Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 36: Call off the troops!

Wei Yan quickly returned to Anlu County and informed Zhang Liao of the situation.

Zhang Liao was also quite surprised to hear that the enemy had anticipated their ambush:
“It seems that the enemy’s counselors are of some standard.

"Next, we will rely on the more than 3,000 soldiers in the city to defend the city.

"We must hold on to this with all our might until support arrives!"

Although Zhang Liao felt heavy in his heart, he also felt inexplicably excited!
He not only had to defend the city, but also had to deplete the enemy's manpower as much as possible.

This way, Wen Hou and his men will be able to achieve their strategic goals more easily when they besiege Xiling!

Zhang Liao immediately gave Wei Yan instructions:
“Wen Chang, the enemy Cai Mao and Zhang Yun have a close relationship.

“If Zhang Yun sees that the situation is not right, he might turn against the enemy again.

"You take 500 soldiers from your own army and 500 newly surrendered soldiers from Anlu County to guard the east and north sides.

"I will lead the remaining people to guard the west and south sides.

"If Zhang Yun attempts to defect, he will be executed immediately!"

"Here!"

Wei Yan took the order and left.

Zhang Liao then found Zhang Yun in the city and did some psychological work on him:

"General Zhang Yun, the enemy is about to attack, and among the approaching generals is your old friend Cai Mao.

“If you fail to capture the city, he will persuade you to surrender and tell you that as long as you surrender, he will forgive you for what happened.

“But I believe that if you really do this, Liu Biao and his advisers will definitely not let you go!

“So please stand firm and recognize who is the wise leader.

“I assure you that our support troops are on the way, and we can force the enemy back if we hold out for a few days.

"With your previous contributions, the lord will definitely reward you handsomely!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yun immediately clasped his fists and responded:

"Wenyuan, that's not right. Since I have decided to work for Marquis Wen, I will never betray him again!

"Please relax Wenyuan, I will help you defend the city!"

Zhang Liao held Zhang Yun's fist and said comfortingly:
"With your words, I feel relieved.

"As long as you give us your full support, I am confident that we can defend Anlu!"

After Zhang Liao finished speaking, he took Zhang Yun to their respective city walls.

Soon, Zhang Liao saw a large army rushing towards him from the south.

It was so dark and dense, like a colony of ants!
However, he did not feel the slightest fear in his heart. Instead, he tried hard to suppress his excitement and keep himself as calm as possible.

It was the first time for him to fight a city defense on such a large scale.

However, he had rich experience in guarding the Yanmen Pass when he followed Lü Wenhou to guard against the Hu people!
That's why I'm so calm and even a little expectant.

Soon, the enemy army arrived not far from the city.

A captain stepped out from the army and shouted:
"How dare the thief attack my city? Surrender immediately and you can save your life!"

Zhang Liao did not reply, but took out a bow and arrow, drew the bow, put the arrow on it, and pulled the string to the full moon.

Whoosh!
The sharp arrow left a black line in the air and accurately hit the center of the eyebrows of the captain who was shouting.

Before the captain could react, he fell off his horse!
Huang Zu was furious at such provocative behavior.

He immediately gave an order and the army rushed towards the city like locusts!

Because of the need to march quickly and the need to pass through the Fu River on the way, Huang Zu's army did not carry large siege equipment.

This was also what Liu Ye had expected.

Otherwise, once there is the help of powerful siege equipment such as catapults, with an army of 10,000 fighting against 3,000, it would be difficult for the defenders to hold out for long.

Huang Zu looked at the arrows and rocks flying down from the city wall and sneered:
"You think you can stop my army from attacking the city with just this small number of defenders? You really overestimate your own abilities!"

On the city floor.

Zhang Liao calmly commanded his soldiers to defend the city. Half of these soldiers were elite cavalrymen he brought from E County, and the other half were surrendered soldiers from Anlu County.

It was obvious that the elite cavalry he brought with him acted more calmly and quickly.

The surrendered soldiers in Anlu County were obviously much more panicked.

Zhang Liao commanded the actions of these surrendered soldiers, and the elite cavalry he brought with him hardly needed his command.

The cavalry captain would make the right decision for him.

The shouts and cries were deafening. Countless arrows were shot down from the city walls, but many were blocked by the enemy soldiers holding large shields.

Zhang Liao noticed this and immediately ordered his men to fire rockets instead.

At that time, most shields were made of wood or lacquered leather, which could be easily ignited by flames.

As thousands of flaming arrows were fired at the same time, large areas of shields were quickly ignited.

The scorching flames greatly slowed down the impact of the first wave of soldiers.

Huang Zu couldn't help but frown as he looked at the shield that was burning with flames and the sudden screams.

But this loss is nothing.

He continued to order his soldiers to launch a second wave of attack!

After the first round of cannon fodder attracted firepower, the second round of attack finally allowed the siege soldiers to cross the moat and reach the bottom of the city wall.

Ladders were quickly placed on the city walls, and the attacking soldiers jumped onto the ladders one after another like grasshoppers.

There was a flash of panic in the eyes of the soldiers guarding the city.

However, after seeing their defenders remain calm, they quickly calmed down.

Zhang Liao calmly and quickly directed his men to pour the boiling oil down the ladder!

Boiling oil can not only burn people, but also make the surface of the ladder slippery, making it more difficult to climb the city.

As the boiling oil poured down, the soldiers on the ladders were immediately scalded and screamed.

The next moment, huge rocks hit their faces again.

The soldiers at the highest point suddenly crashed into the soldiers below along with the rocks.

One after another, like a string of bullets, all the soldiers below were knocked to the ground!

However, as soon as these people fell, new soldiers set up new ladders and climbed again!
Then, new boiling oil and big rocks followed...

Waves of soldiers climbed up the city walls and were beaten down again and again. The corpses under the city walls soon piled up into a human ladder!
Cai Mao looked at this scene and couldn't help but said to Huang Zu:
“General Huang, our army has lost nearly a thousand men, while the enemy has only lost a hundred.

"If we continue to fight like this, our army's losses will only grow greater...

“I suggest that we gather our troops and reorganize them first, then surround the entire city.

"I will find a chance to persuade Zhang Yun to surrender!
“This way, the losses can be minimized.”

Huang Zu looked at the soldiers in front of him falling one by one, and his expression became more and more solemn.

I thought we could use our numerical advantage to easily capture the city, or at least severely deplete the defenders.

However, after a fierce battle, not many of the enemies were killed, but his soldiers fell one after another.

The world is in chaos now, the population has dropped dramatically, and it is difficult to recruit soldiers.

If we consume a large number of soldiers, even if we finally capture Anlu County, it will not be worth it.

After a moment's silence, Huang Zu finally waved his hand and called back his troops!

……

Zhang Liao looked at the enemy troops retreating like the tide, wiped the blood off his face, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The enemy lost nearly a thousand men, while he lost only a hundred.

The advantage of the defenders is so huge!

But he knew very well that this was only the first day of the attack.

The enemy's subsequent attacks will definitely be more fierce than today's!
(End of this chapter)