In Suiye City, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it seemed that heavy snow was about to fall.

The Arab coalition forces slaughtered livestock to reward their warriors.

There was murderous aura in the air on all sides, and the ladders to the city were ready, ready for attack at any time.

Not only have the ladders for climbing the city walls been fully assembled.

As the attacking party, the Arabs brought a number of cantilever catapults as siege weapons.

In the second year of Wu Zetian's Chang'an reign, the Arab army used catapults to take down the city walls of Samakan, conquering this important Central Asian city for the first time.

Although the city of Samakan was not as good as the city of Suiye, the Arabs had confidence in the trebuchet.

"Trebuchet ready!"

Ziyad ibn Sari was the first to experiment with the trebuchet.

However, he believed that what he carried was not a heavy catapult. Even if it was a so-called heavy catapult, it would be a fantasy to want to blast open the wall of Suiye City.

He used catapults purely to intimidate the Suiye army and cause panic among the Suiye defenders.

Since the number of catapults that could be carried across the mountains was limited, Ziyad ibn Sari placed all the cantilever catapults to the west of Suiye City.

"Hoohoo!"

Following Ziyad ibn Sari's order, dozens of people operated a cantilever catapult, aiming at the walls of Suiye a mile away and the city walls.

Like thunderbolt breaking through the sky, the Arabs also had their own glory.

The huge rock in the sky was getting closer and closer to the western city of Suiye.

"Don't panic. General Li has led a large army to surround the retreat of the Arabs. The Arabs are trapped but don't know it. This catapult cannot destroy the walls of Suiye, let alone injure a few people. Just dodge freely!"

The garrison commander of Suiye City was Zhao Chongxie, who had followed Gao Xianzhi to destroy Xiaobolü and Qishi Kingdom, and was promoted to garrison commander for his merits.

The deputy envoy of Suiye was named Lai Zhen. His father was Lai Yao, the deputy envoy of Anxi, and also the envoy of Beiting.

Thanks to his father's influence and Lai Zhen's own bravery, he was able to hold a high position at a young age.

When the Arab-Arab coalition forces launched the trebuchet, Lai Zhen suggested that Zhao Chong'e order most of the soldiers to go down the city wall and leave only a small part to be on standby.

To avoid too many people on the city wall and causing panic.

The soldiers who remained on the city walls had thunder stones and rolling logs, which could easily resist the first wave of attacks from the Arab coalition forces.

When the Arab coalition forces approach the city wall, the catapults will inevitably stop.

When two armies are fighting, the thing that most affects morale is ignoring the death of their own people. No army will do that.

"Bang bang bang..."

Sharp stones hit the western wall of Suiye.

The rammed earth wall had only some soil falling off and a few stones occasionally hitting the wall.

The Tang army soldiers believed in Li Shuai's reinforcements, so they were not in a hurry and waited for the right opportunity to evade.

The Tang army was also experienced in using catapults. Although they were afraid, they faced the enemy's stone throwing in an orderly manner.

The Arabs launched more than ten rounds of stone-throwing attacks, but in the end only a few unlucky Tang soldiers were killed or injured.

The special stones made by the Arabs were becoming less and less. If they wanted to continue throwing stones, they had to quarry the rocks and make more stones.

"Generals, have your men attack. Whichever nation reaches Suiye first will be given a larger territory."

Seeing that the trebuchet had little effect, Ziyad ibn Sari decided to give up hurling stones and attack directly.

Under the waving black flag, he encouraged the generals of the various tribes in the river.

So that his subordinates can capture Suiye City in one go.

"Kill!"

The Hezhong coalition forces had to rush to Suiye City, which was a hundred feet away. They put aside their fear and set foot on the territory of the Tang Dynasty for the first time to attack the Tang Dynasty.

Ziyad ibn Sari sent another 4,000 archers to suppress the Tang army in Suiye City.

The standing army system of the Arab Empire was clearly divided, with cavalry, infantry, and archers each performing their own duties.

The Black Caliphate completely inherited the system of the White Caliphate. Its troops were all professional soldiers, and the usual expansion was also carried out by professional soldiers.

"Dong dong..."

War drums sounded inside the Tang Dynasty city tower, calling the soldiers to climb up the tower and prepare for defense.

The Tang Dynasty's crossbowmen and archers on the city wall were also ready, and the soldiers prepared thunder stones and rolling logs to attack the Arab coalition forces.

The archers of the Arabs were not as good as catapults. They could not shoot arrows beyond the range of the Tang army, not to mention that the Tang army was in a dominant position.

Although the archers of the Arab army used traditional horn bows, the powerful bows of the Tang Dynasty were even more powerful than them.

What's more, Li Xuan had deployed two thousand strong crossbowmen of the Anxi Jinglüe Army in Suiye City in advance, and the Suiye Army also had three hundred strong crossbowmen.

The entire city wall was covered with powerful crossbows of the Tang Dynasty.

"Strong crossbow, fire!"

