Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

Guo Jia chuckled softly: "It seems General Li's route is about to see bloodshed as well."

Lü Ding said nothing more, only gazing towards the southern mountains. That area was hilly and crisscrossed by mountain paths, marking the border between the southern border of Liang and Yangcheng. He paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Give the order. The entire army must assemble and march south."

The bugle call soon rang out in the valley.

Xu Huang gathered his troops, handed the prisoners over to the rear guard for escort, and led his own troops to quickly regroup and head south along the official road.

Meanwhile, on the mountain road south of Yangcheng, Li Tong's troops had already encountered the enemy army.

It was a narrow valley nestled among hills. Just as the government troops entered the valley, drums suddenly sounded from the woods ahead, followed by a large number of Yellow Turban rebels rushing out from both sides of the hillside, their shouts of battle shaking the valley.

Li Tong reined in his horse and shouted, "Form ranks!"

The soldiers quickly raised their shields and formed ranks, their spears thrusting out in unison. However, this band of rebels was clearly different from the previous one; they outnumbered them, their banners densely packed together, numbering at least two or three thousand. The rebels pressed down from both sides of the hillside, arrows raining down like a storm. Several soldiers fell to the ground, struck by arrows, and the formation momentarily faltered.

Li Tong drew his sword and shouted, "Hold on!"

He personally spurred his horse to the front lines, cleaving down a charging enemy soldier with a single stroke. Seeing their commander personally charge, the surrounding soldiers regained their formation. However, the enemy forces were too numerous, and within moments, the government troops were pinned down at the valley entrance.

A captain cried out urgently, "General, there are too many enemy soldiers!"

Li Tong gritted his teeth and said, "Hold on!"

Just then, someone in the bandit army suddenly shouted, "This is the only government force we have! Charge!" The bandits charged down the mountain even more frantically. In the valley, the battle gradually intensified.

Meanwhile, Lü Ding and his men were traveling swiftly along the official road. A scout rode back at full speed: "Report! The government troops on the Yangcheng mountain road have engaged the enemy!"

Lu Ding reined in his horse and asked, "How many people?"

"About three thousand bandits!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Chu couldn't help but grin: "Three thousand? Perfect."

Guo Jia did not laugh. He pondered for a moment and said, "General Li Tong is most likely trapped by now."

Lü Ding asked, "Why?"

Guo Jia said, "The area south of Liang is hilly. If the enemy is prepared, they will surely occupy the high ground. Once General Li Tong enters the valley, he will be suppressed and will be in a dilemma."

Lü Ding nodded: "Then what should we do?"

Guo Jia glanced at the terrain and said, "Continue along the official road, but don't go directly into the valley. First, seize the high slope on the south side."

"The rebel army will surely be attacking Li Tong with all its might at this moment, leaving their rear vulnerable. As long as we press down from the high ground, the rebel army will be thrown into chaos."

Without asking any further questions, Lü Ding directly ordered: "Xu Chu, lead the cavalry and follow me. Xu Huang will lead the infantry to bring up the rear."

Everyone immediately agreed.

Before long, the government troops deviated from the official road and took a hidden mountain path to the high slope to the south.

In the distant valley, the battle had reached its climax. Li Tong led his troops to defend the valley entrance, but the shield formation was already on the verge of collapse. Waves of rebel soldiers charged down, leaving a layer of corpses at the valley entrance.

A captain, covered in blood, ran up: "General! We can't hold on any longer!"

Li Tong cleaved a bandit soldier in two with a single blow, gritting his teeth as he said, "Hold on!"

Just then, a horn sounded from the distant hillside. Before the rebel army could react, a cavalry force charged down the hill. Leading them was Lü Ding, with Xu Chu close behind.

The cavalry charged straight down the hill at great speed, crashing into the enemy's rear like a torrent.

The rebel army's rear was thrown into chaos.

"Government troops!"

"There are also government troops behind us!"

Hearing the shouts, Li Tong looked up abruptly and saw flags fluttering on the hillside—"Runan" and "Lu".

Li Tong burst into laughter: "Reinforcements have arrived!"

He suddenly swung his sword: "Counterattack!"

The morale of the government troops at the valley entrance soared. The shield formation advanced, spears thrusting out, and the previously suppressed lines were pushed forward. At the same time, Xu Huang's infantry arrived and pressed in from outside the valley.

The government troops advanced simultaneously from three sides.

The rebel army's formation collapsed instantly. Many people dropped their weapons and fled in all directions.

In less than half an hour, the battle situation had completely turned around.

Corpses littered the valley floor, and the shouts of battle gradually subsided.

Just as the government troops were mopping up the remaining enemy forces, a bugle call suddenly sounded again from the distant mountain path. Everyone was taken aback, and saw another army appearing on the mountain path to the south, with two words written on their banners—Liang Kingdom.

Xu Huang frowned and said in a low voice, "Another team?"

Xu Chu already had his sword in hand, and sneered, "Whoever dares to come, I'll cut them down."

Lu Ding raised his hand, signaling everyone to hold back.

The troops quickly approached, but instead of charging, they stopped on the mountain path.

Leading the group was a middle-aged general, his armor covered in dust, clearly having arrived in haste. He glanced at the battlefield in the valley—corpses strewn everywhere, government troops gathering prisoners, yet their formation remained impeccable—and his gaze sharpened slightly.

He then looked at Lü Ding, his expression noticeably softening.

Lu Ding was no stranger to this man.

Last year, the states of Chen and Liang, following Yuan Shu's orders, sent troops to exert pressure on the border of Runan Commandery. The person from Liang at that time was Han Sheng.

Later, Liang territory was attacked by the Yellow Turban rebels, and Han Sheng's troops' provisions were burned, making it difficult for them to sustain themselves. They even sent people to Runan to ask for supplies. Lü Ding also sent people to provide assistance and agreed with Chen and Liang to conduct mutual patrols and jointly guard the border.

I never imagined that after all these years, we would meet again on such a battlefield.

Han Sheng's expression was somewhat complicated. He dismounted, walked to the front of the formation, and bowed, saying, "Han Sheng, the garrison commander of Liang Kingdom, greets Young Master Lü."

Lu Ding looked at him and nodded slightly, but didn't say anything more.

Han Sheng continued, "We just received orders from the governor's office to cooperate with the troops of Runan Commandery to wipe out the Yellow Turbans in Liang territory. However, the rebel army suddenly gathered, and we arrived a step too late."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the battlefield in the valley once more, and looking at the ravaged corpses and the prisoners lined up in a row, his expression became somewhat complicated.

"I didn't expect that you, young master, have already defeated the enemy."

Guo Jia chuckled softly from the side: "Han Sima's arrival is quite timely."

Han Sheng understood the implication in his words, but only gave a wry smile: "To be honest, we have tried to wipe out these Yellow Turban rebels in Liang County several times, but we have never been able to completely eliminate them. In today's battle, you have defeated their main force."

He suddenly became serious as he said this: "Liang's military strength is already insufficient. If you, my lord, do not mind, we are willing to obey your orders."

Upon hearing this, everyone around fell silent for a moment.

Lu Ding was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many men do you have under your command?"

"There are still eight hundred left."

Lü Ding nodded.

"From today onwards, the suppression of bandits in Liang territory will be under the unified command of Runan."

Han Sheng immediately clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "As you command."

As the sun gradually set, government troops were taking inventory of the battlefield in the valley. Corpses were dragged to the side of the valley, prisoners knelt in a row, and weapons were piled up like a small mountain.

Guo Jia stood on the hillside, watching all this, and suddenly said, "Young Master."