Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

After capturing Hulao Pass and reorganizing, Lin Mu led his army to continue advancing.

As the army marched forward, the places they passed were, as Lin Mu had predicted, mostly empty cities. The few remaining soldiers who had not had time to migrate surrendered without any real resistance when they saw the overwhelming force of the Great Wilderness Army.

In just half a month, Lin Mu led his army to open up most of the Sili territory, and his troops reached the city of Luoyang, preparing to join forces with Ju Shou's Jizhou army, which was advancing from the other side.

However, the expected victorious meeting did not occur.

The advance into the northern part of the Great Wilderness territory was not very smooth.

Ju Shou was having a very difficult time.

He led his army south from Hanoi County, and after crossing the vast Yellow River, the first city he attacked was Pingyin City!
Pingyin City is located on the banks of the Yellow River and is the northwesternmost city of Henan Province.

Ju Shou planned to begin his conquest of the western part of Henan Province from the rear of Henan Province.

However, as if they knew that the main force of the Great Wilderness was in the direction of Hulao Pass, Dong Zhuo's generals gathered north of Henan Yin.

They've laid an ambush on Ju Shou!

The Jizhou army is lying in ambush!

Ju Shou led his main force across the Yellow River and was just about to set up camp when they were ambushed!

"Strategist, two hundred thousand elite troops have already crossed the Yellow River to the south bank. Should we begin setting up camp?" Geng Wu asked in a low voice.

The Yellow River is extremely wide, and it took them a long time to cross it, so many soldiers needed to rest.

"Don't set up camp yet, wait a bit longer," Ju Shou said cautiously, steadying himself.

Geng Wu nodded, and then continued to transport the troops.

Gazing at the Yellow River flowing eastward, Ju Shou was filled with emotion.

This time, the position of Governor of Henan is practically in the bag. However, caution is still advised.

The same goes for Lord Lin Mu; he not only personally led the charge, but also brought his most formidable fighting force!

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit!

After another 100,000 troops crossed the south bank, Ju Shou began to station the 100,000 troops there, while another 200,000 troops lay in ambush nearby.

The night was as dark as ink, and the world was silent.

"Buzz!~~~" Geng Wu, who was directing his soldiers to set up camp under cover of night, sensed an unusual fluctuation, abruptly stood up, and looked into the darkness to the west.

"Kill!!!" Just then, a piercing shout of battle rang out.

"There really was an ambush!!" Geng Wu was slightly startled. The strategist's prediction had indeed been accurate.

"Kill!!!" Geng Wu drew his weapon and commanded his 100,000 elite troops to launch a counterattack.

"Boom!~~~" At this moment, a huge roar came, and the entire ground trembled.

Countless cavalrymen surged out of the darkness like a giant wave sweeping across the land.

The horses' hooves shattered the night, causing the campfire to flicker violently.

Countless cavalry charged straight toward the camp that was not yet fully set up. Their numbers were unknown, but they were definitely not few!
In the darkness, the number of the enemy could not be seen, but the shouts of battle were deafening. The camp walls had not yet been erected and were completely unable to stop the surging momentum.

At that moment, Geng Wu felt a powerful aura lock onto him. He looked sharply in that direction and saw a handsome figure appear. In the light of the campfire at the entrance, he could clearly see who it was.

Bingzhou Army, Zhang Liao!!!

At this moment, although Zhang Liao's aura was locked onto Geng Wu, his killing intent was not deep, and there was even a complicated look on his face.

Because he received a letter from his superior, who was also his friend Lü Bu.

A letter that caused him immense inner turmoil!
No matter how many Jizhou soldiers I kill, no matter whether the city can be defended, I must lead the Bingzhou army to the vicinity of Chang'an City in two months!

It's important to understand that since Dong Zhuo entered Chang'an, the main force of Bingzhou's army had never approached or entered the capital, let alone Chang'an itself. Now, under the pressure of resisting General Lin Mu's forces, they're actually withdrawing two million Bingzhou troops?! And they're even sneaking into Chang'an?!
This was extremely unusual, and the astute Zhang Liao vaguely sensed something... which is why he wore a complicated expression.

