jdhmnovel Chapter 226 Zhang He: Let's fight the Shu army!
Chapter 226 Zhang He: Let's fight the Shu army!
Seeing the Shu cavalry charging towards him, Xiahou Ba was stunned. His face turned pale with fright, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.
Because he keenly realized one thing: why would the Shu army attack him from behind?
That's the direction of Jieting! Has Jieting fallen?
Thinking of this possibility, Xiahou Ba trembled even more violently. Jieting was the retreat route for their 50,000 Wei troops. If it fell, they would be trapped in Longxi forever, unable to retreat back to Guanzhong or obtain supplies from Guanzhong. What difference was there between this and waiting to die?
While Xiahou Ba was terrified, another question came to mind: even if Jieting had fallen, it should have been Zhang Fei who stabbed him in the back, not Zhao Yun.
Where did that damned Zhao Zilong come from?
Didn't the scout say that he went with Liu Bei to Longxi to meet Zhuge Liang? If so, shouldn't he be in front of me? Why is he behind me?
Suddenly, all sorts of questions flooded Xiahou Ba's mind, causing him a headache but also allowing him to quickly grasp the core of the problem and figure out what was going on.
Zhao Yun probably came to Dawanchuan with Wang Ping to ambush him, and then guessed that he was returning from Jieting to join forces with Zhang He to attack Wang Ping. That's why he took advantage of his return to reinforce Jieting to attack Zhang Xiong from behind and support Zhang Fei.
In other words, Zhang Fei has defeated Zhang Xiong and successfully entered Jieting, and is heading this way, perhaps right behind Zhao Yun?
Thinking of this, Xiahou Ba couldn't help but let out a wail. What did he do to deserve such a fierce attack from two of the Five Tiger Generals?
It's no use saying all this now. Seeing that Zhao Yun is less than a hundred meters from the main force and will soon charge into their ranks to start a massacre, Xiahou Ba decisively shouted at the top of his lungs, "Retreat..."
After saying that, he turned around and ran towards the mountain next to him. That was Zhao Yun, and Zhang Fei might be following behind. In front of these two, let alone fighting, he would be lucky to escape alive.
The Wei army was also terrified by Zhao Yun. Upon hearing the order, they turned around decisively and ran after Xiahou Ba.
The one who came was a fierce man who dared to charge in and out of Cao Cao's million-strong army seven times. What could they do but run away when faced with such a demon?
You can't expect us lowly soldiers to slay gods, can you?
Wei Jun escaped, which emboldened Wang Ping. He charged out of the camp with his spear, chasing after Wei Jun while shouting, "Brothers, follow me! Don't let those Wei dogs get away!"
Upon hearing this, the Han army defending against Xiahou Ba acted as if they had taken some kind of poison, and followed Wang Ping frantically as they charged towards the Wei army.
At the same time, Zhao Yun finally charged into the Wei army's ranks on his warhorse. With a single sweep of his spear, he sent several men flying, then ignored their screams and charged towards the next one. The Wei soldiers who hadn't had time to climb the mountain saw Zhao Yun getting closer and closer, and their morale completely collapsed. They threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and wailed, "I surrender..."
The boss has already run away, what's the point of fighting? Just surrender and save your life.
Ignoring the surrendered soldiers, Zhao Yun charged smoothly to Wang Ping's side. Looking at Wang Ping, who was covered in blood, he sincerely praised him, "Zijun (Wang Ping's courtesy name), you actually held on until now, well done!"
During his absence, he was constantly worried about Wang Ping's safety. You see, Wang Ping was facing a pincer attack from the veteran general Zhang He and Xiahou Ba, whose forces outnumbered Wang Ping's by several times. With such a lineup, even he himself wouldn't be confident of holding out, let alone Wang Ping.
As it turned out, Wang Ping not only withstood the attack, but also managed to turn the tables after seeing that he had the strength to fight back after being rescued. That's impressive.
Wang Ping wiped the blood off his face and said, "General, you flatter me. It's all my duty. Zhang He is still attacking, and I have to go to his aid. I'll leave this place to you, General."
After saying this, he turned around, brandished his spear, and led his army forward. The battle ahead was equally fierce. Zhang He launched a fierce attack while Wang Ping was defending against Xiahou Ba, and almost broke through the camp.
Fortunately, Wang Ping returned in time and drove the Wei army back.
This made Zhang He's heart, which had been in his throat, sink instantly. He gripped the gun butt and slammed it on the ground, saying, "Damn it, it was just a little short again."
