In the early morning of July 28th, the drums in Huixi Village were loud and the horns were blowing.
As the sun rose in the east, 30,000 Wuping troops marched out from Huixi Village in an orderly manner, and quickly formed an siege formation on the open ground south of Xizhou City. More than four cavalrymen were galloping around the periphery of the mighty formation. The battlefield instantly stirred up dust. Twenty thousand armored infantrymen formed several horizontal square formations, and five thousand crossbowmen carrying quivers were among the armored soldiers. Standing behind under the protection of.
Three hundred steps away from Xizhou City, as far as the eye can see, there are densely packed swords and guns. The flags of the Wuping Army are blocking the sky. Accompanied by the neighing of war horses and the shouts of sergeants, it has not been baptized by war in fifty years. Xizhou City seemed to be trembling, and several city bricks were knocked down by the shock.
Tian Hongbin, who was dispatching troops and generals in the governor's mansion, heard the report and hurriedly led Gong Langzhi and dozens of generals from the Tian Gong clan to the head of Nancheng.
Seeing such an astonishing formation of Wu Ping's army, Tian Hongbin could not help but swallowed his saliva even though he was prepared in his heart. He immediately ordered the city's defenders to go to the city to guard the city, ready to welcome Wu Ping's army to attack the city at any time. Instantly, there was a tense situation on the top of the city. Twelve thousand barbarians rushed from all over the city to board the city. All kinds of defensive means were prepared, such as crossbows, arrows, rolling wood and rocks.
Seeing that the sergeants all over the city had set up defensive formations with serious expressions, Tian Hongbin, the commander-in-chief, unsheathed his sword without hesitation. Gong Langzhi and several guard generals around him were already in full formation, ready to fight to the death with the attacking Tang army at any time.
In front of Xizhou City, after the siege formation of 30,000 Wuping troops was arranged, suddenly a thunderous drum sound began to sound from the rear. With the change of formation in the army, the soldiers seemed to be vacated in the dense formation. Hundreds of gaps.
Liu Jiangsheng personally led a group of cavalry and gave orders behind the Wuping army's formation. Three hundred new trebuchets with their arms pointed high into the sky were slowly pulled forward by several strong horses. There were fifty strong men behind each trebuchet. To assist in the push, Xu Kuangheng, who was also wearing battle armor, led a group of soldiers and civilians recruited from Langzhou, and followed closely behind, pulling hundreds of carts loaded with boulders.
Although the trebuchet was heavy, it moved smoothly because the ground was flat. After the harsh friction sound of wheels rolling against the ground was heard throughout the battlefield for a while, three hundred new trebuchets were finally slowly pushed to the front of Wuping's army formation, forming a straight formation four hundred steps away from Xizhou City. Stopped and dispersed, completely displayed in front of the dumbfounded barbarians on the top of Xizhou City.
Liu Jiangsheng, who shouldered the heavy responsibility, did not hesitate. He galloped back and forth and shouted orders. Immediately afterwards, the soldiers of the Wuping Army beside the trebuchet began to work frantically. They nailed the prepared wooden hook stakes tightly to the ground with heavy hammers and set the trebuchet. The base and all wheels are also firmly locked with thick iron chains, and two feldspar clamps are used on both sides of the wheels.
The sergeant at the front was debugging the trebuchet. How could Xu Kuangheng be idle? He quickly ordered a large number of soldiers and civilians to place a pile of huge rocks behind each trebuchet, and carried hundreds of barrels of kerosene on standby.
"What on earth is this?" Tian Hongbin, who had been frightened by everything in front of him, especially the three hundred behemoths, couldn't help shouting.
Gong Langzhi had already looked at it carefully, but he calmly raised his hand and said: "Captain, this should be the rumored trebuchet. The Tang army always loved to use this trebuchet when attacking cities. A few years ago, I heard the Peng family's grandfather say that trebuchet The machines are very expensive, but they are flashy! Although they look bluffing, hitting the city wall is not painful or itchy. The governor really does not need to worry too much, it is just a bluff!
I just counted them below and found that there were about three hundred units. After all, this Li Yuan was the military governor of a town in the Tang Dynasty. His family was indeed well off! Commander, why don't you please move to the tower to watch the battle! Although these trebuchets cannot break the city, it is no joke to hit people..."
Seeing Gong Langzhi strolling in the courtyard and looking out, Tian Hongbin suddenly took two steps forward with confidence and shook his head with a smile: "As the lord of the three states, how can I be afraid of life and death? Everyone, I am here to supervise the battle! See with your own eyes how I, Dongxi Erlang, defeated the Tang army!
Sons and gentlemen! The Peng family's grandfather once said that these trebuchets are all bluffs. Our Xizhou City has high walls and strong walls, so we have no worries! After a while, flying rocks will come, so you all can find the battlements or hold up your vine armor to avoid them! When the Tang army uses trebuchets to attack the city, we will be able to kill them all as long as we wait for work! "
Several Tian generals took the lead in raising their arms and shouted:
"The Governor is mighty! Dongxi will win!"
"The Governor is mighty! Dongxi will win!"
When the soldiers at the top of the city heard this, they immediately raised their swords with high morale and echoed. Then they held the blades in their hands tightly and continued to watch every move of Wu Ping's army below the city.
Not long after, Wu Ping's army was set up, and all three hundred trebuchets were debugged. Every thirty steps, the huge arm of a trebuchet was hung high in front of the army, and the thundering drums finally stopped. Down, the city suddenly became extremely quiet, and a terrible sense of depression instantly filled the battlefield south of Xizhou City.
Three horns sounded suddenly, and in the center of Wuping's army, a big white horse with a strong body and slender hooves galloped out of the array. One person on the horse was wearing a golden unicorn armor, and the whole person was bathed in the bright morning sun like a born god of war. Among them, the whole body was shining with brilliance, and dozens of heavily armed Gao Meng cavalry were following closely behind.
The white horse quickly ran to the front of the formation in the blink of an eye, and stopped three hundred paces outside the city. Li Yuan, who was calm and composed, only waved his hand lightly, and a guard behind him immediately rode the horse a hundred paces closer, taking courage. He shouted loudly to the top of the city: "Listen, you barbarians, I, Marshal Li Yuan, the military governor of the Wuping Army of the Tang Dynasty, will lead the heavenly soldiers and generals to come to conquer! Let the old thief Tian Hongyou come out and answer!"
Although the barbarian soldiers on the top of the city could not understand much Chinese, they knew that the battle was imminent. They held their breaths and let out fierce lights, staring coldly at everything in front of them. There were even a few dart players who had secretly opened the bamboo tubes. Aiming at the provocative Tang Army cavalry below the city.
Tian Hongbin frowned and said: "Is this the one with the white horse and the golden armor Li Yuan? Humph, the Han people are really exaggerated!"
Gong Langzhi responded in a dull voice: "You are quite courageous. The two armies are about to fight fiercely, and this guy dares to speak dirty words! Commander, please immediately order the Tang soldier who sent the message to be shot!"
Unexpectedly, Tian Hongbin shook his head disapprovingly and said coldly: "Didn't the Han people say that when two armies are fighting, they don't kill the envoy? They just say harsh words in front of the formation. We are all Dongxi warriors, why should we shoot a legendary soldier?" Xin's little soldier is not very glorious! When the two armies engage in battle later, let's see how I personally kill Li Yuan!"
After Gong Langzhi glanced at Tian Hongbin who was full of confidence, he sighed softly, then nodded and replied: "What the governor said is true, but I am a bit rough!"
