Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 554: Twilight of the Gods (Part )
The huge ladder, several feet high and ten feet wide, was pushed and swayed towards the northern wall of Huayin City.

This type of ladder can carry a hundred people, protecting them from the harassment of arrows shot by the defenders on the city wall. Of course, the disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it is huge in size and heavy, and it takes dozens of people to push it to the front of the city wall.

Especially since Huayin City is at the foot of the mountain and backed by a mountain on the south, the uphill road is hopeless.

Several times, the ladders had to be stopped to change people. This bloody and sweaty siege was exhausting.

At the bottom of the slope, An Shouzhong frowned and squinted his eyes to observe the effect of this wave of siege. Because the road was narrow, only one ladder could be pushed up at a time. And only the northern wall could be used. The roads on the other two sides were too narrow to pass such a huge thing.

Two ladders in front had already broken down, and were hastily pushed to the side of the road by the infantrymen under An Shouzhong, so as not to hinder the siege.

Even so, the siege was still very ineffective. The three city gates were separated by rocks and could not support each other. However, the defenders in Huayin City could move back and forth on the city wall. They would defend the most fierce attack.

In general, the current offensive rhythm is very poor. If we continue to play like this, there will be no hope of breaking the city in the short term.

"Stop climbing the city wall and use the pounding stone cart to smash the wall."

An Shouzhong gave orders to the messenger beside him.

Every time the ladder was about to reach the city wall, the defenders would use thick wooden stakes to hold it up. Taking this opportunity, they would set the ladder on fire. The soldiers on the ladder could not even come into contact with the defenders, let alone fight.

During this offensive and defensive process, although there were also ants attacking the city, both sides suffered casualties, but the casualties of the defenders were far less than those of the attackers.

If a siege goes wrong, it will be difficult for the soldiers who are still alive to retreat from the city wall intact. Basically, as many soldiers as go up will die.

Dang Dang Dang! Dang Dang Dang!
When the gong sounded, the Hebei rebel soldiers who were halfway through their run retreated as if by reflex. As for those who were already attacking the city wall, they were naturally dealt with by the elite soldiers under Li Guangbi's command.

"Everyone else, go find some rocks! The pounding stone trucks are not allowed to stop!"

An Shouzhong quickly ordered people to throw stones to smash the city wall!

After several hours of throwing stones, all the winch crossbows on the city walls were destroyed. Therefore, it cannot be said that today's siege was ineffective. It did weaken the firepower of the defenders to some extent.

boom!
A stone flew onto the wall, knocking several guards holding shields to the ground, shattering their shields and causing wailing. The wounded and the dead were immediately carried down the wall by the civilians.

This situation is actually very rare, it is just a blind cat catching a dead mouse. Generally, the stones hit the city wall and it is difficult to throw them into the city.

An Shouzhong let out a breath, folded his arms and looked coldly at the soldier who was responsible for loading the ammunition and operating the stone-beating cart beside him.

He suddenly became so annoyed that he didn't want to talk to anyone.

An Shouzhong has no intention of using the reserve force on the top of the mountain.

Now is the first day of using siege engines to attack the city. The defenders are obviously more powerful and are responding effectively. The Hebei rebels have not found any opportunity to break into the city.

This is how siege warfare works. When you encounter a difficult city, you need to wear down the defenders' will and stamina. When they are about to collapse, use all your trump cards and kill them with one strike!

The refueling tactic is the stupidest.

boom!
A stone hit the city wall, knocking down the stones covering the rammed earth outside the wall, revealing the rammed earth inside. If it was an ordinary city wall, this blow would probably cause a small piece to collapse.

However, Huayin City was built on the mountain, using local materials, and the city walls were also relatively solid.

After the attack stopped, the defenders would use the extra soil from the trenches to fill the gap in the city wall. Once the soil in Guanzhong was compacted, it was very strong, and building city walls was a piece of cake. People in northern Shaanxi even lived in caves.

