Chapter Thirty-One: The Enemy's Invasion

  Now in Chang County, with a population of over 60,000 people and more than 10,000 households, even if each household has at least one militia member, that's 10,000 militiamen, which is a huge potential force.

  It's been several months since Zhang Xu led the Qinglin Town believers to take over Chang County. Now, every household is engaged in various industries and can eat and drink enough, supplemented by fish and meat from time to time, making each family's strong men absolutely nutritious. As a result, their bodies are quite strong. With 10,000 militiamen undergoing training once a decade, three times a month, plus their increasingly firm beliefs, once organized, they become a powerful army at critical moments!

  With the organizational strength of the current Chang County, it didn't take a week for the entire militia to be organized. Their eyes were all shining with fervent colors, looking up at the great Master Xian with reverence. Since Master Xian's orders have been issued, these fanatical followers will absolutely unleash terrifying combat power!

  For his current forces, Zhang Xu was extremely satisfied. Looking at the more than 10,000 militia, his heart was filled with grandeur. Now, Guan Hai had already organized his and Wu Qing's troops, a total of 3,500 soldiers, who were now deployed on the most important road leading to Chang County from the outside, and had already engaged in small-scale battles with the enemy.

  The message has already been very clear, but those local tyrants and evil gentry somehow got in touch with Yuan Shao, and this time they sent out to attack Chang County is Yuan Shao's eldest son Yuan Tan, with 10,000 soldiers and horses, and the general Zhu Ling assisted.

  The vanguard sent was a thousand-man cavalry, which was a mid-term refinement of the spiritual energy, that is, a third-rate martial general led, but before entering Chang County, it was discovered by Guan Hai, and the result naturally made Zhang Xu extremely satisfied!

  He spared no expense in training his army, which was indeed not to be underestimated. After learning of the situation, he dispatched Wu Qing as the commander-in-chief, leading two camps of soldiers and horses to engage with Yuan Shao's general. The outcome was naturally predictable. Although Wu Qing's troops were similar in number to those of the enemy, they had a more complete range of troops, not to mention having two teams of cavalry at their disposal. In one battle, they broke through the vanguard of over 1,000 men, beheading 400 and capturing over 300 people, with only 200 or so escaping. This victory was immediately reported back to Zhang Chao.

  It was this battle that made Zhang Xu realize the true combat effectiveness of his troops. In this battle, both sides had 1,000 soldiers, and the commanding generals were slightly stronger on Wu Qing's side. However, the final result was that the enemy army was completely no match for them. This time, they achieved such a great victory with only over a hundred casualties on their own side, most of whom were lightly wounded, and fewer than thirty actually died.

  Of course, this is also thanks to the effect of the Clear Water Symbol. As Zhang Xu's most loyal followers, all the soldiers are equipped with the Clear Water Symbol, which guarantees that as long as they don't die on the spot, their chances of being rescued and treated will increase greatly.

  This is also Zhang Xu's capital to dare to conquer the world. After all, in this era, being seriously injured or even lightly wounded on the battlefield is equivalent to death. In a war, it can be said that not many people die on the spot, and the place with the largest reduction in personnel is the wounded. However, Zhang Xu's army has Qing Shui Fu to rescue the wounded as long as they are not engaged in continuous combat, which is an unparalleled huge advantage!

  After this battle, I believe that Wu Qing's two camps of soldiers and horses will have a terrifying upgrade!

  Having received this battle report from Guan Hai, it was the reason why Zhang Xu's heart was at ease and his heroic spirit was stirred. After all, although Yuan Shao's forces were strong, with 10,000 soldiers and many generals, led by Yuan Tan, the eldest son of Yuan Shao, and with Zhu Ling as his deputy general, Zhang Xu was still full of confidence. His own army's strength was even more powerful, so facing this large enemy army of 10,000 was not impossible to defeat. Moreover, the enemy had already lost 9,000 men, which also had a huge impact on the morale of both sides.

  Adding to this is the mobilization of tens of thousands of militiamen, which can be said to be a true advantage!

  "My followers, the enemy has come to invade our homeland. I have some good news: the vanguard of the enemy army, a thousand strong, has been defeated by our troops. However, there are still more enemy forces behind them. Now is the time for me, your master, to call upon you all to unite and ask: will you fight for Chang County?"

  Zhang Xu stood on the high platform of the school field and said to these dark and endless militiamen.

  "Fight to the death!"

  These militiamen, who had undergone military training, suddenly found themselves in a frenzied atmosphere, shouting loudly with strong fighting spirit. In their eyes, the present day was paradise, and they dared to offend Chang County and provoke Master Xian. They were determined to fight to the death!

  …………

  "How despicable!"

  Yuan Tan received the news of his vanguard army's defeat in the great camp, and a thread of anger appeared on his handsome face. He had not expected that this time he had gained the opportunity to enter Qingzhou, which he considered an opportunity to establish a great merit, but unexpectedly lost the first battle, making him extremely angry!

  "Big Brother!"

  At this time General Zhu Ling walked in, and Yuan Tan saw Zhu Ling and immediately said: "General Zhu Ling, you have come at the right time. Have you heard the news of the vanguard's defeat?"

  "I must inform the young master, I have come specifically to discuss this matter with you!"

  Zhu Ling slightly cupped her fists and said.

  "This is really detestable! The bandits of Chang County actually dare to kill our great general and humiliate our vanguard!"

  Yuan Tan said angrily.

  "General Zhu Ling, how many troops does Chang County have?"

  At this time, Yuan Tan's anger slightly subsided, and he asked.

  "Great General, according to the words of those who escaped from Chang County, the bandits should have a strength of around 3,000 to 4,000. I thought it was just a matter of numbers, but now it seems they also have some skills. This time, I came here to temporarily stop the advance of our army after washing away the enemy's forces, waiting for General Yan Liang to lead the main force and join forces with us to defeat Chang County again. After all, we are just using Chang County as a stepping stone, but the overall plan is to take over the entire Qingzhou!"

  Zhu Ling knew that this young master was eager for achievement and quickly explained the situation clearly.

  He knew that Yuan Tan had previously thought it was a large number of enemy troops, but now he heard that there were only 4,000. He immediately regained his arrogance as the eldest son of Yuan Shao, who had the capital to be arrogant. He said: "My 1,000 elite soldiers in Hebei can deal with the enemy's 4,000 troops. It must be a sure win. The defeat of the vanguard of 1,000 is certainly due to the bandits' combined forces annihilating them. In this case, we should immediately attack Chang County!"

  Yuan Tan's mind was eager to make a name for himself, and his eyes lit up as he said, "After all, I've heard that the bandits in Chang County have plundered countless families, and their wealth is immeasurable. It seems that they also have many talented people among them." He thought to himself, "This is truly my opportunity. If I can get my hands on the bandits' wealth, even Father will have to look at me with new eyes!"