The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 282 Souls Lost Under Hooves

The 500 soldiers followed Guan Yu as he charged into the city, brandishing their broadswords and engaging the Xichuan soldiers in fierce combat, preventing the enemy general from ordering them to fire arrows.

Despite their small numbers, soldiers from Xichuan continued to break through the blockade and enter the city gate, only to be easily killed by Guan Yu, who was like a god of war. The city gate guard was in a panic, knowing that he would be executed if he couldn't hold the gate, so he recklessly grabbed a large sword and rushed into the gate, intending to kill Guan Yu.

Seeing the enemy's reckless and fearless manner, Guan Yu sneered, mounted his steed high, and unleashed a powerful strike that seemed to cleave Mount Hua. The Xichuan general had just raised his sword to parry when Guan Yu cleaved him in two, sword and all. The general's personal guards who had followed behind him were terrified and scattered, fleeing into the city while shouting, "The general is dead! The general is dead!"

Just then, a general in the city heard the shouts of battle coming from the south gate. He led 2000 soldiers over, killed more than ten Xichuan soldiers who were trying to escape, and rushed into the narrow battlefield inside the city gate.

More than 3000 people were fighting together. Each soldier was fighting against six others, which greatly increased the pressure on them, forcing them to retreat towards the doorway.

Just then, the thunderous sound of galloping hooves echoed outside the city. Guan Yu's spirits lifted, and he turned around to see that the vanguard cavalry was less than 300 meters away. He turned around and shouted, "Brothers, hold on! The cavalry will be charging in soon!" The soldiers were greatly encouraged by this and launched a counterattack, forcing the Xichuan soldiers back a little.

Guan Yu successively killed more than ten Xichuan warriors who attempted to rush across the battlefield to close the city gate. Seeing that the cavalry outside the city was gradually approaching, he shouted "Make way!" to the soldiers inside the city gate and rode in first, killing several enemy soldiers before taking cover by the city wall. The soldiers, while fighting back, followed him to both sides, leaving the Xichuan soldiers facing the charging cavalry from outside the city.

Seeing Guan Yu open the city gate, more than twenty Xichuan soldiers rushed into the gate to try to close it. However, they were terrified when they saw the endless stream of Hua cavalry charging in. They turned pale and fled backwards in a panic, but were blocked by other Xichuan soldiers and became the first batch of cavalry battalion of the Third Brigade to die.

4 iron hooves poured into Xichuan Fort through the wide-open city gates. More than 1000 of the 3000 Xichuan soldiers were killed by the cavalry charge. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the rest laid down their weapons and surrendered obediently.

The cavalry, charging into the city without pause, split into four groups to attack the three city gates and the city lord's mansion. In less than two hours, they had completely taken control of Xichuan Fort. Most of the defending soldiers were newly recruited soldiers from the Wuxi Flying Cavalry; upon seeing the Huazu cavalry enter the city, they laid down their weapons and surrendered. Guan Yu immediately sent a signal, informing Gao Shun's Third Brigade on the north bank to launch a surprise attack on the rear of the Xichuan defenders.

At noon on March 8, 11th year of Emperor Yuan, the 3rd Brigade of the 131st Division of the Chinese Army captured Chen Er's rear base with fewer than 300 casualties, taking more than 8000 enemy soldiers prisoner and seizing countless grains, fodder and weapons. Chen Er's army was now facing a dilemma of being attacked from two sides.

When the soldiers who had escaped from Xichuan Fort ran to Chen Er's main tent and reported the fall of Xichuan Fort, Chen Er slumped into a chair, staring blankly at the top of the tent, looking completely lost.

Palau was even more shocked when he heard the news of the fall of Xichuan Fortress. He knew that not a single Chinese soldier on the other side had been lost and they were all still on the battlefield. Where did tens of thousands of cavalry come from to capture Xichuan Fortress?

After clarifying the situation and learning that the enemy soldiers had charged down from the Bisak Mountains in the east, and that there was a burly, red-faced man wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, Palau realized that the fire in the Gilusen Basin had not killed Guan Yu's cavalry brigade.

It's possible that Guan Yu's 5 troops suffered no casualties and, taking advantage of Guan Yu's complacency, secretly left the main force and bypassed Bisak Mountain to launch a surprise attack on Xichuan Fort. Meanwhile, Guan Yu believed that the remaining 24 Hua soldiers were stationed on the north bank of the Dahe River and had not moved, so he focused his attention on the riverbank and even recalled the patrols on Bisak Mountain, giving Guan Yu an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

For several days, the Chinese soldiers on the opposite bank have been building bridges here and attacking there, keeping the soldiers on the south bank running back and forth, exhausted. When they saw reinforcements from the garrison blocking their way, the Chinese soldiers who intended to cross the river retreated on their own, resulting in the failure to intercept and kill many enemy soldiers. This has caused the soldiers to complain and become uneasy for days.

This time, the enemy troops launched a surprise attack from behind and captured Xichuan Fort, a key route for the returning Wuxi Flying Soldiers. The battle, which took place 20 miles away, was not kept secret, and many soldiers knew that Xichuan Fort had been captured by the enemy. This caused the soldiers' morale to waver, and many soldiers left their posts and gathered in twos and threes to discuss their escape route.

Palau and several panicked generals rushed into Chen Er's tent and found him sitting in a chair, looking utterly lost. They immediately woke him up and asked him to give the order to launch a counterattack on Xichuan Fort.

Chen Er was not the kind of young man who would panic at the first sign of trouble. He quickly calmed himself down and ordered 100,000 soldiers and 26,000 cavalry to hold the riverbank. He himself led 40,000 soldiers (10,000 of whom were lost in the standoff on the river) and 20,000 cavalry to counterattack Xichuan Fort.

Guan Yu's cavalry brigade consisted entirely of field cavalry, who were not particularly skilled at attacking or defending cities. The fact that they were able to capture Xichuan Fort was due to their surprise attack and deception of the defending general. Therefore, when they saw the commotion on the banks of the Xichuan River in the distance, they knew that the enemy soldiers intended to launch a counterattack. On Jian Yong's advice, Guan Yu led 3 cavalry out of the city to engage in field battle, while Jian Yong himself led 2 men to defend the city.

Seeing that the enemy soldiers were not holding the city but instead sending out a large cavalry force of tens of thousands to fight, Chen Er knew things were not going well. Now, his counterattack on Xichuan Fort not only had to attack the city but also had to guard against Guan Yu's cavalry force in the field. He felt that his forces were insufficient, so he sent another 20,000 cavalrymen from the riverbank to besiege Guan Yu's force. Only a little over 6,000 cavalrymen were left running back and forth along the river to provide support.

On the afternoon of March 8, 11th year of Emperor Yuan, Chen Er's 40,000 soldiers arrived at the city of Xichuan and began the siege, while another 40,000 cavalrymen ambushed Guan Yu's harassing forces from the outside.

Jian Yong led 20,000 cavalry and 8000 surrendered soldiers to hold the city walls firmly, preventing Chen Er from easily succeeding. Guan Yu, on the other hand, led 30,000 cavalry, making full use of the light cavalry's archery skills and the long-range advantage of crossbows, and engaged Chen Er's 40,000 cavalry in a protracted battle.

On the north bank of the Xichuan River, after seeing Guan Yu's signal of success, Gao Shun ordered two brigades of cavalry to launch a full-scale assault from the edges of the five crossing points, while his soldiers used bows and arrows to suppress enemy soldiers on the opposite bank and assisted engineers in building pontoon bridges.