In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

He had thought that with his core force of over six thousand men, he could at least hold out for a while.

But when he inspected the city walls just now, he found that the damage was too great.

The royal army had no real combat experience and encountered numerous problems. If it weren't for the hundreds of elite troops from the Han Prince's mansion watching over and directing them, the city might have fallen in just six hours.

Although the Tuyuhun internal strife did occur in history, its scale was far more severe than recorded in historical texts.

"King Han!"

Murong Khan personally led his trusted confidants to greet him at the palace.

"Your Highness, the Prince of Han, assisted us in defending the city and repelling the rebels. Please accept our bow!"

"Khan, you flatter me." Li Yuanchang helped him up.

"Let's go inside and talk first."

"good!"

Murong Khan led Li Yuanchang into the council hall, where hot wine and dishes had already been prepared, as if to celebrate Li Yuanchang's victory.

The defeat of 50,000 rebel troops was a great joy for the Tuyuhun leadership in the city!

But Li Yuanchang had no time to drink.

Murong Khan seemed to sense something and frowned, asking, "Your Highness, is there something troubling you?"

Li Yuanchang nodded.

"The battle losses haven't been fully tallied yet, but I just took a quick look. At this rate, if the rebels don't retreat, they can only hold out for five days at most."

Upon hearing this, the Tuyuhun people, who had just been overjoyed at their victory, all changed their expressions, as if they had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

"what?"

"Your Highness, what makes you say that?"

"Didn't we hold on?"

Li Yuanchang frowned and said, "All the logs and boulders have been used up. Although demolition is still underway in the city, the speed of demolition cannot keep up with the speed of consumption."

"The walls of Fuai City are not high enough, and there are no arrow towers or other facilities, so the rebels did not have much trouble attacking it."

"Most importantly, the royal army seems to have no combat experience and has a high mortality rate."

Upon hearing this, Murong Khan frowned and sighed heavily.

"It is because I, the Khan, am incompetent!"

"If only we could have another three years."

Li Yuanchang said, "Khan, this is not your fault."

He wasn't offering comfort; he was telling the truth.

Many of these problems are common to nomadic peoples; they neither like, need, nor are good at building tall cities.

As for the lack of practical combat experience, that's a legacy of history; the Tuyuhun were defeated and destroyed in the ninth year of the Zhenguan era.

The Tang Dynasty took all the resources, making it impossible for Tuyuhun to become powerful.

As a result, the rebels rose up, and the pro-Tang forces they had supported failed.

"If even the King of Han can only hold out for five days, then there is no other way. The reinforcements from Shanzhou will definitely not arrive in five days."

Upon hearing this, the Tuyuhun people were almost in despair, their expressions numb.

"There is a way," Li Yuanchang suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

Without a doubt, Li Yuanchang is now the backbone, backed by the Tang Dynasty, and his personal command ability is also strong. Who else could have held the line today?

"Your Highness, what's the plan?"

Li Yuanchang blurted out, "Let's switch from defense to offense and decide the outcome in one fell swoop!"

Upon hearing this, everyone under the lamplight was stunned, staring blankly at Li Yuanchang.

"My lord, take the initiative?" Murong Khan thought he had misheard.

If defending is already so difficult, how can he launch a preemptive attack? He also knew very well that his army was no match for the ten major tribes.

"right!"

"It's about taking the initiative!"

Li Yuanchang's eyes were sharp, exuding a kingly aura. After guarding the position for a day, he had given up on the idea of ​​holding out.

"The best defense is a good offense!"

"If we continue to defend passively, even if we manage to hold the city, the people inside will not be able to survive the winter, and all the houses will have to be demolished."

"And many people will die."

"The rebels stationed outside the city are just like you; they would never have imagined that I would take the initiative to attack."

"Warfare is based on deception!"

"As long as I dodge fast enough, their fifty thousand men are no different from five hundred!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, their mouths agape, unable to utter a single word, astonished by this audacity.

Neither running nor defending, but instead launching an offensive – is this the mindset of a Tang Dynasty commander?

a long time!

Under pressure to be overthrown, Murong Khan gritted his teeth and decided to go all out.

"good!"

"Your Highness, you are the Heavenly Khan's brother. You say how to fight, and we'll fight accordingly! I will fully cooperate!"

How many people do you need?

Li Yuanchang was relieved that although this Murong Khan was still young and not a man of great talent and ambition, at least he was not a coward who would hold him back.

Otherwise, his trip to escort the bride might really be a disaster.

"I don't want anyone." His words were enough to shock anyone to death.

"ah?!"

Exclamations arose from all sides, and the high-ranking officials of Tuyuhun all stared wide-eyed.

"The three hundred elite troops from the Han Prince's residence will suffice!"

"But once I leave, the Khan must personally take command to ensure the city is not breached, otherwise everything I have done will be in vain."

"Even if we kill Barto, once the city falls, a second Barto will emerge. Only by defeating the enemy army and killing their leader without breaching the city can we crush the rebels in one fell swoop."

Li Yuanchang was serious and calm. He wasn't boasting; he had thought it through carefully. Historically, Xi Junmei quelled a rebellion with just over a hundred people.

This is enough to show that the rebels are actually a disorganized bunch, only able to fight when things are going well, and will immediately disband once things turn against them.

Such rebellions are numerous throughout history!

Murong Khan swallowed hard.

I wondered if everyone in the Tang Dynasty was this good at fighting.

"Your Highness, but..."

"No buts. If you can do it, I have a way to defeat Bato's 50,000-strong army!" Li Yuanchang said firmly.

Murong Khan was speechless, but was impressed by his confidence.

"good!"

"No problem, I, the Khan, will personally go to the city wall to draw the main force of the rebels. I will absolutely not hold Your Highness back!"

Seeing that Murong Khan agreed to personally lead the troops, Li Yuanchang was relieved. In ancient times, whether a military leader could personally lead an expedition was a crucial factor.

As long as the Khan is on the city walls, surrender and defeat are unlikely to occur, which gives him enough time.

"good!"

"Next, I'll trouble the Khan to prepare some things for me."

"Things?" Murong Khan asked curiously.

"Yes." A plan had quietly formed in Li Yuanchang's mind: he wanted to replicate a famous battle!

"..."

The private meeting ended shortly afterward.

A crazy yet meticulous counterattack plan was finalized. Under Li Yuanchang's arrangement, twenty scouts secretly left the city in the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, Tuyuhun also began preparations.

The next day.

As soon as it was light, the rebels' attack began again, as if in a cycle, with massive, sky-covering boulders crashing down and the rebels surging wave after wave like ocean waves.

Fuai City, an isolated city, is holding out desperately. The number of wounded has surged from over a thousand yesterday to three thousand!

But in the end, under Li Yuanchang's command, they held firm.

On the third day of the rebellion, the rebels launched another attack, this time not from two directions, but from all four sides!