Chapter 314: Weak Vanguard [Two in One]
"Shoot the arrows!"
As the catchers of Ishihara and other county officials shouted orders, about 300 county army bowmen and crossbowmen shot arrows outside the city in unison.
In just a few blinks of an eye, these arrows fell on the heads of the puppet thieves outside the city, shooting those puppet soldiers with their heads scurrying, and some people even lost the long ladder on their shoulders in order to avoid the arrows.
In fact, the casualties caused by those arrows to the puppet thieves outside the city were extremely limited, after all, there were only more than 300 crossbowmen in the county army in the city, and these people had only undergone a short period of training, at least according to Ishihara's standards, the crossbowmen on their side should continue to strengthen their training.
But fortunately, although the county army is still very weak at the moment, the puppet thieves who are attacking the city are even weaker at the moment.
Under the long-range shooting of more than 300 crossbowmen, the more than 2,000 puppet troops were in chaos, and Zhang Jin, the leader of the Green Forest Thieves, under the command of Zhang Tai, was greatly enraged.
I saw him raise his horsewhip and whip it on a nearby pseudo-thief, and scolded angrily: "Such an arrow scares you and others to run around one by one?" A bunch of rubbish! …… Offensive! Give me offense! Otherwise, kill on the spot! ”
Xu Jin, as the leader of Zhang Tai's subordinates, has accumulated prestige for a long time, and after hearing his scolding, most of the pseudo-thieves still gritted their teeth and continued to charge towards the city wall with a long ladder.
As for a small number of them, they wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape, but there were two leaders of a small group of green forest thieves, Chao Leopard and Liu Lai, who led their core brothers to supervise the battle in the rear, as long as they saw someone fleeing, they would kill them immediately regardless of the reason.
There are even dozens of green forest thieves on horseback in this group of 'warlords', moving back and forth on the sides of the battlefield, specially used to deter the pseudo-thieves who are trying to escape.
In the case of hopeless escape, these pseudo-thieves can only follow the will of the green forest thieves, carrying a long ladder to continue to attack the city.
At this time, the second wave of arrows had been shot from the Kunyang city wall.
This is also the limit, after all, the pseudo-thieves who rushed to the forefront have rushed to the bottom of the city wall at this moment, and set up the long ladder on their shoulders next to the wall.
The city wall of Kunyang, about two and a half zhang to more than three zhang, said low is not low, said high is not high, can only be said to be an ordinary county-level city wall, compared to those with several zhang high city wall, and this means that the Kunyang County Army can not relax for a moment, otherwise it will be a catastrophe.
"Spearman, take the enemy!"
On the city wall, Ma Gai shouted orders with a solemn expression.
Under his command, five hundred county guards who had already been prepared stood at the front of the city wall with spears in hand.
And behind them at this time, there were more than a hundred elite black tiger thieves armed with swords and shields, and those three hundred crossbowmen—this defense line on the southern city wall of Kunyang was currently composed of less than a thousand people.
The 500 spearmen of the county army were the main defensive force, the elite of the 100 black tiger thieves were responsible for supplementing the defense and killing the enemy soldiers who broke through the city wall, and the 300 crossbowmen were responsible for shooting at the city, shooting the enemy troops below with all their might, until they lost the angle of fire, they would be immediately replaced with reserve melee county soldiers or black tiger thieves.
The division of labor between the three is clear and does not interfere with each other.
"Pong."
Long siege ladders were erected under the city walls one after another, and immediately, the frightened puppet thieves stepped on the ladders and tried to climb up.
Some of the county guards who were anxious tried to push these long ladders with their hands, trying to overturn them and make the puppet thieves who climbed up fall down, but before they could overturn the heavy ladder, the puppet thieves had already climbed up and attacked the hands of the county guards with their weapons.
I have to say that these anxious county guards really lack battlefield experience, and there are at least a few people stepping on a long ladder like this rung, where the county guards on the city wall can overthrow them with only their hands?
No, seeing that this stupid behavior led to the appearance of several wounded, Ishihara immediately shouted: "It is forbidden to push the long ladder with bare hands!" Spearmen can only kill their enemies! ”
Under the command of Ishihara and other headhunters, most of the county soldiers who had no battlefield experience finally stopped this stupid behavior and concentrated on killing the enemy.
It is actually very advantageous for the guards to use their spears to resist the enemy soldiers who try to climb up the ladder, because the county guards only need to use the spears in their hands to stab down the ladder, even if they are sometimes held up by the shield in the opponent's hand or dodged by the opponent, but as long as they stab a few more times, they will definitely be stabbed.
