Chapter 91: Right and Wrong (IV)
After a bout of verbal insults from their own generals, the Tang forces showed not the slightest intention of engaging in open combat outside the city. Though Abu Muslim was seething with rage, he had no choice but to order his entire army to attack Kulan City, risking the loss of his core forces.
This city was a crucial fortress on the path taken by the Abbasid cavalry as they advanced eastward. Once captured, the route to the four garrisons in Anxi would be open and unobstructed. More importantly, capturing this city would allow him to defeat one of the most important opponents in his life—Gao Xianzhi—which would severely demoralize the Tang forces in Anxi, causing the remaining troops to collapse without a fight.
After careful consideration, Abu Muslim issued his first military order. At his command, the deadly warriors hidden in the dense forests carried dozens of newly cut battering rams and ladders and marched toward Kulan City. Yet they were not Abu Muslim’s elite troops but soldiers from the Hu tribes, meant to wear down the Tang forces’ defensive equipment. Since they weren’t his own men, they naturally lacked proper protective gear. In fact, aside from some dark leather armor and crude wooden shields obtained from unknown sources, these Hu soldiers had no means to withstand the Tang forces’ firepower.
But they had no choice—behind them stood rows of soldiers armed with Abbasid scimitars. Those who retreated would be executed without mercy, a order personally given by General Abu Muslim.
“Uuu—uuu—uuu!”
A mournful horn sounded, and as the central army’s flag was waved, the archers in the rear, protected by the shield bearers, closely followed the deadly warriors as they advanced.
A cold smirk appeared on Abu Muslim’s lips. He ordered an attack on the southern gate, the weakest among the four, believing that soon they would manage to create a breach and let his army in.
However, things did not progress as smoothly as expected. Whether due to excessive nervousness or a lack of actual combat experience, the Hu soldiers began firing volleys from a distance of three hundred steps from the city walls. That distance was within the range of crossbows—how could ordinary bows, capable of firing stones weighing two dan, be lethal?
The arrows flew sporadically toward the top of Kulan City’s walls; some even fell limp before even reaching the battlements, failing to harm the Tang forces at all.
An Hu general, furious at his soldiers’ incompetence, drew his sword and pointed it at the city walls, cursing loudly, “You wretched bastards! Stop shooting from here! Get closer—within 150 steps—and keep firing at the walls! Shoot those Tang invaders to death! One killed, and you’ll get a sheep as a reward!”
In actual combat, it’s utterly impossible to determine who exactly shot down the enemy soldiers. This is merely a tactic used by military commanders to inspire their troops. In extreme fear, soldiers often lose their sanity, and proper material incentives can keep them motivated to fight bravely. His words indeed had an effect—although his troops still couldn’t mount an effective counterattack against the Tang forces, at least they moved faster. Faster movement meant fewer casualties, allowing more soldiers to reach the gates of Julan City. By then, even the gods wouldn’t be able to save the Tang soldiers! No one knew the layout of the cities in the Western Regions better than they did. Unlike cities in the Central Plains, these cities seemed sturdy but were actually like paper boxes, with their weakest points being the city gates. As long as desperate warriors carrying battering rams reached the gates, a few strikes would surely break them open. At that point, waves of Abbasid cavalry would flood into Julan City and slaughter everyone inside in an instant. Thinking of this, the Hu general smirked cruelly. But his dream didn’t last long—he was shocked to the core when a boulder the size of a millstone landed just five steps away from him. A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old Hu soldier was crushed into pulp before he could even utter a cry. “Ugh!” The general witnessed blood seep out from beneath the stone, turning the yellow soil red, and he immediately vomited the naan he had eaten that morning. “It’s a catapult! It’s a catapult!” Some Hu soldiers who had experienced the defense of Talas City screamed in terror as if they’d seen a demon. They had seen firsthand how this monstrous weapon destroyed cities—they never wanted to relive that nightmare again. At Talas, wherever the boulders landed, everything was destroyed; any armor or shield was useless against them, and every life was pitifully fragile in the face of catapults. It was a demon—a demon cursed by the gods! Fear spread like wildfire among the Hu vanguard. Unlike the Abbasids, who wanted to seize the Four Prefectures of Anxi, what benefit did they gain if the Tang Dynasty were defeated? They were merely fodder for the Abbasids—why should they get all the benefits? Realizing this, many Hu soldiers abandoned their armor and retreated toward the city, knocking down many of their comrades behind them. “Don’t panic! Don’t panic! Form up and advance in formation!”
