Chapter 409: The Siege Battle (Part 2)

Haman stared coldly at the towering city walls. Was this the city of Khiva, known as the Gate to the Aral Sea? Useless. Even Damascus, defended by a hundred thousand troops, had been conquered by him. Could the capital of a small nation really hold back an imperial army?
Haman dismissed Khiva with disdain, but he was curious to see what Li Qing’an, whom the caliph called the greatest enemy of the Arabs, actually looked like. Rumor had it he was around the same age as Haman—would he be a match for him?
Haman raised his head proudly. In his eyes, Li Qing’an wasn’t as formidable as imagined. Just because of a strong city, did he think thirty thousand Tang troops could resist a hundred thousand? He snorted and turned to the silent sheikh, saying, “Is this the Li Qing’an you fear so much? To me, he’s just a fool who doesn’t understand military strategy.”
The sheikh stubbornly replied, “You’ll find out after fighting.”
“Hmph! I will. You’ll soon see how the soldiers of Iraq capture the city walls.” Haman turned his horse and headed back to the camp.
From afternoon until late at night, the soldiers in the Abbasid camp busily assembled various siege weapons. Ballistae took shape one after another, and massive siege engines stood tall in the center of the camp. Thousands of soldiers, shouting slogans, slowly lifted a ten-zhang-long battering ram using chains and mounted it on a wooden frame.
Thousands of camels brought large incendiary bombs to the center of the camp to be unloaded. These bombs were invented by Abu Muslim during his rule in Khorasan to counter the Tang Dynasty’s fire bombs. They were round wooden containers filled with kerosene—a refined form of oil invented by the Abbasids through their research on Greek fire. With extremely strong burning power, they were enclosed in wooden spheres and covered with thick cotton cloth soaked in kerosene. This too was a highly destructive weapon; its flames could burn everything. Haman, a man who believed only in weapons, had always looked down on Abu Muslim, but this weapon earned him great admiration for the Muslim. He called it “heavenly fire,” meant to counter the Tang Dynasty’s “heavenly thunder.”
In the darkness of the night, Haman gazed at the dark city walls. His handsome face showed a fierce smile in the shadows as he murmured, “Li Qing’an, once I defeat you, I can surpass Abu Muslim. Let’s have a fight! I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

On the city walls, the Tang army was also busy in a tense manner. They moved the heavy trebuchets to the north wall, while there were three sturdy stone fortresses on the east wall, inside which 500 Thunder Bombs were stored. To facilitate transportation, the Tang army stretched a steel cable between the east and north walls, sloping from east to north, allowing transport baskets loaded with Thunder Bombs to be delivered to the north wall at the fastest speed. Five bombs had already been placed beside each heavy trebuchet. As a precaution, there was also a wooden barrel half a person’s height beside each trebuchet, filled with clean water, to be used urgently in case a bomb failed to launch, preventing self-destruction.

In addition to the Thunder Bombs, 10,000 crossbow arrows powered by gunpowder were also ready, stored in large iron boxes. 100 crossbows were set up as well. Nearly 10,000 Tang soldiers were hurrying to sleep, as a life-and-death battle was about to begin the next day. At the northeast corner of the north wall, Li Qing’an stood on the battlements, gazing at the brightly lit camps of the Abbasid army. He could faintly see countless figures moving around in the camps, and dark silhouettes loomed overhead, like monstrous beasts watching the city in the darkness. The Abbasid army had concentrated 100,000 troops on the north wall, giving up attacks on the other gates, clearly aiming to focus their efforts on capturing the city. This was a Abbasid commander who would launch a fierce attack as soon as the war began, and he was clever enough to know that the Tang army had previously attacked the north wall, so its defenses must be weaker than those of the other walls. By not besieging the south wall, which also had gates, and thus leaving a retreat route for the Tang army, he aimed to break their resolve to resist fiercely. If the Tang army retreated, they would face pursuit and defeat in the desert, with far fewer troops at their disposal. This was indeed a commander skilled in military strategy. Li Qing’an carefully analyzed his opponent, sensing his impatience—a man obsessed with glory and lacking strategic insight. This man didn’t realize what consequences his failure would bring to the Abbasids; he was only eager to attack because Li Qing’an was inside the city. Gradually, a disdainful smile appeared on Li Qing’an’s lips. Since the enemy was so anxious, he might as well feign weakness to fuel their enthusiasm further, letting them be blinded by the desire for victory!

