Chapter 767: The Sound of Drums and Horns Shows Its Sharp Edge (39)

When he arrived at the foot of Xintian City, Wang Chang was already a little numb, because Xintian was no longer the small county town in his image, but a heavily guarded military fortress. The originally wide attack area The surface has been dug beyond recognition, and there are dense trenches and earthen ramparts piled with rocks and soil everywhere. And above the already narrow passages, there are horses and deer antlers everywhere, and the ground is sparkling. Bright and sprinkled with caltrops.

The city wall of Xintian County was originally not high, less than six meters high, but now it was forcibly raised by nearly two meters with earthen sandbags. If he attacked with Xia, Wang Chang believed that he could capture Xintian, but The problem is that although the defenders in the city came in a hurry and did not have any long-range weapons, they themselves marched all the way. Even the simplest siege weapons such as ladders were not fully prepared, and Hu Yanchao's time was so tight. How could he easily capture this city?

Wang Chang only felt that his head was aching.

"Remove the obstacles. Prepare to attack the city!" Wang Chang suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and issued the order to attack. No matter how difficult it was, he had to complete the task, otherwise, the tens of thousands of Yan troops in Langya would be sacked.

The Yan army that tore down earthen ramparts, bulldozed trenches, pulled out iron thorns, and blocked horses and deer antlers would inevitably encounter a powerful counterattack from the city, but he had to endure these casualties.

Looking at the Yan army under the city who were working like ants to clear away obstacles, Lu Yuanchuan also sighed with regret. It was a pity that his long-range weapons were not enough. Otherwise, at this distance, one round of coverage shooting would be enough to defeat the enemy. The opponent paid a heavy price, and now. But he could only fight back slowly. He had a crossbow, but each soldier only had dozens of crossbow arrows in his hands. This should be used on the edge, not wasted now. The Yan army on the opposite side is indeed well-trained. When removing these obstacles, some in the east and some in the west are very scattered. When arrows are very precious, it would be too wasteful to use crossbows to deal with them. .

"Point to kill. Aim, one arrow is going to kill one, let's create some atmosphere for them first." Lu Yuanchuan said to the several crossbowmen who had gathered together with excellent shooting skills.

A dozen crossbowmen almost poked their bodies out of the sandbags. Next to them, two soldiers held shields and stared at the opposite side carefully. They could shoot to the bottom of the city, and there would naturally be people below who would fight back. They had to protect these shooters. .

A veteran half-squinted his eyes and aimed at a Yan Jun who was moving a horse under the city. His hand slightly pulled the trigger, and with a bang, the crossbow arrows shot out. The Yan Jun fell to the ground as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer, and Ju Ma also collapsed on top of him. There was a burst of exclamations from the people below the city, but there were bursts of cheers from above.

More than a dozen crossbow arrows were shot out almost at the same time, none of them missed. The arrows were deadly, and the Yan army under the city was stunned in an instant. Then he hid his body.

This kind of point kill,

Compared with the overwhelming number of feather arrows. The momentum is far inferior, but in terms of the psychological shock to the soldiers. But it is not inferior at all, because in this case, the opponent's soldier who shoots must be a good shooter with excellent shooting skills. This kind of point killing has no purpose. It is purely based on who is that. Once the opponent takes aim, , that is almost a dead word. They were now unprotected, and the armor on their bodies, as the dozen or so dead soldiers in front had proven, had pitifully low defense against the crossbows on the city.

No one wants to be next.

This is the most common soldier mentality.

"Assemble a team of archers to cover and suppress!" Wang Chang stared at the top of the city, frowning. The opponent's reaction was obviously due to the lack of long-range weapons. The opponent was not afraid of exposing himself to shortcomings, but it made him even more uneasy. Is there no fear?

"General, the range of our bows and arrows is not as good as our opponents' crossbows." A general beside him whispered.

"Then move forward and deploy a team of shield bearers to protect the archers." Wang Chang said sternly: "Do you want me to teach you this?"

The general blushed, feeling a little confused. He bowed his head and retreated to make arrangements.

Under the cover of more shieldmen, hundreds of archers slowly walked out from the ditches and stone barriers, crossed these dense traps, and began to form an array more than a hundred steps away from the city. This situation made the people on the city Lu Yuanchuan sighed again. If there had just been a few crossbows shooting at these gaps, they would have been a series of shots, but now, he can only watch.

More than a hundred archers began to fire arrows, trying to suppress the city, but their opponents were just a dozen crossbowmen with excellent shooting skills. When they started shooting below the city, they had already turned to another direction. There were still cold spears fired with no arrows, just like before, almost one arrow at a time, and almost no time to miss. And when the more than a hundred archers were shooting arrows, they looked up at the top of the city and couldn't see an enemy at all. Such aimless shooting never succeeds. Instead, countless arrows fall on the top of the city or are stuck on sandbags. The enemies on the city quickly take away the arrows between shots. .

Such a scene made Wang Chang feel frustrated. This damn arrow was just to deliver weapons to the enemy, but he had to do it intermittently because the soldiers who were clearing obstacles needed this kind of attack to give them. Brings a sense of security, even if only in theory.

The removal of obstacles continued amidst constant casualties. In the rear camp, the engineers were desperately trying to build ladders, siege vehicles and other weapons. Wang Chang estimated that he would have to wait until it gets dark. Only then could he launch his first attack near the city. Looking at the firewood piled under the city, even a fool would know what it was for?

