The battle at Shengyuguan officially started two days ago.
Before this, Chili's secondary attack group had been relatively peaceful. As the force responsible for containing Shengyuguan during the battle, they only focused on surveillance operations. Therefore, the army set up camp ten miles away from the city pass and remained at peace with Du Jian's troops.
However, this is all an illusion.
From the very beginning, the Turkic High Command had the idea of letting Chi's troops break through the Zhenjiang Army's defense line. If Prince Ronya succeeds, let the Northern Route Army capture Zijin Pass; if it is as difficult as last time, let the Southern Route Army launch a fierce attack, open a breakthrough from Shengyuguan, and then enter Western Xinjiang and go around Zijin Pass. Behind Guan.
At that time, the two armies attacked from front to back and wiped out the main force of the Xinjiang Army in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, the plan is beautiful, but the reality is quite cruel.
If Xiong Yunjie of the Fifth Army is very confident in the defensive ability of his unit and hopes to use it to achieve the honor of the army, then for Du Jian's Second Army, the defense of Shengyuguan is like a higher-level battle. Starring.
You know, the Second Army of Fire also has a title in the Zhenjiang system: Rock.
The “rock” that is “solid as a rock”.
For the Second Army, which is a mixture of infantry and cavalry and is both offensive and defensive, they have undertaken many defensive tasks since their formation, fighting against the Western Xinjiang Alliance rebels, Duolun's Iron Pigeon Army and Gema Khan's Yakut Army. Countless battles to the death.
Rich experience and good at offense and defense are Li Jiangyao's evaluation of Fiery Rock.
After receiving Ronya's order, Chili immediately assembled the Second Golden Army, the Third Army, the First, Third, and Fourth Army of the Blood Wolf Tribe, and the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Fourth Divisions of the Tianmu Tribe. The 20th Division, as well as the attached trebuchet division, launched a sudden and violent attack on Shengyuguan.
General Du Jian of the Zhenjiang Army was well prepared for this, and immediately commanded the Second Army of Fire and the Seventh Army of Heavy Rain, which came for reinforcements, to defend the city gate with all their strength.
In two days and two nights, a total of six large-scale attacks by tens of thousands of Turks were organized, and there were as many as seventeen attacks by thousands of people. Almost every hour, new troops attacked Shengyuguan. .
What's even more frightening is that the Turkic trebuchet troops actually used the poison bombs made by Ge Shuxuan as soon as they came up. This poison bomb is wrapped in a leather shell and filled with venom and poison powder. Once it hits the city wall, the skin will burst on the spot, venom will fly everywhere, and poisonous powder will spread everywhere. If it touches the skin, it will cause serious damage. It can be described as extremely cruel.
To be honest, Ronya herself was unwilling to use it on the Zijin Pass battlefield, for fear of damaging the martial ethics and reputation of the Temple Prince. Releasing poisonous smoke is already his bottom line. As for poisonous bullets, he still stays away.
The eldest prince Chili doesn't have so many worries: as long as he can capture Shengyuguan, it doesn't matter whether it is a poison bomb or a gunpowder bomb!
The fierce attacks of the Turks indeed posed a great threat to Du Jian and the others. However, the Second Army is worthy of being a veteran force in Zhenjiang. In a short time, the soldiers mastered the rhythm of the battlefield. Facing the enemy's tsunami-like offensive, they remained as firm as a rock.
Twenty-three attacks, big and small, were all repelled!
On the top of the city of Shengyuguan, the eagle flag of the Holy Tang Dynasty is still flying high!
The surprise attack failed, and Prince Akari, who was bent on meritorious deeds, once again committed the same ambition as when he attacked the imperial capital. The Turkic soldiers and horses under his command only rested for one night before launching another fierce attack.
This time, Chili resorted to the tactics of a death squad.
The elites of the first batch of death squads were all from the Blood Wolf Clan.
This Turkic tribe that first fought against Shengtang was once the ruler of the entire Turkic Empire. Ever since the previous Great Khan, Shandu Yimo, lost his mind and ruined the dominance of the Blood Wolf Clan and handed over power to the Golden Clan, his son Shandu Han led his tribe back to the land of their ancestors and kept a low profile for survival.
It wasn't until they provoked the first Western Xinjiang battle with Shengtang under the orders of Ashina Zhijin that they returned to people's sight.
It was also in that war that Li Jiangyao experienced the power of the Turkic army for the first time, and together with Xu Youchang, he captured Yingyang Princess Hesijia.
In order to dispel the suspicion of the Blood Wolf Clan from the Golden Clan and show their complete loyalty to Ashina Zhijin, the Blood Wolf Clan often works harder than other tribes when fighting against Shengtang. Especially this time, the leader of the Blood Wolf Clan, Shan Duhan, personally selected veterans with rich combat experience and handed them over to the eldest prince Chili.
Under the intensive cover of poison bombs, the death squads quickly successfully reached the top of Shengyuguan City.
