Tibet.

Chapter 618: Loss of Luyang
When 12 Yan troops approached Luyang Pass, Cui Qianyou came to give orders to An Qingxu. Although he failed to make a successful raid, he made full preparations and laid the foundation for the subsequent siege.

He built six large wooden platforms two hundred steps away from the city wall, using more than 10,000 pieces of wood. Each large wooden platform covers an area of ​​five acres, is four feet high, and can accommodate hundreds of people.

In this way, they formed a condescending position over Luyang Pass and could use heavy crossbows to shoot at the defenders at Luyang Pass.

"Your Highness, generally our crossbowmen shoot from the bottom up. Once our army starts to attack the city, the crossbowmen must stop shooting, otherwise they will accidentally injure their own troops. However, building a high platform in a humble position results in shooting from a high position, and the soldiers attack. We don’t have to stop shooting arrows when the enemy is about to attack the city, which is very helpful for covering the soldiers’ attack on the city.”

An Qingxu was very interested in the six high platforms and praised: "We have never thought of using this method before. Thanks to General Cui, I believe we will be successful this time!"

He immediately ordered: "Fifty thousand troops gather and prepare to attack the city!"

"Boom-boom-boom-"

The dull sound of war drums sounded, and the [-]-strong army quickly gathered, with flags like clouds and spears like forests. Five large square formations were overwhelming, and more than [-] large tank trucks were ready, like [-] giant beasts standing in front of the army. middle.

At this time, Tian Chengsi said to An Qingxu: "Your Highness, you can let the Tang army have a taste of our Jun Tianlei as an appetizer before the war!"

An Qingxu laughed, "That's what I meant!"

Eighteen medium-sized trebuchets were hoisted onto the high platform, and three trebuchets were deployed on each high platform. This trebuchet is the most advanced trebuchet in the Tang Dynasty. Even the trebuchets in the Feilong Treasure Book are not as advanced as it. The most advanced thing is that it can adjust the shooting distance, which can be adjusted according to the weight of the thrown object and the distance of the target.

Jun Tianlei is a gunpowder porcelain ball, each weighing about five kilograms, dragging a braid-like match rope. There is a professional soldier in front of each trebuchet to operate.

"Ready to launch!"

A general on the main stage in the middle raised the red flag high and waved it down. Eighteen trebuchets were launched at the same time, and eighteen thunderbolts flew towards the city.

This was the first time gunpowder appeared in war, and the flying dragon brought its masterpiece.

Eighteen porcelain fire thunders roared towards the city, and the match rope behind them was hissing and smoking. Li Baozhen shouted: "Boulders are coming, be careful to dodge!"

Five of the eighteen porcelain fire thunders shattered and burned, and the other thirteen exploded. The explosion sounded like thunder, the fragments flew everywhere, and the poison-quenched iron nails inside flew around, and many soldiers were hit.

All the soldiers were so frightened that they squatted down. It was the first time they encountered such thunder. Many people panicked. Could it be that the God of Thunder was helping the enemy?

Li Baozhen heard what Li Ye said in Suiye. He suddenly woke up and shouted: "This is a firearm, don't be afraid, use a shield to resist it!"

"General, there's one here that didn't explode!"

A soldier ran forward and raised a porcelain ball the size of a grapefruit. Li Baozhen nodded and said to the soldier next to him: "Take it back and pack some iron nails and porcelain pieces!"

At this moment, a low horn sounded, "Woo——"

The Yan army's attack began. Heavy crossbows were fired from the high platform, and arrows rained down. Juntian thunder continued to explode at the top of the city, and countless soldiers defending the city were injured.

The 100-strong army was running and shouting, like a roaring mountain and a tsunami. Among the advancing and undulating army, twenty vehicles were slowly advancing, and there were more than [-] siege ladders.

What really suppressed the Tang army were the crossbows on the six high platforms. After all, the number of Jun Tianlei was too small. It was just for deterrence. It stopped after two rounds. Then came the shooting of [-] heavy crossbows. This is a deadly weapon. Being so condescending, the Tang army was unable to lift its head, and was unable to resist the Yan army's tidal attack.

Several generals ran over and shouted, "General, we will definitely not be able to defend the city gates. We must retreat, otherwise all ten thousand brothers will be dead!"

