Late Han Zhao Tang

"General, although the Eastern Camp is in turmoil, the various units are still in good order. If we abandon the Eastern Camp now, wouldn't that shake the morale of the soldiers? Besides, it's getting light now."

Upon seeing Man Chong abandon the Eastern Camp, Military Advisor Yan Pu said in surprise.

Man Chong remained calm and said, "The enemy was originally in the west, but now they have crossed the Ba River to attack from the east. I suspect that the army that launched the night attack is not a large one. The reason they dare to launch a night attack at dawn is that their main army must be nearby, intending to defeat us in one fell swoop. If we hold fast to our eastern camp, and the enemy's main army comes from the west, wouldn't we be surrendering the western mountain fortress to them?"

"Therefore, it would be better to gather a large army at the western mountain fortress, relying on its natural defenses to hold off the enemy, and wait for Ke to lead his army back to reinforce. Once the reinforcements arrive, we can launch a simultaneous attack from both inside and outside the fortress, which would be enough to defeat the enemy!"

Man Chong used himself as bait to lure the Shu people into besieging the camp, and how could he not be on guard?

As previously mentioned, the main camp was situated amidst mountains and rivers. To ensure its invincibility, Man Chong established fortifications on the western mountains. In the event of a large enemy attack, the troops could retreat to the western mountains to hold their ground, which would be sufficient to defend against the Shu army and await the return of Ke Bi's troops.

As for Kirby's army, although it was said that they had openly marched south, Kirby sent a small number of troops south in a grand manner to coordinate with the main army, while he led the elite main force to lie in ambush along the way, waiting for Man Chong's summons.

"In that case, should we light a beacon fire to warn them?" Yan Pu pondered for a moment and then asked.

"Can!"

"promise!"

As Man Chong issued his military order, the Eastern Camp sounded the retreat signal. The soldiers of the Eastern Camp, still locked in a fierce battle with the Shu army, abandoned their fighting and, led by their officers, fled en masse towards the passage opened by the central army. Seeing the Tang soldiers retreating and fleeing, the Shu people cheered excitedly, eager to take advantage of their victory to break through the central army.

However, the central army was well-prepared. Under Man Chong's command, the elite central troops had already formed a square formation, with large shields erected in front and long spears staggered. Because the Tang army was experienced and the central army was well-guarded, the fleeing soldiers did not charge the square formation, but instead retreated to the flanks of the formation.

"shoot!"

Seeing the pursuing Shu soldiers arrive, the archers rushed to the front, and a volley of arrows rained down, followed by screams of agony.

The front row of over a hundred warriors, all clad in heavy armor and wielding knives, axes, and longswords, exuded a fierce and intense killing intent.

After straightening their ranks, the hundred-odd Tang soldiers advanced in a wall formation.

"kill!"

Seeing the pursuing Shu soldiers scattered, a Tang soldier suddenly shouted and rushed into the crowd with his long sword.

Without any hesitation, a clean and swift slash brought the head flying high into the air, the blade spraying forth copious amounts of blood!

At the same time, the Tang soldiers' iron armor was pierced by several spears. The sound of metal colliding and rubbing was deafening. Fearing that the armor would be pierced, the Tang soldiers quickly swung their swords and swept them away.

"kill!"

Seizing the opportunity, he and his colleagues charged in, slashing with their swords once more, causing a chorus of gasps as blood splattered.

The hundred-plus warriors were almost all like him, relying on their excellent martial arts skills to fight head-on and defeat the pursuing Shu soldiers, making them cry out in despair.

"Withdraw the troops and return to your lines!"

Fearing that pursuing the Shu soldiers would cause their formation to break down, General Liu Yi urgently shouted and ordered his men to wave flags to direct the soldiers.

"Report!

While the troops were reorganizing, an attendant approached and reported: "The commander has ordered me to lead my troops to hold the position temporarily, and later the soldiers of the Western Camp will cover our retreat to the Western Hill Fortress."

"it is good!"

