Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 196 Flying General

"Prepare the car and head back home!" Zhang Xian's voice carried a rare hint of urgency.

He carefully helped Zou Wan up, his sharp gaze replaced by the nervousness of becoming a father for the first time.

Twenty or thirty plainclothes bodyguards dispersed the drinkers and cleared a path.

Their faces were also filled with excitement. The fact that the ruler had an heir was more reassuring than any great victory!

Zhang Residence.

"What?! You're pregnant?!"

Tong Yuan was instructing several talented young guards on their marksmanship in the backyard when he heard the news and his spear clattered to the ground. He was stunned for a moment, then burst into a thunderous laugh, his white beard trembling with excitement.

He pushed aside the guard who tried to help him and ran towards the gate of the mansion with great speed. His agile figure was hardly like that of an old man who was nearly seventy years old.
County government.

Xun Yu was in the council hall checking the autumn tax accounts with Chen Ji when a trusted clerk almost stumbled in, whispering good news incoherently.

He paused with his vermilion brush, and a drop of rich ink fell onto the ledger, blurring into a mess, but he was completely unaware.

A radiant smile instantly bloomed on her usually calm and composed face.

He took a deep breath and cupped his hands in greeting to Chen Ji, who was also standing up excitedly: "Brother Yuanfang!"

"May Heaven bless Bingzhou! May Heaven bless our lord! Wenruo! This is the foundation for our succession and a blessing for the people!" Chen Ji laughed heartily.

The entire city of Taiyuan was instantly enveloped in a tremendous sense of joy and tension.

Security was heightened inside and outside the Zhang residence, with the number of sentries doubled and entry and exit checks becoming stricter than ever before.

The physician was summoned immediately and, under Tong Yuan's personal supervision, examined Zou Wan's pulse again.

Although he knew his student might be the best doctor in the world, he was still worried about the possibility of misdiagnosis.

Fortunately, after four or five experienced doctors took turns examining her pulse and gave the same answer, Zou Wan instantly became the most anxious person in everyone's mind.

In the kitchen, the experienced Zhang was already thinking about a nourishing and restorative diet for the fetus.

Zou Wan was still in a daze, feeling a little dizzy, as if the entire city of Jinyang had been busy for her all at once.

Zhang Xian held her hand and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Please rest well, Madam. I'll take care of everything," he said softly.

Zou Wan nodded gently, her hand unconsciously touching her lower abdomen: "Husband, rest assured, both I and the child will be fine."

The mansion was filled with joy, but an invisible tension also rose.

The safety and well-being of the heirs are a matter of great concern to every key figure.

When the news reached Qiangyin and Weize Pass a few days later, Xiahou Lan even resigned from his official post, handed over all the important matters to his deputy, asked Zhao Hu to take full control of the affairs of Weize Pass, and then rode off to Jinyang.

He felt it was unreliable to entrust the responsibility of protecting his own brother's offspring to anyone else.

Huang Zhong, who was in the strong Yin direction, also wanted to return, but he couldn't leave. He could only send the most experienced Mountain Battalion soldiers, who had been through bloodshed in the past year and a half, back to Jinyang.

In terms of the level of anxiety regarding Zhang Xian's offspring, everyone under his command was more anxious than he was.

For a time, the attention he received as the lord and envoy was overshadowed by the little bundle of flesh in Zou Wan's belly.

While Jinyang was rejoicing over the birth of an heir, the atmosphere in Daling County, far away on the west bank of the Fen River, was as cold and oppressive as iron.

This was Zhang Xian's forward command center as he marched west to recapture Xihe County.

On the city wall.

Zhang's banner and the flags of Guo, Zhao, Lü, and other generals fluttered in the wind.

Outside the city, military camps stretched out in a continuous line, the sounds of drills, the clanging of armor, and the neighing of warhorses all blending together.

Inside the central command tent, a huge map of the Western River region covered the entire ground.

