Tibet

At night, Chen Zhu came to Luji Silk Shop and found the shopkeeper Jin Nan. Jin Nan quickly said: "I was just about to find you, and the chief clerk came. Come in quickly!"

Jin Nan invited Chen Zhu to the back hall. Chen Zhu sighed and said, "I just got some information. It may be a little late. A few days before Li Ye sent out troops, General An Taixuan secretly led five thousand people to the north."

Jin Nan was startled and said quickly: "Why didn't you tell us such important information earlier?"

Chen Zhu shook his head, "This is a top-secret operation of the military. Even Li Dai doesn't know about it, let alone me. This is what Li Dai told me today, and he only knew about it just now."

Jin Nan quickly asked: "Then before, Li Ye led 20,000 troops to the north. Is the intelligence true?"

"That's true. Li Dai went to see him off, so of course it can't be fake."

Jin Nan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "There was a message from Luoyang, accusing me of providing false intelligence. Now it seems that the intelligence is not false. It was just two troops sent out, one overt and one secret. It's just that we didn't notice the secret dispatch."

"This should be the reason. Let's explain it to Luoyang!"

Jin Nan nodded, "I will send a letter tomorrow to explain the letter of allegiance I asked you to write last time. When are you going to give it to me?"

"Originally, I had written it and planned to take it over today, but something happened today. I may have to revise it a little and give it to Shopkeeper Jin the day after tomorrow."

"What happened?" Jin Nan asked quickly.

"Li Dai found me today. He is planning to promote me to Xiangyang County Magistrate."

Jin Nan was overjoyed, "Is it confirmed?"

"It should be confirmed."

This news is very good. Once Chen Zhu is promoted to county magistrate, it means that they will be able to obtain more confidential information.

The fierce battle at Luyang Pass has begun, with the sound of horns and the roar of war drums. Ten thousand Yan army crossbowmen lined up two hundred steps away and fired crossbow arrows at the top of the city. The arrows were like a storm, destroying the defenders of the city. Three thousand Tang army soldiers suppressed them with all their might.

Although the arrows under the city are very powerful, it is not easy to capture Luyang Pass. Luyang Pass is tall and solid, made entirely of large stones, and the city gate has just been replaced with a new one. The entire city is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

As dozens of siege ladders were set up on the top of the city, the crossbows under the city also stopped shooting. The Yan Army soldiers swarmed up, and the counterattack on the top of the city began. Dozens of Tang Army soldiers dealt with a ladder, and the Yan Army soldiers As soon as he climbed to the top of the city, he was knocked down by more than a dozen spears.

Even if the soldiers of the Yan army are very strong, it is difficult for them to defeat four hands with two fists, not to mention that the Tang army defending the city is equally strong.

A Tang Army soldier used an ax to cut off the iron hook at the front of the siege ladder. The ladder could not be fixed. The soldiers used iron forks to hold the ladder up, struggled to lift it up, and shouted together: "One, two, three!"

The ladder was pushed up, its center of gravity shifted outwards, and finally fell outwards. The twenty or so soldiers on the ladder screamed and fell heavily to the ground along with the ladder.

The siege battle lasted from morning to evening. The siege soldiers suffered more than 3,000 casualties, and the defenders also suffered nearly 300 casualties.

Seeing that Guancheng could not be captured for a long time, Tian Chengsi became a little irritated.

At this time, a cavalryman rushed over, raised his arrow and shouted: "His Royal Highness has an order, attack the city gate!"

Tian Chengsi originally thought about using the battering ram in two days. Since His Highness the Crown Prince gave the order, he had no choice but to obey. He shouted sharply: "Prepare the battering ram!"

"Woo——"

A low horn sounded, and a battering ram was slowly pushed out. It was a medium-sized battering ram, with a chassis underneath, eight wooden wheels on both sides, and an eaves-like roof above it, like a pavilion. A large three-foot-long battering ram hangs on an iron chain in the middle.

