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

In the suburbs, before the Tang army even arrived, bombing began!

A series of ear-piercing sonic booms came from high above, followed by clusters of dark shadows, densely packed like sesame seeds, traveling at high speed through the air.

It was different from gunpowder, but its power was also extremely terrifying. It was the longest-range attack method in the era of cold weapons, reaching several miles, far exceeding that of ordinary bows and arrows.

Moreover, its power is astonishing, and its destructive force is extremely amazing. If you are hit by it, it will be "pieces of pieces all over the place"!

"Squat down, squat down!!"

A dense and urgent shouting and roaring sounded from the city wall, and all the commanders immediately picked up the situation with their binoculars.

In the sky, countless tiny black dots gradually grew larger and larger, and then crashed into Anshi City at high speed!

Those were huge rocks, as thick as millstones, thrown from the mountain by a catapult from several miles away using its inertia.

A huge shadow swept over the heads of the city's defenders.

boom!

boom!

Boom!

The loud explosions were no less than those caused by the detonation of black powder, and the entire city of Anshi was shaking.

"what!"

Screams and shouts erupted, and Anshi City was thrown into turmoil.

Flowers were blooming everywhere. Although they didn't have the destructive power of gunpowder, the powerful inertia of the boulders created huge craters and ruins with each impact.

Even with some precautions, the bombardment is still like a lottery; there will always be one or two that manage to hit from a strange and tricky angle.

boom!

Crackling sounds...

"Pfft!!" The soldier who was hit coughed up blood and was seriously injured, or his bones were shattered.

At the same time, the pillars on the city wall were smashed in half, and the huge city canopy collapsed, burying a large number of soldiers.

Not only were the city walls subjected to intense bombing, but boulders also fell into the urban area of ​​Anshi.

boom!

Boom!

One after another, residential houses were reduced to ruins and destroyed in an instant. Not to mention ancient houses, even modern reinforced concrete buildings could not remain unscathed under such bombing.

"quick!"

"Quick, get inside!"

The Han army's frontline commanders kept running around shouting and directing their troops into air-raid shelters to reduce casualties.

So-called air-raid shelters are actually civilian cellars, temporary trenches, and refuges. They take advantage of their unique structure to protect people from being directly hit by falling debris.

Li Yuanchang was also forced to hide in the moat inside the city, because there was no more room to stand at the corner of the city wall.

Such long-range bombing is unstoppable; we can only withstand it.

It must be said that Tang Jun's position as the most powerful army in the 7th century and the leader of Asia was indeed solid.

Such a dense bombardment would require countless catapults and boulders. Those boulders weren't just naturally there waiting for the Tang army to take them; they had to be carved out by hand!

This is something many small countries wouldn't even dare to dream of, and it puts a country's overall strength to the ultimate test.

boom!

Boom!

Under repeated bombings, the outer city wall of Anshi City is now uneven, and a huge rock even hit the bullseye and embedded itself in the wall, causing spider web-like cracks, which is shocking to see!

The violent tremors constantly battered the Han army's defenses, preventing them from showing themselves.

In a typical army, this single bombing run would destroy morale and throw people into panic.

Fortunately, Anshi City was well-prepared and its army was of high quality, so not a single soldier deserted.

Boom!

Click...

The houses collapsed, and sand and dust fell from the trench, turning the densely packed heads inside into a muddy color.

However, the trench was only 1.2 meters wide, so no matter how the boulders fell, they could not directly hit a person; at most, they would just flatten the ground a little.

This trench, also designed by Li Yuanchang, was a stroke of genius and saved the lives of countless soldiers.

Time passed by, second by second.

The bombing never stopped, and Anshi City was reduced to ruins.

Only when the bombing subsided did the soldiers dare to rush out and rescue the wounded.

This situation of being attacked continued for two hours. It seemed that the Tang army had used up all the stones they had left. Suddenly, the war drums sounded outside the city, and the shouts of battle reached the sky!

"They're here!" Li Yuanchang, who was hiding in the trench eating dust and looking extremely disheveled, suddenly shot out a beam of light from his eyes.

"They're attacking! Go out and meet them!"

"yes!!"

The Han army reacted quickly; almost instantly, all units rushed out from trenches, cellars, and other places to reinforce the city walls.

This is similar to how, in later times, once long-range bombing ends, ground troops will enter the fray.

Both sides pushed efficiency and combat quality to the extreme, demonstrating the unparalleled combat capabilities of the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Empire's strongest border army, encountering a semi-modernized special forces unit, is destined to fight until the sun and moon are obliterated!

This war was not something Li Yuanchang wanted to fight, but rather something he had no choice but to fight.

Perhaps the saying in history, "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand," is a law: to live, one must die!

"Release the arrows!!"

A high-pitched roar resounded from the city wall.

Bang bang bang!

shhhhhh!

On the toothed wall, countless archers were lined up in a row.

The dense and piercing noise formed a curtain in the sky, with thousands of arrows rising into the sky and then falling in a graceful arc.

Their density was so great that there was nowhere to hide on every inch of land beneath the city.

The Tang army's vanguard, which had launched the initial charge, was met with intense attacks. They were like a vast, black ocean, constantly splashing water and creating ripples.

Every splash and every ripple is a mark of a soldier falling from an arrow.

Despite the powerful long-range suppression, the Tang army vanguard could not be stopped. Their commander roared desperately, but no one retreated.

"kill!!"

"Charge!"

"The first to reach the summit will be granted a title and official seal!"

The shouts of battle were deafening.

Outside the city, amidst smoke and dust, came the largest-ever attack.

Li Yuanchang witnessed this inevitable and terrifying civil war firsthand. There was no hesitation in his eyes. A merciful general cannot command an army; now, picking up a knife means facing the enemy.

He personally snatched the command flag and then waved it.

Shouting was useless; the entire battlefield was drowned out by endless battle cries. Only the command flag was the only effective signal.

This command flag is entirely vermilion, embroidered with black squares, representing gunpowder.

As soon as the command flag was raised, a hundred Han Lei (a type of explosive device) were ignited almost simultaneously and then thrown out.

On the boundless battlefield, these hundred tiny black dots are nothing, but when they fall, the entire sky loses its color!

bang bang bang...

A series of explosions erupted beneath the city walls, sending flames flying and warhorses to their deaths, creating a shower of blood in the clear sky.

Large numbers of Tang soldiers flew across the battlefield, men and horses falling to the ground.

The powerful shockwave was virtually unstoppable, killing anyone in its path and causing casualties to skyrocket instantly. Even the strongest armor and formations could not withstand it and were blasted to pieces.

The Tang army's machine-like offensive wave was directly brought to a halt by the bomb.

Shrapnel, along with flying dirt, splattered everywhere like flying flowers, and plumes of black smoke shot into the sky!