Chapter 41: A heroic death in the country

The sunset holds the mountains, making the earth red.

On the mountain road, you can hear the sound of blood flowing. Then the setting sun shines on it, which is particularly strange and makes people feel a little sad.

The battle continued, with the shouts of killing and the shouts. After a day of battle, the morale of the Tang army was still high, but so far, no soldier has touched the walls of the Stone Fort City.

"Stop the troops!" A thick voice sounded, and Wang Haibin, who had his eyebrows frowned, looked back and saw a big man wearing bright light armor and a sharp sword hanging on his waist strode.

It was Guo Qianguan, the commander of the attack on Shibao City this time, and it was him who issued the order to withdraw troops. Before Wang Haibin could speak, his soldiers surrounded him and asked for battle: "Master, let us get on!"

Guo Qianguan glanced at the soldiers with fighting spirit in his eyes and was very moved: "Brothers: You want to fight, it's great! But I can't let you die in vain! We have to find a way to minimize casualties as much as possible!"

The soldier immediately asked for a fight: "Master, we are not afraid! We will fight whatever you say!"

Guo Qianguan smiled and said, "Get the troops first, then we will discuss it. Let's talk about it."

The soldiers no longer insisted. Wang Haibin ordered the soldiers on the mountain path to retreat. Guo Qianguan waved his hand and a general came over and ordered: "Send someone to take back the corpses of his brothers and bury them well."

"As for the order!" The general responded and strode away. After a while, a team of Tang soldiers went to the cliff to collect the corpses. Another team of few Tang soldiers walked up the mountain trail without weapons, yelled at the stone castle city: "Let's collect the corpses!"

Jib twitched the corner of his mouth: "Come on!"

The Tubo soldiers came up with an idea: "Sir, push a stone down and give him a cruel thing. Ask someone to collect the corpse for them. That's what it means to collect the corpse!"

Jib glared at the soldier: "Bastard! After the fight, it is allowed to collect corpses. This is the rule!" Tang Jun went up, carried the corpse on the mountain road, and collected the broken legs and arms.

There was only a little face left in the setting sun, and rows of corpses were lined up on the Chiling Mountains. Guo Qianguan and his generals passed by the corpses, and everyone was in tears, saying goodbye to these warriors who sacrificed their lives for the country!

Wang Haibin looked at the familiar faces and could no longer help it. He cried out with a wow, knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Brothers: I'm sorry for you! I'm incompetent! I want to avenge you!"

"Avenge! Revenge!" A shout suddenly sounded, and Chiling trembled.

Guo Qianguan and another general helped Wang Haibin up and comforted him: "Don't worry, General Wang, you will get blood debts, and the Tubo dogs will definitely pay the price!"

Wang Haibin stood up sobbingly. Guo Qianguan waved his hand, and the soldiers came over, carried the body, put it in the pit, dug the soil and buried it. The weather is already very hot now, and if it is not buried, it will cause illness. When the burial is finished, a wooden sign will be inserted to mark it. The tombstone will have to be completed. There is no time to deal with it now.

"Okay, we all go to the big tent to discuss." Guo Qianguan walked in his head, and a group of generals followed behind. When he arrived at the big tent, Guo Qianguan called the generals to sit down, and the soldiers brought tea to him.

After glanced at the generals, Guo Qianguan sighed: "Guo was incompetent, causing too many casualties and injuries to the soldiers. I feel ashamed!"

"Master, you don't have to blame yourself! This stone castle city has been fighting for decades and has not been defeated. How could there be a good thing that will be defeated on the first day!" A general comforted him.

This makes sense. The first day was just a tentative attack. Win or defeat was not important. You just need to fight the back, and the generals agreed in unison.

Guo Qianguan shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness! Guo has never had such a battle for his whole life. He can only use a little bit of troops. No matter how many troops there are, it is useless and cannot be sent. It is better to go to the grassland. When facing the Turks, first shoot with a crossbow formation, and then use infantry to swing the sword against the Turks' cavalry. After our cavalry charges, how can the Turks resist it."

