Ziyad's premonition was very accurate. As soon as his elite cavalry entered the barbican, they were immediately attacked by the archers on the barbican.
While sending three hundred deathsworn out of the city for the sneak attack, Artik had also dispatched three thousand elite soldiers from the city and stationed them near the walls of the barbican and the gate towers of the main city, waiting for the Khorasani cavalry to walk right into the trap. And in the end, they did.
A small number of members of the suicide squad who successfully escaped into the barbican were surprised to find that the main city gate was closed after crossing the screen. They slammed the gate hard, but no one opened it for them. The Khorasan cavalry behind them had already rushed over, so they had nowhere to go.
Looking up at the countless companions on the wall, they felt betrayed. They suddenly realized that they were just abandoned pawns. They had been completely abandoned.
Of course, the soldiers on the wall were also in pain. They could recognize their companions. Seeing their companions trapped in the barbican, they felt like their hearts were being twisted by a knife. However, they could only obey orders and could not rescue their companions. They could only accept this reality.
However, the Khorasan cavalry who rushed into the barbican were also in a bad mood. Not long after they rushed in, they found that the city wall was full of archers. The density of the archers surprised them. At the same time, they also found that the main city gate was not open. They could not rush into the city in one go, and it was obviously difficult for them to retreat. After all, there were more cavalrymen rushing in behind them without thinking, completely blocking their retreat.
All parties were in a bad mood, but Altik and the young generals of the Tang dynasty were in a good mood. They did not care about the casualties of these suicide squads. As long as they could achieve the final victory and defeat the Khorasan cavalry, they would have achieved their goal. What did it matter if they lost some men?
It was just like playing a game. As long as one could win, it didn't matter if one lost a few soldiers. As long as the enemy lost more soldiers, it was worth it. No one would care if they lost a few soldiers. Compared to the joy of victory, losing a few soldiers seemed insignificant.
"Attack with all your strength and kill them all!"
Altik shouted.
The soldiers had already begun to attack. They didn't even need to aim to kill the Khorasan cavalry that had entered the barbican. After all, there were just too many Khorasan cavalry that had rushed in at once. There were at least three to five hundred of them, and there were still more coming in. This provided an excellent opportunity for the soldiers to attack with arrows, allowing them to kill to their heart's content.
Apart from receiving orders to attack the Khorasan cavalry, the soldiers on the wall also wanted to rescue their comrades in the barbican. As long as they could quickly kill all of the Khorasan cavalry that had charged into the barbican, the suicide squad that had escaped behind the screen would still have a chance to survive. Of course, this chance was very small.
After a rain of arrows, the Khorasan cavalry in the barbican suffered heavy losses. Because they were cavalry, they weren't equipped with shields. Moreover, there were too many soldiers on the wall, so they had nowhere to hide.
Since they were already doomed, they might as well drag down the surviving Khorasan cavalry with them before they died. They quickly charged at the suicide squad and wanted to kill these fellows before they died. After all, these suicide squad were the ones that had lured them here. In addition, some soldiers felt that it would be safer to stay close to the suicide squad. The archers on the wall wouldn't kill their own men, right?
When attacking the Khorasani cavalry close to the suicide squad, the soldiers on the walls truly were somewhat afraid of harming them, so they were somewhat restrained in their attacks. But this was of no help to the suicide squad in the barbican, as they were surrounded by the enraged Khorasani cavalry. Many of the Khorasani cavalry had been shot, but they still roared as they charged forward, clashing with a small number of the suicide squad.
There were only a few dozen of the suicide squad members left, and they were quickly overwhelmed by the Khorasan cavalry. Not a single one of them was left. They fought to their deaths in despair, and the Khorasan cavalry that attacked them almost died along with them. Not a single one of them survived.
After a moment of chaos, the Khorasan cavalry that was following behind reacted and began to retreat through the doorway. However, the soldiers behind them didn't know what was going on and continued to charge forward. This caused a lot of chaos inside and outside the barbican.
"Retreat, all of you, retreat!"
