Liaodong City is like a stone in a toilet, black and smelly.
The long war has stained the walls of this isolated city with human blood, and black flies and mosquitoes are looking for food on the black bloodstains. Whenever stones or crossbow arrows are thrown down, those bloodthirsty insects "coax"
"There was a sound, and smoke flew up into the sky, and together with the splashing gravel and soil, it covered the pale sun.
This is by no means a comfortable sight, but Li Xu has to face it every day. Now, he is the commander of the first battalion, with 10,000 soldiers and more than 2,000 auxiliary soldiers under his command. He can no longer be like last time
Like the initial stage of the Liaodong War, if you feel the battle is boring, you can sneak back to your camp and sleep.
But on the battlefield, he did have nothing to do. The Goguryeo people blocked all the gates of Liaodong City themselves with stones and soil, so the Sui soldiers did not need to be alert to possible enemy attacks. But they could not attack Liaodong City, even though
Outside the city, there is a Yuliang Avenue built by the soldiers with sand bags. Along this road, you can walk to the city wall step by step. The Goguryeo people defended it very smartly. They used wooden fences and sand bags to divide the city wall into small sections and attacked it.
The Sui troops at the top of the city either stood on the city and endured the attacks from the arrows from the enemy towers on both sides, or they continued forward and jumped off the city wall more than two feet. If they wanted to expand their victory to both sides of the city, it would be impossible.
cannot.
In the city close to the city wall, the Goguryeo people dug countless trenches and demolished all the houses close to the city wall. Those who dared to jump into the city, even if they were not thrown to death immediately, would be chopped into pieces by the swarming enemy troops. Therefore,
Facing the black city of Liaodong, the soldiers and horses of the Sui Dynasty were still helpless after the arrival of new forces.
Five days ago, when the Xiaoguo battalions arrived at the gates of Goguryeo for the first time, several generals were quarreling red-eared in order to join the first wave of siege. Lord Yelvhu, the Minister of War who came to introduce the battle situation, said that Goguryeo in the city
The soldiers have become exhausted. As long as we, the Sui warriors, launch another wave of charges, we can capture the entire city.
"If you are the first to enter, you will be promoted to the third level and rewarded to ten thousand households!" No one is jealous of the huge reward. Except for a general named Pei and the unfounded general Li Lang, the other eight generals are all competing for this first merit. Pei
The reason why the general does not compete for the merit is because he has a prominent family background, and he already has the title of Dr. Guanglu, so there is no need to compete with the juniors. As for the reason why General Li Lang does not compete, it is because he is self-aware. Countless descendants of famous families have not yet
When it was his turn, how could he, a newcomer with no roots or background, have a chance to show up?
Opportunities often also mean risks. After the first five rounds of attacks, the Xiaoguo camp still failed to reach the head of Liaodong City despite the sacrifice of two generals, a dozen captains and tens of thousands of brothers.
Once the heroes who came with the intention of making meritorious deeds found that the credit was not as easy to get as they thought, their morale dropped at an extremely fast speed. Today, less than an hour after the sixth round of offensive was launched, the people watching from the sidelines dropped.
Li Xu had already anticipated the failure of the attack.
"We shouldn't just attack this point. The more single the attack point, the more beneficial it is to the defender. Instead of letting hundreds of thousands of troops waste away under the city, it is better to use the Weirang Road to attract the attention of the defenders and send surprise troops to attack the city from other directions.
Or build a few more fish beams and attack the city from several directions at the same time!" Li Xu whispered to several low-level generals under his command.
The art of war has it that one should encircle it ten times. Considering the current difference in the number of soldiers between the enemy and ours, the most appropriate offensive strategy is to siege the city rather than storm it. However, the suitable fighting weather in Liaodong is too short. Once the war continues after August,
The sudden heavy snowfall was not a disaster for the Central Plains soldiers. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor's strategy of storming Liaodong City was not necessarily wrong, but the means of storming were too simple.
"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely correct, but no one will listen to us!" Murong Luo, the special commander of the Xiongwu Camp, responded in a low voice. He is a veteran leader with nearly twenty years of military experience.
, he has been hovering around the sixth-grade military position. Murong is a Hu surname, and his ancestors committed too many killings, so this surname has never been accepted by the aristocratic families in the Central Plains. And Murong Luo himself is in love with the Yuwen family, a prominent member of the military.
Because he had no connections, he was only a captain for nearly ten years and could not join the Sixth Army of the Emperor, which had more opportunities for promotion. When Li Xulai took up his new post at the Xiongwu Xiaoguo Camp, a group of low-level generals who relied on connections to join the camp and served as errands tried to give him some advice.
