Chapter 463: The Death of Anshi (6)
The sky gradually brightened, first a golden light erupted from the horizon, illuminating the white sky faintly, and then the golden light rose from the ground, and a round of red sun jumped out, rendering the clouds in the sky into a golden one, and the scenery was really gorgeous, however, whether it was the Tang officers and soldiers who were excited because of the great victory in the city, or the Goguryeo defenders on the city who were full of grief and indignation because they saw the blood of their comrades on the battlefield, they had no intention of appreciating such beautiful scenery at this time. They silently confronted each other at a distance of hundreds of zhang, waiting for the aftermath of the new victory, and it was a common thing for soldiers to take advantage of the enemy's slight decline to launch siege warfare, but although the Tang army brigade arrayed under the city waited for a long time, it never received the order to attack, so a big debate on how to attack was being fiercely staged in the big tent of the Tang army.
Zhong Aiqing, last night's battle was so enjoyable, I am happy, and now the enemy is shrinking into the city, what do the ministers have to say about this? The first small setback was followed by a hearty victory, although it failed to realize the strategic idea of taking advantage of the chaos in the project, but it still made Li Shimin in a very good mood, and even took care of the fatigue of a sleepless night, and took advantage of the excitement to convene the generals to discuss the matter of attacking the city.
Your Majesty, the old minister thought that last night's battle, although our army won a big victory, the enemy was especially brave, vainly shouting to the death, this anti-heaven thief Kou will not be severely punished, how can I show the power of the Tang Dynasty, the old minister heard that when the Sui Yang Emperor was defeated, the children of Goguryeo actually humiliated my China with the Beijing view, and now my king is so great, how can I tolerate it rampant, the old minister suggested that he should use his own way to govern his body, and the enemy who was killed last night will be killed last night Kou Zhujingguan to pay tribute, if the enemy is stimulated but not to go out of the city to fight, then our army can take advantage of the situation to break it, if the enemy is a turtle can not be retracted, Its morale will be severely defeated, which is exactly what our army needs to attack the city, and I hope that Your Majesty will make a holy decision. As soon as Li Shimin's words fell, Li Ji, the secretary of the Ministry of War, came out proudly and reported loudly.
Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that what Li Shangshu said is reasonable, and the thieves are rampant, and they dare to offend my Chinese Tianwei, and they should be severely punished!
That's right, the minister also thinks that it should be like this, please Your Majesty Holy Judgment!
Blood for blood, tooth for tooth!
A group of veterans present are all from the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, but most of the veterans who conquered Goguryeo at the beginning of the Sui Yang Emperor have only heard of it, and they do not know the specific battle situation, and it is not clear that Goguryeo dared to make such a crazy move. But his face was also full of indignant anger, but Li Daozong and Su Dingfang were very unimpressed with Li Ji's proposal.
Li Daozong is more calm by nature, although he is disgusted with Li Ji's practice of using one mistake to cover up another mistake, the reason why Li Shimin issued the order to slaughter the city before was the result of Li Ji's dizzy and indiscriminate words, and now he realizes that Li Shimin seems to have some remorse for the original decision, and immediately intensified his efforts to cover up his previous mistakes with greater stimulation, and his intention is just to show that he Li Ji made all kinds of radical actions out of anger against Goguryeo's atrocities. However, it is clear that Li Daozong did not want to openly contradict Li Ji, and secondly, it was also for the consideration that he would not be unnecessarily interfered with by Li Ji when he made his own suggestions in the next step, so although Li Daozong was aware of Li Ji's dark intentions, he still remained silent and did not stand up to refute it.
Li Daozong was able to endure it because of other intentions, but Su Dingfang couldn't bear it anymore, and without waiting for Li Shimin to make a statement, he immediately stood up and said: Your Majesty, the old minister thinks that Li Shangshu's words are really inappropriate, and the barbarism and rudeness of Goguryeo are the root cause for my Tang Dynasty to send troops to punish it.
Su Dingfang said impassionedly, pointing to the absurdity of Li Ji's strategy, and Li Ji's eyelids jumped when he heard it, but Li Ji was able to calm down and did not stand up to refute it, but glanced at Su Dingfang meaningfully, and then lowered his eyebrows and did not say anything, but unexpectedly, Cheng Biting Jin did not do Lao Cheng Comrade is a big killer, and he likes to do those killing things by nature, and he has always been at odds with Su Dingfang.
