Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 189 Follow Me to Fight
Yan Yi looked at Xu Sheng with an expression of fondness that was hard to conceal in his eyes, as if he was looking at a piece of jade that was becoming increasingly radiant through his constant carving.

The feeling of gradually cultivating a trusted general was truly exhilarating. Especially when Xu Sheng gave him unexpected surprises, the sense of satisfaction grew even stronger.

"Wen Xiang, our army has been fully equipped. Your unit's weapons and military supplies have been brought to you. Please go and claim them first. Get a good rest tonight. The entire army will depart at 4:45 AM tomorrow morning."

The complete change of uniforms Yan Yi mentioned certainly didn't refer to the cloth armor the soldiers wore when they first left Qiantang City. Back then, it was simply for the convenience of marching. Now that they had arrived in Yong'an, it was natural to change into wartime armor.

After hearing this, Xu Sheng felt excited. The better the military equipment, the lower the casualties of the soldiers and the higher the combat effectiveness. This is what every general hopes for.

The young master must have captured a great deal of spoils in Qiantang, he thought to himself. He couldn't wait to see the new weapons, so he immediately stood up and said goodbye.

"By the way, Chen Xian has surrendered to me. From now on, let him serve under you."

Yan Yi picked up the wolf-hair brush and was about to start writing on an unfolded scroll when he suddenly remembered something and looked up at Xu Sheng who had already walked to the door of the tent.

Chen Xian's weakness is his family in Qiantang City.

This man initially vowed to fight to the death, but when he learned from Zhu Zhi that the assassin was a member of Sun's death squad, he fell into a trance. After his wife and children's pleading and Zhu Zhi's tacit consent, he finally chose to surrender.

Xu Sheng's mind flashed to the image of the man galloping on horseback on the battlefield. He turned around, clasped his fists, and said, "Chen Xian is very skilled in commanding cavalry. What position does the young master intend to assign him?"

Yan Yi said without even looking up, "You decide on this matter."

Xu Sheng knew that he was already immersed in his work, so he lightened his steps and quietly left the tent.

The next morning, at four quarters past five in the morning, the sky was just beginning to turn pale, and the morning mist had not yet dissipated, but all the soldiers had already lined up.

Zhu Zhi sat in a carriage, looking at the army formation in front of him with a look of shock on his face. With a trembling voice, he muttered, "The tiger has grown strong and is difficult to control."

His injuries have not yet fully recovered and his face looks a little pale.

More than twenty guards stood beside him, staring at him warily.

Zhu Zhi supported himself on the carriage with his hands and stood up tremblingly, as if he wanted to see more clearly.

Looking around, the densely packed soldiers in the field of vision were clearly divided into five military branches.

The first branch of the army has about 5,000 people. All the soldiers wear composite armor with Liangdang armor as the main body. Judging from the size and number of the soldiers, these soldiers should be just ordinary soldiers.

The second branch of the army had about two thousand people. The soldiers were taller and more muscular, wearing two layers of armor, the inner one was zebra armor and the outer one was double armor. They were undoubtedly heavy infantry.

The third branch of the army was composed of 1,500 archers, who also wore composite armor.

The fourth branch of the army has about a thousand people, who are lined up next to equipment such as crossbows and thunder chariots. It is obviously the equipment battalion.

The fifth branch of the army is the most terrifying, consisting of 800 elite heavy cavalry wearing fish-scale armor and 400 ordinary heavy cavalry wearing a full set of Liangdang armor.

"Where did he get all that money!?"

Zhu Zhi stood there stunned, as if struck by lightning. Having served in the army for ten years, he knew the enormous expense required to equip all ten thousand soldiers with armor.

Zhajia, Liangdang Armor and Fuhe Armor are all small armors, weighing only about forty to fifty pounds (twenty to twenty-five pounds in later generations). The core of Liangdang Armor is two large armor pieces in the front and back, fixed by shoulder straps and waist belts. Fuhe Armor is just based on this, with some leather arm guards and leg skirts added, and the cost is relatively low.

But even if the price is very low, it is still a huge number of nearly 10,000. Only a madman would be willing to invest at such a high price.

Zhu Zhi knew Yan Yi was not a madman. How could a madman possibly defeat him? This boy's behavior was often very different from that of ordinary people, which was really hard to predict.

His gaze turned again to the eight hundred cavalrymen wearing fish-scale armor. He felt his breathing quicken and his chest ached slightly. He groaned and slowly sat down on the carriage. He fell into deep thought and looked as if he was daydreaming for two or three hours.

In fact, Yan Yi originally planned to replace all cavalry and heavy infantry with large armor similar to fish scale armor, but he had no money, so he had to give up.

"All troops, march out in the designated formation!"

As military orders were passed down, in Zhu Zhi's silence and confusion, the entire army formed neat rows and marched towards Yong'an City.

Han You's scouts quickly spotted this murderous "friendly force" and hurriedly turned their horses around, galloping back to Yong'an to report to Han You. "What? The Qiantang Army is marching towards Yong'an?"