The new chief made a show of force. Murong Luo did not dare to participate because he had no background. In the end, it was a blessing in disguise. The people who took the lead in making trouble were all taken down by Li Xu. He and another Li Anyuan, who came from a relatively humble background, got the honor for acting in a low-key manner.
promotion.
Li Xu smiled helplessly. He knew what Murong Luo said was right. Although it was only a short time to squeeze into the ranks of Sui generals, Xu Zi had already felt the invisible walls around him. "That guy who got shit luck is
Who is it? What great achievements has his father made? Are there any celebrities from his ancestors?" Every morning when he went to the Central Military Commission to answer the questions, the whispers of others made him feel uncomfortable. Although he was a descendant of the flying general Li Guang,
The goods are genuine, but the two Li surnames recognized by the Sui Dynasty today are one of the Li family of Zhaojun and the other of the Li family of Longyou. They can be considered the same clan as his Shanggu Li family, but they have not had any contact with each other for hundreds of years.
The fifth rank general is a "six-sen official" and has only six opportunities to participate in court meetings every month. And during the routine military counting every morning, they can only stand in the second-to-last position on the west side of the generals' row.
The last place is where the on-duty captains of the Sixth Army of the Emperor stand, and those internal captains often disdain foreign generals who are three levels or more higher than themselves.
Without anyone to introduce him, it was difficult for Li Xu to get His Majesty the Emperor's attention at midnight in the morning. Because he stood too far away, he often couldn't even hear what His Majesty the Emperor was saying. Therefore, he couldn't compete for the credit and limelight, and he couldn't compete with him for making suggestions.
It's not his turn, the new general's turn.
"The cost of multiple attacks is too high. In the past two days, I have seen other soldiers and horses. They are all sons of good families recruited temporarily from local places. Very few people have ever served as soldiers. For such a high city wall, the opponent's defender is very capable.
A ruthless person who is used to fighting will die if he rushes forward. Besides, our morale is so low now, there are not many people who are really willing to step forward and fight!" Zhao Ziming, the commander of the Xiongwu Camp, whispered to his commander. He was recommended to Xu by General Xue Shixiong.
Li Xu's staff looks like a consumptive ghost, but he has rich experience in officialdom and on the battlefield. When he first arrived at Liaodong City, the reason why Li Xu didn't rashly grab the military order was thanks to him and another
The eight-level event recording plan recommended by the Li family.
"Actually, that's fine. We won't get the chance to receive awards for meritorious service. At least there are no mistakes to make!" Zhang Xiu, the fifth child, said with a smile. This boy is now Li Xu's captain of the bodyguard. Although there are not many people under his command, his level is
But he is a sixth-grade official recognized by the imperial court. He can get a fixed salary every year, and the captains of the same rank in the army and the soldiers also look up to him. So he is very satisfied with the current situation and is not willing to think about anything more.
matter.
"That can't be done. We can't speak the same language as one family now!" Biezang Murong Luo looked around and whispered. "The Xiaoguo Camp was temporarily established and will have to be disbanded after Liaodong is pacified. If we don't have some practical ideas,
With only an official title left for his contribution, it will be difficult to fill the gaps in the internal and external government in the future. After this battle, those soldiers from the external government will also be disarmed and returned to their fields in large numbers, leaving many generals and commanders with no place to take up their posts. Unless your lord has someone in the court.
A big backer, or someone willing to make money..."
"I'll try my best to find a way!" Li Xu looked at the people with longing eyes and comforted in a low voice. "Everyone has a dream to impress others. Sitting in this position, you must know what the people below need and try your best to
Don't let them down..." Before taking office, Liu Hongji's instructions were still echoing in his ears. Xuzi was a little melancholy, looking at the dark and smelly Liaodong City, he had no choice.
"General Li!" Murong Luo suddenly pushed his shoulder and called in a low voice.
Li Xu looked away from a distance and saw several people in palace guard uniforms striding towards him. All of those people were of noble birth and had never been willing to associate with a child from a poor family like Xu Zi.
"The Emperor orders you to come to the Central Military Commission to discuss matters as soon as possible!" One of the guards in front said coldly.
"General, I obey!" Li Xu stood solemnly, clasped his fists, and responded in a low voice. Chief Shi Zhao Ziming coughed slightly, and Zhang Xiu, the captain of the guard, rushed forward with his men, put on a smile and pulled the arm of the guard in front.
"Generals, don't rush back to answer your orders. Our generals have never seen the emperor before..." Zhang Xiu smiled flatteringly and stuffed a small yellow thing into the palm of the guard's hand.
"Your husband will be young and promising." A smile immediately appeared on the leading guard's face, and he clenched his hands. With his good intuition about yellow and white things, he came up with an evaluation of Li Xu, "Actually, this is very simple. Let's take it slow.
Walk slowly while I explain it to your master..." (To be continued)
