Chapter 19: Li Yu's Second Battle with Lü Fengxian, Han Xing Greatly Defeats Dong Zhongying
Last time, Guan Yu had a fierce battle with Lü Bu and was knocked off his helmet by Lü Bu's halberd. At the critical moment, Li You rode alone to rescue Guan Yu. Li You asked Guan Yu to return to Yangping Pass and lead troops to respond. Now Li You is going to fight Lü Bu again!
Why did Li Yu return to Yangping Pass so quickly? When Li Yu returned, he ordered the abandonment of all military supplies and food, only keeping five days' worth of dry rations on hand, and marched day and night. Liu Bei didn't know about Zhang Fei's situation at Xiaomeng Pass and didn't dare send troops to block Li Yu. When Li Yu entered Xiaomeng Pass, he only rested his troops for a few hours to replenish their food before rushing straight to Yangping Pass. He even passed by the capital of Chengdu without visiting Liu Bei at the Hanxing Palace to discuss military matters, instead sending a letter to inform him that he was going directly to support Yangping Pass! Liu Bei didn't blame him, after all, his trust in Li Yu was very great!
Lü Bu and Li Yu were arch-enemies, and their eyes turned red when they met again. During the last allied forces' campaign against Dong Zhuo at Tiger Trap Pass, the two had clashed, with Lü Bu using his halberd to inflict a severe injury on Li Yu, while Li Yu countered with his trusty copper spear, striking Lü Bu so hard that he spat blood! These two men were all too familiar with each other, and as a modern man reborn into this era, Li Yu never doubted Lü Bu's ranking as the greatest warrior under heaven. Indeed, Lü Bu was unparalleled in martial arts among his contemporaries, invincible in his time, and unmatched throughout the Three Kingdoms!
At this moment, Lü Bu was seen wearing a three-pronged purple gold crown on his head, with a Western Sichuan red brocade hundred-flower robe hanging from his body. He wore a beast-faced helmet and a linked armor, with a Linglong lion belt tied around his waist. His bow and arrow were by his side, and he held a Fangtian painting halberd in his hand. He sat on a Red Hare horse that was neighing loudly: "Among men, there is Lü Bu; among horses, there is the Red Hare." Indeed, it was not an empty boast! Meanwhile, Lü Bu glared at Li Yu with his tiger-like eyes, and Li Yu had also matured a lot since he first stepped onto the battlefield. Now, Li Yu wore a purple gold linked armor, with a Nine Dragon Hero Lion belt tied around his waist. He wore a commander's golden helmet on his head and sat on a Yellow Dragon Horse. On the side of the horse was inserted a pair of familiar bronze twin maces. In his hand, he held a Fangtian painting halberd, exuding an aura that could intimidate enemies from a hundred paces away.
Li Yu rode up and said, "General Lü Bu, it's been a long time!" Lü Bu heard this and smiled, saying, "Li Yu, don't try to deceive me! Last time I let you escape was just luck. Today, I must take your life!" Li Yu thought that if he could stall for a while, it would be good, so he said, "I'm honored, but why do we need to fight today? Can't we just talk?" Lü Bu's face was smiling, but his heart wasn't, and he said, "Hmph! Li Yu, stop your nonsense! Come quickly and let us have a great battle of 300 rounds!" Li Yu saw this and became angry, saying, "Lü Bu, do you think I'm afraid of you? I have something to tell you. You are a subject of the Han Dynasty, with exceptional martial arts skills. Why did you surrender to the treacherous Dong Zhuo and acknowledge him as your foster father? Isn't that a betrayal of your ancestors and a shame for eternity? And isn't it also a waste of your own martial arts skills? Now, our great king Liu Bei is the true heir of the Han Dynasty, the uncle of the Emperor. If you were to surrender to my brother, wouldn't that be the same as surrendering to the Han Dynasty, to the imperial court? Wouldn't that be a way for you to use your strength for the country, to eliminate the treacherous Dong Zhuo and welcome back the Emperor? Wouldn't that be a glorious thing?"
