Chapter 208 Please enter the urn

Chapter 208 Please enter the urn

Chapter 208 Please enter the urn
Meanwhile, the battering ram attack also failed.

Hundreds of Tuyuhun soldiers holding battering rams could not break down the city gate at all. There was an ice wall two or three feet thick inside and outside the city gate, which was frozen extremely hard.

Arrows rained down from the top of the city wall, knocking down more than a hundred people. The remaining soldiers were so scared that they dropped their battering rams and retreated in a panic.

Seeing that the siege was not going well, Murong Baoshu had to order his troops to retreat. The retreat horn sounded, and thousands of attacking soldiers retreated like a tide.

The fierce battle that lasted for nearly an hour ended. A thousand Tuyuhun soldiers were killed and nearly two thousand were injured, most of them from falls.

The Sui army suffered more than 300 deaths and 500 injuries, almost all of whom were militia soldiers.

The Tuyuhun army retreated ten miles away, waiting for news from the army that was robbing food.

By noon, the two food-grabbing teams of a thousand men returned empty-handed, and the news they brought back shocked Murong Baoshu. There was not a single tribe within a hundred miles around, and even game could not be hunted.

The situation was serious. The Tuyuhun army had run out of food supplies, and the soldiers' dry rations could only last for one day at most. They were unwilling to kill horses for food unless they had no other choice.

Unable to attack or defend, Murong Baoshu had no choice but to order his army to withdraw to Dadouba Valley.

The Tuyuhun soldiers retreated quickly. When the scouts sent out brought news that the Tuyuhun army had indeed retreated southward and was fifty miles away, the soldiers on the city wall immediately cheered.

The Sui army soldiers used fire to melt the ice, and the city gate was finally opened. The soldiers began to clean up the battlefield, gathered the dead enemy soldiers, burned their bodies, and dug large pits to bury them.

In addition, there were a lot of copper coins among the logistical supplies seized by the Sui army. Xiao Xia distributed the copper coins to the families of the wounded and dead soldiers, ranging from about 50 to 100 strings of coins to each family, as their pension.

In the afternoon, a team of scouts from Liangzhou arrived and brought news that Xue Wanjun and 5,000 reinforcements were eighty miles away and would arrive in Shandan County tonight.

Xiao Xia called Helou Shanzhu and others and said to them: "Although the Tuyuhun army retreated, they were not seriously injured. I am worried that they will come back in a few days. It just so happens that the reinforcements from Liangzhou have arrived. You might as well withdraw all of you to Liangzhou and withdraw the 300,000 horses as well. It would be best if you set out tomorrow."

Everyone agreed with Xiao Xia's opinion. The Tuyuhun army had to retreat because they had no food. It was obvious that they were very unwilling to do so and were likely to make a comeback. Everyone expressed that they would move to Liangzhou as soon as possible.

What really worries Xiao Xia is Zhangye. If Zhangye is lost, there will be big trouble.

After settling in Shandan County, Xiao Xia led a thousand cavalrymen, three thousand captured camels and grain back to Zhangye that afternoon.

At two o'clock in the morning, Gamuda led five thousand troops and quietly arrived at Zhangye City. The army rested for nearly an hour, and then the team arrived three miles outside the east city. It was exactly three o'clock in the morning, which was the time agreed upon before.

Gamuda ordered the soldiers to light three torches, and soon, three torches were also lit on the top of the city.

Gamuda was overjoyed. The soldiers who had been ambushing in the city had succeeded. In order not to alert the Sui army, they ordered the entire army to dismount, leaving 500 men to guard the horses, and the remaining 4,500 followed him to the city gate.

They were still more than a hundred steps away from the city gate, which slowly opened. Someone at the gate waved and called on them to enter the city quickly.

More than 4,000 Tuyuhun troops quickened their pace and rushed into the city. The mighty army rushed into Zhangye City like a tide.

The ecstasy of entering the city had not yet disappeared, but the Tuyuhun soldiers soon discovered something was wrong. After entering the city, they did not see any streets, but still saw three high ice walls, like a large basket. They had entered a large basket.

