Chapter 41: The Allied Army's Probe (Part 2)

  Pffft! Pffft! Pffft!

  The sound of arrows piercing armor and entering bodies occasionally echoed on the battlefield.

  "Raise your shields!" The Korean army's lieutenant shouted at the top of his lungs.

  The soldiers who were shot dead by the Qin army's crossbow arrows had just revealed some gaps, and soon after, more soldiers raised their large shields to fill in the gaps. The allied forces advanced bravely despite their casualties, for at this moment, advancing forward was the only way to survive, while retreating would lead to certain death.

  The casualties of the Wei army were slightly smaller. The three thousand heavy infantrymen in front wore thick armor, which withstood most of the arrows. Unless they were hit in the neck or eyes, where their helmets did not protect them, the heavy infantry would have no casualties.

  The Qin army saw that the crossbow arrows could not harm the front row of the Wei army's phalanx formation, so they had to let the archers focus their attack on the rear of the phalanx. Only then did the Wei army begin to suffer casualties.

  "Give me a shot!"

  Seeing this, the lieutenants of the Han and Wei armies almost simultaneously issued orders.

  The Allied soldiers, who had been advancing with their heads down, finally lifted their heads. Having endured the hail of arrows for so long, it was now time to strike back. As soon as they heard the officer's order, the Allied soldiers unleashed the anger in their hearts towards the Qin army.

  "Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Arrow after arrow shot towards the Qin army in front of them.

  This cost the lives of nearly a thousand Qin soldiers. No one had expected that the attacking allied forces would be equipped with compact crossbows. To know, what was to come next was close combat, and the enemy would not give them so much time to load the crossbow.

  The Qin army's intention paid a heavy price, the allied forces had been hiding and not launching an attack to ensure the unexpected effect, now they finally saw the results of the battle. But this is just the beginning, after finishing shooting crossbow arrows, the allied forces eventually followed the Qin army's idea - engaging in close combat!

  The banners fluttered, but the Qin army did not engage in battle and retreated into a formation of countless spiked shields. The allied army suspected no trickery and pressed forward step by step, entering the spiked shield formation.

  As soon as he entered the array, Han Zhong, a military officer of the Han army, felt that something was wrong. This array is not just thicker than usual, but it has a hidden mechanism! From the outside, it looks like an ordinary array, but once inside, you'll discover that there are many hidden paths and tunnels. The allied forces have to be careful about Qin soldiers ambushing from the sides, while also being mindful of the uneven terrain with protruding spikes in front.

  "Kill!"

  The Qin army emerged, with three to five men forming small formations. Some used swords, some used spears, and some used mounted crossbows, coordinating with each other in perfect harmony.

  Watching the Qin army effortlessly navigate through the hedgehog defense, the allied forces were at a loss for words. They couldn't fully utilize their skills in such a narrow space and felt extremely uncomfortable. The Korean military's proud elite armor and the Wei military's heavily relied upon heavy infantry were all rendered useless.

  One after another, the Allied troops fell down reluctantly. Even if they barely occupied one corner of the Forbidden City, they were often beaten back by the Qin army's desperate flanking counterattacks.

  "Fall back! Fall back!" Han Zhong shouted loudly.

  "Cut down all the windlasses and capstans." Another order was given.

  The Allied forces retreated in a state of panic, returning to the outer perimeter of the Qin army camp. The battle just now was like a nightmare, and in no time at all, the Allied forces had lost nearly two thousand men.

  This time the Allied Forces entered the array more cautiously, with crossbowmen on high alert in front, and the rest of the Allied Forces cutting down the obstructive wooden fences one by one and moving them out of the formation.

  As the "Refused Horse Array" was about to lose its intended effect, the Qin army finally stopped playing tricks and charged out to fight the allied forces. In just ten short steps, the front row of the Qin army and the three kingdoms' allied forces had changed three batches of people. The people on both sides used up all the crossbow arrows in their hands, and the knives and swords finally collided fiercely.

  Narrow road, no one has a way out. Either advance or retreat, either live or die. The ferocity and skill of the Qin army made up for the difference with the Wei army's heavy infantry, and the leading Wei army struggled to move forward, with more than a dozen people dying for every step forward.

  The brave Qin army soon discovered the weakness of the Wei army's heavy infantry with lives, that is, their weakly protected necks. With lives exchanged for lives, the Wei army's heavy infantry also began to suffer casualties. Especially after Qin brought in heavy armored infantry, the battle between the two sides became increasingly fierce.

  Advancing has become extremely difficult for either side. When both sides are not stingy with their lives, combat skills, combat experience, and equipment have all lost their effect, and now it's a contest of willpower between the two sides, a contest of support from behind.

  The reinforcements poured in to fill the gaps left by the dead, and lives became cheap. Unbeknownst to them, the ground beneath their feet was stained red with blood. As both sides suffered heavy casualties, there was hardly any room for either side to stand, and the rear troops had to send people to pull out the bodies.

