Chapter 349: Qingtang City Falls

On Qingtang City.

Zuo Silu saw a huge caravan in the distance.

This caravan probably has more than 3,000 people, and there are more than 10,000 camels and horses alone.

The densely packed livestock walked on the road, as if there was no end in sight.

Zuo Silu has been operating Qingtang for more than ten years, and he is naturally very clear about the size of the caravans.

Merchants in the Western Regions usually have only two or three hundred people, and at most about seven or eight hundred people. A caravan with four or five hundred people is already a very large caravan.

There are more people in the Hexi Corridor, but large-scale caravans only have about a thousand people, three or four thousand camels, and rarely more than three thousand people, with tens of thousands of camels and horses.

After all, such a team is very expensive along the way, and it is difficult to support the supply of so many people and livestock along the way. At the same time, the entire Western Regions does not have such a large force to support such a large caravan.

Especially in Henan Road, due to the long distance, there are generally more small-scale caravans. There are dozens of people at the least, hundreds of people at the most, and there are only a handful of caravans that can reach a scale of thousands of people.

As recorded in the "Book of Zhou·Biography of Tuyuhun", the Tuyuhun envoys sent envoys to the Northern Qi, and the Western Wei ambushed this envoy.

"We captured their servant Qifu Chuban, general Zhai Panmi, 240 merchants, 600 camels and mules, and tens of thousands of colorful silks."

At that time, the team took the Tuyuhun Road, and this is a direct example of the scale of the caravan in the Hehuang Corridor, including 240 merchants and 600 camels and mules.

So it is obviously a strange thing that a team of more than 3,000 people suddenly appeared in the distance.

However, there are exceptions.

That is, if the caravan happens to meet other familiar teams on the road, and the leaders know each other, it is possible to travel together.

However, this situation is very rare, and Zuo Silu still felt alert and said to a general beside him: "Go, send someone to intercept them and check them."

"Yes."

The general personally led hundreds of knights, and went out of the north gate and headed out of the city.

The caravan in the distance was the one sent by Li Yuanhao to pretend.

Li Yuanhao first sent a small group of caravans to sneak into the city, and then sent a team disguised as big merchants to set off.

He managed the Hexi Corridor, so he naturally knew the scale of the caravan.

But he was betting that Zuo Silu was not alert. After all, if he sent too few people, he would not be able to achieve the effect of internal and external cooperation. This was also a helpless move.

At this moment, seeing Zuo Silu sending people out to intercept, he probably knew that he could not hide it.

It’s not that they are not disguised well enough, but since they can be sent out to intercept and inquire, they must be elite scout knights.

The scouts eat the meal of observing the enemy. Both sides are soldiers fighting on the battlefield. The scouts with sharp eyes can see at a glance whether the temperament on their bodies is a businessman.

So it is unlikely to hide it.

Li Yuanhao remained calm until the scouts sent by Zuo Silu came close and shouted to them: "Where are you from?"

Almost instantly, these scouts saw the caravan and quickly realized that something was wrong.

The temperament of these people is not that of the merchants who have been wandering outside for many years. Although they all wear scarves and scarves, their eyes are the windows to the soul, which cannot be deceived.

Their eyes are fierce and abnormal. If one or two of them are normal, it would be normal, but if all of them are like this, it can only prove one thing-they are not merchants.

"Stop!"

The leading general shouted sternly, and then subconsciously touched the horn at his waist.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Qiang and Di in the northwest have been good at using horns as a communication tool. It was introduced to the Central Plains during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and was widely used in the army in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms.

But almost at the moment when he touched the horn at his waist, a crossbow arrow shot over and pierced his chest directly.

"Puff!"

The general covered his chest, looked at the other party in disbelief, and then fell off his horse.

This shocking scene immediately shocked the scouts who came out.

Both sides started almost at the same time, but soon Li Yuanhao's team occupied it. In less than a few minutes, the scouts were killed.

"Wooooooooooooooooo!"

The desolate horn sounded through the sky first, that was the horn sound of the Xixia army.

The Xixia army hidden in the rear, tens of thousands of people, swept towards Qingtang like a dark tide, and the dust raised in the rear seemed to cover the sky and the earth.

Zuo Siluo on the top of the city was as gloomy as water, responded calmly, and quickly ordered the city gate to be closed. Although his scouts outside the city could not get in, they could escape to other places from the left and right.

This can be regarded as sacrificing the small to protect the big.

Then he ordered the city to beat the war drums, mobilize the army, transport ammunition to the top of the city, and prepare to start the cannon.

"The Xia thieves are coming, everyone move."

"Hurry up."

"Don't dawdle, move the things up quickly."

The north city was in chaos in an instant.

The city was also in turmoil.

A large number of merchants swarmed to run out from the south city gate.

But all the city gates began to close, and the streets in the city were crowded with people, and there was chaos everywhere.

Zuo Siluo no longer cared about the city, he just wanted to defend the city gate.

However, just as he was about to launch a cannon to attack the Xixia people who were getting closer and closer, a large number of merchants with swords and weapons appeared near the city gate behind him.

They reacted quickly and rushed to the city gate, slashing and killing everywhere, catching the Qingtang soldiers who were tense and focused only on the outside of the city off guard.

