Chapter 181
Chapter 181 – Battle of Liyang - Part 11
October 14th .
9 AM .
The news of Dong Zhuo"s retreat reached the ears of Zhu Jun . He clicked his tongue as he expected this . Fortunately, he transported half of the army provision supplies to the other side last night . Alternatively, else, Dong Zhuo would have run away with all the food .
"Figured . We can"t trust that traitor from the start!"
Zhu Jun"s eyes saddened as he thought about his friend who had just pa.s.sed away .
"Rest in peace, friend . I"ll get rid of those rebels and kill Dong Zhuo in your place! Your death will not be in vain!"
Even though Zhu Jun spoke to himself, the lieutenants and captains heard every word . Their eyes moist as they respected this fallen general . He was an honest and loyal commander who had served this empire tirelessly for decades . He did not deserve to die from a vengeful ghost .
"We shall fight in the commander"s place!"
"We shall fight in the commander"s place!"
All officers of Zhu Jun shouted in the same voice . Their desire to fight soared and their morale skyrocketed .
"Move faster! Do you want those rebels" head for our general in Heaven!?"
"OOOOOOOHHHHHH!!"
…
…
Meanwhile, Tong and his men also retreated to Liyang City . He left a hundred men on the river wall as a team of scouts, just in case, someone would try to cross this path .
Another confirmation letter from Dong Zhuo already reached Tong"s hands, and Dong Zhuo Army began retreating as well . With his army pulling back from the battlefield, Tong had 100,000 fewer soldiers to take care off .
Current forces on both sides were now 55,000 against 129,000 . Tong still had the disadvantage .
Tong glanced at the trail of dust on the opposite side of the Yellow River . Zhu Jun Army was forced marching .
"The last general should be Zhu Jun from the other night . "
"But seriously, I"m racing against times again . "
Seeing that it was a race home, Tong shouted . "Rush home! They are forced marching! If we arrived late, they will cross the river and siege the city before we get there!"
…
Zhu Jun also glared back from the other side of the river . The moment he saw the dust from the horses and foot soldiers, Zhu Jun smiled .
"Naïve brat! Men! Hear my order! Platoon 17 to 26 stay here and cross the river! The rest of you, come with me!"
…
…
By 3 PM, both armies had reached their destination .
Tong"s 5,000 men stationed inside the city while Tong and the rest of his 50,000 men headed to the southern river bank of the Yellow River to welcome Zhu Jun and his men .
On the other hand, Zhu Jun detached 80,000 men and stationed at the opposite river bank, staring down at Tong"s army . The other 49,000 men stopped marching mid-way and started using their boats to cross the river . Before Tong noticed this move by Zhu Jun, 20,000 soldiers of 49,000 had already got to the other side .
Tong watched his radar map with a solemn expression, focusing on the distance of two kilometers away at the west of his army . At the location, Zhu Jun"s 49,000 was busy crossing the river . It would take two more hours before all of them could get on this side .
Contrary to the urgent situation, Tong did not panic . Instead, he was delighted that Zhu Jun made this move .
"With all the boats and water transports over there, this army in front of me is just a bluff . "
"The real attack will come from the west!"
Tong tapped the shoulder of a lieutenant who was beside him .
"Organize all cavalry units to report to me . The rest of the footmen, fortify the river bank!"
…
3 . 10 PM .
Tong and his 5,000 cavalries galloped westward toward the river-crossing troops of Zhu Jun .
As for the general Zhu Jun himself, he did not lose sight of the movement across the sh.o.r.eline . The 80,000 men of his were not staying idle either, they cut the woods and made several logged rafts . The skilled craftsmen in the army were also hammering planks to make a dozen ma.s.sive s.h.i.+elds to attach with the barges .
Zhu Jun did not bluff as Tong had thought . He was planning for a pincer attack from the west and the front .
Secondly, he did not plan to cross the river directly and clash with the garrison force head-on . The current s.h.i.+pbuilders behind him would transfer these rafts and boats elsewhere at night and sailed across the sh.o.r.e . They would become his ghost force, which could launch a surprise attack behind the enemies" line .
He had an ambitious goal, all of his men had to cross this river within two days!
The commotion broke out on the opposite sh.o.r.e . Zhu Jun had to squint his eyes to see what they were doing . Two minutes later, one of the scouts, who had climbed the trees to monitor the enemies, came down to report their discovery .
"Report! The enemy took a cavalry unit to the west! The estimated number was at least 2,000 men!"
"Good job! You can go . "
Zhu Jun rubbed his chin and pondered . The detached force had 49,000 men . Dealing with only 2,000 riders or even 10,000 riders would be an easy task for them . Also, even if footmen had disadvantages against horse charges, these guys were seasoned soldiers . They could form ranks and improvise if need be .
