Chapter 574: Return to the Cannon

"Wang Dashuai, if you have a way, just say it happily, don't hang it. Collection ~ Vertex Reading Network

.” Yang Yan is an anxious person, and he can't listen to anyone who says a moment of stopping.

Wang Yu coughed dryly twice, glanced at Yang Da, and then said, "It's better to attack the heart." ”

When these words came out, the generals were greatly disappointed. I originally thought that the commander of the Western Army, who was the best at attacking and defending the city, must have some high opinion and be able to take Yan'an Xicheng, but who would have expected him to come to such a panacea Mo said that those of us who lead the troops are those vulgar soldiers, I am afraid that they also know that "attacking the city is the bottom, and the heart is the top", right?

Just when the general of the tent showed disappointment, Xu Wei knew that although Wang Yu was a little conceited, he was not so arrogant. He said that "attacking the heart is the first", there must be his reasons, so he asked: "Zhengchen, what is the method of attacking the heart?" ”

Wang Yuzheng smiled secretly because his comrades did not understand, and when he heard Xuanfu Xianggong's question, he came to the spirit, and said: "When the Jingyuan army attacked Ganquan, there was a Jin army that rushed north from Dunzhou to help. According to this, Zhang Jun should be in Xicheng, and it is very likely that he will be the main general. ”

"The mother is worried that he can't find this straight mother, once the thief city is broken, it will not be as light as he is caught," Yang Yan scolded.

All the generals scolded, Zhang Jun scolded Zhang Shen after scolding, and by the way, Gao Shiyou Li Zhi also scolded. Wu Jue stopped everyone and asked, "What does Zhengchen mean to persuade Zhang Jun to sacrifice the city?" ”

"Exactly," Wang Yu said. "Zhang Junyuan was under the control of Jingyuan Shuaisi, and he lowered his money, although he suffered a big loss. But considering the situation at the time, he was also forced to be helpless and did not kill himself. Now that our army is attacking Yan'an, he knows that the western army will not tolerate him, and he will definitely resist desperately. If Xuanfu is open and gives him a way to live, he should consider it. ”

Xu Wei didn't say anything for a while, Xu Cheng's lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but he looked at his uncle and then at Wang Yu, and finally swallowed the words back.

Xu Hong, who has always been silent, reminded everyone at this time: "Of course, surrender is a way, but it is not easy to say that Zhang Jun Xiancheng is afraid of just a few words." If this is the case, it must be carried out at the same time as the siege and surrender. ”

The statement of the red-haired tiger still convinced everyone, and Wang Yu also nodded and said: "What Xu Dutong said is reasonable. ”

On the same day, it was agreed that Xu Wei would send the two Yongxing Second Army and all the volunteer soldiers, as well as the Qin Feng Army led by Zhang Xian and the Jingyuan Army to capture Yan'an Xicheng, and the rest of Qin Feng's army would stay in Dongcheng alone, block the passage, and contain the Jin army in Dongcheng.

In view of the problem of insufficient troops, Xu Wei ordered the remaining officials of the Yongxing Shuai Division to recruit 50,000 township soldiers and civilians in Yuguan, and put them into the Yan'an battlefield within a month deadline.

Before the start of the battle, Xu Wei ordered the military officials to write a letter to the general defending the city in the name of the "Shaanxi System and Placement Division" to persuade him to surrender. Of course, Xu Wei knew that it was impossible for Xicheng to open itself with a single letter, so he ordered the siege to begin on September 24.

On the 22nd and 23rd, seeing that the Western Army was under the city, Zhang Jun was also preparing intensively. He inspected the various city defenses over and over again, and personally inquired about the range of the artillery carts, the number of stone bullets, the reserve of arrows, and the household registration of the young and middle-aged men in the city.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, Zhang Jun, who had been busy for two days and did not close his eyes, was taking a nap in a room in the Shuaifu. As soon as he closed his eyes, when he was hazy, he heard a voice outside the room saying, "Dutong? Commanders? ”

These days have been extremely sensitive, Zhang Jun heard the sound, immediately touched the knife next to the bed, jumped up, and exclaimed: "Who is it?"

"Zhang Dutong, humble Wanhong." The man outside the room replied.

