At the same time that Yang Ji defeated Ashina Qilifushe's army, the attack and defense of Zala City had been going on for a day and a night.
This battle was not that Zhi Shihao wanted to fight, but that he had to fight. Because since the main camp was attacked by Li Jing, they could only sustain food for four days at most. If Ashina Qilifushe's army is included, it would be good to be able to survive for two days. Although it is said that fighting to support war is a common tactic of the Turkic army, the Sui army adopted the tactic of clearing the wilderness long before their arrival, and moved all the people and objects around them into the city, so that the Turkic army plundered nothing. The Turkic army had no way to obtain supplies from the battlefield.
Moreover, at this time, the central and northern parts of the Great Lakes Region were under the control of the Sui Army. Once the battle ahead was unfavorable, the Sui Army there could still migrate herdsmen and hide in the vast grasslands and mountains with their livestock and supplies; so even if Ashi Even if Lifushe defeated Yang Ji, the fact of food shortage could not be solved.
With this understanding, Zhi Shihao realized that it was impossible to occupy the Great Lakes area. However, even if he wanted to withdraw his troops, he still needed food. Secondly, the Sui army in the city was particularly powerful. If they retreated, Xue Judingran led his army out of the city and cooperated with Li Jing's army to pursue them all the way, causing their Turkic army to collapse due to lack of food. Therefore, whether it was for the food in the city or for the army to retreat without worries, he had to capture Zara City.
Fortunately, not many soldiers and herdsmen in the main camp died. After the camp was lost, they came here to gather, making Zhi Shihao's troops very abundant. However, although their strength was better than Xue Ju's, they were defeated. After a day and a night, the city of Zara was still not captured by them. Zhi Shihao was so angry that he ordered the general who attacked the city to be beheaded in public.
"Chief, please give me another chance. Today I will go into battle in person. If I can't take Zala City, I will kill myself under the city." Zhi Shi Fulong, the commander of ten thousand soldiers and the powerful general of Zha Shi Fulong, was quickly escorted to Zha La City by the soldiers. In front of Shi Hao; he looked at his chief and begged loudly: "Chief, our warriors who guard Shi Hao will not kill our own people. Please let me die gloriously on the battlefield."
Zhi Shihao met his pleading eyes, his heart softened, and he said coldly: "Okay, I will give you one last chance. If you still can't take Zala City today, just kill yourself!"
"Thank you, Chief!" Zhi Shi Fulong got up from the ground, mounted his horse, and ran to the front to reorganize the army and prepare for the next round of attack.
Zhi Shihao personally stepped forward to supervise the battle and gave an order to his soldiers: "Give me an order and say that the first person to board Zala City will be rewarded with 100,000 sheep and 10,000 cattle."
Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man.
Motivated by the huge profit from the enemy, the Turkic soldiers roared and set up simple ladders. Under the cover of arrows, they rushed towards the city of Zara madly. Arrows rained like rain, and it was a fierce battle for the city. The war begins again.
The terrain of Zara City is slightly higher than the ground. There is a gentle slope about two hundred steps from bottom to top. In the bloody battle the previous day and night, the Turkic army had killed five to six thousand people. Today's battle for most of the day, another There were a lot of losses. The eastern slope of the city, where the Turkic army focused their attack, was filled with dense piles of corpses, and thick blood formed a stream, flowing down the mountain road.
The Sui army in the city suffered a lot of losses, mainly due to the Northern Expedition. The Sui army soldiers were almost all light troops and did not carry any siege or defense equipment. Each man had a spear, a cross sword, and a bow. One crossbow each, and then several pots of bows and crossbow arrows. In the previous battle with Murong Bei, the soldiers had consumed a lot of arrows. At this time, the arrows were not enough to fight the Turks again.
A few days ago, although Zhi Shihao did not launch a fierce offensive, he did not give the Sui army a chance to breathe. He would attack the city every day, let his soldiers shoot arrows around the low city every day, and even attack the Sui army at night. Implemented the exhaustion strategy.
As a result, not only did the Sui army in the city not have a good rest, but also the Sui army could not rush out of the city in the dark during the night test. The only way was to use arrows to force the enemy back. Fortunately, the arrows in the hands of herdsmen and the arrows of Turkic soldiers can bring them a certain amount of supplements.
During the battle, soldiers and herdsmen assisting in the defense were collecting arrows that fell into the city.
"General Xue, we have collected more than 50,000 arrows." Po Chaoqi rode up to the top of the city and reported to Xue Ju.
