"Journey to the West"

Author: Scarlet Polyp

Chapter 18 How Huo Qu's Illness

In August Bailu (solar term, in the middle of the eighth month of the lunar calendar), Pang De, the general of the expedition to the west, disdainfully rejected the persuasion of the Kushan people to surrender. After the arrogant messenger was cut into several pieces and thrown off the tower, the attack and defense of his Qiancheng officially began.

Although Kushan had an army of nearly 100,000, he was still unable to form an encirclement of the whole city. Seeing this, Ki Bonada set up a pocket formation surrounded by three missing one, let go of the east gate of the city, and placed more than 10,000 men and horses at the north and south gates of the city to carry out a feint, and the main force of more than 60,000 concentrated on attacking the west gate.

The Kushan people made a day of fanfare, hustle and bustle, like a military parade, but did not attack the city. When the sky became dark, the army retreated into the camp tents, and left the soldiers and civilians in the city there, feeling deeply inexplicable. "There is a strange ......" Pang De looked at the wisps of smoke rising from the Guishan camp, and his brows were deeply furrowed, "Tell me to go down, pay attention to vigilance tonight, and don't let them take advantage of the loopholes." ”

For several days, the Kushan people made trouble at sunrise and rested at sunset, except for demolishing the buildings outside the city and obtaining a large number of wood and stones, there was no actual action. Although the soldiers in the city did not dare to slack off, the people of Qiuzi who assisted in the defense gradually relaxed a little, and many of them fell asleep curled up in the corners during the night vigilance.

On August 16, about the fourth watch, a cold wind blew from the desert, stabbing the faces of the soldiers like knives. Everyone's ears and noses are frozen. There were thick clouds in the sky, as if it was going to rain. But the occasional moving cloud also cracked, revealing a few cold stars at first, and soon disappeared. The night was dark. There were many torches and lanterns on the top of the city, because the walls were invisible, and the endless lanterns and torches seemed to hang in the air.

At this time, under the cover of night, a Kushan army of more than 3,000 people dressed in black secretly approached the city wall. After approaching, the team split into two groups, one waiting outside the moat in the southern section of the castle and the other outside the moat in the northern section. They were armed with hammers, hammers, hand axes, and other tools, and stood still. Although the wind was as cold as knives, they seemed to have forgotten the bitter cold, waiting for the agreed signal. After a while, I saw a rocket shot in the distance, and the two groups of men and horses galloped at the same time, crossed the moat, and then raised the large shield they were carrying, covered the top of their heads, and quickly ran towards the root of the city. When they arrived at the root of the city, they first used an iron hammer to drive the iron drill into the brick joints, and beat each brick all over the top, bottom, left and right, and then used the iron drill to pry out. He Qiancheng city wall was built for hundreds of years, bricks and bricks squeezed each other for hundreds of years, when Ban Chao built the city and imitated the Central Plains city building method, with glutinous rice slurry and lime plastering joints, so that the city wall knotted like a whole rock wall, very difficult to dig. However, this group of Kushan soldiers were well-trained and skillful, and in a short time they dug dozens of holes in the city wall, large and small, of different depths.

As soon as they began to dig the city, the Han troops patrolling the city immediately noticed it, and immediately threw bricks and stones down desperately while shouting alarms. Some of the bricks and stones fell on the great shields, and some fell directly on the bodies and heads of the people, injuring many people when they landed. At the same time, rolling logs and rocks were thrown from the city. The most terrifying thing is the "rolling log" with countless spikes, after landing, it rolls non-stop, and as soon as it enters the crowd, it will kill and injure. Therefore, the Kushan army digging the city, while digging the city, has people ready on the other hand, and directly supports the rolling logs with large shields, which is very dangerous, but can reduce casualties.