Although Su Dingfang's temper is better than Cheng Bitingjin, he is not a good stubble, and he has been fighting with Cheng Biting Jin in the past, and when he saw Cheng Biting Jin buttoning such a big hat to his head, how could he still bear it, and glared at Cheng Biting Jin angrily: Ridiculous, a certain is a minister of the Tang Dynasty, how can he be an enemy, if you can't come up with evidence, you have to sit back!
Helping the Goguryeo dog thief speak, he is an enemy! Cheng Biting Jin is a character who is used to messing around, how can he show weakness in language, and retorted unceremoniously.
You, nonsense, unreasonable! Su Dingfang was born in a family of eunuchs, although he has been in the military for a long time, he has not been contaminated with the vulgar nature of too many military people, and seeing that Cheng Biting Jin played that old trick again, he was furious, and pointed at Cheng Biting Jin and reprimanded him angrily.
You're bullshit, bullshit!
You dare to scold the old man!
Yes, these two brothers are pinched, and a military meeting is about to be completed, and the old man's face immediately became a little unsightly, but he didn't have a seizure, but laughed and said: Why, have you forgotten that you must not be rude in front of the king, huh?
Although the old man said this with a smile, the dissatisfaction in his voice was very strong, although Cheng and Su were both angry, but they still knew that the old man was still sitting on it, and after each glanced at each other angrily, he bowed down and asked for sin: Your Majesty, the ministers are rude, it is against the way of the courtiers, please punish Your Majesty.
That's it. Li Shimin didn't want to dwell on this matter, so he waved his hand and said: I said, Po'an City, should be slaughtered, this order will never be changed, come to someone, pass on the order, and immediately build the Jingguan of the Goguryeo thief who was killed yesterday to deter the enemy!
Since Li Shimin opened Chrysostom, even if Su Dingfang was not convinced in his heart, at this time, he couldn't say anything more, and in desperation, he had to retreat to the side silently, and Li Ji, Cheng Biting Jin and others were happy, although in front of Li Shimin, they didn't dare to say anything to ridicule Su Dingfang's ignorance, but their faces showed happy looks.
Being so troubled by Su Dingfang and Cheng Biting Jin, Li Shimin's good mood was somewhat affected, and after being silent for a while, he said calmly: In terms of the way to attack the city, what do you think about it, I just listen to it.
Your Majesty, our army is newly victorious, morale is booming, and we are outnumbered, we should rush to capture the city, and the last general will take the lead in attacking the city! As soon as Li Shimin's voice fell, Zhang Junyi, the head of the march of Liaodong Road, immediately stood up and asked for his life.
As soon as Zhang Junyi's words fell, Ashina Sheer also stood up, bowed and saluted: Your Majesty, what Chief Manager Zhang said is very true, and the last general is also willing to lead his troops to rush to the city!
Your Majesty, although our army is newly victorious, morale is sharp, but the siege of the city is not complete, blind siege, in vain damage to the soldiers, especially not enough, according to the last general, when the first repair of the oar, with equipment, the party is right, and my left army Li Daliang is not far from Anshi, within ten days will be able to come to rendezvous, then, our army is ready, the army is gathered, a battle can break through the city directly, the victory can be expected, this will be foolish, hope that Your Majesty will cut it. When it comes to building a view of Beijing, Cheng Mingzhen is happy to see it happen, but when it comes to attacking the city immediately, he doesn't think so.
Cheng Mingzhen's words are right, most of the veterans are experienced in battle, and they know it in their hearts, but in the case of not knowing the holy will, the veterans are not in a hurry to echo Cheng Mingzhen's proposal, only Cheng bit his golden eyes and stood up again: Your Majesty, when the minister heard that His Royal Highness the Prince was in the Western Regions, he had let people study the siege tools, which seemed to be quite effective.
Although Cheng Yanjin did not claim that he was a figure of the prince's family, it is an indisputable fact that the relationship between him and Li Zhen is harmonious, and he often says good things for Li Zhen, in the eyes of the ministers, his old Comrade Cheng has long been wearing the same pants as Li Zhen, and at this time Li Zhen's banner was carried out, even if the generals have any opinions, it is not easy to express their opposition clearly, as for Li Shimin himself, although he is slightly unhappy, but his curiosity is hung up, and after a little silence, he nodded and said: Okay, Then send the artisan steward to come and see him.
