"What's wrong with Baihu?"

Seeing him stunned, one of the guards wondered.

Hu Duge turned around and asked, "Have you ever heard footsteps in the distance?" ”

The guard shook his head: "I haven't heard footsteps from my humble position, maybe it's the mountain wind." ”

"I heard it wrong."

Hu Duge couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

In the middle of the night, where did the footsteps come from?

However, the next moment, the smile on his face froze, and he saw a fire dragon faintly appearing at the foot of the mountain, approaching the top of the mountain along the winding and rugged mountain road.

Boom Boom!

The sound of neat footsteps, from far to near, clearly comes into the ears.

After a short period of distraction, Hu Duge shouted: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!" ”

At this time, the guards and the poor Jin Jun also reacted.

Dangdang~

The piercing and rapid sound of the golden gong sounded above the castle tower.

The sleeping Jin Jun was instantly awakened, put on armor one after another, and rushed up to the city tower with weapons in hand.

A Jurchen supervisor hurriedly came to the city tower and asked in a stiff Khitan dialect: "How many enemy troops are there?" ”

Hu Duge stared at the fire dragon moving under the mountain and replied, "I don't know the specifics, it seems that there are thousands of them." ”

"Hahaha!"

The prison soldier suddenly laughed loudly, and said mockingly: "A few thousand people want to attack Yanmen Pass." ”

Hearing this, many Jin Jun lost their nervousness and laughed one after another.

Yes, a few thousand people want to hit Yanmen Pass?

Multiply it by ten times, and you may not be able to hit it.

It is really the terrain of Yanmen Pass that is too dangerous, it is better to attack from the north, but it can be attacked from the south, and it is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

The pass is built on the top of the mountain, and there is only one winding and rugged path, which can accommodate up to ten people to walk side by side, and even the army cannot be opened, and all kinds of siege equipment cannot be used, so they can only set up ladders to attack. Especially the section from the halfway up the mountain to the top of the mountain, the slope is extremely steep.

In this case, it is purely filled with human life.

Since the last battle of Yanmen Pass, it was still during the Taiping Rejuvenation of the Kingdom.

Due to the defeat of the Gaoliang River Cheshen in Hebei, the Liao State invaded southward.

At that time, Yanmen Pass was still in the hands of Zhao Song, and Xiao Duli, the envoy of Datong Mansion in Xijing, Liao, led an army of 100,000 to besiege Yanmen Pass from the north.

And Yang Ye, who guards the pass, is invincible, and his subordinates are only more than 3,000 people.

As a result, the 100,000 troops of the Liao State suffered heavy casualties, and when they retreated, they were also attacked by Yang Ye with more than 1,000 elite soldiers, and beheaded Xiao Duli, the commander of the Liao army.

100,000 troops, and they attacked Yanmen Pass from the relatively gentle north.

It is conceivable how dangerous Yanmen Pass is.

Hu Duge frowned: "Supervising the army, did you send someone to inform the marshal?" ”

Well-known things, there is no reason why Qi Guo should not know.

Sending thousands of people to death in the middle of the night?

When something goes wrong, something must be wrong.

"Not necessarily."

The overseer waved his hand with disdain and said, "When the Qi army is repulsed, I will send someone to report to the marshal tomorrow." ”

Boom Boom!

The sound of uniform footsteps was getting closer and closer, and the Jin Jun on top of the city tower even felt his feet tremble slightly.

"Meet the enemy!"

The Jurchen prison army roared.

For a while, the Jin army on the city tower began to get busy.

Boulders, rolling logs, gold juice, and stacks of arrows were carried down the cave to the tower.

Dozens of three-bow bed crossbows were drawn to the bridle, and the shafts of arrows as thick as spears were placed and aimed downward.

However, the fire dragon on the winding path suddenly stopped when it reached the halfway point of the mountain.

Seeing this, the uneasiness in Hu Duge's heart became more and more intense.

……

"Artillery battalion ready!"

With an order, eighteen brass-poured siege guns were erected on a relatively flat slope.

The gunners of the artillery battalion are intensively inspecting the artillery, adjusting the angles and ballistics.

After the adjustment is completed, the reloading of gunpowder and shells begins.

Han Zhen was guarded in the formation, looking at the Yanmen Pass on the top of the mountain.

"Your Majesty, the artillery battalion is ready!"

"Ready to camp first!"

Listening to the roar in his ears, Han Zhen ordered: "Open the cannon, attack the village!" ”

Snort!

The lead flashed with sparks, all the way down.

The next moment, eighteen deafening loud noises rang out one after another.

The brass poured siege cannon has a larger caliber, greater power and range than the original siege gun.

