By August, the fierce battle between the Tang Army and the Zheng Army had entered a fierce stage, and it was still difficult to determine the winner. However, as the attacking party, the Zheng Army suffered heavy casualties.
At this time, the scorching heat is coming, and both sides are competing for their last willpower.
"It's so hot." Wang Xingben looked at the scorching sun and felt that his whole body was about to be burned to ashes. Big beads of sweat flowed from his forehead to his cheeks, as if his whole body was placed in a furnace.
In front of him, the Zheng Army's attack rhythm for several days had been reduced to a minimum. As more and more soldiers died at the foot of Tongguan, Zheng Army began to feel fear of war. No matter how Wang Xingben suppressed it, this feeling could not be eliminated.
, but lingering among Zheng Jun like a ghost.
Zhang Tongren said from the side: "We can't fight anymore. Now the brothers are unwilling to continue attacking Tongguan. If we continue to fight, I'm worried that the soldiers will escape."
Wang Xingben remained silent. In fact, he knew very well that even if he wanted to fight, there would not be much time left for him.
Tongguan, like the Gate of Heaven, stood in front of him.
Until now, the competition between the two sides is nothing more than perseverance. Whoever can persevere will win. Whether it is the Zheng army attacking the city or the Tang army defending the city.
The siege party suffered heavy losses, and the Tang army defending the city suffered similar losses.
So far, the casualties of the Tang army have reached as high as 20,000.
Du Ruhui finished taking a sip of water and said: "Your Highness, although our army suffered heavy losses, Zheng's army must have suffered even more heavy losses. I guess that Zheng's army has been attacking for days and the losses may not be less than 40,000."
Li Daoxuan, Li Daozong, Zhang Shigui, Duan Zhixuan and others present were all well versed in the art of war and agreed with Du Ruhui's battle loss ratio.
Li Daoxuan said worriedly: "Fifth brother, if Zheng Jun continues to fight like this, I'm afraid we will have to ask for help from Chang'an."
After all, the number of Tongguan defenders was not as large as Zheng's army. If Zheng's army was really desperate and kept attacking fiercely, exchanging lives for lives, they would have to ask the court for help.
Li Zhiyun's palms were attached to the city wall, and the scorching temperature spread from his palms to his body. He shook his head and said: "It's almost the end of the month, and Zheng Jun's food and grass will not last long. Now it depends on who can't hold on first. Send the order and send all
They moved all the kerosene to the city and defended Tongguan."
"As ordered." Li Daoxuan clasped his fists.
Li Zhiyun knew very well that the victory or defeat of Tongguan did not depend on him, but on whether Li Shimin could defeat Dou Jiande.
As long as the second brother works hard, Zheng Jun will retreat when the time comes.
Everyone dispersed, and Du Ruhui and Xue Cao came to his side.
"Your Highness, I actually think that if our army has been defending for many days, we might be able to catch them by surprise." Du Ruhui suggested.
Li Zhiyun thought: "You mean to attack Zheng Jun?"
"That's right." Du Ruhui said: "Our army has been defending for a long time and has never left Tongguan. Zheng Jun must not have guessed that our army dared to attack at this time. Moreover, Zheng Jun attacked fiercely for many days, and the soldiers suffered heavy losses, so their vigilance must have dropped.
, this is a good time for our army to attack."
Li Zhiyun touched his chin and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. Let Xie Shufang, Qin Qiong, Li Junxian, and Cheng Yaojin come to see me."
"yes."
This is an attempt. If it succeeds, it will be an unexpected surprise. If it fails, it will be nothing.
That night, Xie Shufang and Qin Qiong led five thousand cavalry troops out of Tongguan at night and attacked the Zheng army's camp.
After days of fierce fighting, the Zheng army suffered heavy casualties and was exhausted. In addition, the Tang army had never dared to leave Tongguan before. They never thought that the Tang army would attack the Zheng army camp at this time.
The war broke out and Zheng Jun was killed by surprise.
The cavalry following Xie Shufang and Qin Qiong were elite soldiers and horses, and the cavalry was well-equipped. They attacked wildly and fired rockets rapidly towards the Zheng army's camp.
In an instant, fire shot into the sky.
"kill!"
The spear tore through the tent, and the cavalry behind stabbed Captain Zheng to death in a hurry to put on his armor.
"Enemy attack!"
As the horn blew, Zheng Jun woke up from exhaustion. They were like confused lambs, holding cloth armor and holding long knives, wandering around in the messy flames, watching at a loss as the Tang Jun cavalry came and harvested.
The lives of colleagues.
"kill!"
The Tang Army's war horse raised its hooves high, and then suddenly fell down, instantly crushing the Zheng Army soldier's chest.
