In the next few days, soldiers from both sides started fighting with crossbows. The Jizhou Army relied on its advantages in manhole railings, crossbows, building carts, carts and other equipment to trap the Yanzhou Army in the camp and unable to move.
The Jizhou Army finally got rid of the shadow of the previous two defeats, and its morale also improved.
Yuan Xi always had a sense of uneasiness in his heart, probably due to the influence of historical habitual thinking. He always thought that Cao Cao would engage in some tricks such as cutting off grain roads and attacking from behind.
"Xianyi, where is the siege weapon you mentioned? Let me take a look at it quickly." Yuan Shao asked anxiously.
"Ah! Just ask the soldiers to move up!" Yuan Xi said.
Yuan Xi came to his senses and asked Liu Ye about the so-called "Thunderbolt Car" a few days ago. When asked, Liu Ye presented the sketch of "Thunderbolt Car", and then today's show was born.
It turns out that Liu Ye met an old craftsman when he was traveling to study when he was young. At that time, he was young and out of interest, learned the art of instrument construction from an old craftsman for a period of time.
This "Thunderbolt Car" is actually an improved stone-fired cart, but it is more powerful than the traditional stone-fired cart, with a longer range and more accurate accuracy. It can be regarded as a giant cannon of this era.
Yuan Shao's large group appeared on the fence of the camp, which naturally attracted the attention of the Cao army on the opposite side. Accordingly, the Yanzhou army also gathered a group of soldiers to guard against the attack of the Jizhou army.
"Whoosh!" A feather arrow struck.
"Lord, be careful!" Yan Liang reacted quickly and shouted. Use a shield to protect Yuan Shao.
"Ah!" A tooth gate general in front was hit by an arrow. He fell down and couldn't help twitching. This passerby was not so lucky.
Yuan Shao pushed Yan Liang away and said angrily: "There are about three hundred steps between the two places. How could you possibly shoot me!"
"General, you must be on guard!" Another hundred-man general responsible for guarding said: "There are several sharp archers on the opposite side, and many people have been hit by arrows here in recent days."
"Oh!" Yuan Shao was slightly surprised. This distance of 300 steps was beyond the reach of a crossbow. But even if it is a powerful crossbow, if you pursue accurate shooting, there will be a big deviation in the accuracy. If the opponent can do it, it means that he is indeed a sharp archer.
"When Cao Cao resisted Yuan Shu and Yu Fuluo in Yanzhou, he surrendered a group of Huns. Could it be them?" Feng Ji asked.
Chen Lin thought for a while and said: "According to the news, after the Huns took refuge with Cao Cao, they mixed with some elite soldiers from the Yanzhou Cavalry Army and formed an elite cavalry called the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. They were very brave. , is the elite of the Yanzhou army."
"The so-called Tiger and Leopard Cavalry participated in the last battle of Luoyang. They were indeed a powerful force, no less powerful than our army's Wuhuan Cavalry." Yuan Xi also said. In fact, he had a higher evaluation of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. He believed that the only cavalry on his side that could overwhelm the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was the Xiaoqi Battalion controlled by his own subordinate Zhao Yun.
Yuan Shao smiled brightly and said: "Everyone knows that the Wuhuan Tuqi are the elites in the world. The Xiongnu barbarians have already declined. I really want them to compete against each other if I have the chance."
But before Yuan Shao could finish his words, another crossbow attack came. This time the target was Yuan Shao, who had the most distinctive armor.
"Bang!" Yan Liang once again blocked the arrow with his shield.
Everyone was shocked, and Yan Liang quickly asked his soldiers to come forward with shields and line up to protect the civil and military personnel.
Yuan Shao looked ugly, this was a naked provocation!
Yuan Xi also didn't expect to pick such a strong point. A father's insult will lead to his son's death, so he shouted coldly: "Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, come out! Fight back!"
Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun, two generals following Yuan Xi, had long wanted to take action. Since Yuan Shao and some of his aides were there, they couldn't attack rashly without receiving orders, but now they finally can.
Taishi Ci narrowed his eyes, caught the arrow and raised his hand to shoot.
As everyone looked, a figure across from them immediately fell down!
"Good!" "Good archery skills!" The Jizhou Army shouted.
And Zhao Yun's specially made "God's Arm Bow" looks very intimidating. He pulled out the bow string, and suddenly saw a figure holding a crossbow on the opposite side. Without thinking about it, the arrows shot out, and the poor crossbowman was pierced between the eyebrows before he could fire the crossbow.
"Okay!" "Archer!" The shouts from the Jizhou Army were even louder. In a war, the morale of both sides is very important.