The slow progress of the siege made An Shouzhong scratch his head, extremely dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do.

However, An Shouzhong could wait, but Huangfu Weiming could not.

Just as he was commanding the stone-beating chariots to attack the city outside Huayin City, a general who was a member of the 10th Army and served beside Huangfu Weiming came up to An Shouzhong, saluted him with a fist, and said, "General An, the commander-in-chief is urging us very urgently. Is there really no progress on your side?"

This person's name is Bai Xiuzhi. She was very polite and had no intention of squeezing An Shouzhong, but her anxiety was evident in her words. To be honest, no one in the Hebei rebel army, from top to bottom, was not anxious because their way was blocked by a city.

"See for yourself."

An Shouzhong sighed and pointed to the wreckage of siege equipment piled next to the woods, all of which were destroyed by the defenders.

"Then... I will reply to you truthfully."

Bai Xiuzhi left with a look of disappointment. Huangfu Weiming sent him to check because he wanted to know the progress, but he was afraid of a conflict with An Shouzhong, so he sent a younger brother to urge things forward.

This way, even if the fight turns ugly, there is a buffer between the two parties, and they don't have to tear each other apart directly. Afterwards, the worst that can happen is that Bai Xiuzhi will be punished.

But if Huangfu Weiming came in person to urge him, would An Shouzhong listen or not? In the end, who should he blame for the failure of the siege?
This question is hard to answer. Both of them want to save face, so they can't just turn against each other, right?

From this we can see that Huangfu Weiming was very methodical in his dealings with people and was by no means a warrior who only knew how to wield a knife.

An Shouzhong has stopped piling up the earth today. This method will not work in a short period of time. It will be difficult to pile up the earth hill as high as Huayin City without ten days or half a month.

After nightfall, An Shouzhong selected another 500-man death squad and went up the mountain to try to break into Huayin City from the southern hillside. Unfortunately, Li Guangbi had ambushed a large number of troops there, and the Hebei rebels were shot by a volley of arrows, suffering heavy casualties, and the remaining soldiers had to retreat to the camp.

Seeing this, An Shouzhong's last glimmer of hope was extinguished. He already knew that the commander of Huayin was no ordinary man, and he had guarded this small city perfectly. Playing tricks was useless.

If a contest of cleverness doesn’t work, then let’s compete in endurance.

So An Shouzhong went to Huangfu Weiming in person and requested that the troops that had previously participated in the siege, who had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted, be withdrawn to the rear, and that those troops that had not yet participated in the battle be allowed to attack the city. They should also continue to make siege equipment, search for stones, and let the stone-beating carts bombard the city walls day and night.

Huangfu Weiming agreed to his request without hesitation.

……

"What day is it today?"

On the top of Huayin City, Li Guangbi, whose left shoulder was bruised by the broken stones when he used his shield to block the stone bullets, leaned on the parapet and asked Hao Tingyu who was watching the sunset.

"Tomorrow is the ninth day. It has been three days in a row. Huangfu Weiming is really a mad dog."

Hao Tingyu cursed angrily.

The Hebei rebels used stones to hit the city wall day and night, and it worked. A gap was smashed in the north wall, but Li Guangbi commanded the civilians in the city to block the gap with their lives.

Fill it with the excess soil from digging the trench.

In this wave of fighting, more than 2,000 people on our side were killed or wounded before we filled the gap and repelled the attack of the Hebei rebels.

Hao Tingyu chopped people so hard that they couldn't even lift their arms.

"Two more days."

Li Guangbi sighed, worrying whether Fang Youde would come to Huayin for rescue.

Today should be the first general offensive of the Hebei rebels, and also the most fierce siege on the city.

At that time, the enemy troops were attacking the city on three sides of the city wall, with the assistance of a ladder, and stone-pounding carts were constantly throwing stones to interfere with the defenders!
Not only that, there were also bandit troops launching surprise attacks from the mountains south of Huayin, attempting to break into the city using simple rope ladders.

