Chapter 63: Zhou Tai Arrived

  The soldiers under Yang Ugly's command finally couldn't hold on any longer, not because they were unprepared, but because they didn't have the determination to fight to the death. The city gate was just a few miles away, who wouldn't think twice about staying here to fight to the death or returning to the safety of the city? It wasn't a question that needed consideration.

  Rout is contagious. As soon as one soldier starts running, it quickly spreads to a large group of people. Yang Chou tried his best to restrain them, but it was all in vain.

  At the same time, a fierce battle broke out at the city gate of Mayi. The defenders of Mayi saw Yang Chou's reinforcements approaching and naturally sent someone to meet them, while Li Zhong could not sit back and let Yang Chou's defenders enter the city safely, so he had to block their way. The two armies happened to meet at the east city gate, and a chaotic battle erupted instantly.

  Both sides invested about a thousand troops, but there was no good command, and it was almost like fighting with thugs. I have you in me, and you have me in you, making it impossible for both parties to dispatch troops to support each other. Even Taishi Ci's cavalry could only stand by and watch. If one charge came down, it would probably kill many of our own soldiers.

  Li Chong stood in the distance, watching the two sides fight each other, a cold smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. This kind of chaos was what he was most satisfied with; he didn't care how many people died on his side as long as Ma Yi's army also suffered losses. If they were going to die, then everyone would die together.

  When Yang Ugly's defeated army joined the melee, Li Chong almost burst out laughing. At this moment, he really wished that heaven would strike a thunderbolt and kill both sides together.

  The side of Ma Yin finally couldn't stand Li Chong's rogue spirit, sounded the retreat horn and withdrew troops. No matter what tactics you use, when encountering a tactic that doesn't fear death, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

  After the war, Li Chong checked and found that Taishi Ci's cavalry suffered heavy casualties, with injuries and deaths reaching one in ten. Don't underestimate this number, as in ancient times, it was rare for an army to not flee after suffering more than 30% casualties.

  The five hundred troops who participated in the melee at the city gate lost more than two hundred people, with casualties reaching almost half. This is not because these troops were particularly elite, but because this melee was simply a chaotic battle without any formation to speak of. The enemy surrounded them on all sides, and even fleeing was impossible as they couldn't find their direction, so they could only grit their teeth and fight desperately.

  According to Taishi Ci's estimate, Yang Chou's relief force lost over 300 men. The enemy forces at the city gate should have suffered a similar number of casualties as Li Rong's army, around 200.

  Li Chong was still relatively satisfied with the result, but the death and injury of thirty cavalrymen pained him for a long time. He sighed repeatedly with Taishi Ci, who also felt heartbroken. The two secretly discussed it and decided to let Taishi Ci double the compensation for the dead soldiers and support their wives, children, and elderly dependents.

  As for cannon fodder, if they die, they just die. Li Zhong doesn't have that much money and grain to buy people's hearts.

  Both sides retreated to their camps and rested without mentioning it. In the following days, Li Chong also launched several siege battles, but the effect was not as expected. Therefore, Li Chong pushed aside the insufficient grain and fodder, pulled out of the camp and left, and asked Taishi Ci to ambush and attack Yang Ju on the way.

  Kaoyang was not deceived at all and did not intend to pursue, Taishi Ci ambushed for two days before reluctantly following the main army back to Guangwu.

  Returned to Guangwu, ordered the soldiers to return to camp and rest, arranged for comfort and other matters to be taken care of, Li Chong returned to the back house to rest.

  On this day, Li Chong was flirting with little loli Cai Yan, when a barbarian came to report that Jiang Qin of Yuanping had sent someone to see him. Li Chong pinched Cai Yan's cheek and smiled: "Little treasure, I'll be right back."

  Cai Yan was already used to Li Chong's glib talk, and with a somewhat flirtatious glance, she rebuked him: "Shameless! I'm not your wife... You didn't even take me to the fun battle, I won't bother with you anymore!"

  "Heh heh......" Li Chong winked and smiled, then rushed straight into the main hall.

