The rebels originally thought that the officers and soldiers were just relying on their sharp firearms to show off their skills for a while, but they did not expect that in the end they fell into a trick of luring the enemy deeper.
The previous situations were all illusions. The defenders were deliberately showing weakness to the rebels, so that the rebels felt that the defenders in Xiangyang City were really on their last legs, so they attacked aggressively.
Just then, seeing Wang Fuchen's 3,000 auxiliary troops and Ma Tingbao's 500 surrendered soldiers attacking smoothly, in order to prevent the two men in front from monopolizing the siege, Zhang Wenxiu personally rushed up with a thousand elite troops.
After excluding the damage caused during the charge, there were no less than 3,780 nominal soldiers gathered on the east side of Xiangyang City from the city foundation to the moat.
Once the soldiers who were the first to board the city could seize the city head and open the city gate, these soldiers and horses could file in and burn, kill and loot.
However, under the repeated bombardment of explosive packs, those ideas were already unrealistic, and the defenders would not even give the rebels a chance to catch the moon.
Ninety explosive packets were thrown out in just three rounds, causing the dense crowd of rebel soldiers under the city to collapse.
If there are only thirty explosive packets, we can hold on for a while.
If we can knock down sixty in two rounds, we might be able to stabilize our position.
However, the three rounds were continuously thrown at them, completely catching the rebel soldiers off guard and making them powerless.
There was not even a decent bunker to be found under the city walls. With just the shields in hand and the few carts, how could they withstand the constant stream of explosive firearms falling overhead?
Even if there were bunkers to hide in, it would be impossible to accommodate more than 3,000 people entering at the same time. Most of the troops would have to be exposed to broad daylight and bombed in vain.
And turning around and running is actually a better option. If you don't run, there will really be a fourth, fifth, or even sixth round of "throwing bombardment"!
The guy with a smart mind is the fastest and knows that it is impossible to resist this thing with his body.
Those who did not believe in evil were already lying near the explosion point, reduced to reptiles with missing arms and legs or bleeding from their orifices.
But running away is not that easy. Everyone wants to escape from this ghost place as soon as possible.
But nearly 3,000 people are walking across the bridge. How long will it take before they can all cross?
Not to mention that the order was already chaotic at this time, and there were many trucks blocking the road.
People shouting and horses neighing are intertwined, lives are at stake, and the soldiers will no longer give in to the big and small bosses.
Whoever dares to block his way of survival will be stabbed with a knife without saying a word. It is better for the other person to die than to die for himself.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
"Boom...boom..."
Seeing that the rebel soldiers had been bombed and had no intention of fighting, and were just planning to run away, the defenders on the city began to march as they pleased to counterattack.
The area near the bridge was completely covered by the rain of arrows and the bullets of the Folang machine. Finally, they caught such a good opportunity, and the soldiers went all out to reap the results of the battle.
The distance is so close, the opponent's back is turned to him, and he has no intention of turning around to resist. Where can I find such a good thing?
There was no need for Jiang Mingwu to shout orders and supervise at the top of the city, the officers and soldiers were naturally very agile.
The target below is really too big, and the thieves have been crowded into a big group.
Gunslingers and archers don't need to be too careful. As long as they aim in a general direction, they will be able to achieve results in all likelihood.
Faced with such a large group of targets, it would be difficult for shooters with various weapons to miss them successfully.
"Ouch~! Don't step on it!"
"Ah... I stepped on my forehead..."
Under the heavy pressure of the defenders, not only congestion occurred at the bridge, but also a more serious stampede occurred.
In order to escape, the thieves regarded the people in front of them as obstacles. If they ran slower than themselves, they would try their best to knock them down.
In emergency situations, you can only resort to extraordinary measures. In the end, there are flying arrow clusters and bullets, which can kill people in the blink of an eye. It is definitely not a joke.
