SFS Chapter 395 Lu Xun's Doomsday (4)
Chapter 395 Lu Xun's Doomsday (4)
The ballista was the most lethal offensive weapon in the era of cold weapons; it could even shoot into city walls, let alone small wooden boxes.
The Han army must have been aware of this, so they would have taken measures when faced with the Wu army's ballista attacks, such as crouching or lying down.
Lying down is fine, but when Wu's swordsmen and shieldmen get close, can the Han army still lie down?
Lu Xun was certain that as long as the spears thrust out of the box, it would prove that the Han soldiers inside had stood up, and then attacking with ballistae would surely be very effective.
As it turned out, his idea was correct. Ding Feng rushed to the front line and personally directed the charge. Under his command, the shield bearers quickly rushed to the front of the trench. Before they could even stand still, countless spears were thrust out of the boxes and crossed the trench to pierce the Wu army.
Wu's shield soldiers hurriedly used their shields to block the spear tips, engaging in a grappling match with the Han soldiers. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wu's bamboo raft soldiers quickly stepped forward, and several of them worked together to throw the bamboo raft over the shield soldiers and onto the spear shafts thrust out by the Han soldiers.
Suddenly, the weight of a bamboo raft appeared on the spear shaft, catching the Han soldiers inside the box off guard. They were all jolted awake and their spears were pressed to the ground by the bamboo raft.
At the same time the spears pierced the wooden boxes, fifty ballistae simultaneously unleashed their power, sending arrows, as thick as an arm and two meters long, hurtling towards the boxes like meteors. The arrows easily pierced the boxes and struck the Han soldiers inside, and almost simultaneously, the Han soldiers' shrill screams rang out from dozens of boxes.
It must be said that the coordination between Wu's sword and shield infantry and ballistae was excellent, instantly crippling the Han army's spearmen.
At that moment, the Wu army's swordsmen and shieldmen were separated from the Han army's spearmen by a trench. They clearly heard the screams of the Han army and immediately rushed towards the deer antlers on bamboo rafts.
The Han army's trenches were three meters wide. Even if the Wu army's bamboo rafts were short, they couldn't have been only three meters long. They must have been longer than three meters to be used as bridges at both ends of the trenches.
Lu Xun understood this, so most of the Wu army's bamboo rafts were about five meters long. They could not only cover the trenches, but even be used as a slope on the deer antlers across the trenches. However, the Wu army just lifted the bamboo rafts and threw them out casually, so it was impossible for them to land exactly at the two ends of the trenches. Many of them fell directly into the pits in various ways.
Falling into the pit wasn't entirely useless; at least it covered the bamboo skewers inside, preventing the Wu soldiers who fell in from getting hurt by them.
Wu Jun used the bamboo raft to rush across the trench and towards the back of the antlers. The Han soldiers who were hiding behind the roof of the bamboo raft saw Wu Jun rush into the camp and immediately rushed out from behind the roof, engaging in close combat with Wu Jun.
At this moment, the Han archers unleashed their power. Taking advantage of the fierce fighting at the first line of defense, the Han archers quickly reached the second line of defense and, together with the catapults, launched arrows and stones into the sky, drawing beautiful parabolas as they flew over the first trench and mercilessly struck the charging Wu army.
Soon, the Wu soldiers charging towards the trench began to scream in agony, one after another.
Seeing this, Ding Feng brandished his sword and roared, "Brothers, in a narrow encounter, the brave shall prevail. Only by charging through can we break through the encirclement and find a glimmer of hope. Charge with me!"
After saying that, he snatched a shield, held it above his head, and charged forward under the rain of arrows from the Han army. He rushed across the trench, stepped onto a bamboo raft attached to the antlers, and easily jumped behind the antlers. He swung his arm and smashed the shield hard at the charging Han army, then brandished his sword and killed them.
Seeing their general's bravery, Wu Jun's morale soared, and they began an even more brutal battle.
Meanwhile, seeing that both sides were locked in a stalemate, and that pushing the cart around might cause them to hit their own men, the Han soldiers inside the box simply opened the box door, rushed out of the wooden box, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Wu army.
Such a large wooden crate must have had a door, otherwise how would the Han army have gotten in, right?
