"The only explanation is that Yuwen Tai blocked the news that Jiexiu had fallen and his troops were surrounded. The other chieftains were completely unaware of this and just thought that everyone had changed their target and went to Xiangling to snatch the big fish of Hedong Jia family."
Jia Xu said it very pointedly.
"So, what we should do now is to show our strength in front of the captured soldiers and horses, making them more desperate, and then release all the prisoners, and let these prisoners tell all of them that the soldiers and horses are surrounded. First, we should make the coalition forces commanded by Yuwen Tai chaotic, and then we will have a chance of winning."
Chapter 134: Attacking the Heart First
Liu Zhuang immediately acted according to the plan. He now had 5,000 soldiers from the Bai Ma and Zhangshui camps under his command. He also recruited 1,000 civilians in Jiexiu, and the county magistrates who came to join him. There were also 2,000 private soldiers from the aristocratic families. The 8,000 people formed a posture of more than 10,000 people, and conducted a grand military parade in Jiexiu in an orderly manner to boost their own confidence and intimidate the morale of the prisoners.
The flags were like clouds, the spears were like forests, the ground trembled when the army marched, the sky shook when the drums were beaten to cheer, the spring breeze blew, hundreds of red Han flags fluttered in the sky, like a sea of flames covering the sky and the sun! The terrifying momentum frightened the three hundred captives, and everyone trembled and stayed where they were, not knowing what the Han army wanted to do. There were too many of them. The soldiers and horses in Jiexiu alone might exceed the total number of the coalition forces.
"I originally wanted to kill 300 of you as a sacrifice, then go south to fight Yuwen Tai and annihilate all of you, but God is merciful, so I am willing to give you a chance."
Liu Zhuang walked up to the captives, his terrifying double pupils like four terrifying flying stars swaying and moving in the shadow of his face.
"Go away! You are free! But only temporarily. Now, I allow you to return to Yuwen Tai's camp and tell her that I have deployed 30,000 soldiers in Jiexiu to block her retreat, and 30,000 soldiers at the Yellow River ferry to block the ferry. She will never be able to defeat Yubi City in the south. Now she is trapped in a jar. The day when her food and grass run out, she will die."
"But I am willing to give you a chance. As long as you surrender, I will forgive you for what happened."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir!"
The troops who were originally thought to be dead were granted amnesty. After their ropes were untied one by one, they fled southward like crazy, wanting to get as far away from Liuzhuang and the Han army as possible!
"Hey? Aren't you from the Qiumuling clan? Why did you come here without guarding the boundary?"
Several troops lying in ambush in the north looked at the captives with great confusion.
"Defend your ass! Liu Zhuang, the governor of Hedong, led tens of thousands of Han troops to Jiexiu eight days ago! Our leader was shot dead by one of his brave generals! That Han woman was bigger than the orcs, and she shot a dark blue arrow from 200 meters away and killed our leader. As a result, the whole Jiexiu was lost! All the spoils we robbed in Xihe are gone!!!"
A centaur said in shock.
"Ah? Really fake?"
The group responsible for setting up an ambush in the north was stunned. Jie Xiu was lost? Tens of thousands of Han troops? Our way home was cut off? ? ?
"Why would I lie to you? The governor of Hedong said that surrender would save your life. Fuck surrender. I don't have time to talk to you anymore. I must tell that brat Heita this news immediately. If we don't take Jiexiu back quickly, everyone will be trapped here! Don't waste time in Yubi!"
The group continued to move south, but were stopped by their shocked compatriots.
"Alas! You've gone the wrong way. Black Otter is no longer in Yubi, and the army is now besieging Xiangling! Let's go! Let's go back together to report the situation!"
"Okay, let's go!"
Just like that, three hundred captives, carrying the sad news of Jiexiu's fall, swarmed into the camp where troops were stationed in Xiangling.
With precautions, Yuwen Tai could control his trusted scouts and prevent them from leaking the news.
