Chapter 47: Starting the Counterattack (Part 6)

The Wuhuan warriors attempted to scale the city walls, but a torrential downpour of heavy stones and rolling logs suddenly cascaded from above, creating a continuous, terrifying chorus of crashes.

Every now and then, a Wuhuan warrior managed to reach the parapet, only to be impaled through the chest by the spear of a defending Han soldier before he could find his footing, then shoved over the edge to plunge screaming to the ground below.

Luo Ang stood on a high vantage point, surveying the battlefield before him. He finally understood why Zhao Yun and Zuo Ci had been able to hold this position relying solely on refugees and commoners.

The surrounding terrain did not appear particularly perilous, but because the town was built against the mountain's contours, its front was not only difficult to climb, but also offered a very limited space for an attacking force to deploy.

Although the enemy forces were numerous, they struggled to spread out, allowing the defenders to hold off the assault with only a fraction of the manpower.

The Wuhuan warriors had launched fierce assaults for a long time, and the corpses beneath the city walls were now piled as high as mountains, yet they still failed to shake the defensive line Luo Ang had established. Inevitably, the momentum of their attacks was fading away.

At that moment, a series of bugle horns sounded from within the Wuhuan camp, and the attacking troops ceased their assault, receding like an ebbing tide.

Luo Ang observed the enemy forces outside the town, contemplating the opportune moment to withdraw.

By now, the sky had brightened, the dark night having passed unperceived.

The sun hung on the eastern horizon, casting its pale light across the battlefield. Although the early morning is usually a time brimming with vitality, the atmosphere right then was heavy with a stern and murderous chill.

Suddenly, the movement of a distant enemy detachment caught Luo Ang's attention.

A cavalry force of about forty thousand riders detached itself from the main nomadic coalition formed by the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Xiongnu, rapidly moving into the mountain forests to the southeast. They were clearly intending to bypass the town and pursue the retreating civilians.

Meanwhile, the main barbarian force outside the city had gathered and refrained from continuing their assault. They were evidently waiting, biding their time in the hope that Luo Ang, unable to restrain himself, would lead his forces out of the town to rescue the civilians, allowing them to pounce and capture the town in a single stroke. Once the town fell, his force of a few thousand men would lose its stronghold and find themselves trapped in the encirclement of more than one hundred thousand enemy cavalry, with the outcome being painfully self-evident.

It seemed these barbarians were not entirely brainless brutes; among them were some rather cunning figures.

The Left Wise King gazed at the town from afar, his eyes narrowed.

At that moment, he saw the Han soldiers who had been defending the town walls rapidly retreating from the ramparts, a look of delight instantly crossing his face.

The Xianbei King beside him remarked, "The Left Wise King's strategy has succeeded! As expected, they have no choice but to withdraw! With this, victory is within our grasp!"

The Wuhuan King said impatiently, "Let us attack!"

The Left Wise King replied, "There is no rush. Wait a little longer. Only when they have all evacuated the town should we launch our assault."

About half an hour later, a scout responsible for observing the movements of the Han forces galloped back and reported, "Great King, the Han troops have all left the town!"

The Left Wise King laughed heartily and said with arrogant pride, "I thought this Marquis of Yan was someone extraordinary, but it turns out he only amounts to this much—truly disappointing! Full force, advance! Leave none of them alive!"

The unique bugle horns of the steppe nomads blared. Instantly, the cavalry of all three tribes charged forward, surging toward the town like a flood.

Before long, the town gates were smashed open, and the nomadic horsemen poured in overwhelmingly.

At that instant, the earth near the town began to tremble, and immediately afterward, the entire ground beneath them collapsed downward.

The hundreds and thousands of cavalry charging at the very front were utterly unprepared, plunging horses and riders alike into a massive pit. The riders closely following behind could not stop their momentum and hurtled straight into the abyss ahead.

In an instant, the shrieks of horses and shouts of men merged into a chaotic roar, throwing the scene into utter turmoil.

The remaining cavalry managed to halt their charge right at the edge of the pit, and a horrifying sight instantly greeted their eyes.

The bottom of the pit was densely bristling with sharpened iron-tipped wooden stakes, and the men and horses that had fallen in were pierced through like honeycombs, a spectacle too gruesome to behold.

The cavalrymen standing at the edge of the pit were completely stunned, not knowing what to do.

