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Chapter 341: Charge, Defeat, and Win (ask for monthly ticket)

Li Shude and his companions were already inside Yemen Pass, refusing to come out. They saw more and more wounded people in the city, and the medicinal herbs were running out, the food reserves were dwindling, and the arrows might not be able to hold out for much longer.

Invisible pressure is accumulating.

Li Shude patted the stone of the city wall and sighed: "It is now September, and the autumn is in full swing. I think I can't hold on for a few more days. I will die here today. I will commit suicide. I will never let these people from the Western Regions humiliate my reputation."

Xiahou Duan was holding a sword, his armor was stained with a layer of blood, which had dried and solidified. He remained silent after hearing this. They were facing the most tragic situation for the defenders, with no arrows or food left, and no reinforcements coming.

"I will definitely..."

His voice paused slightly, and he suddenly realized something. He raised his brows and said, "This is..." As a veteran, Xiahou Duan felt a sharp sound of breaking air in the wind, and the enemy attacking the city suddenly became chaotic.

Although the disturbance was weak, it was extremely clear. Xiahou Duan's gaze suddenly dropped down and he saw a hint of noise suddenly appearing in the army that seemed to be endless.

Xiahou Duan's sight suddenly narrowed, and he said happily:
"My lord, someone is charging!"

Li Shude, who was sighing, was startled for a moment, then he looked up and saw a dark color approaching the place where Xiahou Duan was pointing his finger. Li Shude's eyes suddenly became sharp.

Eight hundred black armors charged into the weak points of the formation.

The battle formation is connected, but an army of 100,000 and 100,000 people are two different concepts.

Li Guanyi thrust out the spear in his hand suddenly, breaking through the armor with the force of destroying a mountain. The man in front of him widened his eyes, and there was fear in his eyes. The terrifying force directly pushed him up, and Li Guanyi swept it with his backhand.

Several captains around were knocked flying, flying several feet away.

The eight hundred people were gathered from the entire Xiyi City.

The weakest is also the second heaven.

The second level is equivalent to the rank of sergeant in a front-line combat regiment.

Among ordinary border troops, the martial arts of each of them are qualified to be a centurion of a team of one hundred people. Among them, some people like Yuchi Xiong are even brave men of the fifth level. Although they are called eight hundred people, they are actually equivalent to eight hundred elite officers.

At this moment, under the command of Li Zhaowen, they turned into an elite force and rushed in like a chisel. Li Guanyi took advantage of the situation and led the army, not wanting to fight. He took advantage of the fact that the general of Dayuan had not yet reacted and rushed into the battle formation with a calm look in his eyes, killing only the officers.

Li Shude and others only saw a fierce general who seemed to have no need to regulate his breathing, to recover his energy, or to relieve the pressure on his internal organs and his blood. He just focused on fighting and rushing forward. The opponent had no time to react and was fiercely hammered into it.

But those who come here must be the best warriors in the entire Western Regions.

The [Dayuan] tribe began to mobilize its troops.

Like a giant python, it began to coil and circle, retracting its spear and heavy shield, hoping to use this formation to suppress Li Guanyi and others who were rushing in from the side and rear.

Li Shude's eyes burst into a blazing flame, and he shouted, "Bring me a bow and arrow!"

Xiahou Duan handed him the bow.

The old duke drew his bow, drew the weapon in his hand to its full draw, and suddenly released an arrow.

Three arrows were fired simultaneously, and only three barely audible groans were heard. Three captains from the Dayuan tribe fell off their horses. The old duke, who was also a handsome man when he was young, had a distorted face and asked, "Turn around?"

"Hahaha, these barbarians, who do they think we are?!"

"Xiahou!"

Xiahou Duan said: "I am here!"

The old Duke put his hands on the city wall, veins bulging, staring at the battlefield over there, and shouted: "Bring up all the arrows and crossbows, point them all over there, and shoot!"

Xiahou Duan said: "But..."