However, these 300 captives were not direct descendants of her own Yuwen tribe, and she had never expected that Liu Zhuang would release the captives directly. For a time, Jiexiu was lost, supplies were lost, and the retreat was blocked. A lot of information spread throughout the camp like a plague. By the time Yuwen Tai found out, it was too late. The whole camp was in an uproar, and a large number of chiefs immediately rushed to Yuwen Tai to ask for an explanation.
"Black Otter! We can't fight Xiangling anymore! We must turn around immediately and retake Jiexiu! The remaining food is not enough for us to eat for a few days. If we can't take Jiexiu back, we will be trapped here and die! Even if we take Xiangling, how many days will the food of Hedong Jia family last for us? It's just a prolongation of life, forcibly extending the time of death."
"Yes, yes, why fight Xiangling! Let's go!"
This is a more polite way of speaking.
"Yuwen Tai! Are you deliberately trying to trick us? I was wondering why you, such a stubborn kid, suddenly gave up fighting for Yubi. You already knew that Jiexiu had fallen, right? You deliberately kept the news from me?"
"That's right, that's right! What the hell are you doing commanding? Your retreat has been cut off, and you're still going to attack Xiangling? Warriors of the Helou clan, follow me! Take Jiexiu back first!"
This is a rather aggressive statement.
"Do you know how to give orders? You are still standing here even though your retreat has been cut off. Let's go! My He Lai clan's warriors will go with your He Lou clan!"
"I heard from the governor of Hedong that those who surrender will not be killed. How about we ..."
This is a direct sign of disobedience.
Yuwen Tai's eyes turned dark and he was almost pissed off to death by these people.
"We can't go attack Jiexiu! The governor of Hedong is doing this to force you to attack the city. At this moment, he must have made a complete defense in Jiexiu. If we go back, we will be courting death!
Are your brains also muscles? Can't you think carefully and do what the enemy wants us to do? The advantage of man and horse is always cavalry field battle, not siege! As long as we fight Xiangling here, let those noble families put pressure on Liu Zhuang, force him to come to rescue immediately, and force him to go out of the city to fight a field battle, we will have a chance of victory! This is our only way to survive!!!"
"But is there a possibility that the governor of Hedong does not want to save the Hedong Jia family at all? He Liuhun also said that he did not know this man, and he was probably a civilian who came here to fight the Yellow Turbans. Moreover, we recently captured several prisoners near the Fen River. Everyone said that the governor of Hedong was in a fierce conflict with the aristocratic families, fighting for territory and people."
There was another group of people who had been conquered and absorbed by Yuwen Tai and were deliberately causing trouble.
"We are now being used as a pawn by the governor of Hedong! Helping him weaken the power of the nobles! How many days have we been fighting in Xiangling? Does the governor of Hedong have any intention of going south to rescue us? No! Your method was wrong from the beginning! The governor of Hedong doesn't want to save Xiangling at all! He hopes that Jia family of Xiangling will die sooner!"
Yuwen Tai was speechless. At this moment, He Liuhun was also in the middle of a fierce argument, wondering if he had really made a wrong prediction.
"Hurry back and fight Jie Xiu! Take away my retreat route! We can't waste time here any longer!"
Amidst the fierce quarrel, all the leaders of the troops except Yuwen Tai reached a consensus: why bother fighting Xiangling? We are going to Jiexiu!
Yuwen Tai had no choice. Attacking Xiangling, robbing the people, and forcing Liu Zhuang to fight outside the city was indeed the best solution at the strategic level, but it was the worst solution at the political level. The Xianbei people's inefficient tribal social system made it impossible for her to command these panicked chiefs. He Liuhun had no choice but to compromise. He bit the bullet and lifted the siege of Xiangling, went to fight Jie Xiu to the death, and opened the way home.
Chapter 135: Wuyuan Gao Clan
Three days later, Yuwen Tai was forced to arrive at the city of Jiexiu, where he set up camp with 10,000 troops. He reassembled the siege weapons used to attack Yubi and tried to blow up the city of Jiexiu and open up a way home.
These were 10,000 cavalrymen who were able to maneuver quickly, charge fiercely, and even integrate man and horse. They were not the infantry of Eastern Wu. Liu Zhuang did not dare to lead the cavalry to charge directly into the battle formation, as it was too risky. He just relied on the city walls to defend.
