My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 477 Pursuit of victory
Huang Zhong wielded his sword like the wind, and with several quick and lightning-fast attacks, he finally killed Shen Dan.

Unfortunately, in the dark melee, Huang Zhong did not recognize the opponent's identity at the first time. He only knew that he should kill a very respectable general on the opposite side.

Therefore, after Huang Zhong succeeded, he still did not dare to relax, and continued to lead the cavalry to break through Shen Dan's army formation. He charged and killed for a while, and only after he completely broke through the enemy formation could he take a short break.

It was only after the battle slowed down that he learned from the surrendered soldiers that he had killed Shen Dan. Huang Zhong slapped his thigh and led his troops back to fight, and ordered his cavalry to shout in unison:
"Shen Dan is dead, those who surrender will not be killed!"

It’s a long story, but in fact it only took up a cup of tea and was not a big deal.

The soldiers of Shangyong were disturbed by the bad news. Although it was not yet daybreak and they could not confirm whether their commander was really dead, their morale still plummeted uncontrollably.

Only a few die-hard officers thought that Huang Zhong was cheating to undermine their morale and still resisted for a while, but it was too late to turn the tide.

Moreover, Huang Zhong's cavalrymen stationed outside the east and west gates of Shangyong City had already rushed to the battlefield after hearing the fighting outside the south gate. The Shangyong soldiers had no chance of turning the tables. The troops that went out of the city for a night attack were quickly cut off and surrounded by Huang Zhong's cavalry and surrendered one after another.

By dawn, the battle was over, and the Shangyong army that had attacked the city at night was almost completely wiped out. Only a few defeated soldiers fled back and crowded at the city gate, trying to enter the city.

It happened that Shen Dan himself had led his troops out of the city, and the officers guarding the city did not know that Shen Dan was dead, so they dared not close the door for fear of blocking their lord outside.

Then those fleeing soldiers were chased towards the city gate by Huang Zhong's cavalry who took advantage of the victory, and finally Huang Zhong took advantage of the chaos to break into the city.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the gatekeeper gave up resistance completely and was forced to surrender.

That morning, the sporadic fighting in the city came to an end. Huang Zhong captured the city, which was said to have more than 8,000 soldiers (including local militia) stationed there, with only 1,500 well-equipped cavalrymen.

In a siege battle, he actually won a victory with a smaller force and broke through a city defended by an enemy force five times his size. Although he took advantage of the enemy's ignorance of military tactics and rashly seeking a fight, this military achievement was enough for him to brag about for several years.

Huang Zhong had already pacified the people in the city, but fearing another incident, he left nearly a thousand cavalrymen to guard Shangyong City, to control key points and maintain order. The wounded from last night's battle were also left in the city to recuperate.

After a short rest, he took several hundred of the best-conditioned cavalrymen and returned down the Du River to meet up with Liu Qi and Su Fei.

It was easier to march downstream in the mountainous area than to march upstream. In particular, civilian boats could be requisitioned from Shangyong City and sailed directly downstream. There was no need to row the boats, only a few sailors holding the oars to prevent the boats from hitting the shore or reefs, which made the march very labor-saving.

Relying on the fast water flow in the mountainous area and the fast speed of the boat, Huang Zhong returned to Yang County, located at the mouth of the Dushui and Hanshui rivers, just one day later.

Liu Qi and Su Fei, with their main force and grain fleet, had just arrived in Yang County for half a day. Huo Jun was waiting here with the vanguard infantry to receive Liu Qi.

When Liu Qi heard that Huang Zhong had taken his cavalry to Shangyong County to explore the way and wanted to force Shen Dan to surrender with courtesy first and then force, he became a little anxious and complained to Su Fei:
"Alas, I also know that General Huang is brave, but he has been idle for many years and has never had the opportunity to kill the enemy and make merit. Now that he has found an opportunity to fight, he underestimates the enemy and advances rashly. This is not a good thing. We should chase him as soon as possible."