Lü Bu laughed and said: "Li Yu, Li Yu, you'd better shut up! Do I, Lü Bu, not know what is right? In the days of Emperor Ling of Han, he appointed Zhang Rang and other ten eunuchs to power. They created the disaster of the Imperial Censor's imprisonment and did not care about the people's livelihoods being exhausted. Moreover, they listened to treacherous officials, and loyal and righteous people were forced out of office! Now my adoptive father, Grand Minister Dong Zhuo, was invited by General-in-Chief He Jin to enter the imperial court to deal with the ten eunuchs and other rebels! Emperor Ling passed on the throne to Emperor Shao, but Emperor Shao was weak and incompetent, and should have been deposed. If there were a ruler who could revive the Han Dynasty, use the worthy and eliminate the wicked, and strive to recreate a prosperous era, it would certainly be my adoptive father Dong Zhuo who established Emperor Xian of Han! Now your master, King of Han, Liu Bei, does not think about stabilizing the people? Instead, he repeatedly offends my adoptive father Grand Minister Dong Zhuo's authority. Today, our heavenly army has arrived, and you can no longer enjoy peace in one corner! You, Li Yu, are famous throughout the land. My adoptive father Grand Minister Dong Zhuo has said that if you surrender, he will certainly let you become a great general of the imperial court, and eliminate the rebels! Why not follow me to surrender to Grand Minister Dong Zhuo? First take Yi Province, then recover the Central Plains, and share wealth and glory together. What's the point of this struggle?! If you don't listen to my words, I'm afraid that today you will die without a place to bury your body, and regret it too late!"
Li Yu smiled and said: "General, you are wrong! As a minister, I am loyal to the Han Dynasty. As a son, I am filial to my parents. Born in the great Han, I am a subject of the Han. Moreover, I, Li Yu, have a deep friendship with Liu Bei, the King of Shu, and we have sworn to live and die together. How can I betray my loyalty and shame the words 'loyalty' and 'righteousness'? If you, Lü Bu, do not listen to my good advice, then let us decide victory or defeat in battle!"
Lü Bu saw this and said: "Li Yu, don't you know that a man's reputation can be ruined for eternity? I am offering you good advice. Since you won't listen, there is no need to say more. Come on, bring your horse over!"
Li Yu thought about it carefully, fearing that Lü Bu had many soldiers and he himself was in a hurry to rescue Guan Yu, only bringing his personal bodyguards with him. If they fought, he would surely be surrounded. Thinking of this, he could only say: "Lü Bu, hold your hand! We are both heroes of the world! Let us each retreat our troops and have a one-on-one duel. Are you afraid?"
Lü Bu, who was brave but lacked strategy, said: "I'm not afraid of you! This is great! I was worried that others would steal my credit!" Lü Bu immediately ordered his soldiers to retreat. Li Yu also gave the order for his troops to fall back and not advance.
Li Yu and Lü Bu stared at each other for a long time, but Lü Bu didn't say anything. He suddenly spurred his horse and charged towards Li Yu to kill him. Li Yu had originally wanted to talk some more to gain time and delay until the reinforcements arrived. However, he still felt that he was no match for Lü Bu in battle. Seeing Lü Bu charging with his halberd, Li Yu could only raise his spear and charge forward on horseback to meet him!
Because of the experience last time, Dong Zhuo's army had already beaten the war drums loudly to cheer for Lü Bu! Li Yu, because he was anxious to come and rescue Guan Gong, only brought a thousand personal guards, and another thousand soldiers who were not weak at all, shouted loudly: "General Wu is mighty! General Wu is mighty!" To boost Li Yu's morale. Li Yu and Lü Bu fought for about seven or eight rounds, but they exchanged blows twenty or thirty times between them. At this time, it was seen that Li Yu and Lü Bu were riding horses and dancing with their halberds, the two square sky-painted halberds flying up and down, in a fierce battle. One wanted to put the other to death, and the other wanted to kill him quickly. The soldiers on both sides cheered loudly in the array to help their respective generals' prestige! Lü Bu, the invincible hero, wielded this square sky-painted halberd, which was as thick as a wine cup; Li Yu also wielded a square sky-painted halberd with great strength, like a heavenly god. For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand!
The two of them exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye. Li Yu pulled his horse around and returned to his formation, panting for a moment to catch his breath. Lü Bu, being the brave warrior he was, said: "Li Yu, do you think you can run away?" As soon as he finished speaking, he charged over on his horse, killing intent in his eyes. Li Yu had only just caught his breath and could only raise his Fang Tian Hua Halberd to fight Lü Bu once again!