At this moment, Yuwen Tai looked at Jiexiu City, which had already made defensive preparations, and the thousands of Han soldiers on the city wall, and felt a little desperate. He ordered He Liuhun to write another letter to communicate with Liu Zhuang, and started to blow a lot of flattery.
Today, Yuwen Xianbei is leading tens of thousands of troops to the south. The Xiongnu chieftains are terrified, and the commanders in Hexi have fled. Only you, the governor of Hedong, have held on to Yubi, unmoved. You have also turned around and encircled and blockaded Yuwen Xianbei, trapping him in the Fen River Basin. The strategic bravery of the Xiongnu warlords is not even one-tenth as good as yours.
Liu Zhuang ignored the flattery at the beginning of the letter and continued reading.
Now, more than 10,000 Yuwen Xianbei soldiers are stationed under Jiexiu City. If they fight to the death, even if the Lord can win the final victory, he will suffer heavy losses. At the very least, he will need several years to recuperate, or at worst, all his forces will be lost. The world is about to be in chaos. Does the Lord want his soldiers to be consumed here in vain?
So I have a proposal. Lord, please let all of us go. This way, firstly, you can preserve your own strength; secondly, you can report the victory to the emperor and drive out the Xianbei invaders yourself, and live up to your position; thirdly, you can make friends with the Yuwen Xianbei. We swear that once Lord, you let us go, the Xianbei tribes that are heading south this time will never be your enemies for the rest of their lives.
Why would the Lord give up such a good opportunity of killing three birds with one stone and instead fight to the death with Yuwen Xianbei?
After reading He Liuhun's letter, Liu Zhuang almost let his troops go. Yes, he had already completely seized the strategic initiative. The other party had admitted defeat and now just wanted to go home. So he just let them go. Even if he let them go, he could still have the merit of repelling the Xianbei Hu people.
But Liu Zhuang thought about it and found that he had fallen into He Liuhun's language trap - why should I let you go! If I want to repel you, I can lead my troops to help Yubi. I will gather all the farmers and soldiers at all costs during the spring plowing, and then make a strategic detour from a long distance, block the Yellow River ferry, and launch a surprise attack on Jiexiu. Is it just to force you to surrender?
Besides, do I need to fight you to the death? I will stay behind the city wall for six or seven days, and all of you will starve to death outside Jiexiu City!
What Confucius said makes sense. Now that we are here, let’s bury him here!
"Who is this He Liuhun? He writes well. Why would such a scholar join the Hu people? It doesn't make sense."
Liu Zhuang asked his staff with some confusion.
"This succubus' tail and black wings look very familiar... Isn't this Gao Huan? I saw her when I was little."
Guo Huai recalled his childhood.
"She is the eldest daughter of the Wuyuan Gao family, which is also a prominent family, only slightly smaller than our Yangqu Guo family. When the adults get together, they often compare us young people. Her dragon blood awakened very early, and she has been smart and competitive since she was a child. She wants to be the best in everything. Only my sister Wang Ling and I can compete with her. The other children are no match for her.
This person just can't stand losing. He gets red-eyed and cries every time he loses.
But later when Wuyuan fell, the Xianbei people specifically targeted these wealthy families and robbed and plundered them, causing the entire Gao family in Wuyuan to not escape. I thought she was either dead or became a female slave of the Hu people, but I didn't expect her to be like this now, and she even gave herself a Xianbei name, He Liuhun. "
Guo Huai sighed deeply, his childhood rival had turned into this.
In response to the Han Chinese's persuasion for peace, Liu Zhuang ordered the Han Chinese of Tuoba Xianbei to use loudspeakers to shout on the city wall in response to He Liuhun.
"My fellow Xianbei people! You have only a few days left of food and grass. If you continue fighting, everyone will starve to death outside. But it doesn't matter! As long as you surrender, the governor of Hedong can guarantee the safety of all of you!