The grassland is vast and boundless, and it is impossible to have troops. It can be used for any number of troops. It is not like here, just like a mountain path, and I wish I could grow my wings and fly up. However, this is a human, without wings, I can only be anxious!

Guo Qianguan was originally the commander of the Anbei Protectorate and was very influential in the court. When Li Longji was formulating a plan to attack Shibao City, he secretly solicited his opinions. Guo Qianguan knew that Li Longji's strategic intentions were realized. If Li Longji's intentions were realized, the strategic pattern of the entire Tang Dynasty would change, and the situation of being passive from all sides would be reversed, and the troops could be concentrated to carry out large-scale annihilation wars.

The current battlefield of the Tang Dynasty was too wide. Tubo, the Later Turks, and the Dashi Empire all gave the Tang Dynasty a headache. Later Turks were defeated and defeated, but they did not surrender. There was no peace in the north. Tubo colluded with Dashi, and Tubo was responsible for restraining the Tang army in the Hexi Corridor. Naturally, there were fewer Tang troops to the Western Regions, and the Western Regions were always insufficient, so it was difficult to win.

What makes people even more angry is that even a small Khitan emerges from time to time to harass him. Although he taught the Khitan a lesson during the Wu Zetian period, he did not destroy the Khitan, and his strength has almost recovered over the past decades.

These are the four main attack directions of the Tang Dynasty. They attack from all directions, but there is no chance of winning from all sides. The reason is that the troops are too dispersed. For a long time, Guo Qianguan has been conceiving a strategy that can concentrate troops, but he has not achieved it for a long time.

Li Longji's idea made Guo Qianguan feel like he was clearing the clouds and seeing the blue sky. He not only supported him fully, but also asked to lead troops to fight. It is now the second year of Jingyun. Before the Kaiyuan period, famous generals such as Wang Zhongsi, Geshu Han, Gao Xianzhi, Yang Sixu, Guo Yuanzhen, Guo Ziyi, and Li Guangbi have not yet emerged. Wang Zhongsi is still a six-year-old child, Geshu Han is still idle and can make a fuss. Li Longji does need a famous general who commands the army.

Guo Qianguan had been fighting against the Turks in the north for a long time. He was brave and knowledgeable, wise and brave. In addition, he was famous, so it was very appropriate for him to lead troops to coordinate all parties. Therefore, Li Longji obtained the consent of Ruizong and transferred him from the north to the northwest.

As for the Anbei Protectorate, Guo Qianguan recommended to the court a young general Zhang Shougui who was extremely courageous and wise and brave.

Another general said, "Master, who doesn't think so? Seeing the brothers fall down one by one, I wish I could rush up and kill the Tubo dog immediately."

Who doesn’t have this idea? He killed everyone in front and stared at him in the back. Who can stand this kind of thing? You must know that the Tang Dynasty attaches great importance to military merits, so the Tang army always has a strong desire to fight. Whenever there is a war, they want to kill the enemy.

Wang Haibin stood up: "Master, I will ask for a night battle."

"Night battle?" A general was surprised.

Guo Qianguan waved his hand and said, "It's dark and the road is just a little wide. I accidentally fell under the cliff. No."

"Master, why don't you pull the catapult up and try it?" A general came up with an idea.

Guo Qianguan shook his hand and said, "No. The distance between the catapults is not enough. Besides, I didn't bring it." The Tang Dynasty also had catapults, but their power was not as powerful as that of the Arab catapults in the late Song and early Yuan dynasties. At that time, the Tang Dynasty had been established for a hundred years, and internal stability was not even enough, and these siege machinery were rarely used.

Wang Haibin insisted: "Master, let's attack once at night, try it."

"Night attack?" Guo Qianguan's eyes lit up.

"Yes!" The generals agreed in unison, looked at Guo Qianguan, and waited for him to decide.

Guo Qianguan did not express his opinion immediately, but pondered: "There is no place for troops here, no weapons to be used, and no strategy is useful. The possibility of successful night attack is very small. After all, the city walls are all built of stone strips and are indestructible."

