Let's take a look back at the situation on the rebel side, as judged by the defenders of Luoyang, for this siege, Yang Xuangan rebel team is indeed inevitable, learned the lessons of the previous sieges, and in order to make up for the weakness of the number of bows and arrows, in the preparation time of up to nine days, the rebel team used tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers and civilians to cut down the wood, day and night to make all kinds of siege weapons, with the mind of sharpening the knife and not cutting wood, frantically preparing a siege equipment that can be prepared, The trebuchet, which has extremely high requirements for the strength of the wood, was built by the rebels into sixty-four frames, and the two big nanmu that were finally collected were also ordered by Yang Xuangan to be made into a hook car, which was directly used to deal with and destroy the city wall of the eastern capital! As for the other siege equipment, there are thousands of them!

In addition, in order to boost morale and fighting spirit, Yang Xuangan also issued a heavy reward, promising that once the eastern capital Luoyang was attacked, all the gold, silver and jewelry in the Luoyang Imperial City would be rewarded to the rebel teams participating in the ant-attached siege! The silver money and cloth confiscated from the homes of Luoyang civil and military officials were all rewarded to other rebel auxiliary teams, and Yang Xuan felt that he didn't want a penny!

As introduced earlier, the old general Li Zixiong, who was eager to regain face, also made great efforts to arrange siege tactics this time, and no longer despised the tactical command ability of Pei Hongce, the chief general of the Shangchun Gate defenders, and used his rich experience in his forty years of military career to arrange one insidious trap after another for the defenders in response to the last defense tactics of 'Pei Hongce', so as to consume the defenders' body and materials for defending the city, and lay a solid foundation for success in the final fatal blow.

The inexperienced commander of the garrison did fall for General Li's mistake, wasting a large number of valuable rockets that were not easy to manufacture on meaningless targets, and even if the ladder cart made of willow and wood leaned against the city wall, it actually did not play much role - the wood was too brittle and broke when stepped on, and was deliberately pushed to the front by General Li's order, but successfully induced the defender archers to concentrate a large number of rockets on these cannon fodder ladder carts, which not only consumed the defenders' materials, but also reduced the pressure on the besieging party.

The sudden use of the trench bridge car also killed the defender commander by surprise, before the rebels had used the shrimp toad car to fill the moat more than a mile long in the northern section of Shangchun Gate, the focus of the siege battle was also in this position, General Li Lao expected that the commander of the defenders who did not have many troops in his hands would inevitably hoard heavy troops here, and also deliberately stormed the northern section of Shangchun Gate in the first three rounds of siege battles, luring and forcing the defender commander to continue to add troops to this position, and rotate the tired team to rest in other wall sections, It was only after the sky had consumed a large number of the black defenders' body that General Li suddenly resorted to the tactics of trench bridge vehicles and stormed the southern section of Shangchun Gate, which had been relatively safe before, not giving the defenders a chance to continue to rotate and rest, and continued to expand the rotation advantage of the rebels with sufficient troops.

Under the command of the most correct tactics, and also under the cover and help of a large number of siege weapons, General Li sent a number of more than 12,000 rebel troops to take turns to attack the city, but still failed to capture even a piece of the city's head position. It was still firmly held back by the defenders and never made a breakthrough.

But it doesn't matter, General Li is still full of confidence in the final victory, because General Li can see that the defenders on the city wall are obviously tired and hungry, and the bows and arrows cast are obviously less and closer, as well as the southern section of Shangchun Gate that was suddenly attacked, and the defenders on the city wall who have just rotated down to rest have also begun to panic, if it weren't for those disgusting white-robed soldiers who came to reinforce in time, the rebel team would probably have opened a gap in the southern section. In view of these circumstances, General Li firmly believes that he will definitely be able to break through this damned Luoyang City, and he will definitely be able to save face here.

