On the third day of the attack on Yecheng, Cao's army was already able to cross the small section of the moat that had been successfully filled and forced directly into the city. According to Cao Hong's plan, it was necessary to use the "hole" to break the city wall.

The so-called "hole" is to dig a hole under the city wall, and then light firewood in an attempt to burn the wall and collapse it - this trick is still very useful for ancient rammed earth walls. Of course, the soldiers gathered under the city to dig the earth, that is a natural target, the city to use arrows, one arrow at a time, if you use the wheel to cover it, the arrow can be used to clear the arrow, but unfortunately can not stop the rolling wood and stones.

Liu Ye Liu Ziyang after repeated thinking, finally created a few large brackets, reinforced brackets, covered with three layers of raw cowhide, are tightly covered, once tried to stand on the arrow tower to look down the throwing stone, waiting for two people to hold the big stone, basically ten hit, can bounce open nine, the remaining one is only discounted three brackets, the big bracket is equipped with craftsmen, repair at any time, the risk factor is minimized.

However, such a big piece of iron, with a lot of materials, is also more difficult to manufacture, and only four of them were made in a hurry. Cao Hong scattered these four big knives and attacked the city wall in four places to distract the defenders. At the same time, several ladders were erected around each of the big chauffles, pretending to be ants attacking the city to contain the power of the city.

Naturally, the deterrent effect of the distant catapult is also indispensable.

However, Seonghoon doesn't have too high expectations for the cave attack. It is very difficult to dig a hole under the city wall, and only in ancient books such as "Mozi", there are many ways to crack it, and I believe that the trial will not be unaware; Second, Yecheng is large enough, and the materials and soldiers in the city are enough to block it in time after the collapse of a small section of the city wall, and it is not so easy to break into the city.

Of course. This is only the third day of the attack, as a means of trying, there is nothing wrong with the cave attack, at least compared to the ant, the number of casualties that may be caused is greatly reduced.

Originally, it was planned to attack at the same time as the ants attached to the burrow. Then divide a group of troops and horses to try to storm the city gate - anyway, Cao's army is large enough to attack at multiple points, forcing the city to move troops frequently, and finally it is exhausted. It's a pity that Liu Ye hasn't been able to create a suitable crash - on the one hand, the main energy of the past few days has been spent on big and small rams, and he can't spare manpower; On the other hand. The Yuan family has cut down all the big trees around Yecheng, and if they want to find a large enough collision wood, they have to run dozens of miles away, so they can't get the materials.

However, it was Xun himself who had the strength of the defenders. Today, he only left Guo Huai and ten stone-throwing carts to assist Cao Hong, and he was with Zhuge Liang. With the remaining twenty stone-throwing vehicles, he rushed to Zhang He's army on the north side of the east gate of Yecheng. Zhang He and Zhang Junyi are generals, for fear that Cao Cao will be suspicious, so he put his posture very low in front of Shi Xun, and Shi Xun also wants to take this opportunity to win over this famous general, so under the conversation between the two, it seems to be quite a deed on the surface.

It was after Xun drove the stone-throwing truck in front of Zhang He's array. Zhuge Liang urged the soldiers to load the newly made projectile - it was no longer a stone bullet, the cost of that thing was high, and the quantity was small, so it was really not enough, but the mud bullet that Zhuge Liang had newly produced.

Yesterday, Zhuge Liang said that since the stone bullet is not enough, why not use mud to burn it to make it hard, as a substitute? Of course, there are no brick kilns or pottery kilns. It's just a simple burn dry, the hardness of the mud bomb is greatly reduced, and it is quite brittle, but it should be enough to smash the sheep and horse wall that is already thick and thick. Most importantly. This thing is cheap, it's easy to make, you don't need a special craftsman, you can just find some small soldiers to do it.

However, after trial and error, it is not easy to dig out a round enough mud ball the size of a stone bullet, and the little soldier who does not have a little talent for clay sculpture really can't play it. In the end, it is Xun clapper, reducing the volume, ten fingers facing each other, and holding the size of the mud ball with both hands, it should not be difficult to do.

