【Chapter 201】Stealing chickens without losing rice

(0201)

【Today's second update is delivered!】

Xu Xingxia came to the city and found that the atmosphere here was extremely heavy. Whether it was the soldiers of the white army or the Jun Yu who helped the war, almost everyone held their breath. He looked outside and understood what was going on. It turned out that there were no Tartars outside the Weizhen Fort, only dense crowds of ordinary people. There were men and women, old and young, and they were slowly moving towards the Weizhen Fort, as if they were ants.

It seems that Mo Rigen had broken through a nearby castle, gathered all the military households there, and expelled them to the front line to threaten the Weizhen Fort, and forced him to put down his weapons, give up resistance, and surrender obediently. The closest to the Weizhen Fort should be Pinglu City and Zhenshuo Fort in the southwest. I wonder which one was broken? Or, both were broken? Another blood debt!

Drive hostages to attack the city, this trick has always been used by nomads when siegeing cities. On the one hand, it is to save food. Hostages also need to consume food. However, if a person dies, there is naturally no need to consume food. On the other hand, of course, it is to fill the trenches. If there is a trenches at the base of the city wall, directly stuff the hostages into the trenches, and the siege troops behind them will step on the storm of white bones, which is simple and trouble-free.

Faced with such a situation, the defenders were indeed in a difficult situation. Either they fought back desperately, fired guns and cannons, killing the hostages and the enemies indiscriminately. Or they were looking for an opportunity to open the door and let them in. If it was the former, they would naturally be under great psychological pressure. After all, if so many hostages died in their own hands, their conscience would be condemned. If it was the latter, the risk of defense was very high.

You can think of it with your heels that there must be many spies among these refugees. If they come into the city, they will definitely set fires and destroy them everywhere, or even find opportunities to open the city gates to welcome the Tartars outside into the city. Of course, there is another option, which is to raise their hands to surrender. However, in this way, the Tartars' goal will be achieved.

Seeing the large number of hostages outside, Yuan Chonghuan's face changed suddenly. He, a literati, vaguely saw some shadows of war in his book. He never thought that war would be so cruel. The description in the text, no matter how cruel it was, was not as shocking as he saw it with his own eyes. These damn Tartars actually rushed up with unarmed people as vanguards. If the defenders counterattacked, they would definitely hurt these hostages by mistake! But if they were not injured by accident, how could the defenders defend the castle?

The refugees outside, old, young, young, newborn children, young women holding children and feeding children, and white-haired elderly people who are almost unable to walk. It is really difficult for the defenders not to hurt them. Yuan Chonghuan could have imagined that after the defenders' guns and cannons were fired, the fields outside would be covered with hostages, and countless wounded people would struggle in pain in the pool of blood. Everyone in the city would be condemned with conscience.

"What should I do? You can't let them in!" Yuan Chonghuan shouted at the first time. What he thought in his mind was one thing, how to judge, but another thing. He had never experienced war, but his mind was absolutely not stupid. The first thing he thought of was of course his own safety. As for the people outside, he would die. If it would not endanger his own safety, Yuan Chonghuan would not mind pulling them, but if it would endanger himself, he would have to consider it carefully.

It was also cruel. At this time, Yuan Chonghuan was most worried about not the safety of the hostages outside, but Xu Xingxia's decision. What he feared most was that Xu Xingxia was too soft-hearted and could not bear to see the hostages outside being massacred. He ordered the fort door to be opened and put them in. If that was the case, the consequences would be very serious. If he was the defensive officer of Weizhen Fort, he would definitely order the defenders to shoot and prevent the hostages from advancing.

Yuan Chonghuan had sufficient reasons for all this. As a citizen of the Ming Empire, the hostages outside should take up weapons and fight bravely with the Tartars. They should die on the battlefield, rather than be cowardly slaughtered by the Tartars. It seems that in this situation, they can only be considered as accomplices of the Tartars and must be eliminated. Yes, they are accomplices of the Tartars and must be eliminated!

The military households around were also waiting for Xu Xingxia's decision uneasy. Their mood was actually very contradictory. Seeing the refugees outside fell into the hands of the Tartars and were driven by the Tartars to be cannon fodder. If they didn't help, they would be unable to get over it. However, they also understood that things were not that simple. If the refugees were put in, the situation would be even more dangerous. If they were not done well, even the Weizhen Fort would be destroyed.

