The moon was sparse, and Li Jinquan stood calmly and calmly on the east city tower, admiring with great interest the fire still burning in the distance and the ashes of the Tang Army camp. With his heart racing, he then began to greet the people beside him. The generals were chatting and laughing.
I don't know when, a sound as heavy as thunder gradually floated from the city. It was not until the shouts of killing and the sound of galloping horses became more and more intense in his ears that Li Jinquan suddenly became alert and turned around quickly and shouted: "Where is the fighting?!"
"Commander! Marshal!" A deputy general who was holding his broken arm just arrived and fell off his horse. Under the horrified eyes of everyone, he ran and climbed all the way up to the tower with difficulty, dripping water. Blood spread horribly along the bluestone stairs.
Li Jinquan recognized this familiar face at a glance, and his heart suddenly felt like it was falling into an ice cellar. He shouted anxiously: "Why are you here? But something happened in the camp south of the city?"
"Commander!" The lieutenant general seemed to have difficulty speaking. His face was pale at this time, and he forced out his voice: "The Baoxin Army has rebelled! The Tang Army has entered the city from the south gate, and the camp in the south of the city has been breached... ....Tang Jun will arrive at the east gate soon..."
With a "bang", Li Jinquan retreated in panic, and hit the stone pillar behind him. The sword on his waist fell instantly.
"Li Song! What a hateful traitor!" Li Jinquan spat viciously, then grabbed the seriously injured deputy general and roared: "Damn it, the camp in the south of the city has 15,000 elite soldiers! How could the Tang army break through so easily? ? How on earth do you keep it! Huh?"
"Fire, fire... Li Song has arranged kerosene in the camp in advance..." Before he could finish his words, the already disabled lieutenant passed out.
At this time, the eyes of the surrounding soldiers suddenly flickered, and then they turned to face their commander.
"Li Yuan! Liu Renzhan! Li Song! OK, OK..." Thinking of the Holy Guard Army in the south camp of the city, and the cards he relied on for survival were being devoured by fire, Li Jinquan felt desperate and unconsciously Glancing at the equally fierce fire outside the city, he suddenly laughed a few times self-deprecatingly, then pointed angrily at the sky and started yelling crazily.
"What a thief! What a thief!"
Then Li Jinquan kicked the deputy general a few times, then picked up his sword from the ground, raised his hand and roared: "My sons, come down from the tower! Kill all the Tang dogs!"
"Kill all the Tang dogs!" The generals pulled out their swords and rushed down the city menacingly, surrounded by soldiers.
There was only one person missing, who was silently hiding in the corner, sweating for some reason.
...
At this time, on Shouzhou Central Street, Li Yuan was leading the fine cavalry towards the east city gate.
There was almost a one-sided massacre along the way. Since the fire broke out in the camp in the south of the city, countless rebel soldiers were killed in the flames in their sleep. However, those few who escaped in embarrassment had not had time to extinguish the fire on their bodies, and they were encountered as soon as they reached the street. The Tang army's infantry hunted.
Accompanied by the clanging sounds of weapons, most of the rebels had no time to cry out and beg for mercy before they were slaughtered neatly. Their severed flesh and blood limbs were scattered everywhere, and the smell of burning and fishy flesh was suffocating.
The cavalry of the Tang Army did not hesitate to give in, and were trampling wantonly everywhere in the city.
I saw light cavalry whizzing past. The soldiers held their spears flat on the right side without any movement at all. The sharp blades of the guns swept away streaks of blood mist just by the charge of the horses. There were also several rebels who had spears thrust into their chests. The soldiers, with the belief that they would die, frantically grasped the Tang army's guns with both hands, and followed the horses to gallop. However, these stubborn enemies were often dragged halfway, and their flesh and blood were reduced to a lake, without making any sound.
The rebels' defeat was caught off guard and will be difficult to deal with.
Soon Li Yuan's cavalry arrived at the east city gate, which was brightly illuminated by the surrounding torches. In front of him, Lin Sichang was leading nearly 7,000 Qing and Huai army troops on the right side, violently attacking the city tower. Arrows from both sides flew across the sky. .
