Chapter 14 The Fourteenth Chapter Sudden Encounter with a Strong Enemy

Xin'an is twenty-six miles away from Cijian. In the past few days, the Tang and Zheng armies have each settled in the city, and only sent a small group of troops out of the city during the day to investigate.When they also encountered encounters, they generally met in a hurry and did not love to fight, and each retreated to the camp.In the end, as if they had a tacit understanding, they all avoided the official roads, opened their way among the mountains and grass, and formed their own patrol routes.Tang Jun walked along the Jianhe River, while Zheng Jun walked south of the official road.

Before the morning dew had dissipated, Li Shimin rode a "Telepiu" and led Luo Shixin, Yuchi Jingde and twenty people from his entourage on the road.Along the edge of Jianshui, Tang Bing had already stepped on a clearly identifiable path a few days ago.At that time, the sun had just risen, and the bright red sunlight shone over, gradually dispelling the layer of mist above the river. Yuchi Jingde followed behind Li Shimin, while Luo Shixin was ten steps away from him.Yesterday when Li Shimin sent this mission, Luo Shi disapproved in confidence, thinking that he was familiar with Xin'an and Cijian by heart, so why should he make another trip in vain?Of course, he couldn't refute Li Shimin's face on the spot. When he came out today, he had nothing to say along the way.

A group of them descended Badou Mountain, walked east about five miles, and arrived at the corner of Jianshui. The water began to flow southeast, and the mountain became more relaxed.Hares sprang out from time to time on the path, colorful pheasants fluttered away when they heard the sound of people, and beautiful figures passed by in the forest.Li Shimin didn't speak on the road, remembering that the army and horses have been in a hurry recently, and he didn't have time to go hunting. If Luoyang is taken down this time, he should be able to breathe.As they thought about it, they had walked for almost an hour. The sun hung high in the east, and the sun penetrated into the forest. The temperature gradually rose, and the evaporated water vapor diffused.

Unconsciously they had climbed the hill facing Cijian, Li Shimin dismounted first and observed the other side through the forest.On the city wall of Cijian, Zheng Jun flags and flags were planted all over the city, and a handsome flag stood above the west gate and fluttered in the wind, with the words "Youfu General Dan" written on it.According to reports from scouts, due to the small size of the city, Shan Xiongxin only left 50,000 troops in the city, and the rest were sent back to Luoyang.Li Shimin watched there for a long time, then called Luo Shixin over and asked, "Brother Shixin, Shan Xiongxin attacked the city for many days, but finally succeeded with fire. From this point of view, the city wall is still strong. If we attack again, what will we use?" How can we avoid casualties?"

Luo Shidao: "Recently we have repeatedly attacked, and each of us knows the way. There is no other way to attack Cijian, but to attack the fortification." Li Shimin sighed: "Before the west gate of Cijian, there is not much room to move around. If you want to attack hard, you may suffer too many casualties. This mountain is too far away from Cijian, so firing a crossbow here is purely useless." They were speechless for a while, Li Shimin looked over the city gate and carefully observed to the north of the city.The stream there turned to the northeast again, the river was wide and the current was fast, and the sound spread far and wide.In the midsummer of July, there are many people casting nets and swinging eagles to catch fish on the river on weekdays. In recent years, wars have been frequent and people have fled. In addition, this is a battleground for military strategists, and there is no one on the river.

Li Shimin looked at the river, and suddenly his heart moved. He asked Luo Shixin: "Brother Shixin, you have been in Cijian City for a long time, and you should be familiar with the situation of the northern city wall." Luo Shidao said: "Cijian faces the river in the north. From the water surface, there is a steep wall, covered with moss, and the wall is about three feet high. On the wall is a one-foot-high city wall, which connects with the whole city. It is difficult for ordinary people to climb up here. , I didn’t send too many people to defend when I was on defense.” Li Shimin nodded thoughtfully, and greeted everyone: "Let's go, let's go south along the hillside and take a look at the main gate of Shan Xiongxin. Brother Jingde, we walked along the path when we came, and we might as well swagger and obey the official when we go back." Dao returns, do you think there is a risk?"

Yuchi Jingde said: "It's okay, if there are a few thieves blocking the way, they are not our opponents." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly ran west, stood there and looked around.Li Shimin and the others didn't know what happened, so they hurriedly followed and asked what happened. Yuchi Jingde frowned, and said to himself: "Could it be that I heard it wrong?" He pointed forward, and ordered the two to go and check, "I just heard the sound of a tree branch breaking, and there are no hunters in the surrounding area. Definitely man-made. Who's hiding there spying?"

The two people who were sent out returned soon, saying that there was no one in the search circle.Yuchi Jingde shook his head and said, "King Qin, let's go back quickly. If we are ambushed, we will be unable to resist." Li Shimin said with a smile: "It is said that Jingde is not afraid of the sky and the earth. A little noise can scare you. Haha, we came out and Shan Xiongxin was not notified. Can he predict the future? Let's go, rest assured, go over there and look around again go back." A group of people led horses and walked through the forest along the hillside.When he arrived at the place facing the west gate of Cijian, Li Shimin suddenly had a whim and asked, "Brother Shixin, Jingde, do you have the guts? How about following me around to the west gate? It can also dispel Jingde's doubts."

