Vol 2 Chapter 2468: Ba Ling Attack and Defense Battle, Li Shimin VS Wang Jian

Chapter 2468 Ba Ling Attack and Defense Battle, Li Shimin VS Wang Jian

Chapter 2464: Battle of Ba Ling, Li Shimin VS Wang Jian

 Wu Qi is a person who controls casualties to the extreme, even to the point of being perverted.

In the battle to conquer Japan, Wu Qi led his troops to fight across the entire Japanese kingdom, and achieved results dozens of times greater than his own. However, the troops under his command never suffered large-scale casualties.

This is enough to show that Wu Qi led the army to fight and would not fight a tough battle unless it was absolutely necessary.

 But now Tu Xingsun failed to assassinate Li Mu. No, it cannot be said to be a failure, but he did not take action at all.

  If Li Mu cannot be solved, then Wu Qi will only have the option of attacking by force.

Even though Wu Qi was so wise, he was forced by Li Mu and had to carry out a forceful attack, which fully shows that a forceful attack on Ba Ling was unavoidable.

Wu Qi doesn’t like to fight tough battles, and once he fights tough battles, corpses will litter the fields.

After discussing with generals such as Sima Cuo, Fu Cunshen, and Sun Lingming who led the cavalry to help, Wu Qi finally decided to adopt the strategy of encircling three and missing one, and mainly attacking one side.

Ba Ling offensive and defensive battle has officially begun.

Wu Qi cherished his soldiers and was reluctant to suffer too many casualties. In order to minimize the casualties, he went all out from the beginning.

Wu Qi directly used 300 catapults, 50 well traps, 100 siege crossbows, and 10,000 powerful crossbows to storm the east gate of Baling, and at the same time ordered the surrendered Tang army to charge.

 Let the Qin army control the siege equipment and let the surrendered army launch a charge. This is Wu Qi's usual method.

 One fresh move and you can eat it all over the world.

 He did this in the Japanese country and conquered the entire Guandong Plain.

 Therefore, Wu Qi did not die in battle, but he diverted the casualties. Most of the casualties were from the surrendered troops rather than from his own people.

After the three Qin armies in the east joined forces, Wu Qi had 50,000 troops, of which 15,000 were surrendered troops.

Don't look at these surrendered troops. When fighting the Qin army, every one of them was submissive. Their morale was so low that they didn't even dare to swing their swords. They even opened the city and surrendered.

But if they were to attack the Tang army, they were very courageous. They killed their former colleagues even more ruthlessly than the Qin army.

 This is also the main reason why during the period when the Yuan and Qing Dynasties took over the Central Plains, the traitors were more ruthless against the Han people than the foreigners.

 After all, only when the Tang Kingdom falls can they get rid of their status as traitors and completely integrate into the Qin army.

 Therefore, after Li Tang surrendered his troops to Qin, their combat effectiveness was even stronger than before the surrender. No one wanted to bear the reputation of a traitor for the rest of his life.

Wu Qi only wanted to use the surrender to reduce the battle losses, and did not regard the surrender as human beings at all. However, the surrender troops were still grateful and scrambled for the main offensive task one by one.

 The siege battle on the first day began.

Jiang Shang stood on the tower of Baling City. When he saw the phalanx of catapults and crossbows below the city, he felt dizzy in front of his eyes and felt envious in his heart.

 He was also a general of the Han Dynasty and commanded the entire northern Xinjiang army.

 But the Han Dynasty at that time was too weak. Even if the entire northern force was concentrated, it could only barely mobilize an army of 200,000.

Unlike now, any of the surviving princes has the strength to mobilize an army of 200,000, and can easily arm tens of thousands of cavalry.

Not to mention, catapults, crossbows, siege crossbows, so many sophisticated ordnance.

 Times are really different. Jiang Shang sighed in his heart.

Wu Qi did not directly start to attack the city, but sent fierce generals to challenge. After all, with Sun Lingming in hand, it would be foolish not to fight against the generals.

