Wu Shouqian came back defeated. He didn't know whether he was really seriously injured or just because he had no face to see Gao Yanchou. Anyway, he ran back to his supervisory office and never came out again.
After Gao Yanchang commanded the crossbowmen at the top of the city to shoot back the Zhou soldiers who were chasing Wu Shouqian's defeated army, he immediately saw the banner of the Shu army at the top of Baidi City being chopped down.
Gao Yanchang had no choice but to order the four gates to be closed tightly and retreat to Kuizhou City.
Kuizhou City is built on a mountain and faces the Yangtze River. It is said to have four gates, but in fact, there are only two south gates that are commonly used for entry and exit.
The one to the southwest is called the Small South Gate, and the one to the southeast is the Yidou Gate. Taking the meaning of Du Fu's famous saying here, "Every time you lean on the Big Dipper to look at the capital," it is commonly known as the Big South Gate.
Outside the big and small south gates, there is a large beach called Zhutou Pu. On weekdays, business travelers gather, making it the best place to disembark and land.
Gao Yanchang originally wanted to rely on the houses in Zhutou Pu to fight with the Zhou army, but how could Ma Zhaoyuan be fooled like this? The Zhou army's warships lingered in Zhutou Pu for a long time, and when the southeast wind picked up, they set fire directly to the wind.
Most of the houses in Zhutoupu are for commercial use, so they are basically built with wooden boards, branches, etc. The most important thing to do is to prevent water leakage on weekdays, but they can't withstand deliberately setting fires.
Not long after, the flames soared into the sky and they could not be saved. Gao Yanchou could only order the Shu army to retreat to the city.
Ma Zhaoyuan took advantage of the Zhutoupu fire to burn, and personally led hundreds of warships to surround the Ningjiang Navy Naval Port in the east of Kuizhou City.
But long before Ma Zhaoyuan came to encircle him, the nimble-minded Ningjiang army and navy took advantage of the wind and fled upstream to Yun'anjian and Wanzhou.
The remaining ones were blocked and lost the ability to leave the port, so they had to abandon their ships and escape ashore. They watched helplessly as the Zhou army blocked the port and completely trapped the warships.
Gao Yanchou still had more than 4,000 men in his hands. After the navy came ashore, there were still more than 1,000 men. Wu Shouqian still had 5 or 600 who returned after his defeat.
Therefore, the entire combatable army in Kuizhou City is close to 6,000, with complete armor and a small cavalry team, which is not completely powerless to fight back.
However, Gao Yanchou lost the confidence to compete with the Zhou army. He only wanted to defend Kuizhou City and force the Zhou army to attack the city.
As long as he holds Kuizhou City for a day, Zhou Jun cannot rest assured and go upstream.
You must know that after passing Kuizhou, there were no soldiers in Yun'anjian, Wanzhou, Zhongzhou and other places upstream. It was not until Fuzhou (Fuling) that there were 6,000 tooth soldiers of the Wutai Army.
If Kuizhou City is not defended, Zhou Shi can easily attack the vicinity of Yuzhou (Chongqing).
Ma Zhaoyuan naturally knew the importance of conquering Kuizhou, so as soon as the Zhutoupu fire was extinguished, he immediately urged the craftsmen to dismantle and relocate the stone cannons stationed by the Shu army in Baidi City and Baiyan Mountain.
In ancient China, due to the lack of metal parts, the disassembly and installation of trebuchets was a very difficult task.
Most of the time, these trebuchets are basically burned on the spot after the battle, and rarely can they be dismantled and reused.
However, Zhou Jun just had this ability. Playing trebuchets can be said to be the inheritance of Zhou Jun. From the small camel cyclone cannon to the large counterweight trebuchet, the Ministry of War alone has several large rooms in it.
Every time they send out troops, the army must be accompanied by craftsmen from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry. Therefore, the Zhou army quickly dismantled two of the Shu army's trebuchets and began to install them at Zhutou Pu.
Gao Yanchang saw it from the city and felt that his soul was out of his mind. It would only be a matter of time before these large trebuchets were installed and destroyed the weak points of the Kuizhou city wall.
Luo Ji, the judge of Jiedu, said to Gao Yanchou: "The previous time the governor attacked and returned in defeat, Baidi City was quickly captured again, and people in the city were already in panic.
If the Northern soldiers are allowed to throw stones at the city, the morale of the army will be dispersed. Why not take advantage of the opportunity when these soldiers still dare to use their lives to rise up and fight to the death? "
The most difficult thing about defending a city is not the enemy troops, but the people's hearts.
