Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 116 White Tiger
Zhu Zhi gripped the whip tightly, feeling a surge of inexplicable anger in his heart.

Since this expedition, nothing has gone well for us. Every time at the critical moment, something goes wrong!

Not to mention Zou Ta who offered his life voluntarily and Xu Sheng who was more alert than a rabbit, let's just talk about Yan Yu's troops in front. They were clearly in a posture of looking for a decisive battle with him before, but when the time came, an accident happened again!

Zhu Zhi realized that his emotions were not working properly. He took a deep breath and gradually calmed down. He glanced at Chen Xian with a cold gaze: "Where is Xu Sheng's army now?"

Chen Xian rarely saw Zhu Zhi express such obvious anger. He avoided his gaze somewhat uncomfortably and replied, "It's still five miles away."

Zhu Zhi no longer praised Xu Sheng as a young talent. A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "Xu Sheng, that bastard! Why doesn't he go and join Yan Yu? Instead, he's getting further and further away from our army."

This was something that puzzled him. You must know that before he arrived at Shanyin Pavilion, Xu Sheng had the opportunity to rely on Ma Li to meet up with Yan Yu.

If Xu Sheng's elite cavalry joined forces with Yan Yu, it would be much more difficult for him to defeat Yan Yu's army. In his view, Xu Sheng's move was undoubtedly selling out Yan Yu, with no regard for his life or death.

Zhu Hai hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a serious tone, "Father, Xu Sheng is still young, so it's impossible for him not to make mistakes. There seems to be a big conflict between him and Yan Yu. It was because Yan Yu didn't arrive at Shishan in time that he was in danger yesterday. If it weren't for his alertness, the whole army would have been wiped out by now."

Military Advisor Dong Yue nodded and said, "What the Young General said does make some sense. Xu Sheng is young and impetuous. How could he not be angry and resentful when Yan Yu treated him this way? I'm afraid this is also one of the reasons why he didn't join Yan Yu."

This explanation seems to make sense. In military affairs, there are countless examples of generals missing opportunities and failing to help others in need due to conflicts and conflicts of interest between generals.

But Zhu Zhi felt that things were not that simple, and for the moment, he couldn't figure it out.

As a cavalry general, Chen Xian's perspective on the issue was completely different from others. He looked at Zhu Zhi and hesitated, "Captain, in my opinion, there are two possibilities for Xu Sheng's distance from our army. One is that he is preparing to attack our Shanyin defense line. Only by maintaining a certain distance will it be difficult for our army to determine his true target. The other is..."

Zhu Zhi clapped his palm with his whip and said thoughtfully, "Go on."

Chen Xian gritted his teeth and said, "Another possibility is that Xu Sheng discovered Tao Qian's troops and planned to raid Tao Qian, or even Sun Yu, so he left our army."

The generals were in an uproar. Dong Yue exclaimed, "How is this possible? Could it be that he completely ignored Yan Yu's 3,000 troops? Yan Yu is Yan Yi's uncle after all. If anything unexpected happens, how will he explain it to Yan Yi?"

Zhu Zhi frowned, vaguely catching a glimpse of something.

But just as he was about to gather some clues, a scout came galloping up and reported loudly, "Captain, for some unknown reason, Yan Yu's army has suddenly stopped about two miles from our army!"

Zhu Zhi was slightly startled, his thoughts were interrupted immediately, and he no longer had time to think about Xu Sheng.

Dong Yue's face showed a hint of anxiety: "Captain, it seems that Yan Yu has realized our intentions and will not come to Shanyin. Our army does not have much time, we must attack immediately!"

Zhu Zhi's expression had been icy, but now, unbeknownst to him, he regained his usual composure and spoke slowly, "There are many suspicious points in this battle. Yan Yu's troops have adopted two completely different strategic postures in a short period of time. I'm afraid there's external interference. Their purpose is no longer simply to engage us. It's very likely that Yan Yi has exerted influence on them, trying to delay our forces. If so, Yan Yi's march may be even faster than we anticipated."