Different from the previous one-sided massacre in the city, the rebels here seemed to be particularly tenacious. Although the situation was over, these rebel soldiers showed no fear in the face of the Tang army that was several times their size. In the doorway and on the stairs, people had already broken out. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting, rows of fallen soldiers were replaced by row after row. The soldiers of the Tang Army who came after them were still charging forward along the bloody road.
Soon, corpses in many places were piled on top of each other, like blood raining from the sky. The base of the gray-green city wall was washed into dark black, and the air was filled with the disgusting smell of blood.
Li Yuan suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. It was not the first time he saw a corpse, but the battle here was too fierce. The combat area between the enemy and ourselves was too narrow. They were almost all fighting face to face. Seeing such a concentrated mountain of corpses and sea of blood at close range, It's really scary.
Sitting on his horse, Li Yuan looked coldly at the towering east city gate. The top tower was surrounded by tragic battlefields from all directions. Li Jinquan's eye-catching flag was fluttering in the wind. It seemed that the rebels here must be Li Jinquan's most loyal subordinates, these few remaining enemies actually withstood the Tang army's repeated attacks.
Now the rebel camp in the south of the city has long been wiped out, and the remaining enemies in the city have become desolate. Only Li Jinquan is still leading his army to resist desperately at the east city gate. It is clear that more than half of the rebels in this area have been killed or injured, but the fighting continues. When many rebels fell from the tower, Li Yuan could clearly see that most of them had high cheekbones and wide noses, and had typical Tuyuhun looks.
"It's a pity for these warriors!" Li Yuan knew in his heart that there were several records about Li Jinquan in history books. After each war, he would be labeled as "brave and brave". In the culture of grassland peoples such as Tuyuhun, , this may be the reason why his subordinates are willing to sacrifice their lives for it.
The brutal fighting continued. Seeing that the battle situation was still stalemate, Li Yuan immediately ordered his soldiers:
"Go to the west gate to find Zhou Tinggou and ask him to lead his army to clear out the remaining enemies in the city!"
"Go to the south gate and ask Marshal Liu to bring the crossbowmen!"
After receiving the order, several soldiers quickly turned their horses and galloped away.
At this moment, Li Yuan suddenly felt his mount swaying under him, and quickly lowered his head to examine it. Only then did he realize that the blood at the city gate had spread to the blue bricks under his feet, and bubbles were thickly emitting in the gaps between the stone slabs, causing the horse's hooves to slip accidentally. Go slippery.
"Commander!" A familiar shout came. Li Yuan raised his eyes and saw Lin Sichang running towards him quickly. At this time, his armor was full of scratches from swords and guns, and he, the commander of the capital, was holding his hand. A long sword covered in blood.
Li Yuan couldn't help frowning and said: "What are you doing?"
Lin Sichang gasped and said: "Commander, Li Jinquan has been seriously injured and is besieged in the tower. There are less than a hundred people left around him. The general is here to ask for instructions. Do you want to persuade him to surrender?"
Li Yuan suddenly raised his eyes and saw that the sound of fighting had suddenly subsided by half. The walls were covered with Tang army flags and armor, and a large number of Qing and Huai army soldiers had surrounded the lonely tower in the center. They were nervously holding soldiers in their hands. Blade, and confront the remaining enemies among them.
In the midst of the chilling desolation, a shocking and desperate cry suddenly penetrated from the tower:
"I would rather die in battle! I will never let down the commander-in-chief!"
"I would rather die in battle! I will never let down the commander-in-chief!"
The chorus of these rebel soldiers' shouts made Li Yuan couldn't help but stand in awe. Life is precious. These people died for the beliefs in their hearts, and they must be worthy of this respect.
Then he sighed softly and said to Lin Sichang expressionlessly: "Did you hear that?"
Lin Sichang nodded and stopped talking. He immediately turned around, the sword in his hand whizzed through the air, and shouted at the Tang soldiers on the top of the city: "Kill!"
