As soon as the battle started, the siege army from top to bottom quickly felt that the situation was not good.
Compared with the improvised simple siege equipment of the Turks, Shengtang's defensive equipment was obviously more advanced. It was not only strong and durable, but also extremely lethal.
The furthest range of the Turkic trebuchet is about three to four hundred steps, and the projectiles thrown are only ordinary stones weighing more than ten kilograms. As for Shengtang's trebuchets, which were easily more than 800 paces away, not only were they extremely accurate, but they were all made of huge kerosene bombs, some of which were even filled with arsenic poisonous smoke, which was both vicious and insidious.
What made the Turkic army even more desperate was the giant crossbow called the "Eight-Armed Divine Machine Crossbow".
You read that right, that is not a crossbow arrow or a crossbow gun, but a crossbow gun. Each divine machine crossbow is operated by six crossbowmen. Four of them use iron rods and winches to pull the crossbow string, and then load four foot-long crossbow arrows into the machine slot. The other person is responsible for aiming. , the last person is responsible for trigger firing.
The machine spring moved, and four arrows were fired in unison. Within three hundred steps, the strong wooden shields were as brittle as paper; within four hundred steps, all the infantry and cavalry were shattered; within five hundred steps, the chain armor failed, and the sweeping force could knock down more than ten people.
The base of the eight-armed crossbow is equipped with a slide rail, which can adjust the shooting angle in situ and perform long-distance translation. One hundred and fifty of these heavy-duty killer weapons were installed on the city walls in each direction of the imperial capital. When they were fired alternately, it was like heavy rain and black clouds filling the sky.
The first round of offensive troops sent by Prince Chili ran into this storm of metal and were directly blown to pieces, causing unspeakable suffering.
In just one morning, reports of casualties of more than 5,700 people were delivered to Chili. At this time, his siege army had not yet successfully crossed the moat of the imperial capital, let alone touched the city wall with their own hands.
The terrifying strike power of the Shengtang defenders completely deceived the attacking troops, but they failed to defeat Prince Chili's determination.
He kept giving orders to add fresh troops one after another to replace those who had suffered heavy losses and were frightened. For five consecutive days, 400,000 siege soldiers took turns taking turns to fight like a revolving lantern, competing with crossbows, rockets, and oil bombs flying in the sky to see who had better luck.
Not to mention, Chili's no-cost style of play really became more and more effective later on.
On the one hand, the defenders of the imperial capital resisted repeated attacks by the Turks. Over time, people would always be exhausted; on the other hand, the defensive supplies on the city were also consumed very quickly. The enemies were like mountains and seas, rushing in desperately, resulting in arrows. and equipment have reached the point where they are exhausted.
The giant crossbow arrows used in the eight-armed divine machine crossbow were all specially made. Before the war began, thousands of blacksmiths worked hard day and night to build an inventory of less than 150,000 arrows.
However, after five days of fierce fighting, all the 80,000 crossbow arrows transported to the city have been fired. If they continue to be used up, the eight-armed crossbow will soon become misfired. Similarly, the ammunition for the trebuchets was not optimistic. The piles of kerosene bombs and stone bombs that were originally piled up had long since disappeared.
It's not that the defenders of the imperial capital don't know how to cherish ammunition, it's because the Turks attacked too crazily. They used their own flesh and blood to exhaust the defenders' defensive resources.
And this is only the fifth day of the war.
In five days, Prince Chili saw the weakness of the Shengtang Army's lack of ammunition, and became more convinced that his tactics were correct, and continued to order a fierce attack. This time his goal was to completely conquer the wide moat of the imperial capital.
In the past few days, the siege army had been braving fire bombs and flying arrows, desperately competing with the moat.
They first dug several ditches and drained more than half of the water in the moat. Then they transported a large number of stone sandbags and filled the half-empty ditches.
At least half of the casualties of the Turkic army were caused by capturing the moat.
Taking advantage of the intensity of the defenders' crossbow arrows gradually decreasing, Chili asked the new troops to increase their intensity. After another three or four days of hard work, the originally rippling river channel slowly turned into a ditch. After a while, the ditch became the same as flat ground.
At this point, the battle against the city gates and walls has truly begun.
On the tenth day when the Turks attacked the imperial capital, the situation suddenly escalated again. Countless Turkic warriors and soldiers from Western Xinjiang, holding large shields half a man's height, carrying ladders of seven to eight feet, and pushing city cars, swarmed towards the imperial capital like waves.
From a distance, the soldiers who climbed the city and attacked looked like countless ants crawling on a giant elephant. They kept squeezing and gnawing, and were constantly shaken to the ground by the giant elephant, and were thrown to death. , trampled to death.
The offensive and defensive sides have now completely entered the stage of close combat.
The soldiers on both sides had ferocious faces and loud killing sounds. They were holding various weapons and slashed and stabbed at the enemy on the opposite side crazily without giving an inch.
The city above and below the imperial capital turned into a hell of Shura, mercilessly devouring all living things that came close to it.
The brutal offensive battle lasted for another fifteen days. The attackers finally had no choice but to stop the attack due to heavy casualties.
Perhaps, if they hold on for a little longer, the Shengtang Army on the opposite wall will collapse first.
But even if he knew this, Chili could not force his generals to continue fighting hard. The fighting lasted for half a month without a break. Not to mention that more than 60,000 lives had been lost and nearly 100,000 people had been injured. Even Prince Chili himself was in a state of physical and mental distress due to his day and night supervision and command. He was on the verge of collapse, and if he continued to fight, he would almost die from fatigue.
