Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 552 Shocking Sichuan
Under the relentless, swift attacks of the Tang cavalry, the Shu army's formation was utterly routed, and over ten thousand Shu soldiers were routed. Officers attempted to rally the troops, but the newly recruited soldiers, having just joined the army, were utterly demoralized by the sudden rout and could not heed any commands. They fled across the mountains and fields.

The soldiers scattered and fled. The Tang army's thirty cavalry units seemed to be charging relentlessly. Under the heavy pressure, Wu Jing, Sun He, Fa Zheng, and other high-ranking civil and military officials fled north along a side road under the cover of their personal cavalry.

The collapse of the Shu army troops stationed at the foot of the mountain triggered a series of chain reactions. The Tang soldiers were spurred to fight bravely, while the Shu soldiers were filled with shame and fear.

Gan Ning, who had previously charged into the mountain in a rage, was now furious and roared and cursed.

"I charged into battle, fighting the Tang army to the death, while you cowards abandoned your positions and fled!"

"General, the army has been defeated and is fleeing. What should we do now?" Deputy General Gan Jun asked anxiously.

"do not fight!"

Gan Ning threw his helmet on the ground and said dejectedly, "Order the men to retreat and form a battle formation, and then surrender with white banners."

Gan Ning was no fool. His previous allegiance to the Sun family, and his willingness to risk his life for them, was simply a ploy to achieve great deeds and secure a bright future. However, compared to wealth and status, life is naturally more important. Moreover, the current defeat of tens of thousands of troops not only meant that the Tang army would be able to sweep through Ba, but also signified the imminent collapse of the Sun family's regime.

Therefore, Gan Ning was unwilling to perish with the Sun family, especially now that he had been abandoned by Sun He and others!

"promise!"

Seeing his commander surrender sensibly, Gan Jun breathed a sigh of relief and ordered his men, "Order all units to surrender and not to engage the Tang army!"

"As ordered!"

"The general has ordered that the troops withdraw, form ranks, and surrender to the Tang people!"

"The general has ordered that the troops withdraw, form ranks, and surrender to the Tang people!"

At the shouts of his men, the Sanba youths under Gan Ning broke free from the fighting and gathered in the center. A dozen or so soldiers raised white banners and went to meet the Tang soldiers who were pursuing them.

"Our troops surrender, we hope you will report this to your superiors!" the flag bearer shouted.

The Tang army was greatly surprised when the Shu soldiers suddenly offered to surrender. General Liu Yi, while organizing the troops, informed Man Chong of the news.

Man Chong first learned of the Tang cavalry's surprise attack on the Shu troops and led his personal guards out of the main tent to oversee the battle. Now, upon learning that Gan Ning had surrendered with his troops, Man Chong was overjoyed.

"Kobby launched a surprise attack on horseback, and the Shu army's central force was routed. The tide has turned in our favor. Gan Ning has held the isolated city for many months, displaying both courage and strategy. Now that he has wisely surrendered, it is clear that the time to defeat the enemy is just around the corner!"

Man Chong said to his men, "Order someone to agree to Gan Ning's surrender, invite Gan Ning to the camp for a meeting, and have your troops abandon their armor."

"promise!"

Upon seeing that Man Chong had agreed to his surrender, Gan Ning disregarded his subordinates' advice and boldly accepted Man Chong's conditions, removing his armor and wearing plain clothes to meet Man Chong directly.

Man Chong was very satisfied with Gan Ning's frankness and promised him direct command of his troops, as well as the opportunity to persuade Huo Ye to surrender. Gan Ning, eager to make a name for himself, entered the army to persuade Huo Ye. Huo Ye, seeing that the situation was hopeless and knowing he could not change the course of events, led his troops to surrender to Man Chong.

The defection of Huo Ye and Gan Ning's troops, coupled with the pursuit of the Shu army by Ke Bi's thousands of cavalrymen at the foot of the mountain, allowed the Tang army to focus on dealing with the armies of Huang Gai and Yin Yu, who were vying for water.

As the sky grew increasingly dark, a large number of Tang soldiers rushed to Xishan Spring and surrounded Generals Huang Gai and Yin Yu from multiple directions.

"Raise the enemy flag high!"

Man Chong commanded his subordinates to raise and fly the captured Shu army flags, including those bearing the characters "Gan" and "Sun".

