Almost at the same time, a new battle also broke out at Longmen Pass, thousands of miles away.
Li Hu seemed to have lost patience, or perhaps received some new instructions, and was no longer satisfied with simply digging trenches and holding out, and making sporadic probes.
In the darkest hour before dawn, outside Longmen Pass, the earth-shaking sound of war drums and horns suddenly rang out!
Countless torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the area in front of the pass as if it were daytime.
The dark mass of Fengtian soldiers, carrying ladders and pushing rudimentary battering rams and arrow-blocking carts, surged toward the Longmen Pass city wall like a black tide!
"Enemy attack! All troops on high alert!"
The alarm bell on the wall rang continuously, instantly waking the sleepy soldiers, who rushed to their fighting positions amidst the officer's angry roar.
Yinji was also hastily awakened by his personal guards, and after donning his armor, he rushed up the city wall.
Generals such as Lin Feng, He Yunsheng, and Xu Yunlong were already in command here.
"Your Highness, it seems Li Hu is serious!" Lin Feng pointed at the gate, his tone grave.
The Fengtian Army was well-organized, with infantrymen holding large shields at the front, archers in the middle, and a dense array of ladder-carrying infantry behind them, creating a formidable sight.
"Prepare to meet the enemy!" Yin Ji suppressed his tension and gave the order in a deep voice.
He had seen the 100,000-strong army below the city with his own eyes, but this was the first time he had experienced such a large-scale frontal assault.
The rain of arrows came first.
Under the cover of shields, the archers of the Fengtian Army advanced into firing range. At a command, tens of thousands of arrows soared into the air, drawing dense parabolic arcs as they rained down on the wall like locusts!
"Raise your shields! Dodge the arrows!"
The Yin army on the wall was prepared; huge shield towers were erected, and the soldiers huddled behind the parapets.
However, the arrows were too dense, and many still managed to penetrate through the gaps, instantly eliciting screams and muffled groans.
"Archers! Return fire! Target the enemy's crossbow formation and ladder-carrying infantry!" He Yunsheng shouted sternly.
Braving a hail of arrows, the archers of the Yin army on the wall leaned out and, taking advantage of their high vantage point, fired arrows at the surging enemy horde.
In particular, the crossbows that Zhao Muyun improved and had a longer range played a huge role, often sniping the Fengtian Army archers from outside their range, or shooting down infantrymen carrying heavy ladders.
However, there were simply too many Fengtian soldiers.
Although the arrow barrage caused considerable casualties, the infantrymen following behind, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, continued to surge forward madly.
The ladders were quickly erected on the city wall, their sharp hooks gripping the edges of the crenellations. The Fengtian soldiers, their faces contorted with rage, began their swarming ascent, blades held in their mouths!
"Roll logs! Boulders! Throw them down!"
The heavy logs and sharp-edged stones were pushed down by the defenders, rolling down the ladder with a crash, instantly crushing the Fengtian soldiers who had climbed halfway down, breaking their bones and causing them to fall with screams.
Scalding hot liquid (a mixture of excrement and poison) and hot oil were also poured on it, and inhuman screams immediately rang out from below the city, along with plumes of foul-smelling white smoke.
The battle became intense from the very beginning.
Arrows flew up and down the walls, stones and wood flew everywhere, and fire and blood mingled.
Shouts, screams, the clash of weapons, and the sounds of war drums and horns blended together into a symphony of death.
Yinji did not hide behind.
He led his personal guards to patrol the relatively safe areas of the city walls, loudly boosting morale and ordering the reserve forces and laborers to be brought up to transport the wounded and supplies for the defense of the city.
A young face was stained with gunpowder and blood, but his eyes were more determined than ever before.
When he saw soldiers fall after being hit by stray arrows, he immediately ordered them to be carried down for treatment; when he saw that a section of the city wall was under great pressure, he allocated manpower to provide support.
"Your Highness, be careful!" Zhou Zheng, the commander of the guards and son of Zhou Hong, a former official of Prince Jin Yinxi, suddenly tackled Yinji to the ground.
A stray arrow grazed past Yinji's helmet and embedded itself in a wooden post behind him, its fletching trembling.
Yinji got up, still shaken, but nodded to Zhou Zheng and continued on his way.
He knew he couldn't back down; his very presence was a banner.
Lin Feng commanded with composure, constantly adjusting his forces to plug the breaches that had been broken through.
He Yunsheng and Xu Yunlong took the lead, personally wielding knives and fighting on the city walls, appearing wherever danger lurked.
The Fengtian Army's attacks came wave after wave, seemingly disregarding casualties.
The city wall was on the verge of collapse several times, and a small number of brave Fengtian soldiers even climbed the wall and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the defenders, but they were all repelled by the elite guards led by the officers of the Yin Army.
The Fengtian Army's offensive gradually weakened from dawn until midday, leaving behind countless corpses and damaged equipment, before retreating like the receding tide.
Corpses lay strewn about on and off the walls, blood flowed freely, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and burning.
Yinji leaned against the battlements, watching the retreating enemy tide, breathing heavily.
The armor was splattered with bloodstains, it was unclear whether they were his own or someone else's.
He felt a wave of exhaustion, but more than that, he felt a sense of relief at surviving a disaster, and an indescribable sense of growth.
"Your Highness, we've held the line." Lin Feng approached, his face weary but his eyes still sharp. "Li Hu went all out this time, but that's all he's got. As long as the wall stands, he won't be able to get past Longmen Pass!"
Yinji nodded, looked at the carnage beyond the pass, and slowly said, "But the price... is not small either."
He could see the busy medics on the city wall and the wounded being carried away.
"War... always results in death." Lin Feng's voice was somewhat low. "What we can do is make their deaths meaningful. Your Highness's personal presence on the battlefield today has inspired the entire army, and your contribution is invaluable."
Yinji did not respond; he simply gazed at the vast mountains on the opposite bank of the river.
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