Third Quarter of the Hour of Yin (around 4:30 a.m.)
Yuan Shu led an army of eighty thousand men to relieve Juancheng.
Only the junior general Yue Jiu and some wounded soldiers remained behind to guard the camp, totaling fewer than ten thousand men.
Hour of Mao (around 5–7 a.m.), on the Linqiu Official Road
“Ji Ling!” Mounted on horseback, Yuan Shu turned to Ji Ling and said fiercely, “When we reach Juancheng, if the Yellow Turbans have not yet breached the city, you will lead the troops against them. Since they dare covet our grain supplies, we’ll make sure they never return!”
“This subordinate understands!” Ji Ling nodded heavily.
“Yufuluo!” Yuan Shu then turned to the Chanyu of the Southern Xiongnu.
“You command eight thousand mounted archers. Don’t let those bandits escape!”
“Haha, Left General, rest assured!” Yufuluo patted his chest and readily agreed.
“Pass the order—have the army advance at greater spee—”
Rumble!
Boom! Boom!
Before Yuan Shu could finish speaking, massive boulders came crashing down from a nearby hillside with overwhelming force.
They thundered toward the Yuan army, threatening to split the column on the road into several sections.
“Not good! Protect the lord!”
“Boulders! It’s the sound of falling boulders!”
“Protect the lord!”
Hearing the commotion, Ji Ling and the other generals shouted while rapidly closing ranks around Yuan Shu.
“What happened?! Help!”
“Rocks are falling! Get out of the way!”
“You stand in front of me and shield me!”
The Yuan soldiers could hear the chaos erupting around them.
Though they knew disaster had struck, the predawn darkness severely limited their vision, and they could only scatter in panic.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
As the boulders rolled down the slopes, unlucky soldiers were crushed to death on the spot.
The Yuan army was split into three separate sections along the road.
“Loose arrows!” Que Xuan shouted.
From the hillside beside the Yuan central army, countless arrows flashed with cold glints as they rained down upon the Yuan soldiers.
“Brothers!” Leading troops from both sides of the road behind the Yuan rear army, Yu Jin roared “Follow me and slaughter the Yuan army!”
“Kill!”
Fifteen thousand Qihuo Army soldiers surged forward at once, throwing themselves upon the disorganized Yuan troops.
“My lord, what should we do now?” Shielding Yuan Shu, Ji Ling asked grimly, “We’ve clearly fallen into a trap. We don’t know how many enemy troops are hidden here. Shall I lead the army in clearing them out?”
“Break out first!” Yuan Shu glanced nervously at the dim surroundings and shook his head.
“We’ll discuss everything after we return to Juancheng. I’m worried the Yellow Turbans have more ambushes prepared!”
“Brothers of the Forlorn Hope Battalion!” A young vanguard officer shouted, “Yuan Shu’s command banner is right there! Follow me—behead the commander, seize the banner, and capture Yuan Shu alive!”
“Kill! Capture Yuan Shu alive!”
“Capture Yuan Shu alive!”
Ignoring the heavy guard around Yuan Shu’s headquarters, the soldiers of the Forlorn Hope Battalion charged forward with ferocious expressions and long halberds in hand.
“Capture Yuan Shu alive!” Sima Ju led his troops closely behind the Forlorn Hope Battalion.
“Capture Yuan Shu alive!” Que Xuan also attacked from the flank, splitting Yuan Shu’s central force apart once again.
“Capture Yuan Shu alive!”
Hearing the cries echoing from all directions, Yuan Shu flew into a rage.
“These damned lowborn—”
“My lord!” At that moment, Li Feng hurried over and reported gravely, “There is a group of Yellow Turban death warriors advancing directly toward the command banner. The army is already in complete chaos. Please make a decision quickly!”
“Retreat!” Yuan Shu gritted his teeth.
“Take the command banner with us! I refuse to believe these bandits can catch me, Yuan Gonglu!”
“Yes, sir!” The generals acknowledged the order and immediately escorted Yuan Shu toward Juancheng.
“Behead the commander! Seize the banner! Capture Yuan Shu alive!”
Seeing Yuan Shu flee, the Forlorn Hope Battalion soldiers naturally refused to let him escape.
They pursued desperately.
For them, Yuan Shu’s command banner was the true objective of the operation.
“Run!”
The Yuan soldiers who had still been resisting witnessed the Forlorn Hope Battalion’s suicidal assaults.
