Tibet

Rolling logs and stones fell from the top of the sword pavilion like hailstones. Soldiers on both sides of the steps fell down one after another, but dozens of others were hit by the rolling stones and fell to the ground immediately and fainted.

But the rolling wood and rocks could not continue forever. After a short pause, the soldiers immediately got up and ran upwards, but they could only run less than twenty steps. The second round of rolling wood and rocks came down again, and the soldiers had to lie down again. Use a shield to protect your head and vital parts of your body.

The Jiange tower is six feet high and about ten feet wide. It has a bluestone base, a stone arch gate, a beast-swallowing ring, and gold nails to secure the gate. It is a typical city gate style. It can accommodate two hundred soldiers on top, and there are eight more behind it. Hundreds of soldiers were sending rolling logs and rocks upstairs in a steady stream.

Even if the soldiers attack and face the three-foot-high city wall, there is no heavy siege weapon, and consent will not help. Even if they use an earthen siege ladder, the opponent will overturn the ladder. This is the dangerous point of Jianmen Pass. One man can guard the gate, but ten thousand men cannot open it.

But the Helong Army also has its own trump card. They have kerosene and gunpowder, which can burn Guancheng and blow open the gate.

With these two trump cards, it is easy to seize the narrow Jianmen Pass. The key is that the soldiers must press on.

If Jianmen Pass is easy to capture, does that mean Zhang Dian and his three hundred soldiers will be of no use?

This is really not the case. Even if the Bashu army lost the Jiange, they could still confront the Helong Tang army on the narrow mountain road of more than ten miles. Zhang Dian's role was not to attack Jianmen Pass, but to compress the opponent's defense. Space, cutting off the retreat, Zhang Dian and his men pushed the battle line under the Jiange. Once the Jiange was lost, the thousand defenders had no way to retreat. They would either surrender or be wiped out.

Bai Xiaode immediately ordered: "The three thousand crossbowmen of the first army go up and crush the opponent with arrows!"

Three thousand soldiers rushed up. The mountain road was narrow and there was no way to open the battlefield. They could only line up three hundred people in ten rows and shoot arrows at the enemy on the sword pavilion two hundred steps away in a three-stage shooting method.

Arrows suddenly hit the sword pavilion like a storm. The soldiers who were throwing rolling logs and stones fell to the ground after being hit by the arrows. Others were frightened and fell to the ground.

The rolling wooden rocks were suppressed by the arrow formation. A thousand Helong soldiers seized this opportunity and immediately rushed upward.

These thousand soldiers were all throwers. They usually threw short spears, but today they threw kerosene cans. Each soldier carried two kerosene cans weighing five kilograms each on his back.

A dozen soldiers led a charge onto the platform, and they threw the kerosene cans onto the top of the city. The kerosene cans shattered when they hit the ground, followed by five or six burning torches.

A fire suddenly ignited on the top of Jiange City, and the soldiers screamed and retreated one after another.

A fire broke out at the top of the city, and Helong immediately stopped shooting arrows, but the flames suppressed the enemy's rolling logs and rocks. More and more Helong soldiers rushed onto the platform and threw kerosene at the top of the city. The fire on the top of the city became more and more intense. It came more and more violently, and soon the entire city was engulfed.

One hundred soldiers rushed up with a battering ram, "Boom -" A weight of several thousand kilograms hit the city gate hard, causing the city gate to shake violently.

After rushing in for the second time, there was only an earth-shattering muffled sound, and the city gate was knocked open.

At this time, less than a thousand soldiers guarding the sword pavilion were retreating to the mountain road behind. They tried to use the narrow mountain road to continue blocking the Tang army. But what the defenders did not expect was that they could not even walk fifty steps. A group of more than 200 soldiers The Tang army in Helong cut off the mountain road.

More than 900 soldiers were trapped on steps hundreds of steps long. Behind them, the Helong Army entered Guancheng, and in front there were enemy troops intercepting them, cutting off their retreat.

Bai Xiaode shouted sternly: "I'll give you one last chance. Surrender immediately, otherwise you will be killed without mercy!"

