Chapter 1175: A plan within a plan
In ancient battlefields, especially in the Three Kingdoms era, the means of siege were nothing more than antfu, ladders, charging chariots, nest chariots, and side chariots.
In addition to building mountains of earth, digging tunnels, water attack, etc.
If you really can't capture it, there is another way, which is to surround it and wait until the people in the city run out of food and wages and have to leave the city to surrender.
Of course there are also trebuchets.
But before Feng came out with heavyweight and destructive siege equipment such as stone cannons, catapults were not mainstream in the Han and Three Kingdoms eras.
the reason is simple.
With the continuous development of city wall construction technology, the trebuchets that use human power to pull ropes to rip stones no longer pose a great threat to the city walls.
However, when the two armies faced each other in the wild, they could inflict heavy damage on the wooden camp.
This is also the reason why Cao Cao dispatched the Thunderbolt Chariot during the Battle of Guandu.
As for siege equipment such as Chaocha and Linche, they can be regarded as heavy siege machines.
The craftsmen in the army in this era basically had no education - except for a certain Han soldier named Feng who was trained - and all their work relied on experience.
Don’t talk about utensils made by two craftsmen, but two utensils made by the same craftsman. The size gaps between parts may be different.
Let alone standardization.
After the siege, if the city cannot be forced to surrender, it will take at least half a month, or even longer, to build enough heavy-duty siege equipment.
Unless the military has a team of craftsmen with a certain level of education and mastery of standardized models.
At this time, we can see the correctness of the saying “Science and technology are the primary productive forces”.
Because the construction of heavy siege equipment also represented a certain level of technology in ancient times.
If you want to improve the level of science and technology, promoting education is the foundation.
Without education, where would the talents come from?
Without talents, how can we improve the level of science and technology?
So the literacy rate was extremely low in ancient times, unless there was plenty of time.
Otherwise, the siege army usually builds some heavy siege equipment and then uses it with a large number of light siege equipment to attack the city.
At the same time, a large number of soldiers’ lives need to be filled.
This is the reason why it is said that ten means to encircle an enemy and five means to attack it.
The Wu army led by Zhuge Ke was naturally not up to the level of the army under Feng, so they could only attack the city according to their orders.
Although it was to test the defense situation of the Wei army in the city to see if they could find a weak spot.
But seeing soldiers from Wu constantly running, they fell to the ground halfway.
Countless arrow feathers fell from the sky, forming a dense web.
This is the first time I saw such cruel Luo Xian, Fu Qian and others, and my eyes were still wide open.
Their bodies could not help but tremble slightly, and they did not know whether it was because of excitement or fear.
Or both.
After transporting grain and grass for so long, they finally had the opportunity to reach the front when the Wu army began to attack the city.
Of course, it may also be Zhuge Ke’s deliberate arrangement.
After all, although you can't go into battle in person, observing in front of the battle can be considered an experience.
The first wave of Wu troops retreated before they reached the gates of Lu'an City.
Zhuge Ke’s frown deepened.
The defenses of Liu'an City are tighter than I imagined.
Think about it, in the early years, the general almost succeeded in attacking Lu'an City. As long as the Wei thieves were not stupid, they would definitely strengthen the defense of Lu'an.
I saw him waving his hand, and the drums started beating again.
The Wu army, which had been prepared for a long time, began the second wave of siege.
“Raise your shield!”
“Mandun, where is Mandun?!”
This time, the soldiers no longer simply rushed to the city.
Wu Jun began to counterattack.
Under the cover of large pillars and mantle shields, the Wu army began to advance slowly.
“Puffy!”
“Dong dong dong…”
The sound of arrow feathers hitting the pillars and curtain shields was like rapid hail falling to the ground.
The tall soldiers of the Wu Army who were holding up the big pillars were concentrating on supporting the big pillars and trying hard to cover the comrades behind them.
Feeling the continuous impact caused by the arrow rain, the muscles in their shirts bulged and their faces turned red.
Although the large pillars and mantle shields were not enough to completely block the rain of arrows fired from the city, they at least reduced a large number of undue casualties.
At the same time, it can also give a lot of psychological comfort to the soldiers following behind.
Attacked to a sufficient distance, only to hear the drum sound changing suddenly from behind!
The generals of each team shouted loudly:
"pause!"
The soldiers who were lifting the pillars subconsciously began to stand tilted to the ground, forming a jagged temporary pillar wall.
"shoot!"
The archers of the Wu army who followed behind used the wall as a cover and began to shoot towards the city head.
The arrows from both sides flew criss-cross in the air, and some arrow feathers even fell off after colliding with each other.
“It still doesn’t work!”
Fu Qian, who was watching this scene from a distance, smacked his lips:
“The arrow feathers on the city are too dense.”
