Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 56 Conquer
With the arrival of Fan Yan with 700 reinforcements, the pressure on Zhou Yu's troops doubled.

In the front, two hundred infantrymen and two hundred archers were advancing slowly. On the two wings, three hundred infantrymen, a mixture of sword and shield soldiers and archers, occupied the alleys and kept harassing and encroaching. At the same time, there was a group of elite cavalry watching closely, which made Zhou Yu dare not change the formation easily, let alone speed up the retreat.

It is difficult to adjust the formation in a crowded street. Once the formation is changed or the retreat is accelerated, the formation will inevitably become chaotic, and the enemy will never miss such an opportunity to attack.

Zhou Yu was in a dilemma, but he had no better plan to deal with it. He could only try his best to maintain the compactness of the formation and slowly retreat towards the north gate.

Due to his obstructed vision, he had difficulty learning about the enemy's movements, but he vaguely felt that there seemed to be fewer cavalry around him.

When he realized something was wrong, Xu Sheng had already led a group of cavalry to quickly circle around him from the east and west sides.

The two hundred cavalrymen who had successfully made the detour quickly lined up on the North Street, holding their spears and halberds horizontally, spurring their horses, and rushed from north to south.

When they were about two hundred steps away from Zhou Yu's troops, Zhou Yu was the first to be startled, and then Fan Yan also noticed the movement.

Fan Yan immediately ordered the entire army to attack.

The first group to charge into the army was the two hundred cavalrymen led by Xu Sheng. They faced the weak rear guard of Zhou Yu's army: about two hundred archers and one hundred miscellaneous soldiers.

These miscellaneous soldiers wore coarse linen clothes and held crude weapons made from modified farm tools. They were the least powerful group among the defenders of Qian Gonglei.

The only contribution they could make was to weaken the cavalry's impact a little, but they paid with their own lives.

In an instant, these miscellaneous soldiers were defeated.

The unprotected archers were like weeds in the wind, being harvested in large numbers by sharp spears and halberds.

At the same time, sword and shield soldiers and cavalry from the east, west and south also rushed into the army with shouts.

The troops led by Zhou Yu quickly went from chaos to defeat, like a prey surrounded and torn apart by a pack of lions, its flesh and blood gradually disappearing under their sharp teeth.

The remaining defenders were terrified. Some dropped their weapons, knelt down and begged for mercy, while others fled in all directions and were shot dead on the spot by the three or four hundred archers who formed the second encirclement.

Zhou Yu, with disheveled hair and pale face, fled towards the alleys of West Street, escorted by more than a dozen personal guards.

His heart was filled with fear and unwillingness, and filled with hatred towards Yan Yi, but at this moment, all the emotions finally turned into one thought in his mind: escape!

Where there is life, there is hope.

The strong desire to survive made Zhou Yu burst out with unprecedented strength. He killed several soldiers who tried to stop him and rushed through several houses.

Just as he was about to escape into the depths of the alley, he suddenly heard the sound of a sharp object breaking through the air from behind him. A sharp arrow shot towards him as fast as lightning and pierced deeply into his right leg.

Zhou Yu screamed and fell to the ground, the joy in his eyes quickly turning into despair.

Xu Sheng put the bow back on the saddle, rode over, and glanced at him coldly: "Tie him up!"

More than ten soldiers rushed over and tied up Zhou Yu, who looked as pale as death, and several guards who were kneeling on the ground begging for mercy.

With Zhou Yu being captured, the remaining defenders finally lost their last bit of fighting spirit, dropped their weapons, and knelt down to surrender.

At this time, except for a small number of defenders at the east, west and north city gates, there were no organized defenders in the entire Qiangonglei, and only some roving soldiers remained.

The overall situation is decided!

Fan Yan left behind one troop of cavalry and two troop of infantry to wipe out the remaining enemies, and took the rest of the troops back to the South Gate to report. Zhou Yu, face down, sprawled across his horse with a look of humiliation, was led to the South Gate Tower.

Looking at Yan Yi walking towards him, the thought of rushing forward and risking his life flashed through his mind, but fear and timidity prevailed in the end. He thought to himself that it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge, and tried to force a flattering smile on his face.

Yan Yi glanced at him calmly and ordered Xu Sheng, "Take this man with you and immediately capture the other three gates."

Xu Sheng took the order and left. Before leaving, he gave Zhao Cuo a wink.

Zhao Cuo knew that his good brother was trying to give him a chance to make a contribution, so he looked at Yan Yi eagerly and said, "Young Master, I would like to go with Wen Xiang."

Yan Yi smiled and nodded.

Zhao Cuo clenched his fists, a hint of joy appeared on his face, and followed Xu Sheng.

The two men took Zhou Yu with them and led 400 infantrymen westward from the south gate of the city wall, intending to attack the west gate first.

There were only a hundred defenders left at the west gate at this time, and they were discussing whether to flee back to Yuncheng. Seeing four hundred murderous soldiers attacking along the city wall, they had already lost all their fighting spirit. In the face of Zhou Yu's earnest calls for surrender, they surrendered the city gate without resistance.

The north gate and east gate were also quickly captured.

At this point, Qian Gonglei, a bridgehead that guarded the important road to Yuncheng and threatened Wucheng and Youquan, finally fell into Yan Yi's hands.

In this battle, Yan Yi's troops lost more than 220 men, were injured in more than 350, killed more than 1,000 enemies, and captured 800.

What saddened Yan Yi the most were the more than 150 elite soldiers and cavalrymen of the Yan family who were killed or seriously injured. It would be difficult to form such brave soldiers without one or two years of training and experiencing the test of life and death.

However, compared to capturing Qian Gong Lei, it is worth it even if it costs a heavier price.

Food, fodder, money, cloth, and military equipment.
Listening to Zhou Yu's rough estimate of the number of supplies, although Yan Yi tried hard to appear calm, the joy in his eyes that he could not hide revealed his true emotions.

These supplies alone are enough to meet the needs of 3,000 troops for a year.

A group of people can also be recruited from the eight hundred captives and the civilians and refugees looted into the city to strengthen the army.

Of course, the most important gain was Qian Gonglei.

This half-city, half-fortress military fortress, nestled between the Changshui and Jiuqu rivers, was the product of years of hard work by Qian Tong. While difficult to expand, its location was exceptional, backed by Wucheng, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities. To the east, it could conquer the weakly defended southern counties of Wujun, where Xu Gong had been stationed, while to the south, it could reach the Qiantang River and Qiantang Bay, controlling access to the sea.

This is a fortress that belongs exclusively to Yan Yi. His will is the will of heaven here, and no one dares to disobey it.

The most important thing right now is how to defend Qian Gong Fort.

It can be imagined that Qian Tong must be going crazy at this moment and will definitely launch a fierce revenge.

Qian Tong was really going crazy.

In just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, he had already smashed two teacups and a porcelain inkstone.

He was not angry about the fall of Qian Gong Lei, because he did not know that Qian Gong Lei had fallen.

The source of Qian Tong's rage was that the Yan Yi tribe, whom he had always despised and even ignored, had dared to launch a surprise attack on Qian Gonglei! How could a young boy, barely even a grown man, dare to resort to such insidious tactics against him? His previous confidence and meticulous planning seemed to have become a huge joke at this moment, and he felt an unspeakable sense of humiliation.

(End of this chapter)