Volume 7 Getaway Chapter 7 The Prosperous Age (5b)

Not only did the horse thieves not know what the Turks were doing, but even the well-informed Xie Yingdeng, Shi Defang and others couldn't guess what kind of medicine the Turks were selling in their gourds for a while! The two behemoths in the distance bear a striking resemblance to the Thunderbolt catapult described in the Book of War. However, since the Thunderbolt catapult came out in the Three Kingdoms era, it can be equipped with a projectile of thirty or forty catties at most, and the maximum range is only more than 100 steps. When it was first born, it was able to catch the enemy by surprise, and with its large-scale use in the military, many sexual defense measures against it were also summarized. Rockets, oil balls, ballistas, these are the natural nemesis of catapults. In front of a fortified city with a bed of crossbows and plenty of bows and arrows, the catapult had no time to exert its might. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands of Great Sui elites would not have screamed against the high walls of Liaodong City in vain!

Unlike ordinary catapults, the two capillaries that the Turks worked so hard to make were enlarged versions. It's almost four times the size of the one commonly found in the military. The position of the throwing arm and the launch bucket is also slightly different, and when you look down from the top of the city, it looks like a strong man from the Kua E clan is carrying a huge flat pole diagonally. (Note 1)

The people of the Western Regions who surrounded the catapult were very respectful, not only beating and scolding the slaves who worked, but also the large and small Burkes who were onlookers, and they would be whipped if they got closer. Instead of being angry, the Turkic nobles who had been beaten respectfully apologized. It was as if with two unpredictable thunderbolt catapults, they had the security to break through the Great Wall.

"Those guys are supposed to be Persians. A few years ago, I heard from the merchants who bought silk that they were at war with the Berzantins in the far west of the country! "Liu Jizhen, the head of the horse thief, doesn't know the catapult, but he knows a little about several people from the Western Regions who are installing the catapult. According to what he had heard from the mouths of the "protected" merchants in the past, to the west of the Western Regions, his Xiongnu clan controlled a large part of the territory. And the only ones who can compete with the Huns in strength are the Persians. In previous years, the king of Persia showed his might, waging war with dozens of countries at the same time. Because of the frequent wars, many never-before-seen murderous weapons have also emerged.

"Is it the Persia of the Han Dynasty?" Xie Yingdeng asked with a frown. After a long period of turbulence in the Three Kingdoms, the Two Jin Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the classics of the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty were almost lost. The people of the Central Plains also have less and less understanding of the outside world, and the things explored by their predecessors are also on the verge of being lost. That is, a child of a family like him, who has been rich for hundreds of years, barely has the opportunity to read some geographical accounts about the west of the Western Regions from the ancient scrolls in the family collection. For example, the German scholars from ordinary backgrounds, although they claimed to be well-educated, had never even heard of the names of the two countries, Persia and Berzantium.

"It should be!" Liu Jizhen nodded hesitantly, not sure if his answer was correct. Under the Great Wall, there were already Turks, Xi, Xi, Khitan, and Murwei people, and now a group of Persians were added. Could it be that the Central Plains is so much better than the grassland? Let these guys even be willing to throw away their own nest? But the ancient proverb clearly says that the descendants of the blue wolf should not stay away from the Douyu Mountain. At that time, the Huns refused to listen to this proverb, and as a result, they could never return to the land left by their ancestors. Now the Turks are repeating the path of the Huns, as if they will have to go through the same cycle again after a few hundred years.

"But if even the Persians can come and work for him, these bastards of the Ashina family are really willing to work hard!" In a blink of an eye, his mood brightened again, and he pointed to the Persians in the distance and shouted, "After defeating these bastards, we can be regarded as repelling dozens of coalition forces in a corner." Lao Tzu chased and killed Yu Wei with a great victory, and he will definitely be able to re-erect the tooth tent of the Maodun family at the foot of Douyu Mountain! ”

"Brother Liu has good ambitions!" Everyone praised each other. Before the battle was over, he first thought of sharing the spoils, that is, Liu Jizhen, the head of the horse thief, and no one else could show such "pride".

