Chapter 204 The Battle For Morale (2/2)

Huo Cun had a headache as he glanced at the troops outside the city. There were so many people, as many as rice, gathering together like a sea of armor. Even though they set up camp separately, they would not be easy to deal with. After all, this army was able to defeat Zhu Zhen's five thousand elite cavalries with only three thousand of theirs. Even though Huo Cun thought he was brave, he was also afraid.

Zhu Wen saw Huo Cun's misgivings, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, ”The official troops belong to different va.s.sal states, so they can't move quickly. With your bravery and skill, you will definitely show our military prestige as long as you advance and retreat quickly!”

Hearing Zhu Wen saying these words, Huo Cun realized there was no retreat for him. Knowing that, his courage increased and overwhelmed his fear temporarily. He shouted with cupped fist, ”General Zhu, don't worry. I will definitely accomplish the mission!”

More than 160,000 troops arrived outside Dengzhou. Li Ye's arrangement was very simple. Surround three sides and leave one for the enemy. The troops will carry out the defensive formation first before splitting up and setting up camp. It was early, so it wouldn't be difficult to settle down before sunset.

After the military order was issued, Li Ye rode his horse to inspect the city's defense of Dengzhou. Observing at close range, he could see things clearly.

A large group of generals stood erect in front of the gate tower and Zhu Wen was surrounded by the crowd. Li Ye waved to him in greeting. After all, they were acquaintances.

Soon, soldiers were in full swing outside Dengzhou. The cavalry riding on horses, the infantry was in formation, and soldiers were cutting trees, digging ditches and setting up camps. They all methodically carried out the work in hand under their generals' orders.

Suddenly, Li Ye heard a noise beyond the east wall. He turned toward the direction of the noise, but couldn't see clearly because of the wall.

He rode around the corner on his horse. Having a wide field of vision, Li Ye immediately saw hundreds of soldiers rushing toward the official troops under the leadership of a brave general.

Li Ye stopped the horse to watch. The attacking soldiers were very robust. Choosing sections where there were few mounted soldiers, they smashed into a group of mounted soldiers in front of them quickly and rushed towards the official infantry.

The official archers could not shoot their arrows for fear of hurting their own cavalry, while the few hundred opposing cavalrymen had no scruples. They made a turn in front of the infantry and rode fast parallel to the infantry. The cavalrymen mounted their crossbows and started shooting one after another.

After volleys of arrows, a whole row of official troops, whose shields were not properly arranged, fell screaming like the collapsed wheat. The few hundred cavalrymen didn't stop at all. They rushed to the official troops who were setting up camp. They attacked the official soldiers fiercely, making them flee in all directions. Thirty or forty people were killed in a short time.

The few hundred cavalrymen still refused to give up and the leading general was brave. The official cavalrymen, who rushed over, were unable to fight against him for even one round and soon most of them were killed by him and his men.

By this time, 15 minutes have pa.s.sed, but the official cavalrymen hadn't been organized yet, to say nothing of the infantry running fast to lay siege. In the end, the few hundred cavalrymen showed off for quite a while. They fought in and out the infantry and broke through the cavalry blockade as though they were entering an abandoned building. They were like the immortal soldiers.

When the official troops finally sent a large group of cavalrymen to fight, they had already gone. And they didn't enter the city through the gate where they came out, but they went around to the north and entered through the north gate.

Seeing the few hundred cavalrymen entering the city, the defending soldiers on the city wall in Dengzhou burst into deafening cheers. Their morale was at its highest.

Generally speaking, the few hundred cavalrymen went in and out of an army of a hundred thousand as though there were n.o.body there. They killed and injured over a hundred people, while they themselves suffered few casualties. A brilliant feat.

And the official cavalrymen who chased them were forced to stop before the moat because the rope bridge had been pulled up. All they could do was to curse in rage. They looked even worse.

Li Ye's face darkened as he witnessed the whole scene.

In front of the city tower, Zhu Wen laughed with great satisfaction. The battle made no difference to the big picture because less than two hundred people were killed or wounded. They were a drop in the bucket among the over a hundred thousand troops. It may not have been worth mentioning. But it had a crucial effect on everyone's morale.

As one could imagine, Zhu Wen would surely publicize the situation of the battle widely. Therefore, the defending soldiers in Dengzhou would have stable and even high morale.

Li Ye asked an orderly to call the Formation Conductor and asked coldly, ”Whose camp is that?” It was the Formation Conductor's duty to divide the areas where each army encamped and guarded.

Zhou Ji, the commissioner of the Zhongwu Army, served as the Formation Conductor at present. Glancing at it, he replied, ”Caizhou w.a.n.g Shu's camp.”

Zhou Ji's expression turned pale as he said this. Although w.a.n.g Shu was Qin Zongquan's general, Qin Zongquan was nominally his general, so w.a.n.g Shu was also his man.

That area had a very loose and disorganized defense arrangement. It was in sharp contrast to the neat formation of the other troops.