Ugh!
The long, drawn-out bugle call tore through the darkness before dawn.
boom!
The sound of galloping hooves broke the tranquility of the plain outside Jixian County.
The withered yellow reeds on the tree-lined path outside the city were now covered with white frost due to the large temperature difference between day and night.
The first hint of dawn appeared in the east.
But countless Han soldiers had already appeared on the plains around Ji County.
Cavalry appeared in the northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest directions.
They appeared simultaneously outside Jixian City, around the joint camp of the rebel coalition.
There were no impassioned speeches, no fervent pre-battle mobilizations.
As soon as they appeared around the rebel coalition camp, they launched an attack without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, King Qiuliju, Khan Murong, the victor will be king, the vanquished will be villains—it all comes down to this!"
In the rebel camp, Zhang Chun hadn't slept all night, and finally, exhausted, he was attacked by the imperial army at dawn.
Last night, the soldiers in Jixian abandoned the city gates and chose to fight in the streets, and also set fires all over the city.
This completely disrupted Zhang Chun's rhythm.
His soldiers were roasted by fire and wounded by arrows hidden in the alley, suffering terribly.
They couldn't find the whereabouts of the Youzhou army in Ji County at all.
Those Youzhou soldiers wandered around the city like ghosts, suddenly delivering a fatal blow.
Therefore, the fierce battle lasted until midnight, but they still could not control half of the territory of Ji County.
Moreover, the fire rendered the plan to massacre the city meaningless; it was already burned to the ground, so what was the point of massacring it?
The soldiers were demoralized, exhausted, and lacked motivation.
Zhang Chun had no choice but to leave 4,000 soldiers to guard the four city walls, while the rest withdrew from Ji County and stationed themselves outside the city.
Thick smoke, blood, corpses, and mud!
The rebels didn't sleep well at all that night!
Xu Yan and fifty skilled swordsmen, whom Zhang Chun had sent out to assassinate Liu Yu and the court general, had not been heard from by dawn.
The assassination attempt is estimated to have failed.
Feeling extremely depressed, Zhang Chun hastily went to sleep.
But just as dawn was breaking, a deafening sound of horses' hooves rang out!
As expected, the commander from the imperial court chose dawn to launch a full-scale attack on them.
So Zhang Chun had no choice but to pull himself together and invite Zhang Ju, Qiu Liju, Murong Mohuba, and others over.
"Now, the outcome depends entirely on the mighty cavalry of the two kings!"
Zhang Chun immediately spoke up.
Zhang Ju, Qiu Liju, Dun Ta, Murong Mohuba, Murong Muyan, and others also looked solemn.
Upon learning that Han cavalry were attacking from all directions, they immediately woke up their men and prepared for battle.
Because from the past few days, Zhang Chun had repeatedly instructed them to be prepared at all times to fight a decisive battle with the Han army.
Meanwhile, scouts were dispatched yesterday to ascertain the Han army's troop deployment.
"There are four thousand cavalrymen to the northeast! Two thousand of them are the ones who ambushed my son, Dunta!"
"I'll take care of these people!"
Qiuliju was the first to step forward, declaring, "I will lead 20,000 Wuhuan warriors to fight and avenge our defeat!"
His son, Dunta, was probably still traumatized by the previous defeat, so Qiuliju decided to lead the attack himself.
"There are only a thousand cavalrymen in the southwest direction, but presumably fourteen thousand infantrymen will follow."
"I am willing to lead 10,000 cavalry to crush these 1,000 cavalry into mincemeat first, and then hold back these 14,000 infantry."
Qiu Liju and his son immediately took the initiative to shoulder the pressure from the east.
The troops to the east have a deep-seated hatred for them.
Qiuliju also received news of the Wuhuan soldiers who had fled from Youbeiping, and that Qiao Wang and Lou Ban had been captured by the Han army.
Therefore, he was determined to take all of this back from the Han army coming from the east.
Murong Mohuba and his son were not to be outdone.
Murong Muyan chose to resist Zhang Yan's army in the southwest.
He could tell that this army was far superior in combat strength to the one in the northwest, and it only had three thousand cavalry.
"The Han army that came from Juyong Pass numbered 13,500!"
"They have five thousand archers, three thousand five hundred cavalry, and five thousand retainers who were defected to them by the traitor Yuwen Yong."
"The fighting power of these archers and cavalry is extraordinary."
"Among these cavalrymen, the hundred riding fine horses from the Western Regions were the most formidable."
Murong Muyan knew that his father would definitely take on the task of fighting this army, because Murong Mohuba wanted to personally kill Yuwen Yong, who had betrayed him.
They also wanted to avenge the loss of Shanggu Commandery, Dai Commandery, and Juyong Pass.
"I will lead 20,000 Xianbei warrior cavalry to meet them in battle. I will show them who the real men on horseback are!"
Murong Mohuba also stepped forward to speak with a sinister expression.
"Murong Khan, the Han army in the northwest is the strongest. I will send you another 10,000 infantrymen!"
Zhang Chun also knew the strength of this army that came from Juyong Pass, so he proposed to send another 10,000 to assist in the battle.
"The strategist is very thoughtful!"
Murong Mohuba was not polite either.
Seeing that troops were engaging in battle from all sides, Zhang Chun said, "I will continue to command a portion of the troops to push through Jixian City. Before dawn, we will definitely take the entire city of Ji!"
"We request Your Majesty to provide support from the center, and to provide immediate assistance should either side encounter any problems!"
"We can attack or defend as we please, and let the imperial troops and Liu Yu's Youzhou army be crushed and buried under the soil outside Jixian City!"
"Your Majesty, King Qiuliju, Khan Murong, the victor is king, the loser is villain. Whether we can dominate Hebei and rule the world depends on this battle!"
Zhang Chun's words have always been inflammatory.
Otherwise, why would Zhang Ju, the Murong Xianbei, and the Wuhuan people listen to him and start a rebellion together?
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