and 'Why are you eating my grass?'
What the hell are a bunch of Han warriors coming here with guns and cannons for?
If you don't have anything to eat, just tell me and I'll give you something to eat, right? It's not a mistake to use a knife or a gun to hurt your harmony.
To be fair, if the soldiers under Liu Chengzong's command originally wanted to defect to Ahai Daiqing, he would take care of their food, even give them horses, and even match them with one, no, two women.
Just when Ahai Daiqing was thinking about arranging a woman for Liu Chengzong, the sound of the wind finally ended with a loud bang, and dust was blown out from the inner layer of the city wall, choking him to stop thinking.
This sound was very familiar to Ahai Daiqing. The Huihui Pao was his Huihui Pao that hit his city wall.
