Towering fortresses and continuous checkpoints, this is the Pengcheng Fortress carefully built by Yuan Shu to resist Liu Bei in Xuzhou.
The afternoon sun poured down unreservedly, giving the cold stone wall a slight warmth.
In the spacious training ground in the center of the fortress, a dark-skinned man stood on a high wooden platform. The armor on his body that looks like dragon scales shines with iron light, the armor on his shoulders is engraved with a lifelike tiger head, and three white feathers are tied on top of the helmet.
This is the armor unique to the Tiger Roar Camp. There are only 3,000 pairs of armor like this among the Chu State's 200,000 troops, no more, no less.
"I just received a letter from the Third Army Division. It only said one sentence [Youping, die here, I will take my eldest brother back to Jiangdong safely.]"
Zhou Tai held up Ji Shu's letter with his left hand and showed it to the soldiers. The words in the letter are not profound, they are nothing more than holding on to Pengcheng until death in battle. It was obviously a life-threatening thing, but Zhou Tai had no intention of covering it up. Instead, he showed it to everyone like a treasure.
There was only the sound of the flags blowing in the wind, and the three thousand warriors of the Tiger Roaring Battalion just looked at Zhou Tai quietly, without any wavering in their eyes. Zhou Tai chuckled, he had expected such a scene. The soldiers looked at their general, and the general looked at his soldiers, with trust solidified in his eyes.
Zhou Tai continued as if chatting with his brother.
"You all know that the Third Military Advisor is the Lord's third brother."
"He was the leader of the Chu State's reform. He recommended Zhuge Jin's "One Tax Law" and "Qi Min Law" to his lord, overhauled roads, encouraged commerce, prepared for the establishment of guilds, reformed aristocratic families, and promoted schools... countless The New Deal came from his handiwork. Without him, the Chu State would not be as prosperous and powerful as it is today; he was also the commander-in-chief of the army. Wujun, Jiangxia, Changsha, Guiyang, Xiangyang, and Jiaozhou, the military advisors took over half of the country for the Chu State."
"Haha, in your eyes, the Third Army Division has long been one of the pillars of the Chu Kingdom, and people look up to it, right? But let me tell you, in the eyes of those of us who are familiar with the Third Army Division, he is actually a weak person. He formulated a Strategy, he often stares at maps and sandboxes to study late at night, and is deeply afraid that his mistakes will affect the lives of the soldiers; he is so naive that he is ridiculously naive, and he will save a life if he can, even if it is a former enemy; he is indecisive and fragile He is also sensitive, has a hard mouth and a soft heart, and has many of those useless scholar temperaments in him."
"So I was surprised when I saw this letter. From this letter, I understood how dangerous the situation was. However, he promised me that he would return to Jiangdong safely with the Lord!"
"This sentence is enough!"
Having said this, Zhou Tai's face became more serious than ever before, and there was no trace of smile anymore.
"Tanma came to report that 50,000 Wei troops have arrived thirty miles away from Pengcheng."
He raised the spear in his hand slightly, then slammed it down again. The handle of the spear made a hole on the high platform. Zhou Tai pointed to the military flag behind him. This was not the white tiger flag that Huxiao camp was proud of, but a military flag with a simple "Chu" embroidered on it.
Zhou Tai asked all the soldiers of the Tiger Roar Camp.
"Gentlemen, I, Zhou Tai, can die for this flag! What about you?"
Three thousand soldiers from the Tiger Roar Camp suddenly knelt down and worshiped.
"Go together! Go together!"
The neat sounds echoed in the square. This was dull yet fanatical belief, and this was a simple yet firm oath.
This was the beginning of the bloody battle in Pengcheng.
Three thousand banners go to death together, and the road to hell is far from being walked alone.
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An army of 50,000 people came to the front in a mighty manner, but the Chu army behind the gate only had more than 3,000 people. Seeing the garrison behind closed doors and preparing for battle, Xiahou Dun felt like watching a dwarf showing off in front of a giant.
It was good that the Chu army did not flee or surrender immediately. He expected to capture Pengcheng within two hours and march eastward to attack the Chu army's rear.