When the city wall collapsed, Li Guangbi was doubting whether he could hold on!
Fortunately, the stone-throwing vehicles of the Hebei rebels were damaged after the high-intensity bombardment. Later, the bombing density was significantly reduced.

Otherwise, it would be hard to say who will win.

Even so, the defenders in the city have suffered more than 3,000 casualties and are almost struggling on the brink of collapse.

If this happened again tomorrow, Li Guangbi felt that he would not be able to withstand it. First of all, the reserve troops were not enough. All the heavy equipment such as crossbows were also lost.

"If it doesn't work, you can leave from the small path on the south mountain."

Hao Tingyu came over and whispered.

Of course, running away alone means ruining your career and losing all the accumulation of the first half of your life. No one would choose this path unless it is absolutely necessary.

"As long as the city is intact, people are still alive. If the city is destroyed, people will die. Don't talk about running away anymore." Li Guangbi waved his hands. It was obvious that he did not agree to run away.

Hao Tingyu didn't say anything, but he felt it was not worth it! Not worth it for Li Guangbi, and not worth it for himself!
What a shitty court, what a shitty emperor, they are not worth their lives defending the city!
After thinking about it, Hao Tingyu could only sigh and said nothing. If he had any complaints, he would wait until the battle was over before he said them.

At this moment, he suddenly saw smoke in the east!

"Look! Over there, over there!"

Hao Tingyu pointed towards the east and danced with joy, his whole face distorted by sudden excitement!
"Ok?"

Li Guangbi was also startled. He immediately stood up straight and looked through his eyes.

That direction seems to be...Tongguan!
Li Guangbi and Hao Tingyu saw signal smoke in the direction of Tongguan, which must be a problem. Otherwise, no one would light signal smoke for fun.

In fact, something did happen in Tongguan.

What Li Guangbi and others could not see at this moment was that boat after boat of soldiers from the Konghe Army were coming ashore, crossing the river beach to the small road between the two capitals, like a tiger descending from the mountain, killing anyone they saw!

They all had a linen scarf around their necks, dyed red, which made them look particularly eye-catching.

Even at dusk when the light is insufficient, people with normal eyesight can easily identify friend or foe by using this.

Although the Liangjing Road was wide enough to accommodate several carriages at the same time, there were mountains on both sides of the road, leaving no room for turning.

The elite troops of the Hebei rebels were all on the front line of Huayin City, while those who remained in Tongguan were those who were injured in the previous siege and those who were exhausted to the extreme and had to retreat for rest.

They encountered the fierce and powerful Konghe Army, which was sent down from the sky like a god, and were almost slaughtered one-sidedly.

When many of the Hebei rebels were killed, they were sitting on the ground resting without any defense, and some of them didn't even have their long weapons with them!

Woo~~!

Woo~~!

A desolate horn sounded from the direction of Tongguan, and Li Huaiguang, son of Li Jiaqing, led the pioneers of the Control Crane Army and rushed to the front. It was like a sharp knife, cutting through the formation of the Hebei rebels, which could no longer be called a formation.

Wherever you go, you are invincible!
"Kill, kill, kill! Kill, kill, kill!"

"Kill, kill, kill! Kill, kill, kill!"

Li Huaiguang and the elite soldiers behind him shouted and killed frantically, using their swords to clear the way.

The sound of shouting and killing echoed on the official road between the two mountains. The soldiers of the Control Crane Army rushed and shouted, and wherever they passed, there was no enemy soldier left standing.

The Hebei rebels were overwhelmed by the sudden shouting and killing! Especially those who were farther west, they had no idea what the enemy situation was like in the east!

How could the enemy come from behind?

If they are coming, they should come from Chang'an in the west!
This is the first thing that comes to many people’s minds.

