Chapter 288 Only kill but not capture

Chapter 288 Only kill but not capture

Boom... boom!

Every time the huge siege cone hit, there was an earth-shattering sound. The sound waves reverberated back and forth in the river valley, making both the attackers and defenders on the battlefield dizzy. Even the transmission of drum and horn orders was greatly hindered. .

The area near the city wall was where the fighting was the most intense. Countless barbarians tried hard to place the ladders against the city wall. Every time they succeeded, there was a steady stream of barbarians climbing up the ladders, unafraid of death. Fight for the first place.

However, it is not easy to successfully climb the city. The defenders on the city will not sit back and die. Some of them spread their wide leather shields to shield themselves and their robes from arrows thrown from outside the city. Some of them drew their bows and shot downwards, killing conspicuous targets among the rebels. Some also used hooks or spears. Destroy the ladder, or directly hang the rebels who climbed up outside the city wall.

When the rebel offensive is too fierce in some regional battlefields, and the various counterattacks by the defenders have limited effect, some extraordinary means need to be used.

Fires were burning under several large stoves on the city tower. Of course, it was not to feed the defenders who were fighting at the top of the city, but to process a steady stream of boiling water. When the juice boiled, it would be eaten by the defenders. Use clay pots, wooden barrels and other utensils to pour water directly on the bandits climbing on the ladder. Before you turn, you will hear heart-rending screams coming from the top of the city.

The first offensive and defensive battle lasted for more than half an hour. The intensity of the rebel army's offensive outside the city gradually decreased. Various siege equipment and wounded soldiers were sent back one after another, leaving only some traces of damage and hundreds of bodies outside the city wall. The bloody corpse failed to cause any substantial damage to the city.

As the rebels withdrew, the defenders on the city wall began to busy cleaning the battlefield, repairing the damaged city walls, replenishing consumed supplies, and fresh troops climbed to the top of the city to replace those who had consumed a lot of energy.

This battle can only be regarded as a small test for both sides and testing each other. Although the bandit army failed to achieve any substantial breakthrough, the orderliness displayed during the siege also made Li Mu pay more attention to these enemies.

The Lishi Hu people are not a nomadic Hu people. The terrain in the Luliang Mountains where they live is even more steep and changeable than that of the Qingshui River Valley. Every step is a ditch, and every step is a danger. They are used to a life of building villages and docks. , is no stranger to offensive and defensive operations.

In the siege battle just now, Li Mu was stunned by the number of various siege equipment used by these thieves, and he soon realized that the next battle would inevitably become more and more intense and the situation more and more severe.

"Okay, okay, at least there are reinforcements from Li Boshan nearby to support us."

Although his mood became a little heavy, Li Mucai secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he thought that he was not fighting alone.

Although he didn't know exactly what Li Tai did to contain the rebels after arriving, seeing that the rebels reversed the previous confrontation and directly attacked the city was partly related to Li Tai's reinforcements.

The thieves did not leave much breathing time for the defenders, and soon launched a second round of attacks.

In addition to the previous siege methods, the bandit army also deployed elite troops to transport two tall nest cars to a location not far from the city wall and set them up in order to observe the real situation in the city and the dispatch of troops. Condition.

With the insight and guidance of the sentries on the nest car, the thieves' attack on the city became more fierce and targeted. It was no longer an aimless attack on the entire city wall, but a conscious attack on key points.

As the fighting methods of the rebels changed, the defenders on the city suddenly felt the pressure, especially in some loopholes in the city defense, such as the northeast corner tower of the city. Due to structural problems, cracks occurred between the corner tower and the city wall. Therefore, there are not many people, horses and equipment deployed here for defense.

After the enemy sentry on the chariot outside the city noticed this loophole in the city's defense, they immediately used a flag to pass it down below. Liu Aqi, the bandit commander in charge of commanding the battle, immediately adjusted the direction of the attack and sent more troops there. Thousands, more equipment such as ladders and rush vehicles are also used in combat.

