Chapter 40: Liu Biao's Gift

  (Three more deliveries, seeking votes)

  Before dusk, Yan Liang and his five hundred cavalrymen had already been deployed.

  Five hundred cavalrymen were divided into four teams and hid on the four mountain packages on both sides of the main road.

  This place is near the Han River, with a terrain dominated by hills and low mountains. The trees are dense, and people and horses can hide among them. If there were no scouts to carefully investigate, they would never be discovered.

  As time passed minute by minute and second by second, when the last afterglow of the setting sun shone on Yan Liang's face, the silhouette of the Jingzhou army finally appeared in the north of the main road.

  On the fluttering big flag, a huge "Cai" character was written.

  "It's indeed the Southern Withdrawal Army led by Cai Mao, heh heh, I've been waiting for you for a long time......" Yan Liang's mouth curled up, and his gaze, which pierced through the dense forest, revealed a few hints of sinister killing intent.

  The mighty army marched south along the highway in a hurry, without realizing that there were ambushes hidden on the nearby hills.

  Or rather, the Jingzhou army didn't take ambushes seriously at all.

  From Deng Ai's intelligence, Cai Mao learned that the enemy who launched a surprise attack was only more than 500 of Yan Liang's light cavalry.

  Only five hundred cavalrymen, after a long and arduous journey, must be exhausted, even if they are cavalrymen, it is absolutely impossible to defeat his 20,000 infantry in a field battle.

  The nearby terrain is open and flat, with only a few hills that are not high, making it unsuitable for cavalry ambushes or surprise attacks.

  Cai Mao was also well-versed in military strategy and assumed that Yan Liang would not be foolish, so he probably had already returned to Xin Ye by the original route. Therefore, he did not take too many precautions, but instead focused on urging his entire army to hurry back south.

  A few minutes later, the two hundred thousand strong Jingzhou army hastily passed under Yan Liang's eyelids.

  The timing is just right.

  "Pffft!" Yan Liang spat out the grass root from the corner of his mouth, raised his palm at an angle and gave a light shout "Beat the drum".

  The order was passed down, and several powerful men with thick arms, who had been prepared for a long time, rolled up their sleeves and wildly beat the large cowhide drums.

  The loud sound of war drums rose into the sky.

  The signal was given, and the war drums on the other hills also rose in response.

  As the war drums sounded, countless flags suddenly rose among the dense forests, and the soldiers hiding in the forest followed suit, shouting loudly.

  "Kill!"

  "Kill Cai Mao!"

  "Capture Guan Yu alive—"

  Five hundred people's frantic roar, hundreds of flags fluttering in the wind, the rumbling sound of war drums shaking heaven and earth.

  Such momentum, as if there are thousands of troops hidden in the dense forest, the sound is extremely grand.

  Yan Liang covered his ears and laughed loudly: "The louder you shout, the greater your merit."

  The soldiers were encouraged by Yan Liang and shouted even louder, their faces flushed with excitement.

  Cai Mao and his 20,000 Jingzhou troops on the main road were frightened by this sudden ambush, losing their souls.

  Cai Man looked around and saw countless flags in the dense forest, with shouts of killing coming from all directions, as if there were tens of thousands of ambush troops about to emerge at any moment.

  Cai Mao was suddenly frightened and his feet were in disarray, fearing that the ambush would kill him before he could escape. He hastily shouted: "Do not stop, the whole army will advance quickly!"

  As soon as the order was given, he galloped ahead, recklessly rushing southward without looking back.

  The commander fled like this, and the already nervous Jingzhou army immediately fell into chaos. Who still cared about what troops, they pushed and shoved to escape.

  One place in chaos, every place in chaos, in an instant, the hasty retreat south turned into a massive rout.

  The Jingzhou soldiers, who were thinking of preserving their lives, hastily discarded their helmets, armor, and military equipment, as well as flags and drums, and fled with the lightest possible attire, leaving only a pair of shoes on their feet.

  Kuai Yue in the array was also frightened for a moment, thinking that he had encountered a large ambush.

