Chapter 181: Fierce Battle to West Fort (Part 1)

A thin mist enveloped the West Fort.

"Dong!Dong!Dong!" The huge sound of attacking drums rang through the sky at dawn. The Tuyuhun people, Qiang people, Dangxiang people and Han slaves gathered together, totaling 40,000 people, like a black ocean, marching towards Huixi Fortress in waves.

This is the 40,000 troops commanded by the veteran Tubo general Ma Chongying. They are not the main force of the Tubo people, but the Tubo people's temptation on the Hexi New Army. Or it can be said that the Tubo people did not take Zhang Huan to heart. Their goal this time was to occupy this solid fortress and make it a bridgehead for Tubo to attack Longyou.

If you look down from the high Wushao Ridge, through the fog that is hidden and scattered, the four huge square arrays are like four gray-black brocades, spread flat on the ten-mile-wide Yellow River siding. The square arrays rise and fall, like being blown by the breeze.

Tubo general Ma Chongying is already an old opponent of the Tang army. During the Tianbao period, he has faced against generals such as Geshuhan and Feng Changqing many times. Now he is nearly seventy years old, but his waist is still straight, and his pair of sharp eyes as sharp as an eagle makes the old ginger look so spicy.

At the moment when he was the Governor of Hehuang, when Zhang Huan built Huixi Fort, he wrote to Zampu, Chisong Dezan many times to ask for troops to stop the construction of Huixi Fortress. However, at that time, Tubo's strategic focus was in Anxi, and Prime Minister Shang Jiexi opposed the use of troops to the east, worried that it would trigger an alliance between the Tang army and the Uighurs.

Ma Chongying also wanted to concentrate food supply to Anxi, so he had the idea of ​​attacking Huixi Fortress. Until the war in Anxi gradually subsided, his eyes turned to Huixi Fortress again, assembled 40,000 Tubo affiliated troops, and launched a large-scale attack on Huixi Fortress.

Ma Chongying has been through the battlefield for a long time. He knows that he must know himself and his enemy to win every battle. Therefore, he did not immediately put all his troops in, but sent 10,000 troops to test the Tang army's strength and find the weaknesses of city defense.

Ten thousand Hehuang coalition forces shouted short slogans rhythmically, and teams of soldiers walked vigorously towards the castle three miles away. Among them, dozens of ladders with huge wooden wheels were slowly moving forward, with drums coming in waves, dull and breathtaking.

Above the castle, Li Hengqiu's face was as gloomy as water. He never ordered the beacon to be lit. Forty thousand people, only ten thousand more than he expected. He was not afraid. Although there were only three thousand defenders, he had the sharpest defensive weapons and the strongest city walls. He firmly believed that he could make the enemy's hatred at Huixi Fortress.

Three thousand defenders were distributed on the walls of several miles long. In addition to them, nearly 5,000 people in the city were mobilized. They transported arrows and carried huge rocks, and were busy like an ant colony. Hundreds of stone cannons were ready and made a squeaking sound.

Next to the county government in the city, there was a group of special people, about 100 people, and everyone looked nervous. They were all unsuccessful scholars from Shu, looking for development opportunities in Hexi. They had just crossed the Yellow River to go to Xibao to rest, but unexpectedly they happened to encounter this battle.

But in the corner of the side stood a family, three women and two men, one of whom was holding a child about one year old.

The middle-aged woman pulled a young woman in a red grenade skirt hard and refused to let her go to the city to help the battle. "Pingping, how can you, a woman, go to the city to fight? If something happens to you, how can I explain to your father?"

These people are Lin Delong's family who joined Hexi from Shu County. One is Lin Deqi, who does nothing all day long, and the other is Lin Zhiyu, a nerd who failed the exam again. The young woman who holds the child is his wife, and the middle-aged woman is Lin Delong's wife Yang Yuniang, and the young woman she holds is naturally our ordinary woman, an old girl who has not been married yet.

