Chapter 3413: Deja Vu

Chapter 3412 Deja Vu

The Cao army's Tongguan camp and Zhongtiaoshan camp were built with a river between them, connected by a floating bridge. Originally, there was no special defense system between the two camps, because many Cao army members thought that the area between the two camps was safe. Until Sima Yi stabbed them in the face, they began to set up some sentry towers on both sides of the floating bridge, set up strong bows and crossbows, and catapults to snipe the enemy. This formed a crescent formation with the floating bridge as the bow back.

Of course, the distance between the floating bridge and the two camps was different.

The Zhongtiaoshan camp was more focused on defending the Hussars in the east of the river in the north, and the heavy responsibility of resisting the Hussars in Tongguan naturally fell on the Tongguan camp.

Even if the Zhongtiaoshan camp discovered that the Hussars in Tongguan had sent troops to counterattack, it would have to walk about 15 to 20 miles of mountain roads, which would take at least half a day, to support them.

The time difference of half a day sometimes determines everything.

After all, Cao's army has no cavalry and has no choice because of its short legs.

Compared with the defense of the main camp, the defense system of the floating bridge is relatively weak. Neither the guards nor the defensive equipment are very strong. This is also an important reason why Pang Tong chose to further break through and attack on the water.

But this weakness is also relative.

After all, the navy of the cavalry in Chang'an is not very systematic, so whether it is the defense line of the Cao army on the floating bridge or the navy of the cavalry in Guanzhong, they do not have the power to directly defeat or crush the opponent.

Pang Tong's combat objectives are many, which can be said to be phased goals. Clearing the Cao army in the lower city and regaining control of the Tongguan ferry is the first level of the goal, which has now been basically completed.

The second stage is to destroy the chariots and traps of the Cao army on the Tongguan Slope Road, which is also basically completed.

Although Liu Fu withdrew some Cao's soldiers and civilians, as well as the related chariot camp equipment, most of the facilities on the Tongguan Slope Road were destroyed, and they were destroyed by the kerosene buried by Cao's army. This is a wonderful irony.

It's like Pang Tong not only slapped Cao Zhang and Liu Fu in the face, but also shouted "What's wrong with hitting you?"...

Anyway, Shandong has such a tradition, and it's not a big deal.

The goal of the third stage is to destroy the floating bridge.

The floating bridge is an important passage connecting the Zhongtiaoshan camp and the Tongguan camp. If the connection between the two camps can be cut off, the Cao army will be cut off and separated in a short time.

Moreover, destroying the Cao army's floating bridge can also allow the ships of the Chang'an Cavalry Army to threaten the entire supply line of the Cao army to some extent...

Although the river is not as easy to travel as the Yangtze River, there is such a possibility, isn't it?

This will not only bring convenience to the cavalry army, but also increase the burden of Cao's army, and it is more likely to break the stalemate at a certain point and affect the direction of the war.

However, if you want to attack the pontoon bridge, you must first break the obstacles set up by Cao's army underwater.

Although the morale of Cao's army is not high, the civilians they carry are hardworking and meticulous. The underwater obstacles set up in the river are actually made of the flesh and blood and lives of Shandong civilians.

When the ice and snow of the river melted, it was washed away once, and then it was restored and rebuilt again. I don’t know how many civilians died silently in the river.

Perhaps the turbid water of the river is because of the contamination of these innocent souls.

The Cao army suffered a series of blows, which seriously dampened the morale and confidence of the Cao army soldiers.

Seeing this, Guanqiu Jian was very hesitant.

If they tried to send the few ships of Cao's army to attack the cavalry navy, they would naturally be the focus of the cavalry navy's long-range attack. Whether they could rush to the front was a big problem, but if they didn't rush, the Cao army with insufficient range would be beaten in vain...

After hesitating again and again, Guanqiu Jian still didn't order the ships to attack. Although they could be regarded as waiting for the enemy to tire, Guanqiu Jian didn't dare to order the Cao army's only navy ships to go forward to fight. He only dared to let these ships defend the obstacles in front of the pontoon bridge.

But Guanqiu Jian didn't know that his mentality fell into Pang Tong's calculations.

