Chapter Fifty: Zhang Yan Presses the Border

  "Hum..." Eight hundred strong bows released arrows simultaneously, just like a large swarm of locusts suddenly flying out in the snowy ground, covering the sky and earth. Black arrowheads whizzed through the white horse's chest.

  Yan Gang charged at the front of the troops, he didn't think anyone would ambush him, and for a moment he was careless. Suddenly, dozens of arrows pierced his body, and the powerful arrows that pierced Yan Gang's body did not diminish in strength, also shooting down several cavalrymen from their horses.

  Yan Gang let out a mournful cry, and his body shot out dozens of blood lines, rolling on the ground with his horse. The white horse behind him was also shot down by arrows. Gongsun Zan stood far away, looking at the white horse rushing to the bridge, suddenly flying out like raindrops in the snowy field, three thousand elite cavalry fell down in an instant, only feeling a sinking heart, almost falling off the horse.

  The war horse's skin was thick and rough, shot down by a strong arrow, but for a while it could not die, its neighing sound filled the battlefield, making people's hearts ache.

  Ju Yi gazed at the rolling wailing battlefield, his face cold and detached, shouting loudly: "Release the arrows, not a single arrow is allowed to remain."

  The white horse was shot down by a hail of arrows, the commander was also killed by a hail of arrows, and suddenly they were at a loss for what to do, in a state of confusion, crowded on the bridge, in complete disarray.

  "Whoosh... whoosh..." Ji Yi's vanguard soldiers showed no mercy, standing up and holding their crossbows, shooting out arrow after arrow that took lives.

  The white horses on the periphery of the formation had nowhere to hide and were shot down one after another by strong arrows.

  In a dozen breaths, the vanguard soldiers had shot out all the arrows in their hands, and Bai Ma Yi Zong was left with only over a hundred riders surviving.

  At this time, the bridge was filled with corpses, and the space also became empty. These white horses were also restored from chaos, and the emotion of fear immediately shrouded the survivors' hearts.

  Three thousand men and horses were killed or wounded; in such a situation, fleeing had almost become an instinct.

  Yu did not bother about the white horse Yu Cong who was fleeing in all directions, and immediately pulled up the war horse that was lying on the snowy ground, and jumped onto it. The soldiers of the vanguard also raised their shields and formed a charging formation.

  At this time, neither Yuan Shao nor Gongsun Zan could accept the fact that the White Horse army had been completely annihilated. Both of them stood on the high platform, their lips trembling, at a loss for what to do.

  Different from each other, Yuan Shao was due to surprise, Gongsun Zan was due to terror, both of them did not issue military orders, the battlefield suddenly became quiet.

  "Kill...!" Ji Yi let out a loud shout, breaking the silence of the battlefield, leading the 800 vanguard troops to charge straight into the enemy's formation.

  Yuan Shao was surprised, so he reacted before Gongsun Zan and hastily shouted: "Zhang Jue and Gao Lan, each lead the cavalry to attack both wings."

  Wen Chou led the infantry in a charge against Gongsun Zan's central army, determined to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.

  "The final order is respected!" Several people responded in unison and rushed down from the high platform, each leading their troops into battle.

  As Yuan Shao's entire army launched a counterattack, Gongsun Zan also came to his senses. At this time, he made the most foolish decision - to retreat. Although Gongsun Zan had lost 3,000 White Horse Volunteers, his overall strength was still far superior to that of Yuan Shao. However, due to years of fighting against foreign tribes, Gongsun Zan had developed a psychological dependence on the invincible White Horse Volunteers. As soon as they were defeated, he unconsciously thought that he himself had been defeated.

  "Yuan Shao had a good white horse, which he rode many times to defeat the enemy, and the enemy called him 'White Horse General'. Therefore, he selected 3,000 elite soldiers, all riding white horses, named 'White Horse Righteous Army', to serve as his imperial guard. Yuan Shao often went out with dozens of skilled archers, all riding white horses, as his left and right wings, calling themselves the 'White Horse Righteous Army'. The Wuhuan people warned each other, avoiding the White Horse Long History."