Li Mu knew the hidden dangers in this section of the city wall. Seeing that the bandit army was attacking, he did not dare to directly increase his troops to resist the enemy. He could only deploy strong bows and heavy armor near the perimeter for defense.

Because they did not encounter any decent resistance, the enemy troops quickly climbed up the city wall from the turret here. The enemy soldiers who were the first to board the city cheered with joy, but what greeted them was a barrage of powerful arrows and sharp blades. .

Under the encirclement and massacre of the soldiers who defended the city, the first batch of bandits who boarded the city were soon dead and wounded. But this did not stop the thief army from swarming up from behind. They used the corpses of their comrades in front as cover, and continuously swarmed up to the top of the city, and began to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders on the top of the city.

While the battle on the top of the city was in full swing, suddenly there was a loud clicking sound from the city wall. Immediately, the turret, which had been completely occupied and submerged by enemy soldiers, was separated from the city wall as a whole and quickly collapsed.

The sudden change occurred. Whether they were the enemy soldiers who had already climbed up the turret or those who were still trying to climb up, they were frightened and overwhelmed. In an instant, hundreds of thieves and soldiers were trapped by the collapsed sand and stone earthworks. Hit and buried.

"Come on! Rush out and kill all the thieves nearby!"

Li Mu, who had already led his soldiers waiting here, saw the turret collapse. When he waved his sword and gave the order, he rushed out of the city, wearing heavy armor and taking the lead, along the gap exposed in the city wall, and rushed directly towards those who were panicked and confused by the collapse of the turret. thieves and soldiers.

Hundreds of well-armed, elite warriors like wolves and tigers followed behind Li Mu and rushed out from the gap in the city wall. They were like sharp knives piercing the siege soldiers outside the city, brandishing swords and spears with long spears. They are constantly harvesting human lives, and wherever they pass, rivers of blood flow.

The generals and soldiers in the enemy camp were originally rejoicing because they successfully stormed the city wall, but they did not expect this situation. They saw the defenders charging out and slaughtering the soldiers under the city wall. The Hu chief generals who were supervising the battle from behind He was also in a hurry to mobilize elite people to come to the rescue immediately.

After Li Mu led the crowd to kill several bands of thieves under the city wall, he planned to continue moving forward and destroy the nest chariots and other large siege equipment on the battlefield in one fell swoop, but soon the sound of rapid horse hooves could be heard in the enemy formation. At the same time, warning horns also sounded on the city wall. I could only secretly say a pity and lead my troops to withdraw from the gap into the city before the elite rebels arrived.

After Li Mu and others withdrew, the city's defenders began to quickly set up a fence here, and then filled and repaired the gap with wood, stone and other miscellaneous materials.

Because of this unexpected situation, the rebels suffered heavy casualties, and the attack came to an end for the time being. For both warring parties, each has its own gains and losses.

The bandit army successfully broke through a corner tower, so that the city defense in front of them was no longer complete. Next, they could either expand the damage to this gap, or they could feign an attack here and choose to break through elsewhere. There were more tactical choices, which was undoubtedly a Great encouragement.

The defenders took advantage of the unexpected change of the turret collapse and unexpectedly went out to fight. Not only did they repulse the second round of enemy attacks, they also caused heavy losses to the rebels. At least one or two thousand soldiers were killed.

"Wu An Gong's counterattack was also exciting, but it's a pity that it was still a little conservative. If we can cooperate with our infantry and cavalry to attack the bandits' front, even if we can't overwhelm the bandits in one fell swoop, we can still destroy most of the equipment on the field. City defense can also be greatly alleviated.”

Li Tai saw that it was not difficult for others to shoulder the burden. He stood on a hilltop far away from the battlefield while watching the battle and commenting on Li Mu's performance in responding to the enemy. It was a pity that Li Mu failed to make the most of the opportunity.

"Alang, it's getting late. Should we continue to watch the battle, or do we have another plan?"

