Fenghou

As soon as he finished speaking, a wolf-toothed arrow 'whoosh! The shot came from the ground, extremely fast, and the arrow hit Cao Li in the back of the neck. Cao Li groaned and fell headlong.

The shooter was Liu Cui. He took the lead and saw Cao Li who was waving and shouting. He didn't know that the opponent was the general.

The cavalry of the Song army split up in front of the luggage, one left and one right, they were full of kerosene in their hands, they sprayed it while galloping, sprayed all the kerosene on the luggage, and threw it away after spraying the kerosene Flatten the bag, gallop on the horse, and leave quickly to the west.

Five hundred cavalrymen galloped past both sides of the luggage like two long snakes, nonstop throwing kerosene, sulfur and gunpowder into the luggage, and finally a dozen cavalrymen threw torches into the luggage, painted The heavy wagon full of kerosene' Boom! 'With a sound, it burned rapidly.

It took only 3 minutes from the beginning to the end, which was extremely short, and the three thousand soldiers of the Xixia Army were still in chaos, looking for horses, weapons, and their own team. A large area of ​​luggage has been engulfed by raging fire.

……

It was finally bright, and Liu Cui led his men back to the camp of the Xixia Army. The Xixia soldiers and coachmen had all retreated to Baochuan County.

Their main general was shot, the fire in the luggage was too great, there was no water source, and they could not rescue them. They did not know how many Song troops were around.

The open fire of the luggage has been extinguished, and it is still smoking. Most of it has been burned into coke, and only some parts in the middle have not been burned by the fire.

Soldiers of the Song Army dragged away several burned carts to open a passage, and the soldiers pulled out the unburned parts with ropes.

It turned out to be a few big guys, an extremely thick battering ram, about five feet long, at least made of a tree that is hundreds of years old, and iron chains around it, but the pointed part of the battering ram It has been burned to charcoal, but the body of the hammer is intact.

"Saw the hammer into three sections!"

Liu Cui gave an order, and the soldiers immediately got busy looking for the saw.

"Commander, take a look at this!" A captain shouted in the distance.

Liu Cui urged to go forward immediately, and saw a dozen soldiers holding out an extremely long wooden pole. The wooden pole was at least seven feet long, which was equivalent to the height of a seven-story building. The thickest part was thicker than a thigh, and the thinnest part was more than up the arm.

This wooden pole was held down by the battering ram, it was not burned, and it was perfectly preserved.

"What could this be?" Liu Cui asked in surprise.

An older man with more experience stepped forward to look carefully for a moment and said, "Commander, this should be the throwing pole of the trebuchet!"

Liu Cui was taken aback. The longest pole thrown by the trebuchet was only five feet long!How could there be a throwing pole seven feet long?

"It must be a trebuchet!"

Dutou pointed to a charred remains next to him and said, "Just look at this!"

Liu Cui saw the main body of the burned trebuchet next to it. It was a super-giant trebuchet with a height of three feet. This is the largest trebuchet so far.

There were three such trebuchets, all of which were burned down, leaving only one throwing pole intact.

Everyone looked at Liu Cui, Liu Cui thought for a while and said, "Take the iron chain of the battering ram and this throwing pole with you, and then find a good cart, and light the other spare parts that haven't been burned. burn!"

The battering ram was sawed into three pieces, and the fire ignited again. Liu Cui led the crowd around a large cart, turned around and headed towards Yelanggou...

Chapter 222 Regret

On Crescent Hill, a few miles south of Ganquan Fort, more than a dozen Jurchen spies observed the movement of the Song Army and the Xixia Army on the top of the mountain. They have stayed here since the Xixia people attacked Ganquan Fort, recording the daily situation, including Attack of the night.

Then the next morning, they sent the eagle letter to Jingzhao City. They brought thirteen letter eagles. On the tenth day, someone would send a new letter eagle, and it was recorded until the end of the war.

This was an agreement reached between the special envoy of Xixia and Wan Yanchang. Although Li Liangfu hated these Jurchens watching his army on the top of the mountain, he had no choice but to pretend that he did not see the Jurchens on the top of the mountain.

