Three Kingdoms: Li Shimin, dressed as Liu Shan, forcibly abducts Sun Shangxiang.

Chapter Nine: Victory!

"kill!"

"Slay the Wu dogs, and march back to Yizhou!"

"revenge!"

"The Grand Commander has ordered a swift and decisive victory!"

"The entire army must press forward; not a single Shu soldier is to escape!"

"kill!!!"

Rumble!

Like soldiers surging with waves, they all began their charge simultaneously.

The arms that gripped spears and halberds were already bulging with veins.

The heavy, rapid footsteps merged into a thunderous roar, as if they were about to crack the earth beneath their feet!

Dust billowed across the battlefield, resembling the roar of a giant yellow dragon!

The soldiers on both sides moved faster and faster, advancing rapidly!

The distance between the Han and Wu armies was shrinking at a visible speed.

Both sides could almost see the cold glint of each other's weapons and the bloodshot eyes of the enemy soldiers!

Just then...

wow~

On a distant high slope, a streak of blood red suddenly soared into the air!

That was a large red banner with black dragon patterns!

It is a symbol of the virtue of fire, and the essence of the blood of Han soldiers who fought on the battlefield, their battle robes soaked with blood!

In that instant, it stretched out in the wind, fluttering fiercely, as if reddening half the sky, making the world pale in comparison.

The black dragon patterns exude an aura of dominance over the world!

The striking contrast with the crimson background is like a lightning bolt streaking across the night sky, carrying the force of thunder...

Announce its arrival to everyone!

Boom~

"That, that is..."

"It's the Emperor's banner, His Majesty's dragon flag!"

"Your Majesty...His Majesty has come to our aid in person!"

Where the emperor's banners are, there the emperor is!

His Majesty has returned!

Looking at the great banner high above, all the Han soldiers were greatly shocked and could hardly believe their eyes.

News of the disastrous defeat at Yiling and the emperor's escape back to Yizhou had already reached us.

From the moment they were surrounded, this remnant army knew that no reinforcements would come...

When they charged into the Wu army's formation, they never thought they would survive.

Because their fate was either to surrender or die! If they refused to surrender, they would only be able to die in battle!

But to my utter surprise,

At this critical moment of life and death, the emperor actually returned to fight his way back!

The emperor himself even came to their aid!

They can survive! They can survive!

An unprecedented hope and an unprecedented will to survive instantly filled the depths of everyone's eyes.

This battle,

They can go home!

in an instant,

The morale of the Han army soared!

"The Emperor has arrived! His Majesty the Emperor has come!"

"Victory! Victory!!"

"Damn you, Wu, your good days are over!"

"Kill! Kill!!!"

"Hahahaha! It's His Majesty's dragon banner, the emperor's flag!" Shamoke almost tore Ma Liang's wrist off.

"Mr. Ji Chang, did you see that? His Majesty has returned with reinforcements! We have reinforcements!"

"You damned Wu traitor! You have the blood debt of the Five Streams warriors! I'll make you pay ten times over!"

The Emperor's Great Banner

It truly is the Emperor's banner!

Ma Liang's mind was in turmoil. The defeat at Yiling, the annihilation of the main army, and His Majesty's escape to Yizhou—how could this be…?

Yes, the place where the emperor's banner is located must be the place where the emperor is!

His Majesty the Emperor has really come to save us!

If that's the case,

There is still a chance for a turn of events in the Battle of Yiling, and the vitality of Yizhou will certainly be preserved. Both Sichuan still have the strength to fight, and the situation is still uncertain!

There is a chance,

There's still a chance!!

Ma Liang trembled all over, almost bursting into tears... There was no mistake, the Emperor must have restored order to the situation!

The mandate of heaven for the Han dynasty has not yet ended, and the fate of the Liu family has not yet run its course... It is indeed the will of heaven!

Ma Liang's face flushed red, and he almost shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Emperor has arrived! Reinforcements have arrived!"

"kill!"

"Fight your way out!!"

at the same time,

The morale of the Jiangdong army, with the arrow already on the bowstring, began to waver.

"Where did that large banner come from on that high slope?"

"No, that's not our Jiangdong banner!"

"That flag looks familiar...it's the flag of the Han army!"

"Yes, yes, it is the Han Emperor's dragon banner!"

"Liu Bei! It's Liu Bei attacking!!"

Has Liu Bei returned in triumph?

How is that possible!

Didn't they say that a great fire at Yiling had wiped out the entire Han army, and that the Han emperor had fled in disarray, with the Grand Commander in hot pursuit?

Why the hell are they back again?

The Han emperor could not have come here alone; he must have brought a large army and been lying in ambush nearby for a long time...

wow~

Just then, a strong wind howled, and the grass and trees on the high slope swayed and undulated! And then, behind that great banner, suddenly, smoke and dust billowed up...

not good!

We fell for their trap!

"The swaying of the grass and trees indicates that soldiers are lying in ambush!"

"Yellow dust fills the sky; there's probably a large army on its way!"

"The remaining Han troops on the front line number at least several thousand, plus the troops lying in ambush on the flanks... Damn it, we're probably going to be attacked from both sides by the Han army."

"Shut up! Anyone who dares to sow discord in the face of battle will be executed!"

Jiangdong Central Army

Under the banner bearing the character "步" (step), the generals were already in complete chaos.

The appearance of this imperial banner was so sudden that it caught everyone off guard.

"General Zishan! It must be Liu Xuande who has come to attack!"

"Absolutely impossible. We've all seen the battle report from the Battle of Yiling... The entire Han army was wiped out. Where would Liu Bei have gotten reinforcements from?"

