Half of the Xiliang Cavalry were already fighting with the City Guard. At the back, Hu Che Er had also joined the battle. The battlefield was now littered with corpses and rivers of blood. Liu Mang only had less than a thousand men left. The remaining thousand City Guard soldiers had already closed their eyes. However, the Xiliang Cavalry were not any better. More than two thousand of them had already died in battle and nearly a thousand of them were seriously injured. It could be said that if Liu Mang really fought with the Xiliang Cavalry, then Liu Mang would win.
Although the Urban Army was left with less than a thousand people, the Black Tortoise Formation that they formed had become more and more stable. This was because there were less places to defend, so these thousand soldiers were able to use their strength together. There were also the corpses of the dead soldiers. Even in death, they still had to defend the front line. With these corpses, the Xiliang Cavalry's speed could not help but slow down.
"Rear Army, follow me!" Hu Che Er knew that he could not win the battle head-on. He had already lost half of his men. If this continued, then even if he won, he would still suffer heavy casualties. If he could not win the battle head-on, then he would go to the side. Cavalry had high mobility. It would be a waste if he did not use it. The Qian Army and the Central Army were surrounded. However, the rear army was still in Hu Che Er's hands. They would go around the tortoise shell and attack the ballista troops.
The front army and the Central Army would be able to delay the Black Tortoise Formation.
The fighting quality of the Xiliang Cavalry was really high. When Hu Che Er shouted, the thousands of Xiliang Cavalry at the back immediately turned their horses around. To be able to turn around while charging at high speed, this was what an elite cavalry unit should have!
"Where do you think you're going?" Liu Ye stood in the middle of the ballista formation and looked at Hu Che Er's actions. The entire rear army had close to two thousand men. Liu Ye couldn't help but feel puzzled. He had to pay attention to the movements of the Xiliang Cavalry at all times. His ballista formation was fragile. Not to mention two thousand men, even if two hundred Xiliang Cavalry charged into his ballista formation, all fifty ballistae would not be enough to withstand a single charge from the enemy.
"Military Advisor and the others want to escape? The Urban Army general asked. He had cooperated with Liu Ye more than once. During Shouchun, the Urban Army soldiers were in charge of the research and development of the ballista in the industrial zone.
"Escape? Impossible! Liu Ye shook his head. It was impossible for Hu Che Er to escape. If he escaped, he would definitely die. Liu Ye and Liu Mang had issued a challenge to the Xiliang Cavalry. The challenge stated that the Xiliang Cavalry was inferior to the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry and that they relied on sneak attacks to defeat the Bing Province Wolf Cavalry. It could be said that the Xiliang Cavalry was worthless. If Hu Che Er won, then it would be fine. If he lost, the rumor that the Xiliang Cavalry was trash would be confirmed. With Zhang Xiu's reputation, it would be strange if he did not cut Hu Che Er into pieces. Moreover, the Xiliang Cavalry's Central Army and Vanguard Army were here. He could not afford to lose these men! However, if he chose to continue fighting, he would still have a way out. This was because as long as he won and obtained Liu Mang's head, even if the Xiliang Cavalry were to be lost, he would still be able to speak in front of Zhang Xiu. This was because he had helped Zhang Xiu vent his anger. Moreover, the spoils of war in front of him were not small. The first was Liu Mang's head.
This item was worth tens of thousands of gold. If he gave it to Liu Bei, Liu Bei would be overjoyed! With Liu Mang's head, it could be said that Shouchun could be conquered. The battle of Lujiang would also be half won. The second item was the City Guard's heavy armor! Hu Che Er had seen the quality of the heavy armor. There were a total of 2500 sets of heavy armor. With these heavy armor, he could form an even more elite Xiliang Cavalry. If he lacked horses, he could use the gold from Liu Mang's head to buy them. As for the cavalry! The Xiliang Cavalry was not like the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry or the White Horse Cavalry. They did not care if the soldiers were Han or not. Therefore, as long as they reached Xiliang, the Qiang people would be able to ride horses. With a little bit of training, they would become good cavalry.
The third item was also very valuable. It was the ballistae! Hu Che Er had already comprehended the power of the ballistae twice. Each time, the Xiliang Cavalry suffered heavy losses. As long as he could obtain these ballistae, he could bring them back and manufacture them. This would increase the strength of Zhang Xiu by a whole level! Liu Mang sold these ballistae to Jiangdong's Sun Ce and Jingzhou's Liu Biao for tens of thousands of gold. Cao Cao would not be able to obtain these ballistae even if he had ten thousand gold. And these were the previous ballistae. Now, the ballistae's strength had increased by more than one level. If he obtained these ballistae, he would not have to worry about Zhang Xiu blaming him!