Guo Jia's eyes shone with an astonishing light. He held a slender wooden stick and pointed to the location of Lishi City on the map. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the generals in the tent.

"Lishi, the capital of Xihe County, is a hub where Han and non-Han peoples live together. It controls three rivers, where the Yellow River, Qiushui River, and Quchan River converge, and guards the Lüliang Road."

The group that occupied this place was Xubugu (a fictional chieftain of the right wing of the Southern Xiongnu) and his more than 10,000 archers, along with several thousand tents of various Hu tribes who were attached to him.

This man was greedy and tyrannical, but also quite strong. He secretly colluded with several bandit groups entrenched in the northern mountainous region of Hexi Commandery, forming a united front.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the generals standing solemnly in the tent.

"Our lord has decreed that within one year, we shall reclaim Xihe and subjugate it to the grasslands!"

"This battle is not only about conquering cities and seizing territory, but also about subduing people's hearts! Subugu and his core followers must be wiped out as a warning to others!"
The tribes that depend on it and the herders who have been coerced should be dealt with by dividing and appeasing them; this is the only way to ensure long-term stability.

Gentlemen, does anyone have a good plan to break this deadlock?

Zhang Liao was the first to clasp his hands in a fist salute, his voice calm and steady.

"Strategist, Lishi City is well-fortified. A direct assault would result in heavy casualties. I believe we should combine encirclement with attack."

The main force of the Youyi Army advanced, using elite cavalry to cut off the connection between Lishi and the bandits in the northern part of Xihe, thus cutting off their external support!

At the same time, a detachment will sweep through its surrounding vassal tribes, forcing them to surrender or flee, thus isolating Lishi! Once they are isolated and out of supplies, a swift and decisive strike will follow!

Zhao Yun replied, "Wen Yuan's strategy is excellent."

Zhao Gou smiled and said, "If Xubugu abandons the city, it will be much more difficult. But if he defends the city, it will be a good thing for us. Wen Yuan's plan is excellent. Now we have sufficient military supplies to surround and kill Xubugu's troops!"

Say it.

In the end, everyone's gaze involuntarily fell on Lü Bu.

Lu Bu felt everyone's gaze, raised his eyes and glanced at the map, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Leave the field battles to me."

The words were few, but they conveyed absolute certainty.

The group exchanged smiles and nodded, having no doubt about the words of this fierce tiger. Over this period of time, Lü Bu had won their trust.

Guo Jia pondered for a moment and then made a decision: "Let's use Wen Yuan's strategy to isolate Lishi and sweep away the vassals!"

He looked at Lü Bu and said, "You will lead the detachment, along with Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun's cavalry, to sweep through the area around Lishi!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "As the strategist commands!"

"Good!" A fierce glint flashed in Guo Jia's eyes.

"All units shall act according to plan! Within ten days, clear the outer perimeter! Within one month, bring the army to the gates of Lishi City! Zhao Gou!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Zhao Gou replied, chest puffed out.

"The dispatch of grain, fodder, and military supplies at Daling must be carried out without error!"

"As the strategist commands!"

"Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun!"

"The general is here!"

"You two are the main force of the army! Ten days later, break camp and advance westward. If you encounter barbarian cavalry, defeat them! If you encounter tribes that surrender, arrest them! If you encounter groups that stubbornly resist..."

Guo Jia slammed the wooden staff he was holding heavily on the ground.

"Slaughter them all! Within a month, our army will surely reach the walls of Lishi City!"

"Order!"

Military orders are absolute, and the camp instantly erupted in excitement.

Nine days later.

Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun led a mixed force of 4,000 infantry and cavalry, crossed the Lüliang Mountains, and entered Xihe County.

Almost as soon as they crossed the border, a cavalry force of about three hundred people spotted them.

Taking advantage of their familiar terrain, the nomads circled and roared on the distant mountain ridges, their arrows flying like locusts at the well-organized infantry formation of the Han army.

This is a common tactic used by the Hu cavalry: harassment, probing, and enraging the opponent to break their formation.

