Half an hour later, the second siege started again. Having learned from the painful experience of the first time, the church members dispersed their formations and charged down the city in a skirmish formation. The blocking fire from the top of the city was still fierce, but the damage was
However, their strength was not as strong as before. After three consecutive echelon attacks, and at the cost of hundreds of casualties, the believers once again rushed to the city wall.
Meng Xiang chose to fight on wheels this time. He thought clearly that one bite would not make him fat. The strength of the soldiers and horses defending the city was beyond imagination. It was difficult to capture the city in one go. He had to carry out the battle with superior force.
Attack the city in turns, drag down the officers and soldiers defending the city until they are exhausted, and then capture it in one fell swoop.
Meng Xiang divided the 20,000 religious bandits into four waves, with 5,000 people per siege wave, and equipped skitarii as a supervising team to supervise the battle. The religious bandits launched round after round of sieges without stopping. He himself
He even personally led a wave of religious bandits to participate in the attack, without giving the opponent any chance to breathe.
One after another, ladders were put up on the city wall, one after another was pushed down, and then put up again. Time and time again, they climbed and charged, were repelled again and again, and then continued again and again.
.
Finally, at the third watch, dozens of religious bandits successfully broke through the southern city wall and became the first batch of people to attack the city wall. Although, these dozens of people were quickly wiped out under the counterattack of the officers and soldiers.
But this has sent a signal that the defensive side is exhausted and the city is in danger.
At the fourth watch, more city walls were breached, but the defenders fought back hard and still kept the walls intact. However, the religious bandits suddenly stopped and retreated. Perhaps their casualties were too great, or perhaps they were preparing for the next wave to be more violent.
Prepare for the siege. In short, after two hours of fierce fighting, the fighting above and below the city has temporarily subsided.
On the city wall, the soldiers and horses guarding the city were exhausted. The number of defenders was less than 2,000. In order to withstand the opponent's tidal attack, they kept running back and forth on the city wall to provide support. They would support wherever they were in need. They were all exhausted.
.Although the number of casualties is not large, less than 300 people were killed or injured, the situation is already very pessimistic.
In addition to being tired, the combat supplies were basically exhausted. All the rolling logs and stones on the city top were thrown away, and all the crossbows of the Forbidden Army soldiers were shot. Although the people continued to carry supplies to the city, the transportation could not keep up with the consumption. Before
Most of the large piles of rolling logs and stones stacked under the city wall were also consumed.
Only now were the dead and wounded able to be parked under the city wall. A very small number of these people died in hand-to-hand combat with the religious bandits, and most of them died from random arrows shot from below the city. The religious bandits also had bows and arrows, although the number was only a few hundred, and
Most of them were homemade bows and arrows. But in the melee, these bows and arrows still caused casualties to the defenders at the top of the city. Of course, the casualties of the defenders were incomparable with the casualties of the bandits. The ground below the city was full of burning
The corpses illuminated by torches were piled on top of each other in a mess, and some of them were on fire, and the smell of burning was filling the sky. Although it was impossible to calculate the casualties of the other party, it was roughly estimated that the casualties of the other party were between three and four thousand.
It was more than ten times that of the defenders.
On the city wall, Lin Jue, Wei Dakui, Zhao Youji and others met in the city tower. Wei Dakui cursed when they met: "Damn it, are these people crazy? With so many casualties, why not force the way up?
Chong. These gangsters from the Qingjiao are really evil. Aren’t these just ordinary people? How can they be so brave and fearless of death?"
Lin Jue wiped the cold sweat on his head and said in a deep voice: "On the one hand, I was bewitched, and on the other hand, I was afraid that I would be forced. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so desperate. This kind of siege method relies on the large number of people. You don't
Did you notice? They are using wheel tactics, attacking in waves, continuously, regardless of casualties. They know that we have few people, and they are trying to exhaust us to death."
Zhao Youji nodded and said: "It is indeed a wheel battle, and the rebels do not know how to fight at all. Mr. Lin, what I am most afraid of now is that they will divide their troops to attack the city from other walls. Once our manpower is divided, it will not be enough. This
The gang was a bit stupid, with tens of thousands of people, they divided their troops into four cities to attack the city at the same time from the beginning. We need four cities to defend, and we will definitely be defeated."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Magistrate Zhao, you are overthinking. I have considered this issue from the beginning. Don't forget, except for the East City, there are moats under the three city walls in the northwest and south. They have no siege equipment and no river crossings.
It’s not easy to cross with the preparations. Moreover, the terrain on the other three sides is not as open as the East City. It is full of potholes and mounds, and their manpower is not conducive to launching a charge. I have always been a little strange, why does the East City have no moat? "
Zhao Youji said: "Mr. Lin, look at the terrain. The east city is on a slope. To dig a moat would have to be dug more than ten feet deep to bring in water. We can't do such a big project. There were trenches before, but there was no water.
That didn’t have much effect, so it was simply abandoned.”
Lin Jue nodded slightly. The city of Yangwu County is high in the east and low in the west. The east city wall is on high ground. If you want to dig a moat, I am afraid that the foundation of the wall will not be strong enough to divert water. There is no possibility of operation. Yangwu County has gone through many times.
Due to the flood, the city site gradually moved to this high place. Although it had the advantage of being at a commanding height, it also lacked the barrier of the moat surrounding the four cities.
