The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

The rain of arrows struck the shield with a crackling sound, just like arrows hitting a shield.

The Xianbei people's mounted archery was indeed fierce; 20,000 arrows were launched into the air—a true volley of ten thousand arrows.

Zhi Zhang shouted, "No one can stop the volley of arrows from my Xianbei!"

The snowflakes in the sky were shattered by the arrows.

The walls of Shaling City were riddled with ice chips, and several Han soldiers who couldn't dodge in time fell to the ground, hit by arrows.

The blood instantly spread across the snow like red plum blossoms.

"Raise shields! Form ranks!"

Huang Zhong roared and swung his longbow, accurately shooting through the throat of a Xianbei centurion a hundred paces away.

"The first three ranks of shield bearers hold their ground, while the last two ranks of archers take turns firing! Target their horses' heads!"

The Han soldiers immediately changed formation, their heavy wooden shields forming an impregnable wall that firmly protected the city walls.

Arrows shot out continuously from the gaps in the shields, and every few dozen bowstring twangs sent a Xianbei cavalryman falling from his horse.

The two sides exchanged fire for a full half hour. Many corpses piled up below the city, and the Han army on the city walls also suffered hundreds of casualties.

However, the 20,000 Xianbei cavalrymen circled the city and eventually found its weakest point.

The giant logs rammed against the city gates repeatedly, moving from the north to the south.

boom!

With a loud crash, the heavy city gate was smashed open, leaving a gap.

After several more impacts, the city gate broke open and swung wide!

Suddenly, everything became clear!

There wasn't even a barbican inside!

The Xianbei soldiers were overjoyed and immediately rushed in.

"Charge! Break in and seize the food! Seize the women!"

A cruel smile appeared on Zhi Zhang's face: "Liu Bei's men are nothing special! Kill them!"

The Xianbei soldiers who rushed into the city saw that the walls were almost as high as the outer walls!

The streets and houses they imagined simply do not exist.

What comes into view are rows of ice walls, each over ten feet high, crisscrossing and dividing the entire barbican into countless narrow alleys.

The ice walls were as smooth as mirrors, with no place to grab onto, and some even had sharp icicles on them!

This isn't some kind of walled city; it's clearly a maze made of ice!

This city of Shaling, from the outside, is short and dilapidated!

From the sky, it looked like an ice city Bagua formation!

The direction from which the Xianbei attacked was precisely the Death Gate, where the killing intent was heaviest and the ambushes were the most numerous!

"What...what is this?"

Just as a daring Xianbei soldier reached out to touch the ice wall, a long spear thrust out from around the corner of the ice wall and pierced his chest.

"kill!"

Xu Huang's voice echoed through the maze.

He led a thousand elite infantrymen, lying in ambush behind the ice wall, waiting for the Xianbei people to walk into his trap.

In the narrow alley, the Xianbei cavalry's advantage vanished. They could only charge forward in a long, single file, from all directions.

Meanwhile, the Han army emerged from all directions and corners, reaping their lives as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Even more terrifying, Huang Zhong, with his archers, had already climbed to the top of the ice wall.

These archers were all handpicked warriors, each with extraordinary strength. They were not only skilled archers but also formidable in close combat.

From their elevated position, they shot down the Xianbei soldiers in the maze, each arrow finding its mark.

In the very center of the ice wall maze is a three-zhang-high earthen platform.

In theory, someone should be in charge of command.

However, the people present relied entirely on Li Chang's secret plan to understand the Bagua Formation.

They had no choice but to settle for second best and station a few flag signalmen to announce the battle plan.

"There's someone on the left flank!"

"Right! Empty!"

"Mid lane! Dense!"

The flag signals were flying, and some of the Han soldiers couldn't understand them, but their captains and troop leaders had already been educated and could easily remember a few flag signals than read!

In an instant, the entire Han army moved nimbly through the maze, as if guided by an extension of its own arm.