In order to cover the troops digging the city, tens of thousands of Kushans followed, lined up on the edge of the moat, and fired fierce arrows at the head of the city. For a time, the soldiers and civilians of the city were constantly killed and wounded, so that they hid in the battlements and did not dare to poke their heads out, so most of the bricks, logs, and stones they threw were not very accurate. The Han army also began to shoot arrows outside the city, but because of the lack of troops in the city at night, it was difficult to show their heads from between the battlements, so they could only shoot out from the edge of the arrows, and in the darkness, they could not see the target clearly, and they shot high and low, and they were not sure at all. The Kushan army under the city looked up at the city, although it was also relatively hazy, but the lanterns and torches at the head of the city gave them great convenience. At the same time as the arrows, both sides shouted loudly, up and down the city, shouting to kill the heavens.

The Kushan army of the city digging was divided into many squads, each of which was about twenty people, and was responsible for digging a hole. There were also many reserve squads lying in ambush in the dry moat, ready to take over the dead and wounded at any time, and to mop the dead and wounded as far away from the walls as possible. Some of the wounded were killed by crossbow arrows from the city as soon as they were dragged a few feet away. But no matter how fierce the arrows, bricks, stones, and rolling logs on the city were, no matter how heavy the casualties were, the digging never stopped.

The Han army in the city was very vigilant against the night attack of the Kushan army. They also made various preparations on how to deal with the excavation of the city and protect the city walls. Pang De is one of the best defensive generals in the Han Dynasty, and the generals and colonels under his command are all shrewd and capable. In the past battles for defending cities in the Central Plains, the enemy had used the method of digging cities many times, which made them gain a lot of experience. During the day, when the Kushan army was secretly preparing outside the city, the soldiers and civilians in the city were also stepping up their preparations. The people of Qiuzi in the city have now become resentful of the same enemy, especially in the **** he carried out in Qiancheng not long ago, the violent situation of the Guishan army's massacre of the city was exaggerated by the monks. They were very worried that if these Kushans invaded the city, they would kill them and the women would be humiliated, and perhaps no one would be spared, while the Han Chinese, although they had heard that the fierce gods were like asuras, had not killed since they entered the city, and besides, if these fierce gods were on their side, they would be quite reliable. Because they were in this mood to assist in the defense of the city, they kept throwing all kinds of things that could kill and injure the enemy, even though the defenders of the city were constantly killed and wounded by the arrows of the Kushan army.

At the time of the second watch, Pang De handed over the responsibility of city defense to the Yue cavalry captain Ling Tong, and he moved to rest in the Jiaye Temple near the west city wall. For fear that Guishan would be cunning, after he arrived at the Jiaye Temple, he summoned Ling Tong again and repeatedly told him to be cautious. After Ling Tong left, Pang De did not undress and armor, half lying on the collapse, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. He was so tired that he was about to fall asleep when he was awakened by a shout at the head of the city and outside the city. He opened his eyes and scolded in his heart: "Damn, it's really here!" Then he took a group of personal soldiers and quickly rushed to the city.

Pang De went up to the city tower first, and saw that in the north and south sections of the city wall, there were Kushan troops digging the city in many places, and the situation was very critical. He was peering down from the middle of the battlements, and with a whoosh, an arrow hit the upper part of his helmet, sending it down the city. One of his soldiers pulled his arm and shouted, "Be careful, big man! He ignored it, took a large bow from his own soldiers, and personally drew his bow and arrows, and shot down the Kushan officer who was commanding on a white horse outside the city. Just then, another arrow flew over his head and hit one of the soldiers of the Guizi battalion who was defending the city behind him. At this time, Guo Huai, the overseer, ran over with his head down, and said to him breathlessly:

"Dashuai, at present, the entire West Gate is digging the city everywhere. In the section guarded by the lower officials, a total of fifteen or sixteen places are being excavated, no matter how to throw bricks, stones, rolling wood and stones, the Guishan dog just does not retreat. ”

Pound said in a deep voice: "What are you panicking, calm down, I have my own way." ”