Under the setting sun, the banners of the Shu army fluttered in the wind, and a large number of Tang soldiers shouted in unison.

"Gan Ning has surrendered, and Sun He has been defeated. Why don't you surrender quickly?"

The sound echoed and reverberated through the valley, terrifying the exhausted Shu soldiers and extinguishing their will to fight!

"General Huang, the army has been defeated and the generals have surrendered. What should we do now?" Yin Yu asked Huang Gai.

Huang Gai looked exhausted. He had led his troops on a journey through the night and fought fiercely around the spring, battling from noon until evening. He and his men were nearly exhausted.

Huang Gai raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "We eat the emperor's food and should be loyal to him. Now that our troops are in a perilous situation, we should repay the country with our lives. Could it be that you, General, have ulterior motives?"

Under Huang Gai's righteous and awe-inspiring rebuke, Yin Yu felt ashamed and said, "How dare I have any disloyal thoughts? Now, as you say, I will repay you with my life."

"good!"

Huang Gai said, "The army has been routed and is fleeing; seizing the spring is useless. You and I can lead our troops to break out of the encirclement. As darkness falls, we can escape under the cover of night."

"Listen to what Lord Huang has to say!"

Seeing that Huang Gai still had some sense, Yin Yu was secretly pleased and laughed.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Huang Gai and Yin Yu led their elite troops in a breakout attempt, trying to escape under the cover of darkness.

Seeing the Shu army change course and break out, the Tang army pursued them relentlessly, chasing them from the mountain spring to the foot of the mountain. Along the mountain paths, they saw countless surrendered Shu soldiers and the wounded and dead. Huang Gai and Yin Yu led over a thousand remaining soldiers to break out down the mountain, intending to cross the Ba River and escape into the dense mountains to the north. However, Man Chong, who was prepared, had already ordered Ke Ti to lead his army to wait at the foot of the mountain.

Upon seeing the remnants of the Shu army appear on the river, the Tang cavalry charged forward using the dim light. The fierce herd of horses crashed into the crowd, causing screams and cries of agony. More than a thousand Shu soldiers were scattered by the cavalry, and the soldiers fled in all directions.

At this time, Ke Ti, escorted by his cavalry, patrolled the battlefield to provide mobile support.

Suddenly, I noticed a group of Shu soldiers surrounding a burly man in bright armor, struggling to maintain their orderly ranks amidst the chaos. They took cover in the bushes. And not far from the bushes lay a complex, dense mountain forest!
"Is that man an enemy general?" Ke Ti asked, eager to test his skills.

"It must be an enemy general!"

The armor was excellent, and the crowd was large; apart from the general Huang Gai, there was no one else!
"Chase!"

Ke Ti spurred his horse and charged into the formation, his hooves flying and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Even from several feet away, Ke Ti brandished his spear and thrust it forward, using the momentum of his warhorse to quickly fall one man. The rest charged into the crowd on horseback, scattering Huang Gai and his entourage.

Seeing the Tang cavalry's aggressive momentum, and realizing he was alone, Huang Gai knew he was no match for them and dared not linger in battle, so he fled to the mountains.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow flew out and struck Huang Gai squarely in the left leg. The pain and loss of balance caused Huang Gai to slow his escape.

Before Huang Gai could react, a spear whistled through the air and pierced straight for Huang Gai's heart.

"Pfft!"

Huang Gai drew his sword to parry, knocking the Han sword away. The spear blade pierced straight into his chest, and bright red blood splattered out.

Huang Gai's face twitched, and he fell to the ground with his eyes closed in unwillingness!

With Huang Gai's death, his remaining troops were unwilling to surrender and had lost the will to fight to the end. So they abandoned their armor and fled into the mountains and forests in hopes of escaping. Among them were some brave men who tried to retrieve Huang Gai's body, but they were all defeated by Ke Ti and his troops.

At this moment, tens of thousands of Shu soldiers were fleeing across the mountains and plains, some in groups of ten or twenty, others in small groups of three or five. The Tang soldiers pursued the fleeing Shu soldiers like hunters. Ke Bie dispatched cavalry to pursue them, capturing several thousand Shu soldiers. However, because the cavalry could not traverse the rugged mountain paths, they had to turn back halfway to clean up the battlefield.

