The observation tower at the top of Renshou Palace stands majestically, with a height of five floors. It is a conical building made of pure white marble. It is extremely strong. The stone stairs in the building spiral upwards, and the treads are stone slabs inlaid on the walls. .
In addition to being an observation tower, it is also the beacon tower of Renshou Palace. Twenty soldiers take turns to guard it. When Yang Guang and Yang Ji rushed into the building with a group of guards, the two fire chiefs were frightened to see Yang Guang covered in blood. He stepped forward and saluted: "In this humble position, please see the Crown Prince."
"No courtesy!" Yang Guang waved his hand and said calmly: "Liu Ximing has rebelled. You should lock the door of the building quickly."
"Here!" The two fire chiefs were frightened half to death. They quickly closed the two heavy iron doors and tied them with iron bolts from the inside. Then they surrounded Yang Guang and climbed to the top floor. Only then did they loosen their long hair. Take a breath.
Yang Ji gathered everyone together, glanced at the bewildered guards, and said loudly: "The saint is already in heaven, but Liu Ximing and other unscrupulous people see an opportunity and intend to kill the prince and establish a new king. Then force the name of regicide and father-killing onto the crown prince’s head.”
Whether it is for internal security and unity, or to add dozens of helpers to his side, these twenty-two must be won over, so Yang Ji said it very frankly.
After hearing these words, all the guards realized what had happened, and all of them turned pale and trembling with fear.
Yang Ji continued: "The rebels will come here soon and besiege this place. In order to conquer this strong fortress as soon as possible, the rebels may promise you high officials and huge profits, saying that as long as you open the gate and kill the prince, you will be There are words like making the country a Duke, granting tens of thousands of gold, and so on. But I tell you, this is simply impossible...I'm not saying that the prince's head is not worth this price, but that this price is too valuable and too enviable. If you accept it, The rebels are seducing you to offer rewards for the prince's and my heads. I'm afraid that before we can get out of the gate, we will be killed by the jealous rebels who are jealous of this merit. If you don't resist, the rebels will think that we are in the same group. In the end Your heads will also be taken for reward, so your only way to survive is to hold on with us until reinforcements arrive. Otherwise, it will be a dead end."
Yang Guang understood Yang Ji's intention. For these soldiers, real wealth and life were much more important and real than the intangible loyalty and patriotism. He knew it was his turn to make a promise, so he stepped forward and said to everyone: "The alarm bell has been ringing for so long, the reinforcements must have arrived halfway, and we have such a strong fortress, we can definitely hold on to the final victory. As long as we hold on until Reinforce troops and hold on until victory, I am the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, and I will reward you generals with meritorious service."
If Yang Ji gives people despair, then Yang Guang gives people unlimited hope for glory. When the guards heard what Yang Guang said, they all saluted and shouted: "I am willing to die for the crown prince!"
These guards are all veterans of many battles, otherwise they would not be qualified to enter the Renshou Palace. They have seen and experienced countless nasty things in the army. It is normal in war to have their merits robbed. The head of an enemy chief, It's a fight that's enough to make one's own soldiers go on a killing spree. And now that they are with Yang Guang, they have become enemies in the eyes of the rebels. If they go out with the head of Yang Guang, who is like an enemy chief, the rebels will definitely kill and seize the head.
Therefore, everyone knew that Yang Ji's words were not alarmist, but would actually happen, so under his instigation, they all became determined to fight for their lives. Now that the prince and future emperor had personally promised it, morale was boosted for a while. High and spirited.
Yang Ji did everyone's ideological work and eliminated the risk of internal strife during the battle, and then said to Yang Guang: "Prince, the last general Yang Ji is about to deploy."
After hearing Yang Ji's self-promotion, the guards showed surprise on their faces. Yang Guang saw the changes in the soldiers and secretly sighed that Yang Ji understood people's hearts so well. At this time, he still did not forget to use the reputation he had built in Liangzhou to calm people's hearts. He cooperated and said to everyone: " You all follow King Wei’s arrangements.”
"I obey my command!" After receiving Yang Guang's confirmation, the guard knew that this bloody Yang Ji was His Highness the King of Wei, who defeated many with less and divided the Turkic Khanate into four. Everyone felt a little more confident out of thin air.