"There are as many as there are!" Xue Ju said not caring much: "They can't capture the city anyway."
Hearing the relief in Xue Ju's tone, he asked curiously: "General Xue, you said that Zhi Shihao was doing well, why did he suddenly go crazy? Could it be that they are doomed?"
"It must be!" Xue Ju looked at the enemy soldiers regrouping under the city, and said to Po Chaoqi without looking back: "I think something happened on the battlefield somewhere that was not conducive to them, so Zhi Shihao went crazy. . As long as we resist the enemy's final madness, the one who laughs last will definitely be me, Sui Dynasty."
"General Xue, General Pochao, how happy you are!" At this moment, Yang Tie, who was responsible for inspecting the other three city walls, came on horseback and laughed from a distance and said: "General Li Jing had dozens of arrows shot last night. Letter, saying that they have captured the Turkic army’s south bank camp.”
"Ah?" Po Chaoqi said happily: "Why are you saying it now?"
"The herdsmen in charge of collecting arrows don't know Chinese characters, and they don't know the importance of arrow letters." Yang Tie said with a wry smile: "This was picked up today by a literate soldier."
Po Chaoqi laughed and scolded: "Even such important good news has been ignored. It's terrible that these herdsmen are uneducated."
Xue Ju was speechless. He rolled his eyes at Po Chaoqi, who also had little education, and said to the soldiers around him: "Spread this news throughout the city and make the soldiers and herdsmen happy."
"Here!" The soldiers dispersed as ordered and went everywhere to publicize the good news.
Soon after, earth-shattering cheers erupted throughout the city. However, the soldiers and people in the city could not be happy for long, as the Turkic army launched another fierce offensive.
This attack lasted until evening.
The battle also entered the most brutal stage. Arrows were flying up and down the city, as dense as locusts. People on both sides were constantly hit by arrows and fell down, and ladders were put up on the city wall. Under Fulong's orders, the Turkic soldiers climbed up like crazy. They held shields in one hand and used spears and knives in the other to fight fiercely with the city defenders. They smashed logs and rocks above their heads. Down the ladder, there was always a group of soldiers screaming and falling down the ladder, but immediately someone swarmed up.
On top of the city, in front of each ladder, dozens of Sui soldiers and herdsmen fought desperately against the enemy. The herdsmen knew that once the city was breached by the Turkic army, they and their families would be massacred, so even if they suffered serious losses, they still stayed in the Sui Dynasty. Under the leadership of the army, they resisted desperately and refused to retreat until death.
Zhi Shihao could see it clearly and knew that Zala City was theirs with just a little strength. He immediately shouted in excitement: "All the Guards are pressing forward, we must..."
"Woooooooooooo..." At this moment, bursts of desolate horn sounds suddenly came from the distance, and banners swept from the horizon. A massive cavalry slowly appeared in the sight of both the enemy and ourselves. Twenty-five thousand soldiers led by Yang Shanhui, Li Daliang, and Zhu Can finally reached the outside of Zala City before dark.
After they reached the optimal attack distance, they spread out in the open area in an instant, pointing their sharp arrows directly at the Turkic army. A strong killing aura immediately spread, and the momentum alone was overwhelming. The Turkic soldiers attacking the city made their morale stagnate, and some people even jumped off the city.
Zhi Shihao knew that he could not attack. He lost six to seven thousand soldiers under Zala City. Moreover, the soldiers were first affected by the loss of the camp, and the soldiers became very depressed. In addition, they had to fight in turns for two days and one night. , which brought the physical strength and energy of the soldiers to the extreme. If he ordered the soldiers to forcibly attack the city or fight with this Sui army, this army would definitely give up.
What's more important is that there may be more troops behind this Sui army, so he must retreat and retreat into the camp to hold on.
At this moment, a general rushed up from behind and reported loudly: "The general has been lost. The scouts in front are reporting urgently. The second prince's army has been defeated by the Sui army. Tens of thousands of Sui army cavalry are chasing the second prince." Deserters, come here to kill."
This news was like a bolt from the blue, making everyone present feel dizzy and frightened. Only at this moment did everyone realize that the military strategies they had learned and the tactics they used were very different from those of the Central Plains people. Too much. After a long while, Zhi Shihao finally came to his senses and asked in a hoarse voice: "I wonder who defeated the second prince?"
"It is said to be Yang Ji, the small guard king of the Sui Dynasty!" the general said in horror.
When Zhishi Haosili heard this name, he couldn't say a word.