  In comparison, Yuan Shao's all-out attack had a somewhat desperate flavor to it, but he won the gamble.

  The defeat of an army is a chain reaction. If the vanguard really loses, then the enemy of the rear guard will add the defeated friendly forces. In order to maintain the formation and not be scattered by the defeated friendly forces, the rear guard has no choice but to ruthlessly kill their own allies, often leading to self-inflicted slaughter.

  So, the withdrawal must be carried out with the rear army withdrawing first and the front army covering the rear, in order to minimize losses.

  But Gongsun Zan's orders were given too hastily, and suddenly caused chaos in the army.

  Killing defeated soldiers doesn't require much skill, as long as you run fast and slash at the fleeing soldier's back.

  Gongsun Zan's defeated army retreated for dozens of miles before stopping and regrouping, which was not due to Gongsun Zan's efforts to restrain them, but because Yuan Shao's soldiers were unable to pursue further. Gongsun Zan's infantry scattered and fled in all directions, but Yuan Shao did not dare to disperse his forces to chase after them everywhere, for the reason that Gongsun Zan still had tens of thousands of cavalrymen who had not been injured or exhausted. If these cavalrymen were to launch a counterattack, Yuan Shao would truly be unable to withstand it, and could only choose to stop while he was ahead.

  Gongsun Zan led the defeated army to the vicinity of Yizhou and set up camp. After checking the numbers, Gongsun Zan finally felt a little relieved. The Battle of Jie Bridge had lost over 10,000 infantrymen, except for 3,000 White Horse Volunteers, almost no cavalry was lost. That is, Yuan Shao's army was mostly infantry, and no matter how brave they were, they couldn't catch up with the war horses.

  However, this battle made Gongsun Zan lose all his confidence and no longer wanted to conquer the south. Instead, he turned his target to Liu Yu in Youzhou.

  Yuan Shao basically stabilized the situation in Ji Province after this battle, but he also did not dare to launch a direct attack on Gongsun Zan, and instead shifted his target to the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan.

  Just as Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were engaged in a fierce battle at Jieqiao, the Black Mountain bandit Zhang Yan, also known as Pingnan Zhonglang Jiang Zhang Yan, led an army of 10,000 men to conquer Li Chong.

  Tens of thousands of troops moved, and Li Chong quickly received the news and immediately began preparations for battle.

  Raising the city walls, storing wood and stone, fire oil and other materials, Li Chong had long been prepared. As soon as Zhang Yan's army made a move, Li Chong immediately began to gather able-bodied men to assist in defending the city.

  It can also be said that Li Chong was lucky, and the people of Bianzhou had been suffering from war for many years, so they were used to helping with the defense. They quickly gathered 500 strong men, plus Zhang Cai's private soldiers, and Li Chong was able to gather a total of 2,500 people to defend the city, which made him very confident in defending Guangwu.

  In the first year of Yuanping, on December 10th, a scout came to report that Zhang Lu's army had already crossed Yu Ping, with more than 10,000 soldiers, including 2,000 cavalrymen. Sun Song and Wang Yang both came with the main force.

  The nearby villagers were arranged to take refuge in the city, and Li Chong spread rumors that Zhang Yan had slaughtered all the surrendered people of Yuanping County, burned down all the houses, and raped all the women, etc., countless pots were placed on Zhang Yan's head, to stir up the people's determination to fight to the death.

  On December 15, Zhang Yan set up camp north of Guangwu City. Due to the large number of cavalry under Zhang Yan's command, Li Chong did not dare let Taishi Ci harass him outside the city and could only wait quietly for Zhang Yan to attack the city.

  Two days later, Zhang Yan led the army to set up a big camp and adopted the tactic of "surrounding three sides and leaving one side open". They besieged the east, west and north gates of Guangwu County, only leaving the south gate unblocked.

  Zhang Yan's intention was clear, the south of Guangwu had a vast terrain, which was suitable for cavalry to launch a surprise attack. Li Zhong was brave enough to break through the southern gate, and Zhang Yan's cavalry could immediately intercept and kill Li Zhong's army.