With this thought, Li Qing’an turned around and ordered in a deep voice, “Pass my orders: withdraw the Thunder Bombs, half of the heavy trebuchets, and the crossbows. Keep only the minimum defenses on the city walls.”

At the fifth watch of the night, a faint dawn light appeared on the eastern horizon, and it was gradually getting brighter. At that moment, the Tang army’s scouts spotted enemy activity—movement arose in the Abbasid camp. Nearly a hundred heavy trebuchets began to slowly move away from the camp and toward the city walls. At the same time, the drums of the Abbasid army’s attack rang out, their thunderous sound resembling the rumbling of thunder in the early morning. This was the Abbasid tactic for capturing cities: using heavy trebuchets to deliver devastating blows to the defending forces before launching a full-scale assault, accompanied by heavy siege hammers battering the gates. These nearly a hundred heavy trebuchets were the first step of the Abbasid army. They moved slowly across the open spaces in the desert toward the city of Khiva. Each trebuchet was three zhang tall, on par with the Tang army’s heavy trebuchets, capable of launching stones up to 800 steps far. It took 200 men to operate each one. As the trebuchets moved slowly, Haman stood in the middle of the group, staring coldly at the city. He intended to burn the city walls to ashes with massive incendiary bombs.

Just then, strange noises came from the city walls, followed by dark spots in the sky. Sharp sounds grew louder as hundreds of iron arrows whizzed through the air. Some flew over people’s heads, while others struck the trebuchets. The lead trebuchet was hit by an iron arrow, its straps broke, and it collapsed with a loud crash. Haman himself was nearly struck by a large arrow, which whizzed past his scalp. His warhorse panicked, lifting its front legs high and letting out a terrified neigh. Dozens of bodyguards quickly helped him off the horse. “Your Highness, return to the camp!”
“No!”
Haman shook off his guards and stared at the dozen dark spots in the sky—massive stones thrown by the Tang army. With a loud crash, the stones hit the ground, raising sandstorms over ten zhang high. Another loud explosion followed, followed by screams. Several trebuchets were shattered by the Tang army’s stones, killing and injuring hundreds of people.
“They’re not in large numbers; there’s no need to fear!” Haman shouted. “Fire the sky fire!”

Dozens of Abbasid soldiers carrying torches rushed forward and set fire to the cotton wrapped around the wooden balls. The cotton, soaked in naphtha, instantly caught fire, forming a huge ball of flame. With a loud shout from the soldiers, catapults fired dozens of massive fireballs into the air. These fireballs, emitting thick smoke, flew toward the city walls. With a loud “bang,” one fireball struck the top of the wall. The Tang soldiers screamed and fell to the ground. A few failed to dodge and were instantly burned to ashes by the fireballs. The wooden shells shattered, releasing large amounts of naphtha, which ignited the burning cotton. The flames spread wherever the naphtha flowed, turning an area of dozens of yards into a sea of fire. Dozens of Tang soldiers were set ablaze and fled in terror, some falling off the city walls. As more fireballs struck the walls, the entire northern part of Khiva City was engulfed in flames. Dozens of heavy catapults and crossbows were destroyed by the fire. The most tragic fate befell the more than 2,000 Tang soldiers, who fled in all directions. Some were consumed by the flames and turned to charcoal, while most had their hair and armor ignited as they writhed in pain on the ground.

