I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 842: After Su Yao's divine power swept the enemy, the Jizhou army fled in panic (5K2)

"Trash, trash!"

"Quick, follow me to take back the city wall!"

"We must not let them seize the city gate!"

In Guantao County, Military Commander Zhang Meng was furious when he saw his own troops being defeated on the city wall.

Immediately, he sent his deputy general to lead reinforcements to rush to the city gate and fight to the death on the city wall. At the same time, he ordered his generals under the city to draw their bows and shoot, suppressing the top of the city with a rain of arrows.

"Here, are there still some of our people on the wall?"

"If we shoot, there will be too many accidental casualties."

"What? You mean those deserters and surrendered soldiers?!"

Zhang Meng glared fiercely at the deputy general who raised the question:
"Put down your weapons, he is not our brother!"

"Now stop talking nonsense and shoot arrows at me! We must not let the enemy succeed so easily!"

The boss has spoken, so the younger brothers naturally dare not disobey.

For a moment, arrows rained down like locusts, covering the sky and the earth, and shot densely towards the top of the city.

You know what, this works really well.

In order to ensure the success of the surprise attack, especially considering the problem of climbing the rope ladder, it was naturally impossible for the Yulin Guards on the city walls to wear heavy armor.

Seeing the rain of arrows coming, they all fell to the ground, hiding behind the parapets, unable to raise their heads.

"Hahaha!"

"See? This is what happens if you dare to go against me!"

"Quick, send people up the wall, attack from both sides, and wipe them out!"

Zhang Meng looked very proud.

After all, the city wall is for external defense. Although there are battlements on the inner side, they are not as tall as the outer parapet and are not very effective in defending against arrows.

He now has a large number of people and can suppress them with bows and arrows while mobilizing troops. I think he will be able to deal with these bandits quickly.

Indeed, generally speaking, this is the case. If Su Yao hadn't been there.
"You're the only one who can shoot arrows, right?"

Su Yao snorted coldly, took out a bow from the corpse on the ground, poked his head out, drew the bow and shot:
"Piercing through willows and shooting willows, you will always hit the mark!"

After a low shout, the arrow streaked across the night sky like a meteor, whistling through the air, and headed straight for Zhang Meng.

Zhang Meng, who was originally laughing triumphantly, suddenly froze in his tracks and instinctively felt a little scared.

Am I scared?
How can it be? !
I'm not afraid of anything. Can he hit me from this distance?

Facing the swiftly approaching arrow, Zhang Meng calmed himself down and thought to himself that it was stupid.

Although he was eager to recapture the city wall, and although he was indeed a little drunk, he was sure that he was not stupid enough to step into the long-range shooting range of the city.

This place is at least fifty steps away from where an arrow can hit me, so it is impossible for anyone to shoot me.

So, when Zhang Meng faced the incoming arrows, he did not dodge or evade, but raised his head and looked calm.

He had already planned that when the arrows missed the target, he would taunt the bandits on the wall and make them
puff!

An arrow pierces the skull!
The sharp arrow, with the momentum of splitting mountains and splitting rocks, actually crossed a distance far beyond common sense and hit Zhang Meng's head with incredible accuracy.

The arrow penetrated his left eye socket fiercely. The powerful impact instantly shattered his skull, and fine bone fragments and thick blood came out from the back of his head.

Zhang Meng's body suddenly stiffened. His originally arrogant and complacent look instantly faded, and the smile froze on his face, leaving only endless astonishment and fear.

With a plop, Zhang Meng fell to the ground and died with his eyes open.

"what?!"

"Oh my God!"

"Sima Zhang!"

The Jizhou army camp was in an uproar. The soldiers watched in horror as their commander fell straight back, splashing a cloud of dust.

The deputy generals were stunned and almost dropped their weapons. They could never have imagined that at this seemingly safe distance, their chief general would be killed instantly by a single arrow.

The hands of the soldiers who were drawing their bows and shooting arrows began to tremble involuntarily, and the originally orderly rain of arrows suddenly became messy and sparse, while the Han army soldiers on the top of the city walls burst into amazing cheers:

"The general is mighty!"

"Long live the General!"

"Great General's Divine Might!"

Li Ji's face turned red with excitement, and the long sword in his hand was waving with a whirring sound. The soldiers also stood up from behind the parapets, waving their weapons high, with excitement and admiration flashing in their eyes.

At this moment, all the frustration caused by the rain of arrows was swept away.

"Kill the thief!"

"Capture the city!"

"Follow me!"

Su Yao did not miss this opportunity.