Look, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, the leaders of the Yellow Turbans who launched a rebellion last year and tried to overthrow the Han Emperor, surrendered to the Lord and saved their lives. How much more so for you? If you continue to fight, you will die. Only by surrendering can you survive!"
In the first round of propaganda offensives, both sides were equally matched. Soldiers and leaders on both sides basically believed that the other side's propaganda offensive was bullshit. Since they could not reach an agreement through negotiations, they had no choice but to attack head-on.
Hu Yanchu's orc master spent another day to assemble four city-blasting guns. He Liuhun's Han craftsmen also assembled a large number of ladders and battering rams. Jie Xiu is not Yubi. It was built relying on the mountain wall and Fen River, not directly on the cliffs. It is much easier to attack than Yubi!
War drums beat, horns blew, and four city bombers launched huge rocks with terrifying noises, smashing the walls of Jie Xiu City and causing them to tremble and shake, with dust flying everywhere.
Liu Zhuang did not want to give in to the other side, and also assembled eight catapults. Under the cover of the city wall, he threw out huge rocks tied with oilcloth and ignited with flames. These burning boulders drew terrifying parabolas in the air and smashed heavily into the distant bombardment of the city! The burning oilcloth tied to the stone ignited everything within sight, and engaged in a long-range weapon battle with Yuwen Xianbei. The third round of projection ignited an orc's bombardment of the city.
The two sides fought back and forth, and boulders the size of calves whizzed through the sky and smashed into the opponent's walls and siege weapons one after another, making the earth tremble and raising dust. Yuwen Tai once again transformed himself into a sleek giant black otter, digging a tunnel under the cover of night, trying to launch a sneak attack from the ground.
At this moment, Liu Zhuang's order was also being passed on. One thousand people from the three camps of Julu, Anyi and Laishui were to be left to guard the current fortress just in case. The rest of the people were to immediately come to the Jiexiu front line. The enemy had already fallen into the trap. We should close the net and catch all the Xianbei troops who fell into the trap!
The author says:
Author's words: 2050 monthly tickets plus more~
Chapter 136: The Power of Iron Heart
Upon hearing news from scouts in the rear that the defenders of Yubi, Longmen, and Fenyin were approaching and were about to encircle her, Yuwen Tai was worried to death. She tried to turn around and launch a surprise attack to support the Han army in a field battle, but the remaining food and grass could no longer support her doing so. The Xianbei people now had only five days of food left, and the journey from Jiexiu to Yubi was 150 kilometers, and it would take six days to go back and forth!
If he traveled a long distance and defeated the Han reinforcements, but was unable to seize enough food to feed 10,000 people for several days, then defeating these reinforcements would be meaningless and might even hasten his own death - the margin for error was too low.
What's more, the Han army was not nomadic. Every soldier had two laborers behind him who continuously transported food and fodder to the front line bit by bit. They did not bring their entire families with them. If they defeated the Han army, they could only get weapons and armor, but not large amounts of food and fodder.
There was no other way, Yuwen Tai could only bite the bullet and forcefully attack the city. Ladders were placed on the edge of the city wall with a deafening roar. A large number of orcs and Han people began to attack the city like ants, while the elite archers of the centaurs drew their bows and drew their arrows, providing cover from behind with rain of arrows.
Not only that, a battering ram sped across the flat ground, rushed to the city gate under the cover of a large number of shield bearers, and smashed the gate with a battering ram.
The five siege towers, each tens of meters high, were already higher than the city walls of Jie Xiu. A large number of orc and Han archers climbed to the top of the towers, bent their bows and pulled their crossbows from above, launching a rain of arrows at the enemy, ignoring the height of the city walls and their defensive advantage.
Four city bombardments were still bombarding another wall, which was destroyed by the Han army's catapults. A large number of orc masters rushed forward and repaired it at the fastest speed with incredible skills. Even though such an important thing as the force rod was smashed, the orc boys could crush a Squig on the spot, and use its extremely sticky juice to forcefully glue the broken parts of the force rod, leaving the onlookers stunned - although this thing broke again after being used twice.
