While Cao Xiu and Cao Hong were advancing, Cao Cao also launched an attack on Tongguan.
Although this level of attack can only be considered a "small-scale" battle, and the intention is not to capture Tongguan, but to harass and suppress, Ma Yue and others above Tongguan still have some shocking power.
The Cao army camp was very large and long, so the Cao army in the back camp did not have a bad rest. However, for Tongguan, due to the defense system, although it was supported by the city wall, it was impossible to rest very well. Even though most people knew that the city walls of Tongguan had been tested by blood and fire, they would inevitably be worried and affected by the rest.
The soldiers of Cao's army were arranged on Niutou Plain and were far away from Tongguan opposite him.
The wind and snow are swaying.
Cao Cao turned his head and looked at the river that was now covered by ice and snow, and sighed slightly in his heart.
If you forget these wars in front of you, you will see many beautiful scenery that can be called rare.
"The broken jade is flying, and the fat is covered with strange appearance. The silver snake winds and stretches for thousands of miles. The shore is covered with frost, and the ice is hanging on the rock walls. The jade trees and jade branches are left on the snow. There are only a few lonely geese, so how sad..."
Cao Cao chanted a few casually.
If he hadn't held the sword back then, perhaps he would have become a great poet.
It's a pity that there is no if.
Just like if it was...
Thinking about the past, regretting the past is not as good as back then.
The wind and snow seem to connect the world together, and people will feel their own insignificance and feel the majesty of nature, which can then wash away the worldly dust and sublimate the soul in this white world before us...
It was Cao Cao himself and Tongguan in front of him who destroyed this beautiful scenery.
The Tongguan in front of me really lacks beauty.
Tongguan City is indeed very ugly, gray-black, ferocious, like a ferocious beast, crawling on Linzhiyuan, incompatible with the surrounding natural scenery, and devouring the flesh and blood of living beings.
Tongguan City was originally just a dirt city, and later it was built into a brick wall. However, because the center of the Han Dynasty was still in Luoyang at that time, it was naturally impossible to provide much repair funds for Tongguan. Even Hangu Pass was half abandoned. It was not until Fei sneaked into the main Guanzhong that it began to build Tongguan on a large scale again.
Did Fei Qian at that time already plan and expect the current situation?
Cao Cao's eyes were slightly distant.
The dull war drums roared.
In order to prevent the skin of the war drum from getting damp, Cao Cao also took special care of this matter.
First wrap it in oil paper, and then place it in charcoal to prevent moisture. However, this only ensures that the war drum will be loud in the early stages of use. As it is exposed to the outside world for a longer time, the water vapor will penetrate into the drum surface and body, and then it will gradually become dull when hit. If you continue to hit hard, it will most likely be broken.
In the wind and snow, not only will this type of weapon and equipment that rely on rubber bands and other weapons be reduced in effectiveness, but it will also make another type of weapon useless...
Cao Cao focused his attention on Tongguan City.
The figures swayed on the top of Tongguan City, as if they were doing something, but they couldn't see clearly under the wind and snow.
After Tongguan, it is Guanzhong.
It was such a pass that blocked Cao Cao's army here and could not move.
Now is the best time.
The wind and snow all over the sky were like adding a law to all battlefields - "gunpowder weakens, steel strengthens."
If it can be opened up, then Guanzhong is within reach.
However, it is still difficult, because Tongguan is important not only gunpowder, but also the solid city walls and the dangerous terrain.
Cao Cao also visited Guanzhong before.
Speaking of Guanzhong, the Three Fuses were once very prosperous, but after decades of turmoil and riots in the Western Qiang, the Three Fuses in Guanzhong gradually became a barren land. Many places have become broken walls, and only a small amount of business transactions with the Hu people. The Guanzhong land has no specialties, and even the fertile arable land around has become a paradise for weeds.
Fei Qian almost restored such a barren land...
Well, maybe it's not just recovery.
It is reconstruction, just like Tongguan in front of you.
