Among the main armies of the two sides confronting each other in Jinshan, Tuyuhun's side originally had high hopes for the 10,000 personal guards led by Murong Yan. However, as soon as this elite division, which had been built with all national resources, went into battle, it was ignored by the Sui army. The sword array was like fish meat and was chopped into pieces. The disastrous defeat of the elite division greatly reduced the morale and morale of the Tuyuhun soldiers in the castle. Murong Yong saw that the Sui soldiers were so terrifying that he no longer dared to go out to fight with the Sui army. I can't go out in seclusion every day and am very passive.
On the other hand, the Sui army had easily won a brilliant victory. The whole army had high morale and high fighting spirit. After the Tuyuhun army did not dare to fight, Yang Ji launched fierce sieges every day without any worries. war.
The Sui soldiers attacked day and night, leaving most of the people in the fortress without a good night's sleep and exhausted. The city was extremely quiet at this time. More than 10,000 Tuyuhun soldiers took advantage of the truce to take a break. Everyone was wrapped in thick sheepskins and blankets and fell asleep leaning against the wall.
In addition to the sleeping soldiers, there were many dead corpses in the city. These corpses were in strange shapes. Some were curled up in a ball, with pale faces still showing the pain and fear before death. Some corpses were mutilated, and there were more. They were smashed into meat pies and minced meat by stones falling from the sky, but regardless of their shape, all the dead bodies were frozen into solid ice.
However, the Sui army did not give them adequate rest. Less than half an hour after the truce, the Sui army's camp suddenly heard the sound of thundering drums. The huge drum sound of "dong dong dong" was low, slow and shocking.
The soldiers of Tuyuhun woke up from their sleep. Today's city defense general Murong Yan jumped up, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, lay on the battlements and looked at the Sui army in the distance.
This time the Sui army made a lot of noise. It was not like the small-scale attack before. It seemed that the soldiers of the entire camp had been mobilized. An orderly group of soldiers gathered from all directions on the square in the camp and formed a group. Neat square array.
Murong Yan turned to the messenger and shouted: "The whole Sui army camp is on the move. It is very likely that they will fight to the death with our army. Immediately let the generals and military advisors prepare for a decisive battle, and at the same time order the generals who defend the city to guard the city to the death."
"Yes!" The ordering soldier did not dare to neglect. Hearing the order, he immediately ran away.
Murong Yan climbed on the battlements again to watch the enemy. In less than a moment, he saw the west gate of the Sui camp opened wide, and groups of cavalry lined up in formation and filed out from the camp.
When they formed two large phalanxes of 5,000 cavalry on the left and right of the camp gate, the drums sounded again, and the 5,000 infantrymen came out and lined up one after another, forming a front line with the cavalry on the left and right, pointing directly at Tuyuhun Castle. Then came the siege soldiers, who led oxen and horses, dragging two hundred giant catapults and a hundred well-mounted carts forward, and lined up behind the infantry holding giant shields. Followed closely by another 10,000 cavalry.
When they were neatly arranged in formation, the earth-shattering sound of war drums sounded again, and four huge phalanxes slowly advanced following the sound of the drums.
The Sui army was in neat formation, their weapons and armor reflected in the snowy light, reflecting a biting cold light. This murderous momentum was extremely shocking, making the Tyuhun soldiers on the city tremble with fear and nervousness.
Even Murong Yong and Murong Xiaojun, who came after hearing the news, couldn't help but change their expressions. Over the past few days, they had fought countless offensive and defensive battles with the Sui army, but every previous battle by the Sui army was a small-scale attack. Knowing that Yang Ji's intention was to lure them out of the city to fight, they ignored him.
This was the first time that such a powerful and shocking formation appeared on the battlefield; it was also the first time that they had seen it, and the Sui army's large-scale formation also made the two of them feel anxious.
Murong Yong glanced at Murong Xiaojun next to him and frowned: "Military advisor, is it true that Yang Ji really intends to attack with all his strength and break through our castle with many soldiers and generals in one fell swoop? If so, does Yang Ji have the confidence that is hard to come by? What's more, Who gave him the courage?"
Murong Xiaojun pondered for a long time and said word by word: "Commander, I think Yang Ji has three intentions: first, to attack instead of defend, so that we have no time to deal with the incoming Sui army; second, to create panic and let We ask for help from the Great Khan; the third is to use the strategy of exhausting the army."