It was just dawn, and another hawk slowly took off, flying towards the southeast...

At this time, Wan Yanchang is no longer in Pingliang Mansion and has returned to Jingzhao City. At this time, the line of Dasan Pass remains calm, and all Wan Yanchang's attention is focused on Ganquan Fort. The result of this Song Xia battle.

This is a conspiracy. If Chen Qing wants to keep Qinzhou, he must defend Ganquan Fort. If Xixia wants to go south, he must seize Ganquan Fort. This castle is extremely important to both parties. Wan Yanchang believes that this is a wonderful battle. Tigers fighting, he just watched the show from the sidelines.

"Report to Marshal, the eagle letter from Fort Ganquan has arrived!" A soldier reported from the hall.

"Bring it up!"

The soldiers went up to the hall and presented Wan Yanchang with a sorted eagle letter.

After Wan Yanchang finished reading the Eagle letter, his brows gradually frowned. The Xixia army projected kerosene and fireballs into the city all night, but there was only smoke in the city but no fire, and the smoke came from one place. The letter also talked about Song The army soldiers stood on the top of the city and whispered to each other, turning a deaf ear to the fireworks below the city.

From these descriptions, Wan Yanchang understood that Chen Qing had cracked the fire attack of the Xixia army, and it was meaningless for the Xixia army to continue to use fire to attack the city unless the trebuchet could accurately hit the fireball on the top of the city. The catapults of the Song Dynasty could do it, but the catapults of Xixia could not.

Wan Yanchang shook his head, and opened a small box on the table. Inside was a stack of Eagle Letters. These were the daily detailed records since the Xixia Army attacked Ganquan Fort. Through these records, Wan Yanchang could see that the Song Army had done a good job in defending the city. It is tough and effective, and has a very complete and smooth defense method.

The defensive measures are perfect, and many people can do it, including Wan Yanchang, who will be very thoughtful, but it is difficult for the defensive measures to be smooth, which means that various instructions must be quickly implemented on every soldier, and the soldiers can effectively understand and execute.

Wan Yanchang sighed softly. At this moment, he regretted a bit. He shouldn't have exchanged the army with Chen Qing, which strengthened Chen Qing's strength. Maybe this ferocious crane ate up all the clam meat, and finally returned endangers fishermen.

At this time, a soldier reported from the hall, "Report to Marshal Du, Marshal Sa Lihe, please see me!"

"Please come in!"

Wanyan Salihe arrived in Jingzhao yesterday and led [-] Jin soldiers. This was the last step in Wanyanchang's Shaanxi strategy. When the Jin soldiers returned to Shaanxi, he lured the Song army out by pretending to retreat, and killed them one by one. Divided and annihilated, although the Qinzhou army has not been annihilated, the [-] Jin soldiers have returned to Fengxiang impatiently.

After a while, Wanyan Saliyao walked into the lobby quickly. Wanyan Saliyao was also from the Jurchen royal family, who was here to take over Wanyan Wushu and continue to implement the Jin Kingdom's Sichuan-Shaanxi strategy.

After Wanyan Wushu's disastrous defeat at the Dasan Pass, he had been deprived of his military power and was left idle in the palace. The Emperor of the Kingdom of Jin adopted Wanyan Chang's strategy of luring soldiers, and sent Wanyan Sali to lead a Jurchen army of [-] to assist the end of the war. Yan Chang continued to implement Jin Guo's Sichuan-Shanxi strategy.

"See Marshal Du!"

Wan Yanchang nodded, "General Sa Liha, please sit down!"

Wanyan Sali drank and sat down, seeing the worry in Wanyanchang's eyes, he asked with a smile, "It seems that Marshal is worried about what?"

Wan Yanchang sighed, "I may have made a big mistake!"

"What big mistake?" Wanyan Sali was slightly taken aback.

"I mean Ganquanbao. I originally wanted to use Chen Qing to wipe out the Xixia people's ambitions, and exchanged prisoners with him. Judging from the current situation, he has indeed hit the Xixia people's ambitions, but..."

"But what?"

Wan Yanchang smiled wryly, "But I also created a strong enemy!"

