jdhmnovel Chapter 117 Zhang Cheng is dumbfounded again.
Chapter 117 Zhang Cheng is dumbfounded again.
Guan Xing was stunned for a moment, then asked excitedly, "What the hell? Wu's army at the ancient pass has been lured away by Xie Chong? Is this news reliable?"
Li Xing nodded emphatically and said, "This humble servant personally watched Wu Jun leave; they even moved their main camp."
"In addition, the governor of Kuaiji, Chunyu Shi, has retreated to Shanyin City and strengthened its defenses. Shanyin City is now heavily guarded."
Guan Xing laughed and said, "It doesn't matter. What I need now is Zhang Cheng, not Shanyin. As long as Chunyu Shi doesn't leave the city to cause trouble for us, I don't care what happens."
"Let's go and rest at Wu's camp. We'll rescue Xie Chong at dawn."
He actually wanted to go right now, but the soldiers had been running all day and desperately needed rest. If he forced them to go to the rescue, they probably wouldn't have the strength to fight anymore when they got there. That wouldn't be a rescue, it would be suicide.
Guan Xing led his troops to Wu's camp, where they set up camp, cooked, and prepared to rest for the night before fighting again the next day.
He slept soundly, while the sounds of battle echoed from Xie Chong's camp in the center of the ancient road.
Upon learning that the Han army had cut off Zhang Cheng's retreat, Wu Jun, who was stationed at the ancient pass, rushed to the Han army camp without hesitation and launched a fierce attack, attempting to annihilate the Han army in front of him and re-establish contact with Zhang Cheng, who was attacking Shan County.
Faced with Wu Jun's attack, Xie Chong dared not be negligent and personally stayed at the front line to command. At the same time, he shouted to Wang Tao, "Don't worry about this side. Continue to lead the men to build the camp. After that, head south to prevent Zhang Cheng from returning."
Wu Jun reacted faster than he expected, attacking before the camp was even finished, but Xie Chong wasn't too panicked.
The few thousand Wu soldiers in front of us are just a minor ailment that can be easily dealt with. Zhang Cheng's main force is the real threat. If they return and attack from both sides with the Wu army in front of us, we may not be able to withstand it. Therefore, we must repair our camp before Zhang Cheng arrives.
Wang Tao swung his sword and cut down the Wu soldier in front of him, wiping the blood from his face as he said, "Zhang Cheng has already reached the outskirts of Shan County, about forty or fifty miles away from us. If he knows that our rear is cut off, he probably won't come back to reinforce us but will launch a fierce attack on Shan County."
"We are both racing against time right now. Time is so precious that Zhang Cheng is unlikely to waste it on the road. Therefore, I believe that the south will not be attacked, and this place is more important."
Xie Chong roared, "What you said makes sense, but it's better to be safe than sorry. You can't gamble on chances in war. If there's even a one percent chance, you have to be prepared one hundred percent, plug all the loopholes, and not give the enemy any opportunity. So we have to be prepared for Zhang Cheng to come, understand?"
Wang Tao shouted, "Understood, I will go and prepare immediately, General, please be careful."
After speaking, he ordered the army to continue building camps and setting up defenses in the south. With his departure, the pressure on Xie Chong's side increased sharply.
……
Time goes back to yesterday.
Zhang Cheng led the main force of Wu's army to Shan County. When they arrived about ten miles outside the city and were about to continue their advance, scouts reported that they had discovered many small pits with bamboo sticks stuck in them.
Those damned Han soldiers have laid another insulting trap outside the city.
These traps aren't very lethal, but they're really annoying; you have to spend time burying them.
Zhang Cheng remained remarkably calm in the face of this, sending troops to bury the burial site while simultaneously ordering his army to set up camp on the spot.
Having traveled such a long distance, Wu Jun was exhausted and in dire need of rest. As for the city, it wouldn't be too late to attack it tomorrow morning.
At daybreak, Zhang Cheng led his army to the city, but instead of attacking immediately, he sent someone to call out to the city.
Hundreds of Wu soldiers stepped forward and shouted at the city wall: "Han soldiers inside the city, listen up! You are surrounded. If you know what's good for you, come out of the city and surrender. General Zhang Cheng will only give you a quarter of an hour to consider."
On the city wall, Meng Jun looked at the dark mass of Wu troops, which swarmed like locusts, and sneered, "You defeated enemy actually want me to surrender? That's utterly ridiculous."
