Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 631: Pingrang City Falls (Part )

Late July, on the banks of the Taedong River.

The sky was covered with dark clouds and lightning snakes were surging.

The blinding thunder suddenly flashed in the sky, and the next moment, the thunder had already struck down, and then hit the kite in the air hard.

The thunder immediately spread along the iron wire to the city wall of Pingrang City. With a "boom", the city wall of Pingrang City suddenly exploded.

There was rumbling thunder in the sky above, and the two sounds merged together, making people want to cover their ears.

On the Taedong River, Li Ji stood at the bow of a huge five-masted warship, with a dozen fierce generals behind him, their eyes fixed on the east wall of Pingrang City after the flash of light.

A huge crack spread across the city wall, covering an area of ​​three meters in radius. In the core area, a five-foot-long wall fell directly off the city wall.

Even a piece of the parapet above had fallen off.

It can be seen that if there are a dozen more such attacks, the entire city wall will collapse.

"Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha!"

On both sides of the Taedong River, all the Tang army soldiers couldn't help but cheer.

The Goguryeo soldiers on the city wall turned pale and let out dozens of painful howls.

Some soldiers were standing not far away and were directly hit in the face by the flying stones, leaving their faces covered in blood.

But more people had a hint of confusion and awe in their eyes.

That's thunder from the sky.

Did the heavenly thunder help the Tang army to attack the city?

Gradually, all eyes fell on Li Ji on the Taedong River.

Li Ji turned sideways and nodded to the flag officer beside him.

The next moment, the flag was waving.

On the south bank of the Taedong River, Wei Hongji, standing in front of a huge crossbow, waved his hand downwards.

A three-meter-long crossbow arrow suddenly shot out from the crossbow, carrying a long and thin iron wire and flying directly into the air.

A kite like a swallow flew directly into the sky. When it reached the highest point, its body was fully spread out.

The crossbow in front was now firmly nailed to the city wall.

Everyone held their breath and watched this scene.

At this moment, a general suddenly rushed over from a distance, and with a long spear from the Tang army that he had seized from somewhere, he chopped the tail of the crossbow arrow fiercely.

The next moment, the wire was cut directly.

The kite was released, then flew high into the sky, carried high into the air by the strong wind that preceded the rain.

A dazzling white light flashed, and thunder struck the kite. Thunder rolled, and the kite completely disappeared in mid-air.

"Quan Nansheng, the eldest son of Quan Gaisuwen." Niu Jinda introduced to Li Ji.

Li Ji nodded slightly and said, "It should be Quan Gaisuwen's order. Tell Wei Hongji to continue!"

The command flag was waved, and another crossbow flew into the air.

The kite unfolded the moment the crossbow arrow fell. However, it only remained unfolded in the air for a dozen breaths before it began to shake.

With a "boom", thunder flashed forward, but this time, the thunder did not hit the kite. Instead, in an instant, heavy rain fell directly from the sky.

It fell on the kite and also on all the land inside and outside Pingrang City.

Suddenly it rained heavily.

Li Ji said to Wei Daijia who was standing beside him, "Go and call your uncle back."

"Yes!" Wei Daijia immediately bowed and turned around to pass on the order.

Soon, Wei Hongji returned to the big ship.

"Marshal, next time, as long as we fire more crossbows at the same time, I will definitely be able to destroy more city walls and capture Pingrang City." Wei Hongji bowed vigorously.

Using thunder to break through the city walls is theoretically possible, but in practice it faces considerable obstacles.

One summer, they waited for a long time just for the rain, and then the kite successfully unfolded in the air and held on until the thunder fell.

But many times, it rains but the thunder has not come yet.

I finally succeeded this time, but unfortunately, it started to rain and I don’t know when the next rain will come.

Li Ji glanced at Wei Hongji calmly and said, "Pass the order. After the rain begins, deploy half of the crossbows outside the east and west sides of the city, and the remaining half outside the south. The crossbows on the boats are just for show. Finally, launch a full siege."

"Yes!" All the soldiers on and off the ship bowed excitedly. The battle was finally about to begin.

……

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month has passed.

For more than half a month, there was no suitable opportunity.

until today.

