Li Jiangyao cast his gaze into the distance and murmured in reply: "That thing is called a chariot, and it is specially used to attack the city. At the same time, it can also observe the enemy's situation from a high position. When attacking a city, the defenders' defenses are deployed in front of the chariot. It is clear at a glance that the archers shot the defenders on the roof of the nest car, while the commandos used the stairs inside the nest car to reach the city head."
Looking at the astonished Ge Ma, Li Jiangyao continued: "To tell you the truth, even in the Shengtang Army, such large-scale siege equipment is rare, and often only the main army will equip it. Tanli is really There are so many tricks and surprises.”
Ge Ma looked at the four- to five-foot-tall, sturdy nest carts again, and couldn't help but swallowed his saliva: "My dear, if we build dozens more of these and push them all under the city wall, wouldn't it be easy? Capture the city?"
Li Jiangyao smiled faintly: "I'm not worried about this problem. Although the outside of the nest car is covered with rawhide and coated with mud, it is not afraid of ordinary arrows and fire attacks. But because of its weight, the whole instrument is extremely clumsy. At the same time, it It relies on human power to push the wheel axle forward, so it moves very slowly and is easily targeted by trebuchets. Even if it is not hit by stone projectiles, its own damage rate is often astonishingly high."
Gema felt a little relieved after hearing this, and after taking a long breath, he asked: "Listening to what Dadu protector said, do you have any other concerns?"
"Yes, I thought of another meaning." Li Jiangyao stared at the approaching Golden Wolf Army: "The appearance of these nest vehicles makes me have to re-evaluate Tanli. What you Turks are most accustomed to , and what I like most is to take advantage of the rapid maneuverability of the cavalry to carry out long-distance raids and plain field battles. But sieges are not what you are good at."
Gema nodded repeatedly: "You are right. In our Turkic Empire, especially in places like the Yakut prairie, the size and defense of the cities cannot be compared with the cities of Shengtang, and even in many places in Western Xinjiang We don't like passive defense, and we are more eager to take the initiative to attack. Because of this, before Ashina Zhijin attacked Shengtang, he specially taught many siege warfare methods to the generals of each tribe, and I have conducted many siege warfare exercises in Western Xinjiang. However, I have never seen a big guy like Chao Che."
Li Jiangyao nodded and continued following his own train of thought: "Tanli's actions show that he has a higher understanding and ideas than other Turkic generals in terms of offensive and defensive warfare against the city. Moreover, those nest vehicles must be scattered. The parts were transported here and then assembled overnight yesterday. This shows that Tanli has a large team of craftsmen under his command. In addition to the nest car, there may soon be city rams, giant crossbows and ladders. .”
He paused for a moment, then continued: "There is another serious problem. Zijin Pass is the gateway to the west of Shengtang, but it protects from the outside but not from the inside. Therefore, the city wall facing the west has very strong and complete defenses, while the city wall facing the west has very strong and complete defenses. But the city wall on the east side has almost no decent system. I’m afraid the next battle will be difficult.”
Ge Ma was a little nervous after what he said, and couldn't help but ask: "Daduhu, when will your army arrive to reinforce Zijin Pass?"
Li Jiangyao said calmly: "It will be very soon. Don't worry, it will be very soon."
However, he actually lied to Gema.
The unit closest to Zijin Pass is Du Jian's Second Army, but now Du Jian has not led his troops in his direction. Before Li Jiangyao set off, he left an order to Du Jian: assemble the entire army, quickly capture Shengyuguan and its surrounding areas, and set up defenses.
In addition to the Second Army, Xu Youchang's First Army also quickly received mobilization orders. He had previously led troops to capture Ulan City, where the Governor's Palace of Western Xinjiang was located. However, due to the subsequent return of the Western Xinjiang countries to the Holy Tang, Ulan had lost its strategic significance, and the First Army was extremely exhausted from top to bottom due to continuous fighting. , so Li Jiangyao instructed Xu Youchang to lead all the troops back to the Yarumqi Mountain Fortress and rest properly.
The journey from Mount Yarumqi to Zijin Pass is very long. No matter how fast Xu Youchang and the others move, it will take at least about a month to get there.
At the same time, the Fourth Army and the Fifth Army went to Suiye Country, Gumo Country and Shache Country to re-build the border defense line in Guimo Desert in Western Xinjiang; the Sixth Army, the Seventh Army and the Eighth Army were divided into various places. Training, while establishing the governance system of the Xinjiang Army and restoring the previous dominance situation in the Shengtang period.
Therefore, the only ones left to reinforce Zijin Pass are the Thunderous Third Army stationed at the base camp Metasequoia City.
The Third Army has been responsible for the combat readiness duty of the entire legion for a long time, and all members have been on high alert. However, even so, it is difficult to enter the Zijin Pass battlefield without more than ten days of effort.
