Chapter 42 Meeting
On the city wall, corpses were everywhere and blood flowed like streams. Four or five soldiers used large wooden shields to cover Zhang Xuanning tightly inside, waiting for the Turks to attack again.
At this moment, there was a "wooo" sound, and the entire city wall suddenly moved.
"Buzz!" The sky darkened, and thousands of arrows covered the sky like raindrops. The soldiers holding huge shields stood still, and the sound of arrows falling on them continued.
Other soldiers also either held shields or hid in blind spots, waiting for the rain of arrows to fall. The Turks set up simple ladders. At this time , the soldiers hiding behind the earth wall shouted and rushed forward, pushing, stabbing, or shooting. As a result, the Turkic soldiers who climbed up fell to the ground one after another.
"Fight to the death!" a fire captain shouted, stabbing with his spear. A Turkic soldier who was climbing up screamed and fell from the high ladder. The Turkic soldier below didn't care and climbed up. He just showed his head. There was a long knife next to him, and the long knife chopped on his left shoulder. The Turkic roared angrily, and regardless of being in mid-air, he grabbed the long knife with his backhand and immediately pulled the Sui soldier down. The two of them screamed and fell from mid-air, landing heavily on the ground. There were already layers of corpses on the ground.
"Swish, swish!" Hundreds of long arrows were shot out from strong bows, covering the sky from below. Both the enemy and us who were fighting screamed, blood splattered, and even a giant shield soldier who was protecting Zhang Xuanning sank down. An arrow had pierced his chest through the gap. The soldier gritted his teeth and used his body to support the giant shield.
Behind the giant shield, Zhang Xuanning seemed unaware of all this. His true Qi continued to condense, and wherever the true Qi went, not only did his meridians expand further, all the acupoints swelled up, and even the evil Qi followed suit. Every time it circulated, the true Qi became more surging and abundant, flowing like the tide.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Xuanning woke up.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the soldiers fighting to the death outside, and the soldier in the front who was already dead but still stiffly holding up his shield.
Zhang Xuanning had no feeling at all towards this soldier who swore to protect him to the death. His face was as gloomy as water. He pushed him away and slowly drew out his knife.
The battle had been going on for more than twenty days. During these twenty days, the number of Turkic troops was as high as 200,000, while in fact the total number of Emperor Yang of Sui's imperial guards was only 20,000.
However, the Turks were not good at attacking cities, while Emperor Yang of Sui's imperial guards were elite and protected by city walls. Therefore, after repeated fighting over the past twenty days, although almost half of the 20,000 imperial guards were killed, 30,000 Turks also died outside the city.
You have to know that all Turkic people are soldiers. If one person dies, there will be one less adult male. Such consumption is not something the Turks can afford, so the battle has entered a stalemate stage.
A spent force cannot penetrate the silk cloth of Lu. Not to mention that reinforcements have arrived from all over the country, even if there were no reinforcements, the Turks would never be willing to spend another 30,000 or 40,000 cavalry to break through Yanmen.
Because of this, the Turks would also be seriously damaged. You know, on the grassland, not to mention the internal division of the Turks, other enemies are also emerging in an endless stream. If there is such a loss, the Turks will not only find it difficult to gain benefits, but may not even be able to maintain their position as the overlord of the grassland.
Besides, in history, the Turkic siege lasted only one month, and then it was lifted.
Therefore, when others didn't know what tomorrow would be like, only Zhang Xuanning could remain calm and composed.
This kind of leisurely and calm person, who was mixed in with the surrounding Sui soldiers who were fighting desperately but still in a sad and bleak mood, was of course very conspicuous. In fact, Zhang Xuanning also knew this, but he had already made up his mind to leave the army after this battle, so he didn't care what others thought.
Moreover, this was not just a matter of having plenty of time and being calm. Over the past twenty days or so, he had killed hundreds of Turkic cavalrymen, killing a dozen or twenty people in almost every battle. How could such results not awe the surrounding Sui soldiers?
Now, he has rich practical experience, especially in fighting with a small number of enemies and on the battlefield. He is good at avoiding the important points and reducing the damage caused by successful hits to the minimum. Once he strikes, he will hit the enemy's vital points and will not leave any room for the enemy.
