Chapter 44 Chapter Forty-Fourth: Qu Tutong Waits for Orders to Light the Smoke, Li Shimin Orders to Attack Luoyang

Li Shimin stood at the highest point of the mountain, quietly observing the movement on the other side.Suddenly, he said to the generals around him: "Wang Shichong is finished. He dispatched 20,000 troops at once. If I defeat him this time, he will never dare to go out of the city again. We only need to defend Luoyang and not kill him. I can starve him to death, once and for all, in one fell swoop!" The generals on the left and right were suddenly embarrassed, what is King Qin's plan? For Li Shimin, what he sees is always an opportunity, and he will find a way to reduce the disadvantage from one hundred to zero.

Li Shimin could see that Wang Shichong's 20,000-strong horse camp was on the opposite bank, and he was at the foot of Beiman Mountain. If he took the initiative to attack, the wily Wang Shichong would definitely seize the opportunity to attack.Then, there is only another way.When Wang Shichong was fighting with the tempting troops, he devoted himself wholeheartedly, and the Xuanjia army rushed over from the flank, which also caught him by surprise.Why don't we take advantage of ordinary soldiers and horses? Thinking of this, Li Shimin ordered: "Qu Tutong led 5,000 soldiers and horses across the river by boat, and fought with Wang Shichong, and immediately lit a beacon to report."

He himself had already planned that when he saw Qu Tutong's signal, he would personally lead the Xuanjia army to rush down from the high ground and directly attack Wang Shichong's flank! Qu Tutong obeyed and set off with the army.Li Shimin led the Xuanjia Army to station on the high ground, waiting for Qu Tutong's wolf smoke. Wolf smoke is a very wonderful thing. The doctor said that wolf dung can't make smoke at all, so wolf smoke is not made of wolf dung.I don't think so, wolf dung can't smoke, but what if wolf dung is not used to smoke, but to be used as a primer?To this end, I specifically consulted relevant information.

Qi Jiguang's "Ji Xiao Xin Shu" Volume 17 "Shou Sen Pian Cao Jia Fa" said: "Fu's ancestors pier method to raise wolf smoke, there is less wolf dung in the south, and the fireworks are out of control; Besides, how can you see it with your eyes!" This shows that during the Ming Dynasty, the number of wolf dung in the south decreased, and it was impossible to make wolf smoke materials, so grass and trees were used as smoke materials, and the signal could not be seen in the distance because the fire burned for a short time.This shows that wolf dung is indeed the material of wolf smoke. When there is no wolf dung, firewood can be used as a primer, but firewood does not burn as long as wolf dung, so the effect is not ideal.

More powerful evidence comes from the information recorded in the "Taibai Yin Jing" by Li Quan of the Tang Dynasty. He said: "On the beacon tower, there must be artillery stone barriers, water stops, water urns, raw food, dry food, hemp, fire drills, and rockets. , wormwood, wolf dung, cow dung.” What does this mean?This shows that no matter it is wolf dung or cow dung, they can burn for a long time. As long as it is dry, ignite it with a fire drill, put mugwort on it, and cover it with hemp cloud, and the wolf smoke will float out, and the wind will not be biased. It is used as the main material for battlefield reporting.

Therefore, I think that the soldiers who set off the wolf smoke need to be specially set up, not many, but essential.Well, the book returns to the main story. Qu Tutong's 5,000 infantry attacked Wang Shichong's 20,000 troops. Of course, he brought full wolf dung.As soon as the two armies met, thick smoke billowed from the battlefield. At this time, the Xuanjia army had to order to go south, rushing suddenly and forcefully, communicating with the infantry, and taking advantage of the situation to rush into Wang Shichong's army. Wang Shichong's troops were in a mess due to their haste to fight, lack of preparation, and the fact that it was not a human being but a god, an invincible devil.During the fierce battle of the Xuanjia Army, Li Shimin, unwilling to be lonely, came up with his own little idea again.He felt that the battle situation was very good now, and he should take advantage of the moment when Wang Shichong was beaten to look around quickly to see how Comrade Wang's troops and horses were arranged, and to find out the truth.This is very beneficial for future battles.