Li Yu and Lü Bu rode their horses side by side, holding up their halberds. Li Yu's halberd danced in the air like a pear flower, its defense was like wind and rain! Lü Bu attacked again and again but couldn't get past it! Li Yu waited for the right moment, pressed his halberd forward, and stabbed at Lü Bu's chest! But Lü Bu, being the world's unparalleled and invincible general, split the halberd with a single move, using both hands to deflect the attack and break through Li Yu's move! At this time, Lü Bu used the halberd as a large knife, chopping down at Li Yu's head. Li Yu didn't dare to slow down, drew back his halberd, and countered Lü Bu's move with a horizontal sweep! It can be said that Lü Bu and Li Yu were truly evenly matched opponents! The two fought intensely, neither gaining the upper hand; their battle was fierce, making it hard to determine who would win or lose.
This battle between Li Yu and Lü Bu lasted nearly a hundred rounds! Just then, the sound of killing came from behind Lü Bu. It turned out that Li Ru had brought Zhang Ji, Guo Si, Li Meng and others to hurry over. Li Yu was shocked and quickly raised his halberd to stab at Lü Bu's face. Lü Bu immediately countered with a move, but Li Yu was just pretending. He took advantage of the opportunity to pull back his horse and turn around to return to his own formation. The soldiers under Li Yu's command immediately surrounded him in the middle, meaning they were ready to fight to the death to let Li Yu escape!
At this time, Li Yu's rear was also shouting and killing, it turned out that Guan Gong had not dared to slack off when he went back, and immediately brought the 50,000 cavalry led by Li Yu and himself, as well as Xu Huang and Zhang Ren, Wu Anguo, Cheng Yuanzhi, and Deng Mao, four generals, to support Li Yu! Guan Gong did not want Wang Xue to follow, but Wang Xue insisted, Guan Gong had no choice but to let Cheng Yuanzhi and Deng Mao follow closely, in case of an emergency. At this time, Guo Jia had already cast four arrow towers and led his troops to follow closely behind the cavalry. Although infantry speed was far slower than cavalry speed, Guo Jia also issued an urgent order to reinforce Li Yu! Guo Jia understood that Li Yu was the backbone of Liu Bei's military team in Yizhou, and Li Yu's generalship was recognized from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he was absolutely a true great general! No one in Yizhou did not recognize Li Yu's position as a great general, all officials in Yizhou believed that Li Yu's generalship was well-deserved! Moreover, Li Yu's current reputation was such that it could make the lords look up to him! Li Yu was the hope of Liu Bei's military team, with Li Yu, Liu Bei's military team would be invincible. Guo Jia dared not imagine what a blow it would be to the morale of Liu Bei's military team if Li Yu were to lose, if Li Yu really died here, killed by Lü Bu, it could be said that Yizhou had lost half! So Guo Jia did not dare to be careless, when Guan Gong returned with his troops, he immediately agreed and also led the 100,000 infantry under his command to come and support. He also secretly ordered Yan Ping's Yan Yan to prepare to send troops to respond. And after receiving the order from Military Advisor Guo Jia, Yan Yan immediately prepared to order his soldiers to spread flags on the mountain pass of Yangping, as a decoy, while he concentrated all his cavalry to prepare to respond to Li Yu and Guo Jia's entry into the pass! Concentrating infantry at this time was no longer necessary, because Yan Yan understood that what was needed for response was speed, waiting for the infantry to run over would be too late! It could be said that at this time, Guo Jia was willing to lose Yangping Pass in order to protect Li Yu!
Fortunately, Li Yu had not yet become sworn enemies with Lü Bu, but at this time, Li Ru also arrived with his army. Li Yu saw that the cavalry of his own household had come, and did not wait for Li Ru's Dong Zhuo troops to form a battle array!