The wind was howling and the sky was covered with dark clouds.

Thunder rolled above the dark clouds.

People on and off the city walls were nervous.

Li Ji was dressed in black clothes and black armor, holding a black-sheathed Qianniu Sword in his hand, standing under the big banner.

His eyes fell on the city wall in the distance, and a burly general wearing a golden helmet appeared on the wall.

Quan Gaisu Wen.

The Lord of the Eastern Part of Goguryeo, Da Dui Luquan, Da Molizhi, Quan Gaisuwen, he finally appeared.

This was the first time that Li Ji saw Quan Gaisuwen on the top of Pingrang City.

Quan Gaisuwen's gaze also fell on Li Ji and the tens of thousands of troops behind him.

Dense cavalry, countless infantry, flags all over the sky, dozens of chariots and crossbows in the front, and dozens of generals in the front.

Quan Gaisuwen's gaze passed over countless Tang Dynasty soldiers and fell behind them.

On the open field, two cavalry units were galloping at the end of the sight.

Quan Gaisu Wen knew clearly that these were all within his visible sight. Beyond his invisible sight, there were more cavalrymen galloping around, blocking any reinforcements from coming to Pingrang City for rescue.

From the beginning of this spring till now, Su Dingfang, Liu Demin and Ashina Zhong have launched countless attacks and killed countless reinforcements from all sides who wanted to come to Pingrang City for rescue.

Sometimes they even attacked directly to the gates of their city.

There were also Xue Wanche, Xue Wanbei, Xue Rengui and others who rushed back and forth to blockade the place later.

Pingrang City has not received a single drop of food for half a year.

But what really worries Quan Gaisuwen is what the generals from all directions really think.

The Tang Dynasty sent people to tell them that the Tang Dynasty only needed Quan Gaisuwen to return the power to Gao Baozang, and then the Tang Dynasty would withdraw its troops.

This was even true for Baekje.

Naturally, no one dared to believe empty words, but one sentence in Li Ji's manifesto made many people begin to hesitate.

Goguryeo was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, and Gao Baozang was the king of Goguryeo bestowed by the Tang Dynasty. There was no need for the Tang Dynasty to destroy the king of its vassal state when he surrendered and paid tribute.

In particular, there is Jin Shangquan of Jiangbei Protectorate.

He is the messenger of high treasure.

Of course, if these had happened in previous years, they would not have been able to shake people's hearts at all, but now, the Tang Dynasty had crossed the Taedong River and was at the gates of the city, and everyone began to hesitate.

Quan Gaisuwen's eyes fell on the small docks behind the ditch which was ten feet wide and ten feet deep. These small docks were densely packed around Pingrang City.

While they were preventing the people in Pingrang City from leaving, they also became the foundation for the Tang army to gain a foothold outside Pingrang City.

Especially those crossbows. If they use the power of heavenly thunder to fire the crossbows, they are likely to break through the city of Pyongyang.

Quan Gaisuwen was observing Li Ji and his army, and Li Ji was also observing Quan Gaisuwen and his soldiers on the city wall.

Today, the Tang Dynasty is besieging Pingrang City from all sides.

Pingrang City was densely packed with soldiers. Quan Gaisu Wen had almost transferred all the soldiers he could to the city walls, and there were probably even quite a few civilians as well.

A sneer appeared on Li Ji's face.

He raised his right hand slightly, then swung it down suddenly.

The flag officer waved the flag quickly.

The next moment, dozens of crossbows began to move forward.

There is nothing much to say. All the wars unfolded instantly between the cold sky and earth.

Wei Hongji stood between all the crossbows. As the drum sounded behind him, he swung his hand suddenly downwards, and dozens of ten-foot-long crossbow arrows flew quickly into the sky. At the same time, dozens of kites followed behind them and rushed up.

Wei Hongji stared intently.

The problem with the kite is the biggest obstacle to attracting lightning.

Then the balance between weight and wind force is the most difficult to achieve.

Especially in weather like this, time waits for no one; a torrential downpour might fall the next moment. The crossbow bolts were pinned firmly to the city wall in a very short time. At this moment, hundreds of Goguryeo soldiers, armed with long spears, stepped forward and easily severed the wire attached to the crossbow bolts.

