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Chapter 841: The Chaos That Emerged...
🕑 Added 2024-10-19 08:16:07 +0000 UTCAt this moment, the sky had completely darkened. By the light of the torches and the oil that continued to burn below the city walls, Li Tong could clearly see the situation atop the walls.
Seeing that the troops had once again scaled the walls, and that the entire city seemed on the verge of collapse, Li Tong no longer hesitated. He immediately led a reserve legion, which had been kept in the rear, into the fray. After several attempts, he realized that the reason they had been unable to breach the city was due to the lack of a decisive force to tip the scales.
"They’ve finally made their move?" Fazheng, watching the massive fireballs from the three legions gathering atop the western city walls of Xiapi, chuckled softly. He turned to the silent death soldiers beside him, saying, "Even if the command flag of our army is broken, even if I fall, do not turn back. See that banner there? Cut it down for me."
"Understood!" Three hundred death soldiers cupped their fists, donned their armor, and silently bowed as they headed toward the rear troops by the western city wall. At this point, the Yu Province army no longer had any reserves. Just like when Zhou Yafu awaited the rebellious army’s attack on the Liang Kingdom and was about to win, the reserves were fully committed to the battle.
As they slowly approached the charging Yu Province army, when they were within ten meters, the three hundred death soldiers suddenly leaped into action. A fierce battle cry erupted, and Fazheng's death soldiers, in a tight formation, crashed into the rear of the Yu Province forces, causing immediate chaos. The burning oil quickly spread, igniting a large portion of the Yu Province army's rear.
"Reinforcements have arrived!" The soldiers atop Xiapi’s city walls shouted when they saw the Yu Province troops in disarray on the western side. The Liu Bei forces, who had been on the verge of losing the walls, suddenly felt a surge in morale.
Just as Zhao Yun had said earlier, there may be no auspicious clouds or military formations, but as long as every soldier is willing to die, they could still fight against any army in the world, even without external support.
The three hundred death soldiers fought desperately, plunging into the Yu Province army. At the moment their rear descended into chaos, Fazheng mounted his horse and led his troops into the Yu Province army. The key to defeating a larger force with a smaller one is for the commander to lead by example.
"Kill! Leave no commanders alive!" Fazheng roared, gripping his sword, and charged forward. His troops followed closely, shouting as they charged as well. Though Fazheng was not a military strategist, he understood that in chaotic battle, victory depends on experience and courage, both of which his soldiers had in abundance.
As Fazheng charged out, on the eastern side of the city, Gan Ning led his two thousand troops, hidden by Fazheng, and also prepared to strike. Unlike Fazheng, who needed death soldiers to pave the way, Gan Ning led the charge himself. In an instant, the Yu Province army fell into chaos. Men and horses tumbled as they were caught off guard by the assault from both the east and west, and Liu Bei's forces inside the city launched a counterattack, plunging the Yu Province forces into utter confusion.
"Hold steady! Steady!" Yan Jun shouted. In such a situation, maintaining the morale and stability of the troops was crucial. In large-scale battles, disorder leads to defeat, not necessarily the enemy’s strength. With seventy to eighty thousand soldiers, even if they were pigs, as long as they didn’t panic, they wouldn't be so easy to defeat.
"Kill!" While Yan Jun was trying to stabilize his troops, the death soldiers, dressed similarly to Yuan Shu’s army, charged forward. Before Yan Jun could react, he was beheaded by a swift blow, and the command flag was slashed down. Having not yet ascended the walls, Yan Jun, standing far in the rear, was killed before he had a chance to react.
With Yan Jun dead, the outer defenses of the western route army lost their leadership and collapsed, and Fazheng’s troops drove them toward Laimin, who was also stationed on the western city wall. The entire situation descended into chaos. Laimin, who had placed Yan Jun in charge of commanding the rear troops while he led the assault, was caught off guard when Yan Jun was killed. Before Laimin could retreat to take command, his forces were engulfed by the panicked remnants of Yan Jun’s legion, and Fazheng’s three thousand soldiers pushed them toward the southern part of the city like herding ducks.
At the same time, Gan Ning killed Shi Yi on the eastern side of the city. Although Huo Jun, who had scaled the walls, managed to escape with his life, it was a pity that Yan Jun, known historically as one of the Five Lords of Wu, who once held the title of Chancellor, was killed by a mere soldier. Shi Yi, who had a lifespan of eighty-one years in history, was now cut down by Gan Ning at the age of less than thirty.
Gan Ning and Fazheng led their troops toward the southern city, pushing the retreating armies from both the east and west. Once these fleeing forces collided in the southern part of the city, it was inevitable that the entire southern army would fall into chaos and collapse.
When Li Tong heard that reinforcements had arrived, he knew things were about to take a turn for the worse. He immediately leaped from the city wall, hoping to quickly set up defenses before the retreating armies from the east and west converged. He now understood the mistake he had made.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Before Li Tong's soldiers could set up defenses, the fleeing troops from both directions crashed into each other. Gan Ning and the death soldiers then attacked from the north and south, smashing into Li Tong’s army with full force.
"Chengming! Take the rear guard and retreat according to the original plan! Head toward Jiangdong and don’t linger. I will cover the rear!" Li Tong decisively shouted at Pan Rui.
Pan Rui, understanding there was no time for hesitation, immediately led the soldiers on the southern city wall to shoot down the retreating soldiers who dared to charge at them, retreating as they fought. Meanwhile, Li Tong led his personal guards and charged toward the fleeing troops from both directions, ruthlessly cutting them down.
"You figured out the problem so quickly? Indeed, you are capable, but I've already joined forces with Xingba," Fazheng, who did not suffer from night blindness, could still see clearly in the dark. Seeing the opposite side’s fierce attempts to cut down their own retreating soldiers, he knew exactly what they were trying to do.
"Hmph! You want to use brutal tactics to intimidate your own retreating soldiers, hoping their fear of death will force them to charge back at us? That’s clever, and ruthless too, but if I let you succeed, I wouldn’t deserve to be called Fazheng!" Fazheng sneered coldly, "Kill them all!"
"Ganmou, go inform Xingba to take that man down. With the army in chaos, even the auspicious clouds have dissipated, yet he’s still acting so openly. Tell Xingba I want him alive!" Fazheng ordered Ganmou, who was guarding him.
Before Ganmou could leave, Fazheng was shot down from his horse. Just as Fazheng had said earlier, the auspicious clouds had dispersed, and acting so openly was a recipe for death.
Li Tong had seen Fazheng, and likewise, Fazheng had spotted Li Tong. Li Tong immediately shot an arrow at him, and, as Fazheng hadn’t been paying attention or using his spiritual energy, he was hit and fell from his horse.
"The enemy commander is dead!" Li Tong shouted when he saw Fazheng fall, though he wasn’t sure if Fazheng was truly dead. What mattered at that moment was raising morale.
However, Li Tong’s shout had no effect. Fazheng was not a general, and he wasn’t the one actually commanding the battle.
Fazheng’s unexpected fall caused chaos among those guarding him, but for everyone else, the battle continued as usual. Before the battle, Fazheng had made it clear: even if the command flag is cut down, the army must still be destroyed first!
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