Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 431 Defeat

Wancheng.

With the arrival of reinforcements from Wang Zhongde and Zhu Lingshi, Liu Yi is now in a desperate situation, surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Wuchang was captured, and the supply lines were cut off.

The army's food supplies were exhausted, and the livestock had also run out. Fortunately, it was springtime, and the land in Nanyang was fertile, so they could barely fill their stomachs with tree bark, wild vegetables, and corpses.

But these things obviously can't feed more than 30,000 people.

As the two armies faced each other, Liu Yi leaped onto his horse and shouted towards the Tiger Guard's banner: "Tan Pingzhi, we are of the same origin, why are you so eager to destroy me!"

There was silence on the other side.

Zhuge Changmin stepped forward and shouted, "If you destroy us today, you will be next! Liu Daogui is a wolf in sheep's clothing. We cannot even tolerate those of the same surname. How can we tolerate you? You might as well abandon the darkness and join us in conquering Jingzhou and Shu, and restoring the Jin Dynasty!"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted from the Jin army's formation: "I advise you to surrender now. The world's fate is sealed, and the people's hearts are with Liu Bei. Even if you conquer Ba and Shu, you will only be trapping yourselves."

These words further dampened Liu Yijun's morale.

The Bashu region was no longer the land of plenty it was during the Han Dynasty. It was now overrun by barbarians and in a state of utter decline. It would have been difficult to support these tens of thousands of people without a decade or two of development.

A group of soldiers from the Jin army stepped forward. "Listen up, everyone! The General said that we are all comrades-in-arms of the Northern Army and men of China. We cannot bear to fight each other. As long as you lay down your weapons, we will forgive and forget. Today, we will only punish the ringleaders!"

The sound echoed between heaven and earth.

The Jin army remained silent, and the rebels also held their breath, exchanging glances with each other.

Since the success of the Northern Expedition, Liu Daogui has become a hero in the hearts of all Jin people. Liu Yi's rebellion was entirely based on the reputation of "supporting the Jin dynasty and eliminating the traitors".

But after such a long standoff, it's clear who the traitors are and who is upholding justice.

Soldiers are human beings too; they can think.

"Don't listen to his nonsense! Liu Daogui is a traitor! I have His Majesty's edict in the belt!" Liu Yi pulled out a blood-stained yellow silk and waved it around on his warhorse.

But at this time, it is the worst thing to combine Liu Daogui with the words "traitor to the country".

The morale of the troops began to waver, and even their positions began to shift backward.

At this moment, the aroma of meat and rice wafted from the Jin army's formation, and pots of meat soup and rice were placed in front of the two armies.

"The General never goes back on his word!" Tan Pingzhi and his hundred or so personal guards rode their horses to the front of the battle formation.

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

Like a pebble thrown into a lake, the battlefield immediately erupted into chaos.

I could tolerate the sense of righteousness and the need for justification, but I simply couldn't bear the hunger.

With clang and clatter, swords, shields, bows, and spears were thrown to the ground as soldiers surged forward like a tide, shouting "Long live the Great General!" as they ran.

Liu Yi, mounted on his warhorse, was ashen-faced.

However, he was still a hero in his own right, and he still had two or three thousand people who remained loyal to him.

"If Liu Yu could defeat more than 100,000 demon bandits with just over a thousand men, so can I, Zhuge Limin! By killing Tan Pingzhi, we can turn defeat into victory." Zhuge Limin waved his long spear, and immediately more than a thousand armored soldiers gathered around him.

"kill!"

With a loud shout, the armored soldiers charged toward the Jin army's banner to the north.

Meanwhile, Lu Zongzhi and his son Lu Gui, who were by Liu Yi's side, led four or five hundred men to attack in the northwest.

All three were among Liu Yi's top generals, and all were determined to die. They didn't care that the surrendered soldiers in front of them were their former comrades, and they swung their swords to kill them.

The surrendered soldiers scattered and fled, creating chaos.

"Victory or defeat hinges on this, my lord!" Yang Sui drew his sword.

"Charge! All of you, charge!" Liu Yi urged the armored soldiers around him, but he himself did not charge forward.

Yang Sui paused for a moment, then sighed and, carrying his sword, stepped forward with the armored soldiers.

The chaos on the battlefield lasted only half an incense stick's time before the elite Jin army charged forward in formation, their long spears forming a wall, advancing from all sides, followed by hordes of archers.

"Kill!" Zhuge Limin roared like thunder, charging at the forefront. "Fire!" Several Western Army generals shouted, and ten thousand crossbows fired simultaneously, a dense and impenetrable barrage that engulfed Zhuge Limin's figure, causing a cloud of blood mist to erupt.

