Liu Da patterned. In general. The attack and defense of the city were initially divided into divisions. The advantage of the defending side is the greatest, because during this time. The besieging side needs to be aware of the obstacles under the city, and cannot directly attack the defending army. It can only be suppressed with a bow and arrow. However, with the help of the military array and the cover of the city, the defending side can inflict a large number of casualties on the besieging army without any scruples. ”

After Zhao Ying explained, he said in a deep voice: "Generally speaking. It takes at least two to three days for the besieging army to clear all the obstacles under the city, during which time the defending army usually inflicts more than five times as many casualties on the besieging army. Even ten times more is possible

The other side. Cai Da shook his head and said, "However, there is a battle today." While our army killed and wounded more than 5,000 grassland barbarians, it itself suffered nearly 2,000 casualties, and all the obstacles outside the city were all swept away in just one day. That's a big deal in itself

Zhao Ying nodded, and sighed softly: "When the battle is the easiest and the advantage is the most obvious, our army has not been able to turn the advantage into victory, although it caused more than 5,000 casualties to the Qiu army in just one day, which is unexpected, but at the same time, our army has nearly 2,000 casualties, but it is even more unacceptable." Judging by common sense, our army has already failed with nearly 1,000 casualties in this situation. Not to mention. The obstacles under the city have been cleared, and the situation may be even more worrying tomorrow when the enemy and us will really engage in short-handed combat. ”

Liu Xingzhi is not familiar with military affairs, after hearing the words of Cai Da and Zhao Ying. Only then did I realize what the number of injuries on both sides of the battle on this day meant, and I was also shocked for a while.

"None of that is the most important thing." Just when everyone was silent, Xiao Mo suddenly said: Yin Ri fights. As far as our army is concerned, the greatest losses are not the burned ordnance, nor the nearly 2,000 soldiers killed and wounded, but the demoralization setback. ”

said. Xiao Dan shook his head and said slowly: "Speaking of which." In today's battle, it should be the official who is to blame, and the official is too anxious. The low morale of our Great Chu army is the biggest drawback. I wanted to boost my morale with a big victory today, as long as the morale was enough, so that the officers and men of our army could realize that the grassland coalition army was not invincible, and the strength of the 60,000 defenders of Shangyuan City. Then rely on the risk of Shangyuan City, as well as the sufficiency of reserves. Shangyuan City can become a fortified city that cannot be conquered. However, the official was too anxious to win, and launched a fire attack in advance, although he was defeated by the army of the Barbarian Autumn before noon, and the result was self-defeating, but instead reminded the army of the Barbarian Autumn to attack Shangyuan in the same way. Originally, the morale accumulated by our army through continuous small victories in the past four days was swept away by the fire in Beicheng today, and it was frustrated by the same method, and the morale was even lower than in the past. In the hearts of the officers and men of our army, the invincible thoughts of the grassland coalition army not only did not weaken slightly, but became more and more intense, and it was indeed that the officers were too anxious. The strategy of fire attack should have been used at a more critical time. ”

Seeing that Xiao Mo was blaming himself in his words, Zhao Ying hurriedly stepped forward, bowed down and said, "My lord, I can't blame you for this matter. No one expected that the grassland barbarians, who had always rode lightly and quickly, would actually transport the siege equipment in Xuancheng, let alone that those siege crossbows could still be used. ”

Ballista has always been divided into two categories, one is the catapult and the other is the arrow ballista, which was also called the ballista in ancient times. This has already been mentioned above. Most of the siege ballistas were giant catapults. Because some readers have been questioning why the siege ballista can project a sealed oil tank, I will explain it again here. Xiao Mo shook his head and sighed softly, "No matter what." It is true that the official is not thoughtful, if the official acted more steadily, he would not be so eager to win. Not so today

