The war continued in full swing, day and night.
For the Di people, how could they easily give up their troops after finally capturing the city wall? They should take advantage of the opportunity to capture Juyong Pass in one fell swoop.
At the gate of the city, brave warriors of the Northern Di army kept rushing to the top of the city, making it impossible for the Tang army guards to kill them all. It was like cutting leeks, one crop was harvested and another grew again.
The siege began at noon and fierce fighting lasted all day. As night fell, bonfires were lit under the city and torches were lit on top of the city. Both sides were determined not to give up until the outcome was decided.
The battle lasted until noon the next day. Zhu Li was killing the enemy when a Tang army lieutenant came up to him, covered in blood. While he was hacking and killing the Di people who rushed to the top of the city wall, he reported to Zhu Li loudly: "General, the south gate is in danger. The palace guards have suffered heavy casualties and are on the verge of collapse."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li killed a Di soldier and frowned. He immediately replied, "Dispatch 3,000 guards from the original northern entrance to provide support."
"Yes!" The lieutenant colonel heard the order and went forward killing people all the way.
On the third day of the battle, the lieutenant came again and shouted, "General, there are heavy casualties in the Wengcheng. Please make the decision, General."
"Dispatch 3,000 guards from Shuozhou Prefecture to provide support as soon as possible." Zhu Li ordered without hesitation.
"promise"
... ...
The war continued, causing heavy casualties to the garrison guarding Juyongguan. Almost every other day, or even half a day, someone would send a report to Zhu Li, saying that support was needed everywhere, either at the south entrance, the inner city, the arrow tower, or the city section.
The Khitans wanted to take Juyong Pass in one go, but the fierce Di soldiers who attacked the city rushed up the city wall in wave after wave like huge waves washing away sand.
However, the Tang army garrison, led by Zhu Li, fought to the death.
A rough estimate shows that the number of Tang troops stationed at Juyongguan was definitely not small. The Zhenyuan Army alone had nearly 30,000 troops. Add in the remnants of the Qingyi Army and the Weiwu Army, and the two together had more than 20,000 troops.
Zhu Li came to reinforce from Shuozhou with 4,000 Yue cavalry, 3,000 vanguards, more than 10,000 palace guards, and Zhang Guimou's Beikou Army. The two forces combined, the palace guards alone had 20,000 people. It was impossible for the Khitans to swallow up these 70,000 or 80,000 people in a short period of time.
The battle lasted until the seventh day, and both sides had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted.
The generals of the Tang army were even worse. For seven whole days and nights, the main generals such as Zhu Li, Yue Pengju, etc., only rested for less than twelve or thirteen hours at most. Under the guidance of this invisible persistence, the other generals and officers dared not rest more than the main generals.
They almost took turns to fight and kill the enemy to the death.
But people are not made of iron after all. Their spirit is commendable, but their physical fatigue cannot be relieved, resulting in even more serious casualties.
There were more than ten captains and dozens of colonels who died in the battle. The number of brigade commanders, team leaders, and fire captains was countless. The blood almost dyed the entire thirty-mile-long Great Wall red.
Amid the sound of swords and rain of spears, only heroic and tragic songs are left, with no regrets for the world and no shame for the common people.
At this point in the battle, even Yelu Xiadi, Yelu Shilu and others who were standing at the gate of the city and supervising the troops were a little frightened. Seven days, just seven days, the Di coalition forces, with a total of 70,000 warriors, rushed to the city gate, but no one was seen leaving and no one returned.
There were no wounded soldiers evacuated at all. It was not that the wounded warriors did not want to withdraw, but that the Tang army was too desperate. Facing the warriors of the Northern Di, no one wanted to leave, regardless of life or death, and everyone was exhausted.
Blood, drained life.
Those were not 70,000 cattle and sheep, but 70,000 real, strong warriors. A few days ago, they were standing under the city wall, talking and laughing, pointing and talking, with a look of confidence of victory. But once they rushed to the top of the city wall, they were never seen again.
Inside and outside Juyong Pass, on the city walls and outside the city, there were corpses everywhere. There were warriors of the Di people and guards of the Tang army. The deaths were of all kinds and strange forms, but without exception, they all looked extremely tragic and admirable.
The dead are gone, but the living continue to fight, fearless and madly. At this time, what is life and death
Every warrior caught in the fight forgot its existence. They stared at the enemy with scarlet eyes, with only one obsession in their hearts, to kill the enemy, kill them all.
Such a brutal and tragic battle seemed that even God could not bear to watch it. At noon on the seventh day, the sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds, and in the blink of an eye, it began to rain heavily and the wind was raging. People could hardly stand on the city wall.
The wind was strong and the rain was heavy. The raindrops hit people's faces and bodies as if they were being hit by stones and rubble. A thin person standing in the wind could almost be blown away.
Not to mention fighting, even Yelu Xiadi, Yelu Shilu and others who had been standing under the city to supervise the battle could not sit steadily on their horses. An unprecedented battle in history was suddenly interrupted by a storm.
The Northern Di people had to withdraw their troops back to the camp. They were not willing to do so, but they had to. They could not even reach the city wall with ladders. As soon as they were put up, they were blown away by the strong wind. What was the point of attacking
In the hall where the Tang army was holding a meeting, Zhu Li looked around at everyone with bloodshot eyes and said in a serious tone, "Tell me, how much did we lose?"
