Tibet

Chapter 772 The Great War Begins

At noon, the mighty Tubo army appeared. At this time, [-] Tang troops were deployed on the city, [-] troops on the east, west, and north of the city, and another [-] troops were waiting below the city.

Li Ye was on the top of the city, watching the massive Tibetan army below the city. They all gathered on the flat north side, with the Yellow River behind them.

According to a square formation of [-] people, there were six large square formations. They wore black helmets, black armor, and black military flags, and were wrapped in thick felt clothes. They had ten rough hair, holding spears or daggers and shields. The [-]-strong army was filled with murderous intent.

Li Ye said to the general behind him: "They didn't bring any baggage. The baggage and food should still be behind them. They must have come from the Yellow River, so they turned their backs to the Yellow River to protect the baggage."

Nan Jiyun asked: "Your Highness, I wonder what the Tubo people used to attack the city?"

Li Ye smiled and said to Gao Xiuyan: "General Gao, you answer this question!"

Gao Xiuyan was Ge Shuhan's confidant general. He led his army to capture the famous Shibao City. He knew the Tibetan army very well.

Gao Xiuyan nodded and said to everyone: "The Tubo army has the same siege weapons as our Tang army, such as siege ladders, which were actually passed from the Tang Dynasty to Tubo. In addition, the Tubo army likes to attack city gates and use siege rams to break open the city gates. , In addition, the Tubo army also has its own heavy siege weapons. The name of Tubo is unknown. We call it flying ladder. It should be based on our ladder, but our ladder has two sections, upper and lower, while Tubo only has one whole section. Comparatively Simple, but practical.”

"Where are the long-range attack weapons?" Lei Wanchun asked.

Gao Xiuyan continued: "The most powerful thing about the Tubo people is flying stones. They are not good at bows and arrows, so they find another way to use flying stones. They tie a leather bag with two ropes, wrap the stones in it and throw them out. Almost everyone in the Tubo army is good at it. , every soldier has a pocket of stones around his waist. They are very strong, can throw them very far and very accurately, and can almost reach a hundred steps. I dare not say that they will hit [-] times, but they will hit nine times out of ten, so the Tubo soldiers are a kind of He held a dagger in his hand and flung flying stones with the other hand. Before the two armies could get close, the flying stones came like raindrops. What the soldiers of the Tang army feared most were their flying stones."

"How are their shields?" Li Baozhen asked.

Li Ye smiled and said, "Everyone will know just by looking at it!"

Li Ye waved his hand, and the soldiers brought up the equipment of the Tibetan soldiers and placed them on the ground, including leather armor, leather helmets, chain mail, spears, daggers, shields and flying ropes.

Xin Yunjing said to everyone: "Chain armor is only equipped by the direct guards of Zanpu and nobles. The city is full of ordinary soldiers without equipment. Most ordinary soldiers wear leather armor."

Lei Wanchun picked up the shield and took a closer look. It was an ordinary wooden shield, covered with a layer of cowhide, with a leather ring nailed to the back as a hand grip. It was very crude.

Lei Wanchun said with a smile: "This kind of shield can block ordinary bows and arrows, but it cannot block heavy crossbows. It is also too small and can only protect vital parts such as the head and chest, but cannot protect the waist and abdomen below."

The generals couldn't help but laugh when they saw the poor equipment.

Li Ye said slowly: "The battle in Chang'an only taught me one thing, underestimating the enemy will lead to defeat. Generals, although the Tibetan army is poorly equipped, it still defeated the Tang army repeatedly. What is terrible is their fighting will, and they will not retreat to the death. In addition, their physical fitness is better than ours, so I ask everyone to pay attention to it and never take it lightly and regard the Tibetan army as our most powerful enemy."

All the generals were solemn and bowed together: "Obey the order!"

In the afternoon, the Tibetan army's baggage team also arrived. The vast team covered the entire ice surface of the Yellow River. Twenty thousand Tibetan soldiers were heavily guarded to prevent the Tang army from attacking the baggage truck from the north bank.

