Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 479 Playing the long game to catch the big fish
That night, the autumn wind was bleak, and the campfire flickered.

Inside the tent, Zu Lang, along with the captain and military commander, gathered in a group, and in the center was a map showing the deployment of the Tang army's southern camp.

"Zhang Yu has led his troops north to Yongqiu. His Majesty has decided to send troops to attack the Tang camp and has appointed me as an inside agent to raise an army. What do you think, my sons?"

Zulang's dark face, illuminated by the orange firelight, exuded a murderous aura as he scrutinized his trusted confidants and asked.

“General, the Tang Emperor has treated us well, bestowing upon us official positions and rewards. Yet now that we have surrendered and then rebelled, I fear this would be contrary to the greater good,” Zu Mao said.

Zu Lang snorted coldly and said with dissatisfaction, "Has His Majesty treated you poorly? Do you think a little bit of gold and silver has made you forget His Majesty's kindness? Besides, our families are all in Wancheng. His Majesty knows that we had no choice but to surrender to the enemy, so he specifically ordered that our families not be implicated."

"Furthermore, His Majesty has decreed that if you or I can help him defeat Zhang Yu, the one who makes the contribution will be rewarded double."

Upon hearing this, Zu Mao chuckled and said, "Since His Majesty has treated us with such great kindness, how can we betray him for such a small gain? I am willing to follow the general."

"We are all willing to follow the general," the men around him echoed in succession.

"good!"

Having reached an agreement, Zu Lang said, "At dawn, General Huang Zhong will lead elite cavalry in a surprise attack on the southern camp. Our army will first seize the camp gate, and then light a fire as a signal. Upon seeing our signal, Huang Zhong will enter the camp to fight. And when Huang Zhong leads his cavalry into the camp..."

Before Zulang could finish speaking, he suddenly heard the clattering of armor plates outside the tent, followed by the terrified cries of his trusted guards.

"General~"

After a series of whooshing arrows, cries of agony rose from the relatives.

"not good!"

Seeing the commotion outside the tent, Zu Lang placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, scanned the people inside, and questioned, "Who is the general who informed the Tang people of the situation?"

Faced with Zulang's questioning, the people in the tent looked at each other, their faces full of innocence.

“Zu Lang, since you surrendered, the Tang King has treated you well, but now you have surrendered and then rebelled again. What is the reason for this?”

A strong voice rang out from outside the tent, saying, "The military tent is now surrounded by armored soldiers. You are doomed. If you can come out of the tent and surrender, your life may be spared."

“I have been indebted to the Great Chen for a long time, how could I change my loyalty for a mere sum of money and silk?”

As he spoke, Zulang, unafraid of the armored soldiers, led his trusted men, sword in hand, and charged out of the tent to confront the Tang soldiers outside.

Outside the tent, Zhang Liao, clad in armor and with his hand on his sword, hid behind a shield formation. Seeing Zu Lang leading his officers and soldiers out, he said in a deep voice, "Apart from Zu Lang, if the rest of the officers and soldiers abandon their weapons and surrender, the King will forgive their past transgressions and allow them to remain in their original positions."

“This is a scheme to sow discord. If you surrender, the Tang people will surely settle scores with you,” Zu Lang emphasized.

Zhang Liao said in a deep voice, "I guarantee with the canal water that those who surrender will be pardoned. Even if you, Zu Lang, surrender, I will spare your life."

Gazing at the gleaming spearhead, the slightly chubby-faced military officer said, "General, surrender!"

Subsequently, he voluntarily broke away from the ranks and surrendered to the Tang soldiers.

"Down!"

Seeing that someone was leading the way, Zu Mao and another person surrendered, while only Zu Lang and the other two were still hesitating.

“Kill him!”

Seeing that Zu Lang had no intention of surrendering, Zhang Liao decisively gave the order.

"Whoosh!"

Arrows pierced the air, and Zu Lang was struck by several arrows, along with all those around him, who died.

"General!"

After Zu Lang died, Zu Mao ran up to Zhang Liao and said, "I know about Zu Lang's plans."

"Say!"

"According to Zu Lang, Yuan Shu sent his fierce general Huang Zhong to attack the southern camp at dawn, and he will first seize the gate and light a fire as a signal," Zu Mao said.

"it is good!"

Zhang Liao nodded in satisfaction and said, "You will temporarily assume the position of Zu Lang. Now, quickly pacify your subordinates."

