The faint morning light gradually brightened, and the bluestone city wall became clearer. Looking from a distance, the city walls were covered in smoky blackness and the dark red color of coagulated blood. Under the sun, the cold morning dew gathered on the top of the city into a drop of crystal water, slowly winding down. The water droplets slowly turned deep red, and then turned black again, falling silently into the soil. Only by following the traces of the slip can we see the true nature of the city wall, which is solid stone bricks of blue and dark gray.
Shulot stared at this unbreakable wall and sighed secretly in his heart.
The army went south and besieged the city in October. It was blocked by this six-meter bluestone wall for one month now.
At the beginning of the siege, he was full of confidence and felt that with the power of victory, he could directly attack the city and the river mouth fortress would be within easy reach. Now the prestige of the young commander is high, Bertard is recuperating on the north bank, and all the generals are obeying him, and no one dares not to obey. At this time, Teacher Orosh, who had a special status, warned him, so Shulot acted cautiously.
According to the suggestion, he first set up large camps in the south and east of the fortress, and built a water camp by Lake Quetseo. Then, warriors were sent to patrol and control all passages. The fortress at the mouth of the river became an isolated city, with all land and water cut off. Subsequently, under the cover of shield vehicles, the Otomi militiamen began to fill in the moat in the east of the city and destroy the wooden fence outside the city. A shooting platform seven or eight meters high was built more than a hundred steps south of the city for crossbowmen to climb up and shoot. Until everything is ready, the next step is to officially attack the city.
The river mouth fortress has excellent terrain and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Surrounded by rivers, the soil is watery and soft, making it impossible to dig tunnels and collapse walls. The gates of the fortress were blocked and there were insufficient metal tools to break down the gates or dig the roots of the walls. If you want to conquer such a fortress, you can only rely on the traditional ant attack method. Once the number of defenders is sufficient and the will to fight is determined, the damage caused by the ants attacking the city will be too great to accept. As is being tried these days.
Recalling the brutal siege, Shulot shook his head slightly. This is the first time he has truly faced a fortified city as the commander-in-chief of the army.
On the first day of the siege, the Northern Army of Mexico mobilized its full strength. Under the cover of the shield car, the crossbowmen suppressed the shooting, and the catapult approached and launched. Afterwards, the Holy City warriors with high morale approached the city wall, set up ladders to climb up, and then fell to the top of the city one after another. The brutal fierce battle lasted only a few moments, and five hundred warriors were killed!
The six-meter stone castle wall is not comparable to the three-meter wooden castle wall. When the warriors came within twenty steps, their spears and stones rained down, penetrating leather armor and helmets. Within five steps, lime sand was continuously thrown down, blocking the sight in front of him. As soon as the ladder was set up, rolling logs and boulders fell on their heads, causing broken bones and tendons.
What's even more troublesome is that at some point, the Tarascans imitated more than 300 Mexican longbows, plus more than a thousand Tlaxcala wooden bows, and fired at each other outside the city, attacking the approaching warriors. . Under the strong bow, the warriors are as fragile as autumn flowers, and they wither as quickly as the militiamen. And when a few brave warriors climbed to the top of the city, they were faced with a dense spear formation of the Tarascans, and they were quickly besieged and killed.
Shulot watched the battle for two quarters of an hour, but found no hope of a breakthrough, so he decisively blew the conch horn and ordered the withdrawal. The Holy City warriors held up their shields and retreated in panic. The crossbowmen fired arrows quickly to suppress the city. Afterwards, he briefly counted the number of people, and his heart ached. This is the most loyal Holy City warrior and the most reliable force of the family!
The young commander immediately asked people to find the enemy nobles captured during the water battle and inquire about the source of the longbow in the fortress. These longbows were the first batch of new weapons shipped from the capital in early September. If the Mexica army had not moved south rapidly, a second, larger batch of longbows would have arrived in October.
"The Tarascans have already manufactured longbows on a large scale in the capital, and have given priority to supplying them to the southern front line, where the fighting will definitely be more brutal. War is a matter of life and death, and it is really the fastest way to spread technology! This time after the Battle of Lake Eureria , spies from all over the world to spy on gunpowder will probably swarm in from all over the place, like flies that smell the fishy smell. Fortunately, the gunpowder process is relatively complicated, and there is no possibility of leakage in a short period of time. "
Thinking of this, Shulot raised his head slightly and his thoughts flew into the distance.
Orosh strode over wearing the gorgeous attire of a legion commander. The regimental commander was promoted to deputy commander and took command of the wooden castle on the north bank. He temporarily took over as the leader and led the Holy City Legion, fulfilling his previous wish.
"Your Highness, the warriors are ready. Will today be the same as the past few days, feinting to lure the enemy and consuming them from a distance?"
