My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Just then, Zhang He also leaped down from the city wall, gripping his halberd tightly.

As soon as he landed, his gaze swept across the area and he saw Li Yi fleeing towards him and Wei Yan in hot pursuit. He instantly understood the situation before him.

Zhang He dared not delay, and first gave a stern order to the soldiers around him:
"Everyone, rush to the city gate immediately and block the Liao army from entering the city. Do not retreat even a step!"

Upon hearing the sound, the soldiers immediately rushed towards the city gate, confronting the Liao army that was about to enter the city.

After settling his soldiers, Zhang He no longer hesitated. He mounted his horse, halberd in hand, and with a spur of his legs, the horse neighed and charged towards Li Yi.

In the blink of an eye, Zhang He rushed in front of Li Yi, raised his halberd high, and swept it horizontally towards Li Yi with great force, wanting to cut Li Yi off his horse in one fell swoop.

Li Yi was prepared. Seeing the halberd sweeping towards him, he advanced instead of retreating, pointing his long sword directly at Zhang He's heart, intending to use offense as defense and force Zhang He to retreat.

Just as Zhang He's halberd was about to touch Li Yi, Li Yi suddenly ducked down and lay tightly on his horse's back, barely dodging the fatal blow. The halberd swept past his head.

After dodging Zhang He's attack, Li Yi dared not linger and immediately spurred his horse toward the city gate, intending to join up with the Liao army outside the city.

Seeing this, Zhang He roared angrily, immediately turned his horse around, and chased after Li Yi again, showing no intention of giving up.

Just then, Wei Yan caught up with Zhang He, and the two rode side by side, speeding towards Li Yi's direction.

Wei Yan glanced at Li Yi fleeing ahead, his tone mocking:

"The Liao generals are all cowards, only good at running away with their heads in their hands, and they don't even have the courage to fight head-on."

Zhang He's gaze was fixed on Li Yi's retreating figure, his tone urgent:

"Who knows what tricks they're up to? Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and catch up with them and take them out of the way, lest things get complicated."

After saying that, he sped up again and chased after Li Yi.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan's eyes flashed with even more murderous intent. He stared intently at Li Yi's back and spurred his horse to follow closely behind.

The two men, one in front and one behind, relentlessly pursued Li Yi, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

In the critical moment, Li Yi made a decisive move, abruptly turning his horse around and charging in from behind the Han soldiers who were facing off. Wielding his long sword, he instantly felled several Han soldiers, completely disrupting the Han army's defensive formation.

Seeing this, the Liao soldiers outside the city gate seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and immediately launched a fierce attack, breaking through the Han soldiers' defenses and pouring into the city to join Li Yi. The situation instantly reversed.

At this time, Li Yi finally met with Wu Tong, who was in charge of attacking the north gate of Fangcheng.

Wu Tong, his armor stained with blood, immediately dismounted upon seeing Li Yi and clasped his hands in thanks.

"General Li, thank you for arriving in time and disrupting the Han army's defenses. Otherwise, we would have had difficulty breaking through the city gates in such a short time."

Li Yi waved his hand, his tone grave:
"General Wu, you are too kind. There is no need for such formalities. However, I have brought a great trouble with me. Look behind you."

After saying that, he pointed at Wei Yan and Zhang He, who were charging towards them, and his expression became even more serious.

Wu Tong looked in the direction Li Yi pointed and saw Wei Yan and Zhang He charging towards him menacingly. A hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes, and he gripped his weapon tightly, saying in a deep voice:

"No problem, if the two of us join forces, we can definitely take them down and get rid of this major threat!"

Upon hearing Wu Tong's words, Li Yi's heart tightened, and he quickly said with concern:

"General Wu, you must not be careless! That man wielding the long sword is Wei Yan, a very powerful fighter. He has already killed General Chen Xun!"

Upon hearing the news that "Chen Xun had been killed," Wu Tong was stunned, a look of shock and grief flashing in his eyes.

Chen Xun and he had always been good friends, but unexpectedly, he had died on the battlefield.

Before Wu Tong could recover from his grief, Li Yi continued:

"Now is not the time to linger in battle. Let us take this opportunity to lead our troops to break through the east gate as well. Once all the city gates are opened, the main force of the Liao army will enter the city, and the Han army will surely be defeated!"

Wu Tong snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, suppressed his grief, and nodded:
"General Li is right. The overall situation is of utmost importance. Let's set off immediately to break through the east gate!"

After saying this, Wu Tong and Li Yi immediately gathered the Liao soldiers around them and rushed towards the east gate, not daring to linger for even a moment, for fear of being caught up by Wei Yan and Zhang He.

Wei Yan and Zhang He chased after Li Yi and Wu Tong to the city gate and saw them fleeing towards the east gate. They were immediately enraged.

