Strictly speaking, the 7,000 Wei troops who recently appeared here do not look like elite frontier troops. On the contrary, they are better at building bridges and paving roads.
Shen Kun didn't know much about the terrain in the Zhongli area. He thought that the Wei army built an islet out of thin air in the middle of the Huai River using giant trees floating from the upstream. But in fact, there was a small islet protruding from the water in the center of the Huai River. During the dry season, Sometimes, some villagers along the coast even drive their cattle and sheep up to graze.
However, the largest two of these small islands can only accommodate a thousand people. This Wei army just spent a few days and nights to connect most of the small islands together with driftwood and piles of earth. Seven thousand Wei troops were stationed on them, with military camps. It seems to only occupy a small corner of this large state, giving the impression that another 20 to 30,000 people would be more than enough.
What really made some generals in the city want to escape without a fight was that, in addition, these seven thousand Wei troops were driving pilings and laying pontoons. In just one day and night, they were able to build an accessible bridge on the rushing water. Road on the north bank of Huai River.
This road can even pass vehicles and horses, and even some bullock carts piled with heavy objects can pass.
The Huai River is naturally dangerous. If the Northern Wei Dynasty did not have naval forces, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses coming from the opposite bank would not be able to cross. If they had to detour along the north bank, they would inevitably have to fight with the border troops of the northern states and counties of the Southern Dynasties. You lose your chance of fighting.
However, now that the natural chasm has become a thoroughfare, the Wei army on the other side of the river can continuously attack the city directly, but these timid generals in the city dare not even think about it.
But for the courageous Southern Dynasty generals like Chaozong Zong, death was inevitable. However, they were scared out of their wits by such a Wei army that was not good at fighting and was only good at building roads and bridges. Then they died in the chaos of fleeing. If you hit me, you will really die with your eyes closed, and you won’t be able to swallow even one breath.
Just as he thought, when the generals who tried to escape secretly were dragged to the north wall and hanged directly, as the sergeants in the city continued to provoke and yell, the Wei army, unable to rest, began to move towards Zhongli City under the cover of night. Advance.
Some prefabricated floating rows were continuously pushed into the water with ropes attached. A large number of Northern Wei sergeants jumped directly into the water with floating objects wrapped around their bodies. It was unclear how these Northern Wei sergeants moved in the water in the night. However, those floating rows were connected. The fixed speed is very astonishing. All the soldiers of the Southern Dynasty on the northern wall can be sure that if they don't do something, then I am afraid that these floating rows will be able to extend all the way to the city wall before sunrise.
Many of the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the north wall were still under the dual stimulation of the fear of executing the top general in the city and the excitement of risking their lives. The execution of those generals inevitably caused some people to lose sufficient restraint and temporarily become confused. .
Before the sound of military orders was heard, there were already the sounds of sparse arrows piercing the air and the roar of some ordnance.
The first to take action were the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the north wall, but the Wei army's counterattack exceeded the imagination of all the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the city wall.
In the night, sergeants from the Northern Wei Dynasty kept jumping onto the fixed floating rows, then opened their bows and fired.
The violent sound of arrows continued to sound, and as more and more Wei troops appeared, the rain of arrows shot from the water at night had formed an overwhelming momentum.
The Southern Dynasty sergeants on the north wall were shocked to find that the number of archers in this Northern Wei army far exceeded their imagination.
On the wall facing the water, there were only more than two hundred archers on the southern side, but among the Wei troops floating on the water, there were at least seven or eight hundred archers shooting.
The feathered arrows that should be cherished at all times seem to be like ordinary firewood in the eyes of this Wei army. They don't seem to care about the consumption of feathered arrows at all.
A general holding a shield frowned deeply in confusion, but he soon discovered the answer.
Among these violent arrows, several strange noises soon appeared.
In the already chaotic air, there was a whining sound, like some kind of giant.
Things are approaching.
The general's eyes narrowed, and he saw several black shadows as thick as his arms falling hard from above all the arrows.
The target of these black shadows is not anyone on the city wall, nor the ordnance fixed on the city wall, but the city wall itself.
All these black shadows hit the city wall with great accuracy.
