Daqin Engineering Corps

Because in their minds, it is more important that the aunt is close and the water source is sufficient. It is not like Loulan where there are sandy mountains everywhere.

This is also the reason why although Loulan and Gushi are close to each other in the north and south, it is only [-] miles from the northern line to Gushi, while it is [-] miles from the south line to Loulan.

It would take 30 days to cover [-] miles at a normal marching speed. If the water replenishment points were destroyed along the way, it would be difficult to cross, let alone capture Loulan.

So Maodun and Xunyun took care of their aunts with peace of mind, thinking about how Qin Jun would fight after they stepped into their encirclement.

In the end, spies came to report that Qin Jun was going on the southern route.

As a result, all of Xun Yun's plans fell through, and while reporting to Mao Dun Shanyu, he urgently dispatched troops to reinforce Loulan.

Xun Yun sent [-] reinforcements.

The reinforcement method it adopts is the relay tactic commonly used in the Central Plains.

That is to say, [-] soldiers and horses were sent from the main force to rush to Gushi, and at the same time, [-] soldiers and horses were sent to Loulan by Gushi.

In this way, the strength of the Gu division has not changed, but the reinforcement time has doubled.

The reason why the Xiongnu came late was because the Xiongnu encountered the same problem as the Qin army: a large number of camels and preparations were needed to go deep into the desert.

Gushi's national strength must not be able to support the 2-strong march of the Huns, so the Huns first had to plunder the surrounding area.

After gathering enough camels and supplies, they hurried to Loulan.

Shen Bing felt that he was relatively lucky, because if the [-] Xiongnu reinforcements arrived in Loulan in time, the comparison of troops would be great.

Thirty thousand of the Xiongnu vs. [-] of the Qin army.

Moreover, the Qin army also traveled long distances and suffered severe water shortages.

The most important thing is that the water shortage will continue.

On the contrary, the Xiongnu occupied the water source and waited for work.

At that time, even if the Qin army has artillery, it will not help.

But it is different now, the Xiongnu reinforcements have not yet arrived, and at the same time four thousand cavalry were sent out of the city.

These four thousand cavalry will not appear around the Qin army for a while... because what they want is surprise, what they want is to put psychological pressure on the Qin army, and what they want is to cooperate with the inside and outside when the Qin army is attacking the city.

If you face the Qin army as soon as you leave the city, there will be no such effect.

So there were only six thousand Huns in the city, and the Huns who were not good at defending the city guarded a city wall that could only be regarded as an earthen wall.

If there is any improvement in this earthen wall, it is that an urn was added to the city gate, beacon towers were added to the four corners of the city, and a large number of trebuchets were placed on the other side of the city wall.

Shen Bing had reason to believe that these layouts were learned by the Xiongnu when they guarded Wuyuan City, because the Loulan people didn't know how to build the city or how to arrange it.

If it was before, it would be really difficult for the Qin army to conquer such an arrangement.

but now……

The Xiongnu must have never imagined that once the Qin army started to attack the city, they would be unable to catch up with the speed at which they took down the city.

4 Chapter Twenty

As soon as Shen Bing waved his hand, Qin Jun stepped forward and surrounded Loulan City according to the prepared plan.

The distribution of troops of the Qin army is as follows: the east side is 4000 people on the front, and the rest are 2000 people on each side.

The deployment of 2000 men on the north, west, and south sides was not to attack the city, but to prevent the enemy from escaping.

It is very simple to do this. The Qin army only needs to set up a good formation two hundred steps away: set up refusal carbine guns in front and deploy pikemen to prevent the enemy cavalry from rushing into the formation, and rows of crossbowmen in the rear , A crossbow arrow was held high and aimed at the city gate.

Loulan City is not big, one wall is only more than 300 meters or more than two hundred steps.

Of course there is only one gate on each side of such a small city wall.

And the city gate is not big... This may be due to the small population of Loulan or the underdeveloped construction technology.

Therefore, it can be said that it is more than enough to block the city gate with two thousand Qin crossbows.

As for the front, it goes without saying.

One thousand artillery soldiers were in the middle, two thousand infantry were lined up on both sides, and the one thousand pu lei army led by Ji was supporting in the rear.

The Xiongnu stationed in Loulan City was the head of the Wanfu of Ersiwei.

As Shen Bing guessed, he had fought against Shen Bing in the Battle of Wuyuan.

However, he was not in the city at that time, but was besieging Shen Bingyi together with Mao Dun Shanyu.

Before the Battle of Wuyuan, Er Siwei always thought that the people of the Central Plains guarding the city was a manifestation of greed for life and fear of death... Most of the Huns thought so, and they also thought that the city was useless because it could only protect the inside of the city of the people.

As for outside the city, the Qin army could only watch helplessly as the Huns burned, killed and looted without help.

However, after the First World War in Wuyuan, Er Siwei changed his mind about the city.

Because Er Siwei couldn't imagine how the Qin army could turn defeat into victory under the absolute disadvantage.

After thinking about it, Er Siwei thought that there was only one reason: the Qin people knew how to attack and defend the city, but the Xiongnu did not.

The consequences of Wuyuan's defeat were disastrous, and the Xiongnu had to withdraw from the entire Hexi.

That's why Er Siwei realized the importance of the city.

The situation in the Western Regions can be said to be between the grasslands and the Central Plains.

