Han officials

Chapter 330 Losing in a Hurry

With Xun You traveling by sea to Kuaiji Commandery, Wei Zhe was left with only Xi Zhicai by his side.

This made Wei Zhe feel that there was a shortage of manpower.

(⊙o⊙)… Well, okay, he can never have too many talented people.

Fortunately, even though Wei Zhe only had Xi Zhicai as his strategist, it was more than enough to deal with Yuan Shu.

No, to be precise, Xi Zhicai didn't even need to be involved in dealing with Yuan Shu.

As the Wei army in the central route completely crossed the Huai River, Yuan Shu in Shouchun County was constantly on edge.

Yuan Shu's massive army was completely ineffective against the Wei army.

Despite Wei Zhe having only 20,000 soldiers under his command, Yuan Shu had gathered a full 100,000 troops in Shouchun.

However, the Wei army still chose to take the initiative to attack, but this tactic was completely incomprehensible to the Yuan army.

……

In the afternoon, in the fields outside Dangtu City, weeds grew rampant and white bones were faintly visible.

As a gentle breeze swept by, over a thousand cavalrymen snaked their way in from a distance. The young general at the head of the group wore only a single cylindrical suit of armor to protect his torso. They appeared to be moving slowly, but in the blink of an eye, they reached a small hill and began to survey the surrounding area.

Before he could catch his breath, he saw a middle-aged general also leading his troops appear on the official road not far away.

At a glance, the two sides could tell that the other was an ally.

Since Wei Zhe took control of Ye City, the armor and weapons of the Wei army have become increasingly standardized.

It would be completely impossible for outsiders to disguise themselves in large numbers within the Wei army.

After all, it's not just about the color of armor and uniforms; it's about the outward manifestation of the entire logistics system.

Therefore, the middle-aged general only glanced at it before laughing nonchalantly: "Youzhou?"

Although the 20,000 soldiers of the central army were basically equipped with two horses each, most of them only used them for mobility. When it came to actual combat, they would still choose the method they were best at – heavy infantry combat!
Only the border troops from Youzhou primarily engage in cavalry combat, and in order to maximize the flexibility of their shoulder, elbow, and hip joints and improve the accuracy of their mounted archery, they sacrifice some defensive capabilities.

For example, the shawl covers the upper arm but not the elbow, and the lower garment is no longer than the knee, all for this purpose.

Laymen might not notice these details, but veterans see them as insignificant.

Any veteran who had served in the Wei army for a while could immediately recognize which soldiers were from Youzhou Prefecture.

From this perspective, the central army can be considered a hybrid of "cavalry infantry" and "elite cavalry".

On the official road, the young officer respectfully clasped his hands in a salute and said:

"Han Qi, the Right Commander of the Shanggu Camp, greets the General!"

As for why Han Qi was certain that the other party's military rank was higher than his own, it wasn't because he was older, but because of that fish-scale armor!

Although fish scale armor has been invented long ago, and because this type of armor is more defensive and flexible due to the layering of plates, it has always been favored by generals throughout history.

However, this type of armor is expensive and complex to manufacture, and is generally only used by generals.

After Wei Zhe built a primitive industrial base in Liaodong, he did manage to reduce costs considerably.

Even so, only senior officers of the rank of colonel and above in the Wei army were qualified to be equipped with it.

Even Wei Zhe himself was only wearing a finely crafted fish-scale armor.

However, the Xuanjia Army was the only exception in the entire Wei army system.

Because all the soldiers and officers in the Xuanjia Army wore fish-scale armor, and even their mounts were covered in fish-scale armor.

Wow, three thousand armored warriors, both men and horses fully equipped.

It is estimated that only the State of Wei in the entire world could produce and afford to maintain them.

At the same time, after a brief exchange of information, Han Qi finally learned the other party's identity:

"Wuwei Colonel Mao Kun!"

Upon hearing this name, Han Qi instinctively stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with admiration.

There was no way around it; almost everyone in the Wei army knew this Mao Sanlang.

It is said that even the Duke of Wei once praised him as a "daredevil" and specially appointed him as the Commandant of Wuwei!

After Wei Zhe decided on the tactic of using speed to attack slowly and infiltration to break through, Mao Kun didn't need to act so quickly.

But he couldn't sit still and kept asking to fight. After repeatedly requesting permission, he finally got Wei Zhe's permission and personally led a thousand soldiers to the front line to find an opportunity to defeat the enemy.

After listening to Han Qi's report, Mao Kun didn't say much and waved for the other party to leave.

He himself sat there lost in thought.

In Mao Kun's view, Wei Zhe's tactics this time were actually a large-scale "reverse beaded curtain" maneuver.

The fact that Yuan Jun's troops were weak and his generals were timid perfectly suited the conditions for using the inverted beaded curtain.

However, this time the battle of the reversed beaded curtain is not fought in a single city or region, but across the entire Jiujiang region.

This vast land is their stage to display their methods.

Otherwise, Wei Zhe wouldn't have only brought 5,000 soldiers to hold the line, but instead sent out the remaining 15,000 soldiers, dividing them into 15 thousand-man squads to attack separately, causing chaos in Jiujiang!
This is why Yuan's army couldn't understand it.

Yuan Shu, who was in Shouchun, was particularly puzzled after receiving letters of aid from various places.

Wei Zhe only had 20,000 soldiers, five times the size of the Wei army, so why did the generals and officers in various places still complain about insufficient troops?
Even judging from their plea for help, it seemed as if the Wei army had already arrived in overwhelming numbers, omnipresent.