"Raise your shields! Archers, prepare!" Zhang Liao's voice was calm enough.

The front-line swordsmen and shield bearers instantly crouched down, and the huge square shields covered with cowhide slammed into the ground, forming an impenetrable iron wall.

The longbowmen behind calmly extended half of their bows through the gaps in their shields, cold arrows pointing diagonally into the sky.

"wind!"

At a command, hundreds of arrows soared into the air with a piercing whistle, tracing dense arcs and precisely covering the densest area of ​​the barbarian cavalry on the ridge!
Puff puff!
The dull thud of arrows piercing flesh mingled with the mournful neighing of warhorses.

The once arrogant Hu cavalry fell like wheat swept by a sickle! The remaining Hu cavalrymen reined in their horses in terror, their eyes filled with disbelief and fear as they looked at their companions with arrows piercing their leather robes and embedded deep in their flesh and bone.

The Han army's bows had a range and power that far exceeded their cavalry bows!

"Cavalry! Encircle from both sides!" Zhao Yun led the charge.

Two groups of Han light cavalry, who had been poised to attack, suddenly burst out from the flanks of the infantry formation like arrows released from a bow, and cut diagonally into the rear of the chaotic Hu cavalry.

They did not rush into close combat, but relied on their excellent horse tack and horsemanship to maintain a distance of an arrow's flight from the Hu cavalry, constantly unleashing a deadly rain of arrows from their horsebows.

The Hu cavalry attempted to retaliate, but the sparse bone arrows struck the Han cavalry's fine iron-inlaid leather armor, and most of them were unable to slip off.

However, the Han cavalry's accurate arrows continuously shot them off their horses.

After just two rounds of fighting, this 300-man cavalry force completely collapsed, abandoning dozens of corpses and wounded, and fled in panic towards the deep mountains. "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Clear the battlefield and continue forward!" Zhao Yun reined in his horse, watching the fleeing figures with a calm expression.

What he wanted was not to annihilate this small group of cavalry, but to make an example of them, to intimidate all the tribes that dared to spy on them.

Several days later, the army marched to the front of a medium-sized tribal camp called the Blackrock Tribe.

This tribe occupied a river valley.

A simple low wall was built around the perimeter using rubble and sharpened wooden stakes. On the top of the wall, figures moved about, and hundreds of tribal warriors, holding bows and arrows and bone spears, nervously watched the Han army appear at the entrance of the valley.

"Pass on the order! Shout out! Those who surrender will be spared!" Zhao Yun, dressed in white robes and silver armor, stood at the front of the battle.

The military officer, fluent in the Xiongnu language, rode forward and shouted in the Xiongnu language: "When the Han army arrives here, they will only execute the ringleader, Xubugu! All you men, listen up! Lay down your weapons and surrender, and you will be spared your lives and livestock! Those who resist will be slaughtered on the day the camp is breached!"

His response was a flurry of arrows and shouts filled with hostility.

Clearly, Xubugu's usual prestige had an effect, and the tribal chief chose to resist.

Zhao Yun's eyes sharpened, and he said no more.

He raised his silver spear high: "Crossbowmen and shieldmen, advance! Press down on the stockade! Infantry, divide into three teams, with shield wagons providing cover, break down the gate! Be the first to charge!"

"Charge ahead and break through the enemy lines!"

Commands are passed down through the hierarchy.

Dozens of shield wagons, shaped like small huts and covered with raw cowhide, were pushed forward by able-bodied soldiers.

Crossbowmen with swords and shields followed closely behind, and under the cover of shield wagons, they launched wave after wave of suppressive fire at the stockade wall.

The tribal archers on the wall were pinned down and unable to lift their heads.

"break!"

The fierce Han soldiers, carrying huge battering rams and under the tight protection of their swordsmen and shield bearers, roared as they charged toward the gate made of thick tree trunks.

boom! boom! boom!
The dull thud struck like a heavy hammer, pounding into the hearts of every villager guarding the village.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and the door latch groaned under the strain.

