About half an hour later, a low trumpet sound suddenly came from the enemy's position, and the army began to move, with flags flying and horses neighing. The boundless army gave people a strong sense of oppression. When Qin Huaidao heard the trumpet sound, he quickly went up to the city wall to check.
His face suddenly changed.
The enemy troops were not retreating, but moving to both sides. They were going to besiege the city. The soldiers who came with Qin Huaidao also frowned slightly, and their expressions were a little more solemn. An Guogong reminded: "General, look at the strength of this army.
Wan, this is preparation for siege, make plans early."
The so-called plan is to leave. As long as the troops are free and can come and go like the wind, there will be plenty of opportunities. An Guogong, who was born on the grassland, does not like to defend the city the most.
Holding fast means being trapped, but it is different if you are waiting for reinforcements. The question is, are there reinforcements?
Qin Huaidao looked towards the direction of the Tang Dynasty. If there were no reinforcements, Goguryeo would not need to attack at all. Once there was no food to eat, he would definitely die. But if reinforcements arrived, holding on would mean absorbing most of Goguryeo's energy and troops to cover the reinforcements.
Lock down the battle situation.
Go or stay?
Qin Huaidao only hesitated for a moment, and then made a decision in his heart. He bet on Li Er's talent and strategy, and also on Li Er's ability to seize opportunities. It would be no problem to save food for two months. Two months would be enough for Li Er to make plans.
Seeing everyone looking over, he said in a deep voice: "Shou!"
"Obey the order!" Everyone accepted the order with a roar.
As soon as the order was issued and it was not changed, everyone gave up the idea of leaving.
An Guogong did not object. Looking at the enemy's formation, he reminded: "General, there is a way to drive away all the people in the city. If you take all the food from them, you may be able to survive for a month or two. Anyway, they are the people of Goguryeo. Drive them out."
It is impossible for the army outside to care about life and death, but will consume the enemy's food."
The word "food" reminded Qin Huaidao, and he signaled Cheng Chumo to step aside and said: "Brother Cheng, you can go out of the city and find the 10,000 troops approaching. With you as the general, go around to the enemy's rear. Your task is only
One, destroy the enemy's food route."
When Cheng Chumo heard that he was sent out of the city to become a general and command ten thousand soldiers, this was a great opportunity. His eyes lit up and he clasped his fists gratefully: "Obey the order!"
"Remember, you must not engage in head-on confrontation. You must use guerrilla warfare. I will give you a sixteen-character strategy: When the enemy advances, we retreat. When the enemy retreats, we pursue. When the enemy is stationed, we harass. When the enemy is tired, we attack. As long as you use this strategy, one person and two horses
, Three horses ensure mobility, there is no big problem." Qin Huaidao solemnly warned.
"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue; when the enemy is stationed, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack, remember this." Cheng Chumo carefully chewed on the sixteen-word strategy. It felt very novel. He had never heard of it before, and it was engraved in his mind.
"Ask Li Yixie to write a warrant, stamp it with the general's seal, and add your identity. They should not doubt your identity and obey the command. From now on, the lives of ten thousand people will be on you. Don't be impulsive or do anything.
If you need to report, you can decide how to fight. Before the enemy troops surround you, go through the west gate and go quickly." Qin Huaidao warned.
"Thank you General for your trust - take care!" Cheng Chumo clasped his fists gratefully again and hurried away.
Qin Huaidao motioned for everyone to come over and said seriously: "Everyone, the enemy has adjusted its deployment, and our army must also adjust accordingly. The mercenaries are responsible for guarding the city wall. They are divided into three shifts, rotating every four hours to ensure that there are people on the city wall, and the Khitan and Xi tribes are separated.
, each guarding two city walls, be sure to make arrangements." He said and looked at Luo Zhang.
"Follow the order!" Luo Zhang quickly agreed.
"Detach a team of Yulin guards to inspect the city wall. If any slack is found, report it quickly." Qin Huaidao said and looked at Li Yixie, not very confident about the mercenaries.
Li Yihui quickly agreed.
Qin Huaidao looked at An Guogong and continued: "An Guogong, leave a thousand people to assist with logistics, and give the other two thousand to Cheng Chuliang and Cheng Chubi. You two will lead the troops and organize the people to dig earth and stones to block the city gate hole for me.
Only the west gate is left, but a big horse trap is dug just outside the west gate. The bigger the better, and there are roads on both sides of the city wall to facilitate your passage. If the enemy suddenly comes in, it can also block it. It must be completed before dawn. "
"Obey the order!" An Guogong, Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chubi quickly accepted the order with clasped fists.