Since Lin Pingping recognized Chu Xingshui as her adoptive father, she lived in Guangling for half a year. She returned to Shu County because she was not used to the lack of freedom of the official lady. As a result, her mother forced her to get married again. She simply took her third uncle to travel to Nanzhao. There she met a young and handsome man from Nanzhao and almost wanted to get married. But suddenly she found that the young man was actually the prince of Nanzhao. She didn't want to marry into the palace, so she left Nanzhao and returned to Shu County. At this time, her father had already sent a letter to ask them to move to Wuwei. Lin Pingping followed her mother and brother to Hexi.

Of course she knew about Zhang Huan, but she was gradually becoming sensible and knew that some things did not belong to her.

But her nature of being straightforward and acted has not changed. This time, when the Tuyuhun Army attacked Xibao, she took the initiative to go to the city to help the war. After hearing her mother's dissuasion, she shouted anxiously: "Mom, this is the Tubo people fighting Zhang Shiba! How could I not participate in the war?"

Lin Deqi next to him also advised repeatedly: "Yes! Sister-in-law, Pingping has practiced martial arts since she was a child. Her pan is invincible, so you can let her try it! I will protect her from the side."

I don’t know if I can’t hold Lin Pingping or if I have the protection of my third uncle, Yang Yuniang’s hand finally loosened. Lin Pingping was like a pony breaking away from the reins. She lifted her sword and rushed up the city. After running a few steps, she suddenly saw a group of scholars hesitant.

"You!" Lin Pingping pointed his sword at them and shouted, "Didn't he say "Carry the Fifty State of Guanshan" along the way? Did he just say that it was a man's, and then go to the city to kill the enemy?"

Everyone looked at each other, and several people's faces were swollen and red. They were about to step forward but they were unwilling to be excited by the woman. At this moment, a burning rocket swept over their heads, making a sharp roar. This was a signal of war. Then the city walls were roaring loudly, shouting and killing sounds shook the sky. The giant stone cannons made thrilling strange roars one after another, and projected huge rocks as big as millstones one after another.

Lin Pingping stomped his feet, ignored these scholars and rushed to the city tower first. The scholars hesitated for a while, and finally a few followed Lin Pingping to the top of the city, and the people behind them followed one after another.

The fierce battle has begun. The first ten thousand team has reached a mile away. They suddenly accelerated and rushed towards Huixi Fort. At this time, the sound of breaking through the air suddenly came from the sky. Hundreds of black dots rose into the air, like a group of eagles, flying quickly above their heads, and getting bigger and bigger, making sharp and strange roars. Before the Tuyuhun army could react, the huge rock hit the top of their heads, and suddenly a piece of flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the shrill wailing sounded. Some were smashed into meat pie, some were smashed into several pieces, and their limbs were thrown everywhere.

Two cloud ladders were hit by huge rocks one after another. Lu Peng scattered, and the huge rocks hit the main ladder directly, instantly they were crushed to pieces, broken wood scattered all over the ground, and one round of stone cannon shot out, hundreds of people died, and three rounds of stone cannon shot out, and the Tuyuhun army had lost more than 2,000 people, but this still could not cause a fatal blow to attack with a large number of ten thousand people. When it was three hundred steps away from the city wall, the enemy began to fill the two-meter-wide trench and prepare to let the cloud ladder go forward.

The trench was filled with wooden boards, and dozens of cloud ladders wrapped in thick cowhide were pushed rumbling. In the war with the Tang Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, especially after the Anshi Rebellion, it plundered a large number of people, including many skilled craftsmen, which greatly improved the technological level of Tubo. Especially in large siege tools are no longer worse than those of the Tang army. From these dozens of cloud ladders, it can be seen that the bottom of the cloud ladder is made of large wood as a bed, and six wheels are placed at the bottom. Its main ladder is fixed on the chassis at a certain angle. In addition to the main ladder, a moving upper city ladder, that is, the secondary ladder, is equipped with a pair of wheels at the top, which can slide up and down along the wall surface of the city wall when climbing the city, which is called a flying cloud ladder.