Zhang He immediately ordered the Han soldiers around him to remain at the city gate to resist the influx of Liao soldiers and defend the key passage to the city.

After settling the soldiers in, Zhang He and Wei Yan turned their horses around again and chased after Li Yi and Wu Tong, intending to kill them and turn the tide of the battle.

As Li Yi fled, he glanced back and saw that Wei Yan and Zhang He were still hot on his heels, getting closer and closer. He felt a pang of distress.

Li Yi had already made his plans. He stared intently at the direction of the East Gate, secretly hoping that the moment the gate was breached, he could immediately join forces with the Liao army lying in ambush outside the city to encircle and annihilate the Han army that had entered the city and regain the initiative in the battle.

At this moment, he was preoccupied with the plans after the city fell, but he was completely unaware that Xiao He had already seen through his thoughts and secretly sent Ma Su to the East Gate to take command, laying a trap for him to walk into.

On the other side, after receiving the military order, Deng Ai immediately led his elite troops and sped towards the east gate.

At the same time, Li Yi, along with his trusted confidant Wu Tong, headed towards the East Gate along another route, deliberately avoiding the main routes that the Han army's main force might take.

Deng Ai and his group took the shortcut through the city, a narrow but smooth road, while Li Yi chose a relatively secluded side road. Although the two paths were not far apart, they managed to avoid each other's sight, and the two groups sped along without ever colliding.

Even so, Deng Ai, who was walking on the inner road, spotted the Liao army rushing along the side road from afar with his keen observation skills. He immediately ordered his troops to speed up and make sure to reach the East Gate before Li Yi and block his retreat.

Taking advantage of the shortcut inside the city, Deng Ai indeed arrived at the East Gate a step ahead of Li Yi.

Without pausing for a moment, he immediately deployed his heavy cavalry to completely block the main streets near the east gate, waiting for Li Yi to walk right into the trap.

Before long, Li Yi arrived on horseback with Wu Tong. When he saw Deng Ai's heavily armored cavalry blocking the middle of the street, completely cutting off their path, his heart sank and he knew something was wrong.

Li Yi knew the power of heavy cavalry and that he had no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. He immediately reined in his horse, intending to turn around and find another route to bypass the blockade.

But just as he turned his horse around, a large number of Han soldiers suddenly surged out from all directions, each wielding a weapon and with a sharp expression, completely blocking his and Wu Tong's path.

Behind them, Wei Yan and Zhang He arrived with their troops in time, wielding long spears and glaring menacingly, cutting off their retreat.

With ambushes ahead and pursuers behind, Li Yi and Wu Tong were completely trapped in a desperate situation.

The two looked at each other and saw a resolute determination in each other's eyes.

At this moment, only a desperate fight offers a glimmer of hope.

Without the slightest hesitation, the two spurred their horses and charged at full speed towards the heavily armored cavalry led by Deng Ai, determined to fight their way out. Seeing the two charging towards him, Deng Ai's eyes flashed with approval. He then gripped his longsword and spurred his horse to meet them.

In the blink of an eye, the three groups clashed. Deng Ai was the first to attack, sweeping out his long sword with great force.

Li Yi and Wu Tong dared not be careless and immediately joined forces to parry with their weapons. Both weapons swept towards Deng Ai's longsword at the same time, trying to use the force to neutralize the attack.

Just as the weapons were about to collide, Deng Ai suddenly leaped from his horse, deftly avoiding the combined attack of the two. Using the momentum of the leap, he swept his longsword downwards.

Li Yi was caught off guard and was struck hard in the chest by the long sword. He was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the wall of a nearby house with a dull thud.

Seeing this, Wu Tong knew that this was not the time to linger in the battle. He seized the opportunity to turn his horse around and, ignoring the fierce fighting behind him, galloped at full speed toward the east gate, hoping to rush out and join up with the Liao army outside the city before the gate was breached.

Deng Ai saw through his thoughts at a glance, immediately turned his horse around, abandoned the fallen Li Yi, and spurred his horse to chase after Wu Tong.

Just as Deng Ai was giving it his all to catch up with Wu Tong, a cold arrow suddenly shot out from behind Deng Ai, whistling sharply, heading straight for Wu Tong's back.

Wu Tong, a veteran of many battles, was extremely vigilant. He vaguely sensed danger behind him and instinctively dodged to the side. The arrow whistled past his armor and embedded itself in the wall in front of him.

Wu Tong's heart tightened, and he secretly rejoiced. If he had been a step later, the arrow would have pierced his chest, and he would have been either dead or seriously injured.

Relieved slightly, Wu Tong dared not linger for a moment and continued to urge his horse forward, wanting only to break through the encirclement as soon as possible.

But fate had other plans. Just as he was about to reach the east gate, another arrow came flying through the air and struck his warhorse with precision.

