My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 506 Siege!

Shanyang City.

On the city wall, Hebasheng looked out of the city with a solemn expression.

"Kill!!"

Then a horn and war drum sounded.

A group of 'soldiers' wielding wooden sticks and wearing no armor surged toward the city wall.

"Archery!"

Hebasheng raised his hand and shouted!
The soldiers, who had been hiding behind the crenellations of the city wall, held their longbows, which were already strung, and shot the arrows in a very short time.

With their high vantage point and the sheer density of the attackers, they could inflict massive casualties without even needing to aim!
After several volleys of arrows, they barely managed to repel the enemy's first wave of attack.

Beneath the city walls, only corpses remained.

The soldiers defending the city could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but everyone remained tense and dared not relax.

Despite having repelled the enemy's attack, Hebasheng couldn't feel happy.

He knows very well...

They were killing nothing more than a bunch of weaklings. They had no weapons or armor, and were just forced to rush towards the city wall in a chaotic mass. This cannon fodder force, composed of temporarily conscripted able-bodied men, was forced to their deaths to deplete the city's defenders' arrows and other defensive equipment, as well as exhaust their strength.

Although Erzhu Rong had already ordered all able-bodied men in the surrounding area to be forcibly taken to Hanoi County.

However, before the able-bodied men in places like Ji County could be transferred, Ji County had already been captured by Dou Tai's army. Jianzhou was not under Gao Yu's command, and the people of Jianzhou were naturally not under Gao Yu's rule. Dou Tai would not care about them.

It doesn't matter if hundreds or thousands of able-bodied men die, since they can be caught easily anyway, but the death of even one soldier is something that will cause a lot of heartache.

"Pass on my order: all men must be alert and not let their guard down, for the enemy will soon continue their attack on the city."

"Here!"

The guards immediately went to relay the military order.

Hebasheng continued to observe the situation outside the city.

Dou Tai's army arrived very quickly, leaving the garrison of Shanyang City no time to calmly set up their defenses, and Erzhu Rong was not determined to hold out to the death.

Looking at the map, Sanyang is the last city blocking the east of Hanoi County. Logically, it should be defended to the death. However, precisely because it is too far forward, if it continues to defend, it will easily become a "piecemeal tactic" and be besieged by Gao Yu to attack the reinforcements.

In the past, Erzhu Rong held a large number of elite cavalry, giving him an advantage in field battles.

But right now...

Gao Yu's soldiers were not afraid of field battles at all; they were always thinking about how to kill people and gain merit. The soldiers who had earned merit were eager to fight in the field.

Just like the military men of the Tang Dynasty.

Only in open field battles can you kill a large number of enemies, and only in open field battles can you quickly achieve upward mobility in your life.

The military system, combined with the merit-based promotion system of twelve ranks, was so effective that it could stimulate human nature in the purest way.

Hebasheng's reason for holding out was still to buy time for the rear.

The area around Yewang, the capital of Hanoi County, was truly scorched earth, leaving nothing for the enemy.

Wells were either filled in or poisoned; crops in the fields were either taken away or burned; all houses were demolished; and all the timber was transported into the city. In short, nothing was left for Dou Tai's army to use when they came to attack the city.

These tasks will take time to complete.

Sanyang also lacks the ability to hold out for an extended period.

Unlike truly fortified cities like Luoyang, Jinyang, and Yecheng, Shanyang City had deliberately constructed high platforms outside the city walls that formed a defensive perimeter.

Luoyang City has Jinyong City, Ye City has Three Platforms...

If the garrison in the city has no outposts outside the city to support each other, and the garrison does not dare to take the initiative to go out of the city to fight, then it will be very difficult to defend the city.

They couldn't destroy the enemy's siege equipment.

There's no way to retrieve the arrows that have been shot.

We also cannot pursue the enemy after they have failed in their siege and are in retreat.

Not to mention the nighttime raids, which prevented the besieging army from getting proper rest.

Defending to the death is absolutely a major taboo in military strategy when defending a city.

When Lü Bu was besieged by Cao Cao in Xiapi, Chen Gong advised him to take a group of elite troops out of the city to set up camp and support Xiapi from both sides. Chen Gong knew that defending a city should not be a matter of holding out to the death, but unfortunately Lü Bu did not listen to him.

"If I had enough troops..."

Hebasheng clenched his fists, a hint of unwillingness flashing in his eyes. If he had sufficient troops, he would definitely have led his men out of the city to dampen the morale of the attacking army.

