In fierce street fighting, the two sides fought repeatedly street by street, building by building, and house by house. Liyang was turned into a rubble field, and 80% of the residential areas in the city were destroyed. In a city full of rubble and ruins, the defenders resisted tenaciously. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting took place in every street, house, and alley in the city.
The number of casualties among Cao's troops who invaded the city continued to increase. Although Cao Jun used the stone machine on the wooden tower to frequently 'bomb' the north and west of the city, Yuan Jun still fought against Cao Jun without fear of death. The average survival time of warriors who have just joined the battle group is no more than twelve hours.
The main tactic of Cao's army is joint operations of various arms, attaching great importance to the coordination of infantry, cavalry, and "air force" ground bombing. In order to counter this tactic, the commander of Yuan's army adopted the strategy of pressing closely and trying to keep his front line as close as possible to Cao's army. This resulted in Cao Jun's stone machine being unable to function as a long-range attack.
Three days later, Cao Jun attacked the Liyang Prefecture. Gao Lan's infantry regiment was retreating here at this time. After a day of the most brutal fighting, Yuan Jun was defeated, and Cao Jun was also defeated.
The next day, 800 people from Wen Chou's cavalry bypassed Tushan and entered the left side of the prefect's mansion. They suddenly launched a counterattack against Cao's army and recaptured the prefect's mansion. In the afternoon, Cao Jun occupied the central main street of Liyang. They suffered heavy losses along the way, sacrificing three to five hundred men for every inch of land. They rushed behind the east gate defended by Jia Xu, but were quickly suppressed by Duan Pixi's Wuhuan cavalry.
Cao's army re-captured the prefect's mansion, but it was recaptured by Wen Chou and Gao Lan in the afternoon. The fighting became more intense in the future, with the two armies constantly occupying the place alternately. In a counterattack, Yuan Jun actually sacrificed 3,000 soldiers in one day.
After Mao Jie followed Xiahou Dun's army into the city, he went back and reported to Cao Cao: "The enemy and we are fighting for every house, every inch of land, water tower, street, and even for a wall, a pawnshop and every pile of rubble. There was a fierce battle. The intensity was unprecedented, even the Battle of White Horse could not compare. We captured twenty feet of land in the morning, but at night, Yuan Jun, who was not afraid of death, took it back again. To the prefect's mansion The battle was repeated ten times. In a large grain depot, the soldiers of the two armies were so close that they could even hear each other's breathing. After three days of hard fighting, our army lost 500 infantrymen and was forced by Yuan Xi's army of 1,000 soldiers. They were unable to advance even half a step, and General Wang Mo died in the battle, so Li Dian had to order the troops to retreat temporarily."
In another part of the city, Gao Lan led 500 infantrymen to occupy a brothel next to the main street in the center of the city and resisted tenaciously. The soldiers dug trenches near the brothel, built fortifications with sandbags, and used poisonous arrows, wooden muskets, and Lao crossbows to attack Cao's troops passing through the street, leaving them no peace for a moment and cutting off the connection between Cao's troops in front and behind.
Xiahou Dun was very angry about this and ordered to capture this place at all costs. The battle between the two sides was like a continuation of the siege. Under the cover of the superior terrain, Gao Lan wiped out a thousand enemies in one day. Cao Jun was disappointed and couldn't do anything against him.
Finally, Cao's army came from all directions and demolished the entire house, leaving only one wall. Gao Lan led fifty people and resisted with all their might. Fortunately, Zhang He arrived in time.
Xiahou Dun personally pressed forward and attacked this area, intending to open up the main street. As soon as he saw Zhang He coming, he was immediately excited. Capturing Liyang was not as great as capturing the defender Zhang He. Xiahou Dun's eyes flashed and he charged forward with his gun drawn.
Zhang He was also furious and thought, whatever tactics are fucking useless, now he must make up his mind and fight for all.
Zhang He tore off a piece of cloth from the sleeve of his robe and bit it with his teeth. Wrap an arrow wound on your left arm tightly. He shouted loudly: "General Gao, come here, let's kill this Xiahou Dun together."