The warhorse, in pain, let out a shrill neigh and reared up, throwing the unsuspecting Wu Tong violently off the horse.

Wu Tong fell heavily to the ground, his whole body aching, and he couldn't get up for a while.

Upon seeing this, Deng Ai immediately stopped his horse, reined it in, and stood still, staring at the fallen Wu Tong, waiting for the rest of the troops to arrive.

Before long, Wei Yan and Zhang He led their soldiers to Deng Ai's side.

"Finally caught up! Let's see where these two can run now!"

Wei Yan gripped his spear tightly, clearly extremely dissatisfied with Li Yi and his companion's stubborn resistance.

Zhang He frowned, his gaze sweeping over Li Yi and Wu Tong, who were lying on the ground:

"Why are all the Liao army generals thinking about running away? How can they be qualified to lead troops into battle with such a cowardly attitude?"

Deng Ai waved his hand, interrupting their discussion, his expression serious:

"Alright, enough talk. Take these two down and don't give them any more chances."

Having said that, he was the first to dismount, ready to make his move.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan immediately walked towards the fallen Li Yi, pointing his spear directly at him to prevent him from launching a counterattack.

Zhang He walked toward Wu Tong, who had fallen to the ground, his eyes wary, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Deng Ai did not linger, but followed Zhang He to approach Wu Tong, locking his gaze on him and giving him no chance to escape.

Li Yi and Wu Tong were both slightly injured. Looking at the Han army surrounding them, they knew that there was no other way but to fight to the death today.

The two slowly propped themselves up, gripped their weapons tightly, and their eyes were filled with determination.

Just as both sides were poised to engage in another fierce battle, a loud bang suddenly came from the direction of the east gate.

The east gate, which the Han army had held for so long, was finally breached by the Liao army's siege engines.

At this moment, all four city gates of Fangcheng had been breached, but apart from the west gate where a large number of Liao soldiers had poured in, the east, south, and north gates had not yet seen a large number of Liao soldiers enter the city due to the fierce resistance of the Han army.

Seeing the East Gate breached, a fierce glint flashed in Deng Ai's eyes. He knew that he could not delay any longer. If the Liao army outside the city were to pour in in large numbers, the situation would be completely reversed.

Without hesitation, he took up his longsword and launched a fierce attack on Wu Tong, each strike deadly, giving his opponent no chance to breathe.

Meanwhile, outside the East Gate, Liao soldiers were struggling to push heavy breaching carts into the city. The carts were enormous, and once inside, they completely blocked the narrow passageways…

Inside the city.

Deng Ai, Wei Yan, and Zhang He were fully engaged in a fierce battle with Li Yi and Wu Tong.

Just as the battle was fiercely fought, Wang Qian, the Liao general who had led the attack on the east gate, took advantage of the gap in the Han army's view being blocked by the siege towers, leaped over the massive siege towers, and charged into the battlefield inside the city.

Li Yi and Wu Tong were being suppressed by Deng Ai and the other two, and were retreating steadily. Just when they were about to give up, they suddenly caught sight of Wang Qian rushing in.

The two men's faces lit up with joy, as if they had grasped a lifeline, and they immediately shouted loudly towards the east gate:

"Wang Qian! Come quickly and lend us a hand!"

The sound pierced through the chaotic sounds of battle and clearly reached Wang Qian's ears.

Wang Qian, who had just stormed into the city, heard a familiar shout and immediately stopped. He followed the sound and soon saw Li Yi and Wu Tong being surrounded by Deng Ai and his two companions, struggling to hold on.

Seeing this, Wang Qian roared angrily, gripped his long sword tightly, and strode towards Deng Ai, determined to break the siege as soon as possible.

In a short while, Wang Qian rushed to the center of the battlefield.

Deng Ai noticed the commotion behind him and caught a glimpse of Wang Qian charging towards him with a knife. He immediately adjusted his posture and turned to face the attack.

Wang Qian was well-versed in close combat. He calculated the distance between himself and Deng Ai, then suddenly leaped into the air, raising his long sword high and slashing fiercely at Deng Ai, aiming straight for his vital points.

Deng Ai reacted extremely quickly, immediately holding his spear horizontally to block the attack.

With a loud clang, the longsword and spear collided violently, sparks flying everywhere. Wang Qian's powerful and heavy slash was actually blocked by Deng Ai.

Wang Qian's expression changed slightly. He was secretly surprised by Deng Ai's strength, but without hesitation, he swung his sword and attacked Deng Ai again.

The two instantly became entangled in combat, the sounds of clashing weapons filling the air as they exchanged blows, neither giving an inch.

After several rounds, the two exerted their strength at the same time, each taking a few steps back and widening the distance between them. Both of them looked tired, but their eyes were still sharp as they stared at each other.

After several rounds of combat, the two were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand easily. (End of Chapter)