Chapter 207: Queyue
At Li Yuanhui's command, the cavalry that had assembled in the city and were ready to go immediately filed out.

If the Eastern Wei infantry wanted to land, they would have to face the attack of the Jianghuai cavalry.

The Eastern Wei side was fully prepared for the second attack at Ruxukou, and also learned from the experience and lessons of the first battle of Ruxukou.

Cao Yuanjing personally led the troops and supervised the battle in the middle of the river. Former general Li Xiong personally led thousands of infantrymen to land on the beach.

The first batch of soldiers who landed held up their large shields and pushed forward to the shore, while the soldiers behind them raised their spears.

The Yan army's cavalry has begun the attack.

The Huaishang Camp led by Liu Ju, a light cavalry composed of former Jianghuai bandits, quickly advanced and fired cold arrows from a distance of dozens of steps, knocking down many Eastern Wei infantrymen who had not yet raised their shields.

Other light cavalrymen armed with long spears rushed to the front of the Eastern Wei formation and stabbed. After missing the target, they turned their horses and fled. After turning their horses back, they looked for another opportunity to charge forward.

Cavalry has a strong impact and deterrent effect on infantry that has not yet established a firm foothold.

It seemed that the Eastern Wei infantrymen who had landed were about to be driven into the water by the Yan army cavalry from Jianghuai.

The second group of soldiers from the Eastern Wei side reached the shore but did not disembark, but they inflicted considerable casualties on the Eastern Yan cavalry.

In order to fight against the cavalry in Jiangbei, the Eastern Wei prepared thousands of strong bows and crossbows, as well as pre-made deer antlers.

At least two thousand strong bows were fired at the command, and arrows fell like locusts in front of the battle formation. At least dozens of cavalrymen were shot like hedgehogs and killed on the spot, and more than a hundred cavalrymen were also injured and fell off their horses.

Li Yuanhui frowned when he saw this scene. "It seems that the people of Eastern Wei have not been idle in the past year. They have built a batch of strong bows and crossbows for him. They are well prepared."

Looking at the Wei soldiers who were constantly landing on the river in the distance, they quickly formed a semicircle formation around them.

Afterwards, the Eastern Wei army connected small boats and laid wooden boards to form a temporary floating ferry, and then the large ship docked.

One by one, the Wugang trucks were pushed from the big ship directly onto the shore from the floating bridge ferry. Then, one by one, they were connected end to end, forming an arc battle formation.

Seeing this, Li Qinglian, who was well-versed in military books, suddenly exclaimed: "It's a half-moon formation. The Eastern Wei has set up a half-moon formation!"

The Half-Moon Formation may not be well-known, but what about the Moon Formation?
Li Yuanhui's face suddenly changed.

At this time, they could no longer let the cavalry charge forward, as that would be tantamount to seeking death. Even if they could use the cavalry to drive all the Eastern Wei troops down the river, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The importance of cavalry is self-evident, and war horses are even more important strategic materials.

Moreover, Li Yuanhui was in Jianghuai, not in Longyou or Liangzhou, where horses are raised. It is not that horses cannot be raised in Jianghuai, but in the southern and northern slopes of Dabie Mountain. Later, the Mongolians built a horse farm in Lujiang.

But raising horses is a very expensive business after all. It is more suitable for the prairie in the north.

Therefore, Li Yuanhui felt that the cavalry should be used with caution. In order to defend against cavalry attacks, the enemy had chariots, crossbows, spears, and oars.

Just to gain a foothold on the North Shore.

Then let you go. What's the big deal if I let you get ashore?

Cao Yuanjing laughed out loud as he watched the Yan cavalry retreat and the landing troops gain a foothold.

"Hahaha, good. As long as our army can land, what do we have to fear from the Jianghuai Yan army?"

Brother Cao Cheng also laughed and said, "Hahaha, we have been preparing for this battle for a year. The year before last, Li Yuanhui relied on his cavalry to force us to sneak up and set up camp secretly at night. Now we have sufficient weapons and arrows. If he dares to send his cavalry up, we will turn him into a hedgehog!"

However, the left general Lu Gongren said: "Although our army has already established a foothold on the north bank, the Yan army is stationed in Ruxuwu, the city wall is high and thick. I heard that Li Yuanhui has prepared thousands of powerful crossbows in Ruxuwu, and reinforcements can be continuously gathered here from the Ruxu River. It will take years to break the city."

