In September of the first year of Zhongping, Jizhou.
In early autumn, the fierce new wind roars in, as if it is sweeping across the world, leaving the land desolate.
The broad Quyang City is three feet high, with majestic trees standing on the plain, and the continuous weeds in the distance are swaying in the wind, carrying an icy chilling air.
Outside the city, there is a faint black line writhing at the end of the wilderness. The ground seems to be shaking. Tens of thousands of troops are swarming in a mass, advancing slowly and mighty, with countless flags waving, like a terrifying black cloud.
Qu Yang pressed forward.
Dong Zhuo was riding on the horse, his expression cold and full of violence, his eyes filled with murderous intent, staring fiercely at the city in the distance, as if he was about to devour it like a hungry wolf.
This would be his last attack, because he heard that the court was impatient and Huangfu Song would soon come to take his place.
The generals of the victorious army are replaced and the generals of the defeated army are replaced are two different concepts.
Lu Zhi is still being imprisoned. If Huangfu Song hadn't written a letter to plead for mercy on his behalf, he might have been executed by the court long ago.
From the end of June when he decided to set out for Quyang, to the beginning of September it had been more than two months. Zhang Bao gathered more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans in Juluhejian and other places to defend the city. His Xiliang cavalry was almost useless.
The army originally left by Lu Zhi had very little fighting spirit. When attacking the city, it often collapsed with only a few casualties, causing Dong Zhuo to suffer a lot.
This time he will never allow the soldiers to retreat!
"Siege the city!"
Dong Zhuo glanced fiercely at the infantry phalanx behind him, raised the sword in his hand high, and screamed loudly.
The soldiers in the front row slowly pushed forward, pushing the carts and wooden curtains used to block arrows. Groups of infantry followed behind, waiting for the ladders to be set up.
Arrows rained down from Quyang City Tower, and they were nailed to the baffle above the chariot and the wooden curtain, making a dull sound.
The soldiers pushed the columns of well railings and carried the ladders, hiding behind the carts and wooden curtains. They approached the city wall, and the ladders were quickly set up. Tens of thousands of troops were like a rolling torrent, rolling up turbulent waves and roaring towards the city wall.
Countless arrows swished down like raindrops, and the ladders were set up on the city wall. The official archers on the wells also shot arrows into the city at the same time, suppressing the enemy's firepower. The sword and shield bearers held their shields, and the grassroots officers of each battalion
Under his command, he climbed up like an ant.
Dong Zhuo raised his sword to supervise the battle and shouted: "The first one to climb the city wall will be rewarded with a hundred gold, and the one who retreats will be beheaded!"
A long and continuous blast of horns sounded, war drums rumbled, and three thousand Xiliang cavalry followed him closely, quietly lining up behind the formation. They were covered in black armor, as if they were ghosts from hell, watching indifferently.
Everything in front of you.
The rolling stones and lime fell down on the city wall, and large bags of lime powder were dumped. The wooden shields could withstand the arrows, but they could not stop the rolling stones and lime. In an instant, hundreds of people were knocked down, and many people accidentally fell into their eyes.
Lime powder, his eyes suddenly felt burning pain, and he screamed and fell from the ladder.
The sound of arrows, shouts of killing, wails, and screams were endless. Some soldiers were so heartbroken when they saw this scene that they did not dare to climb the ladder again. Some soldiers only dared to hide behind and cheer, and rushed their cars and crashed into the city gate.
, making a huge noise, but the city gate was as stable as Mount Tai, motionless.
During the Yellow Turbans' counterattack, the soldiers who rushed towards the city wall fell down in rows and rows. On the city wall that was several miles long, arrows flew randomly and blood splashed. The officers and soldiers were buzzing with heads, clinging to large siege equipment, slowly
Climb up the city wall.
But there were too many people in the Yellow Turbans. Spears one foot long were constantly protruding from the city wall to stab downwards, and various heavy objects were thrown down for free. In addition to the archers on the well fence who could fight back, many officers and soldiers even
He didn't even have the strength to fight back, so he was beaten down by the people on the city and fell like a kite with its string broken.
Guo Dian, the prefect of Julu, saw countless soldiers trying to rush up to the city tower with their lives, only to be knocked down again and again. He couldn't help but be anxious. He advised Dong Zhuo: "General, the enemy is defending the city. If we continue to fight like this, the casualties of the soldiers will be too great. Or
Let’s lay siege to the city.”
Last month Guo Dian proposed that there were more than 100,000 Yellow Turban soldiers in Quyang City, and the defense force was sufficient. However, the daily food consumption of more than 100,000 people was huge. As long as Dong Zhuo was a little patient and could not attack Quyang, it would be over.
According to the Yellow Turban Food Road, within two or three months, the Yellow Turban soldiers in the city will flee from the city due to hunger, and Quyang City will inevitably fall by then.
However, Dong Zhuo was eager to make a contribution and forcibly ordered the soldiers to attack. They have been fighting for two months. The Yellow Turban soldiers in the city showed no sign of defeat. On the contrary, the official army was already exhausted. If it were not for the fear of the three thousand Xiliang cavalry,
Supervising the battle team, I am afraid that the Northern Army has already been sabotaging its work and is unwilling to go to war.
