The fresh wind is like a knife, the snowflakes are flying, and the heavy snow condenses into a dreamlike world of ice and snow at Dangjin Mountain Pass, but no matter how heavy the snow is, it cannot bury death and killing.
When the offensive and defensive battle of Jinshan Castle entered its third day, the war was extremely fierce. Every stone brick on the city wall was dripping with blood that had solidified into demonic flowers. Looking down, what came into view was a hell-like scene. The land, the land under the city was dyed bright red and littered with corpses, all the corpses were frozen into solid ice.
After two days and two nights of non-stop fighting, the number of soldiers killed by the Tuyuhun garrison reached a staggering number of more than 20,000. However, the number of soldiers killed by the Sui army on the attacking side was less than 3,000.
Such a ratio of casualties is incredible to say, but it is the fact. The reason for this jaw-dropping phenomenon is mainly because the Sui army's catapults were too advanced and had too long a range, and they were well prepared. Come on, the ice bullets used are countless times more powerful than the stone bullets.
When a stone bullet falls to the ground, it will at most kill a few people nearby, and then sink into the ground, unable to even roll. However, this is not the case with ice bullets. It is not as hard as the ground and will shatter when it hits the ground. The flying ice fragments were like arrows, and their lethality was astonishing. The Sui army's endless ice bombs almost filled the city head, causing the soldiers guarding the city to lose their "protective fence". Once they stepped on it, On the ground covered with broken ice, they would slip and fall from the city to inside and outside the city.
If the Sui army's catapults fired from an extended range, the city would be hit by ice bombs within one mile.
In addition, the bed crossbow set up on the well is also very scary. The spear-like arrow has a cross head, which is specially used to hit the trebuchet used to defend the city; once the trebuchet is shot, the cross arrow will be fired with great force. Under the urging, he hammered hard into the catapult's bracket and cut off the loops of leather ropes, causing the long arm tied to the bracket to fall off and roll down. Even if it didn't fall off, the bracket had a deep gap. Later, when the soldiers tried to fight back with catapults, the catapults could not withstand the force and immediately fell into pieces.
Under the simultaneous attack of these two deadly weapons, all the catapults and bed crossbows used by Tuyuhun to defend the city were lost.
Without these long-range forces, the situation of the Tuyuhun army will become more difficult.
At the end of the day, the Sui army had not yet attacked the city, so Dangjin City, which had been noisy for more than ten days, seemed exceptionally calm. However, this unusual calm was like the calm before the storm, making the Tuyuhun army feel a sense of oppression. A feeling of suffocation.
Murong Yong and Murong Xiaojun were wearing non-slip iron-spiked boots and walked carefully on the city wall. There were a lot of cracks and holes on the wall and the ground, which looked terrible. Looking at the soldiers who wasted no time shoveling the ice, they were obviously I felt that the soldiers were exhausted and their morale was no longer as high as it had been in the previous three days.
Seeing the soldiers throwing broken ice outside the city, Murong Yong climbed on the female wall and took a look, his expression became extremely serious and ugly.
Murong Xiaojun noticed that the coach had a strange look on his face and quickly looked outside. This sight made him take a breath of air. He saw that the ice and snow shoveled down by the soldiers not only buried the trenches and corpses outside the city, but also formed a line of ice and snow. Pointing diagonally to the slope above; if the soldiers continue to shovel down like this, the slope will be level with the city head sooner or later. By then, the Sui army's cavalry will be able to mount the city with a single charge.
What the soldiers did was obviously doing them a disservice!
He immediately said angrily: "Don't you have eyes? Who asked you to shovel the ice and snow out? Shovel them all into the city."
The surrounding soldiers were stunned for a moment and followed the order numbly.
Murong Yong stood up straight and ordered to the soldiers beside him: "Send the order and don't throw ice, snow or corpses outside the city."
"Yes!" The soldiers dispersed and issued orders to various city walls.
"Commander!" Murong Xiaojun looked at the Sui army camp in the distance, then turned to look at Murong Yong, and said rather bitterly: "The Sui army is recharging its energy today just to be able to attack Dangjin City in one fell swoop. Our army has lost all its defense equipment, its morale is shaken, and its morale is low. With the current state of our army, I am worried that it will not be able to survive the next round of attacks."
"What do you think?" Murong Yong pondered for a while and asked with a frown.
Murong Xiaojun said: "Commander, although our army
The losses were huge, but after these days of hard fighting, the combat effectiveness and fighting will of the soldiers have been continuously improved, and they are transforming into elites. This is our only gain. Although the Sui army achieved considerable results, they had already committed all their troops to the battlefield. If they continued to fight like this for a few days, they would become tired and their morale would decline. As long as this most difficult stage is passed, the enemy and ourselves will enter a stalemate. "
"Compared to the Sui army, our biggest and only advantage is that we have more people. Even if we lose another 30,000 or 40,000 troops, we can still compete with the Sui army with soldiers who have always been in peak condition. However, there are mostly miscellaneous soldiers in the city, and I am very worried about them. If we can't hold on, the entire army will collapse, so I think it's better to bring back Deputy Commander Murong Xun."
