After discussing the issue of grain, Xiao Yu took his men back to inspect the granary. Although he had inspected it a few days ago, now these grains are related to the victory or defeat of the war in Nanzhao Kingdom, so Xiao Yu did not dare to be too careless. He had to check it carefully at this time and not wait until the critical moment to let it go.
Xiao Yu has been in the court for such a long time, and of course he knows that no matter how well he does in normal times, if he loses control at the critical moment, all his previous achievements may be wiped out, so he must be extremely careful at this time. Only if Nanzhao is taken down for me, then everything about Xiao Yu's stay in Sichuan will come to a perfect end. No matter who takes over Sichuan in the future, Xiao Yu will be able to give them a beautiful Sichuan. As for the court, he can also record a great achievement for himself.
Back in the barracks, Qin Huaiyu gave Li Xiang a detailed introduction on how their army should advance after a while and which route to take. The more than 20,000 troops were divided into several groups in order to arrive quickly.
Li Xiang still had great confidence in Qin Huaiyu's basic skills. Although Qin Huaiyu had never led troops to fight a big battle personally, he had seen pigs run even if he had not eaten pork. He was busy running around when he followed his father, and later did some small things in the army. Although this was his first time as a commander-in-chief, he would not make any major mistakes.
"Everything is ready now, just waiting for your Highness's order. As long as your Highness gives me the order, I promise to arrive at Nanzhao Royal City within five days. According to the information we have gathered, it will take at most half a month to calm down the entire Nanzhao and make it submit to the Tang Dynasty."
After Qin Huaiyu finished all the reports, this guy was so happy that he almost jumped up. Now he could no longer stay in the military camp. He wished he could take his men and set off to Nanzhao to settle everything in the next second.
"Sit down and calm down. Now is not the time for you to leave immediately. Drink this cup of tea first and think carefully later. I will let you go when the time is right. Going now would be a big loss."
Qin Huaiyu was about to fly out, but who knew that he was tied with a rope by Li Xiang. How could this guy have time to drink tea?
"Your Highness, as the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. We have already made all the necessary preparations. I have also mobilized those people on the mountain before the war. Now they are all eager to make a military achievement and then fully join the Tang army. If we let them stay here any longer, I am afraid they will worry about changes."
Qin Huaiyu didn't understand why Li Xiang had to wait. Wouldn't it be possible to launch military operations one day earlier if he went there one day earlier? That way, he could also occupy Nanzhao Kingdom one day earlier.
"I don't need to remind you of this. As a commander, you can't just focus on the battlefield. There are many things you need to consider. Think about it here slowly. I'll go back to fishing. No one can set out without my order."
Qin Huaiyu still needs to improve slowly. After Li Xiang inspected the entire military camp, he took his men back to go fishing. As for when Qin Huaiyu will set off, it depends on when the King of Nanzhao gives up the outer city.
Nanzhao Royal City
The war had been going on for two days, and one part of the Nanzhao royal city wall had already collapsed. Fortunately, the defenders in the city acted quickly and threw all kinds of things from the wall into the city wall to block the gap. If they had thrown a little more at that time, the Zhennan King's cavalry might have rushed over from a distance.
At that time, the cavalry of Prince Zhennan had indeed charged, but when they were still 500 steps away from the city wall, the entire wall was littered with all kinds of things. The general at that time immediately called a halt. If they continued to charge forward, even if they could reach the bottom of the city wall, the horses would not be able to get through, and instead these cavalry would be destroyed by the archers on the city wall.
The comprehensive national strength of the Tang Dynasty was the strongest in the surrounding areas, but it was very expensive for the Tang Dynasty to train a cavalry. Not only did it cost money to equip the cavalry, but it also cost money to train the cavalry. This was something that ordinary countries could not afford.
Nanzhao was a small country with no more than a few thousand cavalrymen. Although all of them were in the hands of Prince Zhennan, he could not waste these cavalrymen like this. They would have to bear more responsibilities in the future. Moreover, in the siege battles of the past few days, Prince Zhennan had suffered a lot of losses. More than 2,000 soldiers had been killed, more than 1,000 soldiers had been injured, and nearly 800 soldiers were missing.
The losses of the defenders on the city wall were slightly smaller, but not much smaller. The main reason was that the catapults on the side of the King of Zhennan were never stopping. They were outside the city, surrounded by large stones everywhere. Now the King of Zhennan had conquered tens of thousands of people nearby and asked them to pull stones from the nearby mountains, so these catapults never stopped for a moment.
"I have to say, the defenders in this city have really impressed me. With the way they've been fighting these past few days, even in some cities in the Western Regions, I estimated they wouldn't have been able to hold out. But I didn't expect the Nanzhao King's men to be able to hold out. Look at what a mess the city wall has been in now."
Long Jiu hasn't been to the city wall these days. He brought his men to scout the surroundings for the situation. Today he finally came over and looked through a telescope. He saw that the cracks on the city wall in the distance were as big as a bowl. If the fighting continues like this, in the next two or three days, I'm afraid that more and more parts of the city wall will collapse. You can block this gap today, but if two or three or more gaps appear tomorrow, what are you going to bet on?
Of course, the King of Nanzhao had already begun to demolish houses in the city. Basically, all the houses around the city walls had been demolished. From wood to various bricks, all had been transported to the city walls. The purpose of these things was to block the gaps. Moreover, all the lamp oil in the city had been collected. This was the only thing they could do to resist.
Although their losses were less than those of the Prince of Zhennan, their army was small to begin with. If the losses of the young and strong men in the city were counted, their number would be much greater than that of the Prince of Zhennan. The blame should be placed on the young and strong men who had not received military training and did not know where to hide when the enemy attacked, so too many of them died.