Dong Zhuo glanced at Guo Dian fiercely and shouted: "Lu Zhi was dismissed by the court because of his lax fighting. Do you want me to end up like him?"
"General!"
"No need to say it."
Hearing Dong Zhuo's resolute response, Guo Dian was helpless. Children only ask what is right and wrong. In the adult world, there are only pros and cons.
The strategy of besieging without attacking is definitely correct, but so what?
Dong Zhuo wanted a quick victory and immediate results. If he could not produce results immediately, the court would not understand the difficulties of the generals ahead. Lu Zhi, who was imprisoned in Luoyang Prison, was a lesson learned from his mistakes.
The war is still going on!
Although Meng Zhen's vanguard army was known for its bravery and unafraid of death, in less than an hour, the losses had already reached seven to eight hundred people. The casualties were so tragic that Meng Zhen's face was ashen and he was trembling with pain.
Looking back at Dong Zhuo in the distance who was still raising his sword and shouting to charge, Meng Zhen gritted his teeth, pulled out his sword and led the rest of the team to charge towards the tower.
In early autumn and September, the new wind blowing from outside the city hurts people's cheeks like a knife. The tens of thousands of elite Northern troops left behind by Lu Zhi were already tired. They set out from Luoyang in March and have been fighting for half a year.
, no one wants to continue fighting.
But the blades of the three thousand Xiliang cavalry supervising team behind him were flashing with cold light. Dong Zhuo had already issued a death order. Once this attack was defeated like before, the Xiliang cavalry would show no mercy and would definitely kill the deserters!
"kill!"
Liu Bei held the shield in his left hand and shouted wildly while climbing up the ladder like an ape.
Arrows rained down like a sudden, either flying past him like meteors, or hitting the huge wooden shield, which was studded with arrows.
Liu Bei did not want to fight this battle.
With the continuous attacks by his master Lu Zhi, Guangzong's Yellow Turbans had been reduced a lot. They only had 70,000 to 80,000 troops, and the siege equipment was almost the same. It was obvious that they could continue to besiege Guangzong. However, Dong Zhuo wanted to achieve something in a short time.
To get good results, you have to come to Quyang.
In order to speed up the attack, Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to march without carrying the nearly completed siege equipment. As a result, when they arrived in Quyang, they discovered that Quyang had more soldiers and horses than Guangzong, and it became difficult for the army to ride a tiger.
Liu Bei had originally gathered a mob of more than 10,000 people, but their morale was extremely low and they had suffered a lot of losses in the past few days of fighting. Letting them go up again would only increase casualties.
But Dong Zhuo pressed hard, and he had to do it even if he didn't.
Fortunately, before his fourth brother Chen Mu was summoned back to Luoyang by the imperial court, his third brother Zhang Fei brought back all the elites, and also gave him a fierce general Dian Wei. Otherwise, Dong Zhuo would have no soldiers to continue fighting.
Will get angry.
Although Liu Bei has the title of Marquis of Ting and Dong Zhuo is qualified to deal with him, he can't escape if he reports to the court that he is lax in the military. If his title is reduced by then, how can he have the face to meet the elders of Zhuo County?
"Brother, be careful!"
At this moment, a huge rolling stone came towards Liu Bei, and Guan Yu, who was not far away, quickly shouted a warning.
Liu Bei couldn't escape in a hurry, so he had to jump down the ladder.
With a click, the huge boulder smashed the ladder in half, and the men who were climbing up the ladder with Liu Bei were also smashed to pieces, and there were endless wailing sounds.
Dian Wei, who was helping to fix the ladder below, saw that his general was in trouble, so he quickly went over to catch Liu Bei. The two rolled in a circle on the ground. Guan Yu, who was next to him, had almost climbed to the city wall. Seeing this scene, he had to hold up his shield with one hand.
Block the arrows, and use the other hand to hold the ladder and climb down quickly.
In the siege battle, Zhang Fei, including Zhang Fei, could not carry any weapons. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei could only use ordinary Huanshou swords, which were very awkward to use. Zhang Fei had once rushed to the city wall with his dead soldiers before, but was killed by the enemy.
The spear was forced back, injured, and is still recovering.
"Brother, how are you?" Guan Yu's shield was full of arrows. Fortunately, he was strong and used a big shield, which covered most of his body and prevented him from being hurt by the arrows.
Dian Wei helped Liu Bei up, and several soldiers around him immediately raised their shields to protect Liu Bei. Then he saw an arrow hanging on his back, inserted into his back and shoulder. The arrow penetrated deeply, and the end
The wings are still fluttering in the wind.
"No problem, retreat first!"
Liu Bei bared his teeth. This arrow was shot by someone when he was jumping on a ladder. He was lucky. It only hit the shoulder. And maybe the yellow scarf archer had been shooting for a while and had used up about the same strength, so the force was not very strong. It was just
When the arrow went in, it only hurt the flesh, not the bones.
