nucmednet Chapter 393: Earth Attack on Yanzhou
Chapter 393: Earth Attack on Yanzhou
Yanzhou was attacked by the Xianbei at night in the north, and the fierce battle lasted until the hour of Yin.
The enemy deployed a total of more than 10,000 troops, and ultimately more than 8,000 were killed in the battle.
The Yan army also paid a heavy price, with 6,000 people killed in the battle.
In the artillery positions, 80% of the infantry guns were almost destroyed, and the ammunition suffered heavy losses due to burning and explosions. The enemy even stole 20% of the mortar weapons and ammunition.
"Fortunately, there aren't many mortar shells left, otherwise the losses would be huge."
When Liu Xiang learned about this, he became furious and his face became terribly gloomy.
"I didn't expect the Xianbei soldiers to be so bold as to attack our camp in the middle of the night."
A seriously injured lieutenant spoke tremblingly, his voice carrying a hint of weakness and anger.
"Alright, send the troops to gather the troops and withdraw the remaining artillery and personnel back into the city."
Liu Xiang let out a long breath, and seemed to have lost all his strength. He sat limply on the chair and spoke listlessly.
"Yes..." The deputy general was supported by someone and limped out of Liu Xiang's military tent. His difficult steps seemed to tell the cruelty of war.
When Xing Shuren heard the news, he frowned tightly. He knew that Liu Xiang was an old subordinate of Qin Lian and had pretty good combat capabilities.
However, in order to gain the military power of Yanzhou, he tried his best to replace him with his own confidants.
But changing generals in the middle of a battle is a big taboo, so he temporarily suppressed this idea.
However, he felt uneasy if he did not punish Liu Xiang.
"Come here, tell this General Jun Yu that the defense of the North Camp is weak, and the garrison commander will be detained in the Central Military Commission for punishment."
Xing Shuren said coldly.
Upon hearing this, the messenger hesitated for a moment, as if he was a little surprised by the order, but he quickly agreed and went out.
Yu Wenhua, who was attacking the city at the east gate, learned that Murong Mang had made some gains in his night attack on the Yan army. He was filled with envy and felt that he should also take action.
At this moment, a report came from the front that all the Yan troops retreated back into the city and defended it.
"These Yan soldiers are cowards, afraid to fight openly. What's the point of retreating back to the city?"
Yu Wenhua couldn't help but curse, his face turned red with anger.
Tuoba Qi, as the deputy general, stayed by Yuwenhua's side. When he heard his scolding, he smiled bitterly and said:
"After three days of fighting, the Yan army seems to be as short on ammunition as we are. They are retreating now. I observed that there are cannons on the city wall. I believe they are relying on them as a backup."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Yu Wenhua nodded, his expression slightly softened.
"If that's the case, the losses from the siege will probably be huge. What do you think we should do?"
Seeing Yu Wenhua's question, Tuoba Qi thought for a moment and said, "We can also launch a night attack, but we will use artillery bombardment at night."
Upon hearing this, Yu Wenhua nodded again in agreement.
On this day, the Yan army retreated, but the Xianbei Yuwen troops did not respond at all.
However, after observing from the city wall, Zhang Xiangyang always felt something was strange.
Yu Wenhua's soldiers appeared outside the city from time to time, but they were only a few scattered people coming and going.
It was the end of June, and the nights in Yanzhou did not get dark very early. After nightfall, the moon was barely visible in the sky, and it was completely dark.
Outside the city, Jin Kailai led the artillery and quietly approached the edge of the city.
They took the few artillery shells they had supplied and, seven hundred steps from the edge of the city, used the parameters they had observed visually during the day, fired a few shots at the top of the city wall, and then quickly left.
The next day, Zhang Xiangyang discovered that one of the guns had been destroyed, and the remaining enemy shells had damaged several insignificant locations and injured two soldiers. That was all.
"General, the Xianbei are so arrogant. Do you want us to attack them and put a stop to their arrogance?"
The captain guarding the city shouted angrily, his eyes filled with anger and unwillingness.
"No rush, just be careful and be on guard, especially if anyone approaches during the day."
Zhang Xiangyang gave the order calmly, and then hurried towards the general's mansion.
When Murong Mang heard about Yu Wenhua's night attack, he wanted to launch an offensive during the day.
But after looking at the 1,000 artillery shells that had just been supplied, he felt that these shells would not be very effective in attacking the city.
If he imitated their night attack, it would probably be difficult to hit the target. For a moment, he was in hesitation.
"Big Chief, look at this."
Duan Rui walked in with a rifle, his face showing a complicated expression.
"how?"
Murong Mang asked, his eyes falling on the rifle.
"We bought this gun on the black market before, and my personal guards are also equipped with it. They're basically the same, but I found their guns have a longer range."
Duan Rui said as he handed the gun to Murong Mang.
Murong Mang, who had just taken the gun, had no time to take a closer look when he saw Gongshu Hehe striding in.
"Deputy General Duan took quite a few guns from the weapons we seized. We're still studying them."
Gongshu Hehe spoke in a loud voice, and his tone seemed to indicate some dissatisfaction with Duan Rui's behavior.
"This is a rifle. It's quite lethal. Why didn't you hand it over after you seized it yesterday?"
Murong Mang pretended to be angry at Gongshu Hehe's loud voice.
"Captain, aren't we unaware of this thing's wonderful uses? That's why we didn't report it. However, we did seize an explosive iron lump, but unfortunately, there are only three or four left."
After saying that, Gongshu Hehe took out a grenade from his waist and said.
Duan Rui and Murong Mang had both seen these grenades, but they were not popular in the military. However, these weapons were common on the black market.
"This is called a grenade. We thought it was useless, but we didn't expect it to be used to break through the trenches yesterday."
Duan Rui later learned about the battle situation and knew that they had used grenades to break the deadlock. Unfortunately, he later learned that all the grenades they brought had been used up.
"Grenade?" Murong Mang suddenly remembered that when the Murong family imitated guns and ammunition, they made some gunpowder and pulled a cart full of it before going to the expedition. Originally, they intended to use it as kerosene.
He also knew that these things would explode if ignited in a barrel.
"Notify everyone and start the earth attack in the afternoon." Murong Mang was a little excited. He planned to dig a hole from the trench to the bottom of the city wall and use explosives to blow up the city wall.
At that time, Duan Rui and Gongshu Hehe did not understand what was going on, but since they were ordered to launch an earth attack, they also knew what tools they should prepare.
There were two miles between the city gate and the moat. In the afternoon, the army approached and fired artillery at the top of the city, but they did not attack.
Liu Xiang was guarding the city wall, and as long as the enemy approached, he would use large-caliber artillery to greet them.
Unfortunately, the distance of two miles was always beyond the range of the large-caliber artillery, otherwise he would have opened fire impatiently.
The two sides remained deadlocked for the entire afternoon, with neither side taking the initiative to attack.
Murong Mang's team kept changing from time to time. Liu Xiang was confused and had no idea what the other party was trying to do.