On May 25th of the eighth year of Tianbao, Longyou Jiedushi Ge Shuhan personally led 60,000 elite troops to launch a general attack on Shibao City.
Both the Tang Dynasty and Tubo were determined to win Shibao City. If they captured Shibao City, they would capture the bridgehead of Chiling. In other words, if they captured Shibao City, they would take the strategic initiative in the Tang-Tibet war. It is precisely because of this that
, only the Tang Dynasty would spare no effort to fight the Hehuang Battle, and all of his brother Shuhan's tactical arrangements were centered around Shibao City.
Frankly speaking, the Stone Castle is indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack. The fortress is built on a steep cliff with mountains on three sides that are more than 800 feet high. The top of the mountain is relatively flat, and the stone castle covers an area of nearly 200 acres.
Here, there are a thousand troops stationed in Shibao City, but the actual number often exceeds the establishment and reaches more than 1,500 troops.
Although Stone Castle was built on the basis of danger, and it is said that one man can guard the gate and ten thousand men cannot break it, it is not unbreakable. The biggest weakness of Stone Castle is that the terrain is narrow and the number of soldiers allowed to be accommodated is limited. If there is no effective support,
No matter how steep it is, he can still fill it with corpses to the entrance of the fort!
He also thought about sending a surprise force to go around the mountains south of Shibao City to block the Tibetan reinforcements, but after discussing with Dafu, he still felt that it was inappropriate. If the troops were not easily distributed, sending too many troops would cause trouble on the southern front.
With the attention of a generation of Tibetan troops, Abusi's clever move would be useless. The number of people sent was too small, and it would not have any real effect. Secondly, behind Shibao City is the Qianli Dafeichuan, and the terrain is flat.
It is easy for the Tubo army to mobilize troops from Wuhai Daidai or recruit new troops from the Dafeiling front line. Even if I send more troops, how long can I stop the Tubo army?
Only by making the Tibetan people feel a huge threat will they feel physically frightened; only by putting the Tibetan army in a dilemma will they make a decision more beneficial to his brother Shu Han.
The Tubo people are naturally not fools, so the Tubo people cannot afford this price! He has already received a secret report from the scouts. During the war, Tubo Zanpu Chidezuzan will visit Jiuqu City in person to boost morale. Then, he will satisfy him Chidezu
Zan's request for war**, send troops to encircle the back and besiege the city!
There was nothing we could do to besiege Wei and rescue Zhao. If we did not besiege Jiuqu City, how could we force away the Tibetan defenders on the front line of Chiling? If we did not mobilize the reinforcements on the front line of Chiling, his brother Shu Han could only attack Chiling even if he had three heads and six arms.
Mountain rocks - Kong sighed.
Alas, in this case, it depends on Gao Xiuyan and Li Kuo's ability to adapt to the situation. I hope I don't misjudge the person!
"Woo, woo woo, woo woo." The low horn sounded, and the Tang army launched the first round of offensive.
Zhang Shouyu stared closely at the Tibetan military flag at the top of Shibao City with a serious face. He was the vanguard commander of this siege. As a confidant of Ge Shuhan, he clearly understood the political significance of this battle to his own coach.
. If you win, you will rise to the top, if you lose, you will be ruined. The mark of Ge Shuhan has been deeply imprinted on him, and he has no choice but to fight desperately to win Shibao City.
Lowering his head and looking at Wu Hai and Tao Cheng in front of him, Zhang Shouyu smiled happily. These men were all veterans brought out by him. Even if he didn't believe in himself, he had to believe in them.
After they were promoted, they were naturally promoted to junior officers at the rank of captain, officially joining the ranks of officers of the Tang Dynasty. Sometimes life is like this, when you are extremely trapped, when you are confused and depressed, a close friend can help you.
The look in your eyes can inspire you to grip the sword again!
"First regiment captain Wu Hai obeys the order!"
"The end is here!"
"I order you to lead the first regiment and the second regiment with 600 soldiers to bravely charge to the first step of the stone plain. No matter what, you must gain a firm foothold for me!" Zhang Shouyu raised his voice and ordered loudly.
"Touer Zhang, I only have 600 brothers. If I have to rush to the first step of the stone plain, I'm afraid..."
"What, is there a problem?" Zhang Shouyu's eyes sharpened, and his tone suddenly turned cold.
"No problem. Even if the general dies on the stone wall, he will still fight for this place for the army!" Wu Hai puffed up his chest, his voice full of the tragic and solemn nature of a man.
Zhang Shouyu patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't think too much. After taking down Shiyuan, set up the umbrella and leave the rest to me. The life of our Longyou man is precious, and we cannot tolerate you wasting it like this."
Hearing what Zhang Shouyu said so emotionally, Wu Hai's eyes turned red and he said, "Tou'er Zhang, you...you...thank you!" The seven-foot-tall man took a long time to hold in his words, and his teeth had already broken his lips.
.
"Go ahead, sir, don't cry so much!" Zhang Shouyu feigned a kick to Wu Hai's butt and laughed and cursed loudly.
"The general is gone, Zhang Tou'er, please take care of yourself!" After saying that, Wu Hai turned around and strode toward the foot of the mountain, with a hint of loneliness on his back.
Zhang Shouyu sighed softly and said: "Second Regiment Colonel Tao Cheng obeys the order!"
"My subordinate is here!" Tao Cheng responded, cupping his hands.