It has to be said that when the Turkic people faced the name and signboard of "King Wei", everyone from the prostrate to the young children felt inexplicable fear.
Whether it is the dead King David or the current King David, each one is more ruthless and more capable than the other.
Both father and son are a lingering nightmare for the Turks.
Today, "King Wei" is not only a title, but also a heritage - a heritage that represents the glory of the Sui Dynasty and the nightmare of the Turks.
"General, what should we do now?" a general asked stammeringly.
"Our officers and men have been fighting for days and are exhausted. We will definitely not be able to fight today! The top priority is to assist the second prince." Seeing the expressions of relief on all the generals, Zhi Shihao couldn't help but shook his head. General Not yet afraid, the mentality of ordinary soldiers can be imagined. He let out a long sigh and ordered: "Retreat the whole army, stick to the camp, and send out troops to find the second prince."
"Yes!" The generals breathed a sigh of relief. They really couldn't stand the trouble today.
"Woooooooo!" The Turkic army sounded the order to retreat, and the soldiers attacking the city began to withdraw towards the military camp.
Yang Shanhui and others did not pursue them. For the Sui army, the Turkic army was already a piece of meat on the chopping block, so there was no need to rush. With a night of preparation, the news of the disastrous defeat of Ashina Lifushe would surely spread to the entire army. , fear spread throughout the army like a plague. As long as this fear continues until tomorrow, it will bring great convenience to the Sui army's attack on the camp.
When the Turkic troops retreated into the camp one after another, Yang Shanhui and others ordered to gather their troops and assemble in the southeast of the Turkic military camp. They formed an angle with Zala City to intimidate the Turkic camp in the west from the north and south respectively. Although they knew that the Turkic camp was The possibility of a night attack was virtually non-existent, but for the sake of caution, the camp was still set up meticulously.
Soon, Li Shimo and the five thousand defenders of Bayanbu City also fought outside the city, rejoined Li Jing's army who crossed the river and headed north, and suppressed the enemy camp from the north. In the evening, Yang Ji's triumphant army also returned with a great victory. They were stationed in the west of the enemy camp.
The encirclement has begun.
The military commanders arranged their military affairs and rushed to Yang Ji's habitat. Following the guidance of the big flag, they quickly found Yang Ji's Chinese army tent. They all saluted with a smile on their faces: "See you, Your Majesty!"
"No gifts! No gifts!" Yang Ji helped them up one by one and asked with a smile: "You haven't had dinner yet, have you?"
"Haha..." All the generals laughed.
Li Jing glanced at Liu Rumei next to him, and said with a smile: "The craftsmanship of the concubine and the 'female generals' really makes me miss you so much that I came here just to have a meal."
"same!"
"Feel the same!"
"I love you deeply."
"..."
Yang Ji laughed loudly: "I'm just waiting for you foodies. There are a lot of good things tonight."
Zhu Can, who had just sat down, stood up after hearing this. He rolled up his sleeves and said eagerly: "Your Majesty, this is my old profession. I'm going to show my skills."
Liu Rumei smiled softly and said, "It's done. General Zhu, please sit down."
"Alas! That's such a pity." Zhu Can sat down dejectedly.
"There will be a chance." Liu Rumei comforted Zhu Can and asked Yang Ji: "Mr. Lang, can we serve the food?"
"Everyone is here, let's serve it."
"Here." Liu Rumei retreated.
Soon, the maidservants brought many dishes. Although there were also meat dishes such as barbecue, the dishes tonight were mainly vegetarian, including yam, mushrooms, cat ears, purslane, five-square grass, shepherd's purse, and spinach sprouts. , bracken...
These are all collected by the maids today.
They were tired of eating meat, and there were no combat missions today, so when Yang Ji was ambushing them, they went to look for wild vegetables near the rainstorm.
After the girls' skillful cooking, it is really delicious and delicious.
When the generals saw these dishes, everyone showed wolf-like eyes. They were also tired of eating meat, and they all praised: "Good food!"
When the maidservants retreated, everyone couldn't wait to start.
After eating hot dishes, drinking a few glasses of milk wine, and drinking a bowl of mushroom soup, Yang Ji felt that his body was as hot as if it was on fire. He opened his collar a little and said to everyone: "The battle is about to begin." At this point, the Turkic Army has no chance to make a comeback, but as the generals, the issue we have to consider is to obtain the maximum result at the minimum cost. Everyone, let’s talk about it, what should we do next?”