Looking at the teacher who was close to him, Shulot smiled slightly and shook his head.
"The craftsmen have just built a dozen simple nest cars, which can allow archers to get closer and shoot. Today we will really attack again! Call Giowa to come forward."
Since the first day of siege, the young commander realized that attacking the fortress was a long process. If you don't want to lose too many core warriors, you can't rush it. He recalled the battles in history and made new plans. First, try to consume the elite warrior garrison who are good at fighting, and then gradually weaken the morale of the militia in the city. When the morale of the defenders drops to a certain level, the real general land attack and water surprise attack will begin!
Under this new strategy, the subsequent sieges will focus on long-range consumption. Otopan's warriors were responsible for the feint attack, making a gesture of ascending the city at all times, forcing the defenders on the city to show up for defense. What follows is a duel between archers and crossbowmen. The Northern Route Army will try its best to take advantage of long-range, and occasionally throw burning paper fireballs. If the defenders on the city completely hide behind the shield platform at the top of the city, they will usher in a real assault on the city and be forced to mobilize again.
As a result, life gradually turned into fuel, burning steadily under the collision of war machines at an exchange ratio acceptable to the Mexican Legion. The morale of the defenders is also gradually decreasing, from the initial shouts of encouragement to today's exhausted silence.
Soon, Giowa, the commander of the Otopan Army, hurried over. After the water fight, the fierceness on "Coyote's" face was replaced by respect, and he knelt down on one knee to salute obediently.
"Dear brother, what are your orders?"
Xiulote nodded, looked closely at Giowa, and gave a stern order.
"Giowa, you did a good job in the feint attack a few days ago. Today, you will lead the brave Ottopan warriors to launch a real assault on the city! I will give you a batch of extra leather armors so that the warriors can wear double armor. , the crossbowmen will always suppress the city. You go ahead and select the elite, inspire the army, and attack the city first when the war drums sound! No retreat will be allowed until the conch trumpet sounds!"
After hearing this cruel military order, Giowa remained silent. In the feint attacks of the past few days, the Otopan Army had lost four to five hundred people. This time, the actual siege will only cause more heavy losses. After a moment, feeling the attention of the young commander, he bowed his head again and agreed.
"Your Highness, I will obey your will and be willing to die for you!"
Soon, as the military order was issued, the Mexican camp really started to boil. Thousands of warriors came out of the camp one after another, separated by hundreds of steps, and spread out in front of the south wall of the river mouth fortress. The Otopan warriors were at the front, followed by the reserved temple guards, holy city warriors and spearmen. Once the first colonists can truly establish themselves at the top of the city, the subsequent legions will follow. Outside the east city of the fortress, there were also more than two thousand warriors from the western city-states, conducting a feint attack to contain the troops.
Facing the large-scale mobilization of the Mexican Legion, the Tarasco garrison at the head of the city became obviously nervous. The warriors patrolled the top of the city and shouted encouragement. The militiamen worked hard to strengthen the large shield erected at the top of the city, thicken the earthen platform, and prepare all kinds of wood, stones, sand, soil and lime that could be thrown.
Shulot calmly walked down from the high platform, leaving the commander's flag here. In the siege battle where he had the upper hand, he no longer needed to use flags to encourage military morale. Then, under the protection of the shield of his personal guards, he came to the front line more than two hundred steps away from the head of the city, so as to better grasp the siege situation. Orosh also put on a leather armor, holding a shield and a stick to guard his side.
Not long after, the commander-in-chief's flag waved ruthlessly, and the guard's horn blew loudly, announcing the beginning of the siege!
The four hundred burly and strong temple guards, with enthusiastic expressions and holding huge crossbows, advanced to about 140 steps. There are dozens of small earth platforms here, which are at the limit of the enemy's longbow damage. With the help of rope ladders, nearly half of the temple guards climbed onto the nearly eight-meter earthen platform to prepare the crossbows. The Tarascans at the head of the city were unable to make any counterattack. They could only desperately strengthen their shields and earth platforms and hide their bodies behind the shelter.
After a while, the killing horn sounded again, and the crossbowmen fired fiercely. "Whoosh whoosh!" Hundreds of crossbow arrows were fired from an advantageous height, passing through a slightly falling arc, and suddenly nailed to the top of the city.
In an instant, several shrill screams rang out, and more than a dozen poorly protected militiamen were hit by arrows. The crossbow bolts penetrated the commoners' fragile bodies, knocking them down immediately. The lucky militiaman was hit by an arrow in his vital part without any struggle and died on the spot. The unfortunate militiaman was nailed to the wooden sign next to him, shaking on the spot and struggling with his hands and feet, blood flowing vigorously from the torn wounds.
