Let us turn back the time a little bit, and go back to the moment when Xie Shufang led his army to the south gate of the west city and saw Li Er and others opening the city privately. He hurried back to Jinyang Palace, and reported again that the warrior Xun conveyed Li Jiancheng's words and refused to meet, and also reported that Li Jiancheng's guards were all reporting the important situation outside Li Yuanji's mansion.
Although this time there is still a samurai who is obsessed with ghosts and tricks, but at this point, Feng Li is very suspicious anyway, Feng Li immediately made a decision, and let another confidant of Li Jiancheng, Yang Wengan, lead the army to guard Jinyang closely. Palace, granary, arsenal and other important institutions, while personally leading the headquarters to Li Yuanji's mansion to meet Li Jiancheng. In the end, when we were halfway there, there was a sound of shouting and killing from the south gate. Feng Li was shocked, but he didn't dare to neglect. He quickly ordered the army to advance faster, and rushed to Li Yuanji, who was located in the southwest of Taiyuan West City, almost like flying. outside the house.
As you can see, when Feng Li rushed to the scene with his troops, there was already chaos outside the gate of Li Yuanji's mansion. The guards brought by Li Jiancheng were knocking on the gate desperately, yelling for it to be opened, and at the same time A guard rushed to Feng Li, saying that the gate of Li Yuanji's house had been closed suddenly just now, and he refused to open it no matter how much he called. Feng Li's face paled immediately when he heard the report, and he shouted: "Surround Qigong's mansion immediately! Bows and arrows are ready! Knock the door! Knock the door open!"
While Feng Li's Taiyuan Army officers and men were rushing to encircle the mansion and prepare their bows and arrows, the guards were about to hit the gate when a human head suddenly appeared on the courtyard wall of Li Yuanji's mansion. Li Shentong yelled very majesticly and asked: "Feng Li, you are so courageous! Do you know where this place is? How dare you mess around here? Go immediately and take your people away!"
"Li Shentong?!" Feng Li was shocked at first, and then immediately guessed a lot of the situation, and hurriedly asked: "Li Shentong, where is the Zuo Dudu? What do you do with the Zuo Dudu?"
"Director Feng, what nonsense are you talking about?" Li Shentong laughed, and said with a smile: "The Zuo Dudu is the commander-in-chief of the whole army. How dare we do anything to him? He is fine now, but Qi Guogong is too sick now. , Zuo Dudu must stay by Qi Guogong’s side, so he ordered us to close the door of the house to prevent outsiders from disturbing him. Zuo Dudu also said, when the bandit army comes, you just go to meet the enemy and don’t worry about him.”
"Stop talking nonsense!" Feng Li believed it, pointed at Li Shentong with a horsewhip and shouted: "Please bring the Zuo Dudu out to see me immediately, or I will crash in!"
"The Zuo Dudu can't go away." Li Shentong replied loudly: "Listen to the voice, the bandit army has already killed the city gate, Director Feng, you are the chief defender of the west city, why don't you go and have a look?"
"Fire the arrow!" Feng Li saw that Li Shentong was deliberately delaying time, and immediately ordered the arrow to be released. The Taiyuan soldiers under his command immediately released the arrow without hesitation. Unfortunately, the old fox Li Shentong was already prepared, and shrank his head. He dodged the dense feather arrows shot at him, and then Feng Li ordered to slam the door again, and the guards immediately slammed into the door of Li Yuanji's mansion with their bodies, but the servants of Li's mansion had already used their bodies to resist the door, and the guards slammed into it several times. Can break open. Feng Li was even more furious when he saw this, and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to climb the wall and enter the courtyard, and rushed into the courtyard to open the door.
The first Taiyuan soldier climbed onto the wall, and before he jumped into the courtyard, a wave of feathered arrows flew out of the courtyard, shooting him down the courtyard wall. Before the impromptu moment, the Taiyuan Army warrior also shouted out the situation in the courtyard, "There are soldiers in the courtyard, they are the soldiers of the Duke of Qi!"
