"Dang Dang Dang"
The rushing bell rang, and the busy soldiers at the top of the city couldn't help but stop what they were doing, and turned to look outside the city. Only a few miles away, a large variegated carpet suddenly appeared covering the snow, slowly moving forward. move.
The Mongolian army rolled in, like a flood. The originally noisy city wall suddenly became quiet. The soldiers all watched the Mongolian army approaching the city without a trace.
The craftsmen and soldiers who were assembling the artillery carriages on the back of the city wall stopped when they heard the noise and asked each other what happened.
At this time, Zhao Tai was directing the craftsmen to arrange the artillery carts behind the city wall. After hearing the report from his subordinates, he hurriedly climbed to the top of the city and looked north.
It was approaching noon, the weather was clear and the view was excellent. Zhao Tai took a look and saw that the huge crowds of people could not describe the size of the Mongolian army.
This made Zhao Tai feel a shiver in his heart, but he remained calm on his face and asked casually, pretending to be relaxed, "How many troops are there?"
Li Chunzhu on the side had a long face and shook his head, "I'm not sure about the final estimate, but looking at the formation, I'm afraid it won't be less than 70,000 to 80,000."
Tang Liang frowned, "I think this formation must be at least 100,000!"
"One hundred thousand!" All the generals couldn't help but gasped, and someone exclaimed, "Then the Mongolian army that entered Shandong came to attack us."
"Hahaha" Zhao Tai laughed easily, attracting everyone's attention, "Okay! Come and beat us, then our guard station along Yimeng Mountain will be safe. In addition, Wuxian and Li Fen can also take a breather! We If we hold them back here, it will be our turn to counterattack within three months."
Seeing how relaxed Zhao Tai was, everyone managed to calm down a little. At this moment, the iron cavalry was rolling outside the city. Ten thousand hooves trampled the snow, and the horses' hooves splashed with slush. They had already galloped to the front of the city, and then slowly stopped.
The Mongolian cavalry were in front, forming a long wall of horse heads in front of the city wall. The horses' hooves kept scratching the ground. The white breath exhaled by the horses and cavalry gathered into clouds. The scene was extremely shocking.
The Mongolian army stopped one mile away from the city. Behind them, cavalry and infantry continued to gather. The thick crowd was like a black cloud, giving the defenders a great sense of oppression.
Seeing this, Zhao Tai waved his hand, "Generals, obey your orders!"
Li Chunzhu and others came to their senses and quickly clasped their fists, "I'm here!"
Zhao Tai glanced at the generals and said, "The Mongolian army is besieging the city. Pizhou and I will be left to you!"
Li Chunzhu, Tang Liang and others cheered up, "I will defend the city to protect the king!"
Zhao Tai nodded, "Okay! You all perform your duties! If the Mongols attack by force, let them know that our loyal army defends our country and is invincible."
Li Chunzhu, Tang Liang, Chang Yu, Wanyan Chengde and other generals heard the order, immediately clasped their fists in salute, and then hurriedly set up defense.
At this time, the Mongolian troops outside the city continued to gather. Zhao Tai took another look and began to check the defense inside the city.
There is not much to say about the defense of the city. It is just to prepare more strong bows and crossbows, rolling wood, stones, gunpowder, and kerosene. It is no different from most city defenders, except for the addition of gunpowder.
Zhao Tai decided to defend Pizhou, mainly relying on the artillery group behind the city wall.
At this time, Zhao Tai came down from the city wall and asked: "How is the assembly of the artillery group going?"
Li Chunzhu followed Zhao Tai, "The stone cannons made by the king's craftsmen are simpler to manufacture than our original artillery carts, and they are very convenient to operate. Now, artillery groups are arranged all over the city wall to ensure that the enemy's The gun carriages cannot get closer."
Zhao Tai nodded, "Although there are many Mongolian soldiers, the main attack depends on artillery groups. Now we have stone cannons that are easier to operate and have a longer range. Even if there are more Mongolians, there is no need to be afraid."
