The Most Romantic of the Three Kingdoms

The only person who hated Xun Zhen and Liu Deng so much was Bo Cai.

Among the people in the city, many people knew Bo Cai, and the thief Cao Ran and Du You was one of them.

First, he witnessed the process of Bo Cai wearing armor and holding a halberd in front of the enemy and the three armies, and then heard with his own ears his orders to "destruct the city, wash the blood" and "offer a reward for Xun Zhen and Liu Deng's head", Du You couldn't help it. Tsk tsk said: "In front of the city, wearing armor, rewarding and purchasing Xun rafters' heads, such a talented person, treats me like nothing! Such bravery, I don't take fame and fame in the frontiers, but I am a thief. It's a pity."

"Pocai has always used the main force as the main force, but this time he used the main force as the vanguard. He is going to fight with us."

Guo Tu withdrew his gaze and respectfully said to Prefect Wen: "The war is about to start, and swords and guns have no eyes. The subordinate heard: 'The family is too rich to sit in the hall.' Dangerous place. Please go down to the city first and wait for the good news."

Before Prefect Wen could answer, the county magistrate Fei Chang hurriedly said: "Guo Jun is right. Mingfu, the servant will accompany you to the city."

Prefect Wen hesitated for a while, and chose to obey Guo Tu and Fei Chang. He went down to the city head, put down his body for the first time in the world, held Xun Zhen's hand, and instructed: "The thieves are strong, Xun Rong must raise his spirits. , Don't underestimate the carelessness. The army at the top of the city will be handed over to you to command. I will wait for your good news at the bottom of the city."

Xun Zhen replied succinctly and comprehensively: "Please rest assured in the Ming Palace." He motioned for Wen Ping, Cheng Yan, and Xiao Ren to **** Prefect Wen and Fei Chang down the city.

Those county officials who came along with Prefect Wen, such as Han Liang, the chief bookkeeper, Wang Lan, as well as the parents and children of Zhuhao's family, were timid and frightened. They wanted to escape from the city and find a safe place to hide. See text The prefect went down to the city and hurriedly followed.

A large group of county officials in black robes and embroidered sashes and tyrants in brocade attire, surrounded by Prefect Wen and county chief Fei Chang, crowded together, trotted quickly, walked faster than they came, and walked clean in a blink of an eye.

There were only Xun Zhen, Xun You, Xi Zhicai, Zhong Yao, Du You, and Guo Tu left among the county officials.

Xun Zhen heaved a sigh of relief as he watched Prefect Wen and his party descend from the city gate.

There was a word in his heart that he didn't say: "What should go is finally gone."

It stands to reason that Prefect Wen is the prefect of the county. If he stays at the head of the city, it will motivate the morale of the guards to a certain extent. However, he does not understand military affairs. Now that he left, Xun Zhen had the greatest military power among the people who stayed in the city, so there was no need to worry about other people's constraints, and of course he would feel relaxed.

Xun Zhen put away these small thoughts of "not enough for outsiders" and turned to look down the city.

...

The Yellow Turbans have already lined up their formations.

At the forefront is the main force under Bo Cai's command, the more than a thousand armored infantry, only about a mile away from the moat.

More than a thousand people were divided into six teams.

Among them, five teams are in the front with fewer people; one team is in the back with more people.

The first five teams were lined up, each with 200 people up and down, with a distance of several meters between each other.

There are about three or four hundred people in the back team, located in the right rear of the first five teams. Bo Cai was in the middle of this team.

In the previous sieges, Bo Cai was under the command of the Chinese army, but this time he went to the front line in person.

Beside him, in addition to the three or four hundred armored soldiers, there are also hundreds of cavalry. The position of the cavalry was just opposite the city gate.

...

