The Nameless of the Common Clans

"What are they doing?" Zhang Fei looked at the gradually built artillery platform from a distance, and looked at Zhuge Liang beside him in confusion. This distance is too far. Even if you want to build an artillery platform, it is so far away that you may not even be able to hit the city wall. Is Chen Mo stupid?

Zhuge Liang looked at the artillery platform that was gradually taking shape in the distance, and a bad feeling arose in his heart. He knew what the artillery platform was for, but the distance was really exaggerated. It was impossible to attack the city wall, but if not, what was the point of Chen Mo doing this?

But at present, there was no other way except waiting. If they left the city, the Jingzhou army and the Ming army would not be opponents at all in the battle outside the city. In order to prevent them from destroying it, Chen Mo had two troops guarding around and could fight at any time. Moreover, even if it cost a huge price to flatten the opponent's artillery platform, the opponent could still build it again, while the Jingzhou army would lose every bit.

Time passed in this uneasy mood. The Ming army did not attack the city in the past few days, but the Jingzhou army felt like they were living a year in a day, and the depressing atmosphere continued to spread in the army.

Three days later, forty artillery platforms with a height of two feet and a length and width of five feet were set up outside Fancheng. Five days later, forty catapults that were more than twice as large as ordinary catapults were built under the eyes of the Jingzhou army.

The exaggerated size was still shocking even if it was seen from a distance of 140 steps, like a wild beast ready to eat people at any time.

On the ninth day, everything was ready, and jars of fire oil were moved to the front line. Chen Mo stood on a high tower and watched the actions on the top of Fancheng from a distance. Under his feet, around each catapult, there were ten strong men under the command of the generals, pulling the trigger, and jars of fire oil were sent to the huge net bag to ignite.

Ma Jun gave an order, and in an instant, the strong men who pulled the capstan let go at the same time. The iron chain on the gallows was shrunken by the mechanism and gravity, and the sound was like thunder. The burning kerosene tanks flew into the air and fell to the top of Fancheng like meteors. Some even went directly over the city wall and fell into the city.

At the moment when the kerosene tanks fell and broke, the nightmare of the Jingzhou army also came. The scattered kerosene quickly covered a large area of ​​the city wall. The towering enemy tower was engulfed by flames in an instant. Hundreds of soldiers defending the city were covered by flames at that moment, but they did not die. They screamed and rolled around. Some simply jumped from the top of the city and died. For a while, screams, curses, and wails rang out on the top of Fancheng.

The soldiers responsible for controlling the crossbow carts instinctively launched crossbow attacks, but unfortunately the distance of the artillery platform was beyond the range of the crossbow carts, and did not hurt the Ming army at all.

Zhuge Liang looked at this scene with a pale face. He was not afraid, but he knew that he had lost. Even if he wanted to leave the city to destroy these artillery platforms, it was too late.

The catapults of the Ming army were still making noises. Soon, the second round of attacks arrived. Most of the top of the city was covered by flames. The defenders had no place to stand. Many soldiers began to flee desperately.

Zhang Fei did not ask Zhuge Liang, and directly led the infantry and cavalry out of the city, wanting to destroy these catapults before the next round of artillery fire.

Seeing this, Ma Chao, who was responsible for cruising around, drove his troops to kill Zhang Fei without saying a word. The two troops rushed under the city like two torrents. At the same time, Pang De and Zhang Xiu also surrounded Zhang Fei from the left and right.

Although Zhang Fei was brave, he was outnumbered. He roared and fought in the chaos, but he could not hide his decline. He was defeated by Ma Chao, Pang De and Zhang Xiu. He had to retreat back to the city. When Ma Chao and his men chased into the city gate, he desperately blocked the city gate.

Most of the third round of fire bombs had already landed on the top of the city. The northern city wall had become a sea of ​​fire and it was difficult to stand.

Chen Mo took the opportunity to command his troops to launch a fierce attack on the city gate. Without the support of the troops on the top of the city, they only needed to break through the city gate to enter Fancheng. As long as the city gate was broken, Fancheng would be broken halfway.

Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei in the city naturally understood this truth. On the one hand, they ordered people to block the city gate, and on the other hand, they quickly sounded the horn to ask for help from Jiangdong. They knew very well that even if all the troops from Xiangyang were transferred over, they would still be unable to defeat Chen Mo. At this moment, Jiangdong had to take action to stop Chen Mo.

On the other side, Cao Ang had also noticed the situation here. The fire on the north gate of Fancheng could be seen from several miles away. He did not expect that the north city would be so easily breached. He did not dare to neglect it and immediately ordered Cao Zhang, Cao Xiu and Xiahou Ba to lead a group of troops to Fancheng to support Zhuge Liang.

But here, Chen Mo had been prepared for the arrival of the Jiangdong Army. Zhang Liao and Xu Huang personally went to the battlefield and led the troops to block the Jiangdong Army in the east of the city. The two sides fought again. Cao Xiu, Cao Zhang and Xiahou Ba were all outstanding young people in the Cao family, but they were less experienced than Zhang Liao and Xu Huang. The two sides fought for half a day in the east of the city, but the Jiangdong Army was defeated. On the main battlefield, Wei Yan had led his troops to blast open the city gate and led his troops to fight into the city.

Zhuge Liang's crossbow played a huge role here. Dozens of people could form a dense arrow formation, and the first batch of soldiers who entered the city were beaten badly.

