"Don't worry. When it comes to saving your life, I'm much better at it than you are."
The two had only exchanged a few words when Lai Xi and Lieutenant Li also came up. These two were true experts in warfare, and Lu Xuan promptly gave them his place.
Lieutenant Li stood on the city wall and looked at the Turks outside.
"Although the Turks are numerous, they are not so numerous as to be insurmountable. Although the walls of Xiaogucheng are not high, they are not something these cavalry can easily climb. They do not have many siege weapons, so they can only concentrate their attacks on one side. Therefore, we should concentrate our forces to defend one side. As for the other sides, we can send a few people to patrol."
"That's right, and to prevent any of us from sneaking away, they also need to send some cavalry to spread out in all directions. This will reduce our pressure considerably. The real number we need to face is far less than a thousand people."
"There aren't enough rolling stones and logs, only enough for one wave. After that, we'll have to fight to the death."
"In any war, no one will fight without risking their life. The campfire was lit last night; all we need to do is hold our ground and wait for reinforcements."
"Alright, let's defend then. But let's make this clear: if the city falls, I'll be the one running away first." Seeing the two men discussing so enthusiastically, Lu Xuan said to the two 'Tang Dynasty people' who were ready to fight to the death.
"That's how the plan is. If things don't work out, we'll do everything we can to help you break through."
"Come on, if things were hopeless, it would mean you two would have already collapsed. You're still helping me? In the end, it's up to me to make a living."
Lu Xuan's rant left the others speechless. But after a few moments, they all burst into laughter almost simultaneously.
"That's right, why should I worry about it? If the city falls, I'll definitely die. Whoever survives, whoever worries about what happens next."
...............
A bugle call sounded. It was the rallying signal for the Turks.
As expected, the Turks on the opposite side were rapidly assembling. Because of the Gobi Desert, they couldn't find many trees to make engineering weapons. They carried very few resources, only enough to make a few ladders. This was far from sufficient for engineering.
Lu Xuan and his men noticed that they had filled all the bags, bamboo baskets, and other containers that were used to store military supplies with yellow sand. It seemed they were preparing to forcibly fill in a road.
The walls of Xiaogucheng were about six meters high, with a slope outside and a dry moat. Theoretically, it wouldn't be so easy to fill in. However, that's assuming it was a well-equipped fortified city. Xiaogucheng's weaponry and manpower were simply too small.
There were fewer than forty men, only six bows and five crossbows. Their total arrows were less than five hundred. This level of ranged attack was utterly ineffective in creating any suppression.
With another bugle call, the Turks began their attack. Hundreds of shield-bearing swordsmen advanced methodically in front. Behind them, large numbers of Turkic soldiers, carrying sandbags and bamboo baskets filled with sand, rapidly closed in. On either side, two other groups, carrying ladders, prepared to force their way through.
Although they were primarily attacking one side, the Turks still stretched their battle line across the entire city wall. They seemed well aware that the city's defenders were few, hence their dispersed presence on the wall. There were even two ladders circling the city, apparently preparing to harass from other directions.
A standard, conventional tactic, but virtually unsolvable. That's how war is: when your manpower and resources far surpass those of the enemy, simply proceeding methodically will allow the war to end according to your will. So-called surprise attacks are only ever used when the enemy is strong and you are weak, or in dire straits. In a sense, the side that uses a surprise attack has already lost half the battle.
“Archers, don’t move. We don’t have many arrows, let them go in first before firing. The Turkic soldiers who have circled around to the rear are a big problem. Brother Lu, I know you’re good at fighting, so I’ll give you a task. No matter what, you must destroy those siege ladders in other directions as soon as possible. They don’t have many ladders, so if you destroy a few more, they’ll have no choice but to attack from the front. Otherwise, we’ll soon be tied down and exhausted.”
"Leave it to me. Old man, Xiao Si, come with me." At this moment, Lu Xuan naturally wouldn't offer any further opinions. After all, Lieutenant Li was an officer who had truly experienced war; in crucial moments, it was best to listen to the expert.
When Lu Xuan arrived at the south city wall, the Turks below had already laid planks on the moat and were beginning to cross. At the forefront, a dozen soldiers were preparing to place ladders on the city wall.
"Little Four, Old Man, get the rope ready!" Lu Xuan shouted, and without even waiting for the old man's response, he leaped off the city wall.
There were about forty Turkic soldiers outside the city. Some were setting up ladders, while others were crossing the river. This so-called moat was actually only a little over two meters wide and less than three meters deep. Under normal circumstances, with a running start, an adult could easily jump across.
The problem is that this is ancient warfare, and soldiers wear armor, carry shields, and weapons. The two-meter-deep 'moat' is a real river to them; they can only cross the makeshift 'bridges'.
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Chapter Seventeen: Offense and Defense
Lu Xuan leaped down, using his extraordinary physical strength to roll sideways on the ground and stand up abruptly. The surrounding Turkic soldiers were collectively stunned, not understanding what he was doing. It wasn't until he raised his long, imposing saber that the Turkic soldiers finally reacted. This Tang soldier had jumped down from the city wall, ready to chop them down.