There were no sword and shield soldiers, spearmen and other melee soldiers on Ma Jun's tower ship!

Although it is said that rowers can also fight with swords, they will lose some mobility and their combat effectiveness is not as good as that of specialized sword and shield soldiers. Therefore, the tower ships led by Ma Jun are actually afraid of close combat...

But Guanqiu Jian did not dare to go up, so the long-range firepower of the tower ships led by Ma Jun was fully exerted.

Ma Jun installed small catapults and crossbow carts on the tower ships, but no cannons.

Because the tower ships are still too small, cannons must be installed symmetrically, otherwise the possibility of the ship capsizing may increase greatly due to excessive weight on one side. However, the long-range of these cold weapons is enough to form a three-layer long-range attack mode of long, medium and short distances.

Ma Jun did not know much about naval warfare, and long-range attacks did not require too complicated operations. The ships moved forward slowly. Once the Cao army entered the attack range, they would become the target of attack.

Guanqiu Jian ordered the archers to move forward and seize the positions on both sides, preparing to launch a comprehensive counterattack when the tower ships of the cavalry army were ready to break through the obstacles in the river.

Because in order to break the obstacles in the river, some manpower must be freed up, and at that time, because the power of the ship must be borrowed to drag or destroy, the ship is also in the most unstable state. If you include the two sides and the pontoon With the arranged crossbow vehicle, any enemy who launches an attack will be blocked from three sides, so counterattacking at that moment will naturally be the most stable!

However, what Guan Qiujian didn't expect was that Ma Jun's ship was not in a hurry to destroy the pontoon bridge, but instead launched an attack on Cao's soldiers who were within range.

Those unlucky archers of Cao's army had just entered Ma Jun's strike range when they were attacked from a distance.

The catapult loaded on the deck of the building ship began to show its power. The gunners raised the wooden hammer high and hit the hook of the thunderbolt cart hard. The heavy weight box sank suddenly, and the long wooden tip drew a line. In an arc, it was thrown up into the sky, and a stone the size of a human head was thrown out.

This kind of catapult is smaller than the catapult on land, but for Cao Jun's archers, no matter how big or small, it is unbearable to be hit.

The stone bullets flew in the air, making a harsh whistle, and flew towards the archer troops assembled by Cao Jun.

"boom! 』

The stone bullets fell on the ground, and the splashed stones hit several unlucky Cao Jun soldiers.

"Hold on!" Hold on! ” Cao Jun led the troops and shouted, “The stone cannon is not accurate!” They can't hit us! Don't panic! Don't panic! 』

According to ordinary experience, this is indeed the case, but the problem is that the people on the building ship now are not ordinary naval generals, but one of the few non-Huang craftsmen in Chang'an!

When it comes to commanding soldiers to fight on the water, Ma Jun is only half qualified in this aspect, but when it comes to skills in equipment and equipment, Ma Jun is far beyond the average general.

When generals see a catapult failing, most of the time they will jump and scold, "These are all Italian cannons..."

But Ma Jun squinted, measured the water flow speed and wind speed, and then immediately ordered parameter corrections!

The leader of the archer array was still shouting to hold on, and then saw the second stone bullet falling directly into the crowd!

The stone bullets bounced, drawing a bloody path!

"stable……"

The team leader was about to shout again, but he heard soldiers beside him shouting to be careful. When he looked up, he saw another stone bullet whizzing down in the air, which seemed to be heading towards his position!

"No! 』

The team leader was so frightened that he immediately stared at the direction of the stone bullet and tried to dodge. However, because the team leader was looking at the sky, he tripped on something and fell out with a cry. !

The stone bullets fell with a roar, and happened to hit the unlucky team leader. Suddenly, there were no bones left, and the remaining limbs were scattered with blood and flesh!

There were people near the team leader who knew that the team leader was simply unlucky, but the soldiers of Cao's army in the distance didn't know. They thought the stone bullets were really that accurate, as if they had predicted how the team leader would avoid it, and then It's like it hit that place!

