Han officials

Chapter 325 Battlefield Intervention [4K]

The existence of the Han army in Luoyang has always been a rather awkward issue.

Although they kept declaring that they would attack Guanzhong and welcome back the emperor, they were always firmly blocked by Tongguan.

Before Wei Zhe occupied Ji Province, they still had some value to him.

However, after Wei Zhe defeated Yuan Shao and became the overlord of Hebei, the Han army in Luoyang became somewhat redundant.

This can be seen from the fact that the Wei army captured Hanoi Commandery in the middle of the year and attacked Hedong Commandery.

If Shi Sunrui had been sensible enough to take the initiative to surrender to Ye City at that time, Wei Zhe would not have minded giving him a decent treatment.

Unfortunately, Shi Sunrui ignored Wei Zhe's warning.

Therefore, when the army marched south to attack Yuan Shu, Wei Zhe also took the opportunity to deal with the Han army in Luoyang.

After Wei Zhe took the title of Duke of Wei, Shi Sunrui also realized that the Wei army would one day besiege Luoyang.

However, Shi Sunrui did not expect this day to come so soon.

It wasn't three months.

It didn't even take a month.

In just half a month, Zhang Liao broke through Xiaopingjin Pass, one of the eight passes of Luoyang, and led his army south from Henan County.

On the walls of Jinyong City, Lü Bu stood rather disheveled beside Shi Sunrui.

“Zhang Liao made a feint, deliberately creating a show of force at Xiaopingjin Pass, while in reality he sent Xu Huang to lead troops to cross the river at Mengjin for a surprise attack. Our troops were outnumbered, and the forces at Mengjin were no match for Xu Huang, so we had no choice but to retreat temporarily.”

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have ended up like this..."

At this point, Lü Bu slammed his fist on the battlement with a look of resentment, and didn't continue speaking.

After all, a defeat is a defeat, and there's no point in saying anything now.

With Mengjin breached by the Wei army, Xiaopingjin Pass lost its defensive value.

This was the second time Lü Bu had been defeated by Zhang Liao, yet Lü Bu remained unconvinced.

He believed that his military strategy was no less than that of the Liao, but he had fewer soldiers and generals, and his weapons and armor were inferior to those of the Wei army.

If he were to lead the same Wei army against Zhang Liao, he would surely be able to kill Zhang Liao in battle!

Lu Bu was furious with this fellow townsman from Bingzhou!

However, Shi Sunrui was even calmer than Lü Bu had imagined.

He did not blame Lü Bu, but simply sighed and calmly readjusted the arrangements.

As Lü Bu and the others went to prepare for the retreat, Shi Sunrui sighed and lamented helplessly as he looked at the nearby Beiman Mountain: "How many talents does Wei have!"

Generals like Zhong Hu, Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, and Zhao Yun, who were in their prime, were already formidable opponents, while the younger generation produced outstanding talents like Sun Ce, Guo Huai, and Xu Huang.

With such a continuous stream of talented generals, who in the world will be able to rival us in the future?
Even setting aside military matters, the flourishing literary culture of Ye City was astonishing to Shi Sunrui!

He had heard of the names of Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu, and Fa Zheng, and had even read their articles.

It is no exaggeration to say that Shi Sunrui was inferior to him.

At least when he was young, he certainly didn't have the skill or talent of those four.

Recently, it seems that several outstanding talents have emerged. Wang Can, Pang Tong, and Lu Su are collectively known as the "Seven Talents of Wei".

Although Shi Sunrui did not know the skill level of these three people, he guessed that they were not far off.

Whenever he thought of this, Shi Sunrui felt a deep sense of envy.

A well-ordered succession and a line of successors is probably something every person in power dreams of.

Sometimes Shi Sunrui couldn’t help but wonder if the State of Wei really had a destiny.
However, whenever the thought arose, Shi Sunduan would immediately cut it off and dare not continue thinking about it.

For example, at this moment, Shi Sunrui stopped worrying about it after making a couple of remarks.

It should be noted that Cao Zhang was still guarding Xuanmen Pass, and Cao Ang was also struggling to resist the Wei armies of Sun Ce and Guo Huai in Ao Cang.

If the two are not notified soon, Cao Ang and Cao Zhang will be blocked by the Wei army at the three passes of Hulao Pass.

……

Not to mention how the Han army in Luoyang made its strategic retreat.

As the Wei army marched south in force, Liu Bei, who was in Jingzhou, finally saw an opportunity.

He had previously gained Liu Biao's trust under the pretext of resisting Yuan Shu and was assigned to Xinye.

However, Liu Biao was still somewhat wary of Liu Bei, a member of the Han imperial family.

After all, Liu Bei had served as the governor of Yan Province, even though he was later forcibly expelled by Cao Cao.

But the fact that Liu Bei was able to contend with Cao Cao for so long shows that he was at least more capable than the average general.

Therefore, Liu Biao only ordered Liu Bei to lead his old troops to garrison in Xinye as a buffer for Xiangyang, and did not send any additional troops.

