At the beginning of the founding of the Yue Dynasty, there were fierce battles with the early troops in Jingzhou. After Yue Gaozu won Jingzhou with great difficulty, the situation at that time did not allow him to defend Jingzhou, so he razed all the cities in Jingzhou.
Most of the cities in Jinghu were rebuilt after the founding of the Yuan clan.
Jingzhou City was rebuilt on the old city wall of the previous dynasty with rammed earth slabs. The wall is more than sixteen miles long and more than two feet high. There are six gates. The city wall is two feet wide and about one foot deep. It is similar to Yanjing.
Compared with Jiangning and other cities, Jingzhou City is far from being considered a high-rise city.
Although Jingzhou has an important geographical location, it has experienced few wars in the past two hundred years. Like many cities in the prosperous areas south of the Yangtze River, although it is old and dilapidated, few people have thought of repairing or strengthening it. In the early years of Chongguan, there was a flood in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
, all the river embankments along the coast burst, water rushed in from the west gate of Jingzhou, and most of the city of Jingzhou collapsed, and more than 10,000 people drowned.
It was only after that that Zuo Chengmu was transferred to Jingzhou as the prefect.
At that time, the central finance had become stretched due to border affairs and was unsustainable. Although Zuo Chengmu was ordered to rebuild Jingzhou City, the county magistrate only raised 60,000 taels of silver. Zuo Chengmu raised another 110,000 taels of silver from the local area and built a new building at the old site.
Repaired Jingzhou City.
At that time, the military danger was not considered, and there was no condition to consider the military danger. It was just that the south city near the water and the west city were re-rammed with earth to build the inner wall, and the outside was built with strips of stone and city bricks with mortar. It was extremely strong, but it was easy to be attacked by war.
The East City and North City were only repaired on the basis of the old earth walls.
When Zuo Chengmu was appointed as the Xuanfu envoy of Jinghu, the magistrate of Jingzhou was Hu Wenmu. When the Jingzhou town army was suppressing bandits, they were defeated by Gong Yucai. Hu Wenmu organized the township soldiers to defend, and it was possible to control the military and political affairs of Jingzhou and the northern Jingzhou area.
At that time, the banditry in Jinghu was in full swing, endangering Jingzhou. Zuo Chengmu intended to build an additional urn city outside the six city gates of Jingzhou and give money to Jingzhou. However, Hu Wenmu did not build an urn city, but instead built urn cities at the east gate, north gate, and out of the city to Jiang'an Wharf.
Three majestic towers were built at the south gate.
Duo walls were built in front of the city tower, and stone railings were built behind. The city bricks were spread over the city, and there were horse paths. It was majestic. There was still an arrow tower brick building in front of the city tower. It indeed played a very good defensive effect when resisting the attack of the refugee army.
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In the tenth year of Chongguan, Gong Yucai led 100,000 soldiers and horses to attack Jingzhou. Hu Wenmu took Jingzhou City to defend it. He defeated Gong Yucai's troops, killed and wounded more than 10,000 people in the refugee army, and drove Gong Yucai away from Hanzhong - before Jingzhou City.
The reason why Jingzhou City can be defended is not that it is strong, but that it has not been truly tested.
When Shewenzhuang went to eastern Hubei to supervise the war, Ye Ji Luorong left Hu Zongguo on the west bank of the Han River as a staff officer to attack Jingzhou City.
Although the Zhejiang and Fujian armies have defeated the Huaidong army to pieces over the years, their level of siege tactics is still far higher than that of the Beiyan generals. Even Zhou Fan, who once served as the garrison of Xuanfu and was famous for his city defense
, in terms of siege tactics, they are still inferior to Zhejiang and Fujian veterans like Hu Zongguo.
The Huaidong Army's offensive against Huangpi was extremely fierce, and Ye Jiluorong was very aware of the serious drawbacks of the complicated system of the Huaidong army and its command that may not be coordinated. In Ye Jiluorong's view, as long as he took the first step,
Jingzhou City will naturally seize the absolute initiative in the Jingxiang war; if the Huaidong Army is asked to penetrate the eastern Hubei defense line first, Beiyan will fall into passivity.
There was no time to drive the soldiers to collect mounds of earth to build the siege city of Yuan City. They pressed the troops and horses up and captured the port outside the south city first.
Leave Nancheng Nanji Gate and walk five miles south to reach Jingzhou Port. From Jingzhou Port to Nancheng, it is Jiangbu outside Jingzhou City. Those who work on the docks live among the shacks. If you want to keep Jingzhou
As long as the city's communication with the outside world is not cut off, the defenders will have to protect the port south of the city from being occupied by Yan and Hu troops.
Although Hu Wenmu built a fortification outside Nancheng, it was much simpler than Jingzhou City. Facing a fierce attack from the new annexed army, the garrison at Nancheng Port held on for two days before retreating back to Jingzhou City.
Zhou Fan set fire to the shacks in Chengnan Port. Chengnan Port, which seemed quite prosperous at that time, was burned to the ground in just one night.
