dognovel Chapter 288 Guan Xing and Xu Sheng Charge Down the Corridor
Chapter 288 Guan Xing and Xu Sheng Charge Down the Corridor
The biggest fear when venturing deep into enemy territory alone is being surrounded.
Fearing being surrounded and blocked by the Han army, Xu Sheng did not dare to stop after passing through the trap area and continued on his way. He walked for several hours with his legs covered in mud, and as it was getting dark, he touched his hungry belly and wondered if he should rest for a while before continuing. Suddenly, he heard Ding Feng shout in terror, "Look what's that?"
When one is under intense mental stress, even the slightest disturbance can startle them. Xu Sheng was so startled by Ding Feng's sudden shout that his heart almost jumped out of his throat. He couldn't care less about scolding Ding Feng and quickly followed his gaze. After seeing what was happening, Xu Sheng's tense heart sank to the bottom.
Ahead, they saw many familiar traps. The rain here was probably heavier than at Yushan, and all the traps had been washed away and exposed to their view. Looking at the water in the pit and the bamboo sticks lying scattered about, Xu Sheng roared in exasperation, "Damn it, how come there are traps here too? How many did the Han army set up?"
Although the traps were exposed by the heavy rain, they cannot be ignored. The roads are too slippery in the rain, and you may slip into the pit if you are not careful.
Although the bamboo skewers in the pit have been bent by the rain and are no longer lethal, the pit where the bamboo skewers were inserted is almost filled with water. Who knows if there are any bamboo skewers or other traps underwater?
Even without rain, a pit that has been soaked by rainwater for a long time is more muddy than a road. If you accidentally step into it, half of your leg may sink into the mud, and then you really won't be able to pull it out.
Thinking of this, Xu Sheng's face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and Ding Feng almost broke down and roared, "Damn Han army, aren't you tired of digging so many traps? Why don't you use this energy to reclaim wasteland?"
Lu Ju rolled his eyes upon hearing this. "Look at the question you're asking. If we don't deal with Guan Xing, how dare he reclaim wasteland? Aren't you afraid that we'll steal it after you've reclaimed it?"
Lu Ju frowned and said, "The trap itself isn't the problem; the issue is that we don't know how long the trap zone is, or how far Grand Commander Lu is from us."
"Besides, this is where General Han fought against the Han army, but we didn't see a single soldier on the way here. Could it be that General Han successfully broke through the encirclement, or that his entire army was wiped out?"
The most worrying thing on the battlefield is not knowing anything, because it makes it impossible to even analyze anything.
For example, right now, they don't know that this area of traps is less than five miles long, nor do they know that there are Han soldiers blocking the way at the end of the traps.
Although five li is not a long distance, people with good eyesight should be able to see the blurry shadows ahead. In other words, theoretically, they could vaguely see the scene on the other side of the trap area and the branches piled up by Wu and Yue from this position.
The problem is that the corridor is not straight but slightly curved, which blocks their view and they can't see anything.
The unknown is what makes people feel most powerless and most frightening, because they don't know where the goal is.
Although they were tired from traversing the area of traps they had dug themselves, they knew their limits. They knew the area of traps was only ten miles long, and once they reached it, it would be over.
But the trap ahead has no end, and it's impossible to know when it will end, which is what makes it so despairing.
After finishing his rant, Ding Feng regained his composure, frowned, and pondered, "How about we send scouts into the mountains to check on General Han's situation and also investigate the situation on the other side of the trap? The rest of us can stop, rest, and have a meal?"
Xu Sheng looked around and pointed to a spot about two miles ahead of the trap, saying with a wry smile, "We can't get in from either side because of the mountains. The nearest opening into the mountains is over there. If we want to get in, we have to cross the two-mile trap area first."
“But you’re right, we really should rest for a while and have something to eat. If we keep running, we won’t have the strength to encounter the Han army. Send a scout into the trap to investigate, and the rest of you can rest where you are.”
The army could finally rest, but the road was still wet, so they couldn't sit or lie down. They could only lean on each other in small groups to relieve their fatigue.