He leaped straight down from the wall, once again demonstrating his superhuman strength.

Su Yao charged forward while drawing his bow and shooting arrows.

The arrows whizzed out, one after another, and instantly made the reinforcements under the wall howl in horror.

The Yulin Guards on the city wall followed closely behind. They either shot with bows on the spot or ran to the stairs on both sides and engaged in fierce fighting with the bandits' reinforcements.

Under the leadership of Su Yao's bravery, the soldiers' morale was high, they burst out with unprecedented fighting power, and killed with great success.

On the other hand, the Jizhou army had lost their chief general and was leaderless, falling into a quagmire of chaos and panic.

Although several military officers and generals tried their best to shout and regroup, the chaotic situation was like a wild horse that had run away from its reins and was difficult to control.

Especially after Su Yao got close, he drew out his Mo Dao and immediately set off a bloody storm in the crowd.

"I can't beat him. I can't beat him at all!"

"Too strong, a monster, a monster!"

The Jizhou army soldiers shouted in panic.

Basically, wherever Su Yao went, the resistance there would instantly collapse.

What made them feel even more desperate was that without them noticing, their city gate had been lost. As the city gate slowly opened, the last bit of hope they had left was completely crushed.

"kill!"

The Imperial Guard knights on standby outside the city swarmed in and attacked anyone they saw.

The iron hooves rolled in, and one after another, the Jizhou army soldiers lay dead on the roadside. In a short time, the Guantao County was filled with heads rolling and blood flowing like a river.

Su Yao’s army came quickly and left quickly.

Less than two hours after the enemy's attack began, Su Yao's cavalry sped away in the rolling dust and left Guantao County.

However, County Magistrate Dou, who had escaped death by chance by hiding in a private house, did not feel any joy at all after surviving the disaster.

Under the blazing firelight, County Magistrate Dou was seen slumped on the blood-stained ground, tears streaming down his face: "It's over, it's all over!"

"what?!"

"You said Guantao was lost and the food and grass were burned?"

"Is this true?!"

At the Wei County front, when Geng Wu received the news that Guantao had fallen, he felt as if struck by lightning and his hands could not stop shaking.

Beside him, Qu Yi was speechless, his face flushed:

"Didn't Mengzi have 3,000 men stationed in the county? How could they be taken down in one fell swoop?"

"No, no!"

Qu Yi couldn't understand.

Zhang Meng was his trusted confidant who he brought from Xiliang. He had gone to great lengths to assign him the task of guarding the granary in the rear, as he was afraid that these Hebei guys did not understand military affairs and might make mistakes.

As a result, should I tell him now that there is a problem on my side?
Impossible, impossible!

"Is there a traitor? Or did that Su guy use some evil trick to trick him out of the city?"

Qu Yi glared at the scout who kept saying "Absolutely true" and asked fiercely.

However.
"No, no!"

"There is no traitor, and no evil plot."

"The general, it is said that he flew up to the city wall in the middle of the night. He is so brave!"

Can I believe this nonsense?!
Qu Yi's eyes widened and he was about to start scolding, but in a flash he thought of the scene where Su Yao scored the goal alone.

"Are the rumors true?!" Geng Wu felt powerless all over.

They had naturally heard of the rumors that the general jumped away as fast as the wind and could hold his own against ten thousand men, just like a god descending to earth.

However, most of the time they think that it is just an exaggeration of fools, or a flattery required for publicity.

Now, first, they saw the great general with strength like a running bull, breaking down the gate of the village, and then heard the scouts' vivid description of the tragic scene of the fall of Guantao. Everyone present couldn't help but believe the rumors about Su Yao a little more.

"Hey!"

Cheng Huan sighed, not expecting that all the preparations he had made over the past few days would be in vain. "Now that Guantao has fallen and our food and grass are no longer safe, do we have to withdraw our troops?"

"Don't panic, don't panic!"

Geng Wu took a deep breath and said:
"Although we lost Guantao and suffered heavy losses, we still have grain stations such as Ping'en and Handangou."

"As long as we ensure their safety, our army will still be able to fight."

Yes, it’s not time to despair yet.

On the one hand, the food and fodder needs of an army of 200,000 were huge, and it was difficult to guarantee them with just one grain station. On the other hand, in order to disperse the risks and prevent the enemy from destroying the transportation routes, Geng Wu and others set up three grain routes in the rear: left, middle and right.

The largest reserve is in Julu, the northern transportation hub, which is an important place that gathers more than half of the grain reserves in Jizhou County. Then there are the transit grain stations such as Guantao, Ping'en and Handangou after entering Wei County.