Zhou Fan built a camp in the southeast and southwest corners of Jingzhou City to prevent reinforcements from entering Jingzhou from the Yangtze River. The focus of the attack on Jingzhou City was still on the rammed East City and North City, which had not been repaired for many years.
The mistake made by the defenders of Jingzhou was exactly the same as Sun Jichang's defense of Huangpi, which was to concentrate all the troops and horses in the city. Although Jingzhou had six gates, after all six gates were blocked by Yanhu, they could only trap the city and lose their way out of the city.
Initiative to fight back.
Although the counterweighted and torque-type sling crossbows used by Huaidong posed a great threat, neither the She family nor Yanhu were able to capture the actual objects from the Huaidong army on the battlefield. Therefore, the original Zhejiang and Fujian armies and
The craftsmen under Beiyan's jurisdiction can only make traditional human-powered stone crossbows.
Although the human-powered catapult was cumbersome and required dozens or even hundreds of people to use it, and even powerful mules and horses were tied to the tip of the catapult to exert force, Yanhu plundered the population from around Jingzhou.
, but there was no shortage of manpower. More than twenty catapult crossbows were set up outside Jingzhou North City in early October, posing a great threat to Jingzhou City.
Hu Wenmu also made a large number of catapult crossbows in Jingzhou City to fight against the Yanhu soldiers and horses. However, because he could only build such heavy catapult crossbows in the city, and the space in the city was narrower, it was not conducive to use them. Therefore, he was bombarded by the catapult crossbows.
Among them, the Jingzhou defenders are at a disadvantage.
Especially to throw a boulder weighing more than 100 kilograms, it requires one or two hundred people to work together. The force cable is two to three hundred meters long. There are many houses on the inside of the city wall, so it is difficult to have such an open space.
After the slings and crossbows continued to pound, Zhou Fan ordered the war team to draw out their swords and axes, and forced the civilians who had been brought from the outskirts of Jingzhou to brave the arrows and stones to fill the trenches of the city and to fill in the passages to the city. He also ordered Nanzhang and Zhong
The surrendered soldiers of Yi, Jingmen, Dangyang, Changlin and other cities hid under half of the boats and cave houses and carts, approached the city walls, and used shovels to dig at the base of the city walls.
The density and frequency of Yanhu's catapults could not be compared with the Huaidong Army's siege.
Hu Wenmu used thick wood to build war tents and towers at the top of the city. As long as they were not directly hit by stone bullets weighing more than a hundred kilograms, the defenders could hide under them and block the attacks of small and medium-sized stone bullets.
Yanhu drove the civilians and lowered their troops to the city. The defenders came out from the war sheds and string buildings, walked to the crenellated walls and shot arrows. They threw down the bricks and stones from the demolished houses and sawed pieces of wood, and burned them.
You have to pour boiling dung water down...
The civilians who were transporting earth to fill the trenches under the city had the least protection. Under the rain of locust arrows, they were all shot and killed. Although the soldiers had half a boat and a cave cart covering their heads, the half of the boat and cave cart were covered with cooked cowhide.
It is more effective in protecting against arrow rain and hot oil, and it is also good in protecting against masonry. However, if you hit a long piece of short wood on it, it will fall apart after one or two hits.
A hail of arrows shot him directly...
The war supervisors of the new annexed army were behind the formation holding swords and axes. When the civilians and soldiers retreated slightly, they added swords and axes and fired with bows and crossbows without mercy. Further behind, the battalions of the new annexed army were also in order.
, stand ready and be prepared to eliminate rebels and deserters at any time.
Compared with consuming the troops and horses of his direct lineage, even if nearly 20,000 surrendered soldiers were consumed under the city, Zhou Fan would not feel the slightest reluctance or heartache, and it would not damage the morale of the newly attached troops. The generals of the newly attached Han army felt that
They also knew that allowing the surrendered soldiers and captured villagers to consume the attacking power of the city defenders would reduce casualties in their subsequent attack on the city. This was also their usual tactic.
For those surrendered soldiers who were forced to attack the city, they may realize that their previous surrender was a mistake, but it is too late. If they flinch even a little bit, they will die. They can only rush down the city numbly, hoping that half of the boat will be saved.
The house and cart can be made stronger. I hope that the stones and wood that were smashed down from the city head will have longer eyes. I hope that Qi can quickly dig a big hole at the foot of the city wall so that he can hide in and continue digging.
The rammed earth walls in the East City and North City of Jingzhou were old and soft, so the soldiers risked their lives to dig the earth wall foundations, and a large number of catapults were blasted from the front. On the fourth day of the official siege, the East City collapsed for two days.
at.
The city wall collapsed, and the defenders on the city couldn't get out of the way, so they fell with the bricks and stones. There were also soldiers and civilians who dug the wall below the city, who couldn't get out of the way, and they were all buried under the bricks and stones.