At this time, the soldiers of Yanzhou Army looked for cover and hid, never daring to show their faces again.
"I didn't expect that Xian Yi would have such a brave man in your army." Yuan Shao felt proud and he clapped his hands repeatedly.
"Even the Huns are nothing more than barbarians, not as good as me, the sons of the Han family!" Yuan Xi said boldly.
"Okay!" Everyone shouted again.
Then Yuan Xi pointed to a stone cart carried by several soldiers and said: "This is what the child calls a weapon for attacking fortresses!"
At Yuan Xi's invitation, Yuan Shao and a group of civil and military personnel came to the fence in front of the camp to inspect the enemy's situation.
Yuan Xi pointed to a stone cart carried by several soldiers and said to Yuan Shao: "This is what the child said was a weapon for siege!"
"Isn't this a stone car? What's so special about it?" Feng Ji asked doubtfully.
"This is a thunderbolt chariot improved from the military's stone-firing chariot. Its power and accuracy are greatly improved compared to the military's stone-firing chariot!" Yuan Xi explained in detail.
Everyone looked at it and saw that the Thunderbolt Car was indeed different from the previous Stone Cart. Not only was it smaller in size, but it also had changes in its structure and appearance.
The soldiers loaded the cannon stones onto the Thunderbolt Chariot, and Liu Ye personally directed the soldiers to calibrate. He nodded to Yuan Xi to indicate that they were ready.
Yuan Xi waved his hand to Cao Ying ahead and issued an attack order.
"Buzz!" The lever is activated and the cannon stone is fired.
Everyone stared at the rapidly changing trajectory of the artillery stone, and only heard "Boom!" After a thunderous sound, a well railing in Cao Ying opposite was destroyed, and the Yanzhou soldiers on top screamed and fell down.
"Okay!" Everyone cheered in unison, and the surrounding Jizhou soldiers also shouted.
"Okay! I didn't expect that this Thunderbolt Chariot is not only suitable in size and can be moved in front of the camp, but also has such power!" Yuan Shao said in surprise. He thought that as long as more Pili Chariots were built, the life of the Yanzhou Army would be even more difficult.
"If all the craftsmen among the generals are gathered together, more than 20 thunderbolt cars can be built within three days." Yuan Xi continued.
"Ah! Xianyi, who made this thunderbolt chariot?" Yuan Shao asked.
Yuan Xi pointed to Liu Ye who was standing aside: "What a boy. My counselor is Liu Ye from Huainan, Yangzhou. Liu Ziyang."
"Okay! If you win this battle, you must have made a great contribution!" Yuan Shao praised.
Liu Ye bowed his hands in greeting: "This was made by a craftsman. I only made slight improvements so that it can be used in a narrow camp. It should not be rewarded by the general."
"Oh! Where is that craftsman now? If you can ask him to build siege equipment for our army, I would like to pay him a lot of money!" Yuan Shao then asked.
"I'm afraid I have disappointed Mr. Yuan. The old craftsman died four years ago." Liu Ye said sadly.
"Ah! That's such a pity. Fortunately, sir, you have learned how to build this thunderous car." Yuan Shao said with regret.
Yuan Xi was a little regretful, but Liu Ye had said so in private. It is said that the old craftsman had a young apprentice named Ma Jun. Yuan Xi made a prompt decision. After asking Liu Ye about the old craftsman's place of origin, he immediately sent someone to look for a man named Ma Jundi.
Liu Ye only roughly learned how to build some equipment. After all, he was not a professional craftsman, so he needed the help of the famous craftsman Ma Jun from the Three Kingdoms to develop new siege equipment.
Although there had been "trebuchets" for sieges at this time, their power, range, and accuracy were not ideal, and it was impossible to break through the city wall by relying on trebuchets alone.
Throughout the feudal era, the West used counterweight-type torsion trebuchets, while China used lever-type trebuchets. The lever-type trebuchet is much larger in range and power than the Western torque trebuchet, but the counterweight-type torque trebuchet is not without its merits.
Before gunpowder was used in large quantities to destroy city walls. Later Mongols used craftsmen from the Western Regions and Han craftsmen to create the ultimate trebuchet, the Xiangyang Cannon! This was also the time when the Southern Song Dynasty was destroyed. One of the reasons why the Mongols were able to repeatedly attack fortified cities.
After experiencing many siege battles, Yuan Xi learned that although there were twelve methods of siege at this time: "lin, hook, ladder, ditch, water, hole, sudden, mofu, xuan chariot, chariot, hollow, and rush." So much.
