Chapter 194: Witch Attack
As long as an army is willing to bleed, it will eventually be able to advance. After paying the price of five to six hundred lives and more than a thousand lightly and seriously wounded, by the time the sun was faltering in the west, a large section of the trench outside the Chengdu wall that was eighty to ninety feet wide had been filled in, and the wilderness behind it It has also been trimmed to be almost as flat as the official road.
The sound of bamboo bangs rang out from behind the formation, but the Yi soldiers did not retreat after hearing the sound as before. Instead, they continued to brave the firepower of the defenders to drag or help their dead and injured comrades away, and even the wreckage of the larger carriages was also They were cleared to the side and far away from the passage - of course, these extraneous measures cost them dozens of additional casualties.
The Yi soldiers gradually retreated from the shooting range, and the effects of adrenaline subsided. The defenders who had been rotated twice on the wall slowly calmed down from their excitement and looked up to look outside the city. Only then did they realize that there were noisy bandit soldiers everywhere, lying corpses, tumbling and wailing wounded, shattered remains of carriages, scattered sacks of earth and rocks... But at this moment, the battlefield was full of bloodstains and sticks stuck in the soil. There were arrows in it, and in the blink of an eye, it was as empty as a school field! The shouts, curses, screams, and shooting sounds just now seemed to be deafening in the ears, but if you listen carefully, the surroundings are eerily quiet, and everything in front of you is as unreal as a bizarre, bloody and terrifying dream.
Against the backdrop of the huge emptiness, everyone seemed very small, and a heavy sense of oppression hit them. In an instant, the sound of breathing from up and down the city wall where the noise had just reached the sky was almost inaudible, and even the wounded stopped moaning. In addition to the emptiness, what pressed on everyone's hearts was more fear, the fear of the inexplicable and unknown: The Miao thieves paid such a heavy price to do all this, obviously to clear the way - who will be thrown into the battlefield soon? Such a ferocious beast?
The sounds of chaotic footsteps and shouts were faintly heard again. She Chongming's local soldiers pressed forward and stopped a mile away from the city wall. Looking from the top of the city, they could see thieves with black crows in their field of vision.
"Why, is that extravagant thief going to attack at night with fire?" Zhu Xieyuan was a little nervous.
"Sir, they are on guard to prevent our troops from leaving the city at night to destroy the filled trenches. There will definitely be big guys coming up tomorrow, otherwise the extravagant thieves will not spend so much effort." Sun Jie replied calmly, and then turned to Lao Shun: " General Lao, please arrange for brothers to be on duty at night, prepare more torches, and throw a few under the wall every once in a while. I estimate that the luxury thieves will not make any moves tonight, but we must also be prepared for small groups of thieves to attack and harass at night. Call brothers You see clearly, as long as you don’t bring a ladder, don’t pay attention to him. Every hour of the watch, there will be a shift, and the sleepy ones will be engaged in military law!”
"The general will get the order!" Lao Shun responded loudly.
"Then..." Zhu Xieyuan hesitated to speak.
"Sir, you can't." Sun Jie guessed what Zhu Xieyuan was thinking, and immediately shook his head and said, "This is a no-brainer. The extravagant thief is waiting for us to open the door at night to clear the trench. Such a wide trench needs to be used at least. Thousands of people can't see clearly in the dark, so they can only raise fire to report the news to the extravagant thieves. When the thieves rush over, thousands of people will rush to the city, and the city gate will not be closed."
"Well, what Guodong said makes sense. I'll listen to you and I will never interfere. I can trust you!" Zhu Xieyuan immediately understood that Sun Jie was right. He pondered for a moment and then asked, "Guodong, Think about it, what awesome thing will that extravagant thief come up with tomorrow?"
Sun Jie smiled bitterly: "Sir, I am ashamed. Although I have been thinking about it, how powerful the attack weapon is. I have thought through the military books at home and the stories of my ancestors, but I have never heard of it. I really can't guess." Then the conversation started. Turning around, he cupped his fists and said seriously, "But don't worry, sir. Since ancient times, evil has not suppressed good. As long as the boy is here, the city of Chengdu will be impregnable!"
"It's true that evil never prevails over good, Guodong said it right! I'm not wrong about you!"
In the early morning of the next day, shortly after the sky became bright, bursts of shrill singing could be heard faintly outside the city. In the morning mist, a dozen ghostly figures danced and disappeared. When they get closer, you can find that these people are not young. The bronzed, thin and naked upper body was covered with various grotesque patterns, some indigo and some scarlet. There were firm expressions on the thin faces. Some were wearing cloaks made of burlap, while others had worn-out sheepskin cloaks tucked around their waists. Some had messy black hair, while others were tied with batik homespun cloth. Their heads are adorned with hair ornaments woven with feathers and herbs, which serve as a medium for them to communicate with gods and ancestors. The metal amulets hanging around their necks reflected and jingled in the morning sun. They held up their staffs and beat their leather drums, walking slowly but firmly, singing as they walked. Rather than moving forward, it is better to say that it is dancing, not so much singing, but the singing is like crying, and the end of each sentence is so sharp that it reaches the sky. The Yi soldiers who were encamped outside Lixu and were on guard all turned to them and knelt on the ground. At the end of each song, all the Yi people responded in unison. The huge echo surged through the mountains, continuously, and repeatedly hit the defenders. eardrums and heart.
