When Yuan Shao's army was still five hundred steps away from the city, he should not be blocked by dense earth pits. These pits were five feet wide and three feet deep, and the distance between each pit was less than one zhang, not to mention the impassability of siege equipment such as chariots and wells, and even the formation of cavalry and infantry would be disrupted when they passed.

Seeing Yuan Jun blocked his way by the earthen pit, Han Zhan, who was standing on the city tower, couldn't help but show a smug smile on his face, he turned his head to Guo Jia and said: "Fengxiao, if Yuan Shao's army wants to get close to the city, they must first find a way to fill these pits, but the excavated soil has already been transferred to other places, and it is not easy for them to find soil to fill the pits." ”

Just as Han Zhan was complacent, he suddenly heard Gao Ran shouting loudly: "Lord, look, what is pushed out of the Yuan army's array?" ”

Han Zhan hurriedly looked towards the Yuan army column, only to see that the originally neat queue suddenly gave way to more than 20 passages, and groups of soldiers pushed wooden siege equipment more than one person high, walked out of the passages, and stopped in front of the team.

"Bonghyo, what is this?" Han Zhan looked at the other party's siege equipment and asked Guo Jia with some confusion: "Is it Jing Yan?" But it's a little too short, right? ”

Unexpectedly, Guo Jia saw the siege equipment launched by Yuan Jun, his face suddenly turned pale, he quickly rushed to the side of the city wall, stood in front of the battlement, put his hand on the pergola and looked ahead, and muttered in his mouth: "My God, catapults, they are actually catapults, and there are catapults in Yuan Shao's army!" ”

Zhao Yun walked to Guo Jia's side and asked him with a sideways face: "Mr. Guo, you can see clearly, is it really a catapult?" ”

"Can't be wrong," Guo Jia nodded and said with a serious expression: "I've seen catapults before, and that's it." ”

When Han Zhan heard that Yuan Jun actually had a catapult, he couldn't help but be a little confused, among the defensive equipment he had prepared during this time, there was really no one who could restrain the catapult. The thought that the other party could throw the overwhelming stone onto the wall made his legs tremble.

The soldiers and people who were standing around also pointed to the catapult in the distance and began to talk in a whisper. Because most of them saw catapults for the first time, they didn't know what the power of this siege machine was, so they behaved calmly. Some even bragged to their companions that when the siege equipment reached the foot of the city, they would be able to smash a few of them with rolling logs.

After the catapult was in position, the big-shouldered loader picked up the round stone bullets piled next to it and put them into the wooden basket. As the order was given, the thirty soldiers standing in front pulled the rope down at the same time, using the principle of levers to throw the stone bullets in the basket. More than two dozen stone projectiles made a beautiful arc in the air and flew towards the city wall.

However, due to the distance, the stone projectile was still twenty or thirty steps away from the city wall, and because of exhaustion, it fell heavily on the ground, smashing the ground into one pit after another. Although the stone bullet did not hit the city wall, the soldiers and people at the head of the city were still frightened by the powerful stone projectile, and stared blankly at the catapult in the distance.

Feng Ji, who stayed beside Yuan Shao, saw that the stone bullet failed to hit the city wall, and hurriedly explained to Yuan Shao: "Lord, we are too far away from the city wall, as long as we push the catapult forward one hundred and fifty steps, the stone bullet thrown can hit the target." ”

Yuan Shao nodded and instructed Yan Liang: "Yan Liang, lead three thousand foot soldiers and escort the catapult forward one hundred and fifty steps." He looked at the Guantao city wall in the distance, gritted his teeth and said, "Lest the Han family's little dog jump off the wall in a hurry and send someone out to snatch the catapult." ”

"The last general obeys!" Yan Liang agreed, and then urged the horse to step forward and lead people to protect the catapult.

Although the pits everywhere caused trouble for the advance of Yuan's catapults, Yuan's troops were so powerful that they moved the catapults forward one hundred and fifty paces in less than two sticks of incense and were ready to be launched.

Seeing that the catapult was already in place, Guo Jia hurriedly shouted left and right: "Yuan Jun is about to throw stones, everyone quickly find a place to hide, quickly find a place to hide!" ”

When Guo Jia started shouting, Zhao Yun dragged Han Zhan back to the city gate, which was safer than staying on the city wall anyway. As soon as Han Zhan's front foot stepped into the house, the stone bullets fired by the Yuan army's catapult roared, and when he heard the loud sound of the stone bullets hitting the city wall outside, and the screams of the soldiers and the people, Han Zhan grabbed Zhao Yun's arm and ordered in some incoherent words: "Big... Big brother, Bong... Bonghyo is still outside... Outside, you... Hurry up and save him. ”

Zhao Yun knew in his heart that Guo Jia was Han Zhan's right-hand man, and he must not go on any errands. Therefore, he nodded and said, "Second brother, please rest assured, for my brother, I will go and rescue Mr. Guo!" With that, he rushed out without looking back.