Murong Yong heard this and thought silently.
In terms of pure military strength, they still have more troops in the city than the Sui army, but as Murong Xiaojun worried, the army's combat effectiveness and final victory or defeat are not determined by the number of troops; an excellent commander can definitely change the strength of the troops. Insufficient problems, and the quality of soldiers and generals are also important factors that affect an army. It seems that except for Murong Yan who can barely get on the stage, they have no powerful figures.
The situation of the Sui army was just the opposite. Although their troops were smaller than theirs, from top to bottom, they were all warriors who had fought many battles. Although they could not conquer Dangjincheng, the Sui army had always used catapults and crossbows for long-range attacks. There was no real siege at all. The soldiers suffered very little losses, but their morale was getting higher and higher.
The longer the time goes by, the greater the loss of Tuyuhun's troops and the greater the difficulty of defending the city. As one goes and the other goes, the gap between the two sides will gradually widen; if the Sui army launches a fierce attack when their morale is stronger, these battles will The weak-willed soldiers will definitely try to escape, which will eventually lead to a mass rout of the entire army. But if Murong Xun's 30,000 elites come back, they will be able to withstand the sharpest momentum of the Sui army. By then, the miscellaneous soldiers will also slow down.
If this continues for a while, Tuyuhun's strength advantage will be reflected, and the Sui army's combat effectiveness will begin to decline. At that time, it will also be their time to counterattack.
"But have you ever thought about it, military advisor?" Murong Yong sighed and said, "The move of transferring troops back to defense is indeed beneficial to the western battlefield, but we will lose the overall situation because of it."
Murong Xiaojun was speechless.
Tuyuhun's national power was not as good as that of the Sui Dynasty. Regardless of whether it was a head-on battle or a confrontation while fighting, Tuyuhun was definitely the one who died in the end. Seeing that the Sui army's Ganquan camp was outnumbered, they sent Murong Xun out, hoping to catch the Liangzhou army off guard and force the Sui army to retreat and return for reinforcements. If Murong Xun, who has not yet arrived at the battlefield, is transferred back for the immediate benefit, not only will he miss the God-given opportunity to encircle Wei and rescue Zhao, but it will also bring everything back to the starting point.
From a long-term and general perspective, his suggestion to transfer Murong Xun back is indeed not a good suggestion.
After a long while, Murong Xiaojun said: "Besides that, what worries me most is the Sui army in the territory. Although we asked Ni Luoyan to strengthen the guard and send troops to search, another team of 5,000 people went there , but no news has been received so far.”
Having said this, he looked at Murong Yong and said worriedly: "I suspect that Yang Ji, in addition to fighting us head-on, also has other plans within us, but I can't guess what the plan is. I can What is certain is that if this Sui army appears again, the world will fall apart!"
Murong Yong's focus these days was on the offensive and defensive battle in front of him, and he did not pay attention to the incoming army. Now that Murong Xiaojun reminded him, he realized that this army had never appeared from the beginning to the end.
For a moment, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
"The military adviser is too ambitious! No matter how powerful the Sui army is, it only has two or three thousand men. Even if they fight against the five thousand men chasing them, they will not be able to suffer any damage. Ni Luoyan With the army in hand, it is not difficult for the general to annihilate this lone army with a small number of soldiers. Therefore, we do not need to take this army to heart."
Murong Yan next to him couldn't help but interrupt. He refuted Murong Xiaojun, then saluted Murong Yong and said: "Commander, the strength of our city's troops far exceeds that of the Sui army. There is no need to transfer the deputy commander back, we only need to select him from the army. Elite, just form two reserves. Such a round of battles will eventually defeat the Sui army's vigor.
After consuming all the troops, they would launch a counterattack, march straight in, recapture Shanshan and Qiemo, and then join their lieutenants in Dunhuang County. When the time comes, even if Yang Ji has all the facts, he will not be able to turn the tide of the war. "
Murong Yong was more inclined to this suggestion. He pondered for a while and said, "Let's go to the military camp and have a look before we make a decision."
"Commander, these are soldiers from the south. They have an urgent military situation." As soon as the group walked down the city wall, a general and several veteran soldiers greeted them face to face.
The three of them were shocked when they saw the haggard appearance of the soldiers and the dried blood stains on their clothes. Suddenly, they felt a very bad feeling in their hearts. Murong Yong quickly asked the soldier in centurion uniform: "What happened?"
The centurion cried and said: "Commander, the Sugannuoer Lake camp has been lost, and all the soldiers and civilians are dead!"
When Murong Yong and Murong Yan heard this, they looked at Murong Xiaojun with a hint of horror. He had just said, "If the Sui army's surprise troops appear again, the world will be shattered." Unexpectedly, the words are still ringing in their ears. The news came.
"What's going on?" Murong Yong asked, suppressing the horror in his heart.
