novelhk Page 1529
Page 1529
Chage, with his superior troop strength,
crushing everything in their path.
Regardless of casualties,
A strong attack on the castles along the way,
They defeated the Zhenrong Army.
Li Qianshun's route was much faster.
Firstly, some people in Xi'an Prefecture surrendered.
Neither of them had enough troops to deploy in all the castles.
Chapter 1837 Siege!
In the sixth year of Zhenghe,
Chage led his men to breach Jingxia City, which had been built by Zhong Shidao.
After the city fell, they slaughtered all of the Zhong family's army within.
This severely weakened the Zhong family army.
Due to insufficient manpower, the old Zhong chose to deploy the White Army.
Zhenrong Army, Deshun Army
Otherwise, relying solely on the fortresses and strongholds along the way,
That would allow them to bleed the two armies of Western Xia to their very core.
When they reached Zhenrong Army,
Chage once sent men to the city walls.
Persuade Liu Zhongwu to surrender.
However, Liu Zhongwu refused.
Brother Cha was helpless.
They had no choice but to send troops to besiege Zhenrong Army.
Brother Cha didn't take Liu Zhongwu seriously.
The only people he feared were Liu Fa and Lao Zhong.
After Liu Fa died, only Lao Zhong remained.
But he soon discovered that,
Give Liu Zhongwu a fortified city.
He would also find it difficult to defeat Liu Zhongwu.
The only difference between him and Liu Zhongwu was his ability in field battles.
However, it was clear that Liu Zhongwu would not give him the opportunity to fight in the field.
Liu Zhongwu did not participate in the battle.
He can only attack the city.
Zhenrong Army has a moat, and it's quite deep.
He wanted to dig tunnels to collapse the city walls.
Obviously, it's impossible.
The only option is to fill in the moat.
Manufacture siege equipment for a powerful attack.
Wood is needed to manufacture siege equipment.
But the craftsman told him that all the trees within a 20-mile radius had been cut down.
After Liu Zhongwu arrived at Zhenrong Army,
The first thing they did was send people to cut down the trees outside the city.
What can't be burned should be pushed into the Hulu River.
Don't worry about where they drift to.
They will only drift southeast.
It absolutely could not have drifted into the hands of the Western Xia people.
The six routes in Shaanxi are undergoing major repairs to the castle.
There weren't many trees left to begin with.
They were hacked down by 20,000 men.
When Brother Cha called,
They have cut down all the trees along the banks of the Hulu River for twenty miles.
Many large forests in other directions were also burned.
They didn't burn any forests even further away.
However, transporting firewood from more than ten miles away is a challenge.
It's not an easy task either.
When Brother Cha heard this, he almost vomited blood.
A local official suggested that he demolish the houses of nearby residents.
Brother Cha didn't do that.
This time, they weren't planning to just grab something and run.
Instead, they wanted to turn the Six Routes of Shaanxi into their territory.
Cha Ge, who was well-versed in Han Chinese culture, also knew that he had to do his best to win over the hearts of the people.
If you demolish all their houses
It won't be long before everyone in Shaanxi Sixth Road knows about it.
At that time, the Han people will fight to the death.
Just like the Zhong family army mentioned earlier.
The Western Xia did not have enough people to fight against the Han Chinese.
Chage ordered his soldiers to escort the craftsmen to the nearest forest.
They manufactured siege equipment and transported it over.
It took a day.
From more than ten miles away,
When the first batch of troops were transported to begin the siege...
They found oil.
The name "petroleum" was first used by Shen Kuo in his "Dream Pool Essays" during the Northern Song Dynasty.
However, the discovery and use of oil dates back to a much earlier period.
Moreover, oil has been found in many parts of Northwest China.
When the Western Army and the Western Xia troops were defending the city,
They would use oil to burn siege equipment.
This makes sieges more difficult.
A simple ladder was erected.
The Western Army doesn't use oil.
Because the city's oil reserves are also limited.
Moreover, 30,000 Western troops were stationed in the city.
If it is breached by siege ladders
That was an absolute disgrace to the Western Army.
Chage couldn't trick the Western Army out of their oil.
The ladder alone caused thousands of casualties.
No one made it onto the city wall.
Chage had no choice but to grit his teeth and use the large siege equipment he had manufactured.
Then the Western army used catapults to hurle canisters of oil onto the siege equipment.
Then a single rocket can reduce a large siege weapon, painstakingly crafted by artisans, to ashes.
In less than three days,
The forests more than ten miles away were all cut down.
All the large siege engines manufactured were burned.
The craftsmen had to go to even more distant places to cut down trees.
A batch of timber will take half a day to arrive.
Chage dared not have the craftsmen manufacture large-scale machinery anymore.
Otherwise, the army would have to watch from below the city walls as the hard work and effort of the craftsmen turned into piles of ashes.
Then all they could do was wait outside the city.
On the fifth day of the siege,
The Western Xia army then began its relentless assault.
There were no sophisticated siege weapons.
It's just a simple ladder.
Simple siege ladders were erected on the city walls.
The Western Xia people climbed up the hill fearlessly.
The Western Army then used pre-prepared boulders to pelt the Western Xia people below.
Once the stones are used up, use a push rod to knock down the ladder.
Those who were lucky enough to climb to the top of the city wall,
What awaited them were swords and spears pointing down from above.
The Western Xia people spent several more days building an earthen mound outside the city.
It's even higher than the city wall.
Archers were shooting down at the people on the city walls.
However, the Western Army's crossbows had a longer range than those of the Western Xia.
The earthen mound, several feet higher than the city walls, was no match for the Western Army's arrows.
Chage could only give orders to his subordinates.
Continue piling up the earthen mound.
But the higher the hill,
The larger the volume,
It's even more difficult to stack them high.
The siege lasted twenty days.