Soon, the Tubo camp was set up two miles away and stretched for ten miles. They were all made of leather tents, thousands of them, and they built simple walls with wood and soil on the outside.

In fact, the Tubo army was not afraid of the Tang army stealing the camp. Sometimes they even wanted it. Their tents were thicker and less likely to catch fire. But once the Tang army came, it would not be so easy to leave.

Li Ye stood at the top of the city and used his clairvoyance to check the enemy's situation. Several major generals also used their own clairvoyance to check.

"Did your Highness see it?" Gao Xiuyan pointed at the river with his clairvoyant hand and said, "The large siege weapons they are transporting are flying ladders."

Li Ye nodded. He had seen this kind of flying ladder before. It was seen in later movies. It looked like a stapler, with a large base and one or two ladders on top. It was filled with soldiers. Use the rope to pull, and the ladder will go directly to the top of the city.

In fact, the most important thing for any siege weapon is to seize the opportunity. Once the opportunity is lost, it is difficult to reverse it. For example, a siege ladder requires a process to climb from bottom to top, and this process is like crossing the Naihe Bridge. It is very difficult. It is difficult to climb to the top of the city.

But if we can seize the opportunity, when the siege weapons are on the top of the city, and the people follow them to attack the top of the city, it will be easier to capture the top of the city. Therefore, the number one weapon for siege is the nest chariot. The second is the ladder, which can reach the city simultaneously.

Although the Tubo flying ladder is simple, it is very practical. It is really a threat to the city, and there are many of them, about twenty.

"Your Highness, this kind of flying ladder also has weaknesses!"

Gao Xiuyan smiled and said: "The weak point is its rope. If the rope breaks, dozens of people on it will be crushed to death."

Li Ye nodded, he knew what was going on.

Ma Chongying walked out of the tent and squinted at the fortified city in front of him. His predecessor, Shang Jiexi, had visited here before, but he had never been. This was the first time he saw Jincheng County.

It can be said that this strong city was what he expected. It was chosen by Li Ye as the center of his rule. First of all, safety was the most important thing, so Ma Chongying knew that Jincheng County was definitely not easy to fight.

But when he actually saw this city with his own eyes, his heart suddenly went cold. This city was as tall and solid as Huangshui County, and it was full of Tang Army soldiers.

You must know that the Tubo army is from the plateau and is good at field battles, but not good at siege warfare. How many soldiers will be left in the end if they attack the city with all their strength?
  Ma Chongying began to regret in his heart, but the arrow was already on the string and he had to shoot.

For three days in a row, the Tubo army did not move. There were serious differences within them. Most of the Tubo generals did not agree with the attack on Jincheng. Almost all of these generals were appointed by various nobles. Relatively speaking, they cherished the lives of soldiers more. If the soldiers The loss was too great and they couldn't explain it to their master when they returned?
  They had no objection before and wanted to capture Jincheng in one fell swoop and seize food, property and population. But now that they saw the majesty of Jincheng County with their own eyes, many generals gave up and began to regret it. Therefore, during the battle deployment, some people proposed that after withdrawing their troops, , all the generals agreed.

But there are generals who are in favor of fighting and have already arrived. Any retreat at this time will only make the world laugh.

Ma Zhongying went against all opinions and said that siege warfare has always been a part of war, even if it is a hard nut, it must be chewed.

Early on the fourth day, the deep sound of war drums sounded in the Tubo camp, "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The camp gate opened wide, and groups of Tibetan troops came out and began to form a large formation on the snowfield. Under the endless white snow, they looked like huge black carpets.

Although Ma Chongying decided to attack the city against all opinions, he could not cover the sky with one hand. He also expressed his position to everyone that the battle would be decisive quickly. Once the city could not be captured, the army would immediately retreat.

"Ugh-"

The low horn sounded, Ma Chongying waved his war sword, and two large phalanxes of [-] people were launched at the same time. The [-]-strong army roared and ran towards the city. They carried the siege ladder, and there were ten huge flying cannons in the team. Ladder, dragged forward by armored yaks.

The siege finally began.

(End of this chapter)