Lishan City was as quiet as usual during the ugly period. The bright bonfires on the city made Lishan City look like a square "brazier", which looked particularly abrupt and conspicuous in the night.
Teams of Goguryeo soldiers patrolled back and forth above the city, with four hundred soldiers stationed at the four gates. This was Goguryeo's strict rule. Regardless of whether the city was on the front line of war, as long as the country entered a state of war, the garrison at the city gates would be stationed for twelve days. There cannot be less than 200 people within an hour; if the enemy troops come to attack the city, the number of garrison troops keeping watch at night will be doubled. As for the front facing the enemy, it will be decided by the garrison general at his discretion.
Compared with the tight security on the city, the soldiers deployed in the city are divided into priorities. Except for the city lord's palace and warehouses, which are heavily guarded, there are only a few soldiers patrolling other neighborhoods.
"Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang!" In the dead of night, bursts of gongs and drums suddenly sounded under the West City. The dense sounds of gongs and drums were also mixed with bursts of shouts of killing. This sudden sound in the middle of the night made people feel frightened.
The originally drowsy defenders were shaken up, and each one of them was on high alert. The soldiers in the West City barracks were also awakened. They grabbed their weapons, rushed out of the barracks, and ran towards the city. However, the sound outside came suddenly and went away quickly. When Goguryeo soldiers filled the city and lit more bonfires, they found that there were not even half a person under the city.
"What's going on? The Sui army attacked the city overnight?" Gao Huizhen and Gao Xinggong were also awakened. They hurried to the city with their personal guards, but it was pitch black outside, and the Sui army camp was in the distance. It was quiet, with only groups of soldiers patrolling in front of the camp.
"Report to the general, no!" General Ziri said.
"Be careful!" Gao Huizhen glanced in the distance and went back to the barracks to rest, but it was difficult to fall asleep again. When he took off his armor and fell asleep, just as he was about to fall asleep, the loud sound of gongs and drums outside the city rang again. Gao Huizhen jumped up in excitement and put on his armor. He once again raised his sword and went to the city, but once again he missed the opportunity. .
"Damn the Sui army, what on earth do they want to do?" Gao Huizhen looked outside and suddenly punched the battlements in anger.
"This is a tactic used by the Sui army to wear down the troops. Don't get angry, general." Gao Xinggong looked away from the Sui camp with lit torches, frowned and said to Gao Huizhen: "The Sui army is using a tactic to wear down our troops. The soldiers have the physical strength and spirit, but the night is dark and the initiative is in the hands of the Sui army. Even if we want to fight back, there is nothing we can do. If we get angry at this time, we will fall into the Sui army's trick!"
Gao Huizhen also knew this and frowned: "But we can't let them continue to harass us, right? Does General Xinggong have any way to deal with them? Or send them out to harass them too?"
Gao Xinggong helplessly shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The Sui army has set up a net outside the city. We don't know exactly how many troops they have deployed. If our soldiers leave the city, they must carry torches. This is a good opportunity for the enemy." The arrow points the direction. There is no other way but to go out in large numbers and fight all night; otherwise, no matter how many people go, they will never come back."
"How abominable!" Gao Huizhen said angrily.
Gao Xinggong thought hard for a long time and said: "The advantage of our army is that it has the advantage of the city and sufficient troops. Tonight, we can dedicate 6,000 soldiers to defend the city. These 6,000 soldiers are divided into three teams, each team consists of 1,000 elite soldiers and 1,000 miscellaneous soldiers. The first team will defend the city for two hours, the second team will wait for rotation, the third team will prepare for battle, and the rest will rest peacefully."
After thinking for a while, he added: "We will also send out a few elite soldiers tomorrow evening to harass each other. The Sui soldiers are not as numerous as us, and their barracks are not as strong as the city; once they are harassed by our army, They are definitely more nervous and exhausted than we are. If this confrontation continues for a few days, they will be the first to be unable to hold on, not our army."
"That's all!" Gao Huizhen nodded. Although Gao Xinggong's method was very passive, with the fall of Gaimou City and Anshi City, the two roads behind Lishan City became the life channel for Goguryeo to communicate between the north and the south; Their first priority at this time is to defend Lishan City and ensure the smooth flow of the two shortcuts behind them, rather than killing many enemies. If they attack rashly, fall into the Sui army's trick, and eventually lose Lishan City, then they will be the eternal sinners of Goguryeo.
At that moment, Gao Huizhen followed Gao Xinggong's method and divided the six thousand soldiers into three teams, and the rest returned to the camp to sleep.
"Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang!" Not long after, there was another burst of gongs and drums outside the city. However, the officers and soldiers in the barracks received the general's order and thought that there were two thousand soldiers guarding the city. They did not pay attention to the noise outside the city and slept peacefully.