When you think of it, do it immediately. Li Shimin led dozens of iron cavalry in the Xuanjia Army roaring and sprinting deeper, and quickly penetrated Wang Shichong's defense, and the kill was a delight.Li Shimin came this time with a mission for himself. He wanted to know the strength of Wang Shichong's formation, so he had to walk around again.However, what made Li Shimin depressed was that the dozens of fierce cavalry he led were blocked by hundreds of people, and by the time he rushed behind Wang Shichong, they had already lost their light.There is only one person left by Li Shimin's side, and this person's name is Qiu Xinggong.

Li Shimin and Qiu Xinggong rode into Wang Shichong's restricted area, looked left and right, they were just the two of them, and no one knew each other.To make matters worse, Wang Shichong's soldiers were behind him, and in front of him was a long embankment blocking the way.Surrounded, what should I do?Wang Shichong's soldiers have already caught up, chasing Li Shimin and shooting arrows.Li Shimin was about to smash to the death, but he felt paralyzed and fell down. Almost died. We live in the distant future, of course we can definitely know that Li Shimin is not dead.However, Li Shimin did fall down.But the reason why he really fell was not because of the arrow, but because his beloved horse was shot in the chest by the arrow.This horse has a beautiful name - Sa Luzi, and it is one of Li Shimin's favorite mounts.

Sa Luzi is one of Li Shimin's six steeds. This horse has been with Li Shimin for many years. In terms of military exploits, it is enough to be called a chariot general.Li Shimin wrote praises for Sa Luzi in Zhaoling Six Horses, saying: "Ziyan super leaps, bones are soaring, and Qi is stupid. Three rivers, majestic eight formations." Sa Luzi has been hit by arrows countless times, but this time, The cold arrows shot by these little soldiers killed it.Since the armor body could not completely cover all parts, Sa Luzi happened to be hit by an arrow in the chest, so she was killed on the spot.That's it, Li Shimin fell to the ground.

Horses run very fast on the battlefield. If Li Shimin can't quickly pick up the bow and arrow in his hand and shoot down the people who are chasing up one by one, it will cause serious consequences to go to see the king of Hades. There was no time left, Li Shimin looked at the group of people who came up, ready to fight these guys hand-to-hand and kill a bloody path.As the chasing soldiers approached, an enemy soldier who rushed to the front screamed and swiped at Li Shimin with a big knife. Li Shimin was just about to dodge, but suddenly another cold arrow came out, and the enemy soldier fell to the ground in response.Li Shimin followed his reputation and was overjoyed, the archer was Qiu Xinggong not far away from him.Comrade Qiu Xinggong walked in a hurry, and he didn't know why King Qin didn't follow. When he looked back, he saw that the horse was dead.In desperation, he took up his bow and arrow and fired several shots at the enemy, all of which were hit.In order to save their lives, the pursuers dared not move forward.Qiu Xinggong ran to Li Shimin on horseback and let Li Shimin ride his horse.Qiu Xinggong was a real tough guy, he led the horse's head, held a long knife and yelled, the sound shook the whole field, it was very terrifying.

