They both hoped for reinforcements to arrive and feared that the reinforcements would be driven away, leaving them disappointed.
"Is that Liu Xiu's army?" Wang Feng could only vaguely see a small group of soldiers in the distance, which was far outnumbered by the enemy.
"Most likely. Don't worry, Liu Xiu isn't a reckless person. Since he dared to come, he must have some confidence." Wang Chang subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword at his waist.
"It's starting!" Li Tong knew that his elder brother Li Zhi must also be in that army. He had been waiting for so long and he had finally arrived. But he must not be defeated!
...
Chapter 265 The Decisive Battle of Kunyang (Part Two)
East of Kunyang, on the battlefield.
The two forwards were less than a hundred feet apart. The new army accelerated first, and then...
"All soldiers! Charge with me!" With his twin swords in hand, Liu Xiu exuded an aura of dominance over the world. His soldiers were inspired by him and charged forward with all their might, while also remembering Liu Xiu's earlier instructions.
"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
"Wancheng has been captured by our army! You are doomed to defeat!"
"You cowardly rats of the new army, run! You brought our main force here, and now you're not going to escape!"
...
"Hmph! Nonsense! Trying to shake the morale of our army? No way! Kill them! Annihilate this band of rebels!" With a command, the deputy general of the new army brandished his spear and charged forward.
"kill!"
The two armies clashed violently and engaged in fierce combat!
There were many new soldiers, but none of them were as elite as the Gengshi army. Moreover, there was Liu Xiu, a powerful and extraordinary figure, fighting bravely.
Puff puff puff...
Liu Xiu wielded his twin swords, weaving through the enemy ranks and reaping lives with ease, as if he were stomping on weaklings.
Soon, the new army's deputy general and Liu Xiu locked eyes and charged at each other simultaneously.
"Kill... Ah!" The new army's deputy general raised his spear and thrust it forward with all his might.
Liu Xiu used a ring-pommel sword to parry the spear, and with another swift stroke, he beheaded the enemy general!
In the first battle, the new army was defeated, suffering heavy losses, with hundreds of soldiers losing their lives on the battlefield!
A cheer erupted atop the walls of Kunyang. Although it was only a minor victory, it greatly boosted the morale of the defending troops inside the city.
However, due to the distance, the people inside the city did not hear what Liu Xiujun was shouting.
However, after Liu Xiu's vanguard won a battle, they did not retreat. Li Zhi's main force also continued to advance, clearly intending to continue fighting towards Kunyang City.
It takes immense courage to charge a few thousand men straight into the camp of an army of 400,000. If you break it down to the four directions, you would still have to face at least 50,000 enemy troops.
If we were surrounded by enemy forces, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Thinking of this, the people on the walls of Kunyang couldn't help but worry about Liu Xiu's reinforcements outside the city.
However, Liu Xiu's army, which had just won a battle outside the city, was obviously unaware of this, or perhaps some of them were aware but didn't say anything, pretending not to know.
According to their original plan, they were to advance all the way to the walls of Kunyang, at least until they were within range of arrows.
Only in this way could they ensure that news of the capture of Wancheng reached the city and boost the morale of the defending troops, as it was too difficult to send messages into the city from across the Xinjun camp.
With an army of 400,000 surrounding them, how could they possibly communicate with each other inside and outside Kunyang?
Of course, if things were truly impossible, Liu Xiu's army did not necessarily have to send the news into the city. As long as the news of the capture of Wancheng spread among the new army, it would still have some effect.
Liu Xiu's vanguard achieved a resounding victory, and the soldiers were all very happy. They were no longer so afraid of being isolated deep in enemy territory. With the enemy's fighting strength, breaking out would be a piece of cake.
"Haha, General Liu is usually terrified of even small groups of enemies, but today, facing such a formidable foe, he is so brave and leads from the front. He is truly remarkable! Please continue to lead us in battle, General, and let us work together to defeat the enemy!" Ma Wu said excitedly.
Liu Xiu smiled slightly, "What's so difficult about that? Do you see those remnants of the defeated army over there? I'll cut them down with one stroke! Soldiers! Follow me and keep advancing! The enemy must be terrified by the news of Wancheng's fall! We must win battle after battle and fight our way to the city walls!"
Victory is certain!
Victory is certain!
...
Chen Mao's expression was solemn. He hadn't expected the Gengshi Army to be so powerful. Two thousand of the new army couldn't even defeat one thousand of the Gengshi Army. Huh? The enemy's thousand-man vanguard has actually continued its attack!
"Hmph! What a fool! Pass on my order: leave three thousand men to form a battle line to defend against the enemy, and the rest of you will follow me into the camp to defend!"
"Here you go!"
...
Wang Chang and others on the walls of Kunyang could clearly see the troop movements of both armies.
"This is not a good situation," Wang Chang said worriedly.
"Didn't we just win a game? What's wrong?" Wang Feng asked, puzzled.
"In short, Liu Xiu was a bit too reckless. Although the new army suffered a defeat, they were not flustered at all. The army advanced and retreated with great restraint, and they deliberately lured Liu Xiu's army deep into their territory," Wang Chang sighed. The disparity in troop strength between the two sides was simply too great. Wasn't Liu Xiu's move like a lamb being led into the tiger's den?