At that moment, the eastern side of the northern city wall had not yet been affected by the fire. Several heavy catapults were still firing huge stones. Bai Xiaode, desperate, his eyes red with anger, stamped his foot and shouted at Li Qing’an, “General, stones are ineffective! Use Thunderous Bombs immediately!”

Li Qing’an looked at the Tang soldiers screaming and fleeing amidst the flames. No matter what, now was not the time to use Thunderous Bombs. His lips were almost bitten bloody as he firmly shook his head. “Do not use Thunderous Bombs. Order all Tang soldiers to withdraw from the northern city.”

A moment later, the eastern side of the northern city wall was also struck by dozens of fireballs, and the entire northern city was plunged into a sea of fire.

……

Haman watched the raging flames on the city walls and the Tang soldiers screaming in agony as they fell from the walls engulfed by fire. He laughed triumphantly and immediately ordered, “Order the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Armies to launch an attack. We must capture Khiva City by noon.”

“Your Highness, we cannot deploy so many troops. The Tang soldiers haven’t fired their Thunderous Bombs yet. We will suffer heavy losses.”

Sheikh rushed forward and pleaded, “Your Highness, we can only send one army to test the strength of the Tang soldiers first.”

“General Sheikh, you’re old now. The Battle of Talas has turned your courage into that of a mouse. Can’t you see? The Tang soldiers’ catapults have already been reduced to ashes.”

He laughed triumphantly once again. What could the Tang soldiers possibly fear? He would capture Li Qing’an alive by noon!

One after another, fireballs streaked across the sky, flying over the heads of the Abbasid army toward the city walls. Flames raged on the city walls, and with the fierce assault of the Abbasid army, 40,000 of their soldiers launched an attack. The vast desert below was filled with dense ranks of troops, arranged in four large formations, resembling four dark carpets. They chanted in unison, generating an overwhelming aura of violence as they advanced step by step toward the city of Khiva. Their spears formed a dense forest, and siege engines moved through the ranks like small mountains.

Unlike the Tang army’s scaling ladders, the Abbasids used siege engines similar to the Tang army’s nest carts—five to six zhang tall and built from large wooden frames. But to attack the 10-zhang-high walls of Khiva, their siege engines were made even wider and taller, turning into massive monsters. The base was five zhang wide, tightly wrapped in raw cowhide, with wooden wheels on top. They were pulled forward slowly by 300 camels. On top of the siege engines, over a hundred men held up huge leather-covered wooden boards to shield against enemy arrows. Shooting holes were made in the boards, from which arrows were fired densely at the city walls. When the siege engines were one zhang away from the walls, the huge wooden boards would be lowered, forming a wide wooden bridge, allowing the Abbasid soldiers to rush onto the walls. While siege engines were highly effective in attacks, their drawback was obvious: they became huge moving targets that could be destroyed by trebuchets in just a few shots.

As the Abbasid army gradually approached the city walls, the firing of fireballs stopped—this was necessary, as otherwise it would not only harm their own troops but also prevent them from scaling the walls. With the source of fire gone, the flames began to die down. At that moment, large numbers of laborers rushed to the city walls. They used ice water prepared in advance to cool down the walls, removed the burned remains of the Tang army, and used fine sand to extinguish any remaining flames. Meanwhile, 10,000 Tang soldiers immediately entered the northern defensive positions from the east and west walls. Hundreds of more agile small trebuchets were also set up swiftly. The Tang army was counting on this short window of about fifteen minutes. Missing this golden opportunity would not only fail Li Qing’an’s counterattack plan but also put Khiva at risk of being captured. This required the Tang army to have extremely high combat readiness, able to enter battle at the fastest speed and in the shortest time possible.

Silence reigned on the city walls. 8,000 Tang soldiers nocked their arrows, and the first round of 100 Thunderous Arrows was loaded into the trebuchets, awaiting the final order to fire. The counterattack was about to begin.