However, before they could take a firm stand, the Second Army of Fire also sent out death squads and pounced on the blood wolves who had boarded the city.
Elite versus elite, brave and fearless versus brave and brave. The soldiers on both sides seemed to have completely fallen into a state of rage, completely entangled and fighting together.
It didn't take long for the defenders, who had the advantages of location and numbers, to take the initiative as expected. Three thousand blood wolf army death squads were killed on the top of the city.
However, Chili is famous among the Turks for his toughness and determination. The Blood Wolf Army is gone, and there are others.
The Second Army, the Third Army, the Tianmu Army, and finally, even the Blood Guard Cavalry Army, under his orders, sent out large-scale death squads and launched wave after wave of charges against Sheng Yuguan.
That crazy energy, as if Chili had to push everyone up to die again before he was willing to do so.
But unfortunately, the cruelty of war is that victory or defeat cannot be controlled and determined by your hard work. If you can fight, there is someone who can fight better than you!
Du Jian, the commander of the Second Army, is such a person.
Xu Youchang has long said that since the darkest moment, the only person among the senior generals of the Zhenjiang Army who has not been able to get over his grief is Du Jian. Because of Lin Feng's death, every time he fought, he would have a state of not intending to live again. And this special emotion even affected the entire Second Army.
From generals to soldiers, it is such a terrible thing to regard death as a kind of relief, a destination, and a complete salvation.
Chili violently attacked Shengyuguan for thirteen days, and then he realized this horror.
No matter how many poison bombs he fired and how many death squads he sent out, the defenders at Shengyu Pass never retreated. Even if there were only a few people left in the whole battalion, they still risked their lives and fought hard to resist until new troops arrived. succeed.
Thirteen days later, the Turks were completely unable to attack. The generals of various legions, including Yun Qianxue, protested: Such a strategy is the same as dying in vain!
Prince Chili had no choice but to order a temporary halt to the attack, and then sent someone to report to the Prince of the Temple. The raid plan in the direction of Shengyuguan basically failed, and asked him to give instructions on the next move.
While Ronya received the Chili battle report, the war in the direction of Zijin Pass also made no progress. In half a month, the Turks launched three large-scale sieges, but the results were no different from before. The Fifth Army of Zhenjiang is like a rock on the coast, no matter how the huge waves beat it, it always stands firm.
At this time, the Temple Prince and his generals finally had to accept the cruel reality in front of them:
The current Zhenjiang Army is no longer the remnant of the Shengtang Army that was defeated by the Turkic Eastern Expedition Army five years ago, and could hardly even save the metasequoia base camp, and was forced to accept the alliance under the city.
Judging from their current combat power, it is impossible for a world-famous pass with a complete defense system such as Zijin and Shengyu to be breached!
Looking at the Zijin Pass in the rain, Tanli said in a deep voice: "Uncle Prince, please order the withdrawal of troops. While we still have the ability to protect ourselves, we can calmly return to the pass and leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. If we continue to waste it, once If Li Jiangyao seizes the opportunity and switches from defense to offense, the situation will be really bad."
Ronya said nothing.
He silently stared at the majestic city gate in the distance, letting the continuous raindrops wet his shirt. After being silent for a long time, he sighed faintly: "What will happen if we withdraw? If we retreat to the pass, we can only Just sit back and watch the situation worsen until the day you lose all hope."
"Not necessarily." Stanley shook his head: "As long as we still have the strength in our hands, we can negotiate with the enemy. After all, this is not our land, and it would not be a pity to give it up. As long as we are willing to cease the war and leave, return the land to us. Give it to them, Shengtang should be willing to talk."
Ronya smiled bitterly: "Do you really think that what you can't get on the battlefield can be obtained at the negotiation table? Your Highness, not everyone will consider the problem from the same perspective as you. Some people may want to save their lives. Due to our own strength, we don’t want to push us into a desperate situation, but some people would rather die than let us go.”
Tanley disagreed with this. He smiled and said: "Uncle, you are an invincible commander on the battlefield, and your fighting skills are unparalleled. However, politics and military are completely different. In the world of politics, there are no permanent friends. , there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Almost all the people in power in Shengtang are mature politicians, and they know very well how to choose in the face of interests. To be honest, I have never worried about leaving here safely through negotiations. Factors that surpass the Holy Tang Dynasty.”
Hearing something in his words, Ronya couldn't help but turn around and asked curiously: "Then what are you worried about?"
"My worries come from within." Tanli's eyes showed a sincere tone: "The ones who are really unwilling to give up are not just some forces in Shengtang, but our clan leaders and generals, and even... It’s my father Khan.”
A look of surprise flashed across Roniya's calm face for a moment, but soon, this subtle expression disappeared again, and the Prince of the Temple became as calm as before again: "Your Highness, the Great Khan is the Turkic Empire for hundreds of years. When you meet a Holy Lord, his decision will always be the wisest and the most convincing to the soldiers. Please remember this."
