Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 117 Aiming at Qiantang
Cheng Pu and Han Dang are veteran generals of the Sun family. They began to follow Sun Jian in his campaigns ten years ago and are now assisting Sun Ce in attacking Lujiang.

Cheng Pu was the oldest among the generals of the Sun family. Even Zhu Zhi had to respectfully call him Cheng Gong. He was the leader of the Twelve Tiger Ministers of Jiangdong in history.

Han Dang was born in Liaoxi County, Youzhou, which had been fighting against the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Northern Xiongnu for many years. He was skilled in archery and riding, and had extraordinary physical strength. He was also a brave general that the Sun family relied on deeply.

These two people are naturally not comparable to Yan Baihu and Yan Yu in their bravery and fighting skills.

When facing the Yan brothers, who have only risen to prominence in recent years, Zhu Zhi has an innate sense of superiority and regards them as country bumpkins who have never seen the world.

Just from the military formation on the opposite side, it can be seen that the Yan brothers' ability to deploy troops is mediocre.

As for his personal bravery, Zhu Zhi, who was used to seeing the bravery of Sun Jian and Sun Ce, didn't take it seriously at all.

However, the soldiers under Yan's command were quite strong and exuded a spirit of toughness and bravery, which made him dare not be careless.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves rose from the opposing army. A brave general wearing armored armor rode out and stood before the battle line, shouting, "I am General Yan Yu, the mighty general under Commander Yan. Who dares to challenge me to a duel?"

Yan Yu was reprimanded by Yan Baihu for being negligent in his march, and he was eager to "atone for his sins" and immediately came out to challenge Yan Baihu.

Yan Yu enjoyed fighting on the battlefield, a characteristic of his aggressive and attention-seeking nature. Furthermore, while the Yan brothers were not particularly skilled in military formations, they nonetheless possessed a unique style of warfare, developed through their long years of mountain banditry and occupation, a distinct departure from traditional methods of leading troops.

Of course, the most important reason is that Yan Yu is deliberately delaying time.

At first, under the urging of Yan Baihu, he was determined to support Xu Sheng and Chen Gan and rescue them, but when he was about to arrive at Shanyin Pavilion, he suddenly received letters from Yan Yi and Xu Sheng.

At this time, the actual controller of Yan Yu's army had become Yan Baihu. After receiving the letter, Yan Yu's army immediately adjusted its deployment, switching from taking the initiative to fully contain the enemy, in order to buy precious time for the encirclement and suppression of the enemy.

In order to prevent Zhu Zhi from withdrawing his troops, Yan Baihu, who had originally planned to return to Wucheng, did not hesitate to show up in person and lure the enemy.

Yan Baihu seems brave, but in fact he is afraid of death. What makes him take such a big risk is not only the temptation of encircling Zhu Zhijun, but also the capture of Qiantang mentioned by Yan Yi in his private letter to him.

Once Zhu Zhijun is successfully eliminated, Yan Yi will immediately lead his troops south to take Qiantang.

Qiantang is a part of Hangzhou in later generations. It controls the Qiantang River and Qiantang Bay and is the key gateway to the East China Sea. Its strategic position is incomparable to Wucheng. If Qiantang can be conquered in one fell swoop, the Yan family will really rise!
Yan Baihu found it difficult to resist such a great temptation, and he would do it even if it meant wiping out Yan Yu's troops!

At this time, Zhu Zhi was still unaware that the enemy's intention was not just to encircle and suppress him, but to kill him at all costs.

Attempting to encircle and wipe out the enemy are two different concepts. Attempting to encircle and wipe out the enemy may be forced to stop due to heavy losses of one's own army, while trying to wipe out the enemy means fighting until death. One of the two must lie down.

If Zhu Zhi knew that the other party was out to kill him, he would withdraw his troops immediately, even if he had to act like a coward.

Ultimately, he subconsciously believed that the enemy could hardly pose a fatal threat to his own army.

Zhu Zhi looked coldly at Yan Yu, who was showing off his might in front of the battle line, and sneered, his tone full of disdain: "The enemy is deliberately stalling for time. Don't pay any attention to them. Follow the plan and launch the attack immediately!"

The generals agreed. No one would resort to mere valor at this moment. Their goal was to quickly defeat the enemy, capture and kill Yan Baihu, and return to Qiantang with victory. As drums beat and flags waved, Zhu Zhi's army, like a beast baring its sharp claws at its prey, pounced on Yan Yu's troops.

The armies of both sides advanced slowly, and arrows flew across the sky like locusts, raising blood mist in the enemy's formation and reaping lives.

When the two armies were dozens of steps apart, the number of arrows flying into the air from the army formation decreased rapidly, and a brutal close combat began.

The number of people on both sides was almost the same. Zhu Zhi's army had 2,500 infantry and 500 cavalry, while Yan Yu's army had 2,800 infantry and 200 of Yan Baihu's personal cavalry guards.

Among Zhu Zhi's army, there were 1,500 elite soldiers, and the remaining 1,500 were newly recruited soldiers. However, Zhu Zhi was very strict in recruiting soldiers, and many of these new soldiers were villagers who came from various villages to resist bandits.

Almost all the soldiers in Yan Yu's army were veterans who had fought with the Yan brothers for many years.

In terms of the quality of the soldiers, the Yan family seemed to have the upper hand, but the actual fighting situation made Yan Baihu and Yan Yu's faces turn ugly in an instant.

The one who had the upper hand was actually Zhu Zhijun!
Yan Baihu was a veteran of many battles. After watching the battle for a while, he vaguely understood what was going on.

Although the soldiers under his command were quite strong and had relatively rich fighting experience, there were long-standing problems in the army. Their military discipline and training were obviously inferior to those of the enemy, which resulted in the inability to effectively execute military orders. At the same time, there was a lack of generals who were good at commanding on the battlefield. The soldiers were unfamiliar with each other, and the formation began to deform shortly after engaging the enemy.

In contrast, although some of Zhu Zhijun's soldiers lacked combat experience and even seemed a little nervous and timid, under the organization and command of generals who had experienced the tempering of war, and led by other elite soldiers, the army formation was tight, the advance and retreat were well-planned, and the entire unit acted like a whole.

After all, war is a fight between two large groups of people, not a fight between two people.

One side's formation is disorganized and clumsy, while the other side's formation is tight and flexible. The result is self-evident.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhu Zhi saw that the situation on the battlefield was gradually under his control. A cold and murderous arc appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he began to issue military orders more accurately and meticulously.

The messenger skillfully waved signal flags of different colors to convey his will to each unit.

Zhu Zhi's army, which was fighting in front of the battle, moved upon hearing the order and slowly began to split into two parts, attacking the enemy from the east and south sides at the same time, aiming to find the enemy's flaws and make a breakthrough.

Zhu Zhi's battle plan was very clear, which was to use the advantages of his own cavalry to find opportunities to break up the enemy's formation. Once the enemy formation collapsed, he could wield his butcher knife and slaughter them at will.

Chen Xian led 500 cavalrymen, galloping back and forth around the enemy formation, like a poisonous snake spitting out its tongue, constantly looking for a place to bite.

The pressure on Yan Yu's army was increasing, and the danger was gradually increasing. Yan Baihu had no choice but to order the troops to retreat.

Shrinking the formation means giving up counterattack and turning to full-scale defense.

This move has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the entire army's defensive capabilities are enhanced, but the disadvantage is that it gives up the dominance on the battlefield and can only passively take the beating from then on.

(End of this chapter)