Su Fei also knew that what the eldest master said was true, but he still advised from a purely military perspective:
"It's getting late today. The army has just arrived at Yang County. If we continue to march, we will have to set up camp within 20 miles. It is better to spend the night in Yang County to recuperate. We can cook at 4am tomorrow and leave the camp at 5am. We can try to cover more distance. In this way, we only need to set up camp and rest for one night and we can reach Shangyong City."

Liu Qi was originally a lazy young man who knew nothing about the details of marching and fighting. After Su Fei said so, he accepted the advice and did not mind spending half a day on it.

Unexpectedly, just after Liu Qi and Su Fei settled down in Yang County, Huang Zhong arrived that night, exhausted.

Huo Jun was in charge of guarding the city. At first, he did not dare to open the city gate at night. Even though he heard Huang Zhong's shouting voice that was similar to his, he was not sure.

Just in accordance with official business, he ordered the hanging basket to be lowered to lift Huang Zhong onto the city wall first, and then some wine and food were dropped from the top of the city wall, so that the hundreds of cavalrymen could eat and drink outside the city and wait for a while.

Huo Jun also apologized to Huang Zhong, saying, "General Huang, please do not blame me. Military law is strict and there is no mercy. In the dead of night, whether to open the city gate can only be decided by the eldest son. General Huang, please take the trouble to follow me to meet the eldest son first. Then the soldiers will be allowed to enter the city."

As Huo Jun spoke, he led Huang Zhong down the city wall, had someone bring two horses, and headed straight for the county government office in the city.

Liu Qi was a man who had never suffered hardship. He was sleeping soundly at night and was inevitably annoyed when being disturbed. It took him a long time to get up and put on his clothes and meet Huang Zhong.

When Liu Qi saw Huang Zhong, he was still somewhat doubtful: "General Huang led only a thousand men deep into the enemy's territory. Could it be that he encountered a strong enemy or suffered a setback? Alas, advancing deep into the enemy's territory alone is a taboo in military strategy..."

Huang Zhong didn't waste words, nor did he play the trick of "first suppress and then praise", and directly bowed to Liu Qi: "Don't worry, my lord, I didn't return in frustration - I have already captured Shangyong City, killed Shen Dan, and returned victorious."

"What? You... just led 1,500 cavalrymen, galloped over a hundred miles, and captured Shangyong in two days?" Liu Qi jumped up from the couch so suddenly that the robe that was casually draped over his shoulders fell to the ground.

He stepped forward and held Huang Zhong's shoulders, looking him up and down in disbelief, and patted his palms a few times, as if he was feeling the pain on his palms, so as to regain some sense of reality and confirm that he was not dreaming.

"General Huang, you are joking, right? No matter how weak Shen Dan is, he still has thousands of soldiers defending the city. How can you attack the city with only cavalry?" "How dare I joke about military matters! If the eldest master doesn't believe me..." Huang Zhong said, waving his hand backwards. Huo Jun went out of the house, took a wooden box from the follower, and brought it to Liu Qi.

"Here is the head of Shen Dan. You can check it yourself. I was lucky enough to win because Shen Dan took advantage of my small number of troops. I also said that you and Commander Su would lead a large force to the city soon.

Shen Dan was afraid and wanted to defeat our army one by one, so he took the initiative to open the city to ask for battle, hoping to annihilate me first, but I took the opportunity to counterattack and defeat the enemy. "

Huang Zhong briefly summarized the key points of the capture of Shangyong City. Liu Qi timidly and cautiously opened the wooden box, took a quick look at the head, and then he was completely convinced. He quickly took a step back, covered his nose, and waved his sleeves to signal Huo Jun to cover it quickly.

Huang Zhong and Huo Jun looked at Liu Qi's reaction and felt a little regretful: the eldest son had indeed never experienced war and had never seen the bloody and cruel reality. Fortunately, the eldest son also knew his own limitations. This time, he listened to the people below him and accepted their advice, so that no trouble was caused.

Huang Zhong specially had someone clean the blood from Shen Dan's head, and then soaked it in lime to dry it before sending it to him. In theory, the bloody smell should have been removed.