As Luo Ji said, the Ningjiang army was defeated one after another. With the mentality of the Ya soldiers at this time, it was okay to go out of the city to fight. If they were to huddle up and be hit by the trebuchet, people would change their minds in four or five days at most.
Of course, if the battle outside the city fails, these tooth soldiers will rebel faster, but it is better than sitting back and waiting to die.
Gao Yanchang had no other choice but to make a decision, summon all the generals of the Ningjiang army, and use all the Kuizhou treasury to reward the troops. He also ordered people to kill cattle and sheep so that the Ya soldiers could have a good meal. Prepare to go out to fight in the city.
Kuizhou is the throat of the Sichuan River. It has always been the key to collecting taxes from the Yangtze River in various dynasties. During the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the commercial taxes in Kuizhou Customs were even more than those in Chengdu. Although it is not that exaggerated now, it is still a lot. .
Therefore, with Gao Yanchan's generous reward, the Ningjiang Army had thousands of tooth soldiers, each of whom was divided into young and old, and their morale suddenly increased.
Ma Zhaoyuan was on the warship and naturally could not see the movements of Kuizhou City, which was built against the mountains and was located much higher than the ship, but he knew that he must save these trebuchets that were finally assembled.
So they simply ordered Shi Yanchao and Lin Renzhao to lead two thousand soldiers and horses to protect them, and sent thousands more soldiers and horses to go up the Yangtze River to seize Yun'anjian and Wanzhou and other prefectures and counties in Meng Shu.
Gao Yanchang gave the soldiers a good meal in the city, and then at the beginning of the Mao period, he mobilized 4,500 Ningjiang army tooth soldiers, 700 guest soldiers Yun'anjian horse infantry, and 600 valiant troops brought by Wu Shouqian from Chengdu, and merged them into the city Thousands of civilians, more than 10,000 in total, came out with the Jiedu Yamen flag and banners and loud gongs and drums.
This was really a little beyond Ma Zhaoyuan's expectation. He originally thought that the Shu army would wait for him to set up the trebuchet and the bombardment became unbearable before they would come out and fight. But he didn't expect them to be so stubborn.
The whining conch horn sounded. Meng Shu, like Hedong, was not close to the sea, so the Zhou army often used conch horns to distinguish military trumpets.
When Ma Zhaoyuan entered Shu this time, he brought a total of 21,000 Ping Shu water, land, and horse infantry. After entering Shu, 500 people were left in the Wushan military camp, and 500 people were left inside and outside Baidi City.
Wen Chongle led more than a hundred warships, and more than 3,000 soldiers had already sailed upstream. The remaining warships still had to be guarded. In the end, Ma Zhaoyuan could only use about 10,000 people.
It's just that his ten thousand people are not comparable to Gao Yanchang's Ningjiang Army, which only counts ten thousand men.
Ma Zhaoyuan is the elite of the Zhou army. There are more than 6,000 pro-army and forbidden troops. The rest of the left and right guards of Jiangling and the left guard of Yiling are all warriors he selected from Hubei province. The fields have just been equalized. In addition to the difference in equipment, Some, the combat effectiveness is not bad.
Moreover, this poor equipment is for Zhou's pro-army and forbidden troops. Compared with the Shu army, the equipment of these three guards is basically the same as that of the Shu army.
After the Shu army left the city, they did not stand still in formation. Instead, Gao Yanchang arranged all the crossbowmen of the Ningjiang army in the front row.
And behind the crossbowman, a flash of sword light flashed, and a large number of spearmen in heavy armor were ready.
The Ding Zhuang civilians who were not part of the Ningjiang Army were arranged by Gao Yanchou to sit on the hillside in front of them. Ma Zhaoyuan could vaguely see that those civilians and Ding Zhuang all had bows and arrows in their hands.
This is the characteristic of the Shu army. Bamboo and wood are abundant in Shu, which is suitable for making bows and crossbows. Therefore, the ratio of bows and crossbows in the Shu army has always been very high, and this has been the case since the time of Zhuge Wuhou.
Even at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the army in Sichuan was still accustomed to equipping a large number of crossbows. The famous crossbow general was deceived by the Ming court. In his seventies, he still had to go around putting out fires with his armor on. In the end, he was killed by Li Dingguo's arrow. Zhang Ling is a typical example.