"There's no need to be so pessimistic, is there? The General may be overestimating the new army. With their level of expertise, how could they possibly understand such a strategy? Besides, isn't Liu Xiu's plan to march to the city and then attack the enemy from both inside and outside? Instead of worrying about Liu Xiu, the General should think about how we should coordinate if Liu Xiu's army really does reach the city."
Wang Feng naturally knew that Liu Xiu was facing danger, but should he not come just because it was dangerous?
"My lords, we must first defend the city before we can talk about anything else," Li Tong said with a wry smile.
“Yes, General Li is right. If we can’t defend the city, what right do we have to worry about others?” Wang Feng nodded.
"Huh? The enemy's siege formation today is different from usual. Could it be that they've changed generals?" Wang Chang wondered.
"I think so too," Li Tong suggested. "It will be difficult to defend the city today. You two should return to the city to take shelter. The enemy is about to attack, and their main attack is from the east. This place is too dangerous."
"Why hide? The enemy's siege these past few days has been rather perfunctory, and they haven't used any new tricks in a long time. I'm just curious to see what this general is capable of. I, Your Majesty, will be watching the battle from this city wall today to boost our morale! If the General is afraid, he should hurry back to his residence to rest," Wang Feng said proudly.
Wang Chang snorted coldly, "Since the Lord has stayed, what do I have to fear? Today, we will sit here and watch our Gengshi army crush 400,000 enemy troops!"
Li Tong's lips twitched violently. At such an old age, is he just living for face? What if something goes wrong?
However, with these two in charge, the chances of defending the city are indeed much greater.
"In that case, I'll send more soldiers to protect you two, sirs. Losing people is a dangerous thing," Li Tong said helplessly.
"Although the East Gate is the enemy's main attack direction, we cannot be careless about the other three gates. General Li, pass down the order to make everyone extra careful." Wang Chang had a vague sense of unease.
"Yes," Li Tong replied, cupping his hands in greeting.
...
Thump, thump, thump...
As the war drums sounded, the new army formed ranks and began a new round of siege.
The west, south, and north sides of Kunyang were no different from usual, but the siege formation on the east side, where Xiang Yu was located, had changed.
It is said that Xiang Yu had already received the order to attack the city when Ju Wuba set out to conquer Ziyun Mountain, but he did not officially start the attack, but instead made some preparations.
For example, they trained elite archers selected from the army, categorized bows and arrows according to their range, arranged them in formations based on their range, and supervised the production of a batch of oversized shields and two thick halberds, etc.
Many people have doubts: can Kunyang really be captured like this?
Xiang Yu raised his Overlord Halberd to the sky and shouted, "Arrow formation ready! Launch with full force!"
Six thousand archers fired in three volleys, their target the city wall at the east gate of Kunyang!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Arrows rose like locusts, then fell like rain!
"Arrow rain is coming! Quickly find cover! Protect the two lords!" Li Tong said as he quickly hid behind a large shield.
Clang clang clang...
Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
The Gengshi army never expected that 80% of the arrows rained down by the new army would accurately hit the city walls. Those who showed their heads died, and it was too late for them to leave the city walls!
Wang Feng, "..."
Wang Chang, "..."
Chapter 266 The Decisive Battle of Kunyang (Part 3)
Is launching entirely based on luck?
That is usually the case.
However, as long as the range and distance are calculated correctly, and external forces such as wind are excluded, the projectile can be launched at a fixed angle with full force, and the landing point can be almost controlled. The deviation can be completely compensated for by the number of projectiles.
Today in Kunyang, the southeast wind is at level one to two, barely a breeze, just right for a full-force launch.
Xiang Yu has been training his archers in this kind of tactic these past two days, including how to adjust after the wind speed changes.
In short, if the wind is against you, the range is shorter, so the arrow formation needs to move forward; if the wind is with you, it should move backward; and if the wind is light, it has little effect and you can stay still.
Of course, if the wind speed is too high and there is a strong headwind, adjusting will be useless. In this case, you should change the main direction of attack and make the most of the tailwind.
But if you encounter a whirlwind with constantly changing wind speed and direction, there's absolutely nothing you can do. It's like the heavens are playing tricks on you; you should just raise your middle finger and smother the sky.
At the east gate of Kunyang, the rain of arrows continued fiercely.
Li Tong risked his life, shielding himself with a large shield, and looked outside the city. He saw that the situation was extremely bad and the city was about to fall!
The rain of arrows only hit the area around the city gate, and almost all of them hit the city wall. This means that the new army could advance to the city gate without any resistance, or more precisely, to the east gate!
Battering rams, battering rams—any means are possible to break down the city gates, at which point Kunyang City would fall.
"General! The enemy is likely to use the arrow rain as cover to launch a strong attack on the city gate!" Li Tong shouted at the top of his lungs.
Previously, in order to coordinate with the outer forces to launch a pincer attack, the city gates were not sealed off, but now they have become a hidden danger.
If they could defend normally, that would be fine; rolling logs and stones down from the city walls would immediately cut off the enemy's offensive. But now, let alone throwing logs and stones down, even just hiding under a shield without doing anything would be dangerous enough to get shot to death!