There was an uproar in Cao Jun's archer queue, and then the entire queue dispersed. Everyone's attention was focused on the stone bullets flying in the sky, and they had no intention of paying attention to the clearing iron that came out from behind Ma Junlou's ship. Chain's fighting ships have quietly approached Cao Jun's barrage cables.

Under the technical conditions of the Han Dynasty, it was impossible to make such iron cables to block rivers as thick as those of later generations. Even if thick iron cables were made, due to the weight of the iron cables, opponents would not have to destroy them. , it broke directly on its own.

The fighting ship in Guanzhong approached the iron rope, pressed the pole against the iron rope, and swung the hull across. The soldiers used the fishing pole to lift the iron chain and placed it in the bayonet on the ship's board.

Iron chains in the Han Dynasty were generally cast and did not have hydraulic presses, but this kind of cast iron was relatively brittle...

Soon, the soldier aimed the slotted jaws of the bayonet at the iron chain, while another soldier held a hammer and smashed the iron chain open in two or two strokes.

The soldiers of Cao's army on the pontoon found that the iron chain had been broken at this time, and they screamed.

Guanqiu Jian was also frightened, shouted, and issued a death order, asking Cao's soldiers to get on the pontoon bridge. He must stop the Chang'an navy from destroying the second underwater interception obstacle, otherwise the pontoon bridge would directly face the pontoon bridge. Attack on the Hussars!

But Guanqiu Jian miscalculated again...

When Cao Jun's barrage cable was broken, Ma Jun did not send ships to drag or destroy underwater obstacles as Guan Qiujian had imagined. Instead, he released the fire ship directly from behind the building ship. !

There was not one fire ship, but two fire ships.

The front boat is used for attack, and the rear boat is used for escape.

The oarsmen in the fire boat worked together to control the boat and rush down the river!

In order to reduce the risk of being hit, fire ships are generally relatively small. In addition to placing fire starters and combustion aids, there is only space for the oarsmen to paddle.

The rower was naked, half lying and half sitting on both sides of the cabin, swinging the long oar into the air. Although it was late autumn, he was still sweating and the heat was rising.

Above the rower's head is the newly installed "armor".

This is a rare configuration for fire ships.

Perhaps it is because fire ships themselves are used to burn and destroy, so most fire ships are relatively simple, and even the oarsmen who control the fire ships seem to use them as consumables by default, and do not care too much about the fire ships. The quality of the boat itself, as well as the protection of the paddler on the fireboat itself.

But it's different in Chang'an Pass.

As soon as the fire ship was released, it was like the cards were revealed on the card table, and everyone knew what to deal with.

Guanqiu Jian's face turned red and his voice became hoarse. He had to regain some face in this battle. Otherwise, he had proved that he was a coward by leading the troops to fight him at close quarters. Now if he proves that he is a coward, His ability to command at the rear was also low, so the best outcome for him in his life, even if he could survive after the war, would be to be a clerk in a certain county. When he was old and frail, he could only recall again and again the wars he had participated in, the opportunities he had had, and the wrong choices he had made, and then he would have indulged in alcohol or Wushisan, which numbed his nerves and pain, and ended his life. life.

Guanqiu Jian shuddered at the thought of such an outcome!

He hurriedly took a few steps forward, almost rushing to the river bank, and shouted orders to Cao Jun's military academy.

Cao's soldiers followed Guanqiu Jian's orders and rushed onto the pontoon. They endured the damage caused by the crossbows fired by the Hussars' ships and fired rockets at the fireships going down the river!

The archers on Ma Junlou's ship also knew that this was a critical moment, so even though they were shooting all the way, their physical strength was somewhat reduced and their arms were sore, they still gritted their teeth and shot with all their might!

There were three hundred crossbowmen on a large ship, and three or four ships were lined up left and right. Thousands of arrows were shot out in an instant!

Although affected by the wind above the river, the hit rate of the arrows thrown by the building boat is relatively low, but there is no reason for the large number!

The archers of Cao's army who rushed onto the pontoon in an attempt to intercept the fire ship were almost counterattacking under the rain of arrows. Almost every moment and every second, archers of Cao's army screamed and were hit by arrows, and then fell into the river, floating and sinking. of flowing down the river.