"What I'm most worried about now is not that they will attack the city and distract our forces. What I'm worried about is their full-out attack. They have a backup plan. They can continue to attack, and we will almost be unable to withstand it.
They suddenly withdrew their troops. This is by no means a good sign. I estimate that the next time they attack, they will attack with all their troops. Now we are running out of supplies and unable to resist the enemy. If we fight hand-to-hand on the city wall, this may not be a good idea. Everyone is
I'm very tired. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for long." Lin Jue muttered.
"Yeah, what can we do? The soldiers are tired and tired, and the number has been reduced a lot. It may be difficult to cope with it. It's only half the night, and it's already so difficult. How can we sustain it until the army arrives?" Wei Dakui smacked his lips.
road.
Zhao Youji also frowned, thinking about countermeasures. He was also helpless about this.
"Should we immediately recruit young men in the city to participate in the defense of the city? There should be more than a thousand young men selected from the people in the city." Huang Ziyuan, the county captain, suggested.
"Yes, why don't we do this?" Wei Dakui shouted.
Zhao Youji said: "I mentioned it to Mr. Lin, but Mr. Lin vetoed it."
"Why is that?" Everyone looked at Lin Jue, wondering why he didn't agree to do this.
Lin Jue said: "It's not that I disagree, but it's not necessary. If the other side attacks the city from the four cities at the same time, we must ask the people to help, otherwise we will be severely short of manpower. But if the bandits only attack the east city, there is no need.
Increasing manpower actually doesn't make much sense. Look at the city wall. It's only a few feet wide. With more than a thousand of us guarding it, and some supplies piled up, it's already difficult to move. If thousands or eight hundred people come, then
It is impossible to move around the city. Everyone is fixed in one position. If a city wall is broken, others cannot support it at all. The biggest drawback of the people defending the city is that they have never fought a war, and the location they are stationed in is very small.
It is easy to be broken through. This is what I am most worried about. So I would rather not have this situation happen, but also make it easier for us to mobilize manpower and deal with critical situations flexibly."
Everyone nodded slightly after hearing this. What Lin Jue meant was that if the common people participated in defending the city, the narrow city wall would be overcrowded. The common people without weapons and armor had no effect other than throwing stones and wood. Sometimes they would be a hindrance. What if?
If the city wall garrisoned by the common people is attacked and breached, the common people will not be able to fight back on the spot, but it will provide convenience for the opponent to attack the city. At that time, the support will not be able to pass through, and the common people will not be able to drive the opponent down the city, but it will be extremely difficult.
thing. If the section of the city wall with the upper city stone steps behind it is occupied, which is the passage leading to the city, the consequences will be disastrous.
This worry is obviously not unnecessary. For those cities with tall and wide walls, the more people defending the city, the better. But this does not apply to small counties like Yangwu. Few people will consider it.
to this point.
Moreover, the big problem now is not the problem of manpower, but the problem of insufficient supply of materials. The people organized by the organization cannot carry the materials to the city and there is not enough supply, so what is the use of having more manpower at the top of the city.
"Then what should we do? Should we just stare at it like this? If they attack a few more times, we may not be able to defend it. Now we are stepping up our efforts to carry wood and stones up to the city. But I'm afraid it's not enough. One hour is not enough.
I smashed it all in just one cup of tea." Wei Dakui said anxiously.
Lin Jue put his hands behind his hands and looked at the mess on the dark battlefield outside the city, thinking quietly. The next time the opponent's attack will be crazy, it will be really difficult to resist. He must come up with a way. Maybe at dawn,
The enemy is about to attack fiercely. Time is running out.
The mist before dawn slowly rose, slowly covering the battlefield. In summer and autumn, morning mist is a common thing. Although it is light and short-lived, it permeates the ground and no one can be seen dozens of steps away. This kind of mist rises slowly.
In foggy weather, if the cult bandits secretly attack, they may not be discovered until they get close. This makes the current dangerous situation even more dangerous.
Everyone looked at Lin Jue anxiously, and they didn’t know since when, Lin Jue had become their backbone. Even Wei Dakui unknowingly listened to Lin Jue’s command. Lin Jue had a certain commanding attitude.
With his temperament, when he was defending the city just now, Lin Jue had been standing on top of the city tower observing the situation and issuing orders. It was precisely because of his command that the soldiers and horses at the top of the city were able to resist in an orderly manner in the face of the fierce attack of the religious bandits, and the victory was successful.
Dealing with several dangerous situations. Several times, Wei Dakui, Zhao Youji and others thought that the city was about to be destroyed. However, Lin Jue still managed to turn the situation around.
Therefore, at this time, everyone unconsciously pinned their hopes on Lin Jue.
"Everyone, we have to hold on until the day after tomorrow before reinforcements can arrive. Even if Duyuhou sends hundreds of cavalry for reinforcements, they will not arrive until at least tomorrow night. Moreover, when the cavalry arrives, they will be short of men and horses, and they will not be able to join the battle immediately. Therefore,
, Based on the current situation, it is probably impossible to hold on to the city for three days until the reinforcements arrive." Lin Jue said in a deep voice.
Wei Dakui shouted: "That's what you, Mr. Lin, are talking about? Three days? Are you kidding me? Half a day is enough. It's absolutely impossible for these dogs to withstand such a desperate attack. I'm going to fall down from exhaustion.
us."
Zhao Youji frowned and said: "Wei Dutou, it all depends on manpower. It may not be possible for him to be able to bear it for half a day."
