Chapter 229 Demoralizing Tactic (2/2)
Siege towers, ladders, and more trebuchets were being pushed forward. As Liu Yu army had not dispatched the troops to defend the front of the wall, these siege weapons had no obstacle to block their path.
”Curse you, Dong Zhuo!”
*GONG*
*GONG*
*BOOM*
The obnoxious war drums and war gongs from Dong Zhuo's side resounded again. Hua Xiong, who had a good night sleep, woke up and led his men forward.
The siege battle continued.
Ten siege ladders and towers were being pushed forward, escorted by shieldsmen and other infantries.
Liu Yu did not have catapults, ballistae, or repeating crossbows as Tong had. His troops used fire-arrows against the incoming siege weapons to destroy the incoming towers. They managed to burn two of the siege ladders down, but the other eight reached the wall and became the foothold for Dong Zhuo's men.
Ten siege towers also got into the position. Archers on the towers began shooting arrows at the defenders on the wall.
Seeing that the siege went well, Hua Xiong turned to Li Ru to ask for his opinion.
”Do you want to finish it today?”
Li Ru shook his head, ”No. I want to demoralize their men. I want the empress to surrender, so we can reduce our casualties. We'll still have to deal with other lords after we occupy Luo Yang.”
”Hmm, sounds difficult.”
”It is difficult. We're going to need all soldiers from the west to gather in the Capital after this.”
Li Ru looked back at the stationary siege weapons that they had yet to push to the frontline. Forty siege towers and siege ladders were still there as well as several trebuchets. He fell into deep thought as he simulated battle scenarios.
Hua Xiong, on the other hand, began stretching as if he was warming up before an exercise.
”Since you want to save soldiers, I'm going to exercise for a bit. I'll be back in a minute.”
Li Ru rolled his eyes, ”Suit yourself.”
…
Liu Yu Army was in a tough spot situation. The enemies kept pouring from the siege ladders while the archers from the siege towers kept maiming his archers on top of the wall.
”C-C-Clan head! This is not good. We'll be overrun at this rate. We have to destroy the towers!”
Liu Yu's subordinates were in a panic. As civil officers who had never experienced a massive scale war, they could not handle the pressure.
As for the clan head himself, his complexion was pale, and sweat could be seen everywhere on his skin. He was nervous to the point that he wanted to scream.
”Open the gate and send the troops out! Destroy those towers!”
”Y-Y-Yes, sir! Good idea, sir!”
The gate slowly opened, and a battalion of 5,000 troops rushed out. They immediately destroyed the soldiers in front of them, which cleared a path for the following men.
As the nearby attacking soldiers concentrated on the top of the wall, they were caught off guard and killed before they could react. The counter-troops managed to destroy one siege ladder within a few minutes.
”I-It's working! It's working!”
Liu Yu's subordinates were elated. However, Liu Yu was still nervous.
'There is still that cavalry unit …'
Just as Liu Yu was afraid about the particular cavalry unit, which decimated most of his troops yesterday, Hua Xiong led his 5,000 heavy cavalries and charged at the sortieing soldiers.
”Archers! Aim at the horsemen!”
As he feared, Hua Xiong appeared again. The remaining archers on top of the wall heeded his command and fired their arrows at the oncoming horsemen. They managed to land a few hundred arrows on the armored soldiers, but they could not stop their charge.
*BANG*
The charge connected and both battalions crashed upon each other. Though the number was almost the same, the quality of soldiers and their roles were totally unmatched.
The heavy cavalry unit of Hua Xiong massacred Liu Yu's sortie troops within five minutes, leaving no one alive. To make the garrison soldiers more vexing, Hua Xiong glanced at the garrison soldiers on the wall and made a cut-throat gesture with his thumb.
Hua Xiong ignored the still-wide-open gate and retreated back to the main army. He knew that charging into the city right now was a bad move as there could be ambushes inside the city.
Liu Yu and the other officers could only watch them leaving as they were powerless against these cavalries. Feeling helpless, Liu Yu ordered.
”Close the gate. Concentrate on the defense.”
”Y-Yes, sir!”
…
6 PM.
*GONG*
Dong Zhuo Army hit the war gong with a signal to retreat, and all remaining siege towers and ladders were pulled back from the wall. The invading soldiers, who were still on top of the wall, rushed back to the ladders, withdrawing from the fight.
Liu Yu shouted and ordered the pursuit to eliminate all retreating troops on the wall. However, the soldiers had not slept last night, and they had been fighting for the entire day. Some of them had not eaten anything since the morning. They did not have any strength left even to run.
The battered soldiers collapsed and lied on top of the wall, ignoring the dead bodies beside them.
Liu Yu also exhausted from watching over the battlefield and constant issuing orders. He whispered the lieutenants to fetch food for the garrison soldiers.
One hour later, the garrison soldiers managed to catch their breath and had a meal after the long day. After they finished eating, they collapsed on the ground and fell asleep on the open field.
Liu Yu watched them with a bitter smile. He got up from his seat on top of the wall and planned to visit Wang Yun and Diao Chan to check their condition.
*BOOM*
*GONG*
The war drums and war gongs from Dong Zhuo's side resounded again. The 10,000 soldiers from last night reappeared along with siege weapons.
Liu Yu glare at this troops with hatred. Thinking about what had happened last night, Liu Yu groaned.
”The same tactic won't work twice! You think I'll fell for it again?”
Liu Yu ignored the troops in front of him and left the seat, heading back to rest.
However,
*RUMBLE*
The 10,000 soldiers pushed their siege ladders and siege towers forward. Trebuchets also began firing stones to the top of the wall.
They were not feinting an attack this time.
”SHAAA!”
”KILLLL!”
Unhindered by the defending troops, the siege ladders and towers reached their position in no time.
Liu Yu finally realized that he had been duped by Li Ru's stratagem.
In despair, he shouted, ”DAMNIT! TO ARMS! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK AGAIN!!”