  The Allied army's ferocity exceeded Bai Qi's expectations, and it would be unwise to engage in a war of attrition with them. With nearly a one-to-one casualty ratio, no matter how you calculated it, the Qin army was at a disadvantage. After some thought, Bai Qi decisively issued new orders.

  The military command flag in the Qin army waved, and the Qin army's refused horse array suddenly retreated. After an hour of fighting, both sides left behind nearly 10,000 corpses here.

  The Allied forces cheered excitedly, venting their excitement. Many people tried to pursue the victory, but were stopped by the rational Han Zhong.

  Zhao Jun's mind was also the same, Qin army could have held their ground and stalled with our side, but now they suddenly abandoned their position and retreated voluntarily. It's hard not to think that it might be another trick. After all, just a moment ago, the Qin army had easily given up their outermost camp, luring our side into the Ju Ma formation and suffering a great loss.

  The Allied Forces finally pushed open the array of Ju Ma after a great deal of effort, and the Qin army's large camp was presented to everyone without any cover.

  Seeing their own side advancing so quickly, the Allied Forces were somewhat complacent. Even Prince Ran was a little puzzled, could it be that the Qin army was really that vulnerable? It's worth noting that on the other side was Bai Qi, one of the Four Great Generals of the Warring States period! He had fought a hundred battles and never lost once.

  Although this side also has famous generals like Lian Po who is on par with Bai Qi, Lian Po's strength lies more in defending cities, whereas Bai Qi is truly a master of field battles. Among the six states of Shandong, only Li Mu can defeat the Qin army in mobile warfare. Speaking of Li Mu, Prince Ran sighed that Han really has no famous generals, if only they could poach Li Mu!

  The unusual behavior of the Qin army made Prince Yan feel a hint of conspiracy. But taking advantage of victory without pursuit would greatly damage morale. Therefore, with a wave of the allied army's command flag, two more armies of 10,000 men each advanced to meet them.

  At this time, the Qin army's large camp behind the horse array finally revealed its true appearance. It can be seen that the trenches extended endlessly and surrounded the Qin army's large camp, with crossbowmen guarding each trench. The sharp arrows shone with a cold light under the sunlight.

  "Wind! Wind! Great wind!" The angry roar came from the Qin army across the way.

  "Release arrows!" The central army's command flag of Bai Qi waved again.

  The next moment, countless arrows shot towards the defenseless allied army! The Qin army's famous arrow array revealed its sharp claws.

  Everything came too suddenly! The Allied Army had never expected that the Qin army would set up an arrow array behind the abatis, and the distance was as far as 150 steps.

  "Fall back! Fall back!" Han Zhong bellowed at the top of his lungs.

  It now appears that the Allied Forces' removal of the abatis was undoubtedly a self-dug grave. Initially, removing the abatis was to allow Zhao's iron cavalry to advance, but now, in front of them are countless trenches, and any cavalry would be hesitant to approach.

  The Allied Forces had also sent scouts to observe the Qin army's large camp behind the row of wooden barriers, but at that time, as far as the eye could see, it was flat land, and the Qin army had only set up a thin row of wooden barriers and a large number of iron caltrops. Moreover, there were not a few Qin soldiers who ran into the big camp, which further deepened the scouts' impression that the front was safe for hundreds of steps.

  In less than half a watch, how did countless trenches suddenly appear?! The scout died on the battlefield with an inexplicable question.

  All this was Bai Qi's plan. The trenches were covered with wooden boards and mud, while the army was hidden. When the three Jin armies left the formation of the array, the crossbowmen shot and killed the unguarded enemy. Trenches and crossbows, these are Bai Qi's real killer moves. Even if the allied forces broke through to the trenches at the risk of their lives, the Qin army could still drive out the three Jin armies by relying on the crisscrossing small roads.

  The allied forces, who were suddenly met with a great change, hastily retreated in disarray. They didn't have time to form a proper formation. Everyone instinctively raised their shields and retreated in a state of panic, subconsciously gathering together. A small number of soldiers who had lost their minds chose to turn around and run away in order to escape this hell as soon as possible. However, such actions would only bring death more quickly.

  Fortunately, perhaps in order to conceal the scouts of the Allied Army, the trench of the Qin army was more than 150 steps away from the refused array, and the Allied Army only needed to retreat 50 steps to get out of the range of the Qin army's crossbow arrows. Another fortunate thing is that the closest to the Qin army is the best-protected heavy infantry of the Allied Army, which undoubtedly reduced the casualties of the Allied Army.

  Even so, the Allied Army of fifty paces suffered no less than five thousand casualties. The original 20,000 relief troops ended up being a lifesaving straw to stop the Qin army from pursuing their victory.

  But after just over two hours of fighting, the Allied army had lost more than 11,000 men. The Qin army suffered a small loss, with only more than 6,000 casualties. The first skirmish between the two armies ended in a crushing victory for Bai Qi's forces!