But many methods are either too restrictive or cause huge losses to oneself. Among them, the most commonly used method is to dig tunnels and destroy city walls, such as Gongsun Zan's attack on Jixian.
The so-called artillery Yuan Xi can no longer tinker with, but if the large catapults at this time can be improved into "Xiangyang artillery", then the siege tactics and tactics will be greatly changed in the future.
Yuan Shao was very happy and rewarded Liu Ye, Zhao Yun and Tai Shici with some money and silk. He also ordered Yuan Xi to summon craftsmen to build a thunder chariot immediately.
"Father, the child has something to report." Yuan Xi took the opportunity to say.
"Oh? Xianyi just says it."
Yuan Xi looked at Cao Ying opposite. He said, "If a large number of thunder chariots are built, then Cao Cao will definitely not be able to hold on to the white horse. If he returns to his home base of Chenliu, the morale of the Yanzhou army will plummet. As long as our army attacks Chenliu again, it will be difficult for Cao Cao to reverse the defeat. But My father knows what kind of person Cao Cao is, and he will not retreat to Chenliu to be beaten, so our army must be on guard against his tricks."
Yuan Shao's expression changed. Of course he knew that Cao Cao had been a scheming person since his youth. On weekdays, when encountering danger, soldiers often make dangerous moves and come up with strange plans.
"What the second young master said is that we must be careful to prevent Cao Cao from jumping over the wall in a hurry!" Xu You agreed. He and Cao Cao were old acquaintances, and they knew each other well, but he was also afraid that Cao Cao would do something wrong.
Yuan Shao nodded and asked: "Xianyi, you said that Cao Cao would use a trick, tell me what kind of trick it would be."
"Cut off our food route! Cao Jun's intention is very obvious, that is, he wants to cut off our army's retreat," Yuan Xi said firmly. He was very paranoid that Cao Cao would attack the grain road.
"But our grain fields and grain roads are guarded by more than 20,000 soldiers. Even if he divides his troops to attack, he can't get rid of it." Yuan Shao said.
"Did my father forget that Lu Bu's thousands of cavalry were guerrillas in Hebei at that time? We must be on guard." Yuan Xi explained.
Yuan Shao snorted and said angrily: "I will capture and kill Lu Bu's fellow to avenge him!"
"Second Young Master, when we were in Liyang, the scouts came to report that Lu Bu's men and horses had crossed the river south at the Puyang line. And if he attacked Cangting, he would be sent into the pocket formation himself, and would fall into a situation where he was attacked from both sides. This strategy is only You can deceive ordinary people, but you can't deceive me, Guo Tu. Just watch, I dare to conclude that those thousands of cavalry are just a suspicious soldier, a cover-up trick used by Cao Cao. Let's leave him alone until he is defeated. If the main force of Cao's army is defeated, he will naturally withdraw." Guo Tu reminded.
"As long as they are well-trained elite cavalry, they can come and go like the wind. The cavalry crosses the river from Puyang and then rushes to Liyang, which is only three days away. The Yanzhou army's elite cavalry always has a dagger, waiting for an opportunity to insert it into the food road behind me." Xi retorted.
"Second brother, the food road you mentioned is indeed important, but with Ju Yi and his 20,000 men guarding it, are we still afraid of Cao Cao's thousands of cavalry attacks? The war here is tight. If we divide our troops elsewhere, how can we capture Baima? With Chen Liu?" Yuan Tan said in a teaching tone.
Damn idiot, you don't know how powerful Cao Cao's ambush plan is. He doesn't want to capture Cangting, he wants to surround the main force of our army.
Yuan Xi asked back: "The spies came to report that Cao Cao had mobilized more than 50,000 troops, but the white horses on the opposite side were only more than 30,000. Where did the rest go? There must be more than 10,000 troops stationed in Puyang. It is like a A hidden arrow can attack Baima Jin to cut off my retreat, and he can also cross the river to attack our grain route. What if Lu Bu goes from the south of Cangting and takes a detour to attack our rear?"
"Second Young Master is right. There has been no movement in Puyang for a long time. There must be some conspiracy brewing, or Cao Cao's back-up plan." Feng Ji agreed.
Xu You rolled his eyes and suggested: "If Cao Cao really stationed heavy troops in Puyang and Baima, then Chenliu would be very empty. It is better to send a light force to attack Chenliu, so the Yanzhou army will inevitably collapse!"
Faint move, Yuan Xi said in his heart. If Cao Cao can fight at the front with peace of mind, then Xun Yu will be left behind in his home base. It's a joke that a light force without siege equipment could take down Chen Liu, who was guarded by Xun.