But with so few men at their disposal, they could barely defend the city, let alone leave it.
And he was indeed wary of Dou Tai's army's field combat capabilities. Dou Tai wasn't leading a rabble; he was commanding a properly trained and disciplined force of imperial guards. Rumble!!

The tremendous sound was like a boulder rolling down from the mountaintop.

Hebasheng's face was solemn as soldiers slowly pushed a tall well ballast outside the city forward.

Both sides shoot at each other.

The defending side should have had the advantage, because they had the high ground to attack from below, and could hit XX...

However, as early as the Warring States period, the Mozi had already devised a way to overcome the disadvantages of the attacking side, which was to build a siege tower, a mobile shooting arrow tower, which was built higher than the city wall.

Whoosh whoosh!
After the siege tower was pushed a certain distance, it stopped. The soldiers of the attacking side climbed onto the high platform and picked up their bows and arrows to exchange fire with the defenders in the city!
Waves of arrows rained down, and the soldiers defending the city walls had to hide to avoid being hit by stray arrows, unable to continue suppressing the attacking soldiers.

Hebasheng was also forced to hide.

Dou Tai saw it from afar and immediately waved his hand!
"A great reward will be given to anyone who scales the city walls!!"

Slay generals, seize flags, charge into battle, and be the first to scale the walls!
The first to scale the city wall was the one with the highest mortality rate, but if one survived, it was the greatest achievement and the most likely of the four great feats on the ancient battlefield.

Fan Kuai's high status was not solely due to being a fellow townsman of Liu Bang from Pei County; he genuinely distinguished himself by repeatedly being the first to scale the walls.

"Kill!!"

Taking advantage of the moment when their own firepower suppressed the defending soldiers.

The soldiers pushed the siege ladder carts forward, and further ahead, the soldiers who had been pushing the siege ladder carts from the beginning were about to reach the bottom of the city wall.

The soldiers on the siege tower had emptied their quivers and needed to be reloaded, while the defenders on the city wall took the opportunity to try to counterattack and regain air superiority.

Of course...

The soldiers who had reached the city walls drew their bows and hurled arrows at the walls, then immediately retreated into their chariots or had someone nearby hold a shield taller than a person for defense.

In this back-and-forth pulling and tugging...

The siege ladder trucks had been pushed to the vicinity of the city wall, and the huge grappling hooks were thrown out, hooking onto the wall and providing a passage for the soldiers below to 'ascend'!
Clad in thick armor, holding a small round shield in one hand and a ring-pommel sword in the other, the soldiers climbed the ladder one after another.

His eyes held no fear of death, only a burning desire to achieve great deeds!

"Kill!!"

Hebasheng drew his bow and shot at the top of the ladder, knocking one person down, but the people behind him did not stop at all.

In a situation like this, charging forward offers a chance of survival; hesitation or stagnation guarantees death!

Those who could seize the credit for being the first to scale the walls were all elite soldiers; ordinary soldiers would never get such a 'suicide mission'.

How could elite troops be afraid of death?

On the battlefield, those who feared death had long since become withered bones on the ground.

"General! General! I have already ordered the troops to be prepared. General, you should retreat from the west gate immediately. Shanyang City is destined to fall. You have already done a great service by slowing down the enemy's advance. The city is about to fall, so you should run away quickly!"

"You can keep the green hills without worrying about having firewood!"

Throughout history, when besieging a city, the strategy has always been to "surround three sides and leave one side open," with the aim of weakening and disintegrating the defenders' will to resist.

Dou Tai also knew that Erzhu Rong was not determined to defend Shanyang City to the death. The garrison in the city was just a "pawn" to delay his advance. Naturally, he did not want to waste time in this place, nor did he want to lose too many troops.

So the west gate was deliberately left empty.

"Dou Ningshi!!"

Hebasheng glanced back angrily, but ultimately chose to flee after being persuaded by his guards.

Shanyang City was destined to fall, so there was no need for him to lose the city and his people.

Once we have more troops at our disposal, we can have a proper showdown with Dou Tai.

Hebasheng hurriedly left the city wall, changed his horse, and then, surrounded by his guards, opened the west gate and galloped away.

When the city's defenders saw that their commander had fled, they all chose to surrender.

Soon someone relayed the news that Hebasheng had fled to Dou Tai.

"General, should we pursue them?"

"That's all."

Dou Tai shook his head. "To be on the safe side, let's go into the city first to rest and recuperate."

"Pass on my orders! After entering the city, enforce strict military discipline. Anyone who dares to harass the civilians will be killed without exception!!"

(End of this chapter)