The battle at the east gate had ended, leaving two thousand soldiers mounted to pursue.
Cheng Yaojin led the others towards the north gate.
The north gate was no different, except that Ma Duan was still alive.
But at this moment, he wished he were dead!
Chai Shao had gathered fifty trebuchets and nine cannons.
They were continuously firing and bombarding his position!
Of the thirty thousand troops, excluding the ten thousand defending the city, Shang Tuzi and Xizi each led away five thousand.
Ma Duan’s own ten thousand cavalry behind him were now less than four thousand!
He had never imagined a battle could be fought like this!
He had led ten thousand cavalry, and they hadn't even charged three hundred paces!
Looking at the Tang army less than a hundred paces away, and then at the panicked warhorses behind him.
Abandon the horses! Retreat to the city!
Ma Duan’s heart was bleeding!
With these dispirited soldiers, they were no match for the Tang army.
Chai Shao did not pursue, but instead ordered his men to round up the startled horses abandoned by the Liang army.
Meanwhile, Zhang Gongjin at the west gate was also having a glorious time.
The Liang army's main general, Liu Xi, had an arm blown off by a cannonball. He retreated into the city with the remaining thousand or so remnants. He left behind a ground full of corpses and warhorses.
After the battlefields in all three directions were cleared.
The Tang army's camp.
The three main generals were summing up the gains of this battle!
Ma Duan’s deputy, Shang Tuzi, dead!
Ma Duan’s deputy, Liu Xi, crippled!
Over ten thousand enemies killed across the three battlefields!
Warhorses and weapons captured were countless!
Inside Honghua City, however, it was as if a dark cloud had descended.
"Brother, what were those things the Tang army used today? They were too terrifying!"
In the prefectural office, Liu Xi said with lingering fear, holding his severed arm.
"Yes, General. My brothers are all scared. We can't fight like this anymore! We couldn't even touch the enemy before they were smashed into pulp. My mount was directly hit, losing half its head from those large iron balls. Thinking about it now still sends shivers down my spine!"
The captain next to him shuddered at the thought.
"Scared? If you're scared, you stop fighting? Are the lives of so many brothers lost in vain?"
Ma Duan kicked over a table and roared at everyone.
"Brother, it's not our fault in battle! It's not that the brothers weren't brave enough, it's just... alas! In my opinion, we should abandon Honghua City and go to Yan'an. Since the Tang border is aimed at the Emperor, we can go there to warn him?"
Liu Xi, enduring the piercing pain from his severed arm, said while pulling Ma Duan.
"General, we cannot hold on any longer! This city cannot be defended!"
Several captains knelt on the ground, crying and begging Ma Duan to retreat.
After the day's battle, in addition to the soldiers killed in action, a large number of soldiers had routed and gone missing.
The usable soldiers in the city were now only a little over ten thousand.
Ma Duan wanted to retreat but feared Liang Shidu would punish him for abandoning the city.
Yet, if they held on, there was no hope in sight.
As he was wavering, suddenly, the sound of cannons was heard again from the city.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of continuous iron balls hitting the city walls came from outside.
"Enough! Enough! Enough! Reform the troops, retreat! To Yan'an!"
The sound of cannons forced him to make a decision!
Outside the city, the Tang army fired their cannons continuously.
They fired for a good half hour.
Over a hundred cannonballs were launched.
The city walls had been breached.
They stopped only when the barrels turned red.
The next morning, scouts reported that the Liang army soldiers in the city were gone.
Chai Shao dispatched two hundred soldiers to cautiously enter the city to investigate, only then did they learn that Ma Duan and his men had abandoned the city and fled last night.
Failing to capture Ma Duan made Chai Shao very unhappy.
"Hand over the prisoners to the laborers to escort back to Chang'an!"
"Gather the troops and pursue Ma Duan! Capture Liang Shidu!"
Chai Shao mounted his horse, drew his waist saber, and issued the order to advance to his generals.
"Pursue Liu Duan! Capture Liang Shidu!"
The soldiers echoed his command, mounted their horses, and followed Chai Shao, galloping towards Yan'an.
Chai Shao left not a single soldier in the dilapidated Honghua City, abandoning it just like that.
He only left five thousand laborers to escort the prisoners back to Chang'an.
The rest of the army advanced towards Yan'an with full force!
Ma Duan, leading his troops, had only traveled a hundred miles when a scout reported:
"Report! General Liu, the Tang army is catching up!"
"Damn it!"
He knew they would catch up sooner or later.
But he hadn't expected that Chai Shao wouldn't even enter the city!
They simply abandoned a city and kept chasing them relentlessly!
"Discard the grain and supplies, full speed ahead!"
Ma Duan tore off his armor and whipped his horse fiercely.
The warhorse beneath him, in pain, surged forward.
The Liang army soldiers also shed their burdens, keeping only a saber or a spear for defense.
Fang Er followed Chai Shao's army in pursuit.
Along the way, there were discarded armors and provisions everywhere.
Ma Duan even abandoned the wounded soldiers in the end.
Honghua was nearly six hundred miles from Yan'an.
Ma Duan fled desperately, and the soldiers behind him gradually couldn't keep up.
Constantly fleeing at full speed, the warhorses couldn't endure, and soldiers began to fall behind.
A day later, when Ma Duan led his troops to the gates of Yan'an City.
Less than five thousand soldiers remained behind him!
Liang Shidu received the news and quickly summoned Liu Duan.
"What happened!"
"Your Majesty! Your subject is guilty! The Tang army invaded, and your subject failed to protect Honghua!"
Ma Duan knelt before Liang Shidu, his heart filled with apprehension.
Liang Shidu was known for his violent temperament, this was known to all, high and low.
"Speak."
Liang Shidu, unlike his usual boisterous demeanor, sat behind his imperial desk and said calmly.
"That Tang army, I don't know what they used, but they could fire iron balls at the city from three hundred paces away. The sound was like thunder, startling the warhorses, and they couldn't get close at all. Also, there was something like a sack filled with a black powder, thrown by trebuchets from a distance. Upon landing, it would explode, scattering shards of pottery that could injure several people. It was impossible to defend against!"
Ma Duan knelt on the ground, recounting his personal experience in detail to Liang Shidu.
Liang Shidu listened as if hearing tales from heaven, he simply did not believe what he was saying.
"Three hundred paces? Firing iron balls?"
"How is that possible?"
"How far can a ballista shoot?"
"Two hundred paces?"
"Your Majesty, my brother's arm was broken by those iron balls."
Seeing Liang Shidu’s skeptical expression, Ma Duan had Liu Xi brought over and pointed to his severed arm.
Liang Shidu walked closer, ignoring Liu Xi's pain, and yanked off the cloth wrapped around the severed arm.
"Ah~~~!"
Liu Xi let out a scream, sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, and he fainted on the spot.
The bloody, mangled wound was exposed.
From the look of the wound, it was indeed not a sword injury.
The uneven break looked as if it had been torn apart.
This forced Liang Shidu to believe what Ma Duan had said.
The others in the hall trembled at Liang Shidu's actions.