  Upon entering the main hall, Li Chong immediately saw a burly man standing in the center of the hall. The man was wearing a linen garment, his skin was dark and rough, his palms were wide and large, and his eyes had a faint yellowish tint, similar to the color of rust.

  By the side of Da Han, there was also a soldier accompanying him. Li Chong carefully identified him and found that this soldier was one of Jiang Qin's personal soldiers. He nodded and smiled at him, and the soldier found that Li Chong actually knew himself, suddenly feeling honored, he quickly walked to Li Chong's side, clasped his fists and said: "Greetings, sir, I am under the orders of General Jiang Qin to introduce this strong man to you."

  Dahan has been staring at Li Chong since he entered the door, and upon hearing the soldier's words, he hastily cupped his fists and said: "Zhou Tai of Jiujiang pays respects to Lord Li."

  "Zhou Tai!" Li Zhong was overjoyed when he heard the words, knowing that Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin had a very good relationship. Both were river pirates from Jiangzhou, and since Jiang Qin had come to surrender, it was natural for Zhou Tai to follow suit. What Li Zhong didn't expect was that Zhou Tai would arrive so quickly.

  "Someone, arrange a seat for the guest in the side hall." Li Chong shouted and took Zhou Tai to the side hall.

  Two people sat opposite each other, and naturally someone brought up rice wine and snacks. Li Chong smiled and said: "Yu Ping, are you from Yuanping?"

  "Sir, what you said is true. I, Zhou Tai, have come from Yuanping with over a hundred brothers to surrender to you, sir. We hope you will accept us."

  "Are there still over a hundred men?" Li Chong was stunned for a moment, he indeed had some unexpected surprise, could it be that recruiting fierce warriors is so easy nowadays? Without having to beg and plead for them to come, instead they come on their own, bringing along over a hundred soldiers, this is simply like getting free pie from the sky! Is this... not just a dream?!

  Actually, Li Zhong was too self-deprecating, he didn't think that with the three counties in his grasp, he could be considered a powerful and majestic general, while Zhou Tai was just a water bandit, who wouldn't want to come and serve as an official.

  But Li Chong was only stunned for a moment, and then his face lit up with joy, laughing: "With Yu Ping's help, it's truly a blessing from heaven for me!"

  Zhou Tai hastily stood up, knelt down on the ground and respectfully called out: "Zhou Tai pays his respects to your lordship."

  Li Chong also stood up and reached out to help, and he and Zhou Tai performed a harmonious scene of monarch and minister.

  Also called for a banquet, Li Chong began to ponder how to arrange Zhou Tai and others. Through conversation, it was known that the people under Zhou Tai were brave but lacked military discipline, or rather had no military discipline at all, just a mob of undisciplined soldiers.

  However, these people also have their strengths, that is, they are proficient in water warfare. The problem is that there isn't even a big river around here, let alone a place for Zhou Tai's men to show off their skills in water warfare. But if he were to send some of these men into battle with the infantry, Li Chong would be somewhat reluctant, as the mortality rate among foot soldiers was too high, and he still wanted to preserve some of his elite water warriors.

  After some thought, Li Zhong suddenly had an idea. Zhou Tai wasn't the one who protected Sun Quan? Why not let Zhou Tai be his personal bodyguard leader first? This way, whether it was Zhou Tai or the soldiers under him, they all had a place to go. Moreover, being a personal bodyguard didn't require anything else, as long as you weren't afraid of death. These fugitives led by Zhou Tai were exactly not afraid of death.

  He shared his idea with Zhou Tai, who readily agreed. He was extremely grateful to Li Chong and said, "Brother, you are the closest person to our lord. In the future, when we are sent out, why not become a naval general?"

  After attending the farewell dinner, he asked someone to arrange accommodations for Zhou Tai and others, distribute clothes, armor, and swords, etc., and after completing all miscellaneous tasks, Zhou Tai stayed in the county government office that night, entering into the role of a bodyguard.

  There is also another chapter