Chapter 149: The Tang Dynasty perished?

Zhang Mai inspected the city gates across the country and gradually found that the styles of the three parties of the siege were different. Satuk was the most prepared, and Hassan had a lot of tricks to attack. The clumsy one was Ximen's Toulon, but this was also compared with Satuk and Hassan, Toulon still had three tricks to attack the city in terms of generals.

This Khan, who has been active in the Yili River Basin for many years, came out of hundreds of grassland chases. He is a rough man, but he has a good way of fighting in the field. However, when it comes to siege, especially when facing a strong city guarded by a general of the "professional city guarding" level, he pales in comparison.

On the first day, he led the cavalry and archery troops to approach the archery rain. To know the first test of the battlefield offense and defense is courage. The rain of arrows flying from a swarm of bees looks very terrifying at first glance. Toulon attacked some tribes that built castles in the north. After using this move, the inside of the city would usually be frightened by his power. After being frightened, he would either surrender obediently, or his combat effectiveness would drop sharply due to fear. This move was called intimidation. Toulon was tried and tried many times when he was in the north.

Unfortunately, he encountered the Tang army this time. The core members of this army were all rolling over from the sea of ​​corpses and blood. The generals were very strong and the coach was sure to win. Toulon's intimidation could not scare them at all. Seeing the rain of arrows flying, the sword spearmen in the city dodged behind the wall, with shields raising shields to cover them, and one move was even worse. He was to raise a piece of cloth shield made of rags. The rain of arrows hit, and the arrow pierced the shield, but the arrow shaft could not penetrate. It was just hanging on it. The Tang army pulled out the arrows and could still use them. In this way, they collected seven or eight thousand in one morning. Zhang Mai happened to be inspecting here. After seeing so many intact arrows, he couldn't help laughing. Li Bin ordered the soldiers to shout in the Uighur words: "The imperial envoy Zhang Mai Zhang, the imperial envoy of the Tang Dynasty, thanked the Uighurs and Toulon Khan in the western Uighurs and gave him arrows!" He called this sentence three times in a row, and then thousands of people couldn't help laughing.

Toulon was so angry that he stomped his feet under the city, and then led dozens of loudly-sounding generals to curse outside the city, from being a general curse to pointing at the head, from insulting the Tang Dynasty, to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and more specifically cursing to Li Shimin, and then to Ban Chao, Li Jing, Su Dingfang, and even Guo Yang, Lu Zheng and other border generals. His move was anger. It was a trick to deal with powerful opponents. Toulon established his position as the third Khan of the Uighurs. It was a big battle to lead his old enemy out of this curse. This move was most useful against brave and irritable opponents. Shiba happened to come here with Zhang Mai Xun. He heard that they were scolding outside the city became more and more ugly, and he couldn't help but say angrily: "Encourt, wait for me to lead a cavalry out of the city, kill them!"

Zhang Mai climbed the city and looked away. Although Toulon was standing alone in an open space with dozens of cavalry, there were heavy troops not far behind him. Zhang Mai had also seen his strength in field battles. He knew that Shi Ba would be the only one who wanted to leave the city at this moment. The "attack and defend the city" taught by Guo Shiyong was to attack when the enemy was weak, rather than attacking under any circumstances, nor to show off when the opponent was prepared, so he would lose the meaning of using a strong city to eliminate the enemy's combat effectiveness. Without Zhang Mai's permission, Shi Ba was depressed and brought dozens of people to quarrel with Toulon at the top of the city, but just scolding each other, and no one could take advantage of anyone.

He thought for a while, and saw that the city gate here also prepared twenty-five catapults. A hand that took him came and asked him if Toulon was within the range. After getting a positive reply from the hand that took him, he ordered the gunner to adjust his position and prepare to attack. After thinking about it, his childlike heart suddenly arose and ordered people to take dozens of old water bags. He ordered thousands of soldiers to come and urinate him, and he sprinkled a bubble himself and handed it over to the gunner.

He ordered the city to shout: "Enter Zhang asked Toulon Khan to drink urine!"

This sentence is so vulgar. If it were Guo Shiyong and Guo Luo, it would not have been like this. Before Toulon could react, he saw bombs flying out of the sky. The Uighurs exclaimed: "Tang Gu uses cannons!" "Protect the Khan quickly!"

