Chapter 2166 - City Defense Battle! (II)
Chapter 2166: City Defense Battle! (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In the alliance, An Lushan was the leader, and all the countries would heed his order. If he couldn’t even deal with this ‘minor situation’, there was no need to discuss what would happen for other matters.
“Master, there is no need to worry. Leave everything to Generals Cui and Tian.”
Gao Shang’s brow was slightly creased, but he did not appear panicked. He swiftly turned to Cui Qianyou and Tian Qianzhen.
“Generals, I leave this matter to you,” Gao Shang calmly said.
“Mm!”
Cui Qianyou and Tian Qianzhen immediately mounted their horses.
“Master, let us handle this matter.”
Confident looks on their faces, they bowed to An Lushan and then rode off.
An Lushan gave a slight nod, his expression calming down.
Youzhou didn’t merely have strong soldiers. It also had many generals. Cui Qianyou and Tian Qianzhen might not have been famous in the Central Plains, but they were both formidable tacticians.
Moreover, when under the command of Zhang Shougui, An Lushan had secretly been training them. In the wars against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Xi, the Khitans, and Goguryeo, they had been able to hold their own.
As they vanished into the battlefield, the situation swiftly began to change.
The two generals quickly began to issue orders.
“All soldiers, halt the advance!”
“Soldiers at the front, withdraw to the flanks!”
“All shield carts, cease the advance and prepare to defend!”
“Underworld Army, prepare to move out!”
The soldiers had been rushing forward, spreading the chaos, but now, they heard the order and came to a stop.
And at the very front, the dense ranks of soldiers seemed to gain a backbone after receiving their orders. The soldiers at the back began to move to the sides, and then back, creating an opening in the center.
The clear and precise orders had quickly restored discipline to the army.
Cui Qianyou’s judgment was very precise on this aspect.
But this was not the greatest response from the Youzhou side.
Bang!
A giant boom came from the horizon, and then a massive boulder hurtled through the air in a massive arc toward the steel fortress.
But different from expected, these boulders did not strike inside the fortress, their angle slightly adjusted so that they attacked…
The forty thousand Tang soldiers!
Bang!
The giant boulder suffused with destructive energy made impact, sending twenty-some Tang soldiers flying through the air.
The five or six Tang soldiers unlucky enough to be right under the boulder instantly had their bones crushed and armor deformed, blood gushing out from them as they died on the spot.
But this was only the beginning.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
More boulders came hot on the heels of the first, inflicting massive casualties on the forty thousand Tang soldiers.
These boulders weighed several hundred jin, some almost reaching one thousand.
These rocks descended from high in the sky, and the force of inertia increased their impact strength to sixty thousand jin, even as high as eighty thousand.
Let alone ordinary soldiers, not even elites could hold up against them.
“Catapults!”
Everyone on the walls shivered. Guo Ziyi, Chen Burang, and Sun Zhiming all turned to Wang Chong.
Wang Zhongsi and Abusi also turned grim.
“The enemy generals aren’t simple.”
Abusi narrowed his eyes.
Wang Zhongsi frowned and said, “It seems to be that rebel general, Tian Qianzhen from Youzhou.”
Catapults were normally used for attacking cities. Using catapults to sow chaos on the enemy’s front lines was an idea that even a War God like Wang Zhongsi had to praise. This enemy general clearly wasn’t mediocre.
“Pass on my order! All soldiers, scatter, and remember to keep under cover!” Wang Zhongsi grimly ordered.
The catapults were few in number, but if countermeasures were not taken, they would inflict enormous damage on the army.
But moments after Wang Zhongsi had spoken, another boulder hurtled down somewhere else.
Boom! The boulder did not strike the Tang army, but the spiked moat. The boulders flattened the metal spikes, and the spikes in turn broke open the boulders and sent debris flying.
One boulder, two boulders, three boulders…
More boulders lobbed by the catapults landed in the moat.
“What are they doing?”
Chen Burang and the others were flabbergasted by the sight.
The first boulder could be considered a ‘miss’, but these catapults were missing far too much!
“They want to use the catapults to fill the moat!” A voice suddenly drew everyone’s attention.
Wang Zhongsi grimly surveyed the front, a dark cloud of worry on his brow.
This opposing general was far more formidable than he had imagined. The other side had clearly divided their catapults into two teams. One was targeting the forty thousand Tang soldiers while the other team was focused on filling in the moat.
The greatest obstacle for the alliance army was the long moat of spikes. If it were filled in, even partially, the alliance army could charge past and continue to exhibit their advantage in numbers.
“Pass on my orders! Divide the archers into two teams. Half of the archers should intercept the stones!
“Chen Burang, I leave this to you!” Wang Chong declared in his calm and unperturbed voice.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Chen Burang was taken aback at first, but then his face lit up in delight.
All of Wang Chong’s subordinates considered it an honor, and Chen Burang had been impatient to receive an order.
Kaclack!
As Chen Burang took his leave, the walls began to twang with the sound of bowstrings.
Thwishthwishthwish!
The master archers had divided into two teams. The first team continued to fire at the rear of the alliance army while the other team began to aim at the falling rocks.
Boom! Boom!
Struck by numerous arrows, the boulders exploded into debris in mid-air.
Chen Burang’s command immediately showed its effects. Stone debris showered the battlefield, presenting far less of a threat than before.
Cui Qianyou and Tian Qianzhen glanced at each other, their expressions turning grim.
This response had come far faster than they had expected. The actual killing power of the catapults was fairly limited. Not only that, it also seemed like they would be unable to use the catapults to fill the moat.
“Forget about it! Send out the Underworld Army and finish off those forty thousand soldiers! They’ve already crossed the moat, so it won’t stop us dealing with them! Once we kill them all, we can use their bodies to fill the moat!” Cui Qianyou coldly said, his face exuding a baleful energy.
As one of An Lushan’s leading Great Generals, Cui Qianyou possessed a savage and callous nature that was normally restrained, but on the battlefield it was fully displayed.
The righteous did not grasp for wealth, and the kind did not command soldiers. Cui Qianyou had a much more vicious command style than other people might have believed.
Cui Qianyou once more began to speak. “In addition, hear my order! All soldiers, advance! Anyone who retreats is to be executed!
“Order has already been restored to the army. I’d like to see how many soldiers those forty thousand soldiers can stand against!”
Cui Qianyou’s eyes radiated thick killing intent.
Although the Great Tang had struck first, and its moat of spikes had killed at least one hundred thousand soldiers, the alliance army was back in order. Meanwhile, the forty thousand Tang soldiers were now surrounded. One order from the alliance army would be enough to crush them.
“Attack!”
As Cui Qianyou gave the order, a shift took place in the alliance army. A somber force that had been standing like an imposing mountain suddenly charged forward like an arrow from a bow.
Putting aside the reaction from the alliance army, the forty thousand Tang soldiers, with the threat of the catapults removed, began to advance once more, and screams came from the alliance army as row after row of soldiers fell.
Abusi suddenly spoke. “Your Highness, the army no longer has any barriers to protect it and the enemy army has regained its order. Should we have the army retreat to avoid any further losses?”
The region of Youzhou was the territory of the alliance. They were far more familiar with this terrain than the Great Tang. In Abusi’s view, their role was to defend. For forty thousand soldiers to inflict more than one hundred thousand losses on the enemy army was already wonderful.
Right now, the best strategy was to bring the forty thousand soldiers back into the fortress and use the walls to defend against the enemy.