Han officials

Chapter 269 Joy Turns to Sorrow [6.5K]

As the commander of the Eastern Route Army, Shen Pei was originally stationed in Xindu City. However, after Yuan Shao arrived, he moved to the main camp outside the city, echoing the city of Xindu.

Therefore, Yuan Shao boldly delegated power to him, leaving 20,000 troops to defend the city, while the rest of the supporting rear army was handed over to Shen Pei outside the city for command and control.

This resulted in Shen Pei having as many as 40,000 troops under his command, exceeding the number of his lord, Yuan Shao.

Shen Pei knew how precious this trust was, and therefore he did not betray Yuan Shao's trust during this period.

With his tacit cooperation, the performance of both the inner and outer Yuan armies was exemplary in defending the city.

However, Shen Pei knew in his heart that their goal this time was not simply to achieve a successful defense.

If possible, Xindu City can be abandoned, but Wei Zhe must die.

Therefore, the selection and matching process has been carried out cautiously during this period, for fear of missing the best opportunity.

……

In the afternoon, Shen Pei was seen gazing out from the high platform for a long time, his brows furrowed.

Shen Pei was equally perplexed by the Wei army's fierce offensive today.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

So when Xin Ping came to deliver the order, Shen Pei subconsciously shook his head and said:

"No, Wei Gongwei is most skilled in the art of deception; such a rash advance..."

But before he could finish speaking, Xin Ping coldly smiled and said:

"Shen Zhengnan, do you intend to sit idly by and watch the letter be broken and the governor be besieged?"

"My lord entrusted his life to you, yet you disobey military orders—Shen Pei, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Pei's face instantly turned ashen as he glared at Xin Ping, his hand reaching for the sword at his waist.

Shen Pei knew that Xin Ping and other scholars from Yingchuan had always held a prejudice against him, but he did not expect that at this critical juncture they would still be spreading rumors and making trouble.

Such prioritizing private interests over public duty is enough to make Shen Pei want to chop off Xin Ping's head immediately.

But seeing Xin Ping's confident and fearless demeanor, Shen Pei took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

He glanced at Xin Ping with icy eyes:
"Slandering others is not the act of a gentleman... Get lost!"

There was nothing he could do; Xin Ping was currently relaying Yuan Shao's orders.

If he were to execute Yuan Shao's envoy at this critical juncture, then Shen Pei would have no choice but to rebel, even if he didn't want to.

Having figured this out, Shen Pei ignored Xin Ping and immediately summoned his generals to prepare for a full-scale attack.

Seeing this, Xin Ping smiled smugly before leisurely leaving the camp.

However, when he returned to the city and reported back to Yuan Shao, Xin Ping still took the opportunity to give Shen some eye drops.

"Shen Zhengnan has some reservations, and I'm worried that he might have ulterior motives!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao frowned slightly, but quickly shook his head gently.
“Zheng Nan is a loyal and upright man; he is not that kind of person. Don’t say such things again in the future.”

Despite saying this, Yuan Shao couldn't help but unconsciously clench his fist in his sleeve.

It wasn't that Xin Ping's slander was particularly clever, but rather that Shen Pei genuinely had the ability to harm him at that time.

If Shen Pei were to change his mind at this moment, it would be uncertain whether he could leave Xindu alive.

Meanwhile, outside the city, at Yuan's army camp.

After Shen Pei conveyed Yuan Shao's military order with a blank expression, Wen Chou immediately stepped forward.

He bowed firmly and said:
"I am willing to be the vanguard, and I humbly request the Governor's permission!"

Seeing Shen Pei's brow furrow slightly and his face showing hesitation, Wen Chou gritted his teeth and resolutely said:

"This humble general is willing to sign a military pledge: if I fail, I am willing to offer my head in return!"

Seeing this, Yan Liang, who was just about to volunteer, silently withdrew half of his foot.

It wasn't that Yan Liang felt inferior, but rather that he understood that Wen Chou needed this job more than he did.

It is said that Yuan Shao divided his army into three routes this time, and Wen Chou was originally paired with Chunyu Qiong.

Unfortunately, he wasn't as lucky as Yan Liang, and Chunyu Qiong lacked Shen Pei's strategic acumen.

As a result, the Western Route Army was completely wiped out in the Battle of Linping, and even its commander, Chunyu Qiong, committed suicide.

Although Wen Chou, as the deputy general, managed to escape with the desperate protection of his personal guards, he returned alone on horseback.

Therefore, Wen Chou's situation became quite difficult after he returned to Guangzong.

There's nothing we can do; we have to respect the dead. Chunyu Qiong is already dead, so there's not much we can say now.

