Tiger Owl

Chapter 237 Forced by the City Walls

When Shi Xie learned that more than 20,000 troops from the Western Chu army were approaching Longbian County, he made a bold and surprising decision: he would lead his army out of the city to meet the Western Chu army in battle.

This was not a rash decision by Shih-hsieh, but a move made out of desperation.

The tallest military city in Jiaozhi Commandery was Wangmei County, which was 26 feet high. The walls of other cities were less than 20 feet high. The walls of Longbian County were only 18 feet high, and the walls of other county cities were even 15 feet high.

Jiaozhi County had no enemies; it was located in a remote corner and had never been attacked by any army. Therefore, its city walls were very low and there was no need to build them tall.

When the Western Chu army was about to arrive, Shi Xie suddenly realized how absurd and ridiculous these low city walls were.

It was too late for regrets. Shi Xie had no choice but to deal with this unprecedented crisis in the most awkward and unwilling way: send troops to fight.

The two armies finally met on the vast Red River Plain.

The Jiaozhi army recruited a new batch of soldiers, bringing its total strength to 38,000 men, and all its stockpiled weapons and armor were put to use.

Many of the leather armors had been stored for decades, their colors mottled and old, making them look rather comical when worn by new recruits.

The number of soldiers was enormous. Although they lacked ferocity and discipline, their sheer numbers still far outnumbered the Western Chu army.

The Western Chu army had 25,000 men, including 2,000 cavalry. Cavalry was extremely rare on the Red River Plain and was also the most lethal military force.

The Western Chu army was armed and well-equipped, with neat ranks, a forest of spears, and a menacing aura. Their fighting spirit, honed by long-term battles and training, was far stronger than that of the Jiaozhi army.

Bu Zhi stared in surprise at the opposing Jiaozhi army. He and his generals had done a lot of calculations, but they never expected that the enemy would actually arrange their troops to fight them.

"Then come on!"

Bu Zhi roared, "Form a double-flying heavy shield formation and prepare to attack!"

The Heavy Shield Double Flying Formation was the Heavy Shield Army and the Left and Right Flying Cavalry that defeated the Yulin Army, but this time there were more of them: five thousand Heavy Shield Army soldiers and two thousand cavalry.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The war drums sounded loudly, and the seven thousand infantry and cavalry in the double-shield formation slowly marched toward the enemy's main force three miles away.

Shi Xie, his expression grave, watched the enemy approach and ordered, "Archers, prepare!"

Three thousand archers and five thousand crossbowmen lined up together, raising their bows and crossbows, their cold arrowheads pointing at the approaching Western Chu army.

At two hundred paces, the two thousand cavalrymen suddenly launched their attack, charging swiftly towards the archers.

Five thousand heavy shield soldiers also started running.

Shi Xie shouted, "Release the arrows!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The clappers sounded urgently, and the military order was as firm as a mountain. The archers and crossbowmen of the Jiaozhi army released their arrows one after another. In an instant, eight thousand arrows were like a dark cloud under the moonlight, obscuring the moonlight and enveloping the Western Chu army two hundred paces away.

The arrows were aimed at the Western Chu cavalrymen at the forefront. At this moment, two thousand Western Chu cavalrymen simultaneously raised their round shields and crouched behind their warhorses' necks, their round shields primarily protecting the heads of their warhorses.

The tactics were different from those used against the Yulin Army. The Yulin Army soldiers wore leather armor, which could not withstand the rain of arrows. The only way was to have the heavy shield troops charge first and break through the enemy's archer troops.

But with the arrival of two thousand armored cavalrymen, the cavalrymen were no longer afraid of ordinary arrows, and they were able to charge ahead first.

A series of 'click! click!' sounds rang out as arrows rained down upon the Western Chu cavalry.

The cavalry's iron armor proved extremely effective; from over a hundred paces away, the arrows were almost impervious to the light steel armor of the Western Chu army, and equally difficult to pierce the round shields protecting the horses' heads. However, despite the Western Chu army's incredibly sturdy armor, over a hundred soldiers were still hit, tumbling from their horses, or their horses were struck, collapsing and throwing their soldiers to the ground, where they were trampled to death.
When the archers of Jiaozhi finished firing their first volley, the cavalry of Western Chu had already charged within sixty paces. At this moment, Shi Xie still did not realize the danger that had arrived, and he shouted again, "Beat the drums, fire again!"

"We can't shoot anymore!"

The veteran general Wang Kai shouted anxiously, "Archers, retreat immediately! Spearmen, advance and engage!"

"No one is allowed to retreat! Keep firing!" Shi Xie shouted angrily.
Ignoring Shi Xie's piercing gaze, Wang Kai charged into the archer formation and shouted to his soldiers, "Brothers, retreat immediately!"

But then, the drums for shooting arrows sounded again, one order to retreat and another to fire, leaving the soldiers bewildered.

Some of Wang Kai's soldiers began to retreat, but the other archers, unable to hear, continued to draw their bows and shoot at the Western Chu army. Although many soldiers gave up in this round, thousands of arrows were still fired.

The Western Chu army had already charged within thirty paces. Their arrows were powerful, piercing through armor and piercing through horses, causing casualties of over a hundred men and horses.

The cavalry at the forefront were thrown into chaos, with horses neighing and soldiers screaming, blood splattering everywhere, and the formation falling into disarray.

Shi Xie laughed triumphantly, looking up at the sky. Just then, a deep horn sound suddenly came from afar, echoing in the moonlight. It was Zhao Yun, the general of the Western Chu army, personally blowing the horn to attack. The cavalry, which had just been in disarray, immediately regained their footing and swept towards the archers like a tornado sweeping across the continent.

Thirty paces might take ordinary infantrymen a while to cover, but for the Western Chu army with their superior warhorses, it was just a blink of an eye. The archers then realized that the Western Chu cavalry were unusually fast, and many of them cried out in terror. Shi Xie turned pale with fright, realizing that he had made an incredibly foolish mistake. It was too late for the archers to retreat.

Nearly two thousand cavalrymen charged into the formation of eight thousand archers and crossbowmen in an instant, like the fiercest storm. With swords slashing and heads flying, spears piercing through hearts, corpses littered the ground and blood flowed like rivers. The Western Chu army's brutal and devastating slaughter terrified the archers and crossbowmen, who scattered and fled in panic.

At this moment, the heavy shield troops of the Western Chu army also arrived. They and the cavalry were like a sharp knife and an iron hammer, attacking from the left and right, slaughtering the archers until blood flowed like a river.

Shi Xie was stunned and forgot to order the spearmen to attack. Just then, the six thousand spearmen of the Jiaozhi army took the initiative to attack. Without receiving any orders, Wang Kai took the lead and led six thousand spearmen to meet the Western Chu cavalry.

Wang Kai's idea was not wrong, but unfortunately the cavalry they encountered was completely different. The two thousand cavalrymen did not charge into the spear army formation and did not fight to the death.

Instead, they threw thousands of burning oil bottles into the spearmen's ranks.

The spear-wielding army was thrown into chaos. Flames and thick smoke filled the air, and the soldiers scattered in terror.

(End of this chapter)