The storm interrupted the endless fighting. The generals of the Tang army immediately reorganized their troops to rest, counted the casualties, and arranged for the seriously injured to receive medical treatment immediately. After a busy period, they gathered here.
Zhu Li has been waiting here. He must know the losses at the first time. This brutal and bloody battle is the most difficult and loss-making battle he has ever fought, without a doubt in his life experience.
Upon hearing this, all the generals looked unhappy and sad. Yue Pengju looked around at everyone, sighed inwardly, and looked at Zhu Li with a pair of swollen eyes, and said with a cupped hand: "General, the Zhenyuan Army originally had 3,000 Yue cavalry, 8,000 infantry archers, 10,000 platoon spearmen, and 12,000 sword and shield soldiers, a total of 33,000 people."
"After this battle, apart from the Yue cavalry, who were unharmed, there were still more than 6,000 infantry and archers, with nearly 2,000 casualties; the sword and shield soldiers suffered heavy losses, with more than 5,000 remaining; the row of spearmen suffered the heaviest losses, with less than 3,000 remaining."
"The total casualties are 15,000." This number is almost half of the number of Zhenyuan Army stationed in Juyongguan. After Yue Pengju said this number, his face was bitter and he was heartbroken.
You know, before Zhu Li came, the Di people also attacked the city gate and fought for more than ten days, but the number of casualties was less than one-third of what it is now.
Zhu Li also looked grim upon hearing this. He looked up at Zhang Guimou. Zhang Guimou's arm was injured and was still bandaged. When he saw Zhu Li looking at him, he knew he couldn't avoid it. He lowered his head and said, "General, the Beikou Army has a total of 10,000 spearmen and sword and shield soldiers. After the battle, there are still 4,821 left."
"Three thousand ranged riflemen, but because we stayed in the rear camp and did not receive any order to attack, no one was killed." When he said this, his face turned pale. This man who had always dreamed of riding a horse on the battlefield and conquering the world
The warmongers are finally afraid now.
He cannot be compared with Yue Pengju. Yue Pengju was a commander in his previous life and had strong psychological qualities. Moreover, he had not led the Zhenyuan Army for a long time and his relationship with his subordinates was not as deep as his.
But Zhang Guimou was different. Every guard in the Beikou Army was carefully selected by him. He was the one who trained them for several years. The sudden death of more than half of them was a huge shock to him that outsiders could not imagine.
Zhu Li stared at him with scarlet eyes, gave him a meaningful look, then turned around and asked Gao Yuan: "Gao Yuan, what is the situation of our Shuozhou Army?"
Gao Yuan's face also turned ugly when he heard this. He said in a deep voice: "General, the Shuozhou army lost 1,863 infantrymen, 4,525 spearmen, and 2,389 sword and shield soldiers."
"And the Vanguard Guards, 815 of them were killed in this battle." Gao Yuan stammered, and finally spoke with a sob.
The Vanguard Guards can be said to be Gao Yuan's own soldiers. Every guard is the result of Gao Yuan's hard work. After the first battle, almost one third of them died. No wonder he was choked with sobs.
The total casualties of the Mighty Army's archers, spearmen, and sword and shield soldiers were over 6,700. Except for the 3,000 Yue cavalry who remained unmoved, the Mighty Army stationed in Juyong Pass had only 10,000 guards in total, and now there were more than 3,000 left, which meant that there were almost more than 1,000 men per unit, which meant that they were completely crippled.
There were more than 10,000 Qingyi troops, but after the battle, only about 4,000 were left, and they were also severely defeated.
After the battle, more than half of the entire Juyongguan garrison was lost. No matter who the generals were, they all felt bad.
If this storm had not arrived in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
But no one under Zhu Li's command complained, not even Gao Siji and Gao Mian of the Mighty Army, because they were soldiers, and to die on the battlefield was an honor for a soldier. To die in defense of the Chinese people was a worthy death, and a death more important than Mount Tai.
After the battle, it was three days before the wind stopped and the rain ceased. The entire Tang army was busy for several days just to sort out the corpses, which shows how great the losses were in this battle.
Zhu Li had been in the army for so long, but he had never encountered such a brutal battle. In his limited experience, this battle to defend the city was the longest and most devastating one.
After more than 70,000 Di people's corpses were sorted out, Zhu Li ordered their heads to be beheaded without hesitation. Outside Juyongguan, a human head landscape was built with 70,000 Di people's heads.
“Whoever openly offends the mighty Han will be punished, though he is far away.” Ever since Chen Tang shouted this out, countless Chinese people, anyone who cares about China and loves the nation, have had it engraved in their bones, and Zhu Li is no exception.
This landscape is left for the Khitans, Xis, and Tuhuns to see. You have evil ambitions and covet Han territory. Even after your death, we will not allow you to be buried intact.
Facing this sight of human heads, Yelu Xiadi, Yelu Shilu, Xia Lage, Bala and others all looked unhappy and depressed. This is not only a sight, but also the deep hatred of the Han people and their determination to defend Juyongguan.
In fact, if they knew that they paid the price of 70,000 lives of brave warriors, only to suffer 40,000 casualties of the Tang army, their expressions would not be so depressed and resentful.
The ratio is almost one to two. You know, this is not a conventional siege war, but a face-to-face fight. Isn't such a result enough to make them afraid