"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three blasts of fire and thunder have become the standard signal for contacting the Guiyi Army, because no one else has it. The sound is loud and there is a flash of fire, which is very convenient.
However, this was not a signal sent by Ma Shacai's troops who had just arrived at Ximen, Lanzhou, but a signal sent by Wen Chongle in the Majestic Temple.
Because Ma Shacai's team had not yet reached the west gate, patrols from the Li family and other tribes in Lanzhou City were organized.
Under the dim starlight, at the first quarter of Mao hour, they held torches and pengpai, and headed straight for the Majestic Temple.
The Majestic Temple was originally the palace of Xue Ju, the overlord of the Western Qin Dynasty in the late Sui Dynasty. After Xue Rengao, Xue Ju's son, was overthrown by his classmate Li Erfeng, the Tang court was still frightened and feared that another fierce man like Xue Ju would appear in Longyou.
Not only did they remove a large number of martial arts families from Longyou, they also demolished the city walls of Xue Ju's palace and converted it into a majestic temple.
Therefore, the Majestic Temple at this time is actually a Buddhist temple with air leakage from the left and right and undefended front and rear. If the enemy comes, they can attack from the front, rear, left and right.
"General Wen, the main hall and monk's chambers of the Majestic Temple are mostly built with high-quality wood. There are no dangerous places on the left and right that can be defended. If the enemy attacks with fire, we may be buried in a sea of fire.
I see that the enemy has little armor, but I have all the armor, and there are many people who are good at shooting, so why not take the initiative to attack!"
When Mu Shunyi saw this situation, he ran directly to Wen Chongle and said.
Although this man had lived a peaceful life in the Central Plains for several years, he was originally a powerful general who followed Yelu Abaoji and his son to destroy the Bohai Kingdom. His vision was not comparable to that of Wen Chongle.
Wen Chongle glanced at the Khitan bearded man in surprise, and suddenly felt that it made sense.
"Team Mu, you Khitan warriors are good at shooting. You can line up behind them and shoot at the enemy.
Everyone gather their armor, Yuesao Nu, you and the monk soldier masters put on two layers of armor and attack from the front. A certain person will lead eighty cavalry to attack behind."
There are a lot of armors in the Weiyan Temple, but these are not kept secretly by the monks of the Weiyan Temple. They are a Buddhist temple. They only raise monks and soldiers to deal with the provocations of their colleagues and some horse thieves and bandits who catch their attention. They are not for rebellion, so they do not have armor in stock.
.
Some of these armors were escorting the Khitan warriors of Yelu Abri, and some were brought by Wen Chongle. Ma Shacai specially gave them three horses each just for the camel armors.
In order to bring the armor into Lanzhou City, Long Bian even threw away thousands of goods he purchased from Luoyang, the eastern capital.
Here they are in an emergency, and the Li family over there are not unprepared. Indeed, as Mu Shunyi said, they have prepared kerosene and firewood, intending to set fire to it if they cannot capture it.
At the same time, in order to prevent the archers in the majestic temple, they not only equipped a large number of platoons, but also dismantled a large number of door panels.
The swordsmen who are good at melee combat are hiding behind Peng Pai and the door panel, intending to directly advance into the majestic temple for melee combat, and use their numerical advantage to eat up the Guiyi army in the majestic temple as soon as possible.
Yue Saonu put on a chainmail armor, and then put on Wen Chongle's cotton armor. It cannot be said that the cotton armor belonged to Wen Chongle. This pair of cotton armor was bought by the two of them together.
Nowadays in Liangzhou, the cost of a piece of cotton armor is still relatively high, with each set worth hundreds of dollars.
After putting on the two layers of armor, Yue Saonu rested against the temple door with a pumpkin hammer in hand. The Li family hoped to fight the Guiyi Army in close combat, so why not the Guiyi Army?