So now, in the leather pocket, four hard mud bombs of this size are placed at a time, aiming at the sheep and horse wall opposite, and then try to throw a round first. Shi Xun stood on the watchtower that had just been erected in front of the battle, stretched his neck to take a closer look—this would be convenient if he had a telescope—and saw that seventy percent of the mud bombs fell into the moat, and two percent of the mud bombs crossed the sheep and horse wall, and only one percent (that is, two) barely hit.

Think about it, too, the weight and size of the ammunition have changed, and the four bullets are all in unison, and the trajectory may change due to collisions, and the accuracy will inevitably plummet.

However, the effect of these two mud bombs seems to be good, one is directly wedged into the sheep and horse wall, it can be seen that it is not difficult to penetrate, wear a few more, it will inevitably collapse, and the other is smashed on the wall, fragments splashed out, and the two Yuan soldiers behind the wall fell in response.

What are you almost afraid of? We can make up for accuracy with quantity. And it was Xun who noticed that this round of shooting, the overwhelming eighty mud bombs roared away, in terms of visual effects, it was more amazing than the thirty stone bullets in the round the day before yesterday, and before they could get closer, the Yuan soldiers behind the sheep and horse wall shrank back one after another, or squatted down - this suppression effect of covering the attack looks quite good.

So he took care of the little soldier beside him, and asked him to go downstairs to give Zhuge Liang an order: Don't stop, hit me repeatedly until the mud bomb is exhausted - he used a lot of soldiers, and asked Xu Yu to borrow some guards, and built dozens of carts of mud to pop out, and it was enough to fight for a while.

And Shi Xun is still pondering, since seventy percent of the mud bombs have fallen into the trench, can we fill the trench while we can? Ordered the soldiers to also inform Zhuge Liang of this matter, and it was up to him to choose.

Hula smashed through several rounds of mud bombs, and the sheep and horse walls were full of holes, and Yuan Bing also cut down more than a dozen. Shi Xun occasionally lowered his head, and saw Zhuge Liang squatting on the ground, pinching a branch and gesturing on the ground, probably calculating the trajectory of the parabola. After a few more rounds, Yuan Bing couldn't bear it anymore, so they retreated to the sheep and horse wall and retreated back to the city. It's Xun Xin who said okay, I'll continue to work hard tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and then I'll finish all the sheep and horse walls in the south of the city.

As soon as he saw the withdrawal of Yuan's army, Zhuge Liang immediately ordered the ammunition to be replaced - he directly loaded the soil bags that were ready to be used to fill the trenches onto the stone-throwing truck, and beat them out one by one. However, only half of the bags were filled with stone-throwing carts, and the remaining half were converted into gunpowder balls, which were used to light the small wooden houses at the head of the city, forcing the defenders to also set up straw curtains on this section of the wall. Then change the mud bomb to shoot, but unfortunately the hardness of the mud bomb is limited. With a straw curtain to cover it, it is difficult to cause damage to the small wooden house.

Yuan's army could not bear the pressure of long-range fire, and soon a secret door opened, and a column of cavalry rushed out, heading straight for the stone-throwing cart. Shixun hurriedly went down the watchtower. Get on your horse and get ready for battle. Fortunately, he didn't need to confront the enemy, Zhang He personally led his troops to rush over to protect, and soon repelled Yuan's army.

It was just after noon, and many parts of this section of the moat had been filled. Zhuge Liang ordered the attack to be suspended, and ran over to report to Shixun and said: "It's too dense, I'm afraid it won't last." and when they are brought back to the camp, they shall be repaired. "Yeshun understood what he meant, these catapults had never been fired so consistently and frequently, and I was afraid that if they continued to fight, they would fall apart—or not, it had been quite fruitful today, so let's stop here.