Li Shude shouted: "My daughter is there!"

The old duke, who was extremely cunning, spoke in a hoarse voice. After a pause, he regained his usual composure and boldness and said:
"She must be coming with reinforcements. Taking them into the city will be a big blow to the morale of the Western Region coalition forces, and it will also greatly boost the morale of our army. If this action fails, we will surely die. Then, what's the point of keeping these arrows?"

"Be buried with us?!"

"Are old guys like us not as heroic as the young boys and girls?"

Xiahou Duan gritted his teeth and said, "Yes!"

The [Dayuan] tribe was directly attacked from behind, and the formation was originally flowing naturally, but no one expected that the old duke, who was thought to be just an old and foolish man, would not hesitate at all. The last strength of the entire Yemen Pass, the arrows and crossbows, were all shot.

But it runs through the latter part fiercely.

Xiahou Duan was also a famous general, an orthodox general from the Central Plains, and a member of a noble family.

He knew very well where the core of the battle formation was.

The generals of the Dayuan Tribe were obviously not as good as Xiahou Duan in terms of vision, and the central army, left army and other troops that were supposed to provide assistance at this moment failed to cooperate well. They were like a giant, looking extremely terrifying, but their limbs and body were fighting each other.

The flags presiding over the formation were dancing almost like a storm.

Changes in the flow of Qi.

Li Guanyi waved the spear in his hand and shouted: "Erlang!!!"

Over there, Li Zhaowen swung out with the spear in his hand, killing one person. He had already drawn his bow and shot an arrow. When the arrow fell, the big flag was actually shot down by her in the chaos of the army. Li Guanyi moved forward like a tiger, with the spear in his hand like a dragon.

Li Shude shouted from the city wall: "My fellow men!"

"My reinforcements from Central Plains have arrived!"

"These warriors have come with news of reinforcements. Do you want to let your comrades fight alone here?!"

Duke Li put on his armor and asked his subordinates to carry out the military drum.

The old Duke beat the drum himself.

The morale of the defenders was boosted. Although they did not attack rashly, they shot arrows madly. There were still tens of thousands of soldiers in the whole city. At this moment, they were desperate to attack instead of defend in order to disrupt the enemy.

Li Guan looked ahead and shouted, "The enemy is in chaos."

Li Zhaowen chopped down the spear in his hand, his eyebrows raised: "It's really an embroidered pillow!"

They charged and killed the enemy's flags one by one. With the help of the Duke, the enemy was tied down. This group of black-armored soldiers composed of hundreds of centurions and above were like poisonous snakes, moving around in the gaps of the enemy.

The previous strategy of confusing the enemy with another.

Yemenguan’s fierce counterattack.

And the surprise attack of this Black Armor Army.

The three combined finally became a sword that severely cut into the enemy's military morale.

An army of one hundred thousand strong is extremely terrifying, but without a famous general to lead them, they cannot communicate with each other. Once attacked, chaos will break out in an instant. No one knows how many troops have arrived, they only know that they have been attacked.

Without a peerless general, a hundred thousand soldiers would become a burden.

Leading a force weaker than 100,000 and forcing a million-strong army to march forward, they might still be able to fight if the battle is going in their favor, but once a situation like this occurs, chaos will immediately break out.

Li Shude beat the drum and looked at the battlefield below with a bright look in his eyes.

"Who is this?!"

"So brave?"

Xiahou Duan shook his head, indicating that he did not know. There was also an expression of amazement on his face: "This man was extremely brave in charging into the battle just now, killing thirty-seven officers above the rank of lieutenant, eight lieutenants, and one captain of a thousand men. It seems that he did not need to regulate his breathing or restore his energy and blood."

"Those killed were all key figures in leading the battle formation. Dayuan does not have any first-class generals. When faced with such a decapitation tactic, it will be difficult for the battle formation to gather together for a while. However, if the time is too long, they will surely die."

Li Shude said: "How brave!"

"Old guys like us should pave the way for the young people!"