"Flank attack!" Hu Che Er waved his saber. The 2000 Xiliang Cavalry finally revealed their target. Hu Che Er wanted to attack from the flank. There were 5000 Xiliang Cavalry holding back the City Guard. With these 2000 Xiliang Cavalry going around the flank, they could naturally avoid the front of the City Guard. They could rely on the mobility of the cavalry to break through the ballistae formation before the City Guard could react. This way, they could turn defeat into victory.
"Not good!" Liu Ye was a little surprised. This Hu Che Er really cannot be underestimated. He was willing to use a large number of troops to attract the attention of the Urban Army. Using heavy casualties in exchange for a decisive battle, he is truly a ruthless person. Right now, the City Guard was focused on eliminating the 5000 Xiliang Cavalry. They could not take care of the ballistae formation at the back. The mobility of the cavalry was too strong. By the time the City Guard reacted, the ballistae formation would be destroyed!
"Military Advisor, don't worry!" Just as Liu Ye was about to order the ballistae to retreat, a thousand City Guard said to Liu Ye, "Milord has already considered this point!" Liu Mang had already noticed this when he was looking at the terrain. Although his Black Tortoise Formation and his City Guard soldiers were elites and could erupt with great fighting power, one should not forget that Liu Mang only had 2000 City Guard soldiers. Liu Mang's biggest shortcoming was the 8000 Xiliang Cavalry. That was four times his number. No matter how strong Liu Mang was, he could only hold back 5000 soldiers. However, the remaining 3000 soldiers would become Liu Mang's biggest headache. Although Hu Che Er didn't have 3000 soldiers, he still had 2000. 2000 heavy cavalry was not something to be underestimated! After thinking about it, Liu Mang finally decided to scatter the ballistae formation. This was the crossfire point.
"Hm?" Liu Mang finally noticed that Liu Mang had divided the ballistae formation into three waves. The first wave of ballistae was placed in the middle to prevent the enemy from breaking through the defensive line. This was more of a deterrent than a fighting power. The second and third waves were placed in an arc with 40 ballistae on the flanks. This was to prevent Hu Che Er's Xiliang Cavalry from attacking the flanks.
There was no need to change direction. As long as the ballistae on the flanks changed their target from the enemies in front to the flanks, it would be fine.
"Aim and fire!" Under the roar of several hundred soldiers on the flanks, the 20 ballistae on the flanks began to roar. The ballistae shot out huge arrows. The pressure on the Central Army and the vanguard was reduced. However, Hu Che Er's rear army was unlucky.
The first three rows of Xiliang Cavalrymen were killed on the spot. The Xiliang Cavalrymen at the back were not so lucky as they were blocked by the corpses in front of them. They could not help but slow down. Once they slowed down, another wave of ballista bolts came flying at them. Another wave of Xiliang Cavalry was killed.
"Damn it!" Hu Che Er did not suffer any injuries under the protection of the rear army. However, he could not endure this kind of grievance.
"Shrink the defensive line!" Liu Mang and the others also noticed the situation on the flanks. They quickly stopped fighting and retreated towards the ballistae formation. Hu Che Er lost 500 men and realized that he no longer had a chance. Instead, because he attacked the flanks, he also lost the rear army. Now, Hu Che Er's 7,000 men were completely entangled with Liu Mang's City Guard. It was impossible to escape.
"Good, good, good! This time, it is either you die or I die! " Hu Che Er's ferocious nature rose. Although he had suffered heavy losses, he still had thousands of Xiliang Cavalry. As for Liu Mang, he only had 800 soldiers left. As long as he could eliminate the City Guard in front of him, Hu Che Er would be able to afford it even if he had to exchange five Xiliang Cavalry for one.
"Kill, kill, kill! Brothers, we have no way out. Whoever kills Liu Mang will be promoted by three ranks and will be rewarded with a thousand gold. Whoever kills one enemy will be rewarded with a hundred gold! "Hu Che Er used money to move his soldiers.
