Farmer of Shu Han

Wang Han finally swallowed the noodles, and then said, "General, we caught a few tongues, and the confessions are almost the same. The daily water in the city is drawn from the mountain springs and rivers outside the city."

Feng Yong's guess was correct. There was indeed no well in Longguan City built on the mountain, but its water source advantage was that there was enough water to supply the city no matter whether it was in the east or west.

If the enemy attacks from the east, it can get water from the west; if the enemy attacks from the west, it can get water from the east.

And no matter whether the enemy is coming from the east or the west, there is no way to send a large army around Guancheng to cut off the water source behind.

Therefore, Longguan at this time can only be regarded as a trouble in getting water, but there is no worry about water shortage.

Hearing Wang Han finished talking about these situations, Zhao Guang was most impatient. He drank the soup in the bowl with a snort, wiped his mouth, and said, "Brother, attack the city directly."

"The longer we delay, the more beneficial it will be for Thief Cao. If it is true that Cao Thief's Guanzhong reinforcements will arrive in a few days, as the Prime Minister estimated, our trip this time will be considered in vain."

Feng Yong burped, nodded, and said, "Okay, then we will start attacking the city tomorrow. Jufu, Wang Han, each of you will lead fifty night hunters, bring more poisonous arrows, and go over the mountain to the pass in advance today." On the east side of the city, guard the place where Cao thief usually draws water."

"Just wait until you see fireworks in the sky tomorrow, and then you can intercept and kill Cao thieves who come to fetch water from Guancheng or the mountains. Remember, you can't entangle and fight with them, just interfere with them and prevent them from fetching water smoothly."

Since Feng Yong took over the military power of Yuejue, he carefully organized the Dark Night Camp from the soldiers of Nanxiang and Yuejuan soldiers by elimination system.

This army, it is the special operations of the future as the guiding ideology of training, bows, crossbows, swords, knives, spears and many other long and short weapons must be proficient.

Mountain climbing, overcoming obstacles, wild survival, deep-water swimming, precision throwing, intelligence gathering, camouflage, infiltration, lurking, tracking, obstacle setting, capturing prisoners, etc., are all within the scope of training.

Of course, it is impossible for each of them to be proficient in each of them, but each person must be proficient in at least a few, and then form a team to cooperate in combat.

This kind of cooperation should be based on strong organization and discipline, and at the same time, the communication between them should be guaranteed by a certain literacy rate.

Finally, there are many old soldiers who survived on the battlefield to provide various battlefield situations for simulation.

The money and grain spent was enough to build a team of 5,000 professional soldiers, and only then did one hundred and thirty-two qualified personnel be obtained, known as night hunters.

Fighting in the mountains and forests, as long as they don't confront the army head-on, roaming around and attacking secretly, it is an exaggeration to fight against a hundred with one, but it is completely competent to fight against ten without being surrounded by the enemy.

If the number of Cao soldiers in the pass does not exceed 3,000, the number of water-drawing utensils will not exceed 300. If the city is attacked by itself, the number of people sent out to fetch water in the pass will be even fewer.

It's even more impossible to say that Pang Hui sent a large army to protect the water source in advance without knowing that the night hunter was ambush.

"Wang Ping, tomorrow you will take 3,000 people and guard the north to prevent the Cao bandits from Guanshan from rushing down the mountain."

"Zhang Yi, you start to organize the army from now on, and the siege in the next two days will be up to you."

"Zhao Guangyang is ten million, you two will follow me tomorrow, and listen to my orders at any time."

Feng Yong assigned tasks in the handsome camp, and Pang Hui also watched the movements of the Han army in the distance on the pass.

I saw that after the Han army built the nest car, they kept moving and continued to build siege equipment.

When the sun was about to set, the prototype of the three catapults could already be seen.

But this time, Cao Jun's ability to withstand the city was much stronger.

Pang Hui thoughtfully pointed at the catapult and smiled at the surrounding soldiers, "This catapult can throw stones no more than a hundred paces away. If you want to damage the city wall, you have to move the catapult to the surrounding soldiers. Not within fifty paces."

"This distance is most suitable for bows and crossbows. Isn't it obvious that you are here to die? What's more, the pass is narrow, and it can only accommodate three catapult carts at most. What's the use?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

This Longguan was built on a mountain, and there was not much space in front of the pass. No matter how many people there were in the Han army, they could only come up in batches to die.

Don't try to break through this pass unless you use up several times the human life in the pass to continuously consume the defenders.

But if they push the catapult up again, they will simply block their own way to attack the city.

And this catapult, unless it is throwing stones in batches, how many of them will hinder the city wall?

At that time, as long as there is an order and a salvo of bows and crossbows is fired, the catapult will be useless.

Pang Hui was finally relieved at this moment. It seemed that Feng Yong, although he had a literary name, was nothing more than a Confucian scholar.

If I knew this person was like this, why did I put down so many antlers to refuse the horse before the pass?