However, the siege had been going on for half a day, and corpses were left all over the ground under the Pengcheng Fortress, but no Wei army could reach the top of the city.
"What does Du Ji, the vanguard of the former army, do for a living? A small Pengcheng with three thousand defenders couldn't defeat it in half a day!"
Xiahou Dun was furious at the soldiers sent by Du Ji to report.
Pengcheng Fortress is not a small pass. It is the fortress used by Yuan Shu to resist Liu Bei. Of course, the soldier would not dare to retaliate like this, he said tremblingly.
"General, the guard is the ace Tiger Roaring Camp of the Chu army. They are well-trained, fearless and unafraid of death. Their counterattacks are extremely tenacious. General Du even led the guards to attack the city several times but was repulsed. General Du hopes that the general will Give him a little more time."
Tiger Roaring Camp? Onizuka's intelligence said that there were only more than 100 auxiliary troops guarding the checkpoint in Pengcheng. I also said that the intelligence was wrong. Even Xu Sheng's defeated army would not have had so many people flee here. It turned out that it was Zhou Tai who was guarding Shouchun and led the cavalry. Let's stop here first.
Xiahou Dun calmed down slightly from his anger. As the strongest army in the Chu State, it was not so difficult to understand that Du Ji had difficulty in defeating the Huxiao Battalion for a while. Touching his chin, Xiahou Dun narrowed his eyes and said.
"Let Du Ji stop the attack first. It's getting dark, and let the soldiers bury the pots and make rice. Lu Kuang, at midnight, you will lead the dead soldiers to attack first, and Du Ji will lead the army to follow up."
"Yes Yes!"
The soldiers quickly went back to convey the order to Du Ji. Lu Kuang also said that he would go to the camp first to make preparations and quickly resigned.
In the big tent, Li Dian hesitated for a while and said.
"General Xiahou, Lu Xiang was killed by the Chu army. Will General Lu Kuang be eager for revenge and delay the important event?"
"Won't."
Xiahou Dun answered calmly and calmly, showing his trust in Lu Kuang.
"Lü Xiang is so overjoyed at his success, but it doesn't come to anything. Lu Kuang is much calmer, and he is quite brave in battle. Although the lord entrusts him with the elite troops of Xian Dengying, it is intended to appease the general's heart, but it is also a recognition of Lu Kuang."
"It's a pity that Cao Ren took the stone chariot to attack Shouchun, otherwise the Pengcheng Fortress wouldn't have been able to hold on for long."
After Liu Ye improved the stone-making chariot, its power was astonishing, and he played a great role in the Battle of Guandu, becoming an indispensable weapon for the Wei army to attack cities and seize territory. However, the stone carts moved slowly. They were in a hurry to catch up with the main force of the Chu army. How could they bring such time-consuming siege equipment? It can be seen that there are gains and losses in the world, and it is difficult to take everything into consideration.
Xiahou Dun sighed. It was useless to think about this now. He could only wait for a sneak attack in the middle of the night and fight for it. He didn't have so much time to spend here.
Under Xiahou Dun's arrangement, the Wei army temporarily retreated and began to set up camp, pretending to rest at night and wait for another battle tomorrow. In fact, the Wei army was rushing to build siege ladders and plan a sneak attack.
In the dead of night and midnight, tens of thousands of Wei troops quietly moved into action. Xiahou Dun also brought several other generals to the front to direct the battle.
Lu Kuang quietly reached the place where the fire of Pengcheng Fortress could reach with the selected soldiers who had died first. He stopped and turned around and whispered.
"If you go any further, you will soon be discovered by the Chu army. Let the brothers charge quickly and seize the city as soon as they are discovered. The first to board the camp is still the previous rule. The first to board the city will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold. After the battle, he will not die. I will be exempted from death penalty and rewarded with a military title. I will not treat you unfairly, no matter how young or old, so my brothers can rest assured and give it to me!"
"Yes Yes Yes!"
Several commanders around Lu Xiang responded softly and slowly retreated to command their own teams.
When the soldiers who climbed up first entered the place where the light could reach, they were immediately discovered by the Chu army. The Chu army behind closed doors beat war drums to warn their sleeping colleagues.