Weichen Luo Zhengsheng knocked to see His Majesty. Soon after Liu Donghe received the order, a man dressed in the clothes of a low-level official followed Liu Donghe into the big tent, and when he saw Li Shimin's face, he immediately knelt on the ground, not even daring to raise his head, and his body was trembling slightly.
As soon as he saw this person's frightened appearance, Li Shimin was slightly unhappy in his heart, but he didn't show it, but said with a smile: Luo Aiqing is flat, I heard that Er was one of the leaders of craftsmen in Anxi in the past, and he has studied the way of equipment, and now my army is about to attack the city, do you have a good solution?
Li Shimin's words are actually just a question, in fact, he didn't have much hope in his heart, but when Luo Zhengsheng talked about the siege equipment, the whole person completely changed, and the old man's voice just fell, Luo Zhengsheng couldn't wait to speak: If Your Majesty wants to attack the city, Weichen has several things that can work wonders, one of which is a ballista, with stone as a bullet, the heavy one can reach more than 100 catties, and the light one can also fire dozens of catties, with a range of about 250 steps, but it is more difficult to get accurate, however, if hundreds of ballistas are fired in unisonThere is no one on the head of the city to stand on the cone; The second is a giant ballista, with a special iron arrow as the arrow, weighing about 200 catties, excited by the power of the spring, with a range of more than 200 steps, to break the city gate, when there is a miraculous effect; The third is the fire oil bomb, fired with a ballista, can ignite the fire of the sky, water can not be extinguished, no wood can also be burned, to shoot into the city, when the fire can be ignited, if it coincides with a windy day, the fire borrows the wind, the enemy does not attack and is chaotic, but this thing is not easy to make, transportation is also difficult, Wei Chen came this time, only brought four, I am afraid it will come in handy, I can only give it a try; The fourth is the sky crane, this car is made of wood, wrapped in raw cowhide, can prevent the attack of rockets, about ten zhang high, there is a platform, can accommodate ten soldiers, there are eight big wheels under the car, with ten horses to drive it, it can be pasted on the city head from far and near, the siege of the city can go up the city along the ladder, its effect is much higher than the cloud ladder a hundred times.
Li Shimin, who originally listened to the delusion, didn't expect that this inconspicuous little person in front of him would speak so well, and he was interested, and when Luo Zhengsheng's voice fell, Li Shimin asked with great interest: How long will it take for Luo Aiqing to prepare?
As soon as he saw that Li Shimin was interested in his report, Luo Zhengsheng was even more energetic, and he gestured with a red face and explained: If you return to Your Majesty, if the objects are rebuilt, it will take at least half a year, however, Wei Chen came to the edict this time, and the number of various machine springs with the army is as follows: 200 sets of ballista machine springs, if there are enough manpower and assemble into a device, it will take about half a month, and one hundred and forty ballistas can be formed, and the remaining machine springs are accessories for replacing damaged ones, and there are 30 sets of ballista machine springs, The time required to assemble the device is also more than half a month, can form a ballista fifteen taels, the remainder is also a spare part, four oil bombs for the existing things, ready to use, as for the crane, not the power of the spring to start, only rivets, angle iron and other things, most of the parts have to be rebuilt, it takes a long time, if you want to be the main force of the siege, you must have more than ten vehicles at the same time, to have an effect, if so, not more than two months can not be completed.
Luo Zhengsheng said vigorously, but he didn't notice that Li Shimin's brows had inadvertently wrinkled slightly, of course, it was not that he was dissatisfied with what Luo Zhengsheng said, on the contrary, if what Luo Zhengsheng said was true, it would be a great help to the old man, as for half a month, Li Shimin could still afford to wait, but a question quietly popped up in Li Shimin's heart, how did Li Zhen come up with so many things, and how many of them did he not grasp? Of course, doubts are doubts, and it is impossible for Li Shimin to show the doubts in his heart in front of the generals at such a moment, so as soon as Luo Zhengsheng's voice fell, Li Shimin said with a smile: Okay, in this case, I will give you half a month's time, and the manpower will also be transferred by you, and I will see the results in half a month.
Your Majesty is wise, but everything can be solved, but it may be difficult for the heavenly car to be completed on time, and Wei Chen really does not dare to bully the king. As soon as Luo Zhengsheng heard that the old man agreed to supervise the manufacture of all kinds of utensils by himself, he was in ecstasy, but he quickly calmed down and replied respectfully.