He hurriedly dodged, but he didn't know how many cannons used were not stone bullets or earth bullets, but dozens of old water bags. Although Toulon was not hit by earth bullets under the escort of the soldiers, several water bags hit the generals beside him. The water bag shot across a hundred steps, and the impact was so great that it immediately broke. What burst out from inside was not water, but smelly urine, and there was still a faint temperature. Shibaba borrowed Zhang Mai's telescope and saw Toulon's embarrassment and laughed. Toulon was so angry that he smoked over his head, and he vowed not to break the city!

In the afternoon, he finally used his third move - the Cloud Ladder to attack the city. The Cloud Ladder was built by Satuk in Ejihan and distributed part of it to him. At this time, when it was useless to intimidate and anger, he sent cavalry to drive away the subordinates to climb the city with the Ladder. Tens of thousands of people rushed over like ants.

Murong Yang, who was in charge of the defense of the north gate, ordered the militia to carry giant trees - they were all pine trees that had been around for hundreds of years. Every twelve to twenty militiamen carried one. When they saw the ladder approaching, they suddenly bumped. These ladders were all large ladders as high as six or seven meters. They were either slanted or collapsed by this collision. Kerala fell to the ground, and instead injured the Hu army below.

At the same time, some people threw stones at the top of the city, and some shot arrows directly. The city was crowded and crowded. The wooden shield raised high to resist, and some militia poured the boiling boiling water down. The wooden shield could resist the stone slingshot arrows and the scalded Hu Bing screamed in pain. Shiba laughed at the top of the city. He didn't need to fight to defend the city, but he couldn't help but dance when he saw his comrades win.

Toulon ordered to attack the wood again, which was tied up with more than ten poplar trees. Those who raised the wood all raised the wood with one hand and protected the vital points with the shield with the other. The hands and feet and neck were wrapped with layers of linen cloth to prevent the water from rolling. Murong Yang ordered the distilled oil to be poured on his head. The Hu army soldiers who raised the wood only felt that something was wet in the gap in the shield. Before they could figure out what was going on, the Tang army on the top of the city had already ignited the rocket and shot it down!

call--

Clusters of sparks spread, and the poor dozens of Hu soldiers who were sieging the city were on fire and rolling all over the ground. The other fire-burning wood was discarded outside the city gate and rolled aside. Murong Yang shouted: "Cabinets are ready!"

Shi Ba was surprised: "You want to leave the city? I'll go!"

Zhang Mai didn't stop him, so he jumped straight from the top of the city, landed on a horse, drew a knife, and said to the captain who was about to leave the city: "I will be your deputy general!"

The captain hurriedly said, "How dare I? I will be the deputy general of Captain Shi Du!"

Shi Ba said: "I'm robbing your credit. Are you willing to accept me?"

Three hundred soldiers said in unison: "Shi Duwei is invincible, who is not convinced?"

Shiba was happy: "Okay!"

At this time, sand and lime were thrown away from the city. The city was already in chaos. Suddenly, sand and dust were flying all over the sky. Those who could prevent bows and arrows, boiling water, and even oil might not be able to prevent sand and dust. Many people quickly closed their eyes, and some were too late to get into their eyes by lime. The light eyes were burst into tears, and the heavy pain rolled on the ground.

Murong Yang saw that the lime had almost settled down, but the enemy was discouraged and his steps were chaotic, so he waved the flag inward.

The wheels turned, and the Qianjin Gate was lifted first, and then the city gate opened with a slam. The Tang army of the two battalions rushed out. After leaving the city, they did not gather together, but attacked everywhere! But when they saw the lonely ones and the blindfolded sandstorm and lime, they rode over and stabbed him. When they saw the chaos, they rushed towards him again. Some carried a big hammer and smashed the remaining siege equipment.

Toulon Wan could not have expected the Tang army to leave the city at this moment. He saw him from behind, cursed and shouted, "Follow me!" Thousands of cavalry gathered and rushed over.

Before he could approach, Murong Yang had already waved the flag to roar the gold on the top of the city. The two battalions of cavalry retreated when they heard the order. Some brave Hu people took the opportunity to break into the city. These Tang soldiers who left the city had received special training from Guo Shiyong. They were well versed in offensive and defensive strategies and did not bother with them at the city gate. They allowed him to enter and stay in the city to surround and kill him leisurely.

When Toulon arrived with thousands of people, the two battalions of the Tang army had already retreated into the city. His elite guards rushed to the city gate. The city gate was too late to close. The wheel hand immediately cut off the huge rope. The thousand-pound gate fell down and blocked the city gate. As the arrows on the city were raining like rain, Toulon had no choice but to withdraw his troops, take away thousands of wounds, leaving hundreds of corpses. Looking back, Shule's Ximen remained motionless, but was not damaged.

