I am Li Shimin of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 167
After Cao Cao threw the thunderbolt chariot frantically for half an hour, the gate tower of Hulaoguan City was smashed and riddled with holes, and many low walls on the city wall were hit and broken, and the rocks pierced through the air, which was extremely tragic .

Some soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were devastated and suffered heavy casualties.

"Ah... my legs." A soldier wailed bitterly while hugging his bloody legs.

"I don't want to die, general save me, general save me."

The sound of wailing, one after another,

Scattered and scattered corpses of many soldiers under Li Shimin's command were scattered all over the place, with stumps flying all over the place, bloody and bloody, and it was hard to tell the original appearance.

Li Shimin clenched his hands tightly, his nails almost embedded in his fingers, panting heavily.Watching his soldiers die under the enemy's thunderbolt chariot, and he still had to endure not being able to fight back immediately, Li Shimin was heartbroken, in great pain, and extremely aggrieved.

In order to kill the enemy more and let the enemy feel the taste of the stone cannon, Li Shimin suppressed his anger and did not order his catapult to attack.

…………

Cao Cao fiercely watched the enemy's screams when the Hulao was closed, and he felt unspeakably relieved, and finally let out a breath of anger.

"Li Shimin, you still have today, just because you still want to fight with me, you are too tender." Cao Cao thought secretly.

Cao Cao's "shelling" had just stopped over there, and the drums of the Chinese army were thundering, and the blood of the people who were drumming densely was boiling, and the horns were sounding continuously, long and powerful.

"Ho..., ho..." The Chinese army quickly moved towards both sides, and soon gave up an open space, and then the siege soldiers of the rear army rushed up with sonorous steps.

The five-thousand-sword shield soldiers raised their iron shields above their heads, forming a tightly-defended army formation to avoid the enemy's arrow rain. Thousands of siege soldiers were hidden inside the shields, each with a determined face.

A dozen liang of ladder carts in the back also rushed towards the city wall under the cover of the shield soldiers, and it seemed that the decision was to be made at one stroke.

"Roar..., roar..." Cao Cao's army rushed towards Hulao Pass in a murderous spirit, and it was getting closer and closer. The thunder stone flew towards this side.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

As the flying stones got closer, the stones became bigger and bigger, and the dense lightning stones hit Cao Jun's attacking route with incomparable precision.In an instant, a large number of enemies were damaged, and bursts of blood mist were set off.

A single blow could take away dozens of lives, and the seemingly incomparably strong iron shield defensive array was also smashed and riddled with holes.

The huge ladder car was smashed to pieces in an instant, and even some unlucky soldiers were crushed under it. Flesh and blood flew all over the place, which was horrible. Unable to push under the city wall, the siege was completely contained.

For a while, Cao Cao's siege army was also filled with mourning, and the screams were endless, which showed the power of the catapult.

Cao Jun, who was lucky enough to survive, was also stunned, looking at his comrade who died tragically, in a trance, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

This is just the turn of Feng Shui. Cao Jun, who was still watching the theater just now, also enjoyed this round of solid shelling and the same treatment, but after all, Cao Jun had no place to hide, and the loss was even greater.

Cao Cao, who had been watching the battle from a distance, was also frightened and angry, and shouted sharply: "Thunderbolt chariot, fight back immediately, fight back quickly, and destroy the enemy's catapult."

After receiving the general order, the captain operating the thunderbolt chariot immediately ordered the soldiers to quickly advance the thunderbolt chariot by several feet, recalibrate the angle, extend the thunderbolt chariot's drop point, and penetrate into the city of Hulaoguan.

It's just that Li Shimin's catapult was hidden inside the city wall. In the blind spot of the enemy's shelling, the thunder stones fired by the thunderbolt car could not touch the shadow of the catapult at all. Loss.

The launch principle of the catapult is somewhat similar to today's mortars. Li Shimin's "artillery" is hidden on the reverse slope, and the enemy cannot hit it at all.

Instead, they were hit back by Li Shimin's catapults. After an intensive "bombardment", more than half of Cao Cao's Thunderbolt catapults were concentrated by Li Shimin's shelling, and they were completely lost.

Guo Jia, who was standing beside Cao Cao, hurriedly said, "My lord, order the troops to retreat quickly. The enemy also has catapults. If they attack rashly, our army will suffer a lot."

Cao Cao said unwillingly when he heard the words: "Ming Jin withdraws troops, Ming Jin withdraws troops!"

"Dang, clang, clang..." There was a crisp sound on the battlefield, and Cao Jun, as if he had been pardoned, threw away his helmet and armor in a panic, and retreated in a cloudy manner.

However, Li Shimin's "artillerymen" seemed to have glasses, and continued to extend their artillery fire to the enemy's escape route. As a result, none of the soldiers who survived by chance survived, and the losses were extremely heavy.

Seeing that the battle situation in front of him was so tragic, it exceeded his expectations.His own soldiers were beaten to pieces before they even touched the enemy's top of the wall. It was the worst time in so many years.

…………

In Cao Cao's camp, all civil and military personnel were called together to discuss ways to defeat the enemy.The atmosphere in the big tent was dignified, and the successive fiascos also hit the confidence of the soldiers under his command time and time again.

Cao Cao was a little frustrated seeing the generals, and his inner worries deepened.But Cao Cao is Cao Cao, and he quickly laughed and said: "Everyone, we have tested the enemy's cards in this battle, and there is nothing to worry about. Besides, although the enemy has catapults, our army also has them. At most It’s a tie, the outcome is still unknown.”

Under the influence of Cao Cao's emotions, everyone gradually became less depressed and relaxed.

"Meng De, I think our army can't put all the treasures on top of Xu Huang's army. We should divide our troops and send another general to lead the army to fight against Yuan Shao's army, attack Hanoi, threaten Luoyang from the north bank, and continue to disperse Li Shimin's forces. , under such a three-sided attack, our army has a better chance of winning." Huangfusong said solemnly.

Guo Jia also added: "That's right, my lord. Right now, Li Shimin is deploying heavily on the front line of Hulao Pass. Once our army occupies Huai County in Hanoi, the natural danger of Hulao Pass will be weakened by three points. If Li Shimin divides his troops, it will also weaken the front line." troops."

Guo Jia looked at the contemplative people, and said: "The so-called reality is false, and falsehood is real. I besieged from three directions. Whichever side has the opportunity is the 'real' side. The strategic initiative lies with our army, and No more enemies."

Cao Cao also understood what Guo Jia meant. Guo Jia was actually tactfully persuading Cao Cao not to be too paranoid. We will attack in three directions, and any route can be the main direction of attack, instead of pinning all our hopes on Xu Huang's surprise soldiers.

(End of this chapter)