Li Shimin said that he was very yearning for the crane, but he didn't want to stay in the city of Anshi for two months, and when he heard Luo Zhengsheng say that the crane could not be completed on time, he no longer insisted, and waved his hand with a smile: If this thing is too late, then it will not be made, and the rest of the things can be rectified.
Thank you, Your Majesty, Weichen retired. As soon as the old man Chrysostom opened, Luo Zhengsheng didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly answered, hurriedly withdrew from the Chinese army's big account, and went to arrange relevant plans without mentioning it.
Zhu Aiqing, since it will take time to manufacture the utensils, it will be better to attack the city in half a month, and Zhu Aiqing will go with me to take a look at Jingguan. After Luo Zhengsheng retreated, Li Shimin had no intention of deciding on the siege of the city, got up with a smile, strode out of the big tent of the Chinese army, and walked in front of the army under the city surrounded by a large group of generals
Jingguan is also called the martial army, that is, the corpses of the enemy are piled on both sides of the road, covered with soil and tamped, forming a pyramid-shaped mound, in order to show off their own strength, it has been since ancient times, cruel and barbaric, it is not a very benevolent and righteous act, of course, the reason why Li Shimin agreed to build Jingguan is not because of his penchant for violence, nor is it like Cheng Biting Jin to fight for a tooth, but to stimulate the Goguryeo defenders to fight, to put it bluntly, in fact, it is only because Li Shimin is still unwilling to give up the idea of quick victory, Faintly hoping that the Goguryeo defenders at the head of the city would be unable to hold their breath and fight the Tang army.
In the first battle last night, the 5,000 Goguryeo officers and soldiers who went out of the city to attack at night, except for a very small number of them scattered into the dense forest, which was considered to have escaped, the vast majority of them died unexpectedly, and the Tang army who was ordered to slaughter the city of Anshi did not leave a prisoner at all. The appearance of an ugly head facing the city was so miserable that the defenders at the head of the city were extremely angry, and everyone gritted their teeth and shouted angrily.
General Gao, let's attack, we will swear not to stand with the Tang Army!
General Gao, you just give the order, and I will die to recapture the remains of the major general!
General, kill!
The angry Goguryeo generals at the head of the city surrounded Gao Huailong, who was pale, in the center, shouting and shouting, all of them wanted to fight, everyone shouted to kill, and for a while the sound of the battle above the city became one, but Gao Huailong never said a word, just stared at the place of Jingguan with his eyes erupting.
Seeing the loud voice of the soldiers of the whole army begging for battle, Yang Wanchun, who had already rushed to the city after hearing the news, looked at Gao Huailong worriedly, although he wanted to persuade him, but when he remembered that last night's defeat was due to his own plan in the final analysis, his heart was full of feelings, and he didn't know what to say for a while, but Yang Wanchun knew very well that the purpose of the Tang army's move was to provoke the defenders to open the city to meet the battle, if it lost the cover of the city wall, the Goguryeo army, which was originally inferior in strength and combat power, could not see a trace of hope of victory at all, in view of this, Although he was full of guilt, but at the end, Yang Wanchun still squeezed into the crowd, looked at Gao Huailong with an apologetic face and said: General Gao, the mourning of the young general is Yang's fault, if General Gao is angry, Yang will deal with it with General Gao, but Yang thinks that Tang Jun's move is deliberately to provoke our army, and General Gao must not open the city to meet the enemy.
The pain of losing a child, the pain of the heart and lungs, and the shame of Jingguan made Gao Huailong ashamed and indignant, as a man, how could he suffer such a great humiliation! However, Gao Huailong is not a reckless man, he has already seen through the Tang Army's obvious intentions, and he didn't need Yang Wanchun to mention it, but he understood that the depression and anger in his heart were still inevitable, and the reason why he didn't say a word before was to suppress the impulse in his heart, and when he saw Yang Wanchun say this, Gao Huailong shook his head silently, took a deep breath, looked around at the surrounding generals, and ordered loudly: The whole army listens to the order, closes the city gate, and those who dare to go out of the city without permission will be killed! As soon as the words fell, he no longer paid attention to the stunned generals, and slowly walked down the city gate, although the pace was still steady, but the back was extremely gloomy and lonely
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