sbdcsierra Chapter 493 Attack the city!
Chapter 493 Attack the city!
At Gulizar's command, his men immediately launched an attack on the city as if they had received a charge horn.
In an instant, countless dark shadows swarmed out from the two northeastern gates outside Pingyang City like dense ants. They carried ladders, shields and other siege equipment and hurriedly approached the city wall.
At this moment, the city wall had been ruined beyond recognition due to the previous fierce bombardment, and it was almost impossible to find a complete wall.
In those parts that had not yet collapsed, there was no sign of any living creature. Everywhere were flying bricks and stones, broken weapons, and blurred bloodstains. It was a dead silence and misery.
The wolf-like and tiger-like shouts of the Hun soldiers attacking the city seemed to break through the sky and reach the ears of the defenders in the city, making people shudder.
At the east gate, Ren Chaohui was seriously injured and was hurriedly carried away by the soldiers for treatment. Zhu Zhanhui was ordered to take over his command of defending the city.
Zhu Zhanhui looked at the Xiongnu soldiers who were coming in like a tide, his expression stern. He immediately shouted at the soldiers defending the city: "Everyone, go to the city ruins, bring up the Tiger Cannons, and we must repel them!"
Previously, because the bombardment was too fierce, the soldiers on the city wall had already retreated to the rear to hide, and those soldiers who had been preparing for battle in the rear were now ready to go.
Hearing their superior's order, they did not hesitate, picked up their weapons, and rushed towards the city wall like tigers.
As soon as the soldiers rushed up the city wall, they saw that the Hun soldiers were not far from the edge of the city.
They didn't have time to think about it, and hurriedly placed the Tiger Barrel Cannon on the brick-covered city wall. They didn't even bother to install the bracket, and quickly lit the fuse.
With a loud "bang", shotgun shells gushed out like a rainstorm and hit the approaching Hun soldiers hard.
Loud noises rang out one after another, and a large number of Hun soldiers fell outside the city.
However, this tragic casualty did not deter the Hun soldiers' offensive momentum. They still rushed forward desperately, shouting slogans as if they were risking their lives.
It's not that these people are not afraid of death by nature, but they have long been accustomed to this cruel way of fighting in the long-term wars, and they only think about completing the mission of siege.
While the soldiers were busy reloading the Tiger Cannons, the Hun soldiers had already climbed up along the bricks and gravel and launched a fierce attack on the soldiers defending the city like hungry wolves.
At this time, the Tiger Barrel Cannon was basically useless in the close-range melee due to its slow loading speed, and the soldiers could only drag it to the back as the last defensive force.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle on the brick-covered city wall, with shouts and screams intertwined.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the fishy smell spread with the wind, filling the entire battlefield.
Zhu Zhanhui knew very well that if they continued like this, it would only be a pointless waste of both sides' vitality.
He was extremely anxious. While commanding his soldiers to resist, he waited for the infantry artillery behind him to be fully loaded.
Finally, he saw the perfect moment and shouted, "After the infantry artillery fire is finished, you Tiger Cannons will fire. Use all shotgun shells!"
Most of the infantry guns manufactured by the court were smoothbore guns. After exploration by craftsmen, they found that they could also fire shotgun shells, thus expanding the use of this weapon.
After hearing the order, the artillerymen quickly put their weapons into position.
Although the Tiger Barrel Cannon has a similar principle to the infantry cannon, its elevation angle is not high, making it more suitable for flat shooting.
Infantry artillery is different. Its maximum shooting angle can reach 45 degrees, and it has a more flexible attack method on the battlefield.
Seeing that the artillerymen were almost ready, Zhu Zhanhui decisively ordered everyone to evacuate from the gap at the edge of the city.
The Hun soldiers attacking the city had no idea of the city's strength, and when they saw the defenders withdrawing, they rushed into the gap in a swarm.
"Fire!" Zhu Zhanhui looked at the Hun soldiers pouring in like rats in a stinking ditch, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, and he shouted the order without hesitation.
Following his order, the infantry guns emitted deafening roars, and countless shotgun shells shot towards the approaching Hun soldiers like a torrential rain. After a burst of "crackling" sounds, a large number of Hun soldiers fell down screaming.
However, these Hun soldiers were like crazy and did not stop charging because of the fierce attack. They continued to rush into the city.
Immediately afterwards, the Tiger Cannon also roared, giving the Hun soldiers another head-on blow, and countless people fell down again.
The Hun soldiers, realizing that something was wrong, wanted to retreat, but the people behind them kept rushing forward, blocking them, and retreat became a luxury.
After the infantry artillery finished a round of firing, the Tiger Cannon followed suit. After several rounds of attacks, they were pleasantly surprised to find that no more Hun soldiers were climbing over the gap.
Just when Zhu Zhanhui was secretly happy, someone suddenly shouted nervously: "Look, is there a cannon?"
"We have cannons!... Aim at them..." Other clever soldiers also shouted loudly.
Everyone frantically adjusted the firing height and aimed the muzzle at the gun barrel extending from the other side of the city wall.
It turned out that the Hun soldiers on the opposite side were also using Tiger Barrel Cannons.
After loading the shells, they simply lifted the cannonballs and fired them, relying on the city wall's geographical location. As for precise aiming, in this chaotic battlefield, there was really no time to worry about it.
The Pingyang defenders hurriedly raised their infantry guns. At this moment, a soldier shouted anxiously: "There's a shotgun in the barrel. It won't work if we shoot at it!"
"Change the projectiles!" The soldiers were still used to calling the explosive shells projectiles.
Hearing the shouts, those gun positions that had not yet had time to load shells hurriedly replaced them with explosive shells.
The Hun soldiers didn't care what the infantry artillery in the city was doing. They leaned out, aimed the gun barrels at the Pingyang Army's artillery positions, and quickly lit the fuse.
The small pellets came towards them like wild horses, hitting many artillerymen and the auxiliary personnel behind them, and screams rang out instantly.
The soldiers of the Pingyang Army who were using the Tiger Barrel Cannon did not care whether the Tiger Barrel can work or not, and fired at the enemy in panic.
However, due to being too hasty, this round of shelling did not achieve any substantial effect.
The uninjured people in the infantry artillery positions quickly replaced the shells and fired again in the direction of the city wall.
The imperial shells, similar to those from Luancheng, had delayed fuses. Initially, the shells flew in a straight line before taking a parabolic trajectory.
The shells, fired with the muzzle raised high, flew directly over the enemy's heads and hit the rocks, splashing stones everywhere, and no one knew where they changed their course.
Only a very small number of shells hit the bricks and rubble, and it took two breaths of time before they exploded.
Because of the attack from the Tiger Cannon in front, most of the Hun soldiers had put their cannons back and were hiding underneath to change shells.
Therefore, the explosion did not cause much damage to them. Instead, the flying shells fell on the Hun soldiers who were rushing over, killing some of them.
On the other side of the north gate, Han Ziqing's situation was equally difficult.
The defenders also built a second line of defense, but the two sides still engaged in a fierce fight.
There were densely packed cannons set up inside the city and between the city walls.
Jiao Zan even ordered the mortars to advance a hundred steps outside the city and bombard the city crazily with artillery fire.
Compared to the East Gate, the losses at the North Gate were extremely heavy. There were broken limbs everywhere, blood dyed the ground red, and the air was filled with the disgusting smell of blood.