Tian Dan thought that although it was a good idea to capture Suxian that day, he inevitably underestimated the defenders of Suxian.
When Zhao Hongrun watched the battle, he saw clearly that the two Chu armies with different armor styles in Suxian City - one was the regular army of Chu and the other should be the county division of Suxian - fought very bravely and fought many times.
He repelled the Qi army's offensive and beat the Qi army's leading infantry general to the point where he had no temper at all.
The forcible siege of the city lasted for more than an hour, and finally ended with the defeat of the Qi army.
Zhao Hongrun shook his head when he saw this scene from a distance.
He felt that although the soldiers of Qi had excellent weapons and equipment, they always felt that they lacked some ferocity. If they were the infantry of Wei, with such sophisticated weapons and armor, they might have already reached the top of the city.
What's more, the Qi army also had catapults and long-range ballistae as cover.
"Tian Tan has met his opponent..."
Zhao Hongrun glanced at the Qi army's main formation with a half-smile, and looked at the area under the flag with the words "Qi Shang General, Tian" flying.
To be fair, there was nothing worthy of criticism about Tian Dan's command. His on-the-battle command and dispatch were quite excellent. Zhao Hongrun was amazed by his grasp of the battlefield and his prediction of where the enemy would focus its defense in advance.
But even so, the Qi army fought hard for more than an hour, and except for killing many soldiers of the Chu army, almost no progress was made.
Seeing that the Qi army in the distance had temporarily ceased its troops and retreated two miles to regroup, Zhao Hongrun, who had been watching the battle intently and had a stiff neck because of it, took a long breath and moved his hands and feet, waiting for Tian Dan to make another move.
.
After all, Tian Dan is a famous general in Qi State, how could he only have this level?
But what disappointed Zhao Hongrun was that the two subsequent offensives organized by Tian Dan were blocked by the Chu army in Suxian County.
"Is it difficult to live up to the reputation?"
Zhao Hongrun frowned and looked at the general flag with the words "Qi Shang General Tian".
On the side, Zongwei Chief Wei Jiao may have noticed the disappointment on Zhao Hongrun's face, and asked doubtfully: "Why is Your Highness so disappointed?... It is not good for Tian Dan to attack Su County, wouldn't it be more beneficial to Your Highness?"
As soon as he finished speaking, before Zhao Hongrun could open his mouth to explain, Zongwei Zhou Pu on the side laughed and explained: "Your Highness values Na Tiandan too much... In the end, this person's performance surpassed His Highness, so His Highness naturally regarded him as such."
People overestimate, and now I see that Tian Dan has nothing to do with Su County, so I feel disappointed." At this point, he turned to Zhao Hongrun and said: "Your Highness, Tian Dan is also a human being, how can he have clever strategies every time?"
Zhao Hongrun was stunned when he heard this, and then he suddenly came to his senses.
Indeed, as Zongwei Zhou Pu said, he is too "mythical" Tian Dan. Just because this person's brilliant record in the past surpassed that of Zhao Hongrun, he subconsciously regarded the opponent as "invincible in all attacks and invincible in battle."
The god general.
But in fact, Tian Dan is also a human being, not a god. How could he take Suxian County with two siege charges in one day?
You must know that the difficulty of conquering Su County is not at the same level as the Yanling Army's attack on Zhi County a few days ago: the Chu army in Zhi County is just the private army of Chu Juyang Jun Xiong Li, while the ones in Su County are the Chu State.
How can they be compared with the regular army?
"Speaking of which, Nanmen Chi was also a general of the Chu State's main army..."
Zhao Hongrun thought for a while and felt that it was necessary to ask Nanmen Chi about the situation in Suxian County.
Because earlier, he didn't take the soldiers in Su County seriously, but now with the Qi army who repeatedly failed to attack Su County as a comparison, Zhao Hongrun naturally saw the strength of the Chu army in Su County.
Unusual.
Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun turned his horse and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Wei Jiao, the chief of Zongwei, asked in surprise: "Your Highness, are you not watching?" After saying that, he raised his head and glanced at the sky, and said doubtfully: "There is still some time before dusk. I estimate that the Qi army will still be here."
Can organize two more waves of offensive..."
"There is no need to read any more." Zhao Hongrun shook his head and said seriously: "A strong attack without purpose and pertinence is just sacrificing the lives of soldiers in vain... The Qi army has already completed two or three rounds of tentative strong attacks.
In the end, if Na Tian Dan really loves his soldiers as much as his sons as the rumors say, then he will not make any more unnecessary attacks."
As soon as Zhao Hongrun finished speaking, Zongwei Mu Qing pointed to the distance and said with a smile: "What your Highness said is absolutely true. Tian Dan has indeed changed his siege strategy."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun and the sect guards looked up, only to find that the Qi Army's vanguard battalion had retreated and was now lining up in front of the Qi Army's array. During this period, heavy catapults, one after another,
They were pushed forward one after another and began to throw stone projectiles towards Suxian County.
"Hehe, Tian Dan is bullying the Chu army in Suxian because of their short hands... Although it is a bit despicable, it is a wise choice."
Although he did not have a high opinion of Tian Dan in his heart, this did not prevent Zhao Hongrun from appreciating this man's tactical choices.