On the contrary, it blocked his way to attack the Han camp.

As night fell, the Han army below lit up the lights again, and the noise continued. It seemed that the other party wanted to build equipment overnight.

This made Pang Hui's teeth itch with hatred, this Shu captive, relying on the large number of people, it seems that he really doesn't take himself seriously!

In the early morning of the next day, I saw a group of catapult carts set up under Guancheng.

"The catapult car seems to be different from usual?"

Pang Hui stretched his neck, trying to see through the misty mist to see clearly what was going on, but unfortunately, the Han army had already set up tall oar shields, making it difficult for people to see clearly.

"Have the stones been put away?"

Wenshi yelled.

"Put it away."

The soldier in charge of putting the stone bombs replied loudly.

"Okay, get ready! One, two, three, let it go!"

A thigh-thin stone flew up high, and with the whistling sound of the wind, it fell more than ten steps away from the city wall.

Cao Jun, who had been holding his breath, suddenly burst out laughing.

This kind of catapult vehicle is too weak, and it can't even touch the city wall, let alone destroy the city wall.

Pang Hui was shocked, this catapult was able to throw it so far when it was two hundred paces away?

"The counterweight is too light, add another hundred catties."

Seeing this scene, Wen Shi hurriedly commanded the soldiers on the other side.

"Brother, this catapult cart seems to be quite convenient, and there is no need for soldiers to pull it at the other end."

Zhao Guang looked at the strangely shaped catapults curiously, and asked.

"What you're talking about is a human-powered catapult, and mine is called a counterweight catapult."

Feng Yong replied.

Catapults have been around for a long time, but they have always been launched by manpower.

That is to say, one end is equipped with stones, and the other end is tied with many ropes. When launching, each person pulls a rope and uses force together to throw the stones out using the principle of leverage.

If you want to project far, the more people use it, the bigger the catapult must be.

But there is a contradiction here. With ancient materials and technology, the bigger the catapult is, the faster the thing will break due to various reasons such as its own weight.

And the more people use it, the lower the utilization rate of manpower. After all, there will always be a sequence of force, and at the same time stand scattered, and the direction of force is not completely consistent, and there will be mutual offset effects.

Therefore, when the catapult exceeds a certain size, its power and range will decrease instead.

More importantly, with the development of city wall technology, the city has become taller and stronger. This kind of siege equipment that existed in ancient times cannot directly cause serious damage to the city wall because it cannot keep up with the development of the times.

After all, due to the limited manpower, the longest distance of a human-powered catapult is generally less than 150 steps, while the range of a Han crossbow can easily reach 200 steps.

In addition to being bulky, easily damaged, inconvenient to move, and difficult to operate, etc., now the catapult can no longer serve as the main task of siege.

Instead, it can be used to meet the enemy and destroy those temporary camps built with wood.

During Cao Cao's Battle of Guandu, someone modified it and turned it into a mobile one, which was used to attack Yuan Shaojun's wooden chariots and scull towers.

The catapult returned to the pinnacle of the battlefield, and that was the time of the Song Dynasty.

The "return cannon" in the hands of the Mongols means that the short arm of the lever no longer uses manpower to pull the rope, but replaces it with a heavy object.

No one in this era knows things like long-range strikes and non-contact warfare better than Feng Yong.

The catapult can be regarded as an ancient artillery unit, so Feng Yong is very clear about its development.

This kind of counterweight catapult, as long as the design is reasonable, can throw more than 100 catties (Han Jin, 16 taels) of stones, and the distance can reach 300 steps.

The laughter of Cao Bing in the city hadn't stopped yet, when the second stone flew over, and with a bang, it hit the city wall directly, stirring up some dust.

Cao Bing laughed again, such a small stone, what threat can it pose to the city wall?

Pang Hui's expression became more and more dignified. The Shu thief's catapult was indeed more powerful than ordinary catapults.

The third stone appeared again soon, directly over the city wall, and hit the house behind.

Feng Yong raised his head and looked at the hanging basket on the roof of the nest car.

A red flag appeared on the nest car and a semaphore was played.

"The distance is not enough, add another fifty catties of counterweight."

Although it wasn't hot, beads of sweat still appeared on Wenshi's forehead. Although it had been tested before, it was the first time to use it in actual combat. It was indeed much more complicated than the test.

He secretly glanced at Feng Langjun who was standing not far behind, but luckily Feng Langjun didn't say anything.

The fourth stone hit the middle of Guancheng directly, and a qualified signal finally appeared on the nest car.

"Okay, just use this counterweight."

Wen Shi shouted loudly, almost hoarse, "The captains of all the catapult trucks have come to collect the data."

"Ready on the 1st, let it go!"

The nest car signaled to the left.

"Adjust the direction!"

...

Zhao Guang and Yang Wanwan stood behind Feng Yong in a daze, watching the man operating the catapult yelling incomprehensible terms. This was not the catapult they knew. Method, feeling unclear.

