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The rain power was slightly reduced, the north wind gradually let up, yet the heaven and earth were still covered in boundless heavy rain. ‘Crash! Bang!’ the sound of the wind and the rain drowned the shouts of the soldiers and the sound of the wheels, the second batch of fresh powered army began to brave the rain to advance, all were infantry. There were five units consisted of saber-and-shield-wielders, archers and construction battalion soldiers, all over the hills and the plains, pressing on toward the filled-flat trenches, their target was the external wall of the mountain stronghold. Each attacking-the-stronghold unit was preceded by ten heavy battle vehicles and beating-the-wood carts, which could block the arrows and could knock against the wall, equipped with cloud ladders, like five vicious dragons, moving slowly but steadily, pressing forward.

‘Dong! Dong! Dong!’

More than a hundred battle drums were sounded at the same time, conducting and regulating various units, which military strength reached five thousand, bringing the total of the marching troops to 25,000 men, which increased the killing atmosphere of the hazy, dark heaven and earth.

Shao Shuai Army, under Ma Chang, Bing Yuanzhen, Ba Yegang, Bai Wenyuan, and Wang Xuanshu’s leadership, rushed out of the main building and the mountain gorge camp, no one has the slightest bit of hesitation. Kou Zhong has always loved and protected them, in each battle, he always fought at the head of his troops, this has deeply touch every single one of their heart, making them delighted to fight for Kou Zhong to the death.

Kou Zhong looked at his more than 8,000 brothers, who were dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety to climb to the top of the wall, to climb to the arrow towers, to move rocks and transport logs, to prepare the stone-throwing machines, to do everything to deliver a frontal assault to the enemy, whose military strength was three times theirs. Laughing aloud, he said, “Fresh army against fresh army, we have the mountain stronghold to rely on, natural barrier that can defend us. The target is even more distinct, akin to our military strength is increased three times; therefore, one person can take three persons, the strength of both sides is even.”

Patting the Stealing the Heaven Sword on his back, Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “On top of that, we have the Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, Stealing the Heaven and Moon in the Well, which happen to cover up the enemy’s superiority. What is there for us to fear?”

This moment Bai Wenyuan came to Kou Zhong’s side and said, “Chen Gong is in charge of defending the south gorge exit, I set aside four hundred men for him, Shaoshuai, please rest assured.”

Kou Zhong happily nodded his head, he casually asked Wang Xuanshu, who was following behind Bai Wenyuan, “Where did you settle Xiao He’er?”

Wang Xuanshu had no time to blush, he cast his gaze toward the disposition of the enemy troops, who were advancing to less than a thousand paces from the trench outside the wall, whose army mighty power shook the heaven and cowered the earth; drawing a mouthful of cold air, he replied, “Xiao He Meizi is inside the main building, with Wuming as her companion. Ay! She originally pleaded with me to let her come and help, but how could Xuanshu dare to let her risk the danger of bow and arrows and flying stones.”

Ba Fenghan’s tiger-body suddenly shook severely, his pair of eyes penetrated the boundless heavy rain, he cast his gaze far ahead, and spoke in heavy voice, “Brother! We made a slight calculation, the other side’s military strength is not three times ours, but six times ours.”

Kou Zhong was shocked; he cast his gaze back to hills and plains outside the stronghold, and cried out involuntarily, “His granny’s bear, there are also eight-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-cannons.”

Ma Chang came behind the crowd, he joined in, “Must be brought here from Luoyang via the waterway.”

The torrents of rain already became a thing of the past, but Laotianye’s interest still remained and had not diminished, the rain was going to stop, but has not ceased yet, in the form of fine drizzle. The thick, black dense clouds in the sky disappeared, becoming grey and hazy. The entire battlefield was shrouded in the drizzle like inside the smoke or inside the fog.

