Chapter 503 All-out war breaks out

"On February 18 of the seventh year of the Han Dynasty, Cao Wei Youzhou assassinated Cao Xiu and led an army of 50,000 to attack Jizhou, Sima Yi took decisive measures to order the already prepared Bingzhou Assassin History, Che Cavalry General Guo Huai, Qingzhou Assassin History, Si Li Captain Shi Sun Li and Dong Xianbei Lord Su Li led more than 100,000 troops to counterattack, although Cao Xiu was talented, and then many soldiers under his command were bought by Sima Yi, but they were defeated after less than half a month of support, and finally they could only retire to the right Beiping, and now more than 100,000 troops are attacking day and night around the mound, It looks like Cao Xiu won't be able to hold on for long. ◇↓, and recently, on February 25, Taiwei Wang Ling and his nephew Linghu Yu saw that Emperor Wei Cao Rong could not take charge of the government, and prepared to abolish Cao Rong and support Cao Cao's son Cao Yu, but the conspiracy was revealed, Wang Ling and Ling Huyu were killed, the three clans were wiped out, and Cao Yu was also executed. On the second day of the first month of March, the general Zhuge Dan of Zhengdong and his friend Zhendong General Wuqiu Jian led an army of 40,000 troops to raise troops in Leling and Yangxin, and Sima Yi ordered the hussar general Sun Zi and the general of Zhengnan Wang Chang to lead the army to conquer ......"

Pang Tong reported to Liu Qi in detail a series of rebellions in Cao Wei, and finally said solemnly: "Your Majesty, now there are so many rebellions in Cao Wei, which shows that the Sima regime is not too stable, but once Sima Yi quells the rebellion, the entire Cao Wei regime will be as stable as a rock, and we are afraid that we will never have this opportunity again, so Wei Chen implores His Majesty to agree, and immediately send troops to Hebei to dominate the world with the power of thunder." ”

Liu Qi nodded, and then said slowly to Jia Xu: "Taiwei Jia, what do you think should be done?" ”

I saw Jia Xu bowing slightly and said, "Weichen seconded it." ”

After that, I heard Sikong Xu Shu, Shang Shu Ling Pei Qian, Liu Ye, Zhuge Jin, Shang Shuzuo servant Wang Cang and others bowed down and said: "Weichen seconded the proposal, please Your Majesty decisively send troops, the people of Hebei are in dire straits, they are all looking forward to it, hoping that the world will be unified and live a peaceful and stable life again." ”

Liu Qi saw that all the ministers agreed. When even the order said: "Order the Great Sima, the Northwest Governor Huang Zhongtong to lead the army and the Prefecture Assassin Shi, the right general Pang De to attack Taiyuan, the Xiongnu Governor of the Metropolitan Mansion and the King of Dingxiang Liu Quanzhong to lead the Xihe King Liu Cunxiao, the general of the expedition to the west Huo Jun Wuwei Deng Ai, the auxiliary Han general Hao Zhao and other generals to attack Fanyang, the general and the governor of the Eastern Army Wei Yandu to lead the former general Lü Meng, the general of the Eastern Expedition Tai Shici, the general of Zhendong Zhang Liao, the general of Zhenxi Zhang Fei and others to attack the plain, the Wei general Zhou Yu led the generals of Hanoi to attack Dangyin, and I personally led the generals of the court to attack Liyang, All the food and grass for men and horses that are not yet ready will be allocated by the military department. This time, the armies of all roads are marching together, and they will definitely sweep Hebei and pacify the world. ”

When the order was delivered, all the armies of Zhulu cheered, they had been calm for several years, and they had long been looking forward to this last big battle, especially veterans like Huang Zhong and Yan Yan, they were already gray-haired, and they really didn't know if they waited like this any longer. Can you wait until the final battle?

What made them even more excited was that each unit now had Liu Qi's latest gunpowder weapons developed and mass-produced, which would allow them to minimize casualties in battle and deter the enemy.

The 150,000 troops led by Liu Qi set out from Luoyang, all on ships, and the ships on which Liu Qi rode were equipped with artillery, which was conceived by Liu Qi. It was completed after repeated design and experimentation by Ma Jun, a genius craftsman who completely inherited Huang Yueying's gunpowder manufacturing skills.

And in Liu Qi's army, there were two hundred such ships.

Liu Qi's fleet was mighty. Starting from Mengjin, we came to the vicinity of the Liyang River.

Seeing Liu Qi's army coming, Liang Xi, the general of Cao Wei who was responsible for guarding the north bank of the Yellow River, was shocked when he saw this, and immediately ordered the army to be on emergency alert.

