Great Han Empire

Chapter 383 He Ru Huo Qubing

"The Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Coral
Chapter 18 He Ru Huo Qubing

In August Bailu (solar term, in the middle of August in the lunar calendar), Pang De, the general who conquered the west, disdainfully rejected the Guishuang people's persuasion to surrender.After the proud emissary was chopped into several pieces and thrown off the tower, his offensive and defensive battle for the city officially started.

His dry city has a vast area, and although Guishuang has an army of nearly [-], it is still unable to encircle the whole city.Jipinada saw this situation, so he set up a pocket formation with three gaps and one, let go of the east gate of the city, and deployed more than [-] troops at the north and south gates of the city, and carried out a feint attack. The main force of more than [-] concentrated on attacking the west gate.

The people of Guishuang played chess and drums loudly, making noise and shaking the sky, like a military parade all day long, but they did not attack the city.After the sky was getting dark, the army stopped their flags and drums, and retreated into the tents, leaving the soldiers and civilians in the city there, deeply baffled. "It's weird..." Pang De looked at the smoke rising from the Guishuang camp, his brows were deeply furrowed, "I ordered you to be vigilant tonight, and don't let them take advantage of the loopholes."

For several days in a row, the people of Guishuang made noises at sunrise and rested at sunset. Apart from demolishing the buildings outside the city and obtaining a large amount of wood and stone, they did not take any practical actions.Although the soldiers in the city did not dare to be negligent, the people of Kucha who assisted in the defense gradually relaxed a little. When guarding at night, most of them curled up in the corner and fell asleep.

On August [-], around the fourth watch, gusts of cold wind from the desert stabbed the faces of the soldiers like knives.Everyone's ears and noses were numb from the cold.There were thick clouds in the sky, as if it was going to rain.But the occasional cracks appeared in the moving clouds, and a few cold stars suddenly appeared, which disappeared soon after.The night was dark.There are many torches and lanterns on the top of the city. Because the city wall is invisible, the endless lanterns and torches seem to be hanging in the air.

At this time, under the cover of night, a Guishuang army of more than 3000 people in black sneaked close to the city wall.After approaching, the team was divided into two teams, one waiting outside the moat in the southern section of the city, and the other waiting outside the moat in the northern section.They carried tools such as hammers, iron chisels, and hand axes, and stood still.Although the wind was as cold as a knife, they seemed to have forgotten the severe cold, waiting for the agreed signal to start.After a while, a rocket was shot from a distance, and the two men and horses galloped at the same time, crossed the moat, and then raised the large shield on their backs to cover the top of their heads, and quickly ran towards the root of the city.When they arrived at the root of the city, they first used iron hammers to drive iron drills into the cracks of the bricks, and beat each brick up, down, left, and right, and then used iron drills to pry it out.He has built the city wall for hundreds of years, and the bricks have been squeezed against each other for hundreds of years. When Banchao built the city, he followed the Central Plains city building method and used glutinous rice slurry and lime to plaster the joints, so that the city wall was knotted like a whole rock wall. Difficult to dig.However, these Guishuang soldiers were well-trained and skilled in cooperation. After a while, they dug dozens of holes in the city wall, large and small, with different depths.

They had just started digging the city, and the patrolling Han army immediately noticed it, and immediately yelled the alarm, throwing bricks and stones down desperately.Some bricks and stones fell on the large shield, and some fell directly on people's bodies and heads, injuring many people immediately.At the same time, rolling logs and stones were thrown from the city.The most frightening thing is the "rolling log" with countless spikes. After falling to the ground, it will keep rolling, and it will cause death and injury as soon as it enters the crowd.Therefore, the Guishuang army digging the city, while digging the city, someone is ready to support the log directly with a large shield. Although this is very dangerous, it can reduce casualties.