The idea of leaving the enemy a glimmer of hope and God's mercy may be plausible in philosophy and politics, but it is all bullshit when it comes to fighting on the battlefield.
Despite this, the battle ahead was still extremely brutal.
"Fight to the death, fight to the death, kill the Turkic dogs!" This voice kept erupting from the city walls during the battle, and behind them, the sound of war drums continued, conveying the order to fight to the end to both the enemy and us.
The sounds of fighting and screaming rang out one after another on the Yanmen Wall. The Sui soldiers were exhausted and wounded. They used their flesh and blood to desperately resist the Turkic attacks on the wall.
"Puff!" Another sharp arrow suddenly broke through the air, shooting straight up from the wall, piercing through the shield and the chest of a soldier. Blood immediately rushed out of the body and sprinkled on Zhang Xuanning. This was obviously done by the opponent's sharpshooter. Zhang Xuanning was unaware of it, but just sneered and picked up a spear in his hand.
He used all his strength and thrust the spear through the air, as fast as lightning. The distance of more than 20 meters seemed to be non-existent. The sharpshooter had no way to resist or dodge. The spear penetrated his body and nailed both the man and his horse to the ground.
"General Shi, General Shi!" the soldiers around shouted.
"Woo~~~~" The Turkic horn below started blowing again.
Following the sound of the horn, there was another "buzz" sound, and the sky suddenly darkened again. Zhang Xuanning did not dare to be careless about such a rain of arrows. He picked up a shield and pushed it upwards, and there was a sound of arrows falling on it.
After the rain of arrows, the Turkic soldiers seemed to be stimulated by something and swarmed over to attack again.
This time the long arrows were very powerful, whistling towards the Turkic army from time to time. Even though the Sui soldiers were well-trained at this time and took the opportunity to hide in the city walls with cover and shields, and even in blind spots, the screams were still heard.
"Keep calm, don't panic!" Zhang Xuanning used his inner strength to shout, and immediately the surrounding Sui soldiers calmed down.
"Hmph, the Turks are short of supplies. I wonder how many more times you can launch such a rain of arrows. I'm afraid this is the last wave of attack?" Zhang Xuanning thought with a sneer. Sure enough, it didn't take long for the rain of arrows to stop, and the Turkish soldiers carried the ladders and climbed up.
"Orders, don't be stingy, put everything down!" Zhang Xuanning shouted loudly.
The convinced Sui soldiers around them immediately responded to the order, and stones, battering rams, kerosene, and arrows were thrown down madly. Suddenly, under such a fierce attack, the Turkic soldiers fell down screaming continuously.
But this time, there seemed to be an expert present. A group of Turks climbed up with great agility. Although a few of them were hit on the way, you have to know that the power of stones and fire falling from high altitudes is very great. Even experts cannot withstand it and fell down with screams.
But most of these Turks quickly broke through and jumped onto the city wall. Although there were not many of them, the nearby Sui soldiers were hacked to death, and the wall was in chaos.
"Archers, cover them with your fire!" Zhang Xuanning shouted angrily.
Immediately, the Sui army archers who were still nearby, under his shouting, rushed over to the position of the Turkic fighters who had not yet rushed up.
"Puff, puff!" Under the shooting of hundreds of powerful bows that could penetrate armor, more than a dozen Turkic fighters turned into hedgehogs and fell down one after another. In a large-scale battle, martial arts were not as strong as imagined.
After giving the order, Zhang Xuanning swung his sword and rushed forward.
A Turkic master killed two Sui soldiers. Seeing Zhang Xuanning rushing towards him, his eyes shot out cold lightning and he stared at him fiercely. His body and mind were filled with murderous aura. If it were an ordinary Sui soldier, just this look would be enough to make him terrified and lose all his fighting spirit.
However, Zhang Xuanning had killed five hundred people personally, and he had already become extremely determined after killing so many people. He rushed forward, and his figure swayed slightly, and the opponent's attack was immediately stopped. His eyes showed disbelief.