When Wang Xingben hurriedly rushed out of the camp, he only saw the Tang Army cavalry chasing the Zheng Army soldiers and slaughtering them under the flames.
The flames clung to the watchtower, and the wood was quickly burned away. The pressure destroyed the watchtower, and it fell to the ground with a roar and fell into pieces.
The slaughter and screams sounded to Wang Xingben's ears like the sound of the scythe of death waving in the wind.
With the flames of hatred reflected in his eyes, Wang Xingben quickly retreated with his soldiers. When he found the panicked Wang Shiyun, the two sides led their troops to flee in a tacit understanding.
The sudden attack by the Tang army was beyond everyone's expectations. Until now, the impression of Li Zhiyun in their hearts was no different from that of a bastard.
"Shan Xiongxin, Yang Gongqing, you two are responsible for cutting off the queen!"
After giving the order in a hurry, Wang Shiyun and his soldiers retreated in an instant.
Shan Xiongxin and Yang Gongqing looked at each other and reluctantly gathered their troops to resist the Tang army's raid.
Qin Qiong led his troops and fought all the way to the central camp from the west. When he broke through the central army, he ran into his former comrade Shan Xiongxin.
Under the glare of swords and shadows, they were not given a chance to reminisce.
Qin Qiong's horse swept across, and with one blow, Shan Xiongxin, his men and his horse were almost knocked to the ground.
"Surrender." Qin Qiong looked at his former comrades.
Shan Xiongxin shook his head, called his soldiers to attack and left.
Qin Qiong couldn't bear it and was about to take action, but didn't want to rush out from the side.
"Let me meet you!"
The person who came was none other than Li Daoxuan who came for support.
Dang!
The sound of Jin Ge sounded, and Li Daoxuan and Shan Xiongxin fought together.
"I'm here to help you!" Yang Gongqing yelled and rushed forward to help Shan Xiongxin kill Li Daoxuan.
But at this time, Qin Qiong snorted coldly, straightened his horse, and stopped Yang Gongqing.
Within ten moves, Qin Qiong beheaded Yang Gongqing.
Seeing the death of Yang Gongqing, Shan Xiongxin, who was already slightly injured, retreated without hesitation. He was already difficult to defeat Qin Qiong, and now there was Li Daoxuan. If he stayed, he would definitely die.
The Tang army pursued and fought fiercely, killing and wounding more than 10,000 Zheng soldiers and capturing more than 3,000 people. They won a great victory.
Knowing that the sneak attack was a victory, Li Zhiyun did not hesitate to give the order, ordering all the Tongguan garrison to go out and hunt down Zheng Jun.
Within three days, the Tang army regained many of the lost cities one after another, and did not stop until they reached Shaanxian County, Shaanxi Prefecture.
By this time, Zheng Jun had already retreated to Henan County.
Statistics after the war showed that the Tang army lost no more than a thousand people, but the 100,000 Zheng army was attacked and killed and wounded due to the siege of the city. After gathering the remaining soldiers, only more than 30,000 people remained.
Yu Yun took the opportunity to suggest, "Your Majesty, the general is willing to lead his army to continue the pursuit and go straight to Luoyang!"
"Yes, Fifth Brother, let's fight against Luoyang!" Li Daoxuan agreed loudly. This battle was a thrill for him to kill himself. He chased and fought hard all the way, and the killing was very satisfying.
Du Ruhui quickly dissuaded him, "Your Highness, our army has been advancing wildly, and the logistics and food supplies have fallen far behind. If we attack Luoyang at this time, it will be like a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. Furthermore, the soldiers of the three armies have been fighting for days and are exhausted physically and mentally. At this time, we should
Rest and reorganize the three armies!"
"Your Highness, what Du Canjun said is reasonable, and my subordinates also think that we should rest and reorganize the three armies and make plans in the future." Xue Shou said.
Li Zhiyun held the reins, looked at the chaotic battlefield, and nodded in agreement.
"Send the order, the three armies must not pursue us any further."
"Yes!" Duan Zhixuan clasped his fists.
Yu Jun gritted his teeth and wanted to persuade him again, but he didn't expect that Li Zhiyun had already galloped away.
In fact, of course Li Zhiyun wanted to capture Luoyang directly, but the reality did not allow him to do so. He did not have many troops under his command, and he had no chance of winning against the fortified city of Luoyang.
Furthermore, what Du Ruhui and Xue Shou said was correct. The Tang army was chasing him all the way, and the logistics and food supplies could not keep up with the large army. Once he led his army deep into Henan County and was surrounded by the Zheng army, his joy would turn into great sadness.