The only thing he can do is to prepare more sand to put out the fire. But under the raging oil, the effect is probably very limited. As Hu Yanchao's deputy, Wang Chang's defense of the city is naturally very important. He is also very skilled. He only needs to take a look at many of Lu Yuanchuan's arrangements to know what they are for.

But it is one thing to know, and it is another thing to want to destroy him. Whether it is in the past or now, breaking a city is generally done with the lives of soldiers.

"Beat the drums and attack the city!" Wang Chang shouted the order after suppressing many distracting thoughts in his heart.

Hearing the thunderous drumming coming from the city, Lu Yuanchuan jumped up from where he was lying. Similarly, the soldiers sitting or lying behind the city wall also stood up one by one and rushed to the edge of the city wall. Staring not far away, carrying the ladder. Pushing simple siege vehicles, the Yan army swarmed over.

"Get ready to fight, conquer the Eastern Army!" Lu Yuanchuan raised his arms and shouted.

"Victory!" Although there were only more than a thousand soldiers, the shouts that broke out were enough to change the color of the mountains and rivers.

In Yuyang, Conde's advancing army suddenly heard the sound of rapid horse hooves and the hissing shouts of messengers. All of a sudden, it stopped. All the troops were stationed on the spot, waiting for the next military order. Most of the generals were confused. The previous order was as urgent as a spark, requiring all troops to speed up, but it had not been five days since they left. However, the troops were already exhausted. It is also a good thing to have such a precious time for the soldiers to repair themselves.

The generals at the grassroots level were relieved, and in Conde's big tent. Kongde and his generals were all frowning. It rained all night, and the boat was late and encountered a storm. Looking at the spy from Yan Lingwei in front of him, Kongde didn't know what to say. , Ye Zhen and his troops behind him have been closely guarding his army, but in front, Zhao Jun Zhou Changshou blocked his way and took advantage of the situation. What should I do?

"Are you sure this is correct?" Kongde looked at the identity of the spy in front of him. The waist cards were verified one by one, but Kongde still couldn't believe that Zhou Changshou would ambush him at this time. You know, the relationship between the Zhengdong Army and Zhao State is now really on fire.

"General Kong, it is absolutely true. I found an opportunity to sneak out after Zhou Changshou's army attacked. In fact, the general will know if it is true or not. This place is not far from the ambush site of Zhou Changshou. The general only needs to send If you explore the horse, you can find out the truth."

Kong De leaned back heavily, "Zhou Changshou wants to seize Yuyang. If he colludes with Ye Zhen, our army will be in danger this time."

"The coincidence of Zhou Changshou's appearance fully proves that the other party has been linked together. General, we can't go any further. We might as well return to Yuyang County and hold on to the city. It doesn't matter whether it's Zhao Jun or Ye Zhen. It’s impossible to even think about taking Yuyang County,” a general shouted.

"To put it lightly, now that our army is retreating, Zhou Changshou is willing to give up. But Ye Zhenhui behind him would not have thought of this. He must have sent people to block our retreat to Yuyang County. By then, , We really can't advance or retreat." Conte shook his head.

"Then we just watch Zhao Jun's ambush, and why don't we push forward?"

"Of course not. The reason why an ambush is an ambush is based on what we don't know. Now that we know Zhou Changshou's arrangement, how can he ambush us?"

"Then why don't we show off our horses and horses and tell Zhou Changshou that we already know that he is coming. There is no way he can take advantage. With Zhou Changshou's temperament, he will definitely withdraw his troops." Another general suggested.

"That makes sense." Comte nodded, suddenly remembered something, and his expression suddenly changed: "Not good."

"What's wrong, General?" the generals asked in surprise.

"We know the news about Zhou Changshou's attack. If Ye Zhen also knows about it, what will he do?" Kongde looked at everyone and said word by word: "If I were him, I would immediately send troops to the whole city to end Zhou's life." As for Changshou's retreat, Zhou Changshou was unable to capture Yuyang, but instead lost the whole city and five other cities. In order to pay homage to Zhao, he would attack us at all costs in order to annihilate us, recapture Yuyang, and Merits come at the expense of sin.”

"Then why didn't he withdraw his troops and try to retake the whole city?"

"Zhou Changshou only has 20,000 soldiers and horses under his command. Do you want him to attack a city guarded by almost the same number of people? I am not discouraging. The standing army of Zhao State has a stronger combat effectiveness than us. Rather than go head-to-head with a city guarded by the Eastern Expedition Army "He might as well fight with us. If he defeats us and captures Yuyang, even if Ye Zhen captures the whole city, he will still be alone and have to retreat in the end." Kongde explained. .

"General!" The curtain was opened, and an officer on duty strode in. "Ye Zhen of the Eastern Conquest Army sent an envoy to deliver a letter to the general."

After receiving the letter from the officer, Kong De only glanced at it and his face turned pale. "Brothers quarrel within the walls and defend against insults from outside. I heard that the Zhao army was going to ambush Brother Kong. I have led the army to capture the whole city. Together, we will destroy the Zhao army that invaded my Great Yan. As for the old accounts between brothers, we can settle them another day."

Kong De stood up, and the paper in his hand fell to the ground. With a bitter face, he ordered in a bitter voice: "Prepare for battle! Fight your way out." (To be continued)