Han Zhan heard the movement outside, he couldn't help but feel confused, he just wanted to go to the door to see the situation outside, a stone bullet hit the eaves of the gatehouse, and saw broken wood and tiles falling from in front of him, so frightened that Han Zhan hurriedly retreated back into the house.

When Zhao Yun came to the city wall, he saw that the soldiers and the people were hiding behind the battlements, and everyone had a panicked expression on their faces. Yuan's stone projectile did not hit the city wall, making a loud rumbling sound; It was to fly over the city walls and land in the residential area behind. Zhao Yun looked left and right, and saw Guo Jia hiding behind a battlement, trembling all over, and hurriedly rushed over, grabbed his arm, and said loudly: "Mr. Guo, the second brother asked me to save you, you come with me!" ”

Although Guo Jia was scared in his heart, he still politely said to Zhao Yun: "There is General Lao Zilong!" ”

Zhao Yun dragged Guo Jia into the city gate tower, and a stone bullet hit the battlement where Guo Jia had just hidden, and smashed it to pieces with a "boom", and the flying rubble beat the soldiers hiding nearby to the point that their heads were bleeding, and they fell to the ground and rolled back and forth screaming.

Another heavy stone projectile hit the city wall, shattering the bricks of the wall. Dozens of green bricks fell to the city with the rising smoke. Gao Lan, who was hiding not far away, screamed badly when he saw this situation, and hurriedly rushed into the city gate tower and told Han Zhan: "Lord, the catapult of the Yuan army is very powerful, and if it continues like this, it will soon collapse our city wall, and the soldiers of the Yuan army will be able to rush in later." ”

A series of stone bullets fell on the city wall, smashing the city-defending equipment placed on it, and also hitting the soldiers hiding next to the equipment, breaking bones and tendons, and bleeding like a river.

"My lord," Gao Ran said to Han Zhan in a little anxious manner when he saw this: "The last general is willing to lead a hundred cavalry and go out to smash these catapults, please ask the lord to agree!" ”

When the catapult was advancing, Han Zhan saw that Yuan Shao had sent a heavy guard, not to mention that Gao Ran led a hundred people to attack, even if he brought a thousand people, he might not be able to get close to the catapult.

Guo Jia had relieved himself at the moment, he sighed and said: "Yuan Jun's catapult is really sharp, and the threat to our army is too great, and someone must be sent to destroy him." ”

"Mr. Guo, Yuan Jun may have guessed that our army would attack the catapults, so he sent heavy troops to guard." When Zhao Yun said this, his eyes were fixed on Gao Lan, "Don't talk about a hundred cavalry, even if it is a thousand cavalry, we may not be able to get close to the catapult." You must know that in order to prevent Yuan's army from approaching the city wall, the outside of the city was dug into potholes, which was not conducive to the gallop of the cavalry. ”

Hearing Zhao Yun say this, Han Zhan suddenly had a feeling of being cocooned, originally thinking that digging more pits outside the city would prevent Yuan's army from approaching the city wall, but now he was going to send cavalry out to destroy catapults, and these pits would inevitably affect the mobility of the cavalry.

Seeing that Han Zhan was slow to express his position, Gao Ran repeated his words again, and finally deliberately emphasized: "Lord, the situation is critical, you can't hesitate anymore, please make up your mind as soon as possible." ”

With 100 cavalry to destroy the catapults, they not only had to deal with the 3,000 infantry of the Yuan army lined up in front, but also tens of thousands of horses and horses who came to support at any time. No matter how Han Zhan looked at it, he felt that Gao Ran's move was a moth to a fire, and even if they were all dead, they might not be able to destroy Yuan Jun's catapult. He even turned his head to look at Zhao Yun, and said in his heart that even if his eldest brother came out, the situation was not optimistic.

Although he knew that Yuan Jun's stone bullets could not be infinite, if he didn't stop them as soon as possible, the morale he had so hard to muster would crumble, so Han Zhan gritted his teeth and asked, "Fengxiao, do you have any good ideas?" ”

Guo Jia knew in his heart that Gao Ran's move of leading the army to destroy the catapult was a life of death, but if he let it go, when the soldiers of the Yuan army began to climb the city wall, it was unknown whether the soldiers and people who were frightened would still have the courage to fight. Therefore, after hearing Han Zhan's question, he thought for a long time before he spoke: "High school captain, I remember that there seems to be a lot of fire oil stored in the city, right?" ”

"Yes, there is a batch." Gao Ran nodded and said, "It's used to defend the city, but it's not used for the time being." ”、

Guo Jia looked at Gao Ran and said, "Captain Gao, let the cavalry each bring a can of fire oil, and when they approach the Yuan army's catapult, throw the oil tank over." Then shoot a rocket and set the catapult on fire. ”

Guo Jia said it quite simply, but Han Zhan knew very well that this task was not easy to complete. Not to mention whether a hundred cavalry could break through the defenses of Yuan's army, even if they rushed over, they threw the fire pot on the catapult, but whether they could be ignited with rockets is still unknown.