"Your Excellency, you don't have to blame yourself, the steppe barbarians have a matter of siege ballistas. It is unpredictable to be a fairy, not to mention, at this time in the war, the grassland barbarians are under the clever strategy of adults. There were nearly 50,000 casualties before and after, no less than the sum of the previous ten cities, and the merits of the adults were unprecedented. Zhao Ying said in a deep voice: "What is worrying now is that the siege equipment of the grassland barbarians, although the arrow tower car has been completely destroyed by our army, there are still siege ballistae available, even if it is damaged, but most of them are the wounds of the giant crossbow, and they should be repaired." I'm afraid it can still be used, but if we continue to attack the city with oil and fire as we do today, I'm afraid our army will still be in chaos. ”

Hearing Zhao Ying's words, Cai Da remembered the sea of fire spreading everywhere in the city today, and his face couldn't help but turn white.

Xiao Mo's brows also furrowed.

Today's fire can be said to have left a shadow in the hearts of the Chu army, if the same method is used to attack the city again, I am afraid that the performance of the soldiers of the Chu army will be even more unbearable than today.

At this moment, Na Shangquan, who had been standing in the corner and bowing his head silently, suddenly said, "Young Master." Adults and villains think that the steppe barbarians should no longer be able to attack the city with fire like they do today. ”

Hearing Deng Shangquan's words, everyone was stunned and looked at Na Shangquan.

I only heard Deng Shangquan say: "According to the villain's observation, although a large number of sealed fire pots were thrown on the city head in the autumn today. However, most of them are only lard, soybean oil, etc., and the fire oil that is most likely to cause fire is the least. Thinking that they were only inspired by the young master's fire attack strategy, all kinds of grease were just prepared in a hurry. It's not too much, I'm afraid it's all that is used in today's battle. In fact, today's battle. By dusk, most of what the steppe barbarians had thrown at them through the siege ballistae was rubble, not oil cans. I don't think they can afford to launch a fire attack without a long time of collecting. ”

With Deng Shangquan's words, everyone's faces softened slightly. But Zhao Ying shook his head and said, "Even so, as long as there are siege ballistas, the threat to Shangyuan City will not be reduced." Adults should remember that. One hundred and eighty years ago, Taizu threw huge stones through siege ballistas and directly destroyed the walls of the enemy city. ”

Hearing Zhao Ying's words, everyone's faces became solemn again.

The siege ballistae in Manqiu's hands were like a boulder, pressing on everyone's hearts, imagining the power of the siege ballista, and there was a sense of powerlessness for a while.

"Sikong Min"

Xiao Mo muttered in a voice that no one could hear. Since ancient times. Attacking and defending the city is to develop at the same time. The magic is one foot high, and the road is one foot high.

The defenders built high walls and moats, the siegers created ladders and slamming wood to restrain them, and the defenders built them, with the right chariots and the arrow crossbow carts. The besiegers built a long-range and more powerful sword cart to destroy the walls directly, and at the same time, because they were far away from the land of three arrows, the besiegers could not threaten it at all.

In the era when giant catapults were prevalent, it has always been an era when the siege side was rampant, and Chu Taizu used giant catapults to destroy the enemy's city walls. During the Jewish Wars of the same period, the Roman Empire relied on siege engines to destroy Jewish cities along the way, even in Masada, which was known as the strongest fortress in the world at the time. Nor will it be immune.

And at that time. The Romans used only a mere ten siege ballistae, and the power of the siege ballistae can be seen.

Ironically, Istanbul, the capital of the Roman Empire, was eventually captured by artillery carriages modified by siege ballistas.

From the first century to the third century AD, it was an era of invincible siege ballistas.

In this case, in order to suppress the siege ballistae, the defenders' side came into being with copper artillery with a longer range, more accurate shooting, and powerful destructive power against equipment.

This is also the most basic artillery, although it only shoots iron pellets, and it is not very lethal to the besieging army, but it is a natural enemy for all kinds of ordnance.

