In many film and television dramas, we often see the scenes of two armies confronting each other to siege and defend the city, but what is strange is that in Chinese history or foreign historical dramas, the siege weapons that appear are often chasm , chariots, etc.
However, the city gate is generally made of wood, why doesn’t the siege choose a more convenient and simple method? In daily life, firewood is still a commonly used fuel in many places, and the wood burns relatively quickly.
So why not use fire attack when siege? I believe many people are very curious about this question. In fact, it is not that people in ancient times did not want to burn it, but because they could not burn it and dared not burn it.
One city and one pool are combined into a city
Unlike modern cities, in ancient times, people did not have technology to build like today's buildings.
Old buildings were often mainly civil and wooden structures, supplemented by bricks and stones. Relatively speaking, their ability to resist natural disasters or deal with man-made disasters is relatively limited.
However, don’t ignore the wisdom of the ancients. They put a lot of effort into defending against foreign enemies. Generally speaking, a larger city will have a moat, which has a great effect.
can be used to slow down the enemy's march during wartime and set traps; it can be used as a source of irrigation water during busy farming; it can be used as a source of irrigation during drought; it can also reduce the pressure on surrounding rivers during floods.
It can be said that the moat has a very important role. Similarly, as a relatively weak part of the defense, the city gate is also more prepared.
Generally speaking, a city will have city gates in four directions: southeast, west and north. We can refer to the existing city site. As an important channel for daily entry and exit and wartime, the selection of materials for city gates is very particular.
Generally speaking, wood with a higher ignition point will be used as the main material. If the requirements are higher, tung oil will be applied to the wood. The wood brushed with tung oil is very effective in waterproofing, fire-proofing and insect-proofing.
On this basis, some city gates will be wrapped in metal iron or inlaid with some copper door nails to increase the defense of the city gate.
After adding these metals, the city gate is no longer a simple wooden door. It has a considerable weight and the probability of it being able to burn is also lower.
It is very difficult to ignite the city gate, and it often requires more manpower and material resources.
After entering the city gate, you will not be able to enter the living city immediately. Larger cities often have a "buffer belt" that is Guancheng. The existence of Guancheng also alleviated the bad situation that once the city gate was broken during the war, the main residential areas would fall.
The shape and location of Guancheng are often built based on the local natural environment. There are fewer existing Guancheng ruins in my country, and the most famous is Lanzhou City. Other Guanchengs are generally gradually abolished in the development of the city.
The fire in the city gate caused the pond fish
This allusion is the result of the fire in the city gate as we expected. The result was that the city gate was not burned through and broken through by fire, but was extinguished by the water in the moat.
Although the fire was burning very violently, the soldiers guarding the city used the water in the moat to extinguish the fire. Although the price was heavy, the water in the moat had dried up, and the good fish had no place to live.
Speaking of this, we have to mention the architectural wisdom of the ancients. After a long period of changes in dynasties, people's construction level is also constantly improving. The construction of city walls is becoming more and more particular.
There is a passage between the city wall, city gate and moat where water can be transported. This is why the fire can be put out in the story of "The fire at the city gate will affect the fish in the pond".
And even if the fire is very strong, it is impossible to burn through a city gate wrapped in iron. There is enough time for the defenders in the city to gather together and fight out of the city.
What's more, for example, during the Ming Dynasty period, after the rebels ignited the city gate, the guards not only did not rush to put out the fire, but instead "added fuel to the fire" so that the rebels could not move forward.Later, the defending army and reinforcements made dumplings and served them in a pot.
This situation also shows that burning the city gate is not a good way. It often costs 1,000 to hurt the enemy and lose 800 to achieve a little victory. Any general will not choose this method to attack the city.
siege equipment bloomed in a hundred flowers
So far, we can roughly understand why the ancients rarely chose to burn the city gate. So what methods would the ancients usually use to conquer the city?
Generally speaking, the more well-known siege equipment include siege car , siege hammer, catapult car and ladder, etc. In the era of cold weapons, the quality of gunpowder is not high, and in many cases it can only serve as a deterrent effect and cannot hurt people on a large scale.
Before the Ming Dynasty, the scope of use of gunpowder in actual combat was quite low. Therefore, in siege battles, we often use simpler and easier to use catapults or siege cars.
When facing a city gate that cannot be burned through by a fire, choosing to use stones or siege equipment to break the city gate is the fastest way.
Generally speaking, the main purpose of marching first is to break through the city gate at any cost, save time for the large troops behind, and end the siege faster.
and Cloud Ladder is another important tool. With the continuous development of technology, the ancients came up with more ways to strengthen the city gate, and the door bolt was the most important invention.
After adding the door bolt, it is difficult for the city gate to break through force from outside. So the best choice is to climb over the city wall through the ladder and enter the city gate to open the door.
In film and television dramas, the ladder is often stuck to the city wall and looks thin. However, based on historical documents and cultural relics restoration, we found that the real ladder is very huge.
It can not only stand upright in the sky, but also have many mechanisms and ladders on the ladder, which facilitates personnel to transport essentials for combat up and down at the same time.
The siege through the cloud ladder can conquer the defending army at the cost of minimal casualties, and then open the city gate without any effort by cooperating inside and outside.
The battle in the era of cold weapons is different from today. Without the bonus of hot weapon , the way of fighting is often simpler and more crude, so the requirements for generals must be higher. One general of succeeds in , and victory is often made by blood donation.
But being able to win the battle with less casualties is the expectation of every general.
After a detailed understanding of ancient city walls, city gates and ancient siege equipment, we should realize the wisdom of the ancients. We should not start from the perspective of modern people. We believe that the old people lack the thinking of transformation and always remember that we can only see higher and farther when standing on the shoulders of giants.
At the same time, don’t forget the harm of war on mankind to the world. Maintaining peace and supporting peace should be the common understanding of each of us.