Judging from the roar alone, Qiu Xinggong's murderous aura is enough to make people shy away. Qiu Xinggong's long knife is a Mo knife commonly used in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It weighs fifty catties, has a double-edged blade, and a two-meter-long blade.Qiu Xinggong led the horse in one hand and held a knife in the other. He would jump up violently and slash down when he met someone who was desperate for his life. He chopped down several people in a row. Anyone who stepped forward couldn't be said to be cut into thousands of pieces, but he could still do it.Lao Qiu's actions shocked many people. If I were Wang Shichong's soldier, I would never slap my face swollen and look fat. I would not go up, and I would die if I went up.Based on such thoughts, Zheng Jun was terrified, and no one would dare to block the way. Qiu Xinggong killed as he walked, and he found the Tang Army's large army very quickly.The two converged and participated in the battle with Wang Shichong's army. Wang Shichong was really desperate. He led the army to fight Qu Tutong and Li Shimin to the death, from eight o'clock in the morning to twelve o'clock in the noon (from Chen to noon), and fought four rounds in succession.The sky was filled with blood, and the sky was covered with flesh and blood, very bloody.In the end, Wang Shichong saw that he couldn't do it, and ordered to withdraw his troops, and the battle was considered to be over. Li Shimin won again. Under the plan arranged by Li Shimin, the army achieved brilliant results, killing more than 7,000 enemy troops, and the self-injury was negligible.Wang Shichong has returned to the city, yes, he has returned to the city!They successfully forced Wang Shichong's army back into the city, and forced the army to the gate of Luoyang. After entering the city, all problems are not problems, some are just a matter of time. It seems that everything is in order. Li Shimin survived a catastrophe, and he must have a future blessing. Wang Shichong encountered a man-made disaster and waited to die.But in fact, Wang Shichong is not discouraged, he is a person who knows how to take advantage of events.Li Shimin is not the only one who thinks about the phrase "surviving a catastrophe". Wang Shichong is more convinced than Li Shimin that there must be future blessings. Tang Hussar General Wang Huaiwen, a righteous man, was captured by Wang Shichong before, and he was given a lot of rewards in order to buy him off.Wang Huaiwen was successfully drawn over in this way, of course, Wang Shichong thought so.Back in Luoyang City, when Wang Shichong led the army to form a camp, Wang Huaiwen rode beside him, joking with him.Just talking nonsense, Wang Huaiwen suddenly brandished a big spear and stabbed at Wang Shichong.For this assassination, Wang Huaiwen exerted the greatest strength in his life.From this point of view, Wang Huaiwen's attack was really powerful, and the interface (iron head) between the lances was actually broken.After the stabbing, the other people around Wang Shichong didn't know what happened, they looked at Wang Huaiwen in a daze. Well, Wang Huaiwen can't assassinate Wang Shichong, and he can't steal a chicken.Next, how would he handle such an embarrassing scene? But Wang Huaiwen smiled and said, "I'm just trying." Before Wang Shichong could react, he fled wildly on his horse and went to join Tang Jun. In the above two sentences, the first sentence is imagination, and the second sentence is historical fact. Because the armor of Mingguang armor was too strong, and Comrade Wang Huaiwen just stabbed on Wang Shichong's armor at once, Wang Shichong survived a catastrophe.Wang Shichong looked at Wang Huaiwen who had already run more than 50 meters away, and immediately sent someone to chase him.After chasing to Shikou (place name), they finally caught up. Dozens of people beat Wang Huaiwen half to death, and then chopped him into meat with a knife, and then returned to the camp.After returning to the camp, Wang Shichong took off his armor and showed it to everyone as a pledge of generosity. He spoke, still smelling like wool: "Wang Huaiwen poked me with a big spear. I have nothing to do. What does it mean? This means that God's will is so, the king will not die!" Everyone heard the words and shouted long live in the shape of a melon—— That was what had to be shouted.Wang Shichong was proud of the shouts of the crowd, and he had to deceive everyone's confidence in the decisive battle. Now, Wang Shichong is still shrunk in Luoyang City, waiting for him will be a more severe test. In February of the fourth year of Wude, the army of the Tang Dynasty surrounded and stationed troops outside the gate of Luoyang. A real siege began. Li Yuan spoke and gave the order to hit Wang Shichong hard.Li Shimin got the order and used a jaw-dropping method to bombard Luoyang City appallingly.The equipment used by Li Shimin to attack the city is abnormal, such as cannons, crossbows, giant arrowheads... Of course, the cannon will not be equipped with new explosives (not yet), and the ladle is loaded with a boulder weighing 50 catties. The elastic bow can throw the boulder more than 300 meters (200 steps) away; No. 1 spear, the arrowhead (arrowhead) is like a giant axe, and can shoot more than 800 meters (more than 500 steps) away.Think about it, an arrow like a big lance can shoot two miles away, and it will reach the city wall at the same speed as a bullet. If it hits someone who is probing their