In the depths of the misty rain at the rear of the attacking-the-stronghold enemy troops, the Tang soldiers appeared, covering the mountains and the plains, divided into two armies, pressing on together. Each was equipped with ten of the eight-crossbow-arrow machines, five flying-rock-cannons, plus hundreds of lightweight and portable cloud ladders, which could rapidly scale the wall. The two armies consisted of the lance-and-shield-wielders, saber-wielders, and archers. Farther away, in the hazy distance, he could also see rows of cavalry formation.

Kou Zhong’s heart sank straight down.

How could this battle be fought? But he had no choice but to fight it. Merely dealing with the other side’s 25,000 vanguard attacking-the-stronghold troops was enough to make his side strength-exhausted, muscle-weary, wall-broken, stronghold-destroyed, injuries and deaths disastrous! How could they endure the ravaging other division of the integrated force, whose strength was even greater, equipped with the eight-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-cannons, which formidable power was even more enormous.

Kou Zhong felt that death was drawing near, along with the enemy’s step-by-step approach.

Lei Jiuzhi came inside the carriage to talk with Han Zenan, husband and wife, while Xu Ziling came out to sit next to Hou Xibai driving the carriage; he asked in low voice, “Have you heard any news about Kou Zhong?”

Hou Xibai replied, “No one really knows what happened between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong. However, Kou Zhong should still strive to obstinately resist. Li Shiji and Pengliang’s Shao Shuai Army are still at a stalemate, and the Tang Army in Luoyang are still continuously being dispatched to the south. Now, nobody dares to be optimistic about Kou Zhong.”

Hou Xibai cast him a quick glance, noticing that Xu Ziling’s expression was still tranquil, he felt a bit relieved, and went on, “Li Yuanji’s public execution of Dou Jiande was really a wrong move, it provoked extreme antipathy in the heart of the remainders of the Dou Army, so that they determined to support Liu Heita to contend against the Tang Army to the end.”

Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, “Dou Jiande’s most elite troops were completely defeated by Li Shimin, which makes me wonder why Liu Dage is so unwise, in such a disadvantageous position he still fights like a trapped beast. Ay! But he is precisely that kind of hero who would rather die than submit.”

Hou Xibai said, “In this regard, Li Yuanji made mistake after mistake; Li Shimin not being there, he was in charge of the City of Luoyang. Not only he does not make any effort to appease the Hebei Army, he even gave an order to hunt and arrest Jiande’s former subordinates on a large scale, forcing them to unite under Liu Heita’s banner. This matter has even provoked great public indignation of the people of Hebei. Dou Jiande upholding justice by releasing Huai’an Wang [king] Li Shentong and Princess Xiuning, everybody in the world knew about it. Li Yuanji murdering Dou Jiande was not supposed to happen, he even wants to kill them to the last one. Liu Heita is able to receive extensive support after Dou Jiande’s demise, this is the reason behind it.”

Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; if they let such a person like Li Yuanji to come to power, there would be no peace under the heavens, and neither Li Jiancheng nor Li Yuanji was not a material to rule a country, furthermore, they were not Xieli’s match.

Hou Xibai said, “I heard that Liu Heita, supported by Hebei Army old generals Fan Yuan, Cao Zhan and Gao Yaxian, raised a militia at Zhangnan County, one after another their remaining troops is coming back to join them. It looks like Hebei will surge like a gathering storm again, they will set off another wind and rain.”

Xu Ziling mused inwardly that if Kou Zhong really could hold out until Song Que’s main forces come up north, at that time, Li Shimin’s situation would be greatly not good, he would have to deal with the war on two battlefronts.

Hou Xibai continued, “Liu Heita is not without fears of trouble in the rear, because Gao Kaidao on the northeast border saw the City of Luoyang fell, he surrendered to the House of Tang, so that Liu Heita is facing the enemy front and rear.”

Xu Ziling recalled Gao Kaidao’s great general Zhang Jinshu, which also brought the Shanhai Pass’ Du Xing to mind; changing the subject, he asked, “Where are we going now?”

