Du Qi was not angered by Hou Junji's words. "Hou Junji, oh, Hou Junji, now that I think about it, how many battles have you fought since you began following His Majesty? This king truly doesn't remember.
"You, Hou Junji, only relied on the incident at Xuanwu Gate to stand firmly on His Majesty's side, urging His Majesty to launch a coup. This was how you obtained His Majesty's favor, and in the end, you were rewarded with the title of Left Guard General and Duke of Lu."
"In fact, what kind of great battle did you lead your troops to? Forgive me for being ignorant."
"In your early years, you relied on your family's wealth to walk dogs and fight cocks. You were a hedonistic scion, and your words and actions were grandiose. If you hadn't followed a good master, you would already be a pile of bones. "
Du Qi said, "What sort of thing do you think you are to be so arrogant in front of this king?! Someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong, someone who believes themselves infallible. When this king was thirteen or fourteen, the Duke of Qin was being suppressed everywhere. It was this king who single-handedly resisted Li Jiancheng's pressure.
"The Duke of Qin's Residence was having difficulty operating and was lacking in funds. It was this king who was generous and gave the Duke of Qin's Residence five hundred thousand strings of coins so that His Majesty could win over the officials and stabilize his power.
"His Majesty suffered a setback in Hebei, and Li Shentong and Li Jiancheng even plotted against Li Daoxuan and Luo Shixin to death. When His Majesty was in danger, it was this king who came up with a plan to resolve the crisis in Hebei, allowing the Duke of Qin to profit from it.
"As for the coup at the Xuanwu Gate, you, Hou Junji, were just waving the flag and shouting. The true schemers were this king, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xiang, and my father. You, Hou Junji, are nothing more than a gatekeeper. "
Du Qi said, "Relying on your meager achievements to bark in front of this king, you truly believe yourself infallible."
These eloquent words were tinged with disdain for Hou Junji.
Hou Junji was instantly enraged.
In his early years, his words and actions truly were grandiose and hedonistic, but that was in his early years. Under Li Shimin's command, Hou Junji had dared to fight and kill, and he had made great contributions on the battlefield.
He couldn't compare to Li Jing, Duan Zhixuan, Li Xiaogong, or Cheng Yaojin, but Hou Junji didn't believe that a brat like Du Qi could be that formidable.
In particular, Du Qi and Li Chengqian had conflicts. When Li Shimin died a hundred years later and Li Chengqian ascended the throne as the Emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Chengqian only needed to give an order and Du Qi would die and his clan would be exterminated.
Hou Junji furiously ordered, "Yan Xing!"
"Present!"
Yan Xing took a step forward.
Yan Xing was one of Hou Junji's generals. But Yan Xing was in charge of cavalry, and Hou Junji had ten thousand cavalry under his command, all of them fierce and fierce.
Hou Junji stared in Du Qi's direction, his eyes blazing with fury as he ordered, "Yan Xing, take one thousand cavalry and charge into Du Qi's camp and break through Du Qi's defenses.
"While you charge, I will have men launch catapults to suppress Du Qi's men.
"At the same time, there will be infantry following behind you.
"Your mission is to break through the defenses."
Hou Junji's face was brimming with anger, and he was determined to break through Du Qi's camp. If he didn't win this battle, he wouldn't stop. Moreover, Hou Junji had always believed that as long as he could break through Du Qi's camp, he would have a chance at victory.
After receiving Hou Junji's order, Yan Xing solemnly said, "General, be at ease. This general will definitely break through Du Qi's camp. The merit of being the first to charge in will be taken by the cavalry under this general's command. "
After saying this, he urged his horse away.
He immediately gathered the soldiers.
The one thousand cavalry took up their positions, and the infantry soon followed. Following Yan Xing's order, the cavalry began to charge forward.
As the cavalry and infantry charged forward, the catapults began to launch rocks from the outside. This wasn't to use the catapults to attack the camp, but to suppress the archers and grenade throwers in the camp.
Du Qi wasn't surprised to see the cavalry charge over. Du Qi nodded to Xue Rengui, and Xue Rengui immediately made adjustments. The shieldmen and spearmen moved forward to form a defensive formation.
At the same time, the archers and grenade throwers took up positions in the rear.
Similarly, they formed a defensive line.
Large rocks flew through the air and landed in the camp in the blink of an eye. This truly did cause some chaos in the camp, but as the commander, Xue Rengui didn't panic in the slightest. The area where the Tang catapults were located was also where the Tang army was in formation.
Xue Rengui looked at Du Qi and said, "Your Highness, this subordinate requests the use of gunpowder."
"Of course!"
Du Qi immediately replied.
Xue Rengui immediately gave the order for the catapult troops to assemble. They didn't have any mortars or other weapons, so they could only use the catapults to launch the gunpowder.
In truth, there was a certain amount of risk in using such a method. They had to control the distance well. If they couldn't control the distance well, the gunpowder might burn up and explode in midair.
This was something that had to be calculated.
The catapults were assembled and aimed in the direction of the Tang army's catapults. As the gunpowder was ignited, the levers of the catapults swung, and the burning gunpowder flew out.
This gunpowder was still stored in clay pots.
When Hou Junji saw that Du Qi's army was also using catapults, he couldn't help but feel disdain. He wasn't planning on using catapults to kill many people. He was just using them to open a path for the cavalry and infantry.
Du Qi was imitating his methods.
But he had only learned the surface, and it couldn't even be considered a technique.
Hou Junji appeared very calm. At this moment, the clay pots in the air finally crashed to the ground. The moment the pots shattered, the gunpowder had already burned to the end.
Boom!!!
Another explosion rang out.
This explosion was extraordinarily powerful.
The explosion of gunpowder was several times more powerful than the explosion of landmines and grenades. The moment the gunpowder exploded, the catapults on the ground and the surrounding catapults were all blasted away.
There were no living creatures within several zhang of the catapults.
There were soldiers standing in formation around the catapults. Without exception, all the surrounding soldiers were killed or injured by this explosion. Not a single one of them was left unharmed.
Boom! Boom!!!
As the clay pots fell, the gunpowder exploded.
Flames erupted, dirt flew into the air, and corpses flew into the air. The soldiers in the rear, including the catapults, were all blasted away. After all, many soldiers had gathered around the catapults.
In just a few short moments, more than one thousand people had been killed or injured. Du Qi had yet to send out a single soldier, but Hou Junji had already lost nearly five thousand soldiers.
Hou Junji was infuriated.
He looked forward.
At this moment, Hou Junji was like a gambler, hoping that the warhorses and infantry would break through Du Qi's camp. But the explosions had alarmed the warhorses, causing many of them to charge uncontrollably.
As they approached the camp gate, the ballista bolts and grenades further weakened the cavalry. Even when the Tang cavalry reached the camp gate, the combination of shield soldiers and spear soldiers made it so that Yan Xing's one thousand cavalry could not break through.
Even though there were still infantrymen approaching the campsite, Du Qi was not afraid at all. This was because even if it was a close combat, Du Qi still had the confidence to win.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