Zhang Mai did not interfere in the offensive and defensive battle this day, and he relied on his subordinates to do it. He just sat there and watched the results of the battle. After a fierce battle, the Tang army suffered minimal losses, while Toulon could be regarded as heavy casualties. Although most of the people who were forced to attack the city by him on this day were not his direct troops, he could not afford to spend it if this continued.

After dusk, Zhang Mai returned home. Guo Fen asked him how the battle was. Zhang Mai smiled and said, "There is no suspense here at the West Gate. It depends on the consumption of both sides in the future. The north gate and the south gate can still resist it."

People who have experienced battle formations since childhood also know the way of offense and defense, saying: "They can use materials everywhere outside the city. When we are in the city, we will not get any supplies. If we consume them, we will suffer a loss."

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "But they died more than us. Besides, we have sufficient reserves of materials and are not afraid of staying for three or two months. But they are outside the city, and I don't believe how long their military rations can last."

Guo Fen said: "But now the grass is growing well. I heard that those Hu people are very hateful. While siegeing the city, they also send people to grazing in places with lush water and grass, making plans to attack the city for a long time. I heard that their herds have brought a lot of animals this time. If this continues, it may be really a few months. Today I went to visit several farmers who retreated into the city. They were very worried and said that it was time to go to the ground. So if this battle is delayed too long, even if we can win in the end, if we miss the farming season, we will have a miserable victory."

Zhang Mai thought to himself: "Fen'er's words are reasonable." He smiled and said, "If you have me in the war, you can take care of your baby. Don't think so much. It's your business to turn around and give birth to a fat boy for me."

Guo Fen said: "Bah! You can fight? When I can fight, you can't even ride a horse! By the way, you can even ride a horse, but you can actually get here from Chang'an? There are many of the old things you have sorted out recently, which is very strange. I really doubt whether you have really come from Chang'an for generations or fell from the sky."

Zhang Mai laughed and hugged her, and said with a smile: "Your husband fell from the sky! So what?"

Guo Fen pushed him away and said, "What else can you do? Marry a chicken and follow the chicken, marry a dog and follow the dog, and marry you, what else can you do? Even if you jumped out of the stone, I had to accept my fate." He said and laughed.

Zhang Mai leaned on Hu's bed, and Guo Fen lay in his arms and suddenly said, "Hey, how about I'll give you an idea?"

“Tell me.”

Guo Fen said: "Since these Hu people are so arrogant and grazing on our territory, you can send someone out to steal their cattle and sheep! This is a way to cut off the enemy's food route!"

Since she entered Shule, she has regarded this place as her home. The saying "our territory" is unreasonable.

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "Okay, I'll discuss it with your brother tomorrow, maybe it will be done."

On the second day, Zhang Mai summoned the generals and told Guo Fen's hidden worries yesterday. Guo Shiyong said: "Although the enemy and us have already grown and weak, the enemy's forces are still greater than us. If we defend the city, we are not afraid of being captured for the time being, but we have no advantage when we leave the city. Our military elites, there are many enemies and many ants, can kill the elephant. If we leave the city now, it is hard to say who wins and loses."

Li Bin said: "The view of Mr. Guo is that we should wait a little longer?"

"Yes." Guo Shiyong said: "If we persist for another month, the enemy will be even more tired, and their current herds will never be able to support them for a long time. We don't have to wait until their food is exhausted. As long as they see that the food is getting smaller and smaller, they will become more and more panicked. Once they get panicked, their morale will become more and more sluggish. In one month, we will have a 70% chance of winning. If we go out of the city to fight in two months, we will have a hope of a great victory! If we stay for three months, even if we don't go out of the city to attack, I believe that the Hu people will have to retreat."

Faxin frowned and shouted, "Three months? It's too long! That will cause the farming season to be missed! Can the enemy be driven out of Shule's ground within one month? It should not exceed two months at most."

"This..." Guo Shiyong said: "It's a bit difficult."

Zhang Mai said: "But I have an idea, everyone can see if it is OK. These Hu people are so arrogant and are grazing under our noses. We might as well send light cavalry out of the city to attack the ranch and seize their cattle and sheep."

Shi Ba was able to join the military tent meeting at this time. Although he was sitting at the end, it was not usually his turn to speak. At this time, he heard that he was going to go out of the city to fight, but he shouted, "A clever plan, a clever plan! A clever plan for the special envoy!"

