At the beginning of July of the second year of Changyuan, the fortifications of the Tang-Tu coalition army at the bottom of the Shibao cliff were finally completed, and three earthy mountains as high as the real zhang rose from the ground, although they were still not as high as the cliffs, but the target was within the firing range.

On the day of completion, the Tang army also held a sacrifice to worship the gods. The armies placed horses, oxen, sheep, chickens, dogs, and pigs under the earth mountain, and presented five grains and fresh fruits, and then knelt down together and worshiped in front of them. This scene made Xue Chongxun feel like he was in a cult, but seeing that everyone was very religious, he took the lead in bowing with a silent face and a holy spirit in front.

After the worship, Xue Chongxun unfolded the manuscript paper written by Wang Changling and read: "On the fifth day of the seventh month of the second year of Fu Weichangyuan, Xue Chongxun, the head of the Tang Dynasty's Weiguo Gong March, would like to use the sacrifice gift of five grains and fresh fruits to tell the emperor and the emperor Haotian God, the five emperors of Shenzhou, the Yellow Emperor, the Yan Emperor, the Shaohao Taihao, and the sun and the moon of Sheji...... Shibao City was built in Sui, which is no different from the Han Dynasty ......"

When he read the later claim that Shibao City belonged, Xue Chongxun seemed to feel that he was claiming the sovereignty of the Chiling area, which was the indisputable territory of the Holy Spirit of the Tang Dynasty, and his expression was also condensed. Wang Changling wrote emotionally in the book, warning people not to forget the hardships of their ancestors who overcame obstacles to open up the territory. A sacrificial essay suddenly turned this war into a just war.

After reading the sacrificial text, Xue Chongxun was still immersed in the sacrosanct atmosphere of Wang Changling's article. At this time, the civil official in a spotless white robe took the blood of the cattle and knelt down into the copper basin that dripped into the wine in front of him. It took half a day to tinker with this ceremony, which boosted the morale of the Tang army, and Xue Chongxun ordered the siege of the city to begin.

The Tang army was responsible for attacking from a distance on the Tushan Mountain, and when it was time to rush to Fangtai, of course, it was the Tuyuhun people who went, which was an obligation in accordance with the terms of the peace agreement.

The coalition forces of the two countries lined up separately, and the Tang army hurriedly moved the parts of the stone-throwing truck onto the earth mountain to assemble, and there was a lively and busy scene under the cliff. There will be nothing to do with Xue Chongxun, the war will be handled by the generals, so he took Wang Changling, Yu Wenxiao and other staff members to hide far away, and ran to a hillside behind to watch the play.

After the rumbling of the war drums, I heard a few "chirping" sounds of the wood rubbing violently, and with a "bang", I saw a fireball of black smoke flying into the sky, but it didn't hit the cliff, it rolled down on the cliff, and the gunpowder in it ignited halfway up the mountain, and the brilliant and dazzling fire ignited with a "boom". So he stopped for a moment, and after the people on the earth mountain adjusted the angle, a few fireballs finally flew up. So six catapults were thrown in turn, and balls of gunpowder the size of a stone mill were thrown onto the castle in succession.

At this time, Xue Chongxun saw the siege of the city with his own eyes for the first time during the day, and last time he was hot-headed and wanted to use the four regiments of the Nanya soldiers to fight this stone city, but it was night, and he couldn't see what it looked like at all. Now he thought that the scene was very fierce and spectacular, but how could he think that it was so dull, the narrow valley was full of people wearing bright armor, but because of military discipline, it was very quiet. In addition to the shouts of the generals, the sound of the huge catapult gurgling and turning was more uncomfortable than listening to sawn wood.

The balls of gunpowder exploded and burned as they flew up, and smoke rose everywhere, and after more than two hours of busy work, the cliff was already filled with smoke, as if it were covered in fog.

Seeing this, Xue Chongxun's mood became happy, and he looked back and said with a wicked smile: "There is arsenic, sulfur, viciousness, grass black, and croton in the smoke, which is enough for them to drink a pot." By the way, Uncle Shao, what will happen if you smoke these things? ”

Wang Changling said indifferently: "At least the mouth and nose bleed, vomit and diarrhea, or the worst is poisoned to death." ”

Xue Chongxun laughed: "Poison them all, let's go up and receive the city, Stone Castle City, Iron Blade City, but Er'er." ”

At this time, the catapult stopped, and the Tuyuhun army lined up in a long row and began to rush up the only path up the mountain. There were originally two checkpoint platforms under the city, but there were no enemy soldiers at this time, and they all retreated to the top of the mountain.

Xue Chongxun and the others also looked at the top of the mountain, looking forward to the result. Unexpectedly, after the Tugu soldiers rushed up, they were immediately resisted, all kinds of things rolled down, some people grunted down from the mountain, from a distance it looked like stones in a mudslide, when they fell off the cliff, those people in mid-air limbs were scraping, as if they were flying, but in an instant they fell at the foot of the mountain, it was basically a meat pie.

There was a lot of noise on the battlefield, and the Tuyuhun people withdrew. The catapult is back in operation.

After a while, Zhang Wulang climbed up from the bottom of the mountain to find Xue Chongxun, and Xue Chongxun asked without waiting for him to speak: "With so much poisonous smoke, how can the Tubo people still survive?" ”

Zhang Wulang took off his helmet and said, "I guess I covered my mouth and nose with a damp cloth, so I can hold up for a while." We can only smoke them for a few more days, I am looking for Xue Lang for this matter, the poisonous fireball is not enough. ”

Xue Chongxun said: "This matter is fine, there are many craftsmen in the army, and I ordered Zhao Siju to hurry up and transport materials from Shancheng to do it temporarily." ”

The battlefield has once again become a construction site, and the back is rushing to make poisonous fireballs, and the dirt hill in front is thrown by catapults, and the catapults work in turns, day and night. At the intersection below the square platform, there are strong bows and crossbows on display to prevent the Tibetans from rushing down from above.