At the same time, several simple ladders were also erected on the low stone wall.

Clad in heavy armor, the vanguard soldiers held short swords in their mouths, used a round shield to protect their heads and faces with one hand, and climbed with the other, moving swiftly.

"Hold on! Hold on!" the tribal chief on the wall shouted hoarsely.

But all resistance proved futile in the face of the Han army's skilled siege tactics.

When the gate of the stronghold shattered with a loud crash, and when the first Han soldier roared and leaped onto the wall, wielding a short sword and cutting down several men, the Black Stone tribe's will to resist collapsed instantly.

Cries, pleas for mercy, and the clatter of weapons hitting the ground filled the air.

The battle quickly devolved into a one-sided cleanup.

Those young and strong who resisted were ruthlessly slaughtered, while women, children, the elderly, and the weak were driven away and concentrated.

Several plumes of smoke rose from the camp, the final resting place of the chieftain and his confidants who had resisted to the bitter end.

Zhang Liao rode his horse slowly into the ravaged camp, his gaze sweeping over the prisoners shivering in the wind, their eyes filled with terror and despair.

He waved his hand: "Take inventory of the population and livestock, separate the able-bodied men and women into different guards, and place the women and children in a centralized location and provide them with temporary rations."

While Zhang Liao and Zhao Yun were advancing cautiously and steadily on the road to Lishi.

Lü Bu led a thousand elite cavalrymen, stirring up waves on the vast grasslands.

His target was clear: the relatively open grassland tribes to the west and south of Shicheng.

These tribes were stronger, had more cavalry, and were more accustomed to maneuvering against enemies on the vast grasslands.

"General, we have discovered traces of a tribe thirty miles ahead! Scouts have determined that they have no fewer than eight hundred cavalry capable of fighting, and they are driving a large number of cattle and sheep to migrate northwest!"

A dusty scout from the Imperial Guard rode back to report.

Lu Bu sat upright on his fiery red warhorse, clad in his signature dark black armor.

With his double-toothed halberd held horizontally in front of his saddle, he sneered upon hearing this: "Order! The entire army to change horses! Light armor and swift march! Wei Xu and Song Xian as the left and right vanguards, Gao Shun in the center to bring up the rear! Keep them pinned down! Before sunset, I want my horses to water in this barbarian camp!"

"promise!"

Upon receiving the order, a thousand elite cavalrymen erupted in a deafening roar.

The heavy but absolutely secure armor was quickly removed, leaving only the lightweight, iron-trimmed leather armor.

The soldiers quickly harnessed their warhorses to light bridles and inspected their bows, arrows, swords, and spears.

In just a quarter of an hour, this cavalry force completed the transformation from heavy armor to light cavalry. Led by Lü Bu, who took the lead, they kicked up clouds of dust and charged wildly toward the northwest!
Uvi, the leader of the Gray Wolf tribe, was filled with unease and a sense of relief.

He received news of the Han army's large-scale westward advance and also heard about the fate of the Xifeng tribe.

He didn't want to confront the Han army head-on, and he was even more reluctant to give up this fertile grassland and the cattle and sheep he had painstakingly accumulated. So he decided to lead his tribe to migrate further northwest to the grasslands near the area where the bandits of the Northern Mountains were active, in an attempt to temporarily avoid the enemy's advance and observe the situation.

The migrating procession was large and bloated.

Nearly a thousand yurts were dismantled and loaded onto oxcarts, while tens of thousands of cattle and sheep were driven along.

The eight hundred cavalrymen responsible for the escort were scattered around the perimeter of the column.

When the earth began to tremble faintly, like muffled thunder, Uvi's heart sank.

Experience told him this was no small caravan! In alarm, he climbed onto the tallest cart and looked southeast. On the horizon, a wave of dust and leaping black dots was sweeping in at an astonishing speed! That speed far exceeded that of the fastest horse in his tribe!
"Enemy attack! It's Han cavalry! Quick! All able-bodied men, mount your horses! Protect the cattle, sheep, carts, and tents! Retreat northwest! Retreat now!"