Ma Zhaoyuan saw it clearly on the boat and couldn't help but said to the people around him: "A certain family thought that Gao Yanchou was a fool, thinking that he wanted to combine Ding Zhuang and Ya Bing to make his force stronger, but he didn't expect that he wanted to take advantage of the geographical location to make Ding Zhuang more powerful. Zhuang is throwing our troops on the hillside."
Du Lun Chixin said: "Kuizhou is located at the intersection of Wushan Mountain and Daba Mountain. The people rely on mountains and water to feed themselves. It has been an excellent place to recruit navy troops in all dynasties.
Since those strong men were holding bows and arrows, they must have been hunters in Wushan and Daba Mountains, and many of them must have good archery skills.
The saint has ordered the general to build a garrison and guard the army here. Why not recruit them after the war and have a strong army immediately? "
Before the battle even started, the two men had already started making arrangements, completely ignoring Gao Yanchou and the thousands of Ningjiang troops.
This confidence comes from the all-round gap between the two countries, from monarchs to generals to soldiers. Among these three points, Meng Shu can't take advantage of them, so it can only bring trouble to the Zhou army, but not danger.
Zhutoupu is not wide, and only more than 10,000 people can be placed in total. Gao Yanchou mobilized his entire army, hoping to push the Zhou army into the Yangtze River from top to bottom by relying on their numerical advantage.
Ma Zhaoyuan did not panic at all, but ordered Guo Rong to lead 3,000 soldiers to reinforce Lin Renzhao and Shi Yanchao, and then lowered hundreds of small boats from the big ship to respond.
Finally, Ma Zhaoyuan called Hou Renbao over. Hou Renbao had a Hedong Xiaoqi brought from Hedong Yun and Dai states.
"You lead the cavalry to the left side of Zhutou Pu. I see that there must be a lot of business travelers coming in and out of the small south gate on weekdays, so the gate is a little slow to close. As soon as the battle starts and the Shu army is frustrated, they will immediately lead the cavalry to break in and attack first. In the city, even if you achieve a great feat first."
Hou Renbao was overjoyed. To be honest, his position was a bit embarrassing because his father Hou Yi had taken refuge with the Khitans.
Moreover, he relied on his feeling to bet that Saint Zhang would not be able to defeat the Khitans, but the result was obvious.
His Hou family can still have official positions, except that Hou Renbao is a dutiful son in Shaanzhou and betrays Zhao Kuangzan in time.
Also because Hou Yi was loyal and brave when he was young and was one of the thirteen loyalists in the Xingjiao sect, Zhang Shengren pinched his nose and did not hold Hou Yi accountable.
Hou Renbao has always hoped to wash away the stain of his father's defection to the Khitan, so he took the lead in every battle and did not avoid life or death.
Drums were playing and horns were blaring. Side by side, the Ningjiang army of the Shu army poured out of Kuizhou city in overwhelming numbers. The middle and lower-ranking officers of the Shu army were also very responsible, constantly coordinating the soldiers' advance in an orderly manner.
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Every fifteen steps they took, they heard two loud blasts of a big drum on the city wall, and the Shu army must have shouted in response to maintain their formation and also to intimidate the enemy.
Guo Rong held the ceremonial sword given by Zhang Gao and galloped in front of the formation. Wherever he went, the soldiers of the Zhou army cheered and cheered.
Now that the Shu army was ready to shoot with their bows and crossbows, and then formed a formation and charged forward, Guo Rong simply faced off head-on. The Zhou army also took the lead with their crossbowmen, and rushed forward with their knives drawn after the miss.
Zhao Kuangyin wore a thin thin ring chain mail underneath, a silk coat, a fine steel ring mail on the outside, and cotton armor on the outside. Putting on these three layers of armor, the total weight was seven More than ten kilograms.
It looks bulky, but in fact once the three layers of armor are penetrated, Zhao Kuangyin will be hit by axes and hammers, so don't even think about hurting Zhao Kuangyin easily.
Moreover, a majestic warrior like him can fully bear the sixty-seven kilograms of armor. There is no big burden, but he can't run at full speed.
Zhao Kuangyin was surrounded by such heavily armored warriors. They did not bring bows and arrows, so they loaded their armor in the formation with the help of auxiliary soldiers under the cover of their own crossbowmen.
While they were putting on their armor, they only heard the sound of drums. The front troops of both sides began to contact, and the crossbowmen of both sides began to shoot crossbow arrows at each other that could quickly kill people.
On the hillside outside Kuizhou City, the young men roared like apes, and waves of arrows rained down from the hillside.