Originally. Copper artillery was also available in the Chu Dynasty, and basically, a big city like Shangyuan City was armed.

However, more than 30 years ago, with the continuous development of the economy of the Chu Dynasty and the increasing population, the smelting of copper coins was far from keeping up, and the production of copper ore was even more insufficient. Therefore, it also caused the economic instability of the Chu Dynasty. Therefore, Sikong Min, who was still the head of the household department at that time, was played by the first emperor, and suggested that all the copper artillery in the whole country be smelted into copper coins, because there was no war for a hundred years, this measure was also approved by the ministers and the first emperor.

Such measures certainly alleviated the currency crisis of the Chu Dynasty at that time, but at the same time, they also caused the embarrassment of Shangyuan City today.

If there is still a bronze cannon in Shangyao City, where can it be the turn of the siege ballista that is in ruins?

Pity. The premise of all this is based on the word "if".

Come to think of it. Xiao Mo sighed softly, but he once again remembered the fourth strategy "driving the people" mentioned by Zhang Yansheng that day!! Siege crossbows. But all of them are undermaintained, have a long history, and are far less powerful than back then, not to mention that five of them have been damaged in today's battle, even if they can be repaired, but the power is probably still lower. As long as the army lives. We don't need to be afraid of the threat of siege ballistas, the trouble now is that the morale of our army is low, and the soldiers do not dare to fight with the brutes at all. What can you teach me about this? ”

Cai Da hesitated: "The lower officials think that maybe the rewards of the imperial court will be raised again, and there will be brave men under the heavy rewards, which may stimulate the morale of the soldiers." ”

Cai Da's suggestion is decent, in the countless battles with the grassland coalition army before, I am afraid that every general has used this method, but the effect is average, after all, compared to the heavy reward, most people are more concerned about their own lives.

Not to mention. According to the calendar of the Chu Dynasty, people from military households, happy households, and artisan households are not allowed to live in mansions. They can't wear fancy clothes outside, and their status is low, even if they have more rewards, it will not have much effect on them.

But Liu Xingzhi's eyes lit up, and he seemed to think of something. said: "The lower officials think that we should publicize today's war to all the soldiers. Today's battle is certainly a slight setback for those who are proficient in military strategy like you, but for those soldiers who do not know how to write and ink, our army has suffered less than 2,000 casualties, while the enemy has more than 5,000 casualties. The enemy's casualties were three times that of his own, and it was already a great victory. If we wait to reduce our own casualties and exaggerate the casualties of the autumn when we preach it, in the hearts of all the soldiers, today's battle can be called a great victory, and the idea of boosting the morale of the adults in the previous battle can naturally be achieved. ”

Hearing Liu Xingzhi's words, everyone's eyes lit up.

Liu Xingzhi is worthy of being a civilian official, and he has a natural instinct for such a deception, and combined with his own ignorance of the military, he actually thought of such a strategy, although it is a deception, but it is indeed a good policy.

Then. Zhao Ying also took a step forward, with a faint murderous aura on his face, and said in a deep voice: "The lower officials think that the soldiers are all from military families, and over the years, the heart of loyalty to the country has been greatly reduced, far worse than back then. The strategy of rewarding money and deceiving can certainly boost the morale of the soldiers for a while, but in the future, if the war is unfavorable. Morale will still be rapidly declining at this time. It is suggested that the policy of the Eight Sages and Kings should be imitated when the level of the day is passed, and the troubled times should be used to re-enforce the classics, gather elite soldiers in one place, and form a supervising team. The reason why there is such chaos in Beicheng today is largely because many generals fled the city first at the beginning of the spread of the fire, and the overseers had no right to deal with it, and finally the soldiers followed. Although our army now also has a team of warlords, but the authority is obviously insufficient, I think that the adults should increase the full strength of the warlord team, and the low-level generals who took the lead in fleeing today are all beheaded in front of the army, and the military regulations are reformulated, so as to boost the morale of our army!! ”

Hearing Zhao Ying's words, Cai Da and Liu Xingzhi nodded. His face was slightly unhappy.