They are wizards from various tribes under She Chongming.
Behind them, a huge thing appeared: that large group, dragged by hundreds of colorful monsters, turned out to be - a city!
It really is a city. The front is more than fifty feet wide*, and the height is even higher than the city wall of Chengdu. There are battlements, stacks, ladders and walls! Surrounding this slowly moving castle are thousands of Yi people with colorful paint on their faces and bodies. Each one holds a fire stick with wet thatch tied to the head. The white smoke coming out may be thick or light. The castle The lower part is looming.
"Could it be that thieves sacrificed the ghost town in the mountains?"
"What, a ghost town? Appearing in the daytime?"
"You haven't seen any wizard casting spells. The smoke has covered the sun!"
"Ah, a ghost town? That city is full of ghosts..."
The defenders and young men were terrified and whispered to each other. In this era, everyone, including Zhu Xieyuan and Sun Jie, firmly believed in the theory of gods, Buddhas and ghosts. The only difference was that scholars did not talk about it openly - "The son does not talk about monsters and his power confuses the gods". However, deep down, everyone believes it (otherwise, if ordinary people are illiterate, where would so many fairy tales come from)? Seeing this battle, Zhu Xieyuan and Sun Jie were certainly shocked, and the ordinary soldiers who defended the city were in an uproar. Many of them chanted "Amitabha" and started to retreat step by step involuntarily.
"Where is the command of Chengdu central defender Laoshun?" Sun Jie pressed his hand on the handle of the knife and suddenly let out a loud shout.
"Mo, Mo, Mo will be here." Laoshun's voice was trembling.
"Ask your personal guards to supervise the battle. Anyone who retreats from the enemy will be punished on the spot! Also, gather all the artillery here, with a distance of three feet and spaced out!" Sun Jie roared fiercely. However, it would take a lot of effort to drag such a heavy cannon along with its frame, projectiles, and gunpowder. I don’t know if it will be possible in time. Even if it is moved, the thieves have cast a witchcraft, and I don’t know if it will be able to fire... Sun Jie is here He was thinking to himself, but his face was as dark as water, and he didn't show any uneasiness.
"The general has your order!" Sun Jie's shout made Lao Shun wake up a lot from the shock. He couldn't escape anyway, so let's fight! After wanting to understand this level, Lao Shun spoke fluently: "Kids, watch out for me. If any son of a bitch dares to take a step back, I will kill him on the spot! I have dragged the cannons over, and the immortals are going to get out of here! "
"Sheng Degong!" Sun Jie roared again.
"I obey your orders, Commander." As the captain of Sun Jie's bodyguard, Mr. Sheng Qian always followed him.
"Take four capable brothers to escort Mr. Zhu back to the Yamen." Sun Jie said softly.
"I won't leave!" Before Sheng Degong could reply, Zhu Xieyuan also yelled, "I will watch you thief from this tower!"
"Sir..." Sun Jie was about to persuade him. Zhu Xieyuan shook his head, looked directly at Sun Jie, and softened his tone again, but his tone was extremely firm: "Guodong doesn't need to say more."
"Yes, sir." Sun Jie said and bowed to Zhu Xieyuan. When he stood up, he glanced at Sheng Degong. The latter returned a knowing look and waved his hand. Four guards came over and faintly greeted Zhu Xieyuan. The adults are in the middle.
At this moment, the ghost town-like fortress had slowly approached about half a mile away from the city. Sun Jie looked around and saw that several cannons were still halfway there. He calculated in his mind that it would take more than a stick of incense to get the two or three close ones into position... No, we have to fight for time!
"Fangzi Crossbow, fire!"
"Snap, whoosh."
"Snap, whoosh."
The soldier in charge of firing picked up the mallet and slammed the machine down, and the iron spear shot out.
"Pah, pah!"
With such a distance and such a big target, five or six iron spears hit the target one after another.
However……
Almost no effect!
To deal with carriages and even heavy collisions, the bed crossbow can be said to be invincible. However, the target of this shooting was a city - relatively speaking, the energy of the iron spear was completely insignificant in the face of such a huge mass. The advancing castle only trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly to the naked eye, without any hindrance. Keep pushing!
"Wind up and keep firing!"
Each crossbow has dozens of soldiers working desperately to turn the winch, but they all know that at the fastest speed, there will only be one more chance to launch when the ghost town reaches the edge of the trench - can it be useful? What?
