The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 267 The Pirate Empire Plays Hard to Capture
Fan Man attacked four times on the first day, and returned without exception. He lost more than a dozen war elephants and nearly a thousand soldiers. His morale was low, and the generals were also in a heavy heart. The Chinese people's crossbow arrows and cannon stones are exhausted, so I'm afraid there is no chance, and whether their morale can last until then is still a question mark.

However, as soon as they saw Fan Man's calm and composed face, their panic eased a lot, and they gained inexplicable confidence.These people have fought with Fan Man for many years, and they have great confidence in Fan Man. Although they have encountered many troublesome opponents before, Fan Man has led them to win the final victory. , no matter how difficult it is, they will not despair.

At dusk, Fan Man ordered the troops to withdraw and returned to the tent. Looking at the gloomy faces and longing eyes of the generals, Fan Man didn't even say a word of comfort. She just waved her hand and said lightly: "Go back and have a good rest. After breaking the city, we will have a three-day holiday."

When the bereaved generals heard this, the gray and defeated expressions on their faces disappeared, and ecstasy appeared in their eyes——Fan Man can say that, it must be because he has found a way to defeat the enemy, which is proven by countless experiences .

The generals are gone.Fan Man was a little tired, sitting in front of the couch and meditating.Fan Ru asked someone to fetch water, washed him, and then helped him down on the couch. Seeing that Fan Man had closed his eyes, he went out of the tent lightly.As soon as he took a step, Fan Man suddenly said, "Ah Ru, do you believe that you can break the city tomorrow?"

Fan Ru was taken aback. He turned around and glanced at Fan Man who was lying on the couch. Fan Man's eyes were closed, and his big lion nose was twitching slowly, as if he had fallen asleep.However, Fan Ru had followed Fan Man for many years, so he knew that he must not have fallen asleep, and it was impossible for him to hear wrong just now.He turned around, stood respectfully in front of Fan Man, and replied without hesitation: "If the king says yes, then he will."

Fan Man didn't say anything, and after a while, he moved his fingers on his chest.

Fan Ru understood and immediately withdrew from the big tent.He stood at the door of the tent with a calm face, but his eyes were a little flustered.Fan Man had never asked such a question before. He only needed to give orders to the generals without explanation. No matter how ridiculous he said, the generals would accept them. After breaking the city, he came to ask him if he believed it or not.

Fan Ru felt something strange. He felt that Fan Man's mental state was very bad this time. After failing to ambush Sun Shao, he was not only in poor health, but also mentally depressed. I am much older, and my back, which was originally straight, is a little hunched without realizing it.

The king is old, and for some reason, Fan Ru suddenly had such an idea.As soon as this idea popped up, Fan Ru was taken aback by herself, and looked around guiltily, as if she had done something wrong, or suddenly discovered a big secret, and this secret cannot be let go. Like anyone knows.Fan Ru raised his head and looked at the not-so-tall city wall in the distance in the twilight, and suddenly felt a chill through his bones.

The next day, after the rising sun, the Funan army spread out and launched another attack.However, today's attack was different from yesterday's. Fan Man arranged for 5000 troops to attack at the four gates at the same time.When the generals first heard about this attack plan, they were still a little puzzled. There were enough manpower in the city. According to the length of the city wall, at least 1 people were placed at each gate to have a good chance of winning. Now there are only 5000 people in comfort, isn't it? Another stalemate?But seeing that Fan Man was full of confidence, they didn't dare to say anything, and each went to carry out the order.

People were arranged at the four city gates, but there were not many people. Not only the soldiers of the Yue Kingdom found it funny, but even Jin Chen Wang Wujiu couldn't stop laughing.The people of Funan were really out of luck, it was God's will that Fan Man, who has always been good at fighting, made such an arrangement.

Wugui organized archers to attack the Funan soldiers who buried the moat, and then the Funan soldiers had received the news from the generals that they would have a holiday after breaking the city, and each of them was full of confidence. Although many comrades fell in front of the battle, they still marched forward bravely , quickly filled up a few slopes for charging, and then dozens of war elephants rushed over with huge siege ladders on their backs.

