Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 120 The formation is broken
Just as the generals were praising Zhu Zhi for his meticulousness and foresight, dust rose in the distance and several scouts came galloping towards them.

Looking at the hint of panic on the scout's face, the excitement that had just risen in everyone's hearts was suddenly overshadowed.

Zhu Zhi frowned slightly: "What's the matter?"

The leading scout clasped his fists and said, "Captain, Chen Gan's troops have left Jiming Mountain!"

Dong Yue asked anxiously, "But how long will it take to get here?"

The scout gave him a strange look, then turned to Zhu Zhi and said in a hoarse voice, "Chen Gan's troops are marching towards Qiyun Mountain."

As soon as the words fell, the generals were shocked and looked at each other, seeing a trace of fear in each other's eyes.

Zhu Zhi clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, and suddenly came to his senses.

No wonder Xu Shengjun's behavior was so weird and strange. It turned out that Yan Yi had no intention of supporting Yan Yujun at all. He was using Yan Yujun's 3,000 lives to delay time to ensure that he could successfully cut off his own army's retreat. After his army defeated Yan Yujun, its combat effectiveness was damaged, and it would certainly not be able to break through the defense line arranged by him in a short time. In the end, the whole army would be wiped out in the heavy siege.

This guy has such a big appetite and such a cruel heart. In order to cut off his retreat, he was willing to sacrifice Yan Yu's 3,000 troops and even used Yan Baihu as bait. It's really creepy to think about it.

If Yan Yi's behavior was not so contrary to common sense and could almost be described as cold-blooded, he should have thought of it earlier.

However, it was too late to realize it now, and the entire army was in danger of collapse.

Zhu Zhi felt a bone-gnawing regret in his heart. He knew that he had made a huge mistake. It was not a tactical mistake, but short-sightedness in strategic planning. This kind of mistake is often more fatal than a temporary defeat on the battlefield.

A military manual says, "Situation is the key to military strategy. There are four key elements in military strategy: the first is the Qi element, the second is the Earth element, the third is the Event element, and the fourth is the Force element."

For him, merging with Wu Jing was the ultimate strategy. With that strategy in place, victory was certain, actions would be decisive, and sweeping across Wu Commandery was imminent. However, with only one of the four strategic positions at his disposal and knowing that Rencheng had already been lost, he abandoned the overall situation for a small gain, putting himself in danger. This was truly a foolish act.

Dong Yue recalled his previous rebuttal to Chen Xian and felt ashamed. With a trembling voice, he asked, "Captain, what should our army do now?"

Zhu Zhi looked around at the frightened and uneasy expressions of the generals, but he calmed down and said in a deep voice, "This matter is of great importance and must not be spread outside. Anyone who leaks this information will be executed!"

The generals nodded solemnly.

Zhu Zhi knew the army's morale was unstable and needed to be reassured. He forced a smile and said soothingly, "Our army fell for the enemy's trick this time because we are kind and righteous by nature. We didn't expect Yan Yi to be so cruel and ruthless. To achieve his goal, he didn't hesitate to throw away three thousand lives. His cruelty is comparable to that of an animal and is rarely seen in the world. You don't have to blame yourselves for this. This is not our fault, but the thief's unrighteousness!"

When the generals heard this, their eyes widened in anger, as if they had found an outlet to vent their anger, and they started cursing at Yan Yi.

Zhu Zhi saw the expressions on everyone's faces shift from nervousness to anger. He nodded secretly and pondered, "The situation is now clear. After our army defeated Yan Yu's army, the soldiers are exhausted and many are wounded. If we take chances and rashly fight the enemy for Shishan and Qiyunshan, we will be doomed! Our only option now is to return to Qiantang via Yong'an, and we must return as soon as possible to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the situation and attacking our core Qiantang base."

The generals agreed with this.

A general said, "The commander is absolutely right. Han You of Yong'an is a cowardly rat. He fears our army like a tiger. It's a blessing for him that our army doesn't attack him. How dare he stop us?"

Another general said, "Captain, if necessary, you can promise Han You some benefits in exchange for our army's smooth passage through Yong'an."

Zhu Zhi nodded slightly. As long as they could pass through Yong'an smoothly and return to Qiantang, any conditions could be negotiated, even if it meant that the coalition forces had to give up attacking Yong'an, he would agree to it.