Just as Murong Yong was about to speak, Murong Yan strode up to the gate tower, saluted the two of them and said, "Commander and counselor, the gate tower is within the killing range of the Sui army's catapults. Please retreat to the gate tower."
The watchtower in the city is the last general's plundering formation. "
Murong Yong nodded: "General, feel free to command the soldiers to fight back. Wherever there is a need, we will send troops to support as soon as possible."
Murong Yan bowed and saluted: "Commander, please rest assured, we have deployed crossbows on the city and are not afraid of the Sui army!"
"Yes!" Murong Yong and Murong Xiaojun quickly walked down the gatehouse and walked towards the high observation tower within a mile.
When they walked away, Murong Yan looked at Sui Jun again, his expression changed drastically. He knew that when the Central Plains Dynasty fought, they paid attention to the psychological warfare of conquering the enemy without fighting. They always used the momentum of taking the lead to intimidate the enemy and overwhelm the opponent, giving people an unmatched and irresistible "power"; thus making the enemy The morale of the army was weakened and the will to fight collapsed.
Having heard this statement before, Murong Yan was quite dissatisfied. But at this moment, the Sui army's siege phalanx in front of them was so powerful that it was like a black steel torrent slowly approaching them; and the sound of footsteps, horse hooves, and armor leaves coming from the front combined together, and even the sound of the armor under his feet came together. The city head trembled slightly, and the deterrent effect it caused was a bit more powerful than the sound of the war drums just now.
Before the troops arrived, the momentum and the sound alone almost took away Murong Yan's heart and soul.
The general was especially nervous. Have other generals and ordinary soldiers ever seen such a battle? They were also so nervous that they clutched their weapons tightly, as if this was the only way to give themselves a sense of security.
Murong Yan took a deep breath and tried to calm down his pounding heart. He shouted loudly: "Load the arrow on the crossbow and prepare to shoot. Don't let the catapult approach; at the same time, push the catapult to me." come out."
Dang Jincheng originally had more than 500 crossbows and more than 400 small catapults used to defend the city, but after the Sui army's "indiscriminate bombardment" these days, as much as 40% of each was lost.
Just like a city in the Central Plains, there are shooting holes on the battlements. Following Murong Yan's order, the crossbowmen pushed more than 300 crossbows to the shooting holes, quickly twisted the winches, pulled out the crossbows, and - A three-foot-long iron crossbow arrow with a stick as fine as a thumb was put into the firing slot. Small catapults were also pushed out and set up on top of the city one after another. They pulled the rope, lowered the arm, and then put the stones into the "launch bucket" on the top of the arm. Then, together with the crossbow, they fired from a distance. Aiming at the Sui army's siege phalanx hundreds of steps away.
. . . .
At the same time, the Sui army outside the pass was also ready to attack the city.
Yang Ji was wearing a suit of Mingguang Xuan armor and stood on the top platform of a Jinglan chariot of the rear army with a battle flag and a handsome flag. On the left and right sides were Yang Shanhui and Hao Yuan who were still wearing armor, and there were several others. The messenger. This time, they are still "spectators".
Under the Jinglan chariot, there were another thousand guards on horseback guarding the surroundings. The red tassels on their helmets danced in the wind, forming a billowing red wave.
This time, the former army commander was replaced by Qian Shixiong, while Xue Shixiong was responsible for guarding the camp. Yang Ji was replaced in this way in order to temper the generals' commanding abilities and enable them to grow in actual combat.
Qian Shixiong's Jinglan chariot was behind the siege army. He glanced around and saw that the catapult was already 350 steps away from the city.
Catapults first appeared on the battlefield during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. "Fan Li's Art of War" records that "the flying stone weighs twelve kilograms, is used as a machine, and travels three hundred steps." With the improvement of generations of craftsmen, heavy catapults have become It can throw stone projectiles weighing 60 kilograms to 300 steps away, and medium-sized catapults can throw 30 kilograms of stone to 300 steps away.
In ancient times, taking one step was called a step, while taking two feet was considered a step. The step in ancient times was one step for future generations, and one step in ancient times was actually two steps for future generations. As the saying goes, "five feet is a step," so one step in ancient times was approximately equal to one step. About five meters. In other words, the improved heavy catapult can throw a 60-pound stone projectile 450 meters away. If the weight of the stone projectile is reduced by half, the range can be imagined.
