Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 199 A complete defeat

The saying goes, "Leaks lead to defeat, secrets lead to success." The strategies devised by the generals were unknown to the lower-ranking officers and the lowest-ranking soldiers.

At this moment, seeing the Wu army's left flank suddenly ablaze behind them on the hills and mountains, and with the combined effect of the wind and the terrain, the fire spread rapidly towards the Wu army, the Han soldiers were all greatly encouraged and inspired.

There was no need for Generals Zhao Yun and Gao Xiang to issue any further orders; the mid-level officers of the Han army had already directed their soldiers to charge towards the left flank of the mountains.

"This must be the strategy of the General of Chariots and Cavalry!"

"Block the road, don't let Wu the dog get down the mountain!"

"Today I'm going to taste what a roasted Wu dog tastes like!"

The Han army's battle cries from below the mountain shook the heavens.

The Wu army on the mountain was in a panic.

Sun Gong had just been defeated by Gao Xiang and had fled from the front lines to this place, thinking that with the fortifications and the high altitude of the mountain, he would not be in any danger for a while.

To my utter surprise, before I could even catch my breath, danger had already appeared behind me.

"Where are the sentries on the mountain?! How did the Shu bandits manage to sneak up here?!"

Sun Gong grabbed the captain in charge of the mountain's defenses, his voice trembling as if he were either angry or afraid.

The captain was both surprised and terrified, yet somewhat bewildered:

"General Fenwei, I don't know either!"
"I clearly arranged multiple sentries, both overt and covert! There's absolutely no way the Shu traitors could have found their way here!"

"What do you mean absolutely impossible! Then tell me where this wildfire came from?!" Sun Gong cursed, his chest heaving violently.

"And those people on the mountain, if they're not Shu bandits, could they be savages?!"

After saying this, Sun Gong threw the captain to the ground and then, without bothering to give orders, hurriedly led his personal guards to flee eastward.

After fleeing a few steps, he felt something was amiss, so he turned around and shouted at the captain, "You two hold your ground here for two quarters of an hour, and I'll go get reinforcements for you!"

After saying these words, Sun Gongzhen disappeared in a flash.

Abandoning the position and leaving is not an option.

It's not an option to abandon the position and retreat.

Behind this Wu army was not only the raging fire from the mountain, but also Li Qiu, the nephew of Li Hui, the governor of Yijiang, and the barbarian general Cuan Xiong, who jointly commanded a thousand Wudang Flying Army soldiers and two thousand barbarian warriors.

The thousand Wudang Flying Army soldiers were originally under the command of Cuanxiong.

These two thousand brave warriors were recruited by Meng Huo after the Han army's great victory in Guanzhong.

They had just arrived in Hanzhong from the south and had not yet undergone systematic training, so they could not be included in the Wudang Flying Army's formation for the time being.

However, mountain warfare has always emphasized flexibility, and the people of the South have always valued brave warriors and despised cowards. Therefore, these brutes were not much weaker than the Wudang Flying Army in their ability to fight in the mountains and forests.

Taking advantage of the raging fire, they charged towards the Wu army, uttering barbarian language and shouting incoherently. With their distinctive tattoos and paint on their faces, they resembled monstrous demons with blue faces and fangs.

The sudden fire attack had already terrified the Wu army on the mountain.

When the monstrous, howling, and fierce warriors drew their swords and charged, the Wu soldiers, who had no idea whether it was three thousand or thirty thousand Han soldiers attacking from behind, were terrified and began to flee in panic.

The location where the Han army launched the fire attack was carefully selected by Zhao Yun for the Wu army; it was an excellent choice, precisely in the middle of the Wu army's hillside defense line.

Cuan Xiong led a thousand Wudang Flying Army soldiers to be the first to charge into the Wu army's position.

Without encountering any significant resistance, they had already broken through the Wu army's mountain positions from north to south, cutting the Wu army into two sections, east and west.

Li Qiu led two thousand brave warriors to the scene later.

At Li Qiu's command, nearly a hundred arsonists, each carrying a sealed ceramic jar, rushed eastward.

