The Great Idle Person of the Zhenguan Era.

Summary

The siege of Songzhou City is a brutal and intense battle between the Tang army and the Tibetan soldiers. The Tang army, led by seasoned generals Hou Junji, Liu Lan, and Niu Jin Da, launches a three-pronged attack on the city, with catapults raining down boulders and arrows on the walls. The Tibetan soldiers are initially caught off guard, but they quickly regroup and defend their city. The battle rages on, with the outcome hanging precariously in the balance. The Tang army's soldiers charge forward, setting up ladders and climbing up the walls, while the defenders use hooks, long spears, and boiling oil to push them back. The brutality and cruelty of war are evident in the screams of the soldiers, the stench of blood, and the cries of the wounded. Li Su, who is standing beside Niu Jin Da, watches in horror as countless Tang soldiers fall from the ladders or are doused in oil and set ablaze. The central command is a few miles away from the castle walls, but Li Su can still smell the overpowering stench of blood and hear the cries of the soldiers. Despite the intensity of the battle, the Tang army ultimately sounds the retreat, leaving behind over a thousand bodies of Tang soldiers at the foot of the Songzhou city walls. The aftermath of the battle reveals a landscape of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Li Su searches for the Wang brothers, but is relieved to find that they are alive and well, with Wang Zhi practicing his marksmanship and Wang Zhuang unscathed. The siege may be just the beginning of a long and bloody war, but for now, the Tang army has retreated to regroup and reassess their strategy. The fate of Songzhou City and its people hangs in the balance, as the war drums continue to beat and the cries of the soldiers echo through the air.

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