Chapter 5349 The Easiest Way to Break Through the City

Chapter 5349 The Easiest Way to Break Through the City

The Tang army, which had already resigned itself to certain death, suddenly unleashed a tremendous momentum upon seeing the main force finally arrive. Under the leadership of Wang Xiaojie, they not only held their position at the bridgehead but also launched a counterattack, routing the enemy's slave army in one fell swoop.

When the Tang army's light cavalry galloped over the burning pontoon bridge, they began to shoot arrows from horseback before even engaging in battle. Soon after the rain of arrows began, they plunged into the enemy ranks, thrusting with their lances and slashing with their swords, charging and attacking as if they were in an empty field.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a bloody path was carved out, and the enemy's morale finally collapsed. They could no longer care about the killing by the supervising team behind them, and they threw away their crude weapons and fled in panic.

Wang Xiaojie took a breath but didn't stop. He led his musketeers and charged towards the enemy cavalry positioned on both flanks. The sound of muskets banging was as dense as popping beans, and smoke rose and filled the air. The enemy cavalry not only dared not retaliate, but also hastily abandoned the corpses on the ground and turned their horses to retreat, galloping towards the city of Mosul.

The Tang cavalry let them go, instead pursuing the routed slave army and indiscriminately hacking and shooting them down...

When Xue Rengui, fully armored, rode up, he saw that the vanguard defending the bridgehead had suffered nearly half casualties, and the rest were all wounded. He then dismounted with a serious expression, strode up to Wang Xiaojie, and seeing that Wang was about to salute, he quickly reached out and grasped Wang's shoulder, saying in a deep voice, "With a strong enemy at our side and the military situation urgent, there is no need to be so formal. This time, you led your troops to defend the bridgehead to buy time for the main force to cross the river, and you deserve the greatest credit!"

Then, he looked around and said loudly, "I will petition the Ministry of War for your merits. Those who die in battle will retain their honors and receive double the compensation!"

All the soldiers were overjoyed.

Xue Rengui patted Wang Xiaojie on the shoulder again, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Gather all the fallen soldiers, cremate them and bring their ashes back to the Anxi Protectorate. Also, you will be personally responsible for distributing the pensions for these soldiers."

Wang Xiaojie understood immediately and nodded emphatically, realizing that Xue Rengui was teaching him how to win people's hearts.

The exercise of power is from top to bottom, but the formation of power is from bottom to top.

Superiors can grant power, but the execution of that power requires the support and endorsement of the lower ranks. Without these, the so-called power is nothing but an empty title, a point that is particularly prominent in the military.

The imperial court can appoint officials, whether they are generals or deputy generals, but these are just titles. Every order means that soldiers risk their lives when they carry it out. If they cannot win people's hearts and gain support, even the highest official position is just a nice name.

Xue Rengui, as the commander-in-chief, entrusted him with such an opportunity, which was a testament to his tireless promotion and cultivation.

Xue Rengui turned around and said to the captain beside him, "Put out the fire on the pontoon bridge. The entire army must cross the river tonight and attack Mosul City first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Here!"

The captain immediately rode off to each unit to deliver the orders.

Wang Xiaojie hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the general, the two sons of the city lord of Mosul are in our hands, one dead and one captured!"

Xue Rengui was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Then you're going to make a fortune! Mosul City has been prepared for this for a long time. Even if we were to conquer the city over the centuries, it would be difficult to annihilate them completely. When the situation turns unfavorable, they will definitely abandon the city and flee, taking away a large amount of money. After this battle, with one dead and one alive, we can definitely extort a lot of money."

Since the Anxi army fought many battles with the Abbasids, they discovered this custom of the Abbasids: no matter how fierce the battle was, they tacitly agreed not to kill the nobles of the other side, and after capturing them, they would negotiate and agree on a ransom to buy them back.

The Anxi army followed suit, extorting a considerable amount of money from the Arabs. There was also an unwritten rule that the troops involved in capturing prisoners would receive the lion's share…

Wang Xiaojie grinned: "Many of our brothers have died in foreign lands and been buried in foreign territories for the empire's long-distance raids and expeditions. It's not necessarily all for the glory of the empire. We should share some of the credit and wealth."

For lower-ranking soldiers, there is neither hope for promotion nor any sense of national duty. Joining the army and fighting is simply about getting tax exemption and money. As long as the money is enough, dying is not a difficult thing.

After all, a life of extreme poverty is far more tragic...

……

The fire on the pontoon bridge had just started and was quite large, but it was also easy to extinguish, since there was river water right below the bridge...

As more and more of the main Tang army crossed the pontoon bridge, the west bank of the Tigris River was densely packed with tents. After a simple meal, the soldiers, exhausted from their long journey, rested and recuperated as much as possible to build up their strength, while the cavalry patrolled and patrolled the perimeter to guard against possible harassment or sneak attacks by the enemy.

Inside the central command tent, Xue Rengui sat before an unfolded map, listening to Wang Xiaojie's report on the enemy's combat strength.

Wang Xiaojie held a teacup and sipped his hot tea, speaking eloquently: "It is said that the Assyrians who occupied Mosul have a history that can be traced back thousands of years. The state they established was once the hegemon of Mesopotamia. However, most of these things are passed down orally, without any written or historical records to prove them. They just dig up a ruin and boast that it is from a thousand or two thousand years ago..."

