After the night attack failed in the early morning, Zhang Xianzhong ordered the bombardment of Xiangyang City, causing the defenders in the city to have no peace and rest, so as to prepare for the army to attack the city after dawn. 【≤八【≤八【≤Read【≤Book,.▽.o√
However, the defenders showed no intention of showing weakness and began to fight back fiercely when they were bombarded. Since the rebels had no fortifications on Yanghu Mountain, instead of achieving brilliant results, they suffered heavy losses.
No less than twenty guns of various types were destroyed by the defenders, and more than 500 soldiers were killed or injured. If the Eight Kings had not been lucky, they would have been "disappeared" in the artillery battle.
The exchange of prisoners is the exchange of prisoners, and the siege is the siege. The two things cannot be confused. Zhang Xianzhong wanted to kill these prisoners to boost morale, but since he could exchange Wang Shangli and others, he could just go with the flow.
After losing Gucheng, these officials will be jailed and punished even if they return to Xiangyang City and are heard by the court. Then there is no need to do it themselves. It is not a bad idea to use borrowed swords to kill people!
"I am reporting to the commander-in-chief that the general failed to complete the military order. I am really ashamed. I hope the commander-in-chief can give the commander-in-chief a thousand soldiers and send him to lead his troops to attack Xiangyang City!"
The former king Shangli was thrown into a urn by the defenders. He was really ashamed. Now the eight kings exchanged Gucheng prisoners for returning to the main formation. If he could not make military exploits, he would be a complete loser.
"You are all horse pawns, how can they be used to attack the city? I will give you a thousand war horses, and order you to set up defenses ten miles north of the city with Wang Dingguo to resist the attack of the official army. If something goes wrong again, come and see me !”
Wang Shangli's troops were all elite cavalry. Although they had no war horses, they could not be used to attack the city. They happened to capture the horses of Tang Tong's troops, so they were simply allocated to him for use.
Wang Dingguo, who was carrying out the task of crossing the river in the north of Xiangyang City, was all infantry. If the officers and soldiers coming south from Gucheng were all horse pawns, it would be difficult for them to resist the attack of the officers and soldiers.
Zhang Xianzhong thought for a while and sent two thousand infantry to Wang Dingguo. Including Wang Shangli's troops, there were more than 3,000 infantry and about 1,000 horsemen, totaling more than 4,000 people.
He was ordered to cut down trees, set up roadblocks, and dig a trench to withstand the charge of the elite cavalry of the official army. Otherwise, if the northern defense line collapsed, the main army's formation would be endangered.
Seeing Wang Shangli follow the order and walk away, Zhang Wenxiucai asked in a low voice: "Commander father, can this person..."
He suspected that Wang Shangli was bribed by the imperial court, which was why he failed in Xiangyang City, which directly caused the plan of internal and external cooperation planned by the eight kings to go to waste.
Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand, stroking his long beard and said with a smile: "Shang Li has been fighting with me for many years, and I still trust him! If he is captured, he will be killed, and there will not be a few babies left in this army!"
As for the four adopted sons and several generals under their command, the Eight Kings had great trust in them. The basis was that countless officers and soldiers died in their hands, and the people were counted separately. After the uprising, they killed many more. Hong Chengchou was We won't let them go easily.
The top priority is how to break through Xiangyang City as soon as possible before the Hong bandits' army goes south.
Zhang Xianzhong asked Wang Shangli and Wang Dingguo to fortify the narrow corridor between Wanshan and Hanshui in order to give the army a certain amount of warning time.
To the south of Xiangyang City are Yanghu Mountain and Xian Mountain. These two mountains together form a seahorse shape, and Xiangyang City is located on the back of this "seahorse".
"Today, our army will mainly attack the south and east of the city. We must open up the battle formation and fight with all our strength, regardless of casualties! Wenxiu will mainly attack the south of the city, and Hualong will mainly attack the east of the city. You two will each lead four thousand soldiers, so there must be no mistake!"