Li Yu's sinister order, Li Yu shouted to his own thousand-strong army and the people who were rushing behind him, Guan Gong, Xu Huang, Zhang Ren, Wu An, Cheng Yuanzhi, Deng Mao and others: "Don't stop, immediately form a sharp peak array and charge into Dong Zhuo's army!" As soon as Li Yu finished speaking, he led his personal army to charge towards Lü Bu and Li Ru's Dong Zhuo army. Lü Bu was not to be underestimated, and he immediately led his five thousand Western Liang iron cavalry to welcome them. However, Li Yu was cunning, and before Lü Bu's cavalry could approach, he ordered his soldiers to shoot arrows. As we mentioned earlier, Li Yu had equipped all the infantry and cavalry of Yi Province with small crossbows, so it can be said that before Lü Bu's Western Liang iron cavalry could get close, Li Yu had already knocked down a large number of them! Lü Bu's Western Liang iron cavalry hadn't even touched Li Yu's personal army, but they were shot down by the hundreds, with nearly seven or eight hundred people falling. This was a heavy loss indeed! Lü Bu's eyes were bloodshot, and he ordered his cavalry to surround Li Yu and his personal army without regard for anything else. Just as Li Yu's personal army and Lü Bu's Western Liang iron cavalry clashed, Guan Gong heard Li Yu's order clearly and led ten thousand cavalrymen to charge over. This time, it was Lü Bu and his Western Liang iron cavalry who were surrounded! Lü Bu didn't care about finding trouble with Li Yu anymore; he could only left and right, trying to break out of the encirclement. However, Guan Gong was a man who remembered grudges, and no matter where Lü Bu ran, Guan Gong would lead his army to surround him. As soon as Lü Bu's cavalry broke out of the encirclement, Guan Gong immediately ordered his archers to shoot at Lü Bu's Western Liang iron cavalry. In a short while, Lü Bu's Western Liang iron cavalry had already suffered heavy losses! Only a few hundred people and Lü Bu himself were left to make a last-ditch effort to break out of the encirclement. At this time, Li Ru saw the danger that Lü Bu's army was in and immediately ordered his soldiers to welcome them. However, there was still a considerable distance between them, and it remained to be seen whether the number one fierce general could hold on until they arrived. Anyway, Guan Gong had no intention of giving up this opportunity, and he was determined to finish off Lü Bu!
At this time, Xuhuang saw Guan Gong kill his way over, but he gave up resisting Li Ru's army and led his troops to attack Li Kui's camp. It turned out that Xuhuang had his own plan, taking advantage of the situation to attack while the enemy was weak. Through the previous battle between Lü Bu and Li Yu, Li Kui's camp was already weakened, and destroying it would be like cutting off the right wing of Dong Zhuo's army. Xuhuang made a swift decision to abandon resisting Li Ru's rescue troops and instead led his army to attack Li Kui's camp directly.
At this time, Li Kui's camp had no commander, and there was no one in charge. Why was there no general? Because Li Kui was not in the camp. Earlier, Li Kui had fought with Guan Gong and was seriously injured, so he had returned to Dong Zhuo's main tent to recover.
The soldiers in the camp saw Xuhuang's army approaching and lost their will to fight. They basically all started running away, but they couldn't outrun the four-legged horses. Xuhuang led his army at a killing pace! In no time, Xuhuang's large axe had killed countless enemy soldiers. His body was stained with fresh blood as he wielded his axe like a ghostly demon in the midst of the enemy army!
However, it was all the blood of Dong Zhuo's enemy soldiers, and Xuhuang's 20,000 cavalrymen were also crazily harvesting the lives of Li Kui's camp soldiers!
At this time, Li Ru also took advantage of the opportunity to finally catch up and surrounded Guan Yu. However, Guan Yu and Li You were not so easily defeated by Li Ru. When Li Ru's soldiers were still 50-60 meters away from the encirclement, Li You ordered his cavalry to release a barrage of arrows. Although they had been fighting against Lü Bu's Western Iron Cavalry, there were still over 10,000 remaining. The continuous arrow fire caused more than 15,000 of Li Ru's soldiers to fall, either killed or disabled. This did not include those who were lightly wounded and still able to fight. Li Ru was enraged and ordered Li Meng and Zhang Ji to rescue Lü Bu at all costs. In his heart, Li Ru understood why the other warlords did not dare to invade Dong Zhuo's territory - it was because of Lü Bu's unmatched bravery. The other warlords feared Lü Bu and therefore did not continue their campaign against Dong Zhuo. However, if Lü Bu were defeated, they would stop at nothing to attack Dong Zhuo, the so-called "Han traitor". Therefore, Li Ru knew that even if all his soldiers were lost, he had to rescue Lü Bu. On the other hand, he ordered Guo Si to return alone to Dong Zhuo's main camp and request reinforcements. At this time, Li Ru could see that Li You was determined to fight to the death. Although Li Ru did not know how many soldiers Li You had brought with him, he knew that his own right wing of 50,000 men was beyond hope, and he was certain that his own forces were outnumbered by Li You's Yizhou army. Moreover, he was well aware of the fighting strength of the Yizhou army, so he could only send Guo Si to request reinforcements.