"Their army's combat strength is average. Apart from the so-called 'Imperial Guard Battalion,' they are not worth worrying about. Even the 'Imperial Guard Battalion' lost more than half of its troops in today's battle. So, although there are still tens of thousands of troops in Mosul, only a handful are capable of fighting."

Xue Rengui nodded: "You mean to say that the biggest defensive force of Mosul City right now is actually its sturdy city walls, and that as long as we break through this shell, we can take whatever we want?"

"That's right!"

Wang Xiaojie was full of confidence: "I can hold the bridgehead with only five hundred soldiers. You can imagine how weak the enemy's fighting ability is."

Xue Rengui thought for a moment and then reminded him, "Is it possible that the enemy didn't even use their full strength?"

Wang Xiaojie was taken aback: "General, are you saying that the enemy is underestimating us?"

"It's not necessarily a matter of underestimating the enemy. Perhaps the Assyrians in Mosul are unwilling to fight us to the death. As you said, the Assyrians have a long and glorious history, and naturally they have pride. How could they willingly serve the conquering Arabs?"

"General's words are reasonable; I was a little carried away."

Wang Xiaojie immediately realized that he had become complacent because of his victory at the bridgehead and had thus underestimated the enemy: "The reason why the enemy failed to capture the bridgehead position was probably due to both underestimating the enemy and conserving their strength."

"Yes."

Xue Rengui was pleased to see that he immediately realized his mistake: "So once we break through the city walls and enter the city, we will encounter unexpectedly fierce resistance. If we think that the battle at the bridgehead is the enemy's true strength, we will definitely suffer a great loss."

At any time, underestimating the enemy is the biggest drawback, and the serious consequences it can lead to have no bottom line.

Wang Xiaojie was filled with trepidation: "This humble general is crude and almost ruined an important matter!"

Xue Rengui waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Who can be without making mistakes? There's no need to blame yourself for it. Besides, the Grand Commandant has a very good saying: 'We must take the enemy seriously in tactics, but we must also despise them in strategy...' Even if we imagine the enemy to be as powerful as possible and therefore make careful arrangements and go all out, we must still recognize the fact that the enemy's combat strength is far inferior to ours."

When did bronze weapons become obsolete in Chinese history?

Xue Rengui couldn't say for sure; perhaps it was eight hundred years ago, perhaps a thousand years ago...

Therefore, how could an army that couldn't even muster enough iron armor for its most elite troops and had to be equipped with bronze armor possibly compete with the Tang army, which was armed to the teeth?
Taking the enemy seriously is essential, but when the weaponry and equipment are so far superior that the enemy sees no hope of victory whatsoever.

Wang Xiaojie said, "I humbly request to be the vanguard in tomorrow's attack on the city!"

"Give me a break!"

Xue Rengui quickly refused, giving a very good reason: "You've been the vanguard all this way, racking up countless victories. Do you know how many people in the army envy and are jealous of you? They're all good brothers who've led the army deep into enemy territory on a long and arduous expedition. You have to share some of the benefits with them!"

Wang Xiaojie: "..."

So you've already considered this a meritorious achievement before the battle has even begun?

What happened to the promise that we shouldn't underestimate our opponents and should take them seriously?

……

In the middle of the night, an envoy came to Mosul, saying that he had important business to discuss with the Tang army commander on behalf of the city lord, but Xue Rengui ordered him to be driven away.

With the enemy at our gates and arrows already on the bowstring, what's there to talk about?
Even if we want to talk, we should wait until the city is breached and the enemy is defeated so that we can completely seize the initiative, put the enemy on the chopping block and arrange the conversation however we want.

At dawn the following day, more than 10,000 Tang troops launched a fierce attack outside the east gate of Mosul.

Mosul was a large city with walls stretching for ten miles. Although a city of this size would only be considered small to medium in scale during the Tang Dynasty, it would have been impossible for a mere ten thousand men to completely surround it...

Wang Xiaojie, fully armored, stood behind Xue Rengui, watching the Tang army's old siege tactics unfold—shields covering the charge, gunpowder buried beneath the walls, successful ignition and retreat…then a deafening explosion, the city walls collapsed, and heavily armored infantry broke through the enemy's defenses at the point of collapse, charging into the city.

Not only was it bland and tasteless...

Even Xue Rengui sighed softly: "Just as the Grand Commandant said, the mode of warfare has been completely changed since the advent of firearms."

The various siege warfare strategies described in military treatises are now completely useless.

Even the tallest and thickest city walls cannot withstand the explosion of gunpowder—if possible, then increase the dosage.

The most difficult aspect of siege warfare lies in using one's own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths, completely exposing oneself to the enemy's firepower. Under normal circumstances, it is extremely difficult to capture a city without several times the strength of the defending troops.

Even with a force several times larger, a huge price must be paid.

Therefore, even renowned generals of the past had to rack their brains when facing siege warfare...

But things are completely different now.

The focus of siege warfare was no longer on how to break through the city walls, but on the street fighting to wipe out the remaining enemy forces after entering the city.

With a muffled thud that shook the earth, several sections of the city walls of Mosul collapsed where the smoke of battle rose. The sounds of fighting were deafening as heavily armored Tang soldiers poured into the city from the collapsed sections like a tidal wave.

To breach the city would be an easy task.

"Perhaps, in the future, cities will no longer need to build city walls to increase their defenses..."