Only the southeastern part of Xiangyang City forms a "several" bay with the Han River, leaving a large area of flat land with an area of no less than six or seven Xiangyang City, which can be used by the army to set up camp and form formations. Zhang Xianzhong chose to attack his "prey" here. Launch a general attack.
There was an open space on the west side of Xiangyang City that could be used to attack the city, but considering the possible official reinforcements on the west side, Zhang Xianzhong gave up this idea. 【←八【←八【←Read【←Book,.2↘
If Wang Shangli and Wang Dingguo could not withstand the charge of the southward troops and let them rush behind the siege troops, wouldn't it mean that they were attacked from both sides?
In line with the principle of proper offense and defense, the Eight Kings believed that as soon as they learned about the arrival of the official army for reinforcements, they would let the main force of the army go directly south to Yicheng from the Xianshan Trail.
Otherwise, once the retreat route is cut off by the flood bandit army, and the army itself has no boats to cross the Han River, there will be no way to the sky and no way to the earth.
Zhang Xianzhong ordered his fourth son, Zhang Kewang, to station 2,000 troops in Xian Mountain. Firstly, he wanted to see the situation south of Xian Mountain. Secondly, he also wanted to ensure that the retreat route was clear. Zhang Kewang could recuperate in the mountain, and there would probably be no fighting there. .
"Now our army is about to break the city. With their martial arts skills, these two generals will definitely show off their skills and make our army even more powerful!"
The Eight Kings summoned two generals, Ma Tingbao and Xu Qizuo, in order to use their men and horses as cannon fodder to consume the firepower of the city. When they advance to the moat, the main force of the rebel army can forcefully cross the moat, otherwise they will be left behind. What's the use?
"Yes! I will obey the order!"
After killing thousands of Tang Tong's soldiers in the mountains, these two surrendered generals also knew that they had no way out and could only follow the Eighth King to gain wealth. Whether they can succeed or not depends on today.
In order to successfully attack the city, the rebels, who had suffered heavy losses at night, also built many instruments, such as wooden shields, carriages, ladders, and bamboo rafts. Almost all the items they could use were ready, which were a bit crude. But as long as it works.
Since it is too soft at night, let the defenders be hard. No matter how solid Xiangyang City is, today the rebels will fight and wash the city with blood.
When the Baishazhou uprising broke out, the Eight Kings originally had 32,000 troops. They captured Gucheng and lost hundreds. They paid the same price to repel Luo Dai. They ambush Tang Tong's troops in the mountains and lost nearly a thousand more. Then they attacked Xiangyang at night. The setback resulted in three thousand casualties.
Excluding the 6,000 men and horses that the eldest son Zhang Kewang and the second son Zhang Dingguo took away separately, as well as the troops lost in the previous artillery battle with the defenders in the city and Wang Dingguo crossing the river. The eight kings now have 20,000 troops, and about 3,000 soldiers from Gucheng.
Among them, more than 4,000 people were deployed in the west of the city to defend against the Hong bandit army that might move south. Zhang Nengqi led 2,000 people to monitor in Xian Mountain.
Zhang Wenxiu and Zhang Hualong each led 4,000 soldiers to attack Xiangyang City. The remaining 5,000 elite soldiers were waiting for orders on Yanghu Mountain, under the personal command of the Eight Kings.
The previous night attack failed because they were not familiar with the city's defense situation, and firing cannons at night could easily injure one's own soldiers. Now that it was bright and clear, there was no such concern.
When they entered Chen, the rebels took up positions on two flat areas in the south and west of the city. Hundreds of flags were erected, fluttering in the wind, and war drums sounded like galloping war horses.
The soldiers of the two surrendered generals were deployed at the forefront of the battle formation. Ma Tingbao followed Zhang Wenxiu and was responsible for attacking the east of the city. Xu Qizuo followed Zhang Hualong and worked together to capture the south of the city.
Since the east side of the city is the flattest in three directions, the rebels no longer have the same troubles as before.
If you push the cart down from Yanghu Mountain, you will either get stuck on the rocks, or you will lose control and rush into the moat on your own.