At the critical moment, there was no need to care about friendship, and many of them were strangers to each other, so they simply chopped them down to avoid getting in the way. The sound of swords clashing could be heard endlessly.
The guy who was cut down was trampled on by his companions behind him, and there were countless shoe marks on his body.
If the vital parts cannot be covered in time, when everyone passes by, a living eunuch will be lying on the ground...
There is nothing we can do about it. If we don’t want to swim back from the moat, we can only walk on the bridge.
But there is only one bridge, and if you have to compete with so many people, you can only compete with who has the most evil intentions.
Whoever runs faster and escapes from the battlefield first will survive.
If you can't even save your life, talking about anything else is nonsense.
At this time, even if you go up to the peak and give yourself ten thousand taels of silver, you can't take it. If you turn around, you will die. This is obvious.
Most of the auxiliary troops led by Wang Fuchen could only fight with favorable conditions, but they could not withstand strong opposition at all, so they had to be suppressed by the elite troops under Zhang Wenxiu's command.
But now the army is defeated like a mountain, and no matter how hard it is, there is no way to suppress it. Look at this posture, it is useless to go up with elite soldiers. It is better to withdraw the troops and retreat early, and then plan a better strategy.
Seeing that his troops had been defeated on a large scale, Zhang Wenxiu had the will to fight, but the soldiers around him had no intention of fighting anymore, so he could only adapt to the changes in the situation and retreat with everyone.
He completely did not expect that the defenders would be so powerful and cunning. The rebels were helpless and suffered heavy losses. They were also unable to withstand the fierce counterattack from the city.
Before the war, Ma Tingbao still had 1,500 men and horses, and his own troops numbered as many as 4,000. But now, he was lucky to be able to escape with 2,000 men, but it was still a big defeat.
Zhang Wenxiu believed that even if there were elite troops to suppress the formation, the casualties the rebels could bear would only be about 20 to 30%, with a maximum of about 1,500 to 1,500 people.
But when they arrived at the city, they encountered a blow from the defenders. Suddenly, no less than seven or eight hundred people were blown up by sudden explosive objects. As a result, the morale of the soldiers in attacking the city suddenly collapsed.
They all knew how terrifying this object was. No one could survive unscathed at close range, so they all instinctively thought of running away.
"boom……"
However, as soon as some soldiers ran to the other side from the bridge near the city gate, they were hit by a new round of explosive bullets.
Obviously the defenders didn't want them to easily run back to their main formation, and wanted to take this opportunity to spare as many lives as possible to prevent them from plotting against Xiangyang City again.
"ah……"
Zhang Wenxiu was also hit in the leg by an iron nail produced by a nearby explosion. He fell off his horse in pain. With the support of his own soldiers, he got back on his horse and quickly escaped from this ghost place that he never wanted to come back to.
From the bridgehead to a mile away, craters of varying depths, dead bodies covered with flies, and wounded soldiers who were in a state of disarray could be seen everywhere.
Before launching the siege, Zhang Wenxiu had never thought that he would be defeated so miserably. In just one hour, he lost more than two thousand troops.
The sores on his legs were still bleeding, and there were bursts of pain. After he regrouped, he would definitely avenge himself. The immediate priority was how to explain it to his father.
Zhang Wenxiu encountered stubborn resistance from the defenders in the east of the city, while in the south of the city, Zhang Hualong and Xu Qizuo's troops did not get any advantage in front of Yang Shien.
The guard general of Xiangyang City is Yang Shien. He naturally knows the terrain inside and outside the city very well and understands how the defenders should prevent the rebels from attacking.
Half of the outside of the city is occupied by Yanghu Mountain, and there is only half of the open space. Therefore, the rebel army cannot form and attack as smoothly as in the east of the city.
Seeing that the terrain was not very favorable, Zhang Hualong wanted to join forces with his third general Zhang Wenxiu to find the weak points of the two defenders and attack.
