Although he has been working hard for a month and although he has always been extremely nervous, Li Shan's daily routine has basically not changed.
When the genius dawned, Li Shan had already gotten up and washed his face with cold water. His face was frozen because of the cold.
Mrs. Zhou who was opposite the door silently brought a basin of hot water over. Li Shan smiled and wanted to say hello... but didn't know what to call her.
At the age of eighteen or nineteen, she is as beautiful as a flower and has a graceful figure. She is Su Dingfang's adoptive mother... I can't just call her aunt, right?
"Thank you, Mrs. Zhou."
The title that she racked her brains to come up with made Zhou stunned for a moment, then she blushed and left in a hurry... This title was always used for women who had not left the court.
Li Shan didn't understand much about this. He only remembered that someone called his mother Zhu this way... and he didn't expect his mother's special status at all.
One is abandoned by her husband, the other is her husband is dead... can these be the same?
According to the rules, Li Shan should be called "Mrs. Zhou".
After washing his face and brushing his teeth and having breakfast, Li Shan was about to go out to check on the situation when a fat little boy with a tiger-like head and a tough brain ran over and hugged his leg. This was Ling Jing's eldest grandson, nicknamed Liuhao.
"Liu Hao, is your grandpa up yet?" Li Shan smiled and hugged him, "Tsk, tsk, it's heavy again."
The little chubby boy giggled and said in a sweet voice, "Grandpa is calling you, but my sister refuses to come..."
It was said in a mess, but Li Shan understood it as soon as he heard it. Ling Jing's granddaughter, the sixth daughter, was shy, and the boys and girls were seated on separate seats when they were eight years old... But she was all taken by Li Shan... It didn't count as all the eyes, at most only the key parts.
However, Li Shan also discovered that all the way south... He got along well with the children. The six girls didn't get close to each other, but they always stood aside and looked at them.
After carrying Liu Hao out of the house, he turned a corner and found Ling Jing's house. Just as he said hello to Ling Jing, Li Shan glanced at him and saw that Liu Nu, who was drinking porridge, looked at him again.
Li Shan shuddered. The old man Ling Jing finally decided to go to Chang'an. Wasn't he trying to make a mistake?
This one is only eight years old, I'm afraid he has to eat peanuts directly...
"Dalang, Liu Heitai is attacking the city!"
Zhu Ba's shouts were heard from outside. Li Shan and Ling Jing, who were about to go out, were startled. Liu Heitai arrived at Weizhouxiang just the day before yesterday. He made weapons yesterday and is about to attack the city today. Are he so impatient?
They rushed all the way to the city wall. The siege battle had officially begun. Li Shan and Ling Jing waited for a long time. After it came to an end, they found an opportunity to climb onto the city wall.
Tian Liuan, who loudly commanded his generals, turned his head and looked, shook his head and said: "It's not a threat, maybe it's a test."
"Not necessarily." Li Shan glanced at the enemy corpses on the ground outside the city wall, "That guy in Yugushe hates me to the core..."
Xue Zhong, who was wearing armor, stood aside and said, "It makes sense. Liu Heitai is just a dog raised by the Turks. If he is forced to do so, Liu Heitai can only attack the city with all his strength."
The enemy troops receding in the distance were as dense as a swarm of ants. With the sound of drums, dozens of ramming vehicles were pushed out, and the infantry carried ladders and began to move again.
Ling Jing sneered: "The two armies are facing each other. Attacking the city is the lowest. It takes the longest and prepares the most equipment... It is too hasty to make the equipment in one day and then attack the city."
"Even if the Turks force Liu Heita to attack with heavy troops, it will be difficult to break the city."
Tian Liuan nodded and smiled, "Don't Liu Heitai hear that haste makes waste?"
Next came the regular city defense mode. Li Shan wanted to take a closer look with great interest, but was pulled off the city wall by Guo Pu and Fan Laosan.