Gao Lan didn't have a horse, so he kept fighting with the soldiers behind him. When he heard me shouting, I thought, this is good, I have long wanted to team up with others to kill him, but I can't kill him alone.
Xiahou Dun's courage is one of the best among the Three Kingdoms. He is not afraid of Zhang He and others. Besides, he has an obvious advantage at this moment, with a strength of almost ten to one.
"Zhang Hepifu, you're done, surrender." Xiahou Dun shouted hysterically. Turning the spear into a windmill, it swept towards Zhang He with a whirring sound.
'Qiang' The two spears collided and struck out a string of sparks. They each took a step back. Zhang He's palms were already numb from the shock, and Xiahou Dun was also frightened.
Zhang He raised his spear and stabbed again, shouting at the same time: "If I can repel Le Jin and kill Wang Mo in formation, I can kill you, so go and die."
Xiahou Dun opened his spear and deployed it at full speed. In an instant, he fired seven or forty-nine shots from multiple directions. Zhang He was dazzled and thought, that's all, Xiahou Dun is really extraordinary.
Zhang He used all the last few killing moves of the spear to counter Xiahou Dun's surging marksmanship. After finishing the four moves, I suddenly heard a rapid sound like rain hitting the beach. "Ding ding ding ding" they both retreated at the same time again.
Gao Lan fought his way through the thorns and slashed at Xiahou Dun, who was panting from exhaustion after a round of heavy attacks, with a bloody sword. Xiahou Dun barely managed to hold the knife away, and his whole body was shaken and collapsed. I thought to myself, don’t deal with this guy. I don’t want to fight these desperate guys, so I’d better avoid him first.
Thinking of this, the barge horses ran away. Gao Lan and Zhang He were willing to let them go, and they chased and killed them and rushed out for a hundred feet. When his generals saw their boss running away, they also retreated and were defeated by Yuan's army. Gao Lan wanted to chase, but was pulled back by Zhang He. He thought to himself, there are only a few thousand people in total, where do you want to chase them?
Two days later, Cao Cao saw no chance of victory at all, so he simply stopped his offensive on the south gate and east gate, and poured all his strength into the city.
Cao Zhen, Cao Ang, Dian Wei, Lu Qian and other generals led their troops to the city. Prepare to rely on superior strength to encroach and advance inch by inch until the entire city of Liyang is captured.
In this way, Guo Huai, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu, including the remaining 10,000 people in their hands, also withdrew from the city defense and joined in the street fighting. The battle in Liyang City was even more fierce. After half a day, 70% of the residential buildings were almost turned into rubble. The streets were stained red with blood, and the bluestone pavement was broken into powder under the trampling of horse hooves and military troops.
Seeing that the battle situation became anxious again, Cao Cao became furious, whipped Li Dian in the face with a whip, and shouted sternly: "If we can't capture Li Yang at noon today, I will chop off your head."
Although the whip did not hit Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun, Lu Qian, Cao Hong, and Yu Jin, they also felt the pressure, and a cold sweat rose from their backs. His face was also red. I felt a little ashamed. If you can't capture Liyang, what kind of face will you have in the future? Just hang yourself with a hemp rope while leading the army in battle.
Some people wonder whether Zhang He's ability is too high, and whether Cao Cao's ability is too low. That's not the case. When fighting on the ancient battlefield, it doesn't mean that if his name is Cao Cao, he will be invincible. If he is a small person, he will be as weak as a scumbag. This is not the case.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Gao Huan, Emperor Xianwu of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was like Cao Cao. His talents were powerful and powerful, but in the end he fell into the hands of Wei Xiaokuan in the Battle of Yubi. So why couldn't Cao Cao fall into the hands of Zhang He? There is no such reason.
When several generals walked out of the commander's tent, their teeth were chattering. After greeting Yuan Xi's ancestors together, they rode horses fiercely and entered the city again. This time the offensive will be overwhelming and indomitable.
