The next day, Liu Xiu led the Han army and marched straight to Changli. Dong Xian did not dare to send troops to fight, so he ordered his subordinates to strictly guard the city.
Xinyang and Changlu are close at hand, only more than ten miles apart. After the Han army arrived at Changlu, Liu Xiu immediately issued an order to attack. The Han army headed by Wu Han mainly attacked the south city of Changlu, and the Han army headed by Gai Yan
The Han army led by Wang Liang mainly attacked the west city of Changlu, the Han army led by Wang Liang mainly attacked the east city of Changlu, and the Han army led by Wang Chang mainly attacked the north city of Changlu. Ma Wu and Wang Ba led the cavalry to guerrilla around the city, or
Waiting for an opportunity to move or assist in siege.
After the general gave the order, the Han troops immediately dispersed and launched an all-out attack on Changlu.
Liu Xiu was on the Nancheng side, and the Han army led by Wu Han launched the most ferocious offensive. Trebuchets were transported to the front of the city and lined up in two large rows, throwing stones one by one at Changlu.
At the top of the city, loud rumbling sounds were heard one after another.
The defenders on the top of the city did not dare to show their heads at all, and either hid under the arrow stacks or hid under the city wall. Dong Xian personally climbed up to the gate tower and raised his eyes to look out of the city.
The strength of the Han army outside the city was not dizzying, but the momentum of the Han army was very high. The sound of drums was like exploding beans, the flags were like a forest, and the embroidery ribbons were like a sea. The battle formations were marching towards the enemy in an orderly manner.
Rushing forward.
Dong Xian, who was inside the city gate tower, was stretching his neck to look around. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a stone hit the wall of the city gate tower. There was a loud noise that made even the ground tremble.
Dong Xian swayed and took two steps back involuntarily.
The generals under his command hurriedly stepped forward and supported Dong Xian. The people persuaded him: "Your Majesty, it is too dangerous here. Your Majesty, you should go back to the city!"
Dong Xian pushed away the crowd, waved his hands, and said, "Liu Xiu wants to fight me to the death in this battle!"
When the Han army's formation advanced to less than fifty steps away from the city wall, the Han army's trebuchets stopped attacking. Dong Xian took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "The whole army is facing the enemy!"
The soldiers of Dong Xian's army who were originally hiding under the city wall climbed onto the city wall one after another. The archers fired their bows and arrows one by one and fired volleys at the Han army's formation advancing from outside the city.
Buzz! A black cloud soared from the top of the city, drew an arc in the sky, and roared into the Han army's camp.
Boom, boom, boom! On the shield formation formed by the Han army, a layer of black grass quickly grew up at a speed visible to the naked eye. From time to time, Han soldiers fell to the ground after receiving arrows.
Dong Xianjun's arrow array could not stop the Han army's advance. Soon, the phalanx at the forefront had reached the city wall. The archers in the phalanx fired arrows from the bottom of the city to the top of the city, while the ordinary soldiers set up ladders and launched towards the city wall.
Climb on top of the city.
Regarding the offensive launched by the Han army, Dong Xianjun also responded calmly, using rolling logs, stones, kerosene, arrows, and all available defensive weapons.
Just as the two sides were engaged in a full-scale fierce battle, a cavalry force suddenly ran up from behind the attacking Han army.
The cavalry charged towards the city wall, suddenly made a sharp turn, and galloped horizontally in front of the city wall. At the same time, the cavalrymen raised their crossbows, aimed at the city head, and fired crossbow arrows in unison.
Bang, bang, bang! The sound of ejection from the crossbow machine was continuous, and a long crossbow arrow flew out from the cavalry team and swept towards the city head.
Many soldiers of Dong Xian's army who were holding high rolling logs, stones, and kerosene were unable to dodge, and were nailed to their chests, necks, and faces by the crossbow arrows. For a moment, screams could be heard everywhere.
Some soldiers who were hit by arrows failed to throw the rolling logs, stones, and kerosene, and instead they all fell on themselves.
Especially the soldiers who had kerosene poured on their bodies were rolling on the ground in pain. In the blink of an eye, their bodies were burned out of shape.