But Zhang Wenxiu had no such intention. The open terrain to the east of the city was extremely favorable for the army's attack. If Xiangyang City was conquered first, it would be the credit of himself and his deputy Wang Fuchen, and he was unwilling to give Zhang Hualong some military exploits.
Zhang Hualong had no choice but to make good use of the open space in the south and east of the city and launch an attack on the defenders at the top of the city from here.
The rebels could charge down on Yanghu Mountain, but once their attack was blocked, it would not be so easy to run back.
It is easy to go down the mountain, but difficult to go up the mountain. Through the early morning bombardment, Zhang Hualong also knew that the defenders' firearms were very powerful.
If the rebels fail to win their first attack and run from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain, but are constantly being bombarded in the process, there will not be a few soldiers left in the end.
Although the open space is not too wide, it is enough for more than 5,000 rebels. They can even be spread out horizontally with great fanfare, but it is not very helpful for siege.
The rebels were sitting on Yanghu Mountain, and they had no advantage in firing cannons on the mountain. When they reached the flat ground, it was even more impossible to think about the defenders in Yurou City.
The orders of the Eight Kings were like this, and the Hong bandits did not rush back to help. Xiangyang City was right under the eyes of the rebel soldiers. Facing the huddled defenders, there was no reason not to fight.
Hearing the thundering shouts of killing coming from the east, Zhang Hualong realized that fighting had already started at Zhang Wenxiu's place. Of course, his side could not fall behind, otherwise it would spread to the Eight Kings, which would be good or bad.
All the soldiers thought about having a good time after breaking the city, but there was still a last line of defense waiting for everyone to cross. After the first two battles, the defenders also proved their strength and were by no means idle.
However, Zhang Hualong would not be unable to make up his mind to attack the city because of his worries. Even if the Hong bandits were stationed in Xiangyang City in person, they would not be able to stop the rebels' violent attack.
The war drums beat and the flag was waved, and the infantry, led by the generals, pushed the carts, carried the bamboo rafts and ladders, and rushed towards Xiangyang City.
Unlike Zhang Wenxiu, Zhang Hualong did not intend to let the descendants led by Xu Qizuo go over to test first. Since he planned to break the city, he had to devote all his efforts at the beginning.
And it was best to attack the city before Zhang Wenxiu, so that the eight kings could look down upon him. Thinking of this, Zhang Hualong pressed all his more than 5,000 troops forward.
Zhang Xianzhong, who was watching the battle on the mountain, would not turn into a spectator who only enjoyed the scenery. He still asked the gunmen on Yanghu Mountain to fire into the city, providing fire support within their capabilities and at the same time distracting the defenders' forces.
As a result, the defenders would have to deal with three-dimensional attacks from two directions with different heights.
When engaging in an artillery battle with the rebels on the mountain, you must temporarily ignore the rushing rebel infantry.
Otherwise, they will be beaten passively and be continuously bombarded by the rebels on Yanghu Mountain.
This is the strategy of the Eight Kings to attack the city, so that the rebels can break the city as soon as possible.
There is currently no news from Gucheng, which does not mean that Tong Hong has not been able to get the report from Xiangyang City.
Once they get the news that the Hong bandits are marching south, the rebels will immediately withdraw their troops, so they must break the city as soon as possible.
If they received a report that the Hong bandit army was approaching halfway through the battle, the rebels would have lost thousands of soldiers and horses in vain.
Xiangyang City failed to be conquered, and a decisive battle had to be fought outside the city with the Hong bandits' army, which had superior strength. This was impossible to win.
Zhang Xianzhong's idea is to win the battle quickly. He must capture Xiangyang City before the Hong bandits return for reinforcements. At the worst, he must run away as soon as possible. If he stays there, he will die.
"boom……"
Despite the continuous artillery fire, soldiers were constantly knocked down by the explosions of bullets falling from the sky. The casualties in a quarter of an hour reached as many as four to five hundred people.
