If the battle of Changyuan County only made Xu Shiji sigh and was not enough to completely turn him around in the military discipline incident, then whether Xiangcheng County can be saved is related to his career and career, and to his position in the Sui army.
status.
Throughout the Central Plains Campaign, Xu Shiji did not serve as the main attacker, but served as the link and side support between the two main battlefields, equivalent to the waist in the human body.
It goes without saying that it was Xu Shiji's 20,000-man army that brought the Sui army's layout of the entire chess game to life, and was able to attack later and gain the initiative in the entire campaign.
Xu Shiji had been paying attention to the movements of Li Xiaogong's army. When Qu Tutong led 20,000 troops to march westward, he got the intelligence from the scouts. In this battle against Qu Tutong, he was actually using darkness to confront the light. He was secretly
In the bright place, Qu Tu Tong is in the bright place.
From the beginning, he seized the opportunity and was in a favorable position to lure Qu Tutong implicitly or explicitly. Taking advantage of Qu Tutong's weakness of insufficient food, he laid a trap in Runan County, and finally captured this experienced man.
A veteran of hundreds of battles was introduced into this small town in Runan County where a trap had been laid.
In fact, this was also caused by Qu Tutong underestimating the enemy. He had gradually achieved the status of a military god in the Tang army. His sharp insights and far-reaching vision attracted the two military leaders Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong to worship him as a god.
In addition, he outsmarted Hulao Pass and forced Sui general Luo Shixin to abandon the pass without spending a single soldier. Such impressive achievements made him feel a little elated.
In the battle of Xiangcheng County, he did not take Xu Shiji, a general from Wagangzhai, to heart, and put 20,000 troops against 20,000 troops. He believed that as long as he found the Sui army, he would definitely win this battle.
This is an obvious underestimation of the enemy.
An arrogant soldier will be defeated. Qu Tutong's underestimation of the enemy finally made him fall into Xu Shiji's trap. At this time, Xu Shiji could not hold back his excitement. If he could kill Qu Tutong or capture him alive, Xu Maogong would be famous all over the world.
Enter the ranks of famous generals.
Xu Shiji stared sharply at the Tang army leaving the city. The Tang army's sword and shield troops were lined up in a row of five. There were about 3,000 people in a long queue, holding huge shields in their hands. This was the vanguard, and their task was to break through the Sui army's crossbow array.
, in order to allow the cavalry army behind to break out.
Xu Shiji also had to admire Qu Tutong's combat experience. This is the best way to break out. With the sword and shield army as the forward, the cavalry as the center, and the spearmen behind, it is very organized. This is not a breakout, but
An attack.
But Qu Tutong never expected that Xu Shiji had brought a sharp weapon against shields. Xu Shiji sneered and ordered the people around him: "Fifty rows of heavy crossbows, prepare!"
The two thousand heavy crossbowmen were divided into five rows, and they raised the cold and cold one thousand heavy crossbows. The sharp iron arrows were aimed at the Tang army sword and shield soldiers at the city cave. The arrow tips exuded the smell of death in the thick darkness.
.
Tang Jun's sword and shield soldiers had already exited the suspension bridge. A hundred steps away, Xu Shiji gave the order, "Shoot!"
"Dong! Dong! Dong~" intensive drumbeats sounded, followed by a clicking sound, and two hundred iron crossbow arrows rushed towards the front and sides of the Tang army with unparalleled power.
Only the sound of a shield cracking was heard. Then there was the scream of the Tang army. The iron crossbow shot through the shield, penetrated the bodies of the Tang soldiers, and even passed through them.
The five people in the front row and dozens of people on both sides screamed and fell to the ground. Then two hundred iron arrows in the second row came out of the strings and shot at the Tang army like lightning. Dozens more Tang soldiers were shot over.
For five consecutive rounds, the Tang army suffered nearly 200 casualties. Since the Sui army almost completed the attack at one go, the Tang army did not react in a very short period of time.
When the five rounds of arrows were completed, the Tang army was suddenly frightened out of their wits. The powerful lethality produced by this iron arrow, which could penetrate shields and penetrate flesh and bones, frightened the soldiers of the Tang army. They turned around and fled towards the city.
The officer couldn't stop shouting.
Another round of arrow attacks by the Sui army began again. This time Xu Shiji changed to three rows of shots, and dense and powerful iron arrows shot into the city cave. In the dark city cave, the sounds of wailing and screams were heard, and corpses were piled up.
, the thick blood gathered into a spring and flowed out of the doorway.
Xu Shiji watched the killing of enemy soldiers with indifferent eyes, and he issued another order, "Light the fire!"
Dozens of rockets rose into the sky and shot into the ditch. Runan County was a small town and had no moat. It only symbolically dug a two-foot-wide ditch under the suspension bridge.
At this time, the Hangou had been filled with kerosene by the Sui army. Dozens of rockets were fired into the Hangou. Fire shot into the sky, thick smoke billowed, and the fire started to burn rapidly.
The fire in Runan City was getting bigger and bigger. The Sui army kept throwing kerosene barrels into the city. The fire burned much faster than Qu Tutong expected.
He originally thought it would take an hour for the fire to engulf the county town, but judging from the speed of the fire spreading in front of him, it would take at most half an hour for the fire to engulf everything.
The front line of the fire was only a hundred steps away from the Tang army. The tongues of red flames were licking the houses. The fire was soaring into the sky. The rolling heat waves were roasting the soldiers of the Tang army. The war horses neighed in fear. The cavalry pulled the reins desperately. A kind of feeling was born in the hearts of all the soldiers.
Fear, a kind of despair.
