Chapter 584 Burning the city with fire
Wang Han finally swallowed the noodles, and then said, "Back to the general, we caught a few tongues, and the confessions are similar. The water in Guan City is usually drawn from the mountain springs and rivers outside the city."
Feng Yong guessed right. There are indeed no wells in Longguan City built on the mountain, but its water source advantage is that there are enough water sources to supply the city, whether in the east or west.
If the enemy attacks a key point from the east, it can draw water from the west; if the enemy attacks a key point from the west, it can draw water from the east.
Moreover, no matter whether the enemy comes from the east or the west, there is no way to send a large army to bypass Guancheng to cut off the water source behind.
So, Longguan at this time can only be regarded as troublesome in getting water, but there is no worry about water shortage.
Zhao Guang was most anxious when he heard Wang Han finish talking about the situation. He drank the soup in the bowl with a grunt, wiped his mouth, and said, "Brother, let's attack the city directly."
"The longer we delay, the more advantageous it will be to Cao Cao. If it is true as the prime minister estimates, Cao Cao's Guanzhong reinforcements will arrive in a few days. This time, our visit will be in vain."
Feng Yong burped, nodded, and said, "Okay, let's start attacking the city tomorrow. Jufu, Wang Han, each of you will lead fifty night hunters, armed with more poisonous arrows, and we will go over the mountains to the pass in advance today. To the east of the city, guard the place where Cao Cao usually gets water."
"As long as you see fireworks in the sky tomorrow, you can intercept and kill the Cao thieves who come to get water from Guancheng or the mountain. Remember, you can't fight with them, just interfere with them and prevent them from getting water smoothly."
Since Feng Yong took control of the Yuexun army, he carefully established the Dark Night Battalion from Nanxiang soldiers and Yuexun soldiers in an elimination system.
This army is based on the special operations of later generations as its training guiding ideology. Bows, crossbows, swords, knives, spears and other weapons of long and short distances must be proficient in.
Mountain climbing, overcoming obstacles, wilderness survival, deep water swimming, precision throwing, gathering intelligence, camouflage, infiltration, lurking, tracking, setting up obstacles, capturing prisoners, etc. are all within the scope of training.
Of course, it is impossible for each of them to be proficient in everything, but each person must be proficient in at least a few things, and then form a team to fight together.
This cooperation must be based on strong organization and discipline, and communication between them must be guaranteed by a certain literacy rate.
Finally, there are many veterans who have survived the battlefield to provide various battlefield situations for simulation.
The money and food thrown in were enough to build a team of 5,000 professional soldiers, and only then were 132 qualified personnel called Night Hunters.
When fighting in the mountains and forests, as long as they do not confront the army head-on and attack from afar, one against a hundred is an exaggeration. However, if they are not surrounded by the enemy, one against ten is completely capable.
Cao Cao's soldiers in Guan City do not exceed 3,000, so the equipment used to draw water will not exceed the number of 300 people. In the case of attacking the city by himself, there will be even fewer people sent out to collect water from Guan.
It is even more impossible to say that Pang would send a large army in advance to protect the water source without knowing about the ambush of the night hunters.
"Wang Ping, tomorrow you will take three thousand people to guard the north to prevent the Cao thieves from Guan Mountain from rushing down the mountain."
"Zhang Yi, you start to organize your army from now on. The siege in the next two days will be up to you."
“Zhao Guang and Yang Qianwan, you two will stay with me tomorrow and listen to my orders at any time.”
Feng Yong was assigning tasks in the commander's camp, and Pang Hui was also watching the movements of the Han army in the distance on Guancheng.
I saw that after the Han army built the nest chariot, they kept moving and continued to build siege equipment.
By the time the sun was about to set, the prototypes of three trebuchets could already be seen.
But this time, Cao's army in the city was much more able to withstand it.
Pang Hui pointed at the trebuchet and smiled at the surrounding soldiers, "This trebuchet can only throw stones a hundred steps away. If you want to damage the city wall, you have to move the trebuchet to Not within fifty steps.”
"This distance is the most suitable for crossbows. Isn't it obvious that we are here to die? What's more, the pass is narrow and can only accommodate three catapults at most, so what's the use?"
Everyone burst into laughter.
This Long Pass is built on a mountain, and there is not much space in front of the pass. No matter how many people the Han army has, they can only come up in batches to die.
Unless you spend several times the number of lives in the pass to continuously consume the defenders, there is no way to break through this pass.
But if they push the catapult up again, they will basically block their own siege road.
Unless these catapults are throwing stones in batches, what harm will a few of them do to the city wall?
At that time, as long as a single order is given and a volley of bows and crossbows is fired, the catapult will be useless.
Pang Hui finally felt relieved at this time. It seemed that Feng Yong, although he had a literary name, was just a Confucian scholar. How could he be undefeated if he acted according to the military book so rigidly?
If I had known this person was like this, why would I have put out so many antlers in front of the pass to resist the horse?