"Dang Cang! Dang Cang!"

Groups of soldiers threw away their weapons and knelt on the ground to surrender. The leading general shouted loudly: "No one is allowed to surrender, everyone is surrendered."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Dian waved his hand and more than a hundred arrows were shot at him. The general was shot like a hedgehog and died on the spot.

The other soldiers were so frightened that they knelt down and surrendered to Helong.

At this time, Ni Wenzhong's more than 600 soldiers were suppressed on the mountain road by crossbow arrows from above, unable to move.

There happened to be a slope here. Fifty Helong soldiers stood down and used crossbows to suppress the opponent.

This has nothing to do with the large number of people and the small number of people. The mountain road is narrow and can only accommodate a few dozen people to attack. The 600 soldiers behind are useless. They can only wait for the attacking soldiers in front to die before they can move up.

This is also where the defenders have confidence. Even though they only have a thousand people, even if they lose the sword pavilion, as long as they keep guarding the dangerous points of the mountain road for more than ten miles, they can easily choke the Helong army. Even if the Helong army has 20,000 people, It's useless. They can only send dozens of people to compete with each other for the mountain road. After a long time, what will happen to the food logistics supplies?

But fortunately, Li Ye had fully considered this when making the layout, so he sent Zhang Dian and 300 men to lurk in Jianmen County, cutting off the enemy's retreat at the critical moment.

"General Ni, look!" a soldier pointed at the Jiange more than ten miles away and shouted.

Ni Wenzhong was also stunned. He saw the sword pavilion blazing with fire. It was over, and Dajian Pass was lost.

"Kill me!" Ni Wenzhong shouted sharply.

No matter what, he wants to block the imperial army on the mountain road. This is his last chance to keep Jianmen.

The soldiers under his command shouted and rushed towards the hillside.

But what greeted them were more than twenty huge rocks and rolling logs coming towards them. The Helong soldiers were lucky enough to find a warehouse with a large number of rolling logs and rocks. The Helong army had been holding back, waiting for the enemy to charge. .

The boulder rolled and crashed into the crowd, causing screams. Hundreds of soldiers were knocked over by the boulder or fell off the cliff.

The remaining soldiers were so frightened that they turned around and fled, rolling and crawling down the hillside.

Ni Wenzhong was stunned. He suddenly realized that the other party had found the warehouse.

"Kill again!"

Ni Wenzhong's eyes were red, and he forced hundreds of people to charge forward. Halfway through the charge, dozens of rolling logs and rocks were thrown at their heads and faces.

The soldiers had no shields and could not withstand the impact of huge rocks and rolling trees. Their bones were broken and their muscles were broken, and they screamed and wailed.

Although Ni Wenzhong shouted from behind, forcing them to charge, more than half of the soldiers were injured and they couldn't hold on any longer and escaped at all costs.

At this moment, the soldiers pointed at the mountain road in the distance and shouted. Ni Wenzhong also looked towards the mountain road, his eyes widened suddenly, and he saw a long torchlight team rushing towards us on the mountain road in the distance. Probably thousands of people.

Ni Wenzhong was as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He only had a thousand defenders in Jiange, but now there are thousands of people rushing towards him. It must not be his army, it must be the imperial army. It's over, Dajian Pass is completely over.

"General! Retreat! Otherwise it will be too late." The soldiers shouted.

With no choice, Ni Wenzhong could only grit his teeth and said: "Retreat!"

He took his remaining men with less than 400 men and turned around and ran towards Jianmen County.

The Helong army did not stop and pursued them all the way. At dawn, the Helong army occupied Jianmen County.

Ni Wenzhong led more than a thousand remnant troops and fled to Chengdu in panic.

The 20,000 Helong troops marched southward like splitting bamboo. Three days later, they captured Zitong County, an important town in Xichuan, and the entire territory of Jianzhou. This means that Chengdu is out of danger and the door is open.

However, the Helong army did not continue to go south, but waited for His Highness King Qi to lead the army down.