Before it was dark, many rebel generals had already run to Yang Xuangan and Old General Li, either cautiously begging, or crying and begging with a sad face, "Duke Chu, the casualties of the soldiers are too great, and it is not okay to continue to fight like this, do you want to reconsider the siege tactics, such a siege is simply a pile of human lives." ”

General Li Lao is indeed taking human lives, and the casualties of the rebel team are indeed huge, from two hundred steps outside the city to the land under the city wall, the bodies of the rebel soldiers have been lying all over the body, and the scene under the city wall is even more miserable, the corpses of the incomplete rebel soldiers are stacked layer by layer, and they have been stacked more than half a person high, and the blood has soaked the land under the city, and it has begun to merge into a small stream and flow slowly.

Fortunately for General Li, his only boss, the rebel commander Yang Xuangan, is a resolute character who will not give up, although there have been rebel generals who have shed tears and pleaded in front of Yang Xuangan, and Yang Xuangan, who has a blue face, only replied with one sentence, "Fight!" Keep playing! No matter how big the casualties are, we must continue to attack the city! Those who take a step back will be punished immediately! Stick to it, we will definitely be able to take the eastern capital Luoyang! ”

Three reasons determined that Yang Xuangan could not give up, the first was of course the deep blood feud with the defenders of the Eastern Capital, as well as the bitter hatred of Fan Zigai and Chen Yingliang; The second is that Yang Xuangan has no time, calculating the distance, the main force of the Sui army returning from the Liaodong battlefield will soon arrive at the Luoyang battlefield, and Yang Xuangan has no time to prepare for a second siege battle of this scale; The third reason was simpler, Yang Xuangan had to attract the attention of the defenders with a strong attack, and create an opportunity for the Ma Kou brothers, who had volunteered to take on the role of their brother-in-law as hostages, to give them the opportunity to burn down the Luoyang granary and open the city gates from the inside.

There is another point, Yang Xuangan does not have to care about casualties, Tuo Xiong is a little bit but does not know the blessing of Emperor Yang of Sui, who is sympathetic to the people, no matter how large the casualties of the rebel team are, it is just a meaningless number in front of Yang Xuangan, Yang Xuangan firmly believes that as long as he can break through Luoyang and enter the Eastern Capital, then the defenders in Luoyang City will definitely surrender to him in groups, and the people who live in the city and cannot go out of the city will definitely join their own team in thousands, and they will die a soldier in the siege battle today, You can add five more when you enter the city! And even more!

The sky is finally dark, and the all-out attack of the rebel team has been completely launched, with the city gate of Shangchun Gate as the center, the attack surface of the rebel team has extended from the bank of the Luoshui River to the corner of the city wall, and there are killing sounds everywhere, torches are shaking everywhere, and the blazing siege weapons will reflect half of the sky in red, and the rebel team attached to the siege of the city has also become a group of real ants, constantly charging and crawling towards the city, and constantly falling under the city, repeatedly.

Despite the fierce offensive of the proud army, Yang Xuangan and General Li were inevitably gradually anxious, because with the passage of time, the casualties of the rebel team not only continued to expand, but the morale and morale of the rebel team inevitably gradually declined. Those white-robed soldiers who are extremely annoying are still filling in the gaps again and again, helping the friendly team to stabilize the defense line again and again.

At the same time, General Li, who has the most experience in the battlefield, also began to find that something was wrong, the defenders who should have been exhausted to the extreme, and I don't know why, there were signs of morale getting higher and higher, and the old General Li, who was not cloudy and deaf, even faintly heard the cheers in the defenders, and at the same time, the old General Li did not find that the defenders had signs of reinforcements rushing to the city wall for reinforcements, and the old General Li, who was familiar with the military, suddenly felt that something was not right. I know that today's battle is going to be even more difficult.

Sure enough, as time passed, the defenders who should have been exhausted really became more and more courageous, not only completely stabilized the position at the head of the city that showed signs of chaos, but also knocked out a large number of rebel ladders in one go, and at the same time threw out a large amount of precious fire oil without hesitation, as if they only planned to hold this time, wantonly set fire to the enemy, and no longer considered how to deal with the rebels' siege next time, and the fire under the city wall was soon ignited, burning into a sea of fire, The rebel soldiers cried and cried for help in the sea of fire, and the rebel soldiers who were splashed with fire oil also turned into fire people, rolling in the fire with fire all over their bodies for help, and the terrible screams resounded in the sky.