At that moment, the Han soldiers, who supposedly had left, suddenly appeared on the surrounding walls and rooftops, unleashing a torrential rain of arrows.

The barbarian cavalry gathered around the pit could neither advance nor find shelter, and were instantly shot down in droves, horses and riders tumbling over one another.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Amidst cries of panic and alarm, the nomadic horsemen scrambled to retreat in desperate haste, plunging the entire area into chaos.

Some riders who accidentally fell from their mounts had no time to scramble back to their feet before they were trampled into the dirt by the frantically retreating cavalry and crushed to death.

The Left Wise King, who had originally believed his strategy had succeeded, was suddenly struck by the sight of his cavalry charging through the gates and retreating in panic. He demanded, "What is the meaning of this? What happened up ahead?"

Before long, a chieftain came running back in a panic, shouting anxiously, "This is bad, Left Wise King! We walked right into an enemy ambush, and we've lost over a thousand warriors!"

Hearing this, the Left Wise King stared in disbelief, his eyes wide.

Soon, the main army fell back in disarray, and the gates were slammed shut behind them.

The three tribal cavalry factions were at a loss, unable to advance or retreat, jammed together in a massive, chaotic mass.

Furious beyond measure, the Left Wise King roared, "Attack! Attack!"

The bugle horns sounded once again, and the three cavalry divisions surged toward the city walls like a rising tide.

Relying on the terrain for defense, the Han soldiers methodically used various tactics to repel the enemy, piling up enemy corpses mountain-high.

By dusk, the nomadic horsemen had failed to breach Luo Ang's defenses and had instead suffered heavy casualties. Exhausted in both body and mind, the warriors of the various tribes could no longer muster their previous offensive momentum.

Seeing that breaking the city would be difficult for the time being, the Xianbei King said to the Left Wise King, "Left Wise King, the enemy is stubborn and holds the geographic advantage. We should suspend the assault and wait until siege engines can be constructed before attacking again!"

The Left Wise King chuckled coldly and replied, "Luo Ang thinks he has outwitted us, but he is actually walking right to his own doom. Once the forces pursuing southward return victorious and strike them from the rear in a pincer movement, their morale will inevitably collapse, and they will be entirely at our mercy then!"

Soon, the sun set. Both the Xianbei King and the Wuhuan King felt somewhat discouraged and wished to temporarily withdraw their troops, but the Left Wise King stubbornly insisted on continuing.

Thus, the coalition forces of the three tribes lit torches to fight through the night, pressing on with the siege. However, their attacks now sounded like rolling thunder with barely a drop of rain; the exhausted barbarian warriors mostly put on a show of force, and very few actually pressed the assault with genuine vigor.

At that moment, a horseman came galloping furiously from the southern mountain forests.

The Left Wise King, who had been anxiously awaiting news from the southern front, brightened at the sight and said, "They're here."

Before long, the horseman galloped right up to the Left Wise King, reined in his steed, and shouted anxiously, "Bad news, Left Wise King! Our pursuing army was ambushed halfway and suffered heavy casualties. The survivors are fleeing back this way!"

Hearing this, the expressions of the three kings shifted drastically.

The Left Wise King cried out, "What? How is that possible?"

The horseman had no idea how to answer.

The Wuhuan King snapped irritably, "Left Wise King, it seems all your brilliant plans were anticipated by that Marquis of Yan!"

The Left Wise King was intensely irritated and extremely resentful in his heart.

The Xianbei King suggested, "Our men are already thoroughly exhausted. We should pull back to the camp for now and reconsider our options later!"

The Left Wise King glanced at the warriors of the three tribes, noticing that everyone was just going through the motions and that their grand-sounding assaults were mere child's play. He was deeply displeased, but with no other choice, he had to agree to suspend the attack and order the troops to return to camp.

The order to withdraw and return to camp was immediately issued.

The long-fatigued warriors of the various tribes cheered in relief, filing out of the battlefield one by one to return to their encampment.

Inside the Xianbei tent:

The Xianbei King frowned and said, "This Marquis of Yan of the Han is truly formidable; every single move made by our army was foreseen by him. Such a man is exceedingly troublesome to deal with!"

The surrounding chieftains nodded in deep agreement.