It makes people feel abrupt.
The east gate of Tongguan is also called Chaoyang Gate.
That's right, Cao Cao no longer knew how many times he had met the word "Chaoyang". It seemed that there was a Chen County in Yanzhou, and the East Gate also called this name, and it also exists in Yuzhou and Jizhou. Perhaps only one day will wait for a certain emperor to be called "Chaoyang", and perhaps these repeated names can be sealed.
Cao Cao even knew Chang'an, Guanzhong...
Oh, no, he even knew where the door of the Cavalry Office opened.
Although he hasn't been there once.
This information was delivered to Cao Cao's desk early.
But there is less intelligence...
Cao Cao's eyes fell on the artillery positions of Tongguan, and he felt a little expectant.
Although I had heard that the Huang family's workshop was developing an object with a huge explosion, Cao Cao "habitually" thought it was just gunpowder or grenade.
Like Guo Jia's judgment, Cao Cao also believed that this kind of artillery could not have unlimited launches.
During this period of battle, Cao Cao also confirmed this, but this does not mean that Cao Cao despises this thing...
In fact, in history, the use of Chinese artillery or gunpowder was not as bad as Qing Chuan described. In the late Ming Dynasty, the artillery making technology and gunpowder development had actually reached a world-class level. The reason why a large number of red and barbarian cannons appeared in the late Ming Dynasty was not that the Chinese artillery could not be built in the Ming Dynasty, but that some people forced them to be built in the end for certain interests.
Some are plural.
It's like the present in Shandong.
Cao Cao thought that if Shandong really could build artillery like Feiqian one day, there would probably be such or such problems.
Thirty shield cars lined up into third rows, and driven by more than 300 auxiliary soldiers, they headed towards Tongguan.
In the middle of the shield car, there are some rushing cars and rushing cars. Behind the shield car array are several sporadic arrow towers and ladder trucks.
Shield vehicles and other siege equipment squeaked forward.
The infantry advanced forward under the cover of the shield chariot.
The more Cao's soldiers walked forward, the slower the speed, as if they were waiting for something...
"boom!"
The cannons on the top of Tongguan City suddenly roared and a shell flew out.
A shield car was split.
『ε＝ε＝ε＝(#>д<)』
The Cao army's array suddenly became in chaos!
In the rain and snow, can you still fire a fire?!
Not only was the Cao army's array beginning to be a little chaotic, but even Cao Cao couldn't help but jump in his heart!
this……
How is this possible?!
Cao Cao's face couldn't help but become a little gloomy, like a rolling cloud in the sky.
"Lord!" Guo Jia said in a deep voice, his voice calm and powerful, "Don't withdraw your troops!"
Cao Cao took a breath and patrolled the city of Tongguan. Soon, Cao Cao understood what Guo Jia meant, and nodded and said, "It's true. If you send the order, the Tongguan artillery is not scary! You can march quickly, don't hesitate!"
The messenger left in a hurry, and after a moment, the war drums roared more and more.
The middle and low-level non-commissioned officers of Cao's army rushed to the front of the formation, and beat and kicked the panicked Cao's army and stabilized...
The ordinary soldiers of Cao's army looked at Tongguan, and seemed to believe what the military order said, and the artillery in Tongguan was suppressed. So Cao's auxiliary soldiers and the regular soldiers started to clamor, and almost madly accelerated to push the shield car and other vehicles forward desperately.
The range, power, speed of fire of the cannon, etc., were not only clear by Cao Cao during the attack and defense of these days, but also knew the Cao army soldiers.
At 800 steps away from Tongguan, it is most likely to be attacked by artillery. Within 500 steps, the artillery is difficult to hit due to its shooting angle. Instead, it is worried about the crossbow on the walls of Tongguan.
However, the attack power of the crossbow cart is relatively small, and generally speaking, it cannot break the shield cart.
