As night fell, torches were lit inside and outside Wuguan, making it as bright as day.
Cao's army never stopped its offensive. After several rotations, nearly half of the 30,000-strong army had been lost. Together with the injured soldiers, there were only 10,000 soldiers able to fight.
Xu Huang retreated from the front line, his eyes were red and his face was tired. Since he took command of the troops, he had never fought such a difficult battle.
Even if they attacked Yecheng, there would be an opportunity, but Wuguan was like a solid wall, impenetrable. There was no other way except to attack from the front.
Just after drinking a bowl of porridge, a scout came to report that the Jingzhou army had received another 3,000 reinforcements, and their vehicles were lined up in a long queue, apparently transporting supplies and weapons.
Xu Huang slammed the table and said in a deep voice: "Even if Liu Qi builds another Wuguan Pass, I will take this place."
Xu Shangyan said: "There are many casualties among the troops and horses. If this continues, I am afraid we can only hold out for ten days at most. Should we also ask Chang'an for help?"
Xu Huang thought for a while, waved his hand and said, "The unsuccessful attack on the city a year ago has already made General Cao unhappy. If we ask for help again, he will laugh at us. We will stop attacking the city in two hours and rest for a night."
Xu Shang was shocked and said, "General, if we retreat now, won't all our efforts be wasted?"
Xu Huang smiled and said, "Do you still remember the Prime Minister's attack on Shouchun?"
Xu Shang was only a military commander at the time, and remembered the past events vividly. He nodded and said, "The Prime Minister has given us three days to capture the city. If we fail to do so, we will all be executed!" So the three armies obeyed his orders, and the military spirit was greatly boosted. The soldiers rushed to the city walls and destroyed Yuan Shu in one battle.
Xu Huang nodded and said, "This is a desperate situation to survive! Order the entire army to move out tomorrow. If we cannot break through Wuguan within three days, we will all die as a token of our apology!"
Xu Shang's eyes widened: "General, how can this be done?"
Xu Huang sighed, "I was highly regarded by the Prime Minister and came to take Wuguan Pass. From winter to summer, I have achieved nothing in nearly half a year, and lost tens of thousands of soldiers. If I cannot take the pass, how can I face the Prime Minister?"
It was almost three o'clock in the morning when Cao's army, which had been attacking fiercely for days, suddenly retreated. Wuguan became quiet for a rare time, which made the defenders feel a little uncomfortable.
The defenders reported this to Liu Qi, who could not guess Cao's army's intentions, so he decided to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances and ordered the defenders to patrol carefully, which was also a good opportunity for them to take a rest.
The next day, Xu Huang sent a message to the commanders of each camp: "I received an order from the Prime Minister last night: If we cannot break through the pass within three days, the entire camp will be killed. Each camp should select its best troops to attack the city with all their strength!"
All of Cao's troops in the camp were shocked and immediately organized their weapons and moved wood, stone, bows and arrows. All the soldiers, both great and small, lifted their spirits and prepared for a final stand.
When Xu Huang arrived at Wuguan again, he saw the defenders on the city wall moving vehicles. There was one more row of vehicles at the pass than before, and the archers retreated to the two wings.
"Huh, are these the weapons that were delivered yesterday?"
Xu Huang looked at it from afar, thinking that the cart was filled with stones, kerosene, etc., and if they all fell down during the siege, how powerful could it be
Following a drumbeat, Cao's army once again carried ladders and pushed battering rams, and under the cover of catapults and siege towers, launched an attack on Wuguan.
Liu Qi stood on the city wall and watched the battle. He saw a crowd surging down the pass, arrows and stones raining down, countless people in the front row falling down, and those in the back row stepping on the corpses of their companions to move forward.
Here, human life is worthless and turns to ashes in the blink of an eye. Countless people have died here, leaving no bodies behind, and not even their names are left, disappearing like the wind.
Xu Huang personally supervised the battle in front of the army, but if anyone retreated or hesitated, he would take action himself and kill three people in a row. The offensive of Cao's army was like a raging storm, constantly hitting the Wuguan reef, trying to swallow it up.