"Where are our forbidden troops?" Yuchi Baolin asked quickly.
"Inspect the city, strictly enforce military discipline, and prevent civil strife. Secondly, as a maneuver, provide support at any time." Qin Huaidao solemnly warned that the Forbidden Army is his own people. The most reliable troops are naturally used in key positions.
"Follow the order!" Yuchi Baolin understood.
"Hurry up and act!"
With an order, everyone took action.
Qin Huaidao stayed on the city wall and continued to observe the enemy's situation. He thought, if the enemy does not move, I will not move. If the enemy moves, I will move first. He can predict all possible actions of the enemy and take countermeasures. There are 15,000 people.
With the city in hand and the tall city, it is not impossible to fight. The biggest problem is supplies, such as feather arrows.
Although An Guogong led a thousand people to be responsible for logistics and supplies, they may not be able to supply enough. He had to find a way. Qin Huaidao waved a Yulin guard over and told him: "Go and inform Luo Zhang and let him
He led people all over the city to collect excrement, mixed it with humans and animals, added arsenic, and boiled it in large pots on the four city gates. The person who cooked it did not wrap his mouth and nose to prevent inhalation, and put the arrowheads in to make a cup of tea.
Just time.”
"Follow the order!" The other party hurriedly went.
Arsenic mixed with excrement and arsenic on arrowheads will increase wound infection when injected into the body. There is basically no solution in this era. It can increase the lethality and deter the enemy.
When the two armies are fighting, they will naturally use all possible means. Mercy is a joke.
"Is there any other way to defend the city?" Qin Huaidao thought quickly, but it was a pity that he couldn't get explosives within a period of time, otherwise they would not be enough. Qin Huaidao didn't know much about this kind of city defense method in the cold weapon era, so he could only use it to attack the city.
trick.
Outside the city, the enemy troops gradually formed an encirclement on all sides.
But he is not in a hurry to attack, but is setting up camp and building siege equipment. Qin Huaidao also needs time to adjust his deployment, hoping that the enemy will not attack, especially blocking the city gate. There is a huge stone at the west gate. As long as it falls, there will be no problem with other gates.
If the enemy only has one way to climb the wall, they will have to fill it with their lives.
At this time, an enemy soldier came over with a flag. When he got close, he shouted: "People on the wall, listen, let your general come over and answer."
"If you have anything to say, just say it." Qin Huaidao shouted and recognized the person from before.
The other party also recognized Qin Huaidao, stopped talking nonsense, and said bluntly: "My king has the virtue of a good life. As long as you surrender the city, you will be granted the post of General Pingxi, the third rank, the title of Pingxi Marquis, and the settlement of thousands of households. This honor is not great.
I hope the general will consider it."
"Don't you want the remains of your soldiers?" Qin Huaidao asked disdainfully. Even a third-level official had the nerve to take it out. It seems that the enemy does not know his identity.
The other party remained silent.
Qin Huaidao continued to ask: "Don't you want the people in the city?"
The other party continued to remain silent. Both questions were very sensitive and difficult to answer.
What Qin Huaidao wanted was not to agree, but to ask the other party to go back with a message to disturb the enemy's morale. He continued: "Go back and tell your king that there are tens of thousands of people in the city. If you dare to attack the city, I will escort the people to the city wall. Everyone
If you die together, and the corpses of those who were killed before entering the city, don’t just throw them out to feed the wolves.”
The other party turned around with a cold face and was about to leave. Qin Huaidao shouted: "Wait a minute. Go back and tell the families of the captured people that the King of Goguryeo is not willing to redeem them with grain or money. It will be the same if their families bring them. I only give five days."
, there will be no food or money in five days, kill and feed the wolves, I’ve said it, get out!”
The identity of a prisoner of war is definitely not simple, and it is impossible for the messenger to convey it back without speaking.
Once the word spread, the King of Goguryeo did not dare not agree. The soldiers' hearts were calmed if they were cold. The soldiers were simple and did not ask for much, so they could not afford chaos. But the generals' hearts were different when they were cold. The generals would think in other people's shoes and think
If he is captured, will no one care about him?
Watching the messenger leave, Qin Huaidao smiled - he is really not afraid of playing psychological warfare!
