After the start of the war, the main focus of the battle between the two sides was actually the control of the moat. The purpose of the Liao army was to quickly build a passage over the moat, so that the soldiers and horses could attack under the city walls. The Jurchens, on the other hand, tried desperately to prevent or delay them from doing so.

In the past few days, while waiting for the fire to be extinguished, military meetings from top to bottom of the Liao army have been held one after another. As for how to break through the moat, the upper and lower people have also come up with a lot of countermeasures. In the end, after the screening of everyone, two options were chosen. Both of these solutions are actually more traditional solutions, but they have made some innovations in action.

The first option is to build a pontoon bridge. Because the Jurchens widened the moat to a width of nearly four zhang, the idea of building a traditional floating simple bridge passage had to be replaced by a pontoon bridge. But because the water in the moat flows, the traditional means of building pontoon bridges also need to be innovated. A general once saw the practice of building pontoon bridges on the Sanggan River by soldiers and horses of the Great Zhou Dynasty at the crossing of the Sanggan River, so he proposed this method, which was unanimously approved by the emperors and ministers of Yelu Zong. The practice of building a pontoon bridge on the terrain of the Sanggan River, which is dozens of zhang wide and the water is turbulent and roaring, can naturally work on the small moat in front of you.

As a result, the Liao Army's engineering units made a lot of preparations in those few days. They built a large number of wooden rafts in advance, installed hooks and winches on the wooden rafts, and prepared them properly. When the siege began, hundreds of carts carried the materials to the moat, where soldiers braved the rain of arrows to push the rafts into the water, then hooked them together and tied them together in chains. By analogy, a pontoon bridge can be built in less than half an hour. After the piles were slightly fixed at both ends and in the middle of the river, there was a pontoon bridge as wide as a foot wide for the soldiers to pass unimpeded.

Only half an hour after the siege began, the Liao army built more than 60 such pontoon bridges on the moat, which was actually fully able to meet the needs of the army to cross the moat and attack the city. Of course, there are definitely a lot of dead and wounded soldiers and horses in the process of building pontoon bridges, and the focus of the firepower at the head of the city is to deal with these soldiers and horses who build pontoon bridges. During the construction process, thousands of Liao soldiers fell into the water with arrows, and the corpses floated on the moat, and each pontoon bridge was sprinkled with blood, and the color was blood red.

But in any case, the smooth construction of the pontoon bridge was a major step forward in the success of the siege. The plan went so smoothly that the Liao army and others were also relieved. However, this did not allow the official siege to begin immediately, and they had to wait for the construction of a dozen more special passages. That was the second way to build a bridge, and the only way to ensure that the siege equipment could cross the river and reach the city. The Liao army must build more than a dozen embankments on the moat that can be used for heavy siege equipment to cross the moat, otherwise, the siege weapons such as the cloud chariot siege car will completely become an ornament.

Simple pontoons were available for soldiers, but heavy equipment such as the Scooter Storming Truck was too heavy for the pontoon to bear its weight. If the equipment that had traveled thousands of miles here did not come in handy, the previous wait would be meaningless, and the siege would not be successful. Attacking the city by means of an ordinary cloud ladder to climb the city, the wall of Liaoyang Mansion that is raised to three or four zhang high will be a nightmare for the Liao army. The point is that even if you don't care about the dead and wounded, you may not be able to attack. However, if the dozens of cloud cars that arrived close to the city wall, there would be dozens of more passages that could directly attack the city wall, and Liaoyang City would be broken. This is also the reason why Yelu Zongyuan has to wait for the siege weapon to arrive here.

However, the operation of filling the embankment with earth and rock was very unsmooth, and the moat was too deep and wide, and it was still a flowing river. Relying on the soldiers to carry mud and sand and carry stones for landfills was really ineffective. Some of the mud and stone bales were thrown into the water, and they dissipated like mud cows entering the sea, and when dozens of pontoon bridges were built, the embankment could not progress enough. Thousands of soldiers were shot and killed.

