Great Han Empire

Chapter 386 Seeking the Road to Restoration

"The Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Coral
Chapter 21 Searching for the Road to Fuguo
The ancient road of the Western Regions, a hundred miles west of Gaochang City.

Arda and his party walked eastward slowly.After leaving Kucha, the leader Arda—it should be said that Ardasil chose to go west to Gaochang City.

After traveling for more than a year, especially after being captured in Shule City, the distant and mysterious Han Dynasty in the east left an increasingly clear and deep impression on Arda.Through the observation of the Han army in the Western Regions, he found that the national power of the Han Dynasty was far above that of Guishuang and Anxi, and was almost on par with Anxi's enemy in the west, the Roman Empire, perhaps even stronger.Such a powerful and civilized eastern empire aroused Arda's strong interest.Arda was born in a noble family in Persia. He has deep feelings for the glorious history of his ancestors and is extremely dissatisfied with the status quo of being ruled by aliens: the once mighty Persian Empire was conquered by Alexander of Macedonia. After the period, it was conquered by the nomadic Parthians in the border areas of the empire, and changed from the master of the Mesopotamia to the slave of a foreign race.After 500 years of humiliation under alien rule, the national sentiments of the people at the bottom of Persia have finally gathered on the verge of eruption, and the calls from the upper class to restore the glory of Persia are also increasing day by day.Arda was such a staunch Persian Zionist who received a systematic Hellenistic education and believed in Zoroastrianism. Under the oppressive rule of the Parthian Empire, he quietly accumulated the power to resist.

"My lord, why don't we turn north and return to the country? It is said that the situation in the country is very turbulent because Rome is preparing to invade. There should be a lot of work to do after returning?" the pharmacist who had treated Sima Yi asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry, Biliuus, no matter what the domestic situation is, we are not strong enough to seize this opportunity. Vulcan gave me guidance, and we may gain unexpected gains from this eastward journey. Arda said with a smile, "Big fellow, it will be the end of all answers."

"Harvest? I understand. Are you going to borrow troops from the big man?" Biliuus said excitedly, "If we can have a powerful army like the one in Kucha to help us, then the restoration of Persia will be much easier. "

Arda shook his head lightly and said: "No, the fate of Persia must always be changed by us Persians ourselves, and we cannot rely on external forces. The answer I am looking for is how to build a strong army and how to build a powerful Persian army." A country of people. This point cannot be concluded in Greek books. Only the big man can give me the answer. Of course, we can still seek cooperation."

A group of Persians who wanted to seek answers from the big man and wanted to seek cooperation with some "arrogance" walked slowly but firmly towards their destination.In front of them is a arduous road to restore the country that lasted more than ten years.

Kucha, he is under the Qiankun city.

After the Guishuang people failed to dig the city for the first time, they did not give up this tactic.For half a month, more than 30 excavation work continued with casualties.Because the Guishuang Army set up a huge trebuchet outside the west gate, it was very powerful and posed a great threat to the city.The Guishuang army at the root of the city also used iron forks, which could throw away burning cotton wool and firewood at any time. Therefore, the city could only cause casualties to the Guishuang army by throwing bricks, stones, and rolling wood and stones, but nothing was effective. This method can prevent the Guishuang army from digging holes.The city-digging teams sent by the Guishuang Army are extremely brave, no matter how dangerous they are, they dig deep without thinking about their own lives.

On the southern section of the west wall, near the corner, a large hole has been dug.Although the casualties were very heavy, it was the most successful after all.In the afternoon of the third day of September, the hole that was several feet wide had been dug to the left and right by more than two feet wide, to the inside to the depth of one foot, and to the top to the height of a person.The broken bricks and clods dug out of the cave, together with the dead bodies, were piled on the left and right sides of the cave entrance, as high as a person, like two hills.

Pang De originally wanted to send a group of people to snatch the big cave, but he thought again: there were already twenty or thirty Guishuang troops in the cave, and the stone throwing outside the city was very violent. Fewer people went down to the city, which was useless; He would be found before he hit the ground, hit with a cannon stone, or killed with an arrow, so he gave up the idea.