This cavalry is the siege rangers led by Ma Wu and Wang Ba.
Don't think that the cavalry loses its usefulness in siege warfare. The high-speed movement of the cavalry, coupled with the crossbow machine, can cause great damage and threat to the soldiers defending the city.
As the rangers passed by, they shot down a row of Dong Xianjun soldiers on the city wall.
Even Dong Xian, who was standing in the city gate tower, was affected. A crossbow arrow shot in from the window of the city gate tower, almost grazing Dong Xian's cheek. If it had gone a little further, the crossbow arrow would have been destroyed.
Nailed on his brow.
"Your Majesty, be careful—" A general hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Dong Xian back, away from the window of the city gate tower.
Dong Xian let out a breath of shock, raised his hand and touched his cheek, feeling burning pain.
The Han army's siege was too fierce, and the concept of siege was very advanced. They did not simply use infantry to swarm the city head, but cooperated with the cavalry.
Most of the cavalry under Liu Xiu's command were Youzhou Cavalry. The Youzhou Cavalry's long-standing enemy was the Huns.
The Huns used a combination of foot and cavalry tactics to attack the city. Youzhou Tuqi also learned this tactic from the Huns.
However, the Huns had low productivity, lacked iron weapons, and lacked large-scale siege weapons. Even if they adopted the tactical concept of combining infantry and cavalry, the actual threat to the Han cities was not great.
The Han army was different. Iron weapons had long been widely used in the Han army. All kinds of large-scale siege weapons were available. Together with the cavalry to assist in combat, they were extremely lethal to the enemy.
The rangers galloped past, and Dong Xianjun's soldiers on the top of the city fell to the ground. The defenders were in chaos. Taking this opportunity, the Han army pushed the siege vehicles to the city gate and advanced.
The siege vehicle was hung with a thick log. The front part of the log was a metal head. The soldiers pulled the log and hit the city gate with the metal head, which would cause great damage to the city gate.
Boom, boom, boom——
The soldiers of the Han army controlled the siege vehicles and began to continuously attack the Changlu City Gate.
Even Dong Xian, who was in the city gate tower, could feel his feet shaking one after another. Every time the siege truck log hit the city gate, it was like a hammer hitting his heart.
Dong Xian swallowed his saliva and said urgently: "Use kerosene! Use rolling logs and rocks to destroy the enemy's siege vehicles!"
Under Dong Xian's command, Dong Xian's soldiers poured kerosene, or threw rolling logs and rocks into the city.
The siege vehicles are not defenseless. There is a small shed on the top of the siege vehicle. Although it is only made of leather, it can also withstand the impact of rolling logs and stones of normal size. The siege vehicles of the Han army were supported by rolling logs and stones.
, continued to hit the city gate, and the area around the siege vehicle was filled with archers, inflicting maximum damage on the enemy troops who threw logs and rocks at the siege vehicle, and also protecting their own siege vehicle to the maximum extent.
Inside the city gate, in order to reduce the impact of the siege vehicles, countless soldiers gathered in the city gate opening and used wooden stakes to hold up the city gate. Many other soldiers supported the city gate with their shoulders.
Once it hit the city gate, the city gate shook, and everyone in the city gate cave also swayed.
Seeing that the rolling logs and stones could not destroy the Han army's siege vehicles, two Dong Xianjun soldiers worked together to lift a large pot of boiling oil and came to the arrow stack. They were about to pour the oil down. Suddenly, under the city,
Several arrows flew up and hit a soldier in the arm and chest.
The soldier screamed and fell to the ground. The pot of kerosene failed to be poured out, but instead poured all over him. The soldier let out a heart-rending scream, and in an instant, the fire oil on the top of the city was
The aroma of fried meat fills the air.
If it didn't work the first time, he tried it a second time and a third time. After Dong Xianjun's many attempts, he finally poured out a large pot of kerosene. The kerosene was poured on the shed of the siege vehicle, and it would not affect the siege vehicle.
It caused destruction, but the torch that fell next turned the siege vehicle into a train in an instant. The more than ten Han soldiers who controlled the siege vehicle were affected. People were covered in fire and ran around, rolling all over the ground.
