Shu Chen

Chapter 397
The camp built near the water has natural advantages such as the danger of the river and the lack of water.

But the disadvantages are also obvious.

After digging more than ten feet, water would seep out, and the soft sandy soil could not support the stability of the foundation pillars, so the camp could not be built too high.Once the enemy approached the low wall in front of the camp, it was a short-to-blank fight.

However, as a veteran general, Xia Houru made the most of his advantages when building the camp.

For example, in addition to leaving an eight-foot-wide passage within the hundred steps of the camp, countless pits of different sizes were dug on both sides, and densely packed barbed wire was also buried.

The biggest reliance is to dig a trench with a width of more than one foot, and divert the river water into it, forming a river to protect the "zhai".

According to common sense, even if the Han army attacked day and night regardless of casualties, under the pressure of the Wei army condescending with bows and crossbows, it would take at least a thousand people and a day or two to destroy these fortifications.

At least, Xia Houru is so sure.

In his prediction, the perfect fortifications can delay the Shu soldiers for two days, and then rely on superior forces to fight and hold on for three days, and then they can wait for the return of Guo Huai's troops to push Wei Yan's troops back.

As for the idea of ​​taking advantage of the return of the reinforcements to flank and win a great victory, he has no extravagant hopes.

It is a great victory for Wei's strategy and his duty to defend the camp without losing it.

There is no need to be greedy.

However, in just half a day, Wei Yan wiped out his not extravagant thoughts.

Or in other words, how could Wei Yan, who has also been on the battlefield for a long time, not plan in advance to attack and break the camp when Xia Houru urged his soldiers to build camps and fortifications?

Nearly three months of standing still was enough to make him fully prepared!
When the drums urging the battle sounded like thunder, and when the various units of the Han army filed out, Xia Houru found that there were five Han troops in the vanguard, all of which were slowly approaching with large oars in front, and behind them were many Armor is a soldier who does not carry a knife or spear, but holds a wooden plank.

The progress was extremely slow, like a turtle's speed.

Every time the big scull warrior took a step forward, he had to wait for the soldiers behind him to stretch out the wooden plank from his feet and lay it on the ground, and stomp his feet to test whether it was firm before continuing to move forward.

That is to say, Wei Yan actually planned to pave out five attacking roads that could reach the front of the Wei army camp.

This method is very clumsy, but also very effective.

At least the barbed caltrops buried under the sand by the Wei army and the time-consuming and laborious digging of the pits all caused damage to the Han army; the trenches of more than ten feet could not hinder the pace of the Han army.

Therefore, for a while, Xiahou Ru was dumbfounded.

No matter how much he thought about it before, and how many times he had deduced the response when the Han army came to attack, he never thought that he would be resolved by Wei Yan so lightly.
No wonder he was stunned.

Who would have thought that the Han army who came to attack the fortifications would not cut down logs to make siege equipment, but to make wooden planks to pave the road?
Moreover, even if he had an insight into what the Han army was planning, he would not be able to contain it.

Although Wei's strong bow and crossbow were powerful, they could not pierce the three-inch-thick oar which was fastened with iron rivets and wrapped in rawhide. Only the thunderbolt chariot and the rhubarb crossbow could cause damage.

However, the rhubarb crossbow, which is not easy to buy, would not be equipped with too many.

After being distributed to the Guohuai tribe to take them to Naowei County and leave it to the Hanpingchuan side to guard, there are only a dozen or so camps in the camp at this time, which is a drop in the bucket for the Han army who is advancing five ways.

As for Thunderbolt cars, he has dozens of them.

Being cautious, he placed all the thunder chariots that had previously besieged the fortress of Yuyin here.

But it's also useless.

According to Gein's usual experience of using thunderbolt chariots, throwing stones the size of a millstone can quickly destroy the enemy's siege equipment, such as siege towers, wells, or rhubarb crossbows; Enemy soldiers coming.

