Shibao City stands on the bank of Huangshui River.
It was originally a small town that could accommodate no more than 50,000 soldiers and civilians.
But it is a very important barrier in the western part of the Central Plains.
As for why.
Mainly because of the topography of Stone Castle City.
Shibao City was built on the mountain, with the mountains at its back and the loess plain in front of it.
Less than a hundred steps away from the city wall, there is a path about three hundred steps long.
If you want to attack the city, you must first pass through this trail.
The size of this path can only accommodate two to three hundred people at most for siege warfare.
The inability to exploit the superiority in military strength was the reason why thousands of soldiers from Tuyuhun came running towards us last time, but were blocked by less than 2,000 soldiers.
From this point of view, the military status here is enough to show.
If Tuyuhun occupied this place, they could use Shibao City as a base to continue expanding eastward.
The Tang Dynasty was on the contrary. If they occupied this place, they could expand westward.
If placed in other dynasties, this place would be useless.
After all, the land to the east is the truly fertile land.
The land in the west is barren, especially Tuyuhun is a high-altitude area.
No one cares about their territory.
If it were in other dynasties, Murong Fuyun's extremely aggressive political philosophy might have made Tuyuhun bigger and stronger.
Unfortunately, they met Li Shimin.
Li Shimin was one of the few emperors who defeated all the powerful enemies in the east and north and turned to fight in the west.
Because of this, the status of the military base in Shibao City is even more important.
…
Night falls, and the stars in the sky are like a sea.
The two sentries chatted with each other.
"You said this is the situation, why are you still keeping vigil? Is it possible that you are afraid that wild beasts will attack the city?"
Another person chuckled and said: "Are you prepared? If the enemy comes to attack the city, we should be prepared."
Hearing this, the sentry on the opposite side said nonchalantly: "Attack the hammer city."
"Now that General Duan and General Li have led people to kill them in their hometowns, how can they still have that ability?"
Just when the two were chatting.
Under the pale moonlight, dense crowds of figures slowly emerged from the shallow hills to the east, heading straight towards Stone Castle.
Thousands of soldiers advanced slowly under the pale moonlight.
As they got closer to Stone Castle City, their speed became faster and faster.
It was when these people were less than two hundred steps away from Stone Castle City.
The two sentries finally realized something was wrong.
When he saw the figure under the city wall, one of them quickly shot a warning arrow into the sky.
As the piercing chirping sounded, the stone castle suddenly began to become noisy.
The two sentries did not dare to hesitate. After shooting the resounding arrows, they quickly wanted to close the city gate.
But the two of them didn't even touch the edge of the city gate, and they were shot into hedgehogs by flying arrows.
Immediately afterwards, groups of Tuyuhun soldiers all burst into shouts and charged straight into the city.
In the final analysis, Datang was too careless.
They never expected that the enemy troops that had been chased and beaten by their own side could suddenly reach the rear.
Many Tang soldiers were awakened from their sleep.
By the time they rushed out of the military camp, the enemy was already in front of them.
The Tang soldiers didn't say anything, picked up the steel knife in their hands and fought with the enemy.
…
Inside the city lord's palace.
The soldiers from Qianziying and the elites brought by Li Tingxue also gathered together.
Li Chengqian was also pulled out of bed by Li Tingxue.
Now, in Shibao City, except for the city lord's palace, there were loud shouts of killing everywhere.
No matter how slow Li Chengqian reacted, he still knew that an enemy force was coming for a sneak attack.
They never thought that there would be an enemy attack.
The soldiers were basically taken away by Li Ji and Duan Zhixuan.
Even if Li Chengqian and Li Tingxue's guards are included, the total number is only 2,340.
As for the number of enemy troops, there is no accurate statement until now.
Li Chengqian had never experienced such a scene.
I was so frightened at the time that I didn't know what to do.
"Sister, what should we do now..."
"What else can be done?"
Li Tingxue took a deep breath and said: "The number of enemy troops is unknown, so we can only kill them temporarily and wait until the army returns in the future to regain Shibao City."
After speaking, Li Tingxue made a decisive decision and ordered: "Everyone follow me and fight out of the city."
After saying that, she held a knife in one hand and held Li Chengqian in the other.
Leading the team, they charged towards the city gate in a mighty manner.
Outside, there was chaos, and soldiers fighting could be seen everywhere.
Ganzi camp and Li Tingxue's escort camp were not spared either, but they collided with a large enemy force as soon as they left.
There were two thousand men on their side, and many more on the enemy side.
When the two armies fought together, the whole street suddenly became chaotic.
Cheng Huailiang and Changsun Chong were both at the forefront.
Cheng Huailiang himself came from a family of military generals and had good martial arts skills.
Changsun Chong was an underestimated person in his eyes. At this moment, he drew his sword and faced off against the enemy with a hint of inappropriateness.
But the battlefield is so big, how big a splash can the two of them make?
Most of the Qianzi camp under Li Chengqian were new troops, and few of them had actually been on the battlefield.
Although the armor is bright, he still looks majestic on weekdays.
But when it comes down to it, they're no different than embroidered pillows.
Often one or two people have to be killed in exchange for one of the enemy's deaths.
Looking at these, the guys he had chatted with in the past died one by one in front of his eyes.
Li Chengqian's eyes were dull, as if he was stupid.
Cheng Huailiang, covered in blood, rushed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, Princess, there are too many enemies, and my brothers can no longer withstand them."
Li Tingxue gritted her teeth and pushed Li Chengqian directly onto Cheng Hualiang.
"Promise me that you will take him out and kill him."
Hearing this, Cheng Huailiang was obviously stunned and looked at Li Tingxue with a puzzled face.
Afterwards, he felt relieved and said with a smile: "Princess, I'll do it."
"If you can't, only I can do this."
Li Tingxue only said this to Cheng Hualiang.
At this time, Li Chengqian suddenly came to his senses: "Sister, what do you want to do? Don't do anything stupid..."
"Your life is more important than my sister's."
Li Tingxue glanced at Li Chengqian tenderly.
No matter what he says, no matter how he blocks it.
She just hit the sword with a sudden wave of her hand and shouted: "Zuo Yiwei! Nine deaths without regrets!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she led a dozen people towards the densest crowd as if they were committing suicide.
Then the more than a thousand guards burst out shouting at the same time.
"Zuo Yiwei, nine deaths without regrets!"
Afterwards, they all rushed towards the densest crowd of people like they were committing suicide.
They sacrificed their lives to clear a bloody path for Li Chengqian.
It was not until this time that Li Chengqian knew.
It turns out that Li Tingxue's escort camp was Zuo Yiwei, the prince's personal army who disappeared after the Xuanwumen Incident...
Seeing that he was still distracted, Cheng Hualiang couldn't care less.
Diao held him under his arm and jumped onto a frightened war horse that ran towards him.
Cheng Huailiang took a deep look at Li Tingxue, who was fighting with his life in the crowd.
Then he protected Li Chengqian and fought his way out of Shibao City.
Li Chengqian, on the other hand, kept looking at Li Tingxue in the crowd, calling his sister heartbreakingly...