Apart from Yang Guang and Yang Ji, they now have sixty-seven people left, and the observation building has five floors. In order to avoid wasting his troops, Yang Ji gave up the first floor, which had the largest space and was destined to be undefendable. Instead, a fire guard and ten guards were deployed at the entrance of the stairs. If the stairs could not be defended, retreat to the second floor where the ten guards were guarding the formation. The third floor is occupied by another fire guard, and the fourth floor is occupied by ten guards.
The last fifteen remaining guards, Yang Ji originally wanted them to guard Yang Guang on the top floor, but Yang Guang disagreed. He knew that the key lies in the second, third, and fourth floors. If those three floors are lost, even if the top floor is Even though there were 1,500 guards, they couldn't save him in the end. Moreover, their military strength is already tight. Instead of arranging their limited troops on the top floor to wait for death, it would be better to engage in war.
It was out of this idea that Yang Guang simply did not want any bodyguards and asked Yang Ji to take the remaining fifteen people as reserves.
After the arrangements were made, the soldiers removed the door panels and stone strips and went downstairs. They went to the first stairwell to set up obstacles and bunkers.
Yang Ji walked to the short protective wall in front of the viewing platform and stared at the situation outside. He could clearly see the situation inside the palace at the foot of the mountain and the Renshou Palace. He saw groups of soldiers climbing the mountain along the royal road in the distance. I also saw a large group of right-guard soldiers appearing around the observation tower. They were quickly outflanking the observation tower. A group of knights mixed in with the infantry was particularly conspicuous.
"King Kong Slave, Liu Shu is here!" Yang Guangjian pointed at a Xuanjia general who was riding a horse, his eyes were cold.
Yang Ji also saw Liu Shu and said with a smile: "It's a pity that there is no bed crossbow upstairs, otherwise I would shoot this bastard to death with one arrow, and the matter is settled."
"Because we were worried that someone might shoot an arrow like this when we were on the Aye Mountain to view the scenery, we did not deploy bed crossbows and other sharp weapons here." Thinking of his father Weihan's body, lying alone on the couch at this time, Yang Guang felt in his heart There was an unspeakable sadness, and his hatred for Liu Shu became a little stronger.
He secretly swore in his heart that if he could escape this disaster, he would kill Liu Shu and Liu Ximing.
The nine tribes waiting for the leader of the thief.
Yang Ji sighed and looked from Liu Shu to the right guard soldiers who were getting closer and closer. He saw that three to four thousand soldiers had surrounded the observation tower. Although Yang Ji saw that there were many soldiers, There are no siege equipment such as wells, chariots, and ladders.
Apparently, Yang Jian was also worried that the siege equipment would be used by the rebels during the palace coup, so none of the siege equipment was deployed in Renshou Palace. However, the rebel army in front of them started in a hurry, unable to build any equipment in a hurry, and worried about Yang Guang's reinforcements. Surrounding them from behind, it seems that they can only use human lives to attack layer by layer.
"Vajra slave, are you okay?" Although Yang Guang has led troops many times, large-scale legion operations are completely different from the war in front of him. He has no understanding of specific tactics and tactics. At this time, he saw densely packed rebels surrounding him. When he came, he felt a little lack of confidence, and there were no outsiders around at this time, so he asked Yang Ji in a low voice.
"Brother, don't worry. They don't have any siege equipment. There is no way to attack from the outside. The only way is to attack along the stairs layer by layer. And the stairs are so big, no matter how many troops they have, they can't show it." Yang Guang is good at commanding large armies to duel, but Yang Ji is just the opposite. With his current ability, he can command an army of 30,000 to 50,000 to duel with the enemy. If it exceeds 50,000, there will definitely be mistakes such as inconsistent orders. And he started out by sneaking around, so this kind of small-scale offensive and defensive battles is what he is good at.
"That's good." Yang Guang felt relieved after hearing what Yang Ji said clearly.
Yang Ji estimated the time for the rebels' attack, and then said to Yang Guang: "They are about to attack. Brother, just stay here and watch the scenery in peace."
Yang Ji picked up a one-stone walking bow and carried two pots of arrows on his back. His strength increased with age, and he could already shoot the five-stone wind and thunder bow. However, the bow they picked up from the battlefield was only one-stone strong and felt too weak and not very lethal. However, his wind and thunder bow and penetrating armor Wu Jinyan were placed in the military camp at the foot of the mountain, so he could only make do with the one-stone bow in his hand.
