Although the rain for two consecutive days was not heavy, it also soaked the ground thoroughly. When no one was walking around, it looked flat and nothing special, but now, it was completely invisible.

Countless people and horses are running on it, and the mud is churning. Let alone people, it is very hard for horses to run. If you are not careful, the horse will stumble and fall heavily to the ground. Some can get up and start again.

While running, I was unlucky, but I stepped into a small pit under the mud, broke my leg immediately, and lay on the ground whining and hissing.

After a day of camping and preparation, the Liao army finally launched an all-out attack on Dongshoujiang City.

After having more dealings with the Western Army, the Liao Army on the Xijing Road, including Governor Yelu Huan, and ordinary generals such as Yelu Changfeng and Yelu Changsheng, no longer looked down upon.

This is all the experience and experience that comes from taking a hard time and gaining wisdom.

All the Liao generals who looked down upon the Western Army are now mostly lying on the ground, with only their skeletons left.

Therefore, the Liao army was truly fully prepared for this attack. From manpower to materials to equipment to fighting methods, no one had any idea of ​​a quick attack and quick gains.

Don't look at the fact that the Liao army that surrendered to the city in the east reached 50,000 soldiers of all kinds, plus the civilians, there were 100,000 people, but the number of Western troops here was also quite large.

The elite garrison in the city exceeds 5,000 people. Nowadays, young people are recruited during war, and it is estimated that 7,000 to 8,000 people are quite a lot.

In siege battles, we usually siege five times and attack ten times. With this number of people, we almost meet the standard.

But the Western Army is not just the guys who defend the city!

The Black Mountain Weifu Army Division also has an ominous number of cavalry!

The reason why it is said to be ominous is because the Dangxiang cavalry is similar to the Liao Kingdom's cavalry army. There are not many regular troops. According to intelligence collection, they are only over three thousand. But the Dangxiang man got on the horse and also

It's the cavalry.

This team still doesn't know where the cat is.

The enemy is right there in front of you, and the threat is visible and tangible.

The invisible enemy is frightening.

You never know when he will jump out and give you a knife.

Therefore, Yelu Changfeng led thousands of Liao Army Palace Division cavalry around Ge and did not dare to relax his vigilance at all.

When fighting a war, naturally the cannon fodder goes first.

Tens of thousands of civilians continued to deliver various supplies to the Liao army in the rear. If they were lucky, they had already turned around before the war broke out, preparing for the second round of material transfer. But if they were unlucky, they had just arrived here.

As soon as the supplies were delivered to the warehouse, they were forced to go to the battlefield.

These people can use various defensive weapons that do not consume the defenders, and can even be used to consume the murderous spirit and morale of the defenders.

Of course, these people also need to fill in and clean up the deep trenches under the city and the various obstacles on the charge road.

Dongshoujiang City and its two acropolis do not have a moat, but they are not without trenches.

Obviously, when the war was approaching, Chen Qiao, the defender of Dongshoujiang City, ordered his men to dig it up.

It was one foot deep and about six feet wide, making the attacking army extremely embarrassed.

When the cavalry passed by these trenches, they all gasped when they saw the sharp bamboo sticks and wooden stakes inserted upside down in the trenches.

And beneath those rows of mud, countless thorns are threatening the soles of everyone's feet all the time.

Even a war horse with iron shod nails, if the anger is not good, will basically be useless when it steps down with one hoof on the gadget with three spikes.

I don’t know how much of this stuff the defenders sprinkled around. Anyway, as long as you see the lame and moaning civilians and the whining horses on the way to the charge, it is enough to make people feel scared.

But the role of countless civilians cannot be underestimated.

The peasants carrying the earth bags rushed to the trench and threw the earth bags on their backs into the trench, then turned around and ran away. Whether they would be hit by arrows from the city could only be left to God to decide.

There are also civilians who hold a large wooden board or a long tree pole when they rush over. After rushing over, they place the wooden board and tree pole horizontally on the trench, which is more efficient than filling soil bags.

Of course, it is not easy to get a thick enough tree trunk, and there are even fewer wooden boards.

Therefore, the method of filling trenches with soil is still the mainstream.

The area about 100 meters below Dongshoujiang City was already filled with dead or injured civilians.