Li Yan raised his head and looked at the sun that was gradually setting in the sky, and then asked Li Tai for instructions. The days are short in winter, and darkness is not far away after the afternoon. They need to prepare early for the advance, retreat, and stay of thousands of people.

"It's freezing cold, and it's hard for the soldiers to lie down in the snow and drink ice. If we deal with the bandits earlier, we can return to the army to recuperate one day earlier."

Li Tai thought for a while and then said: "The main force is waiting in the camp for the time being. We will detach a thousand light cavalry and a team of one hundred men to sneak towards the valley ahead. We will control and clear the road first to ensure that the army can enter the valley to attack the enemy at any time."

He stood on the top of the plateau and blew the cold wind for a long time. Of course, it was not just to watch the excitement. Based on the troops invested in the two attacks by the rebels and the size of the opponent's formation on the battlefield, he could roughly estimate the amount of troops the rebels could invest. The total number of troops in combat should be about 30,000, and at most no more than 40,000.

Although the size of such a force is several times that of our own, it is not invincible. Moreover, the advance and retreat coordination among the rebel army's formations was obviously a little out of touch. It was obvious that these troops belonged to multiple groups, and the quality of the soldiers varied greatly.

So what Li Tai needs to consider now is to use the special terrain of Qingshui River Valley, which has great limitations for marching and retreat, to leave as many rebel troops as possible, but not to let the rebel army disperse at the first touch and then spread poison in all directions.

The geographical situation in northern Shaanxi is really tricky. In the past, he was able to evade tens of thousands of Blackwater Hooligans with hundreds of moves. Like dogs, if the elite force of the thieves' army was organized into an elite force and escaped, the harm would be the same. It can be big or small, immeasurable.

Although the bandits were attacking Guangwu City with all their strength on the battlefield, they did not relax their vigilance towards the surrounding areas.

Hu Chief Liu Aqi placed thousands of troops near the unconquered Fenglin City to provide simultaneous surveillance and frighten the defenders of Fenglin City. At the same time, he dispersed his scouts to patrol the nearby mountain pass to avoid being captured by that force. An enemy force that has not yet seen the real situation approaches.

So when Li Tai ordered the Qingqi scouts to approach the section of the river valley where Guangwu City is located, the relevant information was quickly fed back to Liu Aqi.

Liu Aqi immediately cheered up after learning about this. Luring out this erratic enemy force was part of his tactical plan. He carefully asked the scouts about the direction of the enemy's appearance, and quickly sketched it out in his mind. , immediately determined the route that the enemy might be able to attack, and immediately ordered several powerful chiefs to lead their troops to the relevant locations to set up defenses.

At the same time, he also ordered to stop the direct attack on Guangwu City, and instead put many carts carrying soldiers onto the battlefield. He stopped not far from the city wall of Guangwu City, and opened the doors on the carts. The curtains and shields were used to resist the enemy's arrow attacks on the top of the city, while the soldiers dug trenches under the chariots.

Moreover, the thousands of elite men and horses who had never participated in the battle before were also mobilized by Liu Aqi from the east side of the battlefield to the front battlefield. The Hu soldiers digging trenches on the battlefield lined up on the side to prevent the defenders in the city from jumping over the wall. Employment.

As the sound of fighting on the frontal battlefield stopped, the young man in the bandit camp with white wolf fur couldn't help but become curious and agitated. He immediately ordered his troops to join the battle and recall Liu Ah Qi to the camp.

Before he could ask Liu Aqi any questions after seeing him, the young man had already whipped him over the head and face with his riding crop. While beating him, he cursed angrily: "Didn't I tell you that you are not allowed to return to camp before the city is broken? "

Liu Aqi just gritted his teeth and endured the whipping, and did not explain that he was recalled. Otherwise, according to the young master's logic, he would have scolded him for not conquering the city for so long, and made him self-reflective. Although he was a confidant of King Zuo Xian Liu Tuo, he did not change his status as a domestic slave. The young man was actually King Zuo Xian's beloved son named Liu Kuzhen. Liu Aqi naturally did not dare to disobey him.

