Wu Kedi, a soldier of the Fourth and Eighth Team of the Zuoxiang Army of the Tang Dynasty, laid his body on a path less than 400 meters away from Shibao City. Above his head was a newly built wooden frame, and on both sides were bottomless cliffs.
.
Looking around, on the top of the Shibao City, Tubo soldiers were silhouetted, with shouts of killing and the sound of bowstrings coming and going.
Arrows, rolling stones, and oak trees blocked the sky and sun, and were densely packed, completely blocking out the midsummer noon sun.
Wu Kedi raised his head and looked forward. The Tang army at the front advanced to only twenty meters from the city gate and could no longer advance.
Countless people were shot to death, crushed to death, burned to death, or even lost their feet and fell off the cliff. The screams and curses were endless and could be heard in the ears.
Wu Kedi saw with his own eyes that several Tang army soldiers who were about the same age as him were very agile, dodging arrows and falling rocks. As soon as they approached the city gate, they were poured with a wave of fire oil all over their bodies, and they were transformed instantly.
Became one burning person after another...
The stench of burning human flesh drifted toward him along the wind. When Wukti smelled this smell, his stomach turned upside down and he almost felt like vomiting.
Tang soldiers, covered in kerosene and burning, screamed heartbreakingly and rolled around in order to survive.
Unfortunately, the front of the stone castle was too narrow. The leader of the siege team, worried about the spread of the fire, suppressed his grief and ordered his subordinates to shoot the Tang soldiers, and also ordered soldiers to use long soldiers to push the corpse of the former Paoze off the cliff.
When Wu Kedi saw this scene, his eyes widened and his whole body trembled. The ambition he had before going into battle suddenly disappeared.
He slowly backed away with his hands and feet, trying to get away from the hell-like Shura field as quickly as possible.
When the deputy leader in charge of holding the flag saw this scene, he pulled out his knife, put it on Wu Kedi's neck, and shouted angrily: "Anyone who retreats from the fight will die!"
Wu Ke first glanced at the blade on his neck, and then looked at the battlefield ahead. His whole body was shaking like chaff, and his body was not moving at all.
The deputy leader pressed the blade down, cut Wu Kedi's neck, and shouted again: "Climb forward! Don't retreat!"
Seeing that Wu Kedi was about to be executed on the spot, an old soldier crawled up from behind, hugged the leg of the deputy leader, and whispered in a low voice: "The dog has no experience in fighting, he was just frightened for a moment, please ask the deputy leader to show his respect, Wu Mou
This drives him forward!"
The deputy leader lowered his head to look at the old soldier, his face softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "Old Wu, watch your son! If you are too timid to fight, you will die!"
Wu Kedi's father, Wu Xianggu, who was over fifty years old, quickly kowtowed: "Wu knows."
After saying that, Lao Wu pulled Xiao Wu and climbed forward along the wooden rafters.
Seeing the battlefield getting closer and closer, and the smell of death getting thicker and thicker, Xiao Wu couldn't stop his tears from flowing out, and cried to Lao Wu: "Ah, Kedi is not afraid of death, but he just doesn't want to die like this...
…”
Lao Wu lowered his voice and said: "Don't say anything. Do you see the grass on the right?"
Wu Kedi wiped away his tears and looked forward.
I saw a slightly raised hidden platform under the cliff in front of the right side of the trail. If you don't look carefully, you can't notice it at all.
Lao Wu: "When you get to the grass later, see the right moment, turn over and jump down, and then stick to the rock wall!"
Xiao Wu hesitated.
Lao Wu growled: "Do you want to live?!"
Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.
The Wu family father and son crawled to the grass. Old Wu turned around and took a look. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he pushed Xiao Wu hard, and then he also rolled to the platform below the cliff.
The platform was extremely narrow and the earth and rocks were soft. The Wu family and his son could only cling to the rock wall and cling to the protruding rocks with both hands.