Wanyan Saliha had actually fought against Chen Qing. The food and supplies he transported to the south bank of the Weihe River were attacked by Chen Qing and burned to the ground.

But Wanyan Saliha didn't know that it was Chen Qing's doing, so when Wanyan Wushu told the wolf master how powerful Chen Qing was, Wanyan Saliji felt that Wanyan Wushu was looking for an excuse to shirk responsibility. How much experience and qualifications can the young Song Jiang who rose up after the Battle of Fuping have?

Wanyan Sali smiled slightly and said: "When I left Yanjing, I heard something from the wolf master. It is said that Zhu Shengfei, the new governor of Sichuan and Shanxi Province, is very disgusted with Chen Qing. Why didn't Marshal Du take advantage of the other party's contradictions to implement a plan to alienate him? , let Zhu Shengfei kill Chen Qing for us?"

Wan Yanchang said indifferently: "The reason why you know about this is because I reported it to the wolf lord. I am very aware of Zhu Shengfei's dislike towards Chen Qing and even Wu Jie. I am negotiating with Chen Qing to stimulate Zhu Shengfei and make him even more angry. I hate Chen Qing and look for opportunities to kill him, including the governor Fu Xuan who provoked Zhu Shengfei, and I sent someone to instigate him, and I have already implemented the plan of alienation."

Wanyan Sali asked hurriedly, "I don't know what the effect will be?"

Wan Yanchang shook his head, "Divorce may work on Wu Jie, but not on Chen Qing. Although he is young, he is very cunning, and he will not give Zhu Shengfei any chance. Zhu Shengfei sent someone to Chengji County to suspend his post, but he He led the army to Ganquan Fort, Zhu Shengfei wanted to kill him, but he became more and more troublesome in Ganquan Fort, and even the emperor of Song Dynasty began to pay attention to him. This kind of person is not Chen Qing's opponent."

Wanyan Sali pondered for a moment and said: "Chen Qing is just a general of the Song Dynasty, he can't change the overall situation, I suggest Marshal Du not to put too much thought on him, he should focus on our Sichuan-Shaanxi strategy, this is the overall situation, Don’t put the cart before the horse!”

Wan Yanchang pondered for a long time, then sighed lowly, "You are right. At present, the only way to get rid of the troubles in Ganquan Fort is to concentrate on capturing Hanzhong and opening the gates of Bashu. This is the overall situation!"

Wanyan Sali took out a booklet from his arms, "This is an idea of ​​a humble official to attack Hanzhong, please Marshal Du to see if it is feasible?"

This time it was the purpose of Wanyan Sali to come to visit Wanyanchang, Wanyanchang took the brochure and read it carefully.

……

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of battle drums inside and outside Ganquan Fort was earth-shattering, and the sound of killing resounded across the battlefield. Corpses piled up into mountains and blood flowed into seas.

The siege battle of the Xixia Army had been going on for a day and a night. After Li Liangfu learned that the supply team was attacked halfway, he knew that he could not wait for a hundred catapults to fight, so he sent an army of [-] to attack Ganquan Fort.

Twenty heavy-duty trebuchets attacked the city wall with boulders. The towers on the city had been smashed, and the towering observation tower was hit by boulders one after another, making it crumbling.

Five hundred siege ladders were thrown into the battlefield, and the Xixia soldiers participating in the attack were all elite troops of the Dangxiang clan. In order to capture Ganquan Fort, Li Liangfu had already torn off his calm and calm label, and also tore off his false mask of loving soldiers like a son , to attack at all costs.

Li Liangfu was under strong pressure from the imperial court. Just last night, Emperor Li Qianshun sent someone to supervise the battle and asked him to capture Ganquan Castle within ten days, otherwise he would be dismissed from office and seized the title.

The pressure on Xixia is also great. Ten days later, the time limit given by the Kingdom of Jin is approaching. If Ganquan Castle cannot be taken, the Xixia Army must withdraw northward. How can Li Qianshun be reconciled?

The Xixia soldiers stared at their blood-red eyes, screamed and attacked upwards. What greeted them was a rain of rolling logs and stones. A series of soldiers were continuously thrown down the siege ladder, but some soldiers rushed up frantically.

