The Great Tang General

The Kizil-Uzan River is only a dozen miles away from the city of Hamedan.

Although the Tang army was chasing them all the way, there were too many Arab soldiers and it was impossible to stop them all.

A group of Arab soldiers followed Abu Jalfar Abbas and returned to Hamadan at noon.

Many Arab soldiers could not escape the pursuit and killing of the Tang Dynasty and fell under the blade of the Tang Dynasty.

Seeing that the Arab army's defense line had collapsed, Li Xuan ordered ships and sheepskin rafts, carrying some horses, to cross the Kizil-Uzan River.

Use light cavalry to pursue and capture as many Arab soldiers as possible.

After a chase, some Arab soldiers were unable to escape and their will collapsed in desperation.

They betrayed Allah, prostrated themselves under the iron hoof of the Tang Dynasty, and begged for mercy!

Geshu Huang was the first to arrive at the city of Hamedan.

The Arab Marshal Zhewen Hahoi saw the Tang army coming from afar.

He ordered the gates to be closed and the drawbridge to be retracted.

Ignoring the Arab soldiers who had not entered the city.

No matter how they screamed, Zhewen Hahoi just gritted his teeth.

At this time, the gecko can only abandon its tail and sacrifice some warriors.

This is to prevent the Tang army from breaking into the city while the gates are open.

Having your back to the water can boost morale, but how can you have the courage to die when you are abandoned with your own moat at your back?

When the Tang army came over, they attacked with swords and sabers flashing and slashing wildly.

The abandoned soldiers of the Arabs would either surrender or die.

Abu Jalfar Abbas watched helplessly as the warriors were turned away.

Watching the warriors bleed.

At this juncture, he felt that he was not a qualified caliph and just wanted to survive.

But what can be done?

Next, it can be expected that Hamadan will be besieged and become an isolated city.

This time, Abu Jalfar Abbas was really going to live and die with the city of Hamadan.

At present, nearly 20,000 soldiers have fled back from the city of Hamedan.

The food in the city was enough to feed 20,000 soldiers and civilians for half a year.

The only hope was to delay the Tang army's westward expedition as much as possible and buy time for Ibu Salam to lead his people to evacuate.

What Abu Jalfar Abbas was worried about was the "thunderbolt" from the Tang army.

What if that thing shoots into the city?
Although the city of Hamadan is not small in size, can it withstand a full-scale attack from the Tang Dynasty?
Looking at the city wall again, the soldiers were dejected, as if they had lost their parents.

Still haven't recovered from the failure.

Their minds were filled with the fear of thunder bombs.

Abu Jalfar Abbas had thought of defeat, but he never expected fate to play such a trick on him.

The Arab Empire had catapults, but they were nothing compared to bronze cannons.

……

After the Tang army cleaned up the battlefield, it took them three days for all the troops to cross the Kizil-Uzan River.

At the same time, the Tang army's bronze cannons and artillery shells were also placed under the city of Hamadan.

Li Xuan had already learned that Abu Jalfar Abbas and a group of important ministers, marshals, and governors were in the city of Hamadan.

There are also thousands of defenders in the city of Nehawen, south of Hamadan.

The Tang army surrounded the city of Nihawin and waited for an opportunity to attack.

After a rest, Li Xuan ordered Li Guangbi to lead 10,000 Shen Ce cavalry and 10,000 affiliated Hu cavalry to detour to the rear of Persepolis and cooperate with Li Siye to attack the defenders of Persepolis from two sides.

Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the defenders of Persepolis to resist.

Once the Battle of Persepolis is won.

Immediately head south to the Persian Gulf and cooperate with Ma Lin to annihilate the Arab defenders in Basra.

The entire Arab Empire will collapse, and then the troops will meet in Baghdad to complete the strategic goal before the expedition.

The remaining troops prepared to attack the two cities of Hamadan and Nihawin.

Li Xuan used courtesy first and then force to force Abu Jerfar Abbas to surrender, lay down his hands, and go out of the city to pay homage to the Heavenly Khan. Li Xuan would let him return to Chang'an to retire.

Otherwise, the city of Hamadan will be reduced to ruins by thunder and fire from heaven and earth.

Li Xuan gave Abu Jalfar Abbas one day to consider.

Obviously, Abu Zarfar Abbas, who vowed to live and die with Hamadan, rejected Li Xuan and angrily scolded Li Xuan for being cruel and treacherous, and said that the gods would punish Li Xuan...

Li Xuan no longer gave Abu Jalfar Abbas time. At dusk that day, he ordered bronze cannons to bombard the city of Hamadan from all directions.

"Rumble..."

The fuse was lit, and the shell, with a tremendous force, whizzed across the sky and slammed heavily into the top of the city.

When the first loud noise was heard, the earth shook violently, the dirt on the city wall fell off, and the whole city seemed to be crumbling.

The Arab soldiers on the city wall hid their heads under their shields.

A shell hit the tower right on target, breaking its pillars, causing thick smoke and flames to rise into the sky.

An Arab general in the city wall was unfortunately killed in the explosion, and blood splattered everywhere.