Zhao Ying is talented, but unfortunately he can't be an official, this time, although he put forward a good policy, but at the same time, he also offended Liu Xingzhi and Cai Da, but he himself is particularly unaware.

However, Xiao Mo didn't have the heart to think about these at this time, and after hearing the suggestions of the three of them, he nodded slowly. But his expression was not satisfied.

Whether it is Cai Da's "heavy reward" strategy or Liu Xingzhi's "false good news" strategy, although it can only boost morale for a while, Zhao Ying's "heavy ceremony" strategy. In fact, it is not perfect, and the repetition is too much, and the effect may not be morale boosting, but rebounding and bombing the camp.

Pity. Although he was not satisfied with these three strategies, Xiao Mo couldn't think of a better strategy.

"The identity of the military household can be described as a poison that kills the morale of the soldiers, if it is not solved, no matter what the means, it can only be built for a while

Xiao Mo thought secretly.

Suddenly. Xiao Mo seemed to think of something, and his eyes lit up.

After frowning and pondering for a moment, Xiao Mo's face flashed with determination. Raising his head, he announced in a deep voice: "This official has four orders, and your lordships will go to arrange them immediately, first, reorganize the supervision team, and join the elite soldiers and strong generals into it, and those who are determined will be given priority." And increase the power of the supervising team, in the future, if there are deserters, disturbers of the army's morale, and cowardices, the cold official can be reported in a step!! The second youngster took the lead in leaving the city today. All of them will be detained tonight, and before the battle tomorrow morning, they will all be pushed to the head of the city and beheaded in public!! Third, I would like to report to all the officers and men that in today's battle, our army killed and wounded 8,000 enemy troops, and its own casualties were less than 1,000, which can be described as a great victory. As long as we persevere, our army will win. In addition, the imperial court has sent 300,000 troops to support Shangyuan City. Arrive in 10 days. ”

After hearing Xiao Mo's decision, Liu Xingzhi, Cai Da, and Zhao Ying were all shocked, but they didn't expect Xiao Mo's determination to be more decisive than they imagined.

However. What shocked the three of them even more was still to come.

I saw that Xiao Mo was silent for a moment after saying these three strategies, and then said: "Fourth order, before the battle tomorrow." Announce to the generals that if they can resist the steppe coalition for twenty days, the officer will make the decision to let them out of the military household from now on. For the body of a commoner, if he dies in a hard battle, his descendants can also leave the body of a commoner and be raised by the imperial court on his behalf. ”

After hearing Xiao Mo's words, the faces of everyone in the room changed greatly. looked at Xiao Mo incredulously.

Let the soldiers get out of the military household status, this sentence seems simple, but in fact, to let the soldiers out of the military household status on such a large scale, there is only one person in the world today who can have such power, and that is Emperor Chu Ling!!

Military household system. It was originally created by Chu Taizu; For the ancestral legal system. Anything that involves the ancestral legal system, and if you want to change it, it will become extremely difficult.

And Xiao Mo decided without going through Emperor Chu Ling, firstly, he violated the legal system of his ancestors, and secondly, he acted beyond his authority, which can be described as bullying the monarch, and after the war, even if he wins, it is difficult to judge the merits and demerits of Xiao Mo.

Maybe. After Xiao Mo's victory, on the first day of returning to the dynasty, he will be imprisoned in a silver lock, and it is possible.

Of course. This is still recommended in the case of Xiao Mo's big victory, if he is defeated in a bitter battle, the outcome is not to mention.

After a long time. Liu Xingzhi reacted first, hurriedly knelt in front of Xiao Mo, and kowtowed: "Don't, adults." Acting in such a way as exceeding his authority and violating the legal system of his ancestors will be blamed by the court in the future."