"Have I overestimated him?" Zhu Jun thought of the person he met during the fire attack night . "He is either overconfident, or he is naïve . There"s no way he can defeat my men with a lousy group of hors.e.m.e.n . "
Zhu Jun ignored this move by Tong and focused on the troops on the opposite sh.o.r.e .
…
3 . 15 PM .
The 5,000 hors.e.m.e.n detected Zhu Jun"s detached force almost a kilometer in front of them . Without waiting for the enemies to form ranks, Tong took out a spear and roared .
"Crane formation! Charge!"
The hors.e.m.e.n scattered into triple triangle lines (^) . The captains blew horns, and the rest of the hors.e.m.e.n got into the formation as they were galloping forward . They pointed their spears to the front, aiming at the front of the horse .
The sound of horse hoofs and the shaking earth alerted the river-crossing soldiers in no time .
"Enemy attack!" Shouted Zhu Jun"s scout .
The soldiers abandoned what they were doing and formed the anti-cavalry spear-wall formation . The s.h.i.+eld bearers dug tower s.h.i.+elds into the ground in a slant shaped . Spearmen form the second and the third line with their spears pointing at the incoming cavalries .
30% of Zhu Jun"s soldiers managed to form the formation in 10 seconds . The rest of the soldiers were too far away, so they took their weapons and formed the second and third line behind the first group .
The reserved men, who did not form rank in time, formed the secondary ranks behind the first line . They were the same formation as the front, but they placed themselves three meters behind the first group .
These reserved were the finishers of this formation . Had light cavalries charged into this tactic head-on, 70% of the horses would die by the first liners while the reserved troops would finish off the riders or the horses that got through the first line .
Seeing that the army"s reaction speed was too fast, the cavalry soldiers hesitated . They glanced at Tong with paled faces if he would give them another order soon, or those spears would skewer them .
The distance was now 500 meters away .
Instead of panicking, a s.a.d.i.s.tic smile appeared on Tong"s face .
"All troops! To the right! Circle them and reform the formation again!"
The hors.e.m.e.n sighed a relief and avoided running into the formation . They moved around the spear-wall and formed a line on the north of Zhu Jun"s soldiers .
The river-crossing soldiers had also reformed their formation . They grouped up in ten men and form porcupine huddles . They circled themselves with s.h.i.+elds and spears, like the back of porcupines . Even if Tong charged at them now, the one that died would be the horses and the riders .
The archers also took out their bows and arrows . They formed lines behind the formation of the groups of porcupines . The distance between the cavalries and the archers were still 500 meters away . They were out of range, so they could not shoot yet .
Tong gazed at the thousand groups of porcupines with a mocking gaze . Their defense was solid, but they failed to put pressure on the attackers . Without the counter-attackers, Tong could crush them at his leisure .
"Well, they may be elites, but they didn"t have a proper leader . "
"Sorry, but this is war . No mercy!"
Zhu Jun"s soldiers did not realize, Tong purposely sandwiched them . His force was facing them from the north, and the back of Zhu Jun"s soldiers was the river . They had nowhere to escape .
Tong pointed his finger forward . A 300-meter-long black void gate appeared in front of Tong . From the gate, Tong discharged the river water he collected in the past few days to the front .
"Flash flood, b.i.a.t.c.h!"
Tong ejected the Yellow River"s water from his [Inventory] . A one-meter wave of water manifested out of nothingness and slammed it onto the defending soldiers . The force of the wave was enough to make the spearmen staggered backward .
"Again!"
Another wave crashed onto the 20,000 soldiers on the sh.o.r.e . This time, some of them staggered and was carried by the stream into the river .
"Again!"
"Again!"
"Again!"
Tong spammed a total of 10 waves as there were too many defending soldiers . Because the first two waves broke the s.h.i.+eld wall and other formation, 50% of the soldiers were swallowed by the flash flood into the river as well . The archers on the back neither crouched nor dug their feet into the ground, the three waves of flash flood swallowed them into the river .
The remaining men on the sh.o.r.e stumbled on the wet ground . The sh.o.r.eline ground was nothing but soil and mud, so the soldiers had a hard time getting up .
"Crossbow!" Shouted Tong .
Five thousand hors.e.m.e.n switched their weapons to Julu"s signature repeated crossbow . They loaded their clips and pointed forward without Tong telling them .
"Move forward 100 steps!"
The lined horses stepped closer to the ragged soldiers that could not reform their formation yet . The moment they saw the crossbows and the approaching horses . They knew what would happen if they got into their range .
"Retreat!" One of the captains shouted .
"Fire the first volley . "
Five thousand arrows flew into the air, creating the dark shadow blocking the light of the sun . They rained down onto the surviving soldiers on the sh.o.r.e .