When General Alexander otkinski led his army to the bottom of Lida castle, he was stunned by the sight.


    Ojinsky had been to lidar fort, although it was more than a year ago before the war broke out. At that time, Lida Fort still maintained the circular tower popular hundreds of years ago and the thin wall made of red brick. At that time, ojinsky said to sobesky''s father half jokingly that such a castle was fortunately in the interior of the Republic. If it was in Ukraine or the eastern border of the Republic, it would be occupied by the enemy after one shelling.


    The speaker is careless and the listener is intentional. Unexpectedly, Jan sobesky, who was standing next to oginsky at that time, listened and transformed the whole castle.


    Now the round tower of Lida fort has disappeared and replaced by the four corner enemy tower. The city walls have also been transformed into stronger, lower and thicker.


    This is already an indestructible fortress! Oginsky sighed and shook his head. He felt that he was too big. Without sufficient information, he boasted to Prince yanush and took Lida fort in a month. But now it seems that it is impossible to win Lida fort without three months. Even if yanushi gave him nearly 100 guns, he could not give ojinsky confidence, because most of them were three pound guns. These light guns supporting infantry in the field not only had a short range, but too small bullets could not cause enough damage to the city wall. The power and range of the twelve pound gun are not so reliable. Perhaps the only thing otkinski can rely on is the 24 pound heavy gun and mortar.


    Of course, shelling is not the only way to capture a castle. Like in Smolensk, zaporoze''s Cossacks thought of the way to attack the city through tunnels. In fact, this is one of the most common ways to destroy a corner of the fortress. The disadvantage is time-consuming and labor-consuming.


    But when otkinski found that his artillery might not be enough to destroy Lida fort, his first thought was to dig a tunnel. So ojinsky pulled out his saber and thrust it into the ground under his feet.


    The sharp tip of the knife easily pierced into the soil. It shows that the soil here is relatively soft and suitable for digging tunnels. However, it is only a local method to insert the tip of the knife into the soil. Whether it can be implemented or not has to be asked by the engineers in the army.


    After a brief investigation of Lida fort, ojinsky returned to the rear. He decided to try the strength of Lida fort by shelling first. Ojinski ordered the army to dig a zigzag trench. He decided to surround Lida Fort first as the army''s next offensive forward position. And completely cut off the contact between Lida fort and the outside world.


    "General, should we try to persuade him to surrender first?" the adjutant who finished recording oginsky''s order asked the general after putting away his notebook.


    The prince hated sobesky for such a big disaster. How could he surrender and dare to surrender? Oginsky shook his head. He thought the adjutant''s suggestion was really whimsical.


    But on second thought, ojinsky thought about his friendship with Jan sobesky''s father, and ojinsky was softhearted again. He decided to send messengers to try to persuade him to surrender.


    In his letter to Jan sobeski, ojinski promised that if Jan sobeski surrendered, he could ensure the safety of all people in Lida fort, and would try his best to speak well for him in front of the prince to save his life.


    At three o''clock in the afternoon, the messenger sent by ojinsky returned. To be exact, the messenger''s horse came back with the messenger''s body.


    Jan sobesky''s determination to die was told by a shot from the wall of Lida castle.


    At this time, oginsky was really angry. He ordered the engineers to speed up the excavation, and sent cavalry to catch all the men in the nearby village as coolies to dig.


    Every day, under the cover of gunfire, the engineers were digging under the gunfire pouring down from Lida fort. They first dug a trench parallel to the castle outside the gunfire range of Fort Lida, and then continued to dig close to the castle against this trench. Each trench is more than one meter deep. The engineers pile the excavated soil to the side of the castle, higher than their heads, so that they can effectively resist the attack of artillery.


    By this means, although the artillery fire on Lida fort was fierce, there were only dozens of casualties among engineers and coolies in three days. On the fourth day, the trench had been dug three times and gradually approached the trench of Lida fort.


    Okinsky is also satisfied with such excavation speed. He stopped desperately asking engineers to dig all night. Engineers can rest in the trenches, and those who are ahead of schedule are even allowed to drink in the market at night.


    But on the evening of the fourth day, the defenders of Lida Fort launched a raid on the trench outside the city. The raid was completely beyond otkinski''s expectation. More than 100 engineers and coolies were killed in their sleep. Some Raiders even touched the vicinity of an artillery position. Fortunately, the soldiers guarding the artillery found it in time and issued a warning, so it did not cause greater losses.


    The loss of the night attack greatly slowed down the progress of the attacker''s excavation. The trench, which had been excavated in two days, took another four days to complete.


    Next, it entered the stage of artillery battle. More than forty three pound cannons were dragged into the most forward trench. This trench is only more than 100 meters away from the wall of Lida fort, which is the effective range of the three pound gun. Alexander otkinski believed that although these three pound guns could not destroy the city wall, they could be used to suppress the counterattack fire of the defenders. The twelve pound guns were arranged in groups of three by oginsky on a stronger artillery position and fired at one side of the wall.


    Heavy artillery fire swept across the sky and fell into trenches and walls from time to time. After each roar, there will be a thick smoke. Occasionally, bunkers were hit, human limbs, broken arms and building fragments flew into the air and fell to the ground like rain.


    In order to improve the effect of shelling, all artillery of each company, mercenary regiment and infantry are also required to join the ranks of shelling. The three three three pound guns of Chechen''s mercenary regiment were not spared.