Having said this, Yang Ji looked at Xue Ju again and said with a smile: "Old Xue, this is your home court. You have fought against Zhi Shihao for so many days, and you have a thorough understanding of the enemy. You go ahead. "
Xue Ju was named by Yang Ji, and he quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and said: "Generally speaking, Zhi Shihao is a relatively difficult person. Although he did not attack fiercely in the past few days, he harassed him day and night. Our army fired arrows and shouted around the city, making the entire city's soldiers and civilians restless. That's all. Based on the characteristics of Zara City being high above the ground, he dug several deep trenches outside the city. The wells naturally dried up. Fortunately, the herdsmen in the city had suffered from water shortages in winter and developed the habit of storing water. Otherwise, our army would have been without water. In addition, after hearing the news that the camp had been lost, the morale of the Turkic army was not great. However, the more we fight, the braver we become. If Yang Changshi had not arrived in time today, it is unclear whether Zala City could have been defended. All of this is obviously the result of Zhi Shihao."
Zhu Can was stunned and said: "Turks actually have such deceitful thoughts?"
Yang Shanhui shook his head and said: "General Zhu, don't underestimate the Turks. The people on the grassland have been entangled with us for more than a thousand years, and they are no longer what they used to be. Some of their talents may not be inferior to our Sui generals." Haoneng decisively withdrew his troops when the city was about to be breached, instead of dividing his troops to fight, which makes people think more highly of him."
When Yang Ji heard this, he said to Du Ruhui: "Du Canjun, you will record what General Xue mentioned later, and let the generals who defend the city know in the future that 'the city gates are higher than the ground and must store water'."
"Here!" Du Ruhui responded quickly.
"Is there anything else you want to add?" Yang Ji asked Xue Ju again.
"The Turkic army is surrounded by our army and is already surrounded on all sides. They have no way to escape. They will definitely become trapped animals and fight. We are in a hurry. It may not be easy to take them out at the minimum cost!" Xue Ju said! Here, it is suggested: "The Turkic army is short of food and grass, and the people are panicked. I think it only takes a few days to surround them like this, and they will collapse without a fight."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Ji, Yang Shanhui, Li Jing, and Ling Jing all said in unison:
"What's so hard about this?"
"What's so hard about this?"
"It's not difficult to break."
"Why bother?"
As soon as these words came out, not only Xue Ju and others were stunned, but also the four people who spoke looked at each other. After a while, Yang Ji, Yang Shanhui, Li Jing, and Ling Jing suddenly burst into laughter: "Haha, haha!"
Xue Ju was stunned for a moment, then asked with a grimace: "Your Majesty, what do you mean? Why are you laughing? Is what I said ridiculous?"
Yang Ji glanced at Yang Shanhui, Li Jing, and Ling Jing, and said meaningfully to Xue Ju: "It's not that what you said is ridiculous, but that you just said the strategy to defeat the enemy."
"good!"
"Exactly!"
"really!"
Yang Shanhui, Li Jing, and Ling Jing understood this and nodded with smiles.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, what did I say about me?" Xue Ju was stunned and confused.
"Besieged on all sides!" The four of them said another word in unison.
. . . . .
Night shrouded the earth, and the bright moon in the sky quickly shuttled among the floating clouds, making the earth bright and dark. However, the Turkic army camp was brightly lit, and thousands of torches illuminated the entire camp as bright as day. But the entire military camp was filled with a strong atmosphere of sadness and despair.
Piles of bonfires were also lit in the open space in the military camp. Many shamans dressed in ghost costumes and many believers were holding prayer ceremonies for the dead. They danced crazily and sang sad songs. Next to each bonfire, there were many wounded soldiers sitting or lying down. Most of them had indifferent expressions and dull eyes. From time to time, soldiers died quietly, but were quickly carried and thrown into the blazing bonfire by others. , there were also some seriously wounded soldiers who couldn't stand the unspeakable pain, so they begged Pao Ze to give them a knife so that they could die happily.
Except for the songs mourning the dead and the groans of pain from the wounded soldiers, almost no one was chatting, and no one was laughing loudly. The cool air was filled with an atmosphere of depression and sadness, which was almost suffocating.
Accompanied by several generals, Zhi Shihao inspected the military camp. In some dark corners, he heard many soldiers secretly crying in low voices. As he listened, Zhi Shihao and others couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable in their hearts. Describe the pain.