Not long after, the messenger came back and agreed to the conditions for changing generals, but did not mention the soldiers. Qin Huaidao saw that it was as he expected, so of course he would not agree. That little silver grain was nothing compared to the morale of the enemy's troops, so he directly scolded:
"Go back and tell your king, either we change together or we don't change. We won't see any food before dark, and I don't care if the corpses outside are eaten by wolves."
The messenger had no choice but to go back again in despair.
Qin Huaidao glanced at the corpses outside the city. They were all within a stone's throw. It would be best to grab them and shoot them all. He was in an inexplicably good mood. He told the Yulin Guards who were left behind to protect his safety, "Arrange some brothers to count the number of people."
, we cannot allow the enemy to give us less food."
"Follow the order, and I promise there won't be one missing." The other party smiled and made arrangements.
After a while, no one came. Qin Huaidao was too lazy to wait any longer. He returned to the city lord's office and sat down to rest in a pavilion. He spread out the map to study. A Yulin guard brought a vat of stewed horse meat: "General, eat some first."
.”
"Have all the brothers eaten?" Qin Huaidao asked with concern.
"Thank you, General, for your concern. We all took turns to eat. We stewed a lot. They were all the enemy war horses we killed before. It was enough to eat." The other party said gratefully.
"Tell Mr. An Guo to find a way to smoke the leftovers to make sure they don't go bad, and there will be more people coming."
"Follow the order!" the other party agreed and hurried away.
Qin Huaidao took a bite and found that the taste was very ordinary, but in order to survive, he forced himself to eat it all. When he saw Li Yixie coming over in a hurry, he shouted excitedly: "General, good news, good news."
"What good news? Have you eaten?" Qin Huaidao asked.
"In a moment, don't worry, you can take a look first." Li Yixie brought up a small piece of paper.
Qin Huaidao opened it and saw a line of small characters written on it - the imperial court was sending troops to the state.
Seven words revealed shocking news. Qin Huaidao's pupils shrank suddenly and asked: "Reliable?"
"It should be reliable. It was sent by a carrier pigeon from the governor of Yingzhou." Li Yixie said quickly.
In order to facilitate communication, Xue Wanshu, the governor of Yingzhou, sent a person who was good at raising homing pigeons to follow him and brought a few homing pigeons as backup. Qin Huaidao realized that the news was probably true, and Li Er was indeed a great emperor with great talent and strategy.
With a tacit understanding, we quickly found Dengzhou on the map.
As long as Dengzhou successfully crosses the sea, the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty can go all the way north and form a pincer attack with themselves. This battle will be interesting. He was overjoyed and said: "Send a message to the governor, be careful of the enemy's attack on Huaiyuan, and destroy all supplies if necessary."
, withdraw from Huaiyuan, and also ask the governor to find a way to contact the troops from Yunzhou and ask them to go to the north to assist Li Desian in taking the five cities in the north as soon as possible to prevent Shi Wei. I always feel that Shi Wei is going to cause trouble."
"Obey the order!" Li Yixie hurried away.
Qin Huaidao was in a good mood. As expected, the imperial court sent troops, and it was faster than expected. With Li Er's military talent, since he decided to send troops, the action would definitely not be small, and it would be very fast. The message transmission was already slow, and maybe the army was already halfway there.
, we can reach Dengzhou in three to five days, and we can cross the sea and fight in ten days at most.
"Ten days, just hold on for ten days..." Qin Huaidao's mind was running fast. Ten days is not short, but it is not too long. It is not a big problem if the plan is done. Once the enemy learns that the Tang Dynasty has sent troops, they will definitely attack crazily to win over the imperial court.
The army arrived and captured the city.
"Dong dong dong!"
Suddenly, a burst of intensive war drums sounded, earth-shaking. Qin Huaidao was shocked. He quickly rushed out of the city lord's palace with weapons, rushed to a city wall, and saw the enemy lining up. At the front were infantrymen, carrying
The ladder is in a strong offensive posture. Does the enemy know that the imperial court has sent troops?
"General, the other three sides are also preparing to attack from all sides. Are the enemies risking their lives just because of their large numbers?" Luo Zhang hurried over and said.
"Remember, there are about 10,000 mercenaries, four city walls, one thousand people are arranged on each city wall, that is, four thousand people, and another four thousand people are arranged to rotate at any time, and the remaining two thousand are used as maneuvers to support wherever there is danger.
Let me tell you, the reward for defending the city will be doubled this time and will be given out every night. Have you cooked up your feces yet?"
"It's cooking." Luo Zhang said quickly.
"Go for it!"