Zhang Hualong's soldiers continued to advance without hesitation, using a relatively loose formation to launch a fierce attack on Xiangyang City, which seemed to be in danger.
The commander-in-chief said that the faster you run, the faster you can avoid the bullets. The slower you advance, the easier it is to be cut in half by the bullets coming from the top of the city.
Ordinary soldiers are illiterate and don't know a single word in Douda. Of course they can't think of going deep. As long as they can understand what the general said and it seems to make sense, they will obediently rush forward.
Otherwise, the supervising team behind you will see you and shoot you in the back. By that time, you will not be able to survive even if you don't want to die. Those guys specialize in taking care of the soldiers who are too timid to fight.
Before reaching a hundred steps from the city, the rebel soldiers could only be beaten passively. Only when they were within the range of individual weapons could they draw their bows, nock arrows, and use blunderbuss.
The rebel gunners on Yanghu Mountain played a big role, but for the infantry on the ground, they still had to face artillery fire from the city head.
This place is no better than Gucheng, and the defenders will not surrender easily. It is impossible to get all the gold, silver, jewels, mansions and beauties in the city without a fierce battle.
Two-thirds of the mortar battalion was transferred by Yang Shien to assist Jiang Mingwu, who was stationed in the east of the city. Only twelve guns under one company provided fire support.
For the rebels outside the city, they suddenly encountered a lot less bullets. No matter how fast a company fired, it was still enough to reach the firepower output level of the entire battalion.
Even though they knocked down almost five hundred people, they still could not effectively contain the offensive outside. Soon the rebels rushed to the city, erected ladders with great fanfare, and began to climb the city.
"Deputy Battalion Commander Liu, thank you for your help just now. Now that the bandits are approaching the city, a bloody battle is inevitable. Your soldiers should step aside first!"
Yang Shien was grateful for the firepower coverage of the mortar company under Liu Ben's command. It killed a lot of rebel soldiers, but the enemy was not so injured that it pounced like a hungry tiger.
"Xie Rong, you're welcome. This is a subordinate matter. Although our artillery battalion is not good at close combat, we can still solve problems for Xie Rong. As early as when we were receiving training in the capital, His Highness the Prince taught us how to defend the city! "
Liu Ben, battalion commander Ding Liang and other senior officers all received the words and deeds of a certain prince. Generally speaking, in defense, especially when defending a city, there are two ways to use mortar shells, one is to shoot and the other is to throw. .
It is not yet clear how powerful the explosive packs rushed out of Xiangyang City are, but judging from the situation observed at the top of the city, they are not much less powerful than similar bullets brought from the capital.
A medicine bag weighing seven or eight kilograms, tied with hundreds of nails, can be thrown by strong soldiers under the city, and exploded among the bandits. This will get twice the result with half the effort.
Worried that Liu Ben had forgotten this move, Ding Liang specifically warned before going to Jiang Ming's military department that no matter what method, these explosive packs would be useful.
After Liu Ben summarized it in a few words, Yang Shien was very happy. He was worried about being unable to retreat from the enemy, so Liu Ben came up with a clever plan.
He was well aware of the power of explosive packs, but he didn't expect to be able to use them like this. There were as many bandits as termites in the city now. If they were dropped from the top of the city, they would be able to give the bandits a heads-up.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
To describe it as "a wake-up call" is light. For the rebel soldiers who felt that their side was almost winning, this thing was like a bolt from the blue.
Yang Shien ordered fifty explosive packets to be thrown at one time. In addition, the flat area in the south of the city was less than half that in the east of the city, so the density of rebel soldiers was much higher than that in the east.
The explosive packets exploded one after another, turning it into an irresistible disaster. Even the ladder used to attack the city was directly blown off, and the flying nails were fast enough to embed in the wooden shield.
Of course, the more fragile human body has become a target. Many auxiliary soldiers don't even have helmets, just wrapped in a turban, and will die if nails are driven into their heads...
