Chapter 46: Stalemate

  The auxiliary soldiers on the city wall were all bent over, quickly lifting the hanging curtains or soft walls to the mouth of the gate, blocking the sharp arrows shot by the enemy outside the city. This was not enough, they also picked up water buckets and splashed water on them. The hanging curtains and soft walls had a cover in front and on top, covered with old quilts, which could effectively prevent the sharp arrows shot from outside the city after being wetted with water.

  After each hanging household blocked the mouth of the wall, at this time the city wall was slightly darkened, and the sunlight on one side was blocked. Only the sound of "dang" could be heard, and dozens of sharp arrows were shot onto each hanging household. However, they were blocked by the cotton padding, and the sharp arrows couldn't get in.

  Seeing this situation, everyone also breathed a sigh of relief. The most important thing is that the soft-walled jumping knife corpse guard has been cut off! There are no more devices, and the soldiers don't have to think about standing in front anymore.

  A large group of male nurses led by Hua Zhen from the castle, carrying stretchers one by one from under the city to the top, taking down wounded soldiers for treatment and collecting the dead.

  At this time, Hua Zhen was already exhausted and covered in sweat, almost fainting. She wasn't any better off than the other soldiers. However, Hua Zhen still gritted her teeth and persisted.

  ……

  All the way, the blood of the wounded soldiers was splattered on the city's head. Looking at the blood on the ground and listening to the cries of the injured brothers made everyone on the city wall feel that the hardship of this battle would exceed their expectations.

  At this time, the officers of various teams on the city wall and the crossbowmen were looking out at the movement outside the city from the embrasures or small holes dug in the hanging windows. They saw that the Jin army's shield carts had stopped twenty steps away from the city wall, and many soldiers inside the shield carts had come out.

  Some of them hid behind the shield carts, while others stood openly outside, but they all had their bows drawn and were watching the movements on the city wall.

  On the left side of the beacon tower wall, Yang Xiao roughly estimated that there were about 150 barbarian soldiers. Judging from the flags and armor on their bodies, they were at least golden armored cavalrymen, each wearing two layers of heavy armor, especially a few who looked like divisional officers, wearing bulging armor, estimated to be wearing three layers of heavy armor.

  There was a man who looked like Niu Luozhang Jing, wearing more armor on his body, with about thirty or so white armored soldiers standing around him. Each of them held heavy shields, with high red tassels on their helmets, and wore double-layered heavy armor. Next to each group of white armored soldiers stood a robust man in bright armor with a red tassel, with a small yellow flag inserted diagonally on his back.

  Behind the golden armored vehicle, one by one, single-wheeled carts pushed by Jin soldiers and servants, loaded with mud and other objects, have been rolling forward, approaching the moat in front of the city wall.

  On both sides of the south gate of Luoyun Fort, at the foot of the city wall and on the outside of the moat, there are some abatis, chevaux de frise, caltrops and other obstacles. They are an important defensive line for the city walls of Luoyun Fort and will not allow the Jin army to easily destroy and fill them up.

  At this time, Ye Xuanzhong's army on the city tower had already seen clearly the movement under the city. The drumming and commands from the top of the tower became more urgent, ordering each unit of crossbowmen to take action, shooting outward to block the Jin soldiers' filling of the moat and climbing of the city walls.

  At this time, the war drum sound from the Jin army's formation was even more high-pitched, and both sides started shooting at each other on the city wall.

  The crossbowmen of each team on the city wall, stuck their crossbows out of the embrasures and shooting holes below, constantly firing outward. At the same time, the Jin army's arrows were also coming in continuously. Some sharp arrows at certain angles could even penetrate through these two holes and harm the crossbowmen on the city wall.

  From the embrasures on the city wall and the shooting holes at the bottom of the wall, the angle was not wide, and it was inconvenient to shoot. A left sentinel's crossbowman thought that the hanging door blocked the wall opening was not good for shooting, so he slightly moved one of the hanging doors open a bit. Before he could release his arrow, more than ten strong arrows shot towards him. His face was hit by eight sharp arrows, and he immediately let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground.

  Seeing him like this, none of the soldiers dared to move away from their posts.

  At this time, since the Jin soldiers had not yet filled the moat and climbed the city, the lateral firepower of several horse-faced wells was also useless.

  From the top of the mountain, shooting down at the enemy's camp, it was not easy to hit them, but as long as you hit your target, with the power of Zhuge Liang's repeating crossbow, even if the Jin soldiers below were wearing two layers of heavy armor, they would be knocked to the ground instantly.

  Even if they didn't die immediately, or weren't pierced through their heavy armor, the powerful impact of the arrows would still be borne by their bodies. The Jin soldiers who were hit by the arrows instantly had their bones shattered and lost their ability to move.

  The city above and below occasionally transmitted the sound of miserable cries and muffled hums. Roughly estimated, more than a dozen Jin soldiers outside the city were hit by the continuous crossbow of the Ye family army in Luoyun Fortress, among whom several were warriors who were about to climb the city for battle. Meanwhile, on the city wall, several crossbowmen were shot by the Qing army's arrows, either hitting their faces or thighs.

  The battle was not yet intense, but it was extremely bloody. The medical auxiliary soldiers were rushing back and forth, occasionally carrying wounded soldiers away for treatment.

  Outside the city, Jinbing Niu Lu Zhu Wei was under heavy protection of his troops, but he looked solemnly in the direction of the city head, not expecting the continuous crossbow of the righteous army on the city head to be so fierce, greatly beyond his expectations.

  Not yet on the city wall, there were already more than 30 casualties on their side. Although most of them were unarmored followers and servants, it still pained him to see these men, who were all brave warriors that had fought in many battles, die here.

  Moreover, many of their brave warriors wore heavy armor. Yet they were still pierced through their armor and died miserably under the hail of arrows from the righteous army, which was something that had never happened before. This also made him feel a sense of foreboding in his heart, and he foresaw that taking down this small castle would not be an easy task.

  By the afternoon, after more than thirty casualties, Jin's soldiers finally cleared a section of the city wall below the south gate, removing the abatis, chevaux de frise and other obstacles, filling in a section of the moat. Then, the sound of scattered footsteps rose, and three simple long cloud ladders approached the city head.

  The left sentinel Yang Xiao, who was in charge of this section of the city wall, looked out from the embrasure and shouted: "Prepare to beat the stone!"

  At that moment, several auxiliary soldiers in the team who were responsible for throwing logs and rolling stones nervously moved a few logs and placed them on the spoons of several small stone-throwing machines next to the wall. Yang Youjian gave an order: "Release".

  Dozens of boulders were thrown down from the city wall, heavily hitting the rows of soldiers, and instantly a chorus of mournful cries rose up from below the city.

  However, one cloud ladder was still approaching and had already been set up on the city wall.

  Yang Xiang shouted again: "Prepare the golden liquid!"

  At the same time, two auxiliary soldiers each used an iron rod to lift a large pot from a fire pit, inside which was boiling excrement, emitting a foul odor that filled the air.

  At this moment, the sound of "Prepare the long gunner" rose from each team.