"Masterman!" Wang Haibin was anxious.

Guo Qianguan stretched out his right hand and stopped him from talking again: "The prince gave us six months, and there are some at this time. The prince said that he was planning to exchange the price of 50,000 casualties for Shibao City. Your team is suffering from great casualties and is almost exhausted. This is not your fault. This casualties are still much different from the prince's regulations, so it is not a moment of rush."

"Master, if you succeed, can't you save the lives of many brothers?" Wang Haibin still asked for the fight: "Master, you must know that if you fight like this during the day, you can certainly fight, but if it's too long, there will be a lot of casualties. Even if you can't take it down at night, we will work hard. If you don't work hard, you won't even have a chance. Please make a clear decision!"

This made sense. Guo Qianguan's eyes lit up and looked at the generals. The generals stood up and asked for the fight in unison: "Master, please give an order, we are willing to die!"

"Okay!" Guo Qianguan stood up and said, "Which general is willing to go to the night attack?"

"The last wish!" The generals asked for a fight in unison.

Wang Haibin stood up: "Master, I hope the remaining brothers in the headquarters will fight to the death. Please allow the Grandmaster to allow you!"

"General Wang, your troops have suffered a lot of casualties, so forget it." Guo Qianguan disagreed.

Wang Haibin turned around, faced the generals, bowed and said, "Dear generals, I, Wang Haibin, feel uncomfortable when I watch my brothers die! I want to avenge my brothers, and I also ask all the generals to fulfill my wish!"

They are all commanders and understand his feelings very well. The generals looked at me, and I looked at you, shook my head, sighed, and stepped back.

"Thank you all!" Wang Haibin turned around and looked at Guo Qianguan. Guo Qianguan sighed and said, "Since General Wang is determined to fight, I will fulfill your wishes. I will add five hundred soldiers to your army."

"Thank you, Marshal!" Wang Haibin was overjoyed.

Guo Qianguan pondered for a moment: "I'll arrange for the reception. Once you succeed, the reception will be arrived. Just take down the city with confidence."

At this moment, everyone gathered together and planned to have a night attack. Guo Qianguan arranged the reception matter, and the generals dispersed. Wang Haibin returned to the headquarters excitedly and summoned the remaining soldiers together. Less than two hundred people, and felt aching in his heart: "Brothers, are you willing to avenge the brothers who died?"

"Yes!" the soldiers answered in unison.

Wang Haibin nodded with satisfaction: "Very good! You have a full meal first, and then have a good rest. After a rest, I will take you to take revenge!"

"As for order!" The two words "As for orders!" are as neat as if they were cut by a knife and axe.

The soldiers went to work hard, and Wang Haibin was gathering several fire-long teams and arranged them. Then he had a full meal and rested. After the third update, Wang Haibin summoned the soldiers, all of them were full of energy and were very satisfied with their condition. This was a night attack, and there was no need for a shield, so he only brought a bow and arrow and a horizontal knife, left the barracks and headed towards the stone castle city.

Guo Qianguan was waiting outside and encouraged them, so they set off. It was the time when the moon was dark, and there was no moon in the sky, which was a good opportunity for night attacks. The reason why Wang Haibin insisted on night attacks was because he was considering that it was not the full moon.

When he arrived in front of the mountain trail, Wang Haibin made a gesture, the soldiers drew their swords and unsheathed them, and carefully touched them along the mountain trail. After so long, the blood on the mountain trail had already condensed, and it felt a little soft when stepped on it.

The night was quiet, except for the mountain breeze, without a sound. Wang Haibin was extremely careful every step he took, trying not to make any sound.

The Stone Castle City in the dark night looked like a monster. Wang Haibin looked at the top of the city. There were no lights, and occasionally a few soldiers were walking around. At such a long distance, the soldiers could not see it at all. Wang Haibin was not worried about discovering it, so he led his team to touch the Stone Castle City again.

