Chapter 1239 Bloody Battle and Long Martial Arts (Part 2)
[The new book will be uploaded on March 2, and almost the old book will end simultaneously.]
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An engineering general stepped forward and bowed and said, "Report to your highness, five catapults have been installed on the mountain!"
This time when he went to Chang'an, Li Shimin specially brought the parts of the multi-heavy catapult.
He had long discovered that two hundred steps north was a cliff, seven or eight feet above Changwu City. If he threw stones from the cliff to Changwu City, he would only need to be until dawn the next day, everything in the city would be smashed into pieces.
Li Shimin immediately ordered the parts of five trenchers to be moved up the cliff and assembled them on the cliff. It took him an hour to finally install five heavy trenchers. They were condescending and could shoot a hundred kilograms of stones three hundred steps away.
"Send the order!"
On the top of the cliff, three heavy trenchers were ready, and hundreds of Tang soldiers were transporting more than a dozen huge rocks weighing 100 kilograms to the cliff. Due to the narrowness of the place, two other heavy trenchers were placed in the pine forest for backup.
The trench was already full of soldiers. Thirty soldiers stood in front of each trench. A huge rock was placed in the iron pocket of the trench. They were ready and were waiting for the order of the King of Qin.
But deep in the pine forest within a hundred steps, several Zhou soldiers had already lit the torches. They ran in the pine forest and ignited the fire everywhere. Soon, the pine forest covered with tinder oil quickly burned, and thick smoke began to float above the pine forest.
The Tang soldiers who were waiting for the firing orders found a fire in the pine forest behind them, and shouted, and the soldiers had already reported to Li Shimin. Li Shimin was stunned and looked at the thick smoke on the mountain, and sighed for a while: "Let the soldiers retreat immediately!"
Without Li Shimin's order, the fire on the mountain was rapid, and it had already swallowed up two spare catapults and was approaching quickly towards three catapults. The Tang soldiers could not stand the heat waves and fled down the mountain.
But the fire did not stop on the cliff. The pine forest was dry and the pine resin was flammable, causing the fire to spread rapidly northward. The entire mountain began to burn. Just hundreds of steps away from the Tang army, it had become a hell of fire hundreds of acres.
The Tang soldiers even forgot the war and stared at this scene. The tragic situation shocked the hearts of every soldier. At this time, Li Xuanba suddenly became manic. He had been afraid of fire since he was a child. The fire repeatedly stimulated his brain and finally lost his mind. He roared and rushed to the slope, heading straight to the south gate of Changwu City. Li Shimin was shocked and ordered his left and right to say: "Cover the bow and arrow!"
Three thousand crossbowmen rushed up quickly and shot arrows at the city wall together. The arrows were like rain, shooting at the city wall overwhelmingly. Last year, the Zhou soldiers were quickly suppressed by dense arrows and could not get up and shoot down Li Xuanba who had already reached the city wall.
Li Xuanba used his old trick again and wielded the hammer to smash the city gate. With a loud bang, the city gate did not move at all. This is also the reason why Li Shimin did not use the attacking hammer. The city gate of Changwu City was cast with copper and was extremely strong and difficult to break through.
But the solid city gate further aroused Li Xuanba's rage. He was wild and furious, so he simply took off his helmet, disheveled his hair, and smashed it hard with a hammer. The huge impact of the city gate began to shake.
There was also a clear tremor on the top of the city wall, and Sun Ying shouted: "Smash it with a stone!"
Several soldiers carried a big stone weighing dozens of kilograms and were about to smash it down the city, but unexpectedly, a burst of arrows shot. Several soldiers were shot one after another, and the big stone rolled back into the city. They could not look up at all.
Sun Ying was furious, "Splash it out with tinea oil!"
Dozens of soldiers squeezed the leather bag filled with tinder oil together, and black oil slurry was sprayed out. Li Xuanba was not prepared and was sprayed with tinder oil falling from the sky. However, Li Xuanba had been in the palace for a long time and left the battlefield. He didn't know what the black slurry was. The smell was pungent, which made him even more angry. He beat the city gate desperately. The copper gate had been knocked into a concave piece, and each hammer made it shake violently.
Li Shimin could see clearly. He was shocked and ordered his side to go, "Go and drag King Zhao down!"
Dozens of Li Xuanba's personal soldiers ran towards the hillside, but it was too late. A few burning torches were thrown down the city. With a "boom!", Li Xuanba was surrounded by fire, and a big fire ignited on his body. The war horse was frightened first, and a squeak was raised. The front hooves were raised high, overturning Li Xuanba to the ground.
The flame-burning war horse ran down the mountain, jumped off the cliff, and fell down the river valley.
Li Xuanba was also covered in fire. He stood up and ran dozens of steps down the slope, falling head to the ground, shouting in pain, gradually disappearing. At this time, his personal soldiers had rushed over and tried their best to slap the fire on his body with a blanket, and finally covered it with soil to put out the fire on his body.
But at this time, Li Xuanba had no breath, and the world's most powerful general died before he could succeed, but unfortunately died tragically under Changwu City.
The personal soldiers carried Li Xuanba's body down and looked at the brother's corpse that was burned beyond recognition. Tears shed in Li Shimin's eyes. He clenched his fists and shouted in grief: "Capture Changwu City, no one will be left, and no mercy will be killed!"