Yelu Zong was in a hurry, only the pontoon bridge could not be completed, and the soldiers had to cooperate with the cloud car and the city chariot to attack the city, otherwise it would be useless. Dozens of Skybuggers had advanced to less than eighty paces from the moat, but they had to stop because they couldn't get to the other side of the moat. Fortunately, they are not useless. On the platform at the top of the nearly five-zhang high skycar, the archers of the Liao army could condescendingly release arrows at the head of the city, but also shot many Jurchen soldiers and horses. However, if the cloud cart is only used as an arrow tower, it will inevitably destroy the heavens, and the benefit to the siege is too small. This is like taking a thousand-year-old ginseng, an elixir that can live the dead, to cure a cold, which is really a waste of good things.

"No, no, it's not a way to go on like this. At this rate, it would take at least two hours to build the embankment, which is absolutely impossible. After being beaten passively under the city for two hours, our army suffered at least tens of thousands of casualties. I can't tolerate it, so think of a good way to come out. Yelu Zongyuan rubbed his hands together and paced back and forth on the rear viewing platform, restless.

All the officials and generals also frowned, but they had no countermeasures for a while.

"Your Majesty, if not, let the soldiers and horses attack the city wall first, once the city is attacked, the opponent's soldiers and horses defending the city will have no time to deal with the soldiers and horses who build the dam, and the progress can be greatly accelerated." A general said in a deep voice.

Some people chimed in. What this person meant was that once the siege began, the defenders at the head of the city would have to deal with the besieging soldiers and horses, creating good conditions for the soldiers and horses to fill in the earth and rock to build a dam in the rear, and the defenders at the head of the city would not have time to strike at them, so the speed of the landfill would be greatly accelerated.

"Stupid, this kind of thing

What is the difference between drinking water to quench thirst? If there is no siege equipment, what is the difference between directly attacking the city and sending it to death? If you stay away from the city wall, you will only be attacked by bows and crossbows, and when you reach the city wall, you will be attacked by rolling wood and stones, boiling oil and boiling water, and more people will die. It's a shame that you came up with such a bad idea. Did I really convince you, and give my brain to the wild dog? Yelu Zongyuan scolded angrily.

The proposed general hurriedly shrank his head and stopped talking, secretly scolding himself for talking too much, he shouldn't be in the limelight.

"The problem now is that the soldiers are too slow to carry the earth and rocks, and the stones are too small. There are not many suitable landfill items in the left area, so they can only use mud bags as landfill objects. The water in the moat was flowing, and a small amount of mud would be washed away. Lao Chen felt that it was necessary not only to speed up the landfill, but also to think of ways to landfill things. Han Yanshou thought in a deep voice.

Yelu Zongyuan frowned, and said in a deep voice: "Gather all the carts, pile them up with mud bags, tie them tightly with ropes, and use horses to directly overturn the carts into the river, it should always work." ”

Hearing this, everyone nodded and said, "Yes, this method is absolutely effective." Your Majesty's method is really wonderful. ”

But someone soon asked, "It's not enough to throw all the cars in it." There are more than a dozen embankments three zhang wide, and there are no longer a few earth and stones needed. We don't have that many big cars. ”

Yelu Zongyuan frowned and groaned, his gaze falling on the several tribal leaders standing on the side of the platform. Most of the tribal alliance is cavalry, and their soldiers and horses have only dispatched more than 50,000 cavalry archers to shoot arrows along the moat to suppress them, and it seems that they have some concerns about the problem in front of them.

"Not yet a few big chiefs of the Nine Tribes, the Da Mi Li Department, the Meili Urgent Department, the Chazha Thorn Department, and the Heihe Department? What do you think should be done in the current situation? Yelu Zongyuan asked in a deep voice.

Several chiefs were whispering, and they all turned their heads when they heard the words.

The chief of the Merijian tribe, Kuluba, smacked his lips and said: "Your Majesty, we can't intervene in the matter of war, and we people don't have any ideas about such strategic matters. As some officials have described us, we are all savages from Kamikyo Province. ”

"Isn't it? What strategies do we know to fight war? Just know how to fight and ride horses to kill. It's a pity that in this siege battle, we, the cavalry, can't do anything. Why don't we send some more archers to the bottom of the city and shoot arrows at the top of the city? That's fine. The chief of the Chazha Thorn Department said in a strange way, touching the yellow beard tied into pigtails.

The other tribal chiefs also nodded one after another, including Xiao Zhengbang, the chief of the Heihe tribe, Meng Sago, the chief of the Damili tribe, and others.

