Chapter 46: Dong Zhuo Betrays Qin

  "Gongsun Ce, a young tiger!" Ying Ji sighed and this battle was decided in the moment when Gongsun Ce led his army to appear behind the Xia army. Especially when Gongsun Ce beheaded Li Sikong, directly leading to the collapse of the Dingnan army.

  "Kill! Don't capture!" Gong Sun Zan shouted loudly, riding his horse, and the troops responded, fighting bravely. The Ding Nan army was defeated like a mountain collapse, originally already exhausted physically, relying on that one breath to hold on. At this time, that one breath was exhausted, and there wasn't even the strength to take a step to escape, let alone the strength to raise a knife to resist.

  "Gongsun General, why not accept the surrender of the remnants of the Xia army? This is precisely the time to use people, and these are all seasoned veterans. Would it not be a pity to kill them?" Ying Ji's suggestion made Gongsun Ce frown.

  Ying Ji Jun Jue Wu Da Fu is the ninth rank, serving as Ya Men Jiang Jun. He is one level lower than his left Shu Zhang, but he can't match the fact that he has a Qin royal family bloodline. If it's not necessary, Gong Sun Ce won't offend Ying Ji.

  Gongsun Zan's noble rank was the highest, and his military position was also the highest. He was a Lieutenant General, and his army was called the Horizontal Field Army. This originated from when he was a Major with the title of Gong Daifu, serving as the Colonel of the Horizontal Field Regiment.

  Gongsun Zan knew that accepting the surrender of these remnants of the Xiongnu army would only bring him some military merit, but nothing else. It was far less profitable than killing them and gaining their souls' energy.

  Ying Ji saw Gong Sun Ce's face with a hesitant expression, knowing that Gong Sun Ce was weighing something. Gong Sun Ce's hesitation was a manifestation of selfishness, and a disregard for the interests of the Great Qin. Ying Ji also had a good understanding of modern people, so he could understand Gong Sun Ce's hesitation as well.

  "Our troops have suffered heavy casualties in this battle and urgently need reinforcements. I hope General Gong Sun can provide some assistance!"

  "Liu Wei, sound the horn! Order all troops to retreat from the battlefield and return to their respective camps!" Gong Sun Ce nodded in agreement, accepting Ying Ji's suggestion. He used the withdrawal of his army to exchange for a favor from Ying Ji.

  Liu Wei took out a purely handmade copper horn and blew it. Gong Sun Ce stayed in Chongxian County for two days, the only gain was that he had a way to remotely command his troops.

  "Spare our lives!" Weng Ji's words were like a lifeline, and the Dingnan army immediately dropped their weapons and fell to the ground. They panted heavily, staring at the black-and-white army that had just retreated, which was truly terrifying! In less than five minutes, they had cut down seven or eight hundred of them.

  Gongsun Zan's army, except for the black uniform of the symbol soldiers, had all changed into white robes and armor in Chongshen County. For some reason, since the seven stars gathered in the consciousness starry sky, he began to have a good impression of the color white.

  "Pingliang County is now at its most vulnerable, if not now, when?" Chumengmeng arrived beside Gongsun Ce, gazing at the blood-soaked head lifted by the Green Dragon Halberd, her brow furrowed.

  The reason is not bloody, but it can't be separated from blood, because the blood flowing down Li Siguang's skull is bright red! The same as normal people's blood, what does this mean? It means that this guy has completely revived!

  "He has fully recovered his physical vitality, it seems our advantage is gradually disappearing." Gong Sun Ce shook Li Si Kong's head down and dropped it to the ground. Two bodyguard soldiers ran over, picked up the head and put it in a small wooden box, sealing it tightly.

  "The wounded are handed over to Li Ziqi, let them follow the logistics department to recover. We have no time to waste!" This battle did not result in many casualties, extremely few. The Fu soldiers can recover on their own and can be ignored, while the remaining Tianbing's recovery ability is also several times stronger than that of ordinary people, and it is estimated that they will be able to go into battle tomorrow.

  Gongsun Zan led his troops out of Pingliang City, and apart from admiring Gongsun Zan's bravery and eagerness for merit, there was only a little jealousy left. These resurrected Qin army generals could only suppress the rebels and evil spirits within their own county, and if they wanted to attack other counties, they had to have a troop deployment order from Xianyang.

  This victory reduced the number of elite soldiers from 6,000 to 4,000, but their combat effectiveness increased rather than decreased. So he didn't suffer much loss. Moreover, he gained a great achievement by killing 5,000 enemies. With his noble status, it is estimated that next time he meets with Sun Ce, he will be on an equal footing with Sun Ce.

  This is a promotion, referring to Gong Sun Ce's situation of being promoted one more level. In fact, Gong Sun Ce also had this premonition.