This condition was what Han You had always dreamed of, and he would definitely not refuse it.

Zhu Zhi thought about it for a moment and felt relieved. As long as he defeated Yan Yu's troops, captured and killed Yan Baihu, and then returned to Qiantang smoothly, it would not be him who suffered a crushing defeat, but Yan Yi.

His mood brightened, and the haze between his brows was swept away. He ordered in a loud voice: "Pass on my military orders!"

The generals stood straight, solemnly watching him. "Order Zhang Gong's troops to conceal their tracks and follow only the narrow path through the wild mountains. Arrive at Lushan, ten miles east of Yong'an, and wait. When our army passes through Yong'an, we will escort them back to Qiantang."

"Leave 500 men in the rear guarding the Shanyin defense line. The rest of the troops will quickly join the central army and attack Yanyu together. Once the enemy is defeated, the entire army will immediately march towards Yong'an!"

When the military order was issued, all the generals responded with unanimous agreement and headed to various locations.

Soon, some soldiers stationed on the Sanyin defense line set out and quickly moved towards the front line center.

At this time, Xu Sheng's troops were still six or seven miles away from Shanyin. Even if they moved at a faster speed, it would be difficult for them to support Yan Yu's troops in a short period of time, not to mention that there were still 500 enemy troops stationed in Shanyin.

After the 700 fresh troops arrived at the central army, Zhu Zhi immediately issued the order for a general attack.

Dense groups of soldiers shouted and advanced towards the remnants of Yan Yu's army from four directions at the same time. In order to buy time, Zhu Zhilian even sent out the supervision team, vowing to defeat the enemy in the shortest time possible.

Yan Baihu climbed onto his horse expressionlessly, his heart aching.

He knew that he could not hold on any longer and his army was on the verge of collapse. He didn't know how many of Yan's 3,000 old men would survive this time.

Yan Yu stumbled over, his helmet missing, his hair disheveled, his face bloodstained. "Brother, I can't stop you. I'll fight my way out, and you head west!"

Yan Baihu nodded slightly, motioning him to mount the horse.

Two hundred imperial guards had already lined up at this time. One of the guards rode up and gave his horse to Yan Yu.

Yan Baihu put on his helmet, his tiger eyes surveying the surroundings. The flesh on his face twitched slightly, and he suddenly raised his head to the heavens and roared, "Brothers who died, I, Yan Baihu, owe you so much. I will take care of your parents, wives, and children for the rest of my life! Brothers who are still alive, follow me and fight our way out!"

The sound of horse hooves rang out, and two hundred elite cavalrymen, protecting Yan Baihu and Yan Yu, raised their spears and rushed towards the official road on the west side with murderous intent. Wherever the spears went, the shields and armor were broken. For a moment, they were unstoppable.

"kill!"

"Follow the commander and fight together!"

The remaining eight or nine hundred Yan family soldiers roared at the top of their lungs and followed the cavalry to charge westward.

Zhu Zhi's soldiers rushed in from all directions, trying to surround and kill the enemy army that had caused heavy casualties to their own army.

It is not an easy task to surround and kill a trapped army. Zhu Zhijun relies entirely on numbers.

The soldiers of both sides were entangled together and slowly moved westward.

Suddenly, several iron spears pierced through the western formation of Zhu Zhi's army, and then a gap was torn in the formation. More than one hundred cavalrymen and more than two hundred infantrymen rushed out from the gap.

The gap closed quickly, and hundreds of Yan's infantrymen who had not yet rushed out were stopped and brought back into the formation.

Yan Yu, who had escaped the encirclement, breathed a sigh of relief and shouted to Yan Baihu beside him, "Brother, we can't stay here for long. Return to Wucheng!"

Yan Baihu had a complicated expression. Looking back at the hundreds of soldiers trapped in the enemy camp, he looked ashamed and said, "I am old, and I am afraid of death."

Yan Yu quickly said, "Brother, you have been loyal to me since childhood and take life and death lightly. How can you say you are afraid of death? I remember when I was young, the county soldiers came to raid our family and slaughtered our clan members at will. Brother was only fourteen years old at the time, but he killed several people with his own hands."

A trace of reminiscence flashed in Yan Baihu's eyes. He sighed deeply and said suddenly, "The enemy is tired. Our cavalry is sharp. Perhaps we can try to charge and rescue some people."

(End of this chapter)