"Chief, there is not a single herb in the army, and none of the brothers can get treatment." Zhi Shi Fulong came towards him. Thanks to the sudden arrival of Yang Shanhui's army, he was not beheaded by Zhi Shi and survived.
"What can I do? There's nothing I can do!" The hero shook his head bitterly. They were now surrounded by the Sui army. What could he not do?
Only now did Zhi Shihao really understand why the Sui Dynasty engaged in disarmament from time to time and why it wanted to create half-peasants and half-soldiers. Because the Sui army had good welfare, the court naturally spent more money on weapons and equipment, and sieges. Not to mention the equipment and defense equipment, the daily supplies and post-war pensions alone are an astronomical sum. If the Turks compensate according to the Sui Dynasty method, their wealth will be drained in one go. I am afraid that it is precisely because of this. The soldiers under Yang Ji were so dedicated.
Zhi Shihao glanced at the chief and asked tentatively: "How about going to the second prince to find a solution?"
Zhishi glanced at Zhishi Fulong speechlessly and said, "After such a defeat, do you think the second prince still has medicine?"
Ashina Lifushu wanted to ambush Yang Ji, but his surprise plan was seen through by Yang Ji, and he was defeated miserably by Yang Ji in the river valley. The fire, the massacre, and the pursuit made him miserable. He suffered heavy losses, including more than 35,000 soldiers who died in battle, escaped, captured, and surrendered. Almost all of the more than 4,000 defeated soldiers who fled here abandoned their helmets and armor and had empty hands.
When they gathered together and counted the troops, if the herdsmen were included, the total strength was still more than 30,000, but what was the use?
Now compared with the Sui army, their morale, weapons and equipment, and combat effectiveness are inferior to others; even their military strength is inferior to others. If you can still defeat the Sui army with high morale in this way, then it is called unreasonable!
"Probably not!" Zhi Shi Fulong said nonchalantly.
"Isn't this the end?" Zhi Shihao glared at him and ordered: "There may be a battle tonight. Let the soldiers be careful."
"Yes!" Zhi Shi Fulong responded.
Zhi Shihao continued to patrol the camp. When he reached the north camp, bursts of singing suddenly floated from the distant night sky, but it was the "Chile Song" that was popular among both Chinese and foreigners:
Chilechuan, at the foot of Yinshan Mountain.
The sky is like a dome, covering the four fields.
The sky is clear, the fields are vast, and the grass is blown by the wind, and cattle and sheep can be seen low.
After singing this song, it was followed by a popular Turkic love song, and then a tragic Turkic folk song with sad rhythm and desolate lyrics...
Listening to the familiar local accents and the beautiful or sad hometown songs, everyone in the Turkic army felt sad. I don’t know who started singing along, and soon more Turkic soldiers joined the singing procession. In less than a moment, the entire camp was filled with sad and lamentable Turkic folk songs, and the soldiers thought that they would never be able to return alive in this life. When I went to my hometown, everyone burst into tears and cried bitterly.
Zhi Shihao was horrified when he heard this. He knew that if everyone was allowed to sing such tearful folk songs, more than 30,000 soldiers would soon lose their fighting spirit. At that time, as long as the Sui army made a small promise, these soldiers would They would fall into the arms of the Sui Dynasty in large numbers. Even if this were not the case, the soldiers would take advantage of the night to become deserters. But he could stop the Turkic soldiers from singing, but he couldn't stop the Sui soldiers outside!
"We cannot stay in this camp for a moment longer. We must break out overnight before the fighting spirit of the soldiers is completely shattered." Zhi Shihao said these words to the soldiers around him, then turned his horse's head and ran towards the Chinese army's tent.
Ashina Qilifushe and the injured Shi Shuhu Xi were sitting together to discuss the military situation and the way out. Suddenly, they were stunned by the singing that resounded through the sky. When they came out of the camp to watch, they almost bumped into each other with Zhi Shihao. .
When Ashina saw that Zhi Shihao was in a panic, he quickly asked: "General Zhi Shihao, what's wrong with you? Is the Sui army coming to kill you?"
"no!"
"What's going on with this singing?"
"It was caused by the Sui army." Zhi Shihao said sternly, "Prince, Mr. Shi, nothing can be done. We must break out immediately, otherwise the whole army will collapse without a fight."
"Ah!" Shi Shu Hu Xi suddenly exclaimed, and said in a trembling voice with an earthy face: "I understand, the Sui army is using the strategy of 'besieged on all sides' to deal with us; this abominable conspiracy is very effective against our army. Prince , we must break out, we must break out immediately.”
