Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1573 - 1516: Movements on All Sides
"If I don’t come, the spirit of the Wang Family is dead. If I come, the people of the Wang Family will die. So I came, take Guo Huai and leave! Boji, after I die, the Wang Family will only have Wang Ling and the young sister Wang Fan left, don’t let them do anything foolish!" Wang Chen ordered the two escorts behind him to carry Guo Huai and drag him away.
The two escorts behind Wang Chen were left from when Wang Yun was the Minister of Education, considered rare experts. At least, Guo Huai was no match for them now and was directly carried off by Wang Chen’s order.
"The men of the Wang Family of Taiyuan have not perished yet, how can the Wang Family bow to the Hu Captives!" Wang Chen roared as he led all his private soldiers in a fierce attack against the Miscellaneous Hun, sustaining several wounds but charging forward undeterred, until he fell when the entire army was wiped out.
As Wang Chen held off the Miscellaneous Hun, his escorts protected Guo Huai and carried him southward to pursue Zang Ba.
Guo Huai cursed angrily, but the two said nothing more. After breaking through the Miscellaneous Hun, Guo Huai looked back at Wang Chen, who was still blocking the enemy. His eyes reddened, and tears fell, knowing Wang Chen wouldn’t return. Or rather, from the moment he charged in, he had no intention of returning.
Zang Ba, Wei Yan, Guan Ping, and others retreated south. Although the Miscellaneous Hun wanted to pursue, they were held back by Wang Chen’s troops for nearly two quarters of an hour, allowing the Han Army to escape. Moreover, the Hu People had been fighting for five hours, from morning until sunset.
Seeing Zang Ba and others disappear from sight, the Miscellaneous Hun hesitated and did not pursue further. As for the Northern Huns, they still had strength to solve their issues, but Huyan Chu had handed over the battle to the Miscellaneous Hun, wanting them to awaken without interference.
After counting the casualties, the Han Army lost over six thousand men, while the Miscellaneous Hun lost nearly thirty thousand. Seeing this casualty ratio, all the Miscellaneous Hun leaders were somewhat stunned, realizing their loss ratio to the Han Army was below five to one.
Huyan Chu didn’t say much, but the eager looks in the eyes of the Miscellaneous Hun leaders spoke volumes. Perhaps the Han Army wasn’t invincible after all.
Zang Ba, Wei Yan, and others retreated toward the Yan Great Wall while trying to relay the current situation to Zhao Yun. However, as Zhao Yun’s marching route couldn’t be confirmed, and the possibility of detection with War Eagles and Scout Cavalry was too high, passing messages wasn’t feasible, leaving Jia Xu to rely on judgments.
"Continue marching; while the Miscellaneous Hun can’t attack at night, we’ll retreat a hundred miles tonight," Zang Ba said resolutely.
The veterans following Zang Ba, though exhausted, were elite troops who had served him for years, and followed him southward under his orders.
In Yongzhou, Cao Cao had set out a few days prior. As the vanguard forces, Xiahou Yuan and Pang De rushed to Yanmen County, from where they would move into Dai Commandery, then head east to Shanggu Commandery and from there, north to the Yan Great Wall.
Almost as Jia Xu anticipated, before Cao Cao set out, Xun Yu and Xun You suggested sending Light Cavalry northward to seize the Yan Great Wall.
Even though the Yan Great Wall was in Youzhou and should logically be guarded by the Yuan Family or Liu Bei, the swift transition between the Yuan Family and Liu Bei had left it very thinly defended.
Of course, Cao Cao knew that if he rushed to Youzhou to guard the Yan Great Wall, it would be right from a national war perspective. However, from Liu Bei’s and his perspective, Cao Cao shouldn’t be concerned with it as it was Liu Bei’s defensive area.
But Xun Yu’s persuasion convinced Cao Cao that no matter whose defense area it was, it was Han Territory and part of the Han Dynasty’s domain. Even if it meant sacrificing themselves, they couldn’t let the Huns cross the Great Wall again; that was the bottom line.
Cao Cao agreed fully, so he ordered Xiahou Yuan to lead the cavalry to Yanmen first, then go to Shanggu Commandery. As for Pang De, Cao Cao initially intended for him to guard the Central Army as a gesture of good relations with Ma Teng and Hann Sui.
Yet Pang De, seeing Ma Chao and Sun Ce gone, insisted on fighting on the front lines despite Cao Cao’s good will. Seeing Pang De’s determination, Cao Cao allowed it, thus sending Xiahou Yuan and Pang De as the vanguard forces, with Pang De as the vanguard leader.
Pang De felt uneasy with Ma Chao leaving, and since Cao Cao didn’t mind such trivial matters and was so gracious, Pang De was willing to lay down his life in gratitude.
Therefore, when mobilizing troops, Pang De brought out his hidden Direct Lineage, troopers accumulated over the years as true elite, though some were infantry, they were Pang De’s most loyal subordinates.
Simply put, Pang De’s Legion Talent activated on these men, making them far more effective than ordinary soldiers.
When Cao Cao saw Pang De assemble such a corps, and not even at full strength, he thought it was Ma Teng’s reserve forces, improving his view of Ma Teng, and naturally increasing his satisfaction with Pang De, resulting in a wonderful misunderstanding.
On the Great Prairie, Sun Ce and Ma Chao had cobbled together a regular army of five thousand. It wasn’t as if Sun Ce had only encountered a few Northern Aristocratic Family private soldiers; rather, he had encountered many who, after reorganizing, only left such a few.
"We barely have a fighting force, but it’s a pity lacking a map. Having one would make things better." Sun Ce said contentedly, examining the troops he had reorganized through several battles, though he was also helpless.
"It’s fine; heading east will get us there eventually," Ma Chao said with a roll of his eyes, acknowledging Sun Ce’s charms as they fought and trained soldiers along the way, resulting in a five-thousand-strong corps of infantry and cavalry.
"Unfortunately, there’s still a significant gap from the Elite Cavalry you mentioned." Sun Ce sighed. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
"Hah, you’re overthinking. To become Elite Cavalry, these scaled battles aren’t enough," Ma Chao said, smirking. "Better keep heading east. Training with aristocratic family private soldiers doesn’t easily yield the results you’re hoping for."
"Let’s use them for now. Once we meet Gongjin, we can talk. If I don’t have troops, it’s meaningless to even enter the battlefield." Sun Ce said helplessly; training aristocratic family private soldiers doesn’t change the fact that they’re not truly loyal, as their loyalty is to the aristocratic families!
"But are you so sure Zhou Yu will find you? And are you sure he can come north? This place is nothing like your water-dense Eastern Wu; your infantry here would be like clay." Ma Chao teased.
"Gongjin will definitely come, and once he arrives, he’ll solve all problems." Sun Ce said with utmost confidence, or rather, in Zhou Yu.