"I am the descendant of Mao Dun, the descendant of Hu Han Evil Da Shan Yu, and the old master of the prairie!" Liu Jizhen rolled his eyes and solemnly announced to everyone. "That's not an ambition, that's the ancestral training of our Huns for hundreds of years. This is just an inn, and at the foot of the mountain, it is our real home! ”

"Well, Maudun's descendants, aren't they? Brother Liu emphasized it yesterday. "Tuli, Tuli Khan, we remember your name!" "Well, at that time, we will wait for Brother Liu!" The crowd smiled and responded. Seeing that the enemy soldiers were numerous and had sharp weapons to help, everyone was still a little nervous. was stirred back and forth by Liu Jizhen, and the tension was swept away.

Xie Yingdeng had something in his heart, his eyes rolled quietly, he patted Liu Jizhen on the shoulder with a smile, and asked half-truthfully: "If Brother Liu gets what he wants in the future, will he lead the troops south like the Turks?" ”

"Of course not!" Liu Jizhen replied very crisply. "Didn't I tell you, Douyu Mountain is our home! What's good about you in the Central Plains? The horses are not tall, and people talk around and around, which always makes people ....... In the middle of his words, he suddenly stopped, smiled, and continued: "If you Central Plains people are still not angry, maybe one day my children and grandchildren will come over to fight some autumn winds." It's not that our descendants of Maudun are not righteous, it's that you yourself are incapable! ”

"You ***, Lao Tzu will throw you down now, and there will be no trouble!" Shi Derui picked up his big fist and slammed it on Liu Jizhen's shoulder. Liu Jizhen dodged while laughing and defended: "Anyway, if you don't fight yourself, you will definitely be robbed." Rather than being robbed by someone else, it is better to cheapen my child. Maybe they'll relent......"

Everyone laughed, and they all understood that Liu Jizhen was just talking about it. At present, the steppe outside the Saiwai, from Suotoushui to the west to the end of the desert, is the territory of the Turks. There are millions of wolf children and wolf grandchildren. And the Huns like Liu Jizhen, who can't even speak the Huns, can't add up to 10,000. With less than 10,000 clansmen, it is simply a fool's dream to recapture Douyu Mountain from the hands of millions of enemies and reproduce the glory of the Xiongnu King.

"If there really is a day, my son will stand on the Great Wall and wait for your son!" Enough laughter, Xie Yingdeng stepped forward, separated Liu Jizhen and Shi Derui, and promised in a low voice.

"That's up to us to see if we're past this hurdle. Can you keep your son! Liu Jizhen also put away his smile and said quietly. He himself knew in his heart that the so-called recapture of Douyu Mountain and the reconstruction of the Huns' tooth tent were just a dream. Since Liu Yuan, the Khan of Tian, led everyone south, the Huns can no longer be called the Huns. They robbed the land of the Han people, robbed the cities of the Han people, occupied the houses of the Han people, and then, they completely lost themselves.

"Almost, be careful, everyone!" Without waiting for Liu Jizhen's sigh to fall, Shi Shi, who had been staring at the enemy's movements, suddenly reminded loudly. Everyone was taken aback, and quickly withdrew their attention and refocused on the Great Wall. I saw a few Persians say a few words, and the huge arms of the catapult fell with a bang, and then made a creaking noise, and slowly arched and arched......

"Ballista, ballista ready, aimed at the two big guys down there. Shoot it over. The German voice suddenly became nervous, and he gave the order hoarsely.

Dozens of black lights immediately flew up from all over the city wall, and rushed straight to the target with the sound of the wind. "It's impossible to shoot!" The experienced heroes sighed at the same time. As they had expected, the fierce mountain wind blew the bolts out of the direction on the way, and most of them missed, and the only one or two hits seemed to tickle the catapult, and had no effect at all.

"Whew!" As if enraged by the volley of crossbow arrows, the catapult's bent arm suddenly snapped straight. The sound of the mountain wind was immediately replaced by another terrible scream, and in the astonished gaze of everyone, a stone the size of a wheel flew up and slammed into the Great Wall.

"Phew!" The earth shakes and the mountains shake. The boulder fell about twenty paces from the city wall and missed, but everyone felt the tremor from under their feet. Several young horse thieves who had never experienced this kind of battle immediately turned pale, and although the soldiers of the Hedong and Boling armies defending the city were neatly organized, they couldn't help but look back at Shi Defang, the main general guarding here, expecting him to find a safe way to deal with it.

