At night, with the stars and moon shining brightly, and the courtyard burning brightly, people were coming and going in and out of the halls of Prince Chu's Mansion, busy in an endless stream, nervously and orderly. After Li Zhiyun, Scarface, Li Tieniu and others discussed tomorrow's attack plan, they walked out of the house and came to the back garden. He felt that staying in the house was too boring, so he wanted to go for a walk to get some fresh air.
Li Zhiyun was walking along the path in the garden when he suddenly saw two figures moving in front of him and asked loudly, "Who is in the garden?"
"It's me." As soon as he finished speaking, the person on the other side came over.
Li Zhiyun took a look under the bright moonlight and saw that it was Liu Yinglian and her maid. You know, he forgot that no one would forget his future father-in-law, so he had already sent someone to take Liu Hong's family into the Chu Palace. At this moment, Liu Yinglian was taking a walk in the garden with her maid.
Li Zhiyun stepped forward to greet him. Zhang Zheng and the two guards who were following him stopped and did not follow him. The maid who followed Liu Yinglian also turned and walked away. Li Zhiyun walked up to Liu Yinglian. Before she could speak, she asked with concern: "I heard that Miyagi City has been captured. Are your parents okay?"
"It's okay. Early tomorrow morning, I will lead the new army to fight out and go to reinforce them."
Liu Yinglian looked at him and said softly: "Don't worry too much, they will be fine!" Li Zhiyun didn't say a word, but just grabbed one of her hands. Her hand was delicate and smooth, warm and slightly cool. Liu Yinglian approached him, snuggled into his arms obediently, and said softly: "Zhiyun, I know that the burden on your shoulders is heavy, and the fate of the Tang Dynasty is in your hands. But you must believe in yourself , I believe the final victory must belong to Datang!" Li Zhiyun let go of her hand, hugged her tightly, and said firmly: "Don't worry, I won't let you down!"
The next morning, the new army replenished sufficient ammunition and made preparations for the attack. After a night's rest, the soldiers were all full of energy and eager to go into battle to kill the enemy. With Li Zhiyun's order, the attack began. Forty red cannons roared, first tearing apart the rebels' defense line with artillery fire.
On the artillery position, many soldiers were shirtless. They were sweating and extremely busy. The loader picked up the big iron ball and put it into the barrel, the gunpowder man pounded the gunpowder with a long-handled wooden hammer, and the gunner operator set up the cannon and lit the fire signal. With a roar, the gun barrel spit out tongues of flame, and the big iron ball flew out and accurately landed on the rebel position. The battlefield suddenly burst into flames and filled with smoke.
Compared with the advanced cannons of later generations, the only difference between the red cannon is the range and the accuracy of the impact point. In terms of the power of the shell explosion, there is actually not much difference. The rebel soldiers, who had no experience in artillery defense, were running around in panic. When a shell fell, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the severed limbs flew into the air.
After the fierce bombardment, a dozen trumpeters blew the charge horn, and the New Army soldiers began to attack. The 10,000 rebels who surrounded the Chu Palace suffered two to three thousand casualties yesterday, and there are still seven to eight thousand left. Compared with the new army, they only have a slight numerical advantage. When it comes to the combat effectiveness of the army, which side is hot? Weapons, one side is a cold weapon, and the two sides are not on the same level at all. Therefore, the new army quickly broke through the rebel defense lines and advanced along the streets.
Gao Jifu was unwilling to have his position breached, so he mobilized a large number of troops from other directions surrounding the Chu Palace to launch a counterattack against the new army. In this way, the pressure on the Chu Palace was greatly reduced. Li Zhiyun ordered only one battalion to be left to guard the palace and arsenal, while the other two battalions also participated in the battle in the northwest.
The enemy and the enemy fought repeatedly on the streets. The rebels used crossbows and arrows, while the new army used blunderbuss and grenades. Sometimes they even fought hand-to-hand. After a hard fight, the new army held the defense lines on both sides and advanced along the wide front.
The forward advanced for about two miles, and a hill appeared in front of it. There was a temple on the top of the mountain called Baoen Temple. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was located in the pagoda forest behind Baoen Temple. Baoen Temple is not small in scale, with dozens of Buddhist halls and Zen rooms. The entire temple is surrounded by a courtyard wall that is one foot high. Hundreds of rebel soldiers hid in the temple and fired arrows with crossbows.
Li Zhiyun wanted to set up an artillery position on this mountain, so Baoen Temple must be captured. Scarface advocated bombardment with cannons. Li Zhiyun shook his head and said, "No, the artillery fire will destroy the cultural relics. Besides, it can't hurt the monks in the temple."
"Cultural relics?" Scarface asked in confusion, "What are cultural relics?"
Li Zhiyun smiled and said, "I'll explain it to you later." At this time, Li Tieniu ran over with a machete in his hand and said loudly: "Your Majesty, leave this temple to me, I still want to kill you! Li Zhiyun nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave it to you."
Li Tieniu summoned hundreds of soldiers, and the soldiers rushed forward with swords and spears in hand. Li Tieniu kicked open the temple door and rushed into the courtyard first. Rebel soldiers rushed out from various Buddhist halls and meditation rooms, and the enemy and ourselves fought in the courtyard.