"You are not talking nonsense." Luo Xian stared at the city. "In addition to archers, there are also crossbowmen at the city."
He shook his head: "If you attack from below, you can only project. The crossbowman is not of much use."
Although archers are not as accurate as crossbowmen, training an archer is much more difficult than crossbowmen.
Even crossbows may be more useful than bows and arrows when fighting on flat ground.
But archers have always been the mainstream of long-range strikes in the army, and this is the reason.
Because the crossbow can only shoot straight, this determines its applicability on the battlefield, which is far inferior to that of bows and arrows.
“If you want to suppress the crossbowmen at the top of the city, you must build mountains of earth and build chariots.”
Piling up the hill of earth higher than the top of the city, the offensive and defensive forces will be different, and the attacking side will be able to command a commanding position.
But how difficult is it to pile up a mountain of earth higher than the city wall?
Not only is it time-consuming, but it also has certain prerequisites.
For example, we need to fill in the moat outside the city first.
At present, the Wu army only built pontoon bridges to facilitate the infantry to cross the water and attack the city - wherever there is water, the Wu army has certain advantages.
Huainan is densely covered with water and lakes.
Liu'an City was built along the water, with the Xian River running through the city to the west.
Only the south, northeast and three sides can be surrounded by troops.
The moat of Liu'an City is drawn from the Xi River. It is wide and deep, and can even be used for navigation. How difficult is it to fill it up?
So we can only choose the second method, which is to build a chariot that is higher than the city wall, with crossbowmen placed on it to cover the troops on the ground as they attack the city.
But Linche is a heavy siege equipment, so how difficult is it to build enough of them?
“How difficult is it to attack a city?”
Luo Xian sighed.
As he was speaking, the sound of a golden gong sounded in the direction of the commander where Zhuge Ke was standing.
Due to the interference of the moat and the impact of the tragic defeat at Ximen, Zhuge Ke became more cautious.
He did not organize a third trial, but allowed the army to slowly retreat and return to the camp to rest.
On the other hand, the Wei army in Liu'an City first defeated the Wu invaders at the west gate, and then repelled the opponent's two sieges.
Now that he saw that the other side was retreating, even though he knew that there would only be a temporary truce for today, his morale was greatly boosted and he cheered.
Zhuge Ke heard the faint sound coming from the top of Lu'an City, and his face was gloomy:
“Come here!”
“General?”
“Send an order to urge the military craftsmen and civilians to build the pontoon bridge. Tomorrow it will be at least wide enough to pass a horse!”
“Here!”
Today's pontoon bridge is still a bit small, and it is not enough to pass too many soldiers at once. As a result, today's two offensives are not enough to detect the information he wants.
But Zhuge Ke also knew that Lu'an City was the county seat of Lujiang County in the Wei State. The city was high and the pond was deep, which was incomparable to the small towns in Shu County on the border of Wu and Wei.
So this matter cannot be rushed.
Just when Zhuge Ke spent these two or three days harassing the Wei army in the city, he also tested the defenses in various parts of the city.
Wang Ling, who personally led the army to guard Hefei, finally received a letter from Lu'an.
“What? The real purpose of Wu Kou is Liu’an City?”
Wang Ling, who was eagerly waiting for Sun Quan and who had been urging his subordinates to build camps and dig trenches around Hefei, stood up immediately.
His face became a little ferocious, he stared hard at the messenger sent by Lu'an, and said sternly:
"Is the news reliable? If Wen Zhongruo knew it, if he was deceived by thieves and Hefei fell, it would be a capital crime for confiscating his house!"
“Report to the Commander-in-Chief that Wu invaders are besieging the city. General Wen personally went out to defeat the enemy. Only then can we be sent to report the news.”
The distance from Lu'an to Hefei is only 150 miles. Chuanqi traveled day and night, sparing no effort, and could arrive in two days at most.
It's just that it's early summer, and the rider is exhausted, with sweat pouring down from his body like rain.
I saw him trying to raise his head:
“The Wu bandits outside the city immediately laid out a siege as soon as they arrived at Lu’an City and stood at the top of the city. It can be seen that the army behind them is still continuous.”
"Therefore, General Wen judged that the Wu bandits outside Liu'an City were definitely not partial troops, so he sent a villain to report to the governor, hoping that the governor would make preparations early."
Wang Ling's face darkened.
He waved his hand and asked someone to take the rider down to rest.
Then he walked back and forth with an uncertain expression. It could be seen that at this time, he was already hesitating in his heart.
"If Wen Zhongruo's judgment is true, then Hefei must send a large army to Lu'an for rescue. Otherwise, if the city of Lu'an is lost, Huainan will be breached by the Wu invaders."
Wu invaders occupy Liu'an City, then they can send troops eastward at any time to attack Hefei together with the Wu army coming from Chaohu.