In order to cover the troops digging the city, tens of thousands of Guishuang people followed, lined up beside the moat, and shot arrows fiercely at the top of the city.The soldiers and civilians in the city were constantly shot and killed by arrows, so that they hid in the battlements and did not dare to poke their heads out, so most of the bricks, rolling logs and stones they threw were not very accurate.The Han army also began to shoot arrows outside the city, but due to the lack of troops on the city at night, it was difficult to get their heads out between the battlements. , not sure.The Guishuang army under the city looked up at the city, although it was rather hazy, but the lanterns and torches at the top of the city gave them great convenience.While shooting arrows, both sides shouted loudly, going up and down the city, shouting to kill and shaking the sky.

The Guishuang army who dug the city was divided into many small teams, each with about 20 people, responsible for digging a hole.In addition, there are many reserve teams ambushing in the dry moat, ready to replace the dead and wounded soldiers at any time, and drag the dead and wounded soldiers away from the city wall as much as possible.Some wounded were shot to death by crossbow arrows from the city as soon as they were dragged a few feet away.However, no matter how violent the arrows, bricks, stones, and rolling wood beat the stones on the city, no matter how many casualties there were, the work of digging the city would not stop.

The Han army on the city was very vigilant against the night attack of the Guishuang army.They also made various preparations for how to deal with digging the city and protect the city wall.Pang De is one of the generals who are best at defending in the big man, and the generals and school assisted by him are very shrewd and capable.In previous city defense battles in the Central Plains, the enemy had used the method of digging the city many times, which gave them a lot of experience.During the day, when the Guishuang Army was preparing secretly outside the city, the soldiers and civilians in the city were also stepping up their preparations.The people of Kucha in the city have now become united with the enemy, especially in the Dharma meeting he held in Gancheng not long ago, the violent situation of the Guishuang army massacring the city was greatly exaggerated by the eminent monks.They were very worried: If these Guishuang people invaded the city, they would kill terribly, and the women would be humiliated. Perhaps no one would be spared. Although the Han people heard that the evil spirits were like Asura, they had never killed since entering the city. Moreover, if these fierce gods were on their side, they would appear to be quite reliable.Because they came to assist the city defenders with this kind of mood, even though the defenders were constantly shot to death and injured by the arrows of the Guishuang Army, they kept throwing all kinds of things that could kill the enemy down the city.

During the second watch, Pang De handed over the responsibility of city defense to Ling Tong, the school captain of Yueqi, and he moved to Gaye Temple near the west city wall to rest.Fearing that Guishuang was scheming, he called Ling Tong again after he arrived at Kaye Temple, and repeatedly told him to be careful.After Ling Tong left, Pang De didn't take off his armor, and half-lyed on the bed, closing his eyes and taking a nap.He patrolled the city defense without sleep for several days, which made him really tired. He was about to fall asleep when he was suddenly awakened by shouts from the top of the city and outside the city.He opened his tiger eyes and cursed in his heart: "Damn, it really is here!" Then he rushed to the top of the city with a group of personal soldiers.

Pound went up to the tower first, and saw the north and south sections of the city wall, where the Guishuang army was digging the city in many places, and the situation was very critical.He was looking down from the middle of the battlements when, with a whoosh, an arrow hit the top of his helmet, sending the breech of his helmet down the wall.A soldier pulled his arm and shouted: "Commander, be careful!" He ignored it, took a big bow from the soldier, drew the bow and set an arrow himself, and sent a nobleman commanded by a white horse outside the city. Officer Frost shot down.At this moment, another arrow flew over his head and shot a Kucha camp guard behind him.At this time, the supervisor Guo Huai ran over with his head down, out of breath, and said to him:
"Marshal, right now the entire west gate is being dug everywhere. In the section guarded by the lower officials, a total of fifteen or six places are being dug. No matter how you throw bricks, stones, or rolling wood and rocks, the Guishuang dog will not retreat."

Pang De said in a deep voice: "Why panic, calm down, I have my own way."