And for those siege soldiers who tried to climb the city walls, this was very fatal, and it was very likely to take their lives.
This is also the reason why in the history of siege battles, the casualties of the besieging side far outnumbered the defenders.
No, under the defense of the five hundred spear county troops, the two thousand pseudo-thieves who were responsible for the first round of attacks could not attack at all, and one by one they were stabbed through the body by the spears of the county army above before they could climb the city wall.
Pity these pseudo-thieves who are purely sacrificed by the green forest thieves, they have almost no armor on their bodies, not to mention that the spears in the hands of the county army can easily pierce their thin coats and bodies, and even the crossbowmen on the city wall can borrow a small crossbow arrow to take their lives.
Although this was a 'weaker' siege battle, the lack of armor caused the two thousand puppet thieves to suffer heavy losses in the first attack, and in the blink of an eye, four or five hundred corpses were piled up under the city walls.
"Excellent! Very good! Kill the enemy like that! ”
Ishihara raised his voice to boost the morale of the nearby county officials.
In fact, he was not satisfied with these county soldiers, in his opinion, those county soldiers were like stabbing indiscriminately with their eyes closed, but any experienced old soldier would never waste his physical strength like this.
But considering that most of these county guards were once peasants with hoes, who had only undergone a short period of training and had never had battlefield experience, this performance was already very gratifying to Ishihara.
Of course, thanks to the puppet thieves and the green forest thieves outside the city - thank those puppet thieves for being so weak, and thank you for the green forest thieves who did not arm those puppet thieves with weapons and armor.
Of course, not all the county guards on the city wall at the moment are so unbearable, because there are still some 'old pawns' among them.
Although their quality and combat effectiveness may not be comparable to that of the regular army, because they have already experienced fierce battles, these people are naturally much better than pure new pawns.
Under the instruction of Zhao Yu, these veterans of other counties basically served as captains or even chiefs in the county army, and even uncles, while killing the enemy, they also had the responsibility to tell the new pawns their experience - of course, they were also willing to do so, after all, the current Kunyang was both prosperous and losing, and only when the majority of the new pawns gradually became stronger, Kunyang County could be invincible.
Even, even the elites of the Black Tiger Thieves will mention those new pawns.
"Ahh
With the exclamation of a young county guard, a pseudo-thief turned over and jumped onto the city wall, raised the knife in his hand with a frightened look, and slashed towards the young county guard.
Seeing that the knife was about to fall on him, the young county guard was so frightened that he couldn't move.
And just as he subconsciously closed his eyes and was about to die, he heard a thud in front of him.
On second thought, hey, I'm okay?
He opened his eyes in surprise, and immediately saw an old man with a black scarf on his head blocking the knife for him with a shield.
"Black Scarf...... It's a black tiger thief......
The young county pawn swallowed his saliva, watched the old soldier with a black scarf kill the puppet thief to the ground in three strokes, and immediately turned to look at him.
"Boy!"
With a little displeasure on his face, the black tiger thief Shi Chang Wang Ping frowned and scolded: "There is a sword to cut it, but you are so frightened that you close your eyes, then aren't you waiting for death in vain?" ”
“…… Be. ”
The young county magistrate didn't know how to communicate with this group of 'old enemies' and 'today's companions' black tiger thieves, and considering that the other party had saved his life, he still thanked him with gratitude: "Thank you for your help." ”
“……”
Wang Ping's slightly frowning brows stretched slightly, only to see him stretch out his hand and push the shoulders of the young county guard, telling him to face the city wall, and immediately, he said in a deep voice: "Look ahead, don't be distracted, even if there is a pseudo-thief jumping on the city wall, don't panic, you wait behind you, and I am the black tiger!" ”
"Yes...... Be! ”
The young county magistrate lifted his mind and replied in a loud voice.
I have their black tiger thieves behind me?
From the side, the nearby county officials also heard Wang Ping's words, and they all looked sideways, with a strange look on their faces.
Although most of them were not locals, they had lived in the city for a while, and they had also heard some stories about the Black Tiger Thieves, and knew that this group of bandits had been the henchmen of the Kunyang County Government and the Kunyang County Army.
But now, as a member of the Kunyang County Army, they have to hand over to this group of black tiger thieves behind their backs?
Just when these people were distracted, suddenly two more puppet thieves took the opportunity to jump onto the city wall, but before the two puppet thieves could gain a foothold, they were instantly killed by Wang Ping and another black tiger thief.
"What the hell are you guys doing?!"
Wang Ping scolded angrily.