This led to Yuan Shao feeling that Wen Chou was ineffective in battle, and his colleagues also felt that he was afraid of death.

As a result, Wen Chou, who was hailed as one of the "Four Pillars of Hebei," was left idle.

Even when Yuan Shao was supporting Xindu this time, he only put Wen Chou under the command of Shen Pei.

Shen Pei naturally understood Wen Chou's plight and knew how eager he was to prove himself.

Out of consideration for their shared hometown, Shen Pei thought for a moment and nodded slightly, saying:
"There is no joking in the army. If you lose again, don't blame this warlord for being ruthless!"

Wen Fei immediately knelt down in gratitude and gladly accepted the order.

A moment later, with the thunderous sound of hooves, Wen Chou led three thousand cavalrymen out of Yuan's camp and headed straight for the rear of the Wei army.

Immediately, the remaining 20,000 troops of Yuan Jun's camp poured out and charged towards Wei Zhe's banner.

……

On the cloud chariot, Wei Zhe finally smiled when he saw this scene.

Who says you can't besiege a city and attack reinforcements right under your nose?

As long as the enemy can be mobilized, the strategy of besieging a city and attacking its reinforcements is applicable at any time.

"Alright, let Hu Chen withdraw!"

With Wei Zhe's order, the Wei army's siege came to an abrupt halt.

Although the vanguard Wei army was helpless, they had experienced this countless times during this period.

It's always the same: whenever the situation of the Xindu garrison becomes critical, they will inevitably be harassed by Yuan's army outside the city.

This left them feeling helpless, but they still withdrew with immense frustration.

Seeing this, Yuan Shao on the city wall breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said decisively:
"Open the gates, launch the attack!"

This was the first time he had ordered the city's defenders to launch a proactive attack after so long of defending the city.

For a moment, the Yuan army in the city were filled with fighting spirit, because they had been holding back their anger for a long time.

However, Wei Zhe was not surprised when he saw Yuan's army inside the city take the initiative to come out and attack.

This is how a mutually supporting defensive posture works: if you attack the left, the right will protect you; if you attack the right, the left will protect you; if you don't attack, you will be attacked from both sides.

With Yuan Shao's talent, he would naturally not allow Shen Pei to fight alone outside the city.

So when the city's garrison surged forward in a massive attack, a muffled "whoosh" was heard, and a dense barrage of arrows rained down on Yuan's army below the city.

Under such close-range volley fire, Yuan's army suffered countless casualties, and their advance was abruptly halted.

But that wasn't enough. After the rain of arrows, three thousand soldiers galloped on horseback, firing their bows in rapid succession, and charged back towards the city gate, reaping many lives in the blink of an eye.

When Yuan Shao's general Cui Juye saw this, he thought that the Wei army was going to take the opportunity to seize the city gate. He was so frightened that he immediately suspended his attack and set up a defensive position at the city gate.

Well, his response wasn't exactly wrong.

After all, the city gate is only so big. If the Wei army disrupts their formation, they won't be able to close the gate even if they want to. So, stability is the most important thing at this time.

Moreover, if given the opportunity, Wei Zhe would not mind taking the city gate first and then attacking Xindu.

Indeed, after the Yuan army at the city gate stabilized their formation, the Wei cavalry gradually withdrew their troops.

The Wei army that was attacking the city completely broke off contact with the Yuan army and successfully retreated back to its own lines.

Only then did Yuan Shao, who had been terrified on the city wall, breathe a sigh of relief.

He even pretended to be relaxed and mocked those around him:

"Outwardly strong but inwardly weak, Lord Wei's tactics have run out!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Ji immediately joined in with a smile:
"The traitor Wei came from humble origins; how could he possibly understand the intricacies of military strategy?"

"Its rise was swift, its fall swift; it was nothing more than a vanguard for the king!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh, clearly Feng Ji had struck a chord with him.

Although Xu You didn't say anything, Xin Ping, who was standing to the side, nodded in deep agreement.

In the eyes of the Xin family of Yingchuan, Wei Zhe's background was truly no different from that of a commoner.

They were clearly celebrating a little too soon.

When Yuan Shao led the remaining troops out of the city, preparing to join forces with Shen Pei to launch a pincer attack on the Wei army and defeat them in one fell swoop, Cui Juye, who was leading the vanguard, suddenly stopped.

Yuan Shao, standing at the rear, was bewildered. He only saw dust billowing in front of him but had no idea what was happening.

After the dust settled slightly, Yuan Shao, who was standing on his horse, widened his eyes in astonishment.

The officers and staff of Yuan Jun beside him all looked incredulous.

Of course, it's no wonder they were making a fuss.