Li Baozhen also knew that he could no longer hold on. He gritted his teeth and ordered: "Throw all the kerosene down the city and light it, and then evacuate!" There were thousands of jars of kerosene on the top of the city, and the soldiers worked together to put thousands of clay jars of kerosene into it. Throwing it down the city, the clay pot shattered and kerosene flowed all over the ground. Hundreds of torches were thrown down, and the city suddenly turned into a sea of ​​flames with thick smoke billowing. The Yan army's offensive was blocked.

However, once the kerosene was burned out, it could no longer resist the Yan army's attack. Heavy crossbow arrows from the six high platforms were still being fired intensively. The soldiers on the top of the city suffered heavy casualties, with more than [-]% of the two thousand soldiers injured.

Li Baozhen did not hold out hope for the burning of kerosene. On the contrary, he took advantage of the opportunity of kerosene to block the Yan army's attack and began to order the entire army to retreat quickly.

Nearly a thousand wounded soldiers were also carried away, including more than 300 soldiers who were hit by Juntian's thunder poison nails.

The Tang Army's military camp was outside Guancheng. There was a large amount of food and grass, [-] horses, and [-] tents. The food and tents could not be taken away. The Tang Army immediately lit the tents, and soon the camp was engulfed in raging fire.

In the fierce fire, more than [-] Tang troops evacuated to the south on horseback. They were not cavalry, and the horses were just for transportation.

Although there are a lot of troops left, they really can't defend Guancheng. This is not a question of the number of troops, but that Guancheng can only accommodate 2000 people at most. The main reason is that the enemy's heavy crossbows on the high platform suppressed them. Either they fought fiercely with the Yan army with huge casualties, but in the end they couldn't stop the Chao chariot from attacking the city.

A small Guan city has no natural terrain to rely on, and the advantage of being at a commanding height has been gained by the enemy. How can they withstand a powerful attack of 10,000+ people? 10,000+ people can completely crush Luyang Pass. .

Fifteen nest chariots held up the city head in the gaps of more than a dozen fire points. Thousands of Yan army soldiers swarmed up from the nest chariots and rushed to the top of the city. The Tang army had already withdrawn, and the Yan army inserted troops at the top of the city. After raising their own military flags, tens of thousands of people raised their arms and cheered together.

Yan Zhuang praised An Qingxu in a low voice: "General Cui is indeed the best siege general in the world. He is truly worthy of his reputation. His six high towers broke through the defense of the Tang army. We only suffered hundreds of casualties. General Cui can be remembered as the most important achievement." !”

An Qingxu laughed, "I still hope that he will continue to crack Xiangyang City!"

The 12-strong army took a day's rest and marched southward toward Nanyang County.

The army retreating south from Luyang Pass encountered the main force that had just returned from Tangzhou in Nanyang County. Li Ye had ordered Pei Xiu to take the surrendered soldiers to Xiangyang for reorganization. He was worried about leaving Luyang Pass, so he personally led [-] troops Go north to meet.

Li Ye has received news from the vanguard that Li Baozhen could not withstand the Yan army's attack and had withdrawn from Luyang Pass to the south. Luyang Pass was lost.

Li Ye was mentally prepared for the loss of Luyang Pass, otherwise he would not have asked the people to retreat south. The last time Luyang Pass was almost impossible to hold, but this time the Yan army was fully prepared and had strong troops, so it was impossible to hold it. Very normal.

"Where is General Li Baozhen now?" Li Ye asked loudly.

"Over there!"

The soldier pointed to the distance, where yellow dust was billowing, and a cavalry team came back.

Li Baozhen didn't expect to meet the Jiedushi here. He was really ashamed. He knelt down on one knee and reported, "I have failed the Jiedushi's expectations due to my humble position and failed to defend Luyang Pass. I am here to apologize!"

Li Ye nodded, "Let's not talk about the crime first. Why are you so out of touch?"

Li Baozhen then killed Cui Qianyou and gave a brief report on the construction of six high platforms. He sighed and said: "The other party's six high platforms were condescending and kept firing heavy crossbows at the top of the city. The brothers were so suppressed that they could not lift their heads, especially the other party. Firearms were also used, and the brothers suffered heavy casualties.”

"and many more!"

Li Ye interrupted him and asked urgently: "What firearm did the other party use?"

Li Baozhen turned around and waved, "Bring it up!"

(End of this chapter)