Li Yuanji said proudly: “You’re surprised by just this little bit? Let me tell you the truth, this is only a part of it. There are many more crossbow carts, wooden battering rams, and wolf-tooth boards being transported on the way, all much better than what you’ve used before.”
His words made Jiang Yuan even more puzzled. These weapons for defending against siege warfare were naturally available in Luoyang City, but they had all been transported from the military arsenal to the city gates many days ago. How could there suddenly be more?
Li Jiancheng smiled slightly and said: “Back when Li Mi and Li Shimin successively attacked Luoyang, they both suffered heavy losses at Wang Shichong’s hands. Stone-throwing machines, crossbow carts, wooden battering rams, wolf-tooth boards—who knows how many lives they took from the Wagang Army and Tang Army soldiers. But after capturing Luoyang City, there were surprisingly few of these weapons in the military arsenal, and most were severely damaged. There were hardly any usable ones left. Am I right?”
“Just as Your Highness said, when Wang Zhengfeng and I were ordered to pacify Luoyang, we discovered that the usable weapons in the military arsenal were pitifully few. Even what we’re using now was hastily crafted by artisans over these past few years. I believed that Wang Shichong, knowing he couldn’t defend the city and not wanting those weapons to fall into our hands, deliberately damaged them.”
Li Jiancheng shook his head: “You’re wrong. Wang Shichong didn’t destroy them—he hid them away.”
“Hid them away?” Jiang Yuan was stunned, then seemed to understand something. “Your Highness means Wang Shichong had a secret military arsenal?”
“Exactly.” Saying this, Li Jiancheng continued slowly: “I previously had the same thoughts as you, until I counted the quantity of weapons in the military arsenal and realized this matter wasn’t as you and I had imagined.”
“When Li Shimin captured Luoyang and returned to Chang’an, he mentioned the battle situation to me. Wang Shichong had more than ten stone-throwing machines, over twenty crossbow carts, and quite a few other weapons. It was precisely because of this that they couldn’t take Luoyang City for more than ten consecutive days.”
“But when I counted the military arsenal a few days ago, adding up all the good and bad ones, there were only five stone-throwing machines and twelve crossbow carts. The numbers differed by far too much. Even if they were deliberately damaged, there should have been damaged remains left behind, but there were none—nothing at all, as if there had originally been only this many. It was then that I began to realize Wang Shichong had very likely hidden some things in Luoyang City. So I ordered Yuanji to lead people to search place by place, and finally found these things in an inconspicuous, dilapidated courtyard.”
“So that’s how it was.” Jiang Yuan said admiringly: “Fortunately, Your Highness was so meticulous in thought, finding this secret military arsenal based on slight clues. Otherwise, who knows when it would have been discovered. With this batch of weapons, we’ll certainly be able to defend Luoyang.”
Li Yuanji scoffed: “Are you satisfied with just defending a mere Luoyang?”
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan immediately realized his mistake and quickly corrected himself: “Of course not. First defend Luoyang, then annihilate the Tang Army and reclaim the Great Tang!”
“Reclaim the Great Tang…” Li Jiancheng murmured, repeating these words, and facing the cold wind blowing against him, said slowly: “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”
Li Yuanji raised his fist and shouted loudly: “Elder brother, rest assured, this time we’ll definitely win!”
Jiang Yuan also knowingly bowed and said: “Your Highness will surely have your wishes fulfilled and reclaim everything from that dog thief Li Shimin!”
“If I ascend to the imperial throne, you two will be the greatest contributors. I certainly won’t treat you poorly.” Saying this, he asked Li Yuanji: “What about the stones I had you prepare?”
“They’re all prepared according to elder brother’s instructions. I’ll have people bring them up right away.” Following Li Yuanji’s call, dozens of soldiers soon carried up baskets of stones, placing several baskets beside each stone-throwing machine. The stones in the baskets seemed somewhat greenish under the sunlight, but looking carefully, they weren’t, likely due to the reflection of sunlight.
While they were talking, the civilians on the platform outside the city had been continuously denouncing their poisoning affair. Li Yuanji found it grating to his ears and said to Li Jiancheng: “Elder brother, why don’t we act now to destroy that platform, so they won’t keep chattering incessantly there. My ears are about to develop calluses from listening. I tested earlier—that platform is just within the stone-throwing machines’ range. I guarantee we’ll smash them until their heads are bloody.”
Some soldiers heard his words and secretly glanced over. Li Jiancheng noticed this calmly, then with a stern expression, rebuked coldly: “Nonsense! Although these civilians speak untruths, they’re all being incited and used by Li Shimin. They themselves bear no great fault. How can you vent your anger on them? Don’t let me hear such words again, or even you won’t be lightly forgiven!”
Li Yuanji hadn’t expected his casual remark to invite such rebuke. He stood there stunned for a moment. It was Jiang Yuan who reacted quickly, secretly tugging at his sleeve, glancing at those soldiers, and whispering: “With so many people and eyes here, Your Highness, speak cautiously!”
Only after he said this did Li Yuanji realize his mistake. Being clever, he put on an act and said: “Yuanji was only thinking of quickly forcing back the Tang Army to preserve Luoyang’s peace. Please forgive me, elder brother.”
Li Jiancheng’s expression softened slightly as he nodded: “Don’t let it happen again. Remember, even if blades are pressed against us, we must never harm those innocent common people. Otherwise, I’d rather abandon Luoyang City!”
“Yuanji respectfully follows elder brother’s teachings. Elder brother’s benevolent heart is truly a blessing for the people of Luoyang and the entire realm!” Li Yuanji deliberately raised his voice so the soldiers on the city wall could hear.
As expected, the soldiers who originally had some doubts about Li Jiancheng all showed expressions of admiration after hearing this exchange, no longer harboring any suspicion.
While they were talking, the Tang Army outside the city also noticed the stone-throwing machines lined up in a row. These stone-throwing machines had a much longer range than ordinary arrows. To prevent the civilians on the platform from being injured, they immediately had them withdraw while the entire army retreated over a hundred meters to avoid the range, much to Li Yuanji’s frustration.
However, the two armies didn’t remain in this standoff for long. The Tang Army began their first siege attack, though with not many people—it was more like a probe.
Siege ladders were erected high, and Tang soldiers climbed up them one after another, scaling toward the city wall. Sharp arrows rained down on them like a downpour. Many Tang soldiers couldn’t dodge in time and fell from the siege ladders, crashing to the ground with uncertain fate. As for those fortunate enough to climb up, before they could flip over into the city, they were struck bloody by wolf-tooth boards dropped by the defending soldiers and fell from the city wall. Unlike the previous soldiers, falling from such a height meant certain death.
After slicing off a Tang soldier’s head with one stroke, Li Yuanji said: “Elder brother, it’s time to use the stone-throwing machines and crossbow carts.”