I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 846: Survive from Despair, Destiny is in Su's Hand (Combined Chapter 5K)

"My goodness, this is too outrageous!"

"Are those people here to surrender?"

"I haven't even warmed up yet, why did they fail?"

In Handou, outside the meeting hall of the county government, the Han soldiers were discussing a lot.

Obviously, few people could have expected that in less than a day, such a large group of people would come to surrender to them.

Everyone was talking about it, some were still not satisfied, while others felt proud of it.

"The general is mighty and domineering, sweeping across the four directions. No one can stop him. It is wise for them to surrender."

"If they don't surrender today, they will fight with our general tomorrow and die without a burial place!"

"That's right!"

"Hahahaha!"

——“Ahem.”

The discussions outside quietly drifted into the silent hall, causing the envoys to look at each other in embarrassment, and no one was willing to speak first.

Zhang Wang coughed twice, took a step forward, and broke the silence:
"General, my brother Zhang He has long heard of your great reputation. Since we parted in the battle to save the emperor, I have often mentioned your name, and I long for the opportunity to fight side by side with you again."

"However, I never expected that the world would change so drastically. Han Fu raised his army to rebel, and when he met the general again, they were on different sides."

As he spoke, Zhang Wang sighed deeply:

"My brother was a general of the Han Dynasty, and he was paid by the emperor. He should have been loyal to his duties, but Han Fu usurped the throne and coerced our army. My brother had the ambition to serve his country, but he was trapped in the unjust army. He sighed every day, unable to break free."

"Now the general has gone north to fight against the rebels. He is so powerful and has won victory after victory. The rebels are in a state of panic and fear. My brother has finally found a good opportunity and sent me to surrender to the general."

"We have been preparing for a long time in the Han bandit army, and now we have 6,000 loyal and brave men under our command."

"These people are all fascinated by the general and are loyal to the court. We are ready to fight at any time. Once the general gives the order, we will turn against him and defeat the enemy for him!"

After Zhang Wang finished speaking, he solemnly took out a letter from his arms, raised it high with both hands, presented it to Su Yao, and said earnestly:

"General, this is my brother's handwritten letter, detailing the military deployment and his intention to surrender. I hope you will read it."

Su Yao took the letter, unfolded it slowly, scanned the lines of handwriting, and a meaningful arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Su Yao didn't believe a word of what this person said just now, that he was in the Han camp but his heart was with the Han.

Before the war, Su Yao also learned about several generals and main characters of the Jizhou Army.

Han Fu had just arrived in Jizhou. Apart from his three close confidants, Geng Wu, Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan, Zhang He could be said to be the chief general of Jizhou.

All this was naturally because Zhang He had made great contributions in rescuing the emperor that day and was rewarded as the first Jizhou army general to respond to the call for support and had a record of military success.

Therefore, it was difficult for Han Fu to interfere with Zhang He's troops.

Therefore, in the Jizhou army, Han Fu tried to win over Zhang He frequently, but this could also mean that if Zhang He really wanted to surrender a long time ago, he would not have to wait until now.

However, even though he knew it, Su Yao had no intention of exposing their high-sounding tricks.

After all, no matter whether it is the game setting or the real background, Su Yao can understand Zhang He's behavior.

Because in this era, the influence of imperial power is not as profound as in later generations, and there is more or less residual influence of vassals who are not my vassals.

It is a common phenomenon that officials of counties and states regard the governor as the king, and local officers and soldiers are loyal to their immediate superiors first. This is the real soil for local separatism.

On the contrary, in later generations, Liu Yu was deeply loved by the people, and Gongsun Zan was a minority among the minority who dared to openly turn against him. This shows his ambition.

Such a thought flashed through Su Yao's mind, and his face still had the usual cold expression. After reading the letter, the corners of his mouth slightly curved up, and he gently placed the letter on the table and said:
"General Zhang He's sincerity is clear to me."

Su Yao spoke slowly, his voice steady and powerful:
"Since General Zhang is willing to submit to the court, I will accept him. However, on the battlefield, things change rapidly. If General Zhang can change sides in time and help our army defeat the enemy, I will report to the court and ask for credit for him."