The Xiliang Cavalry were enraged. Liu Ye coldly looked at the group of trapped beasts in front of him. He was not interested in the Xiliang Cavalry but their horses! He knew that his Lord had wanted to form the White Horse Cavalry for a long time. Cavalry was easy to find but horses were hard to find! Yangzhou and Lujiang were located in the Central Plains. Horses were hard to find. Currently, only Hebei and Liaodong could produce horses. Xiliang was already in chaos and could not be bought. Although Hebei was about to change its owner, Cao Cao was more unwilling than his previous owner, Yuan Shao. In Liaodong, Liu Mang did not have any ports so he could not buy horses. In the black market, a good horse cost a hundred gold. Liu Mang could not afford it even if he wanted to. To form the White Horse Cavalry, he would need 5000 horses. If 5000 horses were calculated at a hundred gold, that would be 500,000 gold. Who could afford it?
And now, the horses that Liu Mang wanted were here. Although many of the horses were killed by the ballistae, there were still a lot of horses left. If he could take down the Xiliang Cavalry, he would be able to get at least a few thousand horses. Liu Ye's eyes were burning but his heart was as calm as still water. This was because it was too risky. The Xiliang Cavalry was already putting their lives on the line. If they were not careful, they might be able to turn the tables.
However, when he thought about the importance of the heavy cavalry, Liu Ye clenched his teeth. If Yangzhou had a unit like the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, then Yangzhou's situation would not be like this! With high mobility and thousands of heavy cavalry, would Liu Bei be able to transport Ruyin's rations? With 5,000 heavy cavalry, Xu Shu could change his strategy. He would let Zhao Yun lead the cavalry to wander outside Shouchun while Xu Shu would lead the infantry to guard Shouchun. If Liu Bei's army attacked Zhao Yun's cavalry, then Xu Shu could attack the back of Liu Bei's army. If Liu Bei chose to attack the city, then the 5,000 heavy cavalry would wander outside. This would be a terrifying scene. At that time, Liu Bei would be attacked from both sides.
"Fight!" Liu Ye suddenly gave an order. "All the ballistae, raise the ballistae and shoot! Target the cavalry! " Liu Ye chose to shoot the men and not the horses. This was very difficult to do because the horses were a bigger target than the cavalry. Previously, the ballistae could cause so much damage because they hit the horses and caused the cavalry to fall to the ground and be trampled to death by the cavalry behind them. Now, if he only shot the cavalry, the ballistae's power would be reduced by half.
"Military advisor, what are you doing?" The thousands of City Guard at the side did not understand. They should be thinking about how to wipe out the Xiliang Wolf Cavalry and not the horses! In this way, the Lord's troops will be under a great threat. Now the Urban Army is almost unable to bear the pressure, and the Lord's troops are under great pressure. If they put more pressure on the Lord, wouldn't this be putting the Lord in danger?
"The Lord will understand Ye's painstaking efforts!" Liu Ye muttered to himself. This was a chaotic world. He could not only look at the present but also the future. Not to mention that Liu Mang needed horses to form the White Horse Militia, even the rebuilding of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry also needed horses. Horses were not something that could be bought with money.
"Wei Yan, listen to my orders!" Liu Ye suddenly shouted to the thousands of City Guard soldiers at the side.
"This general is here!" That's right. The one standing beside Liu Ye was Wei Yan. Wei Yan had captured Sun Qian from Ruyin City and saw through Sun Qian's empty city strategy. He had gained a lot of military merits. Liu Mang wanted to train Wei Yan but he did not want to kill Wei Yan. Instead, he promoted Wei Yan and now he was one of the thousands of City Guard soldiers. When Wei Yan heard Liu Ye's shout, he immediately cupped his fist and said, "Wei Yan, I order you to leave 100 soldiers here to be responsible for firing the ballistae. The remaining 400 soldiers are to support the Lord!" Liu Ye said to Wei Yan. He only left 100 soldiers here to be responsible for firing the ballistae. Originally, the extra soldiers were to load the ballistae and protect them. However, Liu Ye needed the horses so one set of magazines was enough. The remaining soldiers were transferred out by Liu Ye.
"Military advisor, you?" Wei Yan did not want to accept the order because Liu Mang ordered him to protect the ballistae and Liu Ye. Even if the ballistae were to be destroyed and Wei Yan died in battle, he still had to protect Liu Ye from harm. If Wei Yan left, he would be disobeying the military order!
"Could it be that you, Wei Yan, are afraid of the Lord but not me?" Liu Ye coldly looked at Wei Yan and said.
"This!" Wei Yan was in a difficult position. Disobeying Liu Mang was equivalent to disobeying the military order. Liu Mang had said that Liu Ye could intervene in everything in the military. Seeing Liu Ye was the same as seeing Liu Mang. Therefore, Liu Ye's orders were also military orders. Wei Yan did not know what to do. Disobeying orders in front of the military was a capital offense. Wei Yan still remembered the killing intent that Liu Mang had towards him. Wei Yan believed that if he disobeyed the military order, Liu Mang would definitely kill him without any hesitation. However, disobeying Liu Mang was also a road to death!