All the soldiers on the city wall felt the vibration of the city wall.
The general holding the shield has leaned forward.
He saw stone debris flying on the city wall. These black shadows were made of fine steel as thick as a child's arm.
The crossbow arrows are connected to thin steel cables at their tail ends, and the other ends of these steel cables are connected to several crossbow carriages on floating rows.
Those ballistas were not conspicuous. From a distance, he thought they were just some debris dragged by horses and carts.
"Chaozong!"
Without any hesitation, the moment he saw the several ballistae that did not appear to be tall, the general shouted loudly, the sound was like muffled thunder.
Chaozong Zong, who was patrolling the city vigilantly, suddenly froze.
In his opinion, the biggest enemy of Zhongli City tonight is inside the city, not outside the city. However, when he heard such a sound on the north wall, with his next breath, his body shot towards the north wall like an arrow from a string.
Shoot it over.
"These northern barbarians used the crossbow company's steel cable to drag the driftwood directly over!"
His figure had just appeared behind the general in the rain of arrows, and the general holding the shield had already shouted at him, and at the same time kept giving orders to come to the wall with him.
Wang Chaozong jumped to his side, looked down, and saw bubbles constantly rising in the water. Many almost naked Northern Wei sergeants emerged from the water, and they all had a hook in their hands.
Claws, the steel cables connected to the ends of the crossbow arrows that were pierced on the city wall actually had locks on them. As soon as several hook claws were attached, the steel cables fell off the crossbow arrows as the soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty exerted their strength.
Wang Chaozong took a deep breath, and when he looked further into the distance, he completely understood what the veteran frontier general named Yu Moji beside him had just said.
At this time, the other end of the steel cable had also been untied from the ballista. From what he could see, it was connected to more thin ropes with floats, and those thin ropes were connected to many floating logs.
If a large amount of driftwood was dragged over and then fixed under the city wall with heavy objects, if a large amount of wood and rocks were smashed down from the city wall, it would be like helping these Northern Wei people build a dam in the river.
It will take time to make the floating rafts, but if the floating wood is involved, it will be very simple to lay wooden planks on top to form a simple floating bridge. With the ability that this Wei army has shown before, let alone letting thousands of them reach the city, the Northern Wei army will follow.
, I'm afraid they can build and repair at the same time, and they can all be pressed under the north wall.
This Northern Wei army did not hesitate to use arrows to completely suppress the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the wall within this period of time. They just wanted to make a final decision in this very short period of time!
Under Yu Moji's repeated and stern orders, the nearby practitioners and archery masters moved as quickly as possible to the wall facing the water. Blood flowers kept rising from the water, and the Northern Wei sergeants who emerged from the water kept coming.
He was killed, and blood foam piled up at the bottom of the city wall.
At this time, with Yu Moji in command, Wang Chaozong knew that it would be useless to issue military orders again. He looked at the several ballistas in the distance with awe-inspiring eyes.
Such a long distance, and even connected with such a strange steel cable, this kind of ballista has never been heard of being made by craftsmen in the Southern Dynasties.
"Demon Sect."
These two words appeared uncontrollably in his mind.
The soldiers of the Northern Wei Dynasty who had sneaked across the river into a chaotic mess suffered heavy casualties.
These giant white fish-like sergeants should be the most agile among the Northern Wei army. However, in addition to the damage caused by the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the wall, the arrows shot by the Northern Wei people also caused
Quite an accidental injury.
But it is undeniable that even if it is not the White Bone Army of Zhongshan Wang Yuanying, this kind of Northern Wei army still has a brave and cold-blooded side that is unmatched by most of the Southern Dynasty armies.
No one wanted to change at all, and no updated military orders were issued. This Northern Wei army was completely filled with fresh lives.
Seeing more and more Northern Wei sergeants floating on the river, who kept emerging from the water and were quickly killed by them, the tragic look in the eyes of most of the Southern Dynasty sergeants on the city wall became more and more intense.
Because huge trees are constantly being pulled over and struck continuously, making a dull and loud sound, which is better than beating a drum.
In the wasteland at the other end, fires were also burning into the sky, and the Wei army there also began to attack the city.