nanming man

Chapter 658
The sword gate is closed between two cliffs, just blocking the way into Sichuan.

The cliff was so steep that the soldiers could not climb from both sides. The only way to go was to break through the closed gate. There were winding stairs in front of the closed gate.

Gao Yihuan looked at it, and immediately had an idea in his mind. He turned around and asked, "Has the cannon been brought?"

Jin Xiangang said: "I should be able to arrive in three days!"

Gao Yihuan nodded slightly, "Build the artillery array first, and when the cannon arrives, bombard the Jianmen Pass, select the elite strikers and defeat the army, and take charge of winning the pass."

Several generals nodded and took orders. During the march, Gao Yihuan had already told them the use of mortars. They already understood Gao Yihuan's tactics, which was to cover the city with cannons first, and then throw the shells behind the wall to block the attack. The defenders went to the pass for reinforcements, while the Wei army selected elite soldiers and took the opportunity to capture the pass.

After finishing the order, Gao Yihuan and his party turned around and returned to the camp. He wrote a letter as usual, recruiting the guard to surrender, and waited for the reply from the door while waiting for the artillery to arrive.

In the canyon formed between the two cliffs, the Wei army's camp twists and turns, like a white snake or a stream.

But because of the twists and turns of the canyon, the defenders who closed the sword gate could not see the Wei army's camp.

The next day Xia Guoxiang came to inspect the city and watched the soldiers move stones to block the door opening. The soldiers were moving bundles of arrows and barrels of gunpowder to the city.

"General, a letter from outside the pass!" Gao Dejie ran up and presented a letter.

Xia Guoxiang frowned slightly, looked at it once, rubbed it directly, put it in his arms, and said in a cold voice: "This is the army of Wei trying to disturb our army's morale. If there is a letter in the future, it must be handed over immediately."

Gao Dejie hurriedly clasped his fists and bowed, Xia Guoxiang nodded, and looked outside the pass again.

It stands to reason that if Wei Jun arrived outside the pass, he would definitely attack immediately. Why is it almost noon, and there is still no movement?Could it be that the judge was wrong?

It is difficult to go to Shu, Wei Jun must break through Jianmen Pass as soon as possible, occupy northern Sichuan to obtain supplies, and reduce the pressure of transportation.

In this way, if you stop for one day before the pass, the Wei army will carry one day less rations, and Jianmen Pass will be able to prepare for one more day, the defense will be more complete, and you can get support from Chengdu.

He saw smoke curling up from the kitchen in the distance, the main force of the Wei army should have arrived, there is no reason not to tackle the problem immediately?
This made Xia Guoxiang a little puzzled, but at this moment, more than a mile away from Guancheng, soldiers of the Wei army were building stone walls, but it caught his attention.

He frowned slightly, at first he thought it was a cannon formation, but the cannon formation doesn't need to be piled high by one person.

For a while, Xia Guoxiang frowned, called a gunner, pointed to the distance, "Fire a few shots and bombard there."

Not long after, several earth cannons on the city roared, and white smoke billowed from the top of the city. Most of the shells fell around the earth wall, but they couldn't hit the earth wall. After five or six shots, only one shell hit the wall and hit the wall. A depression that did not destroy the earthen wall.

The soldiers of the Wei army lay down on the ground, and after the shelling on the city passed, they began to pile up stones and sandbags to form a wall again.

Wei Jun was very particular about building the walls. Stones were used for the inside, and sand dug from the side of the stream was used for the side close to the Guancheng. It will form a sputter of gravel, and there is also a chance to form a ricochet, thereby reducing the casualties of soldiers.

The distance was too far, and the earthen artillery on the city was very old. The Guan Ning army fired a few shots, but they could not destroy the earthen wall, so the defenders had no choice but to give up.

Seeing this, Xia Guo didn't know what Wei Jun was going to do, so he could only be puzzled and let it go.

Three days later, Wei Jun's artillery array had been built, and Wei Jun's artillery was transported outside the pass.

