sbdcsierra Chapter 486: The Pass Was Attacked
Chapter 486: The Pass Was Attacked
When Gulizar heard the artillery leader say that the shooting was not accurate and that some scales must be prepared to accurately control the amount of gunpowder, his brows instantly furrowed.
He was very annoyed. War was all about quick victory, so where was the time to prepare all these complicated things?
The artillery leader saw Gulizar's bad face and felt nervous. He quickly explained:
"Lord Zuo, the cannons we captured in Shizhou City have different capabilities. They can fire over a thousand steps away, and their accuracy is much better than the cannons we have now. If we use those cannons to attack, there will be no problem."
As the young chief spoke, he observed Gulzar's expression, hoping that his words could calm the hot-tempered general.
"Really?" Gulizar's brows relaxed immediately, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he asked hurriedly.
"Yes, absolutely! We discovered this when we were fighting. If we had used horses to carry the load, we could have made the round trip in a day."
Seeing that Gulizar's attitude had softened, the young leader felt a little relieved and his tone became firmer.
Hearing the artillery leader's affirmative response, Gulizar waved his hand and decisively ordered:
"Send someone to tell the chief to quickly send those cannons over. With these cannons, we can successfully attack the city."
Gaddafi was also overjoyed when he heard this, and echoed excitedly:
"That's right. With these cannons, our attack on the city will be much easier. Those guarding the gates will never have thought that we have such powerful weapons."
So, Gulizar quickly selected a capable soldier and rode back to Shizhou at full speed to ask Yelu Qing for the cannons captured during the siege.
Taking advantage of the time when the artillery was being transported, Gaddafi carefully selected several soldiers with rich experience in reconnaissance, had them disguise themselves, and quietly headed to the Jiaokou Pass.
These soldiers moved like ghosts through the mountains and forests, carefully avoiding the enemy's eyes and ears.
They carefully explored the distance between the two mountains and finally determined that it was within a thousand steps.
After hearing the news, Gaddafi was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure.
He didn't care about his fatigue from the journey and hurried back to the camp to tell Gulizar the good news.
Another day passed, and those bulky cannons were transported as scheduled under Yelu Qing's arrangement.
Although Yelu Qing did not want Gulizar to win the battle, considering the complicated interests among the various tribes on the grassland, he was reluctant to interfere.
These cannons are very heavy, and each one requires the combined efforts of several soldiers to move.
After a difficult search, the scouts finally found several suitable locations to place the cannons on the opposite mountain. The soldiers then began to laboriously disassemble the cannons and carry them up the mountain piece by piece.
The mountain road was rugged and steep, and the soldiers had difficulty walking, exerting all their strength with every step.
They shouted in unison, climbing up step by step, sweat soaking their clothes and running down their cheeks. This ordeal took another day.
At this time, the defenders at the pass had already learned of the impending Hun attack and were all on high alert.
The troops that withdrew from Shizhou left behind the people led by Zhu Zhanhui to garrison here. They were all veterans who had experienced the baptism of war and had rich combat experience.
However, after waiting for three days, there was no sign of any attack from the Hun army.
Zhu Zhanhui and his soldiers couldn't help but wonder what the Huns were doing.
Just as they were wondering, suddenly, a dull cannon sound came from afar, like thunder rolling across the sky, breaking the silence.
Immediately afterwards, a series of artillery shells whizzed over, accompanied by deafening explosions, and the artillery position between the two mountains was instantly attacked by fierce artillery fire.
"It's bad. The artillery positions on the two hills have been destroyed, and most of the soldiers guarding there have been injured."
A messenger rushed into Zhu Zhanhui's tent in a panic and reported breathlessly.
When Zhu Zhanhui heard this, his heart suddenly tightened and he hurriedly asked, "Where did these artillery shells come from?" He widened his eyes and his face was full of shock.
"On the mountain, on the opposite mountain!"
The messenger lowered his head, his voice trembling, and his eyes were evasive when he looked at Zhu Zhanhui, as if he was afraid that the other party would be furious because of this news.
"How is that possible? How could their artillery reach it from such a long distance?"
Zhu Zhanhui said in disbelief. He knew clearly from the previous battle between the two armies that the Xiongnu's artillery had a limited range. At such a long distance, it was impossible for them to hit him.
He realized that the situation was not good. Once the positions on both wings were destroyed, the enemy would likely take the opportunity to attack both wings, so he had to adjust the combat deployment immediately.
"Quick, send word to the officers guarding the city, centurions and above, to come over immediately. Oh, and also, have the troops on both wings withdraw first."
Zhu Zhanhui seemed a little flustered, his speaking pace became noticeably faster, and there was a hint of anxiety in his tone.
"Understood!" The messenger heard the words, agreed, turned around and ran out of the tent in a hurry.
The soldiers on both sides of the pass were forced to retreat by the enemy's fierce artillery fire without even waiting for orders.
Shells continued to explode on the battlefield, sending boulders flying and filling the air with smoke. Many soldiers were knocked to the ground by the blast before they could react.
Not long after, Chen Yonggui and other officers hurried to Zhu Zhanhui.
As soon as they met, Zhu Zhanhui said solemnly, "Things are not looking good. I've already ordered the troops defending the intersection to return first, giving the people in the county town behind us a day to evacuate. I'm afraid we can't hold on."
Although the following words were not stated explicitly, Chen Yonggui and others understood in their hearts that Zhu Zhanhui meant for everyone to be prepared for sacrifice.
"The positions on both wings cannot be lost, even if they are bombed to pieces. I have already ordered the mortars and other supplies to be withdrawn. Later, you will take the tiger barrels with you. When the enemy attacks, use them to drive them down."
Zhu Zhanhui continued, his tone revealing a hint of determination.
Chen Yonggui instantly understood what Zhu Zhanhui meant. This was to avoid the enemy's attack and rely on the fortress for close combat.
He nodded and said, "I understand. It's no problem to hold on for a day."
"I'll say it again. There are only the 10,000 people who retreated from Shizhou here. There are no reinforcements coming from behind. Everyone must hold on for one day before withdrawing."
Zhu Zhanhui repeated it seriously, his eyes sweeping across everyone's faces, hoping that everyone would understand the current serious situation.
"Understood, we will stick to it to the end!"
Everyone spoke in unison, their voices filled with determination and a fearless attitude.
In front of Zhu Zhanhui, Chen Yonggui quickly began to assign tasks: "Tie Niu, you take a team to hold the left position, Sun Yue, you take a team to hold the right position, I will watch you from the middle, and I will send people wherever they are needed."
Zhu Zhanhui knew that the terrain of the pass here was narrow and not suitable for large gatherings of people.
Chen Yonggui's arrangement was extremely reasonable. He looked at the other captains and said to them, "You are the next team. When they are short of manpower, you will fill in."
"We understand." The other thousand households clasped their fists and said, with determination written on everyone's face.
At this time, the artillery on the opposite hill was still bombarding, and the soldiers on both wings retreated under the suppression of artillery fire.
Because the position was small, a single artillery shell could block the retreat, and at least half of the people were unable to withdraw in time.
Even though there were not many people on the position, the enemy's artillery fire showed no sign of stopping, and kept blasting the thousand-meter-high mountain into potholes, which in turn left them with many convenient places to step on when climbing.