On the contrary, he blocked his own way to sneak attack the Han camp.
As night fell, the Han army below lit up the lights again, and the noise continued. It seemed that the enemy was going to build equipment overnight.
At this moment, Pang Hui was filled with hatred. This Shu captive, relying on the large number of people, seemed to really not take him seriously!
In the early morning of the next day, I saw a group of stone-throwing carts placed below Guancheng.
“That catapult seems different from usual?”
Pang Hui stretched his neck, trying to see clearly what was going on through the mist. Unfortunately, the Han army had already set up tall ouled shields, making it difficult for people to see clearly.
“Have the stones been put away?”
Wen Shi shouted.
“Put it away.”
The soldier responsible for firing the stone bombs replied loudly.
“Okay, get ready! One, two, three, let go!”
A stone as thick as a thigh flew high into the sky, carrying the whistling wind, and landed more than ten steps away from the city wall.
Cao Jun, who had been holding his breath, suddenly burst into laughter.
This kind of catapult is too weak to even hit the city wall, let alone destroy the city wall.
Pang Hui was shocked. This stone-throwing cart was two hundred steps away. How could it be thrown so far?
“The counterweight is too light, add another hundred pounds.”
Seeing this scene, Wenshi quickly commanded the soldiers at the other end.
“Brother, this catapult looks quite convenient. There is no need for soldiers to pull it at the other end.”
Zhao Guang looked at the strange-shaped stone dump truck curiously and asked.
“The one you’re talking about is a human-powered trebuchet. Mine is called a counterweight trebuchet.”
Feng Yong replied.
The trebuchet has appeared a long time ago, but it has always been launched by manpower.
That is to say, one end is loaded with stones and one end is tied with many ropes. When launching, everyone pulls a rope and works together to throw the stones out using the principle of leverage.
If you want to throw it farther, the more people will use it, the larger the trebuchet will be.
But there is a contradiction here. With ancient production materials and techniques, the larger the trebuchet, the faster things will break due to various reasons such as its own weight.
Moreover, the more people use it, the lower the utilization rate of manpower. After all, there will always be a sequence of exertion. At the same time, if they stand scattered and the direction of the force is not completely consistent, there will be mutual cancellation effects.
So the power and range of the trebuchet will decrease after it exceeds a certain size.
More importantly, with the development of city wall technology, cities have become taller and stronger. This kind of siege equipment that existed in ancient times has not kept up with the development of the times, and it has been difficult to directly cause serious damage to city walls.
After all, due to limited manpower, the maximum distance of a human-powered catapult is generally less than 150 steps, while the range of a Han crossbow can easily reach 200 steps.
Coupled with the reasons such as being bulky, easily damaged, inconvenient to move, and difficult to operate, trebuchets can no longer serve as the main task of siege.
It can be used to meet the enemy and destroy temporary camps built with wood.
During Cao Cao's Battle of Guandu, someone modified it and turned it into a mobile one, which was used to attack Yuan Shao's army's chariots and turrets made of wood.
The trebuchet returned to its peak on the battlefield, when it was the Song Dynasty.
The "Return Cannon" in the hands of the Mongols means that the short arm of the lever no longer uses human power to pull the rope, but is replaced by a hanging weight.
The trebuchet can be regarded as an ancient artillery unit, so Feng Yong knows its development history clearly.
This kind of counterweight trebuchet, as long as it is properly designed, can throw more than one hundred kilograms (Hanjin, sixteen taels) of stones over a distance of up to three hundred steps.
Before the laughter of the Cao soldiers on the city stopped, the second stone flew over and hit the city wall with a "dong" sound, stirring up some dust.
Another Cao Bing laughed. What threat could such a small stone pose to the city wall?
Pang Hui's expression became more serious. The Shu thieves' catapult was indeed more powerful than ordinary catapults.
The third stone soon appeared again, jumped directly over the city wall, and hit the house behind.
Feng Yong raised his head and looked at the hanging basket on the roof of the Chao car.
A red flag appeared on the nest car and a semaphore was played.
“If the distance is not enough, add fifty kilograms of counterweight.”
Even though the weather was not hot, beads of sweat still appeared on Wenshi's forehead. Although it had been tested before, this was the first time it was used in actual combat. It was indeed much more complicated than the test.
He secretly glanced at Feng Langjun who was standing not far behind. Fortunately, Feng Langjun didn't say anything.
The fourth stone hit the middle of Guancheng directly, and a qualified signal finally appeared on the Chao car.
“Okay, just use this weight.”
Wenshi shouted loudly, almost making his throat hoarse, "The commanders of all the trebuchets are coming over to collect the data."
“Prepare No. 1, let go!”
The Chao train signaled to the left.
“Adjust the direction!”
…
Zhao Guang and Yang Wanwan stood dumbly behind Feng Yong, watching the person operating the rock dump truck shouting unintelligible terms. This was not the use of the rock dump truck as they knew it. Method, I feel unclear.