It wasn't until this time that Wu Jiu realized the seriousness of the problem. They were not Yue soldiers, let alone Cui Qian. Not the south gate, Cui Yanshou's east gate and Cui Wushou's west gate also have enough strong bows and crossbows, both in long range and sharp arrows, they have some advantages, but the north gate he guards is not far from Funan people, It was even a little inferior, but for the Funan people's attack formation led by war elephants, he could only order all the soldiers to go to the city, and the crossbowmen fired arrows at the fastest speed to attack the war elephants and the Funan soldiers on their backs. Soldiers, prepare for hand-to-hand combat at the same time.

The soldiers of Funan drove the elephants and rushed to the city under the dense arrow rain of Jin Chen soldiers. The two elephants carried huge wooden houses. Under the cover of the wooden houses, the soldiers bombarded the city gate with battering rams, and more The soldiers directly followed the wooden ladder dragged by the war elephants and began to attach to the city. The one-foot-five-inch-high city wall could not stop their attack. It took only half an hour for the Funan soldiers to attack the city wall. Fighting hand to hand, launched a bloody and brutal battle for the top of the city.

Upon receiving the news that the North City attack went well, Fan Man reacted immediately, and sent [-] recharged soldiers to reinforce the North Gate. Without giving Wu Jiu any chance to breathe, he must take the North Gate.

Ten thousand Funan soldiers rushed to the north gate like a tide, and the north gate was in a hurry.

There was no need to be in a hurry, so he sent Li Yuan to contact Fan Man, telling them not to break through him as much as possible, and at the same time sent someone to Cui Qian for help.The news of Cui Qian arrived first, and I also fought very hard here. Fan Man personally commanded the siege, and there was no manpower available. The city wall was too short, and the Funan people directly climbed the city to attack. It seems that the outer city cannot be defended , Immediately retreat into the inner city for defense.

Wu Jiu jumped up in a hurry, he realized that he had overestimated Cui Qian's ability, this pirate leader was good at robbing, but he was terrible at defending the city, how could he put so many thunder chariots and crossbows at the south gate Woolen cloth?How could Funan people's war elephants play such a big role if they were put in every gate?

It's a pity that it's too late to jump now.Wu Jiu had no choice but to retreat into the inner city to defend according to Cui Qian's request.The walls of the inner city are as high as two feet and five feet, and the circumference is only one mile or two hundred paces. It is much more convenient to defend the city, but in this way, not only the innocent more than 1000 people lost most of them when they retreated, but also the outer city was lost. It was given to Funan people.When the Funan people failed to attack the inner city, they immediately gave up their plan to attack the inner city. Immediately, the people of Jin and Chen in the outer city and a large number of businessmen from various countries carried out organized and planned robbery and massacre.

Cries and cries rang out, and the once peaceful and peaceful outer city of Dunxun became a hell, with cries and begging for mercy everywhere.Fortunately, Fan Man didn't dare to take his guard lightly before the inner city was conquered, and had the soldiers restrained in time, but the killing in less than half an hour was enough to change the appearance of the outer city.

No blame, no tears.

"Your Majesty, the Yue people have bad intentions." Li Yuan reminded with a sneer, "Have you noticed that they retreated into the inner city very quickly, as if they had been prepared for a long time, and they were businessmen from the Han Kingdom who were stranded in the city?" They were taken to the inner city for protection, while only some of the merchants from other countries entered the inner city, most of them were in the outer city.”

Wu Jiu stared at Li Yuan, and then smiled wryly for a long time: "General Li, the Jin and Chen kingdoms are dead, and I can do nothing. You can do whatever you want. I only hope that after the general is completed, my family can be saved."

Li Yuan smiled silently: "Your Majesty, if you want to succeed, you cannot do without your help. Your Majesty has now recognized the face of the Yue people. If you can help us assassinate that general surnamed Cui, my Majesty will reward you for your merits in the future. Your Majesty How can it be a matter of saving the lives of the family, there will be no shortage of glory and wealth."