Whenever they encountered Wu's defensive fortifications, they would smash the pottery jars against them.

The black liquid stored in the earthenware jar soon spilled all over the ground. Judging from its flowing pattern and the speed of its spread, this black liquid was very viscous.

As more and more pottery jars were smashed, the air was soon filled with a peculiar smell that the people of Wu had never encountered before.

The mountain wind blows down into the valley.

The Han army, which had gathered at the foot of the hill, also smelled the strange odor.

Apart from a few high-ranking officers, the vast majority of Han soldiers did not know where the smell came from.

"Xiong Jin, you lead your men westward, and I will lead the Wudang Flying Army eastward!"

Just as Li Qiu was about to order his men to set fire to the city and cut off the east and west, Cuan Xiong followed Li Qiu's banner and personally found Li Qiu.

Li Qiu was stunned: "Uncle... didn't Zhao Chariot Cavalry order us to march west together and first encircle and annihilate a part of Wu's army?!"

Although the Li clan of Jianning and the Cuan clan were one Han and one Man, these two clans were the most prominent clans in Jianning and had intermarried for generations.

General Cuan Xi was the uncle-in-law of Li Hui, the governor of Yijiang, while Cuan Xiong was the maternal uncle of Li Qiu.

"Zhao, the cavalry commander, did not expect that the Wu army would be so easily defeated!" Cuan Xiong had accomplished nothing in the battle to recapture Guanzhong, but now that he had finally seen some achievements, his eyes were red with envy.

Upon hearing this and seeing the situation, Li Qiu looked again at the routed Wu soldiers to the east, still hesitant: "What if we make a mistake and Zhao, the cavalry commander, investigates?!"

Cuan Xiong immediately started cursing: "How could I have such a good-for-nothing nephew like you!"
"When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders; have you ever heard of this saying?!"

"Judging from the current situation of Wu, he is no match for us!"
"If we set fire to isolate the east and west sides now, the Wu bandits in the west will certainly have nowhere to escape, but the Wu bandits in the east will be able to recover after a while!"

"Enough talk, take your men and surround the enemy to the west!"

After saying this, Cuan Xiong led his men away, giving Li Qiu no chance to react.

Seeing this, Li Qiu didn't linger. He ordered the flag bearer to blow the elephant horn and then rolled the battle flag westward. Upon seeing this, the two thousand barbarian warriors all came westward.

Before long, a raging fire broke out on the Wu army's position behind them, billowing thick smoke.

On the watchtower of Wu Jun, Zhao Yun surveyed the battlefield.

The mountain fire started by Cuan Xiong and Li Qiu has now spread to the middle of the Wu army's position, and the Wu army on the mountain has been divided into two parts by the fire.

Zhao Yun squinted and stared for a moment, then raised his eyebrows slightly.

But then they saw that the Wu army to the east of the fire was also being pursued by the Han army and was in complete disarray.

Seeing this, Zhao Yun immediately guessed what had happened on the mountain, and hurriedly summoned a messenger, giving urgent instructions:

"Command Generals Yang Qun and Yan Zhi to quickly lead the troops eastward, up the mountain, and join forces with Cuan Xiong to encircle and annihilate the Wu army!"

The messenger received the order and rushed off.

Zhao Yun continued to look towards the battlefield at Beishan.

Standing here on high ground, he could see far and wide, and he could tell that it must be Cuan Xiong leading his thousand Wudang Flying Army to catch up with them to the east.

However, Gao Xiang, Yang Qun, and other generals who were confronting the Wu army on the western front in the valley could not see the battle situation on the mountain.

"Raise your shields and charge!"

On the western slope, Yang Qun had already led his troops to the foot of the mountain. Seeing the Wu army in chaos on the mountainside, he ordered his hundred or so shield bearers to raise their shields and climb the mountain despite the sparse arrows from the Wu army.

On the hillside, General Tang Zi, the Western Expeditionary General, was filled with despair.

On the western slope of the hill, which was not steep and was no longer covered by vegetation, about two thousand Han soldiers, armored and ant-like, climbed up.

