The walls of Wuguan were very high and even with ladders they still could not reach the top. The next day Xu Huang changed his strategy and led his troops to attack the city again.
Cao's army used catapults and siege towers to suppress the defenders and prepared dozens of battering rams, which they continuously rushed to the pass and rammed the gates.
Drums sounded loudly inside and outside Wuguan City, and arrows rained down from the pass, causing countless casualties to Cao's army. Seeing the soldiers fall under his bows and crossbows, Xu Huang gritted his teeth in hatred for Liu Qi's cunning.
For several days in a row, Cao's army attacked the city. Due to the cold weather, the blood solidified in an instant, and several feet high steps were built under the wall.
A large piece of scarlet blood ice, wrapped with countless broken corpses, was a shocking sight.
After several rounds of fierce attacks, Cao's army suffered countless casualties and most of their weapons were destroyed, but Wuguan was still as solid as a rock. The offensive gradually weakened, and the soldiers and horses became tired and slack, and their morale was low.
It snowed heavily that night. Fu Zhun discussed with Wei Yan: "Cao's army is exhausted recently. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to raid the camp and kill Xu Huang in one fell swoop?"
Wei Yan was wiping his sword and said with a smile, "General, I agree with you. We are going out in the snow tonight. Cao's army will be unprepared. If we can capture Xu Huang, it will be a great achievement."
After the third watch, the two generals led their troops out of the pass, braved the snow and quietly came to the outside of Cao's camp. The whistling northwest wind covered the sound of their footsteps, and they charged into the camp from the left and right.
As expected, Cao's army was unprepared. When the defenders wanted to beat the drums to give warning, Wei Yan had already charged into the camp, wielding a mighty sword, and was unstoppable.
Cao's army was unable to resist and chaos broke out in the camp. The soldiers and horses had no time to put on their armor and fled in all directions.
Fu Rong led his troops to set fires everywhere and headed towards the location where the weapons were piled up. As long as these weapons were burned, Cao's army would not be able to attack the city.
Wei Yan rushed straight into the center of the army. Wherever he passed, Cao's soldiers fell off their horses and fled in panic. When they arrived at the main camp, they found it empty.
"Oh no, we've fallen into a trap!" Wei Yan's face changed drastically, and he quickly turned his horse and shouted, "Retreat, retreat quickly!"
Boom boom boom—
At this moment, drums sounded in Cao's camp, shouts were heard everywhere, torches were lit in the rear camp, and they rushed up the mountain road.
Fu Rong was leading his troops to burn wooden equipment such as well gratings and catapults when suddenly the shelves in front of them collapsed, knocking down countless soldiers. Immediately afterwards, ambushes emerged from behind.
It turned out that Cao's army used vehicles and equipment to hide and ambushed under the cliff, catching the Jingzhou soldiers off guard and forcing them to retreat in panic.
Fu Zhu was shocked and hurriedly ordered his soldiers to form a battle formation, but Cao's army came very quickly. Xu Huang hid there himself and swung his axe, scattering the soldiers and horses.
"You bastard, prepare to die!" In the light of the fire, Xu Huang recognized Fu Rong and ran towards him.
Fu Rong gritted his teeth and stepped forward to fight. Wei Yan was still charging in the front. If he retreated, Wei Yan would be surrounded.
The two men fought to the death under the cliff. Fu Rong entangled Xu Huang tightly, and Xu Huang was unable to do anything for a while and roared in anger.
At this moment, Wei Yan led his troops to retreat, killing the besieging Cao army. He roared and slashed at Xu Huang with his sword, shouting, "Retreat!"
Fu Rong retreated outside the camp, gathered the remaining soldiers and rushed in again. Wei Yan held off Xu Huang, killing him as he retreated. Fu Rong covered their retreat, and the two fought to the death and escaped.
"Wei Yan, don't run!" Xu Huang led his troops to follow and attack, hoping to take advantage of the chaos to follow and kill his way into the pass.
Wei Yan urged his horse to gallop to the gate and shouted to the defenders on the city wall: "Shoot, shoot!"
Seeing that there were still many of their own troops in the rear, the defenders were hesitating. Wei Yan shouted angrily: "If you hesitate again, don't blame the ruthless military law!"
At this time, Fu Rong led the remaining soldiers to retreat to the city. Wei Yan drew his bow and arrow on horseback, aiming at Xu Huang and shooting.
