Hulao Pass was just to defend against the enemy's attack on Luoyang in the east, and a pass built at a dangerous terrain west of Xingyang was not to defend against the enemy in the west.

Therefore, when building a defense system, the defense of the west is not so strict, and there are some defense loopholes.

Those who are not familiar with this pass may not know much about these loopholes, but he is very familiar with Qu Tutong, who has been stationed in this pass for three years. He knows what poses the greatest threat to the defenders in the hottest summer.

Until dusk, the Tang army did not attack Hulao Pass. The Tang army only built more than a dozen wooden sheds at the foot of the mountain on both sides hundreds of steps away. This wooden shed was one meter high and three meter wide, covered with curtains and placed on the field, making people unable to understand the purpose of the Tang army.

The ground of Hulao Pass is high in the middle and at the bottom of both ends. Hulao Pass is built on a high place, with mountains in the north and south, so it seems easy to defend and difficult to attack. Luo Shixin stood at the top of the city and looked at more than a dozen wooden sheds in the distance. Although he was on a high place, he could not see the situation behind the wooden sheds.

"Lao Luo, did Tang Jun hold a banquet behind the wooden shed? After the death of my hometown, I set up such a shed to treat guests to dinner."

Cheng Yaojin thought of the wine, and he couldn't help swallowing. Luo Shixin shook his head and turned around and ordered: "Take a few prisoners of war here?"

Soon, several prisoners of war were brought over, and Luo Shixin pointed to the wooden shed in the distance and asked them, "Do you know what the Tang army is doing?"

The prisoners shook their heads, and they didn't know what the Tang army was doing.

"This ghost weather is so hot!"

Cheng Yaojin became irritated. It was the hottest time of the year. Hulao Pass was located in a valley, with no wind around. The entire city was like a steamer, making it sultry and unbearable.

Cheng Yaojin took off his armor, and sweat could be poured out of the armor, and his entire underwear was soaked. He felt his mouth and tongue dry. He ran down the city and walked towards the well.

There is no flowing water in Hulaoguan, and only a few wells are used to get water. In the hot summer, these wells seem particularly precious. Cheng Yaojin ran to the side of the well and saw a group of soldiers talking. Cheng Yaojin felt uncomfortable in his thirst. He pushed a few people away. "Damn it, let me drink water first!"

"General, the well is dry. There is no water!"

Cheng Yaojin was stunned. He threw the bucket into the well and walked away. He heard a muffled sound of the bucket hitting the bottom. There was indeed no water. Cheng Yaojin was stunned. He suddenly scolded: "Damn it, why don't you report it without water?"

"Just just discovered it."

Cheng Yaojin pushed the soldiers away and ran towards another well. As soon as he ran a few steps, a soldier hurriedly ran over, "General Cheng. The well over there is dry."

Cheng Yaojin swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva, and felt that smoke was almost coming out of his throat. In such a hot weather, without water, wouldn’t it be a life-threatening person?

At this time, Luo Shixin also rushed over and asked anxiously: "Old Cheng, has the well dried?"

Cheng Yaojin shook his head, "It's so damn it. The water in the two wells disappeared."

Luo Shixin turned around suddenly, and he suddenly understood what was being done in the dozen wooden sheds. This Qu Tutong is so sophisticated!

......

In the greenhouse built outside the city, the Tang army had dug more than a dozen extremely deep puddles. Water was gushing outwards. Qu Tutong stood next to the puddle, with a proud look on his face. He knew that this would be the result.

Duan Zhixuan next to him greatly praised, "The old general is indeed powerful, and he even wants to get such a solution."

Qu Tutong smiled faintly, "This is not what I want. I encountered the same problem thirty years ago. Hulao Pass is high and the water is lured out. The well inside the pass will naturally dry up, so water must be stored in the pass. It is estimated that people don't know this loophole now. In such a stuffy weather, there is no water, and a thousand soldiers and war horses can't last for two days. This is called a soldier who will give in without fighting."

"What should I do if Luo Shixin runs away?" Li Xuanba next to him said anxiously. He didn't care whether Hulao Pass could be taken down. He only cared about whether Luo Shixin was still there.

"Please rest assured that I have sent a scout up the mountain to observe the situation in Hulao Pass. If they have any abnormal movements, I will know immediately."

......

The hot summer was a great test for the Sui army, and the water source was cut off. The sultry weather made the soldiers sweat and became even more thirsty.

Although many soldiers still have a little water in their pockets, this is undoubtedly a car and a cup of wages for a thousand soldiers, hundreds of prisoners of war, and more than a thousand war horses.

Luo Shixin had no choice but to open the Dongchengmen and send soldiers to the mountain stream several miles away to fetch water. However, Qu Tutong had expected that the Sui army would leave the city to fetch water, so he sent more than a thousand Tang troops to cross the mountains in advance, occupied the dangerous places, and ambushed the Sui army that fetched water.

In a fierce battle, more than 20 Sui soldiers who fetched water died, but still could not fetch water and returned without success.

By noon the next day, the situation began to worsen. A little water moistened the lips and could last for a day or two, but the war horse could not support it, and the war horse began to die of dehydration.

Luo Shixin hurried to the stable, and a soldier stepped forward and reported worriedly: "General, the war horses stopped eating grass last night and could no longer support them. Currently, sixty-two dead, and more deaths will be made by the evening."

Luo Shixin walked to the stable, and many soldiers stood in front of their beloved horses and fed the horses with a little bit of water.

