Daqin: Zulong's Traveling Frog

Chapter 85 Siege
In the 12th year of Qin Wangzheng, spring.

Qin general Wang Jian lured the enemy into deep, and led Hu Zhe to the north bank of the Zhang River Basin. Wang Jian ordered the drummer to beat the war drum. He fought and retreated, and soon retreated to Wuguan City.

Hu Zhe's army lost [-]%, and its morale suffered a severe setback.

Outside the city of Wuguan, the Qin army was densely packed, but the army was strictly disciplined, lined up neatly, and the drummers, crossbowmen, and flag bearers were clearly organized, which made the Guanzhong defenders dumbfounded.

But defending a city is far easier than besieging it.

Even if Hu Zhe lost nearly half of it, it was more than enough to hold the city.

It's not like in the Spring and Autumn Period, when the nobles set up their positions, and the two armies charged at the sound of war drums, fighting to the death and fighting to the death.

Most of the gentlemen's wars are born in field battles, so siege battles are rarely found in classics.

But in the Warring States period, soldiers would rather defend the city than go out to fight in the field.

Siege is one thing military strategists have to face!
During the Warring States period, the population density was low and the land development technology was backward, which led to the concentration of the population near the main cities.

Coupled with limited traffic conditions, there is often only one post road connecting the cities.

As a result, the army can only pull out points and push flatly, but cannot bypass the city and carry out leapfrog combat.

Therefore, if the Qin army did not break through Wucheng, it would not be able to break through the land of Pingyang and approach Handan.

In Sun Tzu's art of war, the first step is to attack the enemy with troops, then the second step is to attack the enemy, the third step is to attack the enemy, and the third step is to attack the city.

Because defending the city requires five times as many troops to fight against the enemy and spy on the enemy's intelligence, only to be able to break through the city tower

Even attacking the city tower, there will be street fighting with the recalcitrant forces in the city. Only after the guerrilla blockade is successful can victory be won.

Wucheng has a geographical advantage, with the north and south relying on the tall and handsome mountains, with two gates in the east and west.

And siege, of course, cannot do without ordnance, such as building vehicles, siege vehicles, catapults, and ladders.

The tower cart is as high as the city, with wooden wheels underneath. When pushed to the edge of the city, it is like building a bridge, and the attackers can jump directly from the tower cart to the top of the city.

But this thing is too bulky, and it is easy to be thrown by the catapults in the city. If it is attacked by fire, it will suffer heavy losses.

As for the siege vehicle, it was suspended on a beam by a large wooden stake, and the four wooden wheels below were pushed by a village [about 50 people].

But if the front is bumpy, it will be easy to move forward. After the rolling logs and stones on the tower come down, it is easy to smash the siege engine.

It would be okay if the number of people in the city was small, but the east and west gates were no less than [-]. If wood, stone and arrows came down, the siege engines would be useless.

That being the case, the catapult plays a major role!

I saw four or five people pulling the raft, turning the gears, the standard-bearer waving the military flag, a strong man raised his fist, and there was a crisp cracking sound. Dozens of boulders weighing [-] jin were fired like arrows raining from the sky.

On the city tower, Hu Zhe ordered the guards to raise their shields, but the shield bearers still couldn't stop the fierce attack of the catapults. They were knocked back ten steps by the heavy stones, and died of vomiting blood. Dozens of shield bearers all fell down.

The catapult charged again and launched five rounds of attacks in a row. Wuguan City was riddled with holes, and all the soldiers in the city fell down.

In addition to the siege vehicles, there are ladders.

The ladder has wheels and can be driven. It is equipped with anti-shield, winch, grapple and other appliances, and it is jointly pushed by 30 people.

Ten people held shields for cover, ten people were responsible for filling the ravine, and ten people pushed the ladder. When the ladder came to the bottom of the city tower, 30 people cooperated with each other to grab the ladder tightly and stick it to the wall.

Immediately afterwards, a group of heavy armored infantrymen wearing heavy armor and holding short soldiers rushed through the rain of swords all over the sky, came to the city gate, climbed up the bamboo ladder to the top of the city, and seized the city first.