"I order you to lead a thousand swords and shields and carry stones with your hands to follow Wu Hai. Once he captures Ishihara, go up and respond immediately!"
"Is it that simple?" Tao Cheng stared at Zhang Shouyu in disbelief, his eyes full of surprise.
"Just do it when I tell you to do it. There's so much nonsense!" Zhang Shouyu was upset, with a lot of anger in his voice.
"Yes!" Although he didn't understand why Zhang Shouyu asked him to move so many boulders to the stone plain, he believed in Zhang Touer! He is a soldier, and soldiers only need to obey!
"Go." Zhang Shouyu nodded, his eyes full of exhaustion.
"Colonel of the Third Regiment, Li..." Halfway through, Zhang Shouyu realized that Li Kuo was now in charge of the first battalion alone.
Clearing his throat, he replied: "Third Regiment Colonel Wang Zilin, I order you to lead four hundred elite soldiers to transport the axle car to the stone plain. Is there any problem?" (Note 1)
That Wang Zilin was not his subordinate, but was temporarily assigned to him by Marshal Ge Shu. That's why he used such a tone of 'discuss', but if he is ignorant, then don't blame Zhang Shouyu for being cold and ruthless!
"The general has the order!" To his surprise, Wang Zilin agreed simply.
"Yes." Zhang Shouyu responded lightly and waved his hand to signal Wang Zilin to go ahead and prepare.
Wu Zi smiled bitterly and looked up to the north.
I just hope that he will reach Jiuqu City safely. Whether he can capture Shibao City depends on this amazing army.
...
Looking from a distance, more than 600 Tang soldiers were clinging to the stone wall like ants, crawling towards the stone plain dozens of feet away. They all had snakeskin bags tied around their waists, which contained iron wedges.
Although this thing looks a little ugly, it is actually very useful. At first, when Zhang Tou'er ordered the army blacksmith to build it overnight, everyone didn't know why. It was only when they actually climbed on the cliff of Chiling that they suddenly realized it.
The vast Chiling Ridge is full of dangerous peaks and cliffs. Even if everyone is only climbing at the foot of the mountain, the angle of the stone wall has reached more than 60 degrees. The most annoying thing is that the stone wall is quite smooth, with almost no wood growing. Everyone
Er Kong had a lot of strength but no use for it. The situation didn't change until his captain asked everyone to take out the iron wedges from their cloth pockets.
Although the stone walls on Chiling Mountain are smooth, there are still some gaps. Everyone only needs to insert an iron wedge into the stone gaps and knock a few times with the handle of a knife to seal them tightly.
Stepping on and grabbing the iron wedge, everyone was like fish swimming in the water, and they immediately became energetic.
Who said Chiling Mountain is too dangerous to reach? It’s not a matter of human effort.
"Xiao Jiu'er, why did you come here with Jian'er? You're just a little kid, and you follow the old men and come to the battlefield to earn fame?" A veteran in his thirties raised his leg to test the hardness of the stone wall and found that it was not loose.
Sign, drive an iron wedge hard into it.
"Who is this kid? I am already ten or nineteen years old!" Tang Bing, who was called Xiao Jiu'er, looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, and his young face was full of stubbornness.
"Hey, Xiao Jiu'er is an adult now, have you ever tasted the taste of a woman? That taste, oh, it's so refreshing that your muscles and bones feel numb." Determined to relieve the fear in his heart, Tang Bing took the initiative to stir up the pistachio.
"Isn't she just a woman? What's so strange about it? My mother married me a wife in Jixian County, and she will consummate the marriage when I return home this time!" Xiao Jiuer raised his eyebrows, his voice full of pride.
"That's great love. The taste of a woman cannot be exchanged for any amount of delicacies from mountains and seas." The veteran said one after another, but his hands did not stop. He came across a huge stone wall and searched for it.
It took a long time and I didn't find a single gap.
What can we do? Is it possible to retreat back to the original path and find a new one?
Just as he was thinking to himself, he felt a strong wind blowing above his head.
"Be careful!" Xiao Jiuer shouted at the top of his lungs.
But it was too late. When the veteran looked up, he saw a rolling stone weighing several hundred kilograms whizzing towards his face. His pupils dilated sharply, filled with fear. The huge stone was crushing him and hitting him.
, strangled everything that stood in its way. It rolled all the way, broke the iron wedge, and crushed the hope in the hearts of the veterans.
In an instant, the veteran turned into a ball of meat and blood, sticking to the boulder and rolling down the mountain.
"Brother Da Lao!" Xiao Jiu'er's small chest heaved up and down, and she was already crying into tears.
Biting his lip, he raised his head and glanced at the flying Tibetan military flag, feeling a ball of anger igniting in his chest.
"Tubo barbarians, I will fight with you!" Xiao Jiuer pulled out an iron wedge and smashed it into the crack of the stone.
Note 1: Axis-turning cart: Twelve-stone crossbows are mounted on the cart, connected with iron hooks and ropes. The cart rotates on its axis, and the crossbow is loaded with string teeth. The crossbow has seven punches, one large arrow in the center, and the blade is seven inches long.
It is five inches wide, the arrow shaft is three feet long, and its circumference is five inches. It uses iron leaves as feathers. There are three arrows on the left and right, the second is smaller than the middle arrow. With one tooth, all the arrows rise together, and they reach 700 steps. The center of the city fortress,
All of them were destroyed, and the towers and oars also fell, which is called a crossbow. (See "Tongdian" Volume 160)
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