Tiger Owl

Chapter 231 Recapture of the Three Counties
Taishi Ci spurred his horse and charged forward, his blood boiling with every cavalryman's fury. "Kill!" they roared as they charged, brandishing their spears. Two thousand cavalrymen galloped across the open field, followed closely by three thousand infantrymen. They discarded their heavy shields, drew their swords, and pursued the enemy, capturing those who surrendered.

Two thousand cavalrymen, like tigers descending from the mountain, had already charged in front of the enemy army, cutting off most of their retreat.

Although most of the soldiers had escaped the inferno, they were in a terrible state, without armor or weapons, and many had even lost their shoes, kneeling barefoot on the ground desperately begging for mercy.

But most people still carried a cloth bag on their backs, which was their personal belongings. Originally, the armor covered the bag, but now that the armor was off, the bag was exposed.

Faced with the danger of being burned to death or killed by the enemy, all thoughts of soldier's duty and military rules go to hell. Escaping and protecting one's belongings are the most important things. If one cannot escape, surrendering is the only right thing to do.

However, not all soldiers surrendered. Two thousand Southern Yi troops, under the command of General Wan Kang, continued to fight against the Chu army. They were mountain Yi soldiers. Although they were poorly equipped and short in stature, they were much tougher than the Han army. They were all fearless and would never surrender.

Taishi Ci was furious and shouted, "Two thousand cavalrymen, attack the Southern Barbarians with all your might!"

He personally led two thousand cavalry in a fierce, storm-like offensive. They charged into the crowd, slashing with swords, thrusting with spears, and trampling with their horses, instantly carving a bloody path through the enemy ranks.

The two thousand Southern Barbarian soldiers were like sheep caught in a wolf's trap, utterly unable to resist the cavalry's slaughter. Apart from a few weak resistances, it was a one-sided massacre. Everywhere there were groups of Southern Barbarian soldiers being killed and driven away, corpses littered the fields, and blood flowed like rivers.

Taishi Ci had been in the army for more than ten years, and he had never killed so freely as he did today. Holding a long spear, he rode his horse and slaughtered people. At this moment, he encountered General Wan Kang.

Wan Kang roared, swinging his broadsword as if he wanted to cleave the enemy general in two at the waist, his entrails spilling onto the ground...

Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking on his part. His first strike missed, and before he could even make his second strike, Taishi Ci's spear pierced his throat.

Often, the refusal to surrender is not due to courage, but to ignorance.

This was the first time the Nanyi soldiers had faced cavalry. They were eventually overwhelmed by the cavalry's momentum and collapsed. With their commander Wan Kang killed in action, the remaining soldiers shouted and fled in both directions. However, they were intercepted by infantry. The infantrymen slashed and thrust with swords and spears, causing heavy casualties. Countless Nanyi people finally began to kneel and beg for mercy from the Han people, but they received no mercy. Those who refused to surrender were to be killed without exception. They would pay a heavy price for their refusal to surrender.

Two thousand Southern Barbarian soldiers were eventually slaughtered, with not a single survivor.

…………

Wu Ju led several hundred men and fled back to Bushan County in a panic. With pursuers approaching, he dared not stay in Bushan County. He took his family, several hundred head of livestock and several hundred bushels of grain, and continued to flee northwest towards Yizhou.

Wu Ju and Liu Bei had a past relationship, so now he had no choice but to seek refuge with Liu Bei.

Two hours later, the Western Chu pursuers arrived at Bushan County. Prefect Liu Yi led the officials out of the city to surrender. With the surrender of Bushan County, the most populous county, Yulin County was also captured by the Western Chu army.

Yulin Prefecture was very large, covering an area equivalent to most of present-day Guangxi. It had nine counties, but most of them were small. Only two counties had a population of over 10,000: one was Bushan County, the prefectural seat, which is today's Guiping, and the other was Tanzhong, which is today's Liuzhou. Both large counties were located on both sides of the Tan River, which is naturally the Liujiang River.

Soon the county magistrate and county assistant of Tanzhong County arrived to meet Bu Zhi and express their loyalty to Western Chu.

Bu Zhi then appointed Liu Yi, the prefectural assistant, as the governor of Yulin County, and stationed 3,000 troops in Bushan County. The army then returned to Guangxin County.

