Chapter 268 Result of the Skirmish, Beginning of the Siege (2/2)
Wen Chou took this chance and rode back toward his spearmen. As he checked the status of his other men on the battlefield, most of his archers had been slaughtered by Lu Bu's cavalries and Li Feihong's archers.
”Retreat east! We're outnumbered!”
Red Hare King was still stunned from the explosive power. It shook its head and snorted as if it was trying to regain its sight and recover from the dizziness.
Lu Bu recovered faster than his horse. Since the horse could not move, he glared at Wen Chou, who was retreating with his few surviving spearmen.
Out of frustration, Lu Bu roared, ”Archers, take them down!”
Li Feihong's archers and Lu Bu's cavalries pointed their crossbows at Wen Chou and his men, sending all ammunition. All arrows and short arrows made their ways and took out hundreds of the spearmen.
Wen Chou's face was black. He came here with 5,000 men, but there were about 20 to 30 men around him left.
This battle was a failure. Jinyang Army did not take the bait as Zhang Liao was still in the fortress.
*RUMBLE*
”Chou!”
Yan Liang shouted as he and his horsemen arrived at the area where Wen Chou and his men were.
”We have failed! Lu Bu didn't take the bait, and Zhang Liao is still in the fort. We have to retreat!”
Yan Liang assigned horses for the surviving spearmen as they turned around to head toward the east.
*BWOO*
A horn sound came from the further away from the west. An army with Zhang flags appeared on the horizon.
”Zhang? Is that Zhang Liao?”
”Is Zhang Liao out of the fort?”
Wen Chou and Yan Liang glanced at each other.
”Let's hurry back. Let's try to lure Lu Bu with our remaining men,” Suggested Wen Chou.
…
Guo Shun regrouped with Lu Bu and Li Feihong along with his men.
Upon seeing the facial expression on the face of Lu Bu, Guo Shun did not dare to speak. Traces of blue veins and distorted wrinkles on his skin could be seen.
”I.”
”Hate.”
”Gunpowder.”
Lu Bu only muttered three words, but it was more than enough for Li Feihong and Guo Shun to understand his mood.
Red Hare King regained its strength. It neighed and shook its head in frustration. Its eyes also glared at the retreating army of Yan Liang as if it was an angry lion.
Lu Bu patted its head and questioned, ”How are our men?”
”Terrible, we've lost one-third of our infantries. About 500 of our cavalries also died because of their bombs,” Li Feihong answered while he clenched his fists. The majority of the infantry casualties came from his mistake when he fell for Wen Chou's trick.
”And, who's coming behind our back? Zhang Liao?”
”No, that's Lu Zhi in a disguise of Zhang Liao. Jia Xu has sent him here.”
”What is he planning?”
Li Feihong looked at the east where dust was getting thicker. It was a sign that a large army was mobilizing.
”Pretending that nobody is defending the fort. He wants the enemy to attack our base.”
A few minutes later, Lu Zhi and 5,000 armored cavalries joined them.
”Sir Lu, Sir Li, Sir Guo. I've brought a new order from Sir Jia.”
…
…
Wen Chou and Yan Liang had sent a messenger to tell Tian Feng about their founding.
They had spotted Zhang Liao Army.
”Are you sure this is correct?” Asked Tian Feng.
”Yes, sir! Lord Wen wrote this himself!”
Tian Feng hesitated. He thought, 'It's a bit too easy. But a successful bait is still a success nonetheless.'
Tian Feng wrote several orders and passed it to the messenger.
…
…
After Lu Zhi had arrived, the situation above the north fort entered a stalemate.
Julu and Jinyang combined force of 15,800 soldiers, which got through the previous fight, stationed behind the moat and formed a defensive array.
Wen Chou, Yan Liang, and their 2,500 remaining heavy cavalries returned to the other side of the moat and regrouped with their 20,000 men of reinforcement, led by Gao Lan who had escaped from the battle earlier.
As their archer towers and trebuchets were still on the other side, Lu Bu and Lu Zhi could not pursue as they were vulnerable to their archers and their towers.
The same applied to Wen Chou, Yan Liang, and Gao Lan. Lu Bu still had his trebuchets and ballistae stationing within the army, which intimidated Yuan Shao forces.
Though the battlefront above the north fort entered a stalemate, Feng Ji and Te Langpu led several battalions, consisted of 40,000 men, to the front of the north fort with their siege weapons.
At first, they stood still to intimidate the defenders. However, a new order from Tian Feng arrived.
Feng Ji read the order and laughed.
”He wants us to attack the fort right now. What do you think, sir Te?”
”Attacking now or later is the same. Let's get this over with.”