He immediately ordered one of his own soldiers to pass on the general order in the city, saying that he was personally supervising the battle in the city, and asked all the soldiers and people to kill the enemy calmly and not panic. This general order soon spread from the city tower throughout the entire eastern city, and the soldiers and civilians defending the city everywhere heard it, and suddenly their courage doubled, and a shout of killing sounded. A military horse ran to Pang De and excitedly begged: let him take three hundred elites down the city to drive away the Kushan people who were digging the city somewhere. Pound shook his head and said, "Not then." Then he said to Guo Huai and Hao Zhao, another general beside him: "Order someone to go and get firewood quickly, the more the better, all the rags and hemp, and a few loads of oil." ”

At the moment he gave this command, many people ran down the city. There are many nests under the city for the soldiers and civilians who defend the city to sleep. For heating and cooking, a lot of dry firewood was piled up next to the bunk. At this time, the people carried dry firewood to the city one after another, and even dismantled some of the nests, and carried the quilts and clothes on the city. And some people took a lot of incense oil from the temple. Pound ordered the dry wood to be lit, thrown down into the city, and burned to death the men who dug the holes. The crowd followed the plan, and some of the dry firewood was thrown down without lighting it, and then the burning quilt that had been soaked in oil was thrown down, and the dry wood was quickly ignited and burned. After a while, the entire east gate was on fire everywhere, like a fire dragon. Pound said to another of his own soldiers:

"Then pass on the order of the general: The commander is now in the city, and the soldiers and civilians defending the city are in danger, and I hope that all the armies will work together to kill the thieves, and those who dare to go down to the city without permission will be beheaded! There are those who dare to be greedy and avoid war! There are those who dare to run indiscriminately! ”

The command spread swiftly throughout the city. People originally knew that Pang De was supervising the battle in the city, and when they saw a fire dragon protecting the city roots, they all felt brave and morale. At this time, the Han troops of the battalions near the west gate also continued to assemble from the camp, rushed to the head of the city, and fired a large number of powerful crossbow volleys, quickly suppressing the rain of arrows of the Kushan people under the city. So, in the shouts of killing at the head of the city, there were gradually mixed with cheers, whistles, and smug insults.

At the beginning of the siege, Ki Bonada came to the outside of the northern city and immediately watched the battle less than half a mile away from the city wall. He rode along the city wall for a while, and at a distance of only a few dozen feet from the city wall, he carefully watched the bitter battle at the root of the city. Seeing that the city was attacking with fire to kill and injure his own side, Ki Bonada was very angry in his heart, and he was eager to immediately command the army to climb the city with a ladder. But he was not distracted by his own anger, he knew very well that the method of climbing the city with a ladder would be useless in the face of such a high and sufficient force to defend the wall, and would only sacrifice a large number of soldiers in vain. After thinking for a while, the veteran Guishan finally admitted his defeat today and ordered the whole army to return to the camp. After leaving behind more than 2,000 charred corpses at the root of the city, the Kushan army's first siege of the city was declared a failure.

Zhao Guang did not take part in the battle in the early morning of the 16th, and his vanguard was called to stand by in the camp from the beginning of the battle. The quartermaster sent another batch of war horses, so Zhao Guang was busy mixing the old and new soldiers in the past few days, and conducted simple cavalry training in the camp and school. Hearing the shouts of killing at night and the news from the city, both the old soldiers and the recruits started a dozen spiritual exercises, and everyone's thoughts were similar: they all wanted to rush out of the city as soon as possible, and they also slaughtered a few Guishan cubs with their own hands.

After practicing until the afternoon, Sima Yi's personal soldiers brought an edict and ordered Zhao Guang to come to him immediately to wait for his life. Zhao Guang didn't dare to slack off, only briefly explained to Zhao Neng, and hurriedly followed his own soldiers to Sima Yi's station. Entering Sima Yi's bedroom, a fragrance of herbs came to his nose, and he saw Sima sitting next to a desk, looking at a few maps, and seeing Zhao Guang coming in, he pointed in front of him and said, "Ziyuan is here?" Have a seat. ”

After escaping from death, he lingered and collapsed for many days, making Sima Yi, who was handsome in the past, a lot haggard, with a pale face, deep-set eyes, and dry lips, but only a pair of eagle eyes were still blazing.