At this time, Wang Chuan, the governor of Nanhai Commandery, sent a message by pigeon, expressing his willingness to pledge allegiance to the Marquis of Chu.

This was also due to Li Jin's persuasion. Li Jin's message via pigeon was very simple: "Zhang Jin is dead, and Gan Ning's army has marched south and replaced Zhang Jin. The three armies and all officials have surrendered. If you, my virtuous brother, surrender and hand over military power, you can continue to be the governor of Nanhai Commandery." The key point was that Wang Chuan had no ambition to establish his own independent regime. As long as his interests were not harmed, he was naturally willing to surrender. As for the five thousand troops, they were not originally his, and he would not object to the Marquis of Chu taking them back.

At this time, Colonel Wang Xi led 5,000 logistics troops to Guangxin County, bringing with him a large amount of grain and supplies transported by thousands of ships, especially a large amount of kerosene.

The easy bones have been gnawed away; now it's time to tackle the tough ones, like Shi Xie, the local tyrant of the three commanderies of Jiaozhi.

The three commanderies of Jiaozhi, including Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinan, comprise what is now northern Vietnam. Da Nang serves as the boundary, with the Kingdom of Linyi to the south. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, these areas have been part of the Central Plains.

The capital of Jiaozhi Commandery was Longbian County, located in the Red River Delta. The land here was extremely fertile, with abundant water and heat, and crops could be harvested two or even three times a year. A large population lived in the delta, with ten counties surrounding Longbian County, totaling hundreds of thousands of people.

This fertile land was ruled by Shi Xie and his sons. Shi Xie was not a complete local tyrant, but he was politically astute. He paid tribute to the court and pledged allegiance to Cao Cao, giving the court face while also gaining benefits for himself. As a result, the court tacitly allowed him to control the three commanderies of Jiaozhi.

Cao Cao was powerless to control Shi Xie, but this time Shi Xie encountered a warlord who could keep him in check: Gan Ning, the Marquis of Chu.

At this time, Shi Xie was not in Jiaozhi Commandery, but in Hepu County of Hepu Commandery. When he learned of Zhang Jin's death, he did not go north to Yulin Commandery, but instead transported 10,000 troops by boat along the coast to Hepu Commandery. He incorporated 5,000 troops from Hepu Commandery. Qian Yi, the governor of Hepu Commandery, was his son-in-law, and he recommended him to Zhang Jin as a condition for the alliance between the two families.

Now that Zhang Jin is dead, Hepu County naturally belongs to him.

In the afternoon, Qian Yi hurriedly found his father-in-law Shi Xie and said urgently, "Father-in-law, I have just received news that Gan Ning's army has occupied Cangwu County and Zhang Jin's army has surrendered."

This news left Shi Xie dumbfounded. He had planned to lead his army north to seize Cangwu County, but Gan Ning's army had taken the lead.

After standing there for a while, Shi Xie asked anxiously, "Is there any other news?"

"There's another piece of news, I don't know if it's accurate or not, that Wu Ju's army encountered Gan Ning's army on the north bank of the Yu River and was defeated, but this may just be a rumor and there is no definite information."

Shi Xie shook his head and sighed, "It should be true. Wu Ju is even more anxious than I am. As soon as Zhang Jin dies, he will rush to Cangwu County to seize Zhang Jin's army. It is normal for him to encounter Gan Ning's army on the way."

"Is Gan Ning's army going to Hepu County next?"

Shi Xie gave a bitter smile and said, "As long as Gan Ning takes Cangwu County, Nanhai County will be within his grasp. If he defeats Wu Ju, then Yulin County will also be his. The next step will inevitably be Hepu County."

"Father-in-law, what should we do next?"

Shi Xie took a few steps with his hands behind his back and said decisively, "Abandon Hepu County and take the army, supplies and food back to Jiaozhi. Once Gan Ning's army discovers that I am in Hepu County, his army will directly attack Jiaozhi."

"But... are we just going to give up on Hepu County like this?"

“What use is a desolate place like Hepu County? They won’t station troops here. As long as we defeat Gan Ning’s army in Jiaozhi County, we can come back at any time.”

Qian Yi nodded, "I understand, I'll go and prepare the grain and supplies right away."

(End of this chapter)