"promise!"

Zhang Yu remained suspicious of Zu Lang's surrender from the beginning, so he sent people to bribe Zu Lang's subordinates and confidants with a large sum of money. Zu Mao, who was greedy for money, informed Zhang Yu of the information when Zu Lang contacted Yuan Shu.

Upon learning that Zu Lang was secretly contacting Yuan Shu, Zhang Yu, in order to lure him into a bigger trap, promised Zu Mao the position of Zu Lang's successor and subsequently had Zu Mao infiltrate Zu Lang's inner circle. Now that Zhang Liao has led troops to arrest him, it was Zu Mao who relayed the message.

The news that Zhang Yu was heading north to Yongqiu and contacting Cao Cao to attack Yuan Shu was intentionally leaked by Zhang Yu. He then used Zu Lang to tell Yuan Shu the news, in order to lure Yuan Shu into launching an attack while Zhang Yu's troops were away. Therefore, from beginning to end, it was Zhang Yu who was setting a trap.

After Zhang Liao understood the details, he left his generals to appease the troops and then rushed back to his main tent.

Inside the main tent, Xun You, Jia Xu, Guo Tu, Zhao Yun, and other civil and military officials were gathered, some with their eyes closed in rest, others pacing back and forth in anticipation.

"The Right General has arrived!"

At the servant's shout, all the civil and military officials in the tent looked towards the tent entrance, only to see Zhang Liao stride straight into the tent, his face full of murderous intent.

“Right General, what do you think?” Xun You stepped forward and asked.

Zhang Liao said, "Yuan Shu and Zu Lang agreed that at dawn Huang Zhong would lead three thousand elite cavalry to launch a surprise attack on the southern camp. Later at daybreak, he would lead his main army to approach our army, intending to break through our camp and defeat our army in one fell swoop."

Xun You frowned slightly and said, "Our army might as well turn the tables on Huang Zhong by setting fire to lure him into advancing, while we ambush him in our camp. We can then launch a surprise attack and defeat Huang Zhong decisively. Once Huang Zhong is defeated and flees, Yuan Shu's troops will likely arrive at our camp. At that time, our army can form ranks and force Yuan Shu to engage in battle with us, preventing him from retreating."

"We must inform the King immediately!"

Guo Tu said, "Our army is small while Yuan Shu's army is large. If we want to defeat Yuan Shu, Your Majesty needs to lead your troops back to reinforce us. At that time, our army will hold off Chen's army, and Your Majesty can then attack the enemy's formation from the side."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Zhang Liao nodded and said, "Huang Zhong is one of the few valiant generals in the Chen army. If we want to defeat this enemy, we must have Zilong lead the cavalry to deal with him."

After the campaign against Yuan Shao, Zhao Yun was appointed by Zhang Yu as the commander of the Shenfu Army. The Protectorate Army followed Zhang Yu north, while the Shenfu Army was left in the camp.

Upon seeing Zhang Liao appointing his generals, Zhao Yun stood up and said, "I am willing to accept the order!"

"Excellent!" Upon learning of Yuan Shu's plan to launch a surprise attack on the Tang camp, the Tang generals discussed countermeasures overnight...

Under the same dark night, Huang Zhong led three thousand cavalrymen of Chen Army, their mouths gagged and their horses' hooves wrapped in mud, as they first crossed the icy canal water in the shallows.

Under the silent night sky, the dull thud of horses' hooves and the clatter of armor echoed as the army marched along the pre-surveyed road.

"How far are we from the Tang camp?" Huang Zhong asked, gazing towards the direction of the Tang army's camp.

"About ten li away, the scouts could already see the Tang camp's campfires," reported the others.

"Dismount and extinguish the fire!"

Huang Zhong instructed, "Send scouts to the south camp and keep watch at the camp gate."

"promise!"

Led by Huang Zhong, the Chen army marched seven or eight li quickly, coming within two or three li of the Tang camp, where they could see the camp gate. Fearing detection by the Tang camp, three thousand soldiers lay in ambush in the darkness, waiting for the light of fire to appear.

After a while, the night grew even darker. Huang Zhong knew that this was the darkness before dawn, and that the sky would turn dark blue and then gradually brighten.

Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers, a figure suddenly appeared at the camp gate, raising a torch and waving it three times.

"coming!"