In order to fight against Mongolia, Zhao Tai could only take one step ahead of Mongolia and use counterattack artillery.
This kind of gun carriage is much more convenient than the stone trebuchets in the Song and Jin Dynasties that required hundreds of people to operate.
Zhao Tai did not dare to manufacture it in advance before. Firstly, it was of no use, and secondly, he was worried about the leakage of technology and giving Mongolia the ability to attack difficult problems.
The Mongolian army is almost invincible in field battles. If they had obtained sharp weapons like Huihui artillery in advance, it would be easy to attack the city. The Southern Song Dynasty would definitely not be able to withstand it.
The artillery carriage manufactured by Zhao Taiming is an improvement on the trebuchet of the Song Dynasty. It adopts the principle of lever counterweight and is specially used to target the Mongolian army's artillery group.
At this time, Zhao Tai was walking on the back of the city wall, and the busy soldiers saluted him one after another. He walked behind the city gate, where more than ten gun carriages were arranged.
Zhou Quan was directing the craftsmen to fiddle with a newly assembled gun carriage. The gun carriage was quite simple. It only consisted of a bracket, a counterweight, a throwing rod, a live hook, a throwing rope and a leather bag. It was hard to believe that it It has a range of 250 steps and the terrifying power of throwing boulders ranging from 100 kilograms to 150 kilograms.
"Your Majesty, do you want to test it out?" Zhou Quan couldn't help asking when he saw Zhao Tai coming.
Zhao Tai shook his head and said with a smile: "Don't show such sharp weapons to others easily! When the Mongolian army attacks, let's catch them by surprise!"
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While Zhao Tai was inspecting the city defenses, Kublai Khan had arrived outside the city, which immediately attracted cheers from more than 100,000 Mongolian troops.
The terrifying sound was overwhelming, as if it was about to turn into a strong wind and overturn the city.
At this time, the defenders standing at the top of the city looked down. As far as the eye could see, the crowds were surging, like ants marching.
In this dense sea of people, towering siege equipment is sandwiched among them. There are all kinds of artillery vehicles, rams, siege towers, and wells. It is like an exhibition of siege equipment.
Obviously, after the Mongol Empire destroyed the Xixia and Jin Kingdoms, they had completely mastered the siege technology of the Central Plains, and their combat effectiveness had once again leapt forward.
Kublai Khan was wearing iron armor, hanging a scimitar on his waist, and wearing a pointed leather hat on his head. He rode his horse to the front of the battle. He looked at Pizhou City from a distance and saw that there were banners and people flying above. He couldn't help but be overjoyed on his face, "Okay. ! Zhao Tai really didn’t give up on Pizhou!”
Zhang Judao: "Pizhou is the gateway to the Jianghuai River and a flank of Kaifeng. Now Zhao Tai wants to be appeased by the Southern Song Dynasty and wants to embrace the Southern Song Dynasty, so he definitely does not dare to retreat."
Yang You also said: "What Marshal Zhang said makes sense. If Zhao Tai gives up Pizhou, then the Southern Song Dynasty will suffer heavy losses from the prince, and he will definitely hate Zhao Tai. Zhao Tai cannot fight against the prince in Shandong, let alone fall into a situation where he is attacked from both sides. situation, so he must defend Pizhou for the Southern Song Dynasty."
"Hahaha" Kublai Khan laughed heartily. He had not laughed so happily for a long time since Tuo Lei's death. "It's just right! I think this Pizhou is nothing more than a booger town. Zhao Tai is seeking death if he sticks to this city. Road!"
Wu Lianghatai on the side echoed: "How is Pizhou better than Xi'an? How is it better than Luoyang, Kaifeng, or Jinzhong? Zhao Tai is also confused. He thinks he has won several battles, so he doesn't take Mongolia seriously. Now that he is holding on to Pizhou, after the prince breaks the city, he will definitely catch him and humiliate him!"
Kublai Khan sneered and gnashed his teeth and said: "If Zhao Tai is captured, I will cut him into pieces with my own sword, and then eat his flesh myself to relieve the hatred in my heart."
