Fenghou

Then another pass city was built at the mouth of the canyon, and the two sides in front of the canyon were also city gates, forming an urn city with four sides.

But Chen Qing has guarded the similar Jiandao Pass, he knows that any pass has its weaknesses, it depends on whether you can find them?

"How to solve the drinking water in the city?" Chen Qing asked.

"It's all digging wells to get water."

Chen Qing nodded, it seemed that there was no other way for the water source, he wanted to look at the mountains on both sides, and he thought of the top of Jiandao Pass, which was very similar to here, so he asked, "Can the top of the mountain go up?"

"It should be possible, but I don't know the way up the mountain."

Chen Qing asked again: "If I want to send someone to the top of the mountain to have a look, where can I find someone who knows the way?"

Zhang Hua thought for a while and said, "Go to Hucheng County and look for hunters or herb pickers. They should know the way."

Chen Qing looked back at Hu Yanlei, and Hu Yanlei immediately clasped his fists and said, "Look for the humble job!"

Chapter 731 Wizard

Hucheng County is located about [-] miles west of Hangu Pass. There is an official road leading to Guozhou, which makes its commercial status more important. Therefore, Hucheng County has become the second commercial intersection after Shan County. Service industries such as teahouses and inns and warehousing industries are relatively developed.

In addition, there are many medicine shops and fur shops in Hucheng County, which is also a major feature of it. A large number of medicinal materials and fur shops from Guozhou are collected and distributed here every year.

There is a big pharmacy near the east gate of the county seat, called Baohetang, which can be regarded as the largest pharmacy in Shanzhou. It not only has famous doctors sitting in the pharmacy, but also engages in the wholesale purchase of medicinal materials. In addition, it has a good reputation, so there are a lot of medicinal herbs all year round. Human pharmacy delivering medicine.

Hucheng County has just gone through the siege and is still in the period of martial law. There are no people on the streets, and all the shops are closed.

Hu Yanlei led more than a dozen soldiers to the door of Baohetang store, knocked for a while, and the store door opened. Seeing that there were soldiers outside, a drug boy screamed in fright, turned around and fled. For a moment, the shopkeeper was trembling. He came out to salute and said, "What do you have to say, military lords?"

"You don't have to be afraid, I'm not here to rob your shop, I'm just asking you something."

"So that's it, General please come in quickly!"

Hu Yanlei went into the pharmacy, took a sip of hot tea, and explained his purpose to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper said with a smile: "You can't go up to the top of Guguan Mountain in Shanghan from Xiaohan Road. You have to go up from Guolue County. The road is very difficult."

"I also know that the road is not easy to walk, but we have to go up and have a look. I hope the shopkeeper will introduce a guide."

"Of course there is a guide. I know that several herb collectors are familiar with the mountain roads. There is a herb collector in the county. I will take the general there."

"Then trouble the shopkeeper."

……

The herb collector introduced by the shopkeeper was surnamed Song, and everyone called him Song Qilang. He was in his thirties and was relatively thin and looked very flexible. He agreed, but when Hu Yanlei put an ingot of twelve taels of silver in front of him, his eyes lit up, and he agreed without hesitation.

Just kidding, ten taels of silver can be exchanged for fifty pennies, which he earned after two years of collecting herbs. With these ten taels of silver, he can support his son to study.

Hu Yanlei brought Song Qilang to Chen Qing's big tent. Song Qilang spread a map on the table and said to Chen Qing: "This is the map of Hangu Pass left by my father. He is also a herb picker. You can see it clearly on the map." Now, there are three ways to go up the mountain."

Chen Qing looked down at this somewhat old hand-painted map carefully. At a glance, he knew that it was the map of Hangu Pass. The drawing was very realistic. There were three thin paths drawn on it, two of which were relatively close and one was far away.

"Is the top of Hangu Pass flat?" Chen Qing asked again.

Song Qilang shook his head and said: "The top is uneven, with jagged rocks, undulating gullies, and many trees growing, but generally speaking, it is flat in some places."

"I mean, can you throw stones into Hangu Pass from the top of the mountain?"

The eyes of all the generals next to him lit up, yes!It is a good way to attack from the top of the mountain. Everyone looked at the herb picker expectantly.

