But the sun was covered by thick clouds, making the sky gray, just like Xia Houru, who led the army to the north of the city, looked gloomy.
The losses incurred by the camp hijacked by the Han army last night have been calculated.
Only a hundred people were killed in battle, but nearly three hundred people were trampled to death!
The grain and siege equipment were not damaged as they were heavily guarded by dedicated troops.
However, the military tents and stables where the soldiers lived, as well as the firewood and other items they had worked hard to collect during the day, were all burned to the ground.
The most unacceptable thing to him was that the morale of the Han army in Zuli City had greatly improved.
However, the morale of our own side was low, and the soldiers in the northern camp were frightened.
It's understandable to think about it. The Beiying camp with more than 5,000 people was actually deserted by a Han army worth 200 people. How could the military's morale not be corrupted?
call.
He closed his eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
He is the commander-in-chief here. In order to set an example for the soldiers, he must have the air of not being shocked by honor or disgrace, and he must also show the calmness of not being discouraged by defeat.
Naturally, fairness with clear rewards and punishments is also indispensable.
When he opened his eyes again, he stared at the general who commanded the northern camp, his eyes full of anger, "The defense is not strict, and the fear of battle is incompetent. We must kill him! Come on! Take this man down quickly and enforce military law!"
"
"General?!"
The general's face was filled with disbelief.
Only when a few strong soldiers dragged him down did he come to his senses and beg for mercy, "General, spare my life~~~"
But Xia Houru was unmoved, and just turned his head away silently, ignoring the struggling and wailing and unwillingness of the people who had been with him through life and death.
Guo Huai, who was standing to the side, also slowly lowered his eyes.
In fact, it is a crime that will not lead to death.
Being able to serve as the commander of the military camp in the north of the city with 5,000 soldiers, he has long accumulated meritorious service and reached the position of general.
With the old diligence, even if the defense was not tight and he was attacked by surprise, he could still be demoted and assigned to the first camp, or he could be punished by taking away his post and being punished as a disciple to set an example, etc., which would be enough to overcome the situation.
However, for this purpose, he had to die.
Grand Sima Cao Zhen had an order to capture Zuli City at all costs.
With Wei Yan's ability to rule against Shu and more than 10,000 soldiers to defend the city, the 60,000 soldiers they brought with them would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
Without using military law to kill this general, Xia Houru would not be able to make his soldiers fear the harshness of military law, and he would not be able to command his soldiers to attack the city bravely without fear of death.
Killing one person, even if the casualties are heavy, may lead to the capture of a city.
If you don't kill, the soldiers will be relaxed and loose in military law, fearing that nothing will be gained by attacking the city.
It’s time and destiny!
When he was young, the officers and soldiers of the military governor Fa returned carrying the head of the general.
Everyone can use their lives.
At Mao hour, the morning meal is finished.
In each camp of the Wei army, trumpets and horns were played loudly, flags were flying in the wind and sand swept by the cold wind, and the soldiers filed out in formation.
Xia Houru gave up the siege on three sides and attacked, and instead pressed the entire army to the south of the city.
He wanted to besiege the two small garrisons of the Han army in one go.
The low morale of the soldiers, who were attacked calmly, made them feel that last night was just the result of the incompetence of the generals, rather than the invincibility of the Han army.
"Woo~~~"
"Woo~~~~~"
The Wei army, which had already formed an array 400 steps away, blew the miserable horn horn.
I saw many shield soldiers holding swords and shields. Under the orders of Dub and Shi Chang, they left the formation and began to march forward. Behind them were auxiliary soldiers, some carrying earth bags, and some pushing thunderbolt carts and
Stone cannon.
Guo Huai took the initiative to apply for the post of promoted city governor. He was not afraid of being sniped by the big yellow crossbow. He personally came within two hundred steps of the battle line and stood under the general's banner to supervise the battle.
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom!"
When the big cowhide drum was like thunder, its sound shook the heaven and the earth, and all the Wei soldiers roared in unison.
"war!"
"war!"
The sword and shield soldiers in the front row beat their shields with their swords and moved forward step by step.
As soon as they reached a stone's throw close to the city, under the command of extremely long drums and drums, they gathered in groups of ten, holding their shields high to form a small circular fortress, protecting the heavy soldiers carrying earth bags and rushing up.
But they were not the ones who showed off their power first.
"boom!"
The stone cannons and thunderbolt chariots behind Guo Huai began to swing their long arms to show off their power.
As small as a human head, as big as a stone mill, countless stones rose into the air, whistling in the air, drawing an arc, and then smashed towards Zuli City like birds returning to their nests.
Some flew directly over the city and fell into the city.
Some of them hit the thick city wall, and the rammed earth on the surface of the city wall fell off with a "bang" sound, exposing huge strips of stone. The two small garrisons next to the city wall were even worse, and the fences elsewhere were completely destroyed. Broken.