He pretended to be heroic.

Xiahou Duan said: "Yes!"

The two men picked up their bows, and under their command, the archers at the Night Gate picked up their arrows, but held their guns tight and formed a battle formation. The old Duke kept a close eye on the situation, wanting to use a rain of arrows to cover this group of people entering the city at the most critical moment.

He began to get nervous and scared.

What a man Li Shude was. When he was young, he and his good friend suppressed a rebellion. They were extremely poor, so poor that they had to pull out the arrows that killed the enemies and continue to use them. However, he pacified an area with only 72 arrows, in a cool and heroic manner.

He is a free and easy and heroic knight.

Even his wife, the daughter of Shangzhuguo, heard about the change in the world and came down from the hall and said, "I regret that I am not a man and can save my uncle from danger!" Li Zhaowen's character came from her. Shangzhuguo knew that this woman had a heroic character and was definitely not an ordinary person. He once said:
"This girl is so talented and pretty, you can't marry her off rashly. You should find a good husband for her."

She painted two peacocks on the door screen, and when any young man proposed to her, he was given two arrows to shoot at them, and the one who hit the eye would be promised the marriage. Dozens of people tried to hit the eye, but a young knight named Li Shude rode by on horseback and shot two arrows at the eyes of the peacocks on the door screen.

Although he is such a skilled archer and has such a carefree personality, his hands are actually trembling slightly at this moment.

It's not that his bravery and skills have declined in the slightest, it's just that the person rushing to the battle line to die is his own daughter.

Li Guanyi and his companions charged and fought for a while, and broke through [Dayuan].

There were only about two hundred Black Armored Army soldiers left who could follow them.

Even though they were all brave warriors at the officer level, the losses were heavy.

Ahead is Yemen Pass. The strategic goal has been achieved. What is needed now is to rush back to the city and inform the outside world of the strategy. There are layers of soldiers and armor ahead, and in Yemen City, the arrows and crossbows are gradually weakening.

The enemy's battle formation closed again, and the Western Region generals and soldiers surrounded them.

Attack from the left and right.

Li Guanyi swept out the spear in his hand, piercing through the cavalry general who was wielding a knife to kill Li Zhaowen.

Li Zhaowen swung the lance in his hand and hit the man who was about to swing the mace at Li Guanyi's shoulder, killing him.

Li Guanyi said: "If we don't leave now, we will all be swallowed up."

Li Zhaowen said: "Charging into battle at this moment, ancient warriors were no more than this."

"Brother Li."

"A hundred years from now, your name and mine will be written in the annals of history, side by side and read by future generations."

Li Zhaowen said calmly: "If I think this way, I am not afraid of death."

Li Guanyi said: "I don't want to die."

Li Zhaowen smiled and said nothing.

Li Guanyi cannot use Qilin, White Tiger, or Red Dragon.

The bird used was the blue phoenix, which was the fastest, had great vitality, and was in line with the skill of immortality.

The lance in Li Zhaowen's hand and the spear tip of Li Guanyi's spear were placed together. The two men hummed and whistled. A dark green light ignited on the spears, and a golden red flame rose on the lances.

Take advantage of the situation.

The sharp edge of the horse lance and the long spear brushed past, exploding a layer of steel with a whistling sound. The internal energy surged, as if a flame was ignited. At the moment of waving the spear, the Dharma image suddenly unfolded.

On this dark and chaotic battlefield, two auras rose up, and more than a dozen brave armored cavalrymen from the Western Regions were thrown several feet away, fell to the ground, and were trampled to death by their horses.

The clear whistle temporarily suppressed the roar of the surrounding battlefield.

The blue phoenix and the golden-red phoenix.

They appeared at the same time on the dull battlefield, their arrogances intersecting and rising into the sky.

Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen charged at the same time!

He immediately led the remaining Black Armor Army and cut through the Dayuan Tribe.