"You...be careful." Luo Zhang said with concern.
Qin Huaidao patted Luo Zhang on the shoulder and said with a fake smile: "Don't worry, you don't know my abilities. Be careful. In addition, the imperial court has sent troops to the state to cross the sea. The enemies outside are attacking so urgently.
They probably know the news, so the attack will be crazy, so be mentally prepared."
"The imperial court has sent troops?" Luo Zhang was overjoyed.
"Well... I can let everyone know the news and boost morale. We must withstand this battle, let's go." Qin Huaidao nodded, feeling a little heavy. Once the enemy goes crazy, they will definitely do it at any cost. The mercenaries will probably be wiped out, but there is no way.
It is impossible to fight without killing people. When the mercenaries are finished, it will be your turn.
Luo Zhang understood and hurried away.
There must be a brave man under a heavy reward.
With the order to double the reward, the mercenaries immediately cheered. The previous reward was a lot and was distributed in time. Everyone had no doubt about Qin Huaidao and their morale was boosted. When they looked at the enemies outside the city, their eyes suddenly shone.
, as if those heads were silver bumps.
Qin Huaidao looked at this scene and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Anyway, the city lord's palace seized a batch of silver, and the ten wealthy families in Liaodong City had plenty of silver, so they were not afraid of not being able to pay it back.
"kill--"
At this time, the enemy in front launched an attack. Countless people held shields and swords and rushed forward. Many people carried ladders and mixed in with the team, shouting and making a terrifying noise. They looked like at least two thousand people, followed by a group of archers.
, also rushed over, preparing to press the battle.
At this time, An Guo Gong came over with a solemn expression. Qin Huaidao had an idea and shouted: "An Guo Gong, immediately organize the people in the city to carry water and pour water on me for the enemies who climb up the ladder. The people will resist. In this emergency, what should I do?
It doesn’t matter to you, as long as you get the result.”
"Like Shouyingzhou? Is it possible?"
"Yes, just like Shouying Prefecture, although the ice and snow are melting now, the temperature is still very low, plus the wind is unbearable, so we must hurry." Qin Huaidao urged.
"I understand, whoever dares not to come, I will kill his whole family." Duke An Guo left with murderous intent.
This kind of thing was against benevolence and righteousness, and he might not be able to do it if left to others. However, Qin Huaidao believed that Zhiwansixi, who was born in the grassland, could do a good job. He breathed a sigh of relief and shouted loudly: "Send the order and deal with the enemy archers first."
"Follow the order." Li Yixie quickly agreed and arranged for four Yulin guards to run to the four city gates to deliver the order.
Qin Huaidao felt the temperature. It should be about one or two degrees. Plus the three or four levels of cold wind. No one could stand a bucket of water. He wished he could give himself a slap. How could he have forgotten this trick? Fortunately, he still had time.
The enemy was getting closer and closer, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the horse.
Seeing that Qin Huaidao had no intention of going down, the mercenaries stayed to fight alongside him. Their morale increased and they drew their bows and aimed ahead.
The mercenaries are composed of Khitan and Xi tribesmen. They are all good at shooting bows. No one needs to remind them at all. They all draw their bows fully and aim them at the sky at 45 degrees. This angle can shoot the arrows as far as possible.
Small, but the distance is not far enough.
When an officer saw the enemy entering the firing range, he couldn't help but look at Qin Huaidao.
Qin Huaidao was not familiar with bows and arrows, so he shouted coldly: "You decide how to fight, I will only give you suggestions."
The other party nodded gratefully and shouted in Khitan: "Three rounds of rapid throws, kill!"
"Peng!"
Everyone shot out the arrows, quickly picked up one and drew the bow again to shoot. Repeatedly, three arrows were shot out in one breath, each movement was extremely skillful.
Qin Huaidao watched three bursts of feather arrows rushing towards the enemy one after another, like three long dark clouds. When the first burst of feather arrows fell, many archers also fell down, but the enemy's archers were too many, and those who fell were insignificant.
, stopped one after another, fired their bows, and aimed at the city head.
The second round of feather arrows fell, still causing a lot of damage, but the enemy was unmoved and fired decisively. A large number of feather arrows roared in, like passing locusts, a mass of blackness. Qin Huaidao roughly estimated that it was at least five thousand, see the third
When the round feather arrows fell, the enemy remained motionless, but continued to draw their bows and draw arrows. They were obviously an elite force.