The Qin army sent Sun Lingming, so Li Mu could only send Yang Jian to fight. After all, except for Yang Jian in the entire Li Tang Dynasty, even Li Yuanba, who had a broken hand, may not be Sun Lingming's opponent.

Sun Lingming and Yang Jian are old rivals. In the first Guanzhong battle, the two fought for two days and two nights without a winner. Now that they are fighting again after a year, it is naturally more intense. The fight is so dark that the sky and the earth are dark. There is no light in the moon.

  The duel between Sun Lingming, who is ranked second in the military generals list, and Yang Jian, who is ranked third, obviously cannot be determined in a short time. If it is a protracted war, it may even last two or three days.

Wu Qi obviously couldn't wait two or three days. Seeing that Sun Lingming and Yang Jian had not decided the winner, he immediately sent Huang Tianxiang to fight, while Li Mu sent Lei Zhenzi.

 Huang Tianxiang’s base score is 106, and Lei Zhenzi’s base score is 107.

 After experiencing the battle with Gongsun Xuanyuan, Lei Zhenzi's combat experience has been greatly improved. However, after the duel with Huang Tianxiang, he clearly had a slight advantage in basic martial arts, but it was still a close match.

Even if Lei Zhenzi tried his best, he would only have a slight upper hand, and he might even be able to get it back by Huang Tianxiang.

 This also reveals once again the characteristics of Yuqing sect disciples who are generally strong in strength but weak in combat effectiveness.

However, as a descendant of a large sect, Lei Zhenzi still has great potential. He continues to hone himself in battles, and his progress is extremely rapid.

Lei Zhenzi saw that Huang Tianxiang could not be defeated for a long time, so he relied on his strong skills and began to attack without any hurry.

After one hundred and twenty rounds, Huang Tianxiang began to lose strength, so he took the initiative to withdraw, allowing the Tang army to win a small victory.

Lei Zhenzi was naturally unwilling to let Huang Tianxiang go, so he rode his horse to chase him, but was stopped by Zhang Xiu and Luo Cheng, and the three of them started a battle.

Although Zhang Xiu is a peak general, his combat power is astonishing and he can barely display the strength of the God of War.

Luo Cheng's presence in the Qin army has never been very high, mainly because he has been active in the north. He has no outstanding achievements and has not encountered too strong opponents, so his growth rate has been relatively slow.

But Luo Cheng's actual combat power is still very strong. He is very similar to Zhao Yun, with very strong explosive power, so he often defeats the strong with the weak, and is nicknamed "Cold Faced Cold Spear".

Luo Chengjiwu 103, plus Zhang Xiu 104, the two teamed up to block Lei Zhenzi 107, and also took the advantage.

 Zhang Xiu and Luo Cheng both have combat power beyond their own strength. Together, they can defeat the God of War.

Lei Zhenzi's combat power was already weaker than his actual strength, and after fighting Huang Tianxiang for more than a hundred rounds, his physical strength was almost exhausted, and this gave the two of them the advantage.

 【Ding dong, Zhang Xiu’s skill ‘Golden Spear’ is activated…】

 【Ding dong, Luo Cheng's skill "Silver Spear" is activated...】

 Luo Cheng and Zhang Xiu became more and more courageous as they fought. They were tied in five rounds, dominant in ten rounds, and completely suppressed Lei Zhenzi in twenty rounds. The fight left Lei Zhenzi in a miserable state with wounds all over his body.

Lei Zhenzi saw that the two men were so powerful together and that his own internal strength was about to be exhausted. He knew that if he continued to fight, he would definitely lose, so he thought of retreating.

Twenty-six rounds later, after Lei Zhenzi forced Luo Cheng back with a stick, he was about to escape, but was blocked by Zhang Xiu again, and then Luo Cheng made up for it.

Zhang Xiu and Luo Cheng cooperated so well that Lei Zhenzi, who was exhausted, could not even escape. Seeing that Lei Zhenzi was about to be defeated, or even fell, a horse rushed over from the outside and blocked Zhang Xiu, so that Lei Zhenzi was able to escape, and this person was Yang Ren.