After a short while, the defeated Shu soldiers, rallied by Huang Gai, launched a counterattack. Compared to the last time, inspired by Huang Gai, the Shu soldiers fought bravely and charged towards the Tang soldiers.

As the sky began to brighten, the Shu and Tang armies met on a narrow path, swords and spears clashing, arrows flying, fighting desperately and unwilling to retreat.

The fighting lasted from dawn until daybreak. Only when the defeated soldiers of the Eastern Camp regrouped at Xishan did Man Chong order Liu Yi to lead his troops to withdraw, to be met by the Western Camp troops led by Wang Ling.

"kill!"

"The Tang army has been defeated and is retreating. The princes are in pursuit. Those who kill the enemy will be rewarded!"

"Wang Jin killed two traitors and was promoted one rank and granted a hundred acres of land."

“Zhang Shang killed one bandit, and was awarded fifty mu of land as a reward for his merit.”

The Tang army's withdrawal greatly boosted the morale of the Shu soldiers. To encourage them, the officers and generals continuously sent their attendants to read out the merits of the soldiers who had distinguished themselves. The Shu soldiers, eager to pursue, rushed to the front, fearing they would miss the opportunity to earn merit.

Looking at the pursuing soldiers, Sun He was overjoyed and said, "We have broken through several camps in succession. Our army is unstoppable. Victory or defeat will be decided today. Send someone to urge the army to speed up and have Gan Ning lead his troops out of the city to support us."

"promise!"

Previously, fearing defeat, Sun He hesitated to send Gan Ning to join the battle. Now, with the Eastern and Central Camps retreating, Gan Ning's presence might allow for a decisive victory. Soon, unable to contain himself, Gan Ning led his assembled troops out of the city, attacking the Tang army camp outside. Thanks to Man Chong's strategy of garrisoning troops, Gan Ning easily captured the unguarded camp and successfully joined forces with Huang Gai's pursuing troops, together attacking the Western Camp to reinforce the Tang soldiers.

The shouts of battle echoed through the Tang camp as the two armies clashed relentlessly, relying on their fortified positions.

Fifteen miles from the Tang camp, more than 20,000 Shu troops were on their way when they received news that Sun He and Huang Gai had successfully raided the Tang camp.

"Strategist, good news!"

Wu Jing rode up to Fa Zheng and said with a smile, "Bo Hai and Gong Fu crossed the river last night and launched a surprise attack on the Tang camp at dawn. The battle has been fierce until now, and the Tang army has lost two camps, with only the western camp remaining. Bo Hai has urged our troops to join forces with them to attack the Tang army!"

As he spoke, Wu Jingsheng praised, "Man Chong was defeated, the Tang army suffered heavy losses, and Xu Huang retreated without a fight, all thanks to the strategist's plan!"

Fa Zheng humbly replied, "It was only through a small strategy that we were able to defeat the Tang army; this is all thanks to the bravery of our generals and soldiers!"

After a pause, Fa Zheng said, "Although Man Chong is putting up a stubborn resistance, our military supplies should arrive as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications."

"good!"

Wu Jing laughed loudly, pointed his whip forward, and said in a deep voice, "All units, abandon your baggage and advance. You must engage the Tang army at noon. Tonight, we will hold a grand banquet to celebrate this great victory, and drink and eat to your heart's content!"

"promise!"

"The general has ordered us to abandon our baggage train. Today we will defeat the enemy and feast on wine and meat!" The scouts ran about joyfully, urging the soldiers to hurry on their way.

With Wu Jing's instructions, the soldiers abandoned their baggage and kept only their armor and weapons to continue their journey, which greatly increased their pace.

As the main force of the Shu army continued to approach, the Tang scouts who were ordered to investigate quickly discovered the military situation and reported it to the military advisor Yan Pu.

Man Chong was on the ramparts, observing the battle in the Tang camp to the east, occasionally giving instructions to his officers and men. Meanwhile, his military advisor Yan Pu, having received intelligence, hurriedly sought out Man Chong.