Wu Jiu nodded expressionlessly, he no longer dared to have such extravagant hopes, no matter if the Funan people or the Yue people won, they would not keep him, King Chen of Jin, could they keep the whole family? Life is in between, how can we talk about glory and wealth.If Li Yuan's life wasn't in Li Yuan's hands, he really wanted to throw away the crown and flee the city with his family, even if he could be a farmer from now on.He didn't care how the Funan people fought with the Yue people.

Holding the knife, Cui Qian paced back and forth on the walls of the inner city, stopping from time to time to tease with the soldiers who were equipped with crossbows and Thunderbolt chariots.Although they were defeated, the morale of the Yue soldiers was not affected. On the contrary, they straightened their backs one by one, spoke much louder than usual, and moved neatly and meticulously.The reason is very simple. Dozens of businessmen, mainly Han people, are looking up at them and the weapons they are placing in awe.Most of them have heard that the Yue people used these weapons to kill more than a dozen war elephants from the Funan people yesterday, and now they have to rely on these weapons to ensure their own safety, so of course they dare not neglect those soldiers.Especially those barbarian merchants who had been notified in advance to retreat into the inner city because of their good relationship with Han merchants, the smiles on their faces were even more respectful.They accompanied and followed the arrogant Han merchants, and greeted the busy soldiers of the Yue State in broken and blunt Chinese. If they really didn't know Chinese, they even bowed repeatedly.Working in such an atmosphere, which Yue soldier would not be full of energy.

Not only the soldiers felt proud, but even Cui Qian felt very proud. He looked down at the merchants, waved his hands majestically, and said without blushing: "Everyone, don't panic, the inner city is not only tall, but also short. More than half of the city will not be destroyed because of insufficient weapons like the outer city, I can assure you that if Funan people come to another 10 people, they will not be able to capture the inner city, and your lives will be safe."

"The general is mighty!"

"It's all up to the general..."

"It's all thanks to the general that we can save our lives in such a war."

"Hahaha, you are wrong." Cui Qian laughed loudly: "You should thank the king, he let us protect you. You must also know that I, Cui, was originally a pirate, if the king hadn't told me to change my ways , maybe, I am now more powerful than the Funan people, and I have killed more people."

Everyone's complexion changed, and they were all a little apprehensive.Cui Qian's words reminded them of what was happening in the outer city. The Han merchants had received the news long ago and were prepared, so they basically had no losses. However, the Yi merchants thought that their compatriots outside were being massacred by the Funan people. Can't bear it.After a moment of silence, they sang praises again, but this time they became the King of Yue, Sun Shao. Cui Qian was right. If it wasn't for Sun Shao, Cui Qian, the pirate leader, might be even more vicious than the Funan people.

"King Yue is really a rare saint in ancient times." A barbarian merchant said with emotion and envy.

"That is, our king is young and promising, he is invincible in every attack, and he is on his way now. As long as he arrives, there will be no way for that old man Fan Man to survive." A Kuaiji businessman patted his chest and said loudly.

"With such a famous general as General Cui and such a sharp weapon, we will definitely wait until His Highness the King of Yue comes to rescue us." Another Han businessman from Xuzhou said unwillingly.

"That's right, with our navy from the Yue Kingdom here to defend the inner city, how could the Funan people be able to attack?" A Vietnamese businessman glanced at the Xuzhou Han businessman proudly, and suddenly felt that something was wrong with what he said, as if Cui Qian had just lost the outer city, and quickly added: "If it weren't for the lack of weapons, Funan people would not even have the outer city."

Everyone said what they said, and I expressed my own high-level opinions. Some praised Cui Qian's high level, and some praised the weapons of the Yue Kingdom. Go, step aside slowly.After a while, a personal guard came over, bowed his hands to a barbarian merchant in the crowd, and said politely: "Dare to ask if you are free, my general wants to talk to you."

The barbarian was stunned for a moment, and quickly returned the salute politely, saying in unproficient Chinese: "It's a great honor." Then he left with the guards, and the others were a little surprised, not knowing that this man was mixed in the crowd The Daqin businessman, who didn't talk much, caught Cui Qian's attention. He was so honored.