The Thunderbolt Chariot, which had shown great success in the Battle of Guandu in the past, was indeed astonishingly powerful.
But the actual damage was very few.
However, Guo Huai did not expect these thunderbolt cars to achieve success.
When the sound of stone throwing continued, the heavy soldiers carrying earth bags and protected by shields rushed forward to fill in the trenches, pits and other debris in front of the city.
The strange thing is that there has been no movement from the Han army.
Since there were no big yellow crossbows on the city walls to attack the Thunderbolt Chariots, the soldiers in the small garrison did not form strong crossbow formations to shoot down the heavy troops who were clearing the obstacles.
It also made Guo Huai frown.
He could roughly guess why the Han army remained calm.
Wei Yanfei, who rebelled against Shu, did not bother to kill these heavy troops, but planned to wait until the obstacles were cleared and they were within half an arrow's reach before shooting.
At that distance, the crossbow arrow has the greatest lethality, and can penetrate simple leather armor or a lightweight wooden shield!
Moreover, this also saves the loss of crossbows and allows the city to hold on longer.
as expected.
After a quarter of an hour, when the heavy troops came and went for the second time and entered the half-arrow field, a burst of drums suddenly sounded from the two small garrisons of the Han army. Immediately, the rawhide covering the fence in front was lifted, revealing A row of huge Yuanrong crossbows came.
Ten arrows were fired in succession, almost without any gaps, like locusts arriving.
Those heavy troops were like wheat being harvested after autumn. They screamed layer by layer and fell to the ground with howls of pain. Some of them were still alive and rolling around in pain, filling the pits and ravines with their bodies.
But Guo Huai's face is like a sunken lake, calm and calm.
He just grabbed the drumsticks, sweated hard, and let the war drums beat like thunder.
Proclaimed the general's order "Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed"!
Compassion does not command troops.
If you want to attack the city, these obstacles must eventually be cleared.
If we retreat now, it will be even more difficult to clear it again.
Moreover, he was not unprepared.
Inspired by the battle in Yuzhong County in the past, when Zheng Pu destroyed Xiahou Ruqian's camp with a jar of grease, he also plundered all the beef and mutton fat in Jincheng County this time.
These heavy troops filled up half an arrow's worth of land, which was enough for him to burn down the Han army's small garrison.
"Ouch!"
"Ouch! Ouch!"
Without Guo Huai's personal order, Xia Houru, who was in the rear formation, had a clear understanding.
Let a group of sergeants shout neat chants and push huge siege towers. These behemoths are more than two feet tall, higher than the Zuli city wall. The horizontal platform at the top is fully loaded with crossbowmen. When the Pili chariot is changed to
After throwing out countless jars of grease and coating the two small garrisons of the Han army, they poured out the rockets in their hands.
As winter approaches, everything is dry.
Two small garrisons made of wood as the main body of the Han army suddenly burst into flames, and with the strong cold wind, the fire spread visibly to the naked eye.
At this time, a scene occurred that shocked both Guo Huai and Xia Houru.
Those Han soldiers in the garrison did not jump into the moat and swim to the west of the city where there was no fighting, waiting for the soldiers to be pulled up with ropes. Instead, they gathered directly at the city gate.
Moreover, the city gates were really opened, welcoming the garrison soldiers into the city!
The isolated city was trapped, but Wei Yan rebelled against Shu and did not block the city gate with rocks and wood at the back?!
Aren't you afraid that our army will break through the door?
Or maybe there are still cavalry in the city, and they want to take advantage of our army to attack the city and attack and burn the thunder chariots and other objects?
Guo Huai, who kept beating the drum, couldn't help but slow down his movements a little out of suspicion.
However, Xia Houru, who was in the rear formation, had already ordered all the soldiers in the front army to carry earth bags or planks on their backs and rush forward bravely to clear the obstacles.
Don't miss this opportunity.
He not only wanted to take advantage of the Han army's garrison being destroyed to quickly clear the way to attack the city; he also wanted to use siege engines to break through the city gate before the Han army blocked it!
The fighter plane is fleeting.
Once the Han army reacted and blocked the city gate, he could only rely on cloud ladders or long ladder ants to attack the city.
He couldn't care less about whether there were cavalry in the city, or whether the army officers and soldiers had just arrived here yesterday and were still tired from the long journey and their combat power was worrying.
At most, it's just a few more casualties.
If you can break through, it will be all worth it! There will be fewer casualties than a siege!
However, what he didn't know was that Guan Xing on the top of the city was complaining angrily to Wei Yan at this moment, "General, our army opened the city gate too quickly to welcome the soldiers in. I'm afraid the bandit army will see through the truth. If we wait a little longer,
For a moment, would it be more realistic to wait for the soldiers to make a noise and then pretend to have no choice but to open the city gate for fear of hurting the soldiers?"