Song Qilang thought for a while and said, "You can throw stones down from the top of the mountain, but you must find someone who is strong enough to throw them far, otherwise you will be blocked by trees halfway up the mountain."

"Can the livestock go up the mountain?" Chen Qing asked again.

"It is impossible for livestock to go up the mountain. If the king of the county wants to transport heavy things up the mountain, he can only use people to carry them, and he can only go this way!"

Song Qilang pointed to the farthest road on the map, "Only this road can transport heavy objects up the mountain. The other two roads are not good. I am familiar with the three roads, and I am willing to lead the way for the army."

"How long does it take to get to the top of the mountain?"

"At least two days!"

Chen Qing nodded, pondered for a moment and smiled at Niu Gao: "This time we need General Niu to go out, pick a thousand strong soldiers, bring more dry food and water, and carry fifty small trebuchets up the mountain, with kerosene, kerosene, etc. , poisonous gas, these three weapons are enough!"

Niu Gao was overjoyed, and immediately bowed and said: "I have been looking forward to this day for a long time!"

Niu Gao failed to participate in several battles, but he was overwhelmed. This time the attack on Hangu Pass was for him to take the route of surprise soldiers, but he was also satisfied.

……

The large trebuchets could not be transported, so the parts could only be delivered and assembled on the spot. For two days in a row, the Song army was intensively assembling the siege weapons. Even the soldiers on the top of the city realized that all of them looked dignified, and a big battle was coming. tension before.

At the same time, Niu Gao led a thousand soldiers to start up the mountain. Each of the thousand soldiers was tall and strong, and each of them carried a weight of seventy to eighty catties. A small trebuchet weighed four hundred catties, but it could It was disassembled into five parts and carried up the mountain by five soldiers.

Hundreds of soldiers are carrying a large rattan basket, which is filled with all kinds of projectiles, gunpowder barrels, kerosene balls, poisonous smoke balls, ropes and so on.

The remaining hundreds of soldiers carried dry food and water hyacinths. One water hyacinth was enough for each person. There was a mountain spring on the top of the mountain, and there was no shortage of drinking water.

In the afternoon, everyone began to climb Longtouya. Longtouya is a cliff named after its appearance resembling a dragon's head. This is the biggest obstacle on the way up the mountain. It is necessary to climb a two-foot-high cliff, so it is impossible to walk livestock.

Even the heavy loads they carried had to be hoisted up with ropes so that the soldiers could climb up the rope ladders.

Two hours later, all the soldiers went up to the hill, and they walked into a pine forest with their luggage on their backs. It was getting late, so Niu Gao ordered to rest on the spot.

Niu Gao carried a small trebuchet on his back by himself, which made everyone dumbfounded. However, Niu Gao was hailed as the number one warrior of the Western Army by the county king, so he must have infinite strength.

Song Qilang gave a thumbs up and praised: "General Niu has great strength!"

Niu Gao asked him to sit down, and handed him the jug, "Take a sip of wine to warm your body."

Song Qilang took two sips of the wine and was full of praise, "This wine is strong and enjoyable!"

"This is specially for scouts to keep out the cold. I'll give you a gourd later!"

"Thank you General!"

Niu Gao asked again: "The buildings in the valley are mainly made of stone, or are they mainly made of wood?"

"All of them! Most of them are made of wood. They have been built for decades and are very old. Soldiers use large tents and distribute them along the rocks. Wooden fences are also built on both sides of the road. The official road is in the middle, and merchants and pedestrian."

"How wide is the canyon?" Niu Gao asked again after pondering.

"The widest part is one mile, and the narrowest part is only a few dozen steps. If you use a trebuchet, I don't think it's a big problem."

After a pause, Song Qilang whispered again: "General Niu, I also want to join the Song Army, do you think it's okay?"

"You?" Niu Gao looked at his thin figure.

Song Qilang was a little embarrassed and said: "Although I am a little thinner, I am very agile. No one can climb mountains and trees better than me. I also know medicine. What herbs in the mountains can heal wounds and stop bleeding? What medicine can cure headaches and fever? I am very clear about stopping diarrhea, and I am very familiar with the Weihan Ancient Road, so I can find the best location for building beacon towers in the future.”

Niu Gao was a little tempted, there are not many people who understand herbal medicine, this is a rare talent, but is the other party bragging?He smiled and asked, "Is there a small path to go to the back of Hangu Pass?"