"A scout has urgently reported that, as the governor predicted, a large army of Shu troops is approaching from the west, seemingly intending to join forces with the Shu army to attack our forces," Yan Pu reported in a low voice.

Man Chong frowned slightly and asked, "How many enemy troops are there?"

"We don't know yet!"

Yan Pu hesitated for a moment, then said, "However, based on visual estimation, the Shu army has far more than 10,000 soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Man Chong sneered and said, "The night raiding force numbered nearly 10,000, and there are nearly 20,000 reinforcements to support them. In total, the number of troops mobilized has reached 30,000, which shows that the Shu people have the ambition to devour us. However, now that the troops from all the tribes have arrived, it will be convenient for me to defeat Shu in one fell swoop."

After a moment's thought, Man Chong said, "Order Wang Ling to withdraw to Xishan in batches, and I will have my troops cover and support him. All the troops should go to the mountain fortifications, repair the mountain camps, and store springs and streams to hold off the Shu army. When Ke Bi's troops arrive, the enemy's morale will be low, and we will be able to defeat them in one fell swoop from our high ground."

"promise!"

Now that the Shu army's objective was confirmed, Man Chong proceeded with his plan, intending to rely on the western mountains for defense and use the high ground to wear down the Shu army's morale. He planned to wait for Ke Bi's troops to arrive so they could counter-encircle them.

As the Tang army gradually retreated to Xishan Fortress, Sun He and Huang Gai roughly discerned Man Chong's intentions. The previous series of withdrawals were not a rout, but rather a deliberate effort to gather troops at Xishan, intending to wage a protracted war and gain an advantage before the main force arrived.

"Man Chong is indeed a famous general of the Central Plains!"

Sun He praised, "Knowing that our army was crossing the river to launch a night attack, he was able to anticipate the arrival of the majority of our army and gathered his troops to defend the western mountains. Now that the main army is approaching, there are mountain fortifications to protect us."

As he spoke, Sun He sighed and said, "Breaking the Tang camp today is only a minor victory. Only if we can break through the enemy's mountain and advance to defeat the Tang army in the mountains can we say that we have annihilated Man Chong's army."

Looking at the Tang soldiers deployed on the mountain, Huang Gai said, "The Tang soldiers are well-prepared and on high alert, while our army is exhausted from fighting and running all day. It would be better to let the soldiers rest first. When the main army arrives, we can then join forces to climb the mountain and defeat the enemy."

"General Huang, Man Chong previously ordered Ke Bi to lead troops south. If we cannot break through quickly, I fear Ke Bi will lead his troops back to reinforce us!"

Gan Ning returned from the front lines and said urgently, "In my opinion, we should seize the opportunity to advance and strive to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

Sun He pondered for a moment and said, "The Tang army should not be underestimated. Since the surprise attack on the camp, the Tang army has been well-trained and brave in battle. They currently have the advantage of the mountain terrain. If we launch a forced attack on the mountain without preparation, we may suffer defeat instead."

"But~"

Gan Ning's words were interrupted by Huang Gai, who laughed and said, "Xingba, you may not know this, but the French strategist has already anticipated that Kobi's army would march south, and now elite troops are ambushing the returning reinforcements. Even if Kobi manages to defeat the ambush, by then our army will have already defeated Man Chong. Therefore, a short rest now will actually help the troops recover their morale so that we can climb the mountain to attack the enemy this afternoon!"

"Ashamed!"

Upon hearing this, Gan Ning put aside his worries and said, "I previously underestimated the strategist's timidity and reluctance to fight the Tang people. But now it seems that I was simply too shallow and incompetent to understand the strategist's profound intentions!"

The battlefield situation is gradually becoming clearer. Man Chong devised a plan to lure the enemy into an attack, but Fa Zheng saw through Man Chong's intentions and seized the opportunity to surround and attack him. He also sent troops to ambush Ke Bi's forces. Therefore, it can be said that Ke Bi decided the outcome of this battle! (End of this chapter)