Chapter 269 Battle of Trebuchets (1/2)
Chapter 269 – Battle of Trebuchets
Yuan Shao Army hit their war drums, and 20,000 men marched forward, pushing trebuchets and 10-meter-tall siege towers into the range. In addition, shield bearers were driving several wagons carrying dirt and sand with haste.
Zhang Liao waved his hands, and 200 trebuchets on the fort towers launched their burning barrels. While he was at it, Zhang Liao ordered, ”Everyone but trebuchet crews, retreat to the inner wall.”
The first barrage of burning crude oil created a firewall that barred Te Langpu and Feng Ji's troops. A few barrels managed to hit the trebuchets of Yuan Shao Army, destroying them.
Instead of panicking, hundreds of siege weapons continued to move forward as they had not reached their ideal range to fire yet.
This gave the trebuchet crews in the fort to fire the second volley. As Zhang Liao's soldiers had measured the range and the direction from the first barrage, the second barrels were more accurate. A hundred of Yuan Shao's siege weapons were destroyed, while the missed barrels exploded and caused more fire.
”We're in range. Return fire! Load the bags!”
Trebuchet crews of Yuan Shao also began operating their weaponry, firing boulders toward the wall.
The 90% of the boulders hit the wall and dropped on the ground, rolling down the moat. Several of them went over the wall and hit trebuchet towers inside the fort.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Large boulders cracked the wooden walls, which tore several tied logs. However, the entire wall section did not collapse as there were mud and stone that reinforced it.
Feng Ji bellowed, ”Use the gunpowder! Switch to gunpowder and launch them inside the wall!”
Flagbearers of Feng Ji Army waved their signal flags, and hundreds of horsemen, who were carrying gunpowder sacks rushed toward the surviving trebuchets.
The third barrage from the fort arrived. This time, more than half of Yuan Shao's trebuchets were destroyed, and some of the gunpowder carriers got caught in the fire, exploding the bomb sacks they were carrying.
Feng Ji gritted his teeth. Had the gunpowder been high in quantity, each of the trebuchet crews would have brought several sacks with them. Since their ammunition was limited, they had to bring them to the surviving trebuchet crews later so they would not be wasted.
The remaining trebuchet crews got their hands on the gunpowder sacks. They loaded them on the pouches and set the fuses.
Afterward, the siege weapons launched their ammo inside the fort.
Zhang Liao had predicted this. He bellowed and got behind the battlement, covering himself from the explosion.
”TAKE COVER!”
20 of 50 sacks landed inside the fort while the rest hit the wall and rolled into the moat.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The thunderous loud boom shocked both attackers and defenders. The explosion caused dirt, dust, shrapnel, and destroyed objects to fly. The explosive sound deafened everyone in the area and made them dizzy.
Since Feng Ji was far away from the site, he was not affected by the shockwave and the noise. He laughed and ordered the signalers, ”Again! Bomb them again!”
Te Langpu grabbed Feng Ji's shoulder and shook his head, ”We have limited ammo. Use it sparingly!”
”No! We have to ensure their annihilation and save the lives of our soldiers! I want to use all of the gunpowder today!”
Te Langpu shrugged, ”Fine. I'll leave everything to you. I'm going to return to the main camp.”
”Of course. If we win today, it will be because of my ingenious insight! Please remember that!”
”Sure, sure. I'll give the victory credit to you.”
The flagbearers sent another order signal, and more horsemen rushed to the battlefield with the rest of gunpowder sacks of their army.
By the time that the horsemen reached the functioning trebuchets, the fourth barrage from the fort came. However, the number of burning barrels were less than the previous volleys as the explosion destroyed several of the infrastructures and trebuchet towers within the fort.
40 Of 70 remaining trebuchets were destroyed along with gunpowder sacks, but the last 30 trebuchets managed to counter-fire. All of them were hurled over the wall into the fort once more.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Zhang Liao had already evacuated from the front wall into the inner layer wall. However, some of the trebuchet crews were late to retreat, they got caught in the explosion of Feng Ji's second bombardment.
Black smoke and traces of fire inside the fort could be seen from the outside, which delighted Yuan Shao Army soldiers.
After the last explosion, the counter-fire from the fortress trebuchets stopped. Yuan Shao's crews outside managed to fire another shot inside the fort without a resistance.
Feng Ji jumped and yelled, ”They have been crippled! Siege towers, onward! All troops, attack!”
Carts and wagons that were carrying dirt and sand rushed in and filled the moat with it. Siege towers with 2,000 archers approach the wall, and a 5,000-man battalion attempted to cross the moat.
They got close to the wall without any attack from the archers inside. Delighted by the idleness of the defenders, the footmen tore down a section of a wall and climbed inside.
As they got on top of the wall, they could see the wreckages of the buildings, corpses, collapsed towers, and destroyed trebuchets. They cheered as if they had just won the war.
The footmen on the ground rushed inside, hoping to loot some treasures or supplies for themselves. As they got deeper inside through the smoke, their eyes widened.