The Han army's front lines held firm, and the Yellow Turbans found no way to break through.
Seeing the stalemate, Xu He raised his command flag and ordered both flanks of his vanguard to advance, attempting to envelop the Han formation from the sides and strike directly at Zhang Xin's central army.
At once, the Yellow Turban forces on the left and right surged forward.
Zhang Xin remained composed."Order Dian Wei and Xu Huang to hold them," he commanded.
Wang Ling relayed the order with a wave of his flag. Receiving it, Dian Wei and Xu Huang—who had been guarding the center—led their spearmen forward to meet the assault.
Unlike the relatively steady fighting at the front, where casualties came slowly, the clashes on the flanks were brutal and immediate. The Yellow Turbans, shouting, "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise!", charged recklessly. Relying on sheer numbers, they threw themselves forward without regard for losses.
Even the Han army began to take casualties.
"My lord, shall we deploy the cavalry?" Wang Ling asked anxiously.
"Yanyun," Zhang Xin replied calmly, "a true general remains unmoved even if Mount Tai collapses before him. Why such impatience? Watch closely—Dian Wei and Xu Huang will not fall so easily."
Though uneasy, Wang Ling turned his attention back to the battlefield.
Moments later, after the Han forces had suffered around thirty casualties, Dian Wei suddenly roared and burst forward. With his right halberd, he cut down one man; with his left, he hurled it and skewered another. Then, reaching behind him, he flicked his arm—five small halberds shot out, dropping five enemies instantly and clearing space around him.
The surrounding Yellow Turbans froze in shock and instinctively stepped back.
Dian Wei strode forward, retrieved his weapon, and began swinging it with a corpse still impaled on its blade. Terror spread through the enemy ranks, and their formation began to crumble.
"Is… is he even human?" Wang Ling muttered, horrified.
The usually simple and courteous giant now appeared like a demon of the battlefield.
Zhang Xin seized the moment."Order Zhu Ling to advance and push them back. Zhang Liao's left wing will strike to split their forces. The Left Leopard Cavalry will circle and attack the enemy's center!"
Wang Ling snapped out of his daze and relayed the commands.
Zhu Ling, upon receiving the signal, shouted, "Forward! Advance!"
Under intense pressure, the Han soldiers expanded their arc-shaped formation step by step. Meanwhile, the Left Leopard Cavalry maneuvered along the perimeter and struck from the rear—where the Yellow Turbans were weakest and least prepared.
Already focused inward on attacking the Han line, the Yellow Turbans were thrown into chaos when Zuo Bao suddenly struck from behind.
Soon after, Zhang Liao's left wing arrived. Together, they executed a pincer attack, splitting the Yellow Turban right flank in two.
With their support, Zhu Ling successfully stretched the formation into a straight line, cutting off a portion of the enemy.
Zhu Ling's troops moved outward to block the main force, while Zhang Liao led his men inward. Alongside Dian Wei and Zuo Bao, they annihilated the isolated Yellow Turban troops.
Cut off and surrounded, the rebels were slaughtered where they stood, their cries echoing across the battlefield.
From the city walls, Han soldiers cheered:
"The Han army is mighty!""The Governor is mighty!""The General is mighty!"
Xu He watched in mounting frustration. The drums thundered as he urged his forces to break through and rescue their comrades—but after nearly an hour of fighting, the Yellow Turbans began to lose momentum.
He could only watch helplessly as hundreds of his men were wiped out.
After finishing the slaughter, Zuo Bao glanced toward Zhang Xin's command. The flag waved again—another order.
He quickly regrouped with Yang Yi's cavalry and charged toward the right flank.
On the opposite side, Xu Huang, though not as overwhelmingly fierce as Dian Wei, held his ground. But the collapse of the right flank shook the morale of the Yellow Turbans on the left. Some continued fighting, but others were already thinking of fleeing.
At that moment, Le Jin also received orders and began expanding his formation.
When Zuo Bao and Yang Yi's cavalry arrived, they repeated the earlier tactic—coordinating with Zhang Liao's right army to cut down several hundred more enemies.
The screams of the fallen shattered the Yellow Turbans' morale. Their will to fight crumbled.
With no other choice, Xu He ordered a retreat.
Zhang Xin did not pursue. He had only defeated the vanguard—Xu He's main forces remained intact.
Instead, he ordered the army to reorganize. The wounded were moved to the center, and gaps were filled with troops from Zhang Liao's reserves. Before long, the Han formation was restored to its original state.
Xu He, regrouping his battered troops, stared at the enemy formation with a heavy heart.
"Marquis Xuanwei… your reputation is well deserved…"
His vanguard of over three thousand had attacked fewer than two thousand, yet suffered nearly a thousand casualties—while the Han army likely lost fewer than a hundred.
The disparity was unbearable.
At that moment, Wang Ling rode forward and delivered Zhang Xin's message.
"Come here!"
Then he turned and rode off.
Xu He was furious.
Zhang Xin, are you mocking me?
After a long moment of hesitation, he made his decision—to commit his entire army.
It was a reckless choice.
No matter how many men he had, only a limited number could engage the Han formation at once. Whether ten thousand or a hundred thousand, the advantage meant little against such a defensive structure.
But Xu He had no alternatives.
If he could not outmaneuver Zhang Xin, then he would overwhelm him through sheer sacrifice.
Gritting his teeth, he raised his voice.
"All troops—attack! Surround them on all sides!"
The drums roared again as the Yellow Turbans surged forward. The exhausted vanguard was pulled back, replaced by the central army at the front.
Seeing the enemy advancing in full force, Zhang Xin immediately issued a new command.
"Form a circular formation!"
The flags waved.
Zhang Xin led the central army into the heart of the formation. Zhang Liao, Zhu Ling, and Le Jin pulled their forces back, forming a great defensive ring around him.
Dian Wei and Xu Huang each formed smaller circles on either side, ready to reinforce any point of weakness.
Xu He approached and shouted:
"Kill!"
At once, countless Yellow Turbans surged forward, surrounding Zhang Xin's army from every direction like a rising tide.