Yelu Zongyuan nodded and said, "Can't you help if you don't know strategy?" Not necessarily. I need your cavalry now. ”

Brother Mengsa was surprised: "What, could it be that the emperor wants our cavalry to attack the city?" Our horses were strong, but they didn't have wings and couldn't fly up the walls. Do you hit the city wall? Crash the wall down with your head? ”

"Hahaha." Bald Gusa and Kuluba and the others all burst out laughing.

"Several chiefs, the siege battle is fierce, and my Daliao soldiers are bathing in blood, but you are laughing here recklessly, as if you have nothing to do with yourself. Are you still my ministers of the Great Liao? Outrageous. One of the officials was enraged by their attitude and shouted.

"Exactly, how can it be." A group of officials shouted angrily. The officials of the Liao State and the central government already looked down on these tribal leaders, and during this time, these guys thought that they had saved the Xijin Mansion and turned the tide of the war, and they were even more arrogant, and the officials were very angry. At the moment, they are accusing them of their attitude.

Hulu Ba and the others still wanted to argue, but Prime Minister Han Yanshou shouted loudly: "Several chiefs are self-respecting, at this time, it is about the survival of Da Liao, how can they be hippie with a smile and sarcasm?" The emperor wants you to contribute, as a minister of the Great Liao, you should be humble and not rude. ”

As soon as Han Yanshou spoke, these guys became much more honest, and they really committed public anger, which was not the result they wanted.

"I didn't say anything, the emperor asked us to contribute, so naturally we won't refuse. But our soldiers and horses are all cavalry, so what can we do other than send out cavalry archers? This matter of filling in the earth and building a dam can only be done by the infantry. "Hulu Badao.

Yelu Zongyuan said coldly: "Of course the cavalry is useful, and the cavalry is being used to fill the earth and build the dam. I now command you to send cavalry to fill the river with mud and earth on horsebacks, so as to speed up the damming. You need to act now. ”

"What?" Hulu Babald Gusa and the others shouted in shock: "The emperor wants us to use horses as earth and stones to fill the moat? ”

"I want you to take your horses and carry them with mud and earth and stones, and fill them into the river. Don't you understand? I want this passage to be completed quickly. Yelu Zongyuan said coldly.

"Your Majesty, are my tribe's cavalry only worthy of filling the river?" Brother Mengsa said angrily.

Yelu Zongyuan slowly got up and said, "At this time, the war is urgent. You also said that you are willing to do your best for Da Liao, and you have to disobey at this moment? I have no choice but to fill the river with your cavalry, but as a last resort. ”

Brother Mengsa shouted, "Why don't you use the court cavalry to fill the river? ”

Yelu Zongyuan shouted sharply: "Do I still have to ask for your opinion on my decision? Are you going to resist it? ”

Brother Mengsa's face was pale, but Kuluba grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, "Don't provoke the anger of the people. He is now taking advantage of the urgency of the war at this moment, and those officials are on his side. And for the time being, forbearance is,

Let's settle accounts with him later. ”

Yelu Zongyuan shouted: "What are you still muttering? Why don't you order someone to prepare? If I miss the military plane, I will not spare people. ”

"Humph!" Brother Meng Sa snorted coldly, gritted his teeth and said: "The ministers naturally obey the order, the emperor's idea is really wonderful." ”

Yelu Zongyuan sneered: "I know that I have a good idea, but I don't need you to praise it. ”

Han Yanshou frowned sadly, sighed, and said in his heart: "Your Majesty, this is deliberate, using cavalry and war horses to fill the river, this method is not bad, but using the war horses of the tribal cavalry to do this seems to be deliberate." Hey, the emperor is still too rigid, and doing this at this moment is not good for the overall situation. ”

Although they were full of anger, the tribal chieftains had not yet reached the point of tearing their faces with Yelu Zongyuan. All it cost was a few horses. To be fair, although it is extreme to fill the river with earth and rocks on the back of a war horse, it is also a decisive way to deal with it. On the battlefield, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a war horse to fill the river, or to fill the river with people. For the sake of victory in battle, these are nothing.

