Chapter 1821: Gongsun Yan burned Hangu Pass (Part 2)
Chapter 1821 Gongsun Yan burns Hangu Pass (Part 2)
Chapter 1819: Gongsun Yan burns Hangu Pass (Part 2)
“My lord, the corpses of the two military advisors and the generals have been buried.” Hou Junji said to Li Shimin with a sad look on his face.
Hearing this, Li Shimin turned around tremblingly and glanced at the rows of stretchers behind him.
Those familiar faces from the past came into view, but now they have turned into cold corpses.
Li Shimin walked to the stretcher where the bodies of Li Ru and Du Ruhui were placed. His eyes were full of self-blame and pain, and tears kept flowing down from the corners of his eyes.
The king of this generation actually cried silently.
In the Battle of Nanxiang, Li Shimin fought only Nanxiang City in Nanxiang County. No general was killed or injured from the beginning to the end. Although the military strength was greatly reduced, it was replenished by the Qin army's surrender. Overall, the casualties were Not too big.
But I didn’t expect that the battle at Hangu Pass, no, the battle with Li Cunxiao, would result in such heavy losses.
Li Ru and Du Ruhui died one after another, and half of the four major military advisors were killed directly in battle.
The Guards were almost crippled, and the Guards generals Chai Shao and Hu Cheer were killed in the battle.
General of the clan: Li Hu died in battle.
In addition, there are: Zuo Tiancheng, Guo Bang, Niu Fu, Zhang Ji, Hu Chi'er, Zhao Gui and other generals.
According to later statistics, a total of sixty-four military generals died in the hands of Li Cunxiao, which accounted for a quarter of Li Tang's total number of generals.
In addition to the generals who died in the battle, there were countless others who were injured.
Twenty-one generals including Zhang Xiu, Kang Anyu, Li Jue, Hua Xiong, Li Keyong, and Yang Jian were seriously injured, and Li Yuanba, the most powerful general in Li Tang, had his left arm cut off.
Let's put it this way, after this battle with Li Cunxiao, the Tang Army's high-level combat power has been reduced by more than half.
Li Cunxiao defeated more than half of the Tang army with his own strength. This achievement was simply formidable. It is not an exaggeration to say that one man is against one country.
“Lord, our army suffered nearly 10,000 casualties in this battle, of which nearly 2,000 were at the hands of Li Cunxiao alone. A total of 64 generals died in the battle, and 21 generals were seriously injured and could no longer go to the battlefield.”
Li Kui's voice reported that he was very aware of how severe a blow this battle would have on his lord and the entire army.
Regardless of the fact that so many generals were killed in the battle, the king of Tang was forced to abandon the army and flee for his life by just one person. This was a fatal blow to the morale of the army.
At this time, the Tang army still numbered nearly 140,000, and its total strength was still strong, but its morale was very low and it was no longer suitable to continue the war.
But what if we just retreat like this?
Looking at Li Shimin's eyes full of hatred, Li Kui knew that it was absolutely impossible for his lord to give up and retreat after suffering such a heavy loss.
Leaving aside the issue of the morale of the whole army, the arrow in Luoyang is already on the string, and when the bow is fired, there is no chance of turning back.
At this time, although Li Kui knew that the front line of the Tang Army was in difficulty, he could only bite the bullet and continue walking under the pressure of the general situation.
“Transport the bodies of all the generals who died in the battle back to Chang’an for a thick burial, give all the injured generals the best treatment, and then send troops to protect them and return to Chang’an to recuperate.” Li Shimin said, holding back his grief.
)
At this time, Taoist Cihang came over and said: "King Tang, Pindao has already treated junior brother Yang Jian's injury. Although it is not fatal, I am afraid he will need to recover for half a year.
As for General Yuanba’s external injuries, they have been bandaged up, but are the broken arms reattached? Please forgive me for my incompetence. "
Hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly became anxious: "Taoist Master, if you can't save Yuanba, I'm afraid no one in the world can save Yuanba."
Taoist Cihang smiled bitterly. She was indeed a dual practitioner of medicine, but as far as she knew, not even a few doctors could repair a broken arm. “If General Yuanba’s left hand was cut off in a conventional way and treated immediately, Pindao would be sure to reattach it, but it would definitely not be restored to the same state as before it was cut off, and it would be even less possible to pick up the drum and golden hammer.
“This is better than being disabled.” Li Shimin said.
Seeing that Li Shimin did not understand what he meant, Master Cihang quickly explained: "The King of Tang did not know that General Yuanba's broken arm injury was not a conventional injury."
Li Shimin was stunned for a moment and wondered: "What's the difference?"
“The biggest difference is that the person who cut off General Yuanba’s arm was Li Cunxiao who was burning with internal energy.
The burning Gang Qi was too violent. When General Yuanba's left arm was cut off, the arm and its meridians had been damaged by the Gang Qi.
The biggest difficulty in reattaching a severed arm is to connect the meridians. If the meridians are not connected, even if the arm is reattached, it will be nothing more than a piece of dead flesh. "
As soon as Master Cihang said these words, Li Shimin's face suddenly turned pale.
"Taoist Priest, is there really no other way? He is Li Yuanba, the once invincible General Shenwei Tian. He cannot be treated as a useless person."
Li Shimin held Taoist Cihang's hand in prayer: "Taoist Master, as long as Yuan Ba can be cured, I will do anything at any cost, even if it means cutting off my left arm and reattaching it to Yuan Ba."
"If it wasn't my own arm, it would be even more impossible to connect it. King Tang is eager to protect his younger brother, and Pindao can understand it, but this request is really beyond Pindao's ability. Please don't embarrass Pindao." Ci. Hang smiled bitterly.
Hearing this, Li Shimin was completely despairing. He covered his face and cried bitterly: "Yuanba, it was the second brother who harmed you...
“Report to my lord, Gongsun Yan led the army to withdraw from Hangu Pass. Now Hangu Pass is an empty city.”
Hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes were full of hatred and he said bitterly: "Yuanba, my second brother will definitely avenge you.
After passing the order, immediately garrison Hangu Pass, and then send cavalry to pursue Gongsun Yan. I want to see how he can escape back to Yewang City. "
)
Following Li Shimin's order, Li and Tang's army began to garrison Hangu Pass and broke open the sealed east gate, preparing to send troops to pursue the Qin army.
After the Qin army withdrew from Hangu Pass, in addition to burning all the ordnance, they also completely sealed the east gate with stones. The Tang army moved for two hours but failed to completely clear the road.
Just when the stones were about to be evacuated, a fire suddenly broke out in the pass. The fire was so big and fierce that it could not be extinguished.
In the end, the fire burned for three days and three nights, and Hangu Pass was burned down by the fire.
The Tang army discovered the fire in time, but due to the large number of soldiers entering the pass, although most of the soldiers escaped from Hangu Pass, nearly 5,000 were still burned to death.
Hangu Guandong, ten miles away.
Gongsun Yan looked at the night sky behind him that was lit red by the fire. He gritted his teeth and said, "General Li Cunxiao, your sacrifice will never be in vain. Even if you die, you must defend Yewang City."
"Report...to the general, a flying pigeon message has been sent from Luoyang."
Gongsun Yan immediately smiled bitterly after taking it and reading it. If this flying pigeon letter had come one day earlier, General Li Cunxiao would not have to sacrifice himself.
Yesterday’s second update, I finished it very late, so I posted it in the morning. Currently, I still owe 13 chapters.
(End of this chapter)