Although they didn't understand—they clearly had the advantage, shouldn't the Tang people be defending on the city walls? What was the meaning of your jumping down?—when the sword was about to strike their heads, whether they understood or not was no longer important.
"Drink..." Lu Xuan shouted, sweeping his long sword horizontally. The heads of the two nearest Turkic soldiers flew into the air. He gave them no time to react, charging forward and crashing into the crowd of Turkic soldiers. A group of soldiers who had just 'crossed the bridge' were knocked directly into the 'river' by his impact.
With another swing of his heavy saber, Lu Xuan cleaved the iron-clad shields of two Turkic soldiers who had just charged forward in half, along with their severed arms.
Ignoring the two screaming soldiers, Lu Xuan turned and charged towards the group setting up the siege ladder. By then, the ladder had been successfully erected. A Turkic soldier had already begun attempting to climb it.
Lu Xuan rolled sideways on the ground and picked up an intact shield. He used his left hand to block the arrows from the soldiers on the opposite bank of the river. With his right hand holding a sword, he charged towards the group of Turkic soldiers.
Rat-a-tat-tat, a dense hail of arrows rained down on his shield. But Lu Xuan's arm didn't even tremble. His eyes were fixed solely on the siege ladder.
when......
Four Turkic soldiers raised their scimitars in an attempt to block, but the immense force of the impact knocked their swords away. Lu Xuan's body moved like a raging bull, charging forward and smashing through two soldiers, closing in on the siege ladder.
With his left hand holding the shield, he delivered a powerful shield bash. The soldier who tried to stop him was sent flying. Immediately afterward, with a vertical slash of his longsword, he felled a Turkic soldier who had just climbed the ladder. Then, with a kick, he overturned the ladder.
He turned and swept his longsword horizontally again, forcing back the surrounding Turkic soldiers. There were no fancy moves, just the simplest slashes and sweeps. But no one could stop him. Just as Mr. An commented, when he slashed, you couldn't block it, you couldn't dodge it, how could you fight back?
Lu Xuan, relying on his superior physical strength, charged through the Turkic soldiers. In reality, the true threat to Lu Xuan came from the archers on the opposite bank. They forced him to hold only his shield in his left hand. But it didn't matter anymore; Lu Xuan had already reached the siege ladder. With a heavy slash of his saber, he smashed the hastily constructed ladder to pieces.
"Master, the rope!" The old man on the city wall, seeing his task complete, promptly threw out the rope. But Lu Xuan hesitated for a moment, then didn't grab it directly. Instead, he turned and charged towards the Turkic soldiers who had already crossed the river. Limbs and screams erupted once more from the crowd. Lu Xuan continued until he had killed over twenty men, to the point that the Turkic soldiers dared not cross the river again. He finally stopped, smashed the 'bridge,' and grabbed the rope, returning to the city wall.
On the front lines, the pressure on Lieutenant Li and his men far exceeded their expectations. Faced with a heavily fortified shield formation, the few archers they had simply no chance to make a difference. Unless, of course, each of them was a Legolas Greenleaf.
More importantly, below the city wall, hundreds of Turkic archers were suppressing the soldiers on the wall. They couldn't even peek out and could only watch helplessly as the enemy filled in the moat and began to systematically pile sandbags down below the wall.
"Rolling stones...release!" Captain Li shouted. The soldiers on the city wall immediately pushed the prepared rolling stones. The Turks finally suffered casualties. However, the hastily prepared rolling stones were far less effective than expected against the heavily armored shield formation below.
On the contrary, the slope below the city wall was quickly filled in and began to pile up, gradually forming a new slope. If the highest point of this slope reaches more than four meters, the city wall will essentially lose its purpose.
"Pour the golden liquid..."
"Golden juice" was actually excrement. This was a genuine byproduct of warfare. Ancient people discovered that wounds stained with "golden juice" were extremely difficult to heal, almost always leading to infection and death. Therefore, boiling excrement became a defensive weapon on the battlefield. It was simple, cheap, and incredibly lethal.
Buckets of excrement poured down, creating a deluge. A chorus of wails erupted below the city walls. Boiling water, carrying a nauseating stench, splashed through every crevice, drenching the soldiers. Huge blisters appeared, skin was scalded raw, and scalding water stung their eyes. All of this finally slowed the Turkic advance.
But the immediate response was a barrage of arrows.
Swords clashed, and that's how it always is on the battlefield. The Turkic arrow rain was clearly more oppressive. The soldiers on the entire city wall could only crouch on the ground, dodging the arrows. Meanwhile, a large number of sandbags were piled up at the foot of the city wall. After just a few volleys of arrows, a slope three meters wide and nearly two meters high had already appeared at the foot of the city wall. At this rate, the Turks would be able to pile the sandbags up the city wall in less than half an hour.