"Brothers! Give it to me! Enter the city and take all the money and women you can!"
After surrendering to the rebels in Gucheng and killing Tang Tong's soldiers, all the generals in front-line combat positions also understood their situation. They would either rush forward like the rebels, or be cut down by the rebel supervising team. .
They did not dare to turn around and fight against the supervising team composed of Zhang Wenxiu's personal soldiers, so they could only lead a group of subordinates, push a clumsy carriage, and risk their lives to launch an attack against the bullets coming from the top of the city.
If you want to live happily in the city, you must first attack the tall and majestic city in front of you. The defenders' guns and cannons are the first line of defense, the moat is the second line, and the city is the third line.
"Three hundred steps!"
"Adjust the angle!"
"Prepare...release!"
The defenders have nailed a lot of stakes in three directions outside the city, which is convenient for using telescopes to visually measure the distance between the enemy and ourselves. There is a row of stakes every fifty steps, which is very useful in battle, at least for Ding Liang. This is true for the mortar unit under its jurisdiction.
When Yang Shien saw that there were many rebels in the east and south of the city, he realized that the rebels were going to launch a pincer offensive today. He immediately asked Ding Liang to transfer the main force of the mortar battalion, the two companies, to Jiang Mingwu and give him Just leave one continuous pressure formation.
The south of the city is no better than the east. Yanghu Mountain occupies half of the space, and the remaining half is flat land. The east part of the city is all flat ground. If the bandit army rushes into the formation with a large number of carts, they will not have enough firepower to stop the opponent's strong advance.
The pits have been dug long ago. Ding Liang's men can just come over and half-bury the big iron barrels in the pit. The two companies have twenty-four mortars. If you include the spare guns, the number is forty-eight. Let's fire a salvo In the past, it could shake the earth.
The zhayao bag that took two hours to make was put to use. Now that the bandit army was coming, the defenders didn't say anything. They just greeted him warmly with light and heavy weapons.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
From observation to launch, plus the flight time in the air, the vanguard infantry of the rebel army had already passed the pile, and the twenty-four zhayao bags falling from the sky landed just behind the carriage body, where the infantry were.
A row of fireballs exploded in an instant. Their size was larger than the cart in front, and their diameter was more than ten feet in diameter. They could easily swallow up three or five thieves and soldiers in one go.
"ah……"
The surrounding companions who were not affected by the fireball did not fare well either. Most of the guys not far from the explosion point were hit by the flying debris and fell to the ground on the spot, rolling and wailing in pain.
Although the captains of the school are wearing zhao, many of them are also lined with chainmail, which protects their torso, limbs, and ribs. They can be said to be tightly defended. They also wear helmets with rib-like stripes on their heads. The unobstructed face is the biggest Achilles heel.
If you are hit in the face by the fragments produced by baozha, you will lose your combat effectiveness on the spot, because the fragments are none other than Ding Liang's carefully selected good objects - iron nails!
Since the iron beads brought from the capital had been polished, and there was no time to make enough iron beads locally, Ding Liang could only use local materials according to what he had learned, which also further improved the power of the mortar shells.
After using iron nails as shrapnel, the damage of the artillery shells has been upgraded from penetration damage to puncture damage. Although it flies irregularly, as long as some of the conical iron nails can hit the target, it is enough to penetrate human skin.
A zhayao bag usually contains three hundred slender iron nails about the length of an index finger joint. Whether it falls on the ground or is in mid-air above the target's head, its killing power is extremely astonishing.
Different from the traditional blunderbuss of red barbarian cannons, the old-fashioned projectiles mostly use penetrating attacks, focusing on one point of breakthrough, and can only attack large targets.
The red Yi cannon can also be used with xiandan, but there are not many bullets and it is difficult to cover a large group of infantry. Secondly, using the slow-firing red Yi cannon to attack infantry is a bit overqualified.
The mortar does not have this shortcoming. Its range and rate of fire exceed that of the Tiger Crouching Cannon, which is specialized in hunting infantry. Moreover, since it is a projectile artillery that fires sputtering shells, it is not afraid of the opponent's car at all, and can allow the shells to bypass thieves. The army's carriage is ready again.