Although Guantao has been lost now, it is not necessarily a serious blow.

Therefore, Geng Wu immediately deployed troops and ordered Cheng Huan and Zhang He to send their generals back to defend the area, strengthen the defense of the grain stations in the rear, and increase protection for the grain transport teams.

"Don't worry, Chief!"

"The last general takes command!"

The two men received the order loudly, hurried out of the tent, and prepared to select capable men to return for defense.

At this moment, when they opened the curtain, a soldier suddenly bumped into them:

"Oh no! Something terrible has happened!"

"Ping'en has been lost, Hangou is in danger, rear, rear."

The soldier's face was pale, he was panting, and he could barely speak clearly.

But just these few short words were enough to make Geng Wu, Qu Yi, Cheng Huan, Zhang He and others faint.

Geng Wu then took two steps at a time and leaped forward, grabbing the soldier by the collar and roaring with his eyes wide open: "What did you say? Say it again!"

The soldier trembled and shook his head with difficulty:

"Geng, Chief Geng, Ping'en has been breached by the enemy army, and all the food and grass have been destroyed. On the other side of Hangou, the enemy army is also attacking fiercely. The defending general Jiang Qi is struggling to hold on and has sent people to ask for help. If the troops are not sent quickly, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on for much longer."

Geng Wu felt a black screen before his eyes when he heard this, and he almost fell to the ground. Cheng Huan held him up and shouted angrily:

"How is this possible?! In such a short period of time, two food depots were lost one after another! What are the scouts doing?!"

The soldier who came to report the news was so frightened that he was trembling all over and almost crying:
"General, the enemy army is coming with great force and is elusive. By the time the scouts discovered us, it was already too late..."

There was a dead silence in the tent, and everyone looked as pale as death.

Geng Wu slowly pushed Cheng Huan's hand away, fell to the ground, his eyes empty, and muttered to himself:
"It's over, it's all over... How can an army of 200,000 fight without food and grass..."

Geng Wu fell into despair, while Qu Yi and Zhang He stood there in a daze, looking at each other.

"no!"

Cheng Huan suddenly shouted:
"We can't just sit there and wait for death!"

"Chief General, please give the order immediately to withdraw the entire army. First, save the remaining food and grass, and then make plans!"

"Retreat?"

Geng Wu raised his head, a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes:
"But Wei County has not been conquered yet. If we retreat now, we will lose momentum before the battle. How can we face the people of Jizhou in the future? How can we explain to Envoy Han?"

"It's already this late, why are you still caring about this!"

Cheng Huan stamped his feet anxiously:
"Food and grass are the most important thing. Without food and grass, the soldiers will be hungry. How can they fight? Besides, Su Yao has destroyed many of our food stations. He may be leading his troops to encircle and annihilate our army. If we don't retreat, I'm afraid our entire army will be wiped out!"

As if to confirm Cheng Huan's words, just when the atmosphere in the tent was tense, suddenly, another scout came hurriedly reporting:
"Report!"

"Emergency military situation!"

"Reinforcements from the bandits have appeared in the west, numbering about 30,000. They will arrive at Wei County by tomorrow at the latest!"

"what?!"

"There are reinforcements?!"

Geng Wu stood up in panic, and after asking carefully, he realized that those were probably the rear troops brought by Su Yao.

"This"

"The Su bandits' several thousand vanguards have turned our army upside down. What should we do if they send another 30,000 rear troops?"

This news was like the last straw, crushing the last glimmer of hope in everyone's hearts.

The atmosphere in the tent was depressing and almost suffocating. Qu Yi and Zhang He looked at each other and saw a trace of complicated emotions in each other's eyes.

Then, Qu Yi turned his face away, while Zhang He sighed, clasped his fists and stepped out of the line, saying:

"Chief General, the situation is critical now. I think the most urgent thing is to preserve our strength."

"Now that the enemy reinforcements have arrived, it will be difficult to capture Wei County in a short time. The rear is unstable, and if the news of the loss of food and grass leaks out, the consequences will be disastrous."

"For now, it is better to retreat first as General Cheng said."

Geng Wu gritted his teeth when he heard this, feeling unwilling.

But the depressing atmosphere in the tent and the solemn expressions of everyone made him realize that there was probably no other choice at the moment.

The first thing to fight in a war is the morale of the army. If the morale is gone, hundreds of thousands of troops will be like ants and will be vulnerable to a single blow.

"Forget it, let's retreat back to Julu first, keep our food supply routes safe, and then regroup and fight the Su bandits to the death!"

