Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 100 Attack on the Village
Rencheng, late at night at 11:00 PM.

The night is dark, the sky is as black as ink, and a bright moon hangs high in the sky, casting its clear light.

crunch.

A dull sound suddenly rang out, and the tightly closed South Gate slowly opened. Soldiers with solemn expressions filed out of the doorway one after another.

Zou Ta was wearing fish-scale armor, a black cloak on his shoulders, and riding on a tall chestnut horse, slowly moving forward with the team.

He brought a total of 4,000 soldiers on this trip, leaving only 1,000 to guard the city. The commander guarding the city was He Gong, whom he absolutely trusted.

After the four thousand soldiers left the city gate, they did not march along the official road, but turned into the country roads, walked through the fields, and trampled countless wheat seedlings along the way.

Soon, the army arrived at the foot of the Dojo Mountain and began to march along the mountain.

Although this would be much slower than marching on official roads, the concealment would be greatly improved.

In order to prevent being discovered by the enemy, Zou not only sent out many scouts in advance, but also strictly forbade his soldiers to light torches.

The entire army, with the help of the cool light of the bright moon, marched quietly in the night.

The soldiers under Zou Ta's command were very familiar with the terrain around Rencheng, and marching late at night did not pose any obstacles to them.

"Send someone to the mountain to check!"

Zou looked at the undulating Daochang Mountain under the night sky, and suddenly gave an order to Wei Kuan beside him.

The mountain is densely forested, making it an ideal place to set up an ambush. If Yan Yi had set up an ambush here, the threat could be imagined.

Wei Kuan was well aware of the importance of this battle. Instead of being annoyed by Zou's caution, he felt relieved.

He personally selected a hundred soldiers and searched up the mountain road.

At the same time, scouts kept rushing back from the front to report the road conditions to Zou Ta.

These scouts left the city in the afternoon and followed the retreating Yan Yi troops all the way to investigate their movements.

"Reporting to the commander, the enemy has set up camp in Changshouli, ten miles away. They have not left any scouts along the way, only patrols near the camp."

After hearing the scout's report, Zou Ta's heart gradually calmed down and he urged his soldiers to speed up their march.

An hour later, the army arrived at the intersection of Daochang Mountain and Yunchao Mountain.

Between the two mountains stood a sturdy camp. The camp was in an excellent location, just guarding the throat of the two mountains, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

This stronghold is Yuntai Stronghold, which controls the area of ​​20 to 30 miles east of Rencheng. It is similar to Qian Gonglei, but its scale is far smaller than Qian Gonglei.

Previously, when Yan Yi attacked Rencheng, Zou Ta abandoned Yuntai Village in order to preserve military strength and retreated the entire army directly to Rencheng.

At that time, many people, including Zou, were pessimistic and believed that it would be difficult to have the opportunity to return to the village for a considerable period of time.

But now the camp was right in front of them, empty. The enemy troops had all withdrawn without a trace, and some supplies that had not been taken away in time could still be seen in the camp.

Zou He was riding on his horse, looking at the devastated Yuntai Village, and suddenly he laughed out loud towards the sky.

Li Bian couldn't help but ask, "Why is the Marshal laughing?"

Zou He stopped laughing, raised his whip, pointed at the camp and said, "I laugh at Yan Yi's lack of strategy. If he leaves a small group of troops here to defend the stronghold, how can I have the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on his army?"

A general laughed and said, "It seems Yan Yi was frightened by Zhu Zhi's dispatch of troops, which is why he retreated to Yuncheng in such a hurry."

The commander is the soul of the entire army. Zou's calmness and the smooth progress of the trip greatly encouraged the other commanders and eased their tension. "Judging from his recent behavior, it's no more than this."

"It's hard to imagine that Qian Tong would be defeated by such an ordinary person."

The generals commented on each other in a relaxed tone. If they thought about it carefully, Yan Yi did not show any outstanding qualities in other aspects except for his impressive military appearance during this expedition.

Even Li Bian, who had once decided to join the Yan family, had quietly changed his attitude.

Judging from all indications, Yan Yi's army seemed to have been paralyzed by the armistice agreement and was completely off guard.

If this sneak attack is successful, he wouldn't mind taking advantage of it and getting a piece of the pie.

Wei Kuan, who had been frowning all the time, suddenly said, "General, the enemy is too lax. Be careful, there might be a trick!"

Zou nodded slightly, his gaze suddenly shifting to the massive shadow of Yunchao Mountain. He tensed slightly and said in a deep voice, "Halt our march and immediately send someone to investigate the Yunchao Mountain across the way."

Looking at the enemy's retreat route, there are very few places where ambushes can be set up along the way. Apart from Daochang Mountain, the only place left is Yunchao Mountain in front of us.

"Wait a moment, Marshal. I will go and investigate!"

Li Bian's eyes rolled, and he suddenly spoke up and volunteered.

It would be fine if there were no ambush in the mountain, but if there really was an ambush, at least he would have a chance to choose.

"You are a general of our army, how can you move rashly?" Zou shook his head and refused, saying to Wei Kuan, "Gong Ling, go and take a look."

Wei Kuan nodded and led dozens of riders away at a gallop.

Li Bian pulled the reins with a somewhat grim expression.

Half an hour passed before Wei Kuan returned. His stern face had relaxed. He clasped his fists towards Zou Ta and said, "General, no trace of the enemy has been found."

Zou He was overjoyed and shouted, "Leave 500 soldiers to garrison this village, and the rest of the troops will immediately march towards Changshouli!"

When the generals heard this, the last bit of worry in their hearts disappeared without a trace. Zou's move was obviously to leave a way out. Even if something unexpected happened during the surprise attack, they could retreat to Rencheng calmly.

With no escape route, the morale of the entire army was boosted, and they slowly approached Changshouli in silence and murderous intent.

When they were about a mile away from Changshou, the entire army stopped quietly behind a slope.

There were originally a dozen enemy soldiers patrolling on the slope, but Zou was very experienced in night attacks and had already sent out an assassination team to kill them without any danger, with the timing just right.

This further strengthened Zou's inner judgment.

He squatted in the weeds on the slope and observed the enemy situation personally.

At the end of the field of vision, there were dots of bonfires flickering in the dark night. Under the light of the fire, one could vaguely see a huge camp filled with densely packed tents, like a giant beast in deep sleep.

Zou patted the shoulder of a general beside him. The latter nodded slightly and led dozens of warriors who were good at assassination, bending their bodies and approaching the camp cautiously.

Zou He whispered to the surrounding generals, "If the enemy scouts notice anything, all troops will immediately light torches and charge into the camp. Wei Kuan will lead the troops directly into the enemy's central camp. The rest of you, proceed according to the plan!"

The generals nodded solemnly, and nearly half of them dispersed and returned to their respective units, waiting for military orders with bated breath.

While waiting quietly, the calls of a few night owls suddenly came from the front.

Zou's face lit up with joy, he succeeded!
He suddenly drew the sword from his waist and shouted, "Light the torches when you are two hundred steps closer to the camp, and charge!"

(End of this chapter)