Three Kingdoms: I, Yuan Shu, Loyal Officials of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 129 Since leaving Shouchun, I have been invincible!
At the same time, all twelve minor leaders of the Black Mountain were wiped out, and Yuan Shu's main force recovered to 13,000 men, who immediately rushed to the position of the major leader of the Black Mountain, Sun Qing.

At this moment, Yuan's army was rushing around in shifts, fighting fiercely for almost a day and a night. They were already exhausted and were only able to keep going by their continuous victories and sheer willpower.

Sun Qingchu has been able to fight on until now and still persevere because he is the only one of the Black Mountain Bandits who has not fallen.

It also gathered defeated soldiers from various places who had fled after the successive defeats of the twelve minor leaders.

Only one or two thousand people escaped from each location, but with a total of twelve locations, the combined force numbered nearly forty thousand.

But what followed was not only the routed soldiers, but also the devastating news of the successive annihilation of twelve minor leaders.

Sun Qing was like an old man who had been tortured to death, helplessly watching his flesh being cut off piece by piece.

When they came, they numbered over 100,000, but now only less than 40,000 remain. In other words, Yuan's army wiped out a full 60,000 of his troops in one day and night!
That's 60,000 troops!

Even 60,000 pigs couldn't have been slaughtered that quickly, let alone soldiers with weapons.

When Sun Qing, who had been struggling to hold on until now, did not receive the reinforcements he longed for, but instead received Yuan's army, he knew that the situation was hopeless.

As the Yuan-branded flag fluttered in the wind, the six-horse carriage slowly approached.

When Yuan Shu led his 13,000 main force, and together with the 10,000-plus Yuan troops who were originally engaged in a protracted battle with Sun Quan, they launched a pincer attack from both sides, and the great defeat began without any surprise.

Although Sun Qing's troops still numbered 40,000, nearly half of them were defeated soldiers from various local tribal leaders.

Without exception, they had all seen that large banner with the character "Yuan" and that six-horse carriage.

And when it appears, it often signifies the beginning of defeat and slaughter.

This happened twelve times in a row, without exception.

So when this drama, which had unfolded for twelve acts, reached its thirteenth act, the ending was already predictable: every Montenegrin actor was performing a scene they were all too familiar with—a rout!
A massive, unprecedented rout began, involving a total of 40,000 people, nearly half of whom were routed soldiers, amidst their terrified cries.

This is what is meant by "a defeat is like a mountain collapsing." When a towering mountain collapses and presses down, even if Sun Qing desperately shouts and gives orders to try to stop the rout, it is still a crushing defeat.

Even if he personally drew his sword and led his guards to kill the deserters, how could human strength withstand the might of Heaven? How could one person, a few people, or even dozens of people prevent the mountain from collapsing?

Yuan Shu arrived in a six-horse chariot, as if riding six dragons, moving with the wind. Dressed in white robes, his sword pointed at the enemy army, he uttered only a single sentence:
"kill."

Immediately, the three armies obeyed his command and charged towards the direction of his sword. The Yuan army, which had won twelve battles in a row, charged towards the defeated army, which had suffered twelve defeats in a row!
"Since leaving Shouchun, we have been invincible!"

"Since leaving Shouchun, we have been invincible!!"

"Since leaving Shouchun, we have been invincible!!!"

The soldiers' heartfelt shouts echoed through the heavens, revitalizing their exhausted bodies.

Throughout history, how many generals have won every battle?
Their general, Yuan Shu, was one of them!

When an ordinary army becomes invincible and victorious in every battle, it will be subtly elevated in its development.

Their fighting spirit was as firm as a rock. Even when they encountered fierce battles, suffered heavy losses, or were reduced to a single soldier, few of them fled.

Their previous undefeated record gave them unprecedented confidence, making them firmly believe that victory was inevitable.

Even now, after a day and night of fierce fighting, and with their bodies already exhausted, the soldiers remain highly motivated, gritting their teeth and persevering, without a single one complaining of being tired.

