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Volume 2: Looking to Chang'an Chapter 69: Siege Training

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    Chapter 69 Siege training

    The whole city of Luoyang was full of soldiers who were shouting and rushing forward. The huge rocks were poured on the city wall with the evil wind. From time to time, the Yan army defending the city was smashed to pieces by the huge rocks. They could not even scream and turned into a pile of flesh and crossbow arrows.  Like rain falling, the soldiers who were hit by the arrows fell helplessly to the ground and screamed. The blood troughs on three sides were bleeding very fiercely. Without timely treatment, the Yan army who was hit by the arrows would soon bleed to death.

    There are many soldiers on the city wall who turned pale and died after being hit by crossbow arrows. Minzhuang and the Yan army soldiers risked their lives to defend the city. This is not because of high morale, but because of the supervision specially organized by An Qingxu not far behind.  The war team is watching eagerly. As long as someone retreats or refuses to fight, the war team wearing fine armor and holding a giant ax will step forward and chop off the head, kick the body off the city wall, and throw the head into the city.

    Fighting to the death with the Anxi Army is also death, being beheaded by the supervising team is also death. The Yan Army has tried its best. Because of this desperate effort, the Yan Army miraculously withstood the three days of violent attacks by the Anxi Army. Although the casualties were messy, the city of Luoyang still stood.  However, Zeng Pei personally wore heavy armor and divided the Yan Shen Army into groups of two thousand elite troops. When there was a shortage, the Yan Shen Army was mobilized to fight to the death on the city wall. Zeng Pei himself almost died in battle twice. It can be seen that  How fierce the battle was.

    The casualties of the Yan army were already too heavy. The soldiers and minzhuang on the city were numb. They mechanically lifted the stone on top of the city and pushed it down the city. Can the oncoming crossbow arrows hit them?  It is no longer a problem that these soldiers can consider. Minzhuang, who only wears cloth clothes, is basically dead if he is hit by a crossbow arrow. Even if he is hit by an arrow in the arm, the doctors of the Yan army will not even look at them. They are the lowest cannon fodder.  .

    The light infantry of the Yan Army was not much better than Minzhuang. The light infantry wearing leather armor at most was no different from the Anxi Army's crossbows in front of the Anxi Army's crossbows. Most of these light infantry were forcibly recruited into the army.  The new recruits, who had not experienced war, suffered heavy casualties during the Anxi Army's attack on the first day. More than 5,000 corpses were carried from the city.

    The morale of the Anxi Army was really high. The war that destroyed the country made every general who had newly joined the Anxi Army burst out with amazing courage. Li Zuoguo did not treat these generals badly. Basically, Li Zuoguo equipped all their soldiers.  Iron armor and weapons were also provided as much as possible. The powerful weapons production capacity established by the Anxi Army in the hands of Li Zuoguo has seen results. Nearly 200,000 troops were armed almost overnight.

    The convoys from Chang'an kept coming day and night, and the carts brought all kinds of military supplies, including weapons, armor, grain, grass, and medicine. What was the war about?  Li Zuoguo knows best, that is money, and what matters is logistics.

    Although the Anxi Army broke out with great enthusiasm to attack the city, it failed to achieve good results due to the desperate resistance of the Yan Army. The good protection also made the casualties of the Anxi Army not high. In three days, only more than a thousand people died.  More than 2,000 people were injured, which was much better than the more than 12,000 casualties of the Yan army.

    After every day's battle, Li Zuoguo will definitely judge the most brave troops today, and follow up promptly with incentives such as silver, armor, and food. The troops who have received rewards are proud of themselves, while the eyes of those who have not been rewarded are red, and they are rubbing their fists and palms.  Prepare to win the title of best performer the next day too.

    Li Guiren stood not far from the battlefield. It was his troops' turn to attack this city wall. Soldiers also wearing black armor shouted and rushed into the tall Luoyang city wall, setting up extra-long ladders.  Like ants frantically attacking the city wall, the corpses of soldiers from both sides fell from the high city wall from time to time and piled up at the foot of Luoyang City, becoming one of the wronged souls of this ancient city.

    Li Guiren's armor has been replaced by a full-coverage stainless steel plate armor. The roaring lion head logo on his chest. Li Guiren is already a miscellaneous general of the Anxi Army. Only officials with generals and above can wear such a logo.  Armor, Li Guiren led his troops for two consecutive days to obtain the most courageous troops of the day. Li Zuoguo was overjoyed and promoted Li Guiren to the rank of General Yongjin. Standing next to Li Guiren were two generals wearing armor, none other than Liuzhou.  Hu and the two leaders who dragged Luohe, Bai Yala and Morutai.