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The sky was almost dark, and the battle in Changwu City had entered the most cruel stage. Arrows were like rain on the city, and people kept falling down. Siege ladders were siege ladders onto the city walls. Tang soldiers were climbing upwards as if crazy. They held shields in one hand and spears and knives in the other. They fought fiercely with Zhou army with huge rocks on their heads. There were always a few soldiers screaming and falling down the siege ladder, but immediately someone rushed up.
Zhou soldiers used the tilted shooting holes on the battlements to shoot arrows from both sides. The crossbow arrows were sharp and straight through the armor. A series of soldiers on the siege ladder were shot and fell off the siege ladder. But soon, Tang soldiers no longer cared about the top of their heads and protected the shields on both sides. The number of Tang soldiers who were shot in the arrow gradually decreased.
On the top of the city, dozens of Zhou soldiers were fighting fiercely with the enemy in front of each siege ladder. More than half of the Zhou soldiers guarding the city had been killed, but they still fought to the death and would never give up.
In front of a siege ladder in the west of the city, Sun Ying was already red in his eyes. He led fifty Zhou troops to fight fiercely with the surging enemy troops. They were facing the Xuanjia Army formed by Li Shimin a year ago, and it was also the most elite soldiers of the Tang army. There were 3,000 people in total, all of whom were tall, strong and brave, holding shields in their hands, waving long swords and sharp spears.
The spear sprinted, the sword slashed, and the fighting was bloody. A Zhou soldier in front of the siege ladder was cut on his forehead, and blood surged, and he fell down on his back. Another Zhou army waved his spear and rushed forward. The spear pierced the enemy's chest, picked him down the city, and held him back to hold the gap again.
A crisis occurred at the northernmost point. The dozens of Zhou soldiers guarding here were originally old and weak defenders of Changwu City, and their combat effectiveness was relatively weak.
A strong Tang army soldier pushed the Zhou army with his shield and was the first to jump onto the city. In an instant, more than a dozen Zhou army's spears stabbed from all sides, and the spear penetrated the body. The Tang army soldiers screamed and rolled down, but it was the enemy who rushed to the city, causing a short gap in the defense of the siege ladder. They were suppressed on the siege ladder and the Tang army soldiers seized the opportunity. In an instant, more than a dozen fierce Tang soldiers rushed to the city, killing the Zhou soldiers to retreat step by step.
"General, brothers can't stand it anymore!"
"Support it to me! If you die, you have to use your body to hold it back." Sun Ying shouted.
At this moment, a cold arrow suddenly shot, hitting Sun Ying's forehead. Sun Ying screamed and fell on her back. The five words "King of Qin Li Shimin" were engraved on the arrow shaft.
The main general's arrows were caught in arousing the common hatred of the Zhou soldiers. They ignited a huge anger and their combat effectiveness doubled. More than 100 Zhou soldiers came to kill dozens of Tang soldiers who had just climbed the city and retreated step by step, and were driven down from the city again.
Li Shimin could see clearly that his Xuanjia Army soldiers were actually driven down from the city. He was furious and ordered: "The Xuanjia Army is all pressing on!"
At this moment, a low horn sound suddenly came from a distance, "Woo--" Luo Shixin led five thousand cavalry to finally kill to Changwu City before dark.
The rolling cavalry came from the official road to the east and spread out in an instant in the open ground to the east. The momentum of the five thousand cavalry overwhelmed the Tang soldiers who were sieging the city.
It was not until this time that Li Shimin suddenly understood the true intention of the defenders of Changwu City. They were buying time for the main force of the Zhou army to block their attempt to enter Guanzhong. A Tang army soldier shouted: "It's Luo Shixin!"
The Zhou army general with iron armor and bronze helmets in the distance was the fierce general Luo Shixin. Qin Qiong also saw Luo Shixin. He was in a particularly complicated mood and turned his head over.
Li Shimin knew that he had not been able to make it through. He had lost 4,000 soldiers under Changwu City. In any case, they were no match for the 5,000 cavalry, and perhaps there were more troops behind them.
At this moment, a report soldier rushed from behind and reported loudly: "Report to Your Highness, the Chief Secretary sent an urgent report. Xiaoguan has been captured by the Zhou army, and tens of thousands of Zhou cavalry have entered Pingliang County."
Li Shimin sighed and ordered: "The whole army retreated!"
The Tang army began to slowly evacuate westward, and Luo Shixin did not chase after him, and coldly watched the Tang army retreat.
In this fierce Changwu blocking battle, 1,200 Zhou army soldiers successfully held Li Shimin's army for a whole day at the heavy price of more than 700 casualties, creating an opportunity for the main force of the Zhou army to kill. Scout General Sun Ying was unfortunately killed by his country. The Tang army also suffered heavy losses, with more than 4,000 casualties. Even the world's most powerful general Li Xuanba died at the City of Changwu.
The Changwu Blocking War was of great significance. It prevented Li Shimin's army from entering Guanzhong and changed the situation in Guanzhong. After Li Shentong heard that Li Shimin could not enter Guanzhong, he immediately announced his support for Li Yuanji to inherit the throne.
Chapter completed!