Chapter 76: The Battle for Puyang part 1
Huang Zhong was ready to follow the strategy that the three strategists made for them last night as he marched out of the city in the morning towards where the field wouldn't be destroyed by the battle between Lu Bu and them.
But it also made it riskier since they didn't have walls nor their trenches to help them fight against Lu Bu. Last night Huang Zhong commanded Wei Yan to get fifty of the cavalry troops and hide behind the mound which was at the left side of the future battlefield.
Huang Zhong was sitting on his horse which was pale which made many people nervous since pale horses brought misfortune to their riders or so the superstitious people think.
Huang Zhong wasn't superstitious and didn't believe in that a pale horse would curse its rider. He was holding a Guandao in his left hand while a bow was around his torso ready to be pulled. The quill was hanging diagonally from his belt on his back.
He didn't need to say much to his men since they all knew what they are fighting for at the moment. If they were to lose their family would be killed or something worse would happen to them.
They were all ready for this battle as they were trained for exactly this moment since they joined the Zhao Banner. They were soldiers trained to kill and give their life on the battlefield.
Huang Zhong left Zhao Xian behind with five thousand men and Zhuge Liang while Xu Shu and Guang Jia were with Huang Zhong at the moment.
He just wanted to make sure that Lu Bu doesn't lure them out just to take Puyang while they were fighting outside the city.
They were standing on unleveled ground which didn't allow for good footing which made it difficult for the infantry to run since they could slip and fall opening a dangerous gap in the formation.
But they weren't known for running at the enemy but for advancing slowly and letting the enemy clash against their shield and hold them there while the second row uses their spears to kill the enemy.
"They are here," says Xu Shu a bit nervous since it was his first battle as a strategist.
"They are indeed here," says Huang Zhong as he looks at the Archers before piercing the ground with the Guandao.
He takes his bow in his hands before looking at the enemy seeing a small cavalry made out of fifty horses and infantry of at least ten thousand men across of them.
"It seems Lu Bu hasn't gathered all of his troops on this front," says Huang Zhong seeing that at least one to two thousand men were missing.
"The good news is that Lu Bu has shown himself," says Huang Zhong as Lu Bu was leading the cavalry.
On the other side of the battlefield, Lu Bu arrived with his only cavalry at the moment since it was too costly to keep more horses at the moment.
He saw the troops already standing in formation when he hears someone say, "It seems they don't have a cavalry and only half of the army is standing there."
"Don't let your eyes fool you. Zhao Yun should already be on his way to Puyang to defend it. Once he returns and we don't have the city we have lost," says Lu Bu as he looked at the troops Yun raised.
They didn't have fear in their eyes only determination and that made even Lu Bu a bit nervous as they looked like one united not many individuals from different professions joining together to defend their city.
"This is our only chance to take Puyang and put a foot into the Yan Province," says the man beside Lu Bu as Lu Bu looked at him.
"How confident are you in breaking through their defense, Gao Shun?" asks Lu Bu seriously not joking around like usual.
"I won't be easy but we seem to have the advantage with our cavalry and then we have Zhang Liao attacking the city from another angle," says Gao Shun confident of breaking through the lines of the enemy.
"I think you are too confident in yourself because they let us through the last time. Just be careful of the old bone sitting on his horse. Zhang Liao saw how he broke through the enemy lines with his men and helped the younger brother to decapitate our most beloved Hu Zhen," says Lu Bu seriously with a bit of sarcasm at the end with Hu Zhen.
Gao Shun began to laugh from hearing the end of the sentence before saying, "Hu Zhen was a man that I would have liked to kill myself back then when we left Chang'an but we can't change the past."
Gao Shun turned serious again as he says, "But that old bone won't stop me from getting through that defensive line."
"I hope you are right," says Lu Bu as he looked at the troops across from him.
At the same time on the other side of the battlefield, Huang Zhong was waiting as the Archers were holding their bows in a relaxed manner waiting for Huang Zhong's command to begin their attack but Huang Zhong was waiting for the enemy to charge them.
"Shouldn't we attack?" asks Xu Shu nervous since he knows about Lu Bu's reputation as the God of War.
"No, we need to wait for them to engage us," says Guang Jia as Huang Zhong agrees with her by nodding.