Although these arrows are not very powerful, coupled with the advantage of the terrain, they are still quite lethal.
For soldiers in full armor, it is just scratching an itch, but for soldiers in light armor in the military formation, the threat is not small.
The Shu army was victorious because they had more crossbows, but they had fewer standard Zhang crossbows. Most of them were bamboo crossbows, which had a fast rate of fire but insufficient armor-piercing power.
Zhou Junsheng was very sophisticated in his crossbows. Not only did he have a fast-shooting monster like the God's Arm Bow, but he also had a large number of crossbows.
There are also powerful crossbows such as the wooden single crossbow and the Fuyuan crossbow. Once the shot is missed, the Shu army on the opposite side will be turned upside down.
Of course, there are also very powerful bamboo pole crossbows on the city walls of the Shu army, which need to be fired with twisting force. Every time they fire, the heavy armored soldiers of the Zhou army cannot stop them. Unfortunately, the number is too small and the rate of fire is too slow. , cannot form a firepower advantage.
The two sides went through seven or eight brutal and tragic rounds of shooting. Almost all the crossbowmen in the front row fell in large numbers, but the circumstances of the two sides were very different.
The Shu Kingdom's investment in equipment over the years was not as much as Meng Chang's investment in building Qionghua Palace, Xuanhua Palace, and Moko Pond.
In the Zhou Kingdom, Zhang Zhang paid for the construction of Jinshan Palace, Ziwei Palace, and Jinyang Palace himself, and no less than a share of the imperial government's finances should be allocated to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works.
Therefore, most of the crossbowmen of the Shu army only wore a pair of bamboo armor cut into pieces from Nanzhu, repeatedly boiled and then oiled on their chests.
Almost all crossbowmen of the Zhou Dynasty carry a ring-locked armor without arm guards, shoulders and shoulders.
Coupled with the difference in the crossbows of the two sides, once the Shu army crossbowman was shot, he would be shot into his soul and fall to the ground screaming.
Most of the Zhou soldiers were able to hold back their screams when they were shot, and were then dragged behind by auxiliary soldiers to treat their injuries.
The more the two sides fired at each other, the more panicked the Shu army became. By the seventh round of shooting, the front line of the Shu army had sunk in. The battlefield was full of roars and shouts, and it seemed that it could not hold on.
At this moment, Gao Yanchun led 300 heavily armored personal guards to the scene. He ordered his generals to hold high the banner of his Ningjiang Army Jiedushi and take the lead in the attack.
When the Ningjiang army saw Gao Yanchou personally going into battle, their roaring suddenly turned into cheers, and they regrouped and moved forward with all their strength.
Guo Rong also ordered his people to take out his silver-white banner with a large gold background and black characters "Guo". This was a reward from Zhang Zhi as a reward for Guo Rong, Murong Nobunaga and others who first defeated the Khitan Pishi army by the Hun River in the past. .
This flag is simply the lifeblood of Guo Rong. The surrounding soldiers from Hedong who originally followed Guo Rong and later defected to the Zhou Kingdom all know Guo Rong's habits.
If you raise this flag, you will be dead if the flag falls.
Zhao Kuangyin was not far from Guo Rong. He was extremely envious of Guo Rong's flag recognition pole.
Dazhou belongs to the golden state and is still white. This kind of silver-white flag with a gold base is a symbol of power. It is at least a commander who guards one or two houses. He, Zhao Kuangyin, is envious of his real name and wants it very much.
Thinking of this, Zhao Kuangyin roared wildly and arrogantly knocked away the crossbowman in front. The heavy armored soldier behind him also rushed out with three layers of armor.
Right next to Zhao Kuangyin, a red-faced strong man from Qingtang roared angrily, holding up a large iron-covered shield, and immediately knocked out a gap in the Shu army's spear array opposite.
Of course, the strong man's legs were stabbed with blood by the Shu army's spears. After he crashed in, countless swords, guns, swords and halberds rushed towards the strong man. I don't know if he can survive.
However, the gap he opened immediately became the key target of the Zhou army's attack. Guo Rong also discovered it and quickly ordered his generals to rush to that place.
Elsewhere, the spears were still being stabbed at each other, but here it had become the most brutal hand-to-hand combat, because Gao Yanchou's three hundred soldiers happened to be coming in this direction.
Zhao Kuangyin felt force everywhere in his body. He knew that it was the push generated by the enemy's weapons hitting him.