Of the six mortars, one accidentally fell into the cliff, and only five were transported to Jianmen Pass.

As soon as the cannon arrived, Gao Yihuan immediately ordered to bombard Guancheng with cannons.

In the early morning, just after dawn, the soldiers of the Wei army rushed out of the camp after a full meal and lined up behind the earthen wall.

Xia Guoxiang was standing on the top of the city at this moment, and was closely watching the movements of the Wei army outside the city. He saw the densely packed Wei army behind the earthen wall, as if the river was at high tide.

But after he glanced at it, he was not flustered, but heaved a sigh of relief.

The valley seemed to be full of people, but in fact, only 500 troops could be deployed each time, so Xia Guo was still very confident in the defense of Jianmen Pass.

Gao Yihuan had 10 people come, and there was only one step before the pass. He could only vote for 400 people. After the people died or were defeated, he would go up and down another batch and attack again from the beginning.

This kind of refueling battle is a taboo for military strategists. Anyway, Xia Guoxiang felt that if he were to attack by himself, even 20 soldiers might not be able to capture Jianmen Pass.

If the Wei army were to attack, Jianmenguan would definitely make them hit their heads and bleed, and smash his teeth.

At this time, Xia Guoxiang walked to the wall, and the Guan Ning army on the Guancheng saluted him one after another. After standing still, he looked out of the city and saw the soldiers of the Wei army pushing out several objects covered with red cloth.

Although the object was covered with a red cloth, Xia Guoxiang could already confirm that it was a cannon.

In the past, the cannons of the Ming Dynasty were all wrapped in red cloth, and incense had to be burnt before firing, which seemed to make them more accurate.

Seeing these mysterious cannons, Xia Guoxiang was not panicked, but sneered at the corner of his mouth. Although cannons are powerful weapons for siege, the road to Shu is difficult to navigate. Seeing that a few soldiers can push them, he knew that it could not be the cannons in red .

At this moment, Gao Dejie clasped his fists and said, "General, leave the city to the last general, and please go down the city as soon as possible."

Xia Guoxiang said, "No hurry, they haven't set up their cannon yet."

While he was talking, there was a crackling sound of firecrackers coming from behind the earthen wall, and a puff of gunpowder smoke rose from behind the wall, and Wei Jun really began to sacrifice cannons.

Gao Yihuan was also relatively speechless about this custom passed down by the Ming army, but he did not cancel it, so it would be better for the soldiers to seek peace of mind.

Xia Guoxiang was puzzled, he didn't see the muzzle protruding from the earthen wall, how could the cannon be set up?
He hurriedly brought the binoculars and looked out, but only saw a cloud of smoke from firecrackers, while the artillery and the crowd were completely blocked by the earth wall and could not be seen at all.

"What is Wei Jun up to?" Xia Guoxiang couldn't help being puzzled, with some bad premonitions in his heart, so he said to Gao Dejie: ​​"You guard the pass city, I will hold you in the pass, and I will send troops to the pass for reinforcements at any time!"

One mile away, behind the earthen wall, five mortars were erected. The gunners and artillery were behind the wall, so Guan Ning's army could not see them at all.

At this time, the gun cover on the mortar was uncovered, and the soldiers had finished loading. A Portuguese stood on the ladder, showing his head. Seeing it, he immediately ordered, "Raise the muzzle an inch, fire first, hurry up!"

Just as Xia Guoxiang turned around and walked to the steps, there was a loud noise behind him. He looked up in astonishment, and saw an iron bullet flying into the sky, and then falling down at an extremely fast speed.

At first, the iron bullet was just a black spot, but in the blink of an eye, it rapidly enlarged, and it had already drawn an arc in the sky, hitting Guancheng.

As soon as the cannonball hit his head, it exploded suddenly. The violent explosion blew a gust of wind, blowing the flags on the city flying, and countless fragments and iron beads fell like rain.

Xia Guoxiang sat down on the steps, his expression changed drastically, and he shouted instantly, "Quick, send a fast horse to Chengdu for help."

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(End of this chapter)