Tiger Owl

Chapter 158 Three-pronged Advance
Five pontoon bridges were built over the Han River overnight, and 30,000 Jingzhou troops began crossing the river before dawn. In the hazy morning light, countless black dots ran across the pontoon bridges on the river.

The commander of the Jingzhou army that launched the surprise attack on Jiangxia County was Li Shu. He led the central army across the river, while the other two armies were commanded by Generals Fu Tong and Jiao Jin respectively.

Cai Mao also had intelligence. He knew that the Yuzhang Army had deployed a total of 25,000 men in Jiangxia County, with 20,000 deployed in Xiling County and 5,000 deployed in Anlu County.

After learning of the intelligence, Liu Biao approved Cai Mao's plan to send troops.

As dawn broke, the 30,000-strong army crossed the Han River one after another. Their first target was Yundu County, a hundred miles away, where the 30,000 troops would converge, and at the same time, logistical supplies would also arrive there.

Yundu County is the most important part of the Jingzhou army's surprise attack plan. Various logistical supplies will also be transported here, making Yundu County a key logistical base for the Jingzhou army's surprise attack.

Jiao Jin, the general who led the southern route, was a confidant of Cai Mao and was appointed as a colonel. He led an army of 10,000 men across the Han River from Lankou Town and sped along a small road toward Yundu County, 130 miles away.

The soldiers carried only three days' worth of rations and marched quickly along a piece of land in the marshland.

The soldiers were not worried. The intelligence they had received beforehand indicated that the nearest enemy force was in Anlu County, 300 li away, and that their numbers were not large.

The western part of Jiangxia County is also covered with large areas of marshland, where land and shallow water are mixed together. There are few residents in the marshland because in summer, heavy rains increase and the land in the marshland is easily flooded. As a result, there are not many houses in this area, and there are large areas of wasteland overgrown with weeds everywhere.

The landmass, which was shaped like a date pit, was narrow at both ends and thick in the middle, covering thousands of acres. It was surrounded by large bodies of water on both sides, with only the two ends connected to the land.

As the 10,000-strong army marched through a grove of trees, a sudden burst of rapid clapper sounds rang out from within the woods. "Bang! Bang! Bang—" Immediately following, a volley of arrows was unleashed. The Jingzhou soldiers, caught off guard, were struck by the arrows one after another, their screams filling the air. Thousands of soldiers fell to the ground, wounded by the arrows.

The Jingzhou army was thrown into chaos. Then, the sound of horns rang out from the woods. Countless soldiers rushed out of the woods and charged straight at the Jingzhou army a hundred paces away. The general leading them was a white horse and a silver spear, as fierce as a god. It was none other than General Zhao Yun.

Without uttering a word, Zhao Yun spurred his horse straight towards the enemy commander, Jiao Jin. Jiao Jin, seeing the ferocity of the approaching enemy, panicked slightly, but still charged forward, swinging his sword. Zhao Yun easily dodged, his sword missing its mark. With a flick of his spear, like a silver dragon's tail, Zhao Yun pierced Jiao Jin's throat with a "thud!" Jiao Jin fell from his horse. Zhao Yun then thrust his spear into Jiao Jin's chest, killing him instantly.

With their commander dead, the army was essentially finished. The Jingzhou soldiers scattered and fled across the wilderness like headless flies, but with only vast waters all around, they had nowhere to escape. The entrances and exits connecting to the land at both ends were blocked by the Yuzhang army. Apart from the more than 1,500 who were shot or wounded, the remaining 8,400 Jingzhou soldiers had no way out and had no choice but to kneel down and surrender.

Li Shu led his 10,000-strong central army relatively smoothly, arriving at Yundu County in just one day.

As dusk fell, Li Shu led his army to the county town. The town gates were open, but there was not a single person in sight. Li Shu hesitated, and a sense of unease quietly rose in his heart.

"General, something seems amiss?" Lieutenant Zhang Li whispered.

After a moment's thought, Li Shu ordered, "Send a scout into the city to investigate."

Zhang Li immediately dispatched a scout team into the city. Before long, the scouts came out and reported: "Reporting to the commander, everything in the city is intact, but there is no sign of anyone. We have not found a single person."

"General, could it be that all the people in the city have fled because of our arrival?"

That's unlikely. It's impossible for them all to have escaped. Li Shu thought for a moment and then said, "Send more people to search the city and see if there are any flammable materials such as sulfur or kerosene hidden inside."

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Li once again ordered several hundred soldiers to search the city. A quarter of an hour later, a soldier came out and reported, "Reporting to the commander, no flammable materials were found hidden in the city."

Li Shu looked up at the sky. Although his unease had not subsided, it was already dark, and he had no other choice.

Li Shu had no choice but to order: "The entire army enters the city, and must not relax their vigilance, maintaining a state of readiness for combat at any time."

Ten thousand soldiers entered the city, the city gates were closed, two thousand soldiers went up to defend the city, and the rest of the soldiers began to look for food and cook.

But no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find a single grain of food in the entire county. There was no food in the houses, and the grain shops and restaurants were all empty.

Zhang Li was also a little panicked and hurriedly reported to Li Shu. Li Shu was speechless for a long time. This was obviously the enemy's scorched earth policy!
"General, why don't we retreat first!"

"Retreat in the middle of the night? Are you crazy? What if other troops come? What if our supply convoy comes?"

"What should I do?"

Li Shu pondered for a moment and said, "Send out five teams of soldiers, one hundred men each. Three teams will go to support the other two armies and the supply convoy, while the remaining two teams will be deployed outside the city. If any enemy troops approach, fire rockets immediately as a warning!"

This was a last resort; the enemy was in the dark while we were in the light, and Li Shu was in a very passive position. He could only try his best to find a way to resolve the danger within the limited space he had.

Xu Shu's plan was clear: instead of burning the city, they would use a scorched-earth policy to temporarily relocate all the people to the east of the Yu River, leaving the enemy with no food and forcing them to surrender without a fight.

Fu Tong led 10,000 troops and encountered Huang Zhong's 15,000 troops.

In the wilderness, two armies faced each other at a distance. At this moment, a cavalryman galloped up to Fu Tong and handed him a letter.

Huang Zhong and Fu Tong were very close friends. Huang Zhong hoped that Fu Tong would surrender voluntarily and avoid fighting, so he wrote a letter to Fu Tong and asked him to consider it.

Fu Tong opened the letter and read it carefully. His expression froze. Huang Zhong told him in the letter that their retreat route had been cut off and their food and supplies had been seized. If they marched eastward, they would not get a single grain of food. They had no way out except to surrender.

If Fu Tong surrenders voluntarily, he will not be captured, but surrendered, and will be given an important position in the Yuzhang Army. Fu Tong, please think it over.

The letter specifically mentioned that Fu Tong was not a follower of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and had long been marginalized and difficult to be given important responsibilities. It also stated that the Jingzhou army was bound to lose this major battle, and that even if Fu Tong escaped back, he would still bear the responsibility for the defeat.

Huang Zhong's words struck a chord with Fu Tong, and he was truly tempted. After pondering for a long time, Fu Tong said to the messenger, "Please tell General Huang to give me some time to consider. I will reply to him before dawn tomorrow."

The cavalry returned to report, and Huang Zhong ordered a retreat of twenty li. Fu Tong's army also slowly retreated westward.

(End of this chapter)