Chapter 125: Offensive and Defensive Battle of Wei Camp (5)
The Chu army's massive attack came too suddenly. Although Zhao Hongrun had estimated it two days early, in fact the Chu army's attack came earlier than he expected.
Zhao Hongrun originally thought that with the intimidating defensive facilities outside the Wei camp, the Chu army would not be able to storm the camp, but it turned out that he was wrong.
It's not that he hasn't considered whether with the addition of the 30,000 Chu troops from the original Xiong Hu Army, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, would be able to kill two birds with one stone by storming the Wei camp to weaken the strength of his Wei army, while also taking the opportunity to reduce the strength of their Chu camp. , reduce the burden of food and grass.
But the problem is, that is a total of 30,000 people, 30,000 living lives. Zhao Hongrun originally thought that Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo would be hesitant because of this, and it was not until the last moment that he had no choice but to attack Wei Camp to reduce the daily food and grass. Unexpectedly, Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, was more decisive than he imagined.
That royal dignitary of the Chu State, for the sake of the overall situation, did not hesitate to push 30,000 Chu soldiers into the pit of fire. This decisiveness, or rather this cruelty, amazed Zhao Hongrun.
Facing the large-scale invasion of the Chu army, the only thing Zhao Hongrun can rely on now is probably the two unfinished wells under construction in the camp.
He didn't ask for anything else, he only asked for a place to stand above the three-foot-high well-lantern chariot, because in this way, he could let more crossbowmen stand on high places and effectively shoot down the soldiers outside the camp who were almost as tall as Chu soldiers like a colony of ants.
At this time, even if there are hundreds more crossbowmen standing on high places, that would be good.
To be honest, Zhao Hongrun was not optimistic about this kind of "blind shooting" based solely on the shots fired by the Wei archers on the flat ground in the camp through the camp wall.
"Rumble"
"Rumble"
Waves of strange noises slowly extended from the central camp to the south camp.
General Gong Yuan, who was in charge of directing the war at the south camp wall, heard a strange noise and turned around to look. He was surprised to see two three-foot-high wells and carriages slowly pushed up by the efforts of many Yanling soldiers. This section of the camp wall in the South Camp.
"Give way."
"Everyone, give way."
Following the shouts of those Yanling soldiers, many Wei soldiers from the dredging army on the plains inside the camp moved out of the way to allow the two behemoths to pass.
Is that what Mr. Meng Kai, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, has been busy building these past few days?
Gong Yuan looked at the two behemoth Jinglan carts with some emotion, and couldn't help but murmured: "It's so big..."
From the side, Zong Wei Wei Jiao and Lu Mu, who were assisting him in commanding and delivering orders, looked horrified and asked in a voice: "What the hell is this..."
"Don't you recognize Jinglan Car?" Gong Yuan took a moment to tease him.
"Of course Jinglan Chamo will recognize it. But this is... too big."
As soon as he finished speaking, a joke came from not far away: "Follow His Highness King Su's instructions... Big! Bigger!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and turned around to look, only to see King Su Zhao Hongrun and Meng Wei, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, climbing up the camp wall with great difficulty.
Seeing this, Wei Jiao and Lu Mu quickly went over to help Zhao Hongrun and Meng Wei.
"Your Highness, Mr. Meng Wei, why are you here?" Wei Jiao asked in surprise and surprise.
You must know that Meng Wei is a non-combatant and should not be here. And their Highness Zhao Hongrun is worth a fortune and should stay away from the front line. How can he set foot on the camp wall where the battle is the most intense?
With the help of Wei Jiao and Wei Jiao, Meng Wei climbed up the camp wall, patted the mud on his knees, and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness King Su ordered his officials to build wells and carts, and now they are all being pulled to the front line. Now that we’re here, won’t those in our Ministry of Industry have nothing to do?”
When Gong Yuan heard this, he looked at Zhao Hongrun in surprise. He was really confused as to what Zhao Hongrun was doing with two unfinished wells.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun smiled bitterly and explained: "I saw that the Chu soldiers' offensive was too fierce, and there were not enough places for soldiers to stand on the camp wall, so I had no choice but to use these two unfinished wells... At this time, even if
One or two hundred more crossbowmen would be good."
"I see." Gong Yuan nodded suddenly. Naturally, he could understand Zhao Hongrun's concerns. In fact, there were not enough places on the camp wall for people to stand. This was the problem that troubled him the most at the moment.
"However, these two well-mounted carriages... look really miserable." Gong Yuan looked back at the two well-mounted carriages and couldn't help but muttered.
Meng Wei looked embarrassed when he heard this, and quickly explained: "It's not that I can't wait. It's just that... I'm short of a few days. If you give me another three days to wait, we will definitely be able to deliver two completed wells..."
"We all understand." Zhao Hongrun interrupted Meng Wei's explanation and said in a tight voice: "Let's not talk about it for now, Master Meng Wei. This well-mounted chariot currently only has a base and a frame. If the soldiers stand on the top,
The pavilion won't collapse, right?"
"Don't worry, Your Highness, those standing boards are as thick as the palm of your hand and are supported by pillars. They will never collapse easily... I dare to guarantee it with my official position as Zuo Shilang." Meng Wei swore and patted his chest.
While they were talking, the two well-mounted carriages were already close to the upper camp wall. The Yanling soldiers used the wood scattered on the base and stuffed them under the huge wheels to fix the entire well-mounted carriage.
Seeing this, the surrounding dredging army and Wei soldiers were not fools either. The archers and crossbowmen climbed up the long ladder one after another to the well carriage and climbed onto the three-foot-high top pavilion platform.