Many shells also fell into the city of Hamedan.

The situation immediately became chaotic, and the people of Hamadan screamed in fear and fled everywhere looking for shelter.

They fear this kind of bolt from the blue.

Even if a house is on fire, no one dares to put it out.

In the streets and alleys, people were surging like a tide, including the Arab army, civilians, and nobles.

At this moment, all beings are equal.

The shells could take anyone's life at any time, and there were cries and shouts everywhere.

When the bombardment was most intense, firing at the city walls in unison.

Some Arab soldiers were frightened by the fierce bombardment. They ignored the orders of the Arab generals, dropped their weapons, covered their heads with their hands, and fled towards the city in panic.

Abu Jalfar Abbas was overwhelmed with emotions, but he was protected in the doorway by his guards and was not allowed to go up to the city wall to see the situation.

"Boom..."

From the occasional vibrations, one could tell that some of the Tang army's artillery shells were deliberately fired at the city walls in an attempt to blow them down.

Although the walls of Hamadan are rammed earth, it is difficult to blast a hole in them with the power of bronze cannons.

Li Xuan didn't want to climb up like an ant.

After several rounds of shelling, the barrel became hot.

Li Xuan decided to temporarily stop the shelling and instead use rotation bombing.

The purpose was to undermine the will of the Arab soldiers.

The city of Hamadan is an earthen city. Although it has been reinforced, it can still be destroyed by explosive packs and thunder bombs.

Li Xuan ordered the army craftsmen to begin assembling dozens of catapults, preparing to throw explosive packs in front of the city gates or at weaker places outside the city walls.

Bronze cannons fired day and night. Every two hours, at least twenty bronze cannons would fire into the city, making the Arab army restless and draining their energy.

The bronze cannons harassed the Arab army for five consecutive days, making the Arab army extremely exhausted.

Abu Zalfar Abbas's eyes were bloodshot. He had not slept for more than an hour in the past few days.

For an old man in his sixties, it is becoming increasingly difficult to support.

Bombs fell into the city, destroying more and more houses and displacing civilians.

Ordinary soldiers had no place to stay and could only shiver in the cold night amidst the constant artillery fire.

In contrast, everything was in order for the Tang Dynasty coalition forces.

Di Yuanqing led the artillerymen in rotation.

The soldiers took turns guarding the prisoners and taking turns to rest.

With the Supreme in charge, they stuffed cotton in their ears and slept soundly.

The bronze cannon continued to bombard, and its drawbacks were already becoming apparent.

Eighteen bronze cannons have malfunctioned and cannot be used.

Fortunately, the bronze cannon was of good quality and the shells were of average power, so the artillerymen did not suffer any damage themselves.

The catapult is ready.

One morning in early September, Li Xuan ordered his soldiers to prepare for battle.

"Boom!"

At this moment, all the bronze cannons fired at the same time, bombarding the four gates of Hamadan city.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, more than 40 catapults gathered at the city wall of Hamadan less than 100 feet away from the southwest corner. The moat here was narrow, and the soldiers on the city wall hid behind the parapet.

They recognized the Tang army operating the catapults.

After reporting this to Abu Jalfar Abbas, Abu Jalfar Abbas was worried that the Tang army had some conspiracy, so he sent a general to garrison there.

"Throw..."

Dozens of soldiers manned a catapult.

The capstan was tightened, and two soldiers bravely lifted a thunder bomb weighing dozens of pounds into the slingshot basket.

When all the thunder bombs were put into the throwing basket, Di Yuanqing gave the order.

Soldiers held torches and lit the fuse.

A breath after the fuse was lit, the slingers let go and threw the thunder bomb onto the city wall.

Their goal was not to kill, but to face the city wall.

"Boom!"

A thunder bomb hit the center of the city wall and exploded instantly.

A big hole was blown into the rammed earth wall, but it did not collapse.

The rammed earth of Hamadan City is too thick. If it were an ordinary rammed earth fortress, it would definitely be destroyed by this thunderbolt.

Even so, this earth-shaking earthquake has alarmed the integrated city of Hamedan.

Many soldiers suffered cardiac arrest.

When Abu Jalfar Abbas heard the noise, he immediately sent a messenger to find out what happened.

Even if the bronze cannons were firing intensively, the thunder bombs could cover them all.

"Dong dong dong..."

Dozens of thunder bombs followed one after another.

The direction they were aiming at was almost the same place.

Although there were deviations, at least ten thunder bombs fell near the big pit that was hit first.

In addition to the dozen or so thunder bombs that fell in the city, there was another thunder bomb that hit the city wall.

More than a dozen Arab soldiers were hit by the shock wave and iron pieces, some died and some were injured.

The Arab general looked pale.

It turns out that the Tang Dynasty was developing a bigger thunder bomb here.

He plucked up the courage to look down at the city wall, and his heart was broken with fear.

There are now large pits on the rammed earth city wall.

If it is hit a few more times, the wall is in danger of collapsing.

"Boom..."

