Chapter 40: Battle of Stone Castle

In the river valley, war horses neighed, Wang Haibin rode on the horse's back, put on a pergola in his hand, and looked at the cliff in the distance. The cliff was red and particularly conspicuous. There were two small black dots on the cliff. The large black dots were called the big square platform, which was triangular, and the small black dots were small square platforms. A ridge path passed through between the two square platforms.

This is the dangerous land of Guanshan and Shibao City!

Shibao City faces a river valley and is backed by mountains. The mountains on both sides are undulating, cliffs and cliffs, like goshawks spreading their wings. There is no other way except this not-wide path. If you want to capture Shibao City, you can only fight and attack through this path.

Wang Haibin, Feng'an's army envoy was ordered to attack Shibao City. It was his first time to come to Shibao City. After careful examination, he found that Shibao City was far more difficult than he thought, and it was much more difficult to fight! No wonder the court fought with Tubo for decades and was unavailable. The terrain was too dangerous. Using a cliff as a castle is truly amazing and unimaginable.

The Tang Dynasty had spent decades to compete for this strategic location and paid tens of thousands of lives, but it was still in the hands of Tubo.

After not speaking for a long time, the scene of soldiers' training came to my mind. Wang Haibin was conducting his final thoughts. Since receiving the order to attack Shibao City, Wang Haibin knew that Shibao City was difficult to fight, so he collected all the information he could collect, studied and pondered carefully, and invited veterans who had participated in the battle in Shibao City for guidance and conducted targeted training for the army.

Although Shibao City is dangerous, it is not large. It can only station about 1,000 troops. However, it stores a lot of food, rolling wood, and beating stones, which is enough to hold on for several months and cause damage to tens of thousands of troops.

After deep thought, Wang Haibin concluded that it would cost a big price to capture Shibao City. Although the price was high, the strategic position of Shibao City was extremely important, and no matter how high the price was, it would be worth it! If the Tang army controlled Shibao City, it would not only connect Longyou and Hehuang areas, but also put strong military pressure on Tubo, change the strategic pattern of the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, and change the Tang Dynasty from passive to active.

Wang Haibin summarized this battle into two: one is lightweight. Fighting on the mountain road, the space is limited, and the Tang army's advantages are difficult to exert. Modao, Fuyuan crossbow, Bo Zhang crossbow, siege equipment, and cavalry charge are not used.

There is also the Mingguang Armor that the Tang Army loved, and the iron armors such as the fine armor are not used. The iron armor has good protection ability, of course, for bows and arrows and close-up battles. In the battle of Shibao City, the biggest threat is not bows and arrows and close-up battles, but rolling wood to beat stones.

A thousand garrisons could not form a powerful rain of arrows in any case. The Tubo army was defending themselves by risk and would not fight with the Tang army in close combat. No matter how good the protection was, it could not be used here. On the contrary, a stone or a piece of wood would be smashed down from the mountain path, killing and injuring a large area. Therefore, flexibility became the key to the success of this battle.

In order to allow soldiers to adapt well, Wang Haibint chose similar terrain to train soldiers' maneuvering skills, hoping that it would be effective.

The second strategy Wang Haibin formulated is consumption. The stone castle city is on the cliff. Although the rolling wood and rocks are very threatening, it is time to use up. As long as the Tang army makes up its mind, no matter how high the price is, it can be paid. There will be time to consume it. When it is exhausted, it is time to capture the stone castle city.

Looking back, the military camps all over the mountains, the Tang army dispatched 50,000 this time, and came with great fanfare, preparing to take down the Stone Castle City at all costs. Wang Haibin increasingly believed that this consumption strategy was correct. Even if he had 49,000 troops, he could control the Stone Castle City as long as he had a thousand troops, which would be a victory.

In order to take down Shibao City, Li Longji was fully prepared and ordered the troops of the Anbei Protectorate to take a defensive position in the Western Regions, and even shelved the plan of Anbei Protectorate to fight against the Turks, mobilized reinforcements from other places to Hexi. As for the supplies, food, grass and medicinal materials, they would give priority to the protection.

These 50,000 troops were only part of the army attacking Shibao City, while Wang Haibin, the military envoy, was responsible for the first attack mission of these 50,000 troops.

The first wave of attacks is equivalent to a suicide squad, and few people can survive. Not to mention soldiers, it is a question whether Wang Haibin himself can survive. However, Wang Haibin didn't care about these things at all. He was thinking about how to fight.

Death on the battlefield is a place for soldiers to die, and there is no good idea!

The soldiers under his command were dressed in leather, with shields in their left hand, swords in their right hand, and bows and arrows in their backs. The weight was much lighter than iron armor, and they were completely lighter. This was a matter of not being able to do anything about long and short. The only advantage was that they accelerated the speed of the Tang army's charge. The speed was more useful here.

The sound of the war horn sounded, and Wang Haibin's calm face suddenly shone brightly, his eyes became hot, and he came to his army with a horse's belly and glanced at the warriors who were rushing to the battlefield. Many of them could not see the evening sunset, and fog appeared in their eyes involuntarily.

