Chapter 92: Right and Wrong (5)

The soldiers under Li Siyeh were mostly hardened veterans who had fought in the Battle of Talas, harboring deep-seated hatred for the barbarian troops. Without further orders from Li Siyeh, they nocked their arrows and drew their bows, aiming tightly at the approaching barbarians.

He had originally intended to defeat the enemy, gain glory, and achieve fame. But it was because of them—because of their complicity in tyranny, because of the Greco-Turkic tribes’ betrayal at the critical moment—that all his ambitions turned into mere illusions. Countless comrades also perished before him, unwilling to close their eyes even in death! In that battle, the lives of countless soldiers were lost, and the blood turned the Talas River red!

He must avenge them—blood for blood was only right!

250 paces, 200 paces, 180 paces—closer, closer…

When the enemy was at 150 paces, the veteran soldiers on the southern city wall launched the first wave of volleys. They waited until 150 paces to shoot to ensure their arrows had sufficient killing power. They wanted the lives of those barbarians, killing them with a single shot! At this distance, every soldier was confident they could pierce the fragile armor of the barbarians and strike straight through their backs!

A rain of arrows descended, killing many of the front-line warriors. Some more experienced barbarians then used their fallen comrades’ bodies as shields to reduce the impact of the arrows. Soft bodies proved far more protective than armor or shields, covering every corner of these soldiers’ bodies. The arrows hitting the bodies made dull thuds but failed to harm the barbarians behind them.

They continued to advance step by step, fighting silently.

“Archers, fire in volleys! Fire back!”

Seeing his troops being overwhelmed by the Tang soldiers, the barbarian general became furious. He waved his flag, ordering the archers in the back to fire in volleys to provide cover for the front-line warriors.

The panicked barbarian soldiers quickly drew their arrows and shot without aiming. Shooting upward from this angle was disadvantageous, but they had no better choice and could only use this primitive method to retaliate.

Chaotic arrows flew toward the city wall. Though their angle and force were far inferior to those fired by the Tang soldiers, their sheer number caused casualties among the Tang troops on the southern city wall.

Seeing this, the barbarian general was overjoyed and ordered his archers to keep firing in volleys.

“Use the rhinoceros wood shields! Use them now!”
Seizing this opportunity, Hu’s general deployed the key weapon for this siege. The so-called rhinoceros wood shields were giant shields made by binding thick pieces of wood together. These shields required eight people to lift and stood as tall as ten feet. Of course, the arrows shot from the city walls had a large arc, covering almost any area. But once the elite warriors reached a certain position, the rhinoceros wood shields provided excellent protection, even creating a dead zone that blocked all arrows fired from above.
As expected, once the rhinoceros wood shields were in use, the elite warriors in the front line faced less and less arrow attacks, with only a few arrows managing to penetrate the shields and hit them. Yet such a weak assault was clearly insufficient to stop the Hu soldiers from advancing; they kept moving forward, getting closer and closer to the southern part of Julan City.
When the vanguard of the Hu soldiers was within a hundred steps, Li Siye snorted and ordered, “Prepare the rolling logs and boulders!”
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers put down their bows and crossbows and carried the rolling logs and boulders toward the city gate. From this angle, the arrows could no longer inflict significant damage on the enemy. All that remained was to wait for the enemy to reach the foot of the city walls.
Gradually, the first wave of Hu elite warriors reached the foot of the city walls. They propped up the ladders against the walls and began climbing eagerly. In their eyes, the Tang defenders were already at their wits’ end. They believed they were the ones who would bring about the end, the final straw that would crush everything…
Drums rang loudly, and the sound of battle filled the air.
The Tang soldiers on the city walls remained calm, waiting for their commander’s orders. They had absolute trust in him.
Li Siye was also waiting, for the perfect moment. When most of the Hu soldiers had climbed halfway up the walls, he smirked slightly and ordered, “Smash them! Crush them!”
Countless rolling logs and boulders were hurled down from the walls, crushing the Hu soldiers who were halfway up. These poor wretches, still dreaming of success, suddenly found misfortune overtaking them as they tumbled down from the walls, turning to dust.
“Use the grappling hooks! Pull down those ladders!”
Seeing that the Hu soldiers’ siege efforts were stalled by the rolling logs and boulders, Li Siye took advantage of the situation and ordered his soldiers to destroy the few remaining hopes of the Hu attackers.
These soldiers were experienced veterans of the Anxi Army, with rich combat experience. They immediately grabbed the grappling hooks, hooked them onto the ends of the ladders, and pulled hard along the edge of the wall. In an instant, the hastily built ladders slid down along the hooks, pulling the Hu soldiers climbing them down with them.
“Ah!”
“Ah!”

Continuous screams of pain could be heard; many of the barbarian soldiers had already been crushed to pulp. Yet the faces of the Tang soldiers on the city walls remained indifferent. In their eyes, these barbarians were invaders, enemies who destroyed the happiness of their homes, and certainly not worthy of sympathy.
“Drop the spiked boards! Don’t give them a chance!”
Li Siye grew even more confident after his successful strike. These barbarians were nothing but a ragtag bunch. Abu Muslim I, who had such a great reputation, had clearly made a mistake by sending such worthless men into battle. These people might be able to create some noise in close combat, but expecting them to capture a fortified city was nothing but delusion.
At his command, the veteran soldiers from Anxi released the five spiked boards hanging from the city walls. These boards were four feet long and three feet wide, covered with iron nails, and hung by chains to effectively strike at the attacking enemies.
The veteran soldiers released the chains, and the spiked boards crashed down violently, killing dozens of barbarian warriors who were unprepared, sending screams of agony and splattering blood everywhere. Dozens more barbarian soldiers met a similar fate—they had been trying to rescue their comrades trapped under ladders when they were suddenly struck by these deadly boards.
“Ah! Ah!”
As the screams continued, Li Siye felt secretly pleased. I haven’t even used much force, and you’re already falling—how unsatisfying!…