Hearing the origin, Zhang Jun's red eyes retreated, sat back on the edge of the bed, put the knife, rubbed his eyes and said, "Come in." ”

Outside the door, a young general in his early twenties flashed into the room, saluted, and reported directly: "Dutong, only then did the Western Army Han gallop to the city and submit a letter." ”

Submission? Zhang Jun, who was sleepy-eyed, was in high spirits and immediately asked, "Where is the book?" ”

The warrior named Wan Hong took off a white silk from the leather belt, and the ink was faintly visible, and presented it to Zhang Jun. The latter took it, just unfolded it, and immediately closed it again, saying, "You go." ”

Although Wan Hong withdrew as he said, he thought to himself, this letter has been read by several officers on duty in our city, what secrets are there?

Waiting for the ministry to exit the room and cover the door, Zhang Jun unfolded the book and read it. This letter was written in the name of the "Shaanxi System and Establishment Division" to the guards of Yan'an Xicheng.

The Song army declared in the letter that all the provinces, prefectures, and counties in Shaanxi have been recovered, and only Yan'an is left, and the Western Army is determined to win, which is also the trend of the times. However, thinking of the lives and property of the people in the city, and the fact that the Jin army also had former comrades, the commander of the Western Army could not bear to see the lives ruined, and his father and brothers suffered this misfortune, so he persuaded the Jin army in Xicheng to open the city and surrender.

And made the following promises: first, as long as Kaesong surrendered, the western army promised not to kill; Secondly, all officers of the Jin Army, regardless of Fanhan, maintained their original rank and treatment; Finally, for the Jin soldiers, those who are willing to enlist can be attached to the military, and those who do not want to be admitted to the civilian nationality. In addition to this, of course, there are also rewards of gold, silver, and goods.

Zhang Jun read the letter four times, grabbed it in his hand, and was in a trance for a while.

Although he was not named, this should be what Xu Jiu meant, I heard that he had become the deputy envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi Xuanfu, so that his words could also represent the imperial court. At present, the Western Army does have the advantage, but the city of Yan'an is strong and cannot be easily attacked, so there is no need for me to open the city and surrender.

Although the other party promised not to kill and guaranteed treatment, I am a person who has lowered the gold, and once I surrender, I will definitely not be reused like now. After I go back, I'm afraid I will also be an idle official and put it on the shelf......

Thinking of this, he unfolded the letter and read it again, and then pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind, took the letter of surrender, and hurried out.

After a short time, he summoned the generals to the Shuaifu Festival Hall, and after Zhang Jun showed the letter of persuasion to the generals, he was torn to pieces. He said in the court: "Xu Wei wants to capture Xicheng without blood, but he really underestimates me after you go back, and warns the soldiers that they must stick to the city to build such a strong city, even if it is a million male soldiers, there is nothing to do."

On the 24th, the soldiers and horses of Zhulu completed the assembly, and the four divisions of Qinfeng, Yongxing, Liangxing, and Jingyuan, combined with more than 60,000 troops, and more than 10,000 soldiers from Yiyong Township, were distributed to surround the east and north of Yan'an Xicheng, preparing to attack the city.

As soon as the morning dawned, Zhang Jun led the general Zuo to personally go to the city to check the enemy's situation. He expected that the Western Army was strong and well-armed, but Zhang Baiying still had considerable confidence in his strong city defense system. He used to be the commander of Jingyuan Capital, and he had experienced a hundred battles, and it was the first time he had seen such an exquisite city defense. The Purple Gold Tiger must have broken a mouthful of teeth this time

"All cheer up, the enemy is about to capture the city," Zhang Jun passed, and the generals behind him all shouted.

At a horse face, he stopped. In addition to suppressing the besieging enemy, the horse face also has to cooperate with each other to shoot and kill the enemy soldiers who climb. In the past, there was a standing war shed on the horse face, but after Han Chang improved it, he went to the war shed to erect a short wall, and there were shooting holes on it, so that the bow and crossbow could be fired.

Zhang Jun personally operated a bed crossbow, aiming left and right, and was very satisfied. Although there is a low wall attached to the front, there are shooting holes, which do not affect the bow and crossbow.

When he reached the corner of the wall, he stomped vigorously on the semicircular corner, and said to the generals: "In the past, the corner of the wall was easy to break when hit by artillery, but now this round corner is much more stable. ”

None of the generals answered, everyone has seen the majesty of the Western Army, and no one knows whether this city can be defended or not. Seeing a group of subordinates with low morale, Zhang Jun wanted to scold a few words, but swallowed back when the words came to his mouth. Squinting at the outside of the city, in addition to the crowded sea of people, there were towering chariots of all colors.

Just as he was about to move, the slow and rhythmic sound of war drums sounded......

