novelAbuy Chapter 18 The Army Collapses
Chapter 18 The Army Collapses
At this distance, the crossbow's penetrating power is terrifying.
Whether human or horse, those struck by arrows are either killed or wounded.
The white-horse-riding cavalry at the very front seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, and instantly men and horses fell over.
The cavalry behind couldn't stop their momentum and crashed into the corpses in front, creating chaos.
"Put it on again!"
A second round of crossbow fire followed immediately.
The white torrent was abruptly cut off, and blood stained the land on the south bank of the boundary bridge.
Gongsun Zan's prized White Horse Cavalry proved as fragile as paper before Qu Yi's powerful crossbow formation.
"Charge! Cut them down!"
Qu Yi threw away his crossbow, drew his ring-pommel sword, and leaped out of the shield formation first.
The infantry behind him shouted and charged into the chaotic cavalry, unleashing a bloody massacre.
Cavalry that has lost its speed advantage is helpless against infantry attacks and can only be slaughtered.
Gongsun Zan, watching from the center of the army, was furious.
He never expected that his elite troops, who had never been defeated in the north, would be lost by more than half in a short period of time.
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
Gongsun Zan panicked and ordered the retreat.
But by this time, Yuan Shao's army had already pressed forward across the board, mercilessly attacking the defeated enemy.
Gongsun Zan's army collapsed completely, with tens of thousands of soldiers scrambling to escape, trampling each other in the process.
……
On a high ground ten miles southeast of Jieqiao.
Li Zhao stood on his horse, coldly gazing at the distant battlefield.
The sounds of battle cries could be faintly heard, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.
"The Ming court has been defeated by Gongsun Zan."
Zhao Yun reined in his horse and stood beside Li Zhao, his expression complex.
He had once been a subordinate of Gongsun Zan and had witnessed the glory of the White Horse Cavalry. Now, seeing this elite force destroyed, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
"The game is lost; it's our turn to enter."
Li Zhao showed no pity whatsoever.
A compassionate leader cannot command an army; in this chaotic world, sympathy is the cheapest thing.
"Pass on the order!"
"Zhao Yun led a thousand elite cavalrymen to penetrate the battlefield from the east and cut off the retreat route of Gongsun Zan's defeated army."
"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei lead the infantry to follow, focusing on capturing prisoners and rallying the routed soldiers. If they encounter Yuan Shao's army, they should not linger in battle; simply state their names."
"promise!"
Three thousand soldiers from the plains, like a pack of hungry wolves that had been waiting for a long time, pounced on the chaotic battlefield.
The battlefield was now filled with Gongsun Zan's routed soldiers, who were running around like headless flies. They had abandoned their armor and weapons, wishing they had two more legs.
Zhao Yun's cavalry cut through the fleeing soldiers like a hot knife through butter.
"Those who surrender will not be killed! Magistrate Li of Pingyuan has decreed that those who surrender will be given food!"
The cavalrymen brandished their sabers and shouted as they drove them away.
For these starving, routed soldiers, the words "there is food to eat" were more effective than anything else.
Large numbers of defeated soldiers threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's infantry followed behind, skillfully collecting weapons and binding prisoners.
Occasionally, when Yuan Shao's army pursued them, upon seeing the banners of the Pingyuan Army and looking at the soldiers in their bright armor and exuding a murderous aura, most of them chose to take a detour.
With Qu Yi's prior instructions and Li Zhaojun indeed not trying to steal credit from them, Yuan Shao's army turned a blind eye.
This battle lasted for a day and a night.
When the smoke cleared, corpses littered the fields north and south of the boundary bridge.
Gongsun Zan fled back to Ji County in a sorry state with only a few hundred personal guards, and his 30,000-strong army was almost completely wiped out.
Li Zhao's three thousand men acted like battlefield cleaners, quietly "cleaning up" the spoils of war.
Outside Pingyuan County.
Standing atop the city wall, Liu Bei watched the vast, returning procession in the distance, almost unable to believe his eyes.
They had only three thousand men when they left the city.
When they returned, the line stretched for several miles, with at least ten thousand people!
Leading the way were more than a thousand unridden warhorses.
Those were relics of the White Horse Cavalry.
Now it has become Li Zhao's spoils of war.
Following behind were thousands of dejected prisoners, including many White Horse Cavalrymen with tattered armor.
Behind them were cartloads of captured weapons, armor, provisions, and supplies.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, mounted on their horses, wore expressions of joy.
"Lord Xuande, I have fortunately fulfilled my mission."
Liu Bei took a deep breath, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in greeting:
"The Ming court is truly a divine being. With this battle, Pingyuan County has finally gained a firm foothold."
He looked at the prisoners.
Most of these men were soldiers from Youzhou under Gongsun Zan, many of whom were veterans of countless battles.
If they can be subdued, Pingyuan County's military strength will leap to become an undeniable force in Qing and Ji provinces.
"What should be done with these prisoners?"
Liu Bei asked.
"The usual rules."
Li Zhao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable firmness.
"Those who wish to stay will be incorporated into the military farms and provided with meals. Those who wish to join the army will be selected and enlisted in the military, and will be paid. Those who wish to go home will be given three days' rations and allowed to leave."
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment: "Mingting, these people are, after all, Gongsun Zan's former subordinates. If..."
"Lord Xuande"
Li Zhao interrupted him, his gaze fixed on the prisoners lining up in the distance to receive hot porridge.
"They are human beings first, and soldiers second. Humans need to eat. Gongsun Zan can't give them a way to survive, but I will."
"In this chaotic world, whoever has the grain in their hands is their master."
That night, the porridge stalls outside Pingyuan County stretched for ten miles. One hundred newly erected large pots simmered the thick millet porridge day and night.
For these defeated soldiers who had just crawled out of the battlefield, this bowl of hot porridge was like the kindness of their second parents.
That evening, Li Zhao's system panel data experienced another surge.
[Li Zhao, Magistrate of Pingyuan]
[Registered population within the jurisdiction (including refugees and prisoners of war): 68500]
Daily rice production: 68500 liters
Current grain reserves: 398000 shi (a unit of dry measure).
Nearly 70,000 people.
This is no longer the size of a county; it even exceeds the size of many war-torn prefectures.
Although the grain reserves have decreased due to previous consumption and this large-scale porridge distribution, they still remain at a terrifying level.
Moreover, with the explosive growth in population, the daily increase in food production has reached a new level.
Li Zhao sat in his study, listening to the sounds of people shouting and horses neighing outside the window, but his heart was not greatly disturbed.
This is just the first step.
In the Battle of Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan's spine was broken, and the position of overlord of Youzhou changed hands.
Although Yuan Shao won, he was also severely weakened and needed to consolidate his gains in the short term, leaving him no time to look south.
This power vacuum was a golden opportunity for Li Zhao to rise to power.
The next morning, at the drill ground.
Zhao Yun, dressed in military uniform, stood on the command platform.
Below the stage were more than a thousand white horses, and more than eight hundred former "White Horse Cavalry" cavalrymen selected from the prisoners.
Although these people were dressed in tattered armor and looked dejected, their inherent pride and spirit remained.
Zhao Yun looked at them with a complicated expression.
Once upon a time, he was one of them, following that white horse banner, chasing the fleeing enemy.
"I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan."
A commotion arose in the audience.
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
Zhao Yun was renowned in the Youzhou army.