I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 667: The End of a Hero (Chapter 6K)

In Nanyang County, at the foot of the Funiu Mountains, the dusk was deep.

Sun Jian and his men had just launched a sneak attack on Zhao Yun when suddenly shouts of killing arose behind them, and at the same time, bursts of dense rain of arrows came at them.

Suddenly, Sun Jian's ambush team on the mountainside were beaten up.

"Hey hey!"

"what's the situation?!"

"later?"

"What's going on?!"

The soldiers screamed in pain, and the morale that had just been restored was destroyed in an instant.

"Damn it, where on earth did these enemies come from?!"

Sun Jian cursed angrily and Sun Ben was also horrified. At the same time, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others on both sides of the queue looked confused.

Several people belong to different teams, responsible for cutting off the head and tail.

They had already launched their attack when Sun Jian just shouted the order to attack.

I heard a loud shout from the mountain just now, and I thought it was from Sun Jian and his men, who would take advantage of the situation and come down to attack Zhao Yun together with me. However, I never expected that instead of Sun Jian's army, there were bursts of wailing from the mountain. My general's team was actually ambushed? !
The team fell into chaos for a while, which created a good opportunity for Zhao Yun.

Although he did not know the specific situation on the mountain, his keen sense of the battlefield allowed him to take action immediately. He made a bold move to counterattack Sun Jian's central army while being surrounded by Huang Gai and Cheng Pu.

This frightened Sun Ben on the mountain:
"Uncle, what should we do now?"

Sun Jian took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

He first glanced at Zhao Yun's troops at the foot of the mountain, and then stared back with wide eyes and sharp gaze, trying to find the trace of the ambusher and make a reasonable judgment as quickly as possible in this desperate situation of being attacked from both sides.

However, the sky was already very dark at this moment, and the mountains and forests behind were full of shadows. Sun Jian had no idea who the enemies were or how many there were. He could only determine their approximate location.

However, although he couldn't see clearly how many people were coming.

However, the pouring rain of arrows was very telling.

In stark contrast to the situation of these defeated soldiers, who had thousands of people and could not gather three hundred bows, the ambushers on the mountain were obviously well-rested and waiting for their opportunity. This wave of rain of arrows killed and injured as many as two or three hundred of them!

You know, he himself led a team of only a thousand people hiding on the mountainside.

Before Sun Jian had time to think about it, another wave of arrows rained down from the mountain.

Suddenly, wailing was heard everywhere in the formation, echoing through the mountains.

In fact, the rain of arrows was approaching where the two of them were standing.

Amid the sound of footsteps and deafening shouts, the enemy was approaching rapidly.

"No, uncle!"

Sun Ben looked anxious:

"We must retreat, otherwise, we will all be finished!"

.

Sun Jian gritted his teeth, knowing that his nephew was right.

Under normal circumstances, he would have certainly counterattacked, rushed up the hillside, and fought with the bastard who attacked him by surprise.

But now, this group of people have discarded their weapons and armor along the way, and few of them have armor on them.

If he attacked the top of the mountain and was hit by a few more rounds of arrow rain, he would probably lose all his little wealth.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Sun Jian acted decisively, shouted loudly, then waved his hand and gave orders quickly.

He knew very well that it was no longer appropriate to fight and that he had to evacuate this dangerous place as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Fortunately, it is getting dark now. We can take advantage of the night and run towards the southwest. If all goes well, we can reach Duyang before dawn.

It is the northeastern gate of Wancheng, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is also the transit point between Wancheng and the Central Plains.

Once they get there, the pursuers will be unable to do anything to them.

So, Sun Jian waved his hand:
"Hurry, everyone, follow me!"

While shouting, Sun Jian led Sun Ben and others to evacuate quickly.

They hurriedly ran down the hillside, ignoring Zhao Yun, and ran straight towards Huang Gai in front of them, wanting to lead the team away from the battlefield as soon as possible.

However, how could Taishi Ci behind him allow him to get his wish so easily?

He led more than 2,000 Qingzhou soldiers under his command, running and shooting, keeping a distance and swooping down the mountain to chase them all the way.

That’s right, Qingzhou soldiers.

This was the reason why Su Yao teased Sun Jing before.

In addition to Gongsun Zan and Zhang Fei's Liaodong troops who had fought their way to Yingchuan in the north, the Qingzhou troops led by Taishi Ci had naturally also arrived at the battlefield.

However, this is actually somewhat of a coincidence.

Because according to Su Yao's original estimate, this wave of Qingzhou soldiers should have been reinforcements for Luoyang City.

After all, Qingzhou is much closer to Luoyang than Liaodong, and Taishi Ci returned to Donglai by boat early to mobilize troops for him, so it was natural for him to arrive in Luoyang more than a month in advance.

However, Taishi Ci's mission did not go smoothly this time, so much so that he completely missed the scheduled time.

There was no way. When he arrived in Qingzhou, he found that what he had imagined, that he could easily mobilize troops with the token and seal of the Marquis of Champion, did not exist at all.

Things were going smoothly in Liaodong, and Gongsun Zan and Zhang Fei were able to lead their troops out with just one imperial decree. That was because Su Yao had been working there for several months.

The local aristocratic families, local officials, Hu leaders, etc. had all been dealt with by him, so they were naturally obedient.

But Qingzhou?

Su Yao had never been there, and the local governors obviously did not buy into this offline governor.

Moreover, their reasons are justified. You know, Qingzhou has not been peaceful at all recently.

The local Yellow Turban rebels had resurfaced, and the situation was already tense.

The fact that Emperor Liu Hong was previously trapped in Pingyuan City in Qingzhou greatly boosted the morale of the local Yellow Turban bandits.

Shi Jiaohe of Qingzhou was unexpectedly ambushed by the Yellow Turban bandits on his way back from rescuing Emperor Liu Hong. He suffered a crushing defeat and even the city was captured. This governor Jiao became autistic and suffered a serious illness that made him almost unable to manage affairs.

This was also the intention of the imperial court at that time to confer Su Yao the title of Qingzhou.

Since you are such a good fighter, go play over there and don’t be an eyesore in the Central Plains.

However, everyone knows what happened later. Su Yao did not go to Qingzhou, so the people of Qingzhou naturally had to defend the city themselves.

When they heard that Taishi Ci was not coming to rescue but was going to take his troops away again, naturally none of the local lords and noble families were happy about it.

The reason Taishi Ci was able to bring these 2,000 people was because he went back to his hometown in Donglai and recruited local refugees and serfs in the name of Su Yaozhou Mu.

Therefore, Taishi Ci was completely late this time. Not only did he miss the opportunity to march into Luoyang with the princes of the Central Plains, he was even more than a month late, only a little bit earlier than the Liaodong soldiers who came from the ends of the earth.

However, it was also because of this that Taishi Ci happened to catch up with this wave of war between the two Yuans.

It is said that Taishi Ci happened to encounter the battle between the two Yuans on his way back. After figuring out the situation, he immediately decided to attack the ungrateful Yuan Shu.

However, he did not start immediately.

After all, Taishi Ci's troops were too few. Compared with the Liaodong Army's famous White Horse Volunteers and elite vassal troops of various ethnic groups, he had only two thousand temporarily recruited militiamen.

These people may become excellent soldiers in the future, but now they are just beginning to become proficient in weapon operation and understand some simple military commands, which is a promising future.

If they were to face Sun Jian's tens of thousands of troops, Taishi Ci knew full well that they had no chance of winning and would surely die.

So he waited patiently for his opