Chapter 318 The war begins, a fierce offensive and defensive battle!

Chapter 318 The war begins, a fierce offensive and defensive battle!

Accompanied by Gao Yao's sonorous and powerful roar: "Archers get ready!" In an instant, the numerous archers on the city wall, as densely packed as stars, heard the news and quickly adjusted their postures, ready for battle.

They adopted an ingenious step-by-step shooting strategy, with the front row squatting and shooting arrows, while the back row stood and pulled the bowstrings, and this cycle repeated, forming a continuous firepower network. Not only that, behind these archers, there were teams of soldiers holding strong shields and closely arranged, forming an indestructible line of defense to ensure that they would not be injured by the enemy's fierce Qin crossbows.

"Shoot!" At this moment, both the enemy and us issued the order to shoot arrows almost at the same time. In an instant, the sound of bowstrings was heard like thunder, resounding through the sky. Countless crossbow arrows shot from the Qin crossbows fell from the sky with a sharp whistling sound like a black rainstorm covering the sky and sun, and hit the top of the city wall fiercely; at the same time, the bows and arrows on the city wall were not to be outdone, like precision-guided deadly firearms, they shot straight at the Qin crossbow troops under the tight protection of the shield soldiers.

"Shua, shua, shua, shua..." All I could hear were the countless sounds of breaking through the air, as if the entire sky was about to be torn apart! The sound made people tremble with fear.

"Ding, ding, ding..." Crossbow arrows shot at the shields of the Southern Border Army like a torrential rain, hitting them continuously, making waves of crisp and loud sounds. The shields used by the Southern Border Army were extremely special, and their internal structure was mysterious - thin iron sheets were sandwiched in the middle of the shield.

These iron sheets have been carefully polished and thinned as much as possible, but their existence has extraordinary significance. When two layers of wood tightly wrap these iron sheets, this seemingly insignificant layer of iron can actually increase the shield's defense by at least 30%! Moreover, because the iron sheets are thin enough, the overall weight of the shield has not changed much, allowing soldiers to still use it flexibly to resist enemy attacks in battle.

Even with such a solid shield, the Southern Border Army still suffered heavy casualties in the face of the densely packed Qin crossbows that attacked like locusts. The crossbow arrows were so dense that they were like a huge net covering the sky and earth, leaving no place for people to escape. Even if they were not careful, they could be hit in the vitals by the crossbow arrows and die instantly.

"Ah...ah...ah..." For a moment, the wailing sounds above the city wall rose one after another, and they became one and the same! It was as if countless wronged souls were crying out in unison, which was creepy.

At this time, the Qin Crossbow troops also encountered many problems and suffered large-scale casualties. The shield troops in front should have taken on the responsibility of resisting the enemy's attacks, but the actual situation was that they could hardly play a very good protective role. Even the shield soldiers in the Qin Crossbow troops had little effect. Facing the more accurate and longer-range bows and arrows of the Southern Border Army, they were simply unable to stop them.

Compared to the Southern Border Army, which had the city walls as a solid support, the Qin Crossbow Army under the city could only rely on those thin shield soldiers. As a result, the defensive strength of the two sides was very different, and the effect was naturally very different. After just a few rounds of shooting, the Qin Crossbow Army had lost more than 500 people!

This number was so shocking that Li Xin could not help but frown. He knew that the situation was extremely critical. If no effective measures were taken, the entire battle would be in an irreversible passive situation. So he made a prompt decision and immediately issued an order to let the Qin crossbow troops retreat quickly to preserve their strength. At the same time, he commanded the shield soldiers to launch a fierce attack on Xia County, intending to open up a path to victory for the follow-up infantry troops.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" With deafening shouts of killing, the Qin soldiers, surging like a tide, braved the dense rain of arrows and rushed towards the city wall without hesitation. In an instant, the earth seemed to tremble because of their charge. At the same time, a large number of siege ladders quickly sprang out of the Qin army camp like huge pythons and rushed straight to the city wall. These siege ladders stood tall, and the iron hooks on the top flashed with cold light, as if ready to hook the city wall at any time, allowing the Qin army to climb up.

Not only that, several huge catapults also slowly drove into the battlefield at this moment. Their heavy bodies and sturdy mechanical arms exuded a frightening pressure, and each huge stone thrown out had a devastating force, smashing fiercely onto the city wall.

At this moment, Gao Yao, standing on the city wall, witnessed everything that happened below. His eyes narrowed slightly and his face became solemn. He knew very well that the imperial army was serious this time and had no intention of showing mercy. Although he had just had the upper hand, it now seemed that this real life-and-death battle had just begun.

