Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3752 Drumming
Flames crackled below Taigu Pass, the acrid smell mingling with the stench of blood, carried by the autumn wind into the nostrils of every soldier, stimulating their bodies and souls.

Sima Yi stood up, leaning on the crenellations beside him. The crenellations beside him had been broken and damaged by the attacks of Cao Cao's catapults.

The cracks on the inner side of the city wall looked like hideous scars in the twilight, with blood dripping along the gaps.

He looked up at the sky; the setting sun had already sunk behind the western mountains, leaving only a faint crimson hue that painted the horizon...

However, Cao Cao's army showed no intention of withdrawing.

The Xun clan's battle flag fluttered in the setting sun, like a blood-stained steel needle, piercing Sima Yi's eyes with pain.

An old rival...

Sima Yi seemed to sense a kind of destiny.

It seems he and Xun Yu opposite him have been locked in a battle for a thousand years.

Not only at the present-day Taigu Pass, nor at the former Guiku Pass, but for a very, very long time...

Currently, Sima Yi's forces are insufficient.

Even though Sima Yi tried his best to arrange rotations, rest, and feigned attacks, Xun Yu on the other side saw through his schemes.

Just like no matter where Sima Yi bent, Xun Yu was familiar with his posture.

At the same time, Sima Yi was also familiar with Xun Yu's movements...

Like now.

"General... is Cao Cao's army retreating?"

After repelling yet another wave of Cao Cao's army attack, a soldier beside Sima Yi asked.

Sima Yi narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, then patted the soldier on the shoulder and said, "Hold on a little longer..."

"Attention, everyone!" Sima Yi shouted, looking up. "Don't let your guard down! Cao Cao's army is regrouping again! Over there! Watch over there! The next Cao Cao army unit is coming!"

Dust rose in the direction Sima Yi pointed out.

Nearly a thousand Cao army soldiers were lined up in a dense square formation. The soldiers in the front row held heavy shields and siege towers, while the soldiers in the back row carried new siege ladders and battering rams. There were even dozens of soldiers carrying several large, dark, pillar-like objects...

Judging from its shape, it looks like a simplified version of a battering ram.

Xun Yu was clearly determined to break through Taigu Pass before nightfall, and even the last reserve force was deployed to the battlefield.

Xun Yu noticed the fatigue of Sima Yi's soldiers.

"Archers, take your positions!" Sima Yi roared, his voice hoarse and strained, like the cracking of a broken gong. "Spearmen, form ranks behind the battlements. Once Cao Cao's army scales the ladders, unleash a flurry of spear thrusts!"

However, he was met only with sparse responses.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to respond to Sima Yi, but rather that the guards on the wall were exhausted.

Many soldiers leaned against the wall, their hands gripping their rifles trembling. Some even closed their eyes briefly, oblivious to the corpses of their comrades beside them.

The oil was exhausted, only three grenades remained, and the arrows were barely enough for the front-line soldiers. To make matters worse, from dawn to dusk, the defenders had almost no time to catch their breath, and even the time to eat a bite of dry rations was compressed to the extreme by Cao Cao's relentless attacks.

"Cheer up, everyone!"

Sima Yi tried to pull up a drowsy soldier, but froze when he touched the soldier's arm...

The soldier's body temperature was frighteningly high!

The soldier's face was as pale as paper, and his lips were dry and cracked, clearly due to a high fever caused by days of fierce fighting and wound infection.

The soldiers of the Flying Cavalry were indeed more elite than Cao Cao's soldiers, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't get tired, sick, or die.

Sima Yi's heart sank. How many soldiers like this were left on the city wall?
He dared not think further, and could only suppress his anxiety, taking a water pouch from his waist and handing it to the soldier: "Drink a couple of sips, hang in there! As long as we hold out tonight, reinforcements will arrive!"

Hope often gives people the motivation to live.

Sima Yi had no idea whether there were any reinforcements or when they would arrive.

The soldier glanced gratefully at Sima Yi, trembling as he took the water pouch. He took only two sips before handing it back: "General, you keep it. I can manage..."

Before he finished speaking, a rapid drumbeat suddenly rang out from Cao Cao's army!

Immediately afterwards, deafening shouts of battle surged forth like a tidal wave...

A new offensive has begun.

……

……

Xun Yu stood on the high slope in front of the battle formation, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

He gazed at the cavalrymen on the walls of Taigu Pass, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

There was surprise, emotion, respect, and helplessness.

After six hours of fierce attack, Cao Cao's army suffered heavy casualties, with more than half of his elite vanguard lost. However, he knew that the defending army was also suffering significant losses.

