12dz Chapter 1583 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
Chapter 1583 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
On the Windy Plain, the north wind howled, blowing up yellow sand all over the sky.
Chu Ning reined in his horse and stood on a high slope. Behind him, 30,000 Zhou cavalrymen were like a dark cloud pressing in. Their flags fluttered, making a tearing sound in the wind.
"Your Majesty the Emperor of Chu!"
Xue Huaide rode his horse forward, his iron armor shining coldly in the sunlight, and he raised his hand and pointed to the west.
"Princess Xiuning disappeared in the valley to the west, but to get there, we must cross or bypass the Han army camp in front of us."
Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and his gaze swept across the Han army camps that stretched for several miles on the plain like a knife.
The tents are like a forest, the fences are tall, and the figures of patrolling soldiers can be vaguely seen.
His fingers unconsciously stroked the whip, his knuckles turning white from the effort.
"No need to take a detour." Chu Ning's voice was as cold as ice: "Send the order, attack the Han army camp from three sides!"
Xue Huaide was shocked when he heard this: "Your Majesty, our army has come a long way and the soldiers are exhausted. Should we rest first before attacking?"
"Princess Xiuning's life or death is uncertain!"
Chu Ning turned his head abruptly, his eyes blazing with thunder: "Every moment of delay puts her in greater danger!"
Xue Huaide was frightened by this look, his Adam's apple rolled, and finally he clasped his fists and accepted the order: "I will arrange it right away."
The sound of war drums suddenly rang out, as dull as thunder, shaking the entire plain.
The Zhou army quickly divided into three routes, with 8,000 elite soldiers on each of the left and right wings, and 14,000 main forces in the center.
The archers were in the front, the spearmen were in the middle, and the cavalry were in the support, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, pointing directly at the Han army camp.
Inside the Han army camp, alarms sounded one after another.
The commander-in-chief, Huo Guang, was wearing heavy armor and standing in front of the camp gate on horseback. He looked at the Zhou army surging like a tide in the distance, his face as gloomy as water.
"Report!" The scout came running over, "The Zhou army is coming in three directions, and it looks like they're planning to storm our camp!"
Huo Guang sneered, "Chu Ning is crazy! He dares to attack without even resting after a long march? Orders, entire army, defend to the death! Archers, advance, prepare rolling logs and rocks!"
He didn't dare to attack rashly.
Although the two sides had equal military strength, Chu Ning's reputation was too great - that man had destroyed five countries and had always been cunning. Who knew if there were any traps set by Chu Ning outside the camp.
Facing Chu Ning, Huo Guang gripped the reins tightly, cold sweat oozing from his palms.
Fortunately, he was well prepared and there were traps everywhere outside the camp.
"Fire arrows!"
With the order from the Han general, thousands of feather arrows soared into the air like locusts, drew an arc of death, and fell into the charging Zhou army.
Suddenly, screams were heard everywhere, and dozens of Zhou soldiers fell to the ground after being shot by arrows, and their blood dyed the yellow sand red.
But the Zhou army continued to attack.
The front row soldiers held up their shields, formed a tortoise shell formation and continued to advance.
Suddenly, a dozen cavalrymen who were in the front fell into a hidden horse trap with their horses. The sharp wooden stakes at the bottom of the pit instantly pierced the bodies of the men and horses, which was a horrific sight.
"There's a trap! Watch your step!" the Zhou army general shouted.
Before he could finish his words, another group of soldiers triggered the caltrops buried in the ground. The sharp spikes pierced through the soles of their boots, causing the injured to fall to the ground with a scream of pain.
The Han army took the opportunity to launch another round of rain of arrows, causing the Zhou army's casualties to increase sharply.
"Don't stop! Keep charging!" Xue Huaide roared and personally led his personal guards to charge.
The warhorse passed over the corpses of its companions and headed straight for the camp gate.
On the wall of the Han army camp, soldiers pushed huge rolling logs down.
The heavy logs rolled down the slope, crushing the charging Zhou army, and the sound of bones breaking was horrifying.
Immediately afterwards, boiling golden liquid poured down from the top of the wall. The soldiers who were drenched let out inhuman screams and their skin and flesh instantly festered.