Zhang Wang was delighted when he heard this, and he immediately clasped his fists and said:
"The general is wise! My brother will definitely live up to your trust and will do his best to help the general pacify Jizhou!"

After saying that, Su Yao asked him to go down for the time being and they would discuss the specific operations in detail later.

Zhang Wang bowed deeply and happily withdrew. The others were also encouraged by this and stepped forward to express their opinions:
"General, my captain Qu is also loyal to the Han Dynasty and hopes to follow you to achieve great things. Now he has contacted more than a thousand loyal knights in the army and is waiting for your order. We will turn into sharp blades and pierce the enemy's vital points!"

That personal soldier of Qu Yi took a step forward, his face full of enthusiasm.

Su Yao naturally understood Qu Yi's abilities. He was a fierce general who was personally guaranteed by Zhao Yun. When it came to attacking and defeating the enemy, he was probably even better than Zhang He. His more than a thousand cavalrymen were also very valuable combat power, much stronger than those recruited miscellaneous soldiers.

So, Su Yao took the letter, scanned it and accepted it with a smile. After praising him, he asked the boy to go down first and then told him what to do specifically.

With the successful examples of Zhang He and Qu Yi's troops, the others could not hold back and rushed forward to express their leaders' intention to surrender.

For a moment, the conference hall was filled with noisy voices, and the envoys' words were more sincere than each other, vividly describing their respective generals' loyalty to the court and their admiration for Su Yao.

Su Yao naturally comforted and accepted these people one by one, and then ordered his personal soldiers to take these envoys away to rest and wait for his arrangements.

"General, can these people be trusted?"

Zhao Yun walked into the hall and asked in a low voice.

Su Yao smiled and said calmly:
"Whether you believe it or not is not important. What's important is that they have no choice now. Han Fu's situation is over, and these people are just taking advantage of the situation. As long as we use them properly, they will be our helpers."

Zhao Yun nodded and said yes, then asked:

"So what should we do next?"

Su Yao stood up, walked to the map, pointed to the grove south of Handou City where they ambushed Qu Yi last time, and said in a deep voice:
"Han Fu's army's food and grass have been destroyed, and their morale is low. Now that many generals have secretly surrendered, it is the best time for us to defeat them in one fell swoop."

"Tomorrow, we will use Handongou City as our base and take the initiative to attack. Together with Cao Cao, Zhang He, Qu Yi and others, we will attack from both sides and completely defeat Han Fu's 200,000-man army!"

"Lord, take the initiative?"

Dian Wei's pupils trembled, and he said with a little uneasiness:
"Although Cao Cao's surprise attack gave us a day to prepare, combined with the information from those who surrendered, the size of the retreating enemy force is still around 170,000 to 180,000."

"Although these surrendered people may seem numerous, the actual number of trusted forces they can mobilize is only over 10,000."

"With these people, plus our troops and Cao Cao's troops, we can have more than 20,000 people at most."

"With such a huge gap, is it too risky to take the initiative to attack? "

Seeing Dian Wei's rough hands tightening the iron halberd in his hand, Su Yao laughed:
"Indeed, on paper, the difference in numbers between the enemy and us is huge."

"However, victory or defeat on the battlefield is never determined solely by the number of troops."

"In the Battle of Julu at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Xiang Yu's tens of thousands of Chu troops were able to destroy the Qin army of 400,000, and in the Battle of Pengcheng, he defeated the nearly 600,000 troops of Emperor Taizu Liu Bang with only 30,000 troops."

"Now I am facing Han Fu. His army of 200,000 may seem huge, but in fact it is already a spent force."

"Their food and grass were destroyed, their morale was low, and their generals defected one after another. Such an army had already lost its combat effectiveness."

"Although we are few in number, our morale is high and we are well-equipped. With several generals secretly surrendering to us, how can Han Fu's army stop us if we work together from within and without?"

Dian Wei's blood boiled when he heard this, and he gripped his weapon tightly and said, "General, you are wise!"

"I am willing to lead my soldiers to the front and clear the way for my army. I will let those traitors see how powerful we are!"

"Great!" Su Yao clapped his hands and said, "General Dian has such a heroic spirit, why should we worry about our army not being able to win?"

After saying that, Su Yao began to assign tasks.