Zhao Hongrun was surprised to see that his Zongwei Gao Kuo, Mu Qing and others were also among the dredging troops, carrying crossbows and arrows on their backs and boarding the Jinglan chariot.
For a time, the roof pavilions of the two well-mounted carriages were actually overcrowded. This shows that the Wei soldiers in the Junshui Camp were really full of fighting spirit.
But seeing this scene, Meng Wei, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, showed a worried look on his face. After all, according to his estimate, there were almost three to four hundred crossbowmen on each Jinglan carriage.
There is no doubt that the car can withstand the weight of this number of people, but the problem is that the two well-mounted carts are not yet completed, and 70% of the parts are just frames, so he is a little worried that the two well-mounted carts will not be able to bear the weight of hundreds of people.
weight.
"Su...His Royal Highness Prince Su, General Gong Yuan, are the number of people...a bit too much?" Meng Wei reminded worriedly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Yuan was heard complaining: "With these people, I don't think there are enough."
Zhao Hongrun also smiled bitterly when he heard this.
To be fair, Zhao Hongrun also knows that it is very dangerous to exceed the number of people in the Jinglan chariot. After all, once the Jinglan chariot collapses, the chariot will be completely destroyed. It will also cause the Wei soldiers of the dredging army on the Dingge platform to
Suffer unnecessary casualties.
But the problem is that the Chu soldiers outside the camp are currently attacking the camp with too much ferocity. They are so ferocious that they do not care about casualties.
The 10,000 long archers of the Chu State kept suppressing the arrows of the Wei soldiers on the camp wall. The crossbowmen of the Wei army who were suppressing the wall of the camp did not dare to take the lead casually.
Almost all the crossbowmen of the Wei army squatted down to load the crossbow bolts, then quickly stood up. Under the protection of the shield soldiers, they fired an arrow, and then repeated the action of squatting down to load the crossbow bolts.
Looking at this scene, although Zhao Hongrun had more efficient crossbow shooting tactics, he knew very well that he was facing the threat of bows and arrows from the 10,000 Chu long archers outside the camp. Even if he came up with more efficient crossbow shooting tactics, it would be of no avail.
Zhao Hongrun was thinking deeply when suddenly Meng Kai who was beside him gave him a gentle push and whispered: "Your Highness, they are here."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun looked back at the camp and saw many Yanling soldiers carrying various planed and polished wooden parts to the south camp. Behind them, many officials and craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry carried their backs.
Carrying a bag full of tools, he also arrived here. Under the puzzled eyes of the surrounding dredging soldiers, he dispersed the crowd and occupied a large open space.
Perhaps because he heard the confused questions from the soldiers of Fang Junshui Camp behind him, Gong Yuan looked back and saw a large group of non-combatants pouring into the south camp. He was stunned and asked in confusion: "Your Highness, King Su,
Lord Meng Wei, these people are..."
Zhao Hongrun and Meng Wei looked at each other and smiled, without explaining, they just said goodbye to Gong Yuan and walked down the camp wall toward the craftsmen.
Gong Yuan was wondering. Suddenly he saw eight Yanling soldiers carrying a wooden board as thick as their palms and climbing up to the base of one of the wells. At the same time, two craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were wearing
The armor held a hammer and, with the assistance of the eight Yanling soldiers, struck the wooden board to fix the standing board to the frame of the second floor.
Seeing this, Gong Yuan's eyes widened in surprise.
These people don't intend to be here...
Feeling slightly moved in his heart, Gong Yuan quickly ordered Wei Jiao to send two hundred shield soldiers to protect the craftsmen at all times to prevent these precious craftsmen from being attacked by the arrows of the Chu army.
Yes. This is Zhao Hongrun's adventurous and crazy idea: first have some craftsmen plan and polish the platform boards needed for the well-mounted cart deep inside the camp, and then have the Yanling soldiers carry them to the south camp, and then call
Another part of the craftsmen in Nanying assembled it.
Such battlefield construction does not affect the emergency use of the Jinglan vehicle, but the advantage is that every time the craftsmen build a floor of platform again, more Wei army crossbowmen can step onto the Jinglan.
He stood on the chariot's platform and joined in the urgent matter of using bows and arrows to suppress the 10,000 Chu long archers outside the camp.
In addition, Zhao Hongrun and Meng Wei also used this method to make other idle craftsmen rush to build several trebuchets, hoping to use this heavy siege weapon to deter the Chu army outside the camp.
If possible, Zhao Hongrun did not want the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry to risk the arrows of the Chu army for urgent work. This was a last resort. After all, this was the most difficult moment for the camp.
"Bang!"
A trebuchet was rushed out first, and the frozen hard mud replaced the stone bullets and was quickly thrown out of the camp with a loud noise.
Hearing the noise, Gong Yuan subconsciously glanced back, and happened to see a Yanling soldier quickly climb up the camp wall. He pushed his way forward amidst the puzzled eyes of the nearby dredging sergeants, and took a few glances toward the outside of the camp.
Then, I saw this Yanling soldier turning his head with joy and shouting: "I hit it! I hit it!"
At the same time, two craftsmen and more than a dozen Yanling soldiers were seen watching nervously next to the trebuchet. When they heard what the Yanling soldier shouted, they couldn't help but raise their arms and cheer.
"Whoa whoa!"
Near them, many Wei soldiers from the dredging army looked at each other, and then many people took the initiative to come up to them: "Hey, brother, do you want to help me?"
When an army unites as one, with the most important goal of defeating the enemy, this army will be invincible! (To be continued.)