Uwe screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice distorted with fear.

The entire Grey Wolf tribe instantly descended into chaos.

The cries of women and children, the terrified bellows of cattle and sheep, and the frantic shouts and urgings of men were all mixed together.

The escorting cavalry assembled, providing cover for the cumbersome convoy to turn.

But it was too late!

Lu Bu's thousand iron cavalry swept through like the wind, fiercely wedging themselves into the most chaotic rear half of the Gray Wolf tribe's massive migrating caravan.

There were slaves driving cattle and sheep, and slow-moving old people, women and children!

"kill!"

Lu Bu roared like thunder, and his fiery red warhorse instantly accelerated to its maximum speed!

He completely ignored the bone arrows that were scattering from nowhere, and his double-fanged halberd transformed into a whirlwind of death!
Poof! Click!
Where the halberd blade passed, slaves and tribal warriors who tried to stop them were cut down like grass.

The warhorse's immense impact smashed the cart blocking its path to pieces! The torrent of cavalry behind him followed closely, their sharp ring-pommel swords easily slicing through leather robes and severing limbs with the speed of their horses.

The stench of blood and entrails instantly filled the air.

Wei Xu and Song Xian's left and right wings, like two red-hot daggers piercing through butter, brutally tore apart the hastily organized resistance line of the Gray Wolf Tribe's guard cavalry.

The Han cavalry's skillful coordination, superior weapons and armor completely overwhelmed the Gray Wolf tribe, which, despite having a numerical advantage, had a disorganized formation.

"Don't linger! Drive them away! Scatter them! The target is the tribal chief!" Lu Bu's roar could be clearly heard on the chaotic battlefield.

The Han cavalry faithfully carried out their orders.

They did not seek to kill individual enemies, but rather, like wolves driving sheep, they used dense rain of arrows and fierce charges to drive the panicked herders' scattered cattle and sheep toward the core of the migrating caravan.

Panic spread like a plague.

The driven cattle and sheep collided with the wagons, and the panicked women and children blocked the cavalry's route of charge.

The entire Grey Wolf tribe's migration caravan completely collapsed, trampling each other and killing one another.

Uvi watched in despair as his tribe crumbled like an avalanche, his personal guards falling one after another from their horses under the precise arrows of the Han cavalry.

"Surrender! We surrender!" Uwe finally broke down, dropping his scimitar and shouting with all his might.

As the sun set, turning the grassland a blood-red hue, the battle was already over.

Of the eight hundred cavalrymen of the Grey Wolf tribe, nearly half were killed in battle, and the rest surrendered.

Tens of thousands of cattle and sheep became spoils of war for the Han army and were orderly gathered up.

The nobles and elders of the Uvi tribe, with their hands tied behind their backs, knelt before Lü Bu's horse, their faces ashen.

Blood dripped from the blades of Lü Bu's double-fanged halberds, landing on the withered grass.

He coldly surveyed the kneeling prisoners, his voice devoid of any warmth: "Send a message to Li Shixubugu! The Gray Wolf Tribe is gone! Who does he want to see disappear next?"

The news spread like wildfire across the grasslands.

Lü Bu's Han cavalry displayed a fighting style completely different from that of the Han army in the past.

They don't build camps or defend cities; they are more like grassland people than grassland people themselves.

When encountering small tribes, they crush them directly; when encountering large tribes, they devour them bit by bit like a pack of wolves.

Wherever he went, tribes that were allied with Xubugu either surrendered at the mere sight of him or were completely crushed, their camps burned down, and their able-bodied men slaughtered.

In just seven days, several large tribes, whose strength was no less than that of the Gray Wolf tribe, vanished in the west, south, and north of Lishi City.

People on the grasslands say that a flying general has come to the Xihe Grassland!

(End of this chapter)