"Go! Wenchang, I will speak to the Lord! " Liu Ye looked at the red-faced man in front of him. He also knew that Wei Yan was in a difficult position. It was not easy for him to go from being an executioner to a commander of a thousand men. Wei Yan did not want to lose his position and even his life!
"I!" Wei Yan still wanted to say something but Liu Ye's next sentence made Wei Yan lower his arrogant head and accept the order. "If you do not go, even if we win this war, you will not be able to escape death!" Liu Ye's words were a naked threat to Wei Yan. Wei Yan was not a fool. He also understood Liu Ye's position in Liu Mang's army. Liu Ye and Liu Mang were both relatives of the Han dynasty. Liu Ye's intelligence made Wei Yan feel inferior. Liu Ye was the third most important person in Liu Mang's army after Xu Shu. He was even on the same level as Xu Shu. Moreover, these ballistae were modified by Liu Ye! This Liu Mang's importance in Liu Mang's army was much higher than Wei Yan. Similarly, if Liu Mang could kill Wei Yan, this Liu Ye could also do the same!
"Brothers, the time to make a name for ourselves is right in front of us. Follow me to kill and protect the Lord!" Wei Yan gritted his teeth. He also knew that his current position was very low. However, he did not give up. He secretly made up his mind that he must be on the same level as Liu Mang. He must increase his importance in Liu Mang's heart so that his life would not be in the hands of others.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The 400 City Guard soldiers at the side were already holding back their anger. The soldiers who formed the Black Tortoise Formation were all their comrades. These comrades were people that they could use their lives to protect. Now that their comrades were dying one by one in front of them, how could they not be angry? Each of them had already stepped forward to kill. However, because of the ballistae formation and Liu Ye, they could only watch. Now that they were sent out by Liu Ye, they were like a group of fierce tigers. With Wei Yan taking the lead, they were like a sharp knife that pierced into the bodies of the Xiliang Cavalry.
"Why are you still standing there? Don't stop the ballistae!" Liu Ye looked at Wei Yan with admiration. Although this person was a little scheming, his martial arts were superb. Moreover, this person was able to think and was ambitious! Having ambition was not scary. The scariest thing was that ambition could not be controlled. However, Liu Ye believed that Liu Mang would be able to control such a wolf.
Under Liu Ye's command, the ballistae released the warhorses and went towards the cavalry. This caused the pressure on the City Guard to increase.
"Zi Yang?!" The pressure on the battlefield had multiplied. As the commander, how could Liu Mang not see it? Seeing that the ballistae had decreased in number and power, Liu Mang frowned. However, he immediately smiled bitterly. "This Zi Yang really thinks highly of me!" How could Liu Mang not see that Liu Ye was targeting the warhorses of the Xiliang Cavalry? Liu Mang also wanted the warhorses. However, that was only if he could guarantee a complete victory. Now that the enemy was several times stronger than him, if he was not careful, they would all be wiped out. However, since Liu Ye had already started, Liu Mang could not change the military order and could only grit his teeth and endure.
"If you want my warhorses, then let's see if you have the life to take them!" Hu Che Er gritted his teeth. He originally thought that this was an opportunity for victory. He was even afraid that there would be an ambush. He had carefully observed for a long time. Whether it was Liu Mang's provocation or his lord's letter, he had suppressed them all. He thought that he was foolproof and that the merit was already in his pocket. However, he was still schemed against. These Han people really liked to scheme against others! Now, they wanted to steal Hu Che Er's Xiliang Cavalry's warhorses. They were looking down on Hu Che Er and wanted to slap his face. Did they think that they could eat Hu Che Er's warhorses? This was a provocation to Hu Che Er. At the same time, it was also a good opportunity for Hu Che Er. He charged towards Liu Mang even more fiercely. Liu Mang was almost unable to withstand it!
It was no wonder that Liu Mang only had three bodyguards left. The rest were either dead or scattered in the chaos. Even Huang Zhong was facing pressure from the other side of the Black Tortoise Formation. Although Hu Che Er had suffered heavy casualties, he still had a large number of people! He still had more than a dozen bodyguards in his hands. In addition, Hu Che Er's martial arts were not bad. He immediately charged towards Liu Mang to pressure him.