Han You was reciting poems with Jia Ping in the flower hall. When he heard the news, he was shocked at first, then he didn't believe it. He sent three groups of scouts to confirm the authenticity of the military report.

While he was waiting anxiously, the scouts returned one after another, reconfirming the authenticity of the military report and telling him that the Qiantang Army was less than fifteen miles away from Yong'an, and six forts along the way were captured in an instant.

Han You was completely confused. Yuan Shu had already sent Qiao Rui and Le Jiu's armies to support Wucheng. Yan Yi did not rush to Wucheng to fight, but instead came to attack Yong'an. Is this guy mentally ill?

He swayed, turned to look at Jia Ping beside him, and said in a trembling voice, "Wenli, go see Yan Yi immediately and ask him why he invaded our border. Didn't the two armies just reach a one-year truce agreement?"

Jia Ping didn't dare to go see Yan Yi at this time. He smiled bitterly and said, "I think it's because of the Qiantang incident that this war has started. Yan Yi has already conquered six of our fortresses and it's clear he won't give up. The agreement can no longer restrain him. He can use the Qiantang incident as an excuse to shift the blame onto our army."

Han You regretted his decision and said anxiously, "Didn't I already apologize to him for that incident last time? How could this person be so vengeful?"

Is now the time for such nonsense? Jia Ping was speechless, and sighed, "I suggest that we immediately send envoys to Yan Yi's army to see if there's any possibility of peace talks. At the same time, be prepared to defend the city and never leave the city to fight. Doing so will surely lead to death. Didn't Xu Gong and Wang Lang previously send an order in the name of Liu Yao, asking you to ally with them? You might as well pretend to agree first, and then let them mediate and force Yan Yi to withdraw his troops."

Han You gradually calmed down and nodded, saying, "Wen Li's words make sense. Xu Gong's army is defending the territory for the Yan family in Wucheng. If Xu Gong were to intervene at this time, Yan Yi would definitely do him a favor. Let's do as you say."

After the two men had discussed the matter, they went their separate ways.

Soon, Han Yi, who had had contact with Yan Yi before, was sent to Yan Yi's army, which had advanced ten miles to Wucheng, to discuss the withdrawal of the troops.

Han Yi came to Yan Yi's army with trepidation, and when he saw the enemy's terrifying military power, he almost fainted from fright.

Such a well-equipped army was unprecedented. Even three Yong'an combined wouldn't be able to resist, let alone one. Jia Ping's talk of holding the city was simply nonsense.

"I have the audacity to come here and implore you to withdraw your troops. If you have any orders, I will do my best to carry them out."

Han Yi had a flattering smile on his face and stood in front of Yan Yi, as if he was just a subordinate of the other party, and was extremely respectful.

Yan Yi recognized him and smiled faintly: "Go back and tell Han You to lead 5,000 troops to follow me immediately. If he still hasn't agreed by the time our army reaches the city of Yong'an, don't blame me for not considering Lord Sheng's feelings!"

Han Yi ran away in panic, relaying his words to Han You verbatim.

Han You and Jia Ping looked at each other. No matter how much they thought about it, they had never expected that the other party would put forward such a condition.

"You're not a human being! You're not a human being! He wants me to go with him to war. He should just send someone to discuss it with me. Why did he destroy my camp? He's simply being arrogant and domineering. He's going too far!"

Han You's face showed an expression mixed with anger and humiliation.

This is too much. Are you treating me like a slave?
Han You was furious when he recalled the last time he and Yan Yi attacked Zhu Zhi together. But Yan Yi had at least asked Sheng Shen to intervene that time, which was considered polite. This time, he had directly trampled on his dignity.

He thought of the pain point and shouted, "Order the entire army to garrison the city. I want to see how he breaks into my Yong'an City!"

Jia Ping's eyelids twitched, and he quickly advised: "Lord, calm down. Now that we have a solution, there is no need to fight to the death."

He glanced at Han You and thought to himself, "If you hadn't planned to attack Yan Yi together with Wang Lang last time, there wouldn't be any revenge today. The other party just wanted you to go with him, so you should have gone with him. Why put everyone in danger for a little face?"

Han Yi also tried to persuade him.

Han You was so angry that he refused to listen to a word and rushed to the military camp in person to deploy the combat details.

At 3 p.m., Yan Yi's army arrived at the city of Yong'an.

Han You walked up to the city wall in a menacing manner, stood with his sword in hand, and stuck his head out from the battlement to look down at the city.

After just one look, he froze and his breathing suddenly became rapid.

"Wenli, I think what you just said makes a lot of sense. We're just borrowing troops, there's no need to fight to the point of mutual destruction. Go see Yan Yi immediately and tell him that I'm willing to lead the troops myself and go with him."

Han You slowly turned around and faced Jia Ping, with a smile on his face that was uglier than crying.

(End of this chapter)