You don't need too much. Just drive an iron nail from the face into the head of the thief and it will make him miserable. No matter how skilled you are in martial arts and how strong you are, you can't withstand the attack of an iron nail the size of a mosquito.
"Hahahaha, what can I do if I drive a car again? I'm not asking for death!"
The defenders who were observing behind the parapet couldn't help laughing when they saw this. This cannon was so sharp that it knocked down more than a hundred people in just the first salvo.
"Ah... hurry up... pull that thing out!"
President Qian called to the soldiers beside him and asked him to carefully pull out the iron nails driven into his back, otherwise he would be in unbearable pain if they continued to stay on his body.
Unlucky for him, a zhayao bag was baozha behind him, and two iron nails got right through the gaps in the armor, but it made him very "happy".
"Master! You're in there, you can't pull it out!"
Standing against the bullets fired by the opponent, there is always the danger of death, and having to pull out the nails inserted in the armor of the master. The soldier is really desperate and has no way to start.
"Go over there! There's a tree there!"
There are three nails in the back. How the hell can I bear this? When President Qian saw a willow tree not far away, he quickly ran over and used the tree trunk as a cover. He quickly took off his armor and asked his soldiers to pull it out quickly.
"Hiss...boom..."
Just when the two were about to act, they suddenly felt an unknown object fall on their heads. When they looked up, they saw a bag just landing on the treetop where they were.
Before they could turn around and run away, they quickly baozha. Mr. Qian had just taken off his armor and was not even wearing a shirt. Now his upper body was naked, but he was hit by a head-on blow. Not only did the nails left in his back not be pulled out, but now A dozen more.
"Save...save...save...me!"
Because the distance was too close and he was not wearing armor, many nails had been driven directly into Mr. Qian's internal organs, causing him to spit out a large mouthful of blood, his eyes widened, and his words were choked, but he still did not forget to reach out to the soldiers around him. Call for help.
But the guys around me are either dead or injured, and it's too late to escape. Who dares to care about this guy? Even if you are the Eight Kings calling for help, don't try to block my escape.
Falling from the sky!
Who can stand this thing?
You can fire a volley every thirty numbers, and it's still a blast plus piercing attack!
What is the use of building so many carts?
Even if you can't stop other people's bullets, this is a terrible fight!
If it doesn’t work, just keep breathing tight...
Otherwise, they will have to be left to be "fed nails" by the defenders!
I saw nails flying around, especially soldiers who were hit in the face by nails and even had their eyes pierced.
Everyone's intention to attack the city suddenly disappeared, and they no longer had the idea of breaking into the city and looting it.
We men can beat a living person, but we can't beat an iron nail!
There are thousands of iron nails flying across the battlefield at any time. Who wouldn't be afraid?
This thing fell directly to his feet and exploded. The carriage was just a useless decoration!
"How can this be?"
Zhang Wenxiu, who was watching the battle with a telescope from the rear, was stunned. He didn't know what kind of sharp weapon the officers and soldiers could use to cause such heavy casualties to the rebels.
The rebels' Hongyi cannon can fire at most twice in a quarter of an hour, and during this period, the defenders in the city have fired at their side no less than ten times.
The Folang machine has a very fast rate of fire, but this fire gun has a relatively short range. Once it is pushed closer, it will inevitably be hurt by the Hongyi cannon at the top of the city.
If the fight continues like this, Ma Tingbao's men and horses will be completely annihilated by the defenders in less than half an hour.
If the troops are increased, the casualties will inevitably increase sharply. On the contrary, it is a tactic of adding fuel and will not pose a threat to the defenders at all.
The moat of Xiangyang City is a natural line of defense that can delay the rapid advance of the rebels to the greatest extent.
The night before, the troops led by the fourth brother went to attack the city, but most of the troops folded beside this extremely wide moat. 11... Friends who read books, you can search for "Blue Chinese Network" and you will find this site as soon as possible.