Fortunately, the young man Liu Kuzhen was drunk and did not have much physical strength to punish Liu Ah Qi for a long time. After venting his anger, he asked angrily: "Why stop attacking the city?"

Liu Aqi then told the story of the enemy's reinforcements approaching with a grimace, and said that fighting on two fronts was a bad idea. Only by encircling the points to gather reinforcements and killing the enemy's reinforcements could they continue to attack the city with all their strength.

After Liu Kuzhen heard these words, he did not comment on whether Liu Aqi's decision was right. He just said in a trembling voice with a hurried expression: "The situation here is so dangerous. The evil slave did not report it, but welcomed me in." Camp! If I am persecuted here, can you give me your life as compensation? Please arrange for someone to escort me back to the king’s tent..."

"Young Master, please rest assured. Our army of tens of thousands is far beyond what the enemy troops can match. The number of enemy troops hiding in the dark along the way must not be large. Once their whereabouts are revealed, I can dispatch troops to surround and kill them." . The young master only needs to stay in the camp. If you abandon the army at this moment, it will be more dangerous!"

When Liu Aqi heard that the young master had just heard the news, his face changed with fright, and he even wanted to leave immediately. He hurriedly comforted him and said that he didn't want to cause any further trouble on the eve of the war.

"Then, hurry up and kill all the enemies! As long as you can keep me safe, I will reward you heavily when I return! As long as you can return safely, I, I will accept the girls in your family and let you be my confidant!"

After hearing this, Liu Kuzhen said again and again that he valued his own safety extremely and could not allow any mistakes, and made a promise that he felt was sincere.

Although the young master's reaction was a little unbearable, Liu Aqi knew that he was deeply loved by his master, King Zuoxian, and some fortune-tellers had said that this son could strengthen King Zuoxian's tribe, so Liu Kuzhen was very talented. No matter what, he enjoys a very transcendent status and treatment in the tribe.

Therefore, after hearing Liu Ku's true promise, Liu Ah Qi nodded repeatedly, patted her chest and promised: "Young master, please rest assured, even if I give up my life..."

"You can't die. Who will protect me if you die? Come on, please put my golden armor on General Liu!"

After knowing that his own safety was in the hands of the general who commanded the army, Liu Kuzhen turned away from his previous arrogance and domineering attitude, and instead showed great concern for Liu Aqi, even putting his own armor on his body for him. He was also a living treasure.

Liu Aqi raised her hand and rubbed the gorgeous armor on her body. For a moment, she was moved by the great master dying for her confidant. She repeatedly stated that she would do her best to protect the safety of the young master. Only then did Liu Kuzhen repeatedly urge her to do so. Return to the battlefield to supervise the battle.

Liu Aqi was even more energetic after returning to the battlefield, and carefully inspected all parties on the battlefield to ensure that his plans and orders were fully implemented.

In particular, he carefully arranged several locations where enemy reinforcements might launch an offensive. In addition to giving detailed instructions to the soldiers stationed there, he also left enough maneuvering power to coordinate with all parties to ensure that no matter where, Whenever there is an enemy sighting, we can immediately deploy superior forces to give the opponent a head-on attack!

Just when Liu Aqi thought he had made complete arrangements and was waiting for the enemy to attack, the expected enemy was nowhere to be seen. Not to mention a large-scale attack, even the few areas where the scouts had previously had friction were no longer traces of the enemy, as if they were just testing for a while and then retreated.

It's really not a good feeling to have someone's appetite. Liu Ah Qi also knows that the pressure he put on the opponent is not enough, and he still hasn't grasped the vitality of the enemy, so he still has the initiative whether to fight or not. In the hands of the other party.

The first day when the army left camp to besiege Guangwu City ended in this atmosphere of anxious waiting. Although the rebels were the ones who took the initiative to attack, as the next day came, the spirit of the rebel soldiers was visibly even more depressed than that of the Guangwucheng defenders.