"No, no, no!" Yuan Shaozhi shook his head: "If they are prepared and close the city to defend, then wouldn't it be the same as committing suicide if the troops penetrate deep into the enemy's territory?"
"Baima's grain garrison will not be very large. You can send more scouts to find out the food route from Chen Liu to Baima, and then send elite cavalry to rob him of his grain and grass." Yuan Xi suggested.
"Let me consider this matter." Yuan Shao frowned. He was frightened by Cao Cao's tricks. He was afraid that by dividing his troops or using odd timing, he would be plotted by Cao Cao again.
Langya opens Yang.
Cao Ren looked down at the two soldiers and horses fighting under the city, and he couldn't help but sweat broke out on his forehead. I thought Liu Bei was just a small character, but once they started fighting, I realized how difficult Liu Bei was, especially the two generals in front.
Guan Yu rode a jujube-colored war horse, and he broke into the Yanzhou army's formation from time to time. After staring at a school officer, he mobilized the war horse, wrapped the Yanyue knife around the gun barrel, and the cold blade broke open the school officer's head!
"Mighty!" Liu Beijun burst out with another burst of shouts. This is already the head of the eighth general.
How could Zhang Fei be left behind? He urged the Wuzui horse to stab him randomly with his spear, exerting his brute strength to the extreme. But he attacks with such wide openness. The momentum is so great that it often attracts a group of soldiers to besiege.
"Bring me my bow!" Cao Ren ordered.
Several soldiers received the order and handed over a strong bow. Cao Ren aimed at Zhang Fei who was eager to kill, grabbed a feather arrow with his right hand and fired it out.
"Third brother, be careful!" Liu Bei shouted. He has been paying attention to the movements on the city wall.
Zhang Fei sensed the direction of the arrow with his warrior's intuition. He grunted and moved his body, barely avoiding the arrow.
Cao Ren frowned and ordered: "Call the gold and withdraw the troops!" After receiving the order, the soldiers immediately raised the gold and opened the city gate to receive the soldiers outside. Zhang Fei was not willing to let go of this opportunity, shouting and leading his troops in pursuit.
"Fire the arrow!" the city gate captain shouted loudly.
The crossbowmen on the city wall were ready without any instructions. When Liu Bei's army approached, they would greet him with a hail of arrows.
Seeing all the enemy troops entering the city, Zhang Fei yelled: "You son of a bitch, Cao Ren, how dare you come down and fight with your Grandpa Zhang for three hundred rounds!"
Zhang Fei was famous for his thunderous voice, and the soldiers on both sides could hear this clearly.
Cao Ren clenched his fists, his face changed slightly, but he still held it back.
"Uncle Xiao, why are you calling me gold? Our army has stabilized its position and is about to counterattack!" Cao Xiu asked, throwing his bag to the side.
Cao Ren glared at him and said seriously: "In the army, military ranks are commensurate with each other, so don't drag on the relationship!"
Cao Xiu was choked, and he clasped his fists unwillingly and said: "Our army has stabilized its position. It is really inappropriate for the general to call me back at this time."
Cao Ren shook his head and said seriously: "We can't just look at the fighting in front of us. My lord has entrusted the defense of Xuzhou, Taishan and Lu to us. With such an important task, how can there be any mistakes?"
"But is it related to this battle?" Cao Xiu asked.
"Of course!" Cao Ren looked at the retreating Liu Bei army and said, "I didn't expect that Liu Bei turned out to be a ruthless character. He even attacked three counties in the north of Langya in more than ten days. Kaiyang is not a strong city, and our army's attack is a setback for the ground. Their vigor does not allow them to take advantage of the victory and attack the city. And Liu Bei's army's morale is high, and his two generals are not easy to deal with. Our army really cannot risk engaging in field battles and losing precious soldiers."
"Then how should we retreat from the enemy and hold on to the city?" Cao Xiu asked.
"My lord has left us few soldiers. How can we fortify everything?" Cao Ren shook his head and said, "But Langya is the key point that has stopped Qingzhou Army and Liu Bei Army from going south to Xuzhou. As long as they hold this place firmly, Liu Bei and the others cannot enter other counties in Xuzhou. county."
"Then you should stick to it!" Cao Xiu said.
Cao Ren sneered: "Liu Bei is nothing more than a dog raised by others. His master is still watching from behind. He cannot act rashly until he knows their details. But once you seize the opportunity, you must beat Liu Bei, this evil dog, to cut down the Qingzhou army." arms!"
"General, I understand." Cao Xiu said humbly. Not long after he joined the army, he still had many things to learn from Cao Ren.