When the Arab archers were still 200 steps away from Suiye City, Zhao Chongye gave the order to fire their crossbows.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

The powerful crossbow was fired with thunder, and the Arab archers had not yet gained a firm foothold when they experienced the power of the Tang Dynasty's powerful crossbow.

Even shooting at this distance depends entirely on luck.

Dozens of Arab archers were still killed or wounded.

After one round, the coalition forces in Hezhong carried ladders to climb the city walls, passed the archers, and shouted to give themselves courage.

But the crossbowman drew his crossbow again, and still only shot the Arab archers who were already 150 steps away.

The closer the distance, the more lethal the Tang Dynasty's powerful crossbows are.

A hundred steps later, the Tang army launched another round of powerful crossbows.

At the same time, the Tang army archers on the four city walls had also taken action.

Accompanied by the sound of bows and arrows, the Tang army archers, who had taken the initiative, dealt a heavy blow to the Arab soldiers.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The Arab archers were constantly pierced by arrows and fell in front of the walls of Suiye.

As soon as they gained a foothold, they used the horn bows and straight bows in their hands to fight back against the Tang army.

However, the Tang army was protected by the women's wall, and it was very difficult for the Arab archers to inflict heavy casualties on the Tang army.

When the Transoxiana coalition forces arrived at the city wall, they had to stop shooting arrows.

But the Tang army archers had no scruples.

"The Tang army actually has so many powerful crossbows in Suiye." Ziyad ibn Sari, who had been witnessing the siege from the observation deck, exclaimed in surprise.

They suffered a great loss at the very beginning. They did not expect that the small city of Suiye was filled with bows and powerful crossbows.

The Arabs also had crossbows, but they were not mainstream weapons. They were very simple and classic, not as good as bows and arrows.

He had always heard that the Tang army was good at using powerful crossbows, but he had not taken it seriously. However, he saw with his own eyes that they were so powerful.

Ziyad ibn Sari also saw warriors wearing lamellar armor being pierced by powerful crossbows.

"General, the Tang army should be prepared in Suiye City. Fortunately, Suiye City is small. With a force of 100,000, our army will surely be able to conquer it if we attack it day and night."

The Arab cavalry commander Adu comforted Ziyad ibn Sari.

They had fought many tough battles during the uprising, so the initial losses were not a big deal.

It took several years to overthrow the Caliphate.

He who laughs last laughs best.

"The armies in the river are not very reliable. It will be difficult for them to capture Suiye City. Our warriors in Khorasan must be prepared."

Ziyad ibn Sari nodded and asked to mobilize more Khorasan warriors to the front line.

As long as they can capture Suiye, an important city of the Tang Dynasty, they will be able to gain the upper hand!

"As ordered!"

A general of the Arab Empire bowed and accepted the order.

However, the ideal is very full and the reality is very skinny.

The Transoxiana coalition was even weaker than they had imagined, especially the Bukhara and Sogdian peoples, who deliberately lagged behind the Tocharian states.

Let those Tocharian countries that are truly loyal to the Arabs go first.

The Tocharian states were also very afraid, but their minds were not as complicated as the Sogdians.

When going into battle, the Sogdians were already planning how to save their lives.

By the time the Tocharian states discovered what was happening, it was too late. They were under the bows and crossbows of the Tang army and were just a stone's throw away from Suiye City.

The ladder can only be hooked on the stronghold of Suiye City.

The brave soldiers from the Tocharian countries gritted their teeth and climbed up the ladders to the city.

They held their shields in one hand and climbed with the other, with scimitars hidden behind their backs.

"Bang bang bang..."

Huge rocks were thrown down by the Tang soldiers, hitting their bodies and heads.

There were also arrows stuck in them.

Without any surprise, the first soldiers to attack the city in a siege will inevitably die.

The coalition forces in Hezhong also understood that they had to fight to the death. If they waited outside the city, even if they were not shot to death by the Tang army, they would be beheaded by the Arabs when they returned.

There are countless ants on the four sides of the city wall.

The soldiers from the various countries in the river who climbed the city walls fell one by one in a pool of blood, shouting and groaning, and their lives perished under the silent city walls.

In this cold winter, even if you are seriously injured but not dead, it is difficult to survive.

The archers of the Arabs were no match for the Tang army's crossbowmen in Suiye City. When the countries in Central Asia began to attack the city, they all fled out of the range of the Tang army's crossbowmen.

The city was in a mess and blood was everywhere.

The Transoxiana coalition forces were defeated under the leadership of the Sogdians after attacking for less than half an hour.

They didn't even touch the parapet.

All the ladders to the city were lost in Suiye City.

"Attack. Whoever can reach Suiye City will be rewarded with 1,000 silver coins. Whoever can kill the Tang general guarding the city will be rewarded with 100 gold coins and must govern at least one place."

Upon seeing this, Ziyad ibn Sari began to order his troops.

He believed that the Transoxiana coalition forces were too weak and that they, the Arab army, needed to take action themselves.

The Tang army in Suiye City must not be allowed a chance to catch their breath.

The warriors of the Arabs were all the bravest Khorasan people. They were the descendants of Arab immigrants in the Khorasan region. They were unruly, brave and good at fighting.