The situation Hefei will face by then will be much more difficult than it is now.
"But if Wen Zhongruo's judgment is false and I really want to send troops to Liu'an, then I have fallen into the Wu invaders' plan to mobilize troops..."
Wang Ling couldn't help but "tsk" when he thought of this.
No wonder Man Boning (i.e. Man Chong), whenever he encountered the Wu invaders, ordered each city to defend itself, and he stayed in peace for a long time.
After the thief had a clear direction, he led the army to rescue him.
Since I took over from Man Boning, I have been bent on making achievements and proving myself, but I was a little too impatient. After all, I fell into the Wu people's plan.
However, Wang Ling has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he immediately made a decision:
“Comer.”
"exist."
"Send additional scouts immediately. I will further investigate the situation on Sun Quan's side within two days!"
“Here!”
As the governor of Yangzhou, Wang Ling has enough confidence in Lu'an City.
Even if the Wu invaders really want to attack Liu'an, as long as Wen Zhong can defend the city, even if he can't defend for several months, holding on for a month is not a big problem.
The most important thing right now is to find out Wu Kou’s true intentions.
Only by knowing the true intentions of the Wu invaders can we control the enemy without overpowering him.
If this time, he was really bullied by Wu Kou, a ruthless look flashed in Wang Ling's eyes:
Sun Quan, if you really dare to use your body as bait, then don’t blame me for swallowing your bait with your skin and bones.
In spring and summer, Huainan’s lakes and rivers are full of water.
The army led by Sun Quan slowly moved northward with the fleet traveling in the Shi River as its core and the troops on both sides as its wings.
Although the fine cavalry of the Wei army had the upper hand on land, the tall warships of the Wu State Boat Division could command from a high position and support the Wu army on both sides of the strait.
The hedgehog-like march, although slow, made it impossible for the Wei army to get close to Shi Shui, let alone to find out the situation of the Wu army.
The plan to let Wang Ling judge Sun Quan’s intention within two days went bankrupt.
“Sun Quan seems to be well prepared for this attack.”
Wang Ling couldn't hold himself back, so he personally led his troops down the Shi River and watched Wu Jun's fleet from a distance.
Even from a distance, you can still see the majestic ship, which is as tall as a city wall.
Wang Ling's eyes were filled with anger and at the same time, there was also a hint of fear on his face:
“The Wu boat division is really powerful.”
“General, what should we do?”
“If you wait a little longer, Sun Quan will arrive at Hefei City even if he is slow.”
There is no other way to wait. After all, Hefei is far more important than Lu'an City.
As soon as Sun Quan was unsure of his true intentions, he would have no choice but to be dragged away in Hefei.
But Wang Ling pointed to Sun Quan’s fleet and said:
"Wu Kou has left us helpless at this time. He is just relying on the advantage of the boat division. As long as the fleet is confused, the elite cavalry can charge forward with a single drum."
So he sent someone to lead a team of people and lurked around Shi Shui, waiting for the opportunity.
The entrance of Shishui into Chaohu Lake is only a hundred miles away from Hefei New City. Sun Quan traveled by water. No matter how long he delayed, he would eventually arrive.
At this time, he did not know that Wang Ling was already doubting his true intention.
The further upstream you go from Shishui, the narrower the banks and the shallower the river bed.
Seeing that Sun Quan's ship began to stop, it seemed that he was preparing to take the land route.
Wang Ling, who had been waiting for a long time, couldn't wait to send people to attack.
Back when Sun Quan was here, he was ambushed once by Man Chong and suffered a big loss. How could he not be prepared?
But when he saw the Wu army guarding the shore, they immediately raised their halberds and spears and guarded Sun Quan's ship tightly, preventing the Wei army's cavalry from rushing to the ship.
Seeing this, Wang Ling had his troops shoot a wave of arrows from a distance, and then he had no choice but to retreat back.
I don’t know if Sun Quan was attacked, so he became more cautious and ordered people to erect fences and camps on the shore.
Wang Ling saw this and smiled coldly:
“Sun Quan’s move is actually delaying time. His real purpose is really in Lu’an, not Hefei!”
“General, what should we do?”
“Send troops to rescue Lu’an first.”
Wang Ling stared intently at Wu Jun, who was slowly building a camp, his eyes flickering:
"The Wu invaders didn't know that their intentions had been revealed, so they would definitely send troops to show off their troops to show their intention to attack the city."
At this point, he sneered:
“At that time, it’s time for us to defeat the enemy. If Sun Quan is really here, let’s see how I capture him!”
Being manipulated by Sun Quan made Wang Ling very angry, and he wanted to save face at this time.
Huainan War Situation Map, open the comments, the first floor has not been simple since ancient times.
(End of this chapter)