Gao Huizhen listened to the sound of gongs and drums and the sound disappeared soon after, and the defenders did not come to report, so he took off his armor and rested. When he fell asleep, the sound of gongs and drums outside the city rang again, but the defenders on the city were still there. Nothing unusual was found, so he finally relaxed and went to sleep.
Being harassed again and again by the Sui army not only made the soldiers in the barracks and the people in the city indifferent, but even the night watch soldiers on the city did not take the sound of gongs and drums outside the city seriously, and their tense hearts also Because the Sui army repeatedly harassed and refused to attack, he relaxed. However, his heartstrings relaxed and sleepiness came one after another, and he began to feel drowsy.
. . . . . . . .
The time gradually reached the darkness before dawn. Yang Ji and his three thousand personal guards followed the firelight in the city and touched the outside of Beicheng like ghosts.
The position of the Sui soldiers was more than 200 steps away from the city wall. Instead of being illuminated by the light from the bonfires on the city, it made the area look particularly dark. More than 100 steps ahead was the area illuminated by the fire; further forward, it included The area under the light including the moat is dark.
Yang Ji stood outside the "junction line of light and darkness" to observe the enemy's situation. Zhu Can followed Yang Ji with 400 Xuanwu guards. They wore black clothes that were easy to climb and carried horizontal knives and repeating crossbows on their backs. Some of them also carried climbing ropes on their backs, and others carried them. A vine ladder made of vines.
At this moment, the Xuanwu Guards were like wolves hiding in the dark, with bloodthirsty light shining in their eyes. As long as the Wolf King gave the order, they would reveal their sharp claws and fangs at the prey.
The left and right armies, led by Yang Shanhui and Pei Xingyan, formed a fan-shaped formation behind the Xuanwu Guards.
Looking through the gaps between the battlements on the parapet wall, Yang Ji found that there were no sentries patrolling the city. Looking inside through the arrow holes the size of a bowl of sea under the battlements of the parapet wall, he could vaguely see the Goguryeo defenders. Sitting on the ground in twos and threes.
The soldiers on the city were holding their weapons and leaning on their backs. Even when the sound of gongs and drums filled the night sky, they did not get up to observe the outside of the city. They seemed to have fallen asleep.
After observing for a long time, Yang Ji turned around and said to Zhu Can: "The enemy's attention has been attracted to the front. Beicheng is very slack. You can attack now!"
"Here!" Zhu Can confidently clasped his fists and saluted: "Your Majesty has a clever plan. We will definitely succeed in the battle tonight!"
"This trick has been used so badly, what kind of clever plan is it?" Yang Ji shook his head and laughed. He has used this trick more than once since he became an official. However, the enemy has been fooled time and time again. This is not because the enemy general is stupid, but because There are too many tricks to play with this trick; although its main function is to tire the enemy, it is more of a psychological warfare, directly targeting people's hearts from human thoughts, so it always works.
Because after the enemy has been harassed many times, habitual thinking has developed in his mind. In this case, even if the opponent's general has not slacked off, ordinary soldiers think that this time is just like the last time, and they are all fake. At this time, no matter how we defend ourselves, no matter how hard the enemy general prepares everyone, weaknesses will inevitably appear.
"Go ahead, it's all up to you." After Yang Ji finished his instructions, he added another warning: "As long as you get through the area illuminated by the fire, everything will be easy to handle, but you must not be careless and be careful."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the general will be able to open the city gate easily!" Zhu Can licked his dry lips, waved his hand, and quickly led four hundred Xuanwu guards towards the city gate.
The height of the city wall is only more than two feet to less than three feet. In order to avoid the sound of impact waking up the defenders, the Xuanwu Guards used horse-like ropes instead of grappling hooks. A group of people rushed through the fire and illuminated Everyone jumped into the moat and swam toward the confrontation.
The moat is also called "City God" and is one of the city's defense lines. To prevent enemy troops from sneaking across, the banks are usually made very steep. However, there is a lot of water at this time of year and the river water it draws is very gentle, so the steep slopes on both banks are not there. Cause trouble to Xuanwu Guard. They swam across the moat and entered the dark lighted area for a while.
Zhu Can and more than 40 soldiers were at the bottom of the city with the city tower as the boundary. They looked at the battlements in front of them, then took off the ropes, sorted out the rattan rope nooses, and ran forward with them. , when you get close, throw it away with all your strength.
The noose was accurately placed on the city battlements. In the thick night, more than 40 black shadows were seen touching the city walls from the left and right sides of the city tower. They jumped lightly from the gap in the city battlements into the city, pulled out their daggers and pounced on the guards who were sleeping back to back. military.
When Zhu Can and others let go of the rope and entered the city, the second group of soldiers also grabbed the rope and climbed to the top of the city. They ran into the city and saw dozens of Goguryeo defenders falling to the ground with their throats cut; brothers, Already fighting forward along the city wall.