"What's going on?" Yang Xuangan also sensed that the situation was not good, and said with a shocked face: "How did the officers and soldiers stabilize again? Coming to the reserves? Didn't you see the reserve of the official army going to the city? ”

No one could answer Yang Xuangan's question, and General Li's face sank like water, and he suddenly shouted: "That Ma Kou and brother, why don't you do it yet?" The old man has already created such a good opportunity for them, why don't they do it? ”

There was still no one who could answer General Li's question, but Yang Xuangan was reminded by General Li, and immediately shouted: "Come on, send a fast horse back to Kim Yong City, and ask Li Mi to send someone to escort that Huang Youwei here, Ben Zhuguo wants to ask him personally, why hasn't his brother-in-law Ma Kou done it yet?" ”

"Duke Chu, there is no need to send someone to give an order, I am already here."

A familiar voice suddenly came, and in the light of the shaking torches, Li Mi, who should have stayed in the camp of Kim Yong Cheng, staggered slowly, and slowly walked in front of Yang Xuangan and General Li Lao, Yang Xuangan was taken aback and blurted out: "Li Mi? What are you doing here? Why don't you stay at the camp in Kim Yong City, what are you doing here? ”

It was very dark, Li Mi's little black face was darker than the dark night sky, and he arched his hand with a painful expression, and said: "Duke Chu forgives the sin, there are 100,000 urgent military affairs, and I must show you face to face, so I came." ”

"What 100,000 urgent military intelligence? Say it! Yang Xuangan hurriedly said.

Li Mi looked embarrassed, looked left and right, and then arched his hand and said, "Duke Chu, please take a step to speak, and I will report to you alone." ”

Li Mi, who was lucky enough to escape from Captain Chen's butcher's knife, used up his luck, but at this time, there was another scream and shout from the front, and the rebel ant team that could not resist the defenders' counterattack suddenly collapsed on the whole line, and the upper and lower levels threw down the siege weapons and fled backwards, and the rebel team tried their best to stop it, but it had little effect, and there was a possibility of being defeated in a blink of an eye. Seeing this scene, Yang Xuangan was of course furious, in addition to ordering the third brother Yang Wanshuo to lead the army to kill the deserters and force them to step forward again, he roared at Li Mi: "Less nonsense! What is the military situation, report it in person! ”

"Chu Gong, don't you regret it?" Li Mi cried, and said: "I advise you again, it's best to keep this matter secret for the time being, Chu Gong, it's better for you to listen to my report alone!" ”

"I don't need to!" Yang Xuan roared angrily, "Don't be afraid if the sky falls, report it to your face!" It was Yang Guang's tyrant who brought back the main force of Liaodong and ...... Benzhu in person. ”

roared here, Yang Xuangan suddenly stopped, his face was suddenly as pale as paper, and the rebel generals next to him were also pale, and General Li also jumped up violently and exclaimed, "So fast? How can it be? True or fake? ”

"I hope it's fake, too." Li Mi shook his head painfully and said, "It's a pity, our scouts have repeatedly confirmed, three hours ago, Qu Tutong, the lackey of the tyrant Yang Guang, led the main force of the Right Wuhou under his command, and had arrived at Heyang City in the north of Luoyang, which was less than fifty miles away from Luoyang City. ”

Bang, Yang Xuangan sat back in the handsome chair, the rebel generals next to him were all colorless, the old general Li Zixiong was also pale, after standing for a long time, the old general Li suddenly gave up his hand to Yang Xuangan and yelled: "Duke Chu, we still have time, we still have a little time, Qu Tutong just arrived in Heyang, if you want to reinforce Luoyang, you must first cross the Yellow River!" We can also break through Luoyang first, and then go back to fortify along the river to prevent Qu Tutong from crossing the river! ”

Just like the person who fell into the water grabbed the last straw, Yang Xuangan, who was already completely desperate, jumped up again and yelled: "Beat the drum!" Beat the drums! The whole army is attacking! Before dawn, you must take Luoyang City for me! ”

"Chu Gong, it's too late!" Li Mi stopped with a crying voice: "The news of Qu Tutong's arrival in Heyang may have already reached Luoyang City, at least it will soon be transmitted to Luoyang City!" At this time, we will only encounter stubborn resistance from the defenders of the Eastern Capital, and increase casualties in vain! ”

"Get out of the way!"