The distance was shortening bit by bit, and Wang Haibin's heartbeat was getting faster and faster. If he succeeded, he would die in tens of thousands of soldiers. If he failed, he would have to pay tens of thousands of lives more. Wang Haibin's shoulders were heavy. He leaned up like flying, came to the city wall, and hid it against the city wall.

The soldiers touched one by one and hid next to the city wall.

The stone castle city is built on a cliff, and the mountain is rocky, so it is not afraid of digging tunnels. In addition, the mountain path is narrow and easy to defend, so the only thing to pay attention to is sneak attacks.

There were still a few soldiers who did not come over. A sound of footsteps sounded from the top of the city, and several Tubo soldiers patrolling came over. The Tang army was well-trained and did not need Wang Haibin to make gestures. They all knew that the screen was quiet. But these Tubo soldiers stood above them and stopped leaving. They muttered for a while, and there was a rattle. It turned out that some soldiers were peeing under the top of the city. It was also a bad luck. A soldier dripping urine was poured on one end and had to endure it.

Several soldiers stood on the top of the city and did not leave, and they started to laugh. Wang Haibin raised his head and saw a Tubo soldier sitting on the top of the city. He couldn't help but frown, took down the bow and arrow, and aimed at the Tubo soldier. With just one arrow to ensure his death, he would definitely alarm the other soldiers. He had to relax his strings and carry the bow again without any worries.

After joking for a while, the Tubo soldiers finally left. Wang Haibin breathed a sigh of relief. After a gesture, the soldiers began to stack the ladders. With the special nature of the stone castle city, the ladders were useless and had no use to bring them. The ladders were quite simple.

Their method of stacking ladders is a bit special. The person in the innermost position is standing straight on the city wall. The person behind grabs his waist and puts his head on the back of the person in front. Some people hold it on both sides to prevent it from shaking.

After folding more than a dozen at once, Wang Haibin took the lead on the back of the man behind and then stood on the shoulders of the man in front. In this way, it was much closer to the head of the city. Take out the rope, tie a knot, and throw it at the battlement on the head of the city. Wang Haibin is very skilled in throwing the rope, and is not biased or crooked, just put it on the battlement. He grabbed the rope with both hands, and crawled towards the head of the city like a cat. In just a few kung fu, he reached the head of the city.

Just as he climbed up the city, two soldiers climbed up. Five of them came in just one breath, and only after a while, more soldiers would climb up. As long as dozens of soldiers came up, even if they were discovered, they would be enough to resist for a while and gain time.

Wang Haibin's tense heart relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he heard a loud shout: "Tangren, don't steal the city!" The lights were bright, Jibu appeared under the torch, and hundreds of Tubo soldiers appeared on the top of the city, each of whom was full of a moon, aiming at Wang Haibin and the others.

"General, what should I do?" A soldier from the city was a little at a loss.

"Fight!" Wang Haibin said only one word, quickly took down the bow and arrow, and shot at Jibu with a whoosh. Capturing the thief first, capturing the king. If Jibu is shot, then the Tubo soldiers will be in chaos. In just a short while, many soldiers will come up, and then the night attack will be completed.

After Wang Haibin shot an arrow, he drew his horizontal sword and rushed towards Jibu. The other five soldiers also held the sword in their hands and followed behind and killed him.

"You Tang people are so stupid. You actually want to attack at night!" Jibu said proudly: "If you attack this place at night, it would be better to jump down the cliff. You are still far away from us. Haha!" He lowered his head and avoided the arrow, waved his hand, and a whizzing sound came, and a rain of arrows shot towards Wang Haibin.

Wang Haibin's boss's heart arose: "How did you find out?"

"Just move your hands and feet a little." Jibu pulled the corner of his mouth, looking disdainful.

Now that I don’t have a shield, I really can’t help this arrow rain. In just a blink of an eye, Wang Haibin shot into a hedgehog, screaming, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, and fell on the city wall on his back.

"Dad, Dad!" A clear childish voice rang in my mind.
Chapter completed!