Ding Feng's Wu army was extremely brave. As more and more Wu soldiers crossed the trenches to join the battle, they gradually gained the upper hand and forced the Han army into a series of defeats.
Fortunately, the Han archers in the second trench were effective, inflicting heavy casualties on the Wu army that was charging towards the deer antlers from behind the trench, causing the Wu army to run out of manpower.
But Lu Xun was also determined. He personally beat the drum to cheer on the Wu army, who charged forward with shields and bamboo rafts under a hail of arrows. At the same time, he ordered the ballistae to target the Han archers on the second line of defense, thereby disrupting their deployment. He also sent a thousand men into the mountains to cut bamboo and make new ballistae.
The production of ballistae is very demanding. If you want to use bamboo instead, you must choose bamboo of uniform thickness. Moreover, ballistae made temporarily with bamboo poles will be much less powerful, but it is better than nothing, isn't it?
As Lu Xun beat the drum, he observed the battlefield. Seeing that the Han archers' formation had been disrupted by the ballistae, and that the belts of several catapults had even been pierced by the ballistae, rendering them unusable, he immediately roared, "Liu A, take your men to support Ding Feng. We only have one chance, and we cannot afford to lose this momentum."
Wu Jun is now relying entirely on his last breath. To win, he must keep charging forward, even if it kills him. Otherwise, if he stops, he will lose the will to launch a second charge.
Guan Xing was also aware of this. After observing for a moment from the arrow tower, he decisively ordered, "Sound the retreat and have the soldiers withdraw to the second line of defense, thereby demoralizing the Wu army."
He established five lines of defense to deplete the morale of the Wu army. The Wu army was in high spirits when attacking the first line of defense, but what about when attacking the second and third lines of defense? Would their morale be as high as when attacking the first line of defense?
To give a simple example, imagine you enter society full of ambition and show your skills, and after years of hard work you finally become a billionaire. But then you suddenly suffer a setback and are wiped out overnight. Would you still have the courage to try again?
Even if you muster the courage to start over, and after finally returning to the top, you are knocked back to the bottom, do you still have the courage and motivation to start a third business?
It's the same now. Wu Jun made huge sacrifices and finally broke through the first trench to occupy the Han army's position. But you tell me there's a second one. We have to do it all over again. After we take the second position, there's a third one. Aren't you going to collapse?
Guan Xing had this in mind: if things didn't go well, he would retreat immediately.
To facilitate their own passage, bamboo rafts were laid across the second trench, with a layer of straw mats made of dry grass on top of the rafts. Upon receiving the order, the Han soldiers decisively abandoned the wooden crates and the roofs of the bamboo rafts, and stepped onto the straw mats to retreat back to the second line of defense.
At this moment, the Han army and the Wu army were locked in a stalemate. Moreover, the second line of defense had no deer antlers, only straw mats and bamboo rafts. When the Han army retreated, the Wu army naturally followed and rushed into the second line of defense. But it didn't matter. The Han army retreated and the Wu army pursued for a short while. The Han army, which had been scattered by the Wu army's ballistae, switched to fire arrows and went forward again. They aimed at the bamboo rafts and straw mats and decisively fired arrows.
Because it was launched, most of the rockets landed in empty space, with only a small portion landing on the grass mat, but they still managed to ignite the mat.
These straw mats were carefully selected by Guan Xing. Once lit, the fire spread rapidly, creating a three-meter-wide wall of fire on the trench of the second line of defense, temporarily separating the Wu troops rushing in from those who had not yet arrived.
Despite this, Guan Xing still thought the fire was too small, so he ordered the catapult to throw bundles of straw into the fire. These bundles were made of pine and cypress branches, which contained pine resin that was very flammable. With the help of the pine resin, the fire burned brighter and brighter.
Ding Feng, who had already crossed the trench, saw a wall of fire suddenly appear behind him, breaking through his defenses on the spot. He cursed angrily, "Damn it, those Han soldiers are shameless! Brothers, we have nowhere to retreat. Forward, keep going!"
After saying that, he charged forward again, praying frantically in his heart: "Grand Commander, you must find a way to put out the fire quickly, otherwise without reinforcements, our small force will soon be annihilated by the Han army."