Soon, the enemy's feather arrows flew over. Qin Huaidao waved his horse and rolled up black shadows, knocking the incoming feather arrows away. After a closer look, the enemy launched a second round of attacks, and the black feather arrows flew towards him again.
, the screaming sound is like countless ghosts grinding their teeth, terrifying and frightening.
Soon, the third round, the fourth round... the dense rain of arrows made it difficult for everyone on the city wall to raise their heads, and they hid under the city wall, making it difficult to fight back. The enemy's arrow attacks were too dense, regardless of the cost.
Five thousand people attacked at the same time, and tens of thousands of feather arrows were fired in the blink of an eye. Who could withstand it? Covering the enemy troops, they rushed to the city wall, and ladders were set up one after another. Many brave people had knives in their mouths and used their hands and feet.
Climb up like crazy.
The enemy archers were worried about accidental damage and stopped shooting.
The Khitan general in command yelled: "Change the repeating crossbow, kill——"
After hearing the order, the mercenary quickly gave up his big bow, took out the repeating crossbow that he had prepared long ago and leaned out of the wall stack. He fired a crazy output at the bottom. The repeating crossbow was not like a bow and arrow. It fired continuously, and it fired ten arrows in a row. The interval was
It's almost negligible, and it falls like a rain of arrows in an instant.
"ah--"
Countless enemies who climbed up screamed and fell down. Before the enemies behind them could react, more arrows whizzed down, one after another, killing the enemies under the city wall and falling to the ground in pieces, causing countless casualties in an instant.
Each city wall was guarded by a thousand people, but the enemy who attacked was only two thousand. They were all killed before the quiver was empty. No one escaped. The mercenaries were shocked when they saw this scene and thought it was a battle.
It was a tough fight, but I didn’t expect it to be resolved so quickly?
"This repeating crossbow is so terrifying!"
This thought flashed through everyone's mind, but their confidence increased greatly.
Qin Huaidao looked at this scene and smiled. This mercenary army was well trained and shouted: "Well done, we killed two thousand enemies in one go. No one killed two, and we got four pieces of silver."
Everyone became even more excited when they heard about the money, and started shouting in Khitan language. Qin Huaidao looked at the general with a smile, not knowing his name, and asked: "What are you talking about?"
"Back to the general, everyone is praising the general for his wisdom and thanking the general for the reward."
"Hahaha, tell them, everyone deserves it. There are many enemies. Receive more silver rewards. When you save enough money, follow the general to live in Chang'an. This will change your family's destiny. The grassland is difficult. Are you willing to let your children suffer in the future?
?Chang'an is the world of flowers." Qin Huaidao painted a picture for everyone.
The other party's eyes lit up and his breathing became rapid: "General, you can really take us to Chang'an."
"Of course, as long as you are willing, but living in Chang'an is not easy, and you can't do it without money. At least you can save a hundred taels." Qin Huaidao promised, if he doesn't win people's hearts at this time, how can he wait?
Sure enough, when the officer said Qin Huaidao's words in Khitan, everyone nearby became excited and screamed at the enemy outside the city. They raised their fingers as if to shout - Come here! Come here!
The enemy troops are really coming.
There were about 3,000 people attacking this time, and the other three sides were not clear. However, Qin Huaidao saw that the enemy did not attack, so he guessed that the problem was not big. He stared at the front and saw that the archers were active again and pushed forward. Qin Huaidao knew that he had to hurry and shouted
Said: "Quick, continue to shoot three rounds of enemy archers."
Although the effect is not great, killing one person will reduce the threat by one point, right?
Under the command of the general, the mercenaries changed their bows one after another, and fired three rounds of rapid fire as before. Then they squatted and hid under the wall, put up their big shields, and the enemy's counterattack arrived. The arrows jingled on the shields.
There were also those who were unlucky enough to be shot in the legs, arms and other unprotected parts, and screamed in agony.
Qin Huaidao also huddled under the city wall. Several Yulin guards used shields to protect the sky. The sound of dense arrows crashing was heard, which made people's scalp numb. The shouts of killing outside the city made people even more panicked.
The constant rain of arrows was so threatening that it was difficult for everyone to raise their heads. Qin Huaidao carefully looked from the wall stacks and saw that the enemy archers continued to advance forward in a neat line with no intention of stopping. The enemy who was rushing in front had already arrived.
Under the city wall, a ladder is being set up to climb.
If there is no counterattack, the enemy infantry will climb up the city wall and become passive. More enemies will continue to climb up the ladder, but counterattack means facing a dense rain of arrows.