These are the life and death brothers who have been with him for many years! He recruited them, he trained them, and he sent them to the battlefield. As a general, he still had to watch them die! His heart couldn't help but twitch!

"Brothers: In front of us is the Stone Castle City, our Stone Castle City of the Tang Dynasty! But now, in the hands of the Tubo barbarians, we are good men of the Tang Dynasty. Do you have the courage to take it back?" Wang Haibin began to give pre-war lectures to boost morale. His voice was loud and passionate.

"Yes!" Although it is only one word, it is full of blood burning!

"Brothers: The court has ordered that all those who sacrifice their lives for the country will receive pensions, and they will be very sad, but they will be proud of your brave behavior! You can rest assured that your relatives will have no worries about food and clothing! Because the court will take care of them! The court treats us well, and we serve the court and sacrifice our lives for the country!" Wang Haibin waved his right arm heavily, containing infinite power.

"Serve the court and sacrifice your life for the country!" The soldiers shouted in unison.

The shouts were centered on the soldiers about to go to the battlefield and quickly spread throughout the military camp. Fifty thousand people shouted in unison, shaking the sky, and the entire Chiling was boiling!

"Kill!" Wang Haibin waved his right hand at Shibao City, and the soldiers roared "Kill", holding a shield in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, and rushed up the mountain path without hesitation.

The Battle of Stone Castle City officially begins!

"This time the Tang people really fought!" Tubo soldiers looked at the Tang army camp on Chiling and said in fear.

"Yes! For decades, the Tang people have not had such a big noise! ​​So many people have been fighting, and they have consumed us all!" Another Tubo soldier muttered.

"Shut up!" Jibu, the Tubo garrison in Shibao City, shouted angrily, rolled his eyes and stared at the soldiers who were discussing privately. The soldiers were so scared that they didn't dare to come out.

Jib was tall and had sunny skin. He waved his hand and shouted, "Come on me!"

The soldiers walked to the city wall. Jib pointed to the black on the city wall and asked, "What is this? Do you know?"

The soldier did not understand his intention and dared not answer, so he stared at him.

"This is blood, the blood of the Tang people!" Jibu said proudly: "I have been guarding the Stone Castle City for ten years and have fought with the Tang people for dozens of battles. They have never even touched the city wall. This blood was three years ago, when a Tang people rushed to three feet from the city wall and smashed me to death with a stone. His blood and his brain burst onto the city wall."

Scandal to the soldiers, a smug laughter sounded: "This is the pride of our Great Tubo, we should always remember! The Tang people could not touch our city wall!"

After his encouragement, the soldiers' fear was slightly curbed, and many soldiers laughed: "The Tang people could not touch our city wall!"

"There is also that cliff. Do you know why it is red?" Jib asked, pointing to the red cliff.

The cliff red is the true color and is naturally generated. These soldiers guarded here for several years and knew this. However, no one dared to speak.

Jibu looked like a fighting rooster. He stretched his neck and said with a sensation: "That was dyed red with the blood of the Tang people! Today, we will dye the cliff even redder with the blood of the Tang people!"

"Stain the cliff with the blood of the Tang people!" The soldiers were filled with fear and roared, with a sense of fighting in their eyes.

Jibu pointed to the Tang army camp on Chiling and said arrogantly: "There are many people, but they are not useful. This is the stone castle city, and no matter how many people there are, it is useless. We have to roll a long way to go, and everyone who comes will die!"

"Sir, I heard there was a saying among the Tang people: Old ghosts are tired of new ghosts crying, saying that there are too many Tang people who die here." A soldier adds to please him.

Jibu laughed: "I heard that too, so we will let more new ghosts cry!"

"The Tang people are here!" the soldier reminded.

When Jibu saw that Tang Juncheng was standing in a row, holding a knife and a shield, and rushed up with his body. He was extremely fast and rushed a lot in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, why are these Tang people the same as us? Wearing leather armor!" A soldier asked in confusion.

Tubo's technology was underdeveloped. Since Princess Wencheng came to Tibet and brought a lot of scientific and technological civilization, Tubo has made some progress, but compared with the Tang Dynasty, it is still far from that. There are very few iron tools, and they have to make both weapons and armor, which cannot be afforded at all.

Jibu also noticed this and frowned and sneered, "Don't worry about so many. Please listen to me. The stones must be rolled out later. Don't fall down the cliff as soon as you get out."

"Don't worry! This stone rolls for many times a year, and it's so mature. Even if you close your eyes, you won't fall down." The soldiers laughed and made a fuss.

Jibu made a move with his right hand: "Prepare, stone. I'm going to get out!"

Several soldiers raised a stone the size of a millstone was placed on the city wall, holding their breaths and waiting for the order. Seeing that the Tang army was getting closer, the soldiers became a little nervous and asked, "Get out?"

"Wait!" Jibu was not in a hurry.

