Catching Monsters

Chapter 637 Surrender
On both sides of the Sanmen Pass are towering natural barriers and countless defensive works, while in the center of the pass are five city walls.

The attack is extremely difficult.

But now, all the officers above the rank of 100 at the entire Sanmen Pass have disappeared and gone to Li Dongwang's place in the rear for a meeting.

Of course, normally, during critical moments like troop rotations, officers of the rank of centurion or above on the front lines would never be allowed to leave easily.

But it's just that Li Dongwang has problems.

At the same time, Xu Xiaogang personally led the Zhenchi Army and launched a swift and fierce attack.

Xu Xiaogang also understood that the opportunity was not to be missed.

Soon, a suicide squad composed of thousands of fearless soldiers from the Zhenchi Army swiftly carried ladders and attacked the city wall at the end of the pass.

On the city wall, many rebel soldiers who had just been relieved of their posts put up a quick resistance, but the effect was not very good.

The entire pass was filled with deafening shouts of battle, interspersed with the agonizing cries of severely wounded soldiers.

Inside the temporary camp set up outside the pass, Xu Xiaogang and a group of Zhenchi Army generals sat, while good news kept coming from the pass ahead.

In just half an hour, three of the five city walls had been breached.

"General, good news! The enemy is currently in chaos and unable to mount any effective resistance."

"I'm afraid it won't be long before we can take the Sanmen Pass in one fell swoop," the adjutant beside him said with a look of joy.

The pass that had troubled them for so long could finally be breached today.

Xu Xiaogang remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on the map, while Ye Xiuyuan sat beside him, sipping tea and quietly observing everything.

"Mr. Ye, in your opinion, after we break through the Three Gates Pass, what should we do next?" Xu Xiaogang asked, pointing to the top of the map.

The adjutant beside him suggested, "If we can successfully capture the Sanmen Pass, we can reach Chongshan County within three days by marching along the road behind us."

"Why don't we press on and march straight to Chongshan County to kill Wang Longzhi?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaogang shook his head, disagreeing with the plan, and said, "We can't rush it."

As he spoke, he drew a circle on the map with his finger: "We must capture all five passes before advancing on Chongshan County."

"If the army ventures deep into enemy territory alone, and its supply lines are cut off from the rear, the entire army will be as if it has been put into a pocket."

Ye Xiuyuan's eyes lit up slightly, and he slowly said, "General Xu, have you ever thought that we were able to capture the Sanmen Pass today because Li Dongwang surrendered to us?"

"The other four passes, even if there are three passes, can be attacked from both the front and the rear."

"However, the distance between the five passes is not short, and it will take at least three months to conquer them one by one."

Xu Xiaogang calmly said, "In matters of war, we cannot rush things; we must proceed steadily."

"Hurry is not enough."

When the Zhenchi army reached the last city wall at Sanmen Pass, many centurions and commanders rushed over upon hearing the news.

They quickly organized a resistance, even though there were only 10,000 to 20,000 people at the Sanmen Pass, and only the last city wall remained.

Soon, the Zhenchi army began to shoot arrows, pour boiling oil, and drop rocks from the cliffs on both sides.

The Zhenchi army suffered heavy casualties in a short period of time.

This also revealed the difficulty of the Three Gates Pass. The last city wall held off the numerous soldiers of the Zhenchi Army for nearly five hours.

At dawn, the last city wall was finally captured by the Zhenchi army.

Soon, the rebels defending the Sanmen Pass realized that the situation was hopeless. Taking advantage of the chaos of the night, many soldiers even secretly fled.

Messengers kept arriving at Li Dongwang's military tent.

Upon hearing that the Zhenchi Army had finally breached the front lines, Li Dongwang felt a slight sense of relief.

Upon hearing that the Zhenchi army had breached the last city wall, many generals in the camp changed their expressions drastically and hurriedly said, "General, order a retreat."

Many generals had followed Li Dongwang for many years, and Li Dongwang was indeed a man of great loyalty and righteousness. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "You should withdraw to Chongshan County."

"The Sanmen Pass was personally entrusted to me by General Wang Longzhi to guard. Now that the Sanmen Pass has been breached, how can I have the face to go back and see the general?"

After Li Dongwang finished speaking, he drew his sword and slowly said, "Even if I am all alone, I will guard until the very last moment."

Li Dongwang's original intention was for this group of people to leave quickly so that he could surrender to the other side.

To his surprise, these subordinates turned out to be top-notch generals.

They heard that Li Dongwang intended to die alongside Sanmen Pass.

They all stopped moving.

"General Li! I have followed you for many years, and if you don't leave, I won't leave either!"

"Yes, although a defeated general cannot boast of his bravery, now that I have failed General Wang's expectations, I am unwilling to live on and am willing to stay with General Li!"

Several of the deputy generals and commanders present expressed their unwillingness to return to Chongshan County.

Upon hearing this, a hint of guilt flashed in Li Dongwang's eyes, his expression complex, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Having served in the military for many years, the principle of never living in dishonor after defeat was once part of his life motto.

In his view, the highest honor for a general is not to die of illness in bed when he is old.

To die on the battlefield is the best end.

Can……

Li Dongwang sighed softly. His men, not understanding why, thought he was lamenting the unfavorable situation at the front.

Seeing that they were unwilling to leave, Li Dongwang did not try to persuade them further, but he still ordered the soldiers in the camp to leave.