The big sword in Li Tieniu's hand was like a dragon soaring into the sky, flying up and down, turning into countless phantoms. Wherever the blade passed, a line of blood spattered, and heads fell to the ground. He shouted excitedly: "It's so good! It's so good!" An enemy general was unhappy and rushed forward. The big gun in his hand went straight to his chest like lightning. Li Tieniu hurriedly avoided it.
The enemy general's marksmanship was excellent. The big gun danced like an airtight weapon. The tip of the gun was like a poisonous snake's letter, hesitating and moving straight towards the vital point. Li Tieniu dodged left and blocked right, looking for the gap. His broadsword was like a stream of light chasing a shadow, heading straight for the opponent's waist and eye, and the enemy general was busy blocking with his big gun. Li Tieniu's sword sank with great force, and the enemy general was shocked to the point that his jaws were numb. After a moment of daze, Li Tieniu came back with another powerful attack, and slashed his Tianling Gai directly with the sword. The enemy general hurriedly dodged, avoiding his head, but the sword struck his left shoulder, chopping off an arm. The enemy general screamed in pain, and Li Tieniu shouted: "Go to hell!" With another backhand stab, the enemy general's head flew into the air, and a cloud of blood mist spurted out of his cavity.
Once the enemy general is dead, the soldiers lose all fighting spirit and have no desire to fight. They just scatter and run for their lives. Li Tieniu roared and led his soldiers into various rooms, wiping out all the rebels. After the new army occupied Baoen Temple, Li Zhiyun ordered the artillery battalion to set up red cannons on the nearby hill, with the muzzles pointing directly in the direction of the palace.
When the red sun rises on the distant horizon, new blood dyes the eaves of the towering palace red. The Imperial City, Fengge Luan Tower, and Tiantai Fairy Garden were once places where dragons and phoenixes rested, but now they have become a refugee camp. In the garden, along the corridor, under the eaves, and in every nook and corner, there are people fleeing for their lives everywhere. After Wagang's army captured Chang'an City, the emperor's relatives and court ministers took refuge in the palace with their family members and relatives. After the palace city was captured, they all crowded into the imperial city.
Abba asked the concubines to free up part of the palace, but it was far from enough. Most of them had to live in the open air. These high-ranking officials and aristocrats who were usually well-dressed and well-fed have now turned into beggars. They spread a piece of felt or oilcloth on the ground, sitting or lying down, with large and small packages beside them, containing hastily stuffed food. Soft. Most of the old people have dull eyes and numb expressions; the men look depressed and frown; the women complain and nag endlessly. The children were carefree, chasing and playing as usual, and were scolded by adults from time to time.
With a few cracks of the whip, the emperor's luan came over. The eunuchs were holding umbrellas, and my father was wearing the regalia of the imperial dynasty, with the Tai'a sword hanging from his waist, meandering along the corridor. Behind Abba were his eldest brother, Pei Ji, Liu Wenjing and several other important officials of the court. When the court officials on the roadside saw the emperor coming, they knelt down and saluted as a habit.
My father looked at the officials with their families on both sides of the corridor and sighed secretly. Li Mi's rebellion caught him off guard. He asked himself that he treated Li Mi well, but why did he rebel? Is it true that Li Mi is cunning and rebellious as others said? Now that the matter has come to this, it is useless to think about it anymore.
As long as Liu Wenjing was with Pei Ji, she would inevitably quarrel with him. He pointed at the men, women, and children on both sides and said to Pei Ji: "Look, look, these are all your fault!" Pei Ji said unconvinced: "Li Mi's rebellion, what does it have to do with me?"
"Last time there was a banquet in the Guangming Palace, you humiliated him and asked him to serve you a plate and a bowl. He held a grudge, so he rebelled."
"Didn't you let him serve you food?"
"Isn't that what you started?"
Abba turned around and said sternly: "You two, stop arguing and come with me to the top of the city." Liu Wenjing gave Pei Ji a hard look and then closed her mouth.
Everyone came to the city wall and walked up the road. When they were near the end, a general stopped them and said with cupped fists: "Your Majesty, the rebels are attacking the city fiercely. You can't go up. Be careful of being injured by arrows." Dad glared and said: "I have been a soldier for half my life, why should I be afraid of arrows? Get out of the way!" The general had no choice but to dodge aside.
Abba led everyone to the top of the city. Looking down the city, he saw countless rebels gathered densely in the streets and squares. It was really full of pits and valleys. These rebels surrounded the imperial city. Many rebel soldiers were climbing up the ladders. The soldiers of the Shence Army were either shooting arrows with crossbows or smashing them down with stones collected from the rockery in the imperial garden. A hundred steps away, seven or eight enemies had climbed up the city wall. A school captain led his men to rush up, fighting with the enemies, and finally eliminated the enemies who had climbed up.
The battle was so brutal that Abba was filled with worry. The enemy is outnumbered and the palace city has been captured. He is not sure whether the imperial city can be defended. Fortunately, the Chu Palace is still holding on and has involved some of the rebel troops. Otherwise, the current situation will be even worse.
After coming down from the top of the city, Abba said to everyone: "Let's go to the wounded barracks and have a look." So, the group of people walked towards the wounded barracks. The wounded soldiers camp was located in the imperial garden, with more than a dozen tents filled with wounded soldiers, and seriously injured soldiers were constantly being carried over from the city wall.