Hou Xibai replied, “In order to make the enemy unable to grasp our whereabouts, Lei Dage made arrangement for us to go straight to the Great River, take the boat downstream to the east, and turn into the canal to go up north to Zhongli, which is within the Shao Shuai Army’s sphere of influence. Han Xiong’s family of three will be fully protected.”

Xu Ziling wanted to say something but there was nothing to talk about. If Kou Zhong’s troops were defeated, Zhongli would be attacked by Li Zitong one step ahead of Pengliang. He thought about it, but did not want to say it out loud.

How he wished that he could immediately rush back to Kou Zhong’s side. If they had to die, then everybody should die together. However, the matter before them now simply could not be ignored, at least until Han Zenan, husband and wife, and Yun Yuzhen reached their destination, only then would he dare to separate himself and leave. Furthermore, Yin Xianhe needed him to take care of him, in case his old illness relapsed. If that happened, then even Da Luo Jin Xian would not be able to save him.

The clouds scattered and the rain stopped, but the starry sky was concealed behind the thick smoke sent up by the several dozen flames inside and outside the mountain stronghold, so that the sky was dim without any light.

The Tang Army’s vanguard troops flowed down the slope like lake water, retreated to their own formation, leaving behind the crashing-against-the-wall battle vehicles, which either suffered serious damage, or were burning. Eleven of those that were destroyed were even inside the stronghold, rather than on the outside.

This moment Kou Zhong’s side was not idle either, they sent over a thousand soldiers who were injured to a safe place inside the gorge path, who were taken care of by the medical team. The construction battalion soldiers were working hard to put out the fire, the main building was burned nearly half, with all arrow towers collapsed, so that they utterly lost their defensive power.

The stronghold wall was no longer intact, the enemy’s ramming-vehicles managed to open up three gaps, the solid main gate was even destroyed by the beating logs. Fragments of wood and remnants of rocks were everywhere, reminding everybody on the intense fighting just now.

The deaths and injured among the Tang Army were over three thousand men, three times the number of casualties on Kou Zhong’s side. The problem was that the number of men who went to battle just now was only one third of Li Shimin’s military strength, the rest of his forces were waiting with stored-up momentum, and they were starting to carry out the second wave of assault.

Blood-soaked from head to foot, Kou Zhong was standing on top of the section of the wall that could still be considered intact. Recalling the fierce fighting just now, he felt like it was a nightmare, only too bad that the nightmare was not over yet, only death would be able to put an end to the dream.

In the past half a ­sichen, they used the beating logs to subdue the enemy first, to stop the enemy from attacking up the slope, and then using powerful arrows and stone throwers, in living-high-and-looking-down momentum, they ruthlessly pounded on the enemy, so that it was difficult for the other side to cross the mine pond even for half a step.

However, this advantage could not last long, the Tang Army used rope to tie the logs of wood, and then used mules to drag them away. You threw more down the slope, they carried more away. By the time the Shao Shuai Army’s beating-logs were used up, the Tang Army used the ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to brave the arrows and the rocks to attack up the slope, and then launched the ramming-the-wall-climbing-the-wall battle. The Shao Shuai Army risked their lives to strike back. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were fighting at the head of their troops even more, giving everything they had, yet the enemy still managed to force entry into the stronghold three times.

Until the rain ended. Under Kou Zhong’s command, the Shao Shuai Army unyieldingly fought hard to defend the top of the wall and the main building. And then Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan personally led two separate units to drive the enemy out of the stronghold. This moment the firearms could be put to good use again, killing the enemy that they retreated down the slope in panic. Knowing the unfavorable situation, Li Shimin beat the gong to recall the troops.

‘Dong! Dong! Dong!’

Equipped with eight-bow-and-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-big-cannon, ten thousand fresh infantry and five-thousand-man cavalry following right behind them stopped at a distance of about a hundred steps or so from the slope.

Kou Zhong blurted out asking, “How many firearms we have left?”