The "Crocodile" flag fluttered in the wind, and the Tarasco warriors supervising the battle did not hesitate. They waved their daggers and executed the howling and seriously injured militiamen, giving the other party a relief and avoiding further damage to their morale. The dead bodies were thrown outside the city to prevent them from rotting inside the city. Only lightly wounded militiamen could receive simple bandages and continue to play their part in defending the city.
After dozens of breaths, the second wave of crossbow bolts roared in, this time only taking away three or four militiamen. When the enemy remains in a state of avoidance, the shooting at this time will not cause much damage. The crossbow arrows used in the heavy crossbow are more expensive, and the crossbowmen's shots are kept at a long interval, which only has the effect of suppressing the city.
With the second round of crossbow bolts fired, thousands of longbow warriors pushed more than two hundred small shield carts and slowly approached the city. The warriors had cold faces and murderous intentions. When they stepped within ninety steps, the long bows at the top of the city began to fire. The "咻咻" feather arrows were condescending and nailed deeply into the thick wooden shield. Occasionally, two or three coincident arrows would be shot from the shooting port on the shield, and the longbow warrior behind would immediately be hit by arrows in the chest and abdomen, lose strength and fall down.
At this time, the simple but sturdy shield car will stop for a moment. The remaining warriors bowed down and checked their teammates on the ground. This was the order of the marshal. If a teammate dies, continue pushing the cart forward. If there is still hope, stop where you are, simply bandage it, and shoot at the top of the city.
Most of the shield carts approached until about fifty steps before they all stopped. This is the limit of how far a Tlaxcala bow can break through leather armor from a few meters above the city. It is a distance measured with life. The warriors then drew their bows and loaded their arrows, and coldly released a shower of arrows. The dense rain of arrows crossed a distance of dozens of steps, accurately piercing the eyes, mouth or throat of the Tarasco archer, and then penetrated several inches into the head. Several enemy archers who shot with their probes were killed instantly, and a dozen militiamen also died silently. At such close range, an arrow would mean death.
The battle flag on the city head was waving, and at the request of the noble commander, the prepared Tarasco warriors did not pause. They quickly picked up the precious longbows and continued to shoot at the city, but they were more careful to cover their bodies.
When the long archers began to suppress further, a dozen simple nest carts carrying nearly a hundred archers were pushed forward by two hundred militiamen, focusing on suppressing a section of the city wall on the left.
This is the latest siege equipment designed by Shulot. It refers to the ancient building carts and nest carts of the Celestial Dynasty. While maintaining the carrying and defense functions, the craftsmanship and shape were simplified according to the processing capabilities of this era. This kind of nest car is relatively simple, just two rows of eight solid wood wheels, a stable base, and a reinforced upright log on each side. Between two tall logs, at a height of nearly ten meters, a platform was built that could accommodate six or seven archers shooting. The sides and underside of the platform were reinforced with wooden planks to withstand bow and arrow fire. At the rear is a hanging rope ladder for warriors to climb up, replacing the complex and fragile tensile structure.
At this moment, more than a dozen nest vehicles gradually approached sixty steps, and the archers above began to fire continuously. "Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Under the targeted shooting at fixed points, nearly ten warriors supervising and commanding the battle were hit by arrows at the same time, and low and pitiful screams continued to sound. The militiamen lost their pressure and command, and there was a sudden panic on the city wall.
The thunderous drumbeat finally sounded at this time! Giowa let out a fierce howl, and the Ottopan warriors who had been waiting for a long time shouted in unison. Wearing double armor, holding shields high, and carrying dozens of seven- to eight-meter ladders in the center, they quickly charged toward the city. Accompanied by fierce drumming, more than a thousand crossbowmen fired from earthen platforms, shield chariots, and nest chariots at the same time. The dense rain of arrows brought a shrill roar and instantly nailed the Tarasco archers who came forward. Then, the ferocious arrow rain did not stop, trying its best to suppress all the living creatures on the city head. "Duh duh duh", the sound of arrows hitting the wood is like a music of death!
The Ottopan warrior quickly entered within a hundred steps of the city, and began to be shrouded in the shadow of death. Giowa, who was the first to charge, howled again, and the warriors leaned forward and ran, moving as hard as they could. They rushed over increasingly dangerous distances at maximum speed. Tarasco's longbowmen also fought back desperately. The "whispering" feather arrows fell directly into the crowd of warriors without having to aim, and those who were hit by the arrows immediately fell to the ground. The surviving warriors were bleeding and struggling feebly on the ground, but no one cared. Regardless of serious injury or death, the outcome is the same.
Hundreds of steps away, Shulot looked at the battlefield in front of him with a cold face. He watched the Otopan warriors begin to die in groups, and his heart was as solid as stone. Because this is just the beginning.
When the Otopan warriors finally rushed within forty steps, the real murderous intention finally arrived!
