When the nearby soldiers saw Liu Keman hit by an arrow and falling from the ladder, they were so frightened that they all shouted "Commander", and then one after another jumped down from the ladder to help Li Huaiqin, who fell among the corpses below the city.
Fortunately, there were layers of corpses on the ground. Li Huaiqin was not injured, but he was slightly dizzy when his head hit the ground on an iron helmet. The soldiers used a knife to cut off the arrow shaft on his shoulder. The arrow cluster was temporarily inconvenient to dispose of and could only be left in the flesh. Among them, the situation is critical at this moment, and he doesn't care whether an arrow sore occurs.
Liu Keman had just recovered from the shock. The arrow wound on his shoulder turned pale with pain. Cold sweat mixed with rain flowed down his face. He asked in a trembling voice: "Has the crown prince's left guard already arrived? Can our troops be able to stop it?"
In fact, he already had a guess in his mind, but he still wanted to ask, hoping for a miracle. Throughout the ages, there have been many examples of back-and-forth battles in which a small number of people defeated a large number. Maybe he can get lucky today?
However, hope was quickly dashed, and the soldier choked: "Commander, we are defeated..."
As soon as these words came out, all the soldiers on the left and right beat their chests and cried bitterly, as if they had fought to the end of their strength and were unable to make a comeback. It was not because they were incompetent, but because the enemy army was too strong and fate dictated...
Liu Keman shook his head and finally became more awake. He stood up and looked around. At this moment, there were countless corpses piled up in layers under the city. Most of them were his soldiers and horses. The ladders had basically collapsed. I don’t know how many soldiers were coming back and forth. They ran around hoping to escape, but the dark cavalry in the distance was getting closer and closer in the rain, driving the scattered and fleeing soldiers into a small area under the Xuanwu Gate.
There are no more arrows or rolling logs falling on the city, and the siege has ceased.
A complete failure.
One of the soldiers said: "The enemy has not yet completed the encirclement. Let's quickly gather our forces and fight our way out. Maybe we can still survive!"
Liu Keman shook his head. The severe pain from the arrow wound on his shoulder made his mind clearer than ever before. He knew that he and Li Huaiqin had been defeated so completely that no one would attack the Xuanwu Sect in a short time. Without the restraint of the Xuanwu Sect, Li Jing , Xue Wanche can safely lead his troops into the city to support Wude Palace, and with the brave and capable Youtun Guards, how can King Jin have any chance?
When Your Majesty puts down the rebellion and cleans up the mess, how can there be room for him in this vast world?
Instead of running away like a bereaved dog to the surrounding barbarians to beg for shelter, it would be easier to surrender. Your Majesty is so kind that you may not necessarily put yourself to death...
"Give me the order, collect the remaining soldiers, abandon your weapons and surrender, and stop any unnecessary resistance. We cannot let our brothers sacrifice their lives in vain."
Liu Keman was crestfallen.
"Commander!"
"How can you beg for mercy like this?"
"Our guard commander can still fight!"
The eyes of the old soldiers on the left and right were red. When they heard Liu Keman's words of surrender, the crowd was furious. They were also the elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty back then. They were invincible in the conquests south and north. Even after following Liu Keman these years, they have become a fish that can be bullied by others. The troops are weak, but the spirit of the past is still there. The soldiers can be killed but not humiliated!
Among the armies of the Tang Dynasty, had there ever been an army that surrendered in order to survive?
You cannot surrender to foreign barbarians, and you cannot surrender to your own people!
Liu Ke's full ambition had long since evaporated, leaving only a slow desire to survive. Hearing the old soldiers left behind by his father so impassioned that they would not surrender, he was so angry that he almost yelled, "You are not afraid of death, but can you not?" Implicate me?
"Why bother to kill yourself by throwing an egg against a stone? Don't worry, everyone, the responsibility for this battle lies entirely with me. If your Majesty blames you in the future, I will bear it all, and try not to involve you. Stop talking nonsense, the military orders are like mountains, execute them quickly! "
Seeing that Liu Keman was determined to surrender, the rest of the soldiers had no choice but to run around in tears to collect the defeated troops. When the prince's left guard arrived with the dark cavalry, they all squatted on the ground, abandoned their weapons and surrendered.
…
Li Dazhi galloped his horse and whipped his whip and led the prince's left guard straight to Xuanwu Gate. The vanguard had just arrived at the city to fight the rebels. The rebels, who were already exhausted and demoralized, collapsed at the first touch. The soldiers fled in all directions, without any fighting spirit.
Xuanwumen is still as stable as a rock...
Li Dazhi let out a long breath. Although Sun Renshi sent someone to inform him that there was no problem with the safety of Xuanwu Gate, so that he could rest assured to destroy the two rebels, after all, Xuanwu Gate's strategic position was too important. If it fell, everyone would probably have no choice but to Protecting His Majesty as he fled to the west, he was forced to give up the center of the Imperial Capital.
Now that the Xuanwu Gate has not been lost, the pressure is on the rebels. They must capture the Wude Palace before the Sixth Leader of the East Palace and the Youwu Guards enter the city for reinforcements. Otherwise, they will only fall short and be completely defeated...
Li Dazhi commanded his cavalry to press forward, sweeping towards Xuanwu Gate like a tide. Many of the defeated soldiers who fled in panic were driven back to Xuanwu Gate again, and were imprisoned in a small space. As long as he gave an order, Next, five thousand cavalry launched a charge and could easily kill these defeated troops.
Under the light of the wind lanterns at the top of the city, the rebel hedgehogs gathered together, shivering.