If the situation were reversed, and the soldiers defending Taigu Pass were Cao Cao's troops, they would most likely have already collapsed and fled...

But these cavalrymen are still holding their ground!
According to Xun Yu's deduction, the oil on the gate wall has been exhausted, and there are very few grenades left. Now is the best time to break through the gate.

"My lord..." the guard beside Xun Yu whispered, "It's getting late, perhaps..."

"No! We must fight tonight by lamplight!" Xun Yu said resolutely.

"But..." The guard glanced around, lowering his voice even further, "the men... are all exhausted..."

"Our troops are exhausted, but the enemy is even more weary!" Xun Yu said in a deep voice. "Moreover, enemy reinforcements could arrive at any moment! If enemy reinforcements arrive, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?"

Although Xun Yu claimed he was worried that Sima Yi would have reinforcements, he was actually concerned that he himself would not have any...

Moreover, not only are there no reinforcements, but there's also no time!
"Send the order: the cloud ladders will attack in three columns, focusing on the southwest corner breach!" Xun Yu raised his arm, pointing it like a sharp blade at Taigu Pass. "The battering rams will follow, and breach the gate!"

The messenger obeyed and left, and immediately a unified shout rang out from Cao's army. Thousands of armored soldiers pounced on the pass like hungry wolves.

The shield bearers in the front row pieced their shields together to form a wall, blocking the sparse arrows from the city wall, while the soldiers in the back row carried ladders, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, and charged towards the city wall like madmen.

……

……

On the Taigu Pass city wall, Sima Yi personally oversaw the breach in the southwest corner.

A large section of the parapet here had already been destroyed by catapults, exposing the rammed earth wall inside, which was the weakest point in the entire defense line.

He wielded his sword and fought alongside his soldiers. Each swing of the sword was accompanied by a scream, and warm blood splattered on his face, but he didn't even have time to wipe it away.

"Quick! Push it down!" Sima Yi roared, and together with two soldiers, they pushed down a siege ladder that had just been erected.

The Cao army soldiers on the ladder screamed and fell, but were stepped on by their comrades who followed and continued to climb.

Taking advantage of the chaos, a Cao army soldier leaped onto the battlement and swung his ring-pommel sword straight at Sima Yi's face. Sima Yi dodged to the side, but his forearm was accidentally cut open by the blade, and blood instantly stained his armor.

"My lord!" the captain of the personal guard cried out in alarm, immediately slashing down the Cao army soldier while shielding Sima Yi behind him. "My lord, step back immediately! Leave this to us!"

"Retreat? Retreat to where!" Sima Yi shoved aside his guards, gritted his teeth, and raised his sword. "If we lose Taigu Pass today, we will all die here! Kill!"

He continued fighting with his remaining troops, the wounds on his arms burning with pain, and with each exertion, blood dripped from his fingertips.

The corpses piled up higher and higher on the city wall, almost blocking the breach. The soldiers could only fight by stepping on the corpses. The blood and grime under their feet were slippery and they would fall if they were not careful.

A young soldier was pierced through the chest by a Cao army soldier, the spear protruding from his back. He clung tightly to the spear shaft, refusing to let the enemy pull it out, hoarsely shouting, "Hold on...you must hold on..."

Sima Yi felt a pang of pain in his heart. He swung his sword and killed the Cao army soldier who rushed at him, then pulled the cavalryman to his side.

This was a teenager who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, probably not even twenty yet, with some fuzzy hair still around his chapped, bloodless lips.

Blood continued to gush from the young cavalryman's chest, and his breathing grew weaker and weaker.

Sima Yi hurriedly tore off a corner of his battle robe and tried to press it against the young cavalryman's wound to stop the bleeding. Even though Sima Yi himself knew that such an injury was essentially beyond the reach of medicine, he still subconsciously pressed on the wound, his voice trembling slightly, without even realizing it, "Hold on! You have to hold on!"

The young cavalryman's eyes were somewhat unfocused. He looked at Sima Yi, his lips moving slightly, "General... will reinforcements... really come? I... will I still be able to... go home?"

Sima Yi felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer. He remembered telling his soldiers that "reinforcements are coming soon," but even he himself did not know when the reinforcements would arrive.

Sima Yi looked at the last glimmer of hope in the young cavalry soldier's eyes, paused for a moment, nodded firmly, and said in a resolute voice, "They'll come! They'll definitely come! They'll be here soon! Just hold on a little longer, and you'll be able to go home!" Sima Yi was lying.

