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Chapter 484: Dantai Mingjing
Chapter 484: Dantai Mingjing
September 25, 2017
Jiuzhou, Weizhou, Ye City.
The second wave of Zhang Jiao's forces launched their attack without even waiting for dawn, and the large-scale siege began.
Lu Zhi, who had only slept for two hours the night before, hurriedly organized the defense.
In this new round of the siege, apart from Zhang Liang's forces, there were no significant tactical or strategic changes.
The only difference was that the warriors who participated in the battle were even more ferocious and fearless in the face of death.
On Zhang Liang's side, the second day's offensive showed a noticeable tactical shift compared to the first day.
Zhang Liang's command of the attack was not only fierce but also more strategic and targeted.
These tactics specifically targeted the mistakes made by Ding Yuan during the first day's defense.
As Zhang Liang made adjustments, Ding Yuan also adapted, significantly improving his defense compared to the previous day and correcting his earlier mistakes.
Amidst the massive meat grinder that was Ye City, the battle between Ding Yuan and Zhang Liang became even bloodier.
However, there was no doubt that their combat also demonstrated a higher level of military artistry, though this form of art, forged through the lives of individuals, was not something many would appreciate.
On one corner of Ye City's walls, Dantai Mingjing stood, witnessing the war in its entirety.
Interestingly, the soldiers fighting valiantly beside him seemed oblivious to his presence.
Dantai Mingjing could discern that, apart from Zhang Liang's forces aiming to capture the walls, the attacks on the other two walls were not so much about taking the city but rather about leaving more soldiers' lives on the battlefield.
"The Military Soul wails, and indeed, the Yellow Turbans have a backup plan."
Dantai Mingjing observed the battlefield for a moment before turning and descending from the wall.
Dantai Mingjing was a mysterious Outsider who, four months ago, at the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, had found Liu Bei and pledged his allegiance.
Subsequently, he spent three months helping Liu Bei locate and recruit Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, saving the Peach Garden Oath, which had almost collapsed due to the altered timeline.
Then, following Dantai Mingjing's suggestion, Liu Bei, along with Zhang Fei, gathered two thousand Righteous troops by selling off all their possessions. They spent a month traveling from Youzhou to Weizhou Ye City and joined Lu Zhi's army.
Dantai Mingjing had been guiding Liu Bei along the way.
After descending from the wall, Dantai Mingjing found Liu Bei and said, "Master, Mingjing has unfortunately guessed correctly; Zhang Jiao is likely planning something big."
"Something big? What kind of big move?" Liu Bei was startled by these words. After four months of interaction, he had come to trust Dantai Mingjing implicitly, well aware of his abilities, and knew he would never speak lightly.
Dantai Mingjing shook his head and sighed, "Mingjing doesn't know, but I can assure you that when Zhang Jiao makes his move, it will be earth-shattering!"
"I must inform Master Lu," Liu Bei said.
"Master, there's no need. If nothing unexpected happens, Master Lu should already have some premonition," Dantai Mingjing replied, shaking his head.
"Then what should I do now?" Liu Bei asked after a pause.
"Wait!"
...
The second major battle of Ye City lasted for two full days.
During this time, the battle never ceased. Zhang Jiao's three legions took turns attacking in waves.
Wave after wave, they relentlessly assaulted the city.
The mighty walls of Ye City were like a gigantic meat grinder. Every wave of Yellow Turban soldiers that approached the city would inevitably suffer heavy casualties by the time they retreated.
Although the losses on the city walls were significantly lower than those below, they were still substantial. Some Yellow Turban soldiers were killed as they climbed the walls, others were shot down by arrows and fell from the towers, and the worst fate was being hit by the catapults, leaving their bodies shattered beyond recognition.
From the start of the battle to the end of the second wave, both sides fought for three days.
During this time, the Yellow Turbans suffered around 80,000 casualties, nearly using their soldiers as fodder to feed this ferocious war machine. Lu Zhi's forces, defending the city, also paid a heavy price, losing around 20,000 soldiers.
With a four-to-one casualty ratio, the scales seemed to be tipping in Lu Zhi's favor.
But Lu Zhi knew this was just the beginning.
Throughout the battle, the main force of the Yellow Turbans, the Yellow Turban Strengths, had not been seen. This was strange, and more importantly, as time went on, a sense of unease began to brew within Lu Zhi.
This unease was not unfounded, as it stemmed from the innate talent of scholar officials like Lu Zhi.
However, there was little he could do about it. At this moment, Lu Zhi only knew of the unease but couldn't pinpoint its source, and he had nowhere to investigate further.
He could only command his troops and send out his men to search the city repeatedly, ensuring the Yellow Turbans wouldn't breach from within. Aside from that, he had no other options.
On the Yellow Turbans' side, after two days of the second wave of the battle, their three legions began to slowly retreat, entering a state of rest and recovery.
The consecutive days of siege warfare were most unbearable for the Yellow Turban soldiers. This relentless fighting, with casualties mounting, could easily crush the morale of any army.
Fortunately, a large number of soldiers in the three legions were provided by the Mystic Lord, many of them indigenous NPC soldiers.
As a result, their morale didn't completely collapse, and they managed to hold steady.
However, they were indeed on the verge of collapse. After all, even the data NPC soldiers had a morale setting, which was relatively more rigid and less prone to sudden drops like the indigenous NPCs.
After a full day of rest, the Yellow Turban legions resumed their activities.
Oddly, this time, they only assumed a posture of attack but didn't initiate any real offensive for a long time.
Meanwhile, outside the Yellow Turban army camp, the altar, which had taken two days to build and one day to set up, was finally ready to be used.
Zhang Jiao slowly emerged from the camp, walking towards the altar as his disciples and followers bowed before him.
To prepare for this altar, he had spent two months, and to activate it, he had sacrificed the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers, even his own lifespan.
Today, it was finally time to activate it.
If all went well, Zhang Jiao would not only activate an altar but also unleash a Daoist spell that would usher in an entirely new era!
(End of Chapter)
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