The Cao soldiers at the top of the city gradually stopped laughing. No matter how stupid they were, watching one stone after another flying over their heads and falling into the city, they could still understand that the power of the catapult of the Han army on the opposite side should not be underestimated.
But why do they only throw one stone at a time?
“Brother, let everyone smash it together!”
Zhao Guang stepped forward and said excitedly, "Such a good thing, it's useless to smash a stone with it..."
He originally thought that what his brother ordered to make was just an ordinary catapult, but he didn't expect that it was such a powerful siege weapon.
"What do you know? Watch carefully, this is called a test firing! If you want to use this thing when you lead troops in war, you have to know how to use it."
Feng Yong scolded.
…
“Test firing on the 10th is completed!”
After all this hard work, the sun has reached mid-air and all the fog on the mountains has dispersed.
Wenshi came over and saluted Feng Yong, "Feng Langjun, you are ready."
Feng Yong nodded and ordered, "Let's get started."
“No!”
At the back of each riprap truck, something was covered with a felt cloth, and there was also a pile of sand and soil around it.
Some soldiers opened the felt cloth, and underneath were jars wrapped with straw rope or hemp rope.
After closing the gate, Cao Bing discovered that the objects thrown by the Han army on the opposite side began to increase. It was no longer a single stone, but dense black shadows, like giant locusts flying above and falling into the city with a crackling sound.
But they were all a little confused. The Han army's catapults were really powerful, but their throwing was too bad. Not many of them hit the city wall, but most of them fell into the city.
There was a "crash" sound, and something hit the arrow tower diagonally, making a shattering sound.
“What is this? Why is it a pottery sherd?”
Some soldiers curiously picked up the fragments that fell on the city and looked at them. They laughed and said, "Are the Shu captives crazy? They used clay pots to attack the city?"
Pang Hui walked over, picked up a piece of pottery and looked at it. He saw that it was greasy, as if it was used to hold oil.
Oil?
Pang Hui thought of this, and his mind suddenly crossed. He looked towards the city and saw that the houses were not damaged much at all. On the contrary, there were many black broken pottery fragments on the roofs and on the roads in the city.
Pang Hui shouted, "No! Hurry, go to the city to get water!"
Unfortunately, his reaction was still a little late.
At the foot of Guancheng, some of the soldiers operating the trebuchet soaked a felt cloth in tung oil, then wrapped it around the stone, wrapped it tightly, placed it in the leather nest of the trebuchet, and lit it.
"put!"
The burning stones flew out and fell into the city.
With a "boom", the wooden house that had been covered with tung oil suddenly burst into flames. The fire spread very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a small area turned into a large area.
At this end, the soldiers quickly shoveled up the sand and buried the newly ignited leather nest. They dug it out when the fire went out, pulled it and felt it was still strong, and then continued to use it.
At the top of Longguan City, clay pots filled with tung oil kept flying over, and occasionally burning stones fell into the city, causing fires everywhere.
The houses in Guancheng are all made of wood, so they are naturally waterproof.
Cao Bing carried water and poured water on the burning house. Unexpectedly, as soon as the water fell on top, the fire suddenly jumped up and licked his face directly. Cao Bing covered his face and screamed. Back away.
Crackling!
Huge tongues of fire jumped up happily, as if thanking Cao Bing for the bucket of water.
Some houses began to collapse and sparks rose into the sky.
From time to time in the city, humanoid fireballs rushed from the burning houses onto the streets, rolling over and calling for help.
“Quick! Get down quickly and put some people out to put out the fire!”
Cao's soldiers obeyed the order and rushed down the city wall, but the fire on the street was so fierce that they forced some of them back.
Pang Hui's face turned pale. He really didn't expect that the other party would be so vicious that they would attack the city with oil and fire. They were planning to burn all the people in the city alive!
But where did they get so much oil?
Where did such a powerful trebuchet come from?
Why is the projectile so accurate?
Pang Hui's mind was filled with doubts and his heart was on fire.
The Cao soldiers below were running back and forth carrying water, trying to put out the fire, but for some reason, the more they poured water, the bigger the fire became.
Wooden houses are prone to fire, and with the help of tung oil, the fire spread to the whole city in a short time.
There is only one miles of the city, and the fire is large, and even Pang Hui, who stands in the head of the city, is grilled sweaty.
Feng Yong, who was standing under the pass, looked at the billowing black smoke rising from the city. He didn't even need to look up at the Chao Che's signal, but he already knew that the fire in the pass was unstoppable.
Fire attack requires the right time and place to launch.
People of later generations have a very common question when discussing the Three Kingdoms: Why didn't Cao Cao use arrows when he borrowed arrows from a straw boat?
So many people debated it from the perspective of romance or historical facts, or even added their own ideas and so on.
In fact, the answer to this question is very simple, just one sentence is enough: because there were no rockets at that time, or in other words, no one was aware of the large-scale use of rockets.
(End of this chapter)