Two days later, the main force of 90,000 troops led by Xiahou Dun arrived at the Han army's stronghold and set up camp about three miles away from the Han army's stronghold. Xiahou Dun stood on a small mound and looked at the huge Han army's stronghold from a distance. There was an indescribable blockage in his heart. The Han army could not build a stronghold of this size in just two or three days, which only meant that they had been prepared for it. After a long while, Xiahou Dun said bitterly: "Liu Jing wanted to fight a protracted war with me, but unfortunately he made the wrong idea!" Zhang Liao, who was standing next to him, quickly suggested: "General, now that the Han army is in a commanding position, our army will suffer heavy losses if we attack by force. It is better to use the cover at night and order the cavalry to lay a ramp for the post, and then launch the attack tomorrow!" Guo Huai also agreed! He said: "What Wen Yuan said makes sense, general, please think again!" Zhang Liao did make sense. Xiahou Dun nodded and accepted Zhang Liao's suggestion. He immediately ordered: "Build three more twenty-foot piers to install trebuchets!" That afternoon, 10,000 Cao's troops were not far away from the camp. In an abandoned river in the distance, soil was packed with cloth bags to prepare for the construction of a ramp at night. At the same time, thousands of Cao soldiers were building mounds about 300 steps away from the camp to prepare for installing trebuchets. Attacking the Han army's camp was the tactic used by Cao Jun and Yuan Shao Jun in the decisive battle in Yecheng in the sixth year of Jian'an. They built a twenty-foot-high earthen platform and used thunderbolt chariots to attack Yuan Jun from a high position, giving Cao Jun an offensive advantage. But history will not repeat itself, and the Han army is not Yuan Shao's army. The Han army's trebuchet technology is far superior to that of Cao's army. The Han army's giant trebuchet can throw a hundred kilograms of stones 400 steps away, which is better than Cao's army's largest trebuchet. The range is a hundred steps farther. Just as Cao's soldiers were carrying stones to build the foundation, the Han army's trebuchets deployed in the south of the camp suddenly launched. Forty trebuchets continuously launched boulders, and boulders weighing hundreds of kilograms were thrown overwhelmingly. Hundreds of soldiers Unable to dodge, his skull was smashed and his body was covered in blood and flesh, which was horrific. The foundation he had just laid was also completely destroyed by the roaring boulders. The rest of Cao's army fled southward, out of the range of the Han army's trebuchets. Xiahou Dun was so angry that he thundered and ordered: "Build a trebuchet and attack the Han army camp at night!" At this time, the sun had set below the horizon, the sunset in the sky disappeared and turned into blue-gray. Night gradually fell, and Liu Jing stood on the sentry tower. , observing the movements of Cao Jun's camp, despite the dim dusk, Liu Jing still vaguely saw the huge black shadow standing in Cao Jun's camp, which should be Cao Jun's trebuchet. Liu Jing turned back to Sima Yi and asked with a smile: "How long does Zhongda think we need to persist?" Sima Yi smiled and said: "It depends on how much risk your highness is willing to take. If your highness is willing to take 50% of the risk, you might as well send someone to do it." In the letter of battle, an appointment was made for a decisive battle between the two armies. Perhaps this is what Xiahou Dun wants. If His Highness has more than 70% chance of victory, then he must wait patiently and hold on to the various attacks of Cao's army. As long as General Zilong captures Yedu, Cao's army will be defeated. Naturally, I have no intention of fighting anymore. "Liu Jing laughed to herself: "I proposed this plan first, but I can't hold on to it. Zhongda is right, you have to calm down and wait." The night has completely fallen, and the night is dark. Zhang Liao led 20,000 cavalry to ambush in a forest several miles away. All the horses were wrapped with four hooves. The cavalry did not carry spear weapons. Each man only carried a sword and a shield. Each soldier carried three bags of soil. . Their task was to use the speed of the cavalry to fill in an attack ramp in the east under the cover of the trebuchet battle in the south. Of course, only 60,000 bags of soil were not enough. Zhang Liao estimated that at least 200,000 bags of soil were needed. It just requires them to go back and forth three times. Zhang Liao waited patiently, looking far to the south. At this time, in the moonlight, he faintly saw the huge trebuchet of Cao Jun moving forward slowly. His heart couldn't help but tighten. If Cao Jun's fire attack If it works, maybe they can break through the Han army camp tonight. "Keep quiet and wait for my order!" Zhang Liao conveyed his order. In the Han army's camp, Liu Jing was also watching coldly the Cao army's trebuchets approaching in the distance, which were about a hundred paces long. With the speed of Cao's army marching north, they could not carry such baggage. This should be their Made from improvised felled trees, this crude trebuchet was not durable and could be fired no more than four or five times. At this time, the Han army was also actively preparing for war. All the large tents in the military camp were closed. This was to prevent Cao Jun's fireballs from shooting into the camp and causing a fire in the tents. Twenty thousand soldiers prepared baffles and soil, and they each performed their duties. , you can put out the fireball at any time. And the forty surrenders of the Han armyThe machine gun creaked and pulled up, waiting for the enemy to enter the shooting range. Behind the catapult machine, eight thousand Han soldiers were ready. Ten-foot-long cowhide flags were placed on the ground, raised high with wooden poles. A huge cowhide