In this battle, they took the initiative and attacked in full force. Dian Wei and Zhao Yun each led their elite cavalry, ambushed in the forest, waiting for the signal.

Su Yao himself led the Red Cloud Armored Cavalry as the main force of the Thunder Strike.

As for the envoys who surrendered, Su Yao called them one by one, assigned them tasks, and then sent them back safely.

At the same time, several messengers from their own army traveled overnight, detoured behind Han Fu's army, and informed Cao Cao and the main force of their own infantry who were following behind the enemy to speed up and prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow. "Comrades! The time for revenge has come!"

In the north of Wei County, Cao Cao raised his sword and shouted:
"Han Fu is a traitor who has brought chaos to the world. He has repeatedly attacked me and killed countless of my comrades. However, fate has its way. The general's heavenly soldiers have arrived. Tomorrow will be the time for us to settle accounts. I hope you will all follow me to charge into the battle line, kill the traitor, and avenge him. Kill him without a single piece of armor left!"

"Kill the thief!"

"revenge!"

"Kill the thief! Take revenge!"

The soldiers of Cao's army were excited and shouted in unison, the sound was like thunder.

By the time the day was over, the Han soldiers were ready, but Geng Wu's army was not completely ignorant of the situation.

"Something's wrong!"

The next morning, Ju Su hurried over to Geng Wu's army, looking uneasy and saying:
"Captain, since yesterday, there have been many unusual movements in our army, rumors have spread, and we can't kill them all. In addition, the scouts reported this morning that Cao's bandits suddenly came out in full force and followed us in a hurry. They have bad intentions, and I'm afraid a fierce battle is coming. We must be prepared early!"

"Um"

Geng Wu's face was gloomy and his brows were furrowed.

Su Yao would not let him retreat easily, and he knew this very well without Ju Shou reminding him.

But in his opinion, his 200,000 troops were acting as a group, and although Su Yao tried his best to weaken them, it might still be a bit difficult for him to launch a decisive battle.

After all, there is a clear gap in numbers between the two sides. Even if the various bandits of Su join forces, their number is only over 10,000, making it difficult to cause fatal damage to him.

The only thing that can really defeat them is themselves, so the only thing we need to worry about is the morale of the army.
As long as the soldiers are guaranteed to fight for their lives, there is nothing to be afraid of. The only difference is that the losses on the way of retreat will be a little more serious.

"What exactly is going on with this unusual movement in the army?"

"Didn't we just win a game yesterday?"

"Why is someone spreading rumors again?"

Ju Su sighed slightly, cupped his hands and said:
"Captain, although we won yesterday, the news that our army's food and grass were burned and supplies were cut off has spread everywhere. Naturally, the soldiers are uneasy. In addition, Su Yao has won consecutive battles and his reputation has spread far and wide. Many of our soldiers are afraid of him, so rumors took advantage of the situation and spread."

"What's worse, I heard that many people are saying that some generals are scheming and want to defect on the battlefield, which is causing panic among the people."

"what?!"

Geng Wu's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he angrily said:
"Don't they want their heads anymore?!"

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Find out who are the traitors who dare to spread such outrageous words among our army!"

"No leniency, kill anyone you find!"

Ju Su paused and sighed:

"There are so many people in the army, and now they are on the way to withdraw. How easy is it to find out?"

"Besides, in my opinion, this rumor is not groundless."

"What do you mean by this?"

Geng Wu looked at Ju Shou in shock:

"Do you also believe this nonsense?"

"Nonsense? Not necessarily."

Ju Su looked solemn and said slowly:
"Chief Secretary, ever since Su Yao's attack and the battle at Handangou, there have been undercurrents in the army."

"According to my secret observations, I found that many generals looked different than usual, and their behavior was also mysterious."

"Especially after the victory over Cao Cao yesterday, the army was celebrating, and I found that some of my acquaintances were missing."

"But today, there are some unfamiliar faces in the team, and the communication between the various departments has suddenly become more frequent. Although they are under the banner of stabilizing the morale of the troops and discussing countermeasures, I always feel that there is something else going on."

"Is there such a thing?!"

Geng Wu took a breath and asked hurriedly:
"Who is it? Whose subordinates are those who have made unusual moves? Do you remember?"