It can be said that Xu Huan's side is the most smooth and easy to fight, while Li Yu and Guan Gong's side is the most difficult. Xu Huan also wants to quickly resolve this battle and go support Li Yu and Guan Gong, but opportunities are fleeting and will not come again. Missing this chance will lead to eternal regret. Moreover, it's now difficult for him to let them off, as Li Quan's troops have already merged with his own!
At this time, Lü Bu had also broken through the encirclement and met up with Li Ru. However, the Western Liang Iron Cavalry led by Lü Bu could be said to have followed him out of the encirclement with only a few dozen men left! Lü Bu's hatred was deep, and the Yizhou cavalry were too ruthless, using bows and crossbows. Even though they had already broken through, over a thousand brothers had been shot down!
At this time, Li Yu and Guan Yu also met up. Guan Yu saw Li Yu and was overjoyed! The two brothers could be said to be closer than real brothers. Li Yu knew he wasn't a match for Lü Bu, but he still came alone to rescue Guan Yu. This bond between them was heavier than a mountain in Guan Yu's eyes!
Guan Yu's eyes were filled with hot tears as he said: "Fourth brother! You're safe and sound, that's great! If you had anything happen to you, I would have no face to see our big brother or third brother and sister-in-law! If you were lost, I would only be able to apologize by cutting my own throat!"
Li Yu saw this and said: "Second brother, don't say such things. The most important thing now is to break through Li Ru's encirclement and meet up with Xu Huang!" Guan Yu heard Li Yu's words and said: "Everything will be decided by the commander-in-chief. Also, Zhang Ren and our sister Wang Xue, Cheng Yuanzhi, and Deng Mao are leading 70,000 cavalrymen who will arrive soon!"
Li Yu heard this and burst out laughing, saying: "Haha, then second brother, we won't have to break through! As long as we hold on for a little while, we can counter-encircle Li Ru's men!" Guan Yu said: "That's right!"
Li Yu raised his spear and shouted: "All soldiers, now is the time of life and death! It's said that when two armies meet on a narrow road, the brave will win! Let Dong Zhuo's troops witness the might of our Yizhou army, see the bravery of our Han men from Shu! We'll use the enemy's blood to prove our own courage! Are you willing to follow me into life and death?"
Over 10,000 people on horseback shouted in unison: "We're willing to follow the general into life and death!" Li Yu heard this and his heart was filled with ambition as he said: "I'll lead 5,000 men with Guan Yu, each of us leading a wing. We'll charge at Li Ru, using crossbows from a distance and fighting up close! With my spear in hand, I am the master of the world! Who dares to contend with me?"
The 10,000 cavalrymen split into two groups, one shouting: "With my spear in hand, I am the master of the world! Who dares to contend with me?" The other group led by Guan Yu shouted: "With the Green Dragon in hand, I am the master of the world! Who dares to contend with me?"
Guan Yu and Li You led their troops into the Dong Zhuo army led by Li Ru, and the Yizhou cavalry made Li Ru angry. They galloped forward while shooting arrows at Li Ru's troops, who had to order his infantry to form a formation to resist the arrows, with the cavalry behind. This limited the cavalry's charge, but these Yizhou cavalrymen were not afraid of death. They charged in, thinking they could engage in close combat, but instead, they threw out their long spears in unison, which was unexpected by Li Ru, causing him to lose many men.
When Li Ru tried to order his cavalry to attack, the Yizhou cavalry drew their swords and entangled themselves with Li Ru's Western Liang iron cavalry and infantry. This made their own cavalry dare not charge forward because there were still their own infantry in front. However, Li You and Guan Yu did not care about this and launched a fierce attack.