This was not only due to the generous treatment Yuan Shu gave them and the incentive of being rewarded with titles for their military achievements, but also because of their absolute confidence in their invincibility and ability to conquer any enemy.

They are a victorious army, but also an arrogant army. People say that an arrogant army is bound to lose, but it is precisely because they are arrogant that they will never accept defeat! Unless they suffer a complete and utter defeat that shatters their spirits, an arrogant army will never admit defeat.

This is the principle that defeated soldiers are always defeated, while victorious soldiers are always victorious.

It can be said that Zhou Yu was able to command his troops in the chaotic battle of Liang Kingdom, where 200,000 men fought, by dividing and rotating his forces as if they were his own limbs, and by adding fuel to the fire, he fought fiercely for a day and a night, and Yuan's army never collapsed.

It was precisely because Yuan Shu had such an invincible army under his command, which he had led from Shouchun, conquering the south and the north, and winning every battle.

"Since leaving Shouchun, we have been invincible!"
The enemy is utterly defeated; annihilation is imminent!

With shouts from the soldiers, this exhausted army, which had been fighting tirelessly for a day and a night, pounced on the flock of sheep like a tiger, attacking from both sides. With 23,000 men, they tore apart Sun Qing's 40,000 troops.

Such arrogance, such power, such overwhelming ferocity!

How could the fleeing Black Mountain army, which was on the verge of collapse, possibly withstand such an attack?

They fled in disarray, trampling and fleeing; it was a massive rout and mass exodus of 40,000 men.

And the one fleeing at the very front was none other than Sun Qing!

Realizing that the defeat was unstoppable and the situation was beyond saving, he ran away faster than anyone else, carrying the last flag of the Black Mountain Bandits.

Thus, the decisive battle that Yuan Shu and Zhou Yu had envisioned turned into a farce, like a child chasing after a child.

Sun Qing led 40,000 men in the lead, while Yuan Shu chased after them in a chariot.

Those who managed to escape ran ahead, while those who couldn't escape and fell into Yuan Jun's hands stared resentfully at the fleeing Black Mountain bandits, as if they deeply resented why they were able to run faster than them.

Even worse, some fled all the way to the banks of the Sui River, disregarding whether they could swim or not, fearing that Yuan's army would pursue them, and jumped into the river without hesitation, resulting in countless drownings.

Even smaller groups of several hundred bandits, in their panic and confusion, lost their way and had already separated from the main force of the Black Mountain bandits, still fleeing with their heads covered.

Meanwhile, the Yuan army chasing them consisted of only a dozen or so men. These dozen or so men chased and killed hundreds of Black Mountain bandits all the way, and not a single one of them dared to turn back.

In the end, this farcical chase finally came to an end when Yuan Shu, worried that his soldiers were too exhausted, ordered a halt to the pursuit and ordered his troops to regroup.

However, his worries were obviously unnecessary. The returning soldiers were all beaming with pride and had returned with a full load of loot.

In today's battle, some of them carried a large cloth bag on their backs, which was filled with human heads.

Some people held a rope, with a dozen or so prisoners tied to it, who obediently followed and dared not resist.

At this moment, almost everyone in Yuan's army was grateful for the bounty of nature. They had never won such a cheap victory as they had today, and they really hoped that the Black Mountain bandits would send another 100,000 tomorrow.

In this battle, Yuan's army, with inferior forces, defeated the Black Mountain army of 100,000, captured nearly 50,000, and seized countless other spoils.

It could be said that even Yuan Shu had to thank nature for its bounty when he saw the 50,000 able-bodied prisoners sent by the Black Mountain bandits.

Sending these people back to Shouchun, where Zhang Xun, the second-highest-ranking general guarding the rear, will be in charge of selecting and training them, whether as farmers or soldiers, is a good thing.

However, because Zhou Yu used a piecemeal tactic, the 20,000 reserve troops used for this purpose were almost completely wiped out.

Such battle losses represent the greatest since Yuan's army left Shouchun.

(End of this chapter)