"Commander, the Sui army is in our territory. In addition to the known lone army, there is another army with a larger number, and they are already lurking on the Annanba Mountain behind the camp." The centurion said in tears. : "Three days ago, when the Sui army entered the Suqiannuoer Lake camp, General Ni mistakenly believed that they were a real lone army. In order to completely annihilate this army, he confidently and boldly led 10,000 elite troops out of the camp to pursue them. . Not long after General Tun Laodani led his army to leave, the Sui army on the mountain laid down rolling logs and stones, destroying all the people and animals in the south camp. Then their main army entered the camp from the west camp and expelled the generals and civilians to the east camp. "
"We bypassed Lake Sugannuoer and reported to General Ni. Unexpectedly, General Ni fell into the Sui army's trick before we arrived, and four to five thousand people died. When he hurriedly fled back to the camp, he found himself in the west camp. In front of the camp, the Sui army used rolling logs and stones to smash the entire army."
Murong Yan said sternly: "Where did the Sui army that attacked the camp come from? Who is the general?"
"That army is the Jinshan bandits who have caused trouble for many years. They have now migrated out of the mountains en masse. Not only have they merged with the Sui army, but they have also lived in Dingyang City together." The centurion choked and said, "I know them. For some Chinese characters, I recognized the character "Sui" and the character "Mai" from the two big flags on the city. "
"Commander, the leader of the Jinshan bandits must be Mai Tiezhang who has disappeared for many years." Murong Xiaojun turned to look at Murong Yong, only to see that he also had a defeated face.
Murong Yong nodded and said bitterly: "I think it's him too."
Tuyuhun paid close attention to important generals in Liangzhou and knew that the only governor of Dunhuang in Liangzhou was Mai Tiezhang, whose surname was Mai. However, according to their spies, this man had disappeared for many years, so everyone thought that he had been transferred to another place. Liangzhou is a foreign official and his post is empty.
Unexpectedly, Mai Tiezhang did not leave Liangzhou at all, but had already led people into Tuyuhun, and was silently waiting for the opportunity in the name of the Jinshan Bandit.
Yang Ji, a chess piece that had been deployed for many years, not only broke their horns at the critical moment, but also threatened the south and rear of Dangjincheng. If it didn't make a sound, it would have become a blockbuster!
He gathered his thoughts and asked the centurion: "Do you know how many troops there are in Dingyang City?"
The centurion shook his head and said: "All the Golden Mountain Bandits have moved into the city. They are men, women, old and young. There are estimated to be 40,000 to 50,000 people. I can't say exactly how many troops they have."
Murong Yan immediately asked for orders from Murong Yong: "Commander, they have not settled down yet. Please give me a team of troops and I will destroy Dingyang City."
"Absolutely not!" Murong Xiaojun said anxiously: "Our army's catapults and crossbows have been exhausted. How can the general conquer Dingyang City with its tall walls?"
Murong Yan was silent after hearing this. After a while, he said again: "Even so, we can't do nothing, right?"
Murong Xiaojun did not reply, but looked at Murong Yong.
"That's it! That's it." Murong Yong closed his eyes in pain and sighed: "Commander, please send an order to my general immediately and tell Murong Xun to lead his troops back to defense immediately!"
"Yes!" Murong Xiaojun felt the pain of the coach. After all, this was Murong Xun's army, the army with the best hope of breaking through the unfavorable situation in Tuyuhun. However, the devil is taller than the devil, and Murong Xun has not yet arrived to launch the attack. However, Yang Ji's chess piece took the lead and cut off one of their horns.
At this point, there is no other choice but to join forces together. Although the withdrawal of troops has a great impact and misses the opportunity to march into Dunhuang, Tuyuhun is their foundation, and Dangjincheng is the most critical western gateway to Tuyuhun. They cannot do it in any case. problem occurs.
After Murong Xiaojun left, Murong Yong ordered Murong Yan again: "We can't just sit idly by and watch the Sui army in Dingyang City. You must immediately seize 20,000 troops and go south, and keep them locked in the city. You must not let the Sui army It will be a disaster if you come out again. In addition, you can bring some craftsmen and work hard to build siege equipment to prepare for seizing the city."
"General, I obey!" Murong Yan responded, and then asked: "But Commander, if I lead my troops south, who will defend the city?"
"I will defend." Murong Yong was afraid that he would be impulsive, so he warned: "We don't have the power to attack the city at the moment. When the deputy commander arrives, I will send more troops. You must not act rashly!"
"Yes!" Murong Yan saluted and left.
. . . . .
However, although their arrangements were more thoughtful, they still underestimated the influence of the entire Sugannuoer Lake camp being annihilated and the Sui army stationed in Dingyang County.
Because the centurion and others were traveling back and forth, they arrived at Dangjin City not much earlier than the defeated troops and herdsmen. When numerous defeated soldiers and herdsmen brought back the news that the Sugannuoer Lake camp had been conquered by the Sui army and that the Sui army had entered Dingyang City, a strong atmosphere of uneasiness immediately filled the Jincheng. Every soldier was worried and had trouble sleeping and eating.
Even many middle and low-level generals are full of pessimism about this battle.