The sound of 'Boom! Whoosh! Boom! Whoosh!' sounded. Dozens of vigorous Khitan warriors climbed up to the attic of the main hall of the Majestic Temple, occupying a high place. Arrows were like raindrops, heading towards the slowly advancing Li family. The troops poured out.
These warriors, who were able to carry Yelvbei even to the Later Tang Dynasty, were all the best fishing and hunting warriors in the mountains and forests of Northeast China.
The Dongdan Kingdom stretches from Liaoyang in the west to a large area of land north of Vladivostok in the northeast, which is also the territory where the Jurchen Jin Kingdom was founded.
Many of Yelvbei's personal guards were born in the Bohai Sea. They climbed mountains and ridges and climbed tall buildings as if they were walking on flat ground.
For a moment, the Li family patrol team screamed again and again. Their platoons and wooden shields could prevent arrows fired from the opposite side or even thrown away, but they did not expect that these Khitan warriors could climb up to the roof of the temple and draw their bows to shoot. them.
Moreover, Khitan warriors often shoot those holding torches first. After a while, the team immediately fell into darkness. Few people dared to hold torches. The patrols who could not bear the casualties quickly retreated in the darkness. return.
The first wave of attacks ended in an anticlimactic manner.
But they ended, but Wen Chongle did not choose to end. Horses' eyesight is slightly better than that of humans. At the beginning of the day, people may not be able to see clearly, but horses can already distinguish the road conditions clearly.
The rapid sound of horse hooves sounded, and the Li family patrol had no torches. For a moment, they only felt the sound of horse hooves coming from everywhere.
Some people wondered if their own cavalry from outside the city had entered the city, but they were also afraid that the other party's cavalry had rushed in.
And when it comes to smearing and retreating, it's quite confusing.
The area around the Majestic Temple was quite empty. Wen Chongle led more than 60 cavalrymen and kept shouting back and forth around the Li family's patrol. When they encountered few people, they would rush forward and chop them. When they encountered many people, they would shoot at them.
Several sharp whistles were heard, Yuesaonu spat into the palm of his hand, took the pumpkin hammer and crowded tightly with the soldiers around him.
A few soldiers with particularly good eyesight led the way. Nearly a hundred of them crowded together and moved forward collectively.
Among the Li family patrols, Li Dalang, who was in charge of the command, beat and scolded them with an unsheathed sword, and finally stabilized the situation.
He felt a little embarrassed. Hundreds of people held up platoons and planks to attack, but less than a dozen people retreated. They were also frightened by the sudden sound of horse hooves on the opposite side.
"Light the torches! Light all the torches! Shiro, take your expert archers and find all the Liangzhou people who fired cold arrows.
If people from outside the city come in at dawn and see that we haven’t taken down the Majestic Temple yet, where will you show your shame? Whoever dares to retreat will have their whole family blasted out of the city!"
Among the Li family, those who can serve as patrolmen in the city are treated ten times better than those outside the city.
Those who serve as patrols in the city are semi-off-the-job soldiers who are basically out of production. They only need to go home to assist during busy farming periods and can practice martial arts the rest of the time.
Moreover, the brick and stone houses in the city are much more comfortable than the mud huts and tents outside the city.
At that moment, amidst Li Dalang's roar, the Li family patrolmen finally calmed down. The torches were lit one by one, and no cold arrows were fired by the good archers on the opposite side. Li Dalang breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.
But suddenly, he suddenly realized something was wrong! Not far away from them, under the light of a torch, countless shining armor leaves reflected the light of the fire, making Li Dalang dizzy for a while.
"Do it!" Yue Saonu shouted, calling to the dozens of soldiers behind him, and rushed forward.
At this time, there were only a small number of Li family patrolmen holding Peng Platoon, and the distance between the two sides was already within thirty steps.
Yue Saonu was the first to rush forward and smashed directly into the chaotic crowd of Li family patrols. The spearmen had no time to raise their guns before Yue Saonu rushed closer.
They could only throw away their spears, draw out their single swords from their waists and slash at them, while constantly calling for the swordsmen and axemen behind them to come forward.