Yin Shishi was indeed a famous general in history. His strategy to defeat the enemy was amazing. He first demolished hundreds of houses around the East Gate to free up a large area of ​​land. He built a two-meter-high basket-shaped wall with sand bags and poured water on it to turn it into an ice wall, which was equivalent to building a city wall. He also sent people to pretend to be internal soldiers to lure the Tuyuhun army into the city at the agreed time, and finally annihilated most of the army.

Gamuda found that they were surrounded by a city wall. He secretly cried out that something was wrong and turned back to shout, "Retreat! Retreat!"

They had fallen into a trap, so how could they be given a chance to retreat? Suddenly, dozens of large logs fell from the top of the city gate, smashing dozens of soldiers below into meat patties. There was chaos under the city gate, and the soldiers dodged in panic. Then hundreds of bundles of straw were thrown down from the top of the city wall and piled up at the city gate. Dozens of torches were thrown down, and the straw burned fiercely. Dozens of large logs were also covered with grease and burned as well.

Two thousand soldiers on the top of the city wall fired arrows at the enemy at the gate. Gamuda raised his shield and shouted, "Break out! Break out!"

A cold arrow whizzed over and hit Gamuda in the throat. He screamed and fell on his back.

More than 2,500 Tuyuhun soldiers could no longer leave, and the city gates were slowly closing. Nearly 2,000 Tuyuhun soldiers who had not yet entered the city turned around and fled in panic. Before they had escaped a hundred steps, a thousand Sui cavalrymen led by General Guan Jin rushed out.

Teams of cavalry rushed into the fleeing enemy groups, stabbing with spears and slashing with swords, slaughtering the fleeing Tuyuhun soldiers.

Arrows were raining down from the city, and bundles of burning straw were thrown into the wall from outside. The city gradually became a sea of ​​fire. Even if one avoided the arrows, one could not escape the burning flames. The 2,500 soldiers gradually died.

The Tuyuhun soldiers outside the city were almost completely slaughtered. Only 500 soldiers guarding the horses and more than 300 soldiers who escaped fled on horseback. The rest of the soldiers were all beheaded.

In this battle, the Sui army wiped out 4,200 enemy troops without losing a single soldier. Yin Shishi became famous in this battle, and even Guan Jin, who had been dissatisfied with him, became convinced by him.

The next afternoon, Xiao Xia led a thousand cavalrymen and three thousand camels back to Zhangye City.

Upon learning that Yin Shishi had used a trick to kill 4,200 Tuyuhun soldiers without losing a single soldier himself, Xiao Xia was overjoyed. He immediately decided to keep Yin Shishi by his side. Such a talent was truly rare, so he would at least recommend him to his father and make him his father's trusted subordinate.

Xiao Xia rode into the city on horseback. The soldiers had already cleared away the bodies and the ground was pitch black. The ice walls around it had not been demolished, but a hole had been opened, making it more like a city wall.

Yin Shishi pointed at the urn and said with a smile, "Should we demolish this urn? Wait for Your Highness to come and make the decision?"

Xiao Xia shook his head and said, "Let's not demolish it for now! It's just right for defense. It would be best to build an ice urn city at the west gate as well. But if the houses of the people are demolished, they need to be properly resettled and compensated!"

"Don't worry, Lord Envoy. County Magistrate Pei has already been settled. The government also has many empty houses and shops. We can exchange them one by one."

Xiao Xia smiled again and said, "Inform the soldiers and civilians in the city that the Qilian Gang horse bandits have been completely wiped out in Shandan County. Not a single one escaped."

Yin Shishi was overjoyed. The horse bandits that had invaded Zhangye and Hexi for several years were finally wiped out. This was a great joyful event.

Xiao Xia continued, "The enemy's 10,000 troops attacked Shandan County but were unsuccessful. It's clear that they are unwilling to retreat. I'm worried that they will come back again, so starting tomorrow, the entire army will begin defensive combat training."

"Should we continue the long-distance running?" asked Yin Shishi.

Xiao Xia thought for a moment and said, "Going for a long run outside can easily lead to a burglary. You have to keep running, but instead run two laps around the city wall every morning. The key is persistence. Just keep running every day."

"I humbly obey my orders!"

(End of this chapter)