Seeing his troops showing signs of disarray, Hu was extremely anxious and paced back and forth. He kept waving his halberd in an attempt to calm them down, but his efforts were clearly futile. Continuously, huge rocks fell, crushing several soldiers into pulp. Facts are often more persuasive than slogans; those who didn’t want to die were scrambling away, ignoring any notion of military discipline.
“Hehe, I thought Old Li was easy to bully. This time, I’ll give you brats a good lesson to show you who’s in charge!”
Li Siyeh slammed his halberd down and spat out a mouthful of phlegm.
Due to a shortage of manpower, the southern city had the fewest troops, but as compensation, General Gao assigned all four catapults in the city to him. These were powerful weapons that could defeat anyone who stood in their way—how could such a ragtag group possibly resist them?
“Keep throwing them! Keep it up! Let these fools help the oppressors; they deserve to be taught a lesson so they won’t die in vain without knowing who killed them!”
Having tasted success, Li Siyeh wanted to use the catapults to amplify his gains. Defeating the Hu army’s morale in one battle would be ideal.
But at that moment, Officer Tang Yan leaned in cautiously and said, “Leader Li, the stones are running out. The catapults can still be used, but the men can’t get more stones right now.”
“What?”
Li Siyeh raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “What did you say? The stones are out? How is that possible?”
He was baffled. Logically, among siege weapons, stones were the most essential, unlike logs or tung oil. How could they suddenly run out?
Tang Yan smiled brightly. “Exactly. But Li Huaizhong, the king, only gave us this much. There’s nothing we can do.”
“Damn this scoundrel!”
Furious, Li Siyeh cursed Li Huaizhong’s ancestors loudly. When General Gao asked for the catapults, Li Huaizhong had been extremely reluctant. Though he eventually handed them over under General Gao’s pressure, he had played tricks with the stones. There were only about a hundred stones for the four catapults—how could they run out so quickly?
Was he so careless, or was he colluding with the Arabs…?
At the thought, Li Siyeh shuddered. After all, Li Huaizhong was now commanding troops at the east gate. If he really defected to the Arabs and handed over the city, wouldn’t all their efforts be in vain?
“Hurry to the city and inform General Gao to keep a close eye on that Li Huaizhong. If possible, find some reason to replace him—ideally, have General Gao personally defend the city!”
Li Siyeh nodded at Tang Yan and gave him strict orders, adding at the end, “Also, go and have those houses near the city gates demolished. Order the strong men to transport all the stones to the city walls as quickly as possible!”
“But, what if Chief Li encounters resistance? After all, this Julan City isn’t one of our Anxi Four Fortresses, and those houses belong to the barbarians. Isn’t it inappropriate for us to demolish them forcefully?”
Thinking of the possible resistance, Tang Yan quickly sought Li Siyeh’s approval.
Li Siyeh raised an eyebrow and said, “Damn it, there’s no need for so many worries. This is a time of war—everyone must obey military orders. Not to mention ordinary houses, even the Julan royal palace can be demolished if necessary! Whoever dares to disobey orders or block the demolition will be beheaded on the spot under military law.”
Relieved by Li Siyeh’s approval, Tang Yan bowed and took orders before leaving.
Li Siyeh sneered inwardly, thinking, “I hope you bastard really don’t intend to defect. Otherwise, I, Old Li, will be the first to cut off your head and hang it on the city walls as a warning!”
“General Li, General Li! It’s bad news—the barbarians have attacked again!”
A brigade commander stumbled forward and knelt before Li Siyeh, saying, “General Li, look! The barbarian soldiers have taken advantage of the pause in stone-throwing to attack again.”
Li Siyeh glanced in the direction the commander pointed. Sure enough, the barbarian soldiers, who had previously fled in disarray, now, with no more stones falling on them, resumed their attack under the command of their officers, carrying battering rams and ladders toward the southern city wall.
“Damn these bastards!”
Li Siyeh stamped his foot and ordered, “Have the archers get ready. Once they’re within 200 steps, shoot them mercilessly!”
“As you command!”
Soon, flags fluttered, and hundreds of archers appeared on the battlements of the southern city wall, holding their breath as they waited for the enemy to enter range.
“Damn it, this time it’s a fight to the death.”
Li Siyeh swallowed hard and gripped his sword tightly. At that moment, his eyes were bloodshot with determination.