Moreover, what made Li Ru even more frustrated was that he thought the Yizhou cavalry would be easily defeated by the Western Liang iron cavalry's long spears after they had thrown away their long spears. But the Yizhou iron cavalry lived up to their reputation, and their swords were not inferior to the Western Liang iron cavalry's long spears. The two armies clashed, with Li Ru always at a disadvantage.
What made him even more angry was that Li You and Guan Yu, like two war gods, fought as if they were in no man's land. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade flew up and down, making Li Ru dizzy. Every time he saw Guan Yu wield the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, it would bring about a bloody dance among his troops.
On the other side, Li You's Square Heaven Painting Halberd danced with pear flowers and rain, and countless men fell under this halberd. Because Lü Bu had been lightly injured in the previous battle, Li Ru did not dare to send him out again. But Zhang Ji and Li Meng were no match for Guan Yu and Li You, and they were defeated.
Li Ru was furious! He hated Liu Biao's treachery, which made Li You return to support Yangping Pass. At this time, Li Ru could only pray in his heart that his father-in-law Dong Zhuo would arrive soon with reinforcements. Otherwise, he would prepare to retreat. After all, if these troops were lost and they couldn't even take the lives of Guan Yu and Li You, then such a great loss would be unbearable for the Dong Zhuo army.
Li Ru understood that at this time, the Dong Zhuo army was being pointed at by thousands of people. If they lost this battle too badly, other lords would take advantage of it to attack Dong Zhuo and share the spoils.
Just then, something unexpected happened to Li Ru. Zhang Ren and Wang Shuang's wife arrived, and Wang Shuang was afraid that her husband Li Yu would lose, so she didn't listen to Guan Yu's suggestion to slow down the pace, but instead urged them to speed up as much as possible. Deng Mao and Cheng Yuanzhi were also too afraid to stop this woman, so they had no choice but to follow closely with their troops. Zhang Ren was even more afraid that Wang Shuang would lose, so he abandoned his main force and led a few thousand elite soldiers in a triangular formation to protect Wang Shuang and the troops she led. Zhang Ren knew how much his commander valued this woman, and if anything happened to her, he had no doubt that his own head would be chopped off! The main force was also handed over to Deng Mao and Cheng Yuanzhi! Deng Mao and Cheng Yuanzhi could only desperately urge the army to speed up!
At this time, Wang Xue and Zhang Ren led their less than 5,000 cavalry to arrive. Wang Xue saw Li Yu covered in blood and became angry, not caring if it was his own blood or not, saying: "Zhang Ren, let's charge forward together! I want to see who dares to touch my husband!" Zhang Ren didn't dare to refute her, only saying: "As you command, madam!" Wang Xue didn't care about formations or anything else, but he was also useless in combat. Zhang Ren had no choice but to place Wang Xue in the middle and lead the charge himself! Zhang Ren was still worried that if General Li found out he had brought his wife onto the battlefield, he would be in trouble. But he couldn't afford to offend her either, so he gritted his teeth and charged forward! Zhang Ren had always been bold since he was young, and it seemed like he wanted to make sure Li Yu knew he had arrived, as he ordered his less than 5,000 troops to shout loudly and charge into the enemy ranks! Li Yu was indeed caught off guard, not knowing that Zhang Ren had led these troops to arrive. This just proved that Zhang Ren was not only brave but also cunning, using a clever tactic on Li Yu. Li Yu could only order his soldiers to split up and deal with Zhang Ren's troops! At this time, Wu An Guo arrived with reinforcements. Wu An Guo was anxious to repay the debt of gratitude he owed to Li Yu for saving his life, so he hastened the pace of his troops. The 10,000 cavalry led by Wu An Guo charged forward without stopping, not caring about formations or anything else! This time, Li Yu was stunned! What kind of battle was this? It was a fight to the death! At this time, Zhang Ren's momentum became unstoppable, swinging his silver spear like lightning. Who could stop him? He broke through Li Yu's camp and rushed towards Li Yu's location. Cheng Yuan Zhi and Deng Mao also arrived with their troops. The two of them saw that there was no need to reorganize their formations and charged forward directly. The Yizhou cavalry attacked from all sides, aiming straight for Li Yu!
The troops of Liu Bei's army were like fierce tigers descending from the mountains, their horses like dragons emerging from the water. Their swords and spears rose and fell in unison, as they charged forward with a deafening roar.