Hearing this, Cao Yuanjing stopped smiling and said seriously, "General Zuo is right. I have gotten a little too proud of myself. Mr. Zhang will be in charge of transporting food and grass in the rear, and I hope General Zuo will give me more guidance in the battle."

Lu Gongren bowed and said, "Your Majesty, your words are too kind. I will tell you everything I know."

Under the watchful eyes of the Jianghuai Army, the Eastern Wei Army openly set up camp five or six miles north of the Yangtze River, and occupied a river island not far downstream of Ruxukou.

They were ready to fight a protracted war with Jianghuai. There were three layers of deer horns set up outside the camp alone.

Of course, these antlers were not made temporarily, but had been built long ago in Wuhu on the other side of the river. Then they were transported in sections by large ships, along with various siege weapons.

So starting from the second day, the Eastern Wei army began to prepare for the siege.

Teams of Wei soldiers came out of the camp and formed a battle array, then carried ladders and marched towards Ruxuwu.

Although there are over ten thousand soldiers and horses and they are boundless, those who are good at using troops can still roughly estimate the local strength deployed on the battlefield by the distance and width of the square formation.

At this time, the number of Wei army soldiers in Jiangbei had reached 20,000, of which 5,000 were divided into two square formations, holding spears and oars, and lined up on the spot, specifically to guard against sudden attacks by the Yan army's cavalry.

The remaining 15,000 men were all lined up, ready to take turns attacking the fort.

Li Yuanhui on the top of the city wall had a very solemn expression on his face, because the current army was completely different from the team from the previous year.

After personnel screening, the old and weak were eliminated, and the remaining ones were young and strong. These young and strong people have been training for the past year.

Marching, martial arts, operating weapons, and even climbing walls and attacking cities.

So Li Yuanhui knew that this army was already a formidable enemy just by looking at the orderly pace of these people advancing.

However, as the defenders, they have sufficient equipment and food, complete soldiers, and a strong city to defend, so what is there to fear?
"The first one to break through the city will be promoted three ranks, rewarded with ten pieces of brocade, one hundred acres of fertile land, and be granted the title of marquis! Soldiers of the Great Wei, it's time to be rewarded for your meritorious service! All troops, attack! Go!"

Following the order from Li Xiong, the former general who was commanding the siege, the morale of the Wei army was high and they immediately launched an attack.

On the top of the city wall, the Yan army fired thousands of arrows, which fell like locusts into the square formation of the Wei army below the city.

The Wei army was under a hail of arrows, and soldiers were constantly falling to the ground. Then they used the ladders they had prepared long ago to directly set up on the moat, and then laid wooden boards on top, thus eliminating the need to carry soil to fill the moat. They could directly use this simple bridge to cross the moat in front of the dock and directly enter the siege phase.

Li Yuanhui knew that the moat of Ruxuwu was not very wide, but the cost of rebuilding Ruxuwu was not small, and it would take a lot of effort to widen the moat again. It was still the busy farming season and the time to harvest winter wheat. The people nearby had all moved to the north of Dongguan, so the moat was not widened again.

The Wei army's nightmare began after they crossed the moat.

The rolling stones, Yaksha Labyrinths, and Wolf Fang Claws on the city walls were a nightmare to the attackers.

If you get hurt, your bones will be broken and your brain will burst.

On the first day alone, the Wei army suffered more than 1,300 casualties in the siege.

Most of them were seriously injured, and it would be useless to save them. But for the sake of people's hearts, they couldn't stay away for long.

Basically, he was waiting to die in the wounded camp.

On the second day, the siege continued.

The Wei army still maintained a high fighting spirit and continued to climb up to the top of Ruxu City.

The Yan army held the city without panic, and used arrows, boulders, and battering rams to kill a large number of Wei soldiers.

The casualties of the Wei army on the second day even exceeded those on the first day, with more than 1,600 casualties.

On the third day, the offensive slowed down slightly, but there were still more than a thousand casualties.

The battle lasted only three days and the Wei army lost thousands of soldiers.

This also brought considerable pressure to the Yan army.

Despite the corpses of the Wei army scattered all over the ground, the Yan army still maintained its high morale.

On the fourth day, large ships of the Eastern Wei navy traveled back and forth on the river, sending the troops of former general Li Xiong, who had suffered heavy losses in the battle, to Wuhu, and also transporting the troops of right general Zhu Jun, who had been recuperating in Wuhu for a long time, to the Jiangbei camp.

The Eastern Wei Dynasty started a war of attrition.

(End of this chapter)