Frightened, angry and worried, Feng Li ordered his soldiers to rush into the hospital at all costs. The well-trained soldiers of the Taiyuan Army under his command also quickly formed a ladder to help his companions climb up the wall. Li Jiancheng's guards over there also slammed into the gate like crazy, and Li The soldiers of Yuanji Mansion were not to be outdone, they kept firing arrows at the enemies on the wall, and at the same time threw a few gunpowder bottles out of the courtyard, wounding many soldiers of the Taiyuan Army. Soon there was a roar of killing inside and outside Li Yuanji's mansion, with swords and guns colliding endlessly, and the intensity was as intense as that of the Nanmen battlefield, which was also in fierce battle.
After all, Feng Li's side is crowded, and after half a stick of incense, twenty or thirty soldiers from Taiyuan climbed over the wall and entered the courtyard. With the help of Li Jiancheng's help, the guards of Li Jiancheng, who were about to go mad, finally broke open the gate, shouted and rushed into the courtyard. Feng Li heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly ordered the soldiers to rush into the courtyard, and he couldn't wait to get off his horse and rush into the courtyard. However, when Feng Li entered the gate and took a look, the soldiers of Li's family had already retreated to the second gate and continued to stand firm. Feng Li became more anxious and hurriedly led his troops to attack the inner courtyard of Li's mansion. government, trying their best to find Li Jiancheng's whereabouts.
At the same time, the shouts of killing at the south gate of the west city became more intense, and some people reported that Li Er and the others had opened the city gate. Buy time, while urging the soldiers to attack the backyard quickly. Fortunately, the generals of the Taiyuan Army also knew that the situation was critical, so they fought hard and moved quickly. They even removed a pillar and used it as a door to slam into the second door of the Li Mansion. Finally, they managed to break through the second door and entered the backyard. Shouting and shouting, there was a mess, but the Taiyuan army officers and soldiers didn't care about pity and pity, and quickly opened the way by killing anyone they saw, and quickly searched the vicinity of Li Yuanji's bedroom where the Li clan gathered.
So far the progress has been smooth. Although many of the soldiers in Li Yuanji's family who were waiting for him to hunt the lackeys have been killed, and the rest are in a mess and do not fight back, but after carefully seeing the current appearance of the Li clan, But none of the soldiers from Taiyuan dared to take a step forward again—because Li Jiancheng, who was tied up with five flowers, had been surrounded by the Li clan, and Li Yuanji personally raised a knife and put it on Li Jiancheng's neck.
After receiving the report, he hurried to the scene, seeing that Li Jiancheng was only captured but not harmed, Feng Li breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly said to Li Yuanji and others: "Fourth son, why did you do this? I don't want to worry about it." Ask, release Captain Zuo, I will let you go, you can go wherever you like!"
"Let him go?" Li Yuanji smiled, grinning grimly: "Coax us like three-year-olds? Is that so easy? Make way for me right now, we will let him go when we get to a safe place!"
Li Jiancheng, whose mouth was strangled, yelled and asked Feng Li to launch an attack, but how would Feng Li, who was shy, dare to attack? So after making some calculations, Feng Li shouted: "Make way, let them go!"
The generals of the Taiyuan Army moved out of the way according to the order. Li Yuanji laughed triumphantly when he saw it, and praised his brother with a lot of loyal ministers, and then immediately pushed Li Jiancheng forward. Armed with a weapon, he carefully protected Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng, and cautiously walked through the path made by Feng Li's subordinates. Feng Li couldn't find a chance to snatch Li Jiancheng back, so he could only follow Li Yuanji and others with a stern face, watching Li Yuanji and others go out.