Tian Dan in the distance, his purpose is very clear: Don't you have a strong city wall in Suxian County that was originally a fortress? I will simply spend some effort to destroy your city wall with a catapult, and see what else you can use to stop me.
Qi soldiers.
On one side is the main army of the Chu State in Suxian County, which has almost no means of long-range attack. On the other side is the Qi Army who possesses catapults and other war weapons supervised by the craftsmen of the Lu State. Although Tian Dan's move may seem a bit bullying, it is in deep agreement with them.
Zhao Hongrun’s temper.
Anyway, Zhao Hongrun just can't stand some pedantic people who talk about "morality and justice": Why should we follow the old war traditions when there are obviously more advanced combat methods? Those who are proud of the fact that they captured the enemy city with the force of their own army.
, instead of using any "wonderful and skillful skills" guys, nor do they look at how many soldiers under their command were killed or injured for that martial arts. "Note: The term "wonderful and skillful skills" comes from a period in ancient times.
The world looked down upon mechanics, including weapons of war. Even earlier, even bows and crossbows were considered "despicable weapons." It took hundreds of years to gradually change this concept.』
The current question is, are the number of catapults Tian Dan carries with his army sufficient?
Zhao Hongrun made a visual inspection and found that there were probably more than a hundred catapults in the Qi army.
This quantity cannot be said to be small, but it cannot be said to be large. Anyway, Zhao Hongrun estimates that it will probably not be enough to attack Suxian.
For the sake of the catapults of the Qi army, Zhao Hongrun, who was about to leave, continued to stand and watch.
Because the catapults in the Qi army were said to have been built under the supervision of craftsmen from the Lu state, they were naturally the object of Zhao Hongrun's observation.
After all, the Smelting Bureau that Zhao Hongrun supervised in his country was also developing catapults. He wanted to compare the pros and cons and see if he could learn something from Lu's craftsmanship.
"Bang bang bang——"
A roar came from a distance, and Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but open his eyes, because he felt that the catapults of the Qi army made very loud noises when throwing stone projectiles. In terminology, the recoil was very strong.
Strong recoil generally means strong projectile force.
Just as Zhao Hongrun guessed, the catapult built by the craftsmen of the Lu State actually had a range one-fifth farther than the catapult of the Wei State. This was a conclusion that stunned Zhao Hongrun.
"How is that possible?!"
Zhao Hongrun frowned.
Of course he knows that steel springs have very good elasticity, but currently due to technical limitations, he has not improved his country's catapults. In other words, Wei's catapults still use lasso and beef tendon as the
The point of the elastic pull system.
In Zhao Hongrun's view, Wei's catapults already had the ultimate range, but why did Lu's catapults have a farther range than Wei's catapults?
What exactly is the reason?
Zhao Hongrun observed carefully.
To be fair, ordinary people who are not craftsmen should not understand the art. However, Zhao Hongrun is an exception. I saw him staring at the catapults of the Qi army for a moment, and he really saw it.
Got some clues.
"Throwing rods...those catapult throwing rods, the degree to which they bend when throwing stone bullets shows that their material is definitely not wood...bamboo?"
Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but his eyes lit up. To be honest, he really didn't expect this trick: the craftsmen of Lu State tied up bamboo strips one by one and used them as throwing poles for catapults. This kind of throwing pole made of bamboo,
Naturally, it is tougher and more elastic than the whole log (trunk with bark and branches removed).
This kind of throwing rod can withstand greater elastic force, thus increasing the shooting range.
Just when Zhao Hongrun secretly praised this improvement, he heard a loud bang in the distance, and a huge stone bullet hit one side of the city gate tower, causing most of the city gate tower to collapse immediately.
At this moment, even Zhao Hongrun felt a little nervous. After all, the city gate tower was generally where the enemy generals were located. If Su County Guard Wu Yuan was there at this moment, he would be dead or disabled.
Generally speaking, when the Chu army loses its leader, the morale of the army will be turbulent. In this case, the Qi army will have a great chance to break through the current stalemate.
However, after the gate tower on the south side of Suxian County was destroyed by the Qi army's catapult, the Chu army showed no abnormality at all. This means that the Chu army's commanding generals were safe and sound.
"boom--"
Another dozen stone bombs were fired in succession, and the south gate of Suxian County was actually blown down.
However, that was all. The Chu army in Suxian County in the distance still did not make any commotion.
"It seems that the city gate was blocked in advance..."
Zhao Hongrun secretly expressed regret for Tian Dan, then turned his horse's head and returned to his Wei army's station without stopping.
Because he knew that the Qi army had exhausted all its tactics, but still could not truly threaten Suxian. This meant that the Qi army's offensive against Suxian today was nothing more than that.
If nothing unexpected happens, Tian Dan will choose to retreat and collect his troops, return to the base and think about how to conquer Suxian County, and then launch the attack on Suxian County tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow.
Because tomorrow is an opportunity for Wei Jun.
"What a headache... I originally thought of taking advantage, but looking at the current situation, the Qi army has hardly posed any threat to Suxian County!"
On the way back to the Wei army's garrison, Zhao Hongrun secretly thought hard about the strategy for attacking the city.