Throughout the afternoon, from the southern section to the northern section, on the fifteen-mile-long city wall, gunpowder smoke rose and then slowly dissipated. After many times of gunpowder smoke rising and dispersing, dusk gradually came.A gray evening hail flows in the fields.Standing behind the battlements, Pound saw that the Guishuang Army was still building trebuchets, at least a dozen or so.He ordered half of the soldiers and people in the city to stay in the city, and the other half to go to the bunk to rest quickly, but not to stay away.He himself went down to the city immediately, returned to Kaye Temple, and called important generals and representatives of Kucha to discuss in secret.It won't be long.After the meeting, each went to prepare for tomorrow's big battle and bitter battle.Except for him and a dozen generals, the nobles and eminent monks who assisted in defending the city all had serious expressions on their faces when they left.Everyone is worried: his fate in Gancheng may be decided tomorrow.

The next day, on the fourth day of September, at dawn, Guishuang began an army-wide operation.The drums of war rang out in bursts until Chen Shi.Starting from the north and south sections of the west city wall, and even a section of the north wall and south wall, they began to attack across the board.First of all, in the northern section, the Guishuang army bombarded the city wall with many catapults, and the soldiers shouted, which was actually to confuse the defenders, and there was no real attack.

In the big hole in the southern section, the Guishuang army drove a large number of wooden stakes into the base of the wall before withdrawing yesterday.At the hour of the hour, they poured fire oil into the cave and lit it with rockets.Soon, the fire ignited in the cave, and the flames were raging, and soon the foundation of the city wall was burned loose, making that section of the city wall crumbling.Taking advantage of this opportunity, about fifteen giant catapults aimed at the place where the big hole was about to collapse.Some cannons also hit the top of the city, and the battlements were smashed one by one, and the watchtower at the corner was also collapsed.Some of the soldiers and civilians defending the city died in the enemy towers, and some escaped.Part of the city wall above the big hole had already collapsed, and it collapsed piece by piece under the fierce artillery fire, forming a gap.

As early as the evening of yesterday, Guishuang general Shaka had gathered [-] elite infantry and cavalry, and set up a new camp three miles away from the southern section of the west city, so that the soldiers could have a good rest.After the fourth watch, they were all woken up and had a hearty meal.When they arrived outside the city at five o'clock, the cavalry and infantry took up positions respectively.At that time, the city wall was blown out by a trebuchet with a gap several feet wide.Suddenly, all the stone bullets stopped bombarding the gap, and only hit both sides of the gap.Shaka waved the red flag, and the two infantry rushed straight to the gap, preparing to occupy the city wall from the gap.Immediately, the cavalry also came to the dry bank of the moat, preparing to cross the moat and rush into the city through the gap once the infantry occupied the city wall.

At this time, there were no soldiers and civilians defending the city where the gap was aimed at.The soldiers and civilians defending the city were on both sides of the gap, separated by several feet, and they were all beaten by artillery stones so that they could not raise their heads.Silu Zhonglang, who was in charge of defending that section of the city wall, personally supervised the battle, forcing the defenders and civilians to raise their heads, and shot arrows and bricks at the besieging Guishuang army.But the soldiers and civilians who defended the city were killed and wounded almost as soon as they showed their heads.

Seeing that the gap would soon be occupied by the Guishuang Army, Yu Ban called out loudly:
"I, Yu Wenze, am right here, everyone hurry up and kill the thieves!"

He led his own soldiers, took sand and stones, and shot arrows at the Guishuang army who had entered the gap.These soldiers of Yu Jin have been in the army for many years, and they are all excellent shooters.A burst of arrows shot down the gap, which was so fierce that the Guishuang army who attacked the gap were killed and injured.