On the blood-stained altar, several Persians were unhurried, directing the slaves to slowly adjust the support position of the catapult arm, adjusting some key parts of the catapult and the counterweight of the sand bag, as if they had already won the battle. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the German side ordered someone to reload the ballista with giant arrows, wrap a tarpaulin in front of the arrow shaft, light it and continue to shoot at the catapult. The counterattack had little effect, and the hides wrapped around the catapult mount effectively prevented the destruction of the crossbow arrows. The Turks, who had surrounded the catapults, rushed forward desperately and extinguished the flames with sandbags prepared in advance.

"Whew! - Phew! With a monotonous sound, a second boulder flew into the air, crossed the battlements of the city wall directly above Huanghuahuozi, and fell behind the Great Wall. A shout of terror followed behind the Great Wall. The brothers who stood by there witnessed the destructive power of the boulder up close. An old tree the size of a bucket was hit directly, its tendons were broken and broken, and sawdust from white flowers flew everywhere. The stone blocked by the trunk rolled out a full twenty paces, leaving a deep mark on the ground.

"I'm afraid it's not less than a hundred pounds!" On the city wall, Liu Jizhen and others made judgments worriedly. The first stone projectile was not far away, and a discerning person could deduce its approximate weight from its size and shape. If such a large rock falls from mid-air and hits a person's body, even the strongest man will be smashed into meat sauce. The city wall near Huanghua Huozi was a temporary reconstruction, far less solid than the rest of the area, and the enemy aimed at the weak points and smashed them down day and night, which would definitely smash the city wall into a new gap.

In the midst of the panic, a third boulder arrived. This time, it flew past the city wall, bringing up a cloud of smoke and dust. Immediately after, the fourth and fifth stones flew one after another, the speed was not fast, and the accuracy was not very good, but the power of its blow was indeed worthy of the word "thunderbolt".

The sixth stone hit the city wall, knocking the surface of the wall into a cloud of rubble. Several Hedong soldiers stationed directly above the stone landing point were full of fear, screamed, turned their heads and ran. Lei Yongji, the general who led the team, unceremoniously carried out military law. The blood light reawakened the courage of the soldiers, and the soldiers lay behind the battlements, no longer running around, but the hands holding the weapons began to tremble incessantly.

In one stick of incense, the Turks threw twelve projectiles. The German side returned the opponent's four-round crossbow arrows. The offensive and defensive sides did not achieve anything, but the heroes who watched the battle understood that if everyone still couldn't think of a way to deal with it, the Great Wall would be broken within three days. Not only will the walls near Huanghua Huozi be smashed by the Turks, but if they are beaten passively like this, the morale of the brothers will also plummet.

"Whew!"

"Whew!" When the second round of stone projectiles fell, the Great Wall began to bleed. The three soldiers who couldn't dodge were hit by the boulder, along with the battlements in front of them, and they were shattered before they could snort. Blood trickled down the walls, dazzling. Three other soldiers rushed to the road, and together they pushed the boulder towards the outer edge of the wall, removing the mangled bodies of the robes. Then he clenched the weapon in his hand, his body trembled, but he did not hesitate to crouch in a pool of blood flowing from the robes.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo" The mournful horn sounded, and the wolf rider began the third wave of assault. Under the cover of catapults, their pace was slow and calm. Cloud ladders, wells, rushing cars, turtle shields, and all kinds of siege equipment were pushed forward by the servants one by one, and approached the Great Wall with the footsteps of wolf riders. The bleeding Great Wall began to tremble, and the gate at the bottom of the Yellow Flower Cave also crumbled. But the defenders of the city slowly quieted down, and put their feathered arrows on the bowstring and aimed them at the faces that were getting closer and closer under the wall.

"Put!" The generals shouted orders. Feathered arrows instantly cut off the daylight. The howl of the wind fell on the heads of the Turks with shadows, smashing several gaps in the neat formation. Clouds of blood mist rose in the sunlight and slowly filled the entire valley. In the pale pink mist, the Turks pushed away the corpses of their companions, held their shields aloft and continued on their way. It was as if the devastating shot had never happened, or that they were not afraid of death at all.