Yuchi Jingde felt that it was unnecessary, but Luo Shixin said: "Just go, what's the point!" But he thought in his heart, as the commander-in-chief, the king of Qin was still innocent and sincere, and deep down he also felt that it was unnecessary. Li Shimin then asked his 20 entourage to go down from the west slope and return to Xin'an along the official road.The three of them led the horses down the east slope, out of the forest, and reached the open ground at the bottom of the mountain. The three of them got on their horses and walked slowly towards the city gate.When they reached the place where the soldiers guarding the city could be seen, Li Shimin said, "Okay, let's go back." After speaking, he turned his horse's head first, and they rode along the official road and passed the hillside they had just descended. Looking back, they saw that no troops had been dispatched from the city After chasing, he pressed his bridle and walked slowly.

Yuchi Jingde said: "The king of Qin's move is unnecessary, it is purely an example of the courage of the common man. If Shan Xiongxin leads the army, we will be outnumbered, what should we do?" Li Shimin smiled and said: "This king has experienced many battles. I think it’s a kind of fun to have no danger. Li Yaoshi blamed me at the beginning, but Jingde didn’t think so. I’m taking the two of you together today. I thought you had the same temperament, but who knows how to tell the difference. Brother Shixin, What do you think?" Luo Shidao said: "Shi Xin doesn't take it seriously either. Bravery and swiftness must be displayed on the battlefield, but it's reckless to come here." Li Shimin's face turned cold for a moment, Luo Shixin's words were too direct.But this was only a short-lived thing, he quickly calmed down, laughed and said: "This is Meng Lang, a citizen of the world. Well, you can't do this kind of behavior again in the future."

While speaking, they had already traveled three miles on the official road.Turning a big bend, I suddenly saw a crowd of people in front of me, no less than 500 of them.When they got closer, they saw that the twenty people who had gone forward had joined them, but under the siege, more than ten people were reduced to ghosts under the knife, and only a few people were still there to support them.The three of them reined in their horses and stood up, Yuchi Jingde lost his voice and said: "Well, Shan Xiong Xinzhen has ambushed here. It turns out that I am not suspicious." Li Shimin made a decisive decision: "It seems that Shan Xiongxin came prepared, and we can't make it through recklessly. We had no choice but to flee. Brother Shixin, you are familiar with the geography of this area. You lead the way, and Jingde and I will follow." Luo Shixin concentrated for a while, and said: "I think there are people ambushing us the way we came from, let's go south." After saying that, he steered his horse and charged up the hillside on the south side of the road.Shan Xiongxin's men and horses in the west had obviously spotted them, and mobilized the horse herd to charge towards them. The three of them hurried through the forest, where the bushes and thorns were dense, and they tore their war robes into strands in a short while. Fortunately, their horses rode superbly, and their jumps landed well, gradually leaving the pursuers behind.Running across this hillside like this, he began to rush towards the opposite hillside.Sanqi reached the bottom of the slope in an instant, and when they stared, they were all dumbfounded.It turned out that the bottom of the valley was a swamp, and the stagnant water was full of clumps of lush grass. From time to time, bubbles appeared on the surface of the water. If you want to rush over, what if you get stuck in the quagmire? Yuchi Jingde yelled: "I don't care anymore, I'll explore the way first, you come with me." After saying that, he steered the horse into the marsh, and the accumulated water immediately overflowed the horse's belly, and the black-tailed horse seemed to understand its master At this time, the mind does not need to be whipped, and takes the initiative to explore the way. Fortunately, the swamp was not too deep and there was not much silt. The three of them struggled in the swamp for a long time, and they were about to reach the shore.Suddenly, Luo Tuxin's horse lost its front hoof, the horse knelt in the water, and Luo Shixin also fell sideways into the marsh.In a panic, Li Shimin and Yuchi Jingde got off their horses in a hurry, and stepped forward to help Luo Shixin and the horse.After all this tossing, the three men and three horses were all covered in a layer of mud, and they were in a terrible state. When the pursuers reached the bottom of the valley, they didn't dare to wade across the water. They watched three men and three horses turn around the foot of the mountain and disappear from sight. Li Shimin and the others breathed hard, only to hear a shout, and more than a hundred ambush soldiers rushed down halfway up the mountain.Li Shimin took out his machete and said: "The road ahead is narrow, and it is difficult to escape in a hurry. This time we can't let it go, we have to fight a bloody road. We must not be fond of fighting, we must form a tight group, kill and go." The three rushed into the enemy's formation, with a knife, a gun, and a horse, making them chop horizontally and vertically like the wind.These