When infantry faced charging cavalry, the outcome could only be massacre.
"General, I would like to ask for an audience with Yin Yuan, the left guard!"
The school captain rode up from behind and reported to Li Dazhi.
"Yin Yuan?"
Li Dazhi was a little surprised. Previously, Yin Yuan led his remnant soldiers who were defeated by Fang Jun to entangle Li Huaiqin and win every opportunity for him to defeat them. This was considered a great achievement. However, he was worried about the safety of Xuanwu Gate and defeated Li Huaiqin. After that, he quickly turned back and rushed to Xuanwu Gate without paying attention to Yin Yuan's situation or Li Huaiqin's whereabouts.
A mere county king is now a mere general. Whether he is alive or dead, he cannot affect the overall situation.
"Do you know what's going on?"
Li Dazhi looked at the rebels who were driven to the Xuanwu Gate in front of him, and thought about dealing with these rebels as soon as possible. If Yin Yuan had nothing important to do, he could meet them later.
The captain looked helpless and said in a low voice: "Yin Yuan has captured Nanyang County King Li Huaiqin alive and is escorting him here. I hope that you, the general, will take him over. He will return to the north of the Weishui River to repair. After all, this time he led his army to snipe Li Huaiqin and suffered huge losses. , there are not many soldiers left under his command."
Li Dazhi's eyes widened: "Li Huaiqin was caught by Yin Yuan?"
He remembered that Li Huaiqin escaped before the battle, abandoned all the main force and fled westward with more than a thousand elites. At that time, Yin Yuan had been fighting fiercely for a long time, and the few soldiers had suffered casualties. Under such circumstances, they could actually capture Li Huaiqin alive?
Is Li Huaiqin a fool?
It's no wonder that the captain looked helpless and depressed. After all, three armies attacked Chang'an this time, and among them, Li Huaiqin had the highest title. This was a big fish. He was anxious to reinforce Xuanwumen and allowed him to escape. This was a great contribution. But he was picked up by Yin Yuan...
He also understood Yin Yuan's intention of handing over Li Huaiqin to him. Li Huaiqin was indeed a big fish, and capturing him alive was a great achievement. But for the Liquan Yin family, the credit was only one aspect. More importantly, someone had to stand up for him in front of His Majesty. Their words allowed them to avoid the guilt of sending troops to Chang'an because of the previous coercion by Dou Xi.
If this battle is won, who will take the greatest credit?
One is Fang Jun and the other is Li Jing. Previously, Yin Qinzhou tied up Dou Xi and presented it to Fang Jun. This was considered as a change of heart to show loyalty to His Majesty and to show his goodwill to Fang Jun. Now, by handing over Li Huaiqin to himself, he was sharing the credit. How could he turn a blind eye? ?
After the war, if Fang Jun and Li Jing speak to the Liquan Yin family, maybe your Majesty will not only not hold people accountable, but will also reward them based on their merits...
Knowing Yin Yuan's plan in his heart, Li Dazhi would not refuse.
The Liquan Yin family needs Li Jing to stand up and speak to them, and the more military achievements he has, the better...
Each takes what he needs.
Li Dazhi nodded and said to the deputy general beside him: "Go out and shout for Liu Keman to surrender!"
Then he turned his horse around and came to the rear, surrounded by his own soldiers, to meet Yin Yuan.
When he saw Yin Yuan, Li Dazhi was shocked. The second-in-command of the Yin family in Liquan had his armor shattered and his body covered in blood. His ragged clothes could not cover the various wounds on his body, and the soldiers around him were all injured. , supporting each other, this shows the huge price paid when sniping Li Huaiqin before.
"I told you about General Li!"
Yin Yuan endured the wounds all over his body, stood upright with his shaky body, and saluted him.
Li Dazhi did not ask for help. He turned over, dismounted and hurried forward to hold Yin Yuan's shoulders. He looked up and down, his face full of admiration and worry: "The general fought alone and defeated the rebels bravely. He deserves the most credit." ! I sincerely admire you. It’s just that the general’s injury is too serious. I will call the army doctor to diagnose and treat you right now. Don’t be careless!”
Not to mention that he was here to take credit for his achievements, just his bravery and fearless style of inflicting heavy losses on the rebels made him stand in awe.
Yin Yuan laughed. He accidentally injured his body and took a breath of pain. He had a ferocious look on his face: "The rebels are raging and the country is in turmoil. How can we, as soldiers, seek good fortune and avoid disaster? We have already mistakenly entered the country due to a mistake in our previous thoughts. If you have gone astray, you should use your own body to wash away your guilt, and even if you die, you will have no regrets!"
Li Dazhi nodded and said solemnly: "Brother, you are exaggerating. No one is a sage. How can anyone be without faults? If you know your faults, you can correct them, and there is no greater good. Just by sniping at Li Huaiqin alone and capturing him alive, it is enough to cover up all the previous mistakes. This matter I will explain it to the commander in detail, and I will describe it impartially in the battle report, so that my brother’s blood will not be shed in vain, let alone those soldiers who died in battle!”
Hearing Li Dazhi's statement, Yin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. Although he took it upon himself to hand over Li Huaiqin to Li Dazhi, if the other party was greedy for credit and did not mention a word about his deeds of leading the army in bloody battles, then he would suffer a big loss.
Now it seems that Li Dazhi understands his intention and gives a formal reply, so his share of the credit will be considered worthwhile.
After all, being able to gain Li Jing's support is far more meaningful than capturing Li Huaiqin alive...
(End of chapter)