The closer you get to the city wall, the more tragic the situation becomes. In some places, there are even corpses stacked one on top of the other.

The infantry of the Liao army slowly pushed forward, and a huge shield erected a shield wall, covering even the top of their heads, making them look like a giant iron-shelled turtle.

The civilians poured out from the formation of these iron-shelled turtles, rushed towards the trenches, and then ran back quickly.

Yelvhuan used the civilians in this way, although there were still huge casualties, but it also gave the civilians more hope of survival, because these infantry were approaching the city wall step by step.

Whether it is the trebuchets in the city or the ballistas on the city walls, they can pose a threat to the shield formation. If a stone is hit, it will always create a gap, but the gap will be filled immediately. Although the Eight Bull Crossbow is powerful

It's huge, but the rate of fire is extremely slow. After one crossbow, in the face of a dense crowd, the candied haws of a dozen people jumped out and was no longer able to survive.

As the enemy suffered more and more casualties, they got closer and closer to the city wall, and the trenches began to be slowly filled in.

There are fewer and fewer civilians. Standing on the city wall, you can see the civilians gathering from behind the shield formation towards both sides of the Liao army's main formation, and then moving towards the rear in groups.

The evacuation of the civilians means that the official battle is about to begin.

After the shield formation, one after another of crossbow machines revealed their ferocious features.

It is not as powerful as the Eight Ox Crossbow, but it is obviously faster on the ground and requires fewer people to operate it.

An eight-oxen crossbow requires someone in their early twenties to operate it. Four or five people can handle one of these ballistae in the city.

The buzzing sound was endless. These crossbow arrows were not fired at the defenders on the city wall.

What they shot was the facade of the city wall.

After one round, dozens of crossbow arrows as thick as a child's arm appeared on the facade of the city wall.

Then, it’s the next round.

Behind these ballistae were the Liao army's archers, who drew their bows and fired arrows at the defenders on the city.

In terms of crossbows, no one can confront the Song army.

Because the power of their divine arm crossbows is indeed the ceiling above this world.

Xiao Ding's Western Army also mastered the manufacturing method of the divine arm crossbow.

After Xiao Cheng obtained the production drawings of the Divine Arm Crossbow, and then solved the process of manufacturing materials, the Divine Arm Crossbow could be manufactured in large quantities, whether in the Western Army or the current Guizhou Army.

And as their processes continue to improve, costs are also falling.

Specifically speaking, the manufacturing cost of the Song Dynasty Craftsman Camp in Bianliang City was much lower.

Although the Liao people started out as cavalry and archers, as they are now, everyone is standing here shooting at each other, and the ones who suffer are always the Liao people.

But the Liao people refused to retreat despite their casualties.

Round after round, more and more crossbow arrows were placed on the wall.

Of course, the Liao army did not want to shoot down the city wall like this, it was also impossible.

They used these crossbows one after another to set up strong points for climbing on the city wall.

Next, of course, is the most cruel ant attack.

On the top of the city, Chen Qiao glanced at the wall below the city that looked like it was covered with spikes. He turned around and said, "Is the golden juice ready? Lei Mu is also waiting for you! Where is the shooting pole? The shooting pole is ready."

"

The so-called golden juice is to boil the excrement over fire, and then pour it down when the enemy attacks the city. After boiling, the smell of the city will naturally be unpleasant, but it will be even worse if it is poured on the enemy's head.

, this thing is poisonous, and the probability of death after being burned is as high as 90%, and it is difficult to cure.

The knocking tree is quite simple. If you get hit by it, you'll basically die immediately.

As for the racket stick, Chen Qiao and the others made it themselves by learning from the racket sticks on navy warships. However, how it works in actual combat has never been reflected.

The Liao infantry emerged from behind the shield formation.

Standing on the city, I could see clearly that there were people wearing heavy armor. Such people were generally elites in the army. They were still walking as fast as they could even wearing armor weighing dozens of kilograms. They were the main force attacking the city, and of course they were also the focus of the defenders.

objects of care.

Most people wear simple iron armor or even leather armor because they want to pursue speed.

The faster you run, the faster you climb, the easier it is to survive.

Under the city, the Liao army's archers fired faster and faster, and some cavalry who had been wandering on both sides also came on horseback and passed quickly under the city, but they could only draw their bows and fire arrows.