people sent by Shan Xiongxin are indeed not mediocre, they are all very skilled, and it is difficult to kill them for a while.Li Shimin had no choice but to rush up the slope with a slanting stab, wait for these people to move their positions, aim at the weak point and kill them.After the three of them struggled to open a bloody path, each of them and their mounts suffered multiple wounds, the wounds were bleeding and there was no time to bandage them, so they rushed towards Xin'an. They ran to the foot of Badou Mountain when the pursuers stopped, took out their arrows and shot at Li Shimin's back.At this moment, the three of them and their mounts were exhausted and injured. Seeing that the arrow feathers were like locusts, Yuchi Jingde pulled out a double whip and hit the feather arrows, while Li Shimin and Luo Shixin used their spears and knives Dance into a perfect circle.But in the end, countless arrows leaked in. At that time, Li Shimin was hit by two arrows behind the house, and the injuries were not too deep because of the armor protection. "Telepiu" was hit by two arrows in the crotch and hind legs. With a long hiss, it jumped forward suddenly, out of the range of the arrow rain, and rushed towards Xin'an Dongcheng Gate with all its strength, which was 500 meters away from the city gate. When I was walking, I finally couldn't support it, and fell to the ground with a "poof". Li Shimin jumped up from the ground, seeing that "Telepiu" was bleeding profusely, with a look of sorrow in his eyes, he ran towards the city gate with all his strength.At that time the city gate was closed tightly, Li Shimin raised his head and shouted to the city gate: "Open the gate quickly, I am Li Shimin, King Qin." The soldiers on the city gate looked blank, and a patrolling captain pointed his head and shouted: "Where are the thieves, leave quickly, be careful that my arrow is about to shoot down. Can you impersonate King Qin? Tell you, I know King Qin. " At this time, Luo Shixin and Yuchi Jingde also rushed over, seeing each other's appearance, they knew the reason why the people in the city didn't know him.They rolled all over in the mud first, and then fought bloody battles and hanged paint in several places, adding a lot of blood stains, which is really hard to recognize.Li Shimin understood the reason, and hurriedly took off his helmet, took out a brocade handkerchief from his body, wiped it on his face a few times, raised his head and said: "Liu Duwei, check carefully to see if I am the King of Qin, open the door quickly!" The captain of the city found out that it was really the King of Qin, and with a face full of panic, he walked down a few steps and opened the city gate to meet him.Li Shimin pointed to "Telebiu" who was lying on the ground and said: "Find a horse doctor quickly and treat him quickly." "Telepiu" still couldn't be revived. It suffered from trauma and lost too much blood. After being hit by the arrow, it ran vigorously, bleeding like a spring, and finally reached the end of its life.After Li Shimin entered the city, he heard the news at night, and ordered people to dig a hole in the sunny place of Badou Mountain, and he went to the scene to bury it himself.Seeing the horse's eyes wide open until it died, remembering that this horse followed him to fight Baibi, ran to Bingzhou, endured hunger and starvation many times, and lost his life today to save himself, his eyes couldn't help but become moist.Hearing that Li Shimin was burying his beloved horse, everyone followed. Luo Shixin didn't want to come at first, but remembered that "Telepiu" ran so hard to save his master, it was really loyal, so he also came to say goodbye.Li Shimin ordered the horse to be put into the pit, grabbed a handful of soil with both hands and threw it into the pit. Soon, a small hill was piled up in front of him. Li Shimin turned around and said sadly: "I went to visit Cijian today, injured 20 people, and lost my beloved horse. It seems that Wang Shichong should not be underestimated. Brother Shixin, thinking of going to the gate of Cijian, it is indeed a little bit Naive. How to attack Cijian, you need to plan carefully. According to my intention, I want to attack tomorrow. After this change, let’s wait for two days, you and Shixiong discuss the plan together, and we will discuss it later." When Li Shimin returned to his residence, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that today's incident was very strange, so he hurriedly summoned Du Ruhui, told the day's affairs, and asked, "Ruhui, the two armies are usually safe and sound, why should I Did you encounter an ambush as soon as you left Xin'an?" Du Ruhui thought about it carefully, and said: "According to King Qin's intention, it was Shan Xiongxin who foretold the news that King Qin was leaving the city. If so, there must be spies planted by him in the city." Li Shimin nodded: "Yes, otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence? Don't make a big deal about this matter. We have a lot of people from Luoyang here, so it can't arouse suspicion. You go down and check secretly. In addition, you find some local people to ask about the city wall of Cijian Linhe. If there is any situation, we need to send some people in disguise to go to the field to investigate, and these situations must be reported to me quietly." Du Ruhui left after taking the order. In the next two days, Li Shi and