The entire city wall of the two miles on both sides of the city tower has almost become a forbidden area for death. The soldiers and horses defending the city here did not dare to rise at all, except for tightly curled up under the battlements and curled up on the side of the stone wall. But even so, the stone storm and the thunderbolts that exploded everywhere took a heavy toll on the planet. Fortunately, when Shi Siming occupied Chang'an, he carried out a huge upgrade of Chang'an's city defense, and built tall and strong battlement walls on the city wall, as well as many tall stone arrow tower fortresses. At this moment, these facilities ensured that the defenders at the head of the city were not completely exposed to attack.

The suffocating bombing attack finally subsided after half an hour. It's not that Li Heng and others are willing to stop, Li Heng and others can't wait to bomb like this for three days and three nights. But the siege equipment began to damage in large quantities, because they all had a launch life. In addition, when the stones were exhausted and there were less than a thousand thunderbolts left, Li Heng felt that it seemed that he could only stop there.

But this bombing actually seems to be enough in the eyes of Li Heng and others. Tens of thousands of infantry had already lined up in a phalanx of the charge, within three or four hundred paces of the city walls. When the bombardment stopped, the heaviest hand-to-hand fighting began.

The 30,000 infantry were divided into three soldiers and horses, left, center, and right, with 2,000 people as a phalanx, and began a large-scale attack on the west city of Chang'an. The good news is that in the previous large-scale bombing, most of the moat in Xicheng was filled, and it was almost possible to cross the river directly by stepping on the stones sunk into the river, saving the link of building a pontoon bridge. But the bad news was that when they came within a hundred paces of the city, they found that the previous bombardment had not destroyed the defenders at the head of the city. After entering the firing range, bows and arrows rained down on the tall city walls and dozens of arrow towers, giving the besieging soldiers and horses a taste of ten thousand arrows and nowhere to hide.

After paying thousands of casualties, the two phalanxes on the left flank, located north of the Jinguang Gate in the eastern city of Chang'an, rushed to the dead end of the bow and arrow under the city. Numerous ladders were erected high, and the soldiers began to climb up the ladders and began to attack the city. Li Heng, who saw this, was overjoyed, he knew that once he could rush to the city and start attacking the city, it would mean that the defenders at the head of the city could no longer concentrate on shooting their own army with bows and arrows.

Sure enough, just as Li Heng thought, after the left wing broke through, the south side of Jinguang City was also broken through. After the meal, the soldiers and horses attacking the city gate also broke through the dense rain of arrows on the city tower. Three rushing trucks also successfully approached the city gate. The loud rumble of the city gates was already ringing on the battlefield. Moreover, as I knew beforehand, the defenders in Chang'an City are indeed very limited, and the number will definitely not exceed 30,000.

The siege battle was carried out extremely tragically, and the dense siege soldiers and horses were like dumplings, and they were pulled down by the defenders of the city head one by one. Under the scorching sun, the soldiers in armor were panting as if they were fighting for their lives. Arrows, stones, boiling water, and even the corpses of dead people were thrown down from the city, and the crusading soldiers who crowded under the city suffered numerous casualties. The battlefield was filled with the stench of decay, and the corpses of the dead would begin to rot and swell in the hot heat even after a short while, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The soldiers defending the city fought very orderly under the leadership of Li Guangbi, and in the face of the siege soldiers and horses like ants in the tide, they did not panic, and only implemented the means of defending the city arranged in advance one by one. Crossbow on the arrow tower. The archers continued to rain arrows at the city, and the soldiers on the city wall kept pushing the ladder away from the city wall with their long forks, causing the ladder and the siege soldiers above to fall from the sky. The boiling hot water and hot oil from the huge iron pot were splashed down by the pot. Every pot of hot oil made dozens of soldiers in the city peel their flesh. Every log was thrown down the city wall, and the screams of more than a dozen soldiers were crushed and broken. I don't know how many battles Li Guangbi has experienced, and although he has also experienced fiascos, he has seen too many big scenes, and he is not panicked at all.