Huang Zhong was greatly encouraged by the appearance of the signal and said, "Huo Lei, after you lead the cavalry into the camp, set fire to the camps along the way and kill enemy soldiers. Make sure to cause chaos in the Tang camp!"

"Yes, sir!" the burly cavalry general replied.

"Fang Xing, lead the cavalry of this school into the camp, then head straight ahead to see if you can disturb the enemy's central army. If you encounter a large enemy force, retreat from the camp as soon as possible."

"promise!"

After arranging the night raid, Huang Zhong said in a deep voice to those around him, "Sound the horn and attack!"

"Woo~"

The attendants sounded a muffled horn, and the Chen soldiers mounted their horses. Led by someone unknown, they galloped off towards the southern camp.

The dull thud of hooves was quite loud in the darkness. Huang Zhong's eyes were sharp. He was deeply favored by Yuan Shu, and today was the day for him to make a name for himself.

"Shut up!"

Seeing that the cavalrymen in front suddenly stopped, Huang Zhong asked, "What's going on?"

"General, Zu Lang and the others have not removed the barricades," the cavalryman reported.

Huang Zhong glanced at the situation and instantly felt a chill run down his spine. The camp gate was completely silent, with no sign of Zu Lang or his troops. Only barricades stood in a line blocking the entrance. With Huang Zhong's experience, he knew that Zu Lang was in trouble.

During the brief moment of halting their charge, the riders were forced to huddle together due to the presence of barricades ahead, losing their cavalry's momentum.

"withdraw!"

Huang Zhong sensed something was wrong with his keen sense of smell and shouted to his left and right, "It's a trap! Retreat immediately!"

As soon as the sound subsided, a burst of intense drumming rang out, and infantrymen armed with bows and crossbows suddenly emerged from the dark camp gate, their leader laughing heartily.

"Huang Zhong, Zu Lang has been killed by me. Now, why don't you dismount and surrender immediately?"

Zhang He ordered his men to lift Zu Lang's head, laughing loudly with a tone full of contempt.

"withdraw!"

Huang Zhong was anxious and hastily ordered his cavalry to retreat. However, because the Chen cavalry was in such a hurry to retreat, their troops were blocked from both sides, making it difficult for them to escape.

"shoot!"

After making some sarcastic remarks, Zhang He led his archers forward and unleashed a barrage of arrows.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

Arrows rained down, and the cavalrymen parried repeatedly, but the dense barrage of arrows was overwhelming. Cries of agony filled the air as horses neighed from being struck by arrows, and men collapsed from serious injuries.

After being blocked for a long time, the cavalry at the front endured several volleys of fire before finally escaping after the cavalry behind them withdrew.

When Huang Zhong fled in a disheveled state, his armor was riddled with arrows, making him look like a hedgehog. He had barely caught his breath and was about to lead his cavalry in retreat when a cavalry force suddenly appeared out of the dark night. The number of enemy cavalry was unknown, and Huang Zhong felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed the Tang army had planned this all along.

"Zhao Zilong of Changshan is here!"

A general reined in his horse before the cavalry, turned it around, pointed his spear forward, and solemnly said, "Zu Lang has been killed. If you surrender now, you may still be spared."

"kill!"

A thousand cavalrymen charged straight at Chen's cavalry, cutting them in half!

The Chen cavalry lost their mobility and momentum. Seeing the Tang cavalry poised to charge, everyone was terrified and spurred their horses to flee in order to avoid the Tang cavalry's charge.

"puff!"

In a fierce exchange, many of Chen's cavalrymen were knocked off their horses by Tang's cavalry and cut into several pieces.

Seeing this, Huang Zhong was filled with shame and anger. He roared, grabbed his spear to block the Tang cavalry's thrusting spear, and then turned to kill them. However, the Tang cavalry's fighting skills were beyond Huang Zhong's expectations, and they actually blocked Huang Zhong's killing move.

"Den!"

After another exchange, Huang Zhong, relying on his speed, broke through the Tang cavalry's defenses with his long spear, piercing through the armor plates on his body, and finally killed the Tang cavalryman.

"kill!"

Another group of Tang cavalry charged out from the other side, cutting the Chen cavalry in half.

As the darkness gradually brightened, thousands of cavalrymen clashed and fought, some archery in formation, others engaging in hand-to-hand combat with spears, both sides displaying their elite strength. Among them, the Tang cavalry, relying on their bravery and the advantage of an ambush, decisively defeated three thousand Chen cavalry.

(End of this chapter)