Chapter 169 Heavy Casualties

Tian Kai saw the first city wall collapse, and countless Yuan soldiers poured in through the gap. The laborers behind them took the opportunity to clear away the collapsed bricks and rubble, widening the gap to form a passage.

Knowing that this was a moment of life and death, he immediately ordered the defenders on the several walls behind to all ascend the second wall and defend it.

He himself braved the arrows and stones, took out a strong bow, and shot continuously at the soldiers below.

Encouraged by this, the morale of Gongsun Zan's soldiers greatly increased, and they all drew their bows and returned fire. For a time, arrows rained down, and many Yuan soldiers were shot and killed.

At this moment, Taishi Ci led an army to rush to the gap. Seeing the fierce counterattack from the enemy, he immediately took down the big bow from his back, aimed at Tian Kai, and shot an arrow.

The arrow flew extremely fast. Just as it was about to hit Tian Kai's face, Tian Kai reacted and quickly tilted his head. The arrow struck his shoulder squarely on his iron helmet. The huge impact caused him to stagger backward and fall to the ground.

When the Yuan soldiers under the city saw this, they shouted, "The enemy general is dead!"

"The enemy general is dead!"

The Gongsun Zan army on the city wall suddenly panicked, and their counterattack weakened a lot. The Yuan army took the opportunity to start climbing and attacking the city.

When Tian Kai's personal guards saw him fall to the ground with his eyes closed, they were panicking and at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, Tian Kai opened his eyes and sat up.

He gasped for breath and barely managed to stand up, leaning on the city wall. He felt that his mouth was full of blood.

He drew out his ring-pommel sword, raised it high, and roared hoarsely, "Listen to my orders, everyone! Defend to the death today and do not retreat!"

Hearing this, the Gongsun Zan army gradually recovered from the chaos and shouted in unison.

The offensive and defensive battle lasted for more than an hour. On Yuan Shao's side, Ju Shou saw that the defense of the second city wall was very solid, and his own army had suffered considerable casualties and consumption. After discussing it with Yuan Tan, he ordered the soldiers to withdraw.

Yuan Xi hadn't personally charged to the front lines in a long time. Now, he was at the gate of his own camp, receiving the returning soldiers. The familiar feeling from before returned to his body.

Among those who had charged into the gap, one force was the infantry led by Taishi Ci. When they went, there were five hundred men, but when they returned, there were less than three hundred men who could stand.

Even those who remained were mostly wounded. The lightly wounded supported each other, barely managing to return. Those who could not move were carried back, and some were even dragged back.

Some had several arrows stuck in their bodies, constantly rolling and wailing on stretchers. Some had holes pierced in their bodies, with blood constantly gushing out. Some tightly clutched their abdomens, staggering as they walked, before falling to the ground, their intestines spilling out.

The pungent smell of blood assaulted Yuan Xi's nostrils, and he quickly called for doctors to rescue the wounded.

Taishi Ci, with several arrows stuck in his armor, stepped forward with a look of shame and said, "Ci's engagement was unfavorable, I have let down the Young Master."

Yuan Xi waved his hand and said, "It's good that you're back. Are you injured? What happened inside?"

Because he was on the periphery, blocked by the first city wall, he didn't know what had happened.

Taishi Ci pulled out the arrows from his armor and said, "Fortunately, I had armor to block them, but the counterattack from Gongsun Zan's army inside was somewhat beyond our expectations."

After Taishi Ci explained, Yuan Xi understood that the Yuan army that had entered the city wall had been ambushed.

The ones who attacked were the White Horse Volunteers.

They took advantage of the moment when the Yuan army was attacking the second city wall and launched a charge from the open area between the first and second city walls.

The White Horse Volunteers were mostly light cavalry. Charging into an infantry formation like that was basically a death sentence, but they were fearless and used the lives of hundreds of cavalrymen to completely disperse the thousands of Yuan infantrymen crowded between the first and second city walls.

It was this wave of attacks that took the lives of hundreds of men under Taishi Ci's command.