Chen Xian hesitated and said, "Captain, you are absolutely right. I am also a little uneasy. Should we abandon Yan Yu's army and withdraw to Qiantang?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces darkened. Dong Yue complained, "Mr. Chen, how can we rashly discuss retreating when two armies are engaged? Yan Yu is less than two miles away, and the two armies are practically at our fingertips. If we rashly withdraw, and the enemy pursues us, which unit will remain to cover our retreat? Will it be you, Mr. Chen, who will stay? This exhausting expedition has yielded no results, and we've suffered heavy casualties. Yet, General Yang Wu has been unstoppable throughout. How will our army cope when the two armies meet in the future?"

General Yangwu was referring to Wu Jing. When everyone heard this, their faces became even uglier.

Zhu Zhi thought of Wu Jing's military strength and compared it with his own army, and his face turned dark.

If we fail to defeat even part of the enemy in this battle, we will truly become a laughing stock.

Zhu Hai had been holding back anger ever since Xu Sheng escaped. He said in a deep voice, "Father, the arrow is on the string and must be released. The two armies are facing each other, so close that you can hear each other's breathing. If we retreat without fighting, we will be cowards. How will we survive in Jiangdong in the future?"

Everyone talked one after another, and finally looked at Zhu Zhi.

Zhu Zhi was about to speak when several more riders came galloping up to the front of the battle. The leading rider, who had not yet dismounted, hurriedly pulled on the reins and shouted, "Captain, Yan Baihu has appeared in the enemy formation!"

The generals were shocked. They never expected that Yan Baihu would come to the front line in person!
If we can capture or kill the Lord of Wucheng, not only will we achieve great success, but this expedition can also be considered a complete success.

Everyone's face showed a deep joy.

Zhu Zhi scanned the expressions on the generals' faces and realized he couldn't retreat. The thoughtful look in his eyes faded, then turned into a fierce killing intent. He suddenly drew his sword and shouted, "The rear guard will stay in Shanyin, and the rest of the troops will follow me to defeat the enemy! If any of you can capture and kill Baihu, you will be the lord of Wucheng when we capture it!"

The generals suddenly breathed quickly and responded loudly, their eyes full of excitement and murderous intent.

After Zhu Zhi made the decision, he no longer hesitated and personally led 3,000 troops, slowly leaving Shanyin Pavilion and advancing towards Yan Yu's troops.

Due to the sudden appearance of Yan Baihu, the fighting spirit of Zhu Zhi's generals reached its peak. This emotion quickly affected the soldiers of various units, and the morale of the entire army was high for a while.

With Zhu Zhijun's proactive attack, the two-mile area was reached in a moment.

The two armies were five hundred steps apart, lined up in the fields on both sides of the official road, and faced each other.

Zhu Zhi was standing in the formation on horseback. Looking up, he saw twenty or thirty enemy generals surrounding a burly general standing in front of the formation. Flags were fluttering and swords and spears were standing in rows. Although the formation was a bit messy, the momentum of the soldiers in the formation was quite astonishing, and murderous aura was overwhelming.

Zhu Zhi's eyes were fixed on the general. He saw that he was wearing a helmet with a tassel and a helmet, had a full beard, and was covered with double-layer fish-scale armor. The armor plates were shining with golden light, and the outermost layer was made entirely of golden armor plates. He held a long spear in his hand, his eyes were like torches, and he was majestic and awe-inspiring, like a tiger descending from the mountain, unstoppable.

A general beside him whispered, "Captain, this man is Yan Baihu, and next to him is his brother Yan Yu. Both of them are brave enough to be matched with ten thousand men."

Zhu Zhi smiled broadly, his face scornful: "What a brave man, unmatched by ten thousand men! How does he compare to Han Dang and Cheng Pu?"

The general smiled awkwardly and said, "Of course, I am not as good as Generals Han and Cheng."

(End of this chapter)