Chapter 250 – Jiang Man's Counter Attack
After Tong regrouped with his hors.e.m.e.n, the unorganized mob of 5,000 men was destroyed in 10 minutes as Tong led the charge, which similar to what Lu Bu did at Jinyang.
Tong Army suffered minimal casualties as two hundreds of them were killed in action. Most of them were the shield bearers who sacrificed themselves, protecting the comrades behind them during the direct confrontation.
The surviving 3,700 men of Yellow Turban withdrew back before they were surrounded by Zou Jing main force and the other volunteer armies. The other one hundred scouts were still in hiding around the eastern area outside of Ji City.
Tong wanted to push further and kill Zou Jing, but he had to be mindful about his men's stamina. They did not have a cheat or had awakened a demonic bloodline as he did.
In addition, his homing arrow skill was nerfed by Lilim that he could only use it once a day. Most of Tong's trump card skill was on cooldown, only [Time Stop] could be used. However, Tong deemed that it was too risky to continue fighting without all of his active skills readied.
Knowing when to give up was a good discipline for a commander.
.
Zou Jing did not order the chase. Instead, he also ordered a retreat.
"We'll abandon Ji City and seek help from Gongsun Zan!"
"General, but what about the people!?"
"Leave them! As long as our force is not destroyed, we can reclaim it back."
"But, what can we report to Lord Liu …"
"He won't mind it. His family root is in Chengdu. This place is just a barren land to him."
Zou Jing's eyes still revealed the fright that he had when he gazed at Tong's leaving army. Upon checking at the routed mob of noble private forces, a thousand of 5,000 managed to return alive.
The main army consisted of Zou Jing's initial 4,000 men, Liu Bei's 1,000 men, and other volunteer forces without status. With the surviving men, they had a bit over 10,000 men remaining from 25,000 before Tong attacked the city.
He was reminded of the textbooks he read in the past. He looked down upon a quote, saying that "In war, a numeric value alone cannot decide the outcome."
This quote came to haunt him after he failed to destroy Tong's small army.
"We'll take the supplies from Ji City first. Contact the logistic troops. Have them transport everything east!"
…
At night.
Tong and his men settled a camp 5 kilometers north of Ji City. Because the last battle revealed the strength of the volunteer and noble armies, Tong evaluated that Zou Jing had run out of his trump cards.
Freed from his acc.u.mulated stress, Tong checked the clan chat logs.
Hua Shi had given birth to a baby girl.
The skill nerf also arrived as expected. It was fortunate that Lilim also held back her tyrannical dictatorship as she was afraid of harming the innocent baby.
Before she gave birth, Hua Shi deleted most of her skills in advanced, leaving her with [Homing Arrow], [Bow Mastery], [Inventory] and [Medical Gift]. Thus, she did not suffer a fatal injury, only temporary exhaustion and sickness.
Both mother and daughter were fine at the moment as Zhang Jiao and all physicians were taking care of them. Moreover, Hua Shi had a domain ability that she got from his demonic soul. She would be safe from all external influences even if Julu were to fall.
As for the battles in other cities …
"Tough battles, I see."
Friday, Xun Yu, Zhang Xiu, and Zhang Ji clashed with Sun Jian Army and two otherworlders.
Reinforcement from Jinyang arrived at Julu with Xiongnu warhorses. Lu Zhi, Jia Xu, and Lu Bu team had tactical skirmishes against Yuan Shao, Gao Lan, Wen Chou, Yan Liang, and Tian Feng.
Zhang Bao and others were defending the siege. Thanked the siege weapons on the wall and their repeating crossbows, Yan Yan and Liu Yan could not proceed further.
In this situation, there was a risk that one of them could fall to the coalition forces, especially the siege at Zhongshan and Ye City. Zhongshan was Tong's weakest city, and Sun Jian had two variables which were two otherworlders.
He had to finish the "Zou Jing Hunt" as soon as possible. As for taking control of Ji City, he had to abandon this objective since he had no trustworthy subordinate to be the protector of these areas. Furthermore, he could not defend the city with only a few thousand men.
Before Tong began his night meditation, a scout from the east gate returned with an urgent report.
"Young master! Zou Jing is abandoning Ji City. They are heading to Beiping City of Gongsun Zan!"
Tong's heart sank. If Zou Jing entered Beiping, he might fail this quest as this warlord might shield him. Trying to kill Zou Jing while he was under Gongsun Zan's wings might provoke a sleeping dragon as this warlord was still a dominant figure in the Northern provinces.
…
In history, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao stood as equal during the current year of 183. He Jin had deployed Gongsun Zan at You Province to stabilize the areas and protect the borders from Xiongnu tribes. Gongsun Family also had several hundred thousands of soldiers in the You Province before Yuan Shao took over Ji Province from Han Fu.
Unfortunately, Gongsun Zan was never promoted as an official governor of You Province. He had to work together with Liu Yu, who was assigned as the governor of You Province. Later, Gongsun Zan broke off his co-worker relationship with Liu Clan head because Liu Yu attacked him first. He ultimately framed Liu Yu into execution and gained his official title.