The ghost town is only a hundred steps away from the city wall. Behind them were Lao Shun and Sun Jie's personal guards, holding swords and supervising the formation. Except for the soldiers and civilians who operated the crossbows and carried the artillery, most of the defenders were invincible and had no way to escape. They all looked at it in stunned silence. Some of them were stunned and frightened. The archers shot out their arrows desperately and in vain... Suddenly a shrill bamboo whistle sounded like a ghost, and hundreds of ghost figures with blood on their faces suddenly appeared from the stacks, screaming strangely, and drawing their bows. Arrows were shot towards the city, and in the blink of an eye, more than a hundred soldiers were shot and fell to the ground!
There was a huge uproar in the city!
"Fight back! Fight back!" Sun Jie, Lao Shun and the officers shouted in unison. No matter if he is a human or a ghost, if you have a target, just hit him!
The performance of the Changjie Battalion soldiers was much better than that of the Chengdu Guards. They were also gripped by huge fear in their hearts, but the repeated training day after day was to engrave their absolute obedience to military law into their bones through various tortures such as military sticks, whips, arrows, beheadings, and even beheadings alive. Soldiers responded reflexively to their commander's orders under various extreme circumstances.
However, the shooting effect is poor.
The ghost city is two or three feet higher than the city wall. This height difference makes the effective range of the ghost soldiers much better than that of the defenders - just like shooting downwards from the top of the city, but now the advantage lies with the She Chongming Ghost City.
Sun Jie blocked Zhu Xieyuan behind him and carefully observed the other side. The five artillery pieces were almost ready, and the other two were about to be ready, but they did not fire immediately - the gunners were worried that the other side's witchcraft would cause the cannons to explode. Sun Jie also had this concern, so he did not rush to give the order. Instead of firing shots, he is calmly looking for the opponent's flaws. Zhu Xieyuan had made up his mind to die for the city. He stepped forward from behind Sun Jie and was about to stand side by side with his beloved general. Suddenly, he noticed that a trace of the familiar smile lines appeared on the corner of Sun Jie's mouth. Sun Jie raised his hand to the side and shouted: "Here comes the bow."
One of the guards quickly took off the bow on his back, pulled out an arrow from the quiver and handed it over. Sun Jie used an iron-ridged bow - the top and bottom of the bow were inlaid with a piece of iron that was almost a minute thick, and the bow string was also wrapped with several thin strands of copper wire. The arrows are iron-bone armor-piercing arrows with triple barbs. Each arrow costs more than one tael of silver! In front of this kind of arrow, even the mountain pattern armor of the imperial court's third-rank and above military officers is no different from rice paper - iron bow and iron bone arrow. This combination is a weapon specially designed for long-range hunting of high-ranking enemy generals. !
Who is Sun Shuai going to shoot?
Sun Jie reached out to the leather pouch at his waist, and there was a stainless steel ring on his thumb. He slowly drew the bow full, and then led the bow downward... Zhu Xieyuan's eyes followed the direction of the arrow cluster... …
What Sun Jie was aiming at was not the ghost soldier on the opposite side, but the monster in the trailer!
To shoot a man, shoot a horse first; to capture a thief, capture the king first!
Seeing this situation, Mr. Zhu immediately remembered these two sentences - yes! Why didn't anyone think of this just now?
Of course the soldiers had not read Du Fu's "Before Leaving the Fortress", but their failure to shoot the monsters was actually more out of fear. Seeing that the arrows shot occasionally did not hurt them, the archers did not think about the two factors of distance and obstruction. They were just afraid of these strange and colorful monsters because they had never seen them before. For fear of irritating them and causing more trouble for themselves - what if one roars and flies up to the top of the city and opens its bloody mouth to bite you?
"Whoosh!"
The iron bone arrow shot out with a sound of breaking through the air!
With a scream of "moo", a monster was shot straight on, and the iron arrow did not reach its feathers! The monster fell to the ground and struggled violently, kicking its limbs, its belly exposed, and the red and green floral cloth wrapped around its body was torn apart - now everyone could see clearly, it was just a cow covered in quilts!
"Artillery No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, and No. 7, aim at the top of the city and hit the Miao ghosts! No. 2, No. 4, and No. 6 cannon, shoot down the cattle! Use all the smaller iron bullets and hit!"
At the same time as Sun Jie issued the order, She Chongming blew the horn horn from behind the formation, and thousands of Yi soldiers shouted and rushed to the city wall. Today's tragic battle began again.
*In real history, I don’t know whether She Chongming did not understand the military situation of the Ming army’s artillery and trebuchets (unlikely), or he believed too much in his own strength, so he did build the largest siege vehicle in history: It is more than fifty feet long, which is one hundred and fifty sixty meters! Imagine coming towards a wooden castle as big as one and a half football fields... The soldiers guarding the city were indeed panicked, and the people who were assisting in defending Chengdu were so frightened that they "ran around and shouted." Of course, Zhu Xieyuan used trebuchets and artillery, attacking carts and oxen. This offensive collapsed as Lu Gong's chariot fell into pieces.