Since the main ladder adopts a fixed device, the ladder is simplified and the ladder is shortened. The design of the moving upper city ladder greatly reduces the height of the ladder before the enemy is connected. When siege, you only need to park the main ladder under the city, and then set up the upper city ladder on the main ladder to go up the city. Moreover, there are huts around the main ladder, like a moving big house. The front of the main ladder and the secondary ladder are covered with cowhide, which is very tough to prevent the Tang army from flying crossbows and arrows.

When we arrived at the city, the folded secondary staircase was pulled, getting longer and longer, reaching more than twenty feet straight, with the hook at the front end reaching the city wall, and hundreds of soldiers hiding in the ladder began to climb the city with a shout.

The stone cannons on the city were still firing in turn, killing the enemy at a long range, but arrows were raining nearby. Although there were not many soldiers guarding the city, the Tang army's crossbows exerted great power. Ten thousand arrows were fired at once, as dense as rainstorms. Most of the soldiers who had attacked the city but were not as good as the protection of the ladders. However, the crossbows were not very effective against the ladders with strict protection. The dense arrows shot on the ladders wrapped in cowhide, making waves of "crackling" sounds. The enemy hiding in the ladders held their shields in one hand to resist the shooting on both sides, and crawled on the ladders to climb up the ladders.

At this time, the original rolling wood and boulders played a role. The rolling wood and boulders rolled down the ladders and smashed the soldiers on the ladders down the ladders. At this time, the enemy's drums sounded loudly. Although the stone cannons and flying crossbows destroyed dozens of ladders, twenty ladders still attacked the city.

Thousands of Tuyuhun soldiers rushed to the top of the city and fought with the soldiers guarding the city. They poked the sword and spear, arrows were like rain, and blood stained the battlements red. The bodies of soldiers who died in battle were everywhere. The injured soldiers dragged their long screams and fell down the city wall, but new people immediately took over.

Ma Chongying watched the battle on a high slope in the distance with expressionless face, with a cold smile on his lips. This Tang army general was too inexperienced and went all out in the first tentative attack. How much inventory of his arrows is there? How many wears can his stone casting function withstand? See what he will use to defend the city tomorrow.

Moreover, there were not many defenders in the Tang army, but they refused to lit the beacon fire for help. This was a commander with too much blood. Ma Chongying suddenly laughed. He immediately ordered: "Transfer the catapult and concentrate the target to attack the ignition tower in the city."

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The siege battle continued, and the enemy was very cunning. They had discovered the weakness of the Tang army's insufficient troops, so they scattered the ladders, revealing the weakness of the Tang army's insufficient troops. At this time, nearly two thousand men in the city had already rushed to the top of the city to help the battle. In a corner of the city, Lin Pingping led more than 100 scholars to cooperate with dozens of Tang army to fight against the enemies of the two ladders.

Lin Pingping was wearing a red dress, and was particularly conspicuous among the soldiers in black helmets and the soldiers in white, as if a flower blooming in the battlefield. She was slender and could not rush into the group of men to fight, so she held a bow and arrow in her hand and stood at a mercedes two meters away to release the cold arrow. Her archery skills were average, but her strength was very strong. Enemies were constantly shot and fell from the ladder screaming.

At this time, her arrow aimed at a centurion who was over 100 feet tall and extremely fierce. Suddenly, a flying crossbow shot at him with a sharp roar. With a "bang!", it hit the battlement beside her. Gravel flew and a piece of stone slashed across her forehead. Suddenly, blood flowed like a stream, biting her lips flat, she tore off a cloth from her red skirt and tied her forehead tightly.

"Pingping, go down!" Uncle Lin San had just chopped over an enemy soldier who was rushing up. When he saw Pingping's face was covered with blood, he was frightened and quickly pulled Pingping's arm to go down the city.

Pingping stubbornly shook off Uncle San's hand, she drew her bow and arrow, and the cold arrow continued to aim at the target, and shot it away with an arrow, "Swoosh!". The centurion heard the sound of the bowstring and turned his head suddenly to look, staring at his eyes as big as a copper bell. The arrow shot into his left eye immediately, and blood splashed everywhere, and the arrow came out of the back of his head. The centurion burst out with a beast-like howl, grabbed the arrow shaft and fell heavily to the city.