Li Qing’an stared grimly at the vast army of 40,000 Arabs below the city walls. At least 20,000 of them were already within bow range, and the twenty siege engines were less than ten zhang away from the walls. He could even make out the murderous expressions on the faces of those inside the engines. The time for a counterattack had come. Gritting his teeth, Li Qing’an ordered, “Counterattack!”

Drums boomed, and arrows were fired in overwhelming numbers from the city walls, like a torrential rain. The thousands of Arabs at the forefront were caught off guard and fell one after another. Chaos reigned as the Tang army launched its counterattack. The Arabs grew even more enraged, shouting wildly as explosions erupted, sending clouds of black smoke into the air. Dozens of Arab soldiers below were torn to pieces, hundreds were knocked over by the force of the explosions, and countless others were killed or injured. The iron shells shattered into fragments, which, along with hundreds of poisoned nails, flew in all directions, accompanied by screams of agony.

Immediately afterward, ninety-nine thunderous explosions rang out among the crowd, deafening in intensity. The blasts echoed across the desert, shaking the ground. The severity of the explosions was unbearable to witness. Extreme fear drove the Arabs mad; they abandoned their weapons and fled in panic, trampling each other underfoot as their warhorses galloped wildly. Yet there was nowhere to go—explosions and death surrounded them. The battlefield had turned into a hellish slaughterhouse, filled with shattered corpses and streams of blood. Within 200 steps, the Arab army suffered catastrophic losses. They were like wheat fields ravaged by a storm, falling in large numbers, with hardly anyone standing. Only the dying writhed in the pools of blood. Twelve of the twenty siege engines were destroyed, their massive frames collapsing or lying on their sides, surrounded by corpses and blood.

The Tang army’s first attack nearly wiped out two entire legions, killing or injuring nearly 20,000 men. The Arabs had never seen such brutal weapons or such a horrific battlefield. After standing frozen for a moment, the remaining troops fled in panic. Even the soldiers operating the heavy catapults were terrified and joined the retreat. In an instant, the army collapsed like a mountain giving way.

At the moment of the explosions, Haman’s heart almost stopped beating. He could hardly believe what he heard and saw—there existed such fierce weapons in the world. He couldn’t find the right words to describe his feelings. This young general, who believed solely in military strength, felt a chill run down his spine and even felt despair. Arabia should not have become an enemy of the Tang Dynasty.

But this thought flashed through his mind only for a moment. His proud nature made it impossible for him to accept such failure. No! He hadn’t failed yet.
Haman drew his sword and shouted hoarsely, “No one dares flee! Fire the thunderballs and burn down all the Tang troops! Order all the troops to charge forward—anyone who retreats will be executed!”
“Your Highness, the Emir, you can’t act so recklessly. You’ll destroy our empire.”
Sheikh shouted desperately behind him. He had already seen Li Qing’an’s strategy: abandon long-range weapons to lure the Arab army to charge forward, then use thunderbolts to kill as many soldiers as possible. But Haman hadn’t realized this at all, which filled him with anxiety.
“Your Highness, the Emir, we can’t keep charging forward. We’ll all die.”
Haman, as if mad, turned around abruptly, pointed his sword at Sheikh, and cursed, “Shut up, you filthy old dog!”
Sheikh felt as if struck hard. Tears blurred his eyes. It was over—the Abbasid Empire would be destroyed by this idiot. He sighed deeply, “Your Majesty the Caliph, your name will live forever, yet you ultimately failed due to poor judgment in choosing people.”
Under Haman’s orders, the drums of the Abbasid army’s attack rang out loudly. Nearly a hundred burning fireballs flew toward the walls of the Tang army. This time, the Tang troops retreated quickly, and the entire northern wall was once again engulfed in flames.
Seventy thousand Abbasid troops, spurred on by the drums, marched once again toward the city of Khiva. Dozens of siege engines moved forward slowly, and among them was a massive battering ram, pulled by five hundred camels, gradually approaching the city gates.