"She is right. Our specialty is our steadfast defense and explosive attack. We are like a tortoise, slow but impenetrable. But when we attack it is quick and deadly," says Huang Zhong waiting for the enemy to attack.
In the meantime on the wall of Puyang, Zhao Xian was looking through the Eagle-Eyes which he received from Yun as a gift. The Eagle-Eyes was just a binocular that Yun made for himself since they are more useful to spot the enemy in the distance when Shadow wasn't around to spy for him.
Zhao Xian received one of the four Yun has made with Pang Tong and Diao Chan being the other receivers of the Eagle-Eyes. Pang Tong because he was his main strategist and Diao Chan because she developed a passion to spot birds after receiving Fenghuang.
"We have company," says Zhao Xian spotting around two thousand men coming towards the city.
Xian gives Zhuge Liang the binocular so he could see what he saw a moment ago. Zhuge Liang takes it and looks through it already knowing of Yun's invention since Pang Tong was bragging about it before.
He looks in the direction and sees the enemy approaching from the North when he asks, "Are we going to face them outside?"
"No, we shouldn't try to engage them. Place archers on the wall. We are lucky they are trying to attack us through the North Gate," says Xian as Zhuge Liang knew what Xian meant with that.
The North Gate is barren and has no fields since the river near Puyang could flood over and destroy the fields making the spoil sore.
"Indeed, we are quite lucky that they are trying to avoid the standing army in the west by attacking the city from the North," says Zhuge Liang as Xian orders that half the men to stand on the wall with bows and arrows while the other half waits behind the gate until he or Zhuge Liang gives the command.
"Let us see how strong Lu Bu's troops really are," says Xian as the archers got into position standing relaxed awaiting the command to attack.
The enemy was approaching as Xian pulls out his sword and waited until the enemy was in range before he yells, "Fire!"
Everyone pulled their string back before releasing the volley which continued in an irregular tempo since every man had a different way of releasing their arrows.
The troops retreated again seeing that they were being shot down by archers when Zhuge Liang asks, "Shall we chase them?"
"No, definitely a trap to get us out of the city. We are holding position," says Xian knowing the battlefield better than Zhuge Liang.
"A trap?" asks Zhuge Liang confused as Xian nods.
"I know that you have almost no experience on the field that is why you were placed under Huang Zhong and me since we have experience on the battlefield. Look at the battlefield, what do you see?" says Xian as they looked at it and Zhuge Liang sees more arrows than bodies on the ground.
"I can count at least fifty bodies," says Zhuge Liang as Xian nods.
"Too little of a number to retreat this rapidly. Either this is a trap or Lu Bu is really desperate enough to save every soldier he has under his command," says Xian lecturing Zhuge Liang as he would lecture Yun and Hua normally.
"Lu Bu isn't known for being that benevolent towards his troops which means it is a trap," says Zhuge Liang as Xian nods.
"Exactly," says Xian as he sheathed his sword again before commanding his men to get out and collect the arrows that were the nearest to the gate as well as to kill the lost causes.
He didn't want enemy soldiers to suffer more than they have to since they are only following orders. Xian was keeping his eyes in the direction the enemy disappeared in just to make sure that the men collecting the arrows aren't getting ambushed once too far out.
In the meantime on the other battlefield, Gao Shun began his attack as he and his men charged at the defensive line followed by Lu Bu's other commanders while Lu Bu hold himself back since he didn't want to lose his horses to a random arrow.
Huang Zhong sees the army approach and the moment they were close enough he shouts, "Fire!"
He pulled the string back as he released the first arrow which hit one of the advancing soldiers before a volley followed that arrow. Huang Zhong was shooting two arrows while their slowest archer released one.
Once the enemy was near enough Huang Zhong placed his bow back around his torso while pulling his Guandao out of the ground while shouting, "Archers, change to your spears or swords! First Line be ready to brace the attack with your spears!"
The first line was ready as they put all their strength in their legs and arms while the second line placed the shaft of their spears against the back of the first line to help them support the incoming force.
Both sides crash into each other as the first line seemed to be pushed back when the first line stopped moving and the enemy was surprised that no hole has formed when they hear, "Spear!"
The first line pushed the enemy back before spears pierce the enemy before a shield wall formed again when Lu Bu looked at Gao Shun and says, "You think it will still be easy to breakthrough."
"I will find a way don't worry about it," says Gao Shun as he called for a retreat for today not wanting to lose more men.
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