Since they had all become enemy soldiers in this battle, the outcome was predetermined from the start, and there was no need to cause further deaths among their men. After the Zhenchi Army captured the five city walls, they initially encountered fierce resistance from the rebels, but later, with the arrival of Li Dongwang's military orders...

Upon hearing the order to retreat, all the soldiers turned and ran.

Soon, the military camp where Li Dongwang was located was almost empty.

Only he, his adjutant inside the house, and five commanders remained.

The entire house was quickly surrounded by Zhenchi Army soldiers.

"Hahahaha!"

Hearing that the outside was already surrounded, Li Dongwang's adjutant slowly stood up, took a deep breath and said, "In ancient times, the Changlin army was defeated and committed suicide, which was praised as a good story. We are not cowards who fear death."

“From the very beginning of the uprising, my family was wiped out by the imperial court. Today, I can finally go and see them.”

After the adjutant finished speaking, he drew his sword, took a deep breath, and said to Li Dongwang, "General Li, I will take my leave first! I will be waiting for you on the road to the Yellow Springs."

"Wait!" Upon seeing this, Li Dong's expression changed, and he hurriedly tried to stop him.

But the adjutant did not hesitate and immediately drew his sword and committed suicide.

The Changlin he mentioned was a famous general from seven hundred years ago. At his peak, he was a Grand General. He was defeated in battle and committed suicide, thus earning a thousand years of renown.

Seeing his adjutant instantly collapse into a pool of blood, Li Dongwang's lips twitched, and he couldn't help but think to himself, "He didn't have to die..."

If everyone surrenders to me, we will all have a bright future.

He turned to look at the other five commanders. These five were clearly also prepared to die. Although they all held swords in their hands, when it came to actually committing suicide, they could not do it as decisively as the adjutant.

Each of them, however, showed a hint of hesitation on their faces.

Li Dongwang pushed open the door and looked at the layers of Zhenchi soldiers surrounding him: "My name is Li Dongwang, and I want to see your commander, Xu Xiaogang!"

After gaining complete control of the Sanmen Pass, Xu Xiaogang rode his horse and, accompanied by a group of guards, quickly arrived at the camp.

The five commanders following behind Li Dongwang were filled with excitement.

According to their speculation, it seems that General Li Dongwang intends to launch a surprise attack on the enemy general.
If he could successfully assassinate Xu Xiaogang, even if the army was defeated, General Li would probably become famous far and wide.

But when Xu Xiaogang actually arrived, the five commanders were dumbfounded, feeling like clowns.

Xu Xiaogang, dressed in armor, approached Li Dongwang with a smile, quickly dismounted, and clasped his hands in greeting: "Thank you for your trouble, General Li!"

Li Dongwang nodded slightly, then turned to look at the five commanders behind him and said, "These five are all first-rate heroes, please treat them well."

The five commanders were quickly pinned to the ground, struggling incessantly: "General Li, what have you done? Have you betrayed the enemy?"

"General Li, we are loyal to you. Even if you betrayed us, why didn't you tell us sooner!"

These five households were filled with mixed emotions.

How come you've become a surrendered general, while the five of us have become prisoners?

Li Dongwang's gaze towards the five people also carried a hint of apology.

After the five men were taken away, Li Dongwang grasped Xu Xiaogang's hand and said in a deep voice, "General Xu, please! Let me give you a proper introduction to the situation in Chongshan County. This will definitely be helpful for your subsequent attack on Chongshan County."

"Yes." Xu Xiaogang nodded and, accompanied by several guards, followed Li Dongwang into his room.

……

Within Chongshan County, many people were in a state of panic as news of the breach of the Three Gates Pass had already spread throughout the county.

If the Zhenchi Army marches westward, they will probably be able to surround Chongshan County in less than three days.

Inside the general's mansion, Wang Longzhi, dressed in white armor, sat in the main hall, where he had summoned many military commanders for a meeting.

Xiao Min'er sat beside him with a bright smile on her face. The situation at the Three Gates Pass was within her expectations and control.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure you've all heard the news from the front lines," Wang Longzhi said coldly, his face expressionless. "The Sanmen Pass has fallen."

The many generals present remained silent for a moment.

The discussion immediately erupted.

"How could the natural barrier of Sanmen Pass be so easily breached? How did that bastard Li Dongwang fight such a battle?"

"General Wang, you should have entrusted the defense of Sanmen Pass to me back then. It would have been absolutely impregnable. How could we have let the enemy take it in just one day?"

"Alright, everyone, stop with the nonsense and get down to business. Should we withdraw our main camp from Chongshan County and continue our westward retreat?"

"Retreat west? Where to? Go into the mountains and become a savage?"

"Then what do you suggest? In three days, the Zhenchi Army will be able to advance westward all the way to our Chongshan County."

"Although there are 200,000 troops near Chongshan County, these 200,000 troops have not yet been fully trained."

"Even if they succeed, Xu Xiaogang still commands a total of 600,000 troops!"

"That's 600,000 people, how are we supposed to fight them? Tell me."

Hearing his subordinates arguing, Wang Longzhi coughed, and everyone present quieted down, waiting for Wang Longzhi to speak.

Wang Longzhi slowly said, "Indeed, without natural defenses, we would be powerless to resist such a large army once it completely enters the three southwestern provinces."

“But we are not without the strength to fight.” Wang Longzhi glanced at the many generals present and reminded them, “Gentlemen, I have called you here today to assign you a task.”

"General, please speak."

Wang Longzhi spoke up, calling out the names of four generals: "The four of you come with me."

This plan must not be known to too many people, otherwise it will definitely leak out.

(End of this chapter)