Zhao Guang sat down in front of Sima Yi and saluted: "Dashuai has just recovered from a serious illness, so he should recuperate." I don't know what the command is to summon the officials to come at this time. ”

"The arrows of the Kushan people are about to fall on my roof, how else can I recuperate?" Sima Yi smiled self-deprecatingly, "It's not a military discussion now, I'm familiar with your father, you are like my son and nephew, no need to be polite." ”

"I got a tip-off that Wusun is in a bad situation right now. Wusun Le is a sinister person, seeing the wind and the rudder, and coveting the wealth of Qiuzi and Gaochang, he may take this opportunity to fall to the Kushan people. Sima Yi got straight to the point and said slowly, "Although it is in the middle of a big war, this matter can't be left alone, what do you think?" Just talk about it. ”

Le Guangmi has a bad heart, Haiya is in danger! After a short period of shock, Zhao Guang took a deep breath, quickly sorted out his thoughts, and said in a deep voice: "Although Wusun is newly defeated, there are still twenty or thirty thousand cavalry available, if it falls to Guishuang, or assists in attacking his Qiancheng, or attacks Gaochang City in my rear, the consequences will be unimaginable." The little nephew thought that at this time he should enter Wusun with a surprise army and control the situation. ”

"Oh? How many men do you think will be able to accomplish this? ”

"There are not many soldiers, and at present, Wusun has just experienced the defeat of the Tianshan Mountains, and he is still very afraid of our army. What's more, Wusun is not monolithic in the country, there is Princess Haiya on it, as long as there are three thousand ...... No, two thousand iron horsemen rushed to the capital of the country, Akaya, and they could control the situation in the country. ”

"Seventeen hundred!" Sima Yi raised his eyebrows and spread his hands, "In this situation, I can only pull out so much." You have about 700 cavalry, and I will lend you another 1,000 Yue cavalry (light cavalry of the Yue cavalry battalion). In a few days, when the Vietnamese cavalry battalion cooperates with the Zhenxi army to go out of the city for a counteroffensive, you will pull the troops out together and take the opportunity to go north, how about it? ”

When Zhao Guang heard this, he was very excited, but after thinking about it carefully, he shook his head and said: "The little nephew has little experience in battle, and his qualifications in the army are also insufficient. If you charge into battle, you will naturally not be left behind, but the stakes are too big to take on this heavy responsibility. ”

"Oh. So who do you think is suitable? Sima Yi glanced at Zhao Guang appreciatively, this son was born in Jiangmen, strong in martial arts, bold and careful, rare and young and old, and it is really a material that can be made.

Zhao Guang's mind suddenly appeared a figure dressed in a green robe, holding a giant knife, laughing and rushing towards the enemy formation, and his heart moved, "General Guan Ping, who is brave and strategic, is enough to take on a heavy responsibility." The little nephew is willing to assist from the side. ”

"Dingguo? He's the right fit. That's good, that's it. Then, your vanguard will also be under the control of the state this time. ”

The next day, Guan Ping and Zhao Guang took their respective men and horses and drove into the station specially allocated by Sima Yi for joint training before the expedition. Guan Ping introduced Zhao Guang to the main generals he brought in turn: Liao Hua, the commander of the cavalry, Zhou Cang, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao and others. Looking at the wide school field, Guan Ping said with a smile: "I didn't expect to have the opportunity to fight with the virtuous brother in a blink of an eye." Although he can't drink Guishuang's blood under the city, he can imitate the story of the champion Hou (Huo Quai), how fortunate he is. ”

"What Brother Dingguo said is very true. Follow the example, champion the three armies, and seal the wolf, so as to live up to the name of my big man! ”