When the army attacks the city, it first fills in trenches and moats, and must suppress the crossbowmen at the top of the city. Who knows where a cold arrow will be shot. Li Shan even lent his Mingguang armor to Su Dingfang.
After thinking about it for a while, Li Shan simply refused to go up and cause trouble. He left ten personal guards including Guo Pu with him. The others were led by Su Dingfang and handed over to Li Daoxuan.
After getting off the city wall, Li Shan was a little idle when he saw a group of people not far away smashing down walls and demolishing houses.
Dozens of people were pushed aside by the county government's handymen, and several women and children were crying loudly... apparently because their houses had been demolished.
Guantao ordered Cui Xin to walk over quickly and scolded him a few times. The female family members did not dare to speak anymore, but several children were still crying.
Ling Jing stood aside with his hands behind his back and pointed, as he was used to all this.
"Besieging a city requires specially crafted equipment, but defending the city is much easier. Every brick, tile, and piece of wood can be used."
Ma Zhou suddenly said loudly: "Every brick and wood is useful. The county government is a public tool, but the Ming government does not set an example, but it wants to demolish civilian houses first?!"
Cui Xin looked back in surprise, with a rather ugly expression on his face... There was no need to think about it, Ma Zhou must have deliberately provoked him.
"What's the grudge between you and the Cui family of Qinghe?" Li Shan asked curiously.
Seeing that Ma Zhou was going to argue, Li Shan grabbed him and said, "Stop causing trouble for me... If you want to find fault... you have to find a decent reason."
Ma Zhou gave up bitterly. He was from Beizhou and had traveled to Shandong, Hebei and the Central Plains for many years. He would not have gone to Guanzhong if it was not a last resort... Li Shan only knew that he had some issues with the Cui family of Qinghe, but he never asked in detail.
After watching for a while, Li Shan felt a little bored and wondered whether he should go to the wounded barracks. Zhujiagou Qingzhuang and the villagers from Su Dingfang had been making beds, collecting cloth, medicine, etc. for the past two days. Waiting for Li Shan to show off his talents.
However, in the previous battles, the Tang army returned to the city with almost no injured soldiers...it was pursued by Turks twice, and most of the injured soldiers were not able to return.
At this time, Li Daoxuan beside him suddenly asked in a low voice: "Should the Turkic soldiers return north in the near future?"
Although Li Daoxuan had the highest official position and the highest title among the Tang troops in the city, the shadow of the defeat at Shangbo had been haunting this nineteen-year-old young man. Li Daoxuan entrusted Tian Liuan with the responsibility of defending the city and refused to intervene.
"If you want to avenge your shame, you have to wait for the opportunity." Li Shan said with a smile: "Now Yu Gu wants to avenge his shame. He must be given this opportunity."
Li Daoxuan fell silent, and Ling Bo looked back. Just as he was about to say something, a deafening shout suddenly rang in his ears. The civilians who were demolishing the wall stopped and looked at the city wall in surprise.
After a while, the shouting slowly stopped, and the sound of drums came again, and another siege began.
Ling Jing shook his head and commented: "It may seem like you have the head start, but as long as there are no hidden dangers in the city, it is actually of little use. Liu Heitai is known for his cunning."
Li Shan stopped and looked up at the defenders on the city wall. Tian Liuan was standing on a high place, surrounded by personal guards with shields. Soldiers were constantly running back and forth, summarizing the battle situation and delivering military orders.
A large bucket of kerosene was poured down, and a few torches were thrown in. Soon the flames were blazing, and screams could be heard on the other side of the city gate, and there was even a faint smell of meat.
Under the city wall, small groups of soldiers were arranged, staring at the flags on the city head, sitting on the ground to rest, or quickly going up to the city wall with weapons in hand to change.
The shouts of killing continued for nearly an hour and a half. Ling Jing and Li Daoxuan were both a little surprised and asked a few questions to a slightly injured general.
Li Shan held a dagger and dug out the arrowhead skillfully. Unfortunately, the wine bottle was empty, so he could only wash it with clean water, sprinkle it with medicinal powder, and wrap it tightly.