Luo Shixin discussed the siege plan, and the soldiers in the battalion practiced in their respective garrisons.On this day, Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji went to the stables to select war horses. "Telepiu" was dead, and the battle was imminent. Li Shimin urgently needed a good horse.There are six fine horses in the stables, including two sent by Zhang Wansui from Longyou Racecourse, three rewarded by Li Yuan to Li Shimin, and one selected in Taiyuan.Three of them are the most outstanding, and Li Shimin has already named them. The red horse was raised by Liu Wuzhou in Taiyuan. According to the introduction of the horse breeder, it was a gift from Turkic. It was originally ridden by a Turkic "manager". It was named "Shivachi"; the purple horse sent by Zhang Wansui was already named "Sa Lu Zi", which in Turkic means "the purple horse of the brave", and Li Shimin agreed with this name; the last one The horse is a Persian horse tributed by Gaochang in the Western Regions. Its coat color is blue, and Li Shimin named it "Qing Zou".He walked through the stables with Changsun Wuji, and said to the horse supervisor: "Next time you go into battle, use 'Saluzi' first. Wuji, these horses stand together, and the same horse can't tell the difference between the superior and the inferior. I still believe in Zhang Wansui's eyes." Changsun Wuji said: "Erlang, you must not be taken lightly as the commander. What happened yesterday is very mysterious. This time a horse died. It is a good luck. Everyone has admired your bravery. I am sorry for the lightness of this time. Although everyone didn’t say anything, they didn’t take it seriously. Do you know what Shiro said about you? "Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses are not used, and you go to charge alone, causing casualties and dead horses. This is a bad omen."" Li Shimin was furious: "This Shiro, he has no ability, so he still talks. Wuji, don't try to persuade me. It was useless for Li Yaoshi to persuade me, I have my own rules." They walked out of the stables and walked towards their residence, practicing sound along the way, and when they arrived at the middle school field, they saw Qin Shubao and other generals gathered to watch the formation, and Li Yuanji was also standing there in uniform.At that time, they were watching the practice of the hook and sickle spear formation in front of them, they were all absorbed in it, and they didn't realize that Li Shimin came in front of them. The hook and sickle spear formation has been practiced since its inception in Longxi, and the formation has become more and more proficient.The soldiers in front of the formation advanced and retreated together, hooking and stabbing freely, and soon the sixty-four marksmanship practice was over, and everyone bowed to salute the general in front.Li Shimin sighed: "Seeing things and thinking about people! Brother Yao invented this spear technique and made great contributions from Longxi to Taiyuan. It's been a long time since I left him, I don't know how he is there?" Seeing Li Shimin coming in front of him, everyone hurriedly saluted.Shi Danai said: "To make the marshal happy, the emperor always remembers the war in the south. When Da Nai left Chang'an, the emperor had already sent Yu Zhining and Yan Shigu to Kuizhou to condolences and observe the battle situation there. I think they should return." Hou Junji said: "The hook and sickle spear is really powerful against the horse army. In this plain area, most of the infantry will go into battle, so I'm afraid it will be useless. Snips and arrows are more useful." Li Shimin said: "Brother Yao first created the hook and sickle spear technique. Its original intention is to make changes in battle and not stick to routines. For example, with a lance, you can learn some changes from this hook and sickle spear technique so as to be flexible. Jingde, Is it the truth that you make the best use of Ma Qiang?" Yuchi Jingde interjected: "Of course we have to change, otherwise we will become a ghost under the knife of others." At this time, Li Yuanji walked up to Yuchi Jingde and said, "Yuchi Commander, I have heard that you are the best horse lance when I was in Chang'an, but I also like it very much. While everyone is happy today, let's practice for everyone how to do it." ?” Cheng Yaojin said: "The king of Qi doesn't know that this black man is best at avoiding horses. Once, he broke into the enemy's line alone, and a circle of horses came to stab him. He couldn't stab him, but he snatched him away. Stab back. King Qi, I know you are also good at using lances, but you can't fight Heizi, because it's useless for you to stab him for a long time, boring, boring." Cheng Yaojin made jokes here, and everyone burst into laughter. Li Yuanji was very angry.On a whim, he got on his horse and said repeatedly: "Come, come, come." Yuchi Jingde was very embarrassed, Li Yuanji was a man of gold and jade after all, if there was any injury, it would be fine if Li Yuanji's face was hurt, if Li Yuan knew about it, he would definitely be furious.He looked at Li Shimin, only to see an encouraging look in his eyes, and he was very appreciative, so he had some confidence in his heart, and he came to Li Yuanji's horse and said: "Since the king of Qi has an order, it is rude to respect virtue." That's it." Then he got on his horse. At this time, Li Shimin shouted: "You must not get injured in the martial arts competition. Pull out the ends of the iron spears and compete again." Yuchi Jingde exerted all his strength, reached out and pulled out the iron spearhead of his horse, and said to Li Yuanji: "King Qi doesn't need to remove the spearhead, Jingde tries his best to avoid it, if he can't dodge, Jingde has no complaints." Li Yuanji thought that Yuchi Jingde was so entrusted to him, and anger arose in his heart, so he listened to the words and refused to remove the gun, thinking that it would be better to stab this ignorant guy to death. Four pairs of horseshoes were running back and forth on the school field, and the soldiers who were training around saw the main general competing here, and formed a large circle to watch.I saw the two rushing back and forth, Li Yuanji's moves were vicious, stabbing straight, Yuchi Jingde either hid in the stirrups, or twisted his body, every time he saved the day, he avoided Li Yuanji's moves.Li Yuanji practiced martial arts during the day, loved hunting, and he was really good at horseback riding. A horse spear made it not a waste of time, and it made the two people's martial arts match really exciting.Yuchi Jingde kept dodging and didn't fight back, they killed more than thirty back and forth in the battle.At this time, Li Shimin yelled: "You two should rest less, Jingde, come here." Yuchi Jingde left the battle line and drove his horse to Li Shimin. Li Shimin asked: "Jingde, let me ask you, what do you value if you just hide but not fight back? Let's say, hide or seize the spear, which one is better?" quite difficult?" Sweat broke out on Yuchi Jingde's face, he panted and said without thinking: "Then there is no need to ask, of course it is difficult to win the lance." "Well, a martial arts competition is a battlefield, don't care who the opponent is, you will see your true abilities only after taking Shiro's horse back today." Yuchi Jingde nodded, understood Li Shimin's meaning, then turned around and returned to Li Yuanji's horse, and said, "King Qi, come here, Heizi wants to take your horse, don't blame me for offending you." Li Yuanji sneered, and said: "In a short while, you got Erlang's trick? Okay, you catch it." He clamped his horse's belly, stabbed Jingde straight with his spear, Jingde still avoided it, and waited for Li Yuanji to stab him in the first place. Three times, he looked at the position, stretched his ape arms lightly, and snatched Li Yuanji's horse lance lightly. Suddenly, there was thunderous applause from the audience. Li Yuanji's face turned pale when Ma Qiang was taken away.At this time, Yuchi Jingde came over and returned the horse with both hands, and said sincerely: "King Qi, I have offended, although Heizi won, I really admire His Highness's method in his heart." Li Yuanji said hesitantly: "I'm good, didn't you still beat me?" After speaking, he drove his horse towards Li Shimin and others.While marching, he thought that Yuchi Jingde had defeated him in public, and that he would be unreasonable if he uttered bad words again, so he put a smile on his face and said to everyone: "Yuchi leads the army, and his reputation is well-deserved. Yuan Ji is willing to bow down, and he is worthy of being in the army. fierce general." The defeat by Yuchi Jingde made Li Yuanji grieve in his heart.Thinking of the happy expressions on everyone's faces, and the expression of loyalty to Li Shimin, he cursed inwardly: "This group of annoying Erlang dogs." Two days later, Du Ruhui begged to see Li Shimin alone, saying that after two days of investigation, he found no trace, so he should secretly send people to keep a close watch on Cijian, and send more Fulu Xiaoxiao to hide in the road to find the messenger.Li Shimin pondered for a long time, and said: "That's the best we can do. If it's dark, the internal troubles won't be eliminated, so we'd better hide our actions. How about the investigation?" Du Ruhui took out a picture and spread it on the table. Li Shimin saw that it was a Danqing painting, and he painted the riverside at the north end of Cijian vividly, so he praised: "This is good. Ruhui, go and call Wuji and Duan Zhixuan." Come, yes, there are also Hongji and Shunde." Du Ruhui hurried out. After a while, five people came into the room together.Li Shimin showed them the painting and said, "This time we attack Cijian, Li Shi and Luo Shixin have come up with a preliminary plan for a frontal attack. I'm planning a trick here to attack by water. I'll start with this painting. " Five people still don't quite understand. Li Shimin said: "Take this painting away and think about it carefully. The four of you picked out 10,000 soldiers from the army and dragged them to the opposite side of the river today. If it is dark, you send people to collect more boats around the radius, and then Practice boarding a boat and climbing a wall there, and in the future, you will enter Cijian from the place shown in this painting, understand?" The five nodded together, beaming with joy. Li Shimin said: "This matter must be kept secret. I suspect that there are Shan Xiongxin's spies in the army. If Ci Jian knows that we have taken precautions, we will be unable to do anything." The five people retreated under orders. Three days later, Li Shimin decided to start attacking Cijian, gathering 100,000 horses and marching towards Cijian. At three o'clock, the army had a full meal and lined up out of Xin'an City. Five horse troops led the way, and the pawns were either holding flags, beating drums, or lighting torches.Only the sound of drums and flags can be seen, the heat of the day has just been covered by the night, and so many torches stir up the heat again. Li Shimin led the generals to walk behind the cavalry, followed by 50,000 infantry.When the generals saw this situation, they all murmured in their hearts: it is strange to choose midnight to march, the strangest thing is to beat the drums and raise the fire, as if Shan Xiongxin didn't know. Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and Luo Shixin walked together. Seeing Li Shimin in front of him, Cheng Yaojin didn't dare to speak loudly, and said quietly, "What kind of medicine is sold in King Qin's gourd? Since ancient times, such a war is probably the first in the world. Once." Qin Shubao couldn't figure it out, so he replied, "The heavenly secret must not be leaked, Shixin, what do you think?" Luo Shixin said in a low voice: "You have been with the King of Qin for a long time. I am about to ask for advice. It is said that the King of Qin is good at defending against the enemy. Such a formation seems to be a big taboo. When we arrived at Cijian, people looked down upon us. We lit up torches to illuminate ourselves. Isn't it a target?" Cheng Yaojin said: "Could it be that Shan Xiongxin has turned to the light? When we get to the city, he will open the city gate to welcome us." Luo Shixin stared and said: "Is Xiongxin such a person? Brother Jin, look at the dark night in front of you, don't be daydreaming all the time." Li Shimin's ears also heard what the generals said, he smiled slightly and did not refute. When Li Shimin and the others arrived at Cijian, it was Yin time.Standing on the opposite hill, I saw that the Tang army's cavalry had already dispersed. The northernmost part was full of soldiers holding flags, and the southern part dismounted and continued to beat drums on the ground.Looking from afar, the west gate of Cijian became a sea of ​​fire. Li Shimin led the crowd to the front of the formation, and a circle of horsemen surrounded the generals with shields to guard against cold arrows from the city.It had been more than an hour since the forward of the Tang army came to the city. Li Shimin reckoned that Shan Xiongxin had already woken up, and he might be standing under the city tower looking over here. Li Shimin ordered someone to stop beating the drums and not to make any noise. For a while, the Tang army's camp was completely silent, and the surroundings became quiet, and even the sound of frogs in the field could be heard. Li Shimin clasped his hands in the shape of a trumpet and shouted loudly, "Is Shan Xiongxin there? I am Li Shimin, King of Qin." There was silence for a while, and finally, a voice came over: "Li Shimin, you don't fight well, come here in the middle of the night with drums and gongs, you are going to mourn." Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and Luo Shixin knew it was Shan Xiongxin's voice as soon as they heard it. Li Shimin shouted: "The weather is hot now, and the temperature in the second half of the night is a good time to fight. Shan Xiongxin, do you have the guts to come down?" Shan Xiongxin laughed loudly: "Do you think I will be fooled by you? You lured me into the city with great fanfare. Is there an ambush on both sides? I have heard that Li Shimin is good at staying out of the wall, and I, Shan Xiongxin, have to learn today. Let's cool off down there, I'll go back and sleep first, and we'll talk again when the sun rises." After Shan Xiongxin finished speaking, he ignored Li Shimin again. Li Shimin called Luo Shixin and Shi Danai over and said, "Last time you were attacked by Shan Xiongxin here, let him taste the fire today. I also brought a lot of oil with the army, you two The command also uses a catapult to launch, and in addition, wrapping a cloth ball on the arrowhead and soaking it in oil to ignite it can also shoot into the city. Hurry up and launch it, and we will watch from the side." Luo Shixin felt that Li Shimin was playing a joke, but this was the order of the marshal and could not be disobeyed, so he went to arrange it together with Shi Danai. After a while, the fireball from the catapult shot into the city, and the burning arrowheads streaked across the air, like stars in the sky, dotted with stars. The Tang army's fire attack caused chaos in the city. After a while of panic, seeing that the Tang army did not have many catapult carts, Zheng Jun stood densely on the city wall and shot arrows down the city, trying to make the archery Tang army retreat, so that the rockets could not land well. .Zheng Jun's arrangement had achieved results, and Tang Jun's arrow feathers suddenly became scarce. The last time Cijian was attacked by fire, the huts in the city were destroyed by fire. Shan Xiongxin entered the city and asked people to rebuild the houses on the ruins.The Tang army did the same thing this time and launched another fire attack, although it was not as violent as last time, after all, they set the hut on fire again. Some soldiers in the city shot arrows at the wall, while others tried their best to fight the fire, unable to take care of other things for a while.At this time, a group of people dressed in black and with black scarves on their heads