  But he quickly regained his composure and shouted: "Don't panic, everyone! This is just a ruse by the enemy to confuse us. We must not fall into chaos."

  Unfortunately, Cai Mao's advance escape caused the entire team to collapse, and Kuai Yue's shouting was like a mud cow entering the sea, soon to be overwhelmed.

  "Yan Liang, it's Yan Liang again, how hateful..."

  Kuai Yue gritted his teeth and his face was filled with rage.

  Watching the soldiers flee in terror, Kuai Yue felt hatred in his heart but had no way to stop them, and could only follow the fleeing troops, rushing towards Xiangyang.

  Half an hour later, the 20,000 Jingzhou troops, like street rats, finally escaped from this so-called "ambush area".

  At this time, Yan Liang and his five hundred cavalrymen slowly emerged from the dense forest.

  The soldiers gazed at the fleeing enemy, each bursting into laughter, ridiculing the enemy's cowardice.

  Yan Liang took a glance around and saw that as far as his eyes could reach, there were helmets and armor everywhere, too many to count.

  Yan Liang picked up a finely crafted long spear and chuckled to himself, "Now I'm going to make a fortune. Liu Jing Sheng, thank you for sending me such a large sum of military funds. I'll definitely make good use of them and repay you many times over in the future."

  Those two words "return" seemed to carry a hint of murderous intent.

  "So many military weapons, enough to arm more than 10,000 elite soldiers. General, this move of yours is a clever trick, really formidable."

  Wen Ping arrived on horseback, his face filled with excitement, unable to conceal his admiration for Yan Liang.

  Yan Liang smiled faintly and said loudly, "Everyone will have to work hard for a while. Let's carry the gifts that Liu Jingzhou gave us back to Xin Ye. Tonight, everyone will have wine, and I won't rest until we're all drunk."

  The five hundred cavalrymen heard that there was wine as a reward and immediately burst out in cheers like thunder.

  In the joyful gaze of the crowd, there was a deep respect for Yan Liang, and even Wen Ping, who was normally reserved in his emotions, couldn't help but nod his head in admiration.

  At nightfall, Yan Liang and his five hundred cavalrymen finally returned fully loaded to XinYe.

  At this time, the military and civilians of Xinye City were still in a state of high tension. When they learned that their General Yan had returned with the abandoned capital of Jingzhou, everyone's tense nerves finally relaxed.

  Yan Liang rode his black steed, wearing a red robe, and slowly entered Xin Ye amidst the cheers and admiration of the crowd.

  Praise and admiration filled the air, the entire New Wilderness City was abuzz with excitement.

  Yan Liang immediately ordered that all the grain and goods stored in XinYe's treasury be taken out. Tonight, the whole army will have a grand feast, and no one is allowed to rest until they are drunk.

  "Long live General Zi Yi!"

  "Long live General Zi Yi!"

  The excited and delighted soldiers could hardly contain their emotions and shouted out the slogan "Long Live".

  It is known that under the heavens, only the Emperor can be hailed by his subjects as "Long Live", but now the soldiers are so respectful of Yan Liang that they cannot help but shout "Long Live" to express their excitement and joy.

  "Congratulations on your triumphant return, General."

  Xu You came forward to meet him, and as he bowed his head in greeting, his eyes gleamed with a hint of excitement.

  It's no wonder that Yan Liang, who was in a difficult situation this time, even Xu You didn't have the confidence to win. When he sent Yan Liang out of the city with troops, he had already prepared for defeat and death.

  Now that the situation has turned around, Xu You also felt relieved and how could he not be excited in his heart.

  Yan Liang bowed his head and smiled: "You've had a hard time too, sir."

  That simple sentence "辛苦了" (Thank you for your hard work) is sincere and genuine, which Yan Liang acknowledged Xu You's contribution to the defense of the rear.

  Xu You was moved in his heart, and burst out laughing: "General, didn't you say that we wouldn't stop until we were drunk? Today I'll exhaust this old body of mine to accompany the General in a drink to our hearts' content."