Wei Hongji's expression changed involuntarily.

This is the biggest problem of the lightning strike method.

Once the connection between the kite and the crossbow is cut off, it will be difficult to break through the city wall even if the lightning can be attracted to fall.

Quan Gaisuwen cleverly found their weakest point.

At this moment, Li Ji's voice came faintly from behind: "Continue."

"Yes!" Wei Hongji's expression became restrained, and then he waved his hand again. More crossbows flew directly into the air at this moment.

But this time, Wei Hongji deliberately lowered the angle.

When many crossbows landed on the city walls, they were beyond the range of the long spears, and the kites were still flying in the sky. The Goguryeo people had no way of stopping them, but...

Dozens of Goguryeo soldiers jumped directly from the top of the city wall and pounced on the iron wires behind them, getting entangled with them tightly and falling directly to the ground with them.

With a "bang", the man fell to the ground, twitched twice, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and then there was no movement.

The iron wires wrapped around their bodies were also completely torn off the crossbows.

Wei Hongji looked up and saw more than a dozen soldiers jumping down from the city wall and tearing all the remaining wires.

At this time, more soldiers came up from behind, staring at Wei Hongji closely.

The cold and dead gaze made Wei Hongji's scalp tingle.

Quan Gaisuwen's meaning was very clear. He had enough people at his disposal. No matter how many crossbows the Tang Dynasty had, he could use human lives to render the Tang Dynasty's siege methods ineffective.

Wei Hongji's breathing suddenly became heavy.

At this moment, Li Ji's indifferent voice came from behind: "Continue..."

A loud "boom" covered the tail end of Li Ji's voice. Thunder flashed across the sky, and the branch-shaped lightning had hit a kite fiercely.

The lightning followed the kite and landed directly on the ground. A dead Goguryeo soldier was instantly charred all over by the electric shock.

Wei Hongji's eyes lit up in an instant.

He remembered the message from the emperor: if there are not enough opportunities, make up for it with numbers.

Wei Hongji waved his hands violently, and the next moment more crossbow arrows carried kites into the sky.

Standing on the top of the city wall, Quan Gaisu Wen instantly understood the Tang army's plan.

The thunder now strikes the kites in the sky, and there is no need to wait for the crossbow arrows to fall on the city wall.

As long as the lightning falls on the kite, it can be directly hit by the crossbow arrow on the city wall, and the city wall will explode in an instant.

Quan Gaisuwen suddenly clenched his fist upwards, and more Goguryeo soldiers began to move forward, staring closely at the crossbow arrows in the air.

Whenever a crossbow arrow fell on the city wall, they would immediately rush down regardless of their lives.

Even the long spear is no longer needed.

Thunder flashed in the air, and occasionally a bolt of lightning struck down, eventually landing on the Goguryeo soldiers who fell off the wall and died on the ground.

Quan Gai Suwen took a deep breath. The moisture in the air was getting heavier and heavier, and it would rain in a moment.

Li Ji, who was standing under the city wall, couldn't help but look around at this time.

At this time, the Tang army had already begun a full-scale siege on the city. There were dozens of crossbow arrows constantly flying into the air in the direction of each city gate.

At this time, the city walls should have been full of Goguryeo soldiers ready to die.

So at this time, there should be no one around him in the city.

……

A dazzling white light flashed across the sky, followed by rumbling thunder.

Everyone subconsciously raised their heads, but at this time, they discovered that this time the thunder did not fall outside the city wall, but fell into the city.

Quan Gaisu Wen turned around suddenly, and in his astonished sight, more than a dozen kites were flying in the air. The thunderous lightning fell on two or three kites, and then fell along the kites and landed directly in the granary below.

There was a loud "bang" and it seemed like something was blown up.

Before Quan Gaisu Wen could react, more thunder gathered in the sky, then suddenly slammed down, hitting more kites directly.

Countless bolts of lightning followed the kite and fell throughout the granary.

Thunder flashed continuously, flames continued to rise in the thunder, and there were countless explosions accompanying it.

After half a minute, there was a "whoosh" sound and endless rain fell from the sky.

