Just as dawn the next day, a rumbling drum sounded in the Sui army camp, like waves of muffled thunder coming out from the drooping dark clouds. This was the first time that the Sui army had drums in ten days. The Tang army guarding Loufan Pass rushed to the top of the city and looked vigilantly at the Sui army camp three miles away.

Li Jiancheng also rushed over and stood at the top of the city and looked into the distance. The Sui army camp had obviously changed. The number of battle flags increased and the camp gate was wide open. Through the opened camp gate, you can vaguely see that the troops in the camp were gathering rapidly.

At this time, three cavalrymen ran out of the camp and rushed towards Loufan Pass. After a moment, they rushed to the city, shot an arrow letter onto the top of the city, turned around and ran back. On the top of the city, soldiers had already picked up the arrow letter and ran to present it to Li Jiancheng.

Li Jiancheng took the letter and said: His Highness the Prince of Tang was named Pei Xingyan, the third guard of the Northern Sui Dynasty.

The content of the letter was very short. The Sui army was about to launch an attack on Loufan Pass and restrict the Tang army from evacuating Loufan Pass within one hour to avoid the encounter between soldiers and soldiers.

Li Jiancheng's face turned pale and tore the letter to pieces. A small enemy general dared to threaten him, which was simply too much.

"Tell me my order, the three armies are ready to fight!"

Although there are only three thousand Tang troops at Loufan Pass, there are tens of thousands of Tang troops waiting for battle outside the Pass and can replenish troops at any time.

At this time, the Sui army began to line out of the camp. In front of them were teams of infantrymen. A huge catapult figure emerged behind the infantry, which was as high as two feet and five feet tall, higher than the northern city wall of Loufan Pass. Ten catapults were like ten giants, slowly lined up under the pull of a ox. Behind the catapult were ten thousand Sui cavalry.

Eight thousand Sui army and ten heavy trenchers set up formations about one mile away from the north wall of Loufan Pass. Eight thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry formed six black carpets, bright helmets, bright armor, spears like forests, and murderous intent, which brought great pressure to the three thousand defenders on the top of the city. Although there were 30,000 Tang troops lined up in an orderly manner on the south side of the city pass, there were only three thousand people at the city pass, and they had to face the enemy six times more than their own.

Even Li Jiancheng felt a little uneasy. He began to calm down and consider whether he should give up Loufan Pass. He also understood in his heart that Loufan Pass was not of great significance to defending the enemy in the north and did not play a defensive role. He could not stay here for 30,000 troops. First of all, the supply of food will become a problem. However, he was unwilling to give up Loufan Pass so much to retreat south.

The father's attitude also hoped that he could try his best to defend Loufan Pass. This was related to the issue of face in the Tang Dynasty. In the past, he always felt that his father valued face too much, but after becoming the crown prince, he gradually understood the importance of face to the emperor.

"Arrow ready!"

The three thousand Tang troops raised the military crossbow. At this time, General Wang Junguo stepped forward and whispered: "Your Highness, the other party did not bring a siege ladder!"

Li Jiancheng was stunned. He didn't notice this detail just now. When Wang Jungu reminded him, he also looked at the Sui army carefully. Sui army did not see any siege ladders. Li Jiancheng suddenly woke up. The Sui army was about to use a catapult to smash the city wall, and then the army rushed in directly.

How should I deal with this? Li Jiancheng had no idea for a moment.

Wang Junguo said worriedly: "Our city wall is still relatively strong and can withstand catapult attacks, but Bei Zhi is worried that there is a single wall on the northwest corner. If the Sui army finds that there is a weak side, the consequences will be serious."

"No matter how serious the consequences are, you must fight to the death!"

Li Jiancheng left a word and walked quickly towards the northwest corner of the city gate. Although Wang Junkuo did not explain the consequences, Li Jiancheng quickly understood what he meant. The northwest corner was actually a single wall, and there was a warehouse inside the single wall. If a heavy trencher was used, the city wall would soon not be able to withstand the blow, and the Sui army would enter the city gate from the collapsed place. In the narrow city gate, it depends on whose army would be more brave.

Li Jiancheng couldn't speak for a long time, but he didn't know that there was this loophole in the North City. Of course, the people who built Loufan Pass had never thought that the enemy would come from the north. Loufan Pass was originally used to defend against the enemy coming from the south.

Li Jiancheng licked his chapped lips and his heart began to shake. He once again felt like he was retreating. At this moment, Wang Junguo shouted loudly from afar: "Your Highness the Crown Prince has an order. Even if he fights to the last person, he will never give up Loufan Pass!"

Li Jiancheng had no choice but to sigh secretly, it seemed that this battle would have to be fought to the end.

An hour passed in a moment, and the Sui army completely arranged the formation. At this time, it was already dawn. Seeing that there was no movement in the city gate, Pei Xingyan immediately waved his sword and shouted: "Attack!"