Zhang He launched another attack, but after less than a quarter of an hour, he was surprised to find a troop of soldiers running towards him from the side of the mountain. He quickly sent men to intercept and question them.
It was Xiahou Ba who arrived. After negotiating with the soldiers who were blocking the way, Xiahou Ba abandoned his army and rushed to Zhang He. Before Zhang He could ask any questions, he said urgently, "General, something terrible has happened! While we were besieging Wang Ping, Zhao Yun launched a surprise attack on Jieting to pick up Zhang Fei, and then led his troops back to attack. Jieting has most likely fallen, and Zhang Fei has entered the pass."
This devastating news was like a hammer blow, leaving Zhang He's mind blank and his body swaying precariously as if all his strength had been drained.
Seeing this, Xiahou Ba quickly reached out to support him, and whispered, "General... General..."
Hearing the shouts, Zhang He snapped out of his daze. Forgetting his dazed state, he bit his tongue hard to force himself to stay awake and hurriedly asked, "Is Jieting definitely fallen? How is Zhang Xiong?"
The one guarding Jieting is his own son, his eldest son whom he has carefully nurtured. If anything happens to him, all his decades of hard work will be in vain.
Xiahou Ba said urgently, "I don't know, but Zhao Yun, who should have been by Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's side, came from Jieting. This speaks volumes. If Jieting hadn't fallen, Zhao Yun wouldn't have been able to come back."
That's right. If Jieting were still in Zhang Xiong's hands, Zhao Yun would definitely still be fighting Zhang Xiong to the death in Jieting right now. How could he have come to Dawanchuan?
Zhang He's last glimmer of hope was utterly shattered, and he murmured unconsciously, "It's over..."
Xiahou Ba said urgently, "General, don't give up! Think of something quickly! Zhang Fei will be arriving at Dawanchuan soon to block all our retreat routes. If we don't surrender now, we'll just be waiting to die."
Zhang He understood the seriousness of the problem. He raised his hand and slapped himself twice, saying, "There's no other way. We can only do what Zhongda said earlier and fight the Shu army to the death. We'll cripple the Shu army at the cost of total annihilation, and then wait for the King to come and clean up the mess."
After saying that, he took out a map, spread it on the ground, and pointed to the various intersections, saying, "Fortunately, we are in Baliwan. The surrounding area is full of ravines and complex terrain, so it is easy to find defensive points. You lead the troops to block Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei nearby, and I will go back to fight Zhuge Liang."
Xiahou Ba frowned and said, "I understand the idea of burning one's boats when two armies meet on a narrow road, but why not focus on attacking Zhang Fei instead of the main force of the Shu army behind us? Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun should be easier to deal with than Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, right?"
Wang Ping's camp is about to be breached. If they put in a little more effort, they might be able to rush over before Zhang Fei arrives. Even if Zhang Fei arrives then, he won't have time to build a defensive position. They can defeat Zhang Fei first and then turn around to deal with Liu Bei.
Zhang He explained, "There are three reasons. First, Wang Ping's defenses are not easy to break through. Now that Zhao Yun has arrived, Wang Ping's morale has greatly increased. He can block us for another half a day without any problem. Half a day is enough time for Zhang Fei to arrive. Once Zhang Fei arrives, we will be completely unable to pass."
"Secondly, Jieting has already fallen. Even if we defeat Zhang Fei, we will be blocked at Jieting with no way to escape."
"And most importantly, once Zhang Fei arrives, he can completely surround us at Baliwan, making the soldiers realize that they have no way to retreat and can only fight to the death. On the contrary, if we defeat Zhang Fei and break out of Baliwan, do you think our soldiers will still have the courage to turn around and face the main force of the Shu army? I guess they will scatter and flee before Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang catch up."
People only fight to the death when they are in utter despair and have no way out. If there is any way out, they are unlikely to risk their lives, since it is better to live a miserable life than to die.
In other words, the Wei army will only fight the Shu army to the death if Zhang Fei blocks their retreat. Once Zhang Fei clears the way, the Wei army may flee towards Jieting.
This place is over a hundred miles from Jieting. There are so many deep ravines and mountains along the way, where can't we go?
If Wei Junzhen really does hide in the mountains, where are you going to find him?
Xiahou Ba understood Zhang He's meaning and said bitterly, "I never thought that the soldiers of my Great Wei would one day need the enemy's provocation to unleash their fighting power. It's really..."
Zhang He patted him on the shoulder and said, "Stop complaining and get ready. Zhang Fei will be here soon, and we don't have much time left."