Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 99 Night Attack
At noon, people from all the townships in Rencheng had gathered at Baogai Pavilion in Yunchao Township.

Baogai Pavilion is the seat of Yunchao Township. The pavilion is connected to Yong'an in the west, Rencheng in the south, and Yuncheng to the east forty miles.

Nearly ten thousand people were divided into groups of ten and five, and formed a simple queue near the Baogai Pavilion, and slowly marched towards Yuncheng along the official road.

The team stretched for more than ten miles. Men carried things on their shoulders and backs, and women helped the elderly and children. Ox carts, sedan chair carts, wheelbarrows, pigs, sheep and other livestock filled the road, filling it up.

Although this was a helpless act for survival, the pain of leaving the hometown for the entire family was beyond the understanding of outsiders. Bursts of crying could be heard from the team from time to time, which was unbearable to hear.

Five hundred Yan family infantrymen, under the command of three military marquises, ran back and forth to maintain order.

Thanks to the strict organization and the comfort of Sheng Shen and others, although the team seemed a little disorganized, there was still basic order and people's hearts were relatively stable.

But the walking speed was too slow. After an hour, he had only walked less than three miles.

Yan Yi personally led the army, occupied all the important roads around Rencheng, and covered the evacuation of the people.

It was not until the afternoon of You time that the last group of people disappeared from the mountain pass at the eastern foot of Daochang Mountain, and the army set off and slowly evacuated Rencheng.

Some supplies that were inconvenient to carry were simply discarded and scattered everywhere.

The defenders of Rencheng crowded on the city wall, watching the enemy slowly disappear from their sight, they all breathed a sigh of relief and cheered.

Half an hour later, the city gate that had been closed for many days finally opened slowly. First, dozens of cavalrymen rushed out and headed towards the direction of Yan Yi's army's retreat. Then a large number of defenders poured out of the city gate. Before the night fell completely, they scrambled to snatch the supplies that the enemy had no time to take away.

Zou stood on the gate tower with a grim expression on his face, but did not give any order to stop them.

The soldiers had been trapped in the city for many days, so they had to vent their anger.

Only after the soldiers had looted all the supplies outside the city did Zou He order the soldiers back to the city, close the city gates again, and strictly forbid anyone to leave the city.

He then summoned his generals to the military camp meeting hall and said in a serious tone, "My lords, I have reached an alliance with Commander Zhu. Commander Zhu is personally leading the army and is heading towards Rencheng. He will arrive by noon the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Everyone was shocked. Although they had expected this to happen, hearing Zou say it in person gave them a completely different feeling.

Especially those generals who were close to the Yan family, their expressions were somewhat ugly, and some of them even had a bit of uneasiness in their eyes, fearing that they would be punished later.

But no matter what, this is good news, which means that Rencheng is safe for the time being.

Most people had relaxed expressions on their faces.

But Zou's next words stunned them instantly: "Yan Yi keeps saying he wants to make peace with me, but he betrayed me and kidnapped the people of Rencheng. This shameless villain is deeply hateful. If I don't avenge him, I will have a hard time standing in the world! Therefore, I have decided to personally lead the army tonight and launch a surprise attack on Yan Yi's troops!"

The entire place was silent, with only the sound of some people's rapid breathing to be heard. Xie Rui said with a stiff upper lip, "General, since our army has already made peace with the Yan family, attacking them at night would be unethical and would be detrimental to our reputation if word of it got out."

Zou glanced at him expressionlessly: "Shut up!"

Xie Rui noticed a hint of disgust in Zou Ta's eyes and dared not say anything.

He Gong, who always followed Zou's lead, said: "Since ancient times, all is fair in warfare. Yan Yi invaded our territory and abducted our people. How could he ever talk about morality? The commander's move is in line with the principles of war."

Li Bian really didn't want to get involved in this matter, so he said cautiously, "General, since our army is safe, why bother provoking Yan Yi? If he's prepared, the consequences will outweigh the gains."

Zou said coldly, "Yan Yi has kidnapped all my people. What will we eat and drink from now on? Are we going to just sit there and eat up all the food? This guy is so arrogant. If I don't teach him a lesson, how can I survive in Jiangdong in the future?"

Everyone felt the anger in his heart and hesitated to speak.

He Gong echoed, "The Marshal is right. This brat is extremely arrogant and has gone to extremes, clearly leaving us no chance of survival. Right now, the two families have ceased hostilities and are in talks about peace, and our army has been secluded for days. Yan Yi would never have expected us to deploy troops at this time, and he must have been unprepared. This is the perfect opportunity for our army to defeat him and recapture the people they have abducted."

Wei Kuan frowned and said, "That's wrong. Yan Yi is good at sneak attacks, how could he not be prepared?"

He Gong angrily said, "The enemy retreated so quickly that they didn't even have time to take away many supplies. How could they have been prepared?"

Zou He sighed and said, "Everyone, I know this trip carries certain risks. But as the saying goes, wealth and honor are found in danger. The moment the two families have ceased fighting and made peace is the only opportunity for a surprise attack. If the enemy is unprepared, our army will surely seize a large amount of spoils. If they are prepared, our army is familiar with the terrain and is skilled in night combat, so we may be able to fight."

Hearing this, some generals nodded in agreement. Indeed, they had never fought against Yan Yi's army before. They were just frightened by Yan Yi's record of defeating Qian Tong and his terrifying military appearance. In addition, they were surrounded by powerful enemies and felt desperate, so they didn't even have the courage to fight.

But now that we have formed an alliance with Zhu Zhi, the crisis has been eliminated, and we have someone to rely on, the situation is naturally different.

And what Zou said was not wrong. His troops originally started out by robbing wealthy families in the countryside late at night, and they were very experienced in night combat.

Seeing the eager expressions on everyone's faces, Zou He continued, "A soldier can be killed but not humiliated. Tonight is our only chance. If we don't even have the courage to try, how can we live in this world with dignity? I promise you, if the enemy is prepared, I will lead my troops to withdraw immediately without delay! Even if our surprise attack is thwarted, Zhu Zhi's army will arrive tomorrow night as soon as possible, and Rencheng will be safe."

Li Bian said with some concern: "General, although we have formed an alliance with Zhu Zhi, the world is unpredictable and we must not trust him easily. We must be more cautious about this person."

Wei Kuan smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. If Zhu Zhi goes back on his word, the Jiangdong heroes will become suspicious. Who will trust him in the future? He's ambitious and would never do something so foolish as to undermine his integrity. I suspect Zhu Zhi will not only keep his word, but will also emulate King Zhao of Yan and pay a huge sum of gold for a horse's bones."

"Your words are reasonable."

Seeing his generals convinced one by one, Zou Ta felt emboldened. Without further hesitation, he barked out his orders, "Immediately seal off the entire city. He Gong, you will personally lead your men to patrol the gates and strictly prohibit anyone from leaving! Tonight at midnight, I will personally lead the central army into battle. All generals, lead your troops and follow me to eliminate the Yan bandits! If this battle is won, I will only take 30% of the spoils, and the rest will be divided among you!"

The generals looked at each other and responded loudly.

(Happy Lantern Festival, brothers!)
(End of this chapter)