"Dongdongdongdongdongdong"

The sound of the attacking drums sounded, and the cross giant-like catapults began to move towards the northwest corner. This action shocked Li Jiancheng. The Sui army actually knew where the weakness of Loufan Pass was?

At this time, Wang Junguo shouted loudly: "Prepare the soil bag!"

There is no way to do this. If the exterior wall is destroyed, they can only temporarily build a wall with mud bags. As long as they can survive tonight, they will transport huge stones into the pass at night and build a high wall with huge stones in the northwest corner. This was something they should have done long ago. They did not discover this loophole until today. It should be said that the city guarding lord Wang Junkuo is the main responsibility.

Of course, from a military perspective, Wang Junkuo believed that the northern city wall, which was only two feet high, was more suitable for attacking with a siege ladder. For this reason, he spent a lot of effort to prepare bow arrows and rolling wood stones. Unexpectedly, the Sui army actually used a catapult and discovered a loophole in the northwest corner. This made Wang Junkuo both worried and guilty. He stepped forward and clasped his fists at Li Jiancheng and said, "Please allow your highness to allow Bei Zhi to lead a cavalry to attack the catapult, and take advantage of the enemy's foothold and catch them off guard."

Li Jiancheng looked outside the city with his hands behind his back and said lightly: "The city lord general is going to go out of the city to fight. Is this the way for the general?"

"But a humble job"

Li Jiancheng waved his hand and refused to let him continue, "It is normal for Loufan Pass to be unable to keep it. It is strange if you keep it. Instead of feeling guilty now, you might as well learn from your lessons and think about how to defend Taiyuan City."

Wang Junguo said with guilty expression: "I understand."

Li Jiancheng immediately ordered: "Send the entire army to retreat to Taiyuan!"

He said to Wang Junkuo again: "I just need you to hold on for half an hour, and you will lead the army to retreat!"

"Abide by the orders!" Wang Junguo sighed helplessly in his heart, and His Highness finally decided to give up Loufan Pass.

Thirty thousand Tang troops began to retreat south quickly, while the three thousand Tang troops in Loufan Pass were responsible for buying time for the main force to evacuate and protecting the main force to move south smoothly.

At this time, the Sui army's attack began. Two hundred and fifty steps away, ten stone casters took turns to pull off the offensive posture. The huge rock weighing 100 kilograms was placed into the iron bag. As the commander's red flag waved, the long throwing rod suddenly popped out. The huge rock rose into the air and roared towards the northwest corner city wall.

Ten huge rocks roared over, three of them crossed the city wall, and two huge rocks fell before reaching the target, but five huge rocks hit the city wall one after another, and terrible cracks appeared in the crisp wall.

At this time, Wang Junguo was commanding two thousand soldiers to urgently transport the materials in the warehouse. They needed to clear the materials in the warehouse and then pile them up in the warehouse with mud bags. At this time, they had moved nearly a thousand bags of grain out of the warehouse, and the soldiers carried bags of mud into the warehouse.

‘Boom!’ There was another continuous loud noise, and a large rock finally broke through the wall. Seven or eight soldiers in the warehouse could not dodge and were hit by the huge rock, and were killed and injured.

"Start up!" Wang Junguo shouted anxiously.

Each soldier rushed into the warehouse with a mud bag of seventy or eighty kilograms. A mud bag wall that was thirty feet long, ten feet high and about eight feet wide had formed in the city. The soldiers were trying hard to raise it. As long as it was 2 feet high, it could be connected to the rest of the city walls.

At this time, two more huge rocks broke into the wall, but this time no one was injured or killed. However, the single wall collapsed, revealing the empty scene outside the city.

Fang Xuanling looked at the city wall in the northwest corner being broken, revealing a mud bag wall. He smiled and said to the soldiers next to him: "Tell General Su that he can attack!"

As more and more huge rocks penetrated the city walls, the entire warehouse began to shatter. "The roof is about to collapse!" Someone shouted, and saw sand and gravel falling on the roof of the warehouse. The Tang army in the warehouse was frightened and panicked and rushed to escape. With a loud bang, a large area of ​​the roof of the warehouse collapsed, and dozens of soldiers who had no time to escape were crushed into the warehouse.

However, since the mud walls in the warehouse had been piled up to 15 feet high, and with the collapsed roof, the height of the mud bag wall in the entire northwest corner had reached 18 feet high, only slightly shorter than other city walls, Wang Junguo breathed a little relieved.

At this moment, a soldier stumbled and reported, "General, Su Dingfang, the general of the Sui army, has led his army to attack the northeast corner city!"

This news immediately made Wang Junguo stunned. It turned out that the catapult attack was just a false attack, to attract his soldiers to build the northwest corner city wall and lower the city wall defense. However, the Sui army attacked the city head at the northeast corner on the other side.

"The whole army went to the wall to fight the enemy to the death!"

Wang Junkuo knew that the situation was hopeless, but for the main force of the Tang army retreating south, he decided to fight to the end. (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!