In the wilderness outside the city, the Mongolian army's trebuchets were smashed into pieces before they reached two hundred steps outside the city wall. The gunners suffered heavy casualties. Everyone among the Mongolian army soldiers outside the city was horrified.
All the Mongolian generals were surprised. Subotai remained calm and pointed his sword at an angle.
"Send the order to attack the city!"
Subotai's military order was passed, and thousands of Xia prisoners were released and driven towards the front of the formation.
Countless Mongolian infantry followed closely behind, holding swords and bows, preparing to attack the city. Some Xia prisoners had better luck. They helped the Mongolian army carry the ladder and followed the Xia prisoners moving forward in a chaotic manner, straight to the Lingzhou city wall.
The Mongolian army whipped and stabbed, and a few unfortunate people were immediately killed, dripping with blood and screaming in agony. The remaining Xia prisoners cried for their fathers and mothers, and headed towards the Lingzhou city wall with fear on their faces.
"Prepare!"
Li Deren stood on the city wall and passed down the military order calmly.
At this time, not to mention the Xia people captured by the Mongolian army who were attacking the city, even his own father and son, he killed them without blinking an eye.
The Xia captives ran towards the Lingzhou city wall. As they ran, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled kept falling and being squeezed. Countless feet stepped on them, and no one cared about them. Some young and old who ran too slowly were cut down and stabbed to death by the Mongolian knights without mercy.
Bingyouzi Yelimou stood at the top of the city. He could see clearly an eight or nine-year-old child with ragged clothes and a face full of fear. He was running too slowly and was caught up by the Mongolian knights behind him. He chopped off his head with a knife, and there was blood. Spurting out from the neck, the headless body was knocked over and trampled by the horses that followed, causing the body to collapse a lot.
"My family has been destroyed, but you are somewhat bloody and are fighting against the Tatars!"
Yeli Mou's eyes were bloodshot and he shouted angrily, regardless of whether the Xia prisoners outside the city could hear him or not.
The Xia army on the top of the city was silent. Some couldn't bear to stare, some turned pale, some blushed and clenched the weapons in their hands.
Zhang Zhongxia was also frightened by the tragic situation outside the city.
The cruelty of the war was vividly reflected in the Xia prisoners outside the city, and it also made him furious.
Why massacre these poor defenseless people?
Once the Tatar army invades the Song Dynasty, the people of the Song Dynasty will probably end up in the same way.
"Shield! Archer!"
Li Deren's expression remained unchanged, and he shouted loudly as he watched the Mongolian army filling the mountains and plains like a tide, getting closer and closer.
On the top of the city, the Xia troops raised their shields one after another. The archers held their bows in their hands, their arrows on the strings, and their crossbow guns on their racks.
Li Deren's eyes couldn't help but look at Cao Youwan beside him.
"Change the shotgun!"
Cao Youwan's eyes were ferocious, and there seemed to be excitement in his eyes, which made Li Deren feel a little creepy for a moment.
"Remember, put it closer, half the artillery, don't expose the firepower!"
As the Mongolian army surged, Cao Youwan rushed to the top of the city and couldn't wait to pass on the military order.
Judging from the posture of the Mongolian army, there were at least six to seven thousand men, all of whom were infantry. The Mongolian army has various hairstyles and skin colors. It seems that the composition of the Mongolian army is really complex.
However, the largest number of people, whose buns are still familiar, seems to be the Han army in the Mongolian army.
"What a bastard! Traitor!"
Cao Youwan cursed fiercely. But they didn't realize that this was Xixia, not the Song Dynasty. Although these Han people under the rule of the Jin and Xia people have the same culture and race, they have nothing to do with the Song Dynasty.
"General Cao, you are the commander of the army, don't get too close to the city wall!"
Li Deren persuaded Cao Youwan. There were many sharp archers in the Mongolian army, and many Xia army soldiers suffered heavy losses.
"What are you worried about? Can he still have a farther range than my cannon?"
Cao Youwan didn't think so. As soon as he finished speaking, several feather arrows went straight towards the two people on the top of the city. The surrounding sergeants were already on guard. As soon as their shields were blocked, the arrows hit the shields, making a "dang" sound, and fell down the city one after another.
"I go!"
Cao Youwan broke out in a cold sweat.
Such a long distance must be more than two hundred steps.
"General Cao, this is the only one in Genghis Khan's army. They are all the best archers in the army. They should not be underestimated!"
Li Deren personally picked up a shield and blocked it in front of him.
"The order goes down, all soldiers must be careful of the Tatar archers, and must not be careless!"
Cao Youwan also picked up a shield and loudly issued military orders.
The Mongolian troops moved forward one after another, surging wildly and approaching the city wall. They passed over the broken trebuchets and ballistas, crossed the wasteland outside the city, quickly crossed the frozen moat, and quickly approached the Lingzhou city wall.
The artillery on the city head fired one after another, but the fire was not violent. Some people in the Mongolian army were knocked over by artillery shells, but they were a drop in the bucket and did not cause large-scale casualties.
When the Mongolian army approached the city wall of Lingzhou, their archers either stopped in formation, or on the way forward, they drew their bows and set arrows. Wave after wave of arrows rained down on the city, covering the sky and the sun.
The Mongolian army rained down arrows, and the Xia army at the top of the city also fired thousands of arrows. There was no prelude on both sides, and it was a life-and-death fight.
Arrows were like locusts. People kept falling down outside the city. There were screams everywhere. The arrows hit the shield with a "bang bang" sound. The shield instantly grew a layer of arrow forest. There were many arrows on the city head. A thick layer of arrows almost fell.
Li Deren glanced at Cao Youwan, who was calm, so he had no choice but to refrain from asking.