Although these hundred or so cavalrymen were pulled off their horses and killed by the Yuan infantry after being trapped in the enemy formation, the defenders on the city wall took the opportunity to counterattack, completely thwarting the Yuan army's attack.

Taishi Ci killed several cavalrymen with his archery skills and then led his men to support them bitterly, until the sound of the gong signaled the withdrawal.

Yuan Xi also felt quite heartbroken. These infantrymen had been carefully trained by Qu Yi for a long time, and so many had died in one assault!

However, compared to them, the casualties among the other Yuan infantry were even greater. According to Taishi Ci, Zhang He also seemed to have suffered minor injuries and was rescued.

Yuan Xi shook his head. Because his line of sight was blocked by the city wall, the Yuan army's response was a beat slower. This was also the helplessness of the battlefield.

In this era of warfare, for most commanders, the battlefield was shrouded in fog, and they could only rely on prediction to judge the battlefield's movements.

The Yuan army tentatively attacked once more, but found that they still could not attack the city wall, so they had to withdraw again, while continuing to dig tunnels under the first wall.

That night, Yuan Shao gathered his generals to discuss the offensive for the next few days. The strategists talked for a long time, but they couldn't come up with any good methods.

Guo Jia proposed diverting the upper reaches of the Yi River to flood Yijing, which was greatly approved by several strategists.

However, Yuan Shao rejected it after considering it, because flooding and digging tunnels were conflicting strategies, which would affect the next plan.

In the end, Yuan Shao decided to first expand the gap in the first city wall, assist the tunnel attack, and at the same time prevent the enemy from escaping.

In the next few days, Yuan Shao's army relied on the counterattack of the first city wall to cover the laborers digging tunnels, refusing to approach the second city wall. Gongsun Zan's army could only stare blankly behind, not daring to go out of the city to counterattack, and the situation fell into a stalemate.

Yuan Shao gathered everyone every night, but everyone couldn't think of any good solutions for a while. The further the tunnel was dug, the slower it became, and they could only exchange time for space.

At this time, in Yijing City, in the highest watchtower, several generals were arguing in front of Gongsun Zan.

Tian Kai had a cloth band tied around his head. The arrow that Taishi Ci had shot a few days ago, although it hit his iron helmet, still cracked Tian Kai's forehead, and the injury had not yet healed.

He said, "In this situation, the White Horse righteous Cong (righteous cavalry) cannot function at all."

"Please, Marquis of Ji, personally lead the cavalry to break through from the west gate and join the Black Mountain bandits in the Western Mountains."

A general shook his head and said, "Even if we join the Black Mountain bandits, we will still have to face the main force of Yuan's army, which will not change the situation in Yijing."

Tian Kai said, "It's not about returning to counterattack, but about relieving Wei by besieging Zhao!"

"When the Marquis of Ji arrives, he can join the Black Mountain bandits and go south to Ji Province, cutting off Yuan's army in two places and even threatening Ye City!"

"And those of us will defend Yijing to the death, waiting for Yuan Shao's army to run out of food and supplies, and the situation of offense and defense will change!"

The generals' eyes lit up when they heard this, as this was an excellent solution.

Gongsun Zan was also quite moved when he heard this. He stood up and looked at the distant city wall.

On the other side, Yuan's army's siege towers were densely packed, and the archers on the towers were constantly firing arrows, suppressing the defenders on Gongsun Zan's city wall.

Below the siege towers, the laborers were digging day and night, causing panic among the defenders in the city, making it impossible for them to rest.

In the end, Yuan's army's advantage was too great, achieving a ten-to-one encirclement, which led to the defenders in Yijing City being suppressed in several places, making it impossible for them to exert their full strength.

If this situation is not changed, they will be dragged to death sooner or later!

He was just about to speak when Guan Jing, a general under his command, spoke up.

"Marquis of Ji, this plan is not feasible."

Tian Kai was furious when he heard this and said, "Why?"

Guan Jing said, "The people in the city are already panicking. If the Marquis of Ji leaves, the people's hearts will be even more scattered, and they will feel that the Marquis of Ji has abandoned them."