Liu Qi would feel sick and uncomfortable seeing such a human head. After all, he was a rich young man born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Liu Qi took a long time to calm down, then he forced a smile and praised Huang Zhong:

"General Huang is truly a brave general. With only a thousand cavalrymen, he was able to defeat an enemy force five times his size. Even the most famous generals in the past were no better than him.

Alas, it is because our Jingzhou army has been guarding the local area for many years and has not dared to plan far-reaching plans, which has delayed the old general's achievement."

Huang Zhong bowed his head and saluted: "How dare I take credit for this? Your Excellency and the Prince are kind and virtuous, and they care about the people and stop fighting. This is a blessing for the people of Jingzhou. Today's battle is also a fluke. The Shangyong Shen family has not been in battle for a long time and does not know military tactics. If it were an experienced enemy general, how could we succeed so easily?"

Liu Qi waved his hand and said, "General Huang, don't be so modest. By the way, the soldiers are still outside the city and have not entered yet? Zhong Miao, quickly pass on my order to open the city gates first, let the soldiers in and reward them well. I will talk to General Huang."

Huo Jun, who was standing by, received the order and immediately went to carry it out. He rode back to the tower, opened the gate and let the hundreds of cavalrymen enter the city, and arranged for them to have food and drink and rest.

Liu Qi kept asking Huang Zhong questions and trying to comfort him, while at the same time he asked his secretary to write a letter to report the victory to his father Liu Biao.

……

With the death of Shen Dan, the situation in Shangyong suddenly became clear. Huang Zhong only took a short break, and two days later, he once again advanced upstream along the Han River with Su Fei, Huo Jun and others.

As the marching route went deeper and deeper into the Qinling Mountains, the drop in the main stream of the Han River became steeper and steeper. It was no longer possible for ships to sail upstream, and towing by boats was no longer possible, so the troops had to completely switch to marching by land.

A few days later, Liu Qi led his army and approached Xicheng County, one of the last major strongholds in Shangyong area, which was guarded by Shen Dan's brother Shen Yi.

This time, Shen Yi was very cautious. He had obviously heard the news of his elder brother's death and did not dare to go out of the city to fight in the field. When he heard that the enemy army was approaching, he just defended the city and sent people to ask Xiahou Yuan for help.

Therefore, it was impossible for Huang Zhong to expect to recreate the scene of capturing the city where the enemy underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and then was counterattacked and killed.

You can only play the pig and eat the tiger once.

After killing Shen Dan and establishing his prestige, who would dare to underestimate him? Who would dare to think that Huang Zhong was just an old and decrepit man? As long as the enemy took him seriously and feared him, there would be no chance to take advantage of him.

In addition to the hatred for killing Shen Dan and establishing his prestige, Shen Yi certainly would not dare to surrender.

However, Huang Zhong and Su Fei did not expect to defeat the enemy by underestimating them. They had an army of 30,000 and were advancing so fast. It was estimated that Xiahou Yuan had just received the request for help from Shen Dan before his death, so it was impossible for him to arrive so quickly.

Shen Yi's military force is weaker than Shen Dan's. Facing the strong attack of 30,000 troops, he won't be able to hold out for long in a head-on clash of swords and guns.

After Huang Zhong and Su Fei's calls for an forced landing failed, they discussed briefly and decided on a siege plan: surround the enemy on three sides and leave one side open, mainly using deterrence and expulsion.

Encircle the east, south and north sides of Xicheng County, and open up the retreat route to the upper reaches of the Han River in the west. In this way, as long as the offensive is fierce enough, Shen Yi will abandon the city and flee to Hanzhong to seek refuge with Xiahou Yuan in order to save his life.

Liu Biao's army did not care whether they could kill Shen Yi and his family. As long as they captured Xicheng County and controlled the dangerous mountainous area in the middle reaches of the Han River, they could prevent Xiahou Yuan from going down the river to the east and threatening Jingzhou.

If Shen Yi wants to run away, he can just run away. Once he leaves Shangyong, these people will be like water without a source and trees without roots. They will pose no threat.

(End of this chapter)