Yang Xuangan pushed Li Mi away, rushed to the front and yelled loudly, ordering a full-scale general attack! Li Mi was in a hurry, and hurriedly knelt down on Yang Xuangan's knees, hugged Yang Xuangan's thighs and cried: "Duke Chu, don't die and struggle, don't let the soldiers sacrifice, it's useless!" It's useless! Let's not say that we have no hope of breaking through Luoyang City, even if we break the outer city, Fan Zigai's old puppet still has an imperial city to defend! The Imperial City is stronger and more difficult to attack than the outer city! Duke Chu, I beg you, retire ......! ”

"Get out of here!"

Yang Xuangan kicked Li Mi away, insisted on giving the order for a general attack, and even kicked and beat the generals present to lead the army to attack the city, and the old general Li was also sweating profusely to cheer for the rebel generals, persuading everyone to fight to the death, use the last time to take Luoyang, and then return to the division to deal with the Qu Tutong team that had not yet had time to cross the Yellow River - no matter how confident General Li is, he is not so confident that he can lead Yang Xuangan's group of rabble to defeat the elite of the Zuo Xiaowei tiger and wolf under Qu Tutong. I only dare to dream of resisting with the Yellow River.

If the war continues, the main force is exhausted in the siege battle, and the morale and military spirit are exhausted, and Yang Xuangan's rebels are basically destined to be completely wiped out on the battlefield of Luoyang, but at this critical moment that determines the fate and future of the rebel army, Li Mi, the outstanding leader of the peasant rebel army, decided to try again, struggled to stand up, walked to Li Zixiong, who was already sweating profusely, bowed his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Old general, please take a step to speak, the younger generation has a few heartfelt words, I want to talk to you alone." ”

"Master, when is it? What else do you have to say? General Li wiped his sweat and said: "What do you have to say, wait until we take Luoyang City first, now I want to help Duke Chu transfer troops, I don't have time." ”

"It won't take up too much of your time." Li Mi insisted: "Old general, as long as it takes a moment, the juniors can vouch for it, and you will definitely not regret listening to the juniors' heartfelt words." ”

Looking at Li Mi's solemn expression, and seeing that all the rebel generals had already gone down to lead the siege of the city according to the order, General Li pursed his lips and nodded. At that moment, Li Zixiong and Li Mi strode to the side together, found a no-man's place to stand, and then Li Zixiong said: "Master, if you have something to say, just say it, we really don't have much time." ”

"Old general, the juniors must first state one thing, the juniors really have never hated you." Li Mi said sincerely: "Although you have taken away the position of military advisor from the juniors, the juniors really don't care, and the juniors are willing to assist you." ”

The old general Li Zixiong's expression was a little embarrassed, and he couldn't find anything to answer Li Mi for a while, Li Mi pointed to the Shangchun Gate in the distance and said: "Old general, the juniors still want to tell you one thing, the Chen Yingliang thief in the city of Shangchunmen, he and the juniors are all the way, they are people who only care about the purpose and don't care about the treatment of the position, according to the prisoner's confession, the thief Chen Yingliang has been a non-grade Henan Zanzhi Mansion Record Office until now, but this thief has never cared about official status, just desperately worked for the tyrant Yang Guang, Charging in front and retreating in the rear, it took only thirteen days to miraculously train a group of recruits into elite dead soldiers. ”