"Pass the order down. The entire army must complete evacuation preparations within half an hour. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"

Following Geng Wu's order, the Jizhou military camp instantly became a mess.

The soldiers hurriedly packed their bags, dismantled their tents, led out their horses, and carried their baggage. Anxiety and uneasiness were written all over their faces.

Although Geng Wu strictly ordered not to disclose the military intelligence of the instability in the rear and the loss of food and grass, sometimes keeping it secret is worse than being honest.

Indeed, except for senior generals such as Zhang He and Qu Yi, no one knew what had happened, but the soldiers were not fools.

"What's going on? Why did they withdraw their troops?!"

"Isn't this city going to be captured soon? Why are they retreating so quickly? What's going on?"

"Oh, haven't you heard? It's a disaster, it's a disaster!"

The soldiers who were unaware of the situation began to discuss the matter, and before the withdrawal, terrible rumors began to spread rapidly.

Some people may have their own channels, and their guesses are pretty good. They describe in vivid detail that there was a problem with food and grass in the rear, and that the general broke into the granary alone, killing people and setting fire to the granary. The fire was all over the sky and burned for seven days and seven nights.

Others added fuel to the fire, saying that the general could turn beans into soldiers and create thousands of troops in the blink of an eye. Wherever they went, the earth shook. Their retreat was cut off and they were afraid that they would be wiped out.

What's more, some people said that the general was a god who came to the world with the mission of heaven. He flew to Gaoyi on clouds and killed the traitor Han Fu, cut out his heart and stomach, and the flag of the Han army had already been raised in Gaoyi City.

For a time, rumors spread wildly among the Jizhou army soldiers like wildfire, and fear was like a dark cloud, weighing heavily on everyone's heart.

With morale in turmoil, the soldiers became increasingly panicked. Quarrels and shouting broke out in the ranks, and the situation was almost out of control.

At this time, Cao Cao and others were looking at the chaotic scene in the Jizhou military camp from the top of Wei County City, and they were secretly glad in their hearts.

"The general's move of cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron is truly brilliant. Now that the Jizhou army is in disarray, it is a good opportunity for us to counterattack."

Xiahou Dun rubbed his hands and said excitedly:
"Meng De, give the order quickly, let's rush out and kill them all!"

Cao Cao laughed, but still shook his head slightly. After thinking for a moment, he said, "No hurry, no hurry."

"Although the Jizhou army is in disarray, there are still 200,000 of them. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Let's hold our troops for now and observe their movements. When General Su's army takes action, we can coordinate a pincer attack to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

However, having said that, Cao Cao was not prepared to let Geng Wu go so easily.

When Geng Wu's army broke camp and fled, Cao Cao still put together a small cavalry team of several hundred people to pursue them.

The reason why Cao Cao had the courage to do this was naturally that he saw that in the Jizhou army, almost all of their cavalry had taken the lead and rushed towards the north.

That was naturally Qu Yi's vanguard.

Seeing that the morale of the army was wavering, Geng Wu was afraid that something might happen halfway, so he cracked down on rumors and killed many people in his own camp. At the same time, he sent General Qu Yi to lead 5,000 vanguard knights to go ahead and support Jiang Qi in Handangou to clear the obstacles for the army's withdrawal.

However, Ju Shou actually did not agree with this arrangement.

"Su Yao is brave and unrivaled in riding and shooting, especially in field battles."

"Today, our army is in a state of panic. We should act in a group and maintain our numerical advantage."

"If we divide our forces rashly, we may be able to gain advantage of Su Yao."

"How come I don't know what you are talking about?"

Geng Wu's face was gloomy:

"But if we don't send cavalry to support Hangou, not only will our food and grass be lost, but our army will also have no place to retreat."

Handangou is located in the northwest of Wei County. After Pingen was broken, it became the shortest route to Julu.

If Handangou was there, they could still have a relay supply station on the way. If Handangou was lost, they could only flee in a panic with empty stomachs, as there were too many variables along the way.

After careful consideration, Geng Wu decided that it was more important to send cavalry to stabilize Handangou first:

"It is important to be stable in everything. If Su Yao does not attack forcefully, you do not need to rush into battle with him."

"Wait for my army to arrive, and we will join forces and then look for an opportunity to defeat the enemy."

Geng Wu gave Qu Yi many warnings, fearing that something might go wrong again.

However, as the saying goes, what you fear is bound to come true.

Before Qu Yi's army reached Handangou, the ambush troops of Zhao Yun arranged by Su Yao came in handy.
(End of this chapter)