Pingping breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately set off a bow and arrow, aiming at another enemy with a fierce appearance.

On the command tower, Li Hengqiu's face was pale, but his eyes were red with anxiety. He did not expect that the Tubo people had such advanced siege weapons. In the distance, huge siege hammers and nest chariots also appeared. Dozens of stone throwers mixed in the siege soldiers also smashed the huge rocks onto the city wall in turn. The two sides were evenly matched in momentum.

Li Hengqiu has realized that he underestimated the enemy. He stood up and had rich practical experience. However, he still lacked experience in commanding large-scale battles. It can be said that he lacked a demeanor to be calm in the face of danger. For generals, they need to judge the situation and start from the overall situation. They must neither be afraid nor be arrogant.

Li Hengqiu was a qualified vanguard, but he was too confident that he wanted to repel the attack of 40,000 by 3,000 defending the city. In the Battle of Taiyuan, Li Guangbi repelled more than 100,000 by thousands of people. He relied on endless tricks and the enemy's lack of skills to attack the city, but today it was very different. The enemy was obviously coming, and the first wave of attacks of tens of thousands of people was just a test.

"Why don't you light a beacon to ask for help?"

Pingping also saw that the problem was serious. The enemy had learned his lesson. Several people pushed the giant shield side by side, greatly weakening the effect of killing the enemy. Seeing that the enemy's catapult was ready to launch, but the commander of the Tang army was still hesitating. She was furious and rushed forward and pointed at Li Hengqiu and cursed: "You bastard! Do you want everyone to die with you? Don't ask for help!"

"Who are you? How dare you roar at this general." Li Hengqiu's face sank and waved his hand, "Drag it down and chop it!"

A young side general next to him quickly whispered to Li Hengqiu: "She shot more than a dozen enemy troops to death. Killing her will affect morale."

Li Hengqiu suppressed his anger and said, "I will spare you once for your sake of killing the enemy."

"Then you hurry up and ask for help, otherwise it will be too late." Lin Pingping stomped his feet in an anxious manner. The stones under the city were already roaring and passing over their heads.

Li Hengqiu was shocked. He suddenly understood why Lin Pingping was anxious and ordered repeatedly: "Let the beacon!"

But it was too late. A soldier ran into the corridor with a torch, but at this moment, a flying stone roared and was hitting the ignition tower five feet high, knocking half of it, leaving less than half of the tower shaking, and the ignition soldiers were smashed to death on the spot.

Li Hengqiu's heart suddenly became cold. The soldiers on Wushaoling only recognized the signals on the ignition tower. If the ignition tower was destroyed, the beacon would not be able to ignite it.

Several soldiers rushed up, but retreated helplessly. The corridor had been destroyed and could not go up at all. Another soldier ignited the rocket and shot it at the top of the tower, but it had no effect. The oil used for the ignition was covered with wooden boards, so people had to go up.

"Send someone to Wushaoling." Li Hengqiu was so anxious that he was about to sweat.

"Wait!" Lin Pingping slowly approached the ignition platform. She stared at the five-meter-high stone tower, her eyes were extremely bright in the morning light. She turned to Lin Deqi and said, "Uncle San, please help me shoot a zip line."

Lin Deqi nodded. He was about to come with a pivoting cable, and swung it twice. With a "swoosh", the six-meter-long pivoting cable flew out of his hand, threw an arc, and grabbed the edge of the stone tower tightly.

"Uncle San, let me do it." Lin Pingping snatched the rope from Uncle San and smiled: "Just check if my martial arts have improved."

Uncle Lin San nodded, "You have to be careful, don't force it if you don't."

Pingping tried the rope, and she climbed up lightly with her arms, getting faster and faster. Her red skirt flew in the mist, like a rising red lotus.

Soon her figure disappeared on the top of the tower. Everyone under the tower held their breath and their hearts were raised to their throats. Suddenly, another huge rock hit, and flew over the edge of the ignition tower. The tower body shook a few times, and there was a burst of exclamation under the tower.
Chapter completed!