Song Qilang pointed to the east side and said with a smile: "There is a candle water not far from our place. From there, we can go to the east of Lingbao County, but it is not convenient to use a raft to walk by water."

Niu Gao nodded happily, and continued to ask with a smile, "How did you think of joining the Song Army?"

Song Qilang sighed and said: "My grandfather was a herb collector who died in the tiger's mouth when he was 40 years old. My father was also a herb collector. He fell into the Baizhang mountain stream ten years ago. I followed my father to collect herbs when I was ten years old. I have been collecting herbs for 20 years. My son is seven years old this year, I want him to study, I heard that joining the Song Army will give you land in Hanzhong, and you can also be exempted from taxes, this will change my son's fate, I want to join the Song Army even in my dreams!"

Niu Gao patted him on the shoulder, "You will follow me from now on, go to rest early, we will get up and start in the middle of the night!"

Chapter 732 Heavenly Attack

Before dawn the next day, everyone got up and set off again. There were various forks and dead end roads along the way, but Song Qilang could always find a new road from the dead end road. Although it was very complicated, the journey was smooth. At noon , They walked out of a pine forest and came to a huge cliff.

Song Qilang pointed at the cliff and said loudly: "This is Hangu, if the whole mountain is split into two, it will be impossible to pass from here."

Some daring ones wanted to look down, Song Qilang hurriedly shouted: "Everyone squat down, the wind is strong, you will fall!"

Everyone squatted down one after another, leaning on the boulder to look down. The depth below was tens of feet, and the gates and tents became very small.

"Niu Tongzhi, do you want to do something?" Everyone looked at Niu Gao one after another.

Niu Gao nodded, "Assemble the trebuchet first, when to do it, wait for the signal from the county king!"

Everyone started to assemble the trebuchet together, looking for a good place to place the trebuchet. Niu Gao looked to the west. Although he couldn't see the camp here, he should be able to see the signal from the camp here.

……

At dusk, the ten heavy-duty catapults of the Song Army had been installed, and [-] troops marched out. Thousands of soldiers struggled to push the catapults, and the catapults rumbled forward, with a huge baffle in front.

'when!when!when!when! 'A siren blared from the top of the city.

Eight thousand soldiers of the Puppet Qi Army lined up and ran towards the pass. 3000 people were deployed on the first pass, 1000 were deployed on each side of the pass, and 1000 people were deployed on the second pass, and finally lined up in the barn. He gathered two thousand crossbowmen, ready to use the crossbow array to attack the enemy who was besieging the city.

Kong Yanzhou stared at Song Jun's ten heavy trebuchets, and now he understood what Song Jun was doing these two days?Must be assembling the trebuchet.

"The bed crossbow is ready! Wengcheng crossbow army retreats into Houguan city." Kong Yanzhou yelled sharply.

He knew that the Song army's first round must be a heavy trebuchet attack, and the soldiers in the urn city would bear the brunt of it.

The two thousand crossbow troops quickly retreated to the inner city, and three hundred bed crossbows were spread out on the outer city wall, aiming at the heavy trebuchets one after another.

The heavy trebuchet moved slowly, and when it was [-] steps away, the bed crossbow on the top of the city was fired, and the roaring jackdaw arrows shot all over the sky.

A general shouted, and three thousand soldiers hid behind the trebuchet one after another. Some jackdaw arrows crackled and hit the front baffle, but some jackdaw arrows crossed the baffle and shot towards the catapult.

The Song Army’s trebuchets are not the simple trebuchets of the Xixia and Jin Kingdoms. They are tied with belts. The Song Army’s heavy trebuchets are weighted trebuchets with copper rods as the shaft. They are not afraid of jackdaw arrows at all. He shot the arrow, but still walked slowly without hindrance.

The puppet Qi army fired three gurney crossbows in a row, but the heavy trebuchets of the Song army still did not lose a single bit. The important thing for the Song army was not the trebuchet itself, but the soldiers under the trebuchet. Out of action.

The heavy trebuchets stopped when they reached 250 steps, and the soldiers began to adjust quickly. After a while, ten heavy trebuchets were ready.

A cavalryman rushed to Chen Qing and reported loudly, "Qijun Wang, the trebuchet is ready, please order!"

Chen Qing nodded, "Launch with fire oil balls!"