After all, anyone would have this expression when they suddenly see a trench in front of them.

Xu You, regaining his senses, was immediately shocked and exclaimed:

"Oh no! We've fallen into a trap!"

As soon as Xu You said this, Feng Ji and the others immediately realized what he meant.

Under the central banner, Yuan Shao's jaw clenched and his face turned ashen.

Even a fool could see at this moment that Wei Zhe was deliberately luring him into making the first move.

This scheme wasn't particularly clever, but he still fell for it.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao's face immediately turned ashen.

In fact, the reality was pretty much what Yuan Shao had in mind.

If it weren't for this trench in front of him, Wei Zhe wouldn't have attacked the city for so many days.

In other words, Wei Zhe had a large number of highly skilled coal and iron mine workers who were very proficient in digging tunnels; otherwise, Wei Zhe would not have been able to dig a trench in such a short time.

In a way, Wei Zhe's move can be considered a variation of the "acupuncture point attack" method among the eight siege tactics.

However, the moat of Xindu City was too deep, and the "cavalry attack" method was not very successful, so Wei Zhe did not use it to attack the city.

However, not using it for sieges doesn't mean this tactic is useless. Wei Zhe modified it and actually used this siege tactic for defense.

It was precisely because his tunnel never reached the foot of Xindu City that Yuan Shao's "earth trap" went completely undetected. The tunnel was only exposed after the Wei army retreated to their main camp and the miners pulled down the wooden stakes and beams that had been laid out beforehand.

No, it can no longer be called a tunnel; it should be called a trench.

Although the trench was not long, it was enough to protect the main Wei army.

At least the trench will greatly hinder the offensive of Yuan's army in the city.

However, given how far things had progressed, even knowing he had fallen into a trap, Yuan Shao had no way to back down.

If he were to withdraw his troops and return to the city now, he would truly be killing Shen Pei and the 40,000 troops outside the city.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao hardened his heart and immediately gritted his teeth and said:
"Order Cui Juye: no matter how many casualties you suffer, you must break through this formation!"

At this point, Xu You, Feng Ji, and the others had nothing to say.

Upon receiving Yuan Shao's military order, Cui Juye, who was at the forefront of the army, knew that he had no other choice at the moment.

He immediately ordered his men to demolish the houses near the city gate, intending to use the timber and debris to fill the moat.

Fortunately, this trench was hastily dug by the Wei army and is far inferior to the moat of Xindu City; otherwise, Cui Juye's preparations would have been of little use.

Even so, after a short while, the Yuan army's men who filled the trenches still suffered heavy casualties and retreated in disarray.

The barrage of arrows made Cui Juye's eyes twitch.

He had no idea where Wei Zhe got so many archers, nor did he know where he got so many arrows.

But the current situation is that his soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and he cannot retreat.

Thus, an absurd scene unfolded on the battlefield: the attacking and besieging sides had completely reversed roles. The more ferocious the Wei army's siege had been recently, the heavier the Yuan army's casualties became.

Even if Cui Juye disregarded casualties and painstakingly filled a section of the trench, before he could break through the formation, the Wei army, which was already prepared, would suddenly rush out and pour oil and firewood on it, setting all the wooden planks and debris covering the trench on fire.

In an instant, flames soared into the sky, and Yuan's army could only retreat a step under the raging fire.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the ground beneath Xindu City was littered with corpses, making the already chilling scene even more like a ghostly realm.

While the Wei army on one side held the Xindu garrison at bay, the attack from the other side was as fierce as a tiger descending a mountain.

……

Time goes back to half an hour ago.

When Shen Pei led Yuan's army from the outer camp to charge aggressively towards the Wei army, Zhang Liao smiled.

"Trapped Camp, break through the formation!"

After saying this, the usually stern man grinned and once again unleashed his berserk mode.

The eight hundred soldiers behind him, in a moment of silence, followed closely behind, their eyes filled with excitement.

Although the current Trapped Camp was reorganized by Zhang Liao with three hundred veteran Trapped Camp soldiers as its core.

However, with Zhang Liao as the key figure, the 800 elite soldiers already had that same feel to them.

So when Wen Chou led his vanguard and charged aggressively towards the Wei army, he was surprised to see this scene.

He was initially taken aback, but then his face turned red with anger, and he started breathing heavily through his nostrils.

That's incredibly disrespectful!

"rush!"

After a roar, Wen Chou charged ahead of Zhang Liao.

It must be admitted that Wen Chou may not have been a great general, but he certainly had the courage of a common man.

As he galloped past on horseback, his spear flashed and thrust, carving a bloody path through the enemy in the blink of an eye.

However, Zhang Liao's expression did not change.

