Chapter 2: The Stormy Weather of Yan and Zhao Section 32

  The young general's battle knife chopped down, striking an old man's chest. Immediately, his battle knife was grasped firmly by the old man's dry and withered hands. He let out a loud roar, using all his strength to pull out the knife. The old man's two hands were already covered in blood, and when he pulled with force, all ten fingers were severed. The old man didn't make a sound, suddenly exerting force to charge forward, allowing the enemy's battle knife to pierce through his entire body. Now it wasn't just about pulling out the knife, the knife almost entered the old man's chest up to the hilt. A middle-aged man shouted, flying into the air, and grabbed the young general's neck with one hand. At the same time, his left fist struck a young man who was pouncing on him with great force, shattering his facial bones. The young man let out a blood-curdling scream, his body flew up, and his face was smashed to pieces. His right leg kicked out, striking a middle-aged man's groin with great force. That person didn't even have time to let out a painful cry before he was sent flying sideways to his death. Next, the young general's left hand and right leg were grabbed tightly by people who had pounced on him. No matter how hard the young general struggled, no matter how much blood they lost, the two men refused to let go until they died.

  His knife was stuck in the old man's chest, and his neck, left hand, and right leg were all being held by the enemy. Despite having a strong body and martial arts skills, he couldn't use them at all. He dropped his knife and swung his right fist to heavily strike the enemy behind him who was holding his neck. He could already feel his breathing getting more and more difficult. Fresh blood splattered out with each back-and-forth blow of his right fist. The old man in front of him fell over.

  Xiao Shuai's eyes suddenly widened as he saw four long spears coming at him from different angles, with no way to dodge.

  Four long spears, like venomous snakes, silently and swiftly charged towards his chest. The spears pierced his body with a mournful and desperate cry from Xiaoshuai, penetrating through his body. Xiaoshuai opened wide his terrified eyes, seeing himself being lifted high by the four long spears, fresh blood flowing down the spear shafts like water.

  He saw Yuwen Valley raise his head to look at him, with a face of horror, seeing him surrounded by four or five battle knives, the light flashing between them, flesh and blood flying everywhere, seeing him being hacked down to the ground, seeing more than ten Xianbei soldiers jumping over obstacles, just in time to save Yuwen Valley, pulling out the bloody Yuwen Valley from the battlefield, seeing the last Xianbei soldier walking with one hand dancing with a battle knife, and the other hand waving Yuwen Valley's blood-soaked leg wearing war boots.

  The Xianbei soldiers were getting more and more, with archers mixed in, shooting out cold arrows that were sure to kill from time to time. More than a dozen Xianbei soldiers built a ladder under the cover of their comrades, stubbornly and resolutely preparing to pull out the door bolts on the city gate. The Han army soldiers shot long arrows at them non-stop. After the Xianbei people paid with more than ten lives, they finally successfully set up a ladder of over three zhang high, quickly pulling out thick door bolts from behind the city gate one by one. The city gate was about to be opened.

  The defensive formation on the west wall collapsed completely after being breached at more than a dozen defense points. The military officer who took over and continued to command the battle immediately ordered the remaining personnel to form three blocking queues, firmly guarding the staircase passage. Fight to the last man, not allowing a single enemy to break through the final line of defense.

  The drumbeat sounded, deep and mournful. It was announcing to all Han soldiers that the west wall of the south city gate was about to fall. If there were still reinforcements, come quickly to assist.

  Liu Yu heard the alarm drums, his heart was burning with anxiety, and he led several soldiers back to the gate tower. He looked at the Han army retreating in defeat on the west city wall, his brow deeply furrowed, and he was at a loss for what to do.

  He stood silently like a clay figure, as if he hadn't heard the drumbeat, motionless, gazing at the bloody battlefield of slaughter above and below the city.

  He occasionally looked up at the sky. The pitch-black night sky was the darkest moment before dawn.

  Hao Shuai Murong Feng personally led the reserve soldiers to climb up the city wall, preparing for the final blow, thoroughly defeating the Han army's stubborn defense on the west city wall. The Xianbei people took advantage of their numerical superiority, concentrated their advantageous forces, and continuously attacked a point in the Han army's defensive line without sleep or rest, finally tearing open a gap in the defensive line of Yuyang City. Now this gap has become a huge breach, and what needs to be done now is to strike another blow at this breach, completely crushing the Han army's overall defense. Occupying Yuyang City is gradually becoming a reality.

  Murong Feng let out a loud roar, leading one hundred fierce and vigorous soldiers, like a tiger bursting out of its cage, ferociously charging towards the Han army. The Han army soldiers were arrayed on the three-zhang-wide city wall, forming a dense defensive formation, refusing to retreat even an inch. The Xianbei people were like crashing into an iron plate, unable to budge in the slightest. Every step forward required them to trample over the corpses of soldiers from both sides. The Han army soldiers only fell, but did not retreat.

  The city gate was slowly opened.

  Fifty paces outside the city gate, the Xianbei soldiers let out a thunderous cheer, roaring and shouting as they charged towards the city gate like madmen.

  Liu Yu closed his eyes in pain. He knew that Yuyang City was about to fall, and the overall defense of Yuyang City had collapsed due to the loss of the west city wall and the gate.