came killing them from the north of the city. In the light of the fire, the leaders were Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Duan Zhixuan and Changsun Wuji. That day, Du Ruhui and other five people led 10,000 horses to camp in the north of Jianshui. Du Ruhui asked people to collect boats, and at the same time discussed the implementation of Li Shimin's strange plan. When Li Shimin was talking with Shan Xiongxin at the west gate of Cijian with great fanfare, the north wall of Cijian was on the other side of the river, and Tang Jun had already transported dozens of ladders there by taking advantage of the darkness.Two hundred soldiers who can swim across the stream, stand on the sandy beach under the cliff, and then pull the rope. The end of the rope is connected to the ladder. Soon, the ladder came across the river, and they raised the ladder one by one. , and the top just leans against the edge of the battlements. A flat boat went down the river, on which stood Duan Zhixuan, Changsun Wuji, Changsun Shunde, and Liu Hongji. Behind them, there was a boat every ten feet.When they got to the bottom of the cliff, the soldiers standing there stretched out their scratch hooks to touch the side of the boat, and the people above jumped off.After the people disembarked, the boat drifted downstream. With a wave of Duan Zhixuan's hand, sixty people who had been selected in advance climbed up the ladder. They were athletic and highly skilled in martial arts. Their task was to go up the city wall, kill the few guards there, and then sneak into the city with the troops.They were as light as swallows, and they climbed up the city wall quietly. At that time, the west gate was in chaos, and the city was on fire. The guards on the north wall were transferred to put out the fire. There were only a dozen guards left here. They gathered together and probed their brains. Watch the fire fighting in the city.They felt a gust of wind rushing towards them, and they were about to turn their heads to see what was going on, but they felt a chill on their necks, and their heads were already in two places. The four of Duan Zhixuan went up to the city wall. Seeing how weak the guards were, he secretly praised in his heart: "The King Qin's plan is truly a brilliant plan!" Du Ruhui stood on the other side of the river and commanded the soldiers to go up the city. In fact, he didn't need to command the soldiers. The boats coming down from the upper stream kept bringing the soldiers over. There is not much space at the base of the northern city wall, more than 6,000 people gathered here, a large area of ​​darkness, under the light of the fire in the city, it is even more eye-catching.At the beginning, several Zheng Bing came over curiously to see what happened, but they were strangled quickly when they got close.As the number of people gradually increased, Zheng Bing felt more and more that something was wrong, and the firefighters stopped and surrounded them, and the people in the forefront had already fought Tang Bing. The four of them originally wanted to wait until all 10,000 people had entered the city before taking action, and seeing the situation, they definitely couldn't wait.The four gathered together to discuss, bearing in mind Li Shimin's order to break through the west gate with all their strength to meet the army's entry into the city, and decided to act immediately and attack the west gate with all their strength. Shan Xiongxin was standing at the bottom of the Ximen City and commanding. After confirming the news of the Tang army appearing in the city, he was shocked and hurried down the city.I saw a group of men in black from the north attacking the west gate along the base of the west city wall, ten fathoms away from the city gate.He immediately understood Tang Jun's attempt, which was to break through the Ximen first, but he couldn't figure out how these people appeared in the city and where did they come from?Straight as a heavenly soldier and a general. Although Shan Xiongxin was shocked, he didn't take this group of people seriously.He turned his head and said to the general beside him: "Go, order the people in the city to stop fighting the fire, and kill this group of people first." Shan Xiong believed that Li Shimin would send troops in on a large scale, thinking that they were a small force.Zheng's troops in the city gradually gathered towards the west gate. Those who shot arrows on the wall were divided into half, and turned to shoot arrows at the people in black clothes under the wall inside the city.Immediately, the Tang army's offensive in the city slowed down. Li Shimin closely observed the movement in Cijian, heard the shouts of killing in the city, and saw that the number of feathered arrows flying by Zheng Jun had decreased significantly, so he realized that Duan Zhixuan and others had already won the battle inside, so he shouted loudly: "Hou Junji, take the people to speed up!" Go attack the city!" The fireballs from the catapults in the Tang camp and the arrowheads with rockets from the crowd flew into the city without a break. Hou Junji led his people to rush forward in the light of the fire, and dozens of teams wearing heavy armor and carrying ladders ascended the city. The team rushed to the city wall like flying. In the city right now, Duan Zhixuan and the others were at a critical juncture, Zheng Jun surrounded them