In the morning light on both sides of the Surabaya River, the wind is blowing the grass, the white dew turns to frost, and a thin layer of ice covers the surface of the Surabaya River.
The drums were beating loudly under Pengcheng City, and the crowd was surging! Eight thousand sergeants from Xu Yuanxi's unit served as the vanguard and attacked the south city of Pengcheng. Xu Zongwen was ordered to surround the north city. Zhu Xu personally captured the formation for Xu Yuanxi!
"Command the three armies to attack the city!"
After three rounds of drums, Xu Yuanxi issued the order to attack the city. The Jin army pushed the cross Hao Bridge towards the city and passed the moat. The Pengcheng moat was formed by digging and diverting Si water into the city. It was only two feet wide, while the Hao Bridge was more than three feet wide. Behind are two small wheels, which are pushed into Hao. If the wheels sink, the bridge will be flat and can be crossed.
The Jin army stepped on the Hao Bridge and easily crossed the Qin army's first line of defense outside Pengcheng. The rams, jinglan and bed crossbows were pushed onto the Hao Bridge, approaching the Pengcheng city wall step by step. At the same time, the Jin army's brigade They also gathered under the city, ready to launch an attack at any time!
"Crossbowmen, come forward!"
As in the previous attack on the city, the crossbowmen were responsible for covering the siege troops, and they were also the first to appear.
"put!"
Thousands of crossbowmen came forward with quivers on their backs, held their bows and nocked arrows, raised their hand gestures, and relied on the strength of their broad shoulders to shoot arrows in the direction of their heads. After several rounds, thousands of arrows were fired in unison, an airtight arrow. Rain covered the sky above Pengcheng Tower!
"Prepare thunder stones, rolling wood, and golden juice pots. The Jin army is coming up soon!" On the top of Pengcheng city, the captain of the Qin army who was supervising the battle was loudly giving orders back and forth.
After the quivers of the Jin army's crossbowmen were empty, they changed batches to get arrows. Taking advantage of the gap, two hundred infantry held shields and worked together to push the ram directly towards the city gate. The ram was more than three feet high, including A giant log about one and a half feet thick was placed. The head was made of fine iron. It was extremely sharp and had eight wheels underneath. It was a powerful weapon for attacking and breaking the city!
At the same time, there were thousands of infantrymen divided into teams, each using ladders as alternate cover to march towards the city wall. There were 500 soldiers behind them who were responsible for loading and unloading thunderbolt carts and bed crossbows. Everything was ready, and the Jin army in the ladder column launched Charge!
"Cover with artillery carriages, shoot crossbows directly at the enemy's central gate, attack the city with ladders!" Sima of the former army drew his sword and gave the order, and the sergeants marched in with noise!
On the other side, the Qin army also unsheathed their swords, cocked their arrows, and stood ready. The siege battle between the two sides was about to begin!
"Sir, what do you think Xu Yuanxi's chances of winning in this battle are?"
"Zhang Ju is a man who has great strategies in mind, and his bravery is no less than that of his brother Zhang Hao. Xu Yuanxi has been the governor of Huainan for many years, and he knows the habits of the Qin army very well. However, the siege of the city will definitely be more difficult for the attackers, so the odds of winning are four. six."
"Qin Jun six, Xu Yuanxi four?"
"Exactly." Pei Qing looked at the two armies, nodded and said: "If the Qin army is fully prepared, it will be difficult for Xu Yuanxi to break the city. After all, the army is weak. But if the city wall can be taken, Zhu Shijun will definitely press the army. Everything is just my conjecture, the situation on the battlefield is changeable, and there are variables every moment. It depends on the combat strength of the two armies, we will be able to deal with it when the time comes."
Xu Yuanxi attacked the South City, while Xu Zongwen was responsible for the siege of the North City. Now in the cold winter months, the rivers have dried up, and the flow of Surabaya River is very slow. Compared with the South City, the moat of the North City is shallower. At the shallowest point, even the sergeants can directly wade through the water and get close to the city wall!