    The three-man troops were used intensively, and their combat strength was not weak. With the addition of 30,000 sets of armor, 20,000 spears and 10,000 horizontal knives given by Li Zuoguo, the troops' combat strength jumped. They attacked the city twice. If it weren't for Yan  The elite of the army appeared and risked their lives to drive Li Guiren's troops off the city. I was afraid that Li Guiren would be the first to break through Luoyang.

    Li Guiren's face was full of confidence at this time. He looked at the vigorous attack of his soldiers. The high morale was what every leading general liked to see. After three days of cruel adaptation, the Yan army was now resisting  It also reached a peak. Although all the troops in the peripheral siege had also undergone brutal combat training, their desperate spirit on the eve of victory was not as good as that of the Yan army.

    Every general does not doubt that Luoyang will be captured, but they all want to retain some strength.Based on the current combat effectiveness, Luoyang is afraid that a gap has been opened long ago.

    Behind Li Guiren is the long-range attack force, which is the force directly under Li Zuoguo, including Mo Dao soldiers and catapults. There are hundreds of catapults on Li Guiren's side, and more than a hundred catapults throw huge rocks together. The shock is so shocking.  Li Guiren never tires of watching. Two thousand soldiers and four thousand auxiliary soldiers became crossbowmen. Two thousand crossbows each time suppressed the Yan army on the wall. However, before Li Guiren's soldiers rushed to the top of the city and fought with the Yan army,  When they were fighting together, the catapults and Mo Dao soldiers stopped shooting to avoid accidental injuries.

    The Yan army with shining lights rushed to the top of the city and fought with Li Guiren's troops who attacked the city. Li Guiren recognized that this was An Qingxu's last elite force, the Yan Shen Army, and the casualties on the city increased instantly.  It was already afternoon, and the summer sun was radiating heat, making the entire battlefield seem to be heating up.

    The sound of armor clashing sounded, and groups of Anxi Army soldiers began to line up. Li Guiren looked back and saw that the number of Anxi Army was not large, only about 5,000, but these Anxi elites who had undergone rigorous training and had experienced great battles showed their strength.  The demeanor of a truly strong army.

    Every soldier's armor is in place, and he is holding various weapons forcefully. There is no expression of excitement on the soldiers' faces, they are as serious as granite, and they are lined up in silence, with only the depths of their eyes projecting.  The bloodthirsty emotions, silent formations, neat formations, and weapons with the same angles made the entire Anxi Army's battle formation project a power that defied all enemy power.

    Li Guiren withdrew his gaze. Compared with the soldiers of the Anxi Army, there was really a big gap between his soldiers. Li Guiren knew that his performance was over. It was time for the Anxi Army to attack the city. Every time the Anxi Army  The siege of the city caused far more casualties to the Yan army than all the troops. Fortunately, the Anxi army did not participate in the daily competition, otherwise Li Guiren and the others would have been promoted and rewarded.

    Sure enough, the sound of Jin Jin sounded, which was an order for Li Guiren's soldiers to retreat. Li Guiren's soldiers began to withdraw towards the city wall. The soldiers were trying hard to break away from the Yan army. No one would entangle the city.  Battle, because it was the same situation on the first day. The soldiers who wanted to make meritorious deeds ignored Ming Jin's voice. As a result, the huge rocks and crossbow arrows from the trebuchets covered the top of the city. Almost all the soldiers who did not retreat died with the Yan army.  City head.

    The Yan army also knew that the Anxi army was about to attack, and did not fight with the soldiers on the city. As soon as the soldiers on the city withdrew, the loud sound of catapults began to fill Li Guiren's eardrums, and huge rocks flew into the sky, drawing out  A graceful arc hit the city head accurately, and with a buzzing sound of crossbow strings, two thousand crossbow arrows followed the boulder and flew into the sky, covering the city head like rain.

    The Yan Army has also become familiar with the Anxi Army's offensive routine in the past three days, and knows that this is the Anxi Army's last offensive. Although it is the most difficult attack, once it withstands it, the Anxi Army will not attack again today.  The Yan army evaded boulders and crossbow arrows one after another, and the Yan Shen army was also ready to defend the city.