Beads of sweat rolled down Qu Tutong's forehead. This was not because of the heat, but because of the tension and anxiety. The huge pressure made him feel confused. This was a disastrous defeat that he had never suffered in the thirty years he had been in the army. He had long heard that the Sui army was good at
Fire attack, he will be defeated by the fire again.
At this time, Qu Tutong no longer expected to turn defeat into victory. He knew that the morale of the army had been completely lost, and now he could only hope to save as many troops as possible. Qu Tutong galloped through the army, shouting in a hoarse voice: "Don't be chaotic!
If we hold firm, everyone can survive!"
Qu Tutong barely maintained the formation of the Tang army soldiers with his personal prestige. At this time, there was a chaos at the city gate. Thousands of sword and shield soldiers fled back in rout, disrupting the formation. Qu Tutong was furious and rushed forward to yell and curse.
: "Why did you escape back!"
A general rushed forward and presented an iron arrow, "Old general, the Sui army's crossbows are powerful, and our brothers suffered heavy casualties!"
Qu Tutong took the iron arrow. Under the red firelight, the iron arrow seemed to be dyed with a layer of blood. Qu Tutong took a breath of air. This was at least a powerful crossbow with a weight of seven stones or more. The Sui army actually carried such a heavy crossbow.
At this time, a feeling of despair also arose in his heart. It seemed that today would be a bad day.
"General!"
Another captain rushed over and shouted in horror: "The Sui army lit a fire in the trench, and the fire engulfed the suspension bridge!"
Qu Tutong was shocked and panicked. He couldn't hold the iron arrow firmly and fell to the ground.
If the suspension bridge is burned down and the fire in the trench is not extinguished, all of them will be killed in the sea of fire. At this moment, Qu Tutong no longer cares about tactics, and it is only as much as he can escape.
He immediately shouted: "Cavalry charges, don't look back!"
The sword and shield soldiers quickly retreated and replaced the three thousand cavalry. With the loud beating of drums, the three thousand cavalry shouted and urged their horses to rush out of the city.
Arrows rained like rain outside the city, and the cavalry were shot so hard that they were knocked off their backs and suffered heavy casualties. However, in order to survive, they still charged forward desperately, trying to find a way out.
At this time, Xu Shiji knew it was time to change his tactics, and he resolutely ordered: "The crossbowmen retreat, the cavalry kills, and the spearmen withdraw!"
Trumpets were blasting and drums were beating loudly. Thousands of crossbowmen quickly retreated back. Three thousand cavalry came forward to fight. Two thousand spearmen operating trebuchets also came to cover them up. Some of the crossbow troops also transformed into spear troops. They began to intercept
Kill the Tang army's breakout.
Although the Tang army rushed out of Runan County at the cost of a thousand cavalry casualties, at this time they were no longer interested in fighting and had lost all their fighting spirit. There were only two words in everyone's mind: 'Escape!'
They had no queues and no rules. They were like densely packed headless flies, desperately trying to break out of the encirclement and fleeing in all directions. The desperate force generated by this desire for survival even made the Sui army unable to withstand it.
Seeing that the Tang army had completely collapsed, Xu Shiji issued an order: "Withdraw the passage!"
The trumpet sounded again, which was an order to give way. The generals of the Sui army ordered the soldiers to get out of the way.
As if the swollen river had finally found its outlet, the Tang army fled from every gap and cascaded thousands of miles. The Sui army chased after them, killing corpses all over the ground, and countless people surrendered.
However, Xu Shiji had his eyes on Qu Tutong. When he saw Qu Tutong escaping from the side under the protection of more than a hundred soldiers, he shouted, "The First Cavalry Battalion, follow me!"
Xu Shiji led five hundred cavalry to kill Qu Tutong. The cavalry was as fast as flying and gradually caught up with Qu Tutong. The Sui army's cavalry kept firing arrows from behind, making Qu Tutong's followers less and less. Qu Tutong led
The followers ran desperately in a deserted wheat field.
Suddenly, Qu Tutong's war horse stepped into the field mouse hole, and the horse's legs were immediately broken. The horse neighed miserably and fell to the ground, throwing Qu Tutong several feet away.
However, his soldiers did not stop their horses for a moment and rushed dozens of steps away. When they turned their horses and ran back, the Sui army's cavalry had already arrived and instantly separated Qu Tutong from his soldiers.
Dozens of soldiers surrounded him, and with a burst of spears, stabbings, and screams, all the soldiers were annihilated.
After all, Qu Tutong was over sixty years old. Almost all his bones were broken. When he struggled to get up in pain, a long stick pressed against his throat. Xu Shiji said coldly: "If you dare to move again, I will
I'll cut your throat!"
Qu Tutong let out a long sigh and lay down on his back. His heart was filled with endless sadness, the cycle of heaven and unsatisfactory retribution. He was ultimately defeated at the hands of the Sui army.
At this time, he suddenly remembered the situation when the Queen of Tang Dynasty went to persuade Yao Junsu to surrender.
At that time, he was sad and ashamed. He stood under the city with tears on his face and shouted: "Jun Su, the Sui army has been defeated, the Tang king has risen, the Sui Dynasty is over, you surrender!"
Yao Junsu stood at the top of the city and said coldly: "The war horse you are riding was given by the Holy Spirit. How can you have the nerve to ride this horse now?"
Qu Tutong cried out sadly: "Jun Su, I tried my best to surrender!"
"Hmph! You should die for your country if you try your best to be poor, instead of being a lackey of the Tang Dynasty. One day, you will have retribution, and heaven will have its own justice!"...
Qu Tutong closed his eyes in pain, tears of humiliation flowed out of his eyes, and he shouted, "Xu Shiji, kill me!"
Xu Shiji unexpectedly withdrew his horse and said calmly: "I really want to kill you, but I don't have the power. You go and beg for mercy from His Highness the King of Chu!"