So even if whistles were blown everywhere and the Liao scouts did some reconnaissance, the Liao army's top brass could only conclude that the Song army was gathering on a small scale, and they could not hear any horns of a large-scale assembly.

At this moment, Yelu Zongzhen's main force finally arrived slowly outside Xijin City.

It was already four quarters past eight in the evening, which was around eight o'clock in the evening. The sky had become completely dark, and the bright moonlight cast a silver glow across the sky. The visibility was surprisingly not bad, and one could see what was happening around them within about seven or eight meters.

The main force of the Liao army was carrying torches, like thick fire dragons. But compared with the blaze that reached the sky in the city, it was nothing.

After all, the fire broke out in an area of ​​nearly one square kilometer.

If it weren't for the fact that there were Yaochi and Guanyin Lake to the west of Danfeng Gate and a long street to the east, and if they could have found a way to stop the fire, the entire Xijin City would probably be a sea of ​​fire by now.

"Report!"

The scout came running and reported to Yelu Zongzhen: "Our army was blocked by the Song army near the city gate."

"Can we find out the situation in the city?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked.

"There was constant sound of gunfire in the city, as well as shouts and screams."

The scout replied.

"Can't we break through the city gate?"

Yelu Zongzhen frowned.

The scout said, "There are quite a few Song soldiers near the city gate, and their guns are blocking the entrance, so it will be difficult to force our way in."

Yelu Zongzhen had a headache.

The Song army was able to use artillery to break down the city gates and then charge into the city because they had muskets.

And they only have cold weapons.

Facing someone guarding the city gate with a musket, every one of them would die.

"Where's the ladder?"

Yelu Zongzhen asked.

Xiao Ying replied, "In the rear army's baggage train."

"How long will it take to arrive?"

"I'm afraid it will take more than an hour."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. We can't wait any longer."

Yelu Zongzhen took a deep breath, then waved his hand and said, "Order the entire army to launch a surprise attack. Charge in through the city gates that the Song army has broken through. Be sure to coordinate with the remaining troops in the city and the fire to annihilate the Song army in one fell swoop. Once the Song army in the city is destroyed, it will be much easier to clear out the stragglers in the wild."

"yes."

Xiao Ying, Xiao Xiaoyou and the other generals all agreed.

Now is the time to attack.

Because from the perspective of the Liao army, firstly, there were still some Liao troops in the city fighting with the Song army.

Second, the Song army did not have time to quickly gather the soldiers scattered in the wild.

Third, although the Song army defeated their rear army and part of the central army, and at least 100,000 people were scattered by them, the Song army is now in a scattered state.

However, they still had part of the central army and the front army of about 70,000 to 80,000 people, and they gathered 20,000 to 30,000 defeated soldiers on the way, assembling a large army of 100,000 people, and they were still in formation. There was no way they could be stopped by a few thousand stragglers.

"Wooo ...

As the Liao army's desolate horn sounded, the Liao army soldiers in the north of Xijin City began to form a battle formation.

Then they split into the left and right sides, and several knights ran out and headed towards the east and west gates.

The rest of the main force slowly moved towards Xijin City.

At this moment, between Gongchen Gate and Tongtian Gate, many Song soldiers were blocking the attacking small group of Liao soldiers near the city gates on both sides, and no one could see what was happening above the city wall.

But if Yelu Zong really knew, he would be terrified.

Because the Song army was constantly carrying cannon barrels onto the city wall.

The total weight of the Weiyuan cannon is 200 kilograms, but this includes the turret, gun mount and gun body. The actual weight is about 180 kilograms, and only two people are needed to lift it.

So at this time, the Song army placed these small steel cannons one by one on the thick city wall, and now more than 200 of them have been assembled.

During the Napoleonic era, the 600,000 French troops had only 2,200 artillery pieces when attacking Tsarist Russia. But France is a very small country. In its heyday, including the occupied territories that were not incorporated into its territory, it only covered 1 million square kilometers.

When the Song Dynasty was at its weakest, its land area was three times that of the Napoleonic era, its population was four times that of France, and its resources were extremely abundant, so it had a large number of artillery pieces.

The basic configuration of the Song army was that one army had ten heavy artillery pieces and sixty field artillery pieces including Weiyuan cannons. This resulted in the total number of field artillery pieces exceeding 1,800 and more than 300 heavy artillery pieces in the more than 100,000 troops under Fan Zhongyan's command.

The army has 150,000 troops and its artillery configuration is four times that of Napoleon, which basically reflects the gap in national strength.

Therefore, at Fan Zhongyan's command, more than three or four hundred field guns were carried up to the top of the city wall. Although the heavy artillery could not be moved to the top of the city wall because of its heavy weight, the small steel cannons were enough.

One by one, the scouts took advantage of the darkness and stuck their heads out from the parapet to look outside. Even with a telescope, it was pitch black outside. The only thing that was dazzling was the Liao army's fire dragon team in the distance.

They were like countless fireflies in the dark, urging their horses and slowly heading towards the gate of Xijin City.

No one charged, because charging towards the city gate with thousands of troops was a suicidal act. The Song army would be crushed to death by their own people before they could even fight. Therefore, they approached in an orderly manner, and the soldiers in the front had already raised their steel shields.

They had to charge in under the fire of the Song army's muskets. As long as they rushed into the city gate, the Liao army would continue to crowd in, and they would always be able to get close to the Song army, and then raid into the city and kill all the Song army in the city.

"Sir, the Liao people have begun to attack."

Zhang Kang stood at the edge of the city wall, listening to the sound coming from outside the city, which was completely different from the rhythm of the Song people's trumpets.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!