    The soldiers retreated like a tide, and all the surrendered troops who retreated left a passage. This is discipline bought with blood. If the attack channel had not flowed out, when the elite Anxi Army attacked, the surrendered troops blocking the road would have become  The Anxi Army was the object of the wolf-like tiger warrior's sword swing, and the rolling heads were still fresh in the memory of all the surrendered army generals on the first day.

    The Anxi Army had already said hello that the retreating troops must leave a passage for the Anxi Army to attack. Otherwise, violating military orders on the battlefield would be a sign of beheading. As a result, when the gold medal was announced on the first day, a man from Xiapi who retreated from the top of the city was killed.  The general of the 2,000-man army simply forgot this order, and the retreating soldiers retreated in confusion. Li Hu happened to be leading the attack. When he saw the Anxi Army soldiers blocking the road, he raised his sword without hesitation.

    More than 200 people, including the general of the Xiapi Returned Army, were beheaded. The Anxi Army directly opened a bloody path among its own troops. Since then, all the officers and soldiers of the Returned Army have firmly remembered the Anxi Army's military orders.  If you dare to disobey a little, you will lose your head. If you are killed by one of your own people before you can perform a meritorious service, isn't that extremely unlucky?

    Under the suppression of boulders and crossbows, the Yan army at the top of the city did not dare to show their heads. The range of the Anxi army's long-range weapons was much higher than that of the Yan army. On the first day, the Yan army's giant crossbows and trebuchets were basically smashed by the Anxi army.  Now the long-range suppression of the Anxi Army and the defending Yan Army was completely reversed, and the attacking side suppressed the defending forces.

    The elite soldiers of the Anxi Army, who had the advantage of long-range suppression, were hardly harassed as they rushed towards the city wall. A series of steel-clad ladders were set up again. The Anxi Army rushed to the top of the city and fought with the Yan Army who was desperately resisting on the city wall.  at.

    Li Guiren was very surprised, why didn't Li Zuoguo let all the troops attack together?  If they attack together, the Yan army may not be able to hold on long ago. Looking back in confusion, under the flag gate at the entrance of the camp, there is a horseman standing there like Yuan Zhi Yue Ting, it is Li Zuoguo.

      How much power the majestic body contains, Li Guiren fully understands it. Chaluo¡¯s protruding eyes that rolled down the head seem to be still in front of him. Li Guiren is now convinced of Li Zuoguo. Li Zuoguo¡¯s powerful wrists are not  Que, the strategist is even more powerful, coupled with Yong Wushuang, all the soldiers of the Anxi Army are willing to sacrifice their lives for Li Zuoguo. How could such a man not succeed?

    Li Guiren somewhat understood why Li Zuoguo attacked the city like this. He looked at his soldiers who were lining up. The murderous look had not yet disappeared from their faces, but when they stood in line, they were quick and fast, looking well-trained. Li Guiren  The soldiers have combat effectiveness, but their military discipline is not very good, not to mention the Hu soldiers under Bai Yala and Morutai. Now even the most unruly soldiers stand in order.

    Li Guiren already understood why Li Zuoguo did this. War is the best place for soldiers to get used to each other. Now the surrendered army has quickly become qualified soldiers in the past few days of siege, and the original looseness and unruliness have been smoothed away.  , I¡¯m afraid this is Li Zuoguo¡¯s purpose, right?  Li Guiren thought in his mind.

    There was a smile on Li Zuoguo's face. The city gate in front of him was the south city of Luoyang, and the attacker was Li Hu. Li Zuoguo looked for Li Hu's figure, but didn't see it. Li Zuoguo curled his lips. Li Hu must not be able to bear it.  , rushed to the front, and it was estimated that Li Hu was among those who climbed the city to fight. Li Zuoguo said in his heart: "It's almost done. These soldiers can be used in the past few days."

    There is a fierce battle on the city, Li Zuoguo's mind is no longer on Luoyang, Luoyang's fall is inevitable, Li Zuoguo has no patience to wear it out, and An Qingxu deserves to die.

    Li Zuoguo led his horses, and the horses turned around and headed towards the camp. Li Zuoguo's figure disappeared in the flag gate, the sound of gold sounded, and the Anxi army retreated. Li Hu on the city shook his head in annoyance, what happened today?  The Anxi Army retreated less than half an hour after it was dispatched?  Li Hu cut in half the two Yan soldiers in front of him with one sword. The soldiers protecting him behind him had already swarmed up to separate the Yan soldiers from Li Hu. Li Hu turned around and walked to the battlements, turned over and walked out of the city wall, shouting: "Let's go."  , withdrew the troops and received the gold medal.¡±

    The Anxi Army retreated from the city wall, and the stone chariots and powerful crossbows once again covered the city. The Anxi Army's offensive for the day was over. All the Yan Army on the city breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Anxi Army did not attack day and night, they only started attacking in the morning.  , the troops were withdrawn in the afternoon, but just these three hours of offensive made all the Yan army exhausted.