Pang Tong observed the fighter plane, pointed at the well and ordered: "Prepare the crossbows, aim at the well!"
There were three mechanical crossbows on each wing, with only three grooves on them. The defenders pushed in the direction and aimed the crossbows at Cao's army on the ledge.
As a red flag was waved, there was a creaking sound from a mechanism, and several black shadows flew out into the air.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
The tail of the crossbow arrow was hollowed out, and it made a sharp whistling sound and shot towards the arrow tower on top of the well.
The Cao army on the ledge was paying full attention to the archers on the top of the city and suppressing them, when they suddenly heard a sharp sound, and in the next moment, arrows as thick as fingers came flying at them.
The sharp sound of breaking through the air was heart-pounding. Before I could react, the arrow was already in front of me and pierced through my body with a slight "hiss" sound.
The armor on Cao's army was useless and fell from the sky with shrill screams. Some arrows hit the wooden stakes, causing the arrow tower to tremble.
At this time, part of the Cao army in the front had climbed up the ladders and began to climb the city wall. The second wave of Cao army was only a few dozen steps away from the city wall, and the battering rams had also reached the foot of the city.
Fu Zhun saw that Cao Jun on the well had lost his threat, so he raised the green flag and shouted, "Shoot!"
The soldiers who set up the crossbows had already aimed at their positions. More than a dozen crossbows fired at the same time. The springs made a clicking sound, and the arrows flew like rain and fog, even forming a shadow that covered all of Cao's troops under the city.
Buzz—
With a muffled thud, the Cao army that rushed over fell to the ground instantly, and the soldiers climbing the city wall were all cleared out almost at the same time.
The heaven and earth seemed to shake, the shouting and killing stopped abruptly, even the soldiers beating the drums were stunned, and there was silence inside and outside Wuguan.
"This..." Xu Huang's face immediately changed and he looked at the scene in disbelief.
The dense rain of arrows from the city just now was like a waterfall pouring down. The soldiers who were covering the front row were killed by arrows that pierced their armor. It was simply unbelievable.
The third wave of Cao's army was still gathering strength and was also shocked by the scene before them. In the previous siege, they were able to rush through the rain of arrows and reach the city, but this time no one survived.
Xu Huang was stunned for a while before taking a deep breath: "What on earth is this?"
Looking at the carriage frames at each battlement at this time, they looked like ferocious beasts ready to devour their prey. The defenders loaded their arrows and aimed at the city again.
"General, look!" Xu Shang brought two arrows and handed them to Xu Huang.
Xu Huang took it and looked at it. He found that the arrow was as thick as his index finger, with a wooden shaft at the back. It was more than half shorter than an ordinary arrow, but the arrowhead at the front was an inch long, with a rice-shaped opening, and was very sharp.
"There is such a sharp weapon?" Xu Huang was shocked.
Such a powerful arrow is enough to break through armor. Even if he were in his place, he would not dare to rush forward rashly, let alone those ordinary soldiers wearing leather armor
"General, should we... continue to attack?"
Lu Jian, who was commanding the third wave of charge, walked over anxiously with worry in his eyes.
Xu Huang turned his head and saw that all the archers on the ledge had been eliminated. The suppression from high altitude had lost its power, and the defenders on the city were able to resist the enemy more calmly.
The function of the well block is not only to suppress the defenders, but also to monitor their movements. However, the space above is limited, and sending more people up there would be courting death. The command is like losing an eye.
Xu Huang stood on his horse, staring at the top of the city wall without saying a word. All Cao's troops were staring at Xu Huang, waiting for the moment that would decide their fate.
After a long while, Xu Huang sighed inwardly, waved his hand and said dejectedly: "Retreat!"
When Cao's army heard the order, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Lu Jian and Xu Shang quickly waved their hands, signaling each camp to retreat.
Boom—
Just as Cao's army turned around and retreated, with the formation in chaos, the blood-stained iron gate of Wuguan slowly opened, like an ancient beast opening its bloody mouth.
A general rode out on his horse, holding a 10-foot-long spear, and shouted, "Xu Huang, don't run away. Zhang Yide from Yan is coming! Wow!"