Seeing this, they did not participate. Instead, they pulled the rope upwards and placed the rattan ladder tied to the rope on the battlement.
The rattan ladders are extremely tough and can not only bear the weight of five or six people, but also save time and effort than climbing the city rope. With the help of more than forty rattan ladders, the Xuanwu Guards quickly climbed to the top of the city.
The Xuanwu Guards cleared the garrison on the city and immediately divided it into four. One part went up the stairs to the tower, and the other part went to the winch of the suspension bridge in front of the city. Several soldiers pushed the winch hard, and when there was a slight creak, Amidst the sound, the suspension bridge was slowly lowered and set up on the other side of the moat.
While the Xuanwu Guards in the city were taking action, Zhu Can and two hundred Xuanwu Guards rushed down the city wall along the horse walls on both sides. Zhu Can took the lead and rushed along the wall to the city gate. In a short time, they arrived behind the stone barracks closest to the city gate, which was only thirty steps away from the city gate.
There were torches stuck in the grooves on the wall, allowing them to clearly see the guards inside the gate. They saw more than a hundred Goguryeo soldiers sitting under the corner of the city gate, holding spears in their arms and leaning against the wall, sleeping soundly. , in addition there were more than 20 soldiers wandering around bored.
Zhu Can stepped back and looked forward, only to see another Xuanwu Guard appearing behind a barracks opposite, and Yang Tian, who was leading the team, was gesturing to him.
Zhu Can looked at Yang Tian's gesture and whispered to Yang Lei beside him: "You lead a group of soldiers to eliminate the soldiers in the barracks."
In addition to the commander Zhu Can, the Xuanwu Guard also has sixteen generals. They are all Yang Ji's family generals. They are given the surname Yang, and their names are taken from Tian, Di, Shan, Lei, Feng, Ze according to their age. , water, fire, sun, moon, stars, clouds, reality, emptiness, spirit, and illusion.
Yang Lei remained silent after hearing the words. He led a group of Xuanwu guards to the door of the barracks. When Yang Tian saw the actions here, he also asked a group of soldiers to guard the door of the barracks.
At this moment, three sharp whistles sounded from the city near and far away. This was the Xuanwu Guards on the city sending a signal to Zhu Can and Yang Ji outside the city, indicating that they were ready. Even if this sharp sound Even amidst the earth-shattering sound of gongs and drums, it seemed relatively clear.
Zhu Can and others suddenly became energetic and took off their repeating crossbows. As they approached the city gate, the Goguryeo soldiers lingering in the gate also heard the voice: "Why is there Ming Dy?"
"Come inside and have a look!"
"puff!"
"puff!"
"puff!"
When they walked out of the door, dozens of crossbow arrows were fired at the same time. More than 20 Gaoju soldiers were caught off guard and fell to the ground screaming. The sleeping defenders suddenly fell into chaos, and many people looked inside with sleepy eyes.
"Kill!" Zhu Can shouted. The Xuanwu guards on the left and right hung up their crossbows, drew their swords and rushed towards the city gate. Zhu Can rushed in first, and with a wave of his sword, he hacked to death the nearest defender and seized the opportunity. He passed the spear thrust by another person and cut off the other person's head with a backhand knife.
Others aimed at the target and carried out fierce killings. The Goguryeo soldiers near the city gate finally reacted and got up and rushed forward in an attempt to fight the Xuanwu Guards; but the Xuanwu Guards who were responsible for covering were already prepared. When they were charging to kill, they followed up and saw that these people still dared to resist, so they fired their crossbows and killed them all.
Zhu Can rushed to the door and cut off two thigh-like door sticks with two "bang bang" swords. He then pulled out the two iron bolts from the door bolt sockets and dropped them. He grabbed the door knocker with one hand and pulled hard. The heavy door slowly Open slowly. More than a dozen soldiers did not wait for the door to be fully opened, then passed through the cracks and pushed the two doors from the outside.
Outside the city, Pei Xingyan, who was the vanguard, rushed up with two thousand soldiers when the suspension bridge was lowered. There were soldiers waiting on the suspension bridge, and Pei Xingyan himself was holding two hammers specially used for close combat. at the door.
"Kill!" Seeing that the gate was completely open, Pei Xingyan immediately led his troops into the city, and the soldiers behind him followed them in a steady stream along the suspension bridge.
After observing from a high position for a long time, Yang Ji, Yang Shanhui, Pei Xingyan and other commanders had a good understanding of the layout of the city, and made targeted deployments and arrangements based on the "ten"-shaped structure.
Pei Xingyan went directly forward, and then turned west when he reached the Grand Cross. After seizing the west city gate, he let the Sui army led by Yang Lun enter the city. When Yang Shanhui arrived at the Grand Cross, he turned west and east.