It wasn't until Liu Biao bound Yan Xiang and handed him over to the Wei army that Liu Biao allowed Liu Bei to recruit troops locally to guard against Yuan's army's attack, in order to prevent retaliation from Yuan's army in Nanyang.

After obtaining the supplies, Liu Bei immediately consulted with Guo Jia.

"This opportunity is fleeting. General, let's make our move!"

In the study, Guo Jia stood with a resolute expression.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yong couldn't help but lean forward, eagerly saying:
"The strategist is right!"

"Even in the worst-case scenario, with Nanyang Commandery in hand, my lord can still play a pivotal role in Jingzhou, just like Huang Zu of Jiangxia."

"This battle is truly a godsend!"

It must be admitted that although Jian Yongren was not very smart, he was quite knowledgeable.

In their previous life, after Zhang Xiu and his nephew occupied Nanyang, they were accepted by Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, and made into a bulwark for Xiangyang.

Later, when Cao Cao attacked Jingzhou, Zhang Xiu's troops did indeed block Liu Biao's offensive and achieved many victories.

Even the combined casualties inflicted on Cao Cao's army by all the counties in Jingzhou did not match the success achieved by Nanyang County.

Huang Zu's Jiangxia Commandery also held off the Sun family of Eastern Wu for decades.

If it weren't for the later internal strife in Xiangyang and the resulting weakness in the rear, Huang Zu might have lived to old age and died in Jiangxia.

Seeing what the two said, Liu Bei no longer hesitated.

That very night, a small force bearing the banner of Yuan's army attacked Xinye.

Standing atop the city walls of Xinye, countless torches in the wilderness seemed to rush towards Xinye like fire dragons.

The military supervisor sent by Liu Biao was so frightened that his face turned pale and his legs trembled.

Therefore, when Liu Bei suggested that he personally return to Xiangyang to seek help from the Duke of Chu, he agreed without hesitation.

However, as soon as this person left, Liu Bei led his troops to defeat the "enemy army" outside and launched a surprise attack on Xiang County without hesitation.

Even though Liu Bei only had three thousand men, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei leading the charge, they captured the city in less than half an hour.

The capture of Xiang County finally allowed Liu Bei's troops to act freely.

Two thousand able-bodied men from Xinye were equipped with Yuan's army gear and quickly became a group of qualified soldiers.

It should be noted that Liu Bei has been quite busy in Xinye these past few years. Although he was unable to expand his army due to shortages of food and military supplies, Liu Bei had his own strengths.

From renowned scholars of Jingzhou to humble farmers in the countryside, Liu Bei could chat and laugh with them all.

It was through this gradual accumulation that Liu Bei was able to build up a reserve army in Xinye.

He also learned this trick from Wei Zhe. These able-bodied laborers were actually garrison troops, but they hadn't revealed it yet.

Over the years, Liu Bei had already won over the hearts of the people of Xinye.

Years of accumulation have led to this day!
……

On that day, at the foot of Wan County.

Looking at the vast sea of ​​people outside the city, Chen Ji, the prefect of Nanyang, had an extremely ugly expression.

He hadn't expected that his own forces would be surrounded by the enemy before the Wei army even attacked. Of course, this wasn't a major problem; he could always surrender.

The key issue is that two groups of enemies have returned this time, which left Chen Ji somewhat at a loss for words.

No matter how much he planned, he never expected to encounter this situation, leaving him unsure of who to turn to for help!
Meanwhile, in the eastern suburbs of Wan County.

There were a few people gathered between the two armies, but the atmosphere was rather awkward.

Looking at Shi Sunrui and the others in front of him, Liu Bei was speechless.

He had even considered retaking the Han army in Luoyang for his own use, but he never expected to run into them here.

Meanwhile, Sun Rui, the taxi driver on the other side, was also filled with helplessness.

Zhang Liao's speed in breaking through the pass far exceeded Shi Sunrui's expectations, which completely disrupted his retreat plan.

The Han army in Luoyang lost more than half of its accumulated wealth and provisions, and also suffered heavy losses in its troops.

Even Cao Ang and Cao Zhang in the south were almost surrounded and killed by the Wei army.

When Sun Rui and others transferred to Yingchuan County, only about four thousand soldiers remained.

Even so, Shi Sunrui did not even wait to finish collecting the supplies of Yingchuan County before he immediately led his troops to attack Nanyang, wanting to seize the initiative.

Just when they were about to succeed, Liu Bei unexpectedly interfered.

Cao Ang, standing beside him, also looked at Liu Bei with an unfriendly expression, as if he was ready to attack at any moment.

It's no wonder Cao Ang disliked Liu Bei.

Who told Liu Bei to rob their family back then, almost turning the entire Cao family into homeless dogs?

If it weren't for the bravery of Cao Ang's father, Cao Ang would probably be a slave under Liu Bei's command today.

But Zhang Fei couldn't stand this, and his eyes widened immediately as he angrily shouted:
"What are you looking at, you brat! Are you looking for death?"

However, his words displeased Cao Zhang, for Huang Xu'er's bravery was no joke.

Cao Zhang immediately stepped in front of Cao Ang, his eyebrows furrowed in anger as he glared at him:
"You thief with the ringed eye, are you taking advantage of my weak sword?!"