"What a great strength!" Hu Che Er's heavy hammer collided with Liu Mang's giant shield. The two were dumbfounded. Hu Che Er was shocked that the King Of Shu's strength was not bad. Although it was not as strong as Qianjun, it was almost there. On the other hand, Liu Mang was shocked by the speed at which Hu Che Er retracted his hammers. The hammers were not light, but Hu Che Er was able to retract them naturally. This person could not be underestimated! In Zhang Xiu's army, Hu Che Er was the second most valiant general after Zhang Xiu. This person was praised by Cao Cao. Cao Cao also personally gave Hu Che Er gold as a reward. Hu Che Er's most outstanding performance was that he killed the second most valiant general in the world, Dian Wei. Although Dian Wei's martial arts were not as good as Lü Bu's, it was not bad. At the very least, he was on the same level as Huang Zhong and Sun Ce. Even if Dian Wei was drunk by Hu Che Er, Hu Che Er was still able to kill him.
"Fake King, die!" Hu Che Er was shocked, but he did not relax his hammers. As long as he could kill Liu Mang, it would be his win!
"You will be the one to die!" Liu Mang coldly snorted and went forward. Although Hu Che Er was strong, Liu Mang did not fall behind in martial arts these days. At this time, Liu Mang was not inferior to Chengyu. Even Lü Bu was shocked by his progress. Hu Che Er used a pair of hammers. Liu Mang had experience fighting against Sun Cejun's Dong Xi. Dong Xi was born with brute strength. A pair of hammers could smash a person's heavy armor into pieces! The hammer's attack power is nothing more than swinging and smashing. Liu Mang, who is relying on a large shield, is temporarily unhindered.
However, Liu Mang was not affected. His personal guards were able to withstand several times the number of enemies. After killing several of Hu Che Er's personal guards, three Urban Army personal guards were also killed. Now Liu Mang is fighting a group of enemies, including Hu Che Er. Liu Mang is now fighting a group of enemies.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Several Xiliang Cavalry directly rushed towards Liu Mang. Liu Mang used his shield to block the attacks of two people. Then, he used the edge of the shield to send the two people to heaven. However, after killing two people, Liu Mang missed Hu Che Er. He did not notice that Hu Che Er's hammers were approaching him.
"So fast!" Liu Mang did not know how the hammers arrived in front of him. Liu Mang wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
"Boom!" Liu Mang only felt that his internal organs were rolling. He was directly sent flying by Hu Che Er's hammers and heavily fell on the ground. Liu Mang's chest was already smashed. Fortunately, the Aries Saint Cloth was strong enough. It was also equipped with some protection against blunt weapons. This prevented Liu Mang from being killed by Hu Che Er's hammers. However, Liu Mang was also not in a good condition. He could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood. His face was pale. It was obvious that his internal organs were injured.
"Ha ha, fake king, die!" Hu Che Er's face was filled with hostility. His warhorse could not be used in the Black Tortoise Formation. He simply abandoned his warhorse and rushed towards Liu Mang.
"How can this be!" Liu Mang's eyes widened. He cannot believe that this speed, this strength, this Hu Che Er was hiding his strength.
Yes, Hu Che Er did hide his strength when he fought with Liu Mang. Although Liu Mang was strong and had reached the peak of second-rate, he was still a second-rate general. His body was still in the Body Tempering Stage. On the other hand, Hu Che Er was already a refinement expert. Otherwise, he would not have become the second strongest general in Zhang Xiu. He did not rely on wine to kill Dian Wei, he also had his own strength.
The reason why Hu Che Er hid his strength was because he was afraid that Liu Mang would retreat. He was a refinement expert, but he did not have the confidence to kill Liu Mang. Therefore, he could only hide his strength and let Liu Mang think that he was too lazy to fight Hu Che Er. Even if he could not win, he would be able to protect himself. Liu Mang really had this illusion. Therefore, he decided to fight with Hu Che Er. Hu Che Er stalled Liu Mang and let his guards kill Liu Mang's guards. This blocked Liu Mang's escape route. Now, it was impossible for Liu Mang to escape. Therefore, Hu Che Er showed his true strength!
"Damn it!" Liu Mang did not expect that he would be played by this barbarian. Who said that the barbarians were all barbarians? They were all brawn and no brains. This barbarian in front of him was an exception! Liu Mang wanted to kill Hu Che Er, but he did not have the strength to do so. Even protecting himself was a problem! Liu Mang wanted to pick up the giant shield on the side, but it was directly smashed away by Hu Che Er's hammer.
"Don't hurt my lord!" Just when Liu Mang was struggling to stand up, he heard a shout from behind him. A red faced man rushed toward Hu Che Er with a sword in his hand.
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