Deputy General Liu Fang said with a smile: "The last time Liu Qi dispatched nearly 200,000 troops to attack Liyang, they were helpless against our defense, and the number of troops this time is even smaller than the last time. Moreover, Liyang's defense is much stronger than before, so what can Liu Qi do? It's just a waste of food, so why should the general worry? ”

Liang Xi said cautiously: "Liu Qi has always been cunning with soldiers, and he likes to be surprised, but now he is leading the army directly from Luoyang." Even the White Horse is not in operation, I am afraid that in addition to the military emergency, there is also a conspiracy, besides, even if Liu Qi does not have a conspiracy, Liyang is related to the safety of Yecheng, we can't wait to ignore it, there is no big mistake in being careful. ”

After that, he ignored Liu Fang and ordered the army to be on guard, especially the crossbowmen in the front row, as long as the enemy came within the firing range, they immediately shot the crossbow arrows in their hands, giving the enemy a head-on blow, and resolutely could not let the enemy get close to half a step.

Although out of prudence, Liang Xi didn't know what way Liu Qi could break through Liyang, which was heavily defended and layered up. His only thought now was that although Liu Qi's army was numerous, its main purpose might still be to contain the defenders of Hebei, so as to relieve pressure and create opportunities for the attacking Zhou Yu's army.

But then he noticed that something was wrong, because the two hundred ships that rushed to the front, which were slightly smaller than fighting ships and more suitable for sailing in the Yellow River, were equipped with two very strange long cylinders.

"What the hell is this? A fallen mast? But why is it so coarse? And it looks like it's actually hollow? Is there some mystery in this? ”

This time, it was not only Liang Xi, but even the deputy general Liu Fang couldn't help but stare at the strange ship with a strange face, and at the same time ordered the crossbowmen in the front row to be on guard and ready to fire the repeater in their hands at any time.

Then they saw the two hundred enemy ships lined up and stopped at a distance of about four hundred paces, their swarthy barrels rushing towards the fortifications on the north shore.

Then I saw a Han soldier appear on each of the 200 ships, each took out a flint, lit a long thread stretched out of the long cylinder, and then saw those soldiers covering their ears and hurriedly leaving.

After a while, they heard a loud noise, and then they felt the ground near them shake violently, and then they saw that the defenses on the north shore had turned into a sea of fire, and many of the soldiers, especially the crossbowmen in the front row, were screaming.

At this time, Liang Xi had already fallen into a deep shock, so much so that he did not give the order in time to let the crossbowmen in the front row withdraw.

"What the hell is this? Gunpowder and catapults combined? Able to throw gunpowder into the distance? Oh my God, how could anyone in the Han army come up with such a genius design? In this way, the enemy's gunpowder weapons not only have a long range, but also have great destructive power. How can we resist this? And once the enemy army breaks through the defense line along the river, how can I hold the defense line along the river with this little man and horse in my hands? ”

Thinking of this, Liang Xi couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, he didn't expect that in just a few years, the weapons of the Han army had developed to such a terrifying point.

"It's good that these terrible weapons are just loaded on the ship. If it is far away, it is still impossible to pose a threat, so it is much safer for our army to defend Liyang City than to defend the river bank. Fortunately, our army still has crossbowmen to help defend the city, otherwise, once the army is besieged, it will be really difficult for us to resist, not good. ”

It was only at this time that Liang Xi remembered the crossbowmen who were attacked by the Han army in the front row, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers in the front row to retreat. Prepare to block the enemy's attack with the deep ditches built behind and the crossbowmen in the back.

However, after his order was issued, he found that the crossbowmen who were waiting for the bus one after another were less than half of the original, and most of the crossbowmen who had not had time to withdraw were killed in the fire, and were even killed on the spot by the gunpowder thrown from afar.

Seeing this scene, Liang Xi couldn't help but fall into deep sorrow, he really didn't expect that it was just a short hesitation, and his side would lose so many people, looking at those soulless crossbowmen, he sighed secretly. A few words of relief were given to them, and they said that the enemy only relied on the long-range fire of those ships to inflict such serious damage on their own side. Now that their weapons are exposed, as long as they hide out of the range of the ships and use the crossbow to hold their positions, the enemy will inevitably suffer heavy losses, not to mention that the enemy troops wade into the water, and the only people who can land can only be infantry. There are no or very few cavalry, and it is difficult to predict who will win or who will lose, but as long as everyone is full of confidence, they will definitely be able to repel the attacking enemy.