Everyone was silent. What Guan Jing said was true. In the past year or so, Gongsun Zan's friendly troops in You and Qing provinces had been attacked, but Gongsun Zan had never sent troops to save them, which had already chilled the hearts of his soldiers.

Now that Gongsun Zan is leaving Yijing, who will believe that he will come back?

Gongsun Zan said, "Tian Kai has been brave in battle these past few days. Can't he stabilize the people's hearts in the city?"

Guan Jing shook his head and said, "Forgive me for speaking frankly, but General Tian was defeated by Yuan Shao's army in Qing Province, and less than one-tenth of his soldiers survived. It is difficult for him to win over the crowd."

Tian Kai's face turned red. What Guan Jing said was also true. He didn't expect to lose so badly in Qing Province, which indirectly led to Yijing falling into the current unfavorable situation. He was to blame.

Guan Jing said, "Moreover, calculating the distance, it will take at least half a month for the Black Mountain bandits to leave the Taihang Mountains. It is still too early. Leaving the city at this time, there is still half a month's distance from the Black Mountain bandits, making it extremely easy to be ambushed."

"If the Marquis of Ji really wants to launch a counterattack in one fell swoop, we still have to wait half a month to see if there will be any changes in the situation."

Everyone listened and couldn't help but admit that Guan Jing's words made sense.

Gongsun Zan waved his hand and said, "Since that's the case, then you all should defend the city well!"

As Yijing started fighting, the various lords also began to stir.

At this time, on the south bank of the Yellow River, thousands of Cao's troops were taking advantage of the night to cross the Yellow River one after another and land on the north bank.

The leader was Xiahou Yuan, a general of Cao's army. He led the exhausted Cao's army to land on the river bank. After marching for more than ten miles, he saw thousands of cavalry rolling in.

Xiahou Yuan took a closer look and was shocked. The other side was flying the flag of Yuan's army!

A general came out and shouted, "I am Gao Lan. Who are you and why are you invading the border of my Ji Province?"

Xiahou Yuan cursed secretly in his heart. They were discovered so quickly. Obviously, the other side was prepared and had set up scouts in advance!

At this time, he was exhausted and could not fight the other side at all, so he had to say, "I am a general of Cao Zhoumu's family. I am just passing through and have no other intentions."

Gao Lan sneered, "Nonsense!"

"You all retreat quickly, or I will not be polite!"

The cavalry behind him shouted and raised the spears in their hands.

Seeing this, Xiahou Yuan had no choice but to retreat and return to the south bank of the Yellow River overnight.

The news quickly reached Cao Cao in Juancheng. Everyone in Cao's camp sighed slightly. Although this was a test, being discovered by the other side so quickly meant that there was an internal traitor among them, or had Ye City guessed it in advance?

Cao Cao's face was also gloomy. Taking the road across the Yellow River was still too obvious.

Moreover, Xiahou Yuan also disappointed him somewhat. If it had been Cao Ren, he might have fought the other side first, and then found an excuse later.

Moreover, according to Cao Cao's original plan, he should have first captured Henei, connected with the Black Mountain bandits, and threatened the western part of Ji Province. It would have been safer to send troops to sneak attack Ye City at this time.

However, Cao Cao miscalculated on two points. One was that he had not killed Lu Bu to this day. The other party seemed to have foreseen it and was blocking Chenliu Commandery, and was also expanding into Henei, as if he knew what he was thinking!

The other point was that Yuan Shao's army attacked Gongsun Zan so quickly and decisively that Cao Cao's side did not have any extra troops.

Because Cao Ren is currently leading the main force of Cao's army to attack Chen, and although it is about to be captured, it will still take several months to stabilize, which is equivalent to missing the best opportunity to sneak attack Ye City.

In Cao Cao's vision, the best situation was for Gongsun Zan and the Black Mountain bandits to hold back Yuan Shao's army, while he would sneak attack Ye City and cut off Yuan Shao's supply line.

As long as he held Ye City for a few months with the support of Yanzhou, Yuan Shao's army would collapse, and then the wealthiest state in the world would fall into his hands.

However, at this time, it seems that this plan will not work, and he can only settle for second best.