However, a stone bow also has the advantage of having a stone bow. At least it allows him to draw the bow to full capacity, while the wind and thunder bow can only be drawn to full capacity twenty or thirty times, and then it cannot be drawn again.
When he reached the second-floor platform, the rebels outside finally launched an attack.
. . . . . . .
Liu Ximing, who was in charge of the attack, had already heard the horn sound of the troops gathering at the foot of the mountain. The royal road from the foot of the mountain to the mountain was only about two miles. It would only take the army two moments at most to reach the observation tower. Success or failure would be decided within these two moments. If If Yang Guang is successfully killed, he will be able to support him, and the entire family will ascend to heaven. If he cannot conquer the viewing tower, then he will be exterminated by the nine tribes.
The grim situation made Liu Ximing anxious. He saw soldiers cutting down a big tree and more than a hundred soldiers rushing to the door holding a tree trunk several feet long. He shouted sternly: "Break open the door and be the first to rush into the building." Those who do, will receive a reward of ten thousand taels."
"Concentrate your fire on the log!" Yang Ji saw the rebel soldiers responsible for knocking down the door standing opposite each other on the platform, standing in pairs on both sides of the log, approaching the observation building like multi-legged centipedes, and immediately commanded the fifteen reserve soldiers Shoot the arrow.
While giving the order, he casually pulled out two arrows and fastened them on the bowstring. With Chang Sun Sheng's archery principles and his words and deeds, he had mastered the archery skills of Double Dragon Playing with Pearls. At this time, he opened his bow and released an arrow. Two arrows came out from the string and shot towards a group of rebel soldiers standing opposite each other with their arms against the wood. The two arrows hit the enemy at the same time, and they fell to the ground in unison. .
Naturally, the two arrows could not stop the murderous enemy troops, but Yang Ji's archery skills with two dragons playing with pearls greatly inspired the fighting spirit of the other fifteen guards. They were all Yang Jian's dead soldiers, and they were all highly skilled in martial arts. The bows and horses were skillful, and everyone followed the order and fired arrows at the collision wood. The arrows were all fired. In an instant, fifteen more people were shot to the ground.
Yang Jijun used the archery skill of "Double Dragons Playing with Pearls", shooting groups of soldiers to the ground with arrows like meteors. In a moment, he had killed and injured more than 30 people.
The wooden stick that had lost its power fell to the ground with a "bang", but there were too many rebels. Someone immediately stepped forward to pick up the wooden stick and rushed forward; a large group of soldiers rushed forward with bows and arrows in hand, shooting at them with dense rain of arrows. On the second and third floor platforms, rain of arrows as dense as locusts suppressed the defenders upstairs. A soldier on the third floor was hit by an arrow and screamed as he fell from Yang Ji's head, knocking down several rebels.
Although Yang Ji and others took the risk to shoot at the rebels who were embracing Chuangmu, which hindered their progress, there were too many rebels, and Chuangmu still quickly hit the iron gate.
There was a loud "bang", like a muffled thunder on the ground. The huge sound continued to echo in the empty building. The moment it was hit, the entire observation building shook.
Fortunately, the commander-in-chief of building Renshou Palace was Yang Su. As a soldier, Yang Su was relatively practical. When he was ordered to build Renshou Palace, his first consideration was safety and defense. He asked the craftsmen to build each building thickly. It was extremely strong and sturdy. If there was any part that made him dissatisfied, he would immediately tear it down and rebuild it. As for the fancy, beautiful and meticulous carvings, they were mainly from Yu Wenkai's handiwork. The viewing tower next to the Royal Garden of Renshou Palace was built by Yang Su as an emergency shelter. Therefore, the landscape building including the main entrance is very strong and heavy. Even after being hit by a wooden log more than ten times, the door remained intact. It stood still, and the entire stone building showed no signs of collapse.
The quality of the observation tower made Yang Jida feel relieved, but Liu Ximing outside the door was so anxious that he cursed: "Damn old thief Yang Su, he can even build a observation tower so solid and heavy. He is really a harmful person who wastes people and money."
Although the iron door was thick, the wall could not withstand the continuous violent impacts. After the rebel soldiers hit it nearly a hundred times, the upper and lower iron door pillows carrying the door shafts fell off the wall, and the two doors made a "boom" sound. With a loud noise, it fell into the building, splashing dust all over the floor, and hundreds of rebels swarmed in.