It turned out that this shaking not only broke the opponent's Qi lock, but also attacked his weakness. The opponent roared and swung his sword to block.
The battle between masters is all about this fine line of difference, and combat in the military brings this point into full play.
With a "puff" sound, Zhang Xuanning's long sword had attacked the opponent's weak point of true energy. The true energy on the sword burst out like a flood, and the true energy that broke in carried an extremely vicious and evil energy.
"Bang!" The man suddenly vomited blood and could no longer exert strength for a moment. The battlefield did not give him a chance. Two long knives around him pierced through his body almost at the same time and killed him on the spot.
He could feel the sword in his hand , and as his mind and body were united, Zhang Xuanning's sword flashed and he rushed straight towards other Turkic masters.
A skilled Turkic fighter, sensing the fierce murderous intent, roared and rushed forward before he could even stand firm. Zhang Xuanning kicked with his foot, and a half-spear on the ground pierced through his chest with a "puff".
The man let out a heart-wrenching scream, his weapon slipped out of his hand, and he fell from a high altitude, directly to the ground.
Zhang Xuanning hacked and stabbed left and right, killing anyone he saw. No one could stop him, and the Sui soldiers organized themselves from the chaos and killed them. After all, they had the advantage in numbers and the sharpness of the masters, so wherever they went, the Turkish fighters fell down or were nailed to the wall by several spears, making creepy screams.
It didn't take long for the Sui soldiers to surround all the intruding Turkic fighters and isolate them from other Turkic soldiers. The remaining archers bent their bows and drew arrows. Zhang Xuanning sneered at this time and did not move forward.
"Puff, puff!" Dozens of arrows were shot out, with a distance of only a few meters. Their power was so strong that they could not be blocked. The terrified Turkic fighters tried to block them, but it was completely ineffective. They were shot dead one after another on the spot. Some even climbed up the city wall and jumped down, but were shot dead in mid-air.
Even if they were not shot, jumping directly down from the wall that was more than ten meters high was not enough for even their martial arts skills to withstand it. Several people broke their legs and let out miserable screams from below.
Seeing this, they finally realized that nothing could be done today. With the sound of horns, the Turks began to retreat, leaving the city gates and walls that they had been trying to fight for just a moment ago. Today's attack left more than 2,000 corpses under the city.
This retreat did not seem to be the same as before. The Sui soldiers who were resting on the wall and preparing to fight again tomorrow also noticed something unusual after an hour.
A strong wind blew, and corpses were everywhere under the city. The remaining flags were fluttering.
The enemy's horns sounded in waves, passing through the camp, and the Turkic cavalry began to retreat. At this time, almost all the Sui soldiers struggled to their feet silently, watching these Turkic cavalry retreat one by one.
No one, whether upper or lower, wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to charge. The reason was simple. The other side still had hundreds of thousands of troops, while their own side had less than 10,000, and most of them were injured and exhausted. How could they possibly attack?
After a while, cries were heard in the army. It was the sorrow of comrades in memory of their comrades, but also the joy of their own survival. Zhang Xuanning stood on the top of the city wall, watching them retreat and slowly disappear in the afternoon sun.
At this moment, not long after the Turkic army retreated, a group of people appeared in the distance. Looking far away, the word "Li" was seen.
Zhang Xuanning's lips curled slightly, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Did Li Shimin resolve the Battle of Yanmen?
The legend goes that in September, on the long white official road leading to Yanbei, General Yun Dingxing came to the rescue of the emperor, but he was said to be very incompetent. At this time, Li Shimin actually broke into the military camp and shouted: "General Yun, I, Li Shimin, have a brilliant plan to report."
Yun Dingxing knew that Shimin was the son of Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, so he hurriedly asked someone to let him come over and asked, "What brilliant plan do you have, nephew? Tell me now!"
Li Shimin said to Yun Dingxing: "Since Shibi dared to raise troops to besiege the emperor, he must think that we are too late to come to his aid. We should have flags and banners for dozens of miles during the day and gongs and drums at night. The enemy will think that reinforcements are coming and flee. Otherwise, they are many and we are few. If we send all our troops to fight, we will not be able to resist."
