xymnovel Chapter 20 Yuan Tan is such a mediocre brat, what good would it do even if he seized Dongwu!
Chapter 20 Yuan Tan is such a mediocre brat, what good would it do even if he seized Dongwu!
"My lord! Dongwu is just ahead!"
On the mountain path of Mount Tai, a sentry pointed to the city not far away and said to Yuan Tan.
Yuan Tan looked in the direction the other person was pointing and saw that Dongwu was built against the mountain, but there were only a handful of soldiers standing guard on the city wall.
It must be because Lü Bu went out to plunder that the city was undefended.
"Everyone, eat your rations and have a good meal. Once it's completely dark, we'll sneak in and annihilate the defenders!"
As Yuan Tan spoke, he dismounted and sat down on the ground.
They marched swiftly along this mountain path for three days, and their provisions were long gone.
If it weren't for Yuan Tan sharing weal and woe with everyone, the morale of the army would probably have collapsed long ago.
Despite the tough, dry rations, morale gradually rose.
Firstly, Yuan Tan has been eating the same food as them these past few days, and has definitely not received any special treatment.
Secondly, Dongwu City is already very close, and they can make their move at any time.
Yuan Tan had watched many military programs before and knew that the best time to launch a surprise attack was just before dawn, when people were most tired.
After arranging the sentries, Zhang He walked to Yuan Tan's side and whispered:
"My lord, please go and rest for a moment. Your humble servant is here."
Yuan Tan shook his head, his gaze fixed on Dongwu City:
"Junyi, the key to this battle lies in swiftness. You need to conserve your strength and be the first to breach the city; no one but you can do it. As for guarding the city, I will handle that."
He patted Zhang He on the shoulder, "Go and rest. After the city falls, there will be fierce battles to fight." Zhang He was deeply moved and, without saying another word, accepted the order and left.
As dawn was about to break, Yuan Tan, accompanied by his personal guards, roused everyone.
This was the first battle he personally commanded, and he was determined to do everything in his power to the best of his ability, leaving the rest to fate.
……
At dawn, Zhang He personally led dozens of skilled men, using grappling hooks to silently scale the city wall, deal with the drowsy sentries, and quickly open the city gate.
"kill--!"
At Yuan Tan's command, the elite troops, who had been gathering strength for a long time, surged into the city like a tide!
The thousands of elite troops, already seething with anger from three days of trekking through the mountains, unleashed their fury on the garrison.
At this moment, without Yuan Tan giving any command, these thousands of soldiers spontaneously attacked and captured the prefect's mansion, granaries, and armories.
The defending troops were disarmed while they were still asleep, and those who tried to resist were quickly suppressed.
In less than an hour, Dongwu City had been transformed.
Despite seeing Dongwu City fall so easily, Yuan Tan did not relax his vigilance.
After all, their ultimate goal was to annihilate the cavalry that had gone north to plunder, forcing Lü Bu's army in Langya to retreat on their own.
Standing atop the city wall, Yuan Tan gazed at the winding roads outside the city and said to Zhang He:
"Junyi, immediately reinforce the city's defenses and prepare plenty of logs and rolling stones. This time, we will ensure that the Bingzhou cavalry never return!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang He was initially excited, and then suddenly said:
"My lord! The enemy isn't stupid. If they see we're well-prepared, they won't be so reckless as to attack the city!"
Yuan Tan thought for a moment and said:
"I have an idea, come closer and listen..."
……
Two days later at noon, dust and smoke rose.
Song Xian and Hao Meng led their exhausted Bingzhou cavalry, cursing and swearing as they appeared outside Dongwu City.
Hao Meng ultimately failed to capture Beihai.
Not only did they suffer heavy losses, but they also exhausted their last bit of rations.
They traveled hastily, exhausted, and their hearts were still filled with regret over their failed attempt at Beihai City.
Hao Meng saw the flags still flying atop the city wall in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief, spitting out a curse:
"Bah! Military Advisor Chen is just spreading alarmist rumors. Dongwu is perfectly fine, isn't it? He made me come all this way for nothing, and I lost the prize that was almost in my grasp!"
Song Xian whispered a word of advice from the side:
"General Hao, the enemy's scorched-earth policy proves that our surprise attack plan has failed, and attacking the city again would be a poor choice. The strategist's words are wise and insightful."
As he spoke, the group had almost reached the foot of Dongwu City, and were taken aback to see the barricades standing in front of them.
Song Xian exclaimed, "Could it be that Dongwu has already fallen?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yuan Tan's hearty laughter echoed from the city wall:
"Dongwu has already surrendered to this governor! Your retreat is cut off. Dismount and surrender, and you will be spared!"