"Brothers, kill! The first one to climb the city wall will be rewarded with 100,000 yuan, and he will be promoted to the third level! General Xu has an order, and after entering the city, he will be plundered for three days. Hurry!" The captain on the front line of the Jin army waved his hand. Steel Knife shouted at the top of his lungs.
When the sergeants heard that the rewards were generous and they could still loot for three days, their morale was high, their eyes were red, and they rushed forward as if they had been given blood!
"Shoot the arrow, shoot the arrow! You fool, you weak-legged shrimp!" The captain of the Qin army at the top of the city used the hilt of his sword to hit the recruit's balls lying on the wall. The recruit's head hurt and he quickly stretched out half of his head. The man's bow was as full as the moon and he slowly shot an arrow at the front line of the Jin army that was charging below the city.
When his whole face was revealed, he could see that the young recruit's face was full of color. He was only fifteen years old this year. The Jin army besieged the city. Zhang Ju forced all the men in the city to be over 13 but under 80 to participate in the defense, and ransacked the city. They demolished people's houses and stockpiled huge stones and beams to deal with the Qin army at the top of the city. This made the people resentful and uneasy...
"Ah!" The fifteen-year-old boy who had just shot an arrow was struggling to draw the bow. Before the second arrow was released, an experienced middle-aged Jin soldier under the city rode a light crossbow toward the city. Head direction "Whoosh -" an arrow hit the young man's head, right between the eyebrows!
The young man's weak body fell down immediately, and the soft cowhide bow, and his weak eyes were finally closed forever. Maybe it was a kind of relief, maybe it was another kind of luck. There was a hint of laughter in the corners of the young man's chapped mouth. The arc left unnoticed!
No one paid attention to such a corner. After the boy's body was dragged away, it was replaced by an adult man. This time, in less than a stick of incense, the man was hit by an arrow from a divine crossbow, along with the body behind him. The two men who were carrying the thundering rocks and rolling logs were hit by a powerful arrow one after another. Like a string of arrows, they were carried away by the remaining force of the arrows and fell into the city!
The leading troops of the Jin army have begun to set up crossbow formations under the city to suppress the defenders at the top of the city. At the same time, the charging team responsible for attacking the city gate also began to rush hard. The Qin army in the city naturally also held up the city gate to prevent the city from being broken!
"Puff puff--"
Several large Qin soldiers at the top of the city were hit by the Jin army's crossbow arrows and unfortunately fell off the city wall and fell under the Qin army's ladder. When the Qin army climbed the ladder and was about to board the city wall, "crash..." there was a burst of boiling oil. The boiling oil poured down on the Qin soldiers on the ladder, and more than a dozen Jin soldiers started to howl like ghosts.
Under the hot oil, the Jin soldiers' limbs and even their heads were not spared.
"Come on, take down the city wall!" Xu Yuanxi couldn't help but urge as he watched the Jin soldiers who were about to climb the city wall being forced back by the hot oil and gold juice.
"No retreat! Those who advance will live, those who retreat will die!"
Supervisor Sima led the law enforcement team forward with big swords and killed several broken soldiers. The Jin army stabilized their formation and continued to climb the ladder. Soon a dozen strong and tall Jin soldiers climbed up the ladder. On the city wall, Qin soldiers and Jin soldiers fought on the city wall!
"Okay, those who climb to the top of the city first will take note of their names, and they will be rewarded." Xu Zongwen said to the people around him: "Order the prepared troops to come forward!"
Xu Zongwen had nearly a thousand soldiers beside him. These were the powerful troops of Beifu. They had cut off the heads of the Qin army with their swords. They were the warriors who followed Liu Laozhi in the battle of Luojian and defeated the Qin general Liang Cheng's 50,000-strong army. They were also the elite soldiers assigned to Zhu Xu by Xie Shi!
More and more Jin soldiers gathered at the top of the city. At this time, the Qin army general Zhang Zhi finally appeared. He was dressed neatly in black armor, with a purple cloak tied behind his back. He was full of heroism and led thousands of Qin troops to rush. Come to support, the hundreds of Qin soldiers who were standing at the top of the city just now were all killed in less than a cup of tea. The remaining few were forced to jump off the city wall and fell to death!
