Chapter 455: Sword Pavilion Attack and Defense
Above Jiange, the air was filled with smoke and the shouts of killing were deafening.
Yan Yan, wearing heavy armor and holding a long sword, stood on the city wall with his eyes as sharp as torches, staring at the enemy troops that were surging like a tide below the city.
The flag beside him fluttered in the wind, and the flag with the word "Yan" on it was dyed red with blood.
"Soldiers, Jiange is the gateway to Yizhou. We must not let the enemy take even a single step inside!" Yan Yan's voice echoed on the city wall, inspiring the morale of every defender.
Under the city, Pang De rode on a tall horse, commanding the army to launch round after round of fierce attacks. His face was full of determination, and he had only one belief in his heart: to capture Jiange.
Although the open space in front of Jiange was extremely small and the army could not move around at all, forcing him to adopt the tactic of adding fuel to the fire, Pang De still did not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers.
Compassion does not command troops!
Although Pang De was only used as a general, he was not bad in terms of overall view and knew the importance of Jiange.
As they were racing against time with Liu Fan and Liu Bei, they could not afford to slack off for a moment and had to pile up the bodies of their soldiers in Jiange.
If conventional siege methods were used, even the elite soldiers under Pang De would find it difficult to break through even if they tried their best.
After all, Jiange is a place where one man can block the passage of ten thousand men, and it is absolutely dangerous.
As the attackers, restricted by the terrain, the number of people who could actually launch an effective attack was far less than that of the defenders. It would be almost impossible to capture the city without killing tens of thousands of people within several months.
But fortunately, Pound had prepared a secret weapon in advance.
"Boom!"
Countless huge rocks smashed towards Jiange with tremendous force.
Unlike ordinary stones, the huge force of each hit caused bricks and stones on the city wall to splash, causing countless defenders to scream.
"Thanks to the Mohist's latest thunder chariot." Pang Tong looked at the rows of huge weapons in amazement.
"I thought the catapult was already extremely powerful, but I never thought there could be something so terrifying."
The huge thing in front of us is somewhat similar to a catapult, but it has some levers and weights added to the front, which increases its power several times. In later generations, it was called the Huihui Cannon.
It was with his help that the Yuan army captured the city of Xiangyang, which they had failed to capture after six years of siege.
Guo Jia also looked at this scene in amazement.
"Your Majesty is right. The innovation of weapons will bring about changes in warfare. Perhaps we don't even need to sneak across Yinping. We can directly capture Jiange. However, time is running out. It all depends on Junyi."
On the city wall, many defenders were hit by the huge stones from the Thunderbolt Chariots, and were either killed or injured.
But the surviving soldiers did not retreat at all. They quickly filled the gaps in defense, used shields to block the enemy's arrows and flying stones, and fought back tenaciously.
Yan Yan secretly groaned when he saw the enormous power of the enemy's Thunderbolt Chariot, but he was not afraid at all and continued to command the defenders calmly.
"Archers, shoot! Catapults, throw them back!" Yan Yan gave orders while personally wielding a long sword to kill the enemy troops who climbed up the city wall.
He had been wounded in many places and his battle robe was stained with blood, but he was unaware of it, as if he had turned into a god of war.
"The defender of Jiange is very brave!" Pang De couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the extraordinary heroic figure on the city wall from afar.
With the help of the Thunderbolt Chariots, the resistance faced by the soldiers in siege was reduced a lot. However, due to the terrain, they still had to face enemies that outnumbered them several times every time they rushed forward.
Although they were able to tear open many gaps by relying on their individual combat power and organizational capabilities that were far superior to those of the opponent.
But every time the situation improved, Yan Yan would lead his troops to extinguish it. "Not only that, the defenders' will to resist is also very strong. He is indeed a good general. It should be Yan Yan under Liu Fan." Guo Jia praised.
"I'm afraid it's impossible to take Jiange in a short period of time. We still have to wait for the commander-in-chief to lead his troops here." Zhang He said.
"I don't know where Jun Yi has gone. I hope he appears at the right time." Guo Jia sighed.
At this time, Liu Fan in Chengdu received a letter for help from Yan Yan.
His expression changed instantly, and the letter in his hand trembled slightly.
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible? How did Tian Ze's army reach Jiange so quickly? Why didn't we receive any news?"
"Where is Zhang Lu? Where are those people in Hanzhong? Are they all dead? Even if they were a bunch of pigs, there is no way they would lose Hanzhong so quickly!"
Hearing Liu Fan's incredulous curses, the civil and military officials below were all talking about it.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid Zhang Lu has already defected to Tian Ze." Zhang Song stood up and said in a deep voice.
"This two-faced villain!" Liu Fan's eyes suddenly revealed deep hatred.
He would be able to accept it if Zhang Lu was defeated, or even surrendered after being defeated.
But looking at the situation, it is obvious that Zhang Lu and Tian Ze have already reached a tacit understanding, and everything he did before was just to fool him!
"Come here! Behead all of Zhang Lu's family members and make a public display of their heads!"
Hearing Liu Fan's roar, Wu Yi hurriedly stepped out to dissuade him, "Your Majesty, calm down!"
"Now that Zhang Lu's rebellion has become a fact, killing his family will be useless. It is better to detain him temporarily and observe the consequences. This will also facilitate negotiations with Tian Ze in the future."
As Liu Fan's die-hard fan, Wu Yi cares about him wholeheartedly.
Although he didn't mention the most crucial issue, everyone present knew it.
If Tian Ze captured Chengdu, they would probably have to work with Zhang Lu under Tian Ze in the future. They couldn't do anything stupid out of anger at this time.
Although Liu Fan was furious, he still retained some rationality and knew that impotent rage would only do harm.
After hearing Wu Yi's advice, he suppressed his anger, waved his hand, and asked Wu Yi to deal with the matter.
"My lords, Tian Ze's army has now reached Jiange. And according to the message from General Yan Yan, Jiange is in danger. What do you think, my lords, should we do to repel the enemy?" After Liu Fan calmed down, he sat back on the throne and said in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, Jiange is in danger? Did General Yan Yan really say that?" Li Yan stepped out and asked with a little doubt.
Liu Fan nodded.
Li Yan frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the Sword Pavilion is tall and solid. In the past two years, I have personally organized the reinforcement twice according to your Majesty's request. It can't be said to be as solid as a rock, but it is also very solid."
"The surrounding terrain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. General Yan Yan has tens of thousands of elite troops under his command. How could they be in danger so quickly?"
It’s no wonder that Li Yan became suspicious. The battle report was really too strange.
If Li Yan had not been convinced of Yan Yan's ability and character, he would even have suspected that Yan Yan had also betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy.
After all, Zhang Lu had surrendered all of them, and the enemy had already reached their doorstep before they even received the news that the enemy had sent troops. If such a bizarre thing could happen, what else could not happen?
(End of this chapter)