Liang Xi's encouragement regained the confidence of the soldiers, and they began to follow Liang Xi's deployment. Defend cautiously, and at the same time watch the Han army to see what other new means of attack they have.

But the next scene made them feel desperate, because on the ships behind, the Han army moved down one chariot after another, and the chariots were loaded with long cylinders, exactly the same as the long cylinders on the warship that could throw gunpowder remotely.

It wasn't until later that they learned that this kind of thing was called artillery, and the range could reach more than 400 paces, Hugh said that it was a repeating crossbow, even the Han army's rocket, known as the king of bows and arrows, could not be compared in range.

After that, it was still a familiar scene, a group of soldiers lit the fuse with flint, and then a loud noise was heard, and the crossbowmen in the front row immediately became a sea of fire.

This time, without waiting for Liang Xi's orders, those crossbowmen retreated in a panic.

And with the crossbowmen retreating together, there were also those infantry and cavalry behind the crossbowmen, because under this powerful weapon, most of the soldiers had a feeling of powerlessness in their hearts, and this feeling made the little morale they had just boosted instantly collapse.

After that, only the sound of drums could be heard, and the Han camp, under the personal leadership of Liu Qi, launched a fierce attack on their positions.

There are also some soldiers who do not believe in evil, they rely on the crossbows and sharp swords in their hands, and they are determined to frustrate the spirit of the Han army, and even they have made up their minds to bring a lesson to the Han army even if they die.

Liang Xi's subordinate Liu Fang is such a general, he was reused by Sima Yi at a young age, and he has already decided to die to serve, and now seeing that the Han army is strong, he asked Liang Xi for his life, and led his own troops and horses to the palace, in order to cover Liang Xi's army to retreat into Liyang City, so as to further deploy the defense of the Han army.

Liu put down the order of the army to line up, and then said angrily: "Fellow soldiers, I will know that this time we are fighting against more than 100,000 enemy troops with this limited number of thousands of people, which is really a moth throwing fire, but in life, loyalty should be the first, and this will be the favor of the court, how dare not repay with death?" Now that the strong enemy is coming, our parents, wives and children are about to suffer from the flames of war, our generation of hot-blooded sons, when thinking of defending the homeland and serving the country, our parents, wives and children are watching us behind the scenes, as long as we have a breath of air, we will never let the enemy army step into Jizhou half a step. Of course, Ben will not force it when he is alive and dead, and if anyone does not want to participate in this battle, he can leave, and Ben will never stop him. ”

Naturally, no one of Cao Wei's soldiers will really leave, because after Sima Yi became the prime minister and Jizhou pastor, in order to prevent the defection of the soldiers in the country, he took a measure to take the families of all the front-line soldiers as military registration and arranged them in Jizhou, if the front-line soldiers were killed, their families could receive rich compensation, and if the former soldiers surrendered or fled, their families would be killed as rebellions.

Although this policy was bloody, it is undeniable that it did play a significant role in the war, at least the phenomenon of large-scale flight or surrender was stopped, and many officers and men had no way to retreat, so they could only fight desperately when they encountered danger, and sometimes they were able to turn defeat into victory and turn the tide of the war.

For example, these current sergeants know that they will die in this battle, but they still do not waver in the slightest, they only hope to exchange their own death for the lives of their families.

Therefore, the next one is destined to be a big battle that knows the ending but is still tragic.

Liu Qi couldn't help but be full of appreciation when he saw that although the enemy army was small in number, he still dared to fight hard, but this did not mean that he would sympathize with these enemy soldiers.

Although Liu Fang's army had the heart of death, because the number of people was too different, and the Han army was fighting bravely because the emperor was beside him, the battle lasted less than half an hour, and thousands of enemy troops were all killed, and no one survived.

And the enemy's main general Liu Fang was still brave and fierce by dozens of wounds, this battle alone he killed more than a dozen Han soldiers, his image of not afraid of death even Liu Qi was moved, so Liu Qi rose up to love talent, ordered people to persuade him to surrender, but Liu Fang resolutely refused, and also sent Liu Qi to persuade the middle base captain Huang Shot stabbed. Liu Qi, who was furious, gave up the idea of persuasion and ordered all the generals to work together to kill Liu Fang.

As soon as Liu Fang died, there were no more defenders on the banks of the Yellow River, and Liu Qi led the army all the way unimpeded, came to the city of Liyang, and began to order a fierce attack on this fortified city that served as the southern barrier of Yecheng. (To be continued.) )