Under the city wall, a Xixia soldier was about to shout, and more than 100 Xixia army throwers threw flying spears to the city head at the same time. On the city head, more than 30 Song army soldiers and several Xixia soldiers were shot by sharp flying spears at the same time. Piercing the body, screaming and falling down the city, a gap appeared on the top of the city.

The Xixia soldiers below rushed to the top of the city frantically, and the top of the city was opened again. In an instant, more than 30 Xixia soldiers rushed to the top of the city.

Dozens of soldiers of the Song Army rushed up with spears, but the entrance of the stairs was already controlled by soldiers of the Xixia Army. A steady stream of Xixia soldiers killed them, and in a short while there were more than a hundred people. Dozens of Song Army soldiers could not resist and were killed. Retreating steadily, shouting for the head of the capital: "Help! Help!"

A gunpowder cartridge was thrown into the air and exploded in the air. This was a signal for help. Yang Zaixing led [-] soldiers and rushed to catch the Song army that was about to be defeated. The arrogance of the enemy.

He yelled, "Surround!"

Three hundred soldiers quickly surrounded the gap with huge shields, and countless spears stabbed at the Xixia soldiers together.

Chapter 223 Secret Road

Under the full attack of the Xixia army, the three special branches of the Song army, the flying ax team, the long cable team and the marksman, all lost their effect.

The god-armed crossbow soldiers who squatted on the horse-faced wall and shot at the side and back of the enemy general were also useless. The horse-faced wall became the key target of the Xixia army.

Thousands of Xixia soldiers attacked the four horse-faced walls from three directions at the same time. Three siege ladders were hooked on the horse-faced walls. Soldiers of the Song Army, so that the horse-faced wall became a place where the Xixia Army repeatedly broke through.

The second horse-faced wall in the middle was lost, and dozens of Xixia elite soldiers rushed up in an instant. Nearly [-] Song soldiers fought to the death and blocked the Xixia soldiers from expanding outside the horse wall with their bodies.

When the battle reached the last two soldiers of the Song Army, two hundred reinforcements led by Liu Qiong arrived. Liu Qiong swung his spear and killed three people in a row. Arrows, the iron armor of more than [-] Xixia soldiers were shot through by the arrows, and they all fell down screaming. The soldiers of the Song Army rushed forward and regained the horse face wall.

The fierce battle lasted until the afternoon of the second day. For a whole day and night, both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Xixia Army suffered more than 7000 casualties, and the Song Army also suffered more than 4000 casualties.

The five-foot-tall observation deck of the Xixia Army has been built. They are all made of pine wood, which is relatively rough. Basically, the bark has not been peeled off, and it is very strong. He could look down on Oasis Fort, and half of the city fell into his sight.

Li Liangfu stared ferociously at the changes on the battlefield. The Song army had enough troops, a group of soldiers were killed, and a group of soldiers quickly added up from behind. Their morale was always high. On the contrary, he felt that the morale of the Xixia army on the battlefield was getting lower and lower, and he might not be able to hold on. How long.

Li Liangfu's heart is like a mirror, he must find a way to boost the morale of the army, otherwise he will undoubtedly lose this siege battle.

At this time, Li Liangfu's eyes fell on the observation tower, which was about to collapse. He swung his saber, "The trebuchets concentrated on attacking the observation tower!"

'Boom!Boom!Boom! 'The five trebuchets were fired together.

Five huge boulders soared into the sky, whistling and smashing towards the tower at the southwest corner, one boulder passed by the tower, and the other four boulders all hit the tower, the five-foot-five-foot-high tower finally couldn't hold on, and crashed collapsed.

But to Li Liangfu's surprise, the collapse of the observation tower did not attract cheers from the soldiers, as if nothing had happened.

Li Liangfu was stunned for a while, and he finally realized that the soldiers' patience had reached the limit, and the level of bloodshed far surpassed the collapse of the observation tower. I am afraid that only by attacking the city can the morale be effectively stimulated.

"Ask Murong Tao, how long will it take for his plan to succeed?"