After stealing the title of the governor of the province, Gongsun Zan formed an alliance with Yuan Shu, who vied for supremacy against his relative, Yuan Shao.
Gongsun Zan sent Gongsun Yue with a task force to help Yuan Shu, but he was killed in a battle. Using this pretext, Gongsun Zan mobilized his force south, aiming to attack Yuan Shao. However, Yuan Shao saw through his ploy and intercepted Gongsun Zan Army.
Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan in the battle, which the latter committed suicide with his family members.
Though a few other details had never recorded in the history texts, the novel version described that Gongsun Zan possessed the elite "White Riders" cavalry unit which was symbolized as the protectors of the north in this late Han period.
…
"Have they gone far yet?"
"No, sir. They have only organized the logistic troops, but the main army is still loitering inside the city."
"Good, return to your post. Report to me again when you see their movement."
"Yes, sir!"
After the scout left, Tong massaged his temples. He could not take it easy anymore.
…
March 9th.
Tong abandoned the siege weapons and ordered the total mobilization. All scouts were summoned back, and they rushed toward the east, chasing Zou Jing with full speed.
Tong and eight hundred hors.e.m.e.n carried eight hundred footmen with them. They moved ahead first while the rest of the infantries served as logistic units to bring provision supplies after them.
1,600 Men were chasing after the running-away 10,000 soldiers.
This phenomenon was a disgrace to Zou Jing, but he did not have a choice. The quality of his soldier had been proven that they were inferior to the Yellow Turbans. He could use the volunteer forces as his cannon fodders, but they would have died in vain.
The only hope he had was Gongsun Zan's [White Riders].
Three hours after Tong departed, he caught up with Zou Jing's rearguards and the logistic troops.
"The enemies!" Exclaimed Zou Jing's reserve troops.
800 Foot soldiers got down from the horses and got into a battle formation. Without waiting for Tong's order, they took out their shields, spears, and crossbows, which they stood in three lines.
The remaining 800 hors.e.m.e.n saw Tong's hand gesture. They formed a wedge formation and followed after their leader.
Just like before, Tong led the charge, clearing a path for his men. At the same time, his infantries marched in three lines toward the rearguards. The crossbowmen followed after them and fired their crossbows at the stragglers at the same time.
The rearguards and the reserve troops of Zou Jing consisted of 3,000 men who were led by the surviving nobles. However, one person happened to be in the logistic caravan by an accident.
Jiang Man was resting in the convoy, practicing the cultivation method that Lilim had given him.
"Rotten luck!" Muttered Jiang Man as he gazed at the chaotic battle behind the convoy.
He jumped on top of the convoy to get a better view on the battlefield. There, he saw Tong and his cavalries, crushing the untrained rearguards with ease.
"Kill the horse! Throw your spears at the horses!" Jiang Man shouted, which caught the attention of the panicking soldiers.
In reflex, soldiers followed through Jiang Man's instruction. They ignored the riders and threw their weapons at the horses.
Tong's light cavalries lacked horse armor parts. As a spear was thrown, his horse was hit.
A loud horse neigh shocked Tong, and he was thrown off his horse.
He was not the only one who fell down, more of his soldiers also slipped from their horses as they were killed by the rearguards.
"Damn it!"
Tong got up in a hurry, but several Zou Jing's rearguards got close to him before he was prepared.
"That's the enemy's general. Kill him!"
"Die!"
Tong dodged the spear thrust by the oncoming spearmen. He pulled his pistol and pointed at the front soldiers.
*BANG*
*BANG*
During the gunshot, Tong tried to use his glaive, but its blade tip came off the shaft because of the sudden fall and it had been over-used yesterday.
Feeling helpless, Tong threw the glaive away. He managed to find his blade handle on his back and pulled it from its sheath. He dashed back to rescue his stumbling hors.e.m.e.n with haste.
At this moment, Jiang Man already got down from the top of a carriage.
"MotherfOOker! That asshole still has bullets! Any archer? Shoot at those hors.e.m.e.n before their troops rescue them!"
The rearguards, which was on the verge of collapse, used the chance to regroup.
Two hundreds of them carried standard crossbows with them. They raised their weapons and fired a volley.
Tong, who was fending the spearmen, noticed the incoming two hundred arrows.
"Shit!"
The horror of a wall of arrows could terrify everyone, including Tong. He activated his overclock mode and parried the arrow rain.
"Ugh!"
"Argh!"
The arrows did not hit Tong, but he could not protect his men with his blade alone. Several of the hors.e.m.e.n were killed by the arrows, including rearguard spearmen who were killed by the friendly fire.
"They lost the momentum. Rush them!" Jiang Man ordered again.
Tong had noticed that the enemies suddenly became organized after the spear throws. He scanned the battlefield with his sense in the direction of the sound and found Jiang Man.
'A commander over there? A talent one at that.'
'That's enough for you. You're dead!'