"Set up the ladders!" the Zhou army general shouted at the top of his lungs.
Dozens of ladders were erected and the warriors climbed up under a hail of arrows.
A captain of the Zhou army had just jumped onto the top of the wall when he was pierced through the chest by three spears at the same time.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, but held on to the gun tightly to buy time for his companions behind him.
"kill!"
The shouts and cries of killing shook the earth. The Zhou army on the left wing finally broke through a fence, and the soldiers of both sides engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand combat at the gap.
Amidst the flashing of swords and the shadow of sabers, severed limbs flew everywhere, and blood splattered on the tents, drawing hideous patterns.
Huo Guang was giving orders on a high platform in the camp, with cold sweat oozing from his forehead.
The ferocity of Zhou's army was far beyond his expectations, and the pressure from three sides forced him to constantly dispatch troops to reinforce various locations.
"Report! Emergency on the east camp wall!"
"Report! The west granary is on fire!"
"Report! The central army requests reinforcements!"
Bad news came one after another.
Huo Guang gritted his teeth and ordered: "Move all the reserves up! Make sure to hold on!"
Just when the battle was at its most intense, no one noticed that a cavalry of 2,000 white horses quietly left the battlefield, took advantage of the smoke to bypass the Han army camp, and galloped westward.
Chu Ning took the lead, his white cloak fluttering in the wind.
His face was as gloomy as iron, but his eyes were burning with a burning fire.
The two thousand elite cavalrymen behind him were all personal guards brought from the State of Chu. Each of them had superb horsemanship and unparalleled riding and archery skills.
"Faster!" Chu Ning urged harshly, and the whip exploded in the air.
The war horses galloped like flying, raising clouds of dust.
The outline of the valley in the distance gradually became clear, but Chu Ning's heart became more and more anxious.
That was where his beloved daughter Wu Xiuning disappeared.
"Your Majesty," Zhao Yu caught up, "The valley where the incident occurred is just ahead."
Chu Ning reined in his horse suddenly, and the warhorse stood up, its neighing echoing throughout the valley.
He dismounted his horse, moving so fast that he almost left an afterimage, and strode towards the valley entrance.
The valley was in ruins. Broken weapons, shattered armor, and dried blood all spoke of the brutal battle that had taken place there.
Chu Ning squatted down and stroked a deep sword mark with his fingers. It was left by Wu Xiuning's sword - he recognized his daughter's swordsmanship.
"Search!" Chu Ning's voice was horribly hoarse. "Don't leave a single inch of land unsearched!"
The guards spread out, searching carefully for any possible clues.
Chu Ning stood in place, his eyes sweeping across the battlefield, and suddenly his pupils shrank - behind a rock not far away, something was reflecting slightly in the sunlight.
He walked quickly over and found it was an exquisite silver hairpin.
Chu Ning's hands trembled slightly - this was the crown he had put on his daughter himself when Wu Xiuning was canonized as a princess last year.
"There's blood!" a guard suddenly shouted.
Chu Ning rushed over like lightning, and saw a few drops of black blood on the ground, extending into the depths of the valley.
He followed the traces and finally found a blood-stained piece of cloth in a hidden crevice - it was the material of Wu Xiuning's battle robe.
"She's still alive!" Chu Ning murmured to himself, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.
"Your Majesty!" Another guard came running over. "We found horseshoe prints heading southwest!"
Chu Ning clenched the blood-stained cloth tightly, his knuckles turning white.
He turned and looked to the southwest, where was the heartland of the Han army.
"Send a message to Xue Huaide." Chu Ning's voice was as cold as ice. "There's no need to linger in the battle. Withdraw immediately."
Before he could finish his words, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded in the distance - it was the Zhou army's signal to retreat.
Then the earth began to tremble, and on the distant horizon, smoke and dust billowed, and a new army was galloping towards them.
"It's the Han army reinforcements!" Zhao Yu's face changed drastically. "Look at the flags, it's Gongsun Ao's main force!"
A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes. He took one last look at the blood-stained cloth in his hand and said resolutely:
"Retreat! Head southwest!"
Two thousand white horse cavalrymen left like a whirlwind.
Behind them, the battle in the Han army camp continued, and further away, a new storm was brewing.