The Tang army's slingers adjusted their positions and after some preparation, the second round of thunder bombs were thrown at the city wall.

More thunder bombs hit the target, and one of them even expanded the crater.

The Arab soldiers on the city wall could feel that part of the wall was tilting. They were terrified, fearing that the wall would collapse at the next moment.

When Abu Jalfar Abbas learned that the Tang Dynasty was using catapults to throw giant thunder bombs and the city of Hamadan was in danger, he was exhausted and squatted down, grabbing his hair.

He used too much force, or maybe his hair was already falling out, and he pulled out a handful of white hair.

I have never encountered a war like this before and I am at a loss as to what to do.

Amid the earth-shaking earthquake, Abu Jalfar Abbas knelt down and prayed, hoping that Allah would appear and repair the damaged city wall.

This will never happen.

After the fifth round of Thunder Bombs, Di Yuanqing realized that the Thunder Bombs were not powerful enough and might not be able to achieve the goal.

He then ordered the Tang army to approach this section of the city wall with muskets and crossbows.

There were soldiers carrying ladders behind.

"God bless us, our city is impregnable. The Tang army attacking the city is tantamount to seeking death. We will make the Tang army bleed and let their blood flow all over the moat."

When the Arab general saw the Tang army attacking, he comforted himself and ordered his soldiers to defend.

The thunderstone and rolling log are ready, and the bow and arrow are strung.

But they were facing thousands of crossbowmen, who raised their crossbows and aimed forward from a hundred steps away.

"Whoosh whoosh..."

As soon as the Arab soldiers showed up, they faced a torrential attack.

The crossbowmen have been tempered through thousands of trials and tribulations. They do not shoot randomly, but shoot accurately and with a target.

"Puff...Puff..."

Even though the Arab soldiers were wearing chain mail, they were still killed in one blow.

In this way, the Shenbi crossbowmen covered the five hundred Shenjiying musketeers as they reached the city.

Today's muskets are not necessarily stronger than crossbows.

In terms of killing range, it is even inferior.

But the first appearance of musketeers and bronze cannons was very intimidating.

When the Tang army arrived at the moat, they built ladders on the other side of the river. More than a dozen warriors carrying explosives climbed the ladders, crossed the moat, and arrived at the foot of the city.

"Quick, throw the thunderstone and rolling log..."

The Arab general vaguely sensed that something was wrong and shouted an order.

"Bang bang bang..."

But as soon as the Arab soldiers emerged from the parapet, the musketeers, who had already loaded their ammunition, took aim and fired.

The musket shook, a puff of black smoke came out, and the crackling sound made the Arab soldiers shudder.

Accompanied by screams one after another, the Arab soldiers who showed up were beaten to pieces.

They died on the spot before they could even lift the thunder log.

This made some Arab soldiers instinctively shrink behind the parapet, trembling and not daring to show their heads.

Even the Arab general was frightened by the muskets and stopped issuing orders.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the demolition workers placed many tightly packed explosive packs into the large holes.

They looked at each other, lit the fuse with a tinder, ran away, and climbed across the moat along the ladder.

The musketeers retreated one after another while firing at each other in a staggered manner.

"Rumble..."

Another earth-shaking explosion.

Accompanied by flying dust, this section of the city wall collapsed.

The dozen or so Arab soldiers above were buried under the mound.

"Soldiers, break into Hamadan and enter the city, with crossbowmen providing cover..."

A Tang Dynasty major general gave an order and led thousands of heavily armored infantrymen to run towards the collapsed area.

More and more Tang troops were mobilized here.

In order to prevent Abu Jalfar Abbas from escaping during the chaos, Li Xuan ordered 10,000 Han and Hu cavalry to surround Hamadan.

Due to the lack of an emergency plan, the morale of the Arab army collapsed after a section of the city wall collapsed, and the soldiers fled in all directions.

The Tang army laid ladders and wooden boards on the moat, making it easy for heavy armored infantry to pour into the city.

The musketeers of the Shenji Camp with the Shenbi crossbow followed closely behind.

Throughout, the Musketeers maintained their formation.

They used the tactics that Li Xuan taught them.

By the time Abu Jalfar Abbas sent his troops here, it was already difficult to defend the place.

Because the Tang Dynasty's deadly weapons, the Modao team and the crossbow team, also poured in one after another.

After fighting for less than a quarter of an hour, the Tang soldiers defeated the Arab soldiers who came to support them.

They continued to advance towards the inner city, killing anyone who resisted, whether they were soldiers or civilians.

The Governor of Azerbaijan and Zhevin Khahoi again persuaded Abu Zherfar Abbas to break out, but was rejected by Abu Zherfar Abbas.

The city of Hamadan was his last dignity.

Without the city of Hamadan, Baghdad, which is empty in the west, may fall at any time.

Abu Jalfar Abbas personally put on armor and fought a decisive battle with the ferocious army despite his old body.

He wanted to use his own life to convince his tribesmen who fled to the peninsula of the indomitable spirit of the Arabs.

One day, the Arab Empire will rise again...

(End of this chapter)