In the dense crowd, Yue Saonu was stabbed three or four times in an instant, and then a big ax also hit his back.
Yue Saonu couldn't help but scream. If he hadn't been wearing a layer of cotton armor and a layer of chain mail, it would have killed him in one blow.
Amid severe pain and screams, Yue Saonu swung the pumpkin hammer in his hand, knocking over two or three Li family patrolmen around him.
Relying on the time difference and gap he created, other soldiers also rushed in swarm.
The Khitan warriors who jumped down from the attic were also under the command of Mu Shunyi, and they fired at the rear of the Li family patrol like a volley of arrows.
Without the cover of Peng tablets and wooden boards, the strong bows in the hands of the Khitan people exerted great lethality.
At this time, the cavalry team led by Wen Chongle also turned back. They continued to intimidate, sprint, and throw arrows to drive the outermost Li family patrols away from the large army. They were like peeling onions, leaving the large number of people behind.
The enemy formation is getting fewer and fewer people.
The battle instantly entered the fiercest fight. More than 800 Li family patrol soldiers and more than 300 Guiyi Army soldiers and monk soldiers fought together. Neither side knew the exact number of the other party. They only had limited sight under the dim starlight.
Chaos.
....
Outside the west gate of Lanzhou City, Ma Shacai did not wait for Wen Chongle to open the west gate to welcome him into the city. Instead, he heard three sounds of fire and thunder from the city.
This was Wen Chongle's warning. Ma Shacai immediately knew that the situation was urgent. He stood on the horse's back and looked around.
The circumference of Lanzhou City is about seven or eight miles, but fortunately the west gate and the south gate are relatively close to each other, and they are less than one mile apart from each other.
Ma Shacai made a decisive decision and shouted to Er Zhujing: "The infantry of Yucheng Town are arrayed on the spot. The cavalry will follow me on their horses and go around the city. Wang Tongtong, you and Cui Huxin will be at the front for me."
Hearing this, Er Zhujing did not hesitate at all. He immediately raised the banner of the Guiyi Army he carried with him and stood behind them. Under the cover of the cavalry, more than 400 infantrymen quickly put on their armor.
They placed their horses in the rear formation, inserted the Mo Dao in their hands into the soil beside them, and then drew out their strong bows and crossbows. A decent array of bows and crossbows was immediately formed.
Seeing that the infantry formation was completed, Ma Shacai immediately led the cavalry and began to gallop around Lanzhou City.
He guessed that the Lanzhou Aimo cavalry outside the city would definitely want to enter the city as soon as possible to support the city. This was also a good opportunity for him to defeat the enemy.
The head of the Li family was actually not as stupid as Wang Tinghan thought. He chose to leave the city as soon as he received the arrival of Liangzhou troops.
However, when he learned that the horse-killing force was less than a thousand people, he immediately changed his combat strategy.
It has to be said that the mobilization ability of the Lanzhou City Aimu tribe is still very strong. In less than two days, they mobilized more than 6,000 cavalry.
Although they are basically nomadic knights without armor, they finally have enough people, and at least they look very intimidating.
When the Li clan leader saw Ma Shacai and started running around Lanzhou City, he immediately thought that Ma Shacai was going to intercept their team entering Lanzhou City.
After all, the battle at the Majestic Temple in the city is the key to determining the outcome of this war.
Although they brought armor because of Ma Shacai, they did not bring supplies. The food and fodder along the way were obtained by attacking small tribes in the north of Lanzhou City.
Of course, the Li clan leader could see that if Ma Shacai and the others continuously climbed over the steep Hongchi Ridge and Yema Ridge, they would never be able to bring a large amount of supplies with them.
As long as they can't enter Lanzhou City, they can wear out these Liangzhou soldiers and horses just by attrition.
They have at least hundreds of sets of armor. If they capture these armors themselves, the Li family tribe will be able to fight against the Liangzhou people.