When Yi Shang came in front of Cui Qian, Cui Qian was talking to Wu Jiu, he bowed to Wu Jiu repeatedly, with a guilty expression on his face, he blamed himself so much that Wu Jiu was too embarrassed to say anything.He apologized repeatedly, saying that he didn't read military books well, and he only knew how to apply it mechanically, thinking that Fan Man would not attack from all sides at the same time, and made a mistake in his judgment, which caused the outer city to lose face.Wu Jiu, who came here with a questioning attitude, was speechless in the face of such a sincere Cui Qian. After all, it was his own north gate that fell first, not the gate guarded by the Yue people. You can blame yourself for being incompetent.

"My lord, although the outer city is lost, fortunately the inner city is still in my hands." Cui Qian comforted: "The walls of the inner city are tall and much smaller than the outer city. Our weapons can take care of it. This time we will never Then let that old thief Fan Man take advantage of the loophole. Your Majesty rest assured in the city, and the city defense will be handed over to my Yue State Navy. I, Cui Qian, promise to the King, as long as there are my Yue State soldiers, even if there is only one person left. , and will never let Funan people enter the city.”

"Then entrust the general." Wu Jiu looked at the confident Cui Qian, and suddenly understood.Where Cui Qian was defeated, he did it on purpose. He was on guard against Cui Qian, and Cui Qian was also wary of him. He deliberately threw the outer city to the Funan people, who burned, killed and looted. It is the chief culprit who destroyed the Jin Chen State, but the Yue people are the saviors who preserved Jin Chen.After this battle, Jin Chenguo's vitality was seriously injured. Isn't it the meat in Yueguo's mouth?
He knew it, but so what?He has no other choice now but to cooperate with Li Yuan's arrangement to kill Cui Qian, otherwise his whole family will die in Li Yuan's hands.However, if Cui Qian is killed, he will become the enemy of the Yue Kingdom, and there will be no good end. Just resign yourself to fate, and leave everything to God Brahma to arrange.

This is Xiaoguo's sorrow, Wu Jiu knew it well, he had no choice but to take a careful look at the situation around Cui Qian, and then reluctantly withdrew.Cui Qian sent him to the door politely, watched him go away, then turned around and said to the barbarians who were waiting at the side, "May I ask your name?"

"My name is Quintus Severus." The barbarian saluted respectfully, and then said with a smile, "I also have a Chinese name, Qin Lun."

"You still have a Chinese name?" Cui Qian laughed, motioning Qin Lun to take a seat, and said with a smile: "However, it is really convenient to have a Chinese name, I am so stupid, I really can't pronounce your names, There are not many bird calls, and I can’t remember them.”

Seeing Cui Qian's humorous self-deprecation, Qin Lun couldn't help laughing, and explained: "Actually, my name is also easy to remember. Quintus means fifth. According to your Han Dynasty, it is the same as brother, uncle, Jiyou, etc. The ranking is about the same.”

Although Qin Lun's Chinese is not very good, but he speaks very slowly, Cui Qian can still hear clearly.Seeing that Qin Lun knew how to use the Han people's naming habits as a metaphor, he couldn't help laughing. He put his fist on his temple, looked at Qin Lun with interest, chatted a few gossips, and asked about the customs of Da Qin, and then Only then did he get to the point without leaving a trace, and asked about Daqin's weapons.The reason why he called Qin Lun to chat was not that he had any interest in Da Qin, but because Qin Lun just happened to see Qin Lun shaking his head when the merchants were praising the strong crossbow and thunderbolt chariot of the Yue Kingdom, although the movement was awkward. Slightly, but he could see very clearly.

So far, the armament of the Yue State has always been ahead of all opponents. This is one of the reasons why the Yue State Navy has been able to win more with less and win consecutive battles. Proud of a powerful weapon that cannot be underestimated by others.

Qin Lun understood what Cui Qian meant, he smiled, first briefly introduced Daqin's weapons, and finally said: "Our Daqin's weapons are not as diverse as your Han Dynasty's, and many of the weapons are not as good. But our Great Qin also has some very good weapons, such as throwing guns and crossbows..."