Everyone's attention was drawn to the outside of the city, and the soldiers scrambled behind the wall to look, Zhang Jun pushed away a few soldiers, strode over, and looked out of the city.

I saw that accompanied by the sound of majestic war drums, in the open space opposite the north of the city, a column of chariots lined up a distance of a thousand steps, slowly approaching the city.

There was no doubt that this was a cannon cart, each more than two feet high, and it was slowly advanced under the traction of a number of mules and horses. Its movements are slow, but its sheer size is intimidating, and the cannon operator follows the equipment and drives the animals.

Zhang Jun looked left and right, only on the north side of the city, there were hundreds of artillery carts, and his face tightened, he turned around and shouted: "Order the artillery group to prepare for countermeasures" Fortunately, there is a tactic of "using artillery to control artillery", otherwise, you can only rely on bows and crossbows to counterattack. Come on, see if your cannon is good or my cannon works

"No, it's not a cannon, is it? Why don't you see a single tip? Some generals have raised such doubts.

"And the holster tied to one end of the bar, and what is hanging from the other end?"

"It's really wrong, it's said that with such a giant cannon, there should be hundreds of artillery operators. But you don't have it now, and there are only a few dozen soldiers around each artillery cart of the Western Army."

Zhang Jun didn't have time to pay attention to these questions, because while speaking, the other party's giant cannon had stopped. The soldiers were untying the mules and horses and driving them back, and the troops carrying the stone bullets had already swarmed up.

"Zhang Dutong, this distance is more than three hundred and fifty steps," Yijiang shouted loudly, with a hint of panic in his tone. Don't blame him for his gaffe, the cannon cart equipped by the Jin Army, the most powerful, is the thirteen guns, more than 500 people pull the tips together, can be 100 catties of stone bullets, and can hit 300 steps at the farthest

But now, the Song army's artillery stopped at 350 steps away, if the other party is not playing tricks, it means that the Jin army's artillery group will not be able to counter the opponent's tactics of using artillery to control the cannon, and it will become empty talk

"I heard that Xu Jiu is good at ingenuity, and over the years, he has innovated a variety of instruments, could it be that this is new again?" Someone asked.

On this issue, Jin Jun and Zhang Jun have the most right to speak. When he was in the Western Army, he knew that the firearms of Xu Wei's department were unique in Shaanxi, and other equipment had also improved a lot

The sound of war drums stopped suddenly, Zhang Jun knew that the other party was about to start attacking the city, and the generals persuaded him to go down to the city, but he didn't know whether he wanted to boost morale or want to see the power of this artillery cart with his own eyes, Zhang Jun didn't move.

"Look at that place"

Everyone looked for prestige, only to see a cannon under the car, more than a dozen soldiers were using something to pull up the horizontal bar, the thing hanging on the end of the horizontal bar slowly rose, and when it reached the limit, the horizontal bar seemed to be fixed, and some soldiers began to lift the stone bullet to fill the holster.

"I used a round bullet ......"

As soon as he finished speaking, the horizontal bar of the cannon suddenly bounced up, and the stone bullet in the leather holster took off at first, it was just a black dot, and in the blink of an eye, it had already drawn an arc in the air and smashed towards the city

I heard a loud bang, and the stone bullet fell sixty or seventy paces away on the other side of the moat, smashing into a deep pit, and it was difficult to find a trace of the shell

A laugh sounded in the city, and I was scared of Lao Tzu, and I thought why did the sharp weapon come with this range? You haven't even hit a moat, what kind of big tail are you pretending? Hurry up, lean forward, our cannons are waiting for you

Zhang Jun couldn't laugh because he saw that the stone bullet fired by the other party was huge. Although the test firing range was not ideal, the opponent could increase the range by reducing the weight of the stone projectile

Sure enough, the gunners of the cannon truck began to tinker again. What makes people wonder what they mean by not doing anything to the stone bullets, but adding something to the fishing pocket at the other end of the bar?

The second stone bullet lifted off into the air, and countless pairs of eyes stared at it, watching it rise and land......

There was another loud bang, and the stone bullet was falling into the moat, smashing a huge column of water, and the splash actually splashed the city high, and no one laughed anymore, and the other party was not stable at a step, and the range of the artillery car was sixty or seventy steps away? Even with smaller stone projectiles, it is impossible to increase the distance of such a long distance.