    There was a knife mark on the shoulder armor of Zeng Pei's armor. The shoulder armor was cut open. The chain armor inside was also cut open, leaving a small blood mark on Zeng Pei's shoulder. Zeng Pei's breathing was normal and he lifted it up.  At first glance, the city was like a hell-like scene again. Countless corpses were piled up on the city, most of them were the corpses of the Yan army. The poorly protected recruits and minzhuang were the most casualties. The corpses of the soldiers of the Anxi army could not be seen at all.  .

    The Anxi Army had the upper hand to withdraw its troops, so when we went down to the city, it was like visiting our own back garden. We also had to take away the corpses of the brothers who died in the battle, so the corpses of the Anxi Army were basically invisible on the city top, and the armor of the Anxi Army was really protective.  Outstanding, it is very difficult to kill an Anxi Army soldier. Elites like the Yan Shen Army suffered heavy casualties when fighting against the Anxi Army.

    Zeng Pei picked up the water bag given by his soldiers and drank half of the bag of water in one breath. Looking from the city, the Anxi Army was lining up outside the camp. Each square formation turned into a black stream and flowed into the Anxi Army.  In the camp, everything seemed orderly. This kind of leisure on the battlefield was the most despairing. Zeng Pei felt powerless. Can he really stop the Anxi army?

    An orderly soldier walked up to Zeng Pei, knelt down and reported: "General Huwei, your Majesty invites the general to report the war situation to the palace."

    Zeng Pei nodded and said: "I will go immediately." Throwing the water bag to the soldiers, Zeng Pei hurriedly got off the city. After descending from the city, Zeng Pei mounted his war horse and went to Luoyang Palace.

    Seeing Zeng Pei walking into the main hall, An Qingxu's face showed joy and said: "General Zeng is so powerful that he has continuously repelled the attacks of the Anxi Army. The Anxi Army has such a great reputation. It is just a delusion to capture Luoyang.  Come on, I've prepared some food and wine to celebrate General Zeng's victory."

    Except for the serving eunuchs, only Prime Minister Yan Zhuang was present in the palace. The other Yan officials were not in the palace. After Zeng Pei knelt down to worship An Qingxu, he walked straight to his seat. After he sat down, he heard An Qingxu say again: "General Zeng,  Do you think the Anxi army will retreat if they can't hold it for a long time?"

    Zeng Pei sighed: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Anxi Army will not retreat."

    An Qingxu's face changed color: "It has been three days, and today is already the fourth day. According to this situation, it is almost impossible for the Anxi army to capture Luoyang. Why doesn't Li Zuoguo retreat? Is it just a waste of food and money under Luoyang City?  ?¡±

    Zeng Pei glanced at Yan Zhuang and saw that Yan Zhuang had no expression and was minding his own food and drink. There were no other ministers in the palace. Zeng Pei said: "Your Majesty, the Anxi Army did not use all its strength to attack the city. It lasted about three hours every day. After the attack, they returned to camp. Moreover, our casualties were completely disproportionate to those of the Anxi Army. I am afraid that even one of our five casualties could hardly be killed.  If the soldiers of the Anxi Army continue to be depleted like this, there will probably be no soldiers left to go to the city in less than a month. From what I can see, Li Zuoguo is probably using Luoyang to train his troops.  "

    An Qingxu's face was already very ugly. A eunuch wanted to pour wine for An Qingxu. An Qingxu suddenly shouted: "How could this happen? If the North Gate is not surrounded by Anxi troops, can we leave the city?"

    The eunuch didn't expect An Qingxu to yell. He was startled. His hands shook and the wine poured on the table. An Qingxu was furious: "Get out, you useless thing. Everyone, get out of here."  , or I will kill you all."

    All the eunuchs in the palace turned pale with fright and hurriedly retreated. Only An Qingxu and three others were left in the palace. Zeng Pei smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that there is a gap in the north gate, but in fact Li Zuoguo never thought of letting us go."  , The cavalry of the Anxi Army has been cruising outside the north gate. If we break out from the north gate, how can we escape when the Anxi cavalry comes?"