One chieftain remarked, "Great King, our men have reaped considerable gains this time and are all eager to return home early. Yet here we are, locked in a bitter stalemate with the Han forces, and the men are harboring no small amount of resentment!"

The Xianbei King walked over to the stool at the head of the tent and sat down, saying, "I am well aware of this, but what the Left Wise King said is not entirely unreasonable. The gains we have secured so far simply cannot compare to capturing Luoyang. Once we take Luoyang, we will not only obtain unimaginable wealth, grain, and countless women, but we might also seize this opportunity to establish a nation that belongs entirely to the Xianbei people in one fell swoop. Such an opportunity comes perhaps once in a millennium. To abandon it now would be a tremendous pity."

The chieftains exchanged glances and could not help but nod in agreement.

The Xianbei King instructed the chieftains, "Go down and tell these benefits to our men. Furthermore, tell them that whoever manages to enter Luoyang first will be made my co-king. Let them also know that as long as we defeat this Marquis of Yan before us, all of this can become a reality!"

Hearing the Xianbei King promise the reward of a co-king, the chieftains' eyes lit up. They accepted the command and turned to leave.

Scarcely had the chieftains departed when a personal guard officer rushed in hurriedly and reported to the Xianbei King, "Great King, the routed troops have all returned!"

A flicker of tension crossed the Xianbei King's heart as he asked, "What are the casualties?"

The officer replied, "Out of the forty thousand men who went south, only twenty thousand have returned."

Hearing this, the Xianbei King was deeply shocked and exclaimed, "We lost that many!"

Inside the Xiongnu tent:

The Left Wise King strode in with a furious expression, sat down at his seat, and cursed, "Accursed Luo Ang! He actually saw through my strategy! I will never coexist with you!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a personal guard officer rushed in and announced, "Great King, the routed troops have all returned!"

Hearing this, a jolt went through the Left Wise King, and he asked, "What are the casualties?"

The officer swallowed hard and said, "Out of the forty thousand men who went south, only twenty thousand have returned."

Enraged beyond measure, the Left Wise King shouted, "Luo Ang, I will never share the same sky with you!"

Early the next morning, without waiting for the siege engines to be finished, he drove the coalition forces of the three tribes to launch another assault.

The battle raged from morning until sunset. Although the nomadic cavalry pressed the attack fiercely, they were unsuited for such fortified siege warfare and failed to make any progress, suffering heavy casualties instead.

Over the next few days, the coalition forces launched wave after wave of sieges.

Gradually, the casualties on Luo Ang's side mounted, and the situation slowly turned against him.

As the enemy's siege engines joined the fray, Luo Ang's predicament took a sharp turn for the worse.

Another day of intense combat ended, leaving the town in a deathly silence.

The exhausted soldiers threw the enemy corpses down from the wooden walls and transported the bodies of their fallen comrades to a designated shelter within the town.

Everyone went about their tasks with their heads lowered, unwilling to speak; after all, the casualties this time were exceptionally heavy.

Luo Ang stood on high ground, surveying the battlefield before him, his brows tightly knitted.

Xu Chu and Dong Yuan walked up behind him.

Xu Chu cupped his fists and reported, "My lord, today's battle cost us one hundred and seventy-three casualties!"

Luo Ang murmured, "More than I anticipated. That leaves us with only about four hundred men remaining. What on earth are Zhao Yun, Cheng Lian, and Zhang He doing? Why hasn't reinforcements arrived yet?"

Originally, his plan was to hold this position himself, while Zhao Yun escorted the civilians across the Yellow River and then joined forces with Zhang He and Cheng Lian, who were guarding the pontoon bridge on the Yellow River, to come and pick him up, allowing him to break out of the encirclement safely.

He had arranged it this way to prevent a large-scale enemy pursuit. If he had rashly led his forces to break out on his own, he would surely have been hunted down by the enemy. With no fortifications to rely on at that point, he would have inevitably fallen into the endless waves of the enemy's cavalry, and the outcome could be easily imagined.

Therefore, the safest course of action was to hold out at Huqiu Pavilion, exhaust the enemy's vigor, and then break out directly under the cover of his own arriving army to ensure foolproof security.

Hearing Luo Ang's words, Xu Chu thought he was being addressed and shook his head, saying, "This subordinate doesn't know."

Luo Ang smiled faintly and patted Xu Chu's arm.