Xun You analyzed and said: "Obviously. The five soldiers in the front are definitely the pioneers of this siege. The three or four hundred soldiers in the back and right should be the reserve team left by Bo Cai. As for the hundreds of cavalry, facing the city gate, they should have been specially used by Bocai to prevent our army from going out of the city to counterattack. …, Zhenzhi, it seems that you left a lot of money for Bocai in the first two raids out of the city. Shadow."

...

The armored soldiers and cavalry that Bo Cai personally commanded were the first phalanx of the Yellow Turban formation.

After that, their second phalanx.

This phalanx is composed of more than 100 shield players and 400 or 500 archers and crossbowmen. It is about 50 paces away from the first phalanx.

After the archers and crossbowmen, it was the third phalanx of the Yellow Turbans, about fifty paces away from the previous phalanx.

This phalanx consisted of two or three thousand light infantry.

These lightly armed infantrymen are young and strong. Although they have no armor, many of them wear leather armor. The weapon in his hand is good, at least he doesn't have a **** or a bamboo spear.

...

Xun You said: "Not to mention the archers and crossbowmen, they are obviously used to cover the armored soldiers to the city. The thousands of light infantry should be the main force of Bo Cai's siege this time."

It is difficult to capture Yangzhai with more than a thousand soldiers alone. After the armored soldiers got to the top of the city, it was time for these thousands of light soldiers to follow.

...

After the light infantry, it was the Yellow Turban Army's main force.

More than 30,000 people, densely packed, formed the last square.

Among the more than 30,000 people, there are young and strong, some old and weak, and some women. The clothes are still like this, not to mention the weapons. Except for the handsome and the boss, few people have serious weapons. The most are hoes and wooden shovels. Bamboo spears and sticks also account for a considerable proportion.

...

Among the four "square formations" of the Yellow Turbans, the armored soldiers had the most orderly formation. There were not many archers and crossbowmen. It is said that it is a square array, just for the convenience of expression, but in fact it is not a formation at all, and it is messy. From the city, it looks like a large market.

For this last "square formation", Xun You just pretended not to see it.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that although this "square array" has the largest number of people, more than 30,000 people, it is not enough to mention. To describe it with a word from later generations, "cannon fodder" is nothing more than "cannon fodder". As long as the phalanxes in front of the Yellow Turbans are broken, the last phalanx will be defeated without a fight.

...

The sun was slowly sinking in the west, and when the twilight was about to come, the Yellow Turbans finally got ready to attack.

From the last "square", five or six hundred people came out, carrying bridges and ladders, through the passages reserved for them by the three squares in front, and ran to the moat. The one who lifts the bridge goes forward and crosses the bridge across the river. There are four bridges in total, and together with the original suspension bridge, there are five bridges in total.

After the bridge was built, the archers and crossbowmen of the second phalanx moved forward. Under the protection of the shield players, they crossed the river first, stayed close to the range of the arrows, and prepared to shoot at the city head.

...

on the city head.

Xun Zhen thought a little regretfully: "It's a pity that there are no trebuchets in the city! Otherwise, these hundreds of people would be a good target!" He raised his hand and ordered, "The archers and crossbows come forward."

The archers and crossbows of the county pawns and the guests of the various households, holding bows and crossbows, stand high above the battlements and live under the city.

...

The soldiers of the Yellow Turbans carrying the ladder followed the archers and crossbowmen across the river. The shield-handers who had crossed the river before them divided twenty or thirty people, raised their shields high, and guarded them as they moved carefully towards the city wall.

Three hundred paces, two hundred fifty paces, two hundred paces from the city wall.

...

Xun Zhen ordered, "The four stone crossbows open the strings and raise the arrows."

The enemy is 180 paces away from the city wall.

"shoot!"

The crossbowmen of the four stone crossbows had already aimed the crossbow machine at the enemy, and twenty or thirty thick crossbow arrows shot out from the strings and shot down through the air.

Only a few muffled sounds of "puff, puff, puff" were heard. Except for a small number of crossbow arrows that were shot crookedly, the rest all hit the target.