Already frightened, they saw Yuan Shu’s banner retreating into the distance and completely lost their will to fight.
Abandoning their opponents, they turned and ran.
“Run!”
As panic spread through the ranks, more and more Yuan soldiers gave up resistance.
Only one thought remained in their minds:
Run with everyone else.
“Yuan Shu is dead!” Que Xuan suddenly shouted.
“Brothers, kill them all!”
“Yuan Shu is dead!” His soldiers echoed the cry while fighting.
The Yuan soldiers, unaware of the truth, saw their psychological defenses collapse instantly.
Throwing away their armor and weapons, they fled in terror.
“Yuan Shu is dead!” From the rear, Yu Jin also shouted, “Throw down your weapons! Kneel and you will be spared!”
“Yuan Shu is dead!” The soldiers under Yu Jin eagerly followed suit.
Whether Yuan Shu was actually dead or not, they had no idea.
The goal was simply to muddy the waters and fool as many enemies as possible.
“I surrender!”
“I surrender! Please don’t kill me!”
“……”
Some of the Yuan soldiers who feared death immediately chose to surrender.
Whether Yuan Shu was actually dead or not, they didn’t know.
But at that moment, they simply assumed that he was.
As Yu Jin continued his relentless pursuit, countless Yuan soldiers along the Linqiu Road dropped to their knees and surrendered.
Protected by his central guard and a host of generals, Yuan Shu naturally heard the cries coming from behind.
Although he was so furious that his nose practically twisted out of shape, there was nothing he could do under the circumstances.
“My lord.” At that moment, Li Feng rode back and reported, “Four hundred paces ahead, the road is blocked by boulders!”
“Can we get through?” Yuan Shu’s face darkened even further.
Li Feng answered gravely, “There are too many boulders. Men can pass through, but horses cannot.”
“Ji Ling!” Taking a deep breath, Yuan Shu turned toward Ji Ling and asked,
“If I order the army to organize a counterattack now, can we defeat the Yellow Turbans?”
Warhorses were precious assets.
The thought of abandoning them made Yuan Shu’s heart ache.
“Difficult.” Ji Ling glanced behind him before answering honestly.
“Our army has already fallen into a rout. If we attempt to organize a counterattack, the first troops we’d have to kill would be our own fleeing soldiers. Otherwise, our formation will be broken apart by the stampede, and we will suffer another crushing defeat.”
“Withdraw.” Yuan Shu’s face turned pitch black.
He no longer entertained thoughts of counterattacking.
In truth, he understood Ji Ling’s reasoning perfectly well.
Slash!
Before climbing over the boulders, Yuan Shu personally killed his beloved horse.
Then, without looking back, he crossed the barrier of rocks on foot.
……………..
Third Quarter of the Hour of Chen (around 8:30 a.m.) — Juancheng
Outside the eastern gate, the Yellow Turbans who had been there earlier had long since departed.
“Where is General Liu?” A group of battered soldiers arrived beneath the city walls and shouted anxiously, “Quickly summon General Liu! The lord has orders—we’ve fallen into a trap!”
The defenders on the walls were surprised to see their own comrades.
Liu Xiang shouted down, “Whose men are you, and why have you come here?”
By now, he had already realized something.
The Yellow Turbans’ objective had not simply been to attack the city or burn the grain.
There had to be some deeper scheme at work.
He just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“General Liu!” One of the ragged soldiers shouted back, “I serve under General Ji Ling of the central army. We have fallen victim to a Yellow Turban plot!”
“During the Hour of Yin today, the lord received General Liu’s request for aid and personally led troops here to reinforce the city. But the Yellow Turbans ambushed us along the way, and our army suffered grievous losses.”
“The lord is currently retreating under the protection of Generals Ji Ling and Li Feng. The situation is extremely perilous!”
“The lord commands you to send reinforcements!”
“He says we have fallen victim to a strategy of besieging a city to draw out its defenders and strike the relief force!”
“Besiege the city to strike the reinforcements… that’s it!”
A look of realization appeared on Liu Xiang’s face.
In an instant, he felt he had understood everything.
Without the slightest suspicion toward the battered soldiers, he immediately declared,
“I shall personally lead two battalions to reinforce the lord at once!”
“You men will guard the city well.”
“Under no circumstances are you to leave the city!”
— The end of the Chapter–
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