For such a day and a night, not only was the top of the mountain filled with smoke, but even the Tuyuhun soldiers guarding the mountain pass smelled the pungent smell, and some couldn't stand the bleeding from their mouth and nose, and they had to cover their mouths and noses with a damp cloth to support them, but people can't completely filter the poison if they want to breathe, if Xue Chongxun can make activated carbon, it is better to estimate. The Tuyuhun soldiers in the mountain pass had no choice but to evacuate.

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, the stone-throwing truck stopped again. After the wind blew for a day, the Tuyuhun soldiers wrapped their heads and faces with wet cloths and rushed to the top of the mountain again, this time without encountering any resistance at all. After a long time, the generals in front came to report that they had broken through the Stone Castle City.

Most of the Tubo people in the city were poisoned, and the rest hid in a closed stone house and could not organize a defense, and they did not come out until the Tuyuhun soldiers went to the city. The remnants of the Tibetan army were surrounded and all surrendered.

At this point, Shibao City once again fell into the hands of the Tang Army, and for the first time in 60 years, a flag with the name of the Tang Dynasty was planted on the top of the mountain. The Tuyuhun Tang Army allied forces invested nearly 100,000 troops and manpower, and the siege broke the city for two months, killing and wounding more than 200 soldiers and craftsmen, while Tubo was poisoned and captured more than 600 people.

If it weren't for seeing the number of corpse captives with his own eyes, he couldn't believe that more than 600 people here could hold back an army of 100,000. The captives were naturally beheaded, leaving only the general called Iron Blade who defended the city in Tubo alive, and Xue Chongxun planned to escort him back to Chang'an to invite merit.

When he climbed the castle and looked down on the mountains, the rivers and mountains were all in his eyes, and his heart was broad, and he really wanted to sing a song "The scenery of the northern country, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow." Looking at the inside and outside of the Great Wall, only the reckless ......", but this word is anti-poetry at this time, he didn't dare to shout in public, it is worth swallowing the vigorous poetry back into his stomach, and his heart is still a little uncomfortable, just like he is full of strength and has no place to make it.

Yu Wenxiao said on the side: "If it weren't for Xue Lang's poisonous fireball trick, this city would never have been taken at the cost of two hundred casualties. As long as we prepare the war and report it, the first credit should be Xue Lang. ”

Wang Changling also said: "The lord's first merit is naturally indispensable, even if the Tuyuhun people who contribute to their efforts, isn't it also a matter of the lord's contact and peace talks?" In this way, the restoration of the title of prince of the county is just around the corner. ”

"The title is just a floating cloud,......" Xue Chongxun turned his head and waved his hand, signaling the generals and guards who were on guard on the side to avoid. He looked at the endless mountains and sighed, "The whole world is not the king's land, and the place destined for success or failure is still the Daming Palace." ”

Now the Daming Palace is Princess Taiping, and Princess Taiping is Xue Chongxun's mother-in-law, Xue Chongxun's Daming Palace certainly does not refer to this time, but is worried about the situation after Taiping's resignation. Of course, Wang Changling understood the meaning, but he didn't say much about the royal family for a while, so he was silent.

Yuwen Xiao frowned, and the furrow on his face deepened, "What are Xue Lang's plans?" ”

Xue Chongxun pondered for a long time, but finally didn't say it. Yu Wenxiao and Wang Changling both paid attention to his expression, knowing that he had a plan, but they didn't want to say it. It's not easy for the staff to ask about this kind of thing, so they have to guess slowly.

The three of them stood on the top of the city and continued to silently look at the surrounding scenery, the mountains and rivers were undulating, and the rivers were thousands of miles, which was very spectacular. Although it is deserted and desolate, it has a sense of remoteness, but it is very important to play a strategic role.

From now on, the Hexi and Longyou regions will be connected, the security of the Southern Silk Road will inevitably bring frequent trade with Central Asia, and the fertile soil of Longyou will become the granary of the Tang Dynasty...... Before the Tibetan recaptured Shibao City, the troops could no longer reach the Tang stronghold on the right side of Hehuang Longxi; Coupled with the strong fortifications thrown by the Tuyuhun people into the Tang Dynasty and the Jishishan area, the Tubo people basically had no hope on the eastern front.

During the Gaozong period, the famous Tang Dynasty general Xue Rengui was wiped out in Dafeichuan, and the Tang army lost tens of thousands, and the defeat of a war affected the luck of the Tang Dynasty for decades; After the defeat of a war, the Tang Dynasty was passive for a long time on the eastern front battlefield to contain Tibet, and was forced to invest more troops in national defense, which not only affected the economy of the Longyou region, but also continued to consume national strength.

And now the victory of Cheng Qianli and Xue Chongxun in the Longyou region is bound to have a far-reaching impact for decades and centuries. Those with insight in the Tang court must have realized what it meant to win victories in the northwest from the first year to the second year of the Changyuan Dynasty.

Sure enough, the news of the great victory of Shibao City reached Chang'an, and before Xue Chongxun's recital arrived, Chang'an immediately issued an edict, spreading the message that Cheng Qianli and Xue Chongxun, the head of the Fuqi Road march, entered Beijing to face the saint.

Xue Chongxun arranged some personnel in Shanzhou, so that Zhang Wulang would continue to be in charge of the Jiannan Army, and Yu Wenxiao would continue to develop the intelligence network in the northwest. He finally accumulated some strength here, of course, he couldn't give up completely just because he returned to Beijing. G