The crossbow of the Han Dynasty, the strong crossbow can reach ten stone, fifteen stone, twenty stone, and the four stone crossbow is very common. The range of the four stone crossbow is more than 200 steps, and within 200 steps, its power can break a large shield. As soon as twenty or thirty crossbows were fired, almost all of the shields of the Yellow Turbans' shield players were pierced. Because the penetrating power of the crossbow bolt is too strong, and some shields are of poor quality, they are not only pierced, but even shattered in one fell swoop.

The shield was shattered, the arrows of the crossbow still remained, and they got into the shield hands or the yellow turban soldiers carrying the ladder, blood splashed everywhere, and the screams stopped. There were seven or eight soldiers in the yellow turban of Zhongyao, and one of them had the worst luck. The arrow head of the crossbow arrow has a barb, and he dared not pull it out, nor dare to move. The soldier could only lie down on the ground, watching the blood flow like a spring, and the pain was piercing to the bone, and he pulled the robe beside him and cried for help.

This scene has been repeated over and over again in the past few days.

When Bo Cai attacked the city for the first time, the Yellow Turban army was repelled by the guards only with arrows, and today, the guards on the city and the Yellow Turban soldiers under the city are used to this. Throwing down the wounded, the rest of the Yellow Turban soldiers quickened their pace and ran towards the city wall.

"Three stone crossbows!"

Dozens of arrows shot out.

"bow!"

The archers on the top of the city began to show their power.

The crossbowmen of the four and three stone crossbows reloaded their arrows, and the arrows and arrows fell like rain.

...

The archers and crossbowmen of the Yellow Turbans moved forward, raised their bows and crossbows, and fought back.

Shooting from the bottom of the city to the top of the city is definitely not as good as shooting from the top of the city and from the bottom of the city. The Yellow Turbans did not have many crossbows, most of which were bows with short ranges. Even when they reached the city head, they were already weak and weak, and they were not a big threat to the guards.

Braving the arrows, the Yellow Turban soldiers put a total of five ladders on top of the city after paying the cost of nearly 100 casualties.

...

Outside the moat, Bo Cai sounded the drum of war.

Facing the setting sun, the five armoured infantry teams in the first phalanx each went to build a bridge. Each team has 200 soldiers, a total of 1,000 people. A thousand armored soldiers in black armor and pockets, with spears and swords in their hands, ran very loudly.

The pontoon bridge, which was large enough to accommodate two people in parallel, was swaying and squeaking.

The soldiers at the front had already got off the pontoon and stepped onto the ground in Hanoi, while the soldiers at the back had not yet stepped onto the bridge. The armor is very heavy, and every soldier is wearing armor and weapons, carrying dozens of pounds, and stepping on the ground with heavy steps, stirring up wisps of dust.

The five teams, like five black snakes, faced the arrows and rained, marched head-to-head, and rushed towards the cloud ladder leaning against the city wall.

Drums also sounded from the top of the city.

Inside and outside the city, the sound of drums overlapped and deafened.

Tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers raised their troops and shouted: "Kill! Kill! Kill!" to cheer the soldiers. A few hundred steps away in an instant. Because the armored soldiers were wearing fine armor, their defense was far better than the previous shield players and light pawns. The crossbows and arrows on the city did not cause much damage.

The few soldiers who rushed to the front of each team rushed under the cloud ladder, holding the ring sword in their mouth, or holding the spear under their armpit, and headed up the ladder.

The crossbowmen on the city reversed the direction in which the crossbow machine was fired, from top to bottom, aiming at the armored soldiers climbing the ladder, pulling the strings and targeting them. The arrow of the crossbow shot straight down. First, the distance was closer now than before, and second, the force of the string and the gravitational force made it more powerful, and there began to be arrows in the armor. The armored soldier who was shot in the vital part fell from the ladder, and the one who was not shot in the vital part reluctantly climbed up.

Xun Zhen ordered: "The archer retreats temporarily, and the crossed hands come forward!"

