My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 495: A person can kick two different iron plates twice
More than half a month of preparation period for heavy siege weapons passed in a flash, and time quietly came to late October of the tenth year of Jian'an.

Xiahou Yuan, who had been stationed at Diaoyu City for more than 20 days, finally launched a new round of fierce attack on the city after making all the necessary preparations.

In the past half month, Xiahou Yuan has been working day and night to build Ge Gongche, ladder carts and catapults.

They were also trying every means to seek help from the rear, draw more troops to the front line, and exhaust all the resources to conscript the population they controlled in the newly occupied areas of Yizhou.

Of course, these occupied rear areas that were left empty after being withdrawn would also require Cao Cao to draw new reinforcements from Guanzhong and even Heluo, or at least to withdraw military garrisons to assist in defense.

The long-term battle in Shuzhong would also require more food and grass. In particular, Cao's army had to transport the surplus military rations needed for the winter to Hanzhong before the heavy snow in the cold winter blocked the Qinling Mountains, transported them to the upper reaches of the Jialing River, and then transported them downstream to the front line.

The loss on the section of the Jialing River waterway is not very great. The key is the land route from Chencang Road across the Qinling Mountains to the upper reaches of the Jialing River. The loss is really terrible - this road is equivalent to the original route that Zhuge Liang took when he went to Qishan six times in history, but walked it in reverse. The difficulty of transporting grain can be imagined.

In history, Zhuge Liang calculated the cost of transporting four stones of grain from Hanzhong, but only one stone was left when it arrived in Chang'an. The remaining three stones were consumed on the way, which was three quarters of the transportation cost. This was the horror of crossing the Qinling Mountains in ancient times.

It is impossible for Xiahou Yuan's 70,000 to 80,000 troops to rely on Guanzhong or Heluo for food supply. But even if only 20,000 to 30,000 of them need external food supply, the actual consumption in the end can be equivalent to supporting 100,000 troops in Guanzhong or Heluo.

Even Cao Cao, who had rested for more than a year, could not bear such a long-term consumption without being able to quickly pass through Shu. In history, Cao Cao retreated from the Battle of Hanzhong because his logistics could not bear it and there were civil unrests everywhere in Heluo.

The reason why Xiahou Yuan can still resist now is only because after he conquered Zhang Lu this year, he happened to harvest the crops planted by the people under Zhang Lu's rule in the spring, and the crops were directly harvested by Xiahou Yuan during the autumn harvest.

But when this batch of food was eaten up, when the next year came and there was a shortage of food, if Xiahou Yuan still failed to make a breakthrough, Cao Cao would definitely not be able to support him. Cao Cao could only hold out for another month or two, and then he would have to force Xiahou Yuan to withdraw some of his troops.

At least withdraw to a point where Cao's army in the Hanzhong Basin can be self-sufficient and the local food can supply the soldiers. Any troops exceeding this point can only be retreated to the north of the Qinling Mountains.

Although Cao's army would not abandon Hanzhong directly at that time, it was absolutely inevitable that they would switch from offense to defense and adopt a cautious attitude in Hanzhong.

……

As the commander-in-chief of Cao's army, Xiahou Yuan was of course most aware of the logistical difficulties facing Cao's army.

Therefore, he always had a timetable in his mind: before the famine in the spring of next year, he must advance into the heart of the Bashu Plain. This way he could ensure that he could plunder the surplus grain of the people in the local counties, fight to support the war, and obtain food from the enemy, so that the war could continue.

To enter the heart of the Bashu Plain, it was not enough to just capture Diaoyucheng. After breaking through here, they had to cross the mountains and go south for 150 miles to capture Jiangzhou City (Chongqing), which would completely open the door to the Bashu Plain.

We cannot waste too much time on this Diaoyucheng in front of us.

After knowing what was going on, Xiahou Yuan naturally sent out all his elite troops and spared no effort when he launched another fierce attack.

On October 20, the first day of the general offensive, Cao's army deployed a total of twelve Ge Gongche, six of which were in the vanguard and six were kept as reserves. Considering that the front width of the east wall of Diaoyucheng was less than 300 feet in total, Xiahou Yuan's attack formation deployed a Ge Gongche every fifty feet, and there were the same number of reserves, the density was absolutely impressive.

After all, among the Ge buses, there are also traditional ladder troops.

In addition to these wall climbing equipment, Xiahou Yuan also built dozens of catapults in the past half month. As soon as the general attack started today, the catapults were deployed to the front line and began to throw stones at the city wall.

All of a sudden, rocks flew into the air, and the defending soldiers on the east wall could only hide behind the battlements. The scene was extremely grim.

However, the trebuchet is no longer a technically advanced device. Both attackers and defenders can use it. Moreover, the engineers under Wei Yan are obviously much better than Cao's army.