Some people of the Tang army continued to advance, while some people leaned against the mountain wall, took off their bows, bent their bows and pointed them at the head of the city. Bows and arrows were one of the standard equipment of the Tang army, and everyone had them regardless of their military rank. Of course, the archery skills were also necessary. Dozens of people aimed at the head of the city. Tubo soldiers knew that the Tang army's archery skills were very good and a little scared.

"Hide!" Jibu waved his hand, squatted down, and looked down from the battlements.

The Tang army was about one meter away from the city wall, Jimian shouted: "Push!" The soldiers exerted their strength together, and the stone fell from the head of the city, making a loud bang, rolling out quickly, smashing straight towards the Tang army.

When there was targeted training and the crisis was facing, the Tang army was not afraid and went to avoid it. Unfortunately, the stone was not small, and the mountain path was only a little big, and no matter how hard it was, it could not be avoided. Only a scream sounded, the Tang army had already died heroically for the country.

The Tubo soldiers were very familiar with this mountain trail and were very skilled in the rolling stones. The stone rolled forward along the mountain trail, rolling for about 30 meters before they turned and fell down the cliff.

The mountain paths that were originally full of Tang army were suddenly empty. Even the Tang army, who were pressing against the mountain walls to prepare for archery, were not spared and were all killed. Just one stone, more than a dozen people died of Tang army. Some fell off the cliff, some were incomplete, some were brains splattered, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

Jibu emerged and couldn't help laughing: "Tang Ren is so stupid. He dares to attack him, so he won't be dead!"

The Tubo soldiers stood up and looked at the Tang army's corpse on the ground, laughing wildly. The answer was a rain of arrows. One of the arrows flew over Jibu's scalp. If he hadn't been avoiding quickly, he would have killed him with one arrow.

Even so, Jibu was scared into a cold sweat, became furious, pointed at the city and shouted: "Smash, smash, smash, smash, smash, kill these damn Tang pigs!"

The Tubo soldiers took the order and rolled the wood and beat the stone down. The rumbling sound was endless and deafening. When the sound stopped, there was no trace of the Tang army on the nearly 100-meter mountain road, only their broken corpses and splashing blood and brain plasma.

Wang Haibin saw it in his eyes and felt pain in his heart. The corners of his mouth twitched. His right hand couldn't help but hold it on the hilt of the knife, and cursed fiercely: "This damn ghost place!"

It’s really atrocious to fight here. If you are on the grassland or where you can deploy your troops, you won’t be able to use your strength. It’s really a coward!

The Tang army did not hesitate at all. They died in front and followed immediately, and no one took a step back. What moved Wang Haibin the most was that in order not to let the people behind hit him, some soldiers forced their bodies to push the wooden and rocks down the road. In order not to hinder the Tang army from behind, they turned over and rolled down the cliff. Some of them even grabbed the dead Tang army's corpse and fell down together.

Those soldiers who were injured, unable to move but were conscious even begged their companions, "Push me down, push me down!" This place is not big, there are too many corpses, and it is very inconvenient to move. The companions could only endure the heartache, hold their tears, and say, "Brother, we will still be brothers in the next life", pushing these companions off the cliff.

Then, they held their swords and shields, rushed up again, shouting "Revenge!" If they were injured and unable to move, they did the same thing, begging their companions to push themselves off the cliff.

How tragic and tragic! This is the Tang army, the Tang army that created countless glorious ones! It is this indomitable army of war, that there are dozens of countries that have been destroyed! It boosts China's reputation thousands of miles away from the foreign land!

The battle continued. By the time the sun was at its peak, the Tang army had lost three or four hundred people, and blood had flowed along the mountain to the foot of the mountain. People stepped on it and slipped a little.

"Stop first, and go on later!" Wang Haibin couldn't help it.

Since he joined the army, he has never fought such a frustrating battle. If the Tang army launched a head-on battle with the Turkic army, which was good at riding and shooting, and competed with the riding and shooting skills, the Tang army would not lose, and defeating the Turkic army would be a breeze.

But here, I can only watch the soldiers die, but I can't go forward and rush forward. No matter how strong I have, it is useless. I feel frustrated, frustrated, frustrated!

"No! We have to continue to rush!" The soldiers' eyes of seeking war.

Wang Haibin sighed inwardly and waved his hand: "Go!" It would be great if these brothers who lived with each other day and night could live for another hour.

The soldier responded and shouted, "Run! Kill! Take revenge!" He rushed up the mountain path without hesitation.

"Avenge! Revenge!" The entire Chiling was boiling again, the Tang army was angry, everyone longed to fight and asked for battle.

The battle continues, the blood is boiling, and the passion is burning!

Listening to the boundless shouting, Wang Haibin remembered the "Stone City Poem" written by Shi Wansui, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty, "Who opened the stone city gate? He even heard that the wind fell from the rocks. The Bailing of the Bian Tian is better than the Jin Tang, suppressing half of the sky in the southwest". As the poet said, Shibao City is not big, but it is a city of Tangchi, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Chapter completed!