Liu Zhuang stood on the trembling and shaking city wall, bathed in the heavy rain of arrows falling from the sky, and marveled at the superb and sophisticated siege technology of the Xianbei people. If the Yellow Turban Army had half of their siege technology, no, one-third, the rebellious area would have doubled, and perhaps the Han Emperor would not have been able to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion within a year, or the empire would have collapsed completely.
However, the Han people's siege technology was equally advanced.
Faced with the long-distance bombardment of the city, a large number of Han craftsmen assembled a large number of simple catapults to bombard each other, using quantity to make up for the poor accuracy.
Faced with the medium-distance siege towers, a large number of scholars from aristocratic families rushed onto the city walls under the cover of magic shields such as [Protective Arrows], withstood the rain of arrows, and then used super magic to double the range of their spells.
Then, flaming fireballs screamed across the sky, exploding on the wooden towers one after another! The internal structure was destroyed with arcane shock, and the wooden towers were ignited with the Burning Heaven Confucian Fire, turning the siege towers into burning torches. Thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the orcs trapped in the towers were even forced to jump out of the tower to escape, and then fell to the ground and turned into a puddle of meat sauce.
The only trouble was that the city gate was smashed open by the battering ram, but it didn't matter. The enemy still had to pass through a narrow corridor eight meters long to pass through the city wall and reach the city. It only took a hundred heavily armored soldiers to block the exit and it would be impregnable.
The Hu people who rushed into the corridor were trapped by the Han army. After being blocked in the corridor, they were shocked to find that there were countless skylights on the corridor, leading directly to the city gate tower. The defenders could throw logs and stones directly down from the city gate tower, killing one person if one came, and killing a pair if two came.
Although Jiexiu City is not as strategically located as Yubi, the size and quality of the garrison there far exceeds that of Yubi.
After the frontal attack failed, Yuwen Tai once again resorted to his old trick - digging tunnels.
Although they had received a pigeon message from Zhang He telling them about Yuwen Tai's terrifying ability to dig tunnels, the other Han soldiers had never experienced it themselves and found it difficult to understand what it meant. But now, they saw it: countless groundhogs with sleek fur dug directly into the city, and along with the collapsed land, they appeared behind the one hundred heavy infantrymen guarding the city gate, and then suddenly turned into fully armed and heavily armored horses!
Each of these centaurs was wearing brass armor like Yuchi Hong. Some of them had their armor fused with their flesh and blood, turning into metal centaur sculptures.
"Blood sacrifice to the Blood God! Skull sacrifice to the Skull Throne!!!"
A centaur wearing brass armor roared and swung a huge axe, splitting a Han soldier in half, including the man and armor. The other centaurs of Khorne were no less powerful, wielding giant war weapons in both hands, their eyes flashing with terrifying blood-red halos, and they followed the centaurs and cavalry who rushed into the corridor, attacking the city gate guards from the front and back.
"Fengxian! You fight in person!"
Liu Zhuang sent out his strongest trump card without hesitation to attack these troops who had turned into a group of marmots. According to Jun Yi's intelligence, this was the ability of the leader of the troops, Yuwen Tai!
Along with the deafening sound of bowstrings, one after another dark blue force field arrows whistled through the battlefield like meteors, causing damage to all the centaurs in the entire line, shooting down the bronze horses of Khorne and causing rivers of blood to flow.
Lü Bu used the power of his horse to charge and pierced a horse's chest with his halberd! The horse was quite tough and held on to the halberd with both hands, preventing Lü Bu from pulling the halberd out of his body, trying to buy time for his fellow soldiers. Two other horses wielded giant axes and rushed over from the left and right while Lü Bu was unable to pull out his halberd!
Lu Bu sneered, held the halberd with both hands, and exerted force suddenly. The man whose chest was pierced by the halberd felt his body lighten and flew up! He first swung to the left with the halberd, knocking the brother on the left to the ground, and then flew to the right, knocking the brother on the right away?
This Han man swung the halberd in his hand, along with his own weight, which was a ton. ? ?