In these fifteen days, which seemed like a nightmare, a large number of Turkic elites were killed, and the result was only seven or eight collapsed gaps in the city wall and two smashed city gates.
However, the Shengtang Army, determined to fight to the death, used countless flesh and blood to block those loopholes, preventing the siege army from making further progress.
In just one night, the damaged city walls and broken city gates were repaired by the soldiers and civilians of the imperial capital. Chili and every siege soldier saw this, and couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration and powerlessness in their hearts:
No more people can be filled in, this ghost place is just a blood-sucking pit!
After a temporary truce, Chili personally rushed to the headquarters at Beizhao Temple and apologized to his father, Khan Ashina.
After hearing his battle report, Ashina's face was as heavy as water, and he just snorted coldly without saying anything.
Prince Chili, who was kneeling on the ground, was sweating profusely, lowering his head and trembling.
Although Father Khan looks gentle and gentle, everyone knows that he is probably the most ruthless monarch in the history of the Turkic Empire. The number of Turkic princes and generals who died in the hands of Ashina Zhijin due to the defeat in the battle exceeded the record of any previous great khan.
And many of those who were executed were Ashina Zhijin's uncles, elders or brothers.
Chili had no idea what kind of misfortune the tragic battle in the imperial capital would bring to him.
I don't know how much time passed, but Prince Chili felt that his legs were completely numb from his knees. Suddenly, he heard Ashina ask in a deep voice: "Is the attack blocked because the soldiers are unwilling to fight hard?"
"Um...no."
"Because the generals and nobles in various ministries are greedy for life and afraid of death?"
"No, everyone is brave."
"Is that because of insufficient equipment? Lack of food and grass? Or is the intelligence wrong?"
"Reporting to my father, it's none of them."
"Could it be that... the enemy is stronger than us?"
Chili hesitated for a moment, but in the end he still did not dare to say that Shengtang was more powerful than the Turks. He shook his head repeatedly and said: "No, in comparison, we Turks are the stronger party, and no one in the world can rival us!"
With a snap, Ashina slapped the armrest of the throne hard and said coldly: "That's because you are stupid and incompetent!"
"Father, please forgive me. I know my fault, I know my fault!" Chili kowtows hurriedly to beg for mercy. This is the critical moment for whether his head can be saved. There is no room for carelessness.
Ashina sighed softly, and was about to let the blood guards drag Chili down. Yun Qianxue, who was standing next to him, suddenly said: "Great Khan, the imperial capital is the heart of the Holy Tang Dynasty. It is known as the most prosperous and greatest capital in the world. . It is understandable how difficult it is to conquer a place like this. What's more, Emperor Shengtang is determined to hold on, and the soldiers under him will definitely resist desperately. His Royal Highness is excusable for not being able to win for a while. , I hope the Great Khan will forgive me."
When he said this, the surrounding ministers expressed their opinions one after another and interceded for Chili.
Ashina Zhijin looked at everyone quietly, silently, until everyone stopped talking, then he said in a deep voice: "Chili, if everyone hadn't begged for you, I would have used your head to save the world today. Military sacrificial flag! Although the imperial capital is large, it is only a drop in the ocean; the dynasty is always strong, let’s talk about a few strokes of historians. No country or capital is invincible or unconquerable. You have the power to conquer the world, but you use a small There is nothing a small city can do, it can only prove your stupidity!”
Chili raised his head and looked at Ashina Zhijin with burning eyes: "Father, please give me another chance. I will definitely defeat the imperial capital!"
Zhijin Khan sneered, and then asked word for word: "Next, how do you plan to attack the imperial capital?"
Chili resisted the soreness and pain in his legs, and after thinking for a moment, he replied: "In the past period, although our army suffered heavy losses in attacking the city, the enemy was also very sad. They were trapped in an isolated city with limited troops. If they continue like this If the consumption continues, they will be the first to collapse! Therefore, Erchen believed that the troops that had previously participated in the war should be withdrawn, rest and recuperate. At the same time, fresh troops should be recruited to join the battlefield and give full play to our army's advantage in military strength. Completely exhaust Shengtang’s defense power.”
"New troops?" Ashina stared at Chili: "Where do you recruit new troops from? Marshal Helian and the Prince of the Temple took away more than 200,000 people. You have 400,000 people. I only have 400,000 people left here." Can I transfer the Blood Guard Corps, the Blood Guard Cavalry Corps, and your brother's 30,000 Guards Corps to you?"
Chili quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, I don't dare. The Blood Guard army is the personal soldiers of the father Khan and must not be easily mobilized. Tanli's soldiers and horses... you also know, they are all sparse and loose troops, fighting It’s impossible to count on it.”
"What do you mean?"
"Well, your minister's idea is to mobilize the Yakut Army for reinforcements." Chili said: "A few days ago, Gema Khan sent a battle report, saying that the remnants of the Shengtang bandits entrenched in the Yarumqi Mountains were killed by him. Successfully defeated and beheaded more than 10,000 people. Moreover, the reorganization of the Western Xinjiang Army was also very smooth. Currently, 150,000 soldiers and horses have been assembled. Erchen feels that judging from the current situation in Western Xinjiang, the main force of Yakutia can be mobilized eastward. , to supplement the strength of the front line.”