After suffering heavy casualties, the besieging soldiers finally broke through the defenses of the city walls in the early afternoon. Thousands of soldiers rushed to the top of the city in all directions. Immediately there was chaos. Everyone knows that once the city wall is breached, it will cause a huge chain effect. It is likely that a single breach will be followed by a breach of the entire wall.

Knowing that Li Heng and the others who had attacked the city, they were overjoyed, and they high-fived each other and laughed. Although the price paid is huge, as long as Chang'an can be breached, everything is worth it. And now it seems that all this will be at your fingertips.

Just when Li Heng was hoarse and ordered the follow-up soldiers and horses to support immediately and expand the progress of the siege, several fast horses galloped from the rear of the camp and rushed straight to the place where Li Heng and the others rode their horses. Li Heng and the others recognized them, they were several generals in charge of the defense of the rear battalion.

"A few princes, the king of the Shence Army sent an urgent message. Please take a look at a few princes. A general shouted with a letter in his hand.

"Wang Yuan's letter? Present it quickly. Li Heng said busily.

As soon as the letter arrived, Li Heng tore open the envelope with two handfuls, unfolded the letterhead, shook and read it. In just a moment, Li Heng's brows were tightly wrinkled, and his face became gloomy.

"What's going on?" Li Jian, Li Pu and others hurriedly asked.

Li Heng read: "I am aware of major changes, the number of soldiers and horses in Chang'an City may be variable, the number of soldiers and horses may exceed the pre-estimate by several times, several princes need to withdraw their troops immediately, risk attacking the city or suffer a big defeat, remember to remember." ”

"Huh? What does that mean? Li Pu said in surprise.

"He said that he got the news that the previous information may be wrong, and the number of soldiers and horses in Chang'an City exceeded the original estimate by several times, and told us to withdraw our troops immediately, otherwise we may be defeated." Li Heng frowned.

"How is that possible? The number of defenders is clear at a glance, but it is only about 30,000. Is it as serious as he said? Besides, our army is about to conquer the city, if there are a large number of soldiers and horses, will Li Mao still raise them to eat rice? It has long been mobilized to fight back. I'm afraid this news is not credible. Li Pu shook his head.

Li Jian frowned and said, "If it can't be trusted, why did he send someone to send a letter?" I'm afraid there's something strange about it. ”

"Strange? Who knows what he thinks. What Li Mao said in the morning is not unreasonable, what is Wang Yuan's idea in his heart? Who can know? Isn't it a joke to ask us to withdraw our troops at this time? Li Pu said loudly.

Li Heng frowned and pondered, on the one hand, he believed that Wang Yuan would not send this news for no reason, I was afraid that it was really a little strange. But on the other hand, seeing that the siege is in full swing, and that the city is in sight, is it not a waste of all the efforts to withdraw troops at this moment? This battle has already suffered huge losses, and if Chang'an cannot be captured this time, it will be even more difficult next time.

"Twenty-sixth brother, don't listen to him. At this time, how can you say that you will withdraw? Isn't this child's play? Li Pu said.

"Twenty-sixth brother, you must be on guard. If there are a large number of soldiers and horses in the city, we are killing ourselves. Li Jian said.

Li Heng groaned: "If it is really as Wang Yuan said, why didn't Li Mao increase his troops at this time? There are only so many defenders at the head of the city, and there is no reason why he should not increase his troops to fight back. ”

"yes, how do you explain that? Let's work harder, the city is going to be broken, can he still calm down? It's a joke. Li Pu said.

Li Jian was also speechless, and he couldn't explain it. He said, "Maybe there's another conspiracy here." In the current situation, the city may not be destroyed in a while. I think that if we keep storming until dark, we may be able to break through the city. At this moment, it is too early to say that the city is broken. Or before the last moment, Li Mao didn't want to expose the soldiers and horses in his hands. Maybe it was to surprise us. Or maybe...... He has no soldiers in the city, but there are soldiers and horses outside the city, and it is not known that they are outflanking us at this moment. ”

"Thirteenth brother, where is there so much possibility? You're thinking too much. are as hesitant as you are, and we don't have to fight in the first place. Look at your cowardly look. Li Pu reprimanded.

