Yesterday's battle, the Hexi Army lost more than 2,000 soldiers, but it was not able to shake Guo Xi's defense at all. Among them, more than 60 former Tang Army and Yan Army officers were killed in the battle. Their bravery stemmed from Bai Xiaode's intimidation.
It was a military order in nature. Shortly after the defeat of the Hexi Army, all the officers in the siege camp tied themselves with ropes and knelt in front of Bai Xiaode's tent, asking for military justice.
Bai Xiaode walked out of the tent with his hands behind his back and a majestic look on his face. He lowered his head and looked at the officers who were kneeling to apologize. Some of them held their chests up and raised their heads with calm expressions, while others were afraid of meeting his eyes and quickly lowered their heads and remained silent.
.
He raised his head and said proudly: "I am a person who is reasonable and disciplined. The three thousand Anyuan Army led by Guo Xi are indeed a tough nut to crack, and you have indeed tried your best. Military law is nothing more than human relationships, although today we have not
I have taken the city, but I will forgive you first, even for the sake of the sacrifice of more than 2,000 soldiers last night. If we can't conquer Xieyuguan again tomorrow, I will try again with your heads."
All the officers thanked him again and again, saying that they would be able to capture Xieyuguan tomorrow.
After a whole day of running around and fighting fiercely on the city wall for more than an hour, the Tang army was exhausted. But they did not dare to rest. These hours at night were the guarantee of their lives, and they must step up their efforts to repair the collapsed weak spots on the city wall.
, only tomorrow can we hope to continue to hold on for one day.
The soldiers took turns to have meals and rest. Half of them worked in the middle of the night before going to bed and the rest of the night, and the other half worked in the first half of the night and went to bed in the second half of the night.
Guo Xi was scarred, but his eyes were wide awake and the blood in his body was boiling. He seemed tireless and unaware of pain.
He patrolled the city wall all night, helping the rotating soldiers carry materials, and personally urged them to speed up their work. Only at dawn could he take a short rest, lie on the battlements and snore.
The Hexi Army did not give them any time to rest. They organized their men to launch the attack at dawn. Due to the large number of troops under Bai Xiaode's command, there were more than 15,000 people in the siege camp alone. Those who participated in the siege yesterday are not needed today.
Hiding safely in the military tent and resting, Bai Xiaode sent another five thousand people to storm the city pass. The only disadvantage to the Hexi Army was that the Xieyuguan Pass was built on a post road between mountains, forests and lakes, and their military advantage could not be exploited.
Able to fight with the Tang army.
Under the command of Bai Xiaode, they used Fuyuan crossbows as usual to suppress the killings. The soldiers of the Tang army squatted behind the wall stacks to avoid the arrows, and the casualties caused were really limited.
But this was just the prelude to the attack. Bai Xiaode personally beat the drums, and the dull drums shook the ground and rumbled. One after another, ladder trucks were pushed towards the city wall, and among them were soldiers pushing siege cones towards the city gate.
Rushing everywhere.
The hope in Guo Xi's heart fell to the bottom again. It turned out that the Hexi Army was not idle at night, cutting down trees and making many siege equipment. Xieyuguan was in disrepair for a long time, and the defensive equipment was incomplete. Not only was there no trebuchet,
There was no kerosene or grease, and there was not enough iron chain to pull the wood that could be used multiple times. With the well-prepared Hexi Army attacking and defending, he was worried that he would not be able to defend until dark today.
The soldiers packed the siege vehicles and slammed into the city gate, and the door panels made a creaking sound. But Guo Xi was not worried at all about the city gate being knocked open. Yesterday, he had ordered people to use bricks to ram the entire city gate opening.
There is no difference between the Hexi army hitting the city gate and hitting the wall.
But those ladder trucks are quite powerful. Since the city wall of Xieyuguan is only about three feet high, the ladder truck made by the Hexi Army is also three feet high and shaped like a wooden tower. The ladder zigzags upward between the wooden towers, and finally climbs up
From the top of the tower, you can charge directly onto the city wall.
After the ladder truck arrived at the city wall, rows of jumping soldiers climbed to the top of the tower through the ladder truck and rushed towards the parapet. The Tang army could only resist with spears, but the Hexi army also had spearmen and crossbows behind the ladder.
, the two sides fought and fought between dozens of ladder trucks and wall stacks. Blood flowed from the wall stacks, and the smell of blood lingered on the top of the city.