Of course, Wang Jian and General Huanju, who were in charge of the siege, would also use some tricks, such as covering the opponent's whereabouts with thick smoke and confusing the enemy with drums.

After the army rushed out of the billowing smoke, the drummer quickly changed the rhythm of the drum, from a slow pace drum to a hasty rush drum.

All the soldiers rushed to the gate of the city and climbed up the ladder, but the rolling logs and stones of the guards followed one after another. The climbing soldiers were hit by the stones and fell to the ground, almost dying.

Some soldiers climbed up the tower, but were quickly stabbed to death by chaotic swords, and were still thrown down the tower.

After half an hour of siege operations, the Qin army still did not make much breakthrough.

It has to be said that Hu Zhe's ability to defend the city was good, and after an hour, the Qin army blew the drums and retreated.

Although the enemy was lured deep and gave Hu Zhe a severe blow, the Qin army also suffered heavy losses when they attacked the city.

Wang Jian and Huan Ju frowned, and couldn't help thinking about how to lure Hu Zhe out of the city.

It's a pity that who will fight the Qin army in the field if they can defend the city?
Wang Jian and Huanju had no choice but to choose another time to attack the city again, and the two armies were at a stalemate.

Zhangtai Palace.

After Qin Wangzheng learned that Qin and Zhao were both defeated, his brows were furrowed, and a trace of hostility flashed in his eyes.

However, Qin Wangzheng was not punished for this, and the impeachment of Qin Wangzheng by hundreds of officials was ignored.

Lord Changwen and Lord Changping are also collecting food and grass for the Qin army to supplement logistics.

While Qin and Zhao were busy, Wei and Chu were not idle either, and even had a great battle.

The State of Wei had surrendered to the State of Qin. At the same time, Qin Wangzheng also wanted to teach the State of Chu a lesson, so he ordered Xin Wu to mobilize soldiers from the four counties to assist the State of Wei.

Wei Wangzeng was overjoyed when he learned of Qin's assistance, and he went all out to compete with the Xiang family of Chu.

However, the Xiang family was brave and good at fighting, and it was difficult for the Qin and Wei armies to win, so they hastily withdrew their troops, and the game between the two armies ended.

Perhaps it was God's will, Qin Jun didn't even drop a drop of rain in the scorching summer.

There was a severe drought in Guanzhong. Fortunately, the Zhengguo Canal had accumulated enough water to irrigate the farmland and survive the crisis.

However, there are unavoidable rumors in the Guanzhong area, saying that the severe drought in Guanzhong is God's will, and the Qin Wangzheng is self-willed, intending to pacify the six countries, so that the people of the world will not hesitate to fight each other, and fall into dire straits.

The severe drought in the world is God's retribution for Qin Wangzheng.

Rumors and rumors gradually spread to Zhangtai Palace, Qin Wangzheng quickly issued an edict to stop the rumors, and ordered Heibingtai to inquire about the identity of the rumors, those who can be convicted with evidence, go to Tingwei Mansion, and accept legal sanctions, and those who cannot be convicted , handed over to the assassin, secretly shot.

Of course, Qin Wangzheng also specially issued an edict: "The lonely king fulfilled the long-cherished wish of the former king to unify the world in accordance with the destiny, so that the people of the world will not suffer from the suffering of war, so that their families will not be destroyed and they will not be displaced."

"Qin's unification of the world is the general trend, and no country or organization can stop it!"

"The warriors of the Great Qin used to assist the lonely king, so that the heaven and earth will be unified and the nine states will be unified!"

As soon as the edict came out, the people in Guanzhong were grateful to Qin Wangzheng.

It's a pity that the royal families and nobles of the six kingdoms in Shandong were in a state of confusion. They panicked at the thought of King Qin's political leaders unifying the six kingdoms, and even threatened to carry out another alliance of the six kingdoms.

It is a pity that the two countries of Han and Wei have surrendered and are unable to fight again. Qi State turned against Qin State, Yan State was rescued by Qin State, and Zhao State was in danger.
(End of this chapter)