"The junior and Chen Yingliang are all the way." Li Mi said to himself a little: "Chen Yingliang's thief is desperate to give his life to the tyrant Yang Guang, I am desperate to serve the Duke of Chu, and assist the Duke of Chu to overthrow the tyrant and establish a peaceful and prosperous world." Therefore, whether you believe it or not, the younger generation really didn't hate you, even if the younger generation guessed that he was demoted and squeezed out of the Chinese army account of the Duke of Chu, it is likely to be related to the old general, and the younger generation has never hated you, because your purpose is the same as that of the younger generation, you want to assist the Duke of Chu to overthrow the tyrant, I am a junior and I don't mind being your deputy. ”

General Li, who was a little sorry for his character, blushed a little and said embarrassedly: "Master, how can you think so?" What exactly are you trying to say? We're running out of time, so let's just say it if we have anything to say. ”

"We're running out of time." Li Mi nodded, and suddenly asked, "Old general, your reputation should be hundreds of times greater than that of your juniors, right?" The former right Wuhou general, who was personally praised by the tyrant Yang Guang as the reincarnation of Zhuge , in this world, I'm afraid there are not many people who don't know you, right? ”

"Master, what exactly do you want to say?" Old General Li was even more confused, and he didn't understand what medicine was sold in Li Mi's gourd.

"What the juniors want to say is that once Duke Chu is defeated, you will not be the first to escape!" Li Mitu saw the dagger and said in a low voice: "Once the Duke of Chu is defeated, the younger generation can run, because I am a junior and have no reputation, not many people in the world know me, I have no choice but to change my name incognito temporarily, and there is a chance to make a comeback, and the tyrant Yang Guang and the imperial court will not pay too much attention to me, an unknown junior!" ”

"But, old general, you can't run away no matter what!" Li Mi whispered viciously: "Because your reputation is too great, there are too many people in this world who know you!" Even if you have fled to the ends of the earth, the tyrant Yang Guang and his accomplices and lackeys will also chase you to the ends of the earth, capture you with a thousand knives, and execute you with a thousand knives! No matter how incognito you are, no matter how disguised you are, sooner or later you will be found out by people who know you! Now you and Chu Gong are grasshoppers on the same rope, if Chu Gong dies, you will die! Chu Gong lived, you can live! ”

The old general Li Zixiong's old face began to turn white again, and he was completely moved by Li Mi's words, Li Mi observed his words, and said in a low voice: "Old general, you should know very well, how can Duke Chu have the best hope of surviving now, as you said, our time is running out, if you don't stop Duke Chu from wasting time in vain, and don't persuade Duke Chu to go west immediately to attack the land of Sanfu, which is currently in a state of emptiness, then you, like Duke Chu, will die!" ”

"Old general, the younger generation has finished speaking, I wish to live and die, please ask the old general to make his own decision." Throwing down this sentence, Li Mi strode away, leaving the old general Li Zixiong in the same place to continue to be pale and tremble quietly.

I don't know how long it took, the old general Li Zixiong suddenly strode in front of Yang Xuangan, and in front of Yang Xuangan, he was talking with his hands and hands, and he didn't know how long it was, and he didn't know how much saliva the famous old general Li Zixiong wasted, Yang Xuangan finally pulled out the sword at his waist, roared with a sword to smash the handsome chair next to him, and roared hysterically, "Mingjin!" Collect the troops and return to the camp! Siege weapons, throw them all at me! Don't! ”

Hearing this, Li Michang breathed a sigh of relief, looked up to the sky and sighed softly, "We, there is still hope." ”

Before he could say anything, two crystal tears had quietly seeped out of the corners of Li Mi's eyes............

On the evening of July 20, the ninth year of the Great Sui Dynasty, Qu Tutong, the famous general of the Great Sui Dynasty, Qu Tutong, first led the main force under his command to take the lead in returning to the edge of the Luoyang battlefield, garrisoning Heyang City on the north bank of the Yellow River, and began to arrange to cross the river to rescue Luoyang City. Upon learning of this news, Yang Xuangan, who was attacking Luoyang City overnight, was forced to order the retreat of his troops, threw down all the siege equipment and hurriedly retreated to the camp of Kim Yong City.