The fire oil ball, also known as fierce fire ball, is a siege weapon invented in the Northern Song Dynasty. The outside is woven with dry grass soaked in kerosene, and the inside is a fire oil tank. Causes a large area to burn.

Seven years ago, Lou Shi of Wanyan captured Shan County with fierce fireballs.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Following a series of firing sounds, ten huge fireballs flew towards the top of the city. Chen Qing also looked towards the top of the mountain. These ten fireballs were the signal. I wonder if Niu Gao and the others are ready?

……

On the top of the mountain, fifty trebuchets are lined up, in the valley are military camps and warehouses, and there is a Guancheng at the far east of the valley.

Only the launching soldiers were waiting, and the remaining seven hundred soldiers were cutting down the pine trees. Hundreds of felled pine trees had been piled up, ready to be thrown down the valley at any time.

"Look, general!" a soldier shouted, pointing to the west.

Niu Gao stood up and saw ten fireballs soaring into the air, hitting the head of Guancheng, the signal to attack came.

Niu Gao immediately ordered: "Fire oil ball projection!"

Soldiers lit fire oil balls with torches, and fifty small trebuchets threw burning fireballs into the valley one by one.

There were only more than a hundred defenders in the valley, and fireballs fell from the sky one after another, and they exploded with a bang when they landed. Burning oil splashed everywhere, and fire broke out everywhere in the valley.

The soldiers also took the opportunity to push the pine trees down the valley. After a while, the pine trees were also set on fire, and the flames in the valley were blazing and thick smoke billowed.

At this time, a raging fire was also ignited on the outer city wall, and the soldiers had to retreat to both sides.

A soldier stumbled and ran to report to Kong Yanzhou, "Du Tong, there is a fire in the valley!"

Kong Yanzhou was taken aback, and hurriedly looked back, just in time to see dozens of fireballs falling from the top of the mountain.

Kong Yanzhou's eyes widened in fear, what is this?

"The Song army is attacking from the top of the mountain!" The soldiers shouted one after another.

The Song army actually attacked from the top of the mountain. Kong Yanzhou was in a state of confusion. He didn't know what to do. Should he withdraw or not?If the troops are withdrawn, the Song army has not yet started to attack!Isn't this just collapsing without a fight?Wanyan Wushu couldn't spare him.

But if the troops are not withdrawn and everything is burned, what will the soldiers eat?

At this moment, the throwing weapon on the top of the mountain has been replaced with a poisonous gas bomb. This is also a poisonous firearm invented during the Northern Song Dynasty. The highly poisonous rhizome is dried and ground into powder, which is mixed with gunpowder. After the bamboo basket is burned, poisonous smoke billows out, which is very lethal.

Niu Gao carried the most poisonous gas bombs up the mountain. After a while, the entire valley was filled with thick smoke and poisonous gas.

Niu Gao's eyes were bright, he could see that the enemy army could not last long.

He immediately changed his tactics and no longer needed trebuchets. In order to prevent the enemy from withdrawing, they had to throw a large number of poisonous smoke balls and fire oil balls into the valley. The soldiers lit the poison smoke balls and fire oil balls and threw them directly into the valley. , A thousand soldiers started at the same time, and soon threw thousands of kerosene balls and poisonous smoke balls down. The kerosene and pine trees burned in the valley, and the poisonous smoke filled the air. The valley more than ten miles long was completely covered by thick smoke.

At the same time, ten heavy-duty trebuchets threw a large amount of kerosene, and [-] chariots approached the city wall. The fuel tanks on the chariots also continued to spray kerosene towards the top of the city, turning the top of the city into a sea of ​​flames. All the buildings were on fire, and the billowing smoke choked the soldiers until they couldn't breathe, and soldiers kept falling down.

The thick smoke and flames made Kong Yanzhou finally sober. He could either open the city gate and fight to the death with the Song army, or retreat immediately. There was no third way.

But there are [-] troops outside the city!

Kong Yanzhou had a glimmer of hope for the retreat, so he immediately issued an order, "The whole army retreats!"

Baqian of Hangu Pass retreated eastward with his mouth and nose covered, but the valley was more than ten miles long, and the entire valley was filled with poisonous smoke. The poisonous smoke, the thick smoke in the valley alone is enough to make soldiers choked to death.