Chapter 44: Wang Dang's Difficult Situation

  At this time, Wang Dang's archers also arrived within range and immediately began firing arrows to suppress the defenders on the city wall.

  The defending soldiers immediately raised their shields to resist the hail of arrows, but after a slight delay, the attacking soldiers had already climbed to the edge of the city wall and began hand-to-hand combat with the defenders.

  When Wang saw both sides start a fierce battle, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. A fierce battle has no technical content, it's just a matter of who can bear the loss first and whose morale collapses first.

  Wang Dang was very confident about this, not because he thought his soldiers could gain an advantage, but because Wang Dang simply didn't care about the lives and deaths of his own soldiers. As long as he wanted to, he could "recruit" soldiers everywhere.

  Just then, a loud rumbling sound of horseshoes suddenly came from the west wall of Guangwu County. Wang Dang tilted his head to listen and suddenly changed his face. The 200 cavalry led by Taishi Ci appeared like ghosts at the corner of the city wall. About half of these cavalrymen suddenly opened their bows and arrows on horseback, and a wave of arrow rain shot towards Wang Dang's archers.

  The entire battlefield, the worst defensive position was Wang Dang's archers. They didn't have thick armor or shields to protect themselves. Before they could react, dozens of them were shot dead. Taishi Ci's bowstring kept bursting with sound as he swiftly shot out over a dozen arrows in an instant, each powerful arrow piercing through two enemy soldiers.

  The city wall of Guangwu County was not long, and after a round of arrow rain, Taishi Ci led the cavalry to charge behind the attacking troops. The snow-white steel knife swept across, bringing up heads that rose into the sky. In order to deal with these bowmen who had no ability to resist, Taishi Ci held a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, transforming into a butcher on the battlefield, with a style similar to Zhao Zilong's at Changban Slope.

  Wang's eyes widened in anger, and he shouted loudly: "Cavalry assemble, follow me to kill the enemy."

  The scene on the battlefield was such that at the forefront were the infantry attacking the city, behind them were the archers, and Taishi Ci's main target of slaughter were these people who had no ability to resist and caused the most harm to the defending soldiers. Behind the archers was Wang Dan's reserve team, with a distance of less than 100 paces between the two.

  Tai Shi Ci's cavalry swept past, leaving behind a trail of severed limbs and broken arms. Nearly three hundred archers were slaughtered.

  Taishi Ci led the cavalry to a successful strike and immediately galloped away, infuriating Wang Da who shouted: "Don't run! Taishi Ci, you have guts? Let's fight for 300 rounds!"

  Wang then hastily arranged his troops and handed over to his deputy, mounted his horse and chased after them.

  In terms of military strength, Wang's cavalry did not have an absolute advantage. According to the comprehensive combat effectiveness, the two sides were almost equal, but Taishi Ci's troops were moving at high speed, and the distance between the two sides was too close, so there was no time to turn around to meet the enemy. Wang also saw this point, which is why he dared to pursue Taishi Ci.

  The two teams were only a hundred paces apart when Taishi Ci suddenly shouted loudly: "Turn north..."

  Taishi Ci led the troops in a rapid turn, kicking up large clouds of dust. The entire army was like a black river crashing against a massive rock, suddenly turning and circling around the walls of Guangwu City. Taishi Ci came from the north of the city, circled around Guangwu County in a big circle, and then rushed back to the north.

  Wang was so angry that he lost his head and chased after him without thinking.

  At this time, the difference between the two armies can be seen. Li Chong's cavalry may not have been the strongest in combat power, but his army was unmatched in discipline. Under long-term training, Taishi Ci gave an order, and all the cavalry almost didn't think about it, immediately executing the command.

  However, Wang Duo's cavalry could not be commanded to advance and retreat at will. He also shouted for a turn to the north, but the execution of his subordinates was not uniform. If they were advancing in a straight line, it would have been better, but during the rapid turn, it resulted in disastrous consequences, with at least more than ten horses colliding with each other.

  Horses that collided violently with each other lost their balance, fell to the ground with a whinny, and the cavalry behind them could not dodge in time, but at least dozens of cavalrymen were thrown off their horses and got tangled up with the fallen horses, continuously falling to the ground.

  There were no ambushes north of the city, but there were guards on the city wall. Li Chong could not pile all his troops at the south gate, and to prevent anyone from sneaking up, there were fifty archers on each of the remaining three sides of the city wall. Taishi Ci deliberately hugged the city wall as he turned, with a distance of only three zhang between the cavalry and the city wall.

  The archers on the city wall saw Taishi Ci galloping past, with Wang Dang hotly pursuing him. They were all excited and laughed loudly, each drawing their bows and nocking arrows, ready to shoot at a living target.

  Wang Dang's three hundred cavalry are indeed live targets, if they were infantry, the archers on the city wall might be a bit tense, but cavalry? Hehe... never seen horses climb city walls.

  Fifty powerful arrows fell into Wang Dang's team, of which at least three powerful arrows were shot towards Wang Dang.

  Thanks to the thickness of Wang's armor, otherwise these three strong arrows would have taken his life. The three strong arrows were stuck in his helmet and swayed back and forth, like a hedgehog with its quills pulled out. But the soldiers behind him were not so lucky, forty-seven strong arrows almost shot down half of them, the sound of horses falling to the ground was endless.

  Within thirty zhang, if they still can't hit their mark, these archers and crossbowmen might as well go out and collectively chop off their own heads. Taishi Ci turned his head to glance back, let out a mocking laugh, then made another turn, continuing to stick close to the city wall as he advanced.

  After a wave of arrow rain, the archers on the city wall aimed at the fallen cavalrymen, which was even simpler and more fixed targets, making it impossible for arrows to miss.

  King's face turned red with rage, smoke rising from his seven orifices, as he cursed: "Taishi Ci... I f**k your grandma."

  Tai Shi Zi naturally wouldn't turn back and exchange insults with Wang Daodao again, but instead lightly laughed, with an air of "you can keep chasing".

  Wang had a way out, but he wasn't a fool either. He could only lead his horse in the opposite direction of Taishi Ci and return to their own formation.

  Without the suppression of the archers, the soldiers on the city wall became active again. The front was stabbed and chopped with guns, and the back was waiting for bows and arrows. They forcibly repelled Wang Dang's first wave of attacking troops, leaving a large number of corpses at the foot of the city wall.

  When Wang returned to the formation, he checked the number of people and his face suddenly fell. Including archers, nearly 500 people were killed or injured. He had brought nearly 4,000 soldiers, and now more than 1,000 had been killed or wounded. How could they continue fighting? In another two days, their own troops would be completely wiped out.

  "Retreat!" King Wang looked at the vague figures on the city wall, hesitated for a long time, and said with hatred.

  The soldiers on the city wall cheered and lowered some soldiers with a pulley to collect the spoils of war. The skilled cavalrymen selected uninjured war horses and went to meet Taishi Ci, while the remaining soldiers tied up the wounded horses with ropes and lifted them onto the city wall, hoping to have a fragrant horse meat dinner that night.