Quan Gaisu Wen shuddered and came back to his senses.

In an instant, his face turned terrifyingly pale.

Suddenly looking up, Quan Gaisuwen was about to order his men to put out the fire quickly, but at this moment, the sound of "dong dong dong" drums suddenly rang out.

Quan Gaisu Wen turned around abruptly, his eyes fixed on Li Ji who was under the banner.

Li Ji looked at him indifferently.

The crossbow arrows stopped the moment the thunder flashed in the city.

He would never let the kite outside the city divert the thunder inside the city.

At this point, everyone can clearly see Li Ji's purpose. He has never thought of using thunder and lightning to directly break into the city.

This method is too unstable and is greatly affected by weather factors.

Instead of doing this, it would be better to use the property of thunder to ignite fire and directly burn Quan Gaisuwen’s granary and burn the food and grass in the city where hundreds of thousands of people live.

This method can even greatly protect the spies in the city.

This is what Li Ji wanted.

The drum beats continued to sound, and two-meter-long wooden boards were quickly carried forward and placed on the trench. Dense groups of infantry, holding ladders, moved forward slowly, and it took them a long time to step on the wooden boards, then they crossed the boards and stepped onto the other side of the trench.

At this moment, the drumbeat suddenly stopped.

All the infantrymen, some standing on the wooden boards of the trench, some standing on both sides of the trench, all stopped in an instant.

All the Goguryeo soldiers on the city wall did not dare to move, and their eyes were fixed on the city.

Everyone's movements suddenly stopped at this moment.

Only heavy rain kept falling from the sky.

Li Ji rode his horse under the big flag, his eyes fixed on Quan Gaisuwen. In the heavy rain, he would not attack the city easily, but he would definitely not allow Quan Gaisuwen to put out the fire.

At this moment, the vast majority of soldiers in Pingrang City were on the city walls. Even if Quan Gaisu Wen had left some men in the city, there were not many of them that could be deployed to put out the fire.

A moment later, Quan Gaisuwen disappeared from the top of the city wall.

The number of soldiers on the city walls had also decreased noticeably, but their number was evenly distributed.

Li Ji smiled softly under the big banner.

Then the gong sounded, and countless Tang soldiers on both sides of the trench began to retreat quickly.

And retreat one mile away.

……

September is late autumn.

In previous years, at this time of year, Pingrang City would have been covered with a layer of white frost.

But now, because of the hundreds of thousands of battles, there is no trace of the white frost.

The night was hazy and pitch black.

Five hundred soldiers slid up and down from the dark corners of Pingrang City, then rushed forward carefully, biting their swords.

Ahead, behind the dark ditch, there were small docks and torches that illuminated a large area. However, compared to the entire dark world, it was only a tiny area.

In particular, the areas illuminated by the torches have their own emphasis. The fire is brightest near the city gate, and dimmest in the corners.

Five hundred death warriors carefully slid into the ditch, then swam out silently from the other side. They carefully climbed over and began to rush forward quickly.

As long as they can break through the blockade of the Tang army and escape, Pingrang City will be saved.

"Plop, plop!" The dozen or so people in the front suddenly fell to the ground, followed by unbearable screams of pain.

"Who!" More than a dozen patrolling teams rushed over immediately. Looking at the Goguryeo soldiers who died in the trap behind the ditch, they sneered and pulled the trigger at the living people.

Crossbow arrows flew down, causing casualties in large numbers.

The next day, Li Ji appeared on horseback beside the ditch.

He looked at the bodies on the ground, then calmly turned to Xue Rengui beside him and said, "Two thousand people tried to leave the city last night. Many of them were ordinary people. This means that the food in Pingrang City will not last for a few more days."

"Yes!" Xue Rengui bowed solemnly.

"Pass the order down. Distribute all the wine and meat in the army. Have the soldiers barbeque and drink near the Pingrang City Gate." Li Ji raised his head and looked towards Pingrang City, gripping his whip tightly. "I will use the aroma of wine and meat to fan the flames of the food-starved soldiers in the city. Tell everyone that the city will fall in seven days."

Xue Rengui couldn't help but excitedly bowed and said loudly: "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)