For cavalry, war horses are their second life, but on such a hot day, a war horse consumes at least forty liters of water a day, and such a little water is meaningless to them at all.

At this time, another war horse fell down, and his master knelt in front of the love horse and started crying in a low voice.

Because of the lack of water in the body, Luo Shixin, like many soldiers, had a string of blisters on his mouth and his throat was so dry that it was smoke.

Luo Shixin walked out of the stable and came to a well in front. There were dozens of soldiers continuing to dig deep into the well, trying to dig out water from the depths, and the well was filled with well mud.

"How about it?"

Luo Shixin asked a captain, "Is there any hope of digging out the water?"

The captain shook his head, "I have dug five feet deep, and there is no hope of water coming out. It seems that the Tang army is very clear about the water veins and has completely cut off our water source."

At this time, Cheng Yaojin limped over and he became weak, but in order to convince Luo Shixin, he still had to cheer up.

He complained a little, "Lao Luo, it's not that I told you, don't take the task too seriously, the lives of brothers are the most important. If you lose the lockdown, you will find a way to take it back later. If you die, you will have nothing left. Everyone has parents and wives and children. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

After pausing, Cheng Yaojin advised him again: "I know you want to wait for reinforcements, but are Li Jing and the others so fast? There is also Guancheng County to fight. If it goes well, you have to wait for four or five days. Qu Tutong is old-fashioned. He may not want to thirst for us to death. When we are thirsty tomorrow, we will be exhausted. He will attack the city in large numbers. Who can withstand it? Instead of annihilation of the entire army, it is better to preserve our strength."

Luo Shixin pondered for a long time. They could have a few more days without food, but in such a hot day, it was hard to survive without water.

More importantly, although Hulao Pass can prevent the army from passing, light troops can still cross the mountains on both sides. Once thousands of Tang troops pass by, block their retreat, it will be troublesome.

"Well!"

Luo Shixin was helpless. He had no choice but to make up his mind and said to Cheng Yaojin: "I will lead a hundred brothers to cover everyone. You will take the brothers to retreat to Xingyang County first, and I will withdraw soon."

Cheng Yaojin frowned, "Let's go together! The enemy is more than 10,000 cavalry."

Luo Shixin patted his shoulder, "It is because there are more than 10,000 cavalry that I have to resist for a while. If they catch up, everyone will be wiped out."

Cheng Yaojin nodded silently. He has never been a stubborn person. With Luo Shixin's martial arts, he can completely break through. Cheng Yaojin is not good. His stay will only drag Luo Shixin down. It would be better to take his brothers away first so that Luo Shixin has no worries.

The war horses had no time to wait for the evening. Half an hour later, Cheng Yaojin led 900 cavalry and hundreds of prisoners of war from Hulao Pass to retreat to Xingyang County.

Cheng Yaojin left all the water in the skin to Luo Shixin. Luo Shixin concentrated all the water in the skin to get most of the water. He gave the soldiers a little, and the rest was used to drink horses.

The Sui army's retreat was immediately discovered by the Tang army scout and reported to Qu Tutong. Qu Tutong was experienced and realized that the Sui army was going to give up Hulao Pass, so he immediately issued an order to attack the city.

The Tang army made dozens of siege ladders overnight, with drums like thunder and horns running across the sky. Five thousand Tang soldiers held shields and swords in their hands and rushed towards Hulao Pass.

Only Luo Shixin led one hundred soldiers on the top of the city. They raised crossbow arrows and shot at the rushing Tang army. After one round of arrows, more than a dozen enemy troops fell.

But this casualties meant nothing to the Tang army. They roared and shot back, and the dense arrows pressed the Sui soldiers on the top of the city so hard that they could not raise their heads.

The Tang army rushed to the trench and boarded a raft to form a bridge. Thousands of Tang army boarded the siege ladder and rushed towards the city like an ant colony.

Luo Shixin led a hundred Sui soldiers to fight bravely. They overturned five siege ladders and killed hundreds of enemy troops in a row, but dozens of siege ladders were mounted at the same time, making them overwhelmed.

Seeing more and more Tang troops rushing to the city, Luo Shixin saw that the situation was hopeless, so he had to shout, "Get with me!"

Nearly a hundred soldiers followed him down the city, and the war horses were ready. The soldiers turned over and opened the east gate, and rushed outside Hulao Pass. At this time, the west gate was opened by the Tang army, and thousands of Tang soldiers rushed in.

Li Xuanba rushed in front with a hammer in his hand, and then entered the city and shouted loudly: "Where has Luo Shixin gone?"

"Your Highness, Luo Shixin rushed out of the East City!" someone answered.

"Bad!"

Li Xuan roared with anger and drove his horse to chase outside the west gate. Qu Tutong was afraid that he would make mistakes, so he urgently ordered Duan Zhixuan to lead two thousand cavalry to follow him.

The Sui cavalry's war horses were exhausted and could not run fast. They ran to Sishui Town and heard the pursuers coming from behind. Luo Shixin turned around and saw only one general chasing him. He held the war horse and said to the soldiers: "You go first, I will kill this general and take him over the war horse."

Luo Shixin waved his big iron spear, blocked Li Xuanba's way, and shouted, "Come and General Name!"

.........

[Luo Shixin in history is actually Luo Cheng in the Romance. Both are the same, whether they are martial arts, experiences, or the final death. Luo Cheng in the Romance is written according to Luo Shixin in history. Luo Cheng is also a person that Lao Gao likes very much. In the Romance, Luo Cheng married Dou Xianniang, so the same is true in this book, and he is more involved in it.]
Chapter completed!