Thick smoke and flames billowed from the eastern side of the hillside, as one or two thousand Han troops attacked from the east and west.

There's a huge fire on the hillside.

Below the hillside, Han troops, shields raised, charged forward. These five or six thousand men were completely surrounded, with nowhere to retreat or escape.

"General Who Conquers the West, what are you doing?! Are you trying to surrender to Shu?!"

Although Cheng Pu's son, Cheng Zi, was only a subordinate general, he had a bad feeling when he saw the General of the Western Expedition looking hesitant.

Tang Zi was furious upon hearing this:
"You scoundrel, how dare you insult me?!"
"In my opinion, you brat have close ties with Korean variety shows, and you must have a rebellious streak in your head!"

Han Zong was the son of Han Dang, a valiant general from Jiangdong. Last year, under the pretext of burying his father, he gathered all his family and relatives to the front line, and then the whole clan surrendered to Wei. Sun Quan often hated him with a vengeance.

After saying this, Tang Zi looked around at the Wu people and saw that they were terrified and their morale was greatly low. He finally made up his mind:

"Men, tie him up!"

"Let's see who dares to come forward!" Cheng Zi's eyes widened as he saw that Tang Zi's personal guards were about to step forward, and dozens of his guards also drew their swords.

Tensions rose within Wu's army.

"What's there to be afraid of?!" Tang Zi had already planned his escape route. "Men, tie this brat up!"

At the command of the Great Wu General Who Conquers the West, his personal guards and retainers disregarded everything and charged at Cheng Zi with their swords.

Cheng Zi's expression hardened instantly, realizing what Tang Zi was up to. His eyes widened in fury: "You treacherous dog, do you really think that after changing masters three times, the Shu Kingdom will still tolerate you?!"

After saying this, he drew his sword and rushed forward, engaging in battle with Tang Zi and his men, along with dozens of his personal guards.

Even before the battle had begun, corpses continued to fall.

The Wu soldiers on the periphery were completely baffled.

"what happened?"

"The Shu army hasn't even reached this place yet, so why are the Lieutenant General and the General Who Conquers the West fighting each other?!"

Suddenly someone shouted: "General Cheng Zi intends to betray Wu and surrender to Shu!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jun looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Just then, someone in the crowd spoke up for Cheng Zi:

"You son of a bitch! You're talking utter nonsense!"
"It's clearly Tang Zi, this Wei defector, who wants to betray Wu and surrender to Shu!"

Upon hearing this, the Wu soldiers were all thrown into disarray.

"Who exactly wants to surrender to Shu?!"

Just as the Wu soldiers were wondering who wanted to surrender to Shu and who they should help, Tang Zi's personal guards had already dealt with all of Cheng Zi's troops and personal guards, and Cheng Zi himself was pinned to the ground.

"You treacherous dog! You're fickle and change your allegiance on the battlefield. You'll surely die a horrible death!" Cheng Pu's son struggled as his head was pressed to the ground.

Tang Zi looked angry and displeased. He squatted down, grabbed Cheng Zi's hair, and with his other hand, he grabbed a handful of dirt mixed with weeds and stuffed it into Cheng Zi's mouth.

"Tie him up!"

After saying that, Tang Zi ignored Cheng Zi.

He rose, turned to the Wu soldiers, and raised his arms, shouting:
"As everyone knows!"

"I, Tang Zi, am a surrendered citizen of the Wei Kingdom!"

"The Wu ruler appointed me to lead the western expedition and granted me the title of marquis. He has treated me very well!"
"I also know that if I change masters again and surrender in battle, even if I survive, I will be despised by the world and die a violent death!"

"But we are now in a deadly situation; we must either surrender or die!"

"When the Wu ruler seized Jingzhou, the men of Jingzhou, such as Pan Jun, Hao Pu, Mi Fang, and Shi Ren, were all treated with courtesy and respect by the Wu ruler, and the soldiers under his command were also treated as before!"

Therefore, the people of Jingzhou were happy with Wu and did not miss Shu.

