"Kill the Tang thief!"
Facing Shi Jingsi's 3,000 troops, Guo Wei also tried to arouse the morale of the Tang army to resist. However, when Meng Gong led tens of thousands of the Sui army's main force to cover up the mountains and fields, Guo Wei knew that the overall situation was determined and no longer had any luck. The strong man cut off his wrists and left behind The rear troops resisted the Sui army and ordered the front and middle troops to quickly escape from the battlefield and retreat.
The Sui army commanded by Meng Gong quickly defeated the Tang army that blocked the attack, and then led his army to pursue them.
Guo Wei commanded well, and the Tang army used the terrain to resist steadily, without large-scale rout.
Meng Gong saw that his army had chased him for more than ten miles, and that the Tang army would not be able to completely defeat it for a while. He was deeply afraid that the main force of the Tang army or the Turkic army would arrive, so he immediately gave up and ordered the troops to withdraw back to the countryside.
"There are capable people among the Tang army, so we should not underestimate them!"
Looking at the orderly Tang army relying on the terrain in front of him, Meng Gong reminded himself secretly, turned his horse's head and left slowly.
Although the failure to completely annihilate the Tang army led by Guo Wei had some flaws, this could not prevent the great victory of Ruxiang from inflicting a huge blow on the Turks, Tibetans and the Tang army. Only 3 to 500 of the 15,000 Turkic troops escaped. Even though the Tang army was not defeated under Guo Wei's command, Guo Sheng's actions still severely damaged the morale of the Tang army. The entire Tang army was killed and wounded. There were about 500 victims, and the casualty ratio was close to one-third.
Li Jiancheng was shocked when he heard the report. He didn't care about Guo Sheng's death, but the disastrous defeat in the first battle between the Turks and the Tang army was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the morale of the entire army.
"Who is this Meng Gong? Why were there so many generals in the Sui Dynasty!"
Li Jiancheng couldn't help but lamented, and immediately ordered: "Send orders for logistics and baggage, speed up the march and escort the siege equipment to Nuxiang!"
"Your Highness."
Wang Gui, the official of the East Palace, suggested: "It is better to leave the siege to the Turkic and Tubo armies first, and our soldiers can recharge their batteries and sit back and watch the success or failure."
Li Jiancheng shook his head and objected: "The Turks and Tibetans are all foreigners with strong fighting power. The defense of fortified cities is a weapon for the Central Plains dynasty to resist the barbarians. If the foreigners learn the art of siege, we will be eternal sinners!"
Although he was forced by his father Li Yuan to unite with the Turks and Tibetans to march, Li Jiancheng was still wary of the Turks and Tibetans in his heart.
"That's what your Highness is worried about!"
The prince Xi Ma Wei Zheng echoed in a deep voice: "And our army's attack on Ruxiang may not necessarily allow the Turks and Tibetans to take advantage of it. According to the report from our Tang Dynasty's secret agents in the Central Plains, Yang Gao and General Xue Rengui have integrated more than 100,000 elites. I'm afraid Reinforcements will come soon to Nengxiang. I have left the siege to the Tang Dynasty, and naturally I can only leave it to the Turks and Tibetans to fight the main force of the Sui army."
Li Jiancheng smiled knowingly and said: "Wei Xima, you will go see Kublai Khan and Lun Qinzan in a moment and tell them that we, the Tang Dynasty, will be solely responsible for the siege!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Meng Gong led the victorious army back to the countryside, and immediately summoned his generals and said: "This great victory caught the rebel army by surprise, but the combined strength of the Turkic, Tubo and Tang armies still numbered 200,000, which was far superior to our army. Next, the bandit army must be cautious and will not give us a chance to defeat them one by one. Send the order and the generals will go to each department in order and be responsible for coordinating the deployment. Without my orders, they are not allowed to attack without permission! Anyone who disobeys the order will not be spared!"
"I will obey your orders!"