The general, who was about thirty years old, groaned a few times while gasping for air, with large drops of sweat on his head, and answered Ling Jing and Li Daoxuan's questions intermittently.
"Liu Heitai is crazy!"
"Almost two hours!"
"At least a thousand people have died and they still refuse to withdraw!"
Logically speaking, this is not the rhythm of a siege war. When a large army attacks a city, it will often test first to find out the weak points of the defenders. If they cannot break through the city gate, they can only attack with elite troops and climb ladders to occupy the city head. At the stronghold, there was an endless stream of latecomers, who then broke into the city.
It may sound like a few words, but in fact, if the siege battle is not carried out in one go, it will often be protracted. Just testing the defenders at the city gates and walls to find weak points will take a lot of time.
But today's battle had just begun when the enemy launched a full-scale attack. Tens of thousands of infantry carried ladders in an attempt to ascend the city and break it in one fell swoop.
Moreover, Liu Heitai's troops have not yet reached the top of the city, but the enemy troops are attacking without stopping, without even taking a breath. This has a great impact on the loss of troops and the morale of the army.
Li Daoxuan and Ling Jing are both experienced in battle formations, so they naturally understand this principle, so they are both a little confused.
"There may really be Liu Heitai's old troops in the city..." Li Daoxuan guessed. "There is no need to open the city gate and fight back. All you need to do is create one or two chaos in the city, or set a fire...Liu Heitai attacked with tens of thousands of infantry. , it is indeed possible to break the city."
Xue Zhong had other speculations, "In the battle of Luoshui County at the beginning of the year, Wang Junkuo and Luo Shixin defended the city, but Liu Heitai's tens of thousands of troops attacked with difficulty. It was not until the defenders were completely killed and injured that the wealthy families in the city turned back... But Today is different, this is the first day of siege."
Ling Jing narrowed his eyes and pointed at the person beside Tian Liuan on the city wall, "Is that Yuan Zhulin?"
"Yes." Xue Zhong coughed twice, "Mr. Tian slept peacefully last night, leaving Yuan Zhulin standing vigil beside him."
Ling Jing clicked his tongue twice, "Manager Tian is really brave and knowledgeable!"
Li Shan glanced over and said, "That's not what you said last night."
Ling Jing, an old man with good eyesight and a bit of sensitivity, asked in an eccentric manner: "What's Li Langjun's opinion?"
"Brother Daoxuan, who is the main general between Ashinashe'er and Yugushe?"
Li Shan's question made everyone startled, and Ling Jing frowned thoughtfully.
Li Daoxuan thought for a moment and then said: "Ashinashe'er has already had his teeth. Although Yugushe is the only son of Jieli Khan, he has not yet had his teeth."
Ma Zhou on the side explained: "The so-called tooth construction is about... well, it's probably a bit similar to Tiance Mansion."
In other words, although Ashinasheer is a Turkic royal family and is also dependent on Jieli Khan, it also has strong autonomy.
From this point of view, the Turkic army that invaded Hebei and Shandong this time should be dominated by Ashina Sheer... Li Shan thought to himself, if Yugushe was the leader, the general would not travel rashly, so that he would be capture.
After thinking for a while, Li Shan was about to speak, but Ma Zhou jumped in front and suddenly said: "I just said on the city wall that Liu Heitai made the weapons and attacked the city in a big way in one day, fearing that he will be forced by the Turks!"
"If we want to capture Gushe alive, it must be this man who forces Liu Heita to attack the city with all his strength. We are not allowed to retreat!"
"The Turks already intend to return north!"
After a pause, Ma Zhou looked at Li Shan and signaled with his eyes... Is my guess right this time?
Li Shan pulled a face and hummed with a smile on his face, "If you are so good at talking, then you go on to say... When will the Turks return to the north?"
"Why don't you go out of the city now and ask that Ashina Sher?"
Ma Zhou stopped talking. Li Daoxuan's expression moved slightly and he looked at Li Shan carefully... Obviously, he believed in Li Shan's judgment more.