For a moment, Yuan Shu almost thought that his and Wei Zhe's troop strengths had been reversed.

Judging from the current situation, he seems to only have 20,000 soldiers. It should be Wei Zhe who has an army of 100,000!

Unfortunately, no matter how angry Yuan Shu became, the battle reports continued to grow increasingly dire.

However, Yuan Shu couldn't understand it, but Mao Kun thought the tactic was quite easy to grasp.

The main selling point is speed!

Quick to advance, quick to strike, quick to defeat the enemy!
As long as this core principle is grasped, then even if there are flaws, they are not a big deal! Thinking of this, Mao Kun laughed heartily and immediately mounted his horse.

"Let's go to Dangtu!"

With a sharp crack of the whip, Mao Kun led over a thousand soldiers and galloped away.

……

Two hours later, at the foot of Dangtu City.

Mao Kun waved his hand indifferently, and the nearly five thousand able-bodied men not far away had no choice but to cry, howl, and roar as they charged toward Dangtu City!
Among these people were some defeated soldiers of Yuan's army who had been defeated by Mao Kun, some were prisoners who had just been captured, and some were even local strongmen and able-bodied men.

But regardless of their original identities, they are now all just cannon fodder for Mao Kun's siege.

Mao Kun has always been rather cold-blooded in this regard.

After all, he didn't even care about his own life, so he certainly wouldn't care about these civilians in enemy territory.

Anyone who tries to resist will immediately be struck by an arrow and pinned to the ground.

As time went by, these cannon fodder soldiers who were attacking the city were soon more than half dead or wounded.

But their efforts were effective; through their repeated charges, Mao Kun accurately seized the opportunity.

He led three hundred elite warriors, blending into the crowd, and then, unexpectedly, stormed the summit first.

Once Mao Kun stood atop the city wall, the outcome of the battle was essentially decided.

Whether in terms of resilience, combat strength, or weaponry and armor, the Wei army was far superior to the Yuan army.

As the number of Wei troops on the city walls grew larger and larger, the Yuan army inside the city even collapsed on its own.

Even though the city gate hadn't been captured yet, many of Yuan's soldiers fled through the other gate without saying a word.

After a group of deserters appeared, the morale of the Yuan army in Dangtu City was completely shattered.

Mao Kun thus captured Dangtu City within half a day with minimal casualties.

However, those cannon fodder who swarmed the city to attack fared much worse; of the five thousand captured soldiers, only a little over a thousand survived.

Clearly, the price Mao Kun's troops paid for their relatively minor casualties was the heavy bloodshed of others.

Mao Kun didn't see anything wrong with this at all.

After cleaning up the battlefield and counting the prisoners, Mao Kun immediately sent a message to the nearest Wei army unit of a thousand men behind him.

After handing over Dangtu City to them, Mao Kun once again led his troops and disappeared into the desolate wilderness.

……

The next day, Xiquyang.

Qiao Rui, his armor tattered and dusty, rushed in through the east gate, followed by a dozen or so wounded guards.

They said nothing, but there was nothing more to say.

Immediately, everyone in the city realized that they had suffered another defeat.

Soon, Qiao Rui saw Zhang Xun, the commander of Yuan's army, in the county temple!
Upon seeing Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui couldn't help but complain repeatedly:

"It's chaos, it's all a fucking mess, Wei troops are everywhere, how am I supposed to fight?"

"In my half-life of military service, I've never seen a battle fought like this!"

After saying that, Qiao Rui picked up the turbid wine and started drinking it down his throat, clearly quite frightened.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, Zhang Xun was also greatly shocked:

"Weren't you in Dangtu? How did you get here? Where are the Dangtu garrison?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Rui slammed the pottery jar he was holding heavily onto the table, and said with a wry smile:
"They're all gone... Even if they're not dead, they've already surrendered!"

At this point, Qiao Rui couldn't help but take another swig of wine, and said with lingering fear:

"That Wei general is too fierce!"

"I saw it with my own eyes: Li Feng, Liang Gang, and Yue were killed in battle by that man, and the remaining troops collapsed completely. They couldn't hold on, they simply couldn't hold on!"

"If I weren't skilled in archery and horsemanship, I'd be trapped here too!"

Upon hearing Qiao Rui's words, Zhang Xun's face turned ashen.

He knew that the Wei army was skilled in battle, but he did not expect them to be so capable!
How long has it been?

Less than half a month after the Wei army entered Jiujiang, they were already close to Shouchun.

If this continues, wouldn't the Wei army be able to resolve the war in just one month?

If that were the case, it would be a tremendous humiliation for them!
Thinking of this, Zhang Xun immediately gritted his teeth and glared at Qiao Rui:
"Go! Immediately leave the city and gather the routed soldiers!"

"No matter how many people are left, bring them back to Xiquyang, or I'll kill you first!"

Qiao Rui's face darkened, and he was about to explode on the spot.

But seeing Zhang Xun's ruthless and indifferent demeanor, he lost heart.

Completely demoralized, he had lost all will to compete with Zhang Xun and instead advised:
"If we can't hold this place, we might as well gather our troops and retreat back to Shouchun!"

But Zhang Xun, with a firm look in his eyes, resolutely said:

"Even if we can't hold on, we have to grit our teeth and bear it!"

"Shouchun is right behind us. If Xiquyang falls, the Wei army can march straight to the capital."

"If Xiquyang can hold out for even one more day, Shouchun will be one step less in danger!"

Qiao Rui was speechless upon hearing his words.

(End of this chapter)