The low, powerful drum beat was particularly loud in the quiet night, and every beat was like a heartbeat, and the beast opened its sleepy eyes.
But it's too late! The soldiers who died first smiled ferociously.
No matter how far the fire from the closed door shines, it is only a few dozen steps away, and the rocket fired from the closed door to explore is only a hundred and fifty steps away. Now the first climber to die is within more than a hundred steps, and such a distance can be reached in an instant.
"kill!"
The giant beast dormant in the night pounced ferociously, and the 3,000 people who had died first rushed forward crazily.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
What greeted them was a rainstorm of arrows.
On the top of the city, soldiers from the Tiger Roar Battalion stood ready with repeating crossbows, and the violent rain of arrows did not stop for a moment.
The short distance of a hundred steps turned into an insurmountable gap.
Many dead soldiers turned into hedgehogs in just an instant. How can one imagine the pain of a person being shot by dozens or dozens of arrows in a very short period of time by just reading between the lines? It was even impossible to tell whether he was twisted beyond human form due to pain, or whether his bones were shattered by the impact of the arrows, and he fell to the ground like a puddle of mud.
The battlefield at the front turned into hell.
The bright bonfire illuminated Zhou Tai's face, but behind him was darkness that the light could not reach.
Looking down at this hell, Zhou Tai's eyes did not waver at all, just like Yama sitting in the underworld.
Just listen to him shouting coldly.
"Sneak attack? Xiahou Dun, are you deceiving me and Zhou Tai for not having read a few books, so you think I'm a fool? Not to mention tonight, even at this time tomorrow night, you won't be able to get through the gate of Pengcheng!"
On the battlefield where shouts of death and screams were intertwined, this cold shout spread far away.
Xiahou Dun snorted with a dark face. He waved his hand, and tens of thousands of Wei soldiers rushed forward following the first dead soldiers.
The cruel battlefield did not scare away the soldiers who died first. They were desperadoes themselves. Holding their large shields high, they moved forward desperately, and the Wei army's archery troops quickly began to cover them. With the cooperation of bows and arrows, the Chu army's attack weakened a lot, and soon there were vertical ladders climbing up to the top of the city.
The Wei army's ladder was lower than the city wall, and the Chu army could not push it away. They had to throw wood, kerosene, and stones down to break and burn the Wei army's ladder. Some soldiers fell from the broken ladder to the ground and were smashed into meat patties. Some soldiers were drenched in kerosene and burned alive by dropped torches.
Even so, someone finally climbed onto the battlements and climbed to the top of the city for the first time. Before he could cheer, Zhou Tai shot him through the throat and kicked his body down.
However, the Xiandenshishi still killed a group of people from several positions, and it took a lot of effort for the Tiger Roar Battalion to kill them all.
After the first soldiers were killed, the Wei army's offensive suddenly came to a standstill. The Wei army at the foot of the city was killed and retreated. Under the rain of arrows from the Chu army, they could not even reach the top of the city.
It's not that Xiahou Dun never thought about ordering the production of better siege equipment such as wells, ladders, and rams to reduce casualties during sieges. However, no matter how streamlined such complex equipment is, it will take at least a day or two to produce it. time. After building the weapons and then spending time attacking Pengcheng, how much time will it take?
It took such a long time, Sun Ce ran hundreds of miles deep into the hinterland of Xuzhou, Liu Bei dared to let the Wei army in? It's hard to say whether the Han army can kill Sun Ce just by encircling him. Sun Ce's life and death are also related to Wei's decision-making.
He was angry and distressed at the same time. The brutality of this battle exceeded any battle he had commanded in the past. If he was not in a hurry to capture Pengcheng and attack the main force of the Chu army, why would he attack with such force?
However, despite paying a heavy price, we still did not get the desired results.
"Use bows and arrows to suppress them first. Arrange shield soldiers for me to protect the archery troops. Divide them into several groups and shoot non-stop. Don't save arrows for me. Whenever you find an opportunity, arrange for a group of troops to rush up to attack the city. Never give me any chance. They rest."
"They only have 3,000 people, and I have 50,000. I don't believe that Tiger Roar Camp is made of iron. I will tire them to death!"
