Niu Desheng's troop strength was too great.
Despite heavy losses, more and more enemy ships, like bloodthirsty sharks, broke through the increasingly sparse firepower of the Hedong Army and successfully approached the south bank.
Finally, a crucial ferry crossing located in a river bend with relatively calm water flow was forcibly breached by Niu Desheng's most elite "Gelaoying" troops.
These fierce enemy soldiers, like hungry wolves, landed on the south bank, quickly slaughtering the river-eastern army guarding the beach, consolidating and continuously expanding the landing zone.
The ships that followed surged toward the breach like ants drawn by the scent of blood.
Zhang Huan personally led the reserve force in several fierce counterattacks, attempting to drive the landing enemy troops back into the river and re-close the breach.
The two sides engaged in an extremely brutal hand-to-hand battle on the beach, with every blade drawing blood and every inch of ground being contested.
Zhang Huan led from the front, personally killing more than ten enemy soldiers. However, the enemy was too numerous and had continuous reinforcements. His soldiers fell one by one, and the counterattack ultimately failed.
"General! We can't hold on! The crossing has completely fallen! A large enemy force is landing and is flanking our army!"
The lieutenant, dragging a slashed arm, staggered over to report, his face covered in blood and despair.
Looking at the enemy fleet that blotted out the sky on the north bank, and then at his exhausted and heavily wounded men behind him, Zhang Huan knew that the defense line along the river was beyond saving.
If we persist, the only outcome will be total annihilation.
He closed his eyes in anguish, took a deep breath, then snapped them open and hissed out the order:
"Order! Abandon all beachhead positions! The entire army... retreat to Zezhou City! Rely on the city's defenses and fight the enemy to the death!"
The remaining troops of the Hedong Army retreated like a tide, maintaining order but with low morale.
Behind them, the enemy's deafening cheers and the ever-closer sounds of pursuit could be heard.
Just as Zhang Huan retreated to Zezhou City, clearing the wounded, reinforcing the city's defenses, and preparing for the most brutal siege, smoke and dust billowed on the southern horizon!
Cao Jun and Liu Pan led 10,000 reinforcements, who, after days of relentless marching, finally arrived at this moment!
However, at almost the same time, the sound of thunderous hooves came from the west!
Han Qing, a general under Niu Desheng, led 5,000 vanguard cavalrymen who had been lying in wait for a long time, and their troops were heading straight for the city of Zezhou!
A dramatic scene unfolded.
Cao Jun and Liu Pan's reinforcements came from the south, intending to relieve the siege of Zezhou; Han Qing's vanguard of the Fengtian Army came from the west, intending to encircle Zezhou.
Two fresh forces unexpectedly met in the fields on the southwestern outskirts of Zezhou City!
There was no probing, no challenge.
Both commanders knew that whoever seized the initiative in this open field battle would determine the fate of Zezhou City!
"For Hedong! Kill—!"
Cao Jun raised his sword high and roared.
"Crush Hedong! Capture Zhang Huan alive! Kill—!"
Han Qing pointed his long spear forward, his murderous aura soaring to the sky.
In an instant, the two torrents collided violently!
Arrows rained down like a storm, cavalrymen galloped on their horses, slashing and hacking with their lances and longswords; infantrymen formed tight spear formations, like a moving forest, their spears thrusting forward like a forest.
On the battlefield, men shouted and horses neighed, swords flashed and blood splattered, and corpses fell from the horses or were pierced by spears.
The area outside Zezhou City, which had just enjoyed a brief moment of peace, was once again turned into a bloodbath.
In this skirmish, the balance of power seemed to tilt slightly in favor of the Fengtian Army, which had superior numbers and the momentum of a recent victory.
Although Cao Jun and Liu Pan's troops were brave, they had traveled a long distance and were exhausted. Facing the attack of the Fengtian Army's elite cavalry, who had been resting and recuperating, their lines began to bear enormous pressure.
On the city wall of Zezhou, Zhang Huan watched the reinforcements struggling outside the city, his heart filled with anxiety.
He knew that if the reinforcements failed in the field battle, Zezhou City would become an isolated city, and its fall would only be a matter of time.
......
Right now.
The walls of Longmen Pass, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, seemed to be splattered with a layer of viscous blood.
Just as Niu Desheng launched his river-crossing attack, Ma Zongliang's army had already reached Longmen Pass and launched an attack on the city!
Below the pass, corpses piled up like mountains, tattered flags, broken weapons, and warhorses without their masters were mixed together, creating a hellish scene.
The air was thick with an overwhelming stench of blood, gunpowder, and a sweet, foul odor of rotting corpses.
The defenders on the wall had been fighting for more than four hours.
The soldiers leaned against the battlements, barely able to lift their weapons.
Their eyes were numb, and their faces were covered in blood and dust.
Only when the enemy charges onto the city wall will they unleash their last vestige of beastly instinct, using broken swords and spears, their teeth, and their bodies to push the enemy off the wall.
The commander, Xi Sheng, had several nicks in his iconic Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword), and the heavy blade required both of his hands to hold it firmly.
He had a deep, bone-revealing wound on his left leg, hastily bound with a torn battle flag, and every movement caused him excruciating pain.
He looked around, feeling a chill in his heart.
Of the five thousand brothers, less than two thousand were still standing. Arrows were exhausted, logs and stones had long been used up, and even boiling water and hot water could not be supplied continuously due to a lack of firewood.
"Brother Xi! Another gap has been torn open on the eastern rampart! Baldy He has led his men to block it, but he only has a few dozen men left on his side!"
Xu Yunlong staggered over, half of his body stained red with blood, whether his own or the enemy's, he couldn't tell, and his voice was hoarse like a broken gong.
He Yunsheng roared repeatedly from a short distance away, leading a group of equally wounded soldiers who formed a human wall with their bodies to block the enemy troops trying to surge up along the horse path. The muffled thuds of swords piercing flesh and the screams of the dying were incessant.
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