You can’t believe it!
I didn’t believe it half a month ago, but as a result, the entire 30,000-strong army was wiped out, and I was even captured alive.
At this time, the siege battle that lasted for nearly two hours finally came to an end. The generals on the city wall shouted loudly, replenishing arrows, gold juice, forks and other defensive equipment, carrying wounded soldiers down the city wall, and carrying bricks and tiles. There was wood, and there were cooks carrying dry food up, and there was chaos.
The county government officials in Cui Xin's hands were not enough, and the city walls were blocked up and down... which directly caused Li Shan to jump in anger.
"Bring down the wounded soldiers first!" Li Shan glared at Cui Xin and shouted: "There is still golden juice boiling on top, but you actually send dry food up there... You can't imagine that!"
"Drive everyone down, quickly!"
Tian Liuan, who was standing on the top of the city, squinted at the leaving enemy troops and thought about it in his mind.
One morning, Liu Heitai's troops dispatched at least 20,000 infantry, and ants took turns to climb the city. However, they did not even climb to the top of the city many times. Even if they did, they would be cleared out quickly. There was no way they could get there. Occupy a stronghold at the top of the city to await backup.
"Sir, a hundred people died in the battle, and there are more than a hundred wounded."
Tian Liuan nodded slightly. The rebels had killed at least two thousand people. Such a battle loss ratio was acceptable.
If Liu Heitai continued such an offensive, Guantao City could defend it for at least half a month... What's more, it would be difficult for Liu Heitai to maintain such a fierce offensive.
Suddenly hearing a noise, Tian Liuan turned around and saw that there was chaos up and down the city wall. He was about to scold Cui Xin, the Taoist order... but he saw Li Shan, who was wearing a green shirt, gesticulating.
Tian Liuan hesitated to give some advice, but saw that the flow of people on the city stairs gradually became smoother.
On the city ladder on the left, dozens of young and strong soldiers carried the wounded soldiers down the city on stretchers and door panels. Some of them were treated immediately to stop the bleeding, and some were sent directly to the wounded soldiers' camp.
On the city ladder on the right, civilians sent arrows and various defensive equipment up, as well as bricks, tiles, wood and other sundries.
Tian Liuan smiled and said, "Only the left side goes down, and the right side only goes up. Although it is a small plan, it is used just right."
Surrounded by his own soldiers, Tian Liuan went down the city ladder on the left and stood aside listening to Li Shan's command and arrangements at the top of his lungs.
"There are so many civilians, and if we don't have dedicated personnel to control them, any generals and commanders in the city will just give them whatever they want. Wouldn't it be chaos?"
"It was divided into five teams, under the exclusive responsibility of county officials. The first team transported wounded soldiers, the second team delivered arrows and other equipment, the third team delivered bricks, wood, and gold juice, and the fourth team delivered meals and water.
"Team Five?"
"Of course I will stay with you. Wherever there is a shortage, we will immediately fill it."
"Every time there is a truce, the wounded soldiers are first sent down the city ladder from the left side, and then all kinds of equipment are sent up the city from the right side."
"The left and right are clearly defined, and the entrances are well-arranged with manpower... Can the food be eaten at the top of the city?"
"There is still gold juice at the top of the city... Manager Tian?"
Tian Liuan glanced at Cui Xin and said with a smile: "Li Langjun is highly praised by His Highness the King of Qin. He is a young hero."
Cui Xin was not angry, but rather graceful. He cupped his hands and said, "I have heard for a long time that there are many talents in Prince Qin's palace. Thank you very much, Li Langjun, for your guidance today."
Tian Liuan smiled and said, "Although the golden juice is arranged at the top of the city, you can also eat rice and let the cooks pick it up... Of course, you need to take the city ladder on the right."
Cui Xin hurriedly went to make arrangements, but Tian Liuan turned around but only saw Li Shan's back.
Li Daoxuan said softly: "He rushed to the wounded barracks."