"Brother Twelve, I'...... It's not that I'm timid, I'm afraid that something will really happen. After reading Wang Yuan's letter, I suddenly had an ominous premonition......"

"Come on, stop...... I don't have time to listen to you talk about these gods. You love to say, go to the twenty-seventh brother and say, he believes, you can say three days and three nights. It's a siege, and I don't have time to hear that. Li Pu waved his hand.

"Twenty-sixth brother, you have an idea. What do you say? Li Pu turned to Li Heng and said.

Li Heng's face was covered with sweat, looking at the extremely tragic battlefield in front of him, he gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice: "No matter what the price is, this city must be broken today." How could he withdraw from the army because of Wang Yuan's letter? Wouldn't this make Li Mao laugh off his big teeth, and the people of the world would also laugh at us. ”

"But...... Twenty-sixth brother, the content of this letter ......," Li Jian frowned.

"Whether it's true or not, we can't go back. There is no advance or retreat today, and I would rather not mention this letter again, I would rather not see it. Li Heng gritted his teeth and said.

……

Although it seems that the city can be broken overnight, as Li Jian said, Chang'an City is not so easy to break. It seems that he has taken the initiative, but the fighting between the offensive and defensive sides above and below the city is extremely tragic. The attackers attacked the walls several times, and the defenders drove them out of the city several times. Although it is not too difficult to attack the city wall, it is even more difficult to expand the advantage and occupy the city wall, drive the defenders off the wall, and then attack the city.

The tug-of-war continued until dusk. There were countless casualties on both sides, and the soldiers on both sides were exhausted. The living is better than the dead, and the dead are liberated.

Although Li Heng was anxious, there was nothing he could do. At this moment, it depends on the willpower of both parties. Whoever can't resist and retreat first is the loser. More than half of their 60,000 soldiers and horses were killed or wounded, and the forces defending the city were becoming more and more scarce, and both sides had reached the last critical juncture.

But at least there is one thing that Li Heng is quite relieved about, that is, it turns out that the content of the letter sent by Wang Yuan is untrue. If there are a large number of soldiers and horses in Chang'an City, why didn't Li Mao send them out at this time? Several times on the verge of loss, and now when the troops are stretched thin and need to be replenished, Li Mao still has to hide soldiers and horses, which can only be said to be a fool. Li Mao is certainly not an idiot.

"In any case, we must attack it today. Pass my order, the logistics soldiers and horses of the rear camp and the coachmen and horsemen will all be mobilized into battle, even if everyone is dead, they must take Chang'an. Li Heng gave the final strict order, he was going to make a desperate bet. Now as long as there is someone who can move in front of him, he will be sent to attack the city, because there is no way to retreat.

However, just as the last of the 8,000-odd troops were gathering and preparing to enter the battle, dozens of cavalry scouts galloped in the back camp with billowing smoke and dust. The frightened expressions on their faces could be seen from afar.

"Report to all the princes, the big thing is not good, the big thing is not good." The scout captain even forgot the basic etiquette, and shouted in horror at Li Heng, Li Pu and the others from a distance.

"What's the matter? Why are you so flustered? Hurry up. Li Heng frowned and shouted, and for some reason, an ominous premonition rose in his heart.

Several scouts rolled their saddles and dismounted, staggered on the ground and rolled a few times to knock down the heads of Li Heng and the others, and the scout captain didn't care about spitting out a mouthful of dust, so he reported in horror: "Report to all the princes, a soldier and horse in the southwest is approaching the flank of our army at full speed, and it is less than ten miles away from our camp. ”

"What? Where did the army come from? Under whose banner? Whose soldiers and horses are they? How many people are there? Li Heng asked in astonishment.

"Report to Prince Feng, the imperial court soldiers and horses from the direction of the two counties from Zhou to Wugong, the number of soldiers and horses is unknown, but the preliminary estimate is that there should be no less than 40,000 soldiers and horses. But fortunately, they are all infantry, and it will take at least half an hour for the large battalion to reach the flank of our army. The scout captain busied.

"How is that possible? How could there be so many soldiers and horses in those two small counties? Are you mistaken? Li Heng said angrily.