The rockets fired by Cao Jun’s counterattack fell one after another...

Guanqiu Jian stared intently at the trajectory of the rockets falling from the sky...

Generally speaking, these fire boats carry tinder and flammable materials, so once they are ignited, they will immediately lose control, and they will most likely be caught and stopped by underwater hidden piles in the river!

And those hidden piles under the river are not afraid of burning!

There are not infinite number of fire ships and hussars. As long as these batches are burned, it will be regarded as blocking the hussars' attack on the pontoon bridge!

Victory or defeat is just this moment!

The rocket falls.

Cao Jun’s archers were not too bad either. Some of the many arrows that were thrown happened to land on the fire ship...

"good! good……"

Guanqiu Jian subconsciously cheered, but when the second "Okay" came out, his expression changed a little, and the smile that had just appeared solidified on his face.

"Why... didn't it burn?" 』

Guanqiu Jian's eyes widened.

Is it because Cao Jun's soldiers made a mistake in the rush and forgot the cloth that ignited the rocket?

That's not right, I clearly saw that the flaming one hit the fire ship...

"The fire ship has armor!" They have armor on board the ship! 』

The sharp-eyed soldiers of Cao Jun shouted.

When Guanqiu Jian heard this, he felt his head buzzing!

Why are the ships still covered with armor?

Isn't it just a bamboo canopy? !

"Deploy the fighting ships!" Stop them! ” Guanqiu Jian felt a little dizzy and his brain ached, as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head, “Stop! If you can't stop it, you will die! They all have to die! 』

Guanqiu Jian's decision cannot be said to be wrong, but it is just too late.

On the battlefield, one step slower means every step is slower!

What's more, Guanqiu Jianchi was more than just this step?

The fire boat quickly drew an "S" shape on the river, bypassed Cao Jun's hidden pile obstacle under the water, and then crashed straight into the pontoon bridge!

When entering the final collision stage, the oarsmen in the fire ship opened the ship's plate armor, evacuated to the rear ship, cut the traction rope, and lit the tinder on the fire ship...

"stop! Stop it..."

Guanqiu Jian howled, his face turned red, he wanted to cry but had no tears.

The fire ship hit the pontoon like a galloping horse!

Near the battlefield, almost all the soldiers and generals on both sides stopped what they were doing at this moment and stared at the fireships that hit the pontoon...

Ma Jun clenched his fists tightly, his heart in his throat.

"It's burning!" 』

Although he was sure that the fire ship was qualified, there was a chance that the fire ship would not be successful.

Although the probability is small, it cannot be denied that it is not possible.

Therefore, the soldiers and generals on both sides chanted the names of gods countless times at this moment...

It seems that they have felt the thoughts of the soldiers, and it seems that the soldiers on the Hussar side pray to the same object, which is the God of the five directions, while those on the Shandong side are naturally much more chaotic...

This moment seemed extremely long.

The fire ship on the pontoon finally emitted fireworks, and then in the blink of an eye, flames rose into the sky!

"good! ” Ma Jun clenched his fists excitedly, raised his head and shouted, “Wan Sheng! The hussar is victorious! 』

"The hussars are victorious!" 』

The soldiers of the Hussars were also inexplicably excited and cheered in unison.

On the other hand, Cao Jun was very frustrated.

Guanqiu Jian stood dumbly for a while, looking at the blazing flames with a twisted look on his face, and unconsciously took two steps forward...

"Langjun, Langjun, what do you want to do?" 』

The guard on the side asked.

Guanqiu Jian did not answer, but looked at the raging fire, and then began to run towards the direction of the raging fire, "God is jealous of me! What can I do!"

Guanqiu Jian's guards were a little confused at first, but when they saw Guanqiu Jian running towards the raging fire without looking back, they were shocked and rushed up to knock Guanqiu Jian to the ground.

"Wuwu... God is jealous of me, jealous of me..."

Guanqiu Jian was pressed to the ground by the guards, still crying and shouting in pain.

At this moment, he did feel the pain, but he still only felt his own pain, and turned a blind eye to the Cao army soldiers who were engulfed by the flames on the floating bridge...