Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

"Reinforce the city defenses immediately, and act quickly! You must hold on!" As the loud rumbling noises came from the top of the city wall, Long Qie had no time to curse at this moment. His heart had already been deeply shocked.

Long Qie had always been arrogant and proud. Although Fan Zeng had repeatedly told him that the Southern Border Army was extremely powerful, he had never really taken it to heart. However, at this moment, when he witnessed the Southern Border Army's fierce offensive like a tidal wave, he deeply realized how foolish his previous contempt was.

The Southern Border Army's attack rhythm was so tight that it was suffocating. They had no intention of fighting the enemy generals alone. Rows of well-trained archers kept shooting arrows at the top of the city. The dense rain of arrows formed a powerful fire suppression network, making it difficult for the soldiers defending the city to raise their heads. At the same time, the catapults were not to be outdone. The huge stones drew arcs in the air and smashed hard against the city walls, paving the way for the subsequent infantry attack.

The gaps on the city wall smashed by the catapults instantly became the key breakthrough points in the battle of attacking and defending the city wall. Then, the infantry launched a charge like a tiger descending from a mountain. Their steps were uniform and their movements were extremely swift. Every step was full of strength and determination. The shield soldiers flexibly interspersed between the infantry teams, using their solid shields to provide reliable cover for their comrades.

Facing such an army with tacit cooperation and skilled tactics, Long Qie couldn't help but feel a chill rising from his spine. He had imagined similar fierce battle scenes countless times in his mind, but he never thought that he would experience them in reality. At this moment, beads of sweat slid down Long Qie's forehead, not because he was injured, but because he was really nervous.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The deafening shouts of killing resounded through the sky, and the Southern Border Army rushed to the city wall like a surging tide. In an instant, the shouts of killing and the sound of weapons clashing intertwined, and the entire battlefield fell into chaos and blood.

At this time, the Chu army had already made full defensive preparations. Although the Chu army was somewhat caught off guard by the first wave of fierce attacks launched by the Southern Border Army, they quickly recovered and quickly launched a powerful counterattack.

As siege ladders were erected, the battle instantly entered a white-hot stage. At this moment, catapults were no longer effective, because if they continued to be used, they would undoubtedly put their own soldiers in an extremely dangerous situation, which was tantamount to ignoring the lives of their own people. At the same time, the archer troops had to change their tactics, giving up long-range shooting and choosing to shoot arrows at close range.

In this way, although it can avoid accidentally hurting friendly forces, it loses the original advantage in weapons. Now, the Southern Border Army can shoot at the Chu Army, and the Chu Army also has an equal chance of shooting at the Southern Border Army. The two sides are caught in a life-and-death contest.

At this time, Han Xin in the rear was observing the situation on the battlefield at any time, constantly deploying soldiers, and watching the soldiers all approaching the city wall,

"Ladders!" Han Xin gave the order, and the soldiers beside him moved immediately, waving the flags in their hands. In an instant, many soldiers carrying ladders emerged from the army like a tide. They moved in a hurry, but in an orderly manner.

It is worth mentioning that these soldiers were not equipped with any conventional weapons. However, they were not wearing ordinary armor, but a very special rattan armor. This rattan armor was light and tough, and could provide a certain degree of protection. These soldiers were the branch of the army that was responsible for the operation and transportation of various equipment.

They don't need to directly participate in the battles on weekdays, but their mission is crucial - to quickly and accurately transport all kinds of weapons and equipment needed by the army, especially the heavy equipment indispensable for sieges, to the front line of the battle in the fierce flames of war. Compared with ordinary soldiers, these special soldiers enjoy more favorable treatment in normal times because they shoulder such a critical and arduous task. But at the same time, once they step onto the battlefield, they have to face tasks that are more risky and more likely to kill them than ordinary soldiers.

And these special armors are the famous rattan armors! During the Three Kingdoms period, the rattan armor soldiers who made Shu County suffer so much wore this kind of armor. Before Gao Yao traveled through time, he had the honor of witnessing the production process of this rattan armor. Although the process is not extremely complicated, every link needs to be treated carefully. First, the tough rattan must be soaked in water for half a month. After it fully absorbs water, it is taken out and placed in the sun for three days until it is completely dry. Then, these dried rattans are immersed in oil and allowed to absorb oil for up to a week. After completing this step, the rattan is taken out again to dry, and a layer of tung oil is evenly applied. In this way, a light and sturdy rattan armor is completed.

