Mythical Three Kingdoms

The young representatives from the major aristocratic families across the land within Jicheng had expressions of fright as they observed Yuan Tan’s actions; he was actually requisitioning their grain and supplies.

The expedition north was generally self-financed by most aristocratic families, and they did consider the issue of supplying the various feudal lords upon their arrival. However, in Yuan Tan’s current situation, these young aristocratic spokespersons were at a loss.

Simply put, at that time the situation was somewhat like this: Jia Wenhe and others had gone north, then the aristocratic families first rested in Jicheng, after which Yuan Tan began to gather the ministers of the Yuan Clan. The aristocratic spokespersons were somewhat confused, and when Yuan Tan gathered troops, they were bewildered.

Next, Yuan Tan’s army entered Jicheng, and the aristocratic spokespersons suddenly went into chaos.

Frankly, if Yuan Tan didn’t bring this upon himself, when Liu Bei dealt with the Yuan Family, many aristocratic families would surely plead for them, since Yuan Tan’s past achievements were substantial, resulting merely in a battle of beliefs rather than a life-and-death struggle.

In the current situation, Yuan Tan marched his army into Jicheng, and at this moment the young aristocrats realized Yuan Tan’s military power hadn’t been constrained. It was unclear whether Liu Bei was too trusting or had faith in Yuan Tan’s judgment, but in any case, something was missed.

Yuan Tan confiscated the supplies of all the aristocratic families currently in Jicheng with his 20,000 soldiers, and then moved north under the puzzled gaze of all the aristocrats, while sending the younger generations like Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to Yangzhou.

”Are we really doing this...” Xun Shen said helplessly.

”Don’t you think Jia Wenhe’s intention was precisely this, although I believe there may be another purpose,” Xu You said, tilting his head.

”I think so too, but we lost fairly,” Xun Shen sighed, ”The Lord chose the right path; although military power wasn’t restricted, I estimate that if the Lord headed south, the troops would collapse immediately.”

”Merely to eliminate future trouble. If I were in such a position, I’d probably abandon it,” Xu You nodded, ”Is this your choice?”

”Is this not your choice?” Xun Shen retorted, ”Under Liu Bei’s command, even if we join, we can only stay outside that circle.”

”Since they gave us a choice, I want to see, it’s actually pretty good, just a pity the Lord is no longer here,” Xu You said helplessly, acknowledging that Yuan Shao was his true Lord.

”Let’s resolve this issue first. There’s nothing wrong with the map, the problem is where the Northern Huns might station themselves?” Xun Shen said no more, understanding Xu You’s thoughts.

Regarding this, Xu You wasn’t sure either, remaining silent for a moment before speaking, ”Let’s contact Wuhuan when we get there; if Jia Wenhe hinted for us to do this, it means the main forces of the Huns can’t still be in the east, and with our current strength, we aren’t afraid of the remnants of the Northern Huns.”

”We aren’t at our prime,” Xun Shen sighed, ”Gao Yuanbo and the other four are far behind in not just strength.”

Xu You looked at Gao Lan, who seemed formidable upfront but was internally collapsing, sighing because Yann Liang, Wen Chou, Juo Yi, and Zhang He all possessed a formidable heart.

About forty li north of the Yan Great Wall in Youzhou, Zang Ba was leading 4,000 Han Army soldiers, but they were eventually caught by the Miscellaneous Hun army. On the vast grasslands, aside from seeing the countless shouting Miscellaneous Hun cavalry, there was not an ally in sight.

[It seems that even Strategist Jia can’t account for everything.] Zang Ba thought silently as he watched the endless Miscellaneous Hun charging toward them, [Or rather, I’ve overestimated myself, haven’t I? Only less than forty li remains before the Yan Great Wall.]

”Form the military array!” Zang Ba took a deep breath and shouted, ”Defense formation, withstand for two hours, reinforcements will arrive!”

[Strategist Jia, I’ve staked my life on you. I can hold for at most two hours. If reinforcements don’t arrive within an hour, the establishment may collapse!] Zang Ba gazed with unwavering eyes at the sea-like Miscellaneous Hun, firm in his belief that he could hold.

”Order Guan Ping and Wei Yan to protect the central army!” Zang Ba instructed Xu Shu; in a conflict of this scale, deploying Guan Ping and Wei Yan’s few hundred cavalrymen on the battlefield would only be costly in numerical terms. Hence, holding them back as a reserve to enter the fray at the crucial moment was preferable.

It was evident that Zang Ba no longer intended to break out, as only 4,000 soldiers remained, and a desperate breakout attempt, amidst the unclear chaos likely led to merely over a hundred cavalrymen surviving, but Zang Ba’s trusted aide cultivated for years would mostly be lost here, signaling near total annihilation.

More importantly, Zang Ba couldn’t abandon his subordinate soldiers to flee without a fight, so pressed by circumstances, he preferred to gamble on Jia Wenhe’s flawless strategy.

Zang Ba had already chosen to march in formation as soon as he realized the Miscellaneous Hun would catch up. This slower pace prevented panic when confronting the Miscellaneous Hun.

Therefore, once the Miscellaneous Hun appeared, Zang Ba halted to retract the military formation, setting up a sparse three-layered arrangement of Sword and Shield Soldiers. Though appearing vacant from above, the forefront showed no weakness.

Upon seeing Zang Ba’s round formation, the charging cavalry naturally extended from the left and right, enclosing Zang Ba’s forces within a central ring comprised of Miscellaneous Hun cavalry.

The thunderous sound of hooves from tens of thousands of horses resonated like stormy seas around Zang Ba’s main forces, but the soldiers, having endured even more dire battles, looked steadily ahead, trusting battle-hardened comrades at their sides and rear.

”Archers, prepare,” Zang Ba calmly orchestrated the remaining under-seven hundred archers. Unlike before, the archers were not used individually but attacked cohesively against the front. However, due to continuous fighting, the number of arrows was now limited.

The Miscellaneous Hun circled Zang Ba’s formation thrice without finding a weak defense spot, resulting in them naturally resorting to their bows, reducing their circling radius while initially shooting an arrow that led to a shower of arrows.

Unfortunately, this level of arrow assault barely caused any casualties among Zang Ba’s troops, while the few hundred archers under Zang Ba’s command achieved nearly a hundred triumphs in this wave.

The subsequent three arrow volleys experiments didn’t yield the desired results for the Miscellaneous Hun, instead, the sound of Sword and Shield Soldiers under Zang Ba’s command pounding their shields’ surfaces in unison rose, resembling their growing formidable morale with each strike.

Finally, unable to contain their inner restlessness, the Miscellaneous Hun initiated a group charge, with the first warhorse twisting inward, leading countless cavalrymen accelerating toward the circle, drawing an indistinct arc, preparing to solve the issue with a collective charge.