Chapter 007
But apart from these two things, Liang Zhongning still ended up being assigned the job of scolding others.
Qiao Yan took his men who were good at archery to do some training.
The records she had taken from observing the landing points of arrows around the fortress came in handy at this moment.
The overall tactical quality of the Yellow Turban Army meant that they could not observe the battlefield as well as the regular army and could not rely on experience to act instinctively. Fortunately, these people were regarded as confidants by Liang Zhongning, and they knew that she had temporarily obtained command, so they would still obey the orders.
What's more, the instructions Qiao Yan gave them were only to encircle the fort from the rear and shoot arrows through the gaps in the watchtower.
But this arrow is a little special. It is a rocket made with sulfur as the auxiliary material.
In fact, in ancient battles, the use of flaming arrows for attacks was not yet widely used in the late Han Dynasty. The first record of using rockets to defeat the enemy appeared in "Wei Lue".
At that time, Hao Zhao, who was guarding Chencang, ordered his soldiers to use rockets to reverse the ladders and repel Zhuge Liang's attack.
Is the Rocket difficult to imagine? Perhaps it is not difficult. The difficulty lies in ensuring that there is enough fuel to keep the arrows burning when used on a large scale, and that there is sufficient supply when firing a large number of rockets.
For example, one method of making a rocket is to wrap a cloth soaked in pine oil around the arrowhead, but pine oil was something that was not available at the time.
But now that she is in the Yellow Turban Army, there is another way to replace it.
Among the tricks performed by the Taiping Dao missionaries, sulfur was undoubtedly a frequent guest.
It is really hard to say what Liang Zhongning was thinking when he heard Qiao Yan ask about this thing and a rather subtle expression appeared on his face.
However, his desire to obtain the food stored in Tian's fortress prevailed, and he finally chose to take out a bag of cinnabar and sulfur from his bag and handed it to Qiao Yan.
Of course, the amount of sulfur was not much, at least not enough to set the entire fort on fire.
Moreover, the compact layout that is usually found in the dock will inevitably make the owner of the dock consider the possibility that a fire in one place may spread to other places.
But when Liang Zhongning asked this, Qiao Yan asked him a seemingly irrelevant question: "What do you think of yourself in the minds of the Tian clan members?"
"...the people who invaded Puyang?" Liang Zhongning subconsciously wanted to reply "a reckless man", but he felt that there was something wrong when he said this.
How could he scold himself!
He has always considered himself a cultured person, especially compared with Bu Ji and others.
But from the insightful and clear eyes of the child in front of him, it was hard for him not to feel that the answer he swallowed back had actually been spoken by him.
"General Qu actually already knows the answer." Qiao Yan replied while applying sulfur on the arrows to test the burning effect: "Then I'll have to trouble General Qu to deepen this impression on the other side. Only a reckless commander would think that such a fire attack would be effective, and even think that he could take advantage of the opportunity to break through the fortress by making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. Don't you think this is the truth?"
"……yes."
In fact, he really thought that if he carried more sulfur, the fire attack might really be feasible.
Difficult...isn't it?
Liang Qushuai, who was already confused, thought it would be better for him to just obey orders.
In this way, he put aside his previous thought, "If what Yan Qiao said was not in line with his opinion, he would never follow her instructions."
He might not be able to do other things, but as Qiao Yan said, when it comes to going after the other party and yelling at them, he is definitely more skilled than the other party.
This is why after some people went to the place where Qiao Yan instructed to dig pits, some people followed her to familiarize themselves with the process of igniting and shooting rockets, and the rest followed him to the outside of Tian’s Fortress.
The previous defeat did not make this Yellow Turban leader feel ashamed to face the enemy, but instead made him even more shameless.
Some soldiers followed behind him and stood outside the firing range of the fort, which made him feel more secure.
He stretched out his finger and pointed at the guy who had just made provocative gestures to him, and then he started to curse like a country bumpkin.
"..." Tian Yangang, the eldest son of the Tian family who was hiding in the watchtower of the fortress, wanted to jump up after hearing the beginning, but was held down by his second uncle beside him.
In Tian Yan's sight, Liang Zhongning's face clearly had wounds from an arrow shot in the fort before he fled in a panic that day. The weird armor on his body was a crude piece of armor made when the Yellow Turbans rose up to distinguish him from ordinary soldiers. Half of it was spoils of war looted from Puyang City. But the arrogance in this guy's words made it seem as if he had already won.
This person also had some knowledge of writing, and he managed to make this rapid-fire barrage of sarcastic remarks have a rhyming rhythm.
Tian Yan was really overwhelmed after hearing this.
"You coward!" he couldn't help but shout.
How could he not know that he really shouldn't be led by the other party's dirty words.
But in the past, the Tian family was so powerful in Puyang that everyone would give him some face. No one dared to point at his nose and scold him like this. What's more, he took advantage of the distance between the two sides and acted so arrogantly!
"How can such a man seize Puyang City? If he really has the guts, why doesn't he come to the fortress? I will let the warriors twist his head off!"