Comrades around them helped them fight the flames.
The rolling rice and rocks that fell from the top of the city knocked people to the ground one by one. However, the defenders who threw rolling logs and rocks were quickly hit by arrows flying from outside the city, and they fell one after another.
Fall to the ground.
At this stage of the siege war, it has become a war of attrition. It depends on who has stronger willpower, who can afford to consume more, and who has stronger resistance to attack.
The Han army's siege lasted from morning until late at night. However, under Dong Xianjun's desperate defense, although the Han army caused heavy casualties to the defenders, they were still unable to tear apart Changli's city defense.
The next morning, the Han army launched a siege on Changli. But this time, the Han army's offensive was more fierce. All kinds of large siege weapons were brought up. In addition to trebuchets and siege engines, there were also
There are arrow towers and charging carts.
The archery tower is a slender cart with the same height as the city wall. There is a platform at the top. Archers can stand on the platform. Arrows can shoot flatly to kill the defenders on the city wall. There are four pulleys under the archery tower, which rely on human power.
It can be moved by pushing and pulling.
The ram is specially used to destroy weak city walls and cause them to collapse. It is also a common siege weapon.
With the arrival of arrow towers and charging chariots, the Han army inflicted greater damage on the Changli defenders. After a whole day of fierce fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Han army still failed to tear apart Changli's city defense.
Although the Han army had used the most advanced siege weapons at the time when attacking Changli, Changli's defenders had too many troops, nearly 150,000, and Dong Xian was indeed not an ordinary person.
Command and troop mobilization are very efficient.
Liu Xiu's order to the generals of the Han army was that the city must be broken within three days. Now after two days of fierce fighting, his own side has never been able to break through the Changlu city defense, which made the Han army even more angry.
By the third day, the Han army had no reservations. Whether it was large siege weapons or small siege weapons, as long as they could be used, they were all brought to the battlefield. Whether they were combat troops or logistics troops, as long as they were
All those who can breathe and kill the enemy are dispatched to the battlefield.
On the third day of the battle, Gai Yandu, who was commanding the battle in Xicheng, went into battle in person. He took the lead and rushed to the front, commanding his soldiers to hit the city gate with all his strength with his siege vehicles.
The rolling logs and rocks flying down from the top of the city were like snowflakes. Even though the siege vehicle was protected by a shed, in less than a moment, a siege vehicle was smashed to pieces.
One car was destroyed, and Gai Yan immediately sent up a second car and continued to hit the city gate. The second car was destroyed, and a third and fourth car were sent up.
Since the war started, the Han army has been attacking the city regardless of the cost. There is only one thought left in people's minds, which is to break the city defense.
The defenders of Changli destroyed seven or eight siege vehicles of the Han army in succession. In front of the city gate, only the broken siege vehicles that had been dragged aside were scattered in pieces.
Seeing another siege vehicle being smashed, Gai Yan gritted his teeth and shouted: "Get on another siege vehicle!"
A general came to Gai Yan and gasped: "General, our army... our army only has three siege vehicles left!"
Gai Yan's eyes flashed and he said in a serious voice: "Our army has run out of siege vehicles, so we will borrow them from Da Sima and General Wang!"
The general below secretly grinned. At this time, the siege vehicles in Nancheng and Beicheng are probably running out. Can they lend them to us? He whispered in a low voice: "I'm afraid, I'm afraid that neither Da Sima nor General Wang may be willing.
borrow……"
"Then go and grab it!" Gai Yan pulled his collar and said word by word: "In today's battle, I must break through the west city gate!"
Another siege vehicle was pushed in front of the city gate. The Han soldiers on both sides of the siege vehicle pulled the log with all their strength, and then pushed it forward with all their strength. The metal head of the log hit the city gate heavily, making a roar.
There was a loud noise.
The attacking Han army had almost used up all their siege vehicles, and the defenders in the city were not relaxed. I don’t know how many wooden stakes holding up the city gate were broken. There were not enough wooden stakes, and now they all relied on manpower.