But at this moment, he was no longer able to distinguish which ones were fatal blows and which ones were just scratches.
The red-faced man from Qingtang who was the first to break through the Shu army's spear formation died in battle. Around his body, the Shu army lay in a circle.
This strong man wearing three layers of armor was tripped by the Shu army, lifted his neck, and killed him from the neck with a short sword.
Zhao Kuangyin became even more angry. He roared three times and suddenly felt that the large cooked copper in his hand had never been so handy as now.
This is no longer Da Hao, but a hand that suddenly grew out of him.
A heavy armored soldier from the Shu Army came forward. Zhao Kuangyin struck continuously with both hands. Each blow accurately hit the face armor of the heavy armored soldier from the Shu Army.
When the third poke was finally struck, the sound of broken nose bones was heard, and an unknown liquid spurted out from the gap in the face armor of the heavy armored soldier of the Shu Army.
The bridge of his nose was broken by Zhao Kuangyin, and his deformed faceplate directly squeezed his eyes out of their sockets.
Another heavy-armored soldier arrived, and Zhao Kuangyin changed his poke into a sweep, directly hitting the heavy-armored soldier's thigh.
Zhao Kuangyin keenly discovered that he was not wearing a hanging leg. Under the heavy blow, his leg fracture was broken. The heavy armored soldier screamed and fell to the ground, and was trampled by countless legs in an instant.
At this time, the brave generals Bai Chongzan, Wang Yan, and Hou Zhang also came to reinforce. The Shu army could not resist, and the gap became wider and wider. It was not able to be filled by Gao Yanqian's three hundred soldiers.
Although Gao Yanchou also held a bone flower and suffered nine wounds, he still could not stop the defeat of the Shu army.
The house leaked and it rained continuously all night. Hou Renbao saw the opportunity and led 300 cavalry from Zhutou Pu to attack Xiaonan Gate from the left. The strong guard at the gate could not resist, and Hou Renbao's 300 men broke into the city.
The Shu army was in an uproar, and the battle line could no longer be maintained. The generals on Gao Yanchou's left and right robbed Gao Yanchang and hurriedly retreated into the city. The Zhou army took advantage of the momentum to attack the city, and the Shu army was in chaos.
The battle lasted until noon, and Gao Yanchou was forced to a gate tower in the east of the city. He only had dozens of followers around him. All the Zhou troops had entered the city, and the situation was over.
His confidant, Judge Luo Ji, brought a yellow horse from nowhere and said to Gao Yanchou: "The Zhou army has not yet surrounded the east gate. Commander Jiedu, please mount your horse and run back to Chengdu to obtain the forbidden army and plan for the future."
Gao Yanchou had more than ten wounds on his back and his whole body was dripping with blood. He shook his head and replied: "When I entered Guanzhong, I could not be loyal to the king, and now I cannot guard Kuizhou. Even if the saint forgives me, how can I face the elders of Shuzhong?"
Luo Ji then advised again, "Now that the Central Plains is stable and the Zhou state has unified the world, I heard that the Lord of Zhou is the Holy Son of Heaven who was born five hundred years ago. It is better for the general to surrender to Zhou and lead the Zhou army to the west to pacify Shu as soon as possible and prevent the people of Shu from suffering. , Although personal morality is lacking, it can preserve righteousness."
Gao Yanchang was silent for a long time, then decisively shook his head and refused, "I have followed the late emperor from Hedong when I was young, and have been deeply favored by two generations of emperors. How can I surrender to the enemy? And more than a hundred members of the Gao family are still in Chengdu, so they can't be like Ma Mengqi. Things."
Luo Ji had no choice but to stop trying to persuade him, but Gao Yanchang saw that he was surrounded by brothers who had been following him for several years, and could not bear to have them follow him to death, so he took off the gold seal of the Kuizhou Ningjiang Army Jiedushi from his body and handed it to Luo Ji. .
"I have been greatly favored by the Meng family, and now I have to die. Although you have eaten the Meng family's salary, today's bloody battle is enough to repay it.
When I was in Guanzhong, I knew that the commander-in-chief of the Zhou army, Ma Zhaoyuan, was a man of great magnanimity and would not kill loyal men. You just go downstairs and surrender, and you will definitely save your lives. "
After finishing speaking, Gao Yanchang drove the judge Luo Ji and his generals down from the tower. He arranged his clothes on the tower and bowed to the west. Then he jumped into the fire and committed suicide in the east tower of Kuizhou.
