Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 746: Youzhou War
Despite being ridiculed by him, Ke Bineng seemed unperturbed, which greatly surprised Gongsun Zan.

"Has this old dog changed his nature? In the past, he would have made several sarcastic remarks before giving up. Why is he acting so strange today..."

The two sides fought for a long time, and Gongsun Zan became more and more frightened.

"Something is wrong... Why are there no signs of the imperial army and the armies of the two Xianbei tribes? They set out earlier than me, and they should have arrived today. Now that the sun is setting, why are there still no signs of the three reinforcements..."

He looked at the battle situation. Although his side was still in the upper hand, Ke Bineng still did not seem to be panicked at all, which made Gongsun Zan even more uneasy.

"What exactly is Ke Bineng's conspiracy...what exactly happened..."

More than thirty miles to the west of the battlefield, Xu Huang and Qian Zhao were rushing towards here at full speed.

Xu Huang was annoyed. "Kebi Neng is really cunning. He used only 5,000 men and thousands of cattle and sheep, tied branches to their tails, and set up a false formation, which made our army chase him and run back nearly 20 miles. If not, our army would have rushed to Kebi Neng's lair long ago. Why did we work so hard here? Now it's almost dusk, and I don't know how the other troops will fight Kebi Neng."

Qian Zhao frowned slightly. "I think there is something fishy going on here. Why would Ke Bineng allow 5,000 men to die? He knows very well that this small number of troops will never be able to hold back our army for too long. How can this help?"

After hearing what he said, Xu Huang seemed to have guessed something, and then his expression quickly turned into shock.

"Could it be... Oh no, I've fallen into a trap!"

Qian Zhao also realized that something was wrong, and the two of them quickly gave orders for the entire army to speed up.

When night fell, the army suddenly came to a grassland.

Xu Huang and Qian Zhao looked in shock at the corpses stretching for miles before them, the blood flowing like streams, and the weapons scattered all over the ground. How could they not understand what was going on?

"Those are the soldiers and horses of Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers."

Qian Zhao pointed to a place, and Xu Huang looked over. Sure enough, he saw many white horses and soldiers in white armor lying in a pool of blood.

"It seems that Kebi Neng deliberately led our army away so that he could devote all his strength to dealing with Gongsun Zan. There are no corpses of Qianman and Kuitou here, which seems to indicate that they must have encountered an accident. I just wonder where Gongsun Zan and Kebi Neng are now?"

Qian Zhao looked around, trying to find the two armies.

At this moment, a soldier suddenly shouted: "General, come quickly, there is still a survivor here..."

When they heard this, they hurried over.

Sure enough, a soldier lifted up a White Horse Volunteer covered in blood and gave him a sip of water.

Xu Huang was overjoyed: "Hao Yi, well done."

He praised the soldier. Although the soldier had dark skin, his eyes were firm and smart, making him look quite extraordinary.

Xu Huang and Qian Zhao bent down and looked at the White Horse Volunteers.

"What happened here?"

The soldier's face was filled with fear and regret: "You...you are from the imperial court..."

He hadn't gotten the second half of his sentence out yet, perhaps because his wound had been torn, he suddenly grimaced in pain.

"Yes, I am Qian Zhao, the governor of Zhongshan, and this is Xu Huang, the governor of Yanmen. We were on the road when we were attacked by the cavalry of Kebinen's army, which delayed our journey. I wonder where General Gongsun is now?"

After hearing Qian Zhao's words, the White Horse Volunteer, although seriously injured, still managed to break free from Hao Yi's hands and knelt in front of the two men.

"What are you doing?" Xu Huang was a little confused.

The soldier cried, “Ke Bineng colluded with the King of Wuhuan and Gongsun Du. He first… ahem… he first mobilized the entire clan to ambush our army here, and at the same time… he let Wuhuan and Gongsun Du lead their armies to advance into Liaoxi and… ahem… and Beiping counties respectively… My general had no choice but to lead his troops back… to provide assistance, but was… Ke… Ke…”

He seemed a little out of breath and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to speak.

Qian Zhao quickly replied, "Ke Bi Neng attacked from behind, causing you and your team to suffer heavy casualties, is that so?"

"Yes... that's it... I beg the two generals... I beg you to... to... to... to..."

Having said this, the soldier fell forward.

Qian Zhao stretched out his hand and shook his head at Xu Huang.

Xu Huang sighed: "What a loyal and brave soldier! Gongsun Zan is a capable man to have such a subordinate."