The first floor was lost, but Yang Ji and the soldiers were not worried at all. As long as they guarded the narrow stairs, the rebels could not take advantage of their strength. However, their number was too small, and each death reduced their combat effectiveness. , simply could not withstand the rebels' desperate onslaught. In the end, the building would still fall, but they gained valuable time.
At the moment when the gate collapsed, Yang Ji had already seen a large group of troops rushing here from various passages in Renshou Palace. At most, within a stick of incense, their reinforcements would arrive in large numbers.
When he retreated to the stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor and led his soldiers to fight back with arrows in the bunker, Shi Xiang had already entered the Renshou Palace with 3,000 soldiers from the Youwei Youying Battalion.
Shi Xiang asked a thousand soldiers to block the palace gates and control the situation in the palace. When he heard that the saint had arrived, he immediately sent another 500 soldiers to block the palace and protect all Yang Jian's concubines, doctors, eunuchs and palace maids. Get up, these people are all witnesses who can prove the cause of the saint's death, and they must not be lost.
Yu Wenshu and Yang Xuangan soon arrived with the eight leaders of the East Palace and the guards of the Jin Palace. They and the 1,500 soldiers reserved by Shi Xiang passed through the Renshou Palace Square and rushed towards the observation tower from the east side gate.
Liu Shu, who was watching the battle from the outside, heard that reinforcements were coming in large numbers, so he rushed to the door and shouted anxiously to Liu Ximing, who was in charge of the attack: "General Liu, the army at the foot of the mountain has arrived. If you can't kill Yang Guang, we will be completely defeated." .”
"Okay, I'll do it myself!" Liu Ximing was furious when he heard that the reinforcements were coming so quickly. He grabbed a shield from a soldier and rushed into the observation tower.
On the first floor, hundreds of rebels were crowded, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of blood and dust. Behind a screen wall hanging from the top of the building, there was a stone staircase winding upwards, with people standing on it. In front of the rebel soldiers, the soldiers on top moved forward as slowly as a turtle, while the soldiers below and in the middle were in a dilemma.
When the soldiers at the front were killed by the defenders, the soldiers below used their corpses as shields and continued to move forward. However, not only did their speed become slower, but they also had no time to fight back. If you go to the head, you will be shot, stabbed, and hacked to death by the people in the bunker above.
When Liu Ximing saw this scene, he was so angry that his lungs were about to explode. With the current fighting style and progress, he might not be able to reach the top floor if he fought for three days and three nights. He grabbed a spear and pointed it at the soldiers in front of him. He just smashed them and shouted angrily: "Trash, everyone is trash, get out of here."
Although the soldiers on the stairs were scolded, they withdrew one after another as if they heard the sound of nature, and the corpses above also rolled down.
Liu Ximing held a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right hand, and rushed up the stairs "kick, kick, kick, kick". But when he turned the blind corner, the scene in front of him drove him crazy with anger. He saw that the stairway on the second floor was piled with pieces of equipment removed from the protective wall. There was a stone that came down, and there was also a stone stacked behind the railing near the stairs, forming a wellhead around the stairway. People above could not get down, and people below could not get up.
After carefully looking at the load-bearing square wood that was bent due to pressure, he came up with a way. He abandoned the spear again, pulled out the horizontal knife from his waist and climbed up the stairs, using his shield to withstand the attack of the soldiers on the second floor. Hold the knife and slash the load-bearing square above your head.
Liu Ximing was highly skilled in martial arts and had extraordinary archery skills. At this time, he was eager to achieve success and burst out with force that he had never seen before. In an instant, he cut the load-bearing square into three sections and smashed the middle section. After losing the load-bearing side, the floor could not bear it. Under the weight of the stone, that section of the floor fell down together with the stone and several defenders.
Without the attack from the defenders next to him, Liu Ximing's pressure suddenly decreased. Taking advantage of the stunned moment of the soldiers in front, he rushed forward and knocked away the weapons of the defenders forcefully. He dropped his shield and jumped up holding the stone. The moment his lower body rose into the air and pounced on the rocks above the bunker, a horse pole was chopped down like lightning.
There was only a "bang" sound, and Liu Ximing was like a loach on a chopping board. He was cut in two by the horse that was struck from the air, and he died miserably.