Several distracted county guards shrunk their necks, no longer daring to be distracted, and hurriedly tried to resist the pseudo-thieves who were still climbing up below.
Although they didn't dare to get distracted, the skill of Wang Cai and the other black tiger thief elite to kill the two pseudo-thieves in three or two clicks still made them firmly remember it.
"It's really a group of powerful gangsters, no wonder Kunyang County has returned from repeated encirclement and suppression......
They thought to themselves.
At the thought of having this group of black tiger thieves by their side, somehow, their fear eased slightly.
In fact, it's not just the county guards here who think so, because on this section of the city wall, more than 100 black tiger thief elites have more or less joined the fight.
For example, Liu Tu, the chief of the black tiger thief, he didn't care about the order of 'the black tiger people are responsible for answering on the side', because he couldn't get used to seeing the county guards near him stabbing indiscriminately with panic, he simply snatched the spear from the hand of a county guard, and while personally resisting the pseudo-thieves below, while teaching the county guards from the side: "Panic, one by one?" …… The puppet thieves on the ladder want to hurt you, they have to raise their heads first, and they can only use one hand to wield their weapons, you are condescending, stab him to death in front of the other party, what is there to be afraid of? …… The pseudo-thieves at the bottom don't even have a piece of leather armor, you are still wearing leather armor, and you are ...... frightened one by one."
Then there was a flurry of scolding, and the county officials near the scolding ground did not dare to raise their heads.
Under Liu Tu's forcible order, these county guards could only follow his instructions, wait for the pseudo-thieves who climbed up the ladder to enter the attack range, and then stab a spear fiercely, trying to stab the opponent's body through.
When they had the courage to try, they suddenly found that the leader of the black tiger thief with a black scarf on his head was right, as long as they didn't panic, the fake thief below could hardly hurt them.
"Sure enough, they couldn't hurt me......"
"Haha, this fool, he dared to attack me with both hands on the ladder, and he fell down......"
Gradually, the nearby county guards began to become calm and calm.
Seeing this, Liu Tu nodded with satisfaction, and gave up his position to a county guard, while he commanded on the side: "Very good, very good, that's it, let go of the bold man, the pseudo-thieves below can't hurt you, etc., the only thing you need to guard against is the arrows shot by the enemy, but I have just taken a closer look, this group of pseudo-thieves basically has no bows and crossbows, you can wait for the bold son, if there is any change, I will remind you!" …… If a false thief is lucky enough to jump on the city wall, don't panic, I will kill it with my black tigers, you wait for your eyes, you must look straight down......"
At this time, He Feng, who was in charge of the defense of this section of the city wall, returned from a long inspection, and immediately saw Liu Tu, who was wearing a black scarf on his head, commanding the county army on his behalf.
Raising his eyebrows, this He Zhutou pretended not to see it, and continued to patrol forward.
Also, Liu Tu, as the small leader of the Black Tiger Thief, enjoys the treatment of the Black Tiger Thief's big boss level and is on the wanted warrant of Kunyang County, which shows that this is a rather fierce gangster, with rich experience in killing enemies, much stronger than him, in this case, it is nothing to let Liu Tu command on his behalf.
What the? The honor of being the head catcher of the county government?
Please, the command of the whole county has been handed over to Zhou Hu, the big leader of the Black Tiger Thieves, what is this level?
Even, when he left, He Feng was still muttering to himself, muttering whether he also had to get the identity of a 'brotherhood', after all, it was a foregone conclusion that Zhou Hu would become the master of Kunyang, and if he wanted to continue to be the head catcher, he must have a good relationship with Zhou Hu and the black tiger thief - although he is not good at joining the black tiger thief, he can join the brotherhood.
There is not much difference between the two.
Not long after He Feng left, three county soldiers carried a thick pry bar and ran up the stairs on the inner side of the city wall, and shouted: "Let one go, let one go." ”
"Why did you come?" Liu Tu scolded.
"Uh......"
The two or three county guards glanced at the black scarf on Liu Tu's head with strange expressions, and were hesitating to explain, but seeing Liu Tu and saying impatiently: "Okay, okay, no need to explain, hurry up." ”
"Yes!"
Seeing that the black tiger thief uncle was not to blame, the three county guards were relieved and carried the pry bar to the city wall.
This pry bar, the whole body is composed of two sections of wood as thick as an arm with a mortise and tenon structure, roughly at a 90-degree angle, and the front section of the curved part has an inverted 'V'-shaped fork, which is just enough to jam the rungs of the long ladder outside the city.
