Han officials

Chapter 265 Everyone in the World is a Gambler [12]

"What? Eight hundred broke through twenty thousand?"

Early in the morning, just after breakfast, a startled cry came from the commander's tent.

Mao Kun, who had just entered, looked in the direction of the sound and was immediately surprised.

After all, everyone under the shogunate knew that the chief of the Kōkyō-ji (髸陽司), Tadashi Toyo, was the most rigid and boring. In the past, he would not only be terrified, but he would also be meticulous about every single hair, and his main characteristic was his square and serious demeanor.

However, Tian Feng couldn't care less about losing his composure at this moment. He immediately stared sharply at the messenger in front of him and said in a solemn voice:
"Do you know that lying about military intelligence is a capital offense?"

The messenger, however, showed no fear upon hearing this and answered frankly:
"Every word I have said is true. If I have uttered any falsehood, I am willing to accept military punishment!"

After Chunyu Qiong committed suicide, the Wei army rested for a night before preparing to set off to join forces with Zhang Liao.

However, before Wei Zhe could even break camp, Zhang Liao's messenger brought the latest military intelligence.

And that's how the scene before us came about.

It wasn't that Tian Feng had any prejudice against Zhang Liao, but the fact that Zhang Liao's feat of defeating 20,000 with only 800 men was simply a bit exaggerated.

Although the Black Mountain Army was a remnant of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, their fighting strength was not that of a ragtag group that had just started an uprising.

Yet, this army of 20,000 was overrun by Zhang Liao with only 800 men. Not only did Tian Feng not believe it, but even Wei Zhe... well, Wei Zhe did believe it.

Who can blame him when this guy has done even more outrageous things in history?

Wow, eight hundred to one hundred thousand? Even novelists wouldn't dare write something like that!

However, out of respect for Tian Feng, Wei Zhe still had the messenger recount the course of the war in detail.

The messenger, upon hearing this, naturally obeyed without question and immediately said with pride:

"The day before the raid, Lieutenant Zhang recruited 800 daredevils from among his 5,000 men, slaughtered an ox to feed them, and rested all day. At midnight, he launched a night raid on the Black Mountain Army's camp."

"At the start of the battle, Captain Zhang, clad in armor and wielding a halberd, killed dozens of men and beheaded two generals, Zuo Zizhangba and Lei Gong. His roar shook the surrounding area, intimidating the enemy soldiers. He then led his troops to charge into the fortified camp and into the heart of the Black Mountain camp. Thereafter, eight hundred daredevils, with the determination to die, also charged into battle, vying to be the first, with none retreating."

"From midnight until dawn, Zhang Xiaowei led eight hundred elite soldiers to surround the enemy on the left and right, and launched a fierce attack. They successively killed the Black Mountain bandits' generals Zuo Xiao, Guo Daxian, Wu Lu, Li Damu, Yu Digen, and others, causing the Black Mountain bandits to lose all their courage and their men and horses to be routed, with none daring to stand against them."

"At that time, Zhang Yan, the chieftain of the Black Mountain bandits, wanted to raise his tent at night to stabilize the morale of his troops. However, Zhang Xiaowei led his men to attack against the tide, cutting down the banner of his central army. Zhang Yan was terrified and dared not fight back. Therefore, he led several hundred of his personal guards to retreat and disappeared without a trace. After that, the morale of the Black Mountain bandits was greatly weakened. Our remaining 4,000 cavalry took advantage of the situation to attack them. The Black Mountain bandits were completely defeated and were wiped out before noon."

After the messenger finished recounting the entire process of Zhang Liao's defeat of the Black Mountain Army, the tent fell into a deathly silence.

Apart from Wei Zhe, the other generals and guards were all somewhat dazzled and mesmerized.

Especially for a fierce general like Mao Kun, who loves to risk his life, he couldn't wait to fly to Gengxiang and raid Zhang Liao's camp together. It wasn't to steal credit, but because the idea was just too exciting.

Eight hundred to twenty thousand... Hiss~ Mao Kun couldn't help but show an excited expression just thinking about it.

In contrast, Tian Feng's emotions stabilized.

"With soldiers willing to die, they attacked greedy and cowardly troops. No wonder they achieved such a great victory. How magnificent!"

Although this record is still quite impressive, it at least did not exceed Tian Feng's expectations.

However, Wei Zhe suddenly asked, "What were the casualties of those eight hundred elite soldiers? How many are still capable of fighting?"

Upon hearing this, the messenger immediately said regretfully:

"More than half of them have died in battle, and over a hundred are seriously wounded. Now, fewer than three hundred are still capable of fighting!"