Fighting their way out of the army and arriving at Yemen Pass, Xiahou Duan was so excited that he wished he could ride the horse himself and take his place. He almost wanted to shoot an arrow.

But he was suppressed by Li Shude.

Li Shude stared at the battlefield and the enemy until a time when even Li Zhaowen and his men were in danger, then he shouted, "Shoot!!!"

The battle began in an instant.

Arrows flew out in layers, like three huge waves, hitting the pursuers in front of them.

It’s not necessarily about shooting them.

But it was extremely clever and interrupted the enemy's momentum of the charge.

Wars and battle formations all have their purposes, and killing is just the crudest way of using them.

Duke Li heaved a sigh of relief, threw down his bow and arrow, and said, "...my daughter is safe."

Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen led the Black Armor Army, which could still follow them, to a safe place and successfully disrupted the enemy's army, which was a huge blow to the enemy's morale.

The so-called 100,000-strong army, which had begun to shake under the strategy of confusing the enemy with a new one, and the doubts and fear that had been suppressed by the generals before, began to rise in a more violent way.

Just as they were about to enter the city gate, the Black Armor Army soldiers who were trapped in the main army suddenly became desperate and shouted: "When we set out, we said we would die together as comrades."

"General, have you abandoned me?!"

Duke Li, Xiahou Duan and others did not react when they heard it.

However, the general wearing mountain-patterned armor and a blood-stained robe fell silent for a moment, but suddenly tightened the reins, holding a spear, turned around again and charged again. The opponent did not expect that there would be someone who could charge in such a situation, and did not react at all for a while.

[Shatuo tribe] General Helian Jieshan asked: "Who is this person!?"

"How brave!"

His subordinates looked unhappy and said, "I don't know..."

Li Guanyi relied on his own martial arts and physical skills to take advantage of his opponent's unpreparedness and charge back to kill him. He returned with a hundred people and displayed his skills in front of an army of one hundred thousand. Both the enemy and us were shocked and he rescued the people.

He retreated after one strike, with no intention of continuing the fight.

Even so, there were many arrows on his body, embedded in the gaps between the armor plates of the mountain armor.

There was another hail of arrows at Yemen Pass, allowing the hundred or so people to enter the city.

Li Guan exhaled and felt a burning sensation in his breath, like the heat of a battlefield. His battle robe was completely dyed black with blood. The armor plates on his Shanwen armor were sticky. He walked into the city with his combat boots stepping on the ground.

When Li Guanyi came here, the previously hot atmosphere suddenly became silent and depressing.

The captains on both sides held their weapons and lowered their heads subconsciously.

Don't dare to look up.

The soldiers and civilians in the city looked at him with an expression as if they had seen a god.

Li Zhaowen had previously protected him with arrows and entered the city with him. Li Guan saw that the morale in the city was still good. A group of people on the city wall strode down. The leader was a man of advanced age, with white hair on his temples, but still in high spirits. He said:
"Erlang is alright, are you injured?"

Li Zhaowen bowed and said, "I'm glad that father is alright."

When Duke Li saw that his daughter was fine, he was moved and said loudly: "Now there is news of reinforcements. Everyone, cheer up and don't let your guard down!" The morale of the army was high, and Duke Li asked the people in the city to take out the little remaining wine and meat to congratulate the Black Armor Army.

It is also rightful for the black-armored soldiers to receive this honor.

Eight hundred people charged into the battle formation. Even with the presence of Li Guanyi and Li Zhaowen, the weakest of whom had the foundation of the Second Heaven and wore much better armor than the Western Region warriors and used sharper weapons, but in the end only more than three hundred people managed to rush through alive, and the rest were killed in the battle.

But Duke Li suddenly stopped and discovered that these brave and unrivaled Black Armored Army soldiers did not drink alcohol.

Including Yuchi Xiong, the most troublesome person in the army, everyone was quiet at this moment, holding their wine and looking at Li Guanyi, whose battle robe was stained with blood.