He immediately ordered a soldier to pass the general order in the city, saying that he was personally supervising the battle on the city, and asked the soldiers and the people to kill the enemy calmly and not panic.This general order was quickly spread from the city tower to the entire east city, and the guards and civilians everywhere heard it, and suddenly their courage multiplied, and there were shouts of killing.A military commander came and asked Pound excitedly: let him take three hundred elites down to the city, and drive away the Guishuang people who were digging the city somewhere.Pang De shook his head and said, "Not in time." Then he said to Guo Huai and another general beside him, Hao Zhao, "Order people to fetch firewood as soon as possible, the more the better, all the rags and hemp, and some oil. Come."

As soon as he gave this order, many people immediately ran down to the city.Under the city, there are many bunks for the guards and civilians to sleep in.For heating and cooking, a lot of dry firewood was piled up beside the bunk.At this time, people ignored the three sevens and twenty ones in the emergency, and transported dry firewood to the city one after another, even demolished some burrows, and carried the quilts and clothes to the city.Someone brought a lot of sesame oil from the temple.Pound ordered the dry wood to be lit and thrown into the city to burn the diggers to death.Everyone followed their plan one after another, throwing down some dry firewood without lighting it, and then throwing down the burning quilt soaked in oil, and quickly ignited the dry firewood to burn it.After a while, the entire city root several miles long at the east gate was on fire everywhere, like a fire dragon.Pang De said to another soldier:

"The commander-in-chief's order is passed on again: I am now in the city, sharing safety with the soldiers and civilians who defend the city. I hope that all armies will work together to kill the thieves. Anyone who dares to go down to the city without authorization will be executed! Anyone who dares to covet life and avoid the battle will be executed! Anyone who dares to run indiscriminately will be executed! "

This general order quickly spread throughout the city.People already knew that Pound was overseeing the battle on the city, and they saw a fire dragon protecting the root of the city, so they felt courageous and their morale was boosted.The Han troops from the battalions near the west gate also continued to gather from the camp at this time, rushed to the top of the city, and fired a large number of crossbow salvos, quickly suppressing the arrow rain of the Guishuang people below the city.As a result, amidst the shouts of killing at the top of the city, there were gradually cheers, whistles, and triumphant curses mixed in.

At the beginning of the siege, Jipinada came to the outside of the northern city and immediately watched the battle less than half a mile away from the city wall.He rode his horse and walked along the city wall for a while, and carefully watched the bitter battle at the root of the city from a place not more than a few tens of feet away from the city wall.Seeing that the city was killing and wounding his own side by attacking with fire, Jipinada was very angry, and wished to command the army to climb the city with ladders immediately.But he was not flustered by his anger. He knew very well that using ladders to climb the city would be useless in the face of such a high wall with enough troops to guard it, and would only sacrifice a large number of soldiers in vain.After thinking for a while, the veteran Guishuang finally admitted his failure today and ordered the entire army to return to camp.After leaving more than [-] charred corpses at the root of the city, the Guishuang Army's first siege failed.

Zhao Guang did not participate in the battle in the early morning of the [-]th. Since the start of the war, his vanguard was required to stand by in the camp.The quartermaster sent another batch of war horses, so Zhao Guang has been busy these few days mixing old and new soldiers, and conducting simple cavalry training in the camp's school grounds.Hearing the shouts of killing at night and the news from the city, both old soldiers and new recruits have engaged in twelve mental drills. Everyone has the same thoughts: they all want to rush out of the city as soon as possible, and kill a few soldiers with their own hands. This Guishuang boy is beautiful.

After practicing until noon, Sima Yi's personal soldiers brought an oral order, ordering Zhao Guang to come to the front immediately and wait for orders.Zhao Guang didn't dare to be negligent, he only briefly explained to Zhao Neng, and then hurriedly followed the soldiers to Sima Yi's residence.Entering Sima Yi's dormitory, a scent of herbs wafted into his nostrils, and he saw Sima sitting beside a desk, flipping through some maps, saw Zhao Guang coming in, pointed in front of him, and said, "Ziyuan Here? Sit down."