After many shouts, the cavalry at the back finally began to retreat. However, it was too late to retreat now. A large number of rolling logs and stones were thrown down from the top of the barbican, blocking the cavalry's path of retreat. This forced them to abandon their horses and flee on foot.
Even though they fled on foot, not many of them managed to escape. The archers on the wall kept attacking and killed most of the fleeing enemies. Less than fifty of them were able to successfully escape.
"Close the barbican's gate and raise the drawbridge."
After Altik gave the order, he looked at the Tang dynasty general with a ruddy face and said, "General Tang, what a brilliant plan! We killed at least a thousand Khorasan cavalry with only three hundred people. Moreover, we also burned a lot of their weapons. We won this battle! Hahaha! "
The Tang dynasty general was also happy. He nodded and said, "My Lord, you're right. This battle was indeed well fought. The three hundred suicide squads were very brave. We should record their achievements and let all the soldiers learn from them. We should learn from their bravery and dedication."
"Good, General Tang's suggestion is good. Let's do it. We'll record their achievements."
Altik said happily.
After the barbican's gate was closed, the main gate was opened again. Hundreds of elite soldiers entered the barbican and checked the situation inside. At the same time, they carried the corpses of their own soldiers back into the city, while the corpses of the enemy soldiers were directly thrown outside the city wall. As long as Ziyad was willing, he could send a corpse collection team to collect the corpses under the city wall at any time. Of course, the prerequisite was that there could not be too many of them and they could not carry weapons. Moreover, the siege had to stop. Otherwise, how could they collect the corpses while fighting?
Altik stood on top of the gate of the main city and looked down at the busy soldiers. He said, "Not only did we kill a lot of enemies in this battle, but we also captured a lot of horses. Now, the soldiers are in for a treat. Everyone can eat horse meat and drink horse bone soup."
Although he couldn't see how many horses there were in the barbican, he estimated that there were about a thousand of them. In addition, most of the horses were injured or dead. Only a few horses were in good condition.
Of course, the horses in good condition could continue to be raised, but the dead or injured horses could only be slaughtered and cooked.
There were only thirty to forty thousand soldiers in the city, but there were a thousand horses that could be eaten. On average, thirty to forty people shared one horse. The amount was definitely enough. Moreover, it was impossible to finish it. It was estimated that they would not be able to finish it even after three to five days. It could even be eaten for more than a week.
The standard of food for the soldiers in Maia City was not high. It was considered a low standard. The soldiers could only eat a few pieces of meat a day. However, this great victory brought enough horse meat to the city. It would definitely be of great help to improve the morale of the army.
As for giving up the suicide squad, it was also for the sake of the final victory. Although some soldiers might not understand it, most of them could and would not care too much about it.
"Governor, the barbican annihilated more than nine hundred enemy soldiers. Including the enemy soldiers outside the city, we killed about one thousand and two hundred enemies. Our army lost three hundred men. None of the suicide squad survived. We captured ninety-two horses in good condition, one thousand dead or injured horses, eight hundred and thirty scimitars, and more than nine hundred sets of armor and helmets."
A subordinate came forward and reported.
A smile appeared on Altik's face. He said, "Not bad. The results are brilliant. Ziyad will be worried again. Hahaha!"
The young general of the Tang dynasty laughed and said, "With so many dead and injured horses, it seems that the soldiers can improve their food. They can't even finish the meat for every meal!"
Altik nodded and said, "Pass down the order. Slaughter all the dead and injured horses. Let all the soldiers eat horse meat. If there is any extra meat, share it with the people in the city."
"Yes, Governor."
The subordinate quickly responded.
Because of the great victory, the city was jubilant. Most of the soldiers were very happy. Only the soldiers who were closest to the suicide squad felt a little uncomfortable.
Outside the city, the morale of the attacking troops was greatly reduced. They were very excited when they saw the cavalry rushing into the city. They thought that the city would be broken in a moment. However, they did not expect that it was a trap. Most of the cavalry who rushed into the city were killed. Only a few dozen people escaped on foot. All their weapons and armor were abandoned. They were in an extremely sorry state. Naturally, the morale of the army was affected.
Seeing the gate of the barbican closed again and his cavalry did not come out, Ziyad felt as if all the strength in his body had been sucked out. He could not even stand steadily.