After Yang Ren rescued Lei Zhenzi, the two of them fled back to Baling on horseback, which also brought the war to an end.

Although Lei Zhenzi defeated Huang Tianxiang, he was also defeated by the joint efforts of Zhang Xiu and Luo Cheng, and failed to complete the feat of winning streak.

  【Ding dong, Luo Cheng defeated Lei Zhenzi and broke through his own limits. His force is permanently +1. Currently, Luo Cheng has: Commander 85 (+1), Force 104 (+4), Intelligence 73, Politics 64, Charisma 97. 】

 Zhang Xiu and Luo Cheng returned victorious, and the morale of the Qin army soared. Wu Qi also took advantage of the situation to launch a general offensive, but left an area for Sun Lingming and Yang Jian, because the two still had not decided the winner.

 …

 Changan, Tang Gongfu.

“…After Yang Ren, a disciple of Yuqing, and Lei Zhenzi retreated into the city, the Qin army launched a general attack on Baling.

General Li Mu fought hard to defend Baling City. After a day and night of fierce fighting, although he repelled the first round of the Qin army's offensive, he also paid the price of nearly a thousand casualties. The Qin army lost two thousand soldiers. "

After hearing the report from his subordinates, Li Shimin stood up directly and said with excitement: "I defended it. I actually defended it."

Since the Qin army started the war, no city has been able to survive the Qin army's fierce attack for more than one day.

Either surrendering directly or destroying the city in half a day, Li Mu was able to hold Ba Ling for a day, which was considered a first.

Although Li Shimin sent reinforcements to Baling, they were just a dead horse and a live doctor. He didn't have much confidence in Li Mu, but he didn't expect that Li Mu actually held on for a day.

 The main focus of an offensive and defensive battle is the first three days. After all, a strong effort will be exhausted after three days. If the attack cannot be taken in three days, it may turn into a war of attrition.

Since Li Mu can hold on for one day, he can definitely hold on for the second day, the third day, or even a month.

At the thought of this, Li Shimin was very excited. What he lacked most now was time. As long as the reinforcements from Shu and Sui could be delayed, there might be changes in the war in Guanzhong.

“My lord, Wu Qi only used rebel troops to attack the city on the first day. It’s not surprising that General Li Mu can hold it. The main thing depends on the battle today and tomorrow.” Changsun Wuji added.

Li Shimin nodded seriously when he heard this, because Wu Qi would definitely send the main force of the Qin army to attack the city on the second and third days.

 The next day, the battle report of the next day was sent back to Chang'an. Even though Wu Qi dispatched the main force of the Qin army, Ba Ling was still not breached.

However, the offensive and defensive battle on the second day was much more intense than on the first day.

Half of the siege troops surrendered, and the other half were Qin troops. The casualties of the Tang army immediately increased.

 After a day's offensive and defensive battle, the Tang army suffered nearly two thousand casualties, while the Qin army also suffered two thousand casualties.

 The casualty ratio between the attacking and defending sides actually reached 1:1, which is simply outrageous.

Li Shimin didn't care about so many things. He only knew that Li Mu had defended. Since he could defend the second day, he would definitely be able to defend the third day, so his heart started to get excited.

Li Si is good at understanding people's hearts. After seeing Li Shimin's expression, his heart moved.

After some thought, Li Si stood up and said: "My lord, in just a few days, our Tang army first defeated Gongsun Yan and then defeated Gongsun Xuanyuan. Now General Li Mu has defeated Wu Qi, Sima Cuo, and Fu Cunshen." The large army is blocking Ba Ling and cannot advance. This shows that the Qin army is not invincible, and our Tang army is not that weak.

Therefore, my subordinates believe that the 30,000 Qin troops outside Chang'an City should be swallowed up before the main force of the Qin army arrives. In this way, even if Li Jing's main army comes, the pressure on our army will be much less. "

Li Si's words were said into Li Shimin's heart, and the successive victories also made him have thoughts that he shouldn't have, so Li Shimin fully agreed with Li Si's words.