This means that Li Jiangyao and the others must rely on their existing strength to hold on for more than half a month.
Originally, Li Jiangyao considered that there were still 40,000 defenders at Zijin Pass. Even if they were of no use, the 7,000 elite soldiers he brought would be enough to handle the situation for a while until reinforcements arrived. But after seeing Tanley's posture, he couldn't help but waver in this idea.
If the opponent is really desperate to attack the city, although he is confident that he can defend Zijin Pass, he will definitely have to pay a very high price.
Li Jiangyao did not dare to rely on his superiors anymore and quickly called all the generals and officers in the city. Targeting the weak east wall of Zijin Pass, he began to assign combat tasks one by one and deploy various defense plans.
While everyone was busy and nervous, the Golden Wolf Army on the opposite side had stopped and established its position. Not long after, a general galloped out of the formation, approached the edge of Zijin Pass's bow and arrow range, and asked Gema Khan by name to show up and speak.
Li Jiangyao recognized at a glance that the general was his "old friend" and the second Turkic prince Tanli. He hurriedly hid behind the crowd and told Gema to deal with the other party. At the same time, he reminded him not to let Tanli know that he was here.
Gema Khan understood what Li Jiangyao meant, cleared his throat, pretended to be dim-sighted, and deliberately shouted: "Who is it? Who is looking for me?"
"Hey, Uncle Gema, we haven't seen each other for a long time. You don't recognize your nephew anymore, hahaha." Tanli sat on the horse, looked up at the city gate, and greeted Gema affectionately. : "I'm Tanley. How are you always? How is your health?"
Gema supported the wall with both hands, leaned out and looked down, also smiling: "Hey, who do I think I am? It turns out to be my good nephew Tanli. Eastern Expedition It's so hard on the front line. You look like you've lost a lot of weight. Good boy, how is your father? Remind him more and don't work so hard. Is there something that you young people should bear more responsibility for? Don't bear it. Body. To be honest, what I miss most is your father Khan’s body.”
"Who says it's not? Let me worry about it." Tanli smiled and shouted at the top of his voice: "I always tell my father to take care of himself, but he doesn't listen at all. Yes. When we get the chance, I have to help us juniors give him some advice."
Ge Ma nodded repeatedly: "Yeah, no problem, no problem. When I see Khan again, I will definitely talk to him well for you."
Tanli said calmly: "Uncle, let's not wait to look back. Why don't you come with me to meet Father Khan now? He misses you too."
"Good nephew, I also hope to see the Great Khan immediately." Gema pretended to be embarrassed: "But look, Western Xinjiang is really busy with military affairs, and everything big and small cannot be separated from me. I can't get out of here. Otherwise, I would have gone a long time ago, and by the way, I could see what Emperor Shengtang is like."
Tanli smiled faintly and said: "Uncle Gema, I bet you were busy with military affairs in Western Xinjiang, so you openly defied the Great Khan's order yesterday and didn't come to see me as the special envoy?"
Gema naturally felt safe hiding in the city. He shook his head deliberately and said: "Yes, and no. Last night, the moon was dim and foggy, making it difficult to see clearly. Uncle, I really couldn't confirm the identity of the messenger. However, the banditry has been very serious recently. Therefore, I didn’t dare to open the city gate easily and let people in. Later, I wondered why nephew Tanley, who has always been humble and courteous, and was always polite to a bad old man like me, started to act arrogant as soon as he became a special envoy. You have to call me, an old man like me, to meet you at the camp in the middle of the night? Can't he come to Zijin Pass in person to convey the Great Khan's decree?"
Listening to the other party's sarcasm, Tanli remained calm and said with a smile: "Uncle taught me the right lesson! My nephew was reckless last night. I'm here to apologize to you. If you want to be beaten or punished, it's up to you. However, My nephew does have a sacred mission, and he has to do business first. Uncle, now that we have met, I'd better pass on the edict directly. Please do your work respectfully and come out to receive the edict."
Gema couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, he continued to talk nonsense: "Good boy, you don't know. My uncle has been ill these past few days and he can't be cured no matter how he treats it. Later, he asked a mage to take a look and he said I Recently, the fate star has been evil, and you cannot leave Zijin Pass for even half a step, otherwise there will be a bloody disaster immediately. What do you think we should do?"
"Oh, so that's it." Tanli looked calm and calm: "That's easy. Please open the city gate and I can go in to deliver the order."
Ge Ma secretly thought: Should I open the city gate? Doesn't that mean letting your Golden Wolf Army charge at will? Do you think I'm stupid?
He bit the bullet and lied again: "Second Prince, to be honest, the mage also said that if you want to save your life, you can't let anyone in."
Tanli burst into laughter when he heard this: "Your disease is very interesting, and the mage who treats you is also very interesting. It doesn't work either out or in. What do you think we should do?"
"I have a suggestion. Can you see if it works?" Gema said.