The Cao soldiers at the top of the city gradually stopped laughing. No matter how stupid they were, they could understand that the power of the stone catapults of the Han army on the opposite side should not be underestimated when they watched one stone after another fly over their heads and fall into the city.

Just why do they only throw one stone at a time?

"Brother, let everyone smash together!"

Zhao Guang stepped forward and said excitedly, "It's useless to smash a stone with such a good thing..."

He thought that what his brother had made was just an ordinary catapult, but he didn't expect it to be such a powerful siege weapon.

"What do you know? Look carefully, this is called test shooting! In the future, if you want to use this thing as a leader in battle, you must know how to use it."

Feng Yong reprimanded.

...

"Number 10's test firing is complete!"

After such a toss, the sun has already reached mid-air, and the fog on the mountain has all dissipated.

Wen Shi came over and saluted Feng Yong, "Feng Langjun, you are ready."

Feng Yong nodded and ordered, "Let's start."

"promise!"

Behind each riprap truck, something was covered with a felt cloth, and a pile of sand was piled up around it.

Some soldiers lifted the felt cloth, and underneath were jars wrapped with straw rope or hemp rope.

Cao Bing, who closed the door, found that the number of things thrown by the Han army on the opposite side began to increase. It was no longer a single stone, but dense black shadows, like giant locusts flying over it, and fell into the city, crackling.

It's just that they were all a little puzzled. The Han army's catapult carts were powerful, but their throwing was too bad. Few of them hit the city wall, and most of them fell into the city instead.

With a "wow", something obliquely hit the watchtower, making a broken sound.

"What is this? How is it a pottery fragment?"

A soldier curiously picked up the fragments that fell on the city, looked at them, and said with a smile, "Could it be that the Shu captives have gone crazy? They actually used clay pots to attack the city?"

Pang Hui walked over, picked up a piece of pottery and looked at it, only to see that it was greasy, as if it was used to hold oil.

Oil?

Pang Hui thought of this, his heart skipped a beat, and he looked into the city, and saw that the houses were not damaged at all, but there were quite a few black pottery fragments on the roofs and roads in the city.

Pang Hui yelled, "No! Quickly, go to the city to fetch water!"

It's a pity that his reaction was still a bit late.

Under Guancheng, the soldiers operating the catapult vehicles soaked wool cloth in tung oil, then wrapped them on stones, wrapped them tightly, put them in the leather nest of the catapult vehicle, and lit them.

"put!"

The flaming stone flew out and fell into the city.

With a bang, the wooden house that had been covered with tung oil burst into flames all of a sudden. The fire spread very fast, and in the blink of an eye, a small piece became a large piece.

But at this end, the soldiers hurriedly shoveled up the sand and buried the leather nest that had just been ignited, and dug it out after the fire went out. After pulling it, they felt that it was still strong, and then continued to use it.

Clay pots filled with tung oil kept flying over the top of Longguan city, and occasionally burning stones fell into the city, constantly igniting fires everywhere.

The houses in Guancheng are all made of wood, so there are naturally waterproof measures.

Cao Bing was carrying water and pouring water on the burning house, but as soon as the water fell on it, the fire suddenly burst up and licked his face directly, Cao Bing covered his face and screamed Step back.

Crackling!

The huge flame jumped up happily, as if thanking Cao Bing for the bucket of water.

Houses began to collapse and sparks rose into the sky.

From time to time in the city, human-shaped fireballs rushed from the burning house to the street, calling for help and rolling.

"Quick! Go down and put some people out to fight the fire!"

Cao Bing obeyed the order and rushed down the city wall, but the fire on the street was so fierce that some people were forced to retreat.

Pang Hui's face turned pale. He really didn't expect that the other party was so vicious that they attacked the city with oil and fire. They were planning to burn all the people in the city to death!

But where do they get so much oil?

Where did such a powerful trebuchet come from?

Why is the projectile so accurate?

All kinds of doubts flashed across Pang Hui's mind, and his heart was on fire.

The Cao soldiers below ran back and forth with water, trying to put out the fire, but for some reason, the more water was poured, the bigger the fire became.

Wooden houses are easy to catch fire, and with the help of tung oil, the fire spread to the whole city in a short time.

However, Guancheng was only about a mile in size, and the fire was so intense that even Pang Hui, who was standing at the top of the city, was sweating profusely.

Standing under the pass, Feng Yong looked at the billowing black smoke rising from the city. He didn't need to look up at the signal of the nest car, he already knew that the fire in the pass city was unstoppable.

The fire attack needs the right time and place to launch.

People of later generations have a very common question when discussing the Three Kingdoms: Why didn't Cao Cao use rockets when the grass boat borrowed arrows?

As a result, many people debated from the perspective of romance, or historical facts, or even added their own ideas and so on.

In fact, the answer to this question is very simple, just one sentence is enough: because at that time there were no rockets at all, or in other words, no one was aware of the large-scale use of rockets.