Bad news kept coming like a snowflake. First, the soldiers of the Sui army successfully captured the city gate, then Liu Dewei was found to have rebelled, and then Xie Shufang was blocked outside the Qianjin Gate because he was entangled by the soldiers of the Sui army. The soldiers have also launched an ant-attached siege. Feng Li listened to his complaints, and in addition to quickly ordering Liu Dewei and Xie Shufang's deputies to command the headquarters to fight, he yelled at Li Yuanji and others: "Li Yuanji, you release the Zuo Dudu now! I swear to God that I will let you go!" You go out of the city, you can go wherever you like, I will never stop you!"
Li Yuanji and the others just laughed grinningly, and didn't take Feng Li's fault at all, but Li Jiancheng tried hard to say, "Feng Li, leave me alone, kill these traitors, and Taiyuan Righteous Master will take you as the leader from now on!"
With a bang, Li Yuanji hit Li Jiancheng's face with an elbow, and shouted at Feng Li: "Get out of the way completely immediately, we have to leave the city through the west gate, and when we leave the city, we will release your master immediately! Otherwise, everyone The fish will die and the net will be broken!"
Dilemma, Feng Li's forehead was sweating, and after a little consideration, Feng Li could only tell his deputy Li Anyuan: "The battle at the south gate is urgent, I have to go there immediately! You take five hundred soldiers to monitor them out of the city Let them put Zuo Dudu at the city gate, but remember two points, one is absolutely not to let them hurt Zuo Dudu, and the other is to never let them take Zuo Dudu out of the city!"
Li Anyuan, who is also an upright and loyal minister, readily agreed, and then Feng Li hurriedly led his army straight to the south gate to command the battle, while Li Anyuan led his army to carefully monitor Li Yuanji and others going west and out of the city. Li Yuanji and others quickly pushed and pulled after the pressure was relieved. Li Jiancheng moved westward quickly, Li Jiancheng yelled and asked Li Anyuan to attack, but Li Anyuan didn't dare to obey.
Li Yuanji's mansion is not too far from the west gate, so he took Li Jiancheng to the corridor of the west gate in a short time and ordered the city gate officer to open the city gate, but the city gate officer was at a loss and could only ask Li Anyuan for instructions. Li Anyuan first ordered the soldiers to go to the city to confirm that there were no enemies outside the gate, and then shouted to Li Yuanji and the others: "Release Zuo Dudu, and I will let you leave the city!"
"Open the city gate first, and then we will release Li Jiancheng." Li Yuanji replied with a sneer.
After hesitating for a while, Li Anyuan ordered to open the gate helplessly, but he also ordered that only a crack should be opened. The Taiyuan gate soldiers were at a loss, and when they hurriedly opened the gate, Li Anyuan ordered Li Yuanji and others to let them go. People were very cunning and put Li Jiancheng at the front as a shield, then went out of the city one by one, and finally put a knife on Li Yuanji. It was also at this time that Li Jiancheng finally seized the opportunity and kicked his fourth brother on the lower abdomen. When the steel knife cut a long wound on Li Jiancheng's neck, Li Yuanji also screamed and fled out of the city.
Seeing this scene, Li Anyuan was overjoyed and hurried forward to catch Li Jiancheng. While checking the wound, he ordered the soldiers to go out of the city to hunt him down, but it was not bad. Li Yuanji's steel knife was less than half a centimeter away from Li Jiancheng's carotid artery, and there was no fatal danger. . Then when Li Anyuan quickly untied the rope on Li Jiancheng's mouth, the first thing Li Jiancheng said was to shout, "Go to the south gate immediately!"
Boom! Before Li Jiancheng finished speaking, there was a loud noise from the south gate. Hearing the explosion sound, which was obviously much louder than that of a gunpowder bottle, both Li Jiancheng and Li Anyuan's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition rose in their hearts. , without bothering to check the results of chasing and killing Li Yuanji and others, he quickly got on his horse and went straight to the south gate of Taiyuan.