Guo Luo smiled slightly and said, "This is a plan to remove firewood from the cauldron. It's okay, but we have to make some plans first. The places where the Hu people grazed are mainly concentrated in the Shule River Valley in the south, which is low-lying. Now the river water is sufficient and the grass is growing vigorously. When I looked at it with a thousand-mile mirror, the cattle and horses were very happy."

Li Bin suddenly said: "Can you stop hitting Hassan first? Concentrate your efforts to hit Satuk?"

Guo Luo said: "Why is this? The ranch occupied by Satuk is in the northwest, where the terrain is relatively high, and the east gate of the Hu coalition forces is not tight. Our cavalry will go out from there and it is easy to come back. If we attack the northwest, whether we come back from the west gate or from the north gate, we may be intercepted by Hu horses. Is this suggestion related to your strategy?"

"There is one thing." Li Bin said: "In this battle, Satuk is the master, Hassan, Toulon is the guest. I have now seen that Toulon and Hassan both despise Satuk, and since the battle, the Samans have not suffered a great loss, so they despise us. If we let Hassan severely at this time, let him know that we are indeed powerful and feel afraid and learn from the pain, he may have a sincere joining forces with Satuk. But on the other hand, if we continue to attack Satuk and let their strength continue to be imbalanced, and the master is weak and the guest is strong, they may have civil strife, which is our opportunity."

Guo Luo thought for a while and said, "If you want to deal with Satuk, you will have to spend more time. By the way, Li Guanjun, what strategy are you going to use?"

Li Bin smiled faintly and said, "It's not yet said that we have not found anyone who can directly affect Hassan and Toulon. Now we are just creating momentum."

Satuk attacked the north gate and the south gate, and tried his best to do it, but it still couldn't work. He couldn't work with a catapult, a rushing car, and a ladder, especially the damage of dozens of catapult cars made him feel the most distressed. Afterwards, Sadie led people to repair it overnight and repaired more than a dozen. He thought of adding wheels to the catapult cars so that his catapult cars could move, making it impossible for the enemy's catapult cars in the city to get the right way, but it would take some time to install the wheels.

Satuk sent a large number of cattle and sheep to the soldiers every day to show off to the soldiers to show that there is no shortage of military rations, but he knew very well how much food, sheep and horses were and how long it could be supported. Seeing that the Tang army was extremely strict in its defense and had no flaws to find, he couldn't help but feel distressed and didn't know how to open up this situation.

Su Lai comforted the generals and said, "We didn't expect to conquer Shule in a few days. If the enemy that could be defeated so easily would not force us to such a situation. However, it is difficult for both sides to say which one is more beneficial in the current situation. It can only be said that both sides are evenly matched, and they are consuming and persisting. As long as we remain undefeated, the enemy will eventually reveal their flaws."

Shu Yibal said, "We know this, but we have to think of a way to see how to break the deadlock. It is better to do this. We summoned Shule tribes outside the city to make a big deal so that the people in the city know that Shule had surrendered to us outside their city, and to hurt their morale."

The generals discussed it, but felt that this plan might not be impossible, but they were afraid that it would not be very effective. At this time, Merrone said: "By the way, I went to Gaochang this time and heard a definite news, which may be useful. If we spread this news into the city, it might be effective!"

"What news?" Su Lai asked.

"Does Zhang Mai, the leader of this group of Tang Kou, claim to be from Chang'an? But I heard from the singing people that the Tang Dynasty had long perished!"

The Uighur generals looked at each other, and Su Lai said, "I did hear such rumors more than ten years ago, and the news of Chang'an being captured was very convincing. But later I heard that the Tang Dynasty was revived. Although Chang'an was ruined, it moved its capital to Luoyang. Three years ago, I heard a businessman who had been to Fengxiang in person that the Central Plains was indeed from the Tang Dynasty. I don't know which of these news is true and which one is fake."

"This time it should be true, really!" Meilong said: "I heard from Gaochang people that the Tang Dynasty was indeed destroyed. The Central Plains had been occupied by the people of Mobei! And after they occupied the Central Plains, they sent troops to defeat Gaochang. Now Gaochang has paid tribute to the new dynasty in the East. But Vika was unable to get down and refused to admit it in front of me."

Satuk was energetic and asked, "Drunk the Tang Dynasty and occupied the Central Plains? Which tribe is it?"

Meilong said: "I heard that Gaochang people said it was Khitan."
Chapter completed!