The other soldiers and civilians who defended the city saw that the Lord General was so disregarding his life and danger, and they all became more courageous.The morale that was about to collapse just now was restored by Yu Jin.Some people threw bricks and stones into the gap, and more people shot arrows under the gap.The first batch of Guishuang army who had already attacked, were killed and wounded one after another, and rolled down.Immediately after the second batch came up, they were killed and wounded one after another, and rolled down.Then the third group attacked again.In times of tension, sometimes the battlefield suddenly becomes strangely silent, just fighting desperately.Suddenly the shouts and drums shook the sky and the earth again.It turned out that it was Guishuang who lost his temper and swung a scimitar. He joined the soldiers and attacked the gap.At this moment, Yu Jin took the lead and leaned out again, shooting arrows fiercely with the soldiers.Ganija was hit by arrows in his body and legs, and fell down.People on the left and right also fell down one after another.This time the attack was repulsed.A group of heavy armored infantry then desperately attacked and rescued Ganika.

Seeing that several attacks were repelled, Jipinada waved his hand, and the attack stopped temporarily with the sound of a gong.Immediately, he ordered his men to turn the cannon around and fire violently at the gap again.

At this time, Pang De led Guo Huai and others to the gap to give command.He didn't dare to leave the gap too far, so he leaned on the top of the wall to avoid the stone bullets.Despite this, left and right soldiers continued to be killed and injured.Taking advantage of the fact that one stone bomb had just landed nearby and the second stone bomb had not yet been fired, General Zhengxi, whose face was full of gunpowder smoke and dust, his eyes flashed, and he whispered something to Guo Huai.Guo Huai nodded, got up from the hiding place, bent down and ran to the city to organize a few ballistas, then secretly looked at the terrain of the gap from the side, and ordered the gunner in a half-hoarse voice: "Move quickly to the gap." , aiming at the outside of the notch.At the same time, he ordered a team of crossbowmen to aim there as well.

At this moment, one of Sima Yi's personal soldiers climbed up to the city and told him that the Lord Protector of the Western Regions was going to the city to supervise the battle.Pound quickly said: "Master Sima must be dissuaded from going to the city. Please, Lord Sima, supervise the battle below the city. With me, Pang, it will be difficult for Guishuang people to enter the city!" After hearing this, the soldiers hurried down to the city.

But he said that Sima Yi was going to the city to supervise the battle, and when he heard the soldiers came back, he was persuaded by the officials, so he temporarily came to sit under a pagoda very close to the city.He refused to leave the city, sat under the pagoda for a while, ran to the root of the city for a while, and kept asking: "Have the people of Guishuang ever climbed the city?" Near the pagoda, some flying debris also fell on Sima Yi's left and right; sometimes stone bullets from outside the city flew over the city with a rumbling sound, and fell to the north of the pagoda, only twenty feet away from him.The place where he was sitting was safe because it was covered by the city wall.However, most of the civil servants on the left and right had no experience in artillery warfare, and they didn't understand that the place where they sat with the commander-in-chief was the "dead spot" outside the city where stone bullets could not fall, so they all turned pale with fright, and repeatedly urged the guardian to take shelter elsewhere.On the one hand, Sima Yi understood that the stone bullets in the outer city could only fly high above his head; on the other hand, he had experienced many battles and was far calmer than ordinary civil servants. When the left and right urged him to leave, he ignored them.Later, being persuaded in a hurry, he cursed loudly:

"Bastard, this official is the guardian of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty. It is the responsibility of guarding the land. An Neng is greedy for life and afraid of death!" Flicking his sleeves, he walked to the city alone. The crowd had no choice but to surround him to the city.

Pang De stood watching from the city, waiting for the next attack of the Guishuang people.Pang De looked anxiously at the position where the ballista was erected not far below, and saw Guo Huai personally directing the deployment: his face was blackened by smoke, and his armor was torn, but he was not injured yet.He also saw many soldiers fell on the city, some of them were seriously injured, and they still insisted on shooting arrows down. He was very excited, and ordered three ballistas to be dispatched to the top of the city to bombard them violently. repel.Suddenly, a stone bomb hit the city.One of the guards saw it clearly, and quickly pushed Pound to the side, followed by a cat on the waist, and the stone bullet flew over his head rumblingly, smashing a corner of the tower. .

In a blink of an eye, the gunfire of the Guishuang people stopped again.Guishuang general Shakadu led the infantry, and rushed towards the gap in groups.Shouts and shouts were everywhere, and the drums of war were loudly sounded.Many people rushed and shouted excitedly:

"Go in! Go in! Kill! Kill!"