The Xianbei soldiers wandered around like headless flies, surrounded by enemies and death.

They couldn't see the enemy's full appearance, but could hear shouts of battle coming from all directions, and their comrades fell one after another.

"Retreat! Get out of there now!"

A Xianbei general finally realized what was happening and turned to run out of the city.

But it's easy for them to get in, but hard for them to get out!

Xu Huang had already sent men to block the exit of the ice wall.

The entire Bagua formation turned into a giant slaughterhouse.

The blood stained the ice surface red, and then quickly froze into dark red ice.

The screams, the clash of weapons, and the agonizing cries of the dying mingled together, creating a chilling atmosphere.

When Zhizhang learned of this outside the city, he was so angry that he trembled all over.

He never imagined that Liu Bei's men could come up with such a vicious scheme!

I should have tried to exchange with the Chanyu!

"Keep charging! Smash that ice wall!"

He frantically gave the order and sent another five thousand soldiers into the city.

However many can enter, just as many will die.

The ice wall remained unmoved, while the corpses inside the city piled up higher and higher.

If Shaling City weren't so small, and the gates weren't so small, his 20,000 warriors could have easily stormed in!

the next day.

The Wisdom Staff took a different approach; after rushing into the Ice City, it didn't immediately enter...

Instead, it was thousands of people, in groups of a few, one group after another, collectively storming in from various entrances.

They would sometimes let the horses run wild!

This increased the casualties of the Han army, but the Xianbei people suffered even greater losses!

Huang Zhong and Xu Huang each guarded a gate, making them an impregnable force!

There were a lot of corpses lying at their feet!

Two days and two nights later.

The battle in Shaling City has been almost non-stop.

Zhizhang sent 20,000 troops to attack the city in rotation, but they couldn't even touch the hem of Xu Huang's clothes.

Of the 20,000 Xianbei cavalry, more than 8,000 have already been killed.

Most of the eight thousand people who went in did not come out; their fate is unknown.

In fact, quite a few lucky ones who escaped also seemed to have mental disorders or mental instability!

Now, the morale of the remaining people is extremely low.

Inside the ice wall maze, the corpses of the Xianbei people had piled up to half the height of the ice wall before being moved back to the back.

Blood flowed down the ice wall and froze into a thick layer of blood ice below, turning the entire ice array dark red.

outside the city.

Sitting on his horse, Zhizhang looked at the small town before him, which resembled hell, with immense fear.

The enemy, though numbering only a few thousand, was like a ghost, impossible to kill or hit.

"General! We can't fight anymore!" a tribal chief cried, pleading. "If we continue, all our people will be wiped out! Let's retreat! Let's go back to the grasslands!"

"Retreat?" Zhizhang gave a bitter laugh. "If we retreat now, do you think we can escape?"

He looked up at the northern sky, his eyes filled with despair:

"There's still no news about the main force of the Chanyu. I'm afraid... I'm afraid they're also in grave danger."

Just then, a cloud of dust suddenly rose from the distant horizon.

A large black flag stood out against the wind and snow.

On the banner, a huge character "Zhang" terrified the Xianbei people!

"It's Zhang Fei!"

"Oh no, Butcher Zhang is here to raid our supplies again!"

"Ah!! You devil!!"

"Run!!"

One by one, the Xianbei soldiers screamed in terror.

The most stern father of the Xianbei people has attacked once again!

With such a high casualty rate, they've long since collapsed! Deserters have started appearing from time to time!

If most of their family members hadn't been controlled by the tribal chief, they would have run away long ago.

Even with a numerical advantage, they were ultimately routed when facing Zhang Fei.

Zhizhang suddenly looked up, his face instantly turning as pale as snow on the ground.

Zhang Fei, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, led thousands of troops, stirring up a flurry of snowflakes, and charged in from the north like a tiger descending a mountain.

The horses' hooves thundered as they trod through the snow.

Thousands of people, yet they displayed the momentum of tens of thousands!