Cao Hong's side. On this day, no work was done, and the hole was only two feet deep, but four ladders and three large ladders were destroyed. Moreover, at night, the defenders secretly descended the city and filled several caves with water, making it difficult to continue in a short time. In the next two days, Cao Hong had to change places to dig a hole again, and at the same time, Liu Ye made a crash. Under the command of Han Hao, he stormed the city gate, but in the end, he also returned.

Shi Xun used these two days to destroy the sheep and horse wall in the south of the city, drove Yuan Bing back to the city, and filled in the moat. But he then came to Cao Cao and said no, the stone-throwing cart had already been damaged by two, and I had to disassemble them one by one to overhaul them, and probably have to replace a lot of parts, and only a small amount could be discharged in the next few days to intimidate the city. You can't use it wildly regardless of wear and tear anymore.

Cao Cao didn't show a disappointed expression - today's stone-throwing cart passed by Xun...... In fact, to be precise, after the improvement of Guo Huai and the craftsmen, its sturdiness and durability have been much stronger than the prototype he used in Guandu, if it is a prototype, it is estimated that more than half of it will be destroyed on the third day - he nodded at Shixun. Then he looked around the people in the tent:

"The four-day trial attack, you can see the trial and defend the law, the materials in the city are complete, if you try again, it will take time in vain. The Ming Dynasty rested for one day, and the day after tomorrow combined forces to attack - Zilian, Gongming east of the city, Miaocai, Zike (Lu Qian) south of the city ......"

As he spoke, he looked at Shixun again: "Hongfu can divide the chariots into four teams, three each, to cover and attack." ”

It was Xun and the others who bowed down to receive the order. Chen Qun reminded: "I just tried to attack before, and the army did not move, so Yuan Shao did not dare to move." If the city is attacked the day after tomorrow, I am afraid that Yuan Shao will take the opportunity to attack, so please take precautions as soon as possible. "Cao Cao said don't worry, I will make arrangements.

So on the day of the general attack, Cao's army lined up more than a dozen teams of soldiers and horses on the east and south sides of Yecheng, each team of 500 people, all pushing various equipment such as chariots, ladders, rushing cars, and crashing cars, and rushed up in turn to storm Yecheng. Shi Xun completely entrusted the catapult to Guo Huai and Zhuge Liang to command, and he himself rode a horse to follow Cao Cao's side. Cao Cao's location is in the south of the city, and he can respond to Yuan Shao's attack at any time.

Sure enough, the battle lasted until noon, and there was no major progress, and Xiahou Lian sent a fast horse to report: "Yuan's army has moved." Yuan Shao personally led the main force, directly crossed the Zhangshui to attack Xiahou Lian and Gao Lan, and the two generals followed Cao Cao's instructions to first tightly seal the ferry, but seeing that the enemy was very strong and difficult to stop, they preserved their strength, and fought and retreated, and at the same time sent people to Cao Cao to send a letter. Cao Cao asked, "Who is the enemy vanguard?" The messenger replied, "Zhonglang will be Wang Mo." ”

What, King Demon? Shixun couldn't help but feel a little funny, I don't know if Yang Sen, Gao Youqian, and Li Xingba have arrived? In the "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms", only this Wang Mo was recorded, and Shixun didn't remember it at all.

Cao Cao sneered: "Self-defeating Yan Liang, Wen Chou, descending Zhang He, Gao Lan, Hebei is useless?" And he made the shaft unto me. Pointing to the lieutenant Yu Ban beside him: "Wen can go to the enemy." Yu Ban received the order and led the troops and horses of his headquarters to gallop west.

Shi Xun asked: "Yu Wen is deep and resolute, in the chaos can be rectified, and he should oversee the army to defend the camp, how to make it move forward?" Although it is enough to be Wang Moye, but Yuan Shao's army is behind, I am afraid that it will be deadlocked, which is slightly unfavorable. Cao Cao looked up to the sky and laughed: "I have my own plan, Hongfu don't worry!" ”

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