After he said this, he felt a little relieved. He turned around and saw that his second uncle beside him was not angry like him. Instead, there was a thoughtful look on his face.
But before he could ask, his uncle dragged him to another watchtower and looked at the moth thief walking somewhere else.
It didn't take long before the thoughtful look was replaced by a hint of joy.
Tian Yan was confused, "Second uncle?"
"I'm afraid our chance to defeat the enemy has come. This man's words and deeds are wild and rebellious. He doesn't think he can win by fighting with generals after being defeated by Dian Zhuangshi. I'm afraid he wants to fight with us during the day and launch a sneak attack at night." The younger brother of the patriarch of the Tian clan has always been a think tank in the fortress, and this time is no exception.
In his sight, the faintly discernible figure of the Yellow Turban Moth Bandit seemed to be moving.
This immediately made him alert, but after a few breaths, it turned into a smile of confidence in victory.
He rolled up his sleeves and glanced in the direction where Liang Zhongning was yelling, then made a decision and said to Tian Yan:
"Zi Bo, I need you to do something."
Outside the Tian's Fort, Liang Zhongning kept shouting and cursing from before noon until dusk and sunset before he retreated.
Not to mention whether this person was so thirsty from yelling and cursing, even the people listening to him could hardly bear it.
Fortunately, after sunset, the night gradually fell, and the noise during the day that almost made people want to block their ears had completely disappeared. Only the sound of the wind in the spring night passed through the pavilion, making a whimpering sound, which finally gave people a chance to breathe.
But maybe it's not a respite.
Ever since the news of Puyang's breach was urgently delivered and the main gate of Tian's Fort was closed, the able-bodied men in the fort took turns patrolling at night to guard against the possibility of bandits attacking and breaching the fort.
Now that there are Yellow Turban bandits outside the fort and they may launch an attack at any time, these young and strong men simply don't need to take turns.
Even before sunset they were not idle.
There are water sources in most forts in the north, and this place is no exception. Before the outer wall of Tian’s Fort was completed, three wells had been dug inside the fort.
Tian Yan didn't know why his second uncle made such arrangements, but he obeyed his instructions. While Liang Zhongning was working hard to provoke, he led people to draw water from the well, and filled the water tanks placed every ten steps along the outer wall of the fort with water. Then he specially assigned a group of people to guard the rear of the fort with him.
According to Second Uncle, the Yellow Turban bandits are bound to have quick wits and might come up with some unexpected attack methods.
But you have to know that as long as they occupy the fort, they can be considered invincible relying on this "fortress" that cannot be broken without five times as many people as they do.
So after Tian Yan received the order from his second uncle, all he needed to do was to resolve as quickly as possible any unrest that occurred on this side when foreign enemies attacked. Apart from that, everything else had nothing to do with him.
This is not a difficult thing to do.
Although the hundred men under his command were a little tired, they could be considered strong and powerful. The bows and crossbows mounted on the watchtower had a longer range than the opposite side. Even if this moth thief Qu Shuai really thought that his shouting and cursing during the day could have a paralyzing effect and launch a sneak attack at night, Tian Yan had been holding back his anger until now, and it was just the right time to give him a head-on blow.
But the first thing that was released was not the anger that he had suppressed for so long, but the stream of light that fell from the sky across from him!
The few people who were controlling the crossbows and aiming at the outside of the watchtower just saw a figure appear outside the fort, and then they saw clusters of fire lighting up from the flat ground outside the fort, and even drew a burning arc in the night sky, passing over the high wall of the fort and smashing in.
These people had been instructed in advance and fired without panic, but they saw that the Yellow Turban bandits who shot the arrows had no intention of firing a second arrow after firing, but retreated quickly.
This row of crossbow arrows shot from high above actually only hit the heel of the slowest runner.
The next moment, the second row of rockets came from the other side.
The opponent's team moving back and forth was very organized.
"Don't panic! Fight back!" Tian Yan shouted hurriedly.
When the rockets entered the dock, most of them hit the rammed earth walls inside the dock and did not cause any impact. However, it made some ignorant people in the village think that this was a supernatural trick used by the Yellow Turban Moth thieves who practiced the Taoist method of heaven. These people let out a few screams in panic that were heard outside the dock.
There were a few who were luckier and happened to hit the wooden barrier and landed on the curtains.
The fire started immediately.
The blue flames that swept across the sky in the night carried with them a smell of burning sulfur. Fortunately, the smell only flashed by, and the blue flames were quickly extinguished by the bright yellow flames of the burning wooden boards.
Almost at the same time, the sound of a fight was heard coming from the main gate of the fort.
Tian Yan really had to admire his second uncle's judgment.
If his second uncle had not told him beforehand that no matter what noise he heard, he should not divert his attention and just focus on settling this side, with his usually impatient temper, he might have been worried about both ends and made a mess.
But now all he had to do was wave his hand and let one team keep shooting outside the dock, while the other team was responsible for fetching water and putting out the fire.
"What a great way to make a feint to the east and attack in the west!" Tian Yan sneered. “But that’s all.”