"Whew!"

"Whew!" The monotonous sound of stone-throwing continued, taking the lives of the defenders without stopping. Gravel, clods of dirt, and feathered arrows fluttered in the air. The battlements near Huanghua Huozi collapsed one after another, and the red human blood gathered into a river in the blink of an eye. When the dust and smoke from the boulder dissipated slightly, another row of Central Plains soldiers rushed up the city along the road, crouched beside the remains of their companions, and steadily raised their bows.

A few meteors flew into the Turkic ranks with long flaming tails, turning the slowly advancing well into a giant torch. The tribal warriors who pushed the well screamed and fled in all directions. In the midst of the screams, Jing Yan collapsed with a bang, smashing countless dazzling fireballs. Behind the smoke, the warriors regrouped to the singing of the shamans, gathered in high spirits, and happily dispersed into groups, following behind the Turkic elite and pushing another siege vehicle.

The ladder hits the top of the city, and the catapults finally stop ravaging the walls. The monotonous sound of stones falling to the ground was instantly replaced by the sound of shouting and killing. The soldiers of both sides surrounded the top of the ladder and fought in a melee. The lance blade and the saber drew dazzling lightning bolts from time to time in the brilliant sunlight, and where the lightning fell, the blood mist rose. It's not clear who cut down whom, it's not clear who stabbed whom. In the vast red mist, people kept falling from the battle group, falling down the ladder, pulling each other and jumping off the Great Wall.

One of the battlements was seized by the Turks. Following this breakthrough, the wolf rider swarmed up with a horizontal knife. Dozens of Boling soldiers immediately rushed over from the vicinity, and with a wave of their lances, they stabbed all those who had taken the lead in the city. Without waiting for the crowd to cheer at the brief victory, cold arrows rained down from a well near the city wall, turning the unprepared Boling soldiers into hedgehogs.

The bed-to-bed crossbow at the head of the city began to wield its power again, and a huge fireball rose from the ballista and slammed into the well. Smoke rose from the wooden wells, and the archers fled in a hurry. The defenders of the Great Wall bent their bows and arrows, and the approaching enemy shot them like targets. Another archer on the well turned around and began to fire at the defenders as the ballista was loaded, and several of the Boling soldiers, who had not had time to raise their shields, shook and fell limply. More Hedong soldiers rushed forward, picked up bows and arrows from the corpses, and fought back. They soon collapsed too, their bodies covered in black carvings. A new group of Guardians of the Great Wall rushed forward, raising their blood-stained bows.

In this round, the Turkic talents showed their true strength. The previous two costly attacks were merely a test of the defenders. In the narrow valley leading to the wall at the bottom of the Huanghua Huozi, no less than 20,000 people gathered at one time. There are many more wolf riders and tribal warriors lining up in the distant hills, ready to go into battle.

The defenders were so condescending that the Turks had to pay dozens of lives for every step they took to get closer to the Great Wall. At the same time, they also suffered heavy casualties. As time passed, the corpses on the city piled up more and more, and they became thicker and thicker, including the people of Murowei, the Hedong army, and the Boling army, one by one, so that people could not and had no time to separate them. The blood from the Central Plains and the blood from outside the Saiwai flowed together, and they were actually the same bright red and the same dazzling. The flow of blood that gathered into the river stained the entire section of the city wall red, and the eyes of the soldiers on both sides of the city and the city were dyed red.

Red sky, red earth. The Great Wall is bleeding, the mountains and rivers are bleeding, the smoke is billowing and the flames are rising, as if hell has suddenly appeared and occupied the world in an instant. But above the Great Wall, the long lance from the pole stood proudly, and the bright lance pierced the sky.

Note 1: The earliest record of the appearance of catapults is in the late Han Dynasty. According to legend, it was invented by Cao Cao. However, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, there were few records of exerting power. At the turn of the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Mongols re-improved the catapult with the help of the Arabs. Range and power have been greatly improved. It is recorded that it can shoot a stone weighing more than 500 catties out of a mile. This book is apocryphal for the family, and its powerful range is not as good as that of the Mongols' catapults, and far greater than those of the Three Kingdoms.

Note 2: The Kua E clan, a giant clan in Chinese legends, is one of them.

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