barrier will be temporarily put together to prevent Cao's army's fireballs from shooting into the Han army's camp. Cao Jun's trebuchets were getting closer and closer. The huge wooden wheels rolled slowly on the flat ground. Each trebuchet was pushed by two hundred men. These two hundred men were also the soldiers who controlled the trebuchets. Cao Jun invested a total of one hundred trebuchets. All of them were used to launch fireballs. Xiahou Dun was very aware of the counterattack power of the Han army, so he could only use his superior numbers to win the opportunity to launch. The Cao army's trebuchet finally entered the range of the Han army's trebuchet. The soldiers shouted in unison and accelerated the trebuchet. At this moment, there was a muffled bang in the Han army's stronghold, and then the sky Dozens of small black dots appeared, making strange whistling sounds, whizzing towards the top of Cao Jun's head. Cao Jun's soldiers screamed in fear and hid behind the trebuchet. There was a loud bang, and more than a dozen trebuchets were hit by the giant ball. Suddenly, the brackets broke, the belts broke, and the tall body collapsed. The boulder rolled and smashed into the crowd of Cao Jun soldiers. Blood spattered and screams were heard. Continuously, more than a thousand soldiers of Cao's army could not bear this huge fear, and they shouted and ran backwards. The first round of the Han army's attack caused the destruction of Cao's army's fifteen trebuchets. However, Cao's soldiers took advantage of the short firing gap of the Han army's trebuchets and pushed the trebuchets forward again. After walking less than twenty steps, the sky became clear. There was a strange roar, and another round of boulders roared and hit the heads of Cao's soldiers. Just as the two sides were launching a trebuchet battle in the south, Zhang Liao finally waited for the opportunity to send troops. He shouted in a low voice: "Go!" 20,000 Cao's cavalry Suddenly launched, the black cavalry rushed out of the woods and rushed towards Hanlonggang. Although the hooves of the horses were wrapped in thick linen, the huge energy generated by the running of 20,000 cavalry still made the earth tremble, immediately alarming the east. The defenders of Mianjunzhai. There were about 10,000 defenders in the eastern military camp, commanded by General Jiang Qin. Jiang Qin received a report from the sentry and saw a large number of Cao Jun cavalry under the moonlight. He also felt the earth shaking. On the one hand, Jiang Qin sent people to report to the King of Han, and on the other hand, he sent people to report to the King of Han. On the one hand, he ordered the Han soldiers to prepare crossbows for defense, and at the same time, the thirty trebuchets deployed in Dongzhai also began to activate. Cao's cavalry rushed in like a frenzy, and Han's trebuchets took the lead. Huge boulders were thrown out, hitting the running Cao's cavalry. Cao's cavalry had extremely strong maneuverability and tried their best to dodge the whizzing boulders overhead. The boulder crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, but Cao's cavalry was too dense, and some of the cavalry were hit or overturned by the rolling boulder. The horses neighed miserably and the cavalry fell to the ground. The roaring boulders could not stop the pace of Cao's cavalry. They held their shields high and rushed into the dense rain of arrows. The cavalry were shot over by the arrows one after another, causing heavy casualties. However, a large number of cavalry still threw a bag The bags of soil were thrown into the foot of the hill, and soon a mound was formed. Hundreds of Cao's troops clung to the hill. This was a blind spot for the Han army's attack. They were responsible for sorting the mud bags and stacking the scattered mud bags into shapes. On the ground, a long and narrow slope gradually appeared under the eastern hills of Hanlonggang. Compared with the progress of Cao Jun in the east, the trebuchet battle in the south was frustrating. Within a short distance of a hundred steps, the Han army's dense boulders destroyed most of Cao Jun's trebuchets. In the end, only thirteen Cao Jun's trebuchets entered the launching distance. , amidst the deafening drums of Cao Jun, thirteen huge fireballs suddenly rose into the sky, drew thirteen bright curves, and rushed towards the Han army camp on the hill. Eight thousand Han soldiers raised their leather flags one after another, forming a leather curtain ten feet high and one hundred feet wide, covering the Han army camp behind. On the hill, Xiahou Dun was stunned by the sudden appearance of the huge leather curtain. The eyes that were originally full of expectation dimmed again. Thirteen fireballs hit the leather curtain with a bang, bouncing and rolling down the hill. Unexpectedly, none of the fireballs could break through the leather curtain. Xiahou Dun let out a long sigh, his tone full of disappointment. After the first round of attacks, they all died down. All the remaining thirteen trebuchets were destroyed by the Han army. Also destroyed was the fire attack plan that Cao Jun had great expectations for. In a night of fighting, all one hundred heavy trebuchets temporarily built by Cao Jun were destroyed. The 20,000 Cao Jun who followed the trebuchets suffered more than 3,000 casualties. In the end, only one fireball broke through the leather curtain and shot into the Han army camp, but there was no Without any effect, the fireball was extinguished by the Han soldiers, which made Xiahou Dun understand the fact that the fire attack would not have any effect on the Han army. However, although the fire attack failed, the cavalry led by Zhang Liao in the east succeeded. After casualties of more than a thousand cavalry, a ramp five feet wide and more than twenty feet long appeared in front of the hill in the east. Cao Jun Finally a gap for attack was opened. £® £® £® £® £® £® £® £® £® £®