Like this pry bar, only two county pawns need to support one after the other to maintain balance, and the remaining county pawn is only responsible for guiding in the front section.
"A little further, a little further...... Okay, put it down! ”
I saw that with the full cooperation of the three of them, the fork in the front section of the pry bar just stuck the rungs on the long ladder.
At this time, I saw the county guard guiding in front shouting: "Push! ”
Hearing this voice, the two county guards pushed forward vigorously, and immediately, the frightened shouts of the pseudo-thieves came from outside the city wall.
Liu Tu turned his head to take a look, and saw that the long ladder below was pushed out and erected in the air.
At this time, whether it was continuing to push or suddenly withdrawing the pry bar, the pseudo-thief on the long ladder could be greatly impacted, but the three county guards who operated the pry bar still chose to continue to push forward.
I saw that under Liu Tu's eyes, the long ladder outside the city fell heavily to the ground in the opposite direction, although the pseudo-thieves standing on the long ladder jumped down in time, and the pseudo-thieves below also escaped in time, and there were no casualties, but the long ladder fell to the ground and broke.
"Good!"
In the cheers of a nearby county soldier, Liu Tu also raised his arms to celebrate.
Everyone knows that if the thieves outside the city lose the ladder, then they pose a threat to the city walls.
"Bang."
"Bang."
Outside the city wall, there was a dull sound of the long ladder falling to the ground one after another, and it turned out that all sections of the city wall were supported by the 'long pole team', and the long ladder was overturned to the ground.
Although not every ladder that fell to the ground was lucky enough to be broken, and most of the ladders were picked up by the puppet thieves and continued to climb the walls, it was still an effective countermeasure, at least to give the spearmen on the walls a breather.
It is also a morale-boosting tool.
No, as soon as a long ladder was overturned, the county guards on this section of the city wall would cheer excitedly—although in the eyes of those old black tiger thieves, the unbridled cheering was just a waste of energy.
"Our morale is getting higher and higher, and those new pawns are getting more and more handy......"
In the city gate tower, the county lieutenant Ma Gai reported to Zhao Yu about the battle situation on the southern city wall, with a little smile on his face.
And Zhao Yu's reply was also a little relaxed in his tone: "The rebel army and the green forest thieves outside the city should all want to reduce their own casualties, so they will call those pseudo-thieves to attack the city, trying to break through my Kunyang County with the sacrifice of these pseudo-thieves...... Oh, I have to thank them for their contempt for us, and at the same time, I have to thank those false thieves who sacrificed their lives to help my county guards in Kunyang accumulate experience in defending the city and killing the enemy......"
"Hahaha."
Bursts of laughter sounded near the city gate tower, and even the county magistrate Liu Bi and the county magistrate Li Xu, who had been frightened before, also recovered as usual at this time, talking and laughing.
It's no wonder, after all, so far, those puppet thieves who are besieging the city have done almost nothing, let alone capturing the city wall, they can't even hurt the county guards on the city wall, but the county guards who defend the city, as Ma Gai said, are becoming more and more handy in defending and killing the enemy.
All in all, we must thank the enemy army outside the city for sending a group of pseudo-thieves who were weaker than their county army's new pawns to attack the city, so that the county army's new pawns gained valuable experience and increased their self-confidence by the way.
However, the rebels and green forest thieves outside the city did not seem to realize this, and seeing that the 2,000 puppet thieves were almost dead and wounded, they did not feel sorry for the fact that they sent another group of about 2,000 puppet thieves over.
Seeing this, Zhao Yu decisively ordered: "Replace the county guards on the city wall in batches, and replace them with reserve county guards, so that they can also increase their experience." ”
"Yes!"
Under Zhao Yu's order, the spearmen of the county army, who still had more than 400 people guarding at this moment, and the crossbowmen who had only lost less than 50 people, were all replaced in batches and replaced with reserve county guards.
As for the Black Tiger Thief, instead of removing the more than 100 elites, he even sent 200 more new soldiers.
At this time, in the main position of the rebel army in the distance, Huang Kang, the general of the Changsha New Chu Army, also noticed the personnel transfer on Kunyang City, and his brows furrowed deeply.
"That bastard Zhang Tai actually sent a group of servants to attack the city, is he going to help Kunyang County train troops? Expecting this group of despicable and shameless miscellaneous people to consume the troops of Kunyang County, I am really ......
Shaking his head slightly, Huang Kang ordered the soldiers beside him: "Pass the order and tell the soldiers to prepare for the siege." ”
"Yes!"
The herald clenched his fists and left.
vertex