Tiger Guards

Chapter 398 One Battle to Defeat

Outside Ji Lingxi Camp, Zhang Liao's troops slowly approached, cutting off the passageway connecting the camp to Ruyang County.

At this moment, Ji Ling, Zhang Liao, and the Ruyang garrison in the western camp were also observing the changes in the battle situation on the east bank.

Zhao Ji used catapults to launch burning fireballs, but this did not have any effective effect in setting fires or creating chaos.

The barracks in Ji Lingdong Camp were built of rammed earth, making them resistant to fire and arson.

However, there were also stockpiles of fuel and firewood in the camp, some of which were ignited, but the fire did not spread or expand.

A large area of ​​flame burning will reduce the amount of smoke.

At that moment, poisonous fireballs rained down on the camp, filling the air with yellow poisonous smoke, drawing the attention of the various armies on the west bank.

Throwing lightweight fireballs caused less wear and tear on the catapults and allowed them to travel a greater distance, with most of the projectiles landing on the riverside.

While Zhao Ji calmly observed the battle, he also shared his thoughts with Zhao Jian beside him, who recorded them for later review.

This was Zhao Jian's only opportunity to join the army. After the war ended, he would be given a long leave to serve the military advisor Zhao Qi and care for him until his death.

Only after the mourning period ended could Zhao Jian re-enter officialdom.

As Zhao Ji was summarizing his experience in using and improving the poison fireball, Gan Ning, who was upstream, led more than 2,000 people by boat and raft down the Ying River.

Gan Ning stood at the very front of the fleet, barefoot and without boots, wearing a bright red and green Shu brocade battle robe, with seven bells hanging from his waist, a knife in his right hand, and a chain wrapped around his left arm, extending to his fist, with a symmetrical hook-shaped small anchor at the end of the chain.

At this moment, Gan Ning was not wearing a helmet, but had feather ornaments in his hair and red and black paint on his face. He was just short of showing off the tattoos on his chest and back like the people of Wu and Yue.

However, Gan Ning doesn't have the habit of getting tattoos; he just likes to express himself this way.

From the camp on the west bank, Ji Ling climbed to a high point and watched as more than two thousand Gan Ning men maneuvered their boats and barges to crash into the east bank.

First, they would take boats ashore, then drag rafts across the riverbank. These rafts would be used to spread the mud on the riverbed, or to stand horizontally as a barrier.

Gan Ning completed the river blockade almost in front of Ji Ling.

At this moment, the gate of the eastern camp facing the river opened, and the defeated defenders fled outwards, abandoning their armor and fleeing lightly.

The suicide squad launched a swift attack and quickly captured two camp gates, blocking the escape route of the city's defenders.

Only three or four hundred men managed to escape, but before they could even get close to the riverbank, Gan Ning unleashed a volley of arrows, killing most of these unarmored routs.

Those who weren't shot dead can only lie prone in the mud and pretend to be dead.

Inside the camp, the daredevils were exceptionally fierce, cornering the defending general Qiao Rui and giving no chance for other battalions to approach. The wounded daredevils formed a human wall on the outside to prevent others from stealing the credit.

Qiao Rui and his hundred-plus men were quickly slaughtered by the daredevils, and Qiao Rui's head was also cut off and quickly handed over to Li Ying.

Li Ying held the head and examined it carefully. He then asked several of his relatives, "Are you sure it's the bandit general Qiao Rui?"

"It is Qiao Rui. We have questioned the prisoners, and it is undoubtedly Qiao Rui!"

"Excellent! Quickly deliver this bandit's head to Commandant Han!"

Li Ying handed over the head; he didn't need it. Several relatives looked reluctant, but seeing Li Ying glaring at them, they immediately called over a dozen daredevils and fellow villagers to shuttle through the camp and deliver the head to Han Shu.

Han Shu had already climbed onto the command platform of Qiao Rui, observing the chaotic and disorderly army in the camp. The five battalions that subsequently attacked the camp were looting the houses uncontrollably, and some soldiers even stripped the clothes off the headless corpses of Yuan's army.

Han Shu dictated continuously, recording the unit numbers of these troops that he observed.

The size of the official tenant population under the Grand Marshal's rule determines the upper limit of supporting the army. If 100,000 households cannot be brought back this year, the current ratio of soldiers to civilians will be somewhat dangerous.

Therefore, dismantling some substandard troops is in the common interest of the remaining majority of the army.

There is still room for adjustment in the Five Battalions and Guanzhong troops. However, it is better to dismiss these comrades-in-arms who occupy military rations and annual salary quotas but are not professional in combat as soon as possible. Otherwise, we may be killed by such comrades-in-arms in the future.

The main force involved in the looting was the former Hanoi soldiers under Gou Huan. They had no other choice; Hanoi had suffered repeated turmoil and was terrified of poverty.

Not to mention the robes of the fallen Yuan soldiers, if it weren't for the supervisory teams that were escorting the wounded and their own fallen officers and soldiers on the battlefield, these people would have even stripped the clothes off their own allies.

After the five battalions stormed into the eastern camp, Zhang He took the lead in urging the officers and soldiers of his three battalions to voluntarily withdraw.