"But that dragon banner of the Han emperor is definitely not wrong."

"Ha, it's just a mere banner; how can we be sure it's not just the Han army bluffing?"

The generals argued endlessly.

Bu Zhi's face was gloomy as he stared intently at the glaring red dragon flag.

He had already surrounded the area completely. Bu Zhi had sent people to investigate the high slope before, and there was nothing wrong with it.

How could such a large banner suddenly appear at this time?

"General, should we send one of our units to test the waters first?"

"It's too late!" Bu Zhi's hand gripping the hilt of his sword was already creaking.

The three armies had already charged to this point and engaged in battle. Even if he wanted to issue orders to change the deployment, it would be too late!

Boom!

now,

Like two raging waves at sea, the two armies finally collided fiercely.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the shouts of battle shook the heavens!

Wu Jun's dense array of long spears swung down with a thunderous roar, instantly taking the lives of a large number of Han soldiers.

Instead of retreating, the Han soldiers advanced, their long spears thrusting forward like a forest.

In an instant, screams filled the air, blood spurted out, and large numbers of Wu soldiers fell to the ground, wailing in agony. A brief vacuum appeared at the forefront of the two armies!

Forward! And ever forward!

Push them over! Push them over again!

"Kill them all!"

"kill!!"

The already demoralized Han army was no match for a single charge by the Wu army and was likely to collapse at the first contact.

But now,

The Han army not only held on, but the situation did not enter a prolonged stalemate; in fact, the Han army had already slowly advanced.

The variables brought about by that large banner had already exceeded everyone's expectations.

The morale of the Han army was greatly boosted, and they no longer hesitated. They fought desperately, with no option to retreat.

On the other hand, the Wu soldiers,

He was constantly on guard, wondering when an ambush might suddenly appear from behind the dragon banner! Because of this, he was somewhat hesitant and unable to fully engage the enemy at hand.

With one side gaining and the other losing,

The vanguard of Wu's army began to show signs of collapse...

"kill!"

"Wu Gou can't hold on any longer, push him over!"

"All troops, advance! Hold the line! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

"Hold on! These Han soldiers won't last much longer, hold on!"

The officers on both sides shouted loudly, each urging the others to fight. With spears and halberds at their heads, the stench of blood almost choked their mouths and noses.

at last!

Countless soldiers' bodies fell.

Countless ring-pommel swords were broken by the blows.

Countless spearheads have been dulled.

Wu Jun's vanguard has finally suffered a complete defeat!

Like two huge waves that have been crashing and entangled for a long time, finally one of the waves was completely shattered!

On the high slope,

Guan Xing and Zhang Bao were looking down at the battle situation below the mountain.

Looking from a high place,

The Han army took a big bite out of the Wu army's formation, swallowing up the Wu army's vanguard!

This left them speechless...

"Wu Jun's vanguard has been defeated!"

"The remnants of Ma Shizhong's troops actually managed to rout the vanguard of the Wu army!"

They saw it very clearly.

After countless corpses fell, the vanguard of the Han army, like a sharp blade, ruthlessly slicing off the foremost claws and teeth of the Wu soldiers.

It plunged deep into Wu Bing's body!

Han Army Crisis

Solved!

The two of them instinctively turned their heads.

Looking behind him at the emperor's banner fluttering in the wind,

He looked at the dozens of guards who were resting on the ground.

His Highness the Crown Prince merely erected a large banner and ordered people to cut down the tree crowns and branches, dragging them across the high slope, creating clouds of dust...

It really didn't result in the loss of a single soldier.

This gave Ma Liang's remaining troops a chance to catch their breath!

Meanwhile, the central army of Jiangdong...

But all was silent...

"General, our vanguard has been defeated!"

"The left and right wings of the army have retreated more than a hundred paces."

"Well, you really make Bu Zhi proud!" Bu Zhi's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened to the lieutenant's cautious report.

He had naturally foreseen the defeat ahead.

How could Bu Zishan, with ten thousand righteous men from Jiaozhou, besiege and suppress several thousand remaining soldiers, have his vanguard routed by the enemy?

What do you mean by "taking over the counties of Jingnan"?

What do you mean by completely stabilizing the situation in Jingzhou and thoroughly assimilating Jingzhou?

All of Bu Zhi's previous thoughts were like a resounding slap in the face, delivered right in front of everyone!

wow~

Bu Zhi suddenly turned his head.

He looked at the crimson stain on the distant hill, all because that banner had boosted the enemy's morale and thrown his own troops into disarray!

"The Emperor's banners, Liu Bei... Ah."

Not to mention that after the Battle of Yiling, Yizhou had no more usable troops.

After Liu Bei fled back to Baidi City, he was terminally ill and it was impossible for him to personally lead troops. So how could he possibly lead troops to rescue Ma Liang?

Bu Zhi frowned.

"How strange!"

"Who planted that banner?"

"Who could it be...?"

Even if it were Liu Bei leading his troops, Zigui would still be guarded by the main force of the Grand Commander's army. How could he possibly get through?

Looking at that imperial banner,

One thought had just formed in Bu Zhi's mind when another arose, his expression shifting between light and shadow. He had a vague feeling that something was absurd...

unless……

Unless Liu Bei went to Baidi City to recuperate, this is simply fake news!

Unless Liu Bei wasn't sick at all...

He was merely using illness as a cover to launch a counterattack... In the Battle of Yiling, countless supplies of the Han army were captured.

But the most important banner of the Han emperor was nowhere to be found.

Could it really be...?

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"impossible!"

"How is this possible?!"