"Erniu!" Gao Yao shouted without hesitation to Erniu who had just returned to the city wall. His voice echoed in the air, penetrating the hustle and bustle of the fierce fighting.

"My lord!" Hearing Gao Yao's call, Erniu did not dare to delay for a moment. He flashed and arrived beside Gao Yao in the blink of an eye.

"It's time to use the heavy crossbow! Erniu, no need to be polite to them, just shoot hard at the enemy's catapults!" Gao Yao's face was grim at the moment, without any hesitation or courtesy. He decisively gave Erniu an order, signaling him to quickly take out the long-hidden heavy crossbow.

You know, this is the secret weapon that Gao Yao carefully prepared for this battle to defend the city! Although Xia County had been reinforced before, it was only a small county town after all, and it was far from being comparable to those large-scale, heavily fortified main cities. Therefore, the attack in other areas might be temporarily slowed down, but for the offensive launched by the catapult, a weapon with great lethality, there must be absolutely no indulgence or slackness.

Although the Daqin catapults were slightly inferior to similar equipment in the southern border area where Gaoyao was located, their destructive power should not be underestimated. Their power was strong enough to collapse the defense line of Xia County. If the attack of the catapults was left unchecked and allowed to bombard at will, I am afraid that within a few days, this originally solid county would be shaky and the enemy could break through the defense line at any time.

Because of this, Gao Yao prepared for a rainy day and prepared this batch of heavy crossbows early. The reason why he chose to use heavy crossbows to deal with catapults was naturally well-reasoned and reasonable. If such a powerful weapon as heavy crossbows were used to shoot ordinary soldiers, it would be a waste of resources, just like using a cannon to shoot mosquitoes. It was a sheer waste. Only by aiming it at catapults that could pose a fatal threat could the heavy crossbows truly play their due value and effectively resist the enemy's fierce attack.

"Yes!" After hearing Gao Yao's order, Erniu did not dare to be negligent. He waved his hand and led a group of strong men to rush down the city wall like a gust of wind. Soon, a heavy and huge crossbow cart was lifted up by them together.

These crossbow carts are incredibly powerful, but due to their large size and heavy weight, they cannot be placed on the city wall for a long time. Once the enemy notices them and launches a surprise attack or uses fire attack tactics, it will be extremely disadvantageous for the defenders. Therefore, they can only be temporarily moved to the city wall at critical moments to exert their maximum lethality.

At this moment, deafening shouts of killing came from afar, like surging waves, rushing towards the city wall one after another. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" The shouts of killing resounded through the sky, as if they were going to tear the whole world apart.

At the same time, the sound of war drums, "Boom boom boom... boom boom boom...", was endless, like bursts of thunder, shaking people's hearts.

As the shouts and screams got closer, the bows and arrows on and under the city walls began to shoot fiercely. For a moment, arrows rained down, forming a dense web in the air. However, it was obvious that the Southern Border Army had the upper hand. After all, they were defending the city with the protection of the city walls, and they were shooting from high and low, so they naturally had a natural advantage.

Although the Qin army fought bravely, they still seemed to be somewhat powerless in the face of the powerful offensive of the Southern Border Army. However, at this time, the catapults of the imperial army were gradually approaching 200 steps from the city wall. Those catapults were like moving fortresses, filled with huge stones. Seeing this, many Qin soldiers became busy and began to race against time to load huge stones, preparing to launch an attack on Xia County.

At the same time, heavy crossbows were also moved onto the city wall. When huge heavy crossbows appeared on the top of the city wall, they quickly attracted the attention of the Qin army. However, most of the Qin army did not know what they were. They thought they were some kind of city defense weapon and were about to throw them down the city wall.

At this time, Li Xin, who was not far away, naturally saw this scene. Although Li Xin was old, his eyesight was still very good. Naturally, he also saw the special items that the Southern Border Army had worked hard to move onto the city wall. However, the shape of this item was like a large shelf, with only a position like an arrow exposed, but the arrow was very large.

With the cover of the city wall, Li Xin did not see that these weapons were heavy crossbows. After all, even if he saw them, Li Xin might not know what they were, and he did not sense the danger.

"Be careful, hurry up, let the siege vehicle retreat, quickly!"

At this time, a figure quickly emerged from the army and shouted at the soldiers to stop loading the catapults and to withdraw them. The man was none other than the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan.

This weapon is very unfamiliar to the people of the Qin Dynasty, but it is not unfamiliar to the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan. Or to be more precise, it should be called a siege crossbow!