The battle for Chang'an is too dangerous... and now we have the enemy General Lin Mu by our side... the future is unpredictable!

It's precisely because he's intelligent, far-sighted, and thoughtful that he's like this. So much so that even today, when he led his army in a surprise attack on the Jizhou army, he wasn't in the best possible condition.

After thinking it over, Zhang Liao did not directly attack and kill General Geng Wu.

They changed direction and went to attack other Ji Province troops.

However, leading 400,000 Bingzhou troops in a charge, he easily broke through the Jizhou army's camp and slaughtered the resisting Jizhou troops.

They should still be killed!
"kill!!!"

Suddenly, a tremor arose on both sides, and earth-shattering shouts of battle rang out again.

The Jizhou army, lying in ambush, has arrived!
Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao made a decisive move and immediately ordered the troops on both sides to change formation and form a circular formation to hold their ground.

He led his army to continue the charge, and soon annihilated the entire 100,000-strong Jizhou army...

Afterwards, under the cover of some soldiers, they disappeared into the long night.

The 100,000 Jizhou soldiers who were attacked were all Jizhou halberdiers. Although the incident was sudden, they did not panic immediately. After hearing the general's order, they quickly shrank their formation and formed a defensive formation.

However, compared to the battle-hardened Bingzhou army, even though the Jizhou halberdiers were a type of soldier that was naturally superior to the Bingzhou cavalry, they still could not withstand the trampling of the cavalry and were completely wiped out.

The Bingzhou army also paid a heavy price.

The next day, a headcount revealed that nearly 40,000 Bingzhou cavalry had been killed.

After that, the encampment proceeded smoothly, and they were not attacked again.

After the entire army of 600,000 crossed the Yellow River and rested for three days, the well-prepared Jizhou army began its attack on the city.

"Kill!!!" Ju Shou commanded the Jizhou halberdiers to attack the city.

These Ji Province halberdiers and those killed by Zhang Liao were all bound to Soul Fish, meaning they could be resurrected. Otherwise, the losses would have been considerable... Zhang Liao's losses were real... The Bing Province cavalry simply didn't have the opportunity to bind to resurrection structures!
In fact, wasn't this one of the motives behind Lü Bu's plot to rebel against Dong Zhuo?

The siege was not going smoothly either. Zhang Liao led his troops in a fierce resistance, and from behind, Xiliang cavalry launched a surprise attack.

The two sides fought for a day and a night before finally calling a retreat.

The Jizhou army suffered considerable losses on the first day of the siege. However, Ju Shou seemed to have anticipated that the Xiliang cavalry would launch a surprise attack from the rear or flanks, and he had made prior arrangements to annihilate the entire force of 200,000 Xiliang cavalry!

Commander-in-Chief Fan Chou fled with his personal guards.

On the city wall of Pingyin, Zhang Liao frowned as he watched the figures moving outside the city.

Fan Chou, a general of the Xiliang army, is still alive... What a pity!

Zhang Liao actually hoped that the Ji Province army would kill Fan Chou... that way, they would have a slightly better chance of winning the battle for Chang'an...

However, throughout this process, Zhang Liao did not betray Dong Zhuo's camp in the slightest. He did not inform Ju Shou.

Everything was figured out by Ju Shou and his team.

Of course, Zhang Liao did not warn Fan Chou. When he launched a surprise attack on Ju Shou, he was ambushed, proving that Ju Shou was a very cautious commander who always had a backup plan.

This siege must have been undertaken with precautions in mind against external attacks.

And then... everything happened...

“If Fan Chou comes in…should we…” Zhang Liao looked up at the stars shining brightly in the sky, a hint of hesitation in his heart…

Ju Shou couldn't kill Fan Chou, though he could have. But there's still a considerable amount of time left in the two-month period... Would acting rashly affect the struggle for Chang'an?
Zhang Liao hesitated...

However, there was no need to hesitate. Fan Chou did not enter the city; according to scouts, he returned directly to the rear after his defeat. (End of Chapter)