But they had no time to think about anything else, because the Konghe Army, which had led the way with Modao, had already arrived!
Among the Tang Dynasty border troops, the Mo Dao generally accounted for one fifth of their equipment, or one Mo Dao for five men. Therefore, the responsibility of the Mo Dao team was often to clear the way or to cover the rear, and they were generally used in a concentrated manner.

The soldiers of the Hebei rebel army didn't know what was happening in the east, but when they saw the defeated soldiers coming, they could only retreat to the west!
No one could withstand the powerful blow from the Crane Control Army's vanguard. What else could they do except run?

The road was filled with soldiers, some from the Control Crane Army and even more from the Hebei Rebel Army. Some were wearing armor, and even more were not, all running wildly towards the west.

On the Hebei rebel side, both officers and soldiers felt a buzzing sound in their ears.

There were footsteps, heartbeats, and shouts of killing. It was hard to tell what was what.

The situation is set and there is no way to change it. All we can do is run!

This scene is like the Yellow River bursting its banks in the north of Tongguan, with floodwaters carrying mud and rushing in. A single person, or even dozens or hundreds of people, their power is tiny and they themselves are fragile.

They couldn't stop the "flood".

On a high plateau near the Yellow River, Fang Youde held the hilt of his sword, looking at the almost one-sided massacre below, his heart remaining calm.

He did not directly participate in this battle, and even Li Jiaqing did not lead the troops to fight. Except for Li Huaiguang who served as the vanguard, the others were commanded by Gao Xianzhi and others.

"Marshal, this battle is over. It all depends on whether we can capture Huangfu Weiming."

Li Jiaqing, who was standing beside him, reported in an admiring tone.

"Well, that's it."

Fang Youde waved his hands in a disinterested manner, without any of the excitement and joy of a great victory over his opponent. This time, the move he made was a true display of skill in an ordinary way, with great ingenuity and effortlessness.

"If Huangfu Weiming is captured, will the commander kill him?"

Li Jiaqing asked again, and now this question seemed no longer a delusion. Of course, if this Marshal Huangfu died in the army, then there would be no need to say more.

Fang Youde nodded and said, "If a person is killed, he will die. Huangfu Weiming is not immortal, so why can't he be killed?"

He didn't take Huangfu Weiming seriously at all.

In this battle, Fang Youde took advantage of the enemy's slackness and fatigue, and took advantage of the narrow terrain of this section of the road to use the move of rolling up the pearl curtain.

Use the strong infantry to drive out the enemy's fleeing soldiers and continue along this road.

Roll, roll, roll! Roll until you are crazy!

This is like a snowball, with more and more defeated soldiers turning around and fleeing, until it finally forms a situation where a mountain is crushing the top of one's head.

By the time Huangfu Weiming reacted, he couldn't even kill all the fleeing soldiers rushing towards him!

Any resistance is futile.

At this time, Li Jiaqing was not worried about whether he could win or not. Instead, he was worried about his son Li Huaiguang, praying that he would not be trampled by the chaotic soldiers because of being too excited during the battle.

"Before I came here, the order I gave was to charge until there were no more enemies in front of us. There is no problem winning the battle."

Fang Youde paused, sighed and continued: "But even if we defeat Huangfu Weiming, what can we do?"

The prosperous Tang Dynasty is no longer here. How easy is it to restore its former glory?

Defeating Huangfu Weiming was just to maintain the last bit of face of the Tang court. Even if we won a hearty victory, what would it matter?

Fang Youde did not say this aloud, because Li Jiaqing could not understand the complex feelings of him who had lived two lives but still could not escape the control of fate.

"General, we should do our best and leave the rest to fate. After all, we are only human.

Let God decide all the affairs of the world."

Li Jiaqing persuaded Fang Youde calmly.

“Perhaps you are right.

I have done my best and have done my best for the Li family.

As for destiny, that is not something I can ask for."

Fang Youde turned around and looked at Li Jiaqing, forcing an ugly smile on his face.

No matter how you look at it, it seems that this smile is full of bitterness.

(End of this chapter)