Because the gun frame structure of the artillery is now limited, and it is a smoothbore gun, and the ballistics has not been lit yet, most gunners operate based on experience, so in fact, the generality of the artillery has not improved much. Therefore, it is necessary to pass as soon as possible after entering the range of 800 steps, so the shield car can support it within 500 steps, providing more defense for the Cao army...
However, under the previous ten artillery attacks of Tongguan, the shield chariot with huge bodies often finds it difficult to enter within 500 steps smoothly. Even if several of them escape the bombardment of the artillery by chance, they will soon be defeated under the concentration of fire of the crossbow chariots.
But now, it seems that it is different.
The Tongguan cannon, which was originally roaring continuously, was now slow to ring. After a while, another cannon rang out.
Cao Cao squinted his eyes and looked at it.
After waiting for a while, Cao Cao smiled, "If Fengxiao said, it was just the end of his strength..."
Above Tongguan, there are only two cannons left to fire.
The deterrent effect of the two cannons on the Cao army was immediately reduced a lot.
Although these two artillery were trying to fire, they became the averaged denominator in the following few times.
A shell was shot high, and it directly crossed the crowd and fell into the ice-formed river, making a hole in the ice-formed layer.
Another one was bouncing on the ground and plowed out a black and red line.
Although the other two hit Cao's troops, they failed to hit the shield chariot. They just destroyed a ladder chariot and took away more than a dozen Cao's soldiers. The shells meant that they had tried their best...
Even so, Cao Cao still believed that these gunners of the cavalry army were really capable.
Cao Cao originally thought that under this windy and snowy sky, the artillery grenades and other artillery would turn into scrap metal. Unexpectedly, the artillery above Tongguan still had two more doors to open fire.
Is this a temporary shed to hide the wind and snow?
Or is it possible to solve the problem of gunpowder moisture?
However, even if there are moisture-proof methods, as long as it is used in the wind and snow, there will be not many fuses and gunpowder that are not affected by moisture?
Sure enough, it didn't take long before the artillery stopped completely.
It's like the war drum behind Cao Cao.
The skin was stained with wind and snow, and the sound could not be made.
Even without the war drums as an inspiration, the Cao army soldiers on the front line seemed to have stronger fighting spirit. They cheered and rushed forward, as if for these Cao army's auxiliary soldiers, as long as there was no threat of artillery, it was something worth celebrating.
Cao Cao looked at the big rock in his heart, as if it had loosened a little.
But after a moment, another bitter smile appeared on the corner of Cao Cao's mouth.
Compared with the soldiers of the cavalry, although the elite of the Cao army was also called elite, they were more accustomed to facing the original combat mode and facing the old-fashioned swords, guns, and rolling stones, rather than using new weapons.
Yes, the old pattern.
Most people like the old pattern and always have an inexplicable sense of fear about new things.
Because that's unknown...
The same is true for Cao Cao. He is also afraid when facing his unknown.
Cao Cao thought he could change the ills of the Han Dynasty, and thought that the root of the ills of the Han Dynasty was just like those Qingliu said, it was in the eunuchs, and Cao Cao also truly saw the misconduct of eunuchs and eunuchs' relationships, so he created a five-color stick. After he took the five-color stick, Cao Cao realized that killing a few eunuchs was useless.
So, killing all the eunuchs is equivalent to curing the great man?
Perhaps with this idea, when Yuan Shao entered the palace, Cao Cao also took action. Then he discovered again that the eunuchs were not as important as they imagined. After killing such tigers and leopards, the Han Dynasty was still corrupt and the court was destroyed.
So, where exactly is the problem?
Then Cao Cao felt that it must be the powerful minister Dong Zhuo who was in trouble with the court...
After all, Shandong Qingliu said so at that time.
And now, he has become a "powerful minister" and is attacking another "powerful minister".
Back then, Cao Cao wanted to pursue Dong Zhuo, at least one Bao Xin followed him, and now...
Bao Xin is dead.
Cao Cao is still lonely.