Suddenly, a large number of soldiers emerged from beneath the wall, all fully armed and with bows drawn and arrows nocked.
Rolling stones and logs were also hurled down towards the city walls.
Dozens of cavalrymen who rushed to the city walls fell instantly.
Hao Meng's eyes were bloodshot with rage. He knew that with the city captured, a direct assault would surely yield no advantage. Therefore, he swung his spear:
"withdraw!"
The crowd retreated like a tide, and when they looked back, they saw that Yuan Tan had already ridden out on horseback, followed by many soldiers.
However, they were blocked by the barricades that had been set up in advance.
Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and said:
"You useless trash, move the barricades away!"
Upon seeing this, Hao Meng was overjoyed.
He thought to himself, "This Yuan Tan is indeed just a child. He actually wants to ambush and intercept them?"
Placing barricades under the city walls is utterly foolish!
Song Xian was also amused by this scene and laughed:
"General Hao, Yuan Tan is indeed a good-for-nothing. If he wanted to ambush us, he should have opened the city gates wide, waited for us to enter, and then closed them. How could he possibly ambush our large army like this?"
As they were talking, Yuan Tan had already ordered his men to move some of the barricades, and they were about to break through.
Hao Meng's eyes darted around, and she said:
"This command is utterly chaotic! Soldiers of Bingzhou! Follow me and crush this rabble, and reclaim Dongwu!"
The Bingzhou cavalry were indeed fierce and brave. Under Hao Meng's leadership, they disregarded their fatigue and launched a desperate charge!
Their iron hooves pounded the ground, their momentum still terrifying!
Upon seeing this, Yuan Tan, who was still at the city gate, immediately turned his horse and retreated.
The soldiers who rushed out also hurriedly formed ranks.
Upon seeing this, Hao Meng couldn't help but sneer.
Yuan Tan is such an incompetent brat, what good would it do even if he seized Dongwu?
He squeezed his legs tightly around the horse's flanks, accelerating his charge.
As the cavalry surge was about to collide with the infantry hastily forming ranks in front of the city gate, Yuan Tan remained calm and gently waved his command flag.
Zhang He, who was lying in ambush at the city gate, understood and roared:
"Frontline warriors! Charge into battle! Slay the horse!"
The city gates were wide open! But what rushed out were not traditional spearmen, but hundreds of fierce soldiers clad in heavy armor, each wielding a huge shield in one hand and a heavy horse-slaying sword in the other!
It was Zhang He's meticulously trained vanguard battalion!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Bingzhou cavalry crashed violently into the shield wall formed by the vanguard suicide soldiers!
Warhorses neighed, and men and horses fell to the ground!
The immense impact forced the vanguard soldiers to retreat repeatedly, but the shield and turret formation miraculously withstood the charge!
"cut!"
Zhang He's voice was like thunder.
Almost at the moment of impact, the vanguard soldiers swung their heavy horse-slaying swords through the gaps in their shields, aiming to cut the horses' legs!
"Hiss—!"
The sounds of breaking bones and the mournful neighing of warhorses filled the air! The charging cavalrymen were instantly thrown into disarray, their ranks shattered!
"Release the arrows!"
Yuan Tan calmly gave the order.
The archers, who had been waiting in ambush, unleashed a barrage of arrows, raining down on the chaotic cavalry formation!
"Throw spears!"
Zhang He roared again.
The second squad of elite warriors hurled their short spears with all their might, like deadly locusts, and dozens more Bingzhou cavalrymen who had fallen from their horses died instantly!
The Bingzhou cavalry's advantage in charging was completely negated by the narrow terrain and targeted tactics!
Hao Meng was brave and fierce, and he cut down several of the vanguard warriors in succession, but he was entangled by Zhang He, who arrived on horseback.
"Hao Meng, prepare to die!"
Zhang He roared, his spear flashing like a dragon, a powerful wind howling through it.
Hao Meng was already exhausted. After struggling to hold out for a few rounds, Zhang He knocked his weapon away with a spear, stabbing him in the thigh. He fell off his horse and was hacked to death by the surging vanguard soldiers.
Upon seeing Hao Meng killed and his troops collapse, Song Xian was terrified and disregarded everything else. He led a small number of personal guards and fought his way out, fleeing in disarray towards Langya.
With one commander dead and the other fleeing, the already chaotic Bingzhou cavalry completely collapsed, dismounting and surrendering one after another.
Lu Bu's detachment that had marched north to plunder grain was completely wiped out.