Everything was over. When Li Jiancheng, Li Anyuan and others rushed to the vicinity of the south gate of the west city, the flag of the Sui army had already appeared in the city. The explosion of a hundred catties of gunpowder was not only as violent as a thunderbolt, but also shattered half of the Taiyuan army's emergency gate.
Seeing this scene, Li Jiancheng made a decisive decision in addition to his complexion, and immediately climbed up the city wall to take over the command of the defenders on the city, and also sent people to order Yin Kaishan and Shi Wanbao, who were guarding the east city, to prepare for the transfer of the main force to the east city. Yang Wenqian seized the time to transfer food and grass to the east city, and then shouted to the left and right: "Persist to the end! Kill the bandit army out of the city for me! Until the last moment, never give up lightly!"
The cruel and bloody street battle in Xicheng began. The heads of the people on the narrow long street looked like ants. However, the soldiers howled and howled that they must enter the city. Soldiers of the two armies saw blood with swords and guns, and fought and killed in the streets and alleys. The screams of dying screamed one after another. The arrows in the sky were like locusts. Li Jiancheng, who was red-eyed, ordered the defenders to release arrows from the city, indiscriminately attacking the soldiers of the two armies who were fighting fiercely. There was no time to guard against the arrows coming from the sky, so they could only fight desperately in the dense arrow rain, trying not to be killed by the enemy on the other side first.
It was already getting dark, but fires were also rising in the city one after another. During the fierce battle, it was unknown whether it was soldiers or fleeing civilians who accidentally ignited the houses in the city. Flames and smoke rose from houses one after another. The flames were raging and the smoke billowed. Soldiers of the two armies smoked and burst into flames, fighting endlessly in the flames. Innocent people were crying and running in the flames, and innocent people were constantly killed or shot by arrows. Seeing these tragic scenes on the city wall, Li Jiancheng was heartbroken. But there is nothing to do.
I have to admit that the soldiers of the Taiyuan Army, who had been defeated repeatedly in front of the Sui army, still fought very tenaciously and bravely this time. Even if the Sui army had already entered the city, they showed no signs of collapse, and they were always in the narrow streets and houses. They fought tenaciously with the Sui army's soldiers, street by house. The Sui army stormed for nearly an hour, but failed to rush up the city wall and seize too much space in the city. Even the famous general Liu Shishan was seriously injured on the battlefield and was forced to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat outside the city for rescue. At the same time, Li Jing shook his head and sighed outside the city, "Fortunately, if our army is really forced to attack directly, I really don't know how much we will have to pay to break into the city and capture this Taiyuan City."
However, what is very cruel to the Taiyuan Army is that no matter how bravely they resist and fight hard, the city gate opened by Li Er is doomed that they will never be able to drive away the soldiers of the Sui Army. The intercepted soldiers of the Sui army could continue to march towards the city, gradually exerting their advantages in military strength and combat effectiveness. As long as the Taiyuan army could not cut off the way for the soldiers of the Sui army to enter the city, they were doomed to lose this cruel street battle. So with the passage of time and the gradual darkness of the sky, the Taiyuan Army finally gradually showed signs of defeat. A large number of soldiers of the Sui Army who entered the city gradually opened up the vast space in the city, and gradually rushed to the top of the city wall.
Commanding the defenders on the city to fight, Li Jiancheng did his best, and the soldiers of the Taiyuan Army on the city wall also did their best. Except for knives, guns and weapons, all objects that could be used to hurt the enemy have been smashed down the city wall, and the bows and arrows have been released early. , the defense materials sent through the narrow city wall simply cannot withstand such a huge consumption, and they can be used up in a blink of an eye just after being delivered to the front, but the soldiers of the Sui army are still stepping on the flying ladder to attack the city wall like single-celled organisms , One after another, they also seized several positions on the city wall, covering more companions to quickly go to the city. And when they saw that the soldiers of the Sui Army had seized the upper steps of the city, the soldiers of the Taiyuan Army could only shed tears and begged Li Jiancheng to move to other city gates.