The Khorasans were also the most powerful army of the Caliphate.

This kind of power was not established by the Black Caliphate, but has traces that can be traced and has always been the same.

A hundred years ago, the Arab commander Amr led 10,000 Khorasan cavalry to raid Egypt, and 100,000 Byzantine troops were unable to stop them, which fully demonstrated the powerful combat effectiveness of the Khorasan cavalry.

It also proves the ferocity of the Khorasan people.

"Kill!"

The Khorasan warriors of the Arabs endured for a long time, and then they rushed forward with roars.

To prove your bravery.

The soldiers of the Arab Empire who died in battle would be called "martyrs". If the soldiers of the Arab Empire died in battle, they would enter the so-called "heavenly kingdom" after their death.

Different from the Turkic people who "were willing to die of heavy casualties and were ashamed to die of illness", some professional Arab soldiers had true beliefs.

In addition, ever since the Arab Empire was established by the prophet, it has been said that the place where soldiers died in battle is the place where sweet fragrance is exuded.

There was a warrior named Sawad in the Tamim tribe of the Caliphate. When fighting against Persia, this warrior was seriously injured while trying to protect the civilians, but he did not fall down immediately. Sawad rushed towards the commander of the Persian army, endured serious injuries and eventually died in battle.

The successive caliphs of the Arab Empire described Savadd's behavior as a heroic act of faith and promoted it among the army, hoping that all warriors would learn from Savadd.

Heroic deeds similar to Savard's were widely circulated among the Arab armies.

Influenced by these factors, these Khorasan Arab soldiers became fearless fighters.

They despised the fleeing Hezhong countries and rushed to the walls of Suiye while the Hezhong coalition forces were still there.

Some of them held short spears, some held scimitars, and some carried heavy swords.

In addition, they also carried round shields to defend against arrows.

"bump!"

As the first Arab climbed up the ladder, his head was smashed by a huge rock.

The Arab soldiers behind him remained unmoved and continued to climb, stepping on the corpses of their teammates.

"Pfft!"

But after he climbed a few steps, his chest was pierced by a powerful crossbow.

Soon, the Arab soldiers replaced the coalition forces in the river, and all kinds of Arab soldiers attached to the city walls like ants.

In a blink of an eye, you can see the Arab soldiers falling from the ladders, and you can hear screams one after another.

The troops of the Arabs were indeed more determined. They attacked Suiye for an hour. Although they did not touch the women's wall, they still attacked fiercely and did not give up.

They rush forward one after another, not caring about their own lives.

For them, death is just a new beginning.

"Tangren, go to hell!"

Finally, a Arab soldier reached the parapet. He shouted angrily and drew the scimitar from behind.

"Pfft!"

But just as he drew out his scimitar and before he could leap, he was stabbed in the eye by a Tang army soldier and fell down with a scream.

How easy is it to be the first to capture Suiye City, which is guarded by 10,000 Tang troops?
What's more, the Tang army also had the most elite crossbowmen and heavy armored infantry.

In the next hour, one after another the Arab warriors reached the city wall, but were stabbed to death before they could even jump.

When they climbed up the earth wall, they had to face the "iron wall" and fully armed heavy infantry, which let the Arabs know what it meant to be well-equipped.

The Tang Dynasty was the ancestor of attack and defense. A well-prepared city could be defended for a year or two without any problem.

To imagine that you can defeat Suiye in one day is nothing but a foolish dream.

Ziyad ibn Sari, who was watching from a distance, gritted his teeth.

He also underestimated the Tang army's ability to defend the city, and his warriors' attack was tantamount to committing suicide.

Infuriated, Ziyad ibn Sari executed a Bukhara general and two Sogdian generals.

To intimidate the Hezhong coalition forces, to prepare to use them as cannon fodder again, to tire out the Tang army's defense, and to create opportunities for the Arab warriors...

However, Ziyad ibn Sari's killing of the chicken to scare the monkey did not have much effect.

Although the Central Asian coalition forces attacked the city together with the Arabs, they behaved very passively and there was no hope of conquering Poyeh City in a short time.

……

Eighty miles southeast of Suiye City.

A dozen or so Arab scouts wearing dark robes thought they had entered deep into the Tang Dynasty and were in an uninhabited area.

Apart from knowing that there were 30,000 coalition forces from the Anxi countries near Rehe, there were no people, not even a chicken or a dog, in other places.

"Boom!"

At this moment, a cavalry of several hundred men came galloping towards them.

This team of cavalry was all wearing the Mingguang armor of the Tang Dynasty.

Unlike other Tang cavalry units, this unit consisted of only more than 500 people, but had dozens of large banners and pennants.

The scouts from the Arab Empire only knew that the Tang Dynasty had a large number of cavalry, and they had no idea what these flags meant!
"Quickly retreat and report to General Ziyad..."

The leader of the Arab scouts gave the order and retreated calmly.

The horses of the Arabs were the tallest and most majestic. He believed that the Tang army, which was several miles away, could not catch up...

(End of this chapter)