Ding Te sent another 300 soldiers to attack from the side slope. When the enemy troops rushed to the hundred paces, Li Ye shouted, "Fire arrows!"
Fifty soldiers fired arrows together, and the crackling arrows were fired at the crowd. A small number of soldiers were constantly hit by the arrows and rolled down the hillside screaming.
However, the soldiers of the Tongluo army held shields and suffered very few casualties. The bows and arrows of the Tang army posed little threat to them. They kept climbing up and reached the thirty-step mark.
Li Ye shouted, "Overturn the cart!"
Together, everyone overturned the carts and rolled them down the hillside, knocking over the soldiers one by one. The attacking soldiers were so frightened that they lay down on the hillside and did not dare to move.
But the real trouble was the 300 enemy troops coming from the side slope. The slope was not steep, but relatively gentle. Tens of thousands of people came from the slope.
At this time, the slope was filled with thousands of abandoned carts. Three hundred Tongluo soldiers used the cover of the carts to get closer to the cracks in the valley.
"Team leader, they are coming!"
Li Ye rolled forward and out of the valley mouth, and fired a round of ten arrows at the enemy. The enemy soldiers had already rushed thirty steps away. The round of ten arrows caught the enemy by surprise, and the soldiers at the front were shot down one after another.
There were screams.
"Shield! Raise your shield!"
The centurion shouted loudly, and the soldiers woke up as if from a dream. They raised their shields and carried spears with one hand.
When Li Ye saw that all the rebel soldiers had raised their shields and that their bows and arrows were ineffective, he immediately ordered: "Retreat and light the fire!"
Hundreds of carts were piled inside the canyon, which was at least 20 feet long, leaving only a narrow passage wide for one person. The soldiers spread a large amount of sulfur, lamp oil and other fire starters.
The soldiers retreated one after another. Li Ye threw several torches and ignited the lamp oil on the cart and a large number of dead branches and leaves inside. He finally pulled the rope hard, and the cart above collapsed, flooding the passage.
When the rebel soldiers reached the canyon, a raging fire broke out at the mouth of the canyon several feet wide. Thick smoke rushed straight to the top of the mountain, and the fire blocked the way.
Dinte hurriedly sent someone to report to Nagus. Not long after, Nagus arrived at the mouth of the canyon. He saw that the fire was getting bigger and bigger, and he could not get close to put out the fire.
He was really annoyed because his soldiers were too tired from running all the way and needed to rest, so he patiently said: "Send the order to the whole army to rest and wait until daybreak before attacking again!"
Li Ye and his soldiers were hiding deep in the canyon. The fire was so fierce that it would not burn out for a while, and the rebels could not attack.
Li Ye asked Yuchiguang to guard the entrance of the valley, and he went into the valley to check the situation.
Tens of thousands of people gathered on the grass to rest in small groups. The elderly and children were all wrapped in blankets and sheepskins. Many people brought firewood for cooking. There was a lake of dozens of acres in the valley, and a small stream flowed into the mountain.
, the water quality is clear, just right for boiling water for drinking.
It was already the fifth watch, and it was very cold in the valley. Magistrate Wei ordered several large bonfires to be lit, and many old, weak, women and children gathered around the bonfires to spend the night.
Li Ye sat down in front of the bonfire and asked Magistrate Wei to find the previous guide. Not long after, the old guide came and clapped his hands to show disrespect to Li Ye.
"Master, please sit down!"
Li Ye asked the guide to sit down and asked with a smile: "Excuse me, my father-in-law, is there any other way out of this valley?"
The old man smiled bitterly and said: "There is a way for us herb collectors, but not for ordinary old people and children. It is definitely not realistic for tens of thousands of people to climb the rocks with ropes, so they can only go out through the entrance."
Li Ye actually guessed that there was no other exit. If there was, the guide would have told him already, but he would not give up until he asked clearly.
"Is it possible for the rebels to climb to the top of the mountain from the outside and then climb in?"