"Damn it," Xu Zongwen couldn't help but swore. It wasn't that he felt sorry for the soldiers under his command, but he was still furious. It was said that his hope of breaking the city was ruined. He ordered people to attack again: "Get them all on me. Bring me my spear, I don’t believe we can’t even take down the city wall today!”
"How many troops do we still have?"
"Return to the general, there are already less than four thousand!" the captain beside him gritted his teeth and replied.
"General Qi, your reinforcements have arrived!"
"Very good!" Xu Zongwen nodded, and then ordered someone to bring his 50-pound long spear. Holding the long spear, he mounted the horse, drove the horse forward, and led his troops to launch the attack in person!
When the Jin army saw their general wearing armor and going into battle in person, their morale was high, and they followed Xu Yuanxi and launched another charge. This time, the Jin army attacked fiercely, and the Qin army at the top of the city suffered heavy losses. The Jin army's crossbows were sharp, and the siege equipment was complicated. The Qin army was overwhelmed. It lost two thousand people in one hour. More than half of Xu Yuanxi's troops were lost. Zhu Xu, who raided the formation, Only 5,000 troops from the headquarters could be allocated to support the attack to stabilize the offensive.
"It seems that there is hope of breaking the city today!" Xu Zongwen smiled. At this time, the advance had the upper hand. The Qin army was retreating steadily. This piece of evidence was nothing more than that! Who is the younger brother of Zhang Hao, who is so brave? After all, he is a martial artist, but he is still helpless under the suppression of the Jin army's soldiers?
Pei Qing didn't look at Xu Zongwen's face. He slowly shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. If Pengcheng was so easy to capture, why did Zhu Shijun make no progress after besieging the city for more than ten days?
"You mean Zhang Zhi is hiding his strength, and he has other options?" After listening to Pei Qing's analysis, Xu Zongwen also began to waver in his confidence in breaking the city.
Observation tower in front of the Chinese army camp.
Zhu Xu: "Beat the drum and cheer for our army!"
"promise!"
The moment the drumsticks fell, the sound of the three hundred cowhide drums was as loud as thunder. The drums were loud and the morale of the Jin army was shaken!
"Charge to the top of the city and kill me!"
Xu Yuanxi held a long spear in his hand and galloped on his horse. He reached less than ten feet away from the city wall and showed no sign of stopping!
"The general has entered the city, kill him!"
Xu Yuanxi rode his horse up the ladder and rushed to the top of the city. He came out with a long spear, and the light and shadow were dazzling, just like a long dragon entering the sea. He immediately killed three unlucky Qin soldiers!
The Jin army was inspired, and the ladder was crowded with people for a while. Xu Yuanxi galloped his horse on the top of the city. The Jin army quickly gathered another hundred people, but the Qin army shrank, Xu Yuanxi could only abandon his horse and fight on foot, while the horse Being stabbed to death by the Qin Army's swords and spears, Xu Yuanxi turned around and hit the two Qin soldiers on the top of their heads when he neighed. Taking advantage of the situation, he pulled out the sword from his waist and beheaded a nearby Qin Army captain!
"Retreat!" The two armies were fighting hard, and the fight was inextricable. Qin General Zhang Ju suddenly ordered a retreat. A large number of Qin troops left the city wall, and actually gave up the city defense!
On the observation deck below the city, Zhu Xu looked around and saw that Xu Yuanxi had already captured the city wall. He was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered all the troops to march!
"Not good!" Pei Qing, who was under Xu Zongwen's command, turned to Xu Zongwen and said, "Xu Yuanxi is probably going to be in trouble!"
Xu Zongwen asked curiously: "What's the explanation?"
"Since ancient times, a city must be besieged. However, you were so busy attacking the city that you forgot this. It was precisely because the Qin army had no way out that they fought Xu Yuanxi to the death." Pei Qing told the whole story, and everyone suddenly realized it!
Xu Zongwen nodded and looked at Pei Qing with an additional hint of admiration.
As expected of a counselor, he can see through the problem at a glance, and he is really sharp!
