Traveling through time and space and becoming a deposed prince, he just wants to survive!

Chapter 494 Around the City

The soldiers under Jiao Zan's command were all extremely brave and intelligent.

They cleverly utilized the unique advantages of mortar trajectory and adopted a step-by-step approaching tactic, like a tide, eroding the north gate defense line held by Han Ziqing bit by bit.

Under such a fierce attack, a big hole was quickly torn open in the north gate.

Jiao Zan's soldiers swarmed in like hungry wolves and instantly occupied many shops in the streets and alleys of Pingyang City.

This army has been stationed in Linhai City for a long time. Although it was their first time to come into contact with new weapons such as artillery, thanks to the careful explanations of the weapons instructors sent by the Wang family, they not only became familiar with the operation of the weapons, but also gained an in-depth understanding of many practical application cases of the weapons on the battlefield.

These valuable experiences were gained by the Wang army in countless bloody and fiery battles. Jiao Zan's team kept them in mind in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes in battle.

These tactics have proven to be effective.

After entering the city, they did not rush blindly along the streets, but carefully used the commanding heights in the city to observe and advance steadily.

The news of the fall of the North Gate was like a heavy hammer, instantly breaking Pingyang City's originally tense but orderly defense.

Upon hearing the news, the defenders in other places quickly gathered towards the north gate, preparing to launch a desperate resistance against the enemy troops entering the city.

After hearing the news that the North Gate had fallen, Li Ya was extremely anxious. He immediately found Qiao Mang and said seriously:

"Brother Qiao, the enemy has already entered the city. If we can't drive them out quickly, the East Gate will be in danger!"

When Qiao Mang heard what Li Ya said, he frowned slightly, his eyes were a little blurry, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly said:

"Although the enemy at the north gate has entered the city, as long as we take strict precautions, we may be able to stop them. However, if we do so, I'm afraid the houses in the city will suffer serious damage."

Li Ya nodded in agreement and then said:

"That's right. That's why I plan to send 5,000 soldiers out of the city and launch a surprise attack from behind. With the help of internal and external forces, we can wipe out these enemies who have entered the city in one fell swoop."

As he spoke, he looked at Qiao Mang with expectant eyes, hoping to get the other party's approval.

Qiao Mang thought for a moment and said slowly:

"This plan is brilliant, but these five thousand men are bound to be a bit understrength if they take the detour. If they encounter an enemy unit along the way and are intercepted, won't they be doomed to failure?

In today's firearms warfare, although numbers are not the only factor that determines victory or defeat, we still have to be on guard."

When Li Ya heard what Qiao Mang said, he immediately felt that it made sense and said hurriedly:

"Brother Qiao, what you said makes sense. We do need to be on guard against the enemy's reserve. How about this? I'll send out 10,000 people, 5,000 of whom will be responsible for the surprise attack, and the other 5,000 will cover the rear to prevent any unexpected events."

After hearing this, Qiao Mang felt that this adjustment was feasible, nodded slightly, and said:

"This arrangement is feasible!"

Just as he finished speaking, he thought of the fierce battle at the East Gate. To prevent the enemy troops at the East Gate from sending reinforcements after learning that the North Gate had been breached, he added:

"It would be best to order the defenders at the east gate to retreat 300 steps, allowing more enemies to enter the city. Adding 300 steps back to the previous distance, we have a range of about 500 steps. If the two armies confront each other within this range, our advantage will be even greater."

After hearing what Qiao Mang said, Li Ya felt that it was worth a try and said with satisfaction, "Let's do as Brother Qiao says."

After receiving Li Ya's recognition, Qiao Mang suddenly felt that he had finally made some contribution, and the slightly unhappy expression on his face also relaxed a lot.

Soon, Zhu Zhanhui at the East Gate received the order to retreat.

He looked at the battlefield where the fighting was raging. Although he was unwilling to give up, he obeyed the military order and decisively ordered a retreat of 300 steps, leaving an open area in front of the east gate.

Afterwards, he quickly ordered his soldiers to use nearby houses as cover and carefully rearranged the artillery, waiting for the enemy to take the bait.

On the other side, Gaddafi was frustrated by the obstruction of the siege and paced back and forth in the tent like an ant on a hot pan.

Suddenly, a report came from the front line saying that the defenders in the city seemed unable to hold out and were showing signs of retreating.

When he heard this, his eyebrows immediately lit up with joy, his eyes lit up, and he ordered without hesitation:

"Everyone, listen up! Take your weapons and attack the city with all your might. Bring your mortars as well and advance faster!"

In his heart, he had already determined that these weapons would come in handy after the army entered the city, and victory seemed to be just around the corner.

However, he never expected that after entering the city, what awaited them was an even more intense artillery attack.

On the north gate side, Han Ziqing led his team to retreat in a hurry and failed to set up the third line of defense in time. The two sides soon fell into fierce street fighting.

In the streets and alleys, the two sides fired artillery fire back and forth, attacking each other, like two ferocious fire dragons, devouring everything around them.

Many shops and houses collapsed under the raging artillery fire and caught fire.

Fortunately, when this dynasty built houses, they reserved more space between streets and alleys, so the fire did not spread quickly and could only affect neighboring houses. It would not be easy to ignite houses farther away.

Han Ziqing looked at the chaotic battlefield, anxious and ordered all the soldiers loudly:

"Listen up! As soon as you see the enemy hiding place, attack immediately with artillery fire. Don't let them have a chance to breathe!"

At this point in the battle, the defenders at the north gate were still basically Shizhou's troops fighting tenaciously. Except for a part of the defenders at the east gate, most of the defenders of Pingyang Prefecture were scattered in other places.

The one who led 10,000 people out of the city through the west gate was Pingyang Prefecture's guard general Zuo Xialing.

With his authority, he could have brought out 20,000 people, but this order only required 10,000 people to leave the city, and the action must be swift and the strike must be accurate.

Zuo Xialing already had a plan in mind. He planned to send 5,000 people into the city first and launch a direct attack with tiger-barrel cannons.

Once they succeeded, the next 5,000 men would quickly enter the city, then quickly establish a defense line and try their best to resist Jiao Zan's subsequent enemy forces.

Unexpectedly, when he led his troops to the north gate, he saw that there were still 10,000 soldiers of Jiao Zan's army at the gate who had not yet entered the city.

He thought to himself that if he divided his troops at this time, it would be difficult to break through the enemy's defense line in a short time.

So, he made up his mind, a look of determination flashed in his eyes, and he said loudly to his generals:

"It seems our strategy of dividing our forces won't work! We must charge forward quickly, set up our mortars first, and catch them off guard. The charging troops must not stop, but must keep moving forward!"

All the generals echoed in unison, their voices resounding through the sky: "We swear to annihilate the enemy!"

Zuo Xialing turned to look at the officer in charge of the mortar and said seriously:

"Listen carefully! Not only must you attack the Xiongnu soldiers at the city gate, but you must also keep a close eye on the enemy's movements and be wary of any reinforcements. Report any signs of trouble to me immediately!"

The officer looked solemn, straightened his back, and responded loudly:

"Yes, General! I will pay close attention to the enemy's movements and will never let you down!"

"Okay! Then let's follow the plan and get going!"

At Zuo Xialing's command, the team dispersed and rushed towards the enemy like a tiger descending from the mountain.