In the face of fine armor, bows and arrows are basically useless. The archers took the order to retreat, and more than 30 tall and well-built county soldiers took their place with long iron forks. More than 30 people were divided into five groups, each facing a ladder, using iron forks to fork out the handrails on both sides of the ladder, suddenly exerting force, trying to push the ladder down.

In the previous battles of defending the city, the guards used this method to knock down many ladders of the Yellow Turbans. The Yellow Turbans ate a moat and grew wiser. They improved the production method of the ladder, and added a base to the bottom of the ladder, which was firmly supported on the ground.

——In fact, there is a base at the bottom of the regular ladder, and there are pulleys under the base, which can be pushed. The Yellow Turbans had no experience before, and they learned to behave well after suffering a loss.

In the end, the fork hand was unable to overthrow even a single ladder. Seeing that the Yellow Turban Soldiers had already climbed to the middle of the ladder, Xun Zhenfu ordered again: "Go back with your hands crossed and pour boiling water!"

The young and strong people were in groups of two, each carrying two large buckets to the five cloud ladders. The bucket is filled with boiling water. The guards lifted the barrels one by one and poured them down. Hot water rolled down, steaming hot. The fine armor of the Yellow Turbans can protect against arrows, but not hot water.

Boiling water fell on them, soaking in through the gaps in their armor and pockets. How hot is hot boiling water! Falling on the body, it is like peeling off the skin. The soldiers of the Yellow Turban Army screamed constantly, and one after another fell under the city.

Crossbow bolts and boiling water can only be used for a while. As time goes by, there are yellow turban soldiers who eventually climbed to the end of the ladder and reached the crenel.

...

The first soldier to climb to the crenel was on the second ladder.

At this time, the crossbowmen who were guarding the mound had already retreated and replaced with four or five spearmen. The spear stabbed out at the same time ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ This yellow turban armored soldier was trapped on the ladder, unable to dodge, the spear fell to the ground, but then the second armored soldier showed his head again.

Spear again.

The second Yellow Turban soldier used a spear. Before the person came up, the spear stabbed first, but the spearman who failed to stab the crenel, saw several spears stab in the face, he knew that he could not dodge, and he simply did not. Dodging, he stretched out his hand as he hit the spear, firmly grasping the handle of a spear. The guard holding the spear didn't react, and he pulled him and fell down the city together.

The third soldier came up again.

The Yellow Turbans attacked continuously.

By the time of the sixth soldier, the spearman was exhausted and could no longer hold back, and the soldier leaped to the top of the city.

...

These five ladders have long been the focus of attention of the tens of thousands of yellow turban soldiers outside the city. At this time, seeing this soldier on the top of the city, tens of thousands of people cheered in unison. Bo Cai transferred all the drum carts of the Chinese army to the front line. In the cheers, dozens of war drums were beaten vigorously, which made the blood boil.

...

On the top of the city, Xunzhen watched the sixth road, the soldiers on the other four ladders of the Yellow Turbans were still fighting with the spearmen at the crenel, and only the soldiers on the second ladder came up the city. In the past few days of offensive and defensive battles, the Yellow Turbans have also been rushed to the head of the city several times. Xun Zhen was not in a hurry, and calmly ordered: "Go ahead with the knife and axe!"

Without waiting for his order, seven or eight knife and axemen rushed up to the stack in front of the second ladder, and surrounded the armored soldier who was on the top of the city.

The soldier was outnumbered by the crowd, and after being blocked twice, he was hacked to death by a random knife.

In front of the crenel, the exhausted spearmen temporarily retreated and replaced the new force on the top.

...

While Xun Zhen was closely monitoring the situation of the battle, two messengers ran to her.

"Report!"

"What's up?"

"The thieves outside the city walls on the west and south have also begun to attack the city."

Xun Zhen turned his head to look westward, the setting sun was like blood, and the battle was in full swing.