Xianyang is 1,500 miles away from Handan, and Yingzheng's order was delivered to Wang Jian in more than two days.
The reason why it takes "more than two days" is because there are many unstable factors after entering the territory of Zhao State.
After all, in the newly conquered territory, there are many Zhao soldiers and thieves roaming around, especially at night, where it is difficult to walk.
If you lose the order of King Qin, it will be a serious crime for the family.
Therefore, cavalry escort is required to enter the territory of Zhao State, and the speed will be slower if there is cavalry escort.
Wang Jian frowned after receiving this order.
The Qin army also lacked strength.
Only the Zhao family caused heavy casualties to the Qin army. How can they deal with the other four countries if this continues?
Wei, Qi, and Yan are not bad, but there is also the Chu State, which has a vast territory and many soldiers and generals!
Aren’t there still people from Chu who shout, “Although Chu has three households, if Qin is destroyed, Chu will definitely die”?
So what can we do if we don’t use our troops sparingly?
However, this was the order of King Qin, and Wang Jian did not dare to disobey it.
After some hesitation, he had no choice but to follow the order and attack the city.
For a moment, Mai Yi's fire bombs were thrown into the city in pieces, and the soldiers swarmed toward the city wall in black numbers...
The technology for improving the trebuchet was handed over to Wang Jian, so Wang Jian's army naturally rushed to make and upgrade the trebuchet overnight.
Within a few days, new trebuchets were everywhere around Handan.
Since the other three walls were relatively low, the trebuchets could hurl linen fire bombs farther into the city.
Then the Qin army took advantage of the power of the fire bombs and attacked the city.
However, as the saying goes, "The Tao is as high as the devil." At this time, Zhao Jun also became smarter.
They destroyed all the houses within a hundred steps of the city wall in advance and emptied the flammable materials.
The houses extending inward were also pulled down dozens of steps apart to prevent the fire from spreading.
In fact, the Qin army did have a good chance of breaking the city that night when Yang Duanhe stormed the north.
Zhao Jun was not prepared at that time. The fire not only caused a serious blow to the morale of Zhao's soldiers and civilians, but the chaotic people fighting the fire and the collapsed ruins also prevented Zhao Jun from reinforcements on the city wall.
In other words, the delivery of supplies such as soldiers, arrows, and hammers necessary for defending the city have been affected.
As long as the Qin army continues to attack the city for a period of time, the Zhao army's resistance will become weaker and weaker, and it won't be long before the Qin army breaks through the city.
Who would have thought that Chen Wei would tell the truth at this critical moment, which frightened Yang Duanhe and quickly stopped his offensive.
In other words, it was actually Chen Wei who extended Handan's life for a period of time.
After a period of time, the effect of using fire attack again is not that good, even though this time it is attacking from all sides at the same time.
The advantage of Shen Bing as the right engineer division of the artillery division is that he does not need to personally command the battle. This matter is taken care of by the left engineer division.
What Shen Bing had to do was watch from behind.
Surrounded by several heavily armed guards.
The leading bodyguard is named Ren. He has always had a straight face since he was incorporated into the artillery division and became Shen Bing's bodyguard.
Shen Bing thought this guy was stern by nature, so he didn't care.
Later I found out that this guy was not happy...
Gunner, engineer, and division guard?
Ren's goal is to enjoy revenge and fight on the battlefield.
Protecting people in the rear who don't need protection?
Ren unconsciously turned his gaze to the Qin soldiers who were attacking the city in dense numbers.
That is his dream, that is his destination, and that is where he should be.
He should be holding a bronze sword instead of a command flag...
One of Ren's duties is to keep an eye on the commander's platform at the rear, which has a flag commanding the artillery division.
Whenever the general gave an order, Ren would convey it with the command flag in his hand.
This is what Shen Bing should do, but Shen Bing is worried that he will make a mistake even if he waves the flag as expected. Now that there are "more professional" people doing it for him, why not?
Of course Shen Bing didn't pay attention to Ren's thoughts.
This is not because Ren is just a corps commander, nor is it because he is only a second-level knight.
But Shen Bing didn't think anyone would yearn for the battlefield ahead...unless his head was filled with water, that's pretty much it.
This is probably just the gap between different eras.
Therefore, Shen Bing thought that Ren should be grateful for being incorporated into the artillery division, but the fact was that Ren Zheng was unhappy about it.
But these are not important. What is important is that the linen fire bombs fired by the trebuchet will not have much effect.
This can be seen from the fact that there are not many fires in Handan City.
This directly led to the Qin army's offensive being in vain. They attacked for a whole day but failed to capture it, leaving only a large number of corpses at the foot of the city.
Yang Duanhe found Shen Bing that night and asked:
"Can Mai's fire bomb hit farther?"
"Those Zhao soldiers must have seen the range of Mai's fire bombs and cleared out the nearby houses."
"If you can't fight farther, I'm afraid it's all in vain."
Shen Bing thought for a while and replied:
"It's not impossible to go farther, but my subordinates think it's also futile."
Yang Duanhe asked puzzledly: "How do you say this?"
Shen Bing replied:
"Reducing the size of Mai's fireball may increase its range."
"But its power is greatly reduced..."
Needless to say, the reason is that the reduced volume means less rosin and linen can be wrapped, so the combustion value is lower and it is easier to extinguish.
Shen Bing continued:
"Another method is to push the trebuchet forward and then use a high platform to raise it."
"This will allow the missiles to travel farther within the city."
This requires a little explanation, so Shen Bing drew a schematic diagram on the ground.
The high platform increases the height of the trebuchet to solve the problem of whether fire bombs can cross the city wall.
Pushing forward will naturally make the fire bomb hit deeper.
The problem is to run the risk of being suppressed by Zhao's city wall trebuchets and crossbows.
But of course Yang Duanhe didn't care about this danger. When he heard this method, he nodded and praised:
"What a good plan. Let's do this when we attack the city tomorrow."
"No, I will build a high platform tonight."
"Start the siege as soon as it gets dark."
Shen Bing hesitated for a moment and objected:
"But General."
"If Zhao Jun was prepared for a fire attack, he would have made preparations in advance."
"Even if we try to increase the range, I'm afraid we won't be able to damage its roots."
The fire attack, especially the fire attack that throws fireballs at the city wall, should be more of a surprise.
For example, if Yang Duan and Huo Gong attacked from all sides at the same time from the beginning that night...
I'm afraid the fire in Handan could not be controlled and burned out in one go.
But now that Zhao Jun was prepared, the fire could be easily controlled.
To put it bluntly, it is a problem caused by knocking down several buildings to create an isolation zone.
As long as this isolation belt is wide and long enough, no matter how much fire burns outside, it will not spread inward.
Yang Duanhe said distressedly:
"Actually, we all know that siege rather than attack is the best policy."
"But you have to obey the king's orders."
"What's more, the king has personally rushed to Handan and will arrive soon."
"If Handan hasn't been captured by then, I'm afraid the king will blame him..."
Shen Bing was confused at that time.
King?
Could it be that he is talking about Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng?
Is Ying Zheng going to personally supervise the formation in Handan?