Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 188 Departure
At four quarters past five in the morning, the outline of the Qiantang City Gate gradually became clear in the mist.

In the fields outside the city gate, rice ears swayed gently in the breeze, but the farmers who usually got up early to work were nowhere to be seen today.

The North Street market inside the city gate was also deserted with few pedestrians, lacking the bustle of the past.

At this moment, the farmers and vendors who should have appeared in the fields and markets, as well as the early risers, all gathered at the Qiantang North Gate without any prior arrangement, filling the open spaces at both ends of the North Gate official road.

crunch
As a burst of dense and orderly footsteps sounded in the North City, the tightly closed city gate slowly opened under the gaze of the onlookers.

An army of more than 10,000 people filed out through the deep gate.

When the first row of soldiers appeared outside the city gate, the crowds on both sides of the official road instantly became excited and cheered.

Some of the spies hiding in the crowd stood on tiptoe and stretched their necks, while others slowly squeezed forward between the people, trying to see more clearly.

They were tasked with finding out the details of Qiantang's military expansion, but for more than a month, the Qiantang army had been conducting closed-door drills in the barracks, leaving them with nothing to show for it.

Now, in addition to completing their mission, they themselves have developed a strong curiosity and want to see the true appearance of this mysterious army.

It was said that the renowned Qiantang lord had invested a great deal of money and effort in this army, and that a constant stream of baggage carts entered the camp every day.
Whenever they thought that the army that defeated Zhu Zhi and Wang Lang might grow stronger again, they were filled with tension and anxiety.

But at this moment, when they finally saw this army that had been hidden for a long time, the tension and uneasiness in their hearts suddenly disappeared, replaced by a sense of relief.

This is clearly an ordinary army.

I saw that most of the soldiers were wearing ordinary cloth armor. With such a level of protection, a rain of arrows could knock down a large number of them.

However, some experienced spies noticed something was wrong.

The soldiers passing by were strong and energetic, their formations were tight and neat, and they exuded a fierce bravery. If they were wearing armor, they would definitely be an elite division.

In addition, there were also a large number of cavalry, about a thousand people, most of whom wore leather armor, and a small number wore fish scale armor.

The spies' attention gradually shifted to the cavalrymen wearing fish-scale armor, and they all showed solemn expressions.

Fish scale armor is a large armor, weighing more than 100 kilograms (50 kilograms in later generations). It is expensive to make and complicated to maintain. The production cost is almost comparable to the selling price of war horses in Jiangdong. Usually only military officers wear it.

But its protective power is absolutely first-class. The overlapping armor plates can disperse the impact force and effectively resist arrow shooting and sword slashing. The retractable armor plates can also provide the wearer with higher flexibility.

What particularly attracted the spies' attention was that the cavalrymen in front of them were actually wearing a full set of fish-scale armor.

In addition to body armor, shoulder pads, leg skirts, neck guards and arm guards are also available.

This is no longer heavy cavalry, but elite heavy cavalry built with money!

Fortunately, the number of these cavalrymen was small, only about two hundred. After leaving the city, they quickly galloped away into the distance and disappeared.

The spies all breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, fortunately, there were only two hundred people. If nearly a thousand cavalrymen were equipped with this kind of equipment, it would really be fatal.

At this moment, a thunderous cheer erupted from the crowd. Following the gaze of the surrounding people, a spy saw a majestic figure riding a horse amid the clanging of armor, surrounded by elite soldiers, his presence imposing.

Everyone's breathing suddenly stopped and their hearts began to beat violently. The rumors were indeed true. Yan Yi was leading the troops to the battle personally.

This is extremely important information and needs to be passed back immediately.

Yan Yi won victory after victory, and the halo gathered around him was no longer just power. It was accompanied by the eight words "invincible in battle and victorious in every attack".

The spies didn't dare to look at Yan Yi any longer, fearing they would arouse suspicion. They lowered their heads and quietly withdrew from the crowd.
The endless queue was still moving slowly towards the city gate.

After most of the soldiers left the city, the baggage train, escorted by the rear guard, began to join the exit sequence.

The baggage train battalion had undergone significant changes compared to the past. The most striking of these was the appearance of more than 20 crossbows and dozens of small and medium-sized thunder chariots in Yan Yi's army for the first time.

It took a full hour for the entire army to leave Qiantang City and gradually disappear from the official road under the sunlight.

Yan Yi led an elite field army of 10,000 troops, including Xu Sheng's troops. Of the troops left behind, 7,000 were stationed in Qiantang, with Si Qing as the garrison commander. Two thousand were left in Rencheng, and one thousand in Yuncheng, with Xu Shou and Li Chou as the garrison commanders respectively.

Four hours later, when the red light of the sunset spread across the earth, the 9,000 soldiers who had set out on the expedition arrived near Lushan Mountain, began to set up camp, and started cooking.

After another half hour, the night fell on the earth. Suddenly, thousands of torches appeared on the official road northeast of the camp. A dusty army was marching towards the camp.

Upon hearing the news, Yan Yi walked out of the tent and came to the east gate of the camp, where he happened to meet Xu Sheng who was leading his troops to join him.

The two had been separated for more than a month and missed each other very much. They smiled at each other in front of the camp gate.

Xu Sheng's face was filled with excitement. He jumped off his horse, strode to Yan Yi, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "I have fulfilled my mission and have brought my troops back safely."

Yan Yi looked behind him and saw faces illuminated by the fire, still stained with blood and dirt. Although they looked tired, they also revealed a sense of determination.

Before going on the expedition, he had instructed Xu Sheng to participate in the Battle of Wucheng on the premise of preserving himself, never fight to the death unless it was a critical moment, and never take risks unless there was an excellent opportunity. It seems that Xu Sheng did a good job.

"In this battle, our troops suffered over 400 casualties, 100 cavalrymen and 300 infantrymen."

"Wu Jing has captured many young men from Danyang to strengthen his army. These men admire Shaojun and Zhou Xin greatly. Some of them defected in the middle of battle, while others secretly joined our army. Wu Jing dares not use them anymore, as his supply of troops is gradually failing to keep up with the losses."

"I have recruited five hundred of the best soldiers from the surrendered soldiers and the common people of Danyang. Including the wounded, our army now has a total of one thousand six hundred and fifty-seven soldiers."

"The news that Wu Jing sent someone to assassinate Zhu Zhi has spread. Although Wu Jing has denied it, the morale of the entire army has been greatly affected, and more and more people are dissatisfied with Wu Jing."

"The Wujun coalition forces are weak and still at a disadvantage."

In the commander's tent, Xu Sheng recounted his battle experiences over the past month.

(End of this chapter)