brains, what kind of effect will it have? Faced with these unconscionable bombardments, Wang Shichong was speechless. Wang Shichong was speechless, and the guard was even more speechless.They didn't dare to look down from the top of the city. If they really wanted to look down, they might be smashed by the damned stone.Luckily, if the brain does not burst, it will probably be shot by the giant arrow, the upper and lower body will be broken, and the body will fly towards Pandora following the giant arrow.Li Shimin's huge arrows were fired wildly, and when they hit the city wall, they could shatter the blue bricks, smash a big hole, and burst out suffocating shattered foam.Here, I had a sudden idea - can't a slanted ladder be built by throwing stones with a trebuchet? After a calculation, I knew that I was going to completely collapse. Assuming that the Luoyang City Wall is more than ten meters (about fifteen meters) high, if the length is one hundred meters and the stones are evenly arranged obliquely at 45 degrees, at least five thousand cubic meters of stones will be needed.The stone density is 2.6, and the total stone material required is 15 million kilograms.If each stone is 25 kilograms, more than 600,000 stones need to be thrown.This is the data calculated based on the minimum amount, so it is very impractical to use stone steps to attack the city. Logically speaking, this style of play would cause serious psychological pressure and physical damage to the defenders.However, the city wall of Luoyang is second only to Chang'an in terms of thickness and defensive ability, and it is more difficult to take it down with stones than to reach the sky.Apart from besieging Dongdu, Li Shimin's attack did not seem to have any other effect.One day, two days, three days, more than a month passed, and the battle situation still did not make any progress.Time has no emotions, but people do. From August last year to March this year, for eight months, the soldiers were exhausted.Even if the tired bird knows to return, the soldiers have been away from home for so long, and they are homesick.General Liu Hongji was the first to put forward his opinion, and he couldn't hold on anymore.As soon as he mentioned it, everyone yelled, and as soon as he yelled, some people started booing, and when they booed together, the morale of the army was disturbed.Going home, not going home, there are different opinions, what should Li Shimin do? Li Shimin's meaning is very clear, no. Now is the best time to get rid of Wang Shichong in one fell swoop. Once the opportunity is missed, even if he cuts off his head, he will never get it back.He issued an order: "Talk about withdrawing troops again, and kill them without mercy!" Li Shimin knew that the reason why the counties and counties east of Luoyang, the eastern capital, surrendered was because his troops were in full swing.If the troops are withdrawn at this time, Wang Shichong will slow down, and the eastern states and counties are bound to return to the state of Zheng.At that time, the situation will change a lot. It's boring to wait until that stage is really reached and then complain with an old face.After the order to kill Wushe was issued, no one dared to bring up the matter of Chang'an again. No one dared to mention it to Li Shimin, but someone dared to mention it to Li Yuan. Li Shimin had to listen to Li Yuan's words. I don't know who gave the report, but Li Yuan learned that Li Shimin had attacked Luoyang for more than a month, but he didn't even touch the hairs in Luoyang city, so he ordered the withdrawal of troops.Li Yuan knew that Li Shimin was not an iron man, so he must be very tired.Li Shimin has always been obedient, but on the battlefield, he is the most disobedient one.However, what Dad said was not a discussion, but an order, an imperial decree, not a letter from home.In desperation, Li Shimin found Comrade Feng Deyi, the chief of the military staff.Lao Feng was an important minister in the former court, and it was good for him to report to Li Yuan.Li Shimin asked Lao Feng to go to Chang'an to face the saint, and conveyed his thoughts. The original text of the letter is transcribed as follows: "Although Shichong has gained a lot of land, the rate is all subordinates, and orders are carried out, only the city of Luoyang is the only one. Wisdom is exhausted, and restraint is in the day and night. If you turn to the master today, the bandits will revive, and they will be more connected. It will be difficult in the future! " The meaning is very clear and cannot be withdrawn. Li Shimin said this and Li Yuan believed it, because he also fought for more than 30 years and learned a lot.After thinking twice, Li Yuan agreed to his son's request and let the Tang army continue the siege.Although the soldiers were a little annoyed, since King Qin took the lead, no one could say anything more, so they gritted their teeth and continued to work.Li Shimin was not idle at all. In addition to bombarding Luoyang City with machine guns, he also wrote a sincere letter to Wang Shichong.The main content of the letter is to talk about the current situation and persuade Wang Shichong to surrender as soon as possible.Wang Shichong received the letter, read it, suppressed it, and did not respond. At this time, Luoyang City has become a hell on earth. Wang Shichong: The enemy is approaching, let's attack! Li Shimin: How come the more I read the words upstairs, the more I feel that something is wrong?