Boom Boom!

More than half of the eighteen shells were missed, and only two of the remaining nine shells hit the city tower accurately, and the rest were smashed on the city wall.

The gunners immediately began to readjust the angle and trajectory.

But even so, a round of artillery bombardment also caused a great shock to the Jin army defending the city.

The prison soldier looked at the dozen or so Jin soldiers lying in a pool of blood, their flesh and blood blurred, and their faces were full of horror.

The Jurchens are naturally tough, and they are all fierce and not afraid of death when they go to battle.

But the scene in front of him was too weird, only to hear a loud thunderous sound from the mountainside, and then the city tower shook for a while, and dozens of Jin soldiers died.

However, Han Zhen did not give them a chance to breathe.

When the main gunners had readjusted their ballistics, a second round of shelling hit.

Boom Boom!

Half of this round of shelling hit the towers.

Then came the third round.

A gunner said with a smile: "It's still easy to use the new cannon, which is like the previous wooden lumps, you have to rest for a while after two shots, and it is more difficult to serve than my mother-in-law." ”

The gunner pouted and said, "Don't give a damn look, what is this new cannon made of, real brass!" ”

"Yes."

The gunner nodded approvingly.

In these years, copper can be used directly as money, and a copper ingot can be consumed.

However, no one will be stupid enough to consume copper directly, and there is a high probability that they will be pitted.

While talking and laughing, the fourth round of salvos began.

At this moment, the city tower of Yanmen Pass has been turned into a Shura field, and stumps and broken arms can be seen everywhere, and blood mixed with minced meat is splashing everywhere.

After four rounds of salvos, there were less than 300 people left, hiding in the corridor and shivering.

The rest were either killed on the spot or fell to the ground with serious injuries.

Under artillery shelling, there were no minor injuries to speak of.

When the artillery battalion began to fill the shells and prepare for the fifth salvo, Han Zhen gave an order: "Go to the camp first and seize the pass!" ”

"Wansheng !!"

The three thousand soldiers who first ascended the camp raised their heads to the sky and roared, rushing towards the top of the mountain.

rushed all the way to the bottom of the tower, and did not encounter the slightest resistance the whole time.

A series of ladders were erected on the city wall, and the soldiers who first climbed the camp rushed to climb the ladders, vying to be the first to climb the city wall.

Although since the advent of siege artillery, the gold content of the first to seize the city has been greatly reduced, but no matter what, it is also the first to ascend, in addition to the reward, there are also nine military merits.

In other words, as long as you pass the cultural class, the lowest is the head.

The head of the capital is already a sequence of low-level officers.

After ascending the tower, they immediately formed a military formation, with the shield men in front and the gunners behind.

Looking at the swarthy corridor, a few lit firearms were thrown in.

Boom!

After a few explosions, the soldiers who had arrived in the camp immediately took cover and killed.

Halfway up the mountain, He Guan, who witnessed the whole process, had mixed feelings.

He had been at the border pass, so he knew how difficult it was to attack.

Today, however, that has changed.

With a few rounds of artillery bombardment, it was possible to easily seize the pass, and it did not even take a quarter of an hour before and after, which was completely unthinkable in the past.

He Guan muttered to himself: "With artillery, do you still need our generals in the future?" ”

"As a general, both ancient and modern are indispensable."

At this time, Han Zhen's voice sounded in his ears: "No artillery is one way to fight, and having artillery is another way to fight." The times are changing, and the generals also need to keep pace with the times, and the Tang Dynasty resisted the Turkic cavalry charge, mainly relying on the Mo sword formation. But now, the cavalry is still crisscrossing the battlefield, and where is the Mo knife? ”

"Artillery is not omnipotent, and if it can't be used in the rain, you still have to fight with real guns. So, don't be presumptuous. ”

Tactics will only change, but they will never disappear.

"Your Majesty is a fine word, and the last general has been taught."

He Guan clasped his fists and saluted.

A herald hurriedly walked over: "Your Majesty, Yanmen Pass has been captured, and the Jin army defending the city has been slaughtered." ”

Han Zhen said loudly: "Out of the customs, Northern Expedition!" ”

Just four words made He Guan and the soldiers enthusiastic.

At this moment, the Yanmen Pass has become dilapidated under the indiscriminate bombardment of siege artillery.

Especially the castle tower above, with the only three remaining wooden pillars and the broken walls, struggled to withstand the crumbling castle tower.

Standing at the foot of the city, Han Zhen ordered: "Let the craftsmen and people in the army rush to repair the city tower as soon as possible, and leave a thousand soldiers behind." ”

(End of chapter)

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