These engineers were all drawn from Zhang Fei's direct troops and were trained by Zhuge Liang in Jingzhou. Some of the engineers were also good at simple math and knew how to recite and consult the ballistic tables compiled by Zhuge Liang.

Therefore, even if the technical content of the trebuchets used by both sides is the same, Liu Bei's army can achieve several times the attack accuracy just by relying on more sophisticated mathematics, and can also use trebuchets to counter trebuchets.

During these days, Wei Yan also built several catapults for defending the city. Facing the fixed target shooting that can improve the hit rate by correcting the trajectory, Cao Cao is certainly no match.

The bombardment of the catapults lasted only for the time of an incense stick before wailing gradually spread from the catapult positions of Cao's army. Several catapults had been destroyed by Wei Yan's counterattack, and slingers were killed and wounded from time to time.

In particular, the defenders did not expect to collapse the strong fortifications, and there was no need to use single-headed bullets. Instead, they could directly use leather bags to wrap up the rain of gravel and throw it, which was extremely effective in killing people and made Cao's army suffer terribly.

However, Xiahou Yuan did not expect to unilaterally bombard the defenders. He knew from the beginning that the catapults in Liu Bei's camp were very powerful, and he was originally aiming to attrition the defenders.

Although Cao's catapults continued to suffer casualties, they at least suppressed Liu Bei's archers on the east wall, making them dare not show their heads and shoot arrows in advance. This created a better opportunity for Cao's Ge Gongche and ladder vehicles to approach the city wall.

Originally, if the ladders approached the city wall more than a hundred steps away, they would be shot by crossbows, but now they can get close to about fifty steps before the rain of arrows gradually intensifies. Most of them are thrown randomly without showing their heads, or cross-fired at the inner angle of the battlements, and the hit rate is much lower than direct shooting.

"Hurry up and push the ladder to the corner! The Thunderbolt Chariot artillery brothers have finally suppressed the defenders' archers. We can't waste this opportunity!"

The Cao army officers shouted their commands at the top of their lungs, and these heavy machines quickly approached the city wall at a low cost.

At this point, the defenders certainly would not hold back, and when the two sides approached within a few feet, rolling logs and rocks began to fall down like crazy. In the camp on the top of Diaoyu Peak on the south side, Liu Bei's army archers also began to rain down rockets from a height of several dozen feet.

All the defenders of the city opened fire at full capacity, and the Cao army soldiers responsible for the ant-like attack immediately began to suffer heavy casualties.

As the ladders were put on the wall, the soldiers filed up, and there was a continuous stream of lime bottles and golden juice pouring down from the wall. Lime powder and boiling filth, and even ordinary boiling water, were poured down in pots. Even Cao's elite soldiers wearing iron armor could not withstand such a chemical attack.

"Charge up at all costs! The city wall is not high! The first one to reach it will be made a marquis! Anyone who climbs the wall will be rewarded with ten thousand coins!"

Xiahou Yuan was supervising the battle from a distance. Seeing the tense situation, he personally added an order and a reward, requiring the troops to seize the city wall regardless of casualties. Cao's army continued to attack despite huge casualties. The elite armored soldiers could not stop the penetration of lime and boiling water, and fell to the ground wailing.

Fortunately, the generals of Cao’s army generally felt that as long as they could win this battle, they would be able to control the battlefield and strip the armor off the corpses to give to the soldiers behind them.

These days, a human life may not be worth as much as a suit of armor.

In this bloody attack at all costs, it lasted for more than an hour. Finally, the first east wall, which was less than two meters high, was broken through in several places by Cao's army using the Ge Gongche.

Some of the guards on the city wall were divided into several sections and had no way to escape, so they had to slide down the gentle slope on the inner side of the first east wall to escape the enemy's pursuit - the construction of this east wall was like a gravity dam. The outer side was steeper, while the inner side had a slight slope of about 60 to 70 degrees, not completely vertical, so that it would not be crushed by the wide bottom and narrow top.

It is impossible to climb up a steep slope of sixty or seventy degrees without the help of climbing tools, but it is easy to slide down safely. This can be regarded as the "back door" left by Wei Yan for the retreat of friendly troops when reinforcing the city wall.

What's more, the east wall was less than two meters high, so even if he jumped down directly, he would not die. It was roughly equivalent to jumping from the second floor of a 4-meter-high, two-story house in later generations.

As for the majority of the defending soldiers on the first east wall, because they were not cut off by Cao's army, they were at least able to retreat in an orderly manner to the second east wall for defense through the connecting corridor from the southernmost section.

Many Cao's soldiers, after they had fought their way to the top of the wall and finally gained a foothold and were able to spare some energy to observe the battlefield, were shocked to find that the Diaoyu City in front of them already had a second line of wall defense, a "U"-shaped urn city.

"Is this ever going to end? We fought so hard and spent so much effort to attack the first wall, and there's another one inside?"