Qian Zhao mounted his horse and said, "Kebineng, Wuhuan, and Gongsun Du have joined forces. Gongsun Zan has fallen into their trap. I'm afraid he will be dead soon. We should hurry to Yuyang. If Youzhou is taken away by these three, you and I will not be able to redeem ourselves in front of His Majesty even if we die a thousand times."

"Zijing is right, let's set off immediately!" The two led their army all the way south, and it was not until nearly midnight that they arrived at the first village in Yuyang County.

However, what came into view was a village that should have been peaceful and quiet, but now it was ablaze, houses collapsed, corpses were scattered all over the ground, and apart from the sounds of wind and fire, and the occasional cries of livestock, there was no other sound.

"General, there is no one alive in this village."

Listening to a soldier's report, the anger between Xu Huang and Qian Zhao's brows was clearly revealed.

"These beasts are totally inhumane!" Xu Huang shouted angrily.

Qian Zhao said: "Keep going. No matter what, we must catch up with Ke Bineng. Even if we can't save Gongsun Zan, this bastard will die today!"

The army traveled all night without sleep, and on the second day, at daybreak, they arrived in front of a city.

"General, there is a battle in the city ahead."

The scout's report encouraged both Xu Huang and Qian Zhao.

"Which troops are fighting?" Qian Zhao asked.

"The banners of both parties are 'Gongsun'."

"It's Gongsun Zan and Gongsun Du!" Xu Huang exclaimed.

"Pass the order, all troops advance, attack the city!"

The army of tens of thousands was already exhausted after traveling all night. The whole army hated Gongsun Du and other enemy forces who had ruined their plans. If it weren't for their danger and cunningness, why would they be so exhausted?

When they heard that Gongsun Du was just ahead, the soldiers' eyes, which had already been red from staying up all night, now flashed with bloodshot and they rushed out like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.

The city gates had been breached long ago, and the armies of the two Gongsun clans were fighting fiercely in the wilderness outside the city, in the streets inside the city, and on the city walls.

As soon as Xu Huang and Qian Zhao's tens of thousands of troops arrived, the situation on the battlefield was instantly reversed.

"Where do these troops come from?" asked a general with a flat nose and small eyes, who was about thirty years old.

There was another general not far in front of him, who was Gongsun Zan's younger brother Gongsun Yue. When he saw Xu Huang and Qian Zhao, he was overjoyed.

"General Xu, General Qian, I'm here, come and help me!"

The two heard his shout, looked up, and immediately recognized him.

"It's Gongsun Yue! Quick, kill him. Once we find him, we will know the whereabouts of Gongsun Zan and Ke Bineng."

Without further ado, the two men led their troops and attacked towards Gongsun Yue's location.

The troops of the two sides were originally evenly matched, and after fighting for a whole night, they were already exhausted. Now Xu Huang and his two companions led their troops in and soon took the upper hand.

Xu Huang was extremely brave with a big axe in his hand. He charged all the way and soon arrived in front of Gongsun Yue.

"Who is attacking the city? Is it Gongsun Du himself? Also, where are your brother and Ke Bineng?"

He asked a series of questions, speaking like a rapid-fire string of bullets.

Gongsun Yue's face was covered in dust and he seemed to be extremely thirsty. He swallowed and then spoke.

"I have never met my brother and Kebi Neng, but I have learned that Kebi Neng, Gongsun Du and the King of Wuhuan have joined forces. My brother was ambushed by Kebi Neng on the grassland and was defeated. He has fled to Ji County. Kebi Neng must be chasing him. I wanted to go to help, but unexpectedly, Gongsun Kang suddenly attacked at midnight last night. General, please help me kill the enemy!"

"Gongsun Kang? The eldest son of the old man Gongsun Du?" Xu Huang raised his eyebrows and turned to look at a man who was slowly retreating not far away.

"Humph, he looks so wretched and ugly, he is indeed the bastard offspring of that old villain Gongsun Du."

He said to Gongsun Yue, "You stay and guard the city while I capture this thief."

He slapped his horse and rushed out.

Gongsun Kang was extremely surprised when he heard his name just now. He never expected that Xu Huang and Qian Zhao would arrive in Yuyang County so quickly. He had heard a lot about their reputation when he was in Liaodong. Now he saw that they were indeed very brave. This made Gongsun Kang feel timid for a moment, and he wanted to retreat quietly to avoid Xu Huang and avoid fighting with him.

But he didn't expect Xu Huang to catch up so quickly, which made him shocked. When he was about to speed up to escape, Xu Huang's loud shout was approaching him.

"Don't run away, little thief! Take this axe from me!"

(End of this chapter)