"Not good!"

Zhao Silu was horrified and ran to the gate of the city to look down. Seeing that the enemy had already controlled the gate, he hurriedly shouted: "Come on, follow me to kill."

He drew the sword from his waist and immediately rushed to the city with his personal guards to start fighting with the enemy.

But it was too late after all. The gate had been opened by the insider.

The Xixia army outside the city saw the gate of the city open in the distance and was overjoyed. They shouted and galloped on their horses.

Qingtang was in chaos. Dong Zhan on the city was still capable. After his father went down to the city to fight, he commanded the soldiers to start firing cannons.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

The huge sound shook the world, and the cannons spewed out gorgeous fireworks.

As more than ten shells were fired, they shot towards the battlefield at a very fast speed. In an instant, people and horses in the distance fell to the ground. The solid bullets actually passed through people, and people and horses were all broken. Mo could not stop it.

Just over a dozen shells caused heavy casualties in the dense Xixia formation, and at least two or three hundred people were taken away by the terrifying ammunition, each of which could kill twenty or thirty people.

The Xixia side's offensive was also stagnant, but the cannons on the top of the city had a relatively slow firing rate, and the soldiers continued to charge forward. It basically depended on luck. Whoever was hit by such a heavy weapon could only blame their bad luck.

Soon, under the command of Dong Zhan, the second round of artillery fire came again.

But the cannons they had were not the small steel cannons of the Song army, and the firing rate was still relatively slow. By the time they finished the third round of firing, the Xixia army had already killed the city.

At this moment, the city was also in a fierce battle for the city gate. Qingtang was actually not weak. If the troops were reorganized, they should be able to gather 60,000 to 70,000 troops.

But Li Yuanhao actually bypassed Qishan and attacked from behind, which caught Zuo Silu off guard and did not expect this at all.

As a result, Zuo Silu did not gather troops in a hurry and was successfully attacked.

There were not many troops near the north gate, and some of them were still on the tower. There were only two or three thousand people under the city, and the two sides were deadlocked.

When the Xixia army came close, the defeat would be irreversible.

"Go!"

Zuo Siluo was also decisive.

Seeing the enemy rushing over, he fought fiercely and retreated while his eyes were bulging.

His muscles were knotted and he fought bloody battles, trying to gather the army to start street fighting.

But the city was in chaos, and the Qingtang army was tied up. On the other hand, the Xixia army killed everyone they saw, making the scene even more chaotic.

The fierce fighting in the city lasted for several hours. The South Gate and the East Gate had been opened long ago, and a large number of people, merchants and the remnants of Zuo Siluo's army in the city retreated and evacuated.

By dark, Li Yuanhao had completely controlled Qingtang City.

At this moment, there were corpses everywhere inside and outside the city, blood was flowing everywhere, soaking the blue bricks on the top of the city, and the huge city seemed to be left with only various screams.

In ancient times, in order to boost morale, soldiers were allowed to enter the city without putting away their swords, robbing, raping, and killing at will.

Therefore, there were looting soldiers everywhere in the city, and the soldiers looted a lot.

Li Yuanhao frowned slightly.

He originally wanted to pursue the victory and continue the attack to capture Huangzhou and Lanzhou.

But now he can only be forced to rest and set off again in two days.

The reason is that the soldiers crossed the mountains and crossed a large area of ​​Gobi, and finally captured the city. They were very tired and not suitable to continue.

Secondly, Qingtang City is the richest city in Qingtang. If the soldiers are not allowed to plunder and continue to pursue, then it will obviously make the army unmotivated and the soldiers dissatisfied.

So staying in Qingtang is also a helpless move.

I hope the Song army will react a little slower, and wait until I wipe out Zuo Silu in two days before sending troops to help.

Li Yuanhao thought to himself.

But Zuosiluo suffered a disastrous defeat, and all his troops fled in all directions. Even Zuosiluo's son Dongzhan was nowhere to be seen.

Zuosiluo himself was slashed several times in the chaos and was seriously injured. He was carried out of the city by his generals.

He looked at the hundreds of remnants around him. In the distance, there were many places in Qingtang City that were on fire under the night sky. It was unknown how many remnants did not escape and were fighting in the city.

For a moment, his mood fell to the bottom. It seemed that there was a rage in his chest that could not be vented. He kept panting and said with hatred: "Zhao Yuanhao, I swear to kill you!"

"Zanpu, let's gather the defeated soldiers first."

The generals around him said hurriedly.

"Quickly gather the infantry, we will go to Huangzhou! In addition, immediately send fast horses to ask for help from the Song army in Xishi Town!"

After being reminded by his generals, Zuosiluo could only force himself to stand up.

Various horn sounds rang around him.

In the distance, scouts from the outskirts of Xixia were running and fighting bloody battles with some remnants of Qingtang.

On the battlefield within a few kilometers, there were Qingtang people running away everywhere, as well as merchants from the Western Regions and Han people.

There were also many Xixia soldiers chasing them and robbing them of the money they brought out of the city.

Taking advantage of this chaos, Zuo Silu gathered about three or four thousand scattered tribesmen and fled eastward along the Huangshui River to his other city, Huangzhou Miaochuan City.