Li Mu was about to jump off the city wall. Dugujiu hugged him tightly and pushed him into the arms of the soldiers behind him. He moved slightly and he had already flown out. In mid-air, he turned around and dodged an arrow, and reached out to grab it.
He gritted his teeth and threw it with all his strength. The arrow left an afterimage and was nailed to the throat of the cavalryman who killed Usman. Immediately, Dugujiu stepped on an enemy who was climbing up the city wall.
His head flew back to the wall.
Li Mu's willpower had reached its limit, and he fainted with his eyes open.
The enemy shouted gold and retreated like a tide. The battle outside the city was over. It was hard to say who won and who lost. The losses on both sides were considerable. After careful calculation, it was the enemy who suffered the greater loss. The explosive packs had given full play to their role.
It had the desired effect, causing at least thousands of casualties.
The yellow sand outside the city gradually dispersed. The breeze came slowly, and the air seemed to carry a bit of the smell of blood. Li Mu had woken up, and the corners of his eyes were covered with blood. Wusman's death made him understand that what he had seen before
The word "canthus splitting" is true...
"Su Lie, go and count the casualties of our army." Li Mu said tiredly.
Su Dingfang had already finished counting and said: "Only more than a hundred people and horses led by General Wang and I were injured, and twenty-five died. The people and horses in Zhangjiazhai were ordered to retreat as soon as they came into contact with the enemy. It is estimated that the casualties will not be large.
, but over at Usman... the thousands of people he brought with him are probably all..."
Li Mu's lips trembled slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "How many soldiers are left in our defense of the city now?" "Including Xiang Yong, there are less than 5,000 left. Some of them are seriously injured..." Su Dingfang's
His expression was a little sad.
Li Mu smiled bitterly: "More than half will be lost in one day... The army will have at least one day left. In other words, when the army comes, with luck, we will all be dead!" Everyone was silent. How to answer this?
…
Outside the city, the enemy's battle formations have not yet withdrawn, but have reorganized their formations. After the battle just now, the enemy's momentum seems to be stronger, and the formations are spread all over the long yellow sand. There is a wave of energy that goes straight to the sky.
A chilling atmosphere.
Li Mu seemed to have lost all his strength, and slowly collapsed and sat on the ground along the mud bricks of the arrow stack. The enemy's retreat was not a retreat, but a rest. They were about to attack the city again! In this helpless city,
In the lonely city, Li Mu has no hope at all.
"Brother, cheer up. What should we do if you're like this?" Li Siwen came again at some point. Li Mu looked at him, smiled bitterly, and said, "I'm thinking about how I should choose to die.
, in order to make your image after death appear taller and majestic..."
Li Siwen covered his ears: "Why die? Who said we will die? We won't die! Aren't there still thousands of brothers here?"
Li Mu shook his head, too lazy to explain.
"Had no unexpected reinforcements arrived, the city would have been destroyed today..." Li Mu murmured.
Li Mu weakly pointed to the battle formations waiting outside the city, and sighed: "The enemy has gone crazy. The next round of siege will definitely be regardless of the consequences and at any cost..."
"Why do you think he's crazy..." Li Siwen looked outside the city unconvinced. At this glance, his eyes immediately widened.
Behind the serious and solemn battle formation, a large open space was left in vain. More than twenty places in the open space were filled with people, squatting on the ground and playing with a pile of long scattered logs, as if building blocks, and the logs gradually became more and more perfect.
The higher it is, the final shape it takes.
Li Siwen's eyes were straightened, and so were the officers and soldiers guarding the city. A feeling of uneasiness and panic slowly spread around the city.
"This...what are they trying to build?"
Li Mu said feebly: "Trebuchet, they are assembling the trebuchet. I really can't tell that the Turks know how to do it!"
Li Siwen gritted his teeth: "It must be Cui Wang. The Cui family has been passed down for thousands of years. It's not surprising that there are craftsmen who know how to use mechanisms! Brother, what are you afraid of? If you throw stones, you won't be able to hit a few people!"
"Although this thing is called a 'trebuchet,' it doesn't necessarily throw stones. Besides, where are there any stones in this vast grassland?"
"Then what will they throw? They don't have gunpowder!"
"Without gunpowder, don't they have anything else?" Li Mu's heart was already cold. He didn't dare to say it. He was afraid that he would be right.
An hour later, at dusk, the enemy's war drums were beating and they began to attack the city again.
This time there were no thousands of troops coming like a tide, and the first ones to show off their power were indeed the trebuchets.
The long machine arm drew a half-arc in mid-air, and black objects were thrown out from the top, frantically hitting the city head.
Li Mu gave the decisive order and all the defenders hid. Dozens of black earthen jars in mid-air were smashed onto the horse road at the head of the city, and then smashed into pieces.
Li Mu's expression became increasingly bitter. Sure enough, he had been guessed.
Dozens of jars were smashed to pieces at the top of the city. After the jars were broken, the liquid inside splashed out. The defenders suddenly felt something bad. Everyone smelled a strange smell. An elderly veteran with rich battlefield experience
He sniffed hard, then suddenly changed his color, and shouted: "It's kerosene! Bastards, they are going to burn the city! They are really crazy!"
These kerosene were Cui Wang's trump card for Amul. They had brought them here before the war started. They planned to use them when they attacked Chang'an, but now that Dingxiang cannot be defeated, what else can happen to Chang'an?
