The Tang soldiers, believing they had covered their mouths and noses with cloth strips, picked up the Meng Han hand-grenades, lit them, and threw them down from the city walls.
The Turkic soldiers were startled at first, causing quite a commotion. Some of the more timid ones even jumped directly from their ladders.
However, after a while, they noticed that the items thrown this time were different from the previous two. Not only were they smaller, but they also made no sound, only emitting wisps of white smoke.
Instantly, their hearts were set at ease, and they let out roars as they charged towards the city walls.
The Yu Chi father and son, along with their soldiers, resisted fiercely, waiting for the Meng Han powder to take effect.
Soon, the medicine's potency kicked in. The Turkic soldiers still climbing the ladders began to fall like dumplings.
Those below also stumbled and fell to the ground.
The brothers Zhi Shi Si Li and Zhi Shi Kuai Si were not spared either. Feeling their heads spin, they guessed what the Tang army had thrown this time and collapsed to the ground in panic.
Jie Li, behind them, was once again bewildered!
What was going on? Last time there was noise, but some people still managed to escape alive.
This time, however, there was no sound at all, only a wisp of white smoke, and then everyone who charged forward was taken down!
Retreat! Quick, retreat!
Jie Li, in a frenzy, lost all composure and shouted loudly.
As a result, by the time all his troops had regrouped, Jie Li spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
This attack on the city had cost them nearly twenty thousand men!
It was no wonder his blood rushed to his head and he fainted.
Yu Chi Jing De, watching the Turkic army retreat in disarray, was about to order a pursuit when his head suddenly felt heavy, and he almost collapsed.
The other Tang soldiers were also listless, and some had already fallen.
Yu Chi Bao Lin felt as if he hadn't slept for days, his eyelids feeling too heavy to open. He couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Damn it, this thing doesn't distinguish between friend and foe, it's too brutal! I'll never use it again, no matter what!"
Jie Li had no idea how much he had lost by fainting!
If another wave had come, the Tang army would have been too unsteady to stand, and the city could have been taken without a fight.
Yu Chi Jing De and his son finally couldn't hold on and collapsed to the ground, snoring loudly.
Mao Lao San, Zhao De Zhu, and Zhou De Jiang, having waited and waited and seeing that the Turks had no intention of attacking their side, sent people to observe the battle.
By the time they received the news and brought their men over, the Turkic army had already fled far away.
Looking at the soldiers lying on the ground, the Yu Chi father and son, and the resounding snores, they were all speechless.
One could only imagine!
Over a thousand men on the city wall, and over ten thousand lying below!
What a scene it must have been, all snoring together!
First, send the generals and young lords to the city to rest. Leave the others; quickly go outside the city to sweep the battlefield. Tie up all those who were drugged; these are all battle merits!
After the three discussed, Zhou De Jiang stepped forward to issue the military order.
The more than a thousand men under the command of the three acted like they were catching pigs, tying up one Turkic soldier after another who was snoring outside the city.
Finally, they reluctantly discovered that there were not enough usable ropes in the city.
They could only strip the Turkic soldiers of their clothes, tie their hands behind their backs, and then just pile them together.
They worked until dark before finishing processing all the Turkic soldiers.
"Damn it! Why do I feel like this is more tiring than fighting with real swords and guns!"
"That's right. I tied thirteen, how many did you tie?"
"Not many, just two more than you. What about you guys?"
"I tied seven. One guy was too heavy, it took me a long time to tie him up!"
"Why do I feel like I've stumbled into a sheep pen and I'm catching sheep?"
"Stop talking! Be careful General Yu Chi whips you. Don't forget, he was also drugged and is still sleeping."
A group of soldiers gathered together, grumbling seriously, but feeling incredibly pleased in their hearts.
They had never defended a city so easily. Apart from the archers, everyone else had limited opportunities to act. With the drop of the explosives packs and the toss of the Meng Han hand-grenades, the battle was over.
It felt incredibly satisfying to even think about it.
One day later, in Chang'an, the Eastern Palace.
Li Er was in the process of reviewing memorials when he heard sounds from afar.
"Good news! Good news! Great General Yu Chi, in the battle of Jingyang, killed forty thousand enemies and captured twenty thousand! Jie Li vomited blood and fled!"
"Good news! Good news! Great General Yu Chi, in the battle of Jingyang, killed forty thousand enemies and captured twenty thousand! Jie Li vomited blood and fled!"
"Good news! Good news! Great General Yu Chi, in the battle of Jingyang, killed forty thousand enemies and captured twenty thousand! Jie Li vomited blood and fled!"
The voices grew closer and closer, until finally, a soldier holding a memorial knelt before the gate of the Eastern Palace.
It was indeed the good news!
"Quickly, present it!"
Li Er said excitedly to Eunuch Deng beside him.
Three thousand against two hundred thousand, killing forty thousand and capturing twenty thousand, how could it not sound a little unbelievable? He desperately wanted to know the details of the events.
Taking the memorial handed over by Eunuch Deng with slightly trembling hands, he recognized the handwriting as Yu Chi Jing De's – it was a mess!
However, this did not affect his reading.
Before Li Er had finished reading, Wei Zheng, Gao Shi Lian, Fang Xuan Ling, Du Ru Hui, and other officials arrived upon hearing the news.
Seeing Li Er looking at the memorial with a joyful expression, they all became anxious.
With the enemy army at their gates, everyone was on edge. Now, with the sudden good news, how could they not be anxious?
"Hahaha! Well done, explosives pack! Well done, Meng Han hand-grenade! Well done, Fang An Zhi, you have truly given me a tremendous surprise!"
Li Er's exclamation of three "well done"s made Wei Zheng and the others even more confused.
Wasn't Fang An Zhi staying at Fang Family Village?
Also, everyone had seen explosives packs and Meng Han hand-grenades before, so why was His Majesty so excited?
"Alright, everyone, pass it around and take a look. We must properly reward the merits this time!"
Li Er handed the memorial to Eunuch Deng, who then distributed it to the officials.
Wei Zheng and the others gathered around, reading the contents of the memorial.
The more they read, the more incredulous they felt.
Killing forty thousand enemies! Capturing twenty thousand alive!
Jie Li's army of two hundred thousand had lost one-third of its strength directly!
Moreover, the good news also mentioned that Yu Chi Bao Lin had shot and killed the leader Lin He Fan De, and that the Meng Han hand-grenades had captured the leaders Zhi Shi Si Li and Zhi Shi Kuai Si brothers alive!
How many tribes were there in total among the Turks?
Ten? Or fifteen that Jie Li could muster?
Even if it were fifteen!
Three of them were gone in one fell swoop!
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Heaven blesses Great Tang!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Heaven blesses Great Tang!"
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Heaven blesses Great Tang!"
After reading the good news, all the officials knelt down and congratulated Li Er.
Heaven's blessings are indeed present, but we mustn't forget the human effort! You've all read the good news. This time, we are greatly indebted to Fang An Zhi for the explosives packs and those so-called Meng Han hand-grenades. Otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unimaginable. An army of two hundred thousand at the gates of Chang'an, what kind of scene would that have been? I haven't slept well these past few days thinking about it. Now, it's finally settled, and I can have a good night's sleep! Hahaha!"
Li Er said, bursting into hearty laughter.