All the generals in the hall accepted the order. The great victory in Ranxiang had established Meng Gong's absolute prestige in the army.
"General Wang Sili!"
Meng Gong took the lead in ordering generals, and Wang Sili responded.
Meng Gong took a command arrow and said in a deep voice: "I have always known that you have strict laws and regulations. I have ordered you to command and supervise the battle team. After the war starts, if anyone is timid and afraid of fighting, no matter who it is, you can use military law!"
"I will obey your orders!"
Wang Sili said loudly and stepped forward to receive the order.
"General Zhang Gongjin!"
Meng Gong continued to give orders: "I will give you two thousand elite soldiers to guard the granary, so be careful. If unfortunately the city is defeated, set fire to the granary immediately. You must not leave any grain to the barbarians and rebels!"
Zhang Gongjin, with piercing eyes, nodded and stepped forward to take the arrow.
Meng Gong turned to look at Wang Shenqi, took the command arrow and said: "General Wang Shenqi, I ordered you to lead your troops to patrol the city and be careful to beware of spies in the city causing trouble!"
"Don't worry, General Meng!"
Wang Shenqi patted his chest and promised: "As long as the general is here, there will never be a trace of chaos in the city!"
"Ben will believe you."
Meng Gong nodded, stood up, and said in a sonorous voice: "Generals, please go back to your camps to reorganize your troops. The main force of the rebel army will soon arrive. This will be the most difficult battle for our army. I swear to fight with you." The city will live and die together!"
"When the city is alive, people are still there; when the city is gone, people are still alive!"
All the generals in the hall drew their swords in their hands and shouted in unison.
. . . . . . . . . .
Li Jiancheng reached an agreement with Kublai Khan and Lun Qinzan, and the Tang army was solely responsible for the attack on Ruxiang. The two men did not realize Li Jiancheng's intentions for a while, so they agreed without hesitation.
The Turkic army and the Tibetan army each retreated five miles to set up camp. Li Jiancheng began to prepare for the siege. Tens of thousands of Tang troops set up ladders and drove their chariots to launch a fierce attack on the city.
"Soldiers, don't panic, follow my command!"
On the top of the city, Meng Gong was wearing heavy armor and had a sword hanging on his waist. He said calmly and calmly: "The archers let go!"
At the command, arrows rained down from the sky. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty suddenly fell on their backs. Countless soldiers and horses fell to the ground in the flying arrows. Their bodies were trampled by the advancing soldiers from behind, and they suddenly turned into a miserable pile of flesh. .
The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty rushed to the city wall despite the rain of arrows, climbed up on the ladder and climbed up bravely. Meng Gong's flag was waved, and scalding hot water and boulders as big as millstones flew towards the bottom of the city, and screams were heard for a while.
"Soldiers, hold on, the first one to climb the city will be rewarded a thousand taels!"
Li Jiancheng personally went into battle and loudly ordered his soldiers to advance bravely.
Seeing more and more ladders erected on the city wall, Meng Gong suddenly raised another flag and waved it twice. The archers on Chengtou Mountain retreated one after another, and another archery team moved forward quickly, their arrows on It was all covered with kerosene and ignited instantly. In an instant, rockets were fired, and many sergeants on the ladder were burned to death.
The first time the project failed, Li Jiancheng's general Liu Zhiyuan proposed a plan to attack the city through tunnels, and Li Jiancheng was overjoyed to follow it.
Unexpectedly, Meng Gong had buried a large number of urns in the city long before the war began. The so-called urns were dug wells under the walls of the city, and a new vat was placed in the well. On the tank, monitor the enemy's movements. If someone digs a tunnel, it will easily cause resonance in the cylinder, allowing the location of underground enemies to be detected.
After discovering that the Tang Army was attacking the city through tunnels, Meng Gong immediately made countermeasures. He found out the location of several tunnels of the Tang Army, and immediately threw firewood into the tunnels to attack the city with smoke and fire. Hundreds of Tang troops fled in the tunnels.