The siege battle continued, with three hundred soldiers holding shields to cover, and the other hundred soldiers pushing the large battering ram slowly forward.

On the top of the city, Li Ye saw the battering ram at a glance. He sneered and said, "Prepare the kerosene jars!"

A dozen soldiers carried dozens of clay pots one after another. This was the kerosene transported from Bakhan. The quantity was limited and could only be used on the blade.

The battering ram gradually approached the city gate. Tian Chengsi squinted at the battering ram. He had a bad feeling in his heart. The Tang army was too quiet and there were no arrows. It was completely inconsistent with common sense.

At this moment, more than a dozen clay pottery jars were thrown down from the top of the city, and they all hit the roof of the battering ram. The jars shattered, kerosene spilled out, and a burning torch was thrown down immediately.

"Boom!" The battering ram was instantly engulfed in flames, and the twenty soldiers standing on both sides of the battering ram were also engulfed in flames. The other soldiers were shocked to retreat. Hundreds of crossbow arrows were fired at the soldiers from the top of the city. Yan The soldiers screamed and fifty or sixty people fell.

Tian Chengsi punched the saddle hard, and he knew this would be the result.

Another cavalryman came to convey An Qingxu's order, "Your Highness requests the withdrawal of troops!"

Tian Chengsi nodded and shouted: "Send the order to withdraw the troops!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!" The gong sounded to withdraw troops.

The 20,000 siege troops withdrew like a tide.

The fierce fighting on the first day finally ended. The Yan army suffered casualties of more than 4,000 people, and the Tang army in the city also suffered casualties of nearly 400 people. The ratio of killed and wounded was almost half.

At night, in the Yan army camp, An Qingxu summoned the generals to discuss today's siege.

Tian Chengsi is the general in charge of today's siege, and he has the most say. He slowly said to everyone: "The Tang army on the city head today should be newly recruited soldiers, not veterans from Anxi. It can be seen that they have just started They are still relatively new, and their attacks are not ruthless enough. They only started to become proficient in the afternoon, and our soldiers only suffered more casualties in the afternoon. Their training should be good, and they will be more proficient tomorrow!"

An Qingxu asked impatiently: "I don't care whether he is a new soldier or a veteran. I just want to know now, is there any way to capture Luyang Pass?"

Tian Chengsi lowered his head and thought for a while and said: "We can try to attack the city at night. I don't know their night combat capabilities. If they haven't been trained, then we have an advantage."

"What are other people's opinions?" An Qingxu looked at the other soldiers again.

General Wu Lingyu stood up and said: "I am training to fight at night. I am willing to lead an army of five thousand to attack at night!"

Wu Lingyu's brother Wu Lingnan died in the Changsnake Valley and was burned to black charcoal. If it weren't for the gold medal around his waist, Wu Lingyu would not have recognized the deceased as his brother.

Wu Lingyu felt evil in his heart and wanted to go into the city and cut Li Ye into pieces to avenge his brother.

An Qingxu nodded, "Okay, General Wu will lead five thousand troops to conduct a trial attack first. If the opponent fails to fight at night, General Tian will fight at night with the pressure of the army."

The camp gate opened, and groups of Yan troops ran out, carrying siege ladders and running towards Luyang Pass in the distance. There was no sound of drums or horns.

Wu Lingyu had his own way of attacking the city. He first made a sneak attack. If the sneak attack failed, he then launched a strong attack.

Wu Lingyu did have experience in night fighting. There was no moonlight tonight and it was relatively dark. The opponent's vision could only be about a hundred steps at most. In other words, the Tang army could not see beyond a hundred steps.

His main force of 5,000 was ambushed at about 120 steps, and he sent 500 soldiers to attack the westernmost part of Guancheng.

Of course, the five hundred Yan army soldiers dressed in black would not run directly over. They carried a bamboo ladder painted black and moved closer to Guancheng along the edge of the cliff.