vstars Chapter 2246 Furious
Chapter 2246 Furious
At Xue Huaide's command, the Chu archers who had seized the high ground of the riverbed launched the first attack, and a dense barrage of arrows rained down on the vanguard of the Youzhou army, which was accelerating.
Especially the light cavalry and some infantry, who lacked heavy armor protection, were immediately thrown into disarray, and their momentum was halted.
"Spears like a forest, shields raised high! Hold the line!"
Frontally, Chu army spearmen slammed their spears, each over ten feet long, into the ground, pointing them diagonally forward.
The soldiers in the rear row braced their shoulders against the backs of their comrades in the front, forming a deathly thorn made of steel and flesh. The shield bearers struggled to raise their shields to protect their comrades.
The Youzhou army's first charge crashed hard into this suddenly appearing defensive line.
Warhorses neighed, swords clashed, and the front-line Youzhou cavalrymen crashed into a forest of spears, suffering either death or serious injury.
The subsequent infantry attempted to surge forward, but were held back by the continuous fire of Chu crossbows and the harassment from Chu cavalry on both sides, making it difficult to form a coherent shockwave.
Xue Huaide commanded with composure, ordering his troops to fight and retreat, using the terrain to create layers of obstruction, never engaging in a head-on battle of attrition with the enemy, but rather slowing their advance as much as possible.
The general of Youzhou was both surprised and furious. He had not expected that this Chu army would be so tenacious and tactically sound.
He attempted to divide his forces to outflank the enemy from both sides, but the terrain on both sides was unfavorable, and Xue Huaide's mobile cavalry always managed to appear in time to intercept them.
He ordered a strong attack, but although the Chu army's lines retreated, they never collapsed. Every time he pushed back the Chu army, he had to pay a considerable price.
The battle quickly devolved into a brutal tug-of-war and close-quarters struggle.
The eight thousand Chu soldiers stuck to the ten thousand Youzhou reinforcements like glue.
The two sides repeatedly fought for every inch of land and every mound in the wilderness.
When the arrows ran out, they turned to swords and blades; when the spears broke, they drew their swords and fought.
Xue Huaide took the lead, wielding his long sword, appearing wherever danger struck. He quickly sustained several wounds, yet he continued to roar and command the battle.
Time slipped away amidst the bloody battle.
The rising sun leaped fully above the horizon, casting its light upon this battlefield of carnage, illuminating the狰狞 faces of both sides' soldiers and the corpses scattered across the ground.
The reinforcements from Youzhou were firmly pinned down in this place, unable to advance or retreat, and were completely trapped in the quagmire meticulously designed by Xue Huaide.
Meanwhile, at Changtingpo, ten miles away, the delayed arrival of the scheduled reinforcements created a crucial time gap in Chu Xuan and Li Shiming's plan to encircle and annihilate Chu Ning.
With his exhausted 8,000 troops, Xue Huaide used his blood, flesh, and willpower to buy precious time for the distant emperor, a time that might change his fate.
The sun had gradually risen to the center of the sky, and its blazing sunlight poured down on the ravaged land of Changtingpo without any obstruction.
The bloody battlefield was baked to a scorching heat, and the smoke and blood in the air swirled and twisted in the heatwave.
Chu Xuan stood on a slightly higher earthen slope, his face even more gloomy than the midday shadow.
The tip of his sword rested on the ground, supporting his slightly agitated figure, his gaze repeatedly sweeping across the southeastern horizon.
According to the original plan, the 10,000 reinforcements from Youzhou that were drawn from Jianghuai City should have arrived long ago.
Joining forces with Li Shiming's troops, they formed an overwhelming numerical advantage and crushed the remaining resistance of Chu Ning in one fell swoop.
But right now, apart from the faint, seemingly more intense and chaotic shouts of battle coming from the direction of Jianghuai City in the distance, there is not even a trace of the expected reinforcements.
Damn it!
Chu Xuan cursed under his breath, looked up at the blazing sun high in the sky, then looked down to estimate the time. An unease spread through his heart like a poisonous vine.
Time is slipping away bit by bit, and every moment of delay increases the uncertainty.
Although the Xiliang cavalry around Chu Ning suffered heavy losses in the fierce battle, they remained tenacious, and Ma Chao was especially brave and unstoppable.
After repeated battles, both he and Li Shiming's troops were exhausted. If no fresh troops joined them, they would have to pay an unbearable price to completely defeat Chu Ning, this tough nut to crack.
He strained his eyes to look into the distance again, trying to find traces of reinforcements amidst the rising heat and dust.
However, at the edge of the field of vision, all that could be seen were withered grasses bleached white by the sun and scattered low bushes.
The dust and smoke from our battle with the Chu army never dissipated; there was no sign of a large army advancing.
Just as he was feeling uneasy and filled with doubts, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar.
A scout, covered in dust and drenched in sweat, nearly tumbled off his horse and stumbled to Chu Xuan, panting heavily as he hoarsely reported:
"Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"
Chu Xuan's heart tightened suddenly, and he said sternly, "Speak!"
The scout, panting heavily, his voice trembling with fear and exhaustion, reported: "To the southeast... our reinforcements... have been... stopped by a Chu army!"
"It's in the Heishigou area, about ten miles from here! The two sides are engaged in fierce fighting, and our army... our army cannot advance!"
"what?"
Chu Xuan's pupils constricted sharply, he could hardly believe his ears: "Blocked by the Chu army? Where did the Chu army come from? How many are there?!"
He had clearly trapped Chu Ning's main force here, with Jianghuai City besieged, Zhao Yu on the north bank, and Feng Mulan herself in dire straits.
Where could another Chu army possibly emerge that could hold off an army of ten thousand?
"Judging from the banners...it seems to be...Xue Huaide's troops!"
The scout swallowed hard: "Their forces... number about seven or eight thousand, but they hold their ground and fight to the death. Our army can hardly break through them in a short time!"
"Xue Huaide?"
Chu Xuan was taken aback at first, then flew into a rage: "Shouldn't he be in Jianghuai City? How come he's there?"
"Seven or eight thousand men... seven or eight thousand men can stop my ten thousand troops? What is the commander in charge of the troops? Useless! All of them are useless!"
He was so angry that he was trembling. He thought the reinforcements were foolproof, but they were held up by a mere seven or eight thousand men halfway there!
This is absolutely absurd!
However, the bad news didn't stop there. The scout caught his breath and continued reporting in a trembling voice:
"And...and...Your Highness, the Chu army inside Jianghuai City, led by Imperial Concubine Feng Mulan, has launched a major offensive and is currently...and is engaged in fierce fighting with General Gongsun Yi's main force outside the city!"
"The battle is extremely fierce. It seems that General Gongsun is also tied down and unable to send troops to reinforce!"
"Feng Mulan is out too?"
Chu Xuan's face instantly turned ashen, even turning pale.
He originally thought that if Feng Mulan held the city, Gongsun Yi could suppress her steadily, and even take advantage of her going out of the city to rescue Xue Dingshan to set a trap and seize the city.
But now it seems that Feng Mulan has not only come out, but is also fighting Gongsun Yi to a standstill?
Gongsun Yi commanded tens of thousands of troops, and also had the Scorpion Clan cavalry assisting him. How could he be held back?
"Where are the Scorpion Clan's cavalry? Aren't they supposed to be as swift as the wind? Why couldn't they even stop Feng Mulan's infantry? What is Gongsun Yi doing?!"