Zhang Fei was about to unleash a torrent of curses when Lu Bu, feeling displeased, immediately turned cold and gave Zhang Fei a sidelong glance.

Zhang Fei instantly felt his hair stand on end, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

His biological instincts told him that there was great danger, and he immediately stared intently at Lü Bu, his hand reaching for his waist.

Guan Yu, who was standing nearby, had a clear view of Zhang Fei's predicament and naturally wouldn't let him suffer, so he also stepped forward.

In an instant, the atmosphere between the two sides became extremely tense, as if they were about to turn on each other at any moment.

However, Shi Sunrui and Liu Bei were not ordinary people after all.

Both men knew that if they fought each other at this time, it would only benefit Yuan's army inside the city.

Therefore, after exchanging a glance, Liu Bei slowly said:

When two tigers fight, one will surely be injured.

Shi Sunrui also nodded slightly and said:

"Gentlemen, please calm down for now. Let's not allow Yuan's army to reap the benefits!"

With both leaders speaking, the rest of the group could only suppress their anger for the time being.

However, after this incident, Liu Bei and Shi Sunrui breathed a slight sigh of relief.

At least they can be sure that they think similarly and are calm enough.

After a moment of silence, Liu Bei spoke first:

"The west and south gates are mine!"

Shi Sunrui nodded in tacit agreement.

"I'll take charge of the North Gate and East Gate!"

Seeing that he had agreed, Liu Bei got straight to the point:

"In that case, whoever breaks through the city first shall be the ruler of Nanyang!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Sunrui immediately gave Liu Bei three high-fives, and then each of them led their men away.

Only then could the internal conflict between the two sides be considered to have been resolved.

At least until Yuan's army in Wan County is wiped out, they will not fight each other.

When the two armies outside the city reached a consensus, Yuan's army in Wan County was in dire straits.

……

In the south, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu led the charge, while Liu Bei commanded from the center, deploying troops and generals, with Guo Jia and Chen Gong on either side offering advice and strategies.

To the north, Lü Bu, Gao Shun, Cao Ang, Cao Zhang, and others led a fierce attack, with Man Chong and Mao Jie providing support from behind, and Shi Sunrui personally beating the drums to cheer on the army; their momentum was no less than that of the former.

Furthermore, with both sides swearing an oath by high-five that whoever breaks through the city first will become the ruler of Nanyang, the morale of the troops was even higher.

Warriors are inherently competitive, and even the lowest-ranking soldiers on both sides are determined to gain the upper hand.

Under these circumstances, the pressure on Yuan Jun of Wan County was immense.

The first wave of attacks left Chen Ji, the governor of Nanyang, pale-faced and disoriented.

In the prefect's mansion, listening to the reports from both sides, Chen Ji felt like crying but had no tears.

What merit or ability does Chen Ji possess to deserve such treatment!

With such a lineup, they would probably be more than capable of attacking Shouchun.

Thinking of this, Chen Ji immediately lost the will to resist and began to drink wildly in despair.

The governor's mansion was in complete chaos, with everyone running around in confusion.

However, Chen Ji's current passive approach is of little use, as the city's defenders couldn't even withstand the first wave.

In the fierce battle between the two armies, Lü Bu and Guan Yu were the first to charge almost simultaneously.

At least from the perspective of Shi Sunrui and Liu Bei outside the city, the Yuan army flags on the two city gates fell down almost simultaneously.

Upon seeing this scene, both of them couldn't help but frown.

Regardless of whether or not the promise will be kept, there should always be an opportunity.

With both sides breaching the city almost simultaneously, the two were at a loss as to what to do.

You must understand that both armies are currently locked in a bloody battle. If they are not careful, Wanxian County may be destroyed in their infighting today, resulting in mutual destruction!

That's exactly what happened.

Outside the governor's mansion in the city, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were leading the elite Tiger Warriors in a standoff against Lü Bu and Cao Zhang.

Both sides have their own version of events, firmly believing that they were the ones who breached the city first.

For a time, tensions rose outside the prefect's mansion, and it looked like blood was about to flow like a river.

Meanwhile, Chen Ji, the prefect of Nanyang, was already dead drunk and incapable of surrendering, which further eliminated any chance for either side to make amends.

As more and more soldiers from both armies entered the city, the atmosphere outside the prefect's residence became increasingly dangerous, with the air thick with the smell of gunpowder, and it seemed that a chaotic battle could break out at any moment.

However, just when the situation was about to spiral out of control, the sound of retreat was heard simultaneously from the rear of both armies.

This caused the atmosphere to freeze for a moment, and Guan Yu and Lü Bu finally regained their composure.

After exchanging a fierce glare, the two controlled their troops to slowly retreat, clearing out the area of ​​the prefect's residence.

However, a moment later, the two witnessed an unbelievable scene.

Liu Bei was seen walking hand in hand with Shi Sunrui, chatting and laughing intimately.

Both sides were stunned by this scene. From Lü Bu and Guan Yu down, all the soldiers were dumbfounded and stood there dumbfounded...

(End of this chapter)