Three days later, follow-up troops arrived one after another.
Li Yunze arranged for a garrison of 3,000 men to stay at Qiemo, and then set off again to continue westward.
Along the southern edge of the Hanhai (Taklamakan Desert), head towards Nirang in the west.
The so-called Nirang is actually Jingjue.
The route Li Yunze was taking at this time was actually the southern branch of the southern line of the Silk Road.
And Jingjue is the only place on this road.
Whether it's Qiemo or Jingjue, there are many oases going north deep into the vast sea, and you can go all the way north to reach places like Qiuci.
Therefore, enough soldiers and horses must be left to guard and not give the Tubo people a chance to escape.
"Han Shu Biography of the Western Regions" written by Ban Gu records that "the king of Jingjue Country, the king of Jingjue City, traveled eight thousand eight hundred and twenty miles to Chang'an." '
This distance is not an exaggeration. Even in the modern world, the journey from Chang'an to Minfeng County is more than three thousand kilometers.
As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the city-states were under the command of the Protectorate of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was also controlled by China.
Cheng Chumo came here to fight once before, and later the Tibetans came and fought again. The entire Jingjue Kingdom was already in dilapidated condition, and only Niyang City, the capital of the country, was still in some shape.
Well, in history, Xuanzang also passed by here when he returned to Chang'an City.
Dense reeds grow everywhere around Nirang City, and everything you see is dominated by swamps.
Even if locals enter a place like this, there is a high probability that they will fall into it and no one will be left alive.
The only way out is the ancient path taken by the Silk Road caravans.
The advantage of this geographical environment for the siege is that the defenders basically cannot escape.
As long as Nirang City is surrounded and the ancient roads are cut off, even if the defenders break through, they can only run to the swamp.
In places like swamps, even crocodiles and anacondas have to run away, so only mosquitoes can survive.
As usual, the vanguard led by Li Yunze arrived first, then set up camp to surround the city, build siege equipment and wait for the arrival of follow-up troops.
Then, as expected, another accident occurred.
The Tibetans who defended the city dragged a group of captured Tang army soldiers to the top of the city.
After Cheng Chumo defeated Jingjue last time, only a force of less than a thousand soldiers and horses was left to garrison here.
It's not hard to blame him, because he really doesn't have much strength in his hands.
Tens of thousands of Tibetan soldiers and horses besieged the city, overwhelming the defenders with the help of human sea tactics.
In addition to dying in battle, the remaining Tang troops became prisoners because they had nowhere to run.
The main force of Tibet had already left, and the thousands of defenders who remained behind drove the local indigenous people, nearby Zahu tribes and Tang army prisoners to repair the city wall and reserve a lot of defense equipment and food.
They firmly believe that they can hold this place.
Facing the Tang army outside the city, the Tibetan defenders decided to intimidate them by massacring Tang army prisoners of war.
As the captives of the Tang army were tied up one by one and beheaded on the top of the city, the Tang army outside the city was furious, and curses in various dialects could be heard endlessly.
After receiving the news, Li Yunze hurried over.
What you see are the Tubo people showing off their power on the city wall, and the Tang army corpses piled up under the city wall.
"General!"
The captains, whose faces were full of grief and anger, all gathered around him.
"A general will not raise an army out of anger." Looking at the defenders standing at the top of the city peeing, Li Yunze raised his hand with a cold expression, "But I will be angry today!"
He turned his head and looked at the captains, "After the city is broken, no chickens or dogs will be left behind! Avenge our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty!"
"only!
! "
He originally planned to continue using traditional siege tactics to hone his new recruits.
But now, there is no need to endure it anymore.
Return to your own military tent and open the time and space door to return to the modern world.
He took out a large box of c4 from the warehouse and quickly returned to the Tang Dynasty.
He has done this a lot, and it was very quick to assemble it.
After installing the detonation device, Li Yunze walked out of the military tent and told the captains to "recruit a group of death warriors in the army."
The Tang army outside the city was in a state of rage and actively participated in the recruitment of dead soldiers.
Thirty people were finally selected and were responsible for pushing a huge shield cart, a shield cart containing a large box of c4.
Li Yunze looked at Xue Rengui standing behind the shield car with some surprise, and thought about it and called him over.
"General!"
Xue Rengui has a tall, tall and powerful body, which is also the standard physique of most ancient military commanders.
The handsome young generals in movies and TV shows almost don’t exist on the battlefield.
After all, the bigger and stronger the body, the greater the strength, and the stronger the ability to withstand blows.
Pretty boys who can be knocked down by a gust of wind usually only deserve to appear in the women's camp.
He explained how Xue Rengui lit the fuse, and then patted him on the shoulder, "Young man, do your best, I'm optimistic about you."
Xue Rengui immediately looked flattered.
Although he received hundreds of rewards for being the first to climb the ranks, he was also promoted to the rank of Captain, and the next level up would be the Captain of the School.
But in essence, he is still a new recruit who has not been in the army for a long time.
It's so exciting to be favored by the entire army.
The attack on the city wall in other directions began, with gongs and drums noisy and flags waving in the sky.