The old man shook his head, "There is no road to the mountain outside. The three roads up the mountain are all in this canyon. We used to bring tents with us to collect herbs. We set up the tents by the lake, and then we climbed up the mountain to collect herbs.
We go there for two or three days, and when we come back, we rest in the tent for a day before going home."
"Thank you, husband. I have nothing more to ask."
The guide clasped his hands in front of Li Ye and saluted, then said goodbye and left.
Li Ye asked the county magistrate again: "How is the digging of the soil bags going?"
"We have dug 1,200 bags. Let's take a short break and continue digging at dawn. I am a little curious, what are the team planning to do with the bags of soil?"
Li Ye said slowly: "Use soil bags to block the narrowest part of the canyon. This is our last defense. If even the last defense is broken, we will have no choice but to fight the opponent desperately!"
The next morning, when the fire finally subsided and the Tongluo rebels had almost rested, Nagus gave the order, "Prepare to attack!"
"Woo——"
The low horn sounded, and the soldiers of Dingt's tribe began to continue the attack. Each cavalryman had a sheepskin water bag, which was used to fill water or milk wine. They filled the water bag with water and sprayed it on the remaining fire in the valley.
go.
The fire was already very small and was extinguished immediately when water was sprayed. Hundreds of soldiers worked together to clean out the remains of the cart that had been burned to carbon.
Piles of carbon wood were cleared out, and the rebels advanced into the valley one foot at a time.
"ah--"
A soldier screamed, was hit in the head by an arrow, and fell on his back.
Immediately afterwards, several other soldiers also screamed and fell down. They were all shot in the head with an arrow. The other soldiers were so frightened that they lay on the ground and shouted: "Send the shield in!"
The soldiers outside quickly came in holding shields and gave the shields to the soldiers in the valley.
Hundreds of soldiers raised their shields and continued to clean up the remnants in the valley. They piled the burned remnants on wooden boards, and the soldiers outside dragged them out and cleaned them up.
But it does not mean that a shield can withstand cold arrows. Another rebel soldier screamed and fell to the ground. He was shot in the thigh by an arrow. Then a volley of arrows were fired from inside. The rebel soldiers fell to the ground one after another. Almost all of them were hit by arrows.
Shot in the leg.
The soldiers wailed and crawled out, but they could not crawl a few steps before they were shot to the ground by an arrow.
Dingte was furious and ordered: "Fire the crossbow!"
Hundreds of soldiers raised their crossbows and fired into the valley. The last few feet of burned residue were shattered by the powerful crossbow arrows. After a few rounds of crossbow arrows, the valley was clear to all.
Dozens of corpses were lying on the ground. The ground was wet, and the blood and black water were mixed together, making it look very dirty. A large stone fortification was built thirty feet away, and dozens of soldiers were hiding behind the fortification.
Dinte waved his sword and said, "Keep shooting!"
Hundreds of crossbows continued to shoot into the valley. The dense arrows were so heavy that the Tang army soldiers could not lift their heads. Dingte gestured to a centurion,
The centurion understood and led a hundred soldiers holding spears and shields, crawling on the ground and placing the shields on their heads. Hundreds of rebels suppressed the opponent with crossbow bolts and created conditions for them.
Seeing the opponent getting closer and closer, Li Ye was at his wits' end.
When there were still more than ten feet left, the centurion crawling on the ground suddenly shouted, "Kill!"
The soldiers jumped up from the ground, threw away their shields, and rushed towards the Tang soldiers with spears in hand. Archery stopped outside the valley.
"Fire the arrow!" Li Ye shouted.
Dozens of soldiers fired arrows together, and the dozen soldiers running at the front fell down one after another.
But the distance was too short. Before the Tang army could launch its second round, the enemy troops were already several feet away. Li Ye shouted, "Fight them!"
He waved his sword and rushed forward first, and dozens of soldiers followed him and charged forward with roars.