Qi Ji saw that his own archers were suppressed by arrows from the opposite side. Although they suffered heavy damage, they still achieved their goal. He saw that the ships on the opposite side were filled with rockets, and it was difficult to extinguish them. He was afraid that they would burst into flames soon.
But within a few moments of his happiness, he saw Benshi pushing out several strange things on the other side of the moat.
I saw one end of the thing sticking into the river, connected to an iron box, and a long pipe extending out, connected to a bamboo tube. , the scholar pulled the handle on the iron box back and forth, and the bamboo tube spurted streams of water several feet away.
This is a water-pumping truck improved on the principle of an airbag. The soldiers held bamboo tubes and sprayed water on the rockets inserted on the ship's board, dousing them all in a short time.
When Qi Ji saw it, he understood that his response was unlikely to be effective. At this time, the other side pushed flat carts onto the bridge, preparing to go straight to the city gate and begin to attack the city!
In addition to the soldiers manipulating the siege equipment below the flat car, there were also two generals, Gao Shun and Xu Huang, holding the formation. They waited for the city gate to be broken, and then rushed in to suppress the city gate defenders. The city gate defenders wanted to fight back, but were unable to do so. Suppressed by flying arrows and falling rocks, he could not lift his head up. If this continued, the city gate would be breached sooner or later.
After all, Hefei at this time had not turned into a fortified city that was difficult to capture after several fortifications, as in later generations. Now the inner and outer city walls were nothing more than two weak earth walls.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, natural disasters and famines occurred frequently, and the people were displaced. So much so that the repairs of many cities were completely stopped, and there was not enough food to eat. Who would build cities?
Therefore, except for the strategically important city fortresses, most cities, especially those in the rear, are often neglected and have weak defenses. Just like the Wancheng that Yuan Xi conquered earlier, it was because there had been no war for a long time and the city defenses were too many. If there were any oversights, it would fall quickly under Yuan Xi's fierce attack.
Qi Ji was even more panicked when he saw the soldiers on the opposite side were under the flat cart and made some strange things to destroy the city gate. He quickly asked the soldiers to pile wood and rocks behind the city gate so that even if the opposite side broke the door, they would not be able to rush in for a while. .
Lu Xun looked through the telescope and saw that the saw truck had rushed into the city, and said: "The remaining gunpowder can still be used to shoot a city-breaking cannon. Do you want to use it?"
Yuan Xi thought for a while, shook his head and said: "No, the situation is not urgent at the moment, so just keep it."
The defenders at the top of the city tried their best to smash down the rolling stones and wood. Gradually the wood and stones piled up at the door. The flat cart at the front was overwhelmed and made a creaking sound.
Finally there was a loud noise, the soldiers cheered in unison, and the city gate was opened. Gao Shun and Xu Huang subconsciously showed their swords, and when they saw the situation at the door, they cursed secretly.
The city gate hole behind the gate has been tightly piled with earth and rocks, and the top has exceeded the city gate. It will not be possible to clear the passage under the attack of the city defenders in a day or two, and there will definitely be many casualties.
Yuan Xi saw it in the telescope and said: "Ming Jin withdraws his troops and asks them to come back."
Soon the siege troops under the flat car retreated, and then the ship bridge spread out and slowly left the moat.
Qi Ji saw that although the wooden roofs of those ships were damaged, it was not serious. He knew that the next time the other side repaired the ships, they would come back again with excavation equipment. By then, the city gate would have been broken. How long could he sustain it? , it’s hard to say.
Moreover, Yuan Xi's army did not attack the city with much force this time, and did not even send any soldiers to climb the city. If they had climbed the city regardless of the losses, they might not be able to defend the city today.
Because there is a decisive gap between the two sides, armor.
Yuan Xi's army has at least thousands of armored soldiers, which is an absolute suppression of the Hefei defenders. What's even more frightening is that it has a trap camp that is known as the strongest army in the world. Qi Ji thinks to himself that in a head-on battle, he has no chance of winning!