Struggling hard to endure the saber wound on his left chest, Ma Chang spoke heavily, “It’s all gone!”

Kou Zhong’s tiger-body shook, he looked at Ba Fenghan, standing in front and to his side. The latter was fixing his gaze far behind the enemy’s line, he said, “Li Shimin finally appears on the scene!”

Kou Zhong’s heart was shaken again. Focusing his attention to look, he saw Li Shimin’s banner was flying high. His main forces, which relied mainly on twenty-thousand-man cavalry with the infantry as secondary, were starting to move forward to the front line.

Ma Chang said, “If we retreat into the gorge path, we should be able to hold out two more days!”

Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, “Even if we have to die, we will die a roaring death. His Niang’s! Besides, I may not necessarily lose.”

Ba Fenghan asked, “How’s our chance on the southern road?”

Ma Chang shook his head and said, “It has been sealed by Wang Junkuo using dirt and rocks. On top of that, on the outside, he completely sealed the way-out using stone fort. If we want to break out of the siege, the only way is to charge forward.”

Kou Zhong resolutely shook his head and said, “Our only chance is to firmly defend the mountain stronghold, to attack and sink the enemy, and tomorrow we will try to mend the gaps.”

Ba Yegang, standing behind them, asked, “But how are we going to deal with the other side’s crossbow-and-arrow machine and the big cannon flying stones?”

Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, he spoke in heavy voice, “The only way is to take the initiative by going out to attack, with me and Lao Ba using powerful arrows to attack the enemy from the distance, to mess up their battle array first, and then we attack the enemy ranks using three-thousand-man cavalry. As long as we can destroy the heavy crossbow-and-arrow machine and the flying-rock-big-cannon, the enemy’s military power will be greatly reduced.”

Everybody wanted to speak but they had nothing to say.

The fact was that in order to deal with the enemy’s tidal-wave style continuous assault just now, everybody inside the stronghold was already weary and could not arouse their spirit, not to mention the enemy still had five-thousand-man cavalry, which was waiting in formation; why would the enemy be afraid of their side’s cavalry attack? However, because nobody could come up with a better idea, they had no choice but to shut up.

Kou Zhong knew that he had already out of ideas and his strength was exhausted, but with his character, even if he knew he would die, he still had to do everything he could to continue fighting until he breathed his last breath.

Li Shimin’s main army advanced until they were about five hundred steps behind the army at the front before they came to a halt.

The other side lighted their torches by the thousands, painting the open country outside the mountain stronghold blood red. Such an overwhelming military power, their morale was like a rainbow, indeed they were able to make the defenders inside the stronghold’s heart cold and their guts failed, thinking that the doomsday was just about to arrive.

Kou Zhong suddenly smiled bitterly and said, “This perhaps can be called the Heaven does not make beauty; just now, if it were big snow rather than big rain, the present situation might not turn like this.”

‘Plop!’

Bing Yuanzhen and Wang Xuanshu, who had just climbed up the gate tower, dropped on their knees behind Kou Zhong at the same time. Bing Yuanzhen’s pair of eyes full of tears, he mournfully said, “Would Shaoshuai and Ba Ye please break out of the siege immediately and go far away? Let us deal with Li Shimin, Shaoshuai and Ba Ye can come back again to wash away this blood debt.”

Stunned, Kou Zhong turned around. The other men already filled the ground. Kou Zhong stared blankly for half a day, and then he looked at Ba Fenghan.

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, “Don’t look at me. Just like you, I definitely will not abandon my own brothers to seek life.”

Kou Zhong threw his head back and laughed, he said, “Very well! You guys get up quickly. I don’t know how to express how touched my heart is. If we have to die, we will die together. But I am not going to die. I still have the confidence that I will win this battle.”

‘Dong! Dong! Dong!’

The enemy’s vanguard unit, in accordance with the rhythm of the battle drums, began to advance toward the damaged mountain stronghold, they climbed up the slope to kill.