Tiger Owl

Chapter 159 No Choice
At this time, Wei Yan's 500 warships had destroyed four pontoon bridges on the Han River, and the warships were divided into five squadrons, sailing on the Han River.

On a large pontoon bridge in northern Jingling County, hundreds of trucks are crossing the river. They are a convoy responsible for transporting grain and supplies. The grain and supplies have been transported ashore, but without trucks, they still cannot be transported to Yundu County.

Logically, the grain and the truck should have arrived at the same time, but something went wrong and the truck arrived a full day later than the grain.

That one day was enough to change the outcome of the entire battle.

Just as dozens of trucks had left, hundreds of warships appeared on the water. They suddenly accelerated and charged toward the pontoon bridge.

The drivers on the pontoon bridge were terrified. They tried to turn around, but the carts couldn't. They tried to move forward, but the road ahead was blocked. With no way to go forward or backward, they could only watch helplessly as the large ship crashed into them. Many drivers let out desperate screams.

"boom!"

With a loud crash, the pontoon bridge broke in two, and more than a dozen carts fell into the water. The soldiers of the Yuzhang Army showed no mercy and threw Molotov cocktails onto the pontoon bridge. In just a moment, the pontoon bridge was engulfed in flames, and thick smoke billowed everywhere. Dozens of mules were frightened by the flames and jumped into the river. The drivers scrambled to escape to both sides, not even caring about the carts.

Before long, the entire pontoon bridge was engulfed in flames, and hundreds of large vehicles were also swallowed by the fire and the river.

However, Wei Yan's warships did not stop and continued to sail north. After sailing less than ten miles, countless cargo ships appeared on the shore. These were ships transporting grain and supplies to the east bank. Hundreds of cargo ships had not yet had time to escape and were all captured by the Yuzhang Army. Even the ships requisitioned from civilians could not escape.

On the shore, grain and supplies were piled up like mountains. Two thousand soldiers were responsible for guarding the grain and supplies. They sat in a pine forest a mile away to avoid the scorching sun. The army was still waiting for the transport wagons to arrive.

Hundreds of boatmen and able-bodied men sat chatting idly beside the provisions and supplies when suddenly someone shouted from the woods, "The Yuzhang Army is attacking! The Yuzhang Army is attacking!"

Two thousand soldiers stood up, only to be met with a barrage of soldiers charging in from all directions. This was Chen Mu's army of six thousand, which instantly surrounded the two thousand soldiers.

Six thousand soldiers shouted in unison: "Those who resist will die, those who surrender will be released and go home! Those who resist will die, those who surrender will be released and go home!"

Six thousand soldiers of the Yuzhang Army pointed their crossbows at two thousand soldiers, which terrified the two thousand soldiers.

It is unclear who laid down their weapons first, but the morale of the two thousand soldiers quickly collapsed, and they lost their will to fight and surrendered one after another.

Seeing the situation was dire, hundreds of boatmen and laborers unloading goods got up and ran, but they couldn't escape. Wei Yan led hundreds of his soldiers ashore and surrounded them. The laborers were so frightened that they knelt down and begged, "We are not soldiers, we are boatmen and able-bodied men who carry supplies!"

Wei Yan said coldly, "If you want to live, move all the food and supplies back to the ship."

Everyone quickly got up and carried the supplies and food, working extra hard. In just one hour, the supplies that had been carried ashore were loaded back onto the boat.

The warships, carrying grain and supplies, as well as boatmen and laborers, left the east bank and headed south, soon disappearing from the river.

Two thousand soldiers were also taken away, and Chen Mu promised them that they would be released and sent home after the war ended.

In the wilderness, dozens of campfires were burning brightly, and the soldiers lay haphazardly around them, fast asleep, enduring the bites of mosquitoes.

They were only about 30 li away from the Han River, and they wanted to retreat to the riverbank, but it was already completely dark.

Fu Tong and a dozen generals sat around the campfire discussing the situation. Fu Tong spoke in a low voice, "I just received news from scouts that our supplies were attacked by the Yuzhang army's navy and all of them were looted. Our ships are gone, and our caravan and pontoon bridge have all been destroyed. Our retreat has been completely cut off." The generals fell silent. Commandant Liu Jing said bitterly, "What kind of lousy battle is this? Dividing our forces into three routes, and without any heavy defense of our supplies? Do they think we're fools? Isn't this just blatantly allowing the enemy to defeat us piecemeal?"

Another general said, "They wanted to launch a surprise attack, but they were afraid that their forces would be discovered if they concentrated in one place, so they split their forces to advance. The key is that the other side was prepared in advance and had already laid a trap. They were just being clever and thought that others didn't know."

"Isn't this exactly the plan that Strategist Cai devised? He's the strategist, so this is naturally his responsibility."

"No wonder he's surnamed Cai, he's really bad!"

Everyone spoke at once, their voices filled with resentment.

Fu Tong waved her hand, "Everyone, stop arguing and listen to me for a moment."

After everyone quieted down, Fu Tong slowly said, "General Huang Zhong gave me a choice. If we surrender voluntarily, we will not be considered prisoners of war, but rather surrender voluntarily. If we do not choose to surrender before dawn, it means that we have given up surrendering, and he will launch an attack on us."

I have already decided to surrender, but I will not force anyone. There are still two hours until dawn. If you are unwilling to surrender, then lead your troops away yourselves.

The crowd remained silent. After a long while, one of the generals said, "General Huang has always been honest and straightforward and would never harm us. I am willing to surrender with you."

"I am also willing to surrender with the general!"

"I am also willing to follow the general!"

More than a dozen generals expressed their willingness to surrender with Fu Tong. In fact, everyone understood that they only had one day's worth of rations left, and their food was about to run out. They were desperate and had no other choice but to surrender with dignity. Who would not want to do that?
Just as dawn broke, Huang Zhong led an army of over ten thousand men to appear a few miles away. Fu Tong ordered the entire army to lay down their weapons, remove their armor, and line up to surrender.

Huang Zhong ultimately subdued the third army of ten thousand without a fight.

Nothing happened in Yundu County overnight. The next day at dawn, the patrols outside returned to the city. The patrols had not found any enemy activity during the night, which made Li Shu breathe a sigh of relief.

But the immense pressure has not disappeared. The two armies that should have arrived yesterday have not yet arrived, there is no sign of food and supplies, and even the three scout teams sent to provide support have disappeared without a trace.

Li Shu stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance at the official road to the west. His neck ached from looking so long, but he still couldn't see a single person.

Li Shu couldn't help but sigh deeply. At this moment, his deputy Zhang Li stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the commander, we only have one day's worth of rations left. We must make a decision immediately."

Li Shu nodded silently. He knew the seriousness of the problem. In fact, they could no longer go east. It was still two hundred li away from Anlu County, which would take at least three days. The Yuzhang Army had adopted a scorched-earth policy, and the soldiers would starve to death on the way.

It would take about a day to walk back, and by the time the food ran out, we would have reached the Han River. But would we be saved once we reached the Han River?
Li Shu had no choice. In desperation, he could only order, "The entire army shall retreat back to the Han River!"

The 10,000-strong army abandoned Yundu County and retreated. They marched swiftly along the wide official road, coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry, wishing they could sprout wings and fly across the Han River immediately.

At this time, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun's army had been waiting for them for a long time.

(End of this chapter)