The soldiers of the Jin Army were confused, and they all stared at each other with wide eyes, and shot the third stone bullet again

"Coming, coming, coming......" several soldiers read in unison. I saw that the stone bomb in the sky was getting bigger and bigger

"Mother's squatting" An officer roared wildly, and squatted down with his head in his hands, almost at the same time, he felt a darkness overhead, and stone bullets whistled past the city, and before they could come back to their senses, they could already hear a loud noise

The soldiers at the back of the city wall turned their heads to look, but saw that the stone bullet was smashing on the avenue leading to the city gate, and a large pit more than three feet wide clearly showed that the stone bullet was deep into the pit, at least four or five feet, which was a road paved with thick stone slabs

The corners of Zhang Jun's mouth twitched, and he shouted: "Don't panic"

It's not good, Xu Wei's cannon has such a long range, my cannon can't counter his damn at all, so he can only let him bombard Fortunately, my city defense in Xicheng has been transformed, and the city wall is flat-headed, so I'm not afraid of you making a gap. In addition to the castle tower and the enemy tower for lookout, there is no protruding target, so let you bomb it, you bomb it, and it's just a private house

After taking a sip, Zhang Jun led the adjutants to hurry down the city. Interestingly, none of them dared to take the right road that led to the city gate, which had just been bombarded, and found another path to the Shuaifu.

Outside the city, Xu Wei and Wu Jue Ma Kuan, as well as the staff of the Preparation Division, were watching the test cannon with great interest.

"Xianggong, this Weiyuan cannon really makes it possible to be near and far, flexible and free, although it is larger, but the power is amazing," one of the office officials praised loudly.

Xu Wei smiled, noncommittal. Although the Weiyuan cannon is essentially the same as the previous artillery truck, it is a trebuchet, but the way it operates is very different. In the past, the cannon was made up of dozens and hundreds of soldiers, pulling the rope together, and then the lever bounced up and threw stone bullets. The Weiyuan cannon, on the other hand, is a heavy object fishing, and the other is loaded with stone bullets, borrowing the power generated by the fall of the heavy object to make the stone catapult.

A giant cannon only needs more than ten artillery operators, which greatly reduces the waste of manpower compared to hundreds of people in the past. And the range is longer and the accuracy is higher

In fact, Xu Wei didn't know that his new type of giant cannon had a serious scientific name in later generations, called "counterweight stone throwing machine". Historically, this kind of stone throwing machine was called "Huihui Cannon", "Xiangyang Cannon", and "Western Regions Cannon". It was named after the use of this cannon when the Mongols attacked Xiangyang, an important town in the Southern Song Dynasty.

The test guns continued, and the gunners tried to find the best range. That is, try to make the point of impact of the stone projectile in front of and behind the city wall. This is certainly not absolute, as no trebuchet can be completely accurate. Otherwise, if you have 100 artillery carts and all of them accurately hit the head of the city, then who would dare to defend the city, and would you still need to attack this city?

Again and again, the hammers were increased or decreased, and the operators worked patiently. All the other cannons didn't move, just waiting for this one.

Because the manufacture of Weiyuan artillery adheres to strict specifications, the horizontal bars of all artillery carts are the same size and placed in the same place, and even the "cannon hammer" fishing on the lever is also made of iron blocks of the same weight, just like the weighing stone, which can be large or small, and can be added or subtracted.

"Well, here, here," an official shouted to warn the crowd.

I saw that more than 100 artillery trucks raised their hammers at the same time, and a spectacular scene was about to be presented

Xu Chengzheng, who was in front of the enemy, was running behind the artillery carts, and coincidentally, when he ran past a giant cannon, the artillery general was shouting the word "cannon" just like that, and as he ran all the way, the giant cannons in turn seemed to be shooting artillery shells

More than 100 stone bullets weighing more than 100 catties soared into the air, drawing a beautiful arc in mid-air, and fell into the city head of Yan'an Xicheng, and the Song army burst into thunderous cheers

This is a bitter thing, the Jin army guards in the city, they have not gone through this kind of battle before, but the artillery carts at that time were not accurate at all, either falling in front of the city or falling in the city, and the probability of directly hitting the city is almost the same as choking to death by drinking water. But this time, there seem to be some exceptions......

"Beware," as soon as a soldier shouted these words, a huge stone bullet roared towards him, and the soldier at the front suddenly felt a darkness in front of him, and the huge force shattered his internal organs, and quickly pushed him backwards, and all his comrades behind him were smashed down the city by this cannon shell that carried the power of ten thousand guns, and it was between lightning and flint

Before the transformation of the city defense, there were tooth chops, and stone bullets hit the tooth chops, and the power would be weakened. But now, the stone is a direct pawn, and its power can be imagined......