The other side. Cai Da and Zhao Ying were silent, they knew very well that such a decision was the best way to boost the low morale of the Chu army, and they had the intention to oppose it, but they were conflicted in their hearts and just looked at Xiao Mo worriedly.

However, for Liu Xingzhi's persuasion, Xiao Mo shook his head and said slowly: "Lord Liu doesn't need to persuade him, the official has made up his mind, and if the court blames him in the future, the official will bear it!" After the festival, he finally stepped back.

When leaving. They seemed to look a little lighter than before. But it seems to be getting heavier and heavier.

And Xiao Mo. But he still stayed in the study, secretly thinking about the countermeasures for the future war.

Although letting the Shangyuan defenders out of the status of military households can boost the morale of the generals, those siege ballistae in the hands of the Qiu clan are still a big threat.

If the siege ballista keeps throwing boulders, the walls will be smashed. Under the difference in strength between the two sides. Defeat is still inevitable.

Giant stone-throwing trucks, the significance of this era. Almost indistinguishable from the ICBMs of later generations.

"Can you only use Zhang Zijia's strategy?"

Xiao Mo muttered to himself.

Suddenly look up. Xiao Mo asked Deng Shangquan, "Shangquan, what do you think?" ”

Di Shangquan's understanding of Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo himself, sometimes doesn't know whether to be happy for it or scruple because of it.

Although Xiao Mo said this sentence without a beginning or an end, Deng Shangquan knew very well what he was referring to. And the fourth strategy proposed by Zhang Yansheng that day, that Shangquan himself also understood.

Di Shangquan was silent for a while, and then said slowly: "Young master, those people are actually no different from death now. In that case, why not take advantage of it and turn it into a victory for our army? Although countless sacrifices will be made, more people will be saved. The only thing to worry about is your future name, young master

After a pause. There seemed to be a hint of hesitation on that Shangquan's face. Then he said: "What's more, young master, after you formed an alliance with Xianzhuo Bu Xiangen that day, you hid Chu Da and the others in the Xianbei camp, aren't you already prepared to use this strategy just in case?" ”

After hearing Deng Shangquan's words, Xiao Mo was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled slightly and muttered: "Indeed, when I arrived in such a situation, I had already made mental preparations. Why should I be hypocritical? ”

said. Xiao Mo suddenly took the pen, wrote on the rice paper on the desk for a long time, then folded it, sealed it in an envelope, handed it to Di Shangquan, and said, "You go to the Xianbei camp and give it to Bu Xiangen, you should know what to say." ”

Di Shangquan did not immediately take the secret letter in Xiao Mo's hand. Instead, he looked at Xiao Mo and asked:

"Did the young master really decide?"

Xiao Mo nodded, his expression was a little heavy and a little relaxed.

That Shang Quan bowed to Xiao Mo, with unprecedented seriousness and respect, and then took the secret letter written by Xiao Mo in his arms, turned around and left.

Meanwhile. Xianbei camp, inside the tent of the Great Khan.

Today's battle. The grassland coalition can be said to have won in the end, but Bu Xiangen's face did not show any joy, and the old face, which was originally full of treachery and cruelty, also changed endlessly.

Because for Bu Xiangen, the victory of the steppe coalition army did him no good, and the defeat of both was what he wanted to see.

"I really didn't expect that guy from Baler to find a siege crossbow cart in Xuancheng, I originally thought that the Chu people in Shangyuan City could help me consume some of the strength of the three clans, but now it seems that I am afraid that I will have to find another way out. Luckily, I didn't have much hope for them in the first place. ”

Although he thought like this in his heart, Bu Xiangen felt more and more regretful in his heart.

After all. If the power of the Qiu clan continues to grow, the future of Xianbei will become more and more dangerous.

Just when Bu Xiangen was secretly distressed, a cronie suddenly came to the Great Khan's tent and walked in front of Bu Xiangen. He whispered: "Great Khan, the secret envoy of the Chu people is visiting. ”