Chapter 46: Kill him until his blood flows like a river

  Wencheng.

  General Zhang's deputy commander rushed into General Zhang's tent in a hurry and said loudly: "General, the Xiliang rebel army has arrived."

  "Time flies so fast!"

  Zhang He suddenly stood up and strode out, "Go take a look!"

  Xie Hou's long team had just caught their breath when they saw this and hurriedly ran to catch up.

  The city head of Yuanxian County, Jizhou soldiers are rushing to repair the city defense and burning corpses.

  Zhang He had not yet arrived at the north gate when a rumbling sound like thunder echoed from afar, and the shouting of killing was like a landslide and tsunami, almost overturning the sky. The momentum was extremely shocking, and even though they were separated by a great distance, the soldiers of Jizhou were shaken to the point where their hair stood on end.

  Last night took advantage of a surprise attack, Jizhou soldiers can be said to have taken full advantage.

  But after all, except for Zhang He's 5,000 elite soldiers who had fought against the Yellow Turbans, they could fight again. The rest of the soldiers were temporarily drawn from surrounding counties and were only slightly stronger than the mob. Their combat effectiveness was actually average.

  Although they had the advantage of terrain and launched a surprise attack, yesterday's fierce battle resulted in casualties of up to 5,000.

  Now the Western Xia Iron Cavalry has returned with a vengeance, and their momentum is so shocking that these county troops immediately panicked.

  When Zhang He climbed up to the city gate, more than 3,000 Western Liang iron cavalry had already arrived like a whirlwind, forming a fan-shaped array outside the north gate, each drawing their bows and arrows, with furrowed brows and raised eyes, exuding an aura of killing intent that seemed about to burst onto the city gate.

  "Where is Zhang He's husband?"

  Luo Zheng cracked his whip and rode out of the formation, shouting loudly.

  Zhang He let out a cold hum and hid under the commander's flag. He drew back the string of his strong bow made from two stones, and shot an arrow towards Luo Zhen.

  "Be careful, sir!"

  In the midst of a loud and clear sound, Xu Chu had already urged his horse forward, and with one slash of his knife, he knocked flying an arrow as thick as a thumb.

  Luo Zheng stood tall and unwavering, like a mountain. He raised his knife, pointed it at an angle, and hid his head. With gritted teeth, he said: "Zhang He, you cowardly rat, how dare you kill my brother? If I don't flay you alive and extract your tendons, how can I face my brother?"

  Zhang He stepped forward, laughing loudly: "Luo Zhen, you little scoundrel! When the two armies clashed, I used every trick in the book. My only regret is that I didn't kill you with my gun last night, allowing three thousand fish to escape the net. What a pity!"

  Luo Zheng's mouth curled up with a cold smile, and he said in a stern voice: "Zhang He, you're just like a woman, hiding in the city of Lanzhou and not daring to come out. Otherwise, I'll let you taste the sharpness of my Western Liang iron cavalry."

  At this point, he shouted again, "Pass my military order, from now on, all the wealthy and powerful families in Hebei Province will be looted; those who wear high hats and luxurious clothes will be killed; those who hold knives and crossbows will be exterminated; those with full purses will be plundered. Let General Han Fu taste the consequences of offending me, let the land of Hebei be stained with blood, and the bodies float all over the fields."

  "Roger."

  Three thousand warriors responded with a loud shout, their eyes flashing fiercely in an instant.

  The soldiers of Jizhou in the city head of Xunxian County had heard the news early and were frightened and pale.

  Zhang He's face also sank, secretly thinking it was a bad omen.

  Last night, all the ambush troops were dispatched. I thought that this Western Liang rebel army could be captured in one net and thoroughly resolve the crisis of Ji Province. Unexpectedly, the plan couldn't keep up with the rapid changes, and more than 3,000 cavalrymen still escaped. Now, we have truly tasted the bitter fruit.

  If we let these three thousand Western Xia cavalrymen plunder and loot freely, Lezi will be delighted.

  Zhang furrowed his brow tightly, feeling at a loss for what to do, and didn't dare go out of the city to chase after him.

  Last night, the sneak attack took advantage of the terrain, and the Western Liang army was caught off guard. They were also blocked in a narrow alleyway, unable to exert their cavalry's advantage, and were defeated by the deliberately ambushed Jizhou army.

  If they were to go out into the wilderness, Zhang He's 7,000 infantrymen could only follow behind the Western Liang Iron Cavalry and eat their dust.

  Before long, there were successive reports coming in.

  The Western Liang army indeed launched a surprise attack, burning and killing everything in their path. One by one, the strongholds were trampled, and the mansions were destroyed by huge fires. Countless powerful families suffered a disaster that almost led to their extinction.

  Zhang He was greatly shocked and hastily summoned his generals to discuss a countermeasure while sending a swift horse to report the situation to Ye City.