Seeing thousands of infantry rushing to the gap, the following cavalry were also ready to rush to the gap.Everyone in the Guishuang army thought that the gap was about to be captured.Jipinada repeatedly said:

"Okay! Come on, come on!"

Suddenly, the ballista in the city sounded, and a cloud of dust rose.Those Guishuang soldiers who were about to climb into the gap were pierced by huge crossbow arrows and flew out backwards, and those who continued to climb were also shot to death by the crossbow.Some people used large shields to protect their bodies and continued to rush towards the gap, but they were finally hit by falling stone feather arrows on the walls on both sides and rolled down.Tried this several times without success.During the stalemate, Ma Dai was dressed in heavy armor and rushed forward with a big spear as long as two people. The Guishuang cavalry beheaded the Guishuang general Shaka, and took the opportunity to burn down several trebuchets close to the city wall.Seeing that Guishuang's momentum had lost momentum, Pang De asked Sima Yi who had already walked up to the city: "Zhongda, how do you see the situation of the battle?"

Sima Yi also saw that there was Pang De personally supervising the battle in the city, and the defense was solid. Today, the Guishuang army's morale has been greatly weakened, and it is impossible to attack the city, so he is determined.But he didn't answer right away, looking up at the sky.Pang De knew that he was looking at Qi, so he also looked up at the sky.At this time, the sun was gloomy, and the city was full of gunpowder smoke, but there was a floating cloud affected by the war, slightly reddish on the gunpowder smoke, but there was a thin cloud high in the sky, very white, slowly moving south.Sima Yi first watched from a high altitude, and then looked at the low-altitude clouds, his face was serious, and he nodded silently, if he got something.Pound asked, "How is the cloud?"

Sima Yi smiled and said: "It is said in the Han Dynasty: 'A person with clear clouds and white clouds will be strong and his soldiers will be cowardly. , leading to the failure of the people of Guishuang, unable to attack the city." He pointed to a floating cloud not far from the top of the city, and then said: "Look, that piece of cloud covering the top of the city is just like the book says: 'Its Those who look forward to the red are invincible.' The sky is exactly like this. Looking at the retreat of the Guishuang army, abandoning the battle flag and ignoring it, it can be seen that morale has been lost and the loss is huge. Our army should have a few days to breathe and take the opportunity Fortify the walls."

Pang De couldn't see whether a piece of floating cloud near the city was rising up, and he didn't have time to take a closer look, but he trusted Sima Yi's judgment very much, and immediately said to Jin:

"Wen Ze, wait for the order to go down, raise more wood and bricks, and prepare to repair the city wall." He said to Sima Yi again: "Zhongda, I will let Wen Ze stay here and help you strengthen the city. You are recovering from a serious illness, don't Too tired."

With a heavy heart, he walked down the city to learn about the casualties and losses in the city.

Jipinada's face was ashen, and he asked his soldiers to wave a blue flag, and the sound of the artillery stopped immediately.Some of the infantry who were about to attack the city half a mile from the trench stayed behind, and some retreated slowly.All the cavalry retreated three miles away.The engineers pulled the large trebuchets and retreated to the camp, while some small ones stayed to cover the soldiers who were digging the city.The excavation of the city is still going on, so there are still shouts of killing from time to time from Caomen to Beimen.It wasn't until Ma Chao led a brigade of cavalry out of the city through the gap and swept across the entire city wall that the battlefield finally calmed down.

In this siege battle, which was much larger than the first, the Guishuang Army suffered heavy losses. Nearly 3000 people were killed and injured outside the main attacking hole alone, and the main general Shaka died in battle.

Chang'an, Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.

Emperor Liu Shuo of the Han Dynasty sat on the couch, read the official letter jointly presented by Prime Minister Li Wei and General Zhao Yun twice, took a deep breath, and then put it down and asked: "Li Qing, Zhao Qing, what are you doing now?" Is the proposal really appropriate?"

Zhao Yun replied: "Reporting to the emperor, the ministers and others thought it was true. The imperial court has been operating for many years, the warehouses are well stocked, and the soldiers and food are sufficient. It is now time to unify the world and wipe out the night.

(End of this chapter)