There were no valuable spoils in the camp. The daredevils and Guanzhong soldiers were quick and efficient, and Zhang He had no chance to pick up any leftovers.

Rather than wasting energy in a chaotic battle, it was better to withdraw the troops. His army consisted mainly of clansmen, retainers, and fellow villagers from Hebei. Zhang He's orders were actively carried out, and the entire army retreated.

Immediately afterwards, Han Meng and Zhu Ling also led their Hebei troops to withdraw and rest on the spot outside the East Camp, sending Zhao Ji as an envoy to inquire about the instructions.

As Zhao Ji was making his arrangements, more than a dozen cavalrymen sent by Sun Ce arrived at the outer perimeter of the Tiger Warrior chariot formation and reined in their horses to observe the battlefield.

Leading the way was Sun Ce's third brother, Sun Yi, who was only thirteen years old. He looked excitedly at Ji Ling's eastern camp, which had been breached in one fell swoop that morning: "The Grand Marshal's troops are truly the elite of the world!"

Accompanying him was Sun Ben's younger brother, Sun Fu, who was the same age as Zhao Ji and was the team leader for this trip.

They claimed to be there to watch the battle, but in reality, they were just hostages temporarily sent to Zhao Ji.

Soon, Sun Fu led Sun Yi on foot to see Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji observed the two men. Sun Yi was a spitting image of Sun Ce, handsome and dashing, while Sun Fu's appearance could only be described as above average, incomparable to Sun Ce, who was somewhere between above average and above average.

However, Sun Fu had a calm demeanor and a gloomy look in his eyes, possessing a calmness that only a high-ranking military officer could have on the battlefield.

Zhao Ji couldn't help but feel a little emotional. His second son had been injured in Chen Guo, and he wondered if he would suffer any physical or psychological aftereffects after recovering.

Many veterans have actually recovered physically, but they suffer from various psychological problems.

They seem fine most of the time, but they become abnormal when faced with battle or bloodshed.

Some veterans behave strangely in normal times, but they can calm down when they go to the battlefield.

There is great terror between life and death, and the higher one's position, the more subtle this terror becomes.

For the second son before, death would have meant he would no longer have to suffer; but how could the current second son possibly bear to die?
The more one fears death and hovers on the edge of life and death, the greater the distortion and change in one's personality.

Zhao Ji was quite envious of Sun Ce, who at least had a group of capable and brave relatives and brothers.

Although there are still some children with Lao Zhao, they have lost the opportunity to continue to endure hardship and temper their character.

In Zhao Ji's eyes, these nominally half-brothers were only slightly more useful than poor martial artists, nothing more.

The biggest advantage is that after he is adopted, there is no strong claim between him and these 'clan brothers'. If they are truly talented, he can be trained and given important positions without so many concerns.

As Sun Fu and Sun Yi approached, Zhao Ji merely nodded in greeting before turning back to continue issuing orders: "Order all armies to accept the surrender."

"Here!"

He rode a fast horse, whipping it on, and with two flags, one crimson and one purple, on his back, he had the highest right of passage on the battlefield.

Beside Zhao Ji, a valiant physician removed his helmet, and more and more officers and soldiers removed their helmets to breathe, their expressions generally showing dissatisfaction.

Although they served as the vanguard and took more than a dozen rounds of arrows, their overall losses were negligible. However, it was still hard for them to feel relieved to see the daredevil soldiers, the Guanzhong soldiers in the central army, and the five battalions in the rear army harvesting heads and capturing prisoners.

Zhao Ji saw this as well, but did not offer any words of comfort in public.

What kind of grievance is this?
If we can save our lives, go back alive to have children, then those who came from the Tiger Step Army will still have a chance to advance in their careers.
The Tiger Steps Army and the Righteous Cavalry were the ballast stones that suppressed the entire army. Only when these two armies were not weakened could Zhao Ji make full use of the Guanzhong troops and the Five Battalions to fight tough battles.

These newly formed troops have shed enough blood and accumulated enough merit, so their cohesion is naturally high. If they betray us, the sunk costs will be too great.

If we were to sacrifice the Tiger Step Army and the Righteous Cavalry for the sake of merit, then the Guanzhong troops and the Five Battalions would be difficult to control.

The merit assessment is merely a standard for those who join later to strive for success.

Tiger Step soldiers who are genuinely from Hedong, are willing to train, learn, and grow, will certainly have no shortage of career prospects in the future.

There's no need to comfort the Tiger Step soldiers who can't understand these things.

Those who can understand will naturally pretend to be confused, accumulate merits and experience, and wait for promotion step by step.

If the Guanzhong troops and the Five Battalions do not suffer losses, how can they have the opportunity to replenish their troops and officers?
From Zhao Ji's current perspective, fighting a war is not only about eliminating the enemy, but also about finding ways to continuously strengthen one's own core forces.

His first principle is to consume the white and gray bars on the outside and convert them into his own green health bar!

Anyone who violates this rule must be eliminated.

Yuan Shu's army was so weak because its various troops were either inactive or had temporary health bars, which were not very durable.

Zhao Ji never doubted that he could break through Ji Ling's camp... He had an all-star team here, how could Yuan Shu and Ji Ling possibly mess with him?
(End of this chapter)