After walking out of the wounded barracks, Li Shan looked up at the sun and waved to Wen Bang, "How many more days of food and grass are there?"
Wen Bang's wife and children had been found long ago and sent back to Taiyuan Mansion. He kept his promise and stayed in Guji Town. Now he is in charge of food and grass.
"With half a meal, it can last about five days." Wen Bang rubbed his nose and handed over the steamed buns in his hand.
"You're not hungry, you can eat." Li Shan shook his head, "First kill a group of war horses."
"yes."
In an attempt to attack Yanmen Pass by using the Daolou Fan Pass, Jieli Khan's fantastic idea was shattered, causing Guji Town to face a very tragic reality.
Food shortage.
Originally, Guji Town had Zhang Shigui as the main general, with a thousand infantry, 500 cavalry, plus a hundred personal guards around Zhang Shigui, a total of about 1,600 people, with half a month of food and grass.
But Li Shan and Xue Wanche were trapped in Guji Town, and the personal guards they carried with them... Xue Wanche only had a hundred personal guards, but Li Shan had almost 500 personal guards because Zhu Wei had just arrived.
Suddenly there were 600 more people, who already had insufficient food and grass, and the extra 600 people were cavalry, which made it even worse... Previously, Jieli Khan attacked Yanmen Pass with all his strength, so Li Shan and Zhang Shigui did not dare to kill the horses.
Maybe I can escape.
It's better now. More than 100,000 troops were besieging him, and because they had been trapped in the fort for half a month, the Tang army was almost running out of food and grass.
This is why Li Shan said that he lived and died together with Xue Wanche and Zhang Shigui... If reinforcements were not sent from Yanmen Pass, even if the Turks could not break through Guji Town, they would starve to death just from hunger.
Even if you eat horse meat to satisfy your hunger, it won't last long.
"Just hang on." Li Shan murmured in a low voice and said to Wen Bang: "Anyone who fails to kill the enemy will have their rations reduced by another third."
"You have lived in Wuyuan County for a long time. You should know that there have been many famines in the grasslands in recent years. This time Jieli Khan led an army of more than 100,000 people to the south, but failed to break through Yanmen Pass or even Mayi. There must be a shortage of food and grass."
Wen Bang nodded vigorously, "It is difficult for a village to sustain food and grass for a long time, and it is even more difficult for a Turk to last."
"As long as you can hold on, you still have a chance." Li Shan tried his best to show a confident smile.
In the afternoon, after taking a short rest, the Turks launched another wave of offensives. Li Shan had already heard Zhu Wei talk about the battle in the morning. The Turks had no tactics and just used human lives.
Li Shan felt a little strange. He boarded the city before the wounded were sent... Could Jieli Khan be so stupid?
Can you imagine trying to break through Yanmen Pass by taking advantage of Daolou Fanguan and attacking from both sides... Would you bury Guji Town with only human lives?
It is true that an army of more than 100,000 people can drown Guji Town, but the question is how much time Jieli Khan is willing to spend... It is impossible to have enough food and grass for an army of more than 100,000 people.
The question is how much price Jieli Khan is willing to pay... Those barbarians who are good at riding and shooting now need to attack the city on foot. How many young men will they lose?
The next moment, Li Shan's expression changed as he looked from afar. Although the distance was still far and although he could not see clearly, what those Turkic soldiers were pushing... was obviously a siege vehicle similar to a siege vehicle.
Zhang Shigui's face was calm, and he only issued orders step by step. The soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were ready to fight, first with Tang crossbows, then with bows and arrows, and finally with broken bricks and stones... But this time, the effect was much worse.
Jieli Khan was not that stupid. On the one hand, the fierce attack in the morning was to test the defense strength of the defenders and try to find the weaknesses in the defense. On the other hand, it was also to allow time to make equipment.
His son was defeated twice and his calf was broken. Jieli Khan knew very well that although the enemy opposite was young, he was like an extremely cunning and ferocious wolf. Even if he had a hundred times the strength, this battle would not be that easy.
succeed.
Jieli Khan also knew that there was not much food and grass, and Tiele and other leaders were dissatisfied. After all, they had not gained much benefit. As for Tuli Khan's nephew... they had already formed an alliance with Li Tang.
But to get nothing and go back to Wuyuan County in despair was unbearable and unacceptable for Jieli Khan.
Prestige, strength, and military strength are all things Jieli Khan needs to consider... If he fails to conquer Yanmen Pass, he must at least capture Guji Town.
On the one hand, the geographical location of Guji Town is too important, close to Yunzhou... Originally, Jieli Khan didn't take it to heart, but now that he knows that Tuli Khan has formed an alliance with Li Tang, the importance of this location has increased sharply.
.
On the other hand, it was because of Li Shan that no matter what happened, the troops were sent this time in the name of cutting off Li Shan's head to pay homage to Yu Gushe and Yu Sheshe.
Lying on the hillock, Jieli Khan looked coldly at the small fortress. If Yanmen Pass could not be captured, how could it be that Guji Town could not be captured?
This time the army failed to attack Yanmen Pass, but the Xi people were quite proficient in making various siege equipment. The wooden chariots protected the Turkic warriors as they approached the city wall in full view of the public. The ladders were successfully erected on the top of the city. The Turks had
Some dispersed and used bows and arrows to suppress the defenders on the city wall, some held wooden shields above their heads, held their swords in their mouths, and with strong hands, climbed up the ladder in the blink of an eye.
"Mr. Lang!"
Zhu Shitou and Fan Shiyi held up their shields to protect Li Shan. Zhu Wei grabbed Li Shan's sleeves from behind and walked under the city wall... This kind of place where you can go up and down the city wall is often the focus of Turks' attacks. It's really not
What a great place to watch the game.
Recalling the screams in his ears, Li Shan occasionally saw the soldiers who were still standing suddenly falling down. Occasionally, he could see a few barbarians rushing to the top of the city to grab an open space, but Zhang Shigui arranged for a back-up, or dozens of Tang crossbows were fired at the same time.
, shooting the opponent full of holes, or the soldiers holding shields all came forward, with spears like a forest piercing the middle, leaving the opponent helpless.
Soon, Li Shan had no time to think about that. The wounded were sent down the city wall in a steady stream. The reserve team was coming here. Li Shan hurried back to the wounded barracks.
The boiling shouts of killing outside kept lingering in his ears until dusk ended. Li Shan pushed away the steamed buns delivered by Zhu Shitou and sat down tiredly. Although his face was expressionless, his heart was getting colder... He had already calculated it.
Seventy-three wounded were delivered in one morning, half of whom were able to return to the battlefield, or at least serve as civilian husbands.
But one afternoon, only fifty-three wounded were delivered, of which twenty-one were dead, and only seven of the remaining were "slightly wounded"...
The battle in the afternoon was definitely more brutal than that in the morning, but there were fewer wounded people sent... This was naturally because many of the wounded were sent unnecessarily, and some even died on the spot.
Zhang Shigui, who was standing at the top of the city arranging night defenses, looked equally ugly. There were nearly 200 casualties in one day. In Guji Town, there were only more than 2,000 people in total, and the casualty rate was close to 10%.
Even if the personal guards reported just now, about half a hundred of the wounded could still recover, but this casualty rate... the losses were too heavy for the defenders.
Generally speaking, if casualties exceed 50%, the defenders will collapse.
I originally thought that Jieli Khan would not attack the fortress for a long time because of the logistics of food and grass. Zhang Shigui was quite confident in defending Guji Town, but now he was a little unable to hold on.