Chapter 377: Attack and Defense

The two brothers, Liu Yuanzhen and Liu Yuanli, led their men to launch wave after wave of onslaught attacks on the Perak military camp. Although Niu Lin and Liu Heima have always had a gap, they are the same in the goal of winning. There were thousands of people in the Perak army camp, and Liu Wuzhen alone obviously could not attack it, so Niu Ling handed over more than 2,000 Mongol and Han troops under his command to Liu Yuanzhen, bringing his strength to 3,000.

Of course, it was not only the Mongol and Han armies that attacked the Perak army camp, but also the new annexed army and a large number of people. The demoralized new annexes could only feint to pin down the defenders, while the Minfu assisted in pushing and carrying siege weapons. The Mongols had learned in many battles with the Perak that siege equipment that had been painstakingly built would be easily destroyed by artillery. The artillery in the barracks had long since ceased firing, and it seemed that the ammunition had run out.

Most of the soldiers of the Mongolian Han army are Han Chinese, Khitan and Jin people in the north, and they are generally taller than the soldiers in the south. In addition, the grain and grass are abundant and well-equipped, so the combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the new annexed army, and it is the strongest infantry combat power in the Mongolian army.

Liu Yuanzhen was familiar with military books, and since he was a child, he followed his father Liu Heima to fight in all directions, and he was proficient in martial arts and strategies, and was quite prestigious among the Mongolian and Han armies in Sichuan. Liu Cheng sent people to ask for surrender, and everyone in the Mongolian army said that Liu Cheng surrendered, and with the support of Liu Heima, he took the risk to enter the Divine Arm City, which shows his courage.

Under the command of Liu Yuanzhen, the Mongolian Han army lined up neatly and marched out of Fushun City, slowly marched towards the Perak military camp, and stopped when it advanced to two miles in front of the camp. With the passage of time, the situation became more and more unfavorable for the Mongol army, and the advance of the naval army led by Zan Wan had reached twenty miles outside the city of Fushun, but it was temporarily unable to advance due to the water barrier. Once the Thunderbolt army arrived, it was impossible for the Mongolian army to eat the Thunderbolt army under Fushun City. You must know that there is a world of difference between the combat power of the Thunderbolt troops with artillery and those without artillery. It's just that Liu Yuanzhen also knew that if he wanted to hurry, he didn't order an immediate attack, but ordered his subordinates to recuperate quietly.

In the early stages of the attack, the new annexes dug a number of trenches that led directly to the camp, which greatly weakened the power of the Thunderbolt firearms. But there was still more than ten meters of open space between the trench and the barracks, and it was this clearing that became the death zone for the soldiers of the new annexed army. Although the mines had been removed, and most of the triangular nails had been trampled into the mud, the man-high earthen wall was still impassable. In fact, most of the new annex soldiers were killed or wounded by musket bullets as they rushed to the earthen wall, and from spears stabbed through the wall as they climbed.

Liu Yuanzhen knew that if he didn't flatten this earthen wall, even if his men were brave and good at fighting, it would be extremely difficult to attack the camp, so he was waiting for the arrival of siege equipment. Just behind the Mongol Han army array, a large group of new annex soldiers and people pushing siege equipment were rushing in a hurry.

The Mongol Han army escorted the new annexed army and the people to a small half mile in front of the camp, and began to assemble and erect catapults, ballistae, shield wagons, and siege vehicles. Hou Xing was also anxious when he saw this formation, and urgently ordered all the remaining dozens of shells to be moved out and prepared to be used to destroy the enemy's siege equipment. It's just that Liu Yuanzhen brought more than 100 siege equipment, large and small, even if a single shell destroys a siege equipment, it can only destroy dozens of siege equipment, and the rest is enough to destroy the barracks earthen wall, and even cause heavy casualties to the soldiers near the barracks earthen wall. Moreover, even if the distance is only about half a mile, the hit rate of the Thunderbolt artillery will not exceed 50 percent.

In the face of the grim situation, Hou Xing was anxious but there was no better way. Although the musket had sufficient ammunition, its effective range was only more than 100 meters, and it could not hit a distance of half a mile. Even if it can hit a bullet, it is weak and weak, and it will not cause damage to the human body at all, let alone destroy siege equipment. It was even more impossible to rush out and destroy the siege equipment, and the Mongol and Han soldiers had already formed an iron barrel formation around the perimeter, with heavy spearmen in the front row and a dense crossbowmen in the back.

Although the proportion of crossbowmen in the Mongol Han army was not as good as that of the Song army, the proportion was still more than forty percent. These strong bows pose a serious threat to the Thunderbolt soldiers, who have a low armor rate. In fact, the Mongol Han army was not the biggest threat to the Thunderbolt raid, but the Mongol cavalry that was eyeing the siege machine from a distance was, turning the destruction of siege engines into a suicidal raid.

Hou Xing took advantage of the fact that the Mongolian army was assembling siege equipment, and fired out all the remaining dozens of shells. These remaining shells only destroyed more than 20 siege weapons, but they killed and wounded 300 Mongolian soldiers and delayed the Mongolian army's preparations for attack.

Taking advantage of the confusion of the enemy, Hou Xing hurriedly ordered the artillery deployed in the front line to be dragged to the center of the barracks. These iron babies are very expensive, they are the core assets of the infantry brigade, and they cannot be lost, although they are not used at the moment, but they are still a top priority. In addition to the transfer of artillery, Hou Xing greatly reduced the guard of the outermost earthen wall, moving it behind the second and third earthen walls to avoid being hit by the fire of the Mongol siege weapons.

Hou Xing's prediction was correct. After a brief period of panic, the Mongol army regrouped and quickly assembled the siege equipment. More than 100 siege machines threatened the masonry walls, not to mention the temporary earthen walls made of earth. Due to the distance, the Mongol trebuchets did not shoot boulders the size of millstones, but stones the size of human heads. Rao was like this, and the earthen wall of the camp could not withstand the blows of these stones flying in the wind, and began to collapse in stages, and many Thunderbolt troops hiding behind the wall were buried.

Although the Mongol army's bed crossbow could not penetrate the earthen wall, it posed a great threat to the Thunderbolt army in the center of the camp because of its long range. Powerful crossbow arrows often pierced through thick shields before striking soldiers hiding behind, and one of them even destroyed a small cannon with its great potential.

Seeing that the trebuchet and ballista were effective, and seeing that the Thunderbolt army did not open fire, Liu Yuanzhen was overjoyed, and immediately ordered the shield cart and the siege cart to drive towards the gap that was smashed open. The shield wagons could block musket bullets fired by the Peraks, while the siege carts could tear down earthen walls, widening the gap in the fort and allowing more Mongolian soldiers to pour in. Liu Yuanzhen was extremely confident that his men would win in the hand-to-hand encounter, believing that he would win a hearty victory just by rushing in.

As he had expected, under the cover of the powerful fire of trebuchets and ballistas, a large number of Mongol troops followed behind the shield wagons and occupied the first earthen wall without much resistance. However, when they occupied the first earthen wall, they were shocked to find that there was a deep and wide trench in front of them, which was impossible to overcome without tools. What's worse is that behind this trench, there is another earthen wall, although it is not as wide as the first earthen wall, but it cannot be climbed steeply.