On the main attack side, thousands of Tang troops came forward with bows and crossbows, and fired at the defenders on the city wall to suppress them.
Xue Rengui and his companions struggled to push the heavy shield cart, creaking closer to the city wall.
Naturally, it is impossible for a city like Niyang City, a small country in the Western Region, to have such a thing as a moat.
There are not even antlers, horses, trenches, traps or anything like that outside the city. From the perspective of siege, it is simply not worth mentioning.
The defenders shouted and fought back, and a hail of arrows fell from the sky, falling on the thick roof of the shield car, making a continuous popping sound like rain.
As the shield car continued to approach the city wall, more city defense equipment was activated.
Large rocks, a whole piece of wood that should be a beam, an ash bottle filled with ash to blind the eyes, a lit pile of straw, and so on.
All kinds of things kept hitting the shield cart, and every dull impact made Tang Jun's heart tighten when he was pushing the cart.
Fortunately, this shield car was strong enough, especially since it was covered with a layer of iron plates. It was finally pushed to the edge of the city wall without any danger.
In fact, when defending a city, the first thing to deal with when defending a city is a moat, then antlers and traps, or catapults and crossbows.
If it's against a wall, throw boulders or ignite it directly with kerosene.
It's just that the Tibetan garrison's ability to defend the city at this time...is not worth mentioning.
Xue Rengui, who was under the shield car, was breathing heavily and turned his head to stare at the Tang army's formation hundreds of steps away.
Suddenly, he heard a drum sound coming from the military formation, and immediately lit the fuse in his hand.
Next, it’s the speed of life and death.
The Tang army, who was responsible for suppressing the shooting, began to shoot rapidly, while Xue Rengui and others shouted, then rushed out of the shield car and ran away frantically in the direction of the formation.
Raindrops of arrows followed in pursuit, and a field of arrows was planted around them.
Several Tang soldiers had no armor on their legs and feet and fell to the ground screaming.
Fortunately, their companions were really strong, dragging them to continue running desperately, and finally escaped from the range of the bow and arrow.
The sound of ringing gold came from the formation, and the crossbowmen who were responsible for covering them also quickly retreated, and finally returned to the formation.
Panting heavily, Xue Rengui came to Li Yunze and saluted, "General! Fortunately, I have lived up to my command!"
"good."
Li Yunze nodded with a smile, "This merit should be achieved first."
After getting up, Xue Rengui looked at the shield car leaning against the wall in the distance with some confusion. He really didn't understand the purpose of sending such a shield car there.
The defenders on the city wall couldn't figure it out, and some even looked down, as if they wanted to see what was under the shield car with their eyes.
Xue Rengui, who came back to his senses, turned to look at Li Yunze in confusion, wanting to ask what this meant.
Then he was shocked to see Li Yunze open his mouth, raise his hands and cover his ears.
"This is..."
Before Xue Rengui could figure out what this gesture was, there was a thunder in the distance behind him!
A real bolt from the blue!
There was a thunderbolt, and the incandescent fire instantly engulfed the section of the city wall where the shield chariot was located.
The sound of thunder carried hundreds of thousands of steps to the Tang army. Almost everyone was shaken suddenly, and the horses kicked up their hooves and neighed anxiously.
Xue Rengui shook his head vigorously, but his ears were still buzzing.
He raised his hand and rubbed his ears, then turned to look in the direction of the city wall.
The place there was already engulfed by gunpowder smoke rising into the sky. All kinds of messy things were flying in the sky, drawing long parabolas and being thrown in all directions with high temperature.
Looking at the horrific end-of-the-world scene in the distance with his mouth open, Xue Rengui felt his mind go blank.
Is this... divine punishment? !
He felt as if someone was taking a picture of him. He turned around in confusion and saw what the general was saying to him.
Rubbing his ears vigorously again, he finally heard what Li Yunze was saying.
"...Why are you so stupid? Come on! The soldiers of the army will obey the order and rush in without leaving any trace of chickens or dogs behind!"
The sound of drums and horns sounded continuously, and the Tang army, who recovered from the shock, began to line up and walk towards the city wall step by step.
The smoke on the other side of the city wall began to gradually dissipate, and everyone was finally able to see clearly what was happening there.
The previous shield car had disappeared without a trace. Along with the shield car, there was also a section of the city wall that was dozens of feet long.
A large crater was left in front of the shield car, and the soil baked by the high temperature spread radially.
As for the defenders who originally gathered on the city wall, there was no trace at this time... No, they should be everywhere.
Seeing that the city wall collapsed, the Tang army's morale soared. They shouted and crossed the gap and rushed into the city.
Nirang City is not very big, its circumference is only three or four miles.
The square structure of the city wall provides good conduction of sound waves and shock waves.
At least at this time, many of the defenders in the city were still stumbling around.
The people who were close to the city wall were lying on the ground motionless.
Tang Jun stepped over him and was shocked to find that his body was extremely soft, as if he had no bones.
Some defenders were hit by flying fragments, which were about as powerful as large-caliber bullets.
By this time, all the Tang troops were full of morale, and they firmly believed that this battle would be won!