  Outside the ruined Huazhen, Gongsun Zan encountered two thousand Dingnan army reinforcements who had been redeployed from Pingyang. The place where the two armies met outside Huazhen was not narrow, but rather not wide.

  Gongsun Ce was very entangled in his heart. On the one hand, he was joyful, as long as the vanguard of Dingnan Army was defeated, the remaining defenders of Pingliang Prefecture could be ignored directly. On the other hand, he was anxious, fearing that Pingliang Prefecture, which had a weak defense, would be occupied by Song Hui's Liang army, and he would lose miserably!

  So this battle cannot be delayed and must be won quickly!

  When Ding Nanjun's main force flag was revealed by Gongsun Zan, the opposing Ding Nanjun army was in an uproar. When Li Siguang's head was raised, the opposing side directly exploded their camp, with some generals looking sorrowful and leading their troops to charge over, while others turned around and led their troops to retreat to Pingliang, and a larger part of them were confused and at a loss on the spot.

  "Gao Shun, behead those five hundred men!" Gongsun Zan gave the order, and Gao Shun loudly responded with a single voice, leading two hundred heavenly soldiers to charge forward.

  Although the Dingnan Army is a Western Xia army, it also has differences with the Western Xia army. The Western Xia army obeyed Li Jiqian, and the true commander was the first emperor of Western Xia, Li Yuanhao. Li Sigong, this Xiatian king, only had the Dingnan Army truly support him, while other Western Xia troops supported him reluctantly, without more choices.

  So now such a thing happened, originally two thousand people's army, instantly divided into three stocks. It shows that the Western Xia military is absolutely not a piece of iron plate, and Gongsun Ce also took out the amnesty order from his arms.

  Gao Shun and Xiahou Dun clashed fiercely, their blades striking each other as they held large shields to protect themselves. The battle was intense and neither could gain the upper hand.

  The only drawback is that the Tianbing Heavenly Soldiers are too sharp, originally they were all robust men who had been selected from a hundred miles away, and after integrating the combat will and experience of the war soul, combined with the hatred for the military soul from the bottom of their hearts, the Tianbing Heavenly Soldiers far surpass other troops in terms of fighting spirit.

  With the addition of two layers of armor to protect themselves, they also covered each other and coordinated their efforts. As soon as they came into contact with this group of Dingnan Army, they directly crippled the Dingnan Army that was charging at the front. The 200 Trap Array Heavenly Soldiers were like a plow on a field, although it was difficult, but in one breath, they killed this group of Dingnan Army from head to toe, piercing through the enemy army!

  That enemy general who was fighting against Gao Zuo was already no match for him, relying solely on his momentum to hold on. He thought that with his superior numbers, he could wipe out the opposing troops and then surround and attack the enemy general. Little did he expect that the Heavenly Army would be so sharp, directly piercing through his own army formation, killing or wounding nearly half of his soldiers, causing their morale to collapse and their will to fight to completely disappear!

  "Hurrah! Our Great Camp Formation is majestic and powerful!" Gong Sun Zan shouted from horseback.

  Suddenly the whole army shouted: "Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!!"

  The enemy will be stunned by the cheers, and with his strength exhausted, he was killed by Gao Shun's single spear.

  "Surrender or die!" Gong Sun Ce took out a golden amnesty order and shouted at the enemy general who was unable to advance or retreat.

  The ancient capital of Chang'an, the Han army and the Tang army fought another great battle, with neither side able to gain the upper hand. The casualties were heavy on both sides, so they each withdrew their troops and cleared the battlefield.

  At that time, the famous generals of the Han Dynasty had not revived much, but there were many with high status and prestige. Some people had a bad reputation, and Dong Zhuo was just a small school lieutenant.

  Today, he was arranged in the first line again. The military soul that had originally revived under his command was almost dead and wounded, and it was all thanks to his own Flying Bear Heavenly Soldier that he managed to barely preserve his life.

  The Great Han army camp stretched for dozens of miles, and a general like Dong Zhuo, who was not of high birth, did not have the qualifications to set up camp in the core area. Adding to his troubles, he could only settle on the outermost periphery. The Tang army's repeated sneak attacks made Dong Zhuo suffer heavy losses, and at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he would return to the underworld. How could Dong Zhuo accept this?

  In the military tent, Dong Zhuo put down the traditional version of "Three Kingdoms" and let out a long sigh.

  "Master, why is this?" Li Ru wore a blue shirt, although it was old and tattered, but it couldn't hide the air of wisdom that was deeply ingrained in his bones.

  "The Han dynasty has cut off my path to life, can our family just wait for death with folded arms? This is the letter from Tang general Hou Junji on the battlefield today. Even the Tang army knows that I, Dong Zhuo, am in a desperate situation, let alone the generals in this tent?" Dong Zhuo took out a letter and passed it around to the generals in the tent.