But even so, as the Sima of the Northern Army and a mid-level officer in the charge, he could no longer continue fighting. For this reason, I believe Dong Zhuo would not force him to continue charging towards the city wall.
Liu Bei's Northern Army troops retreated slowly. The thousands of people who attacked the city suffered heavy casualties. They lost nearly a thousand people. They all supported each other and evacuated this section of the city wall.
Dong Zhuo, who was supervising the battle in the distance, saw this scene and said angrily: "What's going on with Liu Bei!"
The war supervisor came back and reported: "General, Liu Sima was shot by an arrow when he was ascending the city, and his troops snatched him back."
"Is he dead?"
"should not."
"Then let his troops continue to attack, and no one is allowed to retreat!"
Dong Zhuo showed a look as fierce as a jackal.
This battle is related to his future and safety, and he will never allow any mistakes to be made.
It was reported that Dong Zhuo's order came to Liu Bei's side.
At this time, Liu Bei was being supported back by Dian Wei and Guan Yu. When he heard the order, he was furious. His elite troops only had more than 3,000 people in total, and nearly a thousand were killed and injured. Even he himself was injured. What happened to the old thief Dong?
Can you be so inhumane?
However, the hierarchy of the Han army was very strict, and even though Liu Bei wanted to scold Dong Zhuo, he could only give up and secretly said to Guan Yu: "Second brother, order the soldiers to continue the attack!"
Guan Yu felt sorry for the soldiers and advised: "Brother, we can't fight anymore. If we fight again, all our veterans from Youzhou will be gone."
Dian Wei also said: "Sima, we really can't fight, our casualties are too high."
Why didn't Liu Bei know that he couldn't continue fighting like this?
Most of the siege wars are fought with large numbers and small numbers. "Sun Tzu's Art of War" says: besiege ten times and attack five times. I have never seen tens of thousands of people surround a city of hundreds of thousands. Even if the officers and soldiers are all elite,
You are not afraid of a fierce battle in the wild, but the attack and defense of the city are inherently unbalanced, not to mention the small number of people?
"well!"
Liu Bei sighed, not knowing what to do.
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted sadly: "Meng Sima was killed in battle."
"Meng Zhen is dead?"
Liu Bei trembled all over. When he was a lieutenant, he served under Meng Zhen and had a very good relationship with Meng Zhen, but he was actually killed in battle?
"Zhou Sima was also killed in battle."
"He Sima is seriously injured."
"Run away."
"If you don't run away, you'll die."
"Walk!"
The officers and soldiers had been fighting for more than an hour and were already exhausted. Now several middle-level generals were killed, which dealt a huge blow to the officers and soldiers. Their morale dropped sharply and they all turned around and fled.
In the absence of Ming Jin, the soldiers retreated spontaneously, receding like a tide. No one was willing to bear greater casualties.
Dong Zhuo was furious, raised his sword and shouted: "Don't retreat! Keep attacking the city!"
No one listened to him.
The Northern Army led by Lu Zhi set out in March and has been fighting for half a year now in September. It has suffered heavy casualties. The soldiers are tired of the war and their morale is very low.
"Behead those who retreat!"
In Dong Zhuo's rage, he raised his sword high and galloped wildly. Three thousand Xiliang cavalry followed closely behind him. The huge cavalry formation was like a flood from the Milky Way, carrying the power of crushing everything.
The waves hit the shore and rolled forward.
He actually wanted to use his own cavalry to stop the defeated formation.
Not far away, Liu Bei changed his face in shock and shouted: "Dong Zhuo is crazy, he is really crazy!"
The two torrents crashed into each other.
The Xiliang cavalry plunged into the remnants of the retreating army like tigers entering a flock of sheep. The sharp spears penetrated the bodies of the soldiers like straw. Dong Zhuo chopped down a defeated soldier. The banner with the word "Shuai" was hung high.
The rider on the horse raised his voice and shouted angrily: "No one is allowed to run. Anyone who runs will be treated as a deserter!"
In just an instant, the hundreds of soldiers who were the first to flee were chopped to the ground by the Xiliang cavalry's ring-decapitating saber. The glistening blade was stained with the blood of their compatriots. Everyone swallowed their saliva, and never stopped.
Unable to move to the second step.
At this moment, Zhang Bao from Quyang City saw this scene and was overjoyed. He shouted: "There is an internal strife between the officers and soldiers. The whole army will attack. Get out!"
"kill!"
The battle to defend the city over the past few days has come to an end. Countless yellow scarf soldiers on the city wall raised their weapons and shouted, the city gate opened, and the yellow headbands rolled into a torrent, sweeping towards the officers and soldiers outside the city.
The officers and soldiers had long lost their fighting spirit, and now they were barely held back by the Xiliang cavalry. But when more than 100,000 Yellow Turbans came out in full force, it was the last straw for them.
Everyone ran away crying, and the second round of defeat began. No matter how Dong Zhuo shouted, he could not stop them from fleeing.
The wind roared in the wilderness, and the earth was dyed red with blood. The defeat turned into a massacre.