dognovel Chapter 116 Qin King Around the Pillar (Enhanced Version)
Chapter 116 Qin King Around the Pillar (Enhanced Version)
Time was of the essence, and Guan Xing dared not delay. He left a thousand men for Ji Jie and Cheng Li to clean up the battlefield and guard the rear, while leading the rest of the army to Zhuji at full speed.
This place is still fifty li away from Zhuji, and the army is not moving very fast, so it was almost dark when they arrived.
Guan Xing, however, did not have time to rest and immediately took action. He ordered Gan Xun to lead several hundred men to change into Wu army uniforms, carry Wu army flags, and escort Zhang Ming to the city gate.
He then pursued the enemy two miles behind, feigning a chase after the "Wu army" to trick the defenders into opening the gate.
Upon receiving the order, Gan Xun patted Zhang Ming on the shoulder and laughed, "You decide how to proceed. I believe you can do it, but if you can't trick the city gates open, don't blame me for using you to fill the moat."
Zhang Ming quickly smiled apologetically and said, "General, don't worry. Captain Chen Zan in the city is my buddy. He wouldn't abandon me to my fate."
Although he and Chen Zan were both captains and held the same rank, he was a retainer of the Zhang family and belonged to the leader's inner circle. His position carried much more power than Chen Zan's.
Moreover, he was the garrison commander of Zhuji appointed by Zhang Chengqin, and Chen Zan's superior, so Chen Zan dared not ignore him.
Gan Xun smiled and said, "I have faith in Captain Zhang's abilities. Now that you're ready, let's set off."
The two men, leading five or six hundred "trapped Wu soldiers," carrying Wu army banners, quickly ran towards the city walls.
The routed soldiers had no formation whatsoever; they were a chaotic mess, running all over the mountains and fields, and occasionally there were even pushing and trampling incidents. It has to be said that their acting was incredibly realistic.
The chaos outside the city quickly attracted the attention of the garrison inside the city, who promptly reported it to Colonel Chen Zan. Chen Zan rushed over, looked on in bewilderment, and asked, "What's going on? The Han army attacked Colonel Zhang and defeated him?"
"That shouldn't be the case. Wasn't Commandant Zhang facing off against the Han army through a trap? How did the Han army manage to pass through the trap they themselves set right under Commandant Zhang's nose?"
No one answered his question, because the mutinous soldiers had already reached the city walls.
Under Gan Xun's coercion, Zhang Ming rushed to the city gates, raised his head and shouted, "Open the city gates and let me in! Those damned Han soldiers are catching up!"
I have to say Zhang Ming's acting was really good; he was so anxious that his voice cracked.
Chen Zan quickly asked, "Captain Zhang, what happened? How did you get beaten up like this all of a sudden?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than fierce battle cries rang out in the distance, startling Chen Zan so much that he looked up and saw Han troops charging toward him from all directions.
"Kill them! Don't let Zhang Ming escape!"
"Zhang Ming, stop running! Surrender immediately! The Han army will treat prisoners of war well."
Chen Zan was terrified by the Han army's imposing presence, his face turning deathly pale. Zhang Ming was even worse off, his voice trembling with fear as he cried out impatiently, "Old Chen, open the door quickly, or it will be too late!"
Chen Zan then realized that Zhang Ming was under the slaughter of the Han army. Without thinking twice, he hurriedly shouted, "Open the gate and let Captain Zhang into the city."
The city gate opened and the drawbridge descended. Zhang Ming jumped onto the drawbridge and rushed into the city before it was fully in place. Gan Xun quickly led his men to follow.
Zhuji, a small county town, doesn't have high-end things like Wengcheng. Once you enter the city gate, you're inside the city. Zhang Ming quickly turned around after entering the city and rushed up the steps towards the city wall.
At the same time, Chen Zan came down to greet them. The two met in the middle of the steps, and Chen Zan quickly said, "Captain Zhang, let's..."
Before he could finish speaking, Gan Xun acted decisively, grabbing Chen Zan's arm and jumping out.
There were no railings on the steps of the city wall. Gan Xun pulled Chen Zan and successfully jumped to the ground. Chen Zan's personal guards were all stunned by this unexpected turn of events.
Zhang Ming naturally wouldn't give them a chance to recover. He forcefully pushed down the two people at the front and leaped towards Chen Zan.