  "My lord, my troops have been fighting the Tang army for over a dozen days and have killed nearly ten Tang generals. This is an unquenchable blood feud that will be difficult to eliminate. You should know that within the Tang army, they are all aristocratic families with complex relationships, intertwined through marriage and kinship. Everyone has relatives and acquaintances; even if we surrender, it won't be much better than here!" Xu Rong said as he stood up, echoing Dong Zhuo's concerns.

  "General Zhang Ji agreed with General Xu's words. If Great Han cannot be saved, our army also cannot surrender to the Tang!"

  "Agree with Fan Chou +1..."

  "Finally..."

  Dong Zhuo unfolded the map, crossed out the two characters "Da Han", and heard that his subordinates did not agree to go to the Datang camp, so he also crossed out the two characters "Datang". As a result, there were only four or five forces around him. He then crossed out the Zhou Dynasty of Luoyang, first because he didn't want to serve under a woman, and secondly because the Tang army was blocking his way forward, making it impossible for him to pass through.

  The only place that can be reached is the northwest, and all the generals stare at the map, seeing Dong Zhuo one by one crossing out several Liang army forces, leaving only a big Qin.

  Dong Zhuo scanned the tent and asked in a low voice: "We, the Western Liang generals, were originally heroes from Longxi. Joining Great Qin is also justified. What do you think, generals?"

  Li Ru, as a military advisor and son-in-law of Dong Zhuo, held an extremely high position, second only to Dong Zhuo and his brother Dong Min. At this moment, Dong Min was inspecting the army camp, so Li Ru did not speak up, and naturally no one else would dare to utter a word that might bring trouble upon themselves.

  Li Ru stroked his two black whiskers and asked after a moment of contemplation, "The laws of the Great Qin are harsh and severe, this is something that Your Excellency should consider carefully."

  "Will someone who has died once still care about those things? Tell me, what is this great Qin like?" Dong Zhuo was not tall, nearly 1.8 meters, with a robust build, his whole body looked fat, but that wasn't fat, it was muscle!

  "Hua Xiong is the sword of my lord, wherever my lord points, I will strike! Even if I die, I will not complain!" Hua Xiong was 1.9 meters tall, his armor clanking as he spoke. After finishing speaking, he pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword and looked around at the other generals.

  All the generals were naturally loyal to Dong Zhuo and did not mind Hua Xiong's actions, and they all stood up to agree with Hua Xiong's idea. In fact, seeing Hua Xiong's hand on the hilt of his sword, they still had lingering fears.

  They clearly remembered that on the night of August 15, under the bright moonlight, everyone had just walked out of the mist and hadn't taken a few breaths of fresh air when Hua Xiong suddenly drew his sword and beheaded Li Jue and Guo Si in response to Dong Zhuo's sudden cough!

  To know that in the previous life, Li Jue and Guo Si were both old-timers who rose to power with Dong Zhuo. Although after Dong Zhuo's death, they held onto government affairs and continued to spread the glory and heat of the Western Liang army. But precisely because they didn't avenge Dong Zhuo after his death, Dong Zhuo was displeased in his heart and directly had them killed by Hua Xiong.

  "Alright, tonight those scoundrels may still arrange for our family to go to the Tang army's camp. At that time, after leaving the military camp, we will cross the Yellow River and head straight to Xianyang!" After Dong Zhuo finished speaking, he put the map into the fire basin and burned it to ashes. The paper scraps and ash danced in the air inside the big tent, and the generals all saluted with their fists.

  They seemed to see that if they didn't listen to Dong Zhuo's words, they would turn into flying ashes like the map just now and dance in the sky.

  To be honest, the Han faction really suffered for them. Following Dong Zhuo to leave was also a heartfelt willingness. No one will mix their days in a place where they are excluded by their colleagues and discriminated against by their superiors. Although the Han emperor did not revive one, after reviving, their situation may be worse. Even the top leader wants to deal with you, leaving only being tortured to death.

  At night, as expected by Dong Zhuo, he was arranged to launch a surprise attack on Hou Jun's camp.

  "These two days of fighting with Old Hou have been quite fierce, and we've managed to establish some connection. To leave like this, I feel a bit guilty in my heart!" Dong Zhuo led his men out of the Han army's patrol range, fiddling with the pass token in his hand.

  Most of the generals were bewildered and looked at each other in dismay.

  "Hua Xiong, give this thing to Hou Junji. He will be grateful to our family and may even reward you with some benefits. Also, tell him the password for tonight's patrol. This is a great favor! If we're going to do someone a favor, we must do it thoroughly!" Dong Zhuo tossed the token to Hua Xiong who was following him.

  Dong Zhuo's words made the generals sigh again. He was indeed a fierce man who had completely cut off his own retreat.

  Human feelings, if you want to do it, you have to do it thoroughly; betrayal seems to be the same.