After the rain of arrows stopped, Zhuge Limin was covered in arrows of all sizes and collapsed with a thud.

The other armored soldiers who charged forward fared no better, pinned to the ground by heavy arrows fired from the ballistae.

"Third brother!" Zhuge Changmin cried out, tears streaming down his face, but dared not step forward.

But the Jin army's armored soldiers' long spears covered the sky, thrusting in from all directions.

The rebel soldiers fell one by one. Zhuge Changmin and Yang Sui charged around, but against such a solid infantry formation, individual bravery was useless, and they had no warhorses.

Gradually, the encirclement narrowed.

Yang Sui screamed as his body was lifted into the air by two long spears, struggling in mid-air.

"Kill!" Knowing he was doomed, Zhuge Changmin charged toward the Jin army's long spears, only to be pierced to the ground by six or seven spears.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Yi's troops were almost all killed or wounded, leaving only four or five hundred men around him.

The Jin army had surrounded them from all sides, leaving them with no chance of escape.

"Why doesn't Liu Yi surrender sooner?" Tan Pingzhi urged his horse forward.

Liu Yi drew his sword, his eyes filled with arrogance mixed with a hint of resentment. "I am a descendant of Emperor Gaozu of Han. How can I kneel before a traitor? Today's defeat is due to Heaven's misfortune."

With a flick of his longsword, a spray of blood mist erupted from his neck, and then his body slowly collapsed.

He was ultimately a hero, skilled at winning people's hearts. More than a dozen tribes followed suit and committed suicide, but most chose to kneel and surrender.

Tan Pingzhi sneered, "Overestimating yourself. With your abilities, you dare to fight against those two brothers?"

He dismounted, sword in hand, and stepped forward, beheading Liu Yi one blow at a time.

"Slay the traitors Zhuge Changmin, Lu Zongzhi, Lu Gui, and Yang Sui, and send them to Gushu by fast horse!" Tan Pingzhi glanced at the battlefield.

Surrounded on all sides, the rebel army had neither warhorses nor provisions, and had long since run out of options to retreat.

However, Lu Zongzhi and his son Lu Gui are still engaged in a fierce battle.

In particular, Lu Gui, wielding a long-handled axe in one hand and an iron shield in the other, possessed astonishing strength and managed to break through the Jin army's infantry formation, causing Zhao Lun's troops to retreat steadily.

Liu Yi had no shortage of fierce generals. Lu Zongzhi fought his way out of Guanzhong, and his troops were either from the same clan or from the same hometown. After going through hardships and dangers, the more difficult the battle, the more united they became, and everyone was fearless of death.

The Jin army consisted mostly of soldiers recruited from Jingzhou and Xiangyang, rather than elite Tiger Guard troops. While their combat strength was decent, it was still slightly inferior to Lu Zongzhi's elite troops.

Led by Lu Gui, four or five hundred men charged left and right, and four of the Western Army generals died at his hands.

They fought with increasing ferocity, charging several times to the banner's base, only to be relentlessly pushed back by the elite armored soldiers protecting it.

The guards under the banner were often the most elite soldiers in the entire army.

Tan Pingzhi angrily declared, "Whoever beheads Lu Zong and his son will be rewarded with 100,000 coins and promoted three ranks!"

"kill!"

The soldiers' eyes turned red.

These days, there's no shortage of people who aren't afraid of death.

The soldiers pressed forward layer by layer, trapping the more than four hundred men in the heart of the city.

When Lu Zongzhi turned left, Tan Pingzhi waved his command flag to the left, and the soldiers of the Fubing (prefecture) concentrated to the left. When Lu Zongzhi turned right, the command flag waved to the right.

No matter how brave Lu Gui was, he was not Liu Yu, and the soldiers of the Fubing were not demons or bandits.

After more than an hour of fierce fighting, they gradually became exhausted, while the Jin army advanced in layers upon layers, seemingly endless.

With a scream, Lu Gui and dozens of armored soldiers at the front were surrounded by more than two hundred Jin soldiers. They were stabbed wildly with spears and attacked with swords and axes. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and Lu Gui fell to the ground and died.

"My son...it's over—I entrusted myself to the wrong person, I regret joining Liu Yi's ranks." Lu Zongzhi plunged a knife into his own neck.

The remaining troops were swarmed by the government soldiers and hacked into mincemeat.

The most intense battle of the entire war was not the bloody fight with Liu Yi, but the fight with the Lu family father and son.

(End of this chapter)