Dongdu, early morning, Mao hour. Waves of deep and powerful horn sounds came from the Tang Army camp outside the Fourth City of Luoyang. Sharp whistles rang out, accompanied by the roars of the captains and the soldiers' boots hitting the ground as they rushed out in all directions. The sound of the sound, the fine sound of drums and horns and the sound of clappers merged into one, and the whole earth was shaking slightly. Even the dust and dirt at the crenellations of the city wall seemed to be shaken by these loud noises, and they all separated from the original battlements. Above, fell down to the city. Lai dressed up in silver armor and animal-faced armor, and slowly walked out of the city tower. More than a dozen shield-wielding guards guarded him tightly, and two teenagers of sixteen or seventeen years old had some fine hair just growing on the corners of their mouths. The fluffy appearance is about 60-70% similar to that of Lai Zheng. They are exactly Lai Zheng's two younger brothers. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? out That one is slightly shorter, slightly darker complexion, called Lai Ji, ranked ninth among the brothers from the family, while the other is slightly taller, with fair complexion, called Lai Huan, ranked tenth among the brothers from the family. There are a dozen sons in total who came to protect the children. Except for a few who died in infancy, these two are the two youngest. Back then, when Laihuer Jiangdu was killed, these two children lived in Luoyang's home and thus escaped the disaster. A few years later, they have grown up. Today, these two orphans from Laihu'er, It was the first time that he followed his brother into battle, but it was such an important battle to defend the city. Laizheng looked outside the city, where the Tang army was forming, as dense as dark clouds. He curled up his lips and sneered: "Sure enough, they are here. The commander is right. Today, the Tang army will attack the city with all their strength. The most critical moment is Lao Jiu, Lao Ten, you have been reading military books these years, what do you think of the situation outside the city?" Lai Ji curled his lips and said, "It seems that Li Shimin attacked the city himself. The commander-in-chief's flag has been laid out in the Chinese army's formation, and the general under it should be Li Shimin. This time Beicheng is their main attack direction. Should we inform His Majesty and let him take charge here personally? " Huan shook his head: "Brother Ninth, are we so unambitious? If Li Shimin attacks Beicheng, won't Sixth Brother be able to defend it? I think this is a good opportunity for our brothers to make contributions. Brother Six, Our father was a general of the Sui Dynasty. When we are of this generation, we must serve our country with all our loyalty and make great contributions, so that we can live up to our reputation as generals." Lai Zheng waved his hands and said, "It's useless. , you are still too young and have never been in battle. The general's banner may not be the general himself. Just like in the battle of Qingyang Palace last month, Li Shimin let his nephew Li Daoxuan wear his armor, and even the war horses were stained. It's purple to confuse us. It's really hard to say whether Li Shimin is under the banner this time. But you are right about one thing. Wherever Li Shimin is, that's where the Tang Army will attack." With a solemn expression, he pointed at the dark army opposite, numbering no less than 50,000, and said: "Since Li Tang besieged the city, thousands of troops from various prefectures and counties have taken refuge in their troops every day. Their troops are getting more and more numerous, and they were only about 80,000 when they came out. , now there are no less than 150,000, and such a large army is coming from the direction of the north gate. The terrain of the east and west gates is not conducive to the deployment of the army, and I guess it is unlikely to be the direction of Li Tang's main attack. Therefore, Li Shimin. Either here or in Nancheng. His Majesty is personally in charge of Nancheng. Then I will be completely responsible for this. Regardless of whether Li Shimin is here or not, we must guard the north gate and not let any Tang soldiers enter. " He Laihuan said in unison: "No." Lai Zheng's brows gradually wrinkled, his eyes fell on the soldiers of the Tang Army who were pushing a large number of catapults forward, and said: "It seems that the Tang Army is going to use a large number of catapults." The long-range weapons first destroyed the defensive weapons at the top of our city to cover the infantry attack. I sent my order to the general. Only a thousand people were left at the top of the city to monitor. All the cannons, flying stones and eight-bow crossbows were hidden and were not allowed to be fired. Waiting for my order. " "Ninth brother, tenth brother, you lead the troops down to the city and act according to the flags on my city. According to what we have been practicing these days, you will support me according to the flags I raise. Do you understand? Ji and Lai Huan looked at each other and said in unison: "Brother Six, you are the coach. It is dangerous here. Please come down to the city." Lai Zheng shook his head and smiled: "It's okay. Just because I am the coach, it is more dangerous here." You must see clearly the enemy's movements with your own eyes. Go down quickly. Remember, follow my orders!" When a large number of city defenders followed Lai Ji and Lai Huan down the city wall, Lai Zheng slowly stepped forward. After being fooled by his silver face, behind the ghost face, he looked at the Tang army's formation five miles away with a pair of bright eyes. More than a hundred catapults had been placed in place, about four hundred steps away from the city wall. More than two thousand sergeants stood behind these catapults. Countless stones were loaded on the carts and placed on the side of these catapults. The nests on all the force arms had been placed Stones ranging from a few kilograms to more than ten kilograms?, just waiting for an order, thousands of stones will come out. Laizheng sneered: "It's still the same old thing. Do you think that just relying on these catapults, you can knock down the city wall of Luoyang? Daydreaming! Cloth curtain!" A burst of rapid horn sound sounded at the head of Beicheng, three times in a row, from From the crenellations of the female wall, hundreds of long bamboo poles stretched out at once, six or seven feet long. On each bamboo pole, there was hung a cloth that was more than one foot long, three or four layers thick. It looks like several thick quilts, tightly covering the entire city walls and crenellations of the North City in this quilt. There was a rapid banging sound from the Tang army's position, and the 50,000-strong army burst into thunderous cheers: "Wind, wind, wind!" Almost at the same time, the arms of more than a hundred catapults hung heavily. , as the sergeants holding the front arms, in cooperation with shouting slogans, exerted their force in unison, countless flying stones were overwhelming, directly hitting the Luoyang city wall in the distance. The sound of "pop" was heard endlessly, like the sound of a heavy fist hitting the defeat. Ninety percent of the stones hit the cloth directly, taking away most of the power, and finally waited until they hit the cloth. When the city wall was built, it was already weak. Only a few layers of dust were knocked off the top of the city wall, and then it fell to the bottom of the city. Many stones rolled into the moat about three feet outside the city. The sound of "plop, plop" was heard endlessly. There was a splash of water. Occasionally, a few stones crossed over these cloths and hit the city head of Luoyang City. Some buildings and arrow towers were hit, and several sentry towers collapsed. There were more than a dozen of these thick cloths, which also followed these stones. When the city tower fell to the ground, it was brought to the ground, but soon a new bamboo pole with cloth hanging on it was stretched out from behind. The bombardment continued for more than ten rounds. The stones under the Dongdu City were half a foot high, and The thick layer of cloth still perfectly wrapped the entire city wall, not even a bit of the wall was exposed.