"Raise your shields!" Zhang Yu ordered urgently.
The shield was raised, and most of the arrows were blocked.
But there are always some who slip through the net, and soldiers are often hit by arrows and fall to the ground.
Even more deadly is the psychological pressure.
Cavalrymen come and go like the wind; you can't catch them, you can't hit them, and you can only passively take the beating.
Morale began to waver.
"General, this can't go on!" the adjutant cried anxiously. "If our troops can't cross the river soon, what will happen to the commander-in-chief..."
Zhang Yu gritted his teeth: "Send the order: the front lines advance slowly, archers return fire! The rear lines continue crossing the river!"
He planned to use the front lines to hold off the cavalry while the rear lines took the opportunity to cross the river.
But would Xiao Cheyun let him have his way?
"Third and Fifth Battalions, harass the troops crossing the river! The rest of the battalions, continue to harass the front lines!"
The two cavalry units shot off like arrows, heading straight for the rear of the Fengtian army that was crossing the river.
The soldiers crossing the river were half-submerged in water, making it difficult for them to move and instantly becoming easy targets.
Arrows rained down, screams filled the air, and the river turned even redder.
Zhang Yu's eyes widened in horror, but there was nothing he could do.
The cavalry was too mobile; his infantry simply couldn't keep up.
Just then, dust rose again from the east.
Namtso personally led three thousand Qiang and Rong light cavalry to attack.
The Qiang and Rong people's tactics were even more cunning.
They didn't get close, but launched the rockets from two hundred paces away.
The rockets landed in the Fengtian Army's ranks. Although most of them were blocked by shields, a few still ignited flags and supplies.
"Barbarians! These damned barbarians!" Zhang Yu trembled with rage.
His 30,000 Imperial Guards were held back by 12,000 cavalry, unable to advance an inch.
......
The main battlefield of Yishui.
Seeing that the battle downstream was at a stalemate, Wu Shangzhi knew that the time had come.
He raised the black command flag—the signal for the final assault.
"All troops, listen to my command!" Wu Shangzhi's voice boomed. "Frontline troops, form a wedge formation and break through the enemy's gun emplacements! Middle line archers, suppress the enemy with all your might! Rear line engineers, push the battering rams ashore!"
Commands are passed down through the hierarchy.
The Yin army, which was crossing the river, suddenly changed formation.
The swordsmen and shieldmen at the forefront no longer scattered, but instead condensed into three cone-shaped formations, their shields linked together, like three sharp knives piercing the riverbank.
"They're charging!" Li Biao's expression changed. "Pikemen, hold them off!"
The Fengtian Army pikemen on the shore gritted their teeth and held their rifles straight, the tips of their rifles gleaming coldly.
The two sides were only thirty paces apart.
Twenty steps.
Ten steps!
"Kill—!" Amidst the deafening shouts, the Yin Army's swordsmen and shieldmen suddenly accelerated, their shields slamming violently into the Feng Army's spear formation.
"Bang bang bang—" The impacts were like muffled thunder. Spears pierced the shields, some penetrating them, others breaking off.
Ignoring casualties, the swordsmen used their bodies to break through the gaps in the shields, and their swords cleaved out from the gaps.
Blood splattered, and severed limbs flew everywhere.
The riverbank instantly turned into a meat grinder.
At the same time, the archers in the central formation of Yin's army began to unleash a rain of arrows.
They stopped shooting upwards and started shooting horizontally, the arrows flying over their own heads and heading straight for the rear ranks of the Fengtian Army.
The Fengtian Army archers wanted to retaliate, but were suppressed and unable to raise their heads.
Even more fatally, Guo Luo's heavy cavalry also began crossing the river.
They assembled and lined up on the shore, ready to charge.
Upon seeing the heavily cavalry, complete with men and horses, fear appeared in the eyes of Li Biao's soldiers.
As the heavy cavalry accelerated, they moved like mobile tanks, sweeping forward with an overwhelming momentum, crushing everything in their path.
"Hold on! Everyone hold on!"
Li Biao personally charged to the front lines and beheaded three retreating soldiers, shouting, "Those who retreat will be executed!"
But the defeat was swift and devastating.
The soldiers in the front ranks were on the verge of collapse under the triple attack of swords and shields, arrows, and heavy cavalry.
"General! General Zhang Yu on the right flank is tied up and unable to come to our aid! General Li Bao on the left flank... is missing!" The lieutenant cried out.
Li Biao looked towards the central army, hoping the commander-in-chief could send reserve troops to provide support.
But what he saw was Ma Zongliang's solemn expression.
"General..." An ominous premonition welled up in Li Biao's heart.
......
On the observation deck, Ma Zongliang gripped the railing tightly, his eyes bloodshot.
The situation is rapidly deteriorating.
The left flank collapsed, the right flank was bogged down, and the central army fought a bitter battle...
His painstakingly assembled army of 200,000 was utterly routed by Zhao Muyun's 90,000 men.
"General, the central army is about to collapse!" a personal guard urgently reported. "Should we deploy the reserves?"
Ma Zongliang remained silent.
He still has 40,000 reserve troops, which is his last trump card.
If we use it now, what if Zhao Muyun has a backup plan...?
"Report—!" Another scout galloped in, "Urgent report from the capital! Something has happened in the city! The rebels have seized the south gate and are in a standoff with the defending troops!"
"What?!" Ma Zongliang was struck dumb.
"General, what should we do?" The generals panicked.
Ma Zongliang forced himself to calm down.
He looked towards the high slope on the south bank, where he could vaguely see Zhao Muyun's figure.
So that's how it is... The rebellion in the city, the thunder cannons, the crossbows, the heavy cavalry, the foreign light cavalry...
All of this was planned by Zhao Muyun.
From the very beginning, what he wanted was not to defeat the Fengtian Army, but to annihilate it completely!
"Issue the order..." Ma Zongliang's voice was hoarse, "Ten thousand troops from the reserve force will return to reinforce the capital! We must recapture the city gates and capture and kill the traitors!"
"That battlefield..."
“The battlefield…” A resolute glint flashed in Ma Zongliang’s eyes. “I will personally lead the remaining 20,000 reserves to launch a surprise attack on the central army of the Yin army. The tide of battle can still be turned!”
He drew his imperial sword: "All generals, listen to my command! In this battle, there is no retreat! Whoever slays Zhao Muyun will be enfeoffed as a marquis with ten thousand households and rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!"
With generous rewards, morale was somewhat boosted.
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