As the war gradually subsided and the moon rose high in the sky, the distant mountains and fields were indistinct, but the fallen corpses and captured Shu soldiers were clearly visible nearby. Compared to the victorious and excited Tang soldiers, the captured were filled with fear and anxiety due to the uncertainty of their future.

The city of Hanchang, nestled amidst mountains and rivers, was captured by the Tang army. To prevent a rebellion by surrendered people, Man Chong led his troops to move to the city to conduct official business.

Inside the county government, Man Chong had laid out a map and was waiting for the generals to arrive one after another to discuss matters.

"How was the outcome of the battle?" Man Chong asked.

Yan Pu said in a deep voice: "According to my investigation, Sun He, Wu Jing, Huang Gai and other generals are leading more than 30,000 troops to attack. In addition, Gan Ning has several thousand troops to defend the city. In this battle, the Shu army has deployed nearly 40,000 troops."

"Now our army has defeated the Shu army. Huang Gai has been beheaded, and generals Gan and Huo have surrendered. The enemy has been routed. Three thousand have been beheaded, seven or eight thousand have surrendered, and roughly seven thousand have been captured."

"A resounding victory!"

Wang Ling excitedly said, "Yizhou has a population of one million, but less than one hundred thousand soldiers are available. Therefore, the current forty thousand soldiers are the main force of the Shu army. This time, we have dealt a heavy blow to the Shu army, killing, surrendering, and capturing more than half of them. The Shu army has been severely weakened, and now there are no more soldiers in Yizhou that can stop our army."

Man Chong nodded, his expression quite satisfied. He had deployed fewer than 30,000 troops, yet he had managed to defeat a much larger force, killing and capturing more than half of the enemy. The results were astonishing, and the impact was enormous.

Xu Kun, who was holding Jianmen Pass, was still facing off against Xu Huang, but now he was suddenly left with an isolated army. There was no other army in Ba that could rival them. He would be able to sweep through Ba or advance westward into Shu, where he could join forces with Xu Huang to encircle Xu Kun's forces.

Therefore, it seems that with the loss of the northern defense line of Yizhou, the rule of the Sun family in Bashu was about to come to an end!

Of course, based on his achievements in this battle, he would become the one who made the greatest contribution to the conquest of Shu. His fame would spread throughout the land, his name would be etched in history, and his rank and fiefdom would be further elevated!
Despite his years of military service, Kirby was not as excited as Wang Ling. Instead, he asked, "According to reports from the surrendered soldiers, Langzhong is only defended by Sun Quan with newly recruited soldiers, while there are almost no usable troops in Ba. Commander, what is the best course of action now?"

Man Chong paced back and forth, saying, "Langzhong is the foundation of Shu's defense against the enemy. I intend to take advantage of the victory to pursue and force our way into Langzhong, then head west to seize Zitong, cut off Xu Kun's connection with Shu, and join forces with Governor Xu to encircle the enemy and take over Ba and Shu in one fell swoop. Furthermore, Ba is undefended, so we can send troops south to seize Dangqu, Dianjiang, Jiangzhou and other counties in Ba County to raise military provisions for the army."

Man Chong has great ambitions. He is not content with this achievement. Instead, he hopes to swallow Xu Kun's army and destroy Shu in one fell swoop, so as not to fail the emperor's high regard for him!

As he spoke, Man Chong looked at Ke Bi and instructed, "General, you went south to make contact with the Ba people earlier, and this time you will go south to Ba again. The surrendered general Gan Ning is a Ba person, and he can go south with you. Although he has surrendered to our army, we can still use him."

"Yes, sir!" Kirby excitedly complied.

Wang Ling, full of fighting spirit, asked for battle, saying, "General, I am willing to be the vanguard again and pave the way for the army to defeat the enemy."

"allow!"

Then, Man Chong looked at Yan Pu and said, "Zimiao is the military advisor. Currently, there is no prefect to take charge of the area below Bazhong. I would be grateful if you could stay in Hanchang for the time being and serve as the prefect of Bazhong, to manage the supplies and prepare military provisions. Once His Majesty's memorial is issued, you will be rewarded accordingly!"

"I am willing to serve the Governor!" Yan Pu replied, accepting the order.

Man Chong led his troops westward, and when he heard that Sun He and Wu Jing had been defeated, the Shu army was terrified!
(End of this chapter)