Xu Sheng leaned against Ding Feng, munching on dry rations as he said, "The Han army can dig traps quickly, but not this fast. So I guess these traps weren't dug from Yiyang, but were dug temporarily to intercept us. The distance isn't too far."
Ding Feng retorted, "That's not right. These traps were dug before the rain, not after we withdrew from Yushan. How did the Han army know we would withdraw from Yushan? They couldn't have just guessed, could they? If they really guessed, that would be too amazing. Do you really think all the Han soldiers are Zhuge Liang?"
Xu Sheng pondered, "What you said makes sense, but if it's not meant to stop us, it must be meant to stop General Han. The old general came too quickly, and the Han army dared not continue in Yiyang and could only retreat and dig again. In short, I am certain that this trap will not last long."
"But we've traveled for too long from Yushan to here. The Han army in the corridor has probably already received news of our withdrawal. Knowing that there are these traps blocking the way, they will definitely be thinking of coming out of the mountains to block the road. In other words, the Han army is probably already waiting for us on the other side of the traps."
No sooner had he finished speaking than several screams were heard. Xu Shengding and Feng hurriedly looked up and saw that the scouts they had just sent out had not yet reached the gap in the mountain before they were hit by arrows flying from the mountain and fell to the ground.
Xu Sheng said with a gloomy face, "As expected, there was an ambush. The Han army has freed up their forces to ambush us, which means that General Han is probably in grave danger. Damn Han army, what benefits did Guan Xing give them that made them risk their lives like this?"
Ding Feng retorted indignantly, "There are traps on the road and ambushes in the mountains. Under these circumstances, we can't fight even if we want to. How can we fight if we can't even get to the Han army? The Han army is trying to starve us to death."
Xu Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "There's no other way but to deal with Guan Xing first. If I'm not mistaken, Guan Xing is definitely on his way. Moreover, Guan Xing must be exhausted from his long march, so not many people will come. We can take care of Guan Xing first and then decide whether to go through the trap to meet up with the Grand Commander or return to Yushan to wait for the Grand Commander to arrive."
Ding Feng said with a wry smile, "I'm not trying to discourage you, but there's a problem you need to be aware of. If Guan Xing can't beat us, doesn't he know to run? If he uses a kite-flying tactic, meaning we run while he chases, and we chase while he retreats, what can we do?"
"You have to understand that Guan Xing brought tens of thousands of troops from Da Mo. Even if 80% of the Han army is still sleeping in the Yushan camp, so what if Guan Xing only has less than 2,000 troops chasing us? He can easily stall us until the Han army in the Yushan camp wakes up and catches up. If that happens, we will have no way to survive."
That's right. Guan Xing has an absolute advantage right now. He can wear you down, so why would he fight you to the death?
Upon hearing this, Xu Sheng felt hopeless again. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Then there's only one way. Do you remember the gap we passed through to enter Wuyi Mountain on our way here?"
Ding Feng nodded and said, "I remember, it's about seven or eight miles away from here, isn't it?"
Xu Sheng said, "Let's go back the way we came and enter Wuyi Mountain through the gap. Although Wuyi Mountain is difficult to traverse, it's still better than being shot to death by the Han army in the trap area or being led to your death by Guan Xing behind us."
He dared not enter the Huaiyu Mountains in the north because there were too many Han troops there, so he could only seek survival in the Wuyi Mountains in the south.
Ding Fenglu nodded in agreement. Although the other soldiers were unwilling to run any further, they knew that the road ahead was blocked and they had no choice but to take a detour. Helplessly, they dragged their tired bodies and followed Xu Sheng back the way they came.
Xu Sheng led his troops slowly for seven or eight miles. Just as they turned a corner, they saw the Han army, who were also covered in mud and looked even more disheveled than the soldiers. The leader of the group was Guan Xing.
Just as he had predicted, Guan Xing had only about two thousand men behind him, but they had already reached the vicinity of the gap. At this moment, they were less than a hundred meters away from the gap, while they were a full three hundred meters away from it.
In other words, Guan Xing must be driven back in order to enter the breach.
The moment Xu Sheng saw Guan Xing, old grudges and the instinct for survival surged into his heart. Without thinking, he shouted sharply, "Beat him!"