After all, the bandits left their fixed camps and slept in the wild. The resting environment itself was already very bad. They also had to watch out for enemy reinforcements that were lurking all night long and who didn't know when they would come out. The mental and physical stress was on them. The consumption is doubled and the natural state is not good.

The thief army chiefs who were stationed in various places were on guard for a night, but nothing happened. They couldn't help but question Liu Aqi's decisions and arrangements. The chieftains couldn't help but send people to complain to Liu Aqi. If the enemy troops in the field do not appear again, they will lead their troops back to the camp to rest, and no longer stay here to be blown by the cold wind that passes through the valley.

Fortunately, the young master Liu Kuzhen stopped exerting any pressure on Liu Ah Qi because he was worried about his own safety. Instead, he supported him and reprimanded and suppressed those Hu chiefs who questioned Liu Ah Qi.

But Liu Aqi also knew that such a state would be difficult to maintain for a long time. The troops he commanded were not elite troops with firm beliefs and full of loyalty. The only factor that could unify and motivate them was to attack Guangwu City after conquering it. A large amount of looting was carried out in the city to collect supplies.

Now he has brought the army out of the camp and put on a fierce posture to conquer Guangwu City in one fell swoop. However, if the fire is stopped halfway and the troops are not attacked for a long time, and the division is hanging outside without knowing where to go, the morale will definitely drop. , exhausted, and falling apart may only happen in an instant.

So after weighing it for a moment, and seeing the sun gradually climbing into the sky, he ordered another fierce attack on Guangwu City.

This time, without any further encouragement and supervision from him, the soldiers performed even more bravely than yesterday, because after experiencing the suffering of sleeping in the open all night, they understood more and more that in order to end this pain, they could only conquer the Guangwu City in front of them. Change the situation for the better.

As a result, the pressure on the soldiers who defended the city increased sharply. The gap in the turret that yesterday could be used to secretly recruit soldiers to counterattack the rebels has become a huge loophole in the city defense today, and has been the focus of the enemy's attack.

Thousands of troops from both sides repeatedly fought fiercely in the narrow area in the northeast corner of the city. When the situation was at its worst, Li Mu even had to lead his troops into battle and fight hard to repel the thieves who were not afraid of death.

In addition to the gap in the turrets, other parts of the city were also attacked by the enemy to varying degrees. The soldiers who defended the city were busy running on the city top like firefighters. Even the reserve troops and some of the strong men in the city were sent to the city. Head, although they have always been able to defend the city wall, the frequency of enemy troops boarding the city is getting higher and higher.

"Li Boshan, why don't you send troops?"

On the city wall, Li Mu slashed with his sword at the thieves soldiers who had crossed the wall. Immediately, he leaned on the blade of the sword and gasped, turning his head to look at the valley and mountains to the west, muttering to himself.

Outside the city wall, seeing the rapid progress of the siege, the soldiers of the Hu tribe were also greatly encouraged. On the outskirts of the frontal battlefield, a sudden inspiration flashed in the mind of a Hu chieftain, and he said to himself in shock: "Marquis Liu Du placed my troops here, is it to guard against enemy reinforcements, or to distract our troops? Let his headquarters enter the city to raid?"

Not only one person had this question, but also some Hu soldiers who were defending the entrance of the valley abandoned their defense at the entrance of the valley without waiting for military orders and came to the battlefield to join the attack on the city.

"Send orders to all parties to march at full speed. After entering, rush straight into the bandit formation. Only kill but not capture. We must defeat the bandit army in the shortest possible time and do not allow them to gather together!"

At this time, Li Tai also walked down to the top of the plateau, and first ordered the attack to the troops who had already separated from each other. With the help of his own soldiers, he quickly put on his armor, got on his horse, and then led the army towards the front with a spear in hand.

Two chapters in one, I’ve been waiting for a long time. . . Continue tomorrow. . .