Lu Bu swung his halberd and his horses together, treating the Khorne horses as brass hammers, swinging them left and right, smashing the brave Khorne soldiers to pieces, causing a river of blood. He single-handedly disrupted the formation of these Khorne believers, and then fifty heavy cavalry of the Han army came and completely defeated them with a devastating charge. The fifty light cavalry of the Han army began to make detours and outflanking according to the training regulations, leaving them no chance to retreat.
At this moment, Lu Bu suddenly felt his hands sink, and his halberd flew out of his hands. The horse he was riding suddenly became countless times larger, and the solid armor and his strong muscles collapsed inward. He stood on the saddle at a loss like an ant, while his compatriots fighting bloody battles around him were as tall as giants - I turned into a groundhog with my armor???
Yuwen Tai did not come out first this time. She had also heard that the leader of the Qiumuling clan was killed in seconds by a Han general, so she was cowardly and had been hiding underground to observe the strength of the Han army. At this moment, seeing that Lu Bu was unusually brave, she first turned him into a marmot, and then rushed out and stabbed Lu Bu, who was standing on horseback and at a loss, with a spear.
"clang!!!"
There was the clang of metal and sparks flew. Just when Lu Bu was about to be assassinated, a beam of crimson-purple lightning screamed over. Zhang Liao, taking advantage of his speed, instantly crossed a hundred meters and blocked Yuwen Tai tightly. Their spears and halberds collided, and the first round of the battle between the two was extremely dangerous. After all, Zhang Liao suffered from his youth and was suppressed by Yuwen Tai, who was famous for his strength and agility. Yuwen Tai waved his spear with one hand to block Zhang Liao's halberd, and his left index finger pointed at Zhang Liao's brow again, turning her into a groundhog under a brilliant black halo.
However, Zhang Liao had bought enough time. Lu Bu took a deep breath, and wisps of blood-red light shot up into the sky from the groundhog's fur, transforming into a magnificent phoenix shadow. With a shrill cry, Lu Bu used the Nine Swords Secret Technique taught by Lu Zhi to forcibly break free, remove the transformation magic, restore his true form, pick up the halberd stuck in the ground, and fight Yuwen Tai again!
Nine Swords·Iron Heart Flow——The Power of Iron Heart!!!
In the battle of spears and halberds, it was Yuwen Tai who was defeated this time. Lu Bu's extraordinary strength was top-notch even among the centaurs. After only one round of fighting, Yuwen Tai's expression began to change - his magic was similar to Confucianism, and he needed to use gestures to cast spells. When fighting against Zhang He and Zhang Liao, he had the advantage and had enough time to free up one hand to turn them into groundhogs.
But when fighting with Lu Bu, let alone freeing up one hand, all his energy had to be invested in defense. The halberd was like a giant python turning over a river or a mad dragon cutting through the clouds, which made him breathless. Every attack required him to concentrate 200% of his energy to resist, otherwise he would be split in half by the halberd in the next moment!
Suddenly, memories of ancient times emerged in Yuwen Tai's mind. After the Xianbei split, they occupied the Yunzhong and Wuyuan counties of the old Han Dynasty and generally only caused trouble for the Southern Xiongnu.
Those troops occupying Dingxiang usually go to Yanmen to cause trouble. According to what they said, Yanmen has produced a flying general who is comparable to Li Guang of the Western Han Dynasty in recent years. He has caused headaches for the brothers. The general is a woman, about meters tall, good at using bow and halberd, and has a crown-shaped dragon horn on her forehead. Could this be this person?
At this moment, Zhang Liao also bit himself to restore his original form and wanted to charge again, but was stopped by several of Yuwen Tai's personal guards.
Yuwen Tai fought with Lu Bu for twenty rounds in a row, almost breaking the battle record of the White Horse Camp, but he was just defending and holding on, let alone counterattacking. Her arms were numb from the shock, and her palms were cracked and bleeding.
She had no choice but to rely on the black armor on her body to forcibly resist Lu Bu's halberd. She immediately felt her ribs broken and her internal organs burst. Even though the halberd did not penetrate the armor, the strange power contained in it almost shocked Yuwen Tai to death. She fell to the ground with her front hooves, unable to withstand Lu Bu's attack in his violent state.