Ju Su was silent for a moment before slowly calling out the names of Zhang He and Qu Yi.

"Zhang Wang, Zhang He's cousin, usually stayed by his side all the time, but he disappeared yesterday and only returned this morning."

"At the same time, there are actually soldiers of Qu Yi beside Zhang Wang. As you know, Qu Yi is a guest general from Liangzhou. He has never had any friendship with the generals of Jizhou."

"Could it be because Zhang He advised me to let him go last time that the two of them became much closer?" Geng Wu looked nervous.

"I hope so too." Ju Shou clenched his fist and said, "But we can't put the fate of 200,000 troops on this wishful thinking. It's better for the chief secretary to make the necessary preparations as soon as possible."

"Then how should we prepare for this, Mr.

Ju Su looked stern, and after thinking for a moment, he said:

"Chief Secretary, the most urgent task is to stabilize Zhang He and Qu Yi first."

"We can summon them to discuss matters immediately, under the pretext of discussing strategies to repel the enemy, and observe their words and actions. While trying to gauge their intentions, we can also keep them under house arrest. If they do have rebellious intentions, they will not dare to act rashly under our noses."

"At the same time, we will secretly dispatch our trusted troops to strengthen the monitoring and control of their troops. Once any unusual movement is discovered, it can be quickly suppressed."

Geng Wu nodded slightly, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes: "Okay, I'll do as you say. If these two really dare to betray me, I will make sure they die without a burial place!"

Soon, Geng Wu's personal soldiers ran to the two teams and summoned Zhang He and Qu Yi to the central army to discuss matters.

At present, the army was advancing slowly, and they were still more than half an hour away from the ambush point. Although the two men were somewhat alert, they could not disobey orders without reason.

Therefore, after briefly explaining a few precautions, the two obeyed the military order and rode their horses towards the central army.

"Captain Qu, do you think they will notice something?"

On the way, Zhang He ran into Qu Yi who was also on his way. He was a little surprised and walked up to him and asked in a low voice:
"Have you noticed? It seems that there is a rumor going around somewhere. There are rumors going around in the army. Could it be that Chief Officer Geng wants us to go over there and punish him?"

Qu Yi narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly:
"I've heard about it, but I'm afraid Geng Ze doesn't have time to cause trouble now."

"Let's just act according to the plan. They don't have any evidence, so can they still kill us on the spot?"

Zhang He thought about it and realized that it was indeed true.

The two of them were not generals promoted by Han Fu, but generals with private troops. If Geng Wu dared to kill the generals on the battlefield, his own troops would be in chaos in a matter of minutes, and he would certainly not be able to bear the consequences.

So, the two of them nodded to each other and continued to walk towards Geng Wu’s central army step by step.

However, they did not expect that although Geng Wu did not dare to kill the generals in battle, he was determined to capture them and put them under house arrest in order to take over and remotely control his soldiers.

The two of them walked towards the trap step by step, and Su Yao's plan suddenly became uncertain.

Once we lose the powerful internal support of these two people, the subsequent battle will inevitably become more difficult.

However, it may be said that man proposes, God disposes; it may be said that those who are righteous will have many supporters, while those who are unrighteous will have few, in short, God's will was on Su's side, and a turning point came quietly in the midst of despair.

"You can't go, this is a trap, you two must not go!"

Just when the two men had just entered Geng Wu’s army formation, a lieutenant suddenly rushed forward, anxiously grabbed the two men, and whispered something!
Indeed, Ju Su's observations were very detailed, and he immediately grasped the unusual movements of senior generals such as Zhang He and Qu Yi.

However, it is destiny that is clear. Under this great trend, it is not just the senior generals who want to surrender to Su Yao.

Even in the central army led by Geng Wu himself, many soldiers were fascinated by Su Yao's reputation and secretly hoped for an opportunity to change their allegiance. They were unwilling to sink with Geng Wu's broken ship.

This junior colonel is one of them.

Just now, he learned that his commander-in-chief was planning to harm Zhang He and Qu Yi. He was extremely anxious. After hesitating for a long time, he decided to take the risk and come to inform them.

His bold action also completely nailed Geng Wu and Ju Shou's coffins, cutting off their last chance.
(End of this chapter)