Thousands of horses carrying more than a dozen bags of mud and sandbags began to charge towards the moat. When they rushed to the bank of the river, the horses naturally refused to jump into the river, and the Liao soldiers had to stab them in the heart, so the war horses and a dozen bags of mud fell into the water. Sinking to the bottom of the water became a thing to hold back the water. In addition to the horses, hundreds of carts were loaded with mud and pushed over, and the whole thing was overturned into the river. Thousands of horses fell into the water one after another, piling up a barrier of flesh and blood, and carts full of mud overturned into the water above them, just as they were used to suppress and fill. The soldiers quickly laid wooden stakes on both sides to fix them, and tens of thousands of ant-like soldiers filled the frame with bags of mud, and soon formed the prototype of the embankment.

This extreme method of reclamation soon showed its effect. Although the moat is deep, it is not more than a foot deep, no matter how wide it is, it is not more than four zhang wide, and the reason why the dam is slow is because of the erosion of the scattered mud bags and sand by the flowing water. Once there is a place to attach to the accumulation, it will be much better. The horses and vehicles served as a frame for the dike. With these frameworks in place, things are much easier. Many of the soldiers' corpses flowed and became part of the embankment, and some soldiers carrying mud bags were hit by arrows at the head of the city and then fell into the water with mud bags, making their own bodies part of the embankment.

In short, half an hour later, a dozen dams mixed with thousands of horses, thousands of corpses, hundreds of carts, and tens of thousands of bags of sand and gravel finally took shape. The soldiers covered the top with logs, filled the gaps with earth, and after leveling them, they finally completed the task of opening the passage to the moat.

At this point, the battle has been going on for more than an hour. The number of casualties on both sides is already very large. The Liao army suffered more than 20,000 casualties, and less than half of the more than 600 catapults remained. More than a hundred of them were scrapped by the three-bow bed crossbows at the head of the city, and the rest were scrapped by themselves because they reached the upper limit of use. Half of the catapults are missing, and they are actually not enough for the Jurchen soldiers and horses at the head of the city. In order to ensure the suppression of firepower, the Liao army had to concentrate all the catapults under the Xicheng, which was also the main attack direction of the Xicheng city wall.

The dead and wounded of the Jurchen soldiers were also seven or eight thousand. The vast majority were killed and injured by boulders thrown by catapults. There are also casualties caused by the suppression of the opponent's powerful bow and arrow. Although the terrain of the Liao people was unfavorable, their archers could only shoot from their backs, and with the protection of the battlements, the threat did not seem to be great. However, the Liao archers were very accurate, and many of the Jurchens who were shot were shot while shooting arrows from the battlements. With only such a small area, the Liao people can hit, which shows their superb archery skills. When the catapults destroyed many battlements, the number of catapults themselves also decreased sharply, and the arrows fired from under the city became the main means of killing and injuring the defenders. After all, without the protection of tall battlements, the defenders at the head of the city would have fewer barriers, more exposed parts, and easier for the Liao to shoot.

In any case, the war ended at this point, and the first phase was basically over. The breakthrough of the moat was actually expected by both sides. It's just a matter of the size of the price to pay. The defenders inflicted more than three times as much damage on the opponent and destroyed many of the opponent's catapults. Although the attackers suffered tens of thousands of casualties, their strategic objectives were achieved. The successful construction of dozens of pontoon bridges and more than a dozen barrages broke through the opponent's last line of defense outside the city, which is also an acceptable result. Both sides seem to be pleased with the outcome.

The horn sounded again, and this time, the dense Liao soldiers and horses under the city retreated like a tide to a distance of five hundred steps from the city. In addition to the dozens of archers of the Liao army on the cloud car still firing arrows at the head of the city, and the bed crossbow at the head of the city to fight back at the cloud car, constantly shooting thick crossbow arrows through the iron sheet embedded in the outer edge of the cloud car, the battlefield suddenly quieted down.

But everyone understands that this is not the end of the battle, but only a short break after the end of the first stage. The Liao army had to organize a formation to prepare for the second stage of the siege, which was the fiercest and bloodiest part of the siege battle. The defenders at the head of the city also obviously understood this, and they also used this short time to clean up the debris at the head of the city, remove the corpses, carry the garrison materials and equipment from the city to the city wall, repile sandbags at the broken battlements of the city wall as covers, and bring long forks, spears, long ropes, etc. Hurriedly take a few sips of water and prepare for more ferocious battles.

Finally, after a stick of incense, the rapid horn sounded again in the four fields. Under the dim sunlight, the soldiers of the Liao army rushed to the city like a tide, and the sound of shouting and killing resounded in the sky, and the footsteps shook the earth as if it were shaking.