People are never static, especially these veterans who have fought countless battles on the battlefield.

The army admired his feat of defeating 20,000 with only 800 men, but they did not know that the Battle of Gengxiang was also a transformation for Zhang Liao.

Before this battle, he may have been somewhat confused, but after this battle, he has found his own way of using troops.

Husband fights with courage.

With this statement as the core, Zhang Liao became fearless on the battlefield.

Seeing Wen Chou getting closer and closer, Zhang Liao charged forward without hesitation.

However, he didn't just pass by; instead, he thrust his sword directly from behind the horse and spurred his horse straight into it.

Amidst the clash of swords, Zhang Liao and Wen Chou were both thrown into the air.

Caught off guard, Wen Chou, no matter how brave he was, was thrown to the ground and left completely disoriented.

As for their warhorses, they lay on the ground with blood all over their mouths and noses, and fell silent in the blink of an eye.

Although Zhang Liao was also thrown from his horse, he was prepared and immediately ran towards Wen Chou.

In an instant, a head flew off, and blood splattered everywhere.

Looking up, all that could be seen was Wen Chou's severed head.

However, his eyes were filled with confusion and astonishment at this moment. Then, after seeing the headless body below, he realized what had happened, and his eyes were filled with fear and resentment.

No matter how unwilling he was, at this moment he could only roll helplessly in the dust, dying with his eyes wide open in dismay.

At the same time, Zhang Liao, whose head and face were covered in his blood, felt extremely happy!
That feels great! That's exactly how it feels!

Zhang Liao couldn't help but lick the blood from the corner of his mouth, then grinned maliciously and charged towards Yuan's army again.

Seeing this, not only the ordinary soldiers of Yuan's army, but also Yan Liang and others in the rear couldn't help but feel a pang in their hearts.

They had all witnessed Wen Chou's bravery, yet he couldn't even withstand two moves from Zhang Liao.

Shen Pei looked closely and immediately realized that the enemy was definitely Wei's elite armored soldiers.

This group of men were not only cruel and tyrannical, but also incredibly skilled in armor and weapons. They seemed fearless, and wherever Zhang Liao led them, the screams and cries of Yuan's army were almost constant.

This... Shen Pei, who was already somewhat worried, couldn't help but frown.

However, now that the die is cast, there's no turning back.

Seeing that Wen Chou had failed, Shen Pei could only hurriedly order Yan Liang to lead his troops to take his place.

However, the loss of the vanguard and even the killing of the first man damaged the morale of Yuan's army, making it very difficult for Yan Liang to fight.

Shen Pei thought he was launching a surprise attack, but the Wei army was more proactive than he was.

As the breach in the enemy's camp was cleaved open, rows of Wei infantrymen, wielding large shields and long spears, silently charged forward.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies clashed, and countless people perished amidst the flying arrows.

At this moment, the passing of life becomes so cheap.

Soldiers died in battle, one after another, almost entire units perishing. Human lives were as insignificant as ants at that moment.

In reality, the battle beneath Xindu City resembled a war between ants.

It should be noted that the combined infantry and cavalry forces of Wei and Yuan on this battlefield currently exceed 100,000.

The sight of such a massive army entangled together was both tragic and spectacular!

However, the battle line remained deadlocked for less than half an hour.

Although the Wei army has temporarily blocked the attack from the south, it is only temporary.

On the cloud chariot, Wei Zhe was seen staring intently at the changing battle situation.

When Wei Zhe saw that Shen Pei's entire army had been deployed, his eyes lit up.

Shen Pei probably felt that with Yuan Shao cooperating from the south, he didn't need to keep any reserves.

Or perhaps he thought that now was the time to mobilize the entire army, and there was no need to hold back anymore.

Regardless of his reasons, he clearly misjudged some things.

Wei Zhe decisively gave the order:
"Black Armor Battalion, attack!"

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci, who was under the cloud chariot, immediately laughed and accepted the order.

The black armor of Liaodong is unparalleled in the world.

From this day forward, Taishi Ci believed that these words would spread throughout the entire Han Dynasty.

……

A moment later, when the Xuanjia Battalion, which had been resting and recuperating for a long time, appeared in front of Yan Liang through the great formation, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

At this moment, the "Four Pillars of Hebei" finally understood Wen Chou's grievances.

He initially thought that Wen Chou's words "unstoppable" and "invincible" were just excuses for defeat.

After all, Yuan's army did have its share of heavily armored cavalry, with over a dozen riders in Ji Province.

It wasn't a lack of armor, but rather a shortage of armored cavalry capable of carrying so much equipment in actual combat.