  Ye City, Han Fu led a large army to arrive, and the officials of Jizhou came out to welcome him ten miles away.

  "Yuan Hao then asked, 'Why are you still in Ye City?'"

  Han Fu saw Tian Feng and Ju Shou standing in the last row, and he was immediately stunned. He asked in shock: "Didn't the official let Yuan Hua and Ze Zhu go to the Western Liang army to discuss with Nalo how to withdraw from Ji Zhou as soon as possible? Why are they still in Ye City?"

  "Sir, the Western Liang army is cruel and brutal by nature, they are not a benevolent class. How can we show them weakness?"

  Ju Shou also said, "What Yuan Hao brother said is absolutely right. I hope that the rich and prosperous people of Jizhou will be able to overcome this crisis. How can we show weakness to these wolf-like rebels from Xiliang? Besides, before our lord sent a letter, Yuan Hao brother had already made a plan to let General Zhang He lead his army northward and ambush the Xiliang rebels in Luan City. According to the timing, General Zhang He should have defeated the Xiliang rebels by now."

  Han Fu was shocked and lost his color, stomping his feet and saying: "What can be done about this? Lu Zheng's young son is cunning and has many tricks up his sleeve. The ten vassal states in Yunzhou set up a heaven-and-earth net to trap him, but were unable to catch him. Even the governor of Dongjun, Qiao Man, was killed in a great defeat and barely escaped back to Puyang with his life. If Zhang He's ambush is unable to defeat him, then when the time comes, it will inevitably lead to revenge from the Western Liang army, which would be disastrous for the scholar-officials of Jizhou."

  Tian Feng couldn't help but say: "Even adults can't help but belittle others' ambitions and destroy their own prestige!"

  "Indeed, my Hebei has a gathering of heroes. Even if the ambush troops cannot break through the Western Liang rebels, Your Excellency can personally lead the great army to march north and give them a head-on blow, making Luo Zheng's little sons dare not underestimate our Ji Province as having no one."

  Han Wei sighed, "Things have come to this, and there's nothing else that can be done."

  As soon as the words fell, a lone horseman came galloping from the north like a whirlwind.

  Still far away, the cavalry on horseback had already opened their throats and shouted loudly, "Lord Tian Feng, Lord Ju Shou, General Zhang He has an urgent military report, the Xiliang rebel army is burning, killing and looting in Changshan County, please decide quickly."

  "What?"

  Han Fu had just mounted his horse and almost fell off when he heard this.

  Tian Feng and Ju Shou were also shocked, and hastily asked: "What's the reason for this? Quickly tell us."

  The messenger galloped forward on horseback and only then discovered that Han Fu was also present, hastily dismounting to kneel down on the ground, "Greetings, my lord."

  Han Fu's heart was uneasy and he hastily asked: "What exactly happened? Tell me quickly."

  The messenger hastily replied, "Two days ago, our army launched a surprise attack on the city at night and defeated the Western Liang army, trapping them in Lantian City. General Zhang He set up an ambush at the north gate, waiting for the Western Liang rebels to break out, and then launched a surprise attack, which would have destroyed the Western Liang rebels in one battle. However, unexpectedly, the Western Liang rebels did not break out from the north gate, but instead broke out from the east gate, with more than 3,000 cavalry escaping."

  Tian Feng's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily asked what had happened.

  The messenger's words flew quickly, and in just a few sentences, he clearly explained what had happened.

  Tian Feng was greatly surprised and said in a condensed voice: "Luo Zheng is indeed not easy to deal with. This ambush strategy was proposed by me, I thought it would be possible to defeat the Western Liang rebels at once, but who would have thought that Luo Zheng would see through it? Hmph, what a miscalculation!"

  Ju Xuan was silent and did not speak, and the outcome was somewhat unexpected.

  "It's suffocating me!"

  Han Fu then let out a loud cry, his face turned iron-green, and he almost spat up blood.

  "Tian Feng hastily said: 'Your Excellency, at present the Western Liang army is burning and killing near Luan City. Your Excellency should quickly lead the troops north to drive out this group of Western Liang rebels from Ji Province. Otherwise, the scholars and aristocrats of my Ji Province will surely suffer heavy casualties, and the situation will be critical.'"

  Han Fu sighed and said: "I've already told you, this thief Luo Zheng is not easy to deal with, but Yuan Hui and Zhen Ze didn't listen to my words."

  Tian Feng and Zhuo Xuandao were all silent, in fact, no matter what they said, they did nothing wrong.

  Moreover, when Han Fu sent the letter, Zhang He had already led his army northward.

  If an accident happens, it can only be said that the chess is different by one move, and it's not irretrievable.

  However, Han Fu is not a responsible master, and this shirking of responsibility is indeed somewhat chilling.

  Han Fu also knew that this was not the time to complain, and even though they had not yet entered Ye City, he had to lead the army on a night march north.