Cui Qian listened in detail, interrupting Qin Lun to ask some details from time to time.Qin Lun said that he was not too interested in throwing guns, because although the lethality of throwing guns is strong, the range is limited, and it is a one-time consumable, which does not conform to the comprehensive calculation habits of the country's power and cost. However, the crossbow mentioned by Qin Lun Cui Qian was very concerned about Pao.

The catapults mentioned by Qin Lun are torsion spring catapults.Since the torsion spring ballista came out, it has been an outstanding achievement in the cold weapon era. Compared with the thunderbolt chariot that Cui Qian and the others are using now, its performance is even worse.The energy storage method used by this torsion spring ballista is different from the lever principle of the thunderbolt car and the bending elastic energy storage of the crossbow. It uses the torsion energy storage of animal tendons.This kind of ballista can throw a tower of special (ancient Greek weight unit, about 26 kilograms, 100 Han Jin) stone bullets three hundred yards (about 270 meters, nearly two hundred steps), while the giant ballista The range of the gun even reaches about four hundred yards.

It should be said that in terms of range and strike accuracy, the ballista has the advantages of both the powerful crossbow and the thunderbolt chariot. The way of using torque energy storage is also a direction that the skilled craftsmen of Yue State did not think of. Although Cui Qian does not believe what Qin Lun said The crossbow cannon really is so powerful, but he still attaches great importance to this information, he immediately invited Qin Lun to Zhu Ya and his party, and promised to recommend him to Yue Wang Sun Shao.

Qin Lun accepted Cui Qian's invitation very happily, and there was a look of anticipation in his deep eyes.Cui Qian noticed this gleam, pondered for a moment, but didn't say anything, and asked Qin Lun to go down to rest.

Fan Man looked at the generals who were still full of thoughts, and understood their thoughts very well.The generals were very dissatisfied with sealing the knife after killing for only one hour, and hoped for more time. However, Fan Man decided to seal the city on the grounds that the inner city had not yet been breached and the soldiers could not let them vent their anger. Knife, make all the troops on alert.

Although the generals were reluctant, they didn't have the guts to act wildly in front of Fan Man, and went out one by one. Only Fan Ru and a few trusted generals stayed behind.Fan Man let out a long sigh, bowed her straight waist, put her hands on her legs, lowered her head weakly, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Your Majesty, drink some water." Fan Ru cautiously handed over a glass of water, and comforted him, "The outer city has been breached, and the people of Yue have nowhere to escape, and defeat is a foregone conclusion. If you take Jin Chen, you will have to look forward to it. Your Majesty can rest easy."

"Relax?" Fan Man shook her head dejectedly, took a sip of water, raised her head to look at Fan Ru and a few cronies, and said with a wry smile, "Do you really believe that we can break through the inner city soon?"

Fan Ru and the others looked at each other, they could hear Fan Man's worry.Especially Fan Ru, he felt that Fan Man was not very confident yesterday, but it was just a little unconfident, but now, he heard very serious worries.

"Your Majesty, we...we broke through the outer city so smoothly today, so what's so difficult about the inner city?"

"Successful? It's because it went so smoothly that I'm worried." Fan Man slowly leaned on the couch, with a bit of pain and regret in her eyes: "Think about it, which door did we break through?"

Fan Ru's heart skipped a beat, thoughtful.

"Do you know why I issued an order to seal the sword as soon as I broke through the city?" Fan Man seemed to be talking to herself, "You think that if you break through the outer city, you can't escape the inner city, but you forgot, the inner city There are also Yue people, they have enough strength to hold the inner city. We kill Jinchen people and businessmen from various countries at this time, just push these Jinchen people and businessmen to the side of Yue people. If there are no Yue people, we will kill them Killed, anyway, this time I didn't intend to keep Jin Chen, and they will forget about it if they give some favors. But now it's different, we have no confidence in defeating the people of Yue. If we kill people again, won't we increase our opponents ?" Fan Man panted for a long time, and finally sighed: "We were used by the hateful Yue people."

(End of this chapter)