Three thousand Anyuan troops died one after another, and the remaining ones were scarred. They used their flaring muscles to mechanically wield their swords and guns to fight, but they were unable to resist. They just tried to extend the defense of the city as long as possible to save the Guo family.
clan, fighting for time to escape for the 17,000 people under his father's command.
The Hexi Army finally attacked the city wall, but Guo Xi still refused to retreat. After the hard persuasion of his soldiers, he reluctantly brought the horses. However, he had bled too much in the previous battle, and his head was dizzy.
The horses were barely able to grab the reins and walked aimlessly out of the city.
Bai Xiaode climbed up the city wall in person. He immediately saw Guo Xi who had just left the city on his horse. He squinted coldly and took off the horn bow from his back. He grabbed the back of the bow with his left hand and pulled it open with his right hand. He aimed at Guo Xi's back and shot.
General Guo Xi was hit by an arrow in the heart, and he screamed in pain and fell off his horse. Bai Xiaode pointed at him not far away and shouted loudly: "Whoever can capture Guo Xi alive, I recommend that he be promoted to two ranks.
Become a strong military general, and a lieutenant general can be a fourth-grade general!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Hexi Army swarmed towards the outside of the city. Guo Xi's soldiers quickly helped him onto his horse and led him on the horse while fighting and retreating. As soon as they came out of the city gate, they were attacked by the Hexi Army again.
The regiment surrounded them, but only a few Tang troops escaped.
The remaining dozen or so soldiers under Guo Xi's command surrounded him in the center. These people were all members of the Guo family. They had practiced martial arts since childhood and had very good coordination in small battle formations. They were defeated by hundreds of Hexi legionnaires.
The siege became more and more courageous, and they broke out in one direction, forcing the opponent to retreat continuously.
Bai Xiaode whispered that something was wrong, and quickly shouted an order from the tower: "Send more people to surround me, and we must not let Guo Xi go."
The Hexi Army mobilized two more teams of crossbowmen, and fired cold arrows during the siege between the shields and spears of the jumping soldiers, consuming the lives of the Guo family soldiers one after another.
The last time he killed Guo Yingyi in Xiayang County made Li Siye regretful. If he could capture Guo Ziyi's son Guo Xi alive this time, it would be a great achievement for him. So Bai Xiaode shouted at the top of his voice: "Don't hurt General Guo."
Lives, other personalities will be killed without mercy."
Guo Xi was protected by the soldiers in the center. He could still wield the spear in his hand, but every time he stabbed it, the freshly formed blood scab would burst, causing the blood in his body to lose rapidly, making him dizzy and difficult to stand.
.But watching the Guo family's soldiers being slaughtered, how could he bear to watch them die with him? He couldn't even commit suicide. He also had a beautiful wife at home who was hobbled.
As a toddler, he couldn't do this by himself.
He shouted with all his strength: "General Bai, please grant me a request. I can abandon my armor and surrender."
Bai Xiaode was always paying attention to every move in the encirclement. When he heard the shouts, he immediately waved the flag and ordered the troops to stop attacking. He asked with a smile: "General Guo has any other requests. I, Bai Xiaode, will definitely comply with them if I can do it."
He lowered his bloodshot eyes and looked at the soldiers around him. They all abandoned their children and followed him out. Considering the friendship they had followed him for many years, he wanted to save their lives even if he could not save himself.
"These troops of mine, General Bai, can you let them go? I will be your prisoner alone."
"Absolutely not! Sanlang!" The soldiers surrounded him and knelt on the ground, admonishing with tears: "Sanlang, we swear to be loyal to the Guo family and to Sanlang in this life. If Sanlang is willing to fight to the death, we are willing to die together.
If Sanlang surrenders, we are willing to follow you."
Guo Xi shook his head and said in a low voice: "After I surrender, I will not obey the traitor Li. I will be imprisoned and die in the traitor camp in the future. There is no need for you to die with me. I know the rules in the army. If the general is trapped, the guarding soldiers will be held accountable.
I should die. But I have a letter from home here, and I need you to take it back for me. After my father sees this letter, he will definitely know what I mean, and he will keep you by my side."
"No, Saburo! How can we do such a thing as betraying our master!"
Guo Xi became irritable, threw the blood letter in his arms to the captain of the soldiers and yelled: "Take this letter and get out of here! Bring it to my grandpa!"
After they fell into silence, the Hexi Army who surrounded them three levels inside and outside made a way for these soldiers. They turned around and kowtowed to Guo Xi again, supporting each other and slowly leaving.