Thinking about how he had endured Liang Zhongning's scolding and yelling during the day, he felt that the other party's cunning schemes had failed and that he was now completely under the control of his second uncle, which was really gratifying.
The rockets were only fired three times before being repelled by their crossbows.
As for the fire that was caused, at best it was just to keep them warm. Although the flickering light of the fire in the fort could be seen outside, it did not cause any serious damage.
He is carrying out the defensive work step by step, and I think things should be going more smoothly on his second uncle's side.
I'm afraid Liang Zhongning can only be proud until tonight!
Just as Tian Yan thought, when the fire broke out in the rear, there was no expression of surprise on Tian Erye's face.
The arrival of the rocket was indeed a little beyond his expectations, but the other party's way of creating chaos to disrupt the situation was nothing more than changes in water, fire, wind and thunder.
He had seen the Yellow Turbans preaching in his early years and had some understanding of their abilities. It was not too strange that he now used them to conquer the city.
He is still stable.
What he had said to Tian Yan before, that they were in an invincible position, was not a lie; it was exactly what he thought in his heart.
In the inevitable moment of chaos when the fire broke out in the dock, he kept staring into the dim night ahead, without any intention of being distracted.
A powerful family is not just domineering and strong. It still takes some brains to deal with the families in Puyang. He has developed a sophisticated temperament through years of experience.
However, even he probably would not have thought that in this team that was supposed to be composed entirely of ruffians, there would be such a "military advisor", a military advisor who was no less cunning than him.
What he saw was that not long after the fire broke out in the fort, Liang Zhongning came to launch a surprise attack just as he had expected!
The Yellow Turban bandits approached in the darkness, but before they could get close to the walls of the fort, the leading row was hit and knocked to the ground by arrows fired at his command.
The noise of this row of people falling to the ground undoubtedly completely disrupted the opponent's lurking plan.
But obviously, since neither side could see the other side clearly, the Yellow Turban bandits could not be sure how many people would go to deal with the fire and chaos in the fort, and how many people would remain here.
They could only continue to move forward amid the warning sounds from the dock.
Mr. Tian Erye's face was solemn, and he looked with an almost fixed gaze at the most eye-catching one among the bandits, who was Liang Zhongning wearing the weird armor. He immediately revealed an expression of determination to win.
He asked, "Master Dian, may I ask, if I can knock down half of the bandits again, and the Yellow Turbans retreat, are you sure you can capture this person?"
Long before nightfall, Dian Wei had been invited by Mr. Tian to this watchtower.
Upon hearing this, the burly and imposing man looked outside the fort and grinned, "If this guy didn't have a good horse last time, I would have killed him long ago. This time, I will definitely break the legs of his escape mount first."
"Okay, then please prepare for battle!"
Mr. Tian knew very well that simply repelling Liang Zhongning would not achieve a permanent effect.
If the Yellow Turbans from other parts of Yanzhou gathered here, and their numbers reached a certain point, even a fort would be useless. It would be better to take the opportunity to kill Liang Zhongning to protect the peace of the Tian family.
He might not believe what others said about breaking the horse's legs, but since these words came from Dian Wei, they must be credible!
As soon as he said the word "prepare for war", the second batch of crossbow arrows were fired again, knocking down another group of people.
This is the natural advantage of the party defending the city!
When the attacking moth bandits showed signs of chaos, Mr. Tian's eyes never left Liang Zhongning.
The principle of capturing the leader first is no exception even in the Yellow Turban Army, where military discipline is not strict enough.
So of course he didn't see that some of the people lying on the ground were killed by crossbow arrows. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the sound of arrows hitting flesh, but the vast majority of them -
It was obvious that he was blocked by the crossbow arrow's range and fell to the ground forty steps away from the fort.
There were even a few who pulled out the arrows that had fallen around them, stuck them on themselves, and groaned as if they were about to die.
[……] The system’s “eyesight” was much better than Qiao Yan’s, so it could naturally see these people’s added performances clearly.
It was stunned for a moment before asking, "Why do you think that the fire attack will not work, and instead we have to pretend to be dead on the front battlefield and then lure the enemy with deserters?" 】
"I didn't say that." Qiao Yan replied.
"If, as I thought, the fire attack will not work, then we will proceed according to the plan. But if I have overestimated the Tian family, it will be easy."
Qiao Yan looked in the direction of Liang Zhongning, who had completed the attack in a short period of time, suffered heavy casualties, and whose sneak attack plan failed, so he had to evacuate hastily.
Seeing that he did not take the wrong path in the dark, but retreated towards the direction of the pit his men had dug during the day, and that there was indeed a line of people in the fort chasing him aggressively, he could not help but smile.
"If I overestimate the opponent and they are already in chaos when the rockets come, then we will just make it real."
"Now it's just two more procedures. Let's see the pursuer fall into the trap."
The system was silent for a long time.
When Qiao Yan was thinking whether she should explain it a little, she suddenly heard this guy in her mind burst out a voice that was much louder than before -
[Let’s go, let’s go and see the ancient evil! Only now do I feel that you have the potential to become a top strategist! 】
[Oh my god, there is a possibility that I can complete the task! 】
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