The wind was howling hard in the dark night. Xu Huang was busy chasing after Fu Rong when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left arm. He realized he had been shot by an arrow and hurriedly reined in his horse.
At this moment of hesitation, arrows rained down from the pass, and the pursuing Cao soldiers, as well as some of the Jingzhou soldiers in front, fell to the ground one after another.
Seeing Wei Yan aiming his bow at him, Xu Huang cursed: "You despicable fellow, you are shooting me from behind!"
Fu Rong was injured in the shoulder, but he gritted his teeth and stood at the city gate, holding on until the remaining soldiers retreated into the city before the two of them returned.
Xu Huang was shot in the arm. Seeing that the defenders were heavily guarded and there was no hope of taking the pass, he had to lead his troops to retreat.
Wei Yan retreated back to the city. This battle almost wiped out his entire army, with more than 3,000 casualties. He sighed and said, "Xu Gongming is indeed a good general. We were too careless."
Fu Rong sacrificed his life to be the last one to leave, and suffered several more wounds on his body, especially his shoulder blade, which was scratched by Xu Huang's axe and penetrated into the bone, almost breaking his arm.
The doctor bandaged his wound, grimacing in pain, and said with a breath of cold air: "No no...hiss...don't rush for success."
Wei Yan sighed softly, told Fu Rong to rest and recover, and then went to the critical point to inspect.
The snowflakes were still falling, Cao's army had long retreated, and some people fell into darkness again, but their hearts could not calm down for a long time.
Both of them were eager to prove themselves by making achievements, but they underestimated the enemy and suffered such a great defeat. They should learn from their mistakes and remember this lesson.
The next day, Cao's soldiers took advantage of their victory to attack the city again. Wei Yan led the troops personally and shot several arrows in a row, and several Cao soldiers fell down.
Xu Huang was furious, and he rode his horse to the foot of the city, pointed at Wei Yan and cursed: "You rat shot an arrow in the back, do you dare to fight me?"
Wei Yan did not answer, but drew his bow and aimed at Xu Huang, and an arrow whizzed towards him.
Xu Huang raised his axe to push away the enemy and shouted and cursed for a while. Seeing that Wei Yan refused to fight, he ordered an attack on the city.
After the fighting ended in the morning, Wei Yan was resting when he suddenly heard a report from the defenders that Liu Qi had sent Pang Tong, the Phoenix, to help.
Wei Yan was overjoyed and personally went out of the city gate to greet him. He clasped his fists and said, "I have been in Xiangyang and have heard of your great name for a long time. You have come just in time!"
Pang Tong smiled and said, "Although General Liu knew that Cao Cao had divided his troops to take Wuguan, he did not send reinforcements. He firmly believed that Wen Chang could hold Wuguan firmly. My coming here is just icing on the cake."
"Sir, you are making fun of me!" Wei Yan laughed dryly, welcomed Pang Tong into the mansion, and told him the truth about the defeat a few days ago.
After sitting down, he sighed with regret: "I was too reckless and greedy for merit, and almost made a big mistake. I failed the eldest master's trust."
Pang Tong said: "Wenchang was able to escape in time and turn danger into safety, which shows that the general is good at judging people. Being a general is more about strategy than courage. Wenchang should remember this."
Wei Yan accepted the advice humbly and said, "Xu Huang has a good command of the army. Cao's army is attacking fiercely. I wonder what countermeasures you have, sir?"
Pang Tong smiled and said, "When I came here, the general had already given instructions, and soon he was sent back empty-handed."
Wei Yan asked for advice, but Pang Tong just smiled and said nothing. The two of them went to the pass to inspect first.
Pang Tong put his hands in his sleeves, glanced at the winding road outside the pass, and pointed ahead with his chin: "Wuguan is bordered by a cliff in the east and a cliff in the west. If we build a defense line in the valley, we can be sure of safety."
Wei Yan frowned and said, "Cao's army is just outside the pass and can attack at any time. Building a wall may be futile."
Cao's camp was not far away. Extending along the mountain road, the Cao army's defense line was more than ten miles long. Building a wall was really unnecessary.
Pang Tong grinned and said, "What if I build a three-meter-high wall within three days and merge it with the cliff?"
"How is this possible?" Wei Yan was surprised and said, "Cao's army is just outside the pass. It's not easy to retreat. How can they build a wall several feet high in three days?"
Pang Tong's eyebrows twitched left and right, and he chuckled and said, "I have a brilliant plan."