But the young cavalryman seemed to have heard a satisfactory answer, a faint smile appeared on his face, his eyes slowly closed, and his hand fell limply to his side.

Sima Yi held the young man's body, a deep and indescribable grief welling up in his heart.

He laid the body on the ground, then picked up his sword again, roaring, "By the cavalry! By the spirits of heroes! Reinforcements will arrive at any moment! As long as he's in prison!! Slaughter him all!"

Inspired by Sima Yi's emotions, the soldiers guarding the pass regained their fighting spirit, their previously weary eyes sparkling again. They raised their swords and spears and launched a counterattack against the Cao army that surged onto the city walls.

However, Sima Yi's troops dwindled with each battle, and the increasing casualties made it impossible to mend the battle lines.

Cao Cao's offensive grew increasingly fierce, the breach in the southwest corner continued to widen, and more and more Cao Cao soldiers surged onto the city walls. The defenders' line of defense was like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

As Sima Yi watched more and more Cao soldiers surge forward, a sense of despair welled up in his heart.

He knew he had done his best. He had run out of oil, grenades, and arrows, and his soldiers were exhausted. If reinforcements didn't arrive soon, Taigu Pass would surely fall today. He subconsciously looked back at the distant official road, but as dusk deepened, he could see nothing.

"My lord! The city gate is about to collapse!" a soldier reported, his voice trembling with tears. "The battering ram has already struck more than a dozen times; the gate is about to fall!"

Sima Yi gritted his teeth, preparing for a final stand.

Just then, a familiar bugle call suddenly came from afar, piercing the night sky like a thunderclap!
Sima Yi looked up abruptly, almost stunned. It took him a few moments to realize that it was the bugle call of the Flying Cavalry!

The reinforcements have really arrived!

Suddenly, a fire dragon appeared on the distant mountain path, winding its way towards them!

Before the people arrive, the sound arrives first!
Before the fire dragon, the tricolor flag leaped in the flames, like a beacon of hope!
"Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!" The defenders on the city wall reacted and burst into a deafening cheer.

The soldiers, who were originally exhausted, suddenly became as if they had been injected with chicken blood, brandishing their swords and spears and launching a counterattack against Cao's army.

……

……

Within Cao Cao's main camp, Xun Yu also heard the bugle call and immediately shouted urgently, "Speed ​​up! Capture Taigu Pass before the enemy reinforcements arrive!"

Undoubtedly, Xun Yu's reaction was correct, and what he said was the truth.

Although the bugle call of the Flying Cavalry could be heard, the mountain road was far from the official road, and even the fastest horses could not reach Taigu Pass in a short time, so Cao's army still had time!
The cavalry garrison at Taigu Pass is now at its last gasp; they just need to give it one last push...

The principles are all correct, but putting them into practice is not easy.

Xun Yu's gaze swept over the soldiers in front of the battle lines and landed on the crumbling southwest corner of Taigu Pass!

The defending troops there were already like candles flickering in the wind; with just a little more effort, they could completely tear this barrier apart!

Some of Cao Cao's soldiers wanted to continue the attack according to Xun Yu's orders, but they found that even with their shouts of encouragement, most of Cao Cao's soldiers had lost the will to continue the attack after hearing the bugle call of the cavalry reinforcements.

"Charge! Charge now!"

A Cao army officer brandished a ring-pommel sword and roared at the soldiers behind him.

But all he received in response were a few weak and feeble replies.

Three soldiers carrying ladders staggered forward, their armor already soaked in blood, their faces covered in dust and exhausted, each step feeling like they were dragging a thousand-pound weight.

One of them still had half an arrow stuck in his leg, the shaft swaying with each step, blood dripping from his trouser leg onto the ground. Under the stern reprimands of Cao's garrison commander, he gritted his teeth and tried to speed up, but his legs gave way and he almost fell to the ground. If his companion hadn't caught him in time, he probably would have already fallen into the pile of corpses below the pass.

"waste!"

Cao Jun's general cursed angrily, but his cursing could not change anything.

These Cao soldiers had given their all, and they also demonstrated courage and willpower beyond that of ordinary people.

From dawn to dusk, the six-round assault never stopped. Waves of suicide soldiers rushed up the rampage, only to fall down again and again. The corpses piled up below the pass were so numerous that the original ground was no longer visible.

Many soldiers were already starving and exhausted.

Even more deadly was that the bugle calls of the Flying Cavalry were like a sword hanging over their heads, each one pounding on the soldiers' psychological defenses...

Xun Yu looked at the Cao army soldiers, whose movements were sluggish and who were beginning to hesitate. He knew that the soldiers' morale had collapsed. A day of fierce attacks had already exhausted their strength and courage, and the approaching reinforcements of the Flying Cavalry were the last straw that broke the camel's back.