"Everyone knows that the ruler and prime minister of Shu were both known for their benevolence and righteousness, and Zhao Zilong, the charioteer of Shu Han, was not a bloodthirsty general!"

"If we surrender to Shu and rebel against Wu, how could we be treated worse than the people of Jingzhou?!"
"And... there's something I have to say!"

"Shu has two major grievances against Wu: the enmity over Jingzhou and the hatred over Yiling."

"With such a deep-seated blood feud still unresolved, how could the Shu army not hate and want to kill the Wu people?!"
Listen to me!

"To surrender before we have engaged in battle with Shu is an act of righteousness!"
"If you try to surrender after the battle has begun, the Shu soldiers will be so enraged that you may not be able to surrender even if you want to!"
"The current situation is not because I, Tang Zi, am greedy for my life, but because I cherish the lives of my soldiers!"
"I am willing to plead for the surrender of Shu on behalf of all the generals and soldiers!"

"If Heaven were to punish me in the future, I, Tang Zi, would bear it all!"

On the hillside, the Wu soldiers felt the scorching heat of the fire behind them. Thick smoke and smoldering debris were already in front of them. When they turned around and looked around, they found that the east, west and south sides were full of Han troops.

After Tang Zi finished speaking, explaining the advantages and disadvantages, even the Wu soldiers who were still holding the front line and shooting arrows down the mountain, about 70-80% of them stopped.

At the foot of the hill, Gao Xiang was overjoyed to see this. He climbed back onto the drum cart, snatched the drumsticks from the drummer, and beat the drum with all his might.

The drums thundered, shaking the heavens and the earth.

Seeing that the Wu army had ceased its resistance and hearing the thunderous drums behind them, the Han soldiers began to fight desperately up the hillside.

Not long.

Tang Zi led his men to lower their flags and cease their drumming.

The Wu army at the front put up a token resistance for a short while, and finally laid down their weapons and surrendered after the Han army confirmed their surrender.

On the Han River.

In the building boat.

Liu Zan suddenly froze, and after a moment his face was filled with panic and helplessness: "General Right, over there... on the mountain... how could this be?!"

"What?!" Bu Zhi had just finished issuing a military order to the messenger when he asked the question urgently, and then suddenly turned around and turned his head.

Before he could even stand still, his pupils dilated and his heart suddenly went cold.

The Wu army flags on the north mountain all fell down the instant he strained to see them, and were replaced by the Han army flags.

Beside him, Huang Bing, his face ashen, stood at a loss: "That place is Cheng Zi's position. How could Cheng Zi surrender to the enemy?"

Among the sons of the powerful ministers of Jiangdong, he only found Cheng Zi, the son of Cheng Pu, worthy of his attention. Now, Cheng Zi has betrayed his country and surrendered to the enemy, just like Han Zong?!
“No…no, there’s also Tang Zi.” Bu Zhi suddenly thought of something.

"Tang Zi? The Emperor has treated him very well, and he has always been loyal. His wife and children are all in Wuzhong. How could he surrender with his entire army?" Liu Zan was somewhat incredulous.

The Emperor's trust in Tang Zi, the general who led the uprising against Wei, goes without saying.

If he did not trust and value him, he would never have been appointed General Who Conquers the West before the western expedition.

But this very person actually surrendered?
First betray Wei and surrender to Wu, then betray Wu and surrender to Shu?

Where did he get the audacity to jump around like that?
Did he not know the lesson of Lü Bu's fate?!
West City.

Shen Yi and his son-in-law Kuai Che both squinted and tried to observe.

However, these people were quite far from the battlefield in Beishan, and their view was not very clear.

A moment later, Kuai Che suddenly shouted, "Uncle! It seems... the yellow flags of the Wu army heading north up the mountain have all turned into red flags of the Shu army!"

"What?" Shen Yi paused for a moment, then squinted even more hard. As the red flags on the mountain became more and more numerous and dense, he still couldn't be sure what had happened there.

"Wu Jun has defected?"

"Did the Shu army win?"

"Won so quickly?"

(End of this chapter)