Because of his merciful heart and mercy, even he was ruined by himself has long been common in Ningxia Town. In this case, most castles will refuse hostages to approach. There is no way, this is the most basic survival need, etiquette, morality, love, etc., so it can only be put aside for the time being. Therefore, basically, most military households tend to be unwilling to let them in. There is no way, there have been too many bloody lessons before.

Xu Xingxia said calmly: "Liu Guangliang!"

Liu Guangliang hurriedly said, "Sir, what are your instructions?"

Xu Xingxia said calmly: "Put out all the catapults!"

Liu Guangliang hurriedly agreed, greeted more than a dozen young and strong Junyu, and hurriedly went there. After a while, Liu Guangliang and the others pushed out the trenchers from the craftsman's workshop and lined up behind the fort gate. Yun Qifeng and more than a dozen white-clothed military soldiers began to prepare explosive packs on the trenchers.

There are a total of five catapults, which were originally intended to be put into use at Zhenyuan Pass. It is one of the main channels for the Tatars to move south. Sun and Moon guns and catapults can form a powerful defensive system. Use explosives to bomb at long distances, and use Sun and Moon guns to queule and shoot at close distances. Even if the city wall is not built for the time being, it can block the impact of the Tatar cavalry.

Originally, these trenchers were considered Xu Xingxia's secret weapon, and they didn't want to show up so quickly for the time being. However, the situation outside was very complicated, and he had to change his decision. The Tatars thought that this move could deal with Weizhen Fort, which was a dream! I want you to be unable to eat and take care of it, and steal chickens without losing rice!

It is really not difficult to talk about the manufacturing technology of the catapult. The Hui Hui cannon of the *** people was quite powerful. In essence, the Hui Hui cannon was actually a catapult. A fortress like Xiangyang City was conquered by the Hui Hui cannon. It is said that the most powerful Hui Hui cannon can throw stones weighing about 300 kilograms away from a distance of 500 meters. The city tower of Xiangyang City was smashed directly by a huge rock weighing hundreds of kilograms. The guard Lu Wenhuan was shocked and had to order surrender.

Of course, such a trench is already very large, requiring dozens or even hundreds of people to operate. If all such trenchers are erected, they will probably be as high as three floors. Generally, the reflux cannons are fired with stones weighing 30 kilograms, with a distance of about 300 meters. The number of people operating is only less than ten, which is flexible and light.

The trenchers made by craftsmen such as Liu Guangliang are the most common trenchers. Because they do not have too many technical requirements and do not have high requirements for the material of the wood, they have led people to make five one after another. Since the weight of the explosive pack is only about fifteen kilograms, the distance of the ejection is naturally farther. In actual tests, the distance of the ejection of 130 feet (about four hundred meters) is completely fine.

At this time, the refugees who were driven away by the Tatar cavalry were already very close to Weizhen Fort. The refugees walking in the front were less than twenty feet away from the city wall. As the distance approached, more details were displayed in front of the defenders. Behind the hostages, the Tatar cavalry responsible for expelling also appeared. They were indeed under Morigen's command.

It is estimated that the number of refugees is about 3,000, which is equivalent to all the people in a Weizhen Fort. Behind the refugees are hundreds of Tatar cavalry. They rode their horses to drive the refugees forward, about 300 meters away from Weizhen Fort. Because the distance is quite far, the Tatar cavalry looks quite relaxed. At a distance of 300 meters, they feel that there is definitely no danger.

Perhaps because the hostages cooperated quite well and had no resistance, these Tatar cavalry gathered together easily and said something to each other. From time to time, they could vaguely hear their arrogant laughter. Judging from their gestures, they were also unscrupulous. It is estimated that their topic must be about burning, killing and looting. This time, Morigen did not capture Ningxia City, and he would definitely find other castles to vent his anger. It is conceivable what kind of crazy actions the Tatars would do after conquering a castle.

"Go to die!" Xu Xingxia cursed silently in his heart. He measured the distance and waved his hand behind. He raised ten fingers, which meant that it was about a hundred feet away. Such a distance was exactly where the catapult was most easily controlled by the landing point, and the accuracy was the best. As for the shooting angle, it was right in front of the fort gate.

"preparation!"

"put!"

Yun Qifeng shouted immediately.

"call!"

The first explosive pack was quickly ejected.

The explosives cast an arc in the sky and landed far into the Tatar cavalry. After landing, it bounced a few times and kept rolling on the ground. However, no matter how it rolled, the spark of the fuse was constantly flashing.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud bang came and the explosive pack was successfully detonated.
Chapter completed!