Wei Yan immediately adjusted his troops and ordered the shield soldiers to form a shield formation and move forward. The advantage of the Yuanrong crossbow is its fast attack speed, but its disadvantage is its insufficient power. It does not have the strong penetrating power like the crossbow cart. Facing the Ming army's shield formation, it has no way to deal with it. Zhuge Liang commanded his troops to fight and retreat. Relying on the Ming army's siege weapons, they were unable to enter the city. They fought street battles with the Ming army in the city based on their familiarity with the terrain. Although the Ming army was brave, it was difficult for them to quickly defeat these defenders for a while.

On the battlefield outside the city, both Cao Ang and Zhou Yu arrived. Seeing Cao Xiu, Cao Zhang, and Xia Houba, who were retreating steadily on the battlefield and almost unable to withstand the enemy, Cao Ang ordered Cao Zhen and Lu Meng to send troops to attack Zhang Liao and Xu Huang from the flanks. There were two armies, but Ma Chao, Pang De, and Zhang Xiu were now free. When they saw additional troops being sent here, the three of them also led their troops to press forward.

The Jiangdong Infantry Army has indeed grown in recent years after the addition of General Cao, but compared to the elite Ming Army who have experienced battles for a long time, it is obviously not enough.

"Commander..." Cao Ang looked at the army in front of him that was gradually at a disadvantage, and sighed helplessly: "Retreat the troops, Fancheng has been destroyed, and our army is no longer enough to rescue Xiangyang. It is better to prepare early and fight with the Ming army." decisive battle."

Once Fancheng was broken, only the isolated city of Xiangyang was left. It was impossible for Liu Bei to stop Chen Mo with the little money he had left in Jingzhou. Although Sun and Liu were in alliance, it was impossible for him to use all the infantry that Jiangdong had trained hard over the years for Jingzhou. Pay for it, and according to Chen Mo's current momentum, even if he pays for all the 50,000 troops, without the geographical advantage, it will be difficult to compete with Chen Mo.

After all, Jingzhou's foundation is too shallow, and Liu Bei is still dividing his troops at this time. Although this is Liu Bei's only chance to expand, it cannot be wrong, but judging from the current results, Liu Bei's defeat is certain this time, and he can only hope He successfully captured Shuchuan. In this way, the alliance between Jiangdong and Liu Bei could be renewed. Otherwise, Liu Bei would be basically abolished.

Zhou Yu nodded. They had fulfilled their obligations as allies. They could not protect Fancheng without their own efforts. It was Chen Mo who came with the general trend. He was too strong. It is impossible to fight Chen Mo on land now. The only thing he could rely on was to use the terrain of the Yangtze River to fight Chen Mo.

Cao Ang's judgment was roughly the same as that of Zhou Yu. At that moment, Cao Ang offered money and asked Cao Xiu and the others to withdraw from the camp.

Chen Mo is now mainly focused on Xiangfan. Jiangdong is willing to withdraw his troops, so Chen Mo is not chasing him. He will first gnaw off the already gnawed bone of Jingzhou, and then attack Jiangdong. This meal must be eaten step by step.

Without the support of Jiangdong, Chen Mo's main force began to enter the city. No matter how capable Zhuge Liang was, he now realized what it meant to be powerless. Under the protection of Zhang Fei and others, he led the remaining army to fight and retreat, and passed After the pontoon bridge returned all the way to Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang did not destroy the pontoon bridge. It was not easy for Chen Mo to burn the pontoon bridge, but it was also not easy for Zhuge Liang, who built the pontoon bridge, to destroy it. He set up three continuous ballistas around the pontoon bridge. As long as the Ming army dared to Once you reach the bridge, you will immediately be attacked by the crossbow chariots. You have saved your retreat. However, after this battle, Fancheng has been lost, the Han River has become uncontrollable, and Xiangyang has become an isolated city. Fortunately, Zhuge Liang has a large number of troops around Xiangyang. The layout was so that Chen Mo would not even attack Xiangyang in one go.

"Your Majesty, Jiangdong has withdrawn its troops!"

At the Fancheng Yamen Office, the bloody smell in the air has not dissipated. After Chen Mo, Xun You and others arrived at Fancheng, they quickly ordered Zhang Liao to prepare to attack the Liqiu camp. Without the constraints of Fancheng, now both in terms of terrain and military strength, Li Qiu is no longer strong enough to continue to fight against Chen Mo. If left alone, Chen Mo will be unable to attack Xiangyang with all his strength, so Chen Mo decided to remove the nail in his back first.

What Chen Mo never expected was that Jiang Dong actually withdrew first. Although it saved a lot of effort, it also made Chen Mo a little regretful. If Jiang Dong, an army capable of land warfare, could be retained at this time, he would be able to attack the enemy in the future. Jiangdong has great benefits.

Unfortunately, Jiangdong retreated in time, and from Shen Mo's point of view, Fancheng was broken. Staying here and fighting would not do any good to Jiangdong except losing troops and generals. It was the wisest choice to retreat in time and redeploy the troops.

"Send an order to Zhang He and order him to attack in the direction of Xiangyang and remove all obstacles. The army will cross the river to join him as soon as possible." Chen Mo looked at the crowd and smiled and said: "Today's battle depends entirely on the soldiers' orders. Pass on my military order to move the Fancheng granary. Open it, reward the meritorious soldiers, and make a list to calm the people. No one is allowed to disturb the people. Anyone who disobeys the order, no matter who it is, will be punished by military law!"

After hearing the words, the generals quickly stepped in to take orders. Not disturbing the people was not an uncommon rule for the Ming army. From the time Chen Mo rose in Hedong, not disturbing the people was the first purpose. Even if Chen Mo didn't say it, the generals would follow it. .