The cavalry rushed away, and came back to report after a while, "General Murong said, it will take another hour!"

"It will take another hour, it will be dark, order him to speed up, we must get through before dark!"

The cavalry was ordered to gallop away again.

Chen Qing was not on the top of the city where the battle was fierce, nor was he by the tower that had just collapsed. He was by the city wall of the west city. The tower collapsed just two hundred steps away from him. .

Hundreds of soldiers of the Song Army dug a straight pit with a depth of two feet. Under the straight pit, three soldiers were digging a hole. Just at noon today, some soldiers discovered that the enemy was digging a hole outside the west city. Although the opponent was very secretive, It was covered by the baffle of the trebuchet, but it was still discovered by soldiers of the Song Army.

Chen Qing immediately realized that this was a two-pronged approach by the Xixia army. On the one hand, they were aggressively attacking the city, and on the other hand, they were secretly digging tunnels. I am afraid that their real attack direction is still the secret road. come out.

"Controlling, we're about to dig through!" A head reminded in a low voice, with a very nervous tone.

Chen Qing also heard the sound of digging on the opposite side, and the distance between the two armies was probably less than five feet.

"Order the brothers to come out, the crossbowmen are ready, the poisonous smoke ball is ready!"

Soldiers of the Song Army brought dozens of poisonous balloons. These are poisonous smoke balls invented in the Northern Song Dynasty. They are spherical in wooden shell and contain five catties of gunpowder. In a sealed environment, it can cause the enemy to bleed to death quickly from the mouth and nose.

The three soldiers of the Song army who were digging the hole climbed up the rope, and several crossbowmen with god arms aimed their crossbows at the entrance of the cave, which was one foot and five feet below the city wall. Only then did the location of the enemy's cave be determined.

The sky was getting dark, and the battle outside the city had come to an end. The morale of the Xixia army was low, and it was impossible to attack the city. The two sides switched to crossbow shooting, and the casualties continued to increase.

Chen Qing stared at the deep pit, only listening to 'Boom! ', and a low exclamation came from below, the soldiers of the Xixia army dug through, and it may have been a bit unexpected, for a while, the soldiers of the Xixia army did not dare to act rashly.

Chen Qing immediately changed his plan of shooting with a bow and crossbow, and ordered: "Throw in the smoke ball!"

The soldier lit the matchlock, threw five smoke balls in a row, and then covered the deep pit with a huge wooden plank to prevent the poisonous smoke from overflowing from the pit.

It was Murong Tao's idea to dig a hole to attack. He used to be the commander of the Huanqing Army in the Song Dynasty, and he had quite a lot of experience. He knew that the loess in this area is thick and dense, which is very conducive to digging holes. They started digging last night. Hundreds of soldiers dug in relay, digging for a whole day and night, and dug out a long hole with a length of fifty feet, which is equivalent to 150 meters.

There were still fifty digging soldiers in the long cave. Li Liangfu was already impatient and rushed to the entrance of the cave to urge him. At this time, news came from the cave that the digging had been completed, and it seemed that a well in the city had been dug.

Li Liangfu was overjoyed. He couldn't wait for the soldiers digging the hole to retreat slowly, and immediately ordered: "Let them go out from the front!"

With a wave of his hand, three hundred heavily armed Xixia soldiers entered the narrow cave. The entrance of the cave was two and a half feet wide and five feet high. They could only walk forward slowly with their heads down. difficulty.

After the team went in for a while, Li Liangfu was about to send another [-] soldiers to join in. Right here, there was a faint scream of fear in the cave, followed by a severe cough.

Outside the cave, Li Liangfu and Murong Tao looked at each other, neither of them knew what happened?

At this moment, dozens of people at the entrance of the cave suddenly coughed violently, and saw a puff of thick smoke coming out of the cave.

"Poisonous smoke!" Someone shouted, and the crowd panicked and fled in all directions. The five soldiers who were closest to the entrance of the cave were unable to escape, and were choked to the ground, unconscious, and soon died of bleeding from their mouths and noses.

The screams in the cave were gone, Li Liangfu was terrified, and 350 soldiers were smothered to death underground.