As they clashed with the enemy, the sound of clashing steel echoed through the air, and the ground shook beneath their feet. The enemy lines were breached, and their soldiers fled in disarray.
The battle raged on for hours, until the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the carnage. The Liu Bei army had emerged victorious, but at great cost. Their commander, Liu Bei, surveyed the battlefield, his eyes scanning the sea of bodies.
Just then, Dong Zhuo arrived with reinforcements, and Li Ru's heart skipped a beat as he saw the enemy army regrouping. But before they could launch another attack, a loud explosion shook the ground, and a massive cannonball came crashing down, sending soldiers flying in all directions.
The Liu Bei army took advantage of the distraction to launch a fierce counterattack, led by Guo Jia himself. The enemy lines were quickly breached, and their soldiers fled in panic.
As the battle raged on, Lü Bu and Li Ru rode out to meet Dong Zhuo, who was fleeing with his remaining troops. Li Ru urged him to retreat quickly, but Dong Zhuo was determined to fight on.
Meanwhile, Liu Bei's army was closing in for the kill. Their commander, Liu Bei, was determined to capture or kill Dong Zhuo, and he ordered his soldiers to press their attack.
As the enemy army retreated, they were met with a hail of arrows and rocks, which rained down on them like a deadly storm. The ground was slick with blood, and the air was thick with the smell of death.
Dong Zhuo's army was in full retreat now, but Liu Bei's soldiers were hot on their heels. They chased them for miles, cutting down any who dared to stand in their way.
Finally, Dong Zhuo's army reached the safety of a nearby river, where they had set up a defensive position. But even here, they were not safe from Liu Bei's wrath.
As they caught their breath and tended to their wounded, they heard the sound of drums beating and horns blowing. It was the signal for the final attack.
Liu Bei's army emerged from the trees, their swords and spears at the ready. They charged forward with a fierce battle cry, determined to destroy Dong Zhuo's army once and for all.
The battle was intense and chaotic, with soldiers clashing and horses screaming. But in the end, it was Liu Bei's army that emerged victorious, having defeated Dong Zhuo's forces and sent them fleeing in disarray.
As the dust settled, Liu Bei surveyed the battlefield, his eyes scanning the sea of bodies. He had won a great victory, but at what cost? The enemy army was defeated, but many of his own soldiers had fallen in the battle.
He turned to Guo Jia, who stood beside him, and nodded in respect. "You have done well, my friend," he said. "But we must not forget the sacrifices that our soldiers have made today."
Guo Jia bowed his head in agreement. "We will never forget, my lord," he said. "And we will make sure that their sacrifice is not in vain."
Dong Wen and Niu Fu's 100,000-strong rear army clashed with Li Yu's Liu Bei-led army from dawn till midnight, killing Dong Zhuo's troops until they abandoned their flags and armor, scattering in defeat. Niu Fu was killed by Zhang Ren, and the rear army lost nearly 70,000 men. On Li Yu's side, his 250,000-strong army of 150,000 infantry and 100,000 cavalry suffered heavy casualties, with only 120,000 infantry and less than 50,000 cavalry remaining.
However, they gained a great victory, capturing over 700,000 prisoners, 40,000 horses from the Western Liang, and countless military supplies. Dong Zhuo's army was severely depleted: Guo Si and Li Jue's 100,000-strong force lost nearly all their men, leaving only 20,000; Lü Bu's elite 5,000-strong cavalry had less than 20 men remaining; Li Ru's 50,000-strong force had less than 7,000 men left; Dong Zhuo's main army of 200,000 was reduced to 150,000. The rear army led by Dong Wen returned with only over 30,000 men.
Dong Zhuo's original 450,000-strong army was now reduced to less than half, at around 200,000 men. Li Yu's 250,000-strong army was also severely depleted, leaving only 170,000 men. Although they captured over 700,000 prisoners, these could not immediately join the battle. Li Yu ordered them sent back to Chengdu for Chen Gong to handle.
I don't like writing short chapters, so my chapters are all long. It's comfortable to write this way. Also, it's not easy for a newcomer to write a book. Today is the first day of launching, please recommend and reward more! Please recognize my work! Please encourage me! Thank you!
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