Therefore, the root cause of the disease of the Han Dynasty is really the eunuch? Or the powerful minister?
Or somewhere else?
Cao Cao had the answer in his mind.
But he was avoiding that answer.
The big man is like a big tree that has been decayed by fungi. It seems that there are still some places that are intact. You only need to remove the decayed places after you really move the knife. However, after you really move the knife, you will find that one place is removed and another place. If you use the knife everywhere, will this big tree still exist?
Cao Cao waved his sword, looking like he opened and closed, but in fact he was careful.
"I'm so envious..."
Cao Cao whispered, then looked up at Tongguan.
After Cao's army approached within 500 steps, the crossbows on the top of Tongguan City shot angrily, but it stopped after not long.
The bowstrings of the crossbows will also get damp, so this time you can reach the city of Tongguan and the side of the trench, there are more shield cars on the edge of the trench than before.
The trenches in Tongguan were originally more than two meters deep, but in the previous battles, many places had been filled or dug. Many places of the trenches collapsed, and the spikes inside the trenches were also flattened.
As the shield car stood up in front, the car and other vehicles following behind quickly followed.
The soldiers of Cao's army rushed up like ants who saw honey, layer by layer. Some were digging and filling the pits, some were pushing wooden boards to build temporary bridge decks, some climbed up the Arrow Tower and shot against the soldiers in the lower city of Tongguan, and some tried to hook up with a new attack channel with ladder trucks...
The effectiveness of arrows in the wind and snow was also reduced. As the bowstring was damp, the power of arrows gradually decreased, so both sides quickly stopped this method that had little effect.
Everything was exactly as Guo Jia expected. The long-range weapon of the Cavalry was greatly suppressed, but Guo Jia was still a little nervous and clenched his fists in his sleeves.
Soon, something Guo Jia was worried about happened.
The grenade was thrown down.
Guo Jia stared at it tightly, then counted the number. After a while, he let out a long sigh and "It's done."
Cao Cao smiled and nodded.
Grenades also received the impact of wind and snow.
The power of the explosion seemed to have dropped a lot, not to mention that some grenades were extinguished by wind and snow even if they ignited the fuse.
"In this way, only the last trick left..." Guo Jia said slowly, but his tone had become much easier.
After suppressing the gunpowder, all combat modes entered the range that Cao's army was accustomed to.
Just as Guo Jia said, there is only one way to stop these siege equipment from destroying the city wall.
Several shield chariots and chariots crossed the trenches and entered the Tongguan city wall. When Cao's soldiers were preparing to dig holes to destroy them, they poured turbulent oil from the city wall.
The torch was thrown down.
Even in the wind and snow, the power of tinder oil is still violent. The flames rising from the sky roar in the wind and snow, and rolling black smoke filled the city walls.
Cao's army had to suspend the offensive.
The shield and chariots that arrived first under the Tongguan city wall were destroyed, but a new batch of siege equipment gathered in the rear.
The fire was raging under the base of the city wall and could not attack for a while, so Cao's army temporarily stopped.
A batch of steamed cakes and hot soup that had just been released were carried by the leader and sent to the front line.
Many Cao army soldiers caught and ate it without caring about the blood, cement and water stained on their hands. They knew that although the fire caused by this tincture oil was fierce, it could not last long. If they didn't eat something at this time, then if they died in battle, they would be a starving ghost.
However, even though the attack on Tongguan was still alive, the soldiers of the Cao army seemed to have seen hope. At least now the Cavalry Army was forced to be on the same level as them under the wind and snow. The dangers and threats that the soldiers of the Cao army had to face were all familiar to them, and were no longer those terrifying derivatives of gunpowder, which made the morale of the soldiers of the Cao army unknowingly improve.
Before, the Cao army was forced to follow the rhythm of the cavalry and was suppressed by the cavalry's new weapons. Now they seem to be able to play with the cavalry in this mud again...
Cao Cao was about to turn in, he was about to go to Hedong.
Chapter completed!