As soon as Yang Ji made a move, before Liu Ximing could fall into the bunker, he stretched out his sword blade and lifted out his lower body, and then lifted out his upper body from the stone. The two halves of the body flew out in the air, blowing the back. Several stunned rebel soldiers rushed down the stairs.
The few officers behind him were unwilling to fail and charged fiercely, but Yang Ji pierced the shield with his sword. The sword pierced his head through the shield, and then he smashed the shield with his sword, hitting several others. Died at the stairs.
The rebel soldiers downstairs were stunned when they saw Liu Ximing and several officers dying so tragically.
Liu Ximing was very good at winning people's hearts, and the thousand soldiers under his command respected him very much. This is why Liu Shu chose this army as the main attack. Now that the popular Liu Ximing is dead, the spiritual support of the soldiers seems to have collapsed. , all at a loss.
"I am Prince Yang Guang, who will soon be the emperor of the Sui Dynasty. I know that you were deceived by traitors such as Liu Shu and Liu Ximing, so I don't blame you. Now that the chief culprit has been killed, you can exit the viewing tower and accept the army. If you take care of it, I will not hold you responsible for your crimes, otherwise I will treat you as a crime of treason and kill all nine of your clans."
Yang Guang saw Yu Wenshu, Shi Xiang, and Yang Xuangan leading an army from the top floor, followed by tens of thousands of Wuhou guards led by Yang Su, and he knew that the overall situation was decided. He couldn't wait for the enemy upstairs, so he simply walked down to see what was going on. When he saw Yang Ji showing off his power and cutting the most prestigious Liu Ximing in two with a "knife", he spoke out to undermine the rebels' fighting spirit. .
The rebels' morale and fighting spirit collapsed with the death of Liu Ximing, and after hearing Yang Guang's promise, they all exited the observation building. Their names and place of origin were all listed on the Ministry of War roster. No one dared to do so for fear of implicating their relatives. They all stood obediently on one side of the square in front of the building, with piles of weapons abandoned aside.
The rebel soldiers outside were already in panic because the army was encircling them from the outside. Seeing the behavior of the soldiers who had withdrawn from the building, they also walked over and silently threw their weapons aside.
Seeing that the situation was over, Liu Shu said sadly to Yang Yong, who was dressed as a guard: "Prince, you could have spent the rest of your life or left an heir, but now you can't. It's all because of your humble position that has harmed you."
"What you plan is determined by people, and it is determined by God. I don't blame you." Yang Yong said sadly: "I am fully prepared for this kind of outcome, and I even know that our chance of winning is less than 20%. But I have been the prince for twenty years, In the end, I became a prisoner with nothing and could die at any time. How could I be willing to sit back and wait for death? Now, it is just a matter of delaying death."
As the former prince of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Yong was only one step away from the peak of power. During the twenty years he was the prince, he enjoyed the wonderful taste of the prince's power. Under the praise of Yun Dingxing and other traitors, he always remained Thinking that he would become the Nine-Five Supreme Being, he thought that the Nine-Five Supreme Being must be him, so he slowly indulged himself. Even if Gao Jiong tried to persuade him based on Yang Jun's fate, he would not listen, and finally ended up with nothing. .
If Yang Yong was just an ordinary person, he might not have any complaints, or he might just accept the fact that his younger brother is stronger and better than him. But he was once one of the top figures in the Sui Dynasty. Not only did he enjoy all the good things in the world, but he also knew the benefits of imperial power. This made him yearn for the power to direct the country and decide life and death compared to the past and the present. The heart is a bit heavier than before.
It was precisely because of his nostalgia and longing for the lost power that when Yang Yong heard Liu Shu's plan, he still chose to cooperate without hesitation even though he knew that the chance of victory was slim. Although he had failed now, he was still willing to die even if he died immediately.
"I'll take the first step in my humble position, and I will be your minister in the next life." Liu Shu pulled out his sword, lowered it across his neck, and wiped it with force. Blood spurted out and he fell off the horse.
Yang Yong hated his parents for being unfair and depriving him of everything, so he never shed a tear for his late mother and father. However, Liu Shu's death made tears roll down his eyes.
He looked at Liu Shu's body and whispered: "You go first, and when I see Yang Guang, I will come to Huangquan to drink with you!"
