Chapter Twenty-Five: Complete Victory in Lujiang
Dong Zhuo had made mistakes in his strategy when attacking Jin Xuan. Making Jin Xuan the king and giving him control over the seven counties was equivalent to acknowledging Jin Xuan's control over the three newly acquired counties. Secondly, Li Ru and the other strategists had misjudged the combat strength of Jin Xuan's army. They had thought that it would be easy to defeat Jin Xuan's army of nearly 330,000 soldiers.
The battles that Li Ru had predicted to be a sure win were now broken by Jin Xuan one by one. The retreat of Yuan Shu's army marked Jin Xuan's victory in this war. The surrounding forces participating in the battle this time had also caused trouble for themselves, providing an excuse for Jin Xuan to wipe them out one by one.
Zhou Tai, the famous general of the Eastern Wu of the Three Kingdoms, would become the first victim of this war. Yuan Shu's withdrawal caused this evenly matched battle to end without any suspense. Jin Xuan's powerful talent pool had played their part in this war, exerting great power and winning the crucial victory at a very small price.
Zhou Tai Camp.
"Report, urgent military intelligence. Yuan Shu's camp has been evacuated.”The deputy reported urgently.
"Where to?" Zhou Taili stood up. He could not guess what Yuan Shu was up to.
"Retreat to Hefei." the deputy general replied.
"What's the movement from the camp in the east of the city?" Zhou Tai asked.
"Nothing." the deputy general replied.
"Is there any movement in Poyang City?" Zhou Tai asked.
"Nothing." the deputy general replied.
Yuan Shu has retreated. Why didn't you inform us? Yuan Shu's troops are the main force in this battle. If he retreats, what should we do? As Zhou Tai was thinking, a soldier suddenly reported. []
"General, Yan Baihu and Yu Fan are here to see you.”
"Please." Zhou Tai hurriedly stood up to welcome him.
"Why did Yuan Shu retreat? Why didn't you tell us when you left?" Yan Baihu was impatient and asked before he even sat down.
"Since Yuan Shu has retreated, our army is in danger. What plans does General Zhou have?”Yu Fan asked.
"Yuan Shu's retreat is putting our three families in danger. Poyang City hasn't moved yet, so we should immediately retreat.”Although Zhou Tai was a famous general, he was a little anxious at this moment.
Seeing the tense situation, Yan Baihu and Yu Fan quickly bid farewell and returned to the camp to prepare for evacuation.
"Quickly prepare and retreat." Zhou Tai ordered.
Zhou Tai's army was well-trained. After giving the order, in less than an hour, all the troops had gathered and retreated in the direction of Lu River.
In Poyang City, there were also movements. Gan Ning led a group of cavalrymen in pursuit, but they retreated at the first contact, not causing much trouble for Zhou Tai's army.
After Gan Ning withdrew his troops, Zhou Tai gave the order to march back to Lujiang.
Zhou Tai thought that since Yuan Shu had suddenly retreated and Poyang City was not prepared enough, the small number of pursuers proved that Poyang City had not received accurate information.
Zhou Tai had fought with King Pingnan's troops a few times. He knew that his soldiers were as elite as the Lujiang soldiers. If the main force arrived, Zhou Tai's 30,000 soldiers would be in danger.
Along the way, there were a few cavalrymen harassing him, but they did not affect the speed of the Lujiang soldiers. Zhou Tai felt slightly relieved.
Zhou Tai was relieved when he arrived at Lujiang. The possibility of the pursuers attacking from afar was not high.
After passing through the valley in front, they would reach Lujiang River after another 30 miles. Zhou Tai planned to take a good walk after he went back. He had been tense all day after fighting with Zhuge Liang.
The vanguard had already turned around the valley, and Lujiang City was already in sight. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the mountains collapsed and the earth cracked. A few large boulders rolled down from the two sides of the hill, cutting the team in half. Zhou Tai looked around and saw that the hills on both sides were densely packed with Pingnan soldiers.
They were ambushed, and the rear troops were finished. Zhou Tai knew that the soldiers in the valley wouldn't be able to survive this ambush. There were still more than ten thousand soldiers with him. If more troops blocked the front, his army would be finished.
What he feared came true. Suddenly, a military flag fluttered on the road in front of them. An army seemed to have emerged from the ground and blocked their path. He saw a young general with a graceful bearing. He was dressed in black armor. On his left was a female general in red, and on his right was a valiant tiger general. It was the Golden Whirlwind and Golden Soaring Dragon. On the left was Madam Zhurong, and on the right was the fierce general, Dian Wei.
Zhou Tai saw that the other party had about 30,000 elite soldiers. Today's defeat was a foregone conclusion. He hoped that Li Yengeng, the garrison of Lujiang, would lead his troops to meet him. Perhaps he could escape with his life. Looking back at the surrounding soldiers, their eyes were filled with fear.
Zhou Tai was proficient in military formations. Seeing the current situation, he knew that he had fallen into the trap carefully arranged by the other party.
Zhou Tai rode his horse forward and asked,""May I know the name of this general?”
"I am King Jin Xuan of Pingnan," the young general replied. I have long heard of the great name of General Zhou. I want to take Jiangdong as my foundation, clean up the side of the monarch, and support the Han Dynasty. Please help me, General Zhou. General Li Yi has been captured alive by General Zhao Zilong. I have arranged for personal guards to protect General Zhou's family. Your rear troops are trapped in the valley by Guo Fengxiao's army. I know that the general's army is very elite. I have brought 1,000 strong crossbows to deal with you. Do you want to see its power?”
Jin Xuan waved his hand, and the shield soldiers of the front army moved aside, revealing a row of strong crossbowmen. The strong crossbowmen aimed at a big tree 400 meters away. They fired their strong crossbows continuously, and five strong crossbows pierced through the tree trunk in succession, falling another ten meters forward.
Zhou Tai broke out in a cold sweat, and the soldiers sucked in a breath of cold air. Heavens, the power of this crossbow was unheard of.
"This king knows that general is a loyal person. Now that the old thief Dong Zhuo is in power, controlling the government and messing up the palace, the court does not tolerate loyal people. Now I want to lead troops to attack the thief, please agree to help.”
Zhou Tai thought about it again and again, but there was no way out, so he dismounted and surrendered.
"My lord, the soldiers of Lujiang have been with Tai for a long time. Don't kill the soldiers at the back of the mountain. Tai will go and persuade them to surrender.”Zhou Tai pleaded.
Jin Xuan agreed." That's exactly what I want. I've ordered Feng Xiao and the others to only surround and not kill. General, you can go with your bodyguards." Dian Wei, take General Zhou with you."
After this great victory, Jin Xuan captured Luling and captured two generals Zhou Tai and Li Yi and 40,000 elite soldiers.
——
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]