The moment Chen Zan jumped off the city wall, he realized something was wrong. After landing, he quickly adjusted his body and stood firm. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and was about to attack Gan Xun when Zhang Ming jumped on top of him and successfully pinned him down.
Ahhh...
Just as Chen Zan let out a scream, Gan Xun's dagger was pressed against his throat.
Gan Xun threatened him with a dagger while shouting, "Chen Zan has been captured. You will all surrender immediately. The Han army will treat prisoners well."
The city's garrison never dreamed that Zhang Ming would betray Wu and surrender to Han. They were all stunned by this scene.
Wu Jun was stunned, but the Han soldiers disguised as Wu Jun were not. They quickly rushed up the city wall, kicked Wu Jun to the ground and knocked their weapons away, and quickly took control of the city gate.
At this moment, Zhang Ming spoke again, shouting with all his might, "I am Zhang Ming, the garrison commander appointed by General Zhang Cheng. I order you to lay down your weapons and surrender."
Most of the Wu soldiers in the city knew Zhang Ming. Seeing that their leader had surrendered, they had no reason to persist any longer and threw down their weapons and knelt on the ground.
Zhang Ming continued, "Old Chen, give me a straight answer, whether you're going to surrender or not."
Chen Zan said, on the verge of tears, "I'll surrender, but you have to let go first, it hurts."
With things having come to this point, what other option is there but to surrender? Even Zhang Cheng's top loyalist, Zhang Ming, has surrendered. Is there any point in him continuing?
Zhang Mingsong helped Chen Zan up, and Gan Xun untied Chen Zan's belt and skillfully tied him up.
They had just tied Guan Xing up when they stormed in. Looking at Chen Zan, who was surrounded by Gan Xun and Zhang Ming, they asked in surprise, "Is it over already?"
He understood Ji Jie's feelings a little better; Wu Jun was really easy to beat.
Gan Xun asked, "General, what do we do now?"
Guan Xing said, "What else can we do? We'll remove the weapons and armor from the surrendered soldiers, gather them together and put them under our control, then take over the city and find a place to rest. We'll also send someone to inform Cheng Li to come and take over as soon as possible, because we still have to travel tomorrow."
The army began to rest, while Ning Huan rode a fast horse to fetch Cheng Li, the acting magistrate of Zhuji, so that he could take up his post overnight.
In fact, Guan Xing didn't want to bother Old Man Cheng in the middle of the night, but he had no choice because he had no one else to rely on.
At daybreak, Old Man Cheng arrived safely. Guan Xing briefly handed him over, leaving him with a thousand men to guard the prisoner city, and led five thousand men to set off again, heading towards the ancient pass of Shan County as quickly as possible.
We must hurry. Zhang Cheng is probably already attacking Shan County. If we don't rush to support him and he manages to capture Shan County, the entire Jinqu Basin will be in danger.
How to describe the current situation? Guan Xing is in Zhuji, Wu Jun is in Gudaokou, Xie Chong and Wang Tao are between Gudaokou and Shanxian, and Zhang Cheng is confronting Meng Jun in Shanxian. If they can break through Shanxian, they can circle around to Zhuji and attack Guan Xing's rear.
It was as if the Han and Wu armies had formed a circle around Kuaiji Mountain at three points: Zhuji, Gudaokou, and Shanxian. The Han and Wu armies intersected within the circle, each with their own presence, and they engaged in a chase around Kuaiji Mountain, comparable to an enlarged version of the Qin King circling the pillar, with the question of who would catch up first.
Zhuji is only about 130 li from Gudaokou. Guan Xing only brought three days' worth of food in order to seize the initiative. He set off at Chenshi (7-9 AM) in the morning and arrived near Gudaokou at Choushi (1-3 AM) in the middle of the night.
Ning Huan, who had arrived ahead of time to scout, quickly brought back a squad of soldiers and said to Guan Xing, "General, this is Li Zhen, the squad leader under Colonel Wang Tao. He was ordered by General Xie Chong and Colonel Wang Tao to stay at the ancient road pass to observe the movements of the Wu army and to wait for us to arrive and report."
Guan Xing said excitedly, "Li Zhen, right? It's so great to have you! Tell us quickly about the Wu army's situation. How many people are there at the ancient pass, and who is leading them?"
Li Zhen replied, "There is no one at the ancient pass. There were originally 5,000 garrison troops there, but after receiving news at noon that General Xie Chong had set up camp in the middle of the ancient pass and cut off their contact with Zhang Cheng, they all came out to attack General Xie Chong."