Li Dian first killed his lieutenant and roared: "Anyone who dares to take a step back will die."
Xiahou Dun shouted loudly to his men: "Wherever I go, you must keep up. Those who fall behind will die."
Lu Qian only said one sentence: "Revenge for the dead brothers."
Yu Jin said coldly: "Put away all the bows and arrows. They are useless for the time being and are burdensome." He knew that to win, there must be sacrifices. Long-distance strikes cannot solve the problem. He must rush forward and give the enemy a chance. Only by making a clean break can you achieve success.
The battle started, and they regrouped. Cao's army advanced in five directions, like five groups of wolves, killing all the animals and animals passing by, as long as they could breathe. All the houses were torn down, leaving nothing behind but dead bodies and rubble.
After three days of bloody fighting until mid-May, Cao's army finally slowly advanced to the bank of Yongji Canal in Liyang City, occupying 70% of the entire city, and divided the remaining Yuan Xi's army into two long and narrow pockets. .
On the eastern front were Zhang He and Gao Lantian Yu, and general Wang Hu died in battle. On the western front were Wen Chou, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu. Traffic between the two sides has been cut off, and information cannot be transmitted to each other. We don’t know whether each other is alive or dead.
The supplies for the defenders in the city have been basically cut off. The soldiers can only find something to eat in the homes of the desperate people, that is, eating bark, grass roots, and wild vegetables.
Despite this, the fighting near the Prefect's Mansion and the fighting on the banks of the Yongji Canal in the east were still fierce.
Cao Jun's brutal and angry act of destroying everything aroused the anger of the surviving people in the city. Many able-bodied men picked up weapons from the ground and joined the defenders, secretly killing the stragglers of Cao's army.
When Cao Cao heard the news, he took a deep breath. Because before this news, he also heard another news. Liu Biao has formed an alliance with Yuan Shao and may send troops to Xuchang.
Cao Ren fell into Chen Deng's trick and lost nearly 10,000 troops outside Xuzhou City. The city in the east sea of Mount Tai was about to be breached. At stake. Moreover, there were rumors that Sun Jian and Liu Biao were making peace and might attack Xuchang, which made him sweat. The battle must be resolved quickly, whether true or false, he, Cao Cao, cannot afford to lose or gamble.
These days, of the 20,000 most elite Qingzhou Army, there are less than 10,000 left, Wuhuan cavalry still has more than 1,000, euphorbias less than 1,000, bow and crossbow battalions 1,000, and infantry less than 7,000. It is enough to show that the Yuan and Cao armies are so powerful that they have terrifying fighting capabilities.
Zhang He planned to gather all his strength and prepare to advance from the river for a final decisive battle with Cao's army. Try to wait until Yuan Xi's reinforcements arrive.
Zhang He led the army to the streets and alleys, and thousands of Cao's troops holding torches appeared in front of him. Cao Jun seemed to be well prepared. When he saw Zhang He's commander coming, he didn't panic at all. At the same time, he threw away his torch, shouted, and drew out his swords and spears.
Cao Hong picked up his horse from the team and shouted: "Zhang He, my son, fell into Master Sikong's trick of luring the snake out of its cave."
It turns out that Cao Cao didn't want to give up Li Yang. Oh no, he fell into a trap. Zhang He regretted turning around and it was already too late. Cao Jun, who was hiding in various streets and alleys, looked at a fishing net and began to retract it from the edge to the center.
Gao Lan's eyes were about to burst, and he said angrily: "Cao Hong, I will kill you." He ran towards Cao Hong like an eagle rushing towards a rabbit.
Zhang He closed his eyes and thought, at this point, there is nothing more to say, so let's do it.
"Kill" and "bang" were heard from behind Cao Bing. Cao Jun's rear team suddenly fell into chaos. Screams echoed through the sky. Zhang He was charging forward with his horse, when he heard the sound of cannons and shouts, and he was confused. Are reinforcements coming?