Thousands of elite cavalry were gone in an instant. This made his heart ache. The most important problem was that they did not kill many enemies. It was not worth it to lose so many cavalry.
"Altik, you cunning fox. When I catch you, I will cut you into pieces."
Ziyad roared angrily.
"General, our army has suffered great losses. More than 30 catapults were destroyed, 50 arrow-blocking carts were destroyed, and 20 transport carts were destroyed. We lost more than 1,200 cavalry and killed 300 enemy infantrymen."
A subordinate ran over to report the results of the battle.
"With such losses, we only killed 300 enemy soldiers. It is a great shame. Pass down the order. The army will continue to attack. Tell the main camp to speed up the construction of more weapons. Maia City must be broken."
Ziyad said angrily.
"General, the enemy has thrown our corpses outside the city. Should we stop the siege and collect the corpses before continuing the attack?"
His subordinate suggested.
Seiyad was in a fit of anger. He shook his head and said, "No, we can't give Artik a chance to catch his breath. We have to keep attacking until all the defenders in the city are exhausted. That way, the city will collapse on its own."
It was very important to collect the corpses of the dead soldiers, but Seiyad was unwilling to do so. This was because collecting the corpses meant that they had to temporarily stop attacking the city. It would give the soldiers defending the city a chance to catch their breath. Obviously, he would not give the soldiers defending the city such a chance. Therefore, he asked his subordinates to attack the city with all their might.
In other words, although the defenders had won a great victory and dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of the attackers, it did not slow down the progress of the enemy's siege. The soldiers outside the city were still attacking the city, not giving the defenders any chance to breathe.
Fortunately, the defenders at the city gates were in three shifts and new recruits were replenished twice a day. Otherwise, they would have fallen long ago.
However, as the siege continued, the number of reserve soldiers guarding the city became less and less. It was estimated that they could only hold on for one more day at most. After that, the most elite soldiers would have to go to war.
If the most elite soldiers were exhausted, it would be difficult to defend the city. However, if the soldiers inside the city were exhausted, the soldiers outside the city would also be exhausted. It would be hard to say whether they could break the city or not.
However, the heavens seemed to favor Altik. Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, Ziyad's logistics encountered a huge problem. A cavalry unit of a thousand men took the risk to infiltrate the enemy's territory and ambushed the provisions that were supposed to be supplied to Ziyad's army. They burned all the provisions in one go.
This batch of rations, which was enough to support Seiyad's army for ten days, was burned in an instant. This was very unfortunate news for Seiyad's army. This was because he had too many soldiers and horses, which consumed a lot of rations. This was especially true for warhorses, which consumed far more rations than soldiers. The amount of rations consumed by 100,000 cavalrymen was equivalent to the amount of rations consumed by 300,000 to 500,000 infantrymen. This showed how huge the demand for rations was.
"What? The provisions of the army were ambushed and all of them were lost?"
Upon hearing this unfortunate news, Seiyad was shocked. If this batch of rations could not be delivered in time, his army would have to eat dirt. In at most three to five days, the army's rations would be exhausted.
Before setting out, Mansur had given them a month's time. Thus, the provisions were also prepared according to a month's worth. Because the siege had not been going well, it was estimated that they would not be able to complete the mission in time. Thus, Ziyad had repeatedly requested for more provisions. Only then did Mansur think of a way to get some from Khorasan. It was considered extra provisions for Ziyad's army so that they would have more time to siege the city.
However, now that the provisions had been burned, this meant that they were about to run out of provisions. Only he knew how serious the consequences of running out of provisions were.
If they could capture the city in three to five days, they would be able to obtain the abundant provisions in the city and survive the crisis. However, if they could not capture the city, the army would be in great danger.
Immediately withdrawing the army was clearly not feasible, and Mansur would not agree. Thus, the best method was to speed up the siege and capture the city as quickly as possible. Then, all the problems would be easily solved.
"Pass down the order to increase the siege troops. Take ten thousand men from the main camp and add them to the various walls. We must capture the city in three days. On the day we capture the city, everything in the city will belong to the soldiers."
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