from all directions, Tang Jun's attack momentum slowed down, Zheng Jun on the wall shot arrow feathers condescendingly, and many people fell down. Changsun Shunde waved his knife to push away the flying arrow feathers, and shouted: "Hongji, the attack is blocked now, and the forward force will cause more damage. Let's retreat to the north wall first." Without waiting for Liu Hongji to answer, Duan Zhixuan shouted: "You can't retreat! The King of Qin earnestly warned us that the key to victory lies in Ximen, and the only way to win is to win Ximen!" Liu Hongji said: "That's right, let's go forward, regardless of both sides. Now there are endless follow-ups, temporary injuries are nothing, taking down Ximen is victory." The four of them quickly unified their thinking, and the four machetes struggled to kill. Seeing the bravery of the general, the subordinate soldiers immediately cheered up and accelerated forward. Standing under the west gate, Shan Xiongxin was shocked when he saw this group of men in black rushing towards him like crazy.At this moment, he realized that his original judgment was wrong: they didn't enter the city by accident, they should be a large group of people who came prepared.Their intention is also fully exposed, which is to capture Ximen to meet the Tang army outside the city.Shan Xiongxin understands that the key now is to block the progress of these people.At that time, the burning houses in the city collapsed many burning beams, and the crowd was too chaotic to ride horses.Shan Xiongxin yelled, waved the golden-topped Zaoyang lance, and led the people around him to kill on foot. The archery soldiers on the city wall saw that their commander was taking the battle in person, so they stopped shooting for fear of accidental injury, which made the Tang army's charge even worse.Shan Xiongxin straightened up the golden-topped Zaoyang spear and stabbed the two men down. The followers on both sides brandished knives and danced wildly to cover the coach. At this time, four long swords came out from the crowd, and four people jumped to the front. They were Changsun Shunde, Liu Hongji, Duan Zhixuan and Changsun Wuji.The four of them didn't know Shan Xiongxin, but seeing his clothes and everyone's awe-inspiring expressions, they understood the important position of this man in the city, so they swung their swords and fought fiercely, determined to win.The four-handed knives are like spirit snakes, either jumping and chopping, or stabbing and slashing.Shan Xiongxin pulled himself together and exerted all his strength, and several of his followers also joined in the melee.But after all, his strength alone can't match these four fierce generals who are determined to survive in the Jedi.Several of Shan Xiongxin's attendants were thrown out of the circle in the shadow of the knife light, seeing that they could not survive.The strength of the four of them was all on Shan Xiongxin, and Shan Xiongxin was quickly killed out of breath.He felt that the momentum was not good, and it was difficult to support it any longer, so he swung Zaoyang lance in the air and dragged him down. The army was defeated like a mountain.After Shan Xiongxin was defeated, he headed towards the east of the city. Seeing the defeat of the commander, Zheng Bing had no intention of fighting, so they retreated eastward one after another, making way for the Tang army under the western wall. Duan Zhixuan and the other four saw that the chance of victory had been revealed, they all put away their weapons and rushed forward, and the follow-up soldiers moved forward like a tide, and soon arrived at the west gate. There were dozens of defenders under the west gate of Cijian, but they were not the opponents of the Tang army who were like wolves and tigers, and they were killed by the swarming soldiers.At this moment, Changsun Wuji yelled: "Leave twenty people to open the city gate, and the rest will follow us up the city wall." There was a mess on the city wall, and when Duan Zhixuan and others came to the wall, it became the Tang army's world in a blink of an eye. 李世民发现射来的箭羽越来越少了，喝道：“侯君集，停止发射火器，传令，大队人马向城门逼进，估计西门马上就要开了。” 其时东方已现晨曦，李世等四人将信将疑，程咬金说道：“秦王，攀梯上城之人并不算多，应加派人手增援，我们现在贸然过去，别伤了我们才好。” 李世民道：“哈哈，咬金兄，外人皆言你杀人不眨眼，这会儿怎么犯了踌躇？走吧，听我的没错，西门那里，段志玄他们正在候着呢。” 四人顿时恍然大悟，原来秦王另设计谋，突降奇兵于城内。经此一役，罗士信方知传言秦王善于将兵非虚，其在陇西、柏壁用坚壁之计，到了这里却多进攻。他忍不住问道：“秦王，段志玄等人是从北城墙处进入慈涧的？” 这时慈涧西门已开，侯君集、尉迟敬德率领大队人马进入城内，李世民看见此景知道今日已经大功告成，遂含笑道：“对呀，那日敬德我们一同来观，我见城北临河，郑军肯定懈怠，就让段志玄他们领兵一万驻扎在涧水以北。我们在这里大张旗鼓吸引单雄信注意，他们在那里悄悄登城，然后强攻西门与我们里应外合，给了单雄信一个冷不防！” 程咬金道：“原来如此，那日我问段志玄他们到什么地方？没人能说清楚。秦王，你设奇兵袭了单雄信，连我们也蒙在鼓里。”李世民微微一笑，并不作答。 单雄信退到城东，眼见守城无望，遂收拾残兵退回洛阳。 太阳已从东方升起，城内余火未熄，袅烟阵阵。李世民入城后，一面命追击残敌，一面令人扑灭余火、清理杂物。他对众人说：“慈涧又回到我们手中，看样子要在这里长驻。玄龄，城内事务由你负责，慈涧连受两次火攻，房屋皆毁，我们要有栖身地方。这茅草房遇火即燃，最好少搭一些。我看沿途有不少窑洞，你组织人在城内掏上一些，听人说窑洞冬暖夏凉，现在还是夏天，此战若拖到冬天，我们可少受些苦。就是再有火攻，我们也不惧怕。” 程咬金插言道：“想不到雄信还会想出火攻的招儿，叔宝兄，士信，我们当初在一起的时候，他只是一味勇猛，没想到他还粗中有细。” 李世民道：“是啊，当初瓦岗五虎上将在洛阳城里仅存其一，又是王世充的妹夫，重压之下独木强撑，他只好殚精竭虑了。世兄，听说你当初与单雄信友情最重，我们能否将他招降过来？这样，你们五虎又可不分开了。” 李世斟词酌句，说道：“这事儿不太好办，容我下去和叔宝他们议一议。” 李世民哈哈一笑：“人各有志，那是强求不来的！单雄信降了最好，否则洛阳一下，玉石俱焚。走吧，我们且上东门城楼上眺望洛阳如何？” 一行人走上东门楼，他们向东一望，只见太阳高悬，满目绿树葱葱，左水右山，中间一条官道直通洛阳。李世民立在城楼上，说道：“我们此次占了慈涧，说什么也不能再失去。世兄、士信兄，我们要接受前次失去慈涧的教训，不能独守慈涧。你们看，那右边的小山之上可以屯兵，你们和叔宝兄、咬金兄带上二万人马在那里扎营，与慈涧遥相呼应，互相支援。单雄信若敢带兵来犯，就不会在山前从容向慈涧放石射箭了。你们说，单雄信这只独虎若见了你们四虎，是不是只有缴械投降的份儿？” 四人并无笑意，神情肃穆。毕竟，他们与单雄信也是在战阵中拼出来的交情，虽两军对阵各为其主，内心里并不觉得单雄信为十恶不赦的敌人。他们躬身听令。 从此之后，王世充终无力再迈出慈涧以西一步。唐军占了慈涧，进可以攻，退可以守，把握了战场的主动权。