Li Guanyi killed the general, seized the flag, and charged into the battle formation twice. His bravery and heroism had already convinced these people. In the eyes of these brave Black Armor Army soldiers, there was only calmness and respect, and it seemed that if this man didn't drink, they wouldn't drink either.

Duke Li personally brought a cup of wine and said, "Brave man, drink this cup to the full."

Li Guanyi shook his wrist, inserted his spear into the ground, took the glass of wine, and drank it all.

Duke Li praised: "How magnificent!"

The rest of the Black Armor Army were drinking just now.

Holding a soldier in one hand and an army in the other, he had a fierce and heroic spirit. No other army in the entire Yemen Pass could compare to him. Duke Li also arranged for everyone to rest and heal their wounds. He first went to spy with Li Zhaowen, and then invited Li Guanyi to go and express his gratitude solemnly.

Duke Li took the initiative to bow in front of all the generals and said with deep emotion: "The other cities have either rebelled or surrendered, but you, brave warrior, are the only one who is willing to help us. Uncle Li will definitely repay you for your kindness!"

Li Guanyi was in deep thought.

Li Guanyi said: "I'm short of money!"

Duke Li was stunned.

Li Guanyi said, "We are just an alliance. Anxi City is in ruins and lacks everything. If the Duke is willing to help, that would be great!"

Duke Li pursed his lips.

It is the habit of the aristocratic families to show their gratitude in front of everyone and win people's hearts. Those who are appeased will usually be tactful and go along with it. However, this time they never expected this.

Pretend to hand over the fruit.

This guy really eats!
An ally directly blocked the possibility of being conquered, and then brought up the issue of lack of money. Did this guy eat the bait and spit out the hook?
Duke Li laughed and said, "It's just gold and silver objects. We are allies, and I will satisfy you when the time comes!"

Li Guanyi said: "In the era of the Duke, the nobles have a family tradition and a promise is worth a thousand gold!"

No matter what, set it up first.

Duke Li laughed in his heart, but he was still as cunning as a fox.

He also analyzed the current situation with the generals and staff. They said that due to Li Zhaowen and Anxi City's strategy of confusing the enemy, the enemy's army was already in chaos. Coupled with today's incident, it was likely that in just a few days, this chaos would lead to deserters.

Generally speaking, when a siege develops to this point, it is equivalent to being over. Although the army has not yet been defeated and turned into a chaotic army, it does not have the confidence and determination to surround a big city and engage in a bloody battle.

In this situation, a qualified commander would choose to retreat.

A certain degree of morale and military power can also be maintained.

Otherwise, with the army in such chaos at the moment, they would easily collapse once a surprise force appeared, because they would be facing an opponent who had been under pressure, fear, and uncertainty for so long.

Especially this so-called 100,000-strong army composed of seven tribes.

There is a lack of generals who can take complete command.

Once a partial rout occurs, a trend will be formed and the army will be in disarray.

Li Zhaowen said: "After that, we just have to wait for time."

Duke Li felt relieved and said, "I am so relieved because of your bravery in charging into the battle and adding fuel to their anger. However, we still need to be careful..."

Li Zhaowen nodded and put forward several suggestions, all of which were agreed to by Duke Li. He planned to take out a portion of the next ten days' food to reward the troops while the enemy's morale was shaken, which would also make the enemy more suspicious.

So a rare banquet was held in the city, and the remaining meat was taken out, mixed with grain and vegetable leaves to cook into meat porridge, which was provided to the soldiers. Smoke rose from the kitchen, and the laughter and relief atmosphere in the city drifted outside the city.

After the charge, the atmosphere in the turbulent Western Region army became somewhat depressing.

If we talk about how many people were really killed, it is nothing compared to the number of one hundred thousand, but the impact on morale is huge. The more Helian Jieshan heard the rumors from outside, the more agitated and angry he became, knowing that his strategy had miscalculated this time.

Although the army managed to preserve most of the territory, the strategic goal was not achieved.