    Zeng Pei ignored the anger in An Qingxu's eyes and continued: "Your Majesty, it is not a question of how to escape now, but there is nowhere to escape. The entire Henan Road is now in the hands of Li Zuoguo, and Hedong Road has also been cleaned up by Li Hu.  The entire north bank of the Yellow River is patrolled by the cavalry of the Anxi Army, and the mouth of the Yellow River is also controlled by the Anxi Army. There are ships of the Anxi Army in the river. Where can we escape? We can only defend Luoyang."

    An Qingxu calmed down immediately, with a crazy look in his eyes, and suddenly raised his head and said: "Then we simply retreat to the inner city to defend and burn the entire Luoyang."

    Zeng Pei's eyes widened and he hurriedly advised: "Your Majesty, you must not do this. The morale of the soldiers guarding the city is very low now. The supervising team does not dare to kill again. If we do this, I am afraid that the soldiers in Luoyang will mutiny."  , I am afraid that the inner city will not be able to be defended by then. Your Majesty must not do this. I will mobilize our troops to defend Luoyang. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

    After hearing what Zeng Pei said, An Qingxu's mood became much more stable. The three of them sat at the banquet. Except for Yan Zhuang, who was still eating and drinking calmly, the other two lost their appetite. After a while, Yan Zhuang and Zeng Pei said goodbye to An Qingxu.  , resigned from the palace.

    Zeng Pei and Yan Zhuang said hello at the palace gate, mounted their horses and returned to the military camp. Yan Zhuang watched Zeng Pei go away in front of the carriage, his eyes thoughtful.

    In the Anxi Army camp outside the city, in Li Zuoguo's tent, not all the generals were there this time, only more than thirty senior military generals were there. Li Hu had already changed into a set of armor and was standing at the top.  Opposite him is Li Guiren in the army. Li Guiren has performed well these days and has been praised by Li Zuoguo.

    Li Hu glanced at Li Guiren. He never had a good look at the surrendered general Li Hu. Li Hu believed that as a military general, he could not surrender. He only said that if you don't fight to the death, you will surrender. Isn't this greed for life and fear of death?  However, Li Hu has become much calmer in recent years. Although he doesn't like Li Guiren, he won't show it openly.

    Li Guiren knew that Li Hu didn't like him, but he didn't take it to heart. After all, Li Hu was the most trusted general under Li Zuoguo, and he was not on the same level as Li Hu at all.

    Li Zuoguo put down the teacup in his hand and said: "In the past few days, your soldiers have practiced very well in attacking the city. I think it is enough. Let's attack Luoyang tomorrow. There is no need to waste time. An Qingxu has been free and easy for a long time."  ."

    Li Hu became excited, stood up and clasped his fists and said: "Leave Luoyang to Li Hu and offer Luoyang city to Sikong tomorrow."

    Li Zuoguo waved his hand and said, "You don't need to take action." He turned his eyes to the generals below. They tried their best to raise their chests, hoping to get Li Zuoguo's attention. What kind of military exploits was it to capture Luoyang and destroy the Yan State?  Everyone wants to accomplish this great feat, but they are reluctant to come out to fight for fear of making Li Hu unhappy, which would be more than worth the gain.

    Li Zuoguo smiled when he saw the expressions of the generals, and his morale was very high: "Luoyang City is strong and there are many soldiers in the city. If we attack again, our losses will not be small. The Huozi Camp will arrive tomorrow, and I will show you the real  With the performance of the siege experts, sieges in the future will not be a protracted waste at all.¡±

    Only the former general of the Anxi Army in the tent understood Li Zuoguo's words. Li Hu's face showed joy: "The Fire Camp is coming? If Hong Tianlei is used, there is really no need to sacrifice the lives of soldiers."

    Li Zuoguo stood up and said: "Okay, after breaking through tomorrow, the troops attacking Luoyang should pay attention. Anyone who disturbs the people, plunders property, or kills civilians wantonly will be beheaded. You must give orders, don't do it."  If a soldier under his command makes a mistake, if the soldier makes a mistake, he will be promoted to the third level and be executed as a captain. If the captain makes a mistake, then you will have no choice but to use your head to enforce military discipline."

    The generals were awe-inspiring, and Li Zuoguo said again:"Tomorrow Wu Lie will lead 20,000 cavalry to the north gate to prevent An Qingxu from abandoning the city and fleeing. Tomorrow night we will celebrate in Luoyang City."

    The crowd, led by Li Hu, bowed their heads to Li Zuoguo: "I obey."

    ¡­¡­
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