The catapult used by the Sui army has a scale engraved on its bracket. When the catapult arm uses stones of different weights and presses them to different angles of the scale, its range will be different. When it reaches the bottom, dozens of soldiers need to push the crank handle of the winch. As the winch rotates, the three-foot-long arm is gradually pulled down. Several more soldiers will "burn" the weight of dozens of kilograms. "Bullet" into the launch bucket. This is a vine soaked in oil
A big ball made of layers of strips. The outer spaces are filled with flammable kerosene cloth, oil-soaked hay handles, rosin, and small ceramic kerosene cans. In the middle is a stone ball. The overall weight is About forty pounds.
Seeing that everything was ready, Qian Shixiong pulled out his sword with a clang and shouted sternly: "The shield soldiers formed a long snake formation and moved forward."
"Here!" Following Qian Shixiong's order, flags were played one after another, and from the front of the infantry army, a row of warriors holding large shields walked out. These heavily armored warriors except for a shield, a Heng Dao, there is no other weapon.
It's just that the shield in their hands is a thick rectangular shield that is taller than a person. As the flags are conveyed one after another, they line up in front of the formation and quickly pass through the door bolt-like parts on the back of the shield to form a large and tightly fitting shield. Formation, and then use their strength together, holding it diagonally and slowly stepping forward.
"What is this?" Murong Yan was deeply surprised when he saw it. The face was so big that it could completely cover one person. When they were put together, they were no different from a city wall, and this wall was still movable. .
"It should be a shield, right?" The deputy general said hesitantly, looking at the shield formation that looked like an iron wall.
Murong Yan said: "I want to see how much defensive power this shield has when it comes to crossbow shooting."
"Here!" The deputy general nodded. With a wave of his hand, the crossbowmen who were ready began to fire crossbow arrows at the shield array.
"Dang, dang, dang." The sharp crossbow arrows made a sharp roar and rained down on the shield. However, each of the sharp crossbow arrows was actually bounced away.
The first wave of crossbows was barely blocked, and the second and third waves came quickly.
However, the result was the same. The scattered crossbow arrows were piled all over the place, but they did not cause any damage to the opponent.
Murong Yan and others were immediately dumbfounded. What on earth is this? The defense is so strong!
What they don't know is that these large shields are completely different from other shields. They are derived from the "crossbow protection jacket" invented by Xiao Ying. It is made of three layers of cooked cowhide on the outside and three thick layers of cloth in the middle. "Sole", the inner layer is iron. The adhesive is a bone glue and glutinous rice paddle mixture with good viscosity, high strength, good elasticity and toughness, and low price.
When the adhesive bonds the seven layers of materials together layer by layer, these large shields have the characteristics of both strength and flexibility, and are lighter than pure iron shields. Of course, its cost and lightness are definitely far inferior to the "crossbow-proof clothing" made of Shu brocade and white silk. The value of Yang Ji's "crossbow-proof clothing" can be made into at least dozens of such large shields. .
However, although it is cheaper than the "Crossbow Avoidance Clothing", the effect is very good. Once the crossbow arrows fired by the bed crossbow exceed the most powerful shooting range, they cannot break through the defense of these shields; even if they can be broken through, they may not necessarily kill the shield soldiers, just because the shield soldiers are still wearing a set of heavy armor.
"How far apart are they?" Qian Shixiong asked.
The flag officer next to him quickly replied: "Report to the general, about three hundred steps!"
"It seems that after Tuyuhun learned our crossbow-making technology, there was no improvement at all! Their crossbows can't break through our army's crossbow shields at all." Qian Shixiong thought about this and sneered: "Lei Lei Drum, order the crossbowmen to come forward, let them and the shield soldiers suppress them together, and enter the blind spot within the enemy's catapult range as soon as possible."
Catapults are also under the light, and the current distance is still within their range. Once they enter the "black under the light" position, Tuyuhun's catapults, crossbows, and bows and arrows will not be able to do anything to the shield soldiers, and the shield soldiers will cover them fiercely. Crossbowmen.