He wanted to say something more to boost morale, but found his throat felt blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word. Looking at the exhausted, wounded soldiers, at the impenetrable breach so close yet so unbreakable, he finally understood…

The reasoning was correct, but when the soldiers could barely stand or hold their swords, even the most correct reasoning could not rekindle their fighting spirit.

Xun Yu's eyes were filled with resentment.

But what can we do?

It's so close!
He knew he was running out of time. If he continued to attack, and the reinforcements from the Flying Cavalry arrived, a single counterattack would surely plunge the already exhausted Cao army into utter ruin.

Xun Yu looked up to the sky and sighed, his voice hoarse as he said, "Withdraw the troops..."

As the bugle sounded to signal the retreat, Cao Cao's soldiers, as if granted a pardon, threw down their weapons and staggered backward.

Xun Yu took one last look at the city wall of Taigu Pass, looking at the crumbling breach, his heart filled with regret.

He knew that he had missed the best opportunity to break through Taigu Pass, and this missed opportunity might mean that there would be no chance again.

……

……

At Taigu Pass, the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, and bloodstains stained the rammed earth of the ramparts, turning a glaring dark brown. Cao Cao's army retreated like a tide, leaving behind a chaotic battlefield and twisted corpses before the pass.

Sima Yi leaned against a broken battlement, his face pale and his breathing slightly rapid.

He had multiple injuries.

Let's not dwell on the minor wounds; the most dangerous thing was being slashed in the chest by a soldier from a certain country's Cao army...

He subconsciously touched the deep slash mark on his breastplate...

I still feel lingering fear.

"Brother Zhongda!" A steady voice called from behind. Sima Yi turned around and saw Wang Chang, fully armored, striding towards him. "Cao Cao's army has retreated. Wang Chang is late; he almost ruined everything."

Wang Chang cupped his hands in greeting, his tone carrying a hint of apology and relief.

Suppressing his physical exhaustion, pain, and lingering fear, Sima Yi stood up and solemnly returned the greeting, saying, "Wen Shu spared no effort, arriving day and night to provide assistance and stabilize the situation. How can you say he's late? If it weren't for Wen Shu's timely arrival, Taigu would have been in grave danger!"

Sima Yi's words came from the bottom of his heart and were by no means mere politeness. Looking at Wang Chang's travel-worn appearance, his armor still stained with damp dust and sweat, and his robes streaked with salt, Sima Yi knew that uttering even a single word of complaint at this moment would not only be unfair to Wang Chang's reinforcements but also a foolish act that would create a rift between them.

At this moment, only a bizarre idiot would say, "Why did you only arrive now?"

Or perhaps, "Why can't it be faster?"

"Won't you overtake?"

"Don't you know I'm in a real hurry?"

Putting aside the fact that Taigu Pass is located in a remote area and the mountain road leading there is rugged and difficult to travel, even though the cavalry is known for its speed, it is already an achievement that they were able to arrive within a few days after receiving the news under such road conditions.

Sima Yi had personally walked that mountain path and knew how difficult it was. Let alone overtaking, even normal travel required constant vigilance to avoid slipping into the valley and falling off the cliff.

The slightest mistake could result in the entire reinforcement being lost on the way.

More importantly, the garrison at Taigu Pass was already at its last gasp. If a few inappropriate words discouraged the reinforcements, who would be willing to risk their lives to come to their aid in the future?
In times of chaos, morale and unity within the army are far more important than momentary verbal sparring.

Having experienced these days of battlefield battles, Sima Yi deeply understood how crucial the cohesion of an army was.

Wang Chang brought not only troop support, but also renewed hope for the defending troops.

Therefore, although Wang Chang spoke politely and repeatedly apologized, Sima Yi denied it outright, saying that he had arrived just in time. He not only thanked Wang Chang in person, but also personally expressed his gratitude to each of the military officers that Wang Chang had brought...

However, Sima Yi's actions did bring some side effects.

One of Wang Chang's military officers stepped forward, clasped his hands, and volunteered: "The Cao traitors have just suffered a defeat, and their morale is low. They will surely be lax in their defenses tonight! Our reinforcements have just arrived, and their morale is high. This humble general is willing to lead an elite force to launch a night raid on their camp. We are sure to achieve a great victory and avenge our previous defeat!"

Upon hearing this, several military academy students around him also showed signs of interest.

Pressing the attack after a victory seems to be a common principle in military strategy.

So, should we pursue the night raider?