There are only two thousand Han soldiers in the city at present, and the city walls are low and have little defensive capability. It is indeed a case of throwing an egg against a rock.
But Meng Jun remained calm. He knew that Shan County was the key to victory. If they held out, Zhang Cheng would die; if they couldn't, Guan Xing would die.
Therefore, the moment he received the order, he disregarded his own life and death, determined that even if his entire army was wiped out, he would never let the Wu army cross the line.
Looking at Wu Jun shouting, Meng Jun sneered, "Brothers, let's shout too, louder, so our former defeated enemy doesn't look down on us."
Thousands of Han soldiers roared in unison, "Wu army, surrender now! There's hot soup in the prisoner camp..."
The roar of the Han army was like thunder, instantly drowning out the shouts of the Wu army, and easily reaching Zhang Cheng's ears.
Influenced by the five thousand prisoners, Zhang Cheng has recently become particularly sensitive to the words "hot soup," and upon hearing them, he was so angry that his nose almost twisted.
At the same time, realizing that it would be somewhat humiliating for a former Han army prisoner to try to persuade them to surrender, he simply abandoned the idea and, waving his arm, shouted fiercely, "Attack..."
With Zhang Cheng's order, Wu Jun, under the cover of a hail of arrows, carried ladders and launched a fierce attack on the county town.
Meng Jun dared not be negligent. He commanded the catapults and crossbows to counterattack simultaneously, and personally led his troops to charge back and forth on the city walls. With their tenacious fighting spirit, they managed to withstand wave after wave of fierce attacks from the Wu army.
Time quickly passed to 5 PM amidst the shouts of battle from both sides.
Seeing that the siege of Shan County had dragged on for a long time without success, Zhang Cheng was getting anxious and was about to send troops to reinforce the city when a scout suddenly ran up, breathless, saying, "General, something has happened..."
The scout's hesitant manner made Zhang Cheng's heart sink. He quickly dismissed his men to ensure that not too many people could hear before asking, "What's wrong?"
The scout replied, "The Han army crossed the Siming Mountains and set up camp in the middle of the ancient road, cutting off our retreat."
Zhang Cheng's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly asked, "How many Han soldiers are there?"
The scout replied, "It's about four thousand, less than five thousand, but their shovels and hoes are very new, they build camps very quickly, and the camps they build look very sturdy."
Zhang Cheng closed his eyes in pain, knowing that he had been deceived by that bastard Guan Xing again.
Where did this Han army that suddenly appeared come from? Even a fool would know it was the one he had driven to the Yinyu Plain.
As for why there were only four or five thousand instead of the tens of thousands of troops he saw?
It's very simple, because that wasn't the main force of the Han army at all, and it wasn't even led by Guan Xing. They were just pretending to be the main force of the Han army to fool us.
So the question is, where did Guan Xing go?
After a moment's thought, Zhang Cheng concluded that Guan Xing was still near Wushang. This bastard had seen through his plan to lure Guan Xing into a trap from the very beginning, and then turned the tables on him, leading him to Shan County instead.
But what was Guan Xing's purpose? He must have wanted to wait for me to leave before attacking Zhang Ming and launching a counterattack on Zhuji, then circle around to my rear, trap me in the ancient road, and then join forces with the garrison of Shan County to launch a pincer attack.
When he is blocked from both sides and has nowhere to escape, Guan Xing will not need to attack; he will only need to wait for his supplies to run out.
That damned Guan Anguo, how wicked his intentions are!
But now that you've circled around behind me, is the Jinqu Basin now empty?
If I conquer Shan County, can I then attack from behind and trap you in the ancient road?
It wouldn't even need to be that complicated. Zhang Ming could simply retreat to Zhuji, buying himself some time to capture Shan County and then launch a pincer attack on Zhang Ming from both sides...
Zhang Ming has a full 10,000 troops under his command, which is more than the Han army. He should be able to hold out until I break through Shan County and catch up with the Han army from behind to form a pincer attack, right?
Having figured out Guan Xing's plan and sorted out all his thoughts, Zhang Cheng finally realized that Shan County was the key to victory; as long as Shan County was captured, the great cause would be accomplished.
Therefore, he immediately ordered: "All troops must advance and capture Shan County before nightfall."