  The fishing village is on the verge of being destroyed.

  Li Hong led three thousand two hundred cavalrymen to arrive outside Yuyang City on the eve of dawn.

  Outside the city of Yuyang, flames shot up to the sky, and huge flames rose into the air from time to time. The firelight illuminated the majestic and magnificent city walls, lighting up the bloody battlefield in stark relief. On the city wall, figures were flying about, while below the wall, the Xianbei army was arrayed in neat formation, with banners unfurled. The fierce sounds of slaughter, the clear blasts of ox-horn bugles, the urgent and violent beats of war drums, and the chaotic shouts all blended together to form a massive roar, as if the black night had opened its bloody great maw to howl.

  The cavalry vaguely saw that the war flag of the Great Han Kingdom was still fluttering wildly in the night wind, and they all let out a big sigh of relief.

  Xian Yu let out a long sigh of relief. He had not failed to live up to Liu's trust, and at the most critical moment in Yucheng, he had brought all the reinforcements that could be mobilized, and even secretly led them to the foot of Yucheng.

  He gazed into the night, looking back at the dense rows of soldiers. Everyone's mood was heavy, and their anxious faces were filled with tension and worry. He slowly shifted his gaze to Li Hong.

  Li Hongqi rode on the black leopard, carefully observing the distant battlefield. The long hair scattered on his shoulders fluttered up from time to time with the night wind.

  He didn't like wearing a helmet, he never had. He insisted on keeping his hair loose and not wearing a crown, which led to many subordinates offering their opinions, thinking it damaged his image. If he were to meet with his superiors, they would think him uncultured and impolite. Li Hong ignored them completely. Xian Yu Fu and Yan Rou, who had become close friends with him in a short time, also advised him to change his habits slightly. Now that he was in the Great Han Empire, not on the desolate grasslands, he was no longer a slave of the Xianbei people. He shouldn't keep the sloppy appearance and habits from when he was a slave, it would affect his promotion and future prospects. Li Hong smiled wistfully: "What future do I have? Living every day on the edge of death, at any moment I could die. Future?" Li Hong sneered, saying, "For me, nothing exists, including my own life. Today I'm alive, tomorrow maybe I'll be dead. Don't think too much, just live each day happily, that's reality."

  Li Hong stepped forward and followed several military officers behind him. Xian Yu Fu and Yan Rou beckoned to each other, and everyone urged their horses to gather together.

  "The Xianbei people have gone mad, and they won't even let their troops rest, attacking the city of Yuyang day and night. This is a huge advantage for us. Although we've traveled a long distance and our soldiers are extremely tired, we haven't reached the point of exhaustion yet. On the other hand, the Xianbei people must be so exhausted that they can barely stand up now." Everyone saw Li Hong's exaggerated expression and burst out laughing.

  "Everyone has been watching for half a day, let's discuss how to play." Li Hong seemed to have a plan in mind and smiled at everyone.

  Huzi said with a big smile: "We suddenly rushed out from the dark place, and they were so scared that they almost died. This battle is won."

  "Everyone form a phalanx formation, kill whoever you meet, chop down whoever you encounter. What's the need for any other tactics?"

  Xian Yu Fu and Yan Rou exchanged a look of admiration. This person still had the leisure to discuss tactics with everyone at this time, either extremely ignorant or incredibly brave. Li Hong was undoubtedly the latter. He casually made a move, luring away all the Xianbei scouts monitoring near Baoqiu River. Seeing everyone slowly crossing the river with joy and laughter, you can't help but admire his exceptional mind, absolutely a natural talent.

  Yu Shi, Yan Wu Wei, Wu Zhao sat on the horse, with a humble and obedient expression, not only unwilling to think, but also too lazy to speak.

  Li Hong looked at Xian Yu Fu and Yan Rou.

  "The Xianbei archers are all concentrated on the first line below the city. The troops preparing to take over the attack are waiting in the second line. The last row of the team is all soldiers who have just been withdrawn from the city wall. Its overall defensive formation is kept very neat, and once an emergency occurs, it can respond quickly within a short period. I think we should launch an attack on its flank, which will have a very good effect." Xian Yu Fu calmly put forward his own views and suggestions.

  Li Hong's men immediately stared at him with admiration, and in their hearts they all secretly admired him. The Gong Cao of the Cishi Prefecture was indeed a true talent.

  "Attack their flank, and they will definitely not be able to encircle us. In my opinion, now Murong Ji's troops have been severely damaged in the continuous days of siege warfare, and at most half of the 8,000 horses are left. Counting by numbers, we are not much different from them. In this situation, if we adopt the method of surrounding and annihilating them with a surprise attack, as long as the tactics are used properly, we can completely annihilate them under Yucheng." Yan Rou retorted on horseback. This man was brave and fearless, bold and meticulous, and actually put forward a bold idea to annihilate the enemy army, leaving Zhao Wen and others stunned. Hu Zi Wei Jun had known him for many years and immediately gave him a thumbs up, meaning you're awesome, great, I'm convinced.

  "Sir, how can you be certain that the Xianbei have lost at least 4,000 men?" Yan Wuyi looked towards the direction of Yucheng, left and right, but couldn't figure out how the Xianbei army could only have 4,000 men.