"Not bad! This is a city wall structure with a connecting tunnel! Quickly seize the tunnel and charge directly onto the second wall!"

After realizing the change in the situation, the Cao army generals who had attacked the top of the wall quickly made adjustments and tried to chase the retreating defenders along the corridor to the second city wall.

Unfortunately, they did not have the chance to complete all of this. After the defending soldiers withdrew in an orderly manner, only the first few hundred people in Cao's vanguard were able to chase and catch up with the defenders. At this time, huge boulders on the top of the cliff of Diaoyu Peak on the south side began to roll down again.

Wei Yan smashed the huge rocks that he had accumulated for many days down the cliff.

The height difference of dozens of feet, plus the weight of each boulder at least thousands or even tens of thousands of pounds, any Cao army soldier who was directly hit was immediately turned into meat paste, without having time to feel the slightest pain.

Nearly a hundred huge rocks fell one after another, instantly breaking the corridor and burying it like a landslide, making it impossible for Cao's subsequent soldiers to pass through the corridor to seize the second city wall.

The hundreds of people who had already rushed over were either killed or had to jump over the wall to escape because their support was cut off.

Fortunately, the corridor is as high as the east wall, less than two meters. Even if you jump down directly, you will not die. But if you are wearing armor, breaking your legs is normal.

"Quick, pull the siege weapons in through the city gate! Continue the general attack on the second wall!" The Cao army's front-line generals were all extremely anxious. Zhang Xiu, who was assisting Xiahou Yuan in commanding the front line today, hurriedly gave orders at the top of his voice, wanting to seize the opportunity to expand the results of the battle.

However, the second battle of Lu Zhao soon brought bad news to Zhang Xiu: "General Zhang! Lu Zhonglang said that the hillside between the two walls suddenly became steeper, and the Ge Gong carts were too high and too heavy to be pushed up! One of them overturned because it was pushed too hard! We can only bring the ladders in through the doorway to attack the second wall!"

Zhang Xiu felt extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do. With such a urn-like structure and the steep mountainous terrain, Ge Gongche was really useless.

Let's go ahead! Don't miss this opportunity!
Zhang Xiu quickly organized a strong attack on the second wall with all his strength. However, Cao's army lost the support of Ge Gongche, and the catapult array was too far away to provide fire support, resulting in a sharp decrease in the attack force.

In contrast, the archers of Liu Bei's army on the second wall, because they were completely free from the suppression of the enemy's catapults, could easily show their heads and aim and shoot. The suppression of their bows and crossbows was several times more fierce than when they were fighting for the first wall.

As one side gained strength while the other lost strength, Zhang Xiu launched repeated fierce attacks, but in the end his attack was only effective once, then weakened and exhausted, and after suffering heavy casualties, he had to return in defeat.

……

"Why is Fishhook Mountain so difficult to attack? We have prepared so many heavy equipment, including ladder trucks, catapults, etc. Why can't we take it down?"

Xiahou Yuan was extremely depressed when he learned that Zhang Xiu and Lu Zhao had tried their best and used all their tricks to attack but still failed in the end. The anger and anxiety in his heart drove him crazy again.

The first failure was because Shang'er underestimated the enemy, wanted to buy time, and did not have enough heavy siege weapons.

Xiahou Yuan thought that as long as he made up for this shortcoming and fought fairly again, there would always be a chance for revenge.

Who knew that while he was constantly building siege equipment and upgrading his combat power, Wei Yan on the opposite side upgraded his fortifications faster than him and improved his combat power even more.

If this goes on, Wei Yan's defense will become stronger and stronger, but his own strength will not be able to keep up. Isn't it going to be a long time before he succeeds?
Xiahou Yuan was depressed but unwilling to give up. In the following days, he used various heavy equipment to attack several times, but the results were the same, only increasing casualties.

As late October passed quickly, it was November of the tenth year of Jian'an, and Xiahou Yuan finally despaired of the frontal heavy equipment attack.

How could Xiahou Yuan know that this place was so dangerous that it was used to hold back the Mongol army for more than 30 years, and even the Mongol Khan was killed under the city. He only spent more than a month to realize the danger and difficulty of attacking this place, which was already very good.

Jia Xu, the military advisor, saw that the commander's morale had declined and he seemed to be willing to listen to some advice, so he gave another sincere advice: "At present, relying on a quick attack has failed, and relying on a steady and strong attack is also difficult to break through this world's most dangerous place. General, you should not waste your lives in vain.

Let's think about it. Either we use a surprise attack to break the city, or we can see if there is a way to bypass the city without blocking the food supply route. If neither of these two can be done, we can only besiege the city to consume food and try to starve Wei Yan to death."

Xiahou Yuan was silent for a long time after hearing this, and could only sigh: "I can only choose one of these three paths. Mr. Wenhe, which of these three strategies do you think should be prioritized?"

(End of this chapter)