"Reinforcements are coming, Yuan's army is coming. Cao's army is defeated, Cao's army is defeated." I don't know who it was, shouting loudly in the team.
When the soldiers of Cao's army heard this, they said, "Why, we are surrounded and Cao's army is defeated." Then, let's - withdraw too -
This is a bit like the Battle of Feishui.
Because there were too many Cao soldiers, the place was small, and some people shouted that the army was defeated, the soldiers panicked and suddenly caused a riot. If the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry hadn't been well-trained and disciplined, these people would have fled in all directions.
Zhang He heard the shouts of Cao Jun's soldiers and saw some of the cavalry coming from behind carrying the banner of Donglai Taishi Ci. He immediately realized what had happened. It turned out that Yuan Xi ordered Tai Shi Ci to quickly lead three thousand Wuhuan cavalry to rescue Liyang.
"General Taishi is attacking us from both sides. Brothers, the time has come to counterattack. Kill." Wen Chou shouted while running.
When Cao Bing heard that they were attacking from both sides, they became even more confused. He reluctantly fought with the Euphorbia, but he only thought about what was behind him. Thirty thousand troops were lined up in a single line, but the only ones in contact with our army were the front line and the rear line. Others just stared and couldn't make any effort, some rushed forward, and some ran backward. It didn't take much effort, and the chaos turned into a honeycomb.
After Taishi Ci and Duan Pixi reunited, although they shouted vigorously, they actually felt unsure because they only had 3,000 men in their hands. The only option was to be caught by surprise, so after waiting and waiting, I finally caught up with the good opportunity and struck out in one fell swoop, catching Cao's army off guard and saving the situation.
Dian Wei was holding the battle at the back when he saw Taishi Ci and Duan Pixi, leading their troops to charge and turn Cao's soldiers into a pot of porridge. He saw Taishi Ci charging towards Dian Wei with his spear. Dian Wei was not a weakling either. He and Tai Shi Ci were immediately killed together, and they were inseparable for a while.
Duan Pixi thought to himself, I can't fight Dian Wei. I have to lead people to muddy the waters of Cao's army so that I can win with less. So he bypassed Dian Wei and led his men to continue charging deeper. The three mighty armies quickly became entangled.
The battle raged from the streets to the alleys, and the two sides twisted into a huge whirlpool twenty miles across.
The battle didn't last long because Cao Cao's army was too numerous to fight. Countless people trampled each other to death. Without understanding the situation, many soldiers escaped. Cao's soldiers all thought that Tai Shici had brought thousands of troops and horses, so they had no intention of fighting.
I thought maybe Cao Sikong had been killed! ! At this time, someone in the team shouted again: "Brothers, Cao Bing can't hold it anymore, run away." These words touched everyone's heart. Cao's army suddenly retreated like a flock of sheep driven by wolves.
In the sudden attack, Cao's army was defeated in a confused way, losing nearly 10,000 men. After running for twenty miles, they almost reached the city gate before they stopped their momentum. This is the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. If it were an alliance army like Fu Jian, the whole army would definitely be wiped out.
The first defense battle of Liyang commanded by Zhang He was called the most difficult battle to defend the city in the history of the Jin Dynasty, and it was also a famous defensive battle in ancient my country.
Because Zhang He defended well and Yuan's soldiers were united, they were able to resist the powerful enemy. However, Cao's army was at a disadvantage due to the favorable weather and location, and finally failed to return.
After that, there were still wars between Yuan and Cao, but in the short term, the large-scale battle was coming to an end.
Moreover, this battle gave Emperor Taizong Xuanwu and Emperor Yuan Xi an important strategic buffer time, allowing him to slowly clean up the internal rebellion and reorganize Hebei's internal military and politics.
After the war, both Yuan and Cao began to turn their attention inward. Therefore, this battle was of great significance in the history of the Three Kingdoms and Jin Dynasty at the end of Han Dynasty. It determined the direction of history to a certain extent and laid the foundation for the later unification of China by Emperor Taizong, Xuanwu and Yuan Xi.