"Big brother!" In order to destroy Yuan Jun's catapult, Han Zhan decided to take a risk, and he decisively ordered Zhao Yun: "Immediately transfer five hundred strong crossbowmen, five hundred sword and shield soldiers, and five hundred spearmen to follow me out of the city, and cover the high lieutenants to destroy Yuan Jun's catapult!" ”

"No, my lord, don't!" As soon as Han Zhan's words came out, everyone objected in unison: "The lord is a golden body, how can he personally get involved in danger?!" ”

Zhao Yun also took the initiative to ask: "Lord, let's let Yun lead the army to attack and cooperate with the captain to destroy the catapult!" ”

"Big brother," Han Zhan looked at Zhao Yun and said sincerely: "This time out of the city is extremely dangerous, once you make any mistakes, relying on my ability alone, I can't hold the Pavilion Tao City." So you stay and defend the city, and I will take the people to attack. ”

"Lord, if you have an accident, then what's the point of us sticking to the pavilion?" Regarding Han Zhan's desire to personally lead the troops to attack, Guo Jia also tried his best to object: "I think it is better to let General Zilong lead the attack, he has rich battlefield experience, even if Yuan's army has thousands of troops, he can retreat with his whole body." ”

"I've made up my mind, and I don't have to argue anymore. Don't look at the number of Yuan soldiers, but if they want to hurt me, it's not so easy. In order to avoid endless bickering, Han Zhan took out the majesty of his lord and said, "Captain Gao, immediately gather people and prepare to go out of the city with me." ”

Soon, the gates were opened, and the drawbridge was lowered. Originally, under the blow of Yuan Jun's catapult, the soldiers who had become a little panicked suddenly became high again when they saw that Han Zhan was going to lead them to attack in person.

In front of them were five hundred sword and shield men, who were divided into five columns and walked in a neat formation towards the front; Behind them were the same five rows of strong crossbowmen; Behind them were Han Zhan and five hundred pikemen, as well as one hundred cavalry led by Gao Lan.

Yan Liang saw that there were actually people in the city fighting, so he hurriedly left some men and horses to protect the catapult, and he took the rest of the soldiers to meet him to prevent Han Zhan and them from approaching the catapult.

When there were still more than thirty steps between the two sides, Chu Ge, who was fighting with strong crossbowmen, gave an order, and the five hundred strong crossbowmen fired crossbow arrows at the Yuan soldiers who rushed over. After the first row of strong crossbowmen finished firing, the second row stepped forward; The second row of firing ended, and the third group stepped forward...... By the time the fifth platoon finished firing, the crossbowmen in the first platoon had already loaded their crossbow arrows and continued firing.

Yan Liang didn't expect that there were so many crossbow arrows in the troops out of the city, so the pikemen he brought to meet the enemy were pikemen with little protection. Yuan's pikemen fell in pieces under the crossbow arrows fired by the Han army.

Han Zhan saw that Yuan Jun was in chaos, and hurriedly said to Gao Ran on the side: "Captain Gao, taking advantage of the chaos in Yuan Jun's position, you can quickly bring people up and burn their catapults." Gao Ran immediately rushed towards the catapult with his hundred cavalry.

The Yuan army defending the catapults, in addition to the sword and shield hands, also had a lot of pikemen. Faced with the onrushing cavalry, they hid behind their shields and stabbed the soldiers on horseback with their spears. Some of the cavalry were dismounted by them, but many more, taking advantage of the inertia of the horse's impact, smashed away the shield in front of them, rushed to the vicinity of the catapult, and threw the canister of fire oil in their hands. Yan Liang saw the Han cavalry throwing canisters at the catapult, and had the intention to come back to the rescue, but was dragged by Gao Ran.

Seeing that all the catapults had smashed canisters of fire oil on them, the cavalry, after breaking through the encirclement of Yuan's army, fired the ignited rockets at the catapults. In an instant, half of the catapults were enveloped in flames, and the soldiers beside the catapults could not continue to throw bombs, and scattered in all directions.

Han Zhan saw that there were still many catapults that had not been lit, so he ordered the queue to continue to advance. After driving away the Yuan army around the catapults, he asked the cavalry to set fire to all the remaining catapults, and only after doing all this did Han Zhan order his troops to slowly retreat towards the city.

Although the reinforcements sent by Yuan Shao had already arrived, seeing Han Zhan's retreating queue, they could only stop and monitor from a distance, not daring to risk attacking them.

As soon as Han Zhan returned to the city, Guo Jia rushed over and said excitedly: "Lord, you finally came back safely, which really worries Jia." He glanced at the group entering the city, and then asked, "I wonder what about the casualties?" ”

"In addition to the cavalry of the high school captain, there are more than fifty casualties," Hearing Guo Jia's question, Han Zhan replied with some pride: "Of the 1,500 men and horses I led, only a dozen or so were wounded, and none of them were killed. ”

Hearing Han Zhan say this, Guo Jialeng was stunned for a long time, and then gave him a thumbs up: "The lord is like a god, and he is really a god!" Jia admired the five bodies to the ground. ”