I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1172 The Emperor, Flees in Panic
"That's it...that's it!"

In the midst of the crisis, Emperor Severus laughed in fury, gritting his teeth: "Pretending to fall into the trap and penetrate deep into the valley, you actually divided your forces to attack our supply lines and tie down our main force... and then launched a surprise attack from the sea to cut off our retreat... Han people, Su Yao... what ruthless schemes you have!"

"Your Majesty! Now is not the time to praise the enemy. What should we do?"

Protinas asked urgently, "Our army is attacked from both sides, our supply lines have been cut off, and our retreat is impossible... Should we retreat immediately?"

"Withdraw? Where can we withdraw to?" Emperor Severus asked bitterly.

"If we don't retreat, we're doomed."

Protinas lowered his voice and said desperately, "Byzantium has fallen, the straits have been blocked, and my 200,000 troops are trapped in Asia Minor with less than a month's worth of food. Once this news gets out, a terrible mutiny awaits us."

Protinas's voice was full of helplessness.

He never expected that after so much preparation and with the decisive battle about to begin, he would get such a result.

"Don't retreat yet! Seal off the news! We absolutely cannot let the ordinary soldiers know!"

Emperor Severus gritted his teeth; he was unwilling to retreat in defeat.

So the Romans decided to proceed with their original plan and launch a preliminary attack to test the mettle of the Han Chinese.

"As long as we can defeat the main force of the Han army before we run out of food, we will still have a chance to survive!"

A resolute glint flashed in Emperor Severus's eyes.

The Han Chinese have come from afar and have stored up a large amount of military provisions. If they win this battle, they can use the provisions from the enemy and even recapture Antioch and Egypt.

At that point, the blockade by the Han Chinese fleet would become meaningless.

Although uneasy about this insane plan, Protinas knew that even if they retreated, they couldn't conjure up food. The mountainous regions of Asia Minor alone could not possibly support their army of 200,000.

However, the result of their hasty execution of the plan was that Cao Cao and others saw through their entire strategy.

"Haha, these Romans are in a hurry! It must be that His Majesty's actions at sea have been effective."

"Send word to the entire army: the time for a counterattack has come!"

Upon hearing the news, Cao Cao stroked his beard and laughed heartily, immediately ordering all troops to act according to the plan.

Suddenly, the balance of power shifted.

Defending is far more advantageous than attacking, not to mention that this place is mountainous.

Severus's desperate attack was met with fierce resistance from the well-prepared Han army, who immediately suffered heavy losses.

When the Roman legions surged toward the pre-arranged "pocket formation," they were met not with panicked enemies, but with a well-prepared Han army defense line and something even more deadly.

"Fire!" With Cao Cao's command, the Han army's ranks were not only filled with the traditional volleys of crossbows. Dozens of improved "whirlwind cannons" and some light tiger-squat cannons deployed on the high ground behind the lines roared! Although the actual heavy artillery could not be transported due to the mountainous terrain, these field weapons, carefully improved by the engineering academy, still far surpassed the Romans' similar equipment in range and accuracy.

Stone projectiles and specially made incendiary bombs (filled with raging oil and sulfur) ripped through the sky with a piercing whistle, passing over the heads of the front-line Han soldiers and striking the dense charging formation of the Roman legions with pinpoint accuracy.

Boom! Bang! Crack!

The stones struck the Roman legions' formidable shield wall, not breaking through their lines in one blow, but the immense impact still sent soldiers in the rear rank staggering, causing a momentary disruption to their formation. Even more terrifying were the incendiary bombs; shattered clay pots released viscous, fiery oil that splattered everywhere, instantly creating several infernos of agony within the Roman phalanx!

"Don't panic! Maintain formation! Tortoise formation!" the centurions roared hoarsely, trying to keep the troops in line.

However, the Han army's attacks came one after another. Han crossbowmen, equipped with improved crossbows and protected by heavy infantry, carried out continuous and precise sniping. The powerful crossbow bolts could even penetrate the Roman soldiers' shields, threatening those behind them. Meanwhile, the nomadic cavalry, originally intended for harassment, now played a crucial role, using the mountainous terrain to constantly harass the Roman legions from the flanks with arrows, forcing them to constantly divert their attention to protecting their vulnerable flanks.

Severus's highly anticipated Roman heavy infantry paid a heavy price for every step forward under the multi-layered, three-dimensional long-range attacks of the Han army. Their proud shield wall and discipline appeared cumbersome and inefficient in the face of the firepower density and range that were ahead of their time.

"Your Majesty! General Quintus of the Left Wing reports that they have suffered heavy losses after repeated attacks by elite Han cavalry and request reinforcements!"

"Your Majesty! General Macrinus of the right wing has been blocked at a mountain pass by Han general Zhao Yun and is unable to make the planned detour!"

Bad news came one after another.

Severus's face turned ashen. He realized he had made a second fatal mistake—severely underestimating the Han army's field combat capabilities without their "thunderous artillery." Their crossbows, catapults, and those incendiary weapons, combined with their skilled infantry phalanxes and mobile cavalry, constituted a complete and highly efficient killing system. The Roman legions' familiar frontal assault tactics were utterly ineffective here.
Thus, in the ensuing days of fighting, the Romans failed to demonstrate any advantage against the Han army, whose numbers were far inferior to their own.

What chilled him even more was that the news of his escape route being cut off was ultimately not completely contained.

The Han army on the opposite side, as if they knew in advance, sent out many Jewish and Greek surrendered soldiers to shout and spread unfavorable news about them, causing unrest in their ranks.

Despite Severus's swift execution of several soldiers who spread the "rumors," he solemnly declared that it was the enemy's nonsense.

But as time went on, their gradual tightening of rations quickly became the subject of whispers within the army.

"Are we really going to run out of food?"

"My God, has something really happened to Byzantium?"

"Governor Emilius has a full four hundred Imperial fleets!"

Panic spread silently like morning mist in a valley, gradually eroding the morale of the Roman legions. Despite the officers' best efforts to suppress it, the dwindling rations in the soldiers' eyes and the anxious expressions of the generals all confirmed the truth of those "rumors."

Meanwhile, the Han army remained calm and composed. Cao Cao adopted Jia Xu's strategy, not rushing into a decisive battle with the Romans, but instead using the terrain and firepower advantages to gradually wear down and exhaust the enemy. Zhao Yun's cavalry, like ghosts, appeared and disappeared unpredictably, specifically targeting small Roman units and supply convoys; Gao Shun's heavy infantry held their fortified camps firmly, like a rock, causing every frontal attack by the Romans to crumble and bleed.

"Withdraw the troops! We must withdraw the troops!"

Ultimately, with no other options, Severus had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to the proposal at the final military meeting.

Then came the utter defeat.
(End of this chapter)