"Dong dong dong dong!" As the order was issued, the passionate war drums beat loudly, and the Sui soldiers' formation spread out, and a suffocating sense of oppression arose spontaneously.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The shield soldiers raised their big shields and the minions held crossbows. Together they carried the shield formation and rushed towards the city wall. As they advanced, the Sui army's catapults were also ordered to show off their power.
As the drums sounded, the soldiers holding torches next to the catapults simultaneously lit the fireball, and the fireballs burned quickly. Then there was the sound of drums again, and two hundred catapults suddenly started to show their power at the same time. Two hundred huge fireballs rose into the sky, and the bright red light cut through the red clouds in the sky, like meteors falling from the sky, and hit the city hard.
Above their heads and in the city, the fireball shattered immediately after it hit the ground. The wild fire rushed into the dense group of soldiers and ignited the rosin and kerosene on the ground.
The soldiers fled in panic, and many soldiers were knocked to the ground by bouncing and rolling stone balls. The wooden gatehouse was the focus of the catapult. As the large fireballs broke through the wall, the gatehouse also burst into flames.
There were dozens of large fireballs that crossed over the city, penetrated the tents in the city, and were shattered inside the tents. The tent was covered with furs and other materials to keep out the cold. Once it encountered fire or kerosene, the fire quickly ignited, plunging the tent area into chaos.
At this time, the bed crossbows on the city also launched a counterattack. More than 300 bed crossbows adjusted their directions and aimed at the catapult square. Following Murong Yan's order, more than 300 crossbow arrows were fired at the same time. Tuyuhun bed crossbows The shooting range of the Sui Dynasty was shorter than that of the Sui Dynasty, only about 350 steps, and the Sui army's catapult phalanx was placed just 350 steps away.
When more than 300 crossbow arrows whizzed towards the Sui army's trebuchets, almost all of them became useless more than ten steps away and fell to the ice with a clanging sound; similarly, the catapults used to defend the city were useless. This is because due to the limited width of the city head, only small catapults can be used to defend the city, and naturally the small range cannot reach it.
When the city was in panic and chaos, the second round of fireballs rose into the sky again and fell into the city. However, the Tuyuhun soldiers also had experience in defense. As soon as they saw the fireballs falling to the ground and shattering, they immediately shoveled away the snowflakes with shovels. Go up and prevent the fire from burning.
However, the shield soldiers and crossbowmen below the city took this opportunity to enter the effective shooting range of the horned crossbows. When the shield formation stabilized on the ground, the soldiers immediately got out of the shield formation above the diagonal finger and fired crossbow arrows towards the city.
There were waves of muffled "buzzing" sounds in the air, which was the sound of the bowstrings rebounding, like the muffled thunder echoing behind the clouds. At the same time, countless crossbow arrows flew out like a dense swarm of locusts, attacking the soldiers and horses on the top of the city! A cloud of blood mist accompanied the shrill screams, and the entire city was completely emptied in just one salvo.
The crossbowmen didn't care about the results. After releasing the arrows, they quickly retracted and hid under the shield array to draw the arrows.
Then, the rain of arrows fell again, and after two or three rounds, it stopped raining, and the dead bodies were spread all over the city.
The Sui soldiers who attacked from a distance heard from the flag that there was no fire burning in the city, so they changed their combat methods and replaced the "incendiary bombs" with "ice bombs."
When the altitude of Jinshan Pass is extremely high and it is a big wind outlet, this is the season when water condenses into ice. You only need to boil the ice and snow into water, and then pour it into a container like a mold. Once poured out, there will be ice bombs, which are much more powerful than digging. It also saves trouble when icing and trimming the edges. When the ice bombs were put into the "launch bucket", the soldiers aligned the scale and then threw the ice bombs one by one onto the city head.
The ice bombs shattered when they hit the ground. The power of the flying ice was no less than that of stones falling from high altitude. The lethality was astonishing. What was even more powerful was that after the ice fragments were all over the city, the ground became very slippery and unstable. .
The Tuyuhun soldiers might be able to fight on the solid ice, but the scattered ice made their footing unstable. If you accidentally step on it, you will fall to the ground and trip your comrades around you.
As ice bombs exploded on the city head, the Tuyuhun soldiers on the city suddenly became chaotic.
They couldn't even stand firm, let alone take aim and fight back.