After narrowly escaping from the dead, he lingered and fell ill for many days, which made Sima Yi, who used to be handsome and handsome, haggard a lot. His face was pale, his eyes were sunken, and his lips were dry. Only a pair of eagle eyes were still piercing.

Zhao Guang sat down in front of Sima Yi, saluted and said, "The commander-in-chief is just recovering from a serious illness, and he should take a good rest. I don't know what orders you have for summoning the officials here at this time."

"The arrows from the Guishuang people are about to fall on my roof, how can I rest?" Sima Yi smiled self-deprecatingly, "This is not a military meeting, I know your father well, you are like my nephew, Don't be too polite."

"I got a report that Wusun's current situation is very bad. Wusun Leguang is a sinister man who acts according to the wind and covets the wealth of Kucha and Gaochang. He may take this opportunity to turn to the people of Guishuang." Sima Yi cut to the point and said slowly He said slowly, "Even though it's a war, this matter can't be left alone. What do you think? Just tell me."

Le Guangmi has ulterior motives, Haiya is in danger!After a brief shock, Zhao Guang took a deep breath, quickly cleared his mind, and said in a deep voice: "Although Wusun is newly defeated, there are still [-] to [-] cavalry available. If he falls to Guishuang, or assists him in attacking the city, or The consequences of attacking Gaochang City behind me are unimaginable. My nephew thought that a surprise army should enter Wusun at this time and control the situation."

"Oh? How many people do you think it will take to accomplish this?"

"Soldiers are more expensive than many. Wusun has just passed through the defeat of Tianshan Mountain, and he is still very afraid of our army. Besides, Wusun's country is not monolithic. With Princess Haiya there, as long as there are three thousand... no, two thousand cavalry Attacking Chigu, the capital of the country, can control the domestic situation."

"One thousand seven hundred!" Sima Yi raised his eyebrows and spread his hands, "In this situation, I can only draw so much. You have about seven hundred cavalry under your command, and I will lend you another thousand Yueqi (Yueqi battalion of light cavalry). In a few days, when the Yueqi Battalion cooperates with the Zhenxi Army to go out of the city to counterattack, you will pull the troops out together and take the opportunity to go north, how about it?"

Zhao Guang was very excited when he heard this, but after thinking about it carefully, he shook his head and said: "My nephew has little experience in battle, and his qualifications in the army are not enough. If he goes to the front line, he will naturally not be willing to lag behind, but this is a big matter, so I'm afraid we can't." Take on this responsibility."

"Oh. Then who do you think is suitable?" Sima Yi glanced at Zhao Guang with admiration. This son was born in the general family, with high martial arts skills, bold and careful, rare and mature, he is indeed a talent to be made.

Zhao Guang suddenly saw a figure in a green robe, holding a huge knife, and rushing towards the enemy with a big laugh. His heart moved, "General Fenwei, Guan Ping, is brave and resourceful, and he has a heavy responsibility. Side assistant."

"Dingguo? He is indeed a suitable candidate. That's great, let's do it. Then, your vanguard will also be controlled by Dingguo this time."

The next day, Guan Ping and Zhao Guang took their respective troops and drove into the station specially allocated by Sima Yi for joint training before the expedition.Guan Ping introduced to Zhao Guang in turn the main generals he had brought: Liao Hua, Lieutenant of Cavalry, Zhou Cang, General of Yamen, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and others.Looking at the vast school grounds, Guan Ping smiled and said, "Unexpectedly, I will have the opportunity to ride and fight with my virtuous brother in the blink of an eye. Although I can't drink Guishuang's blood in the city, I can emulate the story of the champion Hou (Huo Qubing). How lucky I am."

"What brother Dingguo said is true. Follow the example of the sages, bravely crown the three armies, and confine the wolf to the Xuxu, so that I can live up to my name as a big man!"

(End of this chapter)