After Li Siwen arrived in Dingxiang, without saying a word, he ordered all his troops and went straight to Gaochang.
How many soldiers and horses does Dingxiang have? This starts with Li Shimin setting up Dingxiang Zhechongfu and making Li Siwen the Zhechong captain. In the military system of the Tang Dynasty, Zhechongfu was the basic unit of the military system. It was divided into three levels: upper, middle and lower.
There are 1,200 people, 1,000 people in the central government, and 800 people in the lower government. The so-called rankings of upper, middle and lower are based on comprehensive considerations such as the size of the territory, the population, the financing of soldiers, etc. If calculated according to the rules
After all, Dingxiang is not even qualified to be a subordinate. However, Dingxiang Zhechong has 1,500 soldiers and horses, which even exceeds the number of people in the upper government.
Some imperial officials reported this, but it was dismissed by Li Shimin. There were three reasons for the rejection. Although Dingxiang should be the lower house according to the rules, it is the northwest border and there is a 'danger of violating the border', so it is appropriate to have more people. The other is
Second, Dingxiang’s military pay does not need to be allocated by the court. In other words, raising more soldiers does not require the court to spend money. Why not take advantage of it for nothing? The third point is because of Li Mu. Li Shimin made it clear directly. Li Mu is a very protective guy.
Li Siwen is his adopted brother, so I have to give him some face. If you are uncompromising and make him angry, I won't care what happens.
The "dung-throwing" incident had just occurred at that time, and the censors were all in danger, fearing that their own homes would become cesspits. Moreover, the matter was not a big deal in the end, and it was ignored later.
In order to save Li Mu, Li Siwen took away 1,000 of the 1,500 people. Although he was anxious, after a year of training in Dingxiang, he was no longer a ignorant boy. As the captain of Zhechong,
He has the responsibility to protect the land and the people. If he takes all the soldiers away, he cannot bear the problem if something goes wrong in Xiangxiang City. Moreover, there is a mixed crowd in the city, mostly merchants. Without force, it will lead to chaos. Eight or nine thousand people will be killed.
Where will the people go?
Therefore, Li Siwen left 500 people, which was the minimum.
Before he set off, he sent three messengers to rush to Chang'an for 800 miles to report the news. They went all the way into the desert to find the horse bandit Usman, and asked him to lead people straight to Gaochang to help.
Zhangjiazhai, now Zhangjiaji, although Zhangjiaji has been cleared, it is still a horse bandit, and it can still be gathered together with five to seven hundred people.
There were thousands of people in Wusman, and there were 500 from Zhangjiazhai. Together with Su Lie's troops, there were nearly 800 people, barely making up more than 3,000 people.
But it is impossible to rely on these 3,000 people to defeat Gaochang. After all, it is the capital of a country. If only 3,000 people can defeat it, Gaochang will not be able to stay in the Western Region for so many years. Usman killed so many people last time
The royal family of Gaochang did not achieve such great results because he conquered Gaochang City, but because his men and horses suddenly attacked in the city and fled before the Gaochang defenders could react. If it were like this, Lie
It is absolutely impossible to attack the city in formation.
There is no luck in siege warfare. They are all real confrontations, and winning or losing depends on strength. Conspiracies and tricks cannot be said to be ineffective for sieges, but their effects are drastically reduced unless the defenders
The man in the city is an idiot, otherwise as long as he does it step by step, he can persevere until he runs out of ammunition and food.
On Li Siwen's side, the improvised men and horses, weapons and armor, siege equipment, logistical supplies, etc. were all insufficient. It would be impossible to break through Gaochang City unless he could get a few Italian cannons.
"Bastard!" Li Siwen sat in the tent, knocked his head, and cursed: "I am indeed an ignorant bastard. Why can't I think of a way? This doesn't work, and that doesn't work. Now I
I don’t know whether my eldest brother is alive or dead, I’m so useless, I’m so useless!”
While scolding, Li Siwen burst into tears. He was born as a young master and had not experienced any hardships. Although his father was Li Ji, Li Ji never thought of letting him join the army, so he never taught him anything. He had nothing to do with Li Mu.
During the defense of the city, it was Li Mu's idea. He just followed, killed a few enemies and was knocked unconscious.
When he built Dingxiang again, there were no enemies around, which meant that he had never fought a war at all. Now, although the army was approaching the city, there was nothing he could do. No matter how he cursed, Gaochang was like a tortoise, sealing the city tightly, and even
If no one can answer the question, can Li Siwen be at a loss for what to do?
"Don't knock yourself on the head. Doesn't it hurt? Besides, it's useless to knock. You can't save your elder brother!" It was his wife Qin Yu who spoke. As Qin Qiong's daughter, Qin Yu and Li Siwen grew up in completely different environments.
The difference is that Qin Qiong never stipulates what Qin Yu can and cannot do. If Qin Yu likes literature, he will hire a master for him. If Qin Yu likes martial arts, he will teach him himself. Therefore, Qin Yu still knows a little bit about the art of military use.
But the situation in front of her was an unsolvable one. If Gaochang didn't go to war, the more than 3,000 of them would have nothing to do, and Qin Yu couldn't do anything. Of course she felt distressed when she saw Li Siwen beating herself, but she couldn't help.
My heart felt extremely bitter.
People who were more anxious than the two of them were Zhang Tianai, who also came, and her father Zhang Xun also came together. Since learning the news, Zhang Tianai has been awake for several nights, and her eyes were full of bloodshot eyes. The first two days
Tian still has the energy to curse, saying that if he finds Li Mu, he will be cut into pieces to prevent him from dying of a woman sooner or later. He has not cursed in the past few days, and his whole body has become depressed. He only hopes to see Li Mu soon, even if
If he is caught, he just needs to live.
Zhang Xun, on the other hand, never said anything and seemed very silent. He usually wouldn't speak if others didn't talk to him.
Another person who doesn't speak much is Usman. After receiving the news, he came over quickly with his troops, but he didn't participate in any decision-making, as if he was just a weapon, waiting for someone to say what to do.
, he does whatever he wants.
Under Qin Yu's stop, Li Siwen finally stopped his self-mutilation and sighed: "It's a pity that the big man went to Zhenla. If he were here, alas..."
"What can he do if he's here?" Zhang Tianai choked and said, "Don't you know? The big one is the youngest. Even if he has the strength, he can't break down the city gate."
"That's better than me!" Li Siwen cried again and said, "I can't lift my shoulders and resist them. I can't even swing the Mo Dao. I'm just a loser." He started to howl again, right here
At that moment, Su Dingfang broke in. Li Siwen stopped crying and said hopefully: "General Su, have you figured out a way?"
Su Dingfang shook his head and said: "I can't help it, but there is news!" He raised the pigeon in his hand and took off a small bamboo tube from the pigeon's leg: "Chang'an has replied!"