The spring sun is shining high, and the slightly dry wind is blowing on the land of Yunzhou. Outside Yunzhong City, the war flags of the Han Dynasty cover the sky and the sun. Since the launch of the attack, the sound of the powerful war drums has not stopped, in order to give the soldiers The cheering and beating drummers changed several times.
Although it was an attack on the city, there was not much fighting on the Yunzhong city wall. All the energy of the Han army was put into the soil work. The infantry formations were displayed under the city, and the cavalry was cruising around, not for attack, but only for cover.
A large number of army auxiliaries and civilians, like groups of hard-working ants, threw bags of soil from the rear into the ditch under the city, continuing the unfinished work before, filling it up.
The defenders had already anticipated the actions of the Han army. After all, part of the trenches had been filled in during the previous probing attacks. The trenches were uneven and many of the Han army's weapons for storming the city were ineffective and posed too great a threat to the city walls. .
In response, the Liao army naturally used bows and arrows to attack the soldiers and civilians. Braving the rain of arrows on the city, although there were some protective equipment and facilities, there were still many casualties. Of course, there are also crossbowmen under the city to shoot at them, because Yunzhou City is too tall and cannot have a good suppression effect.
However, after filling the trench, the next actions made the Liao army unable to sit still. The earth bags continued to pile up, fixed with logs and rope nets, and then filled with clay. Thanks to the hard work of the military and civilians, the earth walls accumulated higher and higher. A slope gradually took shape and continued to build higher...
Yelu Talie was on the North City, watching the movements of the Han army. With his eyes, he naturally knew what the Han army was doing.
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the city gate and sent cavalry out to harass the city, hoping to interrupt the dangerous project of the Han army. However, the Han army's infantry and cavalry waiting in formation below the city were not just watching the show. The gun and shield formation forced the Liao army out of the city in an oppressive manner.
Because of the small space, although the number of Liao cavalry leaving the city was not large, they could not move at all. In terms of close combat, they were no match for the Han army's formation. Although the city was protected by bows and arrows, it had little effect.
Soon, the Liao army that left the city could no longer stop them. Instead of destroying Tushan, they lost more than 600 soldiers and hurriedly retreated into the city. Seeing an opportunity, the Han army took advantage of the situation and rushed to the city gate, hoping to follow the Liao cavalry returning to the city and enter. If the defenders on the city hadn't spared no effort in throwing arrows and rolling stones, and Yelu Talie decisively poured fire oil to block the attack, and personally commanded to stop the enemy and lowered the Qianjin Gate, perhaps the Han army would have been able to break through.
Although there was no danger, Yelu Talie was also frightened. At the same time, he calmed down and knew that it was difficult to leave the city when the Han army was so forced. The risk was too great.
But on the other hand, facing the Han army who kept piling up mountains of earth and building high walls, the anxiety in my heart could not be increased.
The Han army's civil engineering work this time was even more excessive than the one in Tanzhou. The mountains of earth were piled closer, wider, and higher. It was also because the Liao army also spent a lot of effort on defense. Yelu Talie had carefully communicated with Xiao Siwen and Han Kuangmei about the details before and after the fall of Tanzhou, and made targeted preparations.
After one winter, Yunzhong's city wall was raised to nearly four feet, widened and thickened by more than ten feet. All the houses and other wooden buildings around the city wall were demolished, and sand and soil were prepared. A large amount of kerosene was also stored. This resulted in heavy siege equipment such as the Han army's ladders basically losing their effectiveness. They were not high enough. Of course, it was not impossible to modify them, but they were time-consuming and labor-intensive, inconvenient to transfer, and unstable...
Therefore, we simply built a few mounds according to local conditions, so that people could spread out more and gain an advantage in height. The Han army has no shortage of resources, especially men.
For a whole day, the soldiers of the Han army did physical work and large-scale construction projects. Even so, they were not completed. That night, the Liao army attacked again, hoping to take advantage of the Han army's slackness and destroy the mounds at night.
However, the Han army was unprepared. Behind the high wall of the mound, there were elite soldiers hiding in secret. When the Liao cavalry came out, bows, arrows and crossbows rained down, causing them a lot of damage and they fled back in embarrassment.
The next day, the same method was used again, and the efficiency was even higher. Taking Beicheng as an example, a total of three mounds were built, all of which were at the same level as Yunzhong City, or even higher, with half a mile between the mounds. The platform at the top of each mound can accommodate two thousand soldiers, and cavalry can ride directly on it.
Of course, the progress of the four city walls has its own speed. Murong Yanzhao's side is the most efficient. After all, it has the experience of Tanzhou City. It took three days to build all the mounds and walls.
On the fourth day, the Han army marched out with their chariots. One hundred and fifty thunderbolt chariots were mobilized at each city gate, and kerosene and stone bullets were thrown at the city for free. The overwhelming "cannonballs" seemed to be coming. It's like smashing the city down. It was like this all day long, without any hesitation.
Facing the Han army's tactics, even though Yelu Talie had been prepared for it, he still felt powerless and aggrieved when he actually faced it. In fact, after the Han army's mounds and high walls were erected, the Liao army defenders were completely locked in the city, with no room for attack.
In view of this, Yelu Talie was also in the city and took countermeasures, such as blocking each city gate with earth and rocks to show his determination to defend. Yelu Talie was familiar with the art of war, and he knew that blindly defending was undesirable. In his idea, even if he was defending the city, he would make full use of the mobility of the cavalry to harass, destroy, and assault. However, the Han army did not give them a chance at all.
Originally, Yelu Talie hoped that Yelu Jing would leave a force of elite cavalry and a general on the line of the Great Wall to integrate the troops of prefectures and counties in the Yinshan area and attack outside. The number of soldiers and horses does not need to be large, as long as it can play a certain role in containing the enemy and respond to the defenders inside and outside the city.
However, one did not expect that the Liao Emperor was defeated by Yang Ye again, and there was another problem with the Yelüsha army, which made it difficult for the soldiers to retain their strength. The two did not expect that the rebellion within the Liao Kingdom was far more serious than imagined and had far-reaching consequences. They were unable to take care of the war situation in Yunzhong.
Although Yelv Jing still left Yelv Xianshi to lead the troops in the south and coordinate with Yunzhong, the Han army was not unresponsive. He found two opponents for Na Yelv Xianshi, one was Shi Shouxin and the other was Guo Chongwei, and they rode on the front line of the Great Wall with 20,000 paces.
Therefore, the clouds are like an isolated city. Under such circumstances, the Han army is still stubborn, fighting sluggishly, suffocating preparations, and oppressive attack rhythm, which is completely breathless.
Although a Tanzhou city was strong, it was far behind compared with Yunzhong. Therefore, Yunzhong became a city that truly tested the Han army's siege strength and demonstrated its offensive art.
Of course, no matter how many facilities and buildings there are, they all serve people. The victory or defeat of the war still depends on the soldiers. Until the sixth day, under the command of the general, a battle that was "richer" than Tanzhou officially started.
More than 200,000 Han soldiers and civilians were divided into three groups. They took turns to rest and attacked continuously day and night. They showed the bravery of the Han army to the defenders in Yunzhong with an extremely strong and confident attitude.
The Liao army in Yunzhong was not as helpless as the Tanzhou defenders. They had also been trained to defend the city. Under the overall command of Yelu Talie, they also resisted tenaciously and fought with their lives.
However, the troops were so outnumbered and the Han army was too strong. The defense of Yunzhong Outer City, which Yelv Tallie had worked so hard to build, lasted for three days and was broken.