All of this is to seek more living space for Pancheng's Buzuo.

Climbers are as agile as apes.

He grabbed the spear shaft with one hand and with a little effort, he could jump up several feet.

Looking at the densely packed monkeys on the city wall, even Chen Qiao's heart skipped a beat.

Speaking of which, this was really the first time for him to have such a typical offensive and defensive battle with the Liao Kingdom.

"Pour!" Along with the roars of the officers, pots of golden juice were poured down from the city wall.

While the stench overflowed, it was also accompanied by shrill screams.

There are those from the Liao Army and those from the Song Army.

Because when these Song troops poked their heads out from the city wall, the feather arrows under the city immediately found them.

Some unlucky ones were shot down before they even had time to pour out the golden juice, and then the hot golden juice was poured on themselves and landed on the city wall.

The hammer was lowered along the city wall, and wherever it passed, no matter whether it was crossbows or arrows or people climbing up, they were all swept away.

The most outstanding thing is the racket stick.

It is said to be a pole, but it is actually a thick wooden board installed at the end of two long poles, and large sharp iron nails are installed on the back of the thick wood. A dozen soldiers erected the racket pole and then headed down the city.

Lift it off.

With a bang, it was like hitting a gopher, the crossbow arrow was broken, and the person was flattened.

Then amidst shouts, the racket pole was pulled back again. This time, it did not fall back to the city wall and hide it. Instead, it proudly stood tall on the city wall and looked around, as if to say

: "Who else?"

But the Liao army under the city was not intimidated by the losses at all. The crossbow arrows were still hammered into the city wall one by one, and more infantry were still climbing up. This time, more lifters rushed up from the rear.

The soldiers were climbing up the ladder, but this time, no one was climbing up under the vicious racket.

This thing is fierce, but it is not easy to move. After one hit, it seems to be useless.

The Liao army was obviously also experienced.

Their siege made Chen Qiao quite uncomfortable.

An all-out attack and key breakthroughs were the Liao army's offensive strategy.

Most of their key breakthrough points were at the corners of the city wall, which happened to be places where the defenders could not respond from the surrounding areas.

And those who launched the attack from these places were the most courageous people in the army.

Although it seems that the city has all the advantages, the casualties on the city are actually not small.

In the afternoon, the Liao army had several people standing on the city wall.

Except for Chen Qiao, everyone has already been on the front line and has been rotated once.

It is said that the Liao army's cavalry shocked the world, but their infantry seemed to have always been their weak point. But today when Chen Qiao fought with one of them, he found that this statement was completely wrong.

The fighting toughness of the Liao army's infantry is quite strong. Compared with the cavalry's virtue of running away if they can't fight, these guys are more vicious.

In the distance, there was the thunderous sound of horse hooves. Standing at the highest point of the city wall, Chen Qiao could barely see the cloud-like flags waving on the horizon. If the weather was fine, the sky and sun would be blocked by dust at this time.

Already.

Needless to say, Yeliqi's cavalry arrived.

They made a long circle, crossed the Songgazi River, and reached the rear of the Liao army.

However, the old dog Yelvhuan was obviously well prepared, and the large group of Liao troops gave chase.

Chen Qiao knew that Ye Liqi would not fight head-on with the enemy, so he should run all the way to Xijing Road next, pretending to raid Yelu Huan's lair, so as to contain more Liao troops.

The night finally came to an end, and with the sound of golden gongs, the Liao army retreated like a tide.

Today's battle has finally come to an end.

But everyone understands that this is just an appetizer before the big meal, and the next few days will be the highlight.

Today, everyone has a thorough understanding and has a clear idea.

Below the city, the Liao people paid a price of thousands of people, and above the city, there were also two to three hundred casualties. To be honest, no one got any relief.

Tomorrow, the Liao people will definitely come up with some new things. Of course, in Dongshoujiang City, Chen Qiao still has some good things that he has not yet used.

After all, it's just everyone trying their best.

Human life is never something that is valued in war.

Even Chen Qiao, who was born young and strong, returned to the tower after a day's battle and only learned a specific number of casualties from his staff.

Three hundred and fifteen people.
Chapter completed!