The offensive and defensive battle in Datong City has entered its fourth day. The fighting above and below the city was very fierce. In just a few days, more than 30,000 Turkic soldiers were killed, while the Sui army suffered more than 2,000 casualties. The casualties among the temporarily recruited Qiang people, civilian husbands, and craftsmen were nearly 2,000. Corpses were piled up in disorder under the city, but Datong City stood tall and was firmly in the hands of the Sui soldiers, always becoming an obstacle for the Turkic army to move south.
In the early morning of the fifth day, a ray of skylight shone through the clouds on Datong City, and what came into view were corpses strewn across the ground. Broken ladders fell on the ground in front of the city, and many corpses of siege soldiers who died in battle. Some were curled up, their faces still seemed to be in pain before death, some bodies were mutilated, and some were smashed by stones into bloody meat patties, deeply embedded in the ground. The city wall, which was dyed purple-black with fresh pulp, could no longer see its original appearance.
It was extremely quiet at the top of the city at this time. Thousands of Sui soldiers were leaning against the wall and falling asleep. After five days of continuous fighting, some of the soldiers barely slept a wink and were exhausted.
In the middle of the city wall, the general Zhang Xutuo also huddled together with the soldiers and fell asleep. At this point in the war, there was almost no distinction between the general and the soldiers. Everyone cherished the extremely precious nap time.
But the quiet morning did not last long. When it started to get bright, the horns of the Turkic camp sounded loudly. The "oooooooo" horns woke up the Sui soldiers from their sleep. Zhang Xutuo jumped up and quickly lay down. Looking at the enemy camp in the distance from the battlements.
In his eyes, the Turkic camp was surging with people, as if the entire camp's soldiers had been mobilized, and enemy soldiers from all directions gathered in the open space in front of the camp, forming a black square formation.
"Pass my order!" Zhang Xutuo turned around and shouted: "Let all soldiers and young men prepare to fight!"
Although the Turkic soldiers suffered heavy losses in the past few days, it was mainly a tentative attack, mainly to test the Sui army's weakness, consume the defenders' physical strength, and consume the city's defense supplies. However, the number of soldiers mobilized today far exceeds that in the past, and it is obvious that preparations are endless. The bloody battle ended, which also meant that the next battle would be even more brutal than the previous few days.
"Dang, Dang, Dang!" Amidst the clear and rapid ringing of the bells, groups of Sui soldiers rushed out from the military camp in the city, fully armored and came towards the city wall. The temporarily recruited Qiang people, civilians, and craftsmen also came from the city. Coming from everywhere. The city wall, which was more than ten miles long, was soon covered with Sui soldiers. The swords, spears and armor on the city were gleaming, and huge colored war flags were flying in the morning light.
…
Ten miles outside the city, the Turks' dense military formations were ready to go. Their military formations could be divided into the front army, the middle army, and the rear army. These three armies were divided into the left, middle, and right armies. There were two central armies responsible for the main offensive task. Ten thousand people, with five thousand rangers on each side serving as wings. In addition, there are more than 120,000 people in the military camp.
Amidst the sound of the trumpet "woo hoo woo", Bujia Khan slowly appeared in the wilderness in front of the camp under the escort of five thousand people. In this attack on Datong City in Ganzhou during the Sui Dynasty, Bujia Khan placed a bet of more than 300,000 troops. He wanted to break the myth of the Sui army's invincibility to boost the morale of the Turks and restore the unparalleled reputation of the Great Khan.
As for the news that the Sui army had entered the Great Lakes region, Bujia Khan had naturally received it a long time ago, but he knew that the Great Lakes region was almost wiped out. Even if he retreated back now, it would not change the situation where corpses and blood were everywhere on the ground after being killed by the Sui army. The fact that it flows into a river. If we retreat in such a dejected manner, it will be almost impossible to assemble such a large number of troops again in the future. Therefore, Bujia Khan kept the news secret and did not make it public.
He believed that instead of going back without any achievements, it would be better to capture Datong City, wash the land of Liangzhou with blood, and then retreat as a victor. This way he could use the merits of this battle to intimidate Tiele's tribes who were ready to make a move.
Behind him are the powerful generals of the Ashina family, the chiefs of various tribes, and more than twenty thousand captains, and next to him is his most trusted nephew Ashina Hezhen.
Ashina Hezhen was over forty years old. He was a warrior known for his strength, and he was very intelligent. Bujia Khan named him Yehu and trained him as the heir to the Turkic Khanate.
The Turks believe that the strong will be the king, but there is no such thing as father to son. Since the time of Mu Gan Khan, it is common for elder brothers to pass on their thrones to younger brothers, and nephews to give up their thrones to their uncles. Generally speaking, they will treat themselves well. Nephew, if the nephew is capable, it is normal to pass the throne to the nephew.
"Great Khan! Please give me three days. See how I raze Datong City!" Ashina Hezhen is one of the few people who knows that the Great Lakes area was massacred by the Sui army, and he is also one of the few people who understand Bujia Khan.
He knew that the Great Khan wanted to return to the army to rescue and annihilate the abominable Yang Ji in the Great Lakes area. However, if he retreated this time, he would no longer be able to organize so many troops in the future, and the Turks who were in disintegration would become more chaotic; if The Turkic Khanate was at peace all over the world, and the top and bottom were united, and the Great Khan would not resort to militancy to fight the Sui Dynasty. However, during the reign of Shabolu Khan, the Turkic Khanate was not only defeated repeatedly by the increasingly powerful Sui Dynasty, but also by Shabolu Khan. Lue Khan was a proficient in internal strife, which led to internal rebellion and endless conquests. Therefore, many tribal chiefs who were afraid of being massacred by Sabolo Khan were willing to be exploited by the Sui Dynasty. But Bujia Khan inherited a Turkic Khan who suffered from repeated civil wars. He wanted to kill those non-opposing forces, but every time, the Sui Dynasty always sent troops at the right time, forcing the Turks to never unify.
Years of wars have brought disaster, not only killing countless warriors, but also affecting the harvest. However, the Great Khan had to raise troops and had to increase taxes on various ministries with poor harvests, thus falling into a deadlock. In the middle of the game.
"Okay! I appoint you as the commander-in-chief." Bujia Khan handed the Khan's Golden Arrow to Ashina Hezhen. He glanced at the direction of Datong City in the distance, and then said to Ashina Hezhen in a deep voice: " I don't care how many troops you use or how you fight, but within three days, you must capture Datong City for me."
"I understand." Ashina Hezhen bowed and saluted.
"Okay, then I'll wait." After Bujia Khan finished explaining, he turned and walked towards the Chinese army's tent.
Seeing the weakened back of the Great Khan walking away, Ashina Hezhen immediately raised the Great Khan's golden arrow and shouted: "The three armies are dispatched and march to Datong City immediately!"
"Woooooooooooo..." Thousands of horns sounded, and the thunderous sound could be heard for dozens of miles.
Upon hearing the order to march, the 90,000-strong army immediately marched toward Datong City in a mighty manner. The densely packed army was followed by hundreds of ladders and catapults, and advanced toward Datong City more than ten miles away with an unstoppable murderous aura. swept away.
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