    Originally, he was determined to protect the necessary market, but he missed it in the end. Ojinski gave the safe and profitable job to another Polish officer. The officer was of noble origin and had some distant relatives with the raziweu family. He won a position with Prince yanush by nepotism. He followed oginsky on this expedition to gild. For the prince''s relatives, ojinsky certainly has to take care of them. At this moment, the adjutant who was sent money by Chechen was speechless.


    There was no choice but to join the siege team. His three guns were placed in the position north of Lida fort to suppress the fire on the fort. There are five guns on the North Fort, all twelve pound medium guns. Their shells can easily penetrate the wooden shield in front of the trench to cover the artillery, so each shooting artillery is like betting with the God of death that the other''s shells will not hit their bunker.


    Chechen and two artillery operated a gun. The other two guns of the mercenary regiment were also around him. In fact, the best person in the whole artillery company who knows how to use guns is Che Chen. Now he is not only a gunner, but also a teacher of others.


    Although Chechen tried not to fight with Jan sobesky, fate sent him to the battlefield. In this fire filled Shura field, everyone may die at any time, especially those who are half hearted. So Chechen had to restrain his spirit and concentrate on operating the fire gun.


    This time, Cherchen''s target was a gun sticking out behind the crenel on the right side of the fort. Not long ago, the gun hit a powder keg on its own artillery position and blasted a 12 pound gun and six artillery into the sky. Several three pound guns had suppressed the gun, but the shells were either too high or hit the breast wall of the fort, leaving only a shallow depression on it.


    "Aim at the point, lower the muzzle." Chechen kept observing the firing angle while directing his gunners to assist him. Chechen''s assistant is also a suckling teenager. Although he became a member of the mercenary regiment as early as bolotsk, he has always participated in the war as a Musketeer, and playing with artillery is the first time. At present, he was sweating and carefully listened to Chechen''s order to adjust the pitching angle of the muzzle.


    The enemy''s artillery had just fired a shell, which was dragged back to the fort by their gunners for loading. If you want to hit it, you have to wait for the moment when the muzzle is exposed again.


    After another three minutes, the dark gun barrel was exposed behind the crenel. Che Chen lit the rope without hesitation. As the fire rope fell into the muzzle, the black powder in the bore was suddenly ignited, and the force generated by the burning of the powder pushed the shell out.


    The shell failed to hit the target. It only hit the crenel. Cherchen screamed a pity. Che Chen turned back and was about to order his assistant to load again, but he saw him stand up.


    Cherchen secretly screamed. His assistant obviously wanted to stand up and observe the outcome of the war. But his artillery attack must have attracted the attention of the enemy on the fort. Although the cannons on the fort generally ignore their three pound cannons, the enemy Musketeers who use large caliber muskets on the fort are eyeing themselves.


    "Get down!"


    Chechen rushed to the ground and threw his assistant who had stretched out half his head. At the moment they fell to the ground, with a flash of fire on the fort, countless lead bullets crackled on the wooden shield and gun barrel.


    "Thank you, captain."


    The assistant said gratefully. He knew that if Chechen hadn''t jumped on himself just now, the lead bullets that burst sparks from the gun barrel would hit him. He is not a man of steel. He can be as safe as a cannon.


    "Be careful, hide yourself after firing the gun. The enemy is on the fort higher than us, and his eyes are poisonous." Chechen comforted and taught experience, unaware that he is almost the same age as his assistant.


    The assistant bowed down to be taught. Chechen patted his assistant on the shoulder.


    After handling the matter here, Chechen ran to another gun and commanded the gunner to shoot at the enemy''s fort. Although Chechen spared no effort, after several shelling, he actually didn''t think much of this useless work. Because the three pound gun is too small to damage the fort. Moreover, the artillery was fired right under the enemy''s eyes. If the number of artillery on feilida fort was less than that of our own side, they would have been named by the other side.


    "Chechen."


    As soon as Cherchen adjusted the angle for another gun, uncle Pedro came along the winding trench under the protection of Fatima.


    "Uncle, what''s the matter?"


    Chechen signaled the gunner to continue firing and walked towards Pedro.


    "It''s all right. Come and see you. Smelly boy, why don''t you even wear a breastplate?" Pedro blamed Cherchen when he saw that he was only wearing a leather shirt.


    Che Chen was originally wearing a half breastplate, but the artillery battle was in full swing. He took off the half breastplate and threw it aside.


    Facing uncle Pedro''s blame, Cherchen wanted to fool him with a smile. But at this time, a sound of tearing the air came from the air. The sound was getting closer and closer, and the stimulated Cherchen''s eardrum hurt.


    At the sound of the shell, Pedro, a veteran, knew it was bad. The shell came on its own side. He hurriedly pushed Che Chen to one side, and he lay on the ground towards the other side with the help of the reaction force of this push. Fatima also squatted down and blocked the steel shield in front of her.


    The empty shells fell into the trench, but fortunately there were no casualties. Chechen just wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but with sharp eyes, he suddenly saw that one side of the shell was making a noise.


    It turned out to be a flowering bomb.


    The difference between the flower shell and the ordinary shell is that although its shell is made of iron, its interior is hollow and filled with small iron beads. The gunner controls the explosion time of the shell by installing a fuse in the shell case. If such a shell falls into the crowd, it can make a whole team lose battle. In such a closed environment as a trench, the scattered iron beads can turn everyone here into meat.


    Chechen rushed at the flower bomb. He pulled the fuse out of the shell and inserted it into the soil. The fuse emitted a wisp of white smoke in the soil and there was no movement. And the shell lay quietly in the soil.


    Che Chen raised his head and wiped his sweat. He found that everyone looked at himself with different eyes.