After hesitating again and again, Li Jiancheng, who had nothing to do, could only agree to transfer to the east gate with tears in his eyes. Li Anyuan volunteered to stay at the south gate tower. The tower of the Sui army had been surrounded by the soldiers of the Sui army, and at the same time, thick smoke was rising from the tower. Li Jiancheng burst into tears, but the guards carried him to the upper steps of the east gate and rushed to the city.
When Li Jiancheng rushed back to the granary in the middle of the west city, Yang Wenqian, who was commanding the army to quickly transfer the grain and grass, hurried up to greet him, and reported the situation of the grain and grass transfer to Li Jiancheng. , Li Jiancheng became furious immediately, and asked in a roar, "Why is it so slow? It's been an hour and a half, why did you transfer so much food and grass?"
"The common people are blocking the way." Yang Wenqian replied with a mournful face: "The fleeing common people are blocking the way, even if they can't be killed, the last general can't do anything about it."
With a livid face, he glanced at the crowded streets and alleys, and Li Jiancheng shouted: "Continue to move, even if we transport an extra stone of grain to the East City! If we can't hold on to the West City, we can only move to the East City and continue to hold on!"
"Boss Yang! Boss Yang! It's not good! It's not good!" A panicked cry came suddenly, and a Taiyuan Army messenger struggled through the streets crowded with grain trucks and soldiers, rushed to Yang Wengan and screamed: "The thieves came down from the upper reaches of the Fen River in small boats, and they are setting fire to the bridge, trying to cut off our connection with Dongcheng! Brothers, no matter how much they shoot arrows, they can't stop them!"
The messenger said that this bridge is the connecting bridge between the east and the west of Taiyuan, and it is also the only road from the west city of Taiyuan to the east city. If it is destroyed, all the friends must know the consequences, so after hearing this report, Yang Wengan's face suddenly changed It turned pale, and Li Jiancheng's face turned livid into pitch black. He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Yingliang, you are so ruthless!"
Li Jiancheng really made a mistake this time to blame Chen Sangliang, who is devoid of conscience. At the same time, in the Sui army formation, he saw Chen Sangliang adopt his suggestion from afar to attack the bridge with a small boat from the upper reaches of the Fenshui River. Li Er was extremely proud After that, he ran up to Li Jing and suggested, "Li Shangshu, apart from street fighting, it is best for your army to seize the east gate tower in the west city of Taiyuan first. After taking it, Li Jiancheng will have difficulty fleeing to the east city." Many, let alone transfer food and grass to Dongcheng."
Nodding his head, he accepted Li Er's suggestion again. Apart from ordering Luo Shixin to personally lead the army to capture the East Gate Tower, Li Jing also said in his heart: "Although this son is very smart, he is also as ruthless as a jackal. If he is used by a good nephew, he must He is a talented general, but if he has different ambitions... Alas, if he is cut off now, everyone who surrenders will be in danger, and the nephew is really good, why should he promise to give him the golden coupon to save him from death? It won't be that easy to get rid of him."
Li Er, who is well aware of the reality of Taiyuan, offered a plan to destroy the enemy. Naturally, Luo Shixin led his army to the east wall of the west city, and had not yet taken down the east gate tower. On the east wall, Li Jiancheng no longer dared to fight in the streets of the west city anymore, so he could only quickly shout: "Order the whole army to move to the east city immediately, and move as much as you can."
The left and right generals agreed immediately, and then someone hurriedly reminded Li Jiancheng and his family members were in Jinyang Palace, and suggested that Li Jiancheng transfer his family members across the river first, and then transfer the army, but Li Jiancheng stomped his feet and shouted: We are already attacking the east gate tower. If the enemy takes the east gate, all our soldiers will be trapped! Transfer the army immediately! Let them transfer with the army! If you can cross the river, let them cross it. If you can’t cross the river, let them It's better to die in Xicheng!"