When Yun Dingxing heard this, he clapped his hands and shouted, "Heroes are born young. Raising more flags and drums to confuse the enemy is a great idea. Let's do it immediately!"
Yun Dingxing followed this plan. During the day, flags were flying and the sound of killing shook the sky. At night, gongs and drums sounded and flames covered half the sky.
It is said that the Turkic army, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, had no order in marching and fighting. When they saw the enemy, they were frightened and ran away without even sending some soldiers to investigate. As a result, the Turkic soldiers withdrew across the board, and Li Shimin lifted the siege of Yanmen in this way.
Afterwards, Li Yuan also led the army to Yanmen to escort Emperor Yang of Sui and his ministers back.
Well, according to legend, after the siege of Yanmen, Emperor Yang of Sui was almost frightened, and several peasant uprisings appeared near Luoyang and Chang'an. Emperor Yang of Sui no longer dared to stay in the north. He said to his old minister Su Wei: "The north has been unlucky for a long time, and there have been continuous wars. I'd better move to Jiangdu."
As expected, Li Shimin was wise and brave, the best in the world, and a cuckold!
Emperor Yang of Sui must have been as cowardly as a mouse. He ran away to the south when he was frightened and did not behave like a monarch at all.
He colluded with the Turks and put the emperor to death, but when he saw that the war situation was unfavorable, he immediately changed himself into a savior and a loyal minister. Such a shallow plan scared hundreds of thousands of Turkish troops and made them flee back to the grassland. Did he really think that people in the world were fools?
However, maybe everyone in the world is indeed foolish and idiotic, because even in Zhang Xuanning's original life, there were countless people who believed in him. This is the halo effect.
Amid the sneers, Li Shimin had already ridden out, dismounted, and knelt at the city gate: "I am Li Shimin, the second son of Li Yuan, Duke of Tang. I am late in coming to your rescue. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."
It must be said that when this was said, the soldiers and civilians around who were unaware of the truth did cheer. The offensive was at its peak, but suddenly stopped. Someone came running and said that the rescue was late. Of course, they thought that this was his credit.
Humph, you are the savior, what are we, the people who fight to the death to kill the enemy, cannon fodder or grass?
Zhang Xuanning sneered. He was now a captain of the Zhechou Army, which was a good official position. He immediately pulled himself down from the city gate with a rope, and landed under the city wall with one foot. After taking a few steps forward, several followers behind Li Shimin were startled and rushed forward, with a hint of siege.
Zhang Xuanning said with a smile: "Who is coming?"
"I am Li Shimin, the second son of Li Yuan, Duke of Tang. May I know who the general is?" Although Li Shimin was young, he had a mighty appearance, eyes as bright as ink, and a spirit. At this moment, he stood proudly and confidently, with an imposing bearing that made people admire him. He smiled and bowed.
"Oh, I'm Shi Wuji, the commander of the army. Mr. Li is so young, I wonder what your official position is?" Zhang Xuanning asked. He was covered in blood, and although he was smiling, Li Shimin couldn't help feeling a chill.
"I don't hold any official position yet, but I am here to serve the king and save him. This is the duty of our subjects."
"Oh, Master Li has no official position, but he was able to summon thousands of soldiers and save the emperor. It's really amazing. I admire you." The voice was deliberately loud so that everyone nearby could hear it. "The Turkic army of 200,000 was so powerful, but when Master came, they retreated. Master is really the number one hero, and the Li family was also the number one family at that time!"
Boom! Countless people around were stunned and started talking.
Li Shimin's face changed, and he immediately said: "I am here to save the king, just for the sake of my duty as a subject. I dare not refuse even if it means my death, and I dare not be called the first hero or the first family."
Zhang Xuanning stopped talking at this time, just smiled and said: "Well, young master, you have done a great deed. I will report this to His Majesty."
As he said this, he turned around, still followed the rope, and climbed up to the city wall.
Li Shimin looked up and his face turned pale.
This was the first time the two met. At that time, Li Shimin was seventeen years old and Zhang Xuanning was eighteen years old.
