Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 530 524. Battle of Wancheng (XII)
"quack……"

As the sun set, the entire land was dyed orange-red, like blood and fire. Crows cried shrilly and fell one after another, searching for their mistakes on the battlefield full of broken limbs.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded, startling a black cloud that flew up into the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was the Han army in apricot yellow and white who were counting the bodies on the ground.

All the corpses of Han soldiers wearing the same clothes as them must be identified, cremated separately, and returned to their families, who will also receive various preferential treatments and subsidies.

As for the corpses of the Wei army, the Han army would only dig a few pits and then burn them all to avoid various problems caused by the rotting of the corpses, such as plague.

The battle during the day was brutal, of course, mainly on the part of the Wei army. The Han army wiped out the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry with almost no damage, but then suffered nearly 6,000 casualties in the hand-to-hand combat with the Wei army's infantry.

But the price paid was that the Wei army's 30,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry were completely wiped out in this battle, leaving only a hundred or so fast-running Wei soldiers who escaped.

The Wei army suffered heavy losses after the nearly ten-day battle. Of the 80,000 troops from Nanyang and the 30,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry that came to reinforce them, 80,000 were captured and killed by the Han army. Now, in the entire Nanyang area, only Man Chong's 20,000-plus remnants are left to defend Wancheng.

With such losses, even though Cao Wei was a powerful country, it was impossible for it to mobilize a second army of the same size in a short period of time. It was even estimated that Luoyang only had troops to defend the city, and it would not be able to support Wancheng.

This great victory also allowed Feng Xi to give most of the Han army a day off, allowing them to rest in the camp instead of attacking Wancheng immediately.

Of course, the Shenwu Camp and the cavalry did not rest, but were on guard against Man Chong taking the opportunity to escape, and continued to patrol and scout in the west and north of Wancheng.

"Sir, only 130 people have returned so far..."

While the Han army was resting, in Wancheng, Man Chong had not slept all night. And Hu Zhi also looked desperate.

Yesterday morning, 60,000 cavalry and infantry troops left Wancheng in a heroic manner. Cao Yan patted his chest and said that he could definitely defeat the Han army.

As a result, up to now, only more than 100 of the 60,000 people who left the city yesterday have returned, and the bodies of Cao Yan, Hu Zun and Cheng Wu have been hung under the banner of the Han army to intimidate the Wei army.

"Sir, how about...let's give up Wancheng..."

Seeing that Man Chong did not speak, Hu Zhi gritted his teeth and gave Man Chong some advice. Now, let alone Hu Zhi, even the Wei army soldiers in Wancheng knew that if they continued to defend the city, they would only die.

"Wende, you still have a lot of time to live with. You don't have to stay in Wancheng with me."

Man Chong thought for a moment and looked at Hu Zhi.

"Your Excellency, what are you talking about? We still have more than 20,000 soldiers in Wancheng. If we abandon Wancheng and retreat to Luoyang, we can rely on the advantages of the pass to stop the Han army!"

Seeing that Man Chong seemed to want to live and die with Wancheng, Hu Zhi became anxious. Wancheng was now a deadly place. Although Hu Zhi knew that if his 20,000 infantrymen retreated northward, they would inevitably be chased by the Han army for a while, but in any case, being alive was better than dying.

"If we go together, the Han army will chase and delay us with cavalry, and we may find it difficult to escape. Even if we manage to escape back to Luoyang, the loss of soldiers and generals will be a serious crime."

Man Chong made up an excuse. In fact, Man Chong is already quite old. Although normally he can live another ten years without any problem, he himself doesn't know that.

Man Chong had been in charge of Nanyang for more than a decade, and even when Guan Yu was fighting in the north and terrorizing China, he did not let him flee in disgrace. Now he could not accept returning to Luoyang as a stray dog.

Perhaps for him, the best outcome now is for him and Wancheng to survive and die together.

"Wende, pack up some things and leave tonight while the Han army is off guard." Man Chong looked at Hu Zhi again, waved his hand, and told him to leave quickly.

"Take care, my lord."

Hu Zhi was silent for a moment, bowed respectfully to Man Chong, and prepared to go back to his residence to pack up his things.

That night, the north gate of Wancheng was suddenly opened, and more than a hundred cavalrymen rushed out. The Han army scouts discovered them and immediately chased after them, but the enemy had too few people and the target was too small. Although they killed more than a dozen people, they finally let the enemy escape.

"A hundred or so people? Did Man Chong run away?"

Feng Xi naturally also knew the news. If only a few people escaped, he would not be able to stop them. However, a hundred or so people were usually not seeking help, but some dignitaries who had escaped.

"Send someone to Wancheng to tell them that Man Chong escaped at night and ask them to open the city and surrender immediately."

Feng Xi thought about it for a while and asked his soldiers to try it directly to find out the strength of Wancheng.

As expected, the morale of the Wei army, which was originally somewhat at a loss, was greatly boosted after Man Chong himself climbed up the city wall and raised his arms to call for help. The rumors of the Han army were self-defeating.

However, these were just episodes for Feng Xi. After a day of rest, the Han army divided into two groups and surrounded the west and north gates of Wancheng.

Wancheng is located on the side of the Yu River, and the south and east gates are backed by the river, so they cannot be opened. Therefore, Feng Xi only sent some scouts and the Han army who had confiscated the boats to patrol, and had no intention of attacking the two gates.

As the Han army besieged the city, Man Chong himself appeared on the city wall, personally supervising the battle and commanding the Wei army to resist the Han army.

Wancheng is the last gateway to the south of Luoyang. It has tall city walls, well-defended city gates, and a moat formed by the Yu River around it.

However, faced with the Han army's powerful bows and crossbows and various throwing tools, the Wei army in Wancheng found it difficult to take advantage of their high ground.

The enemy's dozen or so catapults threw a few kerosene cans at random, turning the city wall into a sea of ​​fire and creating a vacuum zone in the defense.

The Han army also used some cans that were not kerosene. No one knew what was in them, but they emitted a foul odor after burning, which even made the guards' eyes tear up and retch. Man Chong himself almost fainted when he smelled it.

Needless to say, Feng Xi not only had ordinary gunpowder-related things, but also had some research on biochemistry. Plants with pungent smells after burning, dried feces...anything that smelled bad was used, mixed with kerosene, and thrown directly into the city, which was a feast of stench.

In addition, the wind is blowing from the northwest now, so the stench will all disperse to the southeast and will have no effect on the Han army's siege.

After a whole day of fighting, although the Han army failed to capture any city gates, they burned the drawbridge of the city gates and filled up a lot of the moat.

Feng Xi had no intention of taking over this big city during the day, he had his own plans.

“Bang, bang, bang…Kill!”

At night, shouts and drum beats were suddenly heard outside Wancheng, scaring the soldiers on guard.

(End of this chapter)