Listening to the deafening shouts of death coming from above, Wu Kedi turned his head in the direction of Stone Castle with great difficulty.
There were flames blazing into the sky, arrows raining like rain, and soldiers of the Tang Dynasty kept falling off the cliff and falling into the bottomless canyon.
Fresh life, on that battlefield, was as fleeting as fireworks...
I don't know how long it took, but the sound of troops retreating came from above. Old Wu breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed Xiao Wu's belt, and climbed onto the trail.
Xiao Wu, who was still alive after the disaster, looked up to the sky and gasped for air.
Lao Wu picked up the blade, wiped it clean with a cloth, and said to his son: "Be patient."
Xiao Wu was still puzzled, but his father had already scratched several shallow wounds on his body with a knife.
After doing all this, the latter said: "When crawling back, remember to find some dirty blood from the dead body and smear it on the areas without wounds."
Wu Kedi listened and nodded slightly.
Just like that, the Wu family father and son returned to the Chinese Army safely.
After asking around, the two of them learned that today's attack on Shibao City, the Tang Zuoxiang Army, the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Banners, totaled 3,600 people, and less than half of them came back alive.
Among them, the 50-man team that the Wu family father and son belonged to lost 48 people in the battle, and two people survived...
On the other side, inside the Chinese military camp.
The handsome man, Shu Han, listened to the report of his generals. When he heard the number of those who died in the battle, his palms holding on to the desk trembled slightly.
The general kneeling on the ground had his armor damaged in many places, with bones visible in the exposed wounds, and the dried blood stained the armor bright red.
He exerted all his strength, kowtowed to Ge Shuhan, and cried in a hoarse voice: "Commander, General Xu died in the battle, General Yuwen died in the battle, and Marquis Cen Yu died in the battle. Only a certain person is left to report to the Chinese army.
"
Seeing that Ge Shuhan was indifferent, Li Guangbi stood up and said in a deep voice: "Commander, the battle of Shibao City has been going on for six days. The enemy is fully prepared and the whole country is on defense. Our army has suffered countless casualties. It is not an option to continue like this."
Ge Shuhan glared at Li Guangbi and said, "You don't need to teach me these things, stand down!"
Li Guangbi wanted to say something else.
Ge Shuhan shouted again: "Back off!"
Li Guangbi had no choice but to retreat to the queue.
Ge Shuhan ordered people to fetch the map and asked everyone to look at it.
On the map, Stone Castle is more of a barrier than a castle.
The entire terrain of the Stone Castle battlefield is somewhat similar to a "t".
Shibao City is located at the junction of the "t", and across the top is a towering mountain range. On that mountain range, in addition to the Shibao City guarded by 400 people, there are more than ten Tubo buildings.
The camp can be used to cover the battlefield with arrows from a high position, taking advantage of the terrain. As for
After some discussion with the generals, Ge Shuhan knocked on the map and said, "We will continue to attack the city tomorrow. The left wing will be reorganized and the right wing will go out to fight."
Li Guangbi frowned upon hearing this.
After the military meeting, Li Guangbi quickly walked into the commander's tent, rejected the others, and asked Ge Shuhan in a low voice: "It has only been six days since the war started, and more than 5,000 people died in the war. How can we still fight this battle?"
Ge Shuhan raised his head and glanced at Li Guangbi, and said solemnly: "Don't pay attention to other things and mind yourself."
Li Guangbi's blood surged with anger, and he shouted in a low voice: "All those who died are the sons of the Tang Dynasty, how can Guangbi ignore it?!"
Ge Shuhan stared at Li Guangbi coldly and remained silent.
Li Guangbi breathed a long sigh of relief: "At least, let me arrange for the three thousand "partial troops" to leave the camp now."
Ge Shuhan shook his head and said, "It's not yet time."
Li Guangbi gritted his teeth and asked: "When can we set off?"
Ge Shuhan: "When the time comes, you will naturally know it."
Li Guangbi was furious, slapping the table with both hands, and then left the tent without looking back.