Compared with common metal armor, rattan armor has many significant advantages. First, it is extremely light and you will hardly feel any burden when wearing it. Second, because rattan armor has been specially treated, it has excellent waterproof properties and can remain in good condition even in a humid environment. Third, rattan armor is extremely breathable, so the wearer will not feel stuffy during combat.

Because of this, the soldiers holding heavy siege ladders can still move swiftly and move fast. This is certainly due to their long-term hard training, but it is undeniable that the lightness of the rattan armor itself has contributed greatly. Even as powerful as the Qin Dynasty armor, if calculated according to modern measurement methods, its weight is at least 30 kilograms. However, the weight of the rattan armor is only less than 10 kilograms, which is amazing! What's more worth mentioning is that although the rattan armor looks thin, its defensive ability is not inferior to traditional metal armor.

Of course, the disadvantage is that it is afraid of fire, so it is not widely used, but only used on these special soldiers, so that they can be more efficient in action and can speed up the attack to the greatest extent. Soon, more than a dozen siege ladders rushed to the bottom of the city wall along the battlefield before the Chu army could react.

"Quick, use stones to stop the enemy!" At this moment, Long Qie, who was standing on the city wall, shouted anxiously. He stared at the enemy troops surging like a tide under the city with wide eyes, secretly marveling at the speed of the Southern Border Army's actions. At this moment, he had no time to care about other things, and there was only one thought in his mind - to defend the city!

Long Qie acted decisively and loudly ordered his soldiers: "Prepare to drop rocks quickly, and never let the enemy get close easily!" He knew that if the enemy broke through the city gate, the consequences would be disastrous. Facing the overwhelming and fierce offensive of the Chu army, Long Qie felt the pressure like a mountain, but he had no intention of retreating. Although he had been wounded in many places, he still gritted his teeth, stayed on the front line, and personally commanded this life-and-death battle.

At this moment, Han Xin, who was standing below the city, raised his hand again. He was calm and composed, with a sharp gaze, as if everything was under control. With a slight wave of his arm, the messenger beside him understood and immediately waved the flag in his hand.

In an instant, the siege vehicles that were waiting in the back let out a low roar, like ferocious beasts, slowly approaching the city wall. The wheels rubbed against the ground, making a harsh "squeak, squeak" sound that was creepy.

Amidst a series of teeth-grinding creaking sounds, a huge object nearly five meters high and three meters wide slowly appeared before everyone's eyes—it was the siege vehicle! This siege vehicle was clearly a masterpiece that had been meticulously crafted.

It is worth mentioning that the huge logs that make up the main body of the structure were made from local materials. After all, if even the wood used for siege had to be carried along with the army, the marching speed would become extremely slow, which was simply unimaginable.

The wheels used by the siege vehicle are equipped with ingenious grooves. Not only that, the adjacent wheels are connected to each other by a special tough vine. In this way, when the siege vehicle starts to move, it can greatly save manpower. In addition, a pulley device is added inside the vehicle. It is precisely with these ingenious designs that the attack frequency of the siege vehicle can be greatly increased.

All these subtle improvements were made by Gao Yao. After all, he was a time traveler, and with the existence of the system, there were many rewards for the changes to the original plot, both big and small. Gao Yao was naturally able to make a lot of changes.

As the siege vehicle gradually drove into the battlefield, Long Qie on the city wall looked more and more gloomy. He stared at the huge siege vehicle below with wide eyes, shocked. He never expected that there would be such a huge gap in the weapons and equipment between the enemy and us. He had never heard of or seen such a huge and powerful siege vehicle before. At this moment, Long Qie knew that this battle to defend the city would face unprecedented difficulties and challenges.

Along with a large number of stones, huge trees began to appear on the city wall and were constantly thrown downwards. The attack of the Southern Border Army was also delayed. Han Xin, who saw this scene, did not rush. Instead, he waited for a moment and directly issued an order.

"Ming Jin withdraws his troops!"

"Here!"

As Han Xin's order was issued, the originally inspiring drumbeats soon turned into dense drumbeats. Upon hearing this sound, the Southern Border Army, which was originally charging fiercely, immediately began to cover the retreat in turns, and even collected their own corpses.

This sudden retreat made Long Qie confused for a moment. He had never expected that the Southern Border Army would withdraw suddenly.

But Han Xin at this time was very clear that the enemy had at least 20,000 troops. If he wanted to take Zhi County in one go, the losses would be too great. Although the battle was just this one, Han Xin had to look further ahead.