, Amul has gone crazy, no matter Cui Wang blocks it, he must use it!
At this time, the corners of Amul's mouth curled up into a cruel arc. He slowly rode out without saying a word. He slowly put a lit arrow on the bowstring, pulled it into a full moon, and with a final whoosh sound,
The rocket hit the city wall without missing a beat.
The entire city wall on the west side has been soaked with fire oil from clay pots, which will burn when exposed to fire. With a bang, the city is set on fire, and the sun and moon change colors!
…
Desperate situation, real desperate situation, everything in front of you is scorched earth and corpses, look forward. Outside the city are still densely packed with countless enemy troops, arrayed three miles outside the city, quietly looking at the city where the flames are not extinguished.
When the flames rose, Li Mu decisively ordered the entire city to retreat. This scene made Li Mu feel a little dazed. It was the same scene when he first came to this world.
The only exception was Li Siwen. The last time he retreated, he retreated in a coma. But this time, he was awake. He finally carried out Li Mu's order, stunned Li Chengqian and Li Tai, and led the people of Dingxiang.
Great retreat.
The soldiers did not leave, but the young men also stayed. They took off the armor of the dead soldiers, took their weapons, and stood silently on the city wall.
Li Mu didn't say anything. He respected these people's choices.
We cannot retreat. Dingxiang is the gateway to the Tang Dynasty, and the city is strong. If we retreat, where should we retreat to? Mayi? The city walls of Mayi cannot withstand the iron hoofs of the enemy!
In the end, including all the young men and women, a total of 10,000 people were left.
What they have to face is at least 80,000 enemy troops.
There is no more gunpowder, no more miracles, only head-on fighting.
Everyone understands that this scene is full of misfortunes!
The fire burned all night, and when the flames burned, the fighting did not stop. The enemy took advantage of the situation to attack the city, and the offensive was unprecedentedly fierce. Countless people fought with the enemy to death and burned to death. In the end, there were fewer and fewer people, and the battle
His strength became weaker and weaker. Li Mu had to kill the enemy with his own weapons. In front of the two armies, who cares who you are, he also had two long cuts on his back.
Dugujiu relied on his martial arts and was not injured, but his physical strength was exhausted, his face turned pale, his wrists hung down weakly, and he was trembling involuntarily.
Wang Hu was injured even more seriously because he had always been on the front line of command. Whenever there was a crisis at any crenel, he was often the first to rush forward and then fight regardless of life and death. Now there was no good flesh on his body, and he had to start all over again.
His feet were covered with countless scars, and he leaned against the crenellation and gasped for air.
Sixty percent of the 10,000 defenders were dead, and the city was covered with corpses, both from the enemy and from Paoze. Sadly, the living people no longer had the strength to carry Baoze's corpse off the city because they were too tired.
Save your strength to pant, and save your strength to deal with the next wave of attacks.
It was so tragic. Li Mu recalled the battle last night. In order not to drag down Pao Ze, the seriously injured people would not ask for help at all. They would use their last strength to throw themselves on an enemy, and they would fall off the city wall together and die together.
This desperate fighting style was able to keep Dingxiang from falling under the fire that destroyed the city. The more the enemy fought, the more frightened they became, and their morale became lower and lower. The defenders of the Tang Dynasty seemed to have turned into life-threatening lunatics.
Who wouldn't be frightened and frightened when fighting such a madman?
The city and outside were in such dilapidated condition that the enemy threw too much kerosene. Li Mu even doubted whether there was so much kerosene in the treasury of Chang'an City. Everything that should be burned was burned. After the fire was extinguished, only
What is left is devastated and desolate.
The enemy was so frightened that they did not dare to attack, no matter how much the general scolded them. Seeing this, the enemy had no choice but to pay tribute, throw down the corpses on the ground, and retreat again.
Looking up, the dragon flag representing the Tang Dynasty in the center of the city was still fluttering in the wind. Next to the dragon flag, Li Mu's Yunlong flag was also standing, but it was already dilapidated.
In fact, when the battle has reached this point, there is no suspense about the outcome. No matter how fast the army is, it will still take at least half a day to arrive. And the enemy's next attack, the defenders on the top of the city will no longer be able to deal with it.
The next time the enemy beats the drum, death will come.
Li Mu looked towards the east. At this moment, he missed his wives very much.
Children, after all, your father is not a good father. He did not wait until you became sensible and watched you get married and start a career...
Tears fell silently, and Li Mu raised his hand to wipe them away. It was already this time, and he was still crying.
"Do you regret staying in this city?" Li Mu's voice was very distant, as if there was an impenetrable layer of fog, and he didn't know who he was asking.
"No regrets!" Su Dingfang, who had been unconscious for a long time, suddenly opened his eyes and roared loudly. His will may have been blurred, but his tone was still firm!
Under the city wall, Cui Wang's shout came.
"Li Mu! If you can hear what I say, please give me a response! Your ability is highly valued by the feudal lord. If you are willing to be loyal to the Cui family, the lord will forget the past and be willing to serve as prime minister when the country is founded! Think about it,
The Valve Master promises that if you are willing to surrender, the past grudges will be wiped out! You only have one life, the Valve Master takes pity on your talent, don’t make a mistake!"
Li Mu was already very tired. Half of his body was leaning weakly on the arrow stack on the city wall. Hearing these words, he had no strength to curse back.