After hearing this, Li Kui and Changsun Wuji changed their expressions at the same time. Li Kui directly retorted: "No, absolutely not."

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Why?"

"Although the number of troops in Chang'an City is greater than that of the Qin army outside the city, the Qin army is powerful, while our army has low morale. We can only compete with it by defending the city. If we go out to fight in the field, we will definitely lose."

Li Kui's words seemed reasonable, but Li Shimin was unhappy after hearing this.

 All along, Li Kui, Li Si, and Changsun Wuji all told him that the Qin army was so strong, but the Tang army was so weak, so they couldn't fight head-on and could only fight with the advantage of defending the city.

Don’t Li Shimin know that the Tang army was weaker than the Qin army? Of course he knows, but knowing is one thing, accepting is another, and the situation is a little different now.

The Tang army has been losing battles before. Even if you say that Tang is weaker than Qin, Li Shimin can't refute it. After all, it is a fact that they lost.

But now that the Tang army has won the battle, you still say that Tang is weaker than Qin and will be defeated if it leaves the city. Isn't that a bit too high to boost others' ambitions and destroy your own prestige?

Or, do you think that I, Li Shimin, am not as good as Li Mu and Jiang Shang? Li Mu and Jiang Shang can win the battle, but I, Li Shimin, can't win the battle?

Li Shimin is a proud person. He does not think that he is worse than anyone else. He can naturally do what Jiang Shang and Li Mu can do.

 Besides, the power in his hands is much stronger than that of Li Mu.

Jiang Shang and Li Mu can use the weak to fight the strong, and Li Shimin can use the strong to fight the weak. How can he still not win?

With this thought, Li Shimin made up his mind and said solemnly: "I have decided to lead an army of 60,000 infantry and cavalry to go out of the city and destroy the 30,000 Qin troops outside the city."

Li Shimin actually used the word "annihilation". It was obviously because the two previous small victories and Li Mu's defense of Baling City gave him confidence.

When Li Si heard this, he seemed calm on the surface, but he couldn't help being ecstatic in his heart. At the same time, he was thinking about how to persuade Li Shimin to take all his cronies out of the city to join the war.

Li Kui and Changsun Wuji both changed their minds and advised Li Shimin to give up this idea and just hold on to Chang'an. There was no need to risk going out of the city.

But Li Shimin had already made up his mind and refused to listen to the advice at all. He must go out of the city to "annihilate" Wang Jian.

Seeing this, Li Si said: "My lord, what the two adults said is true. The Qin army is indeed powerful. To be cautious, it is better to bring the elite Xuanjia army, Feixiong army and so on."

Li Shimin thought for a while and then nodded and agreed. After all, without these elite battalions, the only way to defeat the Qin army was to rely on the sheer number of people. Once the casualties were too great, it would not be easy to hold Chang'an in the future.

 The next day, the attack and defense of Baling City reached its third day, and Li Shimin of Chang'an personally led 60,000 troops out of the city to fight to the death with the 30,000 Qin troops of Wang Jian, Gongsun Xuanyuan and Gongsun Yan.

Wang Jian was shocked after receiving the letter of challenge. He never expected that in this situation, Li Shimin would dare to take the initiative to go out of the city for a decisive battle. Is his brain broken?

But after listening to the analysis of Wen Zhong, Ji Dan and others, Wang Jian realized that Li Shimin was not out of his mind, but was under so much pressure that even a small victory caused his self-confidence to skyrocket, thinking that Li Mu He is just as good as Jiang Shangxing. With twice the force, he will definitely be able to defeat their 30,000 Qin army.

Li Shimin took the initiative to seek death, so Wang Jian naturally had no reason to refuse. After all, 30,000 Qin troops defeated 60,000 Tang troops, so I had the advantage!

Wang Jian decisively accepted the letter of war against Li Shimin and agreed to execute him in a deadly battle ten miles west of Chang'an City.

A four-thousand-word chapter, today’s guarantee, and an update to make up for the shortcomings of the previous week.

　　

　　

 (End of this chapter)