This is a losing battle!
"Who on earth is that person?!"

"When did such a brave man appear again? He has at least the sixth level of cultivation and his Dharma form is a blue phoenix. Where did this freak come from?"

Li Guanyi sat on the city wall, still wearing armor. This set of precious armor was the prototype of the thirteen sets of armor in the Duke's Mansion. It was made of various precious materials and reached the level of Xuanbing. It was difficult to leave any wounds even if it was cut by a knife or a sword. It was stronger than the [Iron Pagoda General Armor] that Li Guanyi had obtained before.

It is even stronger than the armor he wore when he fought in Jiangnan.

Li Zhaowen asked, "What are you thinking about, Brother Li?"

Li Guanyi looked back and saw Li Zhaowen wearing a bright armor, looking much more calm and composed. Every time he saw Li Zhaowen, Li Guanyi would feel emotional, thinking that this man was simply born for troubled times.

His growth rate, martial arts and strategies are all extremely powerful. He has experienced many expeditions in the past two years and has also experienced a hundred thousand-level war. Only in this way can he be so powerful on this battlefield.

But Li Zhaowen seemed to have become familiar with the 100,000-level battlefield after just one battle.

Li Zhaowen smiled and said, "Do you still want this army? Their morale is already in disarray. If we attack forcefully, there will definitely be deserters and defeated troops. Helian Jieshan is not an unknown person, he will definitely choose to retreat..."

Li Guanyi patted the stone beside him and replied:

"Yes, but why did they suddenly do this? We just retreated today. We failed to defeat them, and failed to subdue them. The Helian Jieshan Association will retain its military strength intact. In fact, we didn't gain anything in this battle."

Li Zhaowen said: "So..."

She sat next to Li Guanyi and said, "It is obvious to the naked eye that the Western Regions army is in low spirits. If my guess is correct, this group of elite Western Regions troops should be related to the fact that the Wolf King blocked the capital of the Tangut Kingdom and sent Xiao Wuliang to guard the pass."

"Who will get the benefit of the remains of the Dangxiang Kingdom, who will achieve hegemony in the Western Regions, occupy the Western Regions, and swallow up the world?"

"This is what people like you and me from the Central Plains think. People from the Western Regions may not be so happy about it."

Li Guanyi said: "After this force retreats, it will gather with the rest of the coalition forces and the Wolf King's elite, Xiao Wuliang, to fight at Xiongguan Pass to determine who will be the winner of the Western Region. In my opinion, if we can attack this army."

"They were completely defeated."

"It can be considered to have some impact on the situation in the Western Region."

“Only then can the world’s situation change.”

Li Zhaowen asked, "Brother Li, do you have any ideas?"

Li Guanyi looked into the distance, speechless for a moment. The atmosphere and momentum of the entire Yemenguan City surged again. The jubilation in the city and the hesitation of the coalition forces outside the city were like the rotation of yin and yang.

Li Guanyi opened his eyes slightly and looked at the distance. In the center of the coalition, the military evil spirit gathered, layer upon layer, turning into clouds. Li Guanyi replied:
"However, in this chaotic world, everyone is vying for the top spot. If this force cannot be taken down, it needs to be disintegrated."

"If we allow this army to return to the Western Regions, this battle will be of no benefit to you and me."

In the enemy's battle formation, Helian Jieshan was also struggling. He stared at the city intently, and tried his best, gambling his future, to successfully surround the Duke here. He wanted to cut off the power of Ying State in the Western Region, but he failed because of the man who charged into the formation.

Do you want to make one last charge?
But if there really are reinforcements...

In the end, are there reinforcements?

At this point, it no longer determined the outcome of the battle or the presence or absence of reinforcements, but only determined whether the Western Region coalition forces could retreat intact. At this time, Duke Li regained his composure and personally invited Li Guanyi to go to the city.

Say 'going to the banquet'.

Said it was a family dinner.

Li Zhaowen accompanied him personally.

(End of this chapter)