Whether it's waist strength or leg strength, armored cavalry places too high a demand on cavalrymen who rely solely on their two legs to support the horse.

Yuan Jun had conducted an experiment, and the light cavalry almost completely defeated the armored cavalry in the same number.

Sometimes, even heavily armored cavalrymen and their horses could not gallop at full speed and could only walk slowly.

It was precisely because of this that the armored cavalry in Ji Province almost became Yuan Shao's honor guard.

Most of the time, they were used to decorate Yuan Shao's appearance when he went out, serving as ceremonial objects.

In order to reduce the requirements for cavalry, all the armored cavalry in Yuan Shao's guard were made of wood to imitate iron armor.

Under these circumstances, few people naturally believed Wen Chou's words.

Yan Liang and other generals of Yuan Shao's army did not believe it, and Yuan Shao himself did not believe it either.

The more Wen Chou, who returned alone, described the Wei army's Xuanjia armor as powerful, the more contemptuous they became of him.

Unfortunately, it was too late when Yan Liang realized this.

Although the Xuanjia Camp had only a thousand riders, Yan Liang felt as if the earth were collapsing when Taishi Ci charged towards him.

In the blink of an eye, Yan Liang saw Taishi Ci riding a wave of blood as he charged toward him.

At this moment, Yan Liang could only grit his teeth, hold his gun, and meet the attack, his eyes filled with madness.

"kill!"

However, when that loud shout came from behind Taishi Ci's veil... Yan Liang was sent flying!
It wasn't that Yan Liang was too weak, but rather that the armored cavalry's impact was simply too strong.

If Taishi Ci had been at full strength before, his combat power would have almost doubled instantly with the addition of armored cavalry.

"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot," that's the best way to describe Yan Liang at this moment!

In mid-air, with his chest caved in and his internal organs shattered, Yan Liang felt only a wave of exhaustion.

Compared to Wen Chou, who died with his eyes wide open in disbelief, Yan Liang suddenly felt that dying in battle like this was quite good.

If he can't win, he can't win. He's already done his best!
With his last thought, Yan Liang fell into eternal silence.

In reality, Yan Liang only suffered because of his lack of knowledge.

If he experiences this a few more times, he will probably understand that even armored cavalry are not invincible.

For example, Shen Pei quickly came up with some solutions in the blink of an eye.

But at this moment, he had made no preparations for either barricades or horse traps, and there was no time to build a chariot.

Left with no other choice, he hastily ordered Jiang Qi and Han Meng to stop the shield formation in an attempt to slow down the Wei army's offensive.

However, with Taishi Ci's order, Yuan's shield formation was as fragile as paper and was easily pierced.

A mere thousand armored cavalrymen actually broke through Yuan's army on the eastern route and approached Shen Pei's banner.

After 10,000 elite cavalrymen continued to widen the gap, 20,000 infantrymen followed closely behind.

Wei Zhe gave Shen Pei no chance whatsoever, and he brought his battlefield command skills to the extreme.

And when he makes no mistakes, the outcome of the war is already decided!
……

Meanwhile, at the foot of Xindu City, Yuan Shao was quite excited.

Under his pressure, Yuan's army fought desperately and finally broke through the enemy's defenses, engaging in fierce battle with the Wei army, effectively creating a pincer attack on the Wei army.

However, just as Yuan Shao felt victory was in sight and was even considering how to kill Wei Zhe in battle, he was horrified to see that Shen Pei's command flag in the distance had suddenly broken.

Yuan Shao initially thought he was seeing things, but after observing repeatedly, Shen Pei's command flag still hadn't been raised.

In an instant, Yuan Shao felt a chill run down his spine.

It felt as if I were in the dead of winter, enveloped in endless cold.

Although he was unclear about the specifics of what had happened on the eastern route, it was a fact that Commander Shen Pei's flag had been broken.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Shen Pei and the Eastern Route Army should have been defeated.

No matter how much he couldn't understand it, he could only and had to accept this reality.

Unbeknownst to him, a trace of blood even seeped from the corner of Yuan Shao's mouth.

"withdraw!"

After uttering the word through gritted teeth, Yuan Shao couldn't help but close his eyes in pain.

The Eastern Route Army is gone, but the garrison of Xindu is still there, so he has not completely lost this battle.

At this moment, Xu You and the others dared not say another word.

The fiercer their attack, the more pathetic their retreat.

If the main force of the Wei army hadn't been busy besieging Shen Pei's 40,000 Yuan troops, the garrison of Xindu would probably have lost a chunk of its strength.

Even so, they didn't even dare to return to Xindu City. Instead, they led the 20,000 surviving people away from the battlefield in a hurry, heading towards Guangzong...

(End of this chapter)