Therefore, he deduced that Wei Yan would not spend a lot of time building siege equipment on the grounds that the camps built by his own army were not high, and he did not bring in those stones as big as millstones.

However, think about it.

No matter how incompetent the generals are, they will not let the soldiers do useless work on the eve of the war and make the soldiers fall into fatigue!
Therefore, Xia Houru's heart is full of melancholy at the moment.

When the Han army did not act according to common sense, he was in a cocoon instead, because it was too late to send the soldiers back for transfer.

But he didn't regret it for long.

A momentary misstep is countered, but it does not mean that all is lost.

On the contrary, if you can't maintain a calm mind and command the battle with a grudge, that is a mistake.

"Strong Bow Battalion, throw!"

"Let the rhubarb crossbow concentrate on attacking all the Shu soldiers!"

He ordered quickly and loudly, making the most appropriate dispatch at the moment.

Correct!
At this moment, only the thrown bows and arrows can disrupt the formation of the Han army that paves the way, and only the few rhubarb crossbows that shoot together can have a containment effect.

It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt his ten fingers.

The thunderbolt car is not used for the time being.

Instruments assembled with rivets and wooden wedges will be damaged by frequent use.Since the pebble-sized sharp stones can't kill effectively, let's save them for use when the Han army swarms to attack.

Such a dispatch cost the Han army more than [-] casualties.

But it was also unavoidable. When the setting sun fled unwillingly into the mountains, four boardwalks appeared from the Han army formation to the front ditch of the Wei army camp.

Well, the trench should be renamed the "trench section".

It has been piled up by the Han army with countless earth and stone debris, and it has been broken into five sections.

At this time, Wei Yan's dispatch made Xia Houru secretly sigh again at the difficulty of his opponent.

When the soldiers paving the way of the Han army faded away like a tide, the thunderous drums urging the battle sounded again in the Han army formation.

Numerous torches were lit, displaying the banners of Chinese characters that fluttered with the wind in the sky and the earth; the elite Han army that had not participated in paving the road and had been preparing for a long time, marched out with morale like a rainbow.

Wei Yan will drive troops to attack at night!
It also made Xia Houru's thoughts die in his womb.

He originally planned to take advantage of the night to hang the soldiers out of the camp with ropes, dig the trench again and widen it.
What's more, what surprised him even more was that when the Han army finished marching slowly forward with small drums, the banners standing in the army formation also moved forward slowly!
Does Wei Yan actually want to take the stone arrow in person and pretend to be the first to attack the fortress? !
In an instant, Xia Houru's pupils constricted sharply, and even his breathing became a little short.

It's not that he laughed at Wei Yan's recklessness and showed his bravery regardless of his status as a general; it's not that he felt that he had ushered in a turning point in the battle - he could order his subordinates to shoot Wei Yan with a strong bow and crossbow, causing the Han army to die because of the death of the main general. A thousand miles away.

But in uneasy.

Since the Han army left Longyou, Wei State has lost too many times in battles!
In Wei State, too many generals who had made great military exploits and were hailed as good generals of the time were defeated or lost in battle.

Even the former left general Zhang Yun and the great Sima Cao Zhen died of regret.

Here, Xia Houru, who thinks that he will not be able to leave his name at the time, An Neng will underestimate Wei Yan, who is a former general against Shu, and he has acted innocently.

Therefore, he felt that since he dared to step up to the front in person, he must have something to rely on.

However, why did he come to defeat our camp in one battle?
Xia Houru was in a state of mind, carefully recalling whether there was any negligence in his scheduling, but there was nothing wrong with it.

And the war did not allow him to continue thinking.

"Soldiers, follow me through the enemy's camp!"

Wei Yan, who was fully armored and held a sword and shield in front of him, gave an order to make the Han soldiers move forward bravely.It also announced that the two armies fought hand in hand and the battle to attack the fortifications officially kicked off.

(End of this chapter)