Upon hearing this, even though Wei Zhe already knew about Zhang Liao's historical achievements, he couldn't help but sigh softly.

It's no wonder they achieved such amazing results, given that they fought to the death even after losing more than half their troops.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe immediately gave the order:

“Let’s set up another battalion with these three hundred Vanguard Soldiers, eight hundred soldiers, called ‘Vanguard,’ and their treatment will be the same as the ‘Black Armor Battalion.’ As for this battle… all those who are the first to charge will be rewarded, those who die in battle will be rewarded twice as much, and those who are seriously wounded will be transferred to the garrison and appointed as commanders.”

Of course, this was only for rewarding the soldiers for their merits; Zhang Liao wasn't in such a hurry.

It's not too late to reward Zhang Liao and his many meritorious deeds after we've taken Ji Province.

Upon hearing Wei Zhe's words, the officers and soldiers in the tent couldn't help but show expressions of envy.

After all, this was the first time in the Wei army that Wei Zhe had specially granted a battalion name. It wasn't even the "Xuanjia Battalion," as this armored cavalry unit was originally formed after having a battalion name.

Without having achieved any merit, these people already possessed the military flag of the "Black Armor Battalion".

However, they did not disappoint in deserving of this honor.

Mao Kun secretly vowed that he would do whatever it took to earn a special battalion designation in the future.

However, on the other hand, Zhang Liao fought a truly brilliant battle.

Even without his sudden rise to prominence, the Black Mountain Army would still have been defeated by Wei Zhe in a few days. However, the significance of this was different, as it saved Wei Zhe a great deal of effort and time.

With Zhang Liao's assistance, Wei Zhe no longer needed to rush towards Gengxiang.

After a moment of contemplation, Wei Zhe decisively said:
"Leave!"

"If that's the case, then we'll hunt down Xindu and see what else Yuan Shao can do!"

……

While the fighting was raging in Quyang, other battlefields in Jizhou were also busy.

Besides Chunyu Qiong's western army, Yuan's central and eastern armies also fell into fierce fighting.

The Yuan army on the eastern route was originally blocked in Xiu County by Ju Shou's tens of thousands of garrison troops using trenches and barricades. However, Guo Tu and Zhang He cooperated perfectly, with one defending the city and the other breaking through the encirclement.

As a result, Zhang He successfully led 10,000 men to break through the encirclement and went to Pingyuan County in Qingzhou to support Zhou Ang.

As for Xiuxian County, it became the battlefield between Ju Shou and Guo Tu, and the two old enemies were reunited.

Therefore, Zhong Hu's Qingzhou army was slow to enter Jizhou territory.

In contrast, the central army led by Taishi Ci fared much better.

Taishi Ci went straight to the walls of Xindu and practically beat Shen Pei and Yan Liang to a pulp.

It must be said that the current Taishi Ci is already much better than the one in the original history.

After all, he joined the army at almost the same time as Wei Zhe, experienced all the battles with Wei Zhe, and became a general who could command an army on his own at a very early age.

From Liaodong to Youzhou, from the grasslands to Luoyang, the battle-hardened Taishi Ci was no longer the young man from Donglai he once was.

While Wei Zhe's development was rapid, Tai Shi Ci's growth was also evident to all.

Yan Liang is no match for Taishi Ci.

If it weren't for the advantage of defending the city, Taishi Ci might have achieved a breakthrough earlier than Xiaquyang.

However, it was precisely because of this that the situation in Xindu was the first to spiral out of control.

After careful consideration, Yuan Shao decisively led 40,000 troops out of the Guangzong camp to support Xindu.

Clearly, Yuan Shao was no less decisive and charismatic.

In this critical moment, he saw not only danger, but also an opportunity for victory.

After all, with his 40,000 fresh troops pressing in, the situation in Xindu immediately turned from danger to safety, and Taishi Ci was immediately put in a perilous situation.

That's exactly what happened.

Under the combined attack of Yuan Shao, Shen Pei, and Yan Liang, who numbered nearly 60,000, Taishi Ci had no choice but to defend his camp.

However, unlike Chunyu Qiong, Taishi Ci remained unmoved under the siege of Yuan's army.

Despite the seemingly critical situation, Taishi Ci frequently resorted to offense as a form of defense, counterattacking the besieging Yuan army and achieving considerable success in the process.

This left Yuan Shao, who thought victory was assured, feeling incredibly frustrated.

Especially after seeing the battle report from Xiaquyang, he angrily drew his sword and chopped the table in half.

He was so close, so very close, to turning the tide...

(End of this chapter)