The captain of the scout hurriedly kowtowed to say that he did not dare to talk nonsense, and the situation was absolutely true.

Li Heng's brows were tightly locked, and his face was like ashes. Spread his hands and looked at the people around him and shouted, "How is it possible? How can this be? Who's going to tell me, what's going on? ”

No one could answer his question, but almost everyone realized the mistake of the previous decision. In order to quickly march under the city of Chang'an, they gave up the plan suggested by Wang Yuan to clean up the peripheral states and counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Mansion, and only went straight to the city of Chang'an along the Jingshui River, and they were ignorant of the deployment of troops in several states and counties under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Mansion. They took it for granted that there were only more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in Chang'an City, and when the large army approached the city, Li Mao would definitely shrink the troops around Gyeonggi to defend the city with all his might, and even if there were soldiers and horses in the surrounding counties, they would only be stragglers. However, it was only then that they realized that they had been wrong. The surrounding counties not only have soldiers and horses, but also a large number of troops.

Wang Xiangguo's letter is telling the truth, he said that Li Mao has heavy troops in his hands, and sure enough, the sudden appearance of this large number of soldiers and horses is proof. We only thought that these soldiers and horses should be in Chang'an City, but we didn't expect them to be on our flank. Twelfth brother, twenty-sixth brother, I think, we need to make a decision immediately, immediately stop the siege and retreat, otherwise we will be outflanked by this large group of enemy soldiers, and the soldiers and horses in the city will go out of the city to cover and kill in front of the city, then we will be defeated. Li Jian said in a deep voice.

Of course, Li Heng and Li Pu knew that they were already in extreme danger right now. But the tragic battle under Chang'an City in the twilight is still in full swing. The siege had been going on for six or seven hours, and nearly half of the troops had been killed. Moreover, it seems that if you work harder, you will capture Chang'an City. At this juncture, if you withdraw from the army, all your efforts will be lost.

"No, you can't retreat. At this time, we will no longer be able to take Chang'an City. Someone came, passed on my order, and the whole army stormed Chang'an. Chang'an must be broken within half an hour. Li Heng waved his hand and shouted.

Everyone around froze and froze, and the generals and guards all looked at Li Heng blankly and remained silent.

"Why are you standing still? Want to disobey military orders? Why don't you go to the herald? This king led his own guards to participate in the siege of the city, and this king lives and dies with you! Li Heng shouted angrily.

"Twenty-sixth brother, this time I can't agree with your approach, knowing that the enemy army is outflanking the flank, and it is only ten miles away, but you still have to gamble, this is gambling with your life. Forgive me for not being able to obey my fate. Our army was already exhausted by more than half of the casualties, and at this time it was said that thirty or forty thousand troops had arrived, and only 10,000 men had attacked our flank, and we could not resist it. At this time, it was still too late to withdraw the troops. Li Pu said in a deep voice.

"Yes, twenty-sixth brother, this is not the time to be a hero. Where there is life, there is hope. If we don't leave at this time, we will all die under Chang'an City. Li Jian also frowned.

Li Heng shouted: "What? At this critical time, you are going to retreat? With more efforts, Chang'an is ours, and withdrawing troops at this time will not be wasted? ”

"That's better than dying all here. A few hours ago, you said that Chang'an would be broken if you worked harder, and a few hours have passed, and we still can't take Chang'an. I don't think even if there is no enemy attack from the flank, it may not be possible to attack it by dawn tomorrow. There are definitely more than 30,000 soldiers and horses in Chang'an City, and Li Mao must be playing a conspiracy to hang our soldiers and horses, making us feel that there is hope for the siege to succeed, but it makes us unable to capture it. It is to let the ambushes on the flanks outflank us and annihilate us in one fell swoop. We've been in a trap for half a day. I should have believed what Wang Xiangguo said in his letter, and we should have withdrawn our troops the moment we received the letter. And, twenty-sixth brother, don't be confused. Even if we try our best to take Chang'an City, our army will suffer heavy casualties and be exhausted. These 30,000 or 40,000 soldiers and horses rushed to the city of Chang'an to wait for work and launch an attack, can we resist it? Are we not going to give up Chang'an City? Li Pu frowned