The wall collapsed, creating a gap. Zhou Fan then sent his troops to attack through the gap. Hu Wenmu also made preparations in the city. On the one hand, he used wooden palisades to block the gap, and on the other hand, he asked the defenders at the top of the city to take earth from both sides to fill it.
Occasionally, if there is a gap, soldiers will be sent to fight, and the enemy must be stopped outside the city...
Ye Ji Luorong has issued an order to massacre the city. The defenders have been guarding the city for three days. It is difficult to escape the massacre if they surrender. This makes the defenders mentally strong and no longer thinks about surrender. Furthermore, the defenders generals were informed, and Huai
The war between the Eastern Army and Chizhou in the north of Huangpi, Hanjin, and Qichun is progressing smoothly. As long as the Huaidong Army captures Huangpi, Hanjin, and approaches Hanshui from the flanks, the siege of Jingzhou will be resolved without a fight, and Jingzhou will be held for more than ten days.
, what’s the difficulty?
If there is hope of victory, there will be the will to persevere - this also applies to the defenders of Jingzhou.
Although Yanhu gathered 100,000 soldiers and horses under Jingzhou City, while the defenders only had 30,000, the brutal siege war filled the entire middle and early October of October and did not stop.
By the middle of the month, almost all of the 20,000 surrendered soldiers and 40,000 to 50,000 civilian men and women brought by Yan and Hu to attack the city, as expendable items, perished at the gates of Jingzhou City. A few had their limbs broken and were left disabled, and could not receive any treatment at all.
By this time, Zhou Fan's newly attached Han army had accumulated more than 10,000 casualties, and Jingzhou City still could not be captured.
However, by the 15th, the east city and north city of Jingzhou City had almost completely collapsed, and no complete section of the city wall could be seen. Although Hu Wenmu replaced the original rammed earth wall with a wooden palisade wall from the inside of the city, it was only smaller than the previous rammed earth wall.
Weaker, shorter.
The collapsed masonry formed a slope in front of the wooden gate wall. After being solidified, it became a convenient passage for Yan and Hu troops to attack the city.
The defenders could not stand at the top of the city to defend themselves. They could only wait for the Yanhu soldiers and horses to break through the gap in the wooden fence wall and attack in, and engage in hand-to-hand combat to counterattack. This caused the defenders' casualties to skyrocket, and by the 15th, they had accumulated more than 10,000 people.
casualties.
Due to the collapse of the city wall, the role of the civilians who previously assisted in defending the city was greatly reduced. If they were to fill in the defensive formation, except for a few brave and brave young men who could fight together with guns, most of the civilians would only bring greater consequences.
of panic.
When the war reached this point, it became more difficult for the Jingzhou defenders to defend the city, and the war became more bloody.
At this time, Ye Ji Luo Rong ordered Tian Chang and Han Li to lead their troops to attack the east city of Jingzhou, while Zhou Fan was only responsible for attacking the north city. This also gave Zhou Fan's troops a chance to breathe and rest. At the same time, Ye Ji Luo Rong
Based on the experience of attacking Nanyang, all the royal warriors from the royal army who were good at infantry combat were mobilized to gather three battalions of top soldiers for the final attack on Jingzhou City.
Jingzhou's 30,000 defenders accumulated more than 10,000 casualties without collapsing. However, they saw the Huaidong Army's offensive in Huangpi last for more than ten days and were fierce and relentless.
At present, Shewenzhuang can still support itself in eastern Hubei. Although there is no way to contain the Huaidong Army's offensive and undermine the morale of the Jingzhou defenders, in Ye Jiluorong's view, it is impossible to fight back and fill up Jingzhou.
With thousands of elite troops, don’t you believe that Hu Wenmu can still defend Jingzhou City?
Ye Ji Luorong ordered Zhou Fan and Tian Chang to rush into Jingzhou City with their troops and horses. They were no longer allowed to retreat, and they were not allowed to use repeated see-saw tactics to consume the strength and fighting spirit of the Jingzhou defenders. Time was running out, and they must act like a general.
Just like an iron nail, drill in without hesitation. No matter how hard the stone is, you have to drill through it, break it into pieces, and break it. You can't fall short.
Zhou Fan thought that the capture of Jingzhou was just around the corner. His troops had to pay more than 10,000 casualties in the early stage, and finally reached such a situation, but they had to give up Dongcheng and let Tian Chang take over. It was somewhat disappointing that he was picking peaches for Tian Chang. This is exactly the case.
, Zhou Fan even more did not want to give Tian Chang the credit for the final capture of Jingzhou City.
Seeing that the day of capturing Jingzhou City was just around the corner. After capturing Jingzhou City, the main force of Beiyan soldiers and horses would be able to escape from the west bank of the Han River to strengthen the east of Hubei, which would seal the victory of the Jingxiang Battle. Naturally, Tian Chang knew that it was no longer possible.
Now it's time to be stingy with troops. Otherwise, how can these newly surrendered Han generals compete with generals such as Zhou Fan, Yuan Lishan, and Chen Zhihu?