It is said to be somewhere in between, because the Western Regions are not like the Central Plains, which is full of mountains and rivers. Occupying an important city can seal off an entire area, and it is not like a grassland where a city cannot seal off any area.

The reason is that although the traffic in the desert area of ​​the Western Regions extends in all directions like the grasslands, it lacks water.

And cities are often built in oases with water.

Therefore, if you want to occupy the water source, you must occupy a certain place for a long time, and you cannot survive anywhere as you fight and run like in the grassland.

Therefore, if the Huns want to enter the Central Plains or the Western Regions, they must learn the tactics of defending and siege.

Eswell is one of them.

He thought he had full confidence in the battle of Loulan.

This is because there are no trees outside the city that can be used to make siege equipment, and these trees have been cut down by the Huns long ago.

The second is because there is no water source outside the city.

The third is because the Xiongnu reinforcements will arrive within two days.

In other words, Qin Jun must take Loulan within two days.

however……

Er Siwei stood at the top of the city and looked back at the mountains of trebuchets in the city. They were made by him during this period of time mobilizing all the labor, including the people of Loulan who were converted into slaves.

Esway can almost imagine what it would be like to launch an attack:

At two hundred paces, the catapult projectiles were fired in pieces, injuring Qin Jun.

The bow and arrow in the hands of the Huns can be effective at a hundred steps.

At the foot of the city wall... that's the time for the Qin army to taste the power of their own "shocking thunder".

And Qin Jun didn't even have a wooden ladder.

Er Siwei couldn't imagine any other way for the Qin army to break through Loulan.

He even thought he could handle it easily without reinforcements.

At this time, Er Siwei saw that Qin Jun launched more than a dozen things... In fact, there were twenty in total, and Er Siwei didn't know how to count them.

These things are somewhat like hollow tree trunks, with the opening facing the city wall, because they are out of the range of the trebuchet, so Er Siwei can only watch the Qin army toss for a while.

"What's that?" Er Siwei asked, suddenly feeling ominous.

Qin Wei replied with a confused face:

"Subordinates don't know."

"I've never seen it before, why don't my subordinates wait to check it out?"

Er Siwei only frowned and shook his head to deny the plan.

He believed that there was no need to investigate at all, and he would find out what they were or what they were used for later.

Er Siwei was right, the artillery of the Qin army on the other side was ready to launch.

Although all the guns were ready to fire, only one of the first guns was fired.

This is what the artillerymen call a "test fire."

The principle is that the cannons are all cast out of mud molds of the same size, so there is not much difference.

The projectiles are also the same size and the same weight... Although Qin Shi's casting technology is backward and cannot be very accurate, it can still control the error within the range of five grams.

The drug pack is the same amount of drug after strict weighing.

Thus, if one cannon hits the wall at a certain angle, the other cannons will almost as well.

"Test firing" can exponentially reduce the risk of the projectile going off target.

Following Shen Bing's order, the gunner lit the fuse.

Then there was only a "boom", and a projectile flew out.

It was obviously higher, and the projectile crossed the city wall and hit something behind it, making a sound of wooden blocks collapsing.

So the rest of the gunners adjusted the muzzle angle down.

While Qin Jun was busy, Er Siwei, who was standing on the top of the city, was taken aback by this scene, and asked again in shock:

"What is that?"

"It's so powerful that it can destroy a trebuchet two hundred steps away!"

It turned out that the projectile just hit the trebuchet inside the city wall.

The trebuchet is equipped with a heavy-duty trebuchet, and the stone bombs are loaded and ready to go.

The solid projectiles fired by the artillery are made of iron, and the impact of flying at high speed is not what the catapult can bear. With a "click", the main beam of the catapult was broken, and the counterweight lost its support and fell heavily. The machine became a pile of waste wood.

The Xiongnu soldiers who were about to operate the trebuchet next to them were naturally smashed and screamed.

But of course, no one could answer Er Siwei's question.

Just as Er Siwei and the guards looked at each other, there was another "boom", and after a cloud of smoke from the opposite side, another projectile flew.

This time the projectile hit the city wall accurately.

Er Siwei also felt it, because there was a dull and powerful vibration from under his feet.

Before Siwei could react, there was a "booming" sound in the direction of Qin Jun.

Then more than a dozen projectiles hit the city wall one after another and were deeply embedded in the earth wall.

If it was said that it was like a horseshoe kicking the city wall fiercely before, then now, thousands of troops and horses are trampling on the city wall.

Er Siwei soon understood what the consequences would be... The city wall was useless.

Chapter 421 City Wall

Amidst the roar of the artillery, the shells hit the Loulan city wall one after another, and the clods of the city wall fell down layer by layer like flour.

Er Siwei and a group of Xiongnu soldiers were dumbfounded.

In fact, the Xiongnu soldiers were frightened and stupid at this moment.

Although they don't have much education, they still understand life and death on the battlefield.

In the current situation, it is obvious that the Qin army's artillery can hit the Huns, but the Huns can only watch helplessly and have no countermeasures.

In particular, many Hun soldiers were still thinking:

Since those cannons can knock down the solid city walls piece by piece, what would happen if they hit people?

Thinking about it this way, the Hun soldiers became chaotic, and some of them ran down the city on horseback with their heads in their hands, trying to escape...

This is normal for the Huns, and it can even be said to be the habit of the Huns. They fight if they can fight, and flee if they can't.

Therefore, the Xiongnu were actually more able to fight with the wind.