He went down to the city with a lot of thoughts. He thought for a long time and saw that it was getting late. Finally he got up suddenly and went directly to Liu Fu's private house. Liu Fu sent someone to welcome Qi Ji in and sighed: "General, if you come at this time, I'm already here." A surprise, but not a surprise.”
"General, you can say that you have done a great job in guarding the city today, but your face is not happy. Can you tell me what happened?"
Qi Ji 1510 talked about the situation at the top of the city, and finally said: "Today it is obvious that the fierce tiger did not use even 30% of its strength. This attack on the city is more like a warning, and even Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not show up. "
Last time, Liu, Guan, and Zhang killed Yang Feng and Han Siam in one fell swoop. Recently, they defeated Yuan Shu's reinforcements several times, which made everyone know how powerful he was.
Qi Ji added: "If the opponent comes back tomorrow, with the trapped camp and Guan and Zhang alone, even if I try my best, I will still die."
"Now in order to repay Zhong Gong, Ji has tried his best. Death is not a big deal, but if he resists to the end, his death will be in vain, and he will also anger the other party and implicate people in the city."
After hearing this, Liu Fu sighed: "I understand General Qi's painstaking efforts."
"Fu is not a selfish person. He knows that he can't do something, so why should we both die together?"
"But if we talk about dedicating the city, the officials in the city, including Zheng Hun and the others, still want to get lucky, so they have always opposed it."
"If you want them to shut up, you have to find a reason."
Qi Ji was shocked when he heard this. Did Liu Fu want to kill Zheng Hun?
Liu Fu saw Qi Ji's thoughts and shook his head: "Don't worry, General, it won't be like this."
"I have an idea."
After he finished speaking, he added: "But it is a bit dangerous for the general. If the opponent is cruel, it will inevitably endanger the general's life."
Qi Ji pondered for a while, then raised his head and said decisively: "That's fine, I will risk my life to keep as many people in the city alive as possible!"
Liu Fu sighed and said: "The situation is urgent and the general can name that person tomorrow. He is thinking of his old friendship, so he will show mercy."
After Yuan Xi led the generals back to camp, he called everyone together and said: "The city gate has been broken. Tonight I will order people to assemble digging tools. Tomorrow, I will dig out the obstacles behind the city gate with all my strength. At the same time, I will send soldiers to attack the city head."
"Send a letter to Liu Yuzhou and ask him to pretend to attack the east gate and west gate, leaving a way for the north gate to escape."
After hearing this, everyone took the order and said, "Here!"
Early the next morning, when Yuan Xi saw that all the digging equipment in the camp had been assembled, he was ready to march with gold, but he heard a report from a spy, saying that Qi, the city's guard general, had sent out of the city to challenge him, and that he wanted to challenge Xu Huang in a duel!
After hearing this, the generals under Yuan Xi's command looked at each other in confusion. They knew that Qi Ji was the chief defender of Hefei City. These days, it seemed that the defenders were indeed capable, but where did he get the confidence to go out to challenge the city and find Xu Huang?
Is it possible that there is some conspiracy on the other side?
Yuan Xi thought for a while and said to Xu Huang: "Since the other party has found Brother Gongming, then General Lai will go there?"
Xu Huang immediately clasped his fists and said: "The last general takes orders!"
He was also puzzled. Qi Ji didn't seem to be such a reckless person. Could it be that he thought he had surrendered to the enemy, so he wanted to fight to the death with him?
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "Brother Gongming, don't worry, I will lead some people to raid the formation. If he dares to cheat, I will definitely let him go and never come back."
Not long after, everyone left the camp and the army arrived in front of the city. They saw Qi Ji leading two generals and hundreds of troops and horses, crossing the moat and forming an array with their backs to the river.
Jushou frowned when he saw it, and said to Xu Huang: "This location is within the archery range of the city, so be careful."
Xu Huang nodded slightly, patted his horse and went straight to the front of the formation, saying: "General Qi, swords and guns have no eyes, have you thought about it?"
Qi Ji raised the horse in his hand and shouted: "Stop talking nonsense, I will compete with you today!"
Xu Huang was slightly startled, but he saw that Qi Ji had already come up on his horse. He straightened up his horse and stabbed Xu Huang in the chest. Xu Huang raised the long ax in his hand and gently opened the opponent's spear tip.
When Xu Huang followed Yang Feng and Han Xian into the city, he had also participated in a banquet hosted by Liu Fu's relatives, so he took advantage of three points. The two of them rolled and fought dozens of moves, and they looked evenly matched.
Xu Huang gradually figured it out. He looked for a flaw and tentatively slid the long ax down the opponent's pole. If the opponent didn't let go, ten fingers would be cut off.
Qi Ji took advantage of the situation and let go of one of his hands in the air in advance. Xu Huang knew what he was doing, so he turned the ax upside down and slapped Qi Ji on the back with the ax blade.
Xu Huang took advantage of the situation and led a hundred cavalry to rush forward and captured hundreds of Qi Ji's men alive who could not retreat. When the city gate defenders saw it, they hurriedly pulled up the drawbridge and reported the emergency to Liu Fu in the city.
When Jushu saw it, he couldn't help but smile, and said to Yuan Xi: "Congratulations, Sir. It seems that you won't have to do more killings for taking Hefei."
"This Qi Ji also worked hard and didn't want to bear the infamy of surrender. This way his reputation is not damaged."
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "If I had known that the other party was so thoughtful, I should have taken the opportunity to raid the suspension bridge."
Jushou smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. The gates on the opposite side are all gone, and the guard has been captured. When the ship and bridge are cleared, we can only open the city and surrender."
Yuan Xi heard this and said: "Okay, beat the drums and send out troops, build the ship bridge again, and capture the city gate!"
The generals agreed with a roar.
Liu Fu was discussing matters with Zheng Hun and others when he suddenly heard a report from a spy, saying that Qi Ji and his generals had been captured, and now the army on the opposite side was attacking the city!
Zheng Hun and other main battle officers turned pale when they heard this. Liu Fu took the opportunity to sigh: "Now that General Qi has been captured, what do you think?"
Zheng Hun didn't even think about it and blurted out: "Of course we must gather the soldiers in the city and fight them to the death!"
Liu Fu sighed: "There are still thousands of soldiers, but who will lead them?"
Zheng Hun was speechless and could only say: "How about we run?"
Liu Fu said again: "Then how can we face Duke Zhong with dignity?"
Zheng Hun thought the same thing. If the city was lost, Yuan Shu would definitely be blamed. It was not certain whether he would be able to save his life by then!
He thought for a moment and said, "I have an old relationship with Hua Xin, the prefect of Yuzhang. When the time comes, I will be treated kindly if I surrender to him."
"We just need to send the soldiers out of the city to attack, and then take advantage of the chaos to escape."
Liu Fu said again: "The three gates on the east, west and south are blocked and Chao Lake is occupied. How can Sir cross the Yangtze River south to Yuzhang?"
Zheng Hun shook his head and said: "I have to give it a try. I won't vote for the fierce tiger anyway!"
Liu Fu knew that Yuan Shu treated Zheng Hun very well, so Zheng Hun was afraid that he would lose face and surrender, so he said: "Well, I will send a sergeant to escort you out of the city from the north gate."
Zheng Hun was stunned, "What about you?"
Liu Fu shook his head and said, "I won't go to Yuzhang."
Zheng Hun understood it as soon as he heard it. He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "We'll see each other again later!"
After that, he hurried out and went out.
Liu Fu's subordinates saw this and said, "Why don't you capture him and take some credit?"
Liu Fu shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's compete with our peers."
Not long after, soldiers surrounded Zheng Hun and left the city from the north gate. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei heard about it and rushed to catch up and intercept him. The soldiers had nowhere to go and they were all captured. However, Zheng Hun and others took advantage of the chaos and ran away towards the Dabie Mountains in the southwest.
When Yuan Xi led his troops to the city, Liu Fu was already waiting behind the city gate, holding a seal of surrender.
Yuan Xi and everyone suddenly felt relieved. They didn't expect Hefei to be captured like this. It seemed that there were not many people who could wholeheartedly work for Yuan Shu.
(End of chapter)
