In fact, Cao Ergou had thought about a sneak attack on Yongkang City before, but Xiong Ben, who had suffered consecutive defeats, had already become frightened and guarded Yongkang City very tightly. In addition to digging deep trenches and installing equipment, they also sent people to set fire to all the weeds and trees around the city. The Perak Army's scouts would be driven away even if they came even slightly close to the city, let alone the chance of a successful sneak attack. Therefore, Cao Ergou did not conceal the march, but sent out guards to drive away Xiong Ben's scouts. When the front army was still two miles away from Yongkang City, he ordered the march to stop. Going forward may be hit by long-range weapons from Yongkang City. Although this distance is far beyond the range of a large trebuchet, it is close to the range of a large bed crossbow. Yongkang's new auxiliary army was mainly composed of the original Xiang army and bandits. It only had a small number of light siege equipment and lacked heavy siege technology. However, out of caution, Cao Ergou ordered the formation to be organized here. At this time, the Perak Army was in the shape of a long snake, and this marching array was easily attacked by surprise. Cao Ergou must first organize a defensive formation to gain a foothold, and then organize an siege.
Sure enough, just as the soldiers of the Perak Army were busy carrying artillery and setting up defensive positions with engineering shovels, the west gate of Yongkang City suddenly opened wide, and a large number of Xiong Ben's men suddenly rushed out of the city and rushed straight towards the Perak Army array. Xiong Ben also knew that the city could not be defended to death. If he waited for the Perak Army to set up their formation, artillery alone could give the Yongkang City defenders a drink. If you want to defend the city, you must destroy the Perak Army's artillery, and now is the best time. Standing on the city gate tower at this moment, he also saw that the Perak Army's formation was at its most chaotic at this time, so he decisively sent people to launch a surprise attack, aiming directly at the Perak Army's artillery and ammunition.
Xiong Ben wanted to take a gamble while the Pili Army was still gaining a foothold outside the city. In addition to having five hundred desperadoes under his command, his confidence was also due to the fact that he also had grenades and artillery during this period. In order to win with one blow, the defenders of Yongkang City basically mobilized. At the forefront were fifty dead soldiers selected by Xiong Ben. The task of these dead soldiers was to use grenades and gunpowder packs to blow up the Thunderbolt Army. Shape, blow up the siege artillery. In fact, both sides understood that the Perak Army, which had lost its artillery, would not only be unable to capture Yongkang City, but might be defeated. The grenades owned by Xiong Ben were imitated from the unexploded dumb mines of the Pili Army, and the artillery was copied after looking at the appearance of the Pili Army's artillery. There were some smart people among these bandits. After several experiments, they were able to fiddle with dozens of grenades and two clumsy artillery pieces. In order to make these firearms, Xiong Ben had exhausted all the iron in Yongkang City, and even looted all the iron pots and kitchen knives used by the people. During the trial production of firearms, more than ten craftsmen and soldiers were killed, and even the Taoist priest in charge of the trial production was blinded in one eye.
Just when the gates of Yongkang City were wide open, the soldiers of the Perak Army began to form a formation in a hurry under the command of the officers. Fortunately, there were still two miles away from the city gate, which gave the Pili army a few minutes to react. Also, because Cao Ergou was very strict with military discipline and training, Yongkang's new auxiliary troops rushed nearby and began to bend their bows and draw crossbows. By that time, the Thunderbolt Army had formed a line of defense - the giant shield was in front, but the strange thing was that the spearmen did not line up behind it, but instead guarded the two sides. The arrows made the giant shield bang, and occasionally shot through the gaps between the shields, causing the soldiers of the Thunderbolt Army who were unfortunate enough to be shot to scream and groan from time to time. When the crossbowmen fired arrows, the newly attached troops of Yongkang City did not stop. The fifty dead soldiers with grenades continued to charge towards the shield formation. The remaining soldiers were divided into two groups and detoured to both sides of the Perak Army. . Xiong Ben's wishful thinking was to use crossbowmen to suppress the front of the Perak Army, let the dead soldiers rush to the front to fight with grenades, blow up the Perak Army's formation, and then defeat the Perak Army in one fell swoop through numerical superiority and a three-sided attack.
It's just that the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny. When the fifty dead soldiers stopped at more than thirty meters, which was the maximum distance for throwing grenades, they took out the kindling they carried and started to light the fuse of the grenade. Dozens of people stretched out from the gap between the giant shield array of the Thunderbolt Army. An iron pipe, these iron pipes were the muskets that the Perak Army put into the battlefield for the first time. After a round of gunfire, the dead soldier standing at the front fell to the ground, and the grenade that had been lit but not yet thrown also fell to the ground, blowing up the remaining dead soldiers to pieces. However, there were still several dead soldiers who threw grenades before being blown down. Two of the grenades were thrown behind the giant shields, knocking several giant shields and more than a dozen Perak Army soldiers behind them to the ground. The new auxiliary soldiers outflanking the soldiers also had a hard time. As expected, they were bombarded by grenades dropped from the sky. The new type of grenade throws faster, has a lower dud rate, and naturally has a higher firepower density. For a time, the dead and wounded fell on the ground in front of the Perak Army Formation.
The huge casualties caused the soldiers of Yongkang's new auxiliary army, who had been screaming just now, to collapse. They turned around and ran away, fleeing into Yongkang City in an instant. The Perak Army here did not pursue, but continued to build artillery positions and defenses while clearing the battlefield. The explosives scattered on the ground may suddenly explode, the wails of the wounded soldiers are really harsh, and the scattered corpses are blocking the way forward. These all need to be cleared. This round of charge only lasted a few minutes, but more than a hundred people were lost, which shocked and frightened Xiong Ben, who was commanding at the top of the city. At this moment, he finally understood that the imitation firearms were not as good as the Pili Army after all, and his men could not defeat the Pili Army after all. Yongkang City might not be able to defend it. However, giving up easily is definitely not Xiong Ben's style. Before the city falls, he wants to inflict maximum damage on the Pili Army, not only to vent his hatred but also to buy himself time to escape.
Two huge gunshots suppressed the cries of the wounded soldiers on the battlefield. This was not the start of the attack by the Perak Army, but the firing of the only two artillery pieces of the new attached army. These two loud noises caused Xiong Ben's men, who were already demoralized, to start shouting wildly again. It's just that laymen are watching the excitement, while experts are watching the door. They see the smoke everywhere in the artillery positions, and they have no idea that the shells fired did not harm the Perak Army at all. However, although the artillery shells fired from the city were too far away, it seemed that the range could reach the vicinity of the Perak Army's position. This made Cao Ergou anxious. If he was allowed to continuously test fire and adjust, even if one shot hit the crowd of Pili soldiers, it would cause dozens of casualties. At that moment, Cao Ergou ordered the installed artillery to be re-aimed and all bombarded the gun positions on the right and left of the city gate tower. At this time, his admiration for Ouyang Xuan deepened, and he finally understood why Ouyang Xuan insisted on attacking Yongkang City first. If Xiong Ben is allowed to develop firearms for a while, Yongkang City will definitely become a thorn in the throat of the Pili Army.