The attack on the city on the first day must be a test, and we must not expose our own strength. These Han troops were not elite Mongolian troops and could not cause fundamental damage.
"Your Highness, the battle to defend the city of Lingzhou will probably last a long time. We need to save some ammunition and use it when the Tatar elite attack the city. Now, we still have to kill the blood, and we can't let the soldiers rely only on firearms!"
Cao Youwan said loudly, and Li Deren nodded slightly.
Defending a city ultimately depends on hand-to-hand combat and courage.
Countless Mongolian troops carried ladders and quickly approached the city wall. Soon, countless ladders were set up on the top of the city. The densely packed Mongolian troops climbed up and soon filled the top of the city.
"prick!"
Seeing hundreds of Mongolian troops climbing to the top of the city, Li Deren shouted loudly, and countless Xia soldiers and Song soldiers picked up their spears and stabbed out of the city top to stab the Mongolian troops.
The gun head trembled continuously, like a steel jungle of different lengths, like countless venomous snakes coming at a rapid pace, with no way to avoid it. The Mongolian soldiers were dripping with blood, and they fell off the city wall one by one, and their screams continued.
With some success, the morale of the Xia soldiers and Song soldiers was greatly boosted. They stabbed with spears one after another. The spear heads went in and out of the city wall. The entire city wall was unknown. The Mongolian army was often stabbed down the city wall by several spears before they could stand firm. Falling under the city, it was difficult to stand on the top of the city for a while.
A Xia soldier stabbed down a Mongolian soldier. Before he could rejoice, arrows whizzed from the city and flew up to the top of the city. Xia soldier was hit by several arrows in the face and neck, and fell to the city wall. His head and face were covered with blood, and his body kept twitching. .
Another Song soldier was shot in the eye, his face was covered with blood, he screamed miserably, and was helped down. Xia soldiers were shot down constantly on the city head, either dead or injured. There was blood everywhere on the city head.
"The archers retreat, and the rocks and logs are rolling!"
Under the city wall, the Mongolian troops swarmed in, densely packed. Yeli Mou shouted angrily, and the Xia soldiers threw rolling logs and rocks outside the city. While numerous Mongolian troops were knocked over, many Xia soldiers were shot over.
"Gold juice!"
The generals of the Xia army shouted loudly, pots of boiling golden juice poured down, and the Mongolian troops who climbed the city howled loudly, which was earth-shattering. The aroma of barbecue was fragrant, but it was nauseating.
Compared with about 30% of the archers of the Xia soldiers at the top of the city, all the Mongolian soldiers can shoot, and their arrows are like locusts, killing and injuring the Xia soldiers at the top of the city. The Xia soldiers relied on the city wall, while the Mongolian army relied on arrow rain. Both sides came and went, and countless people fell every moment.
As for the miserable Xia people below the city, there were countless casualties and no one cared about their fate.
On the first day of the siege, Cao Youwan did not arrange for the Song Army's crossbowmen to board the city to join the battle. This was his carelessness and mistake, which also made him slightly embarrassed, but it was also just enough to confuse the Mongolian army.
"fire!"
Cao Youwan covered his face with a shield and shouted angrily.
The Mongolian army's crowds were so dense, it was a good opportunity to cause massacres.
The flag officer's command flag was flying, the gunners were loading ammunition one after another, and arrows kept shooting. Even if there were artillery vehicles blocking the way, people in the Song army kept falling, and soon there were casualties.
In a fierce battle, no one can survive alone.
The artillery on the city head fired one after another, each artillery can cover a cross-section of fifty or sixty meters, twenty-five artillery pieces, and the entire Mongolian army outside the south city wall was within their shooting range.
Smoke filled the air, the sound of artillery was like muffled thunder, iron pellets flew wantonly, and blood mist soared wherever it went. Countless Mongolian archers fell down. The rain of arrows from the Mongolian army outside the city soon became much weaker.
There was only a short period of dullness, the sound of drums was thrilling, countless ladders came up to the top of the city, and countless arrows from the Mongolian army roared towards the top of the city.
There was no military order to retreat, and no one of the Mongolian soldiers dared to move back, howling to attack the city. The fierce fighting on the top of the city began again, even more brutal than the first wave.
People kept falling, and people kept filling up. Blood stained the inside and outside of the city wall, up and down the city wall. Everyone looked ferocious, and everyone had red eyes.
The snowflakes slowly fell, as if they wanted to cover the traces of war. Both sides go back and forth, risking their lives to fight, just wanting to physically eliminate each other as quickly as possible.
Li De took the lead and directed the fierce battle at the top of the city, looking ugly.
The siege on the first day was so brutal, and the defenders suffered heavy casualties. If it goes on for a long time, we still don’t know how many of the guards in Lingzhou City will be left.
Looking outside the city, the overturned trebuchets and ballistas were all dragged back by the Mongolian soldiers' horses. And some Mongolian soldiers who look like craftsmen are repairing the trebuchets, and it seems that they are going to make a comeback.
Li Deren's heart sank slightly. The strength of the Mongolian army cannot be underestimated, and future wars will not be so easy to deal with.
"General Cao, there are many craftsmen in the Tatar army, so the trebuchet can be easily repaired. It seems that this is really a fierce battle!"
Sure enough, as Cao Youwan said, the defense of Lingzhou City will not last for a while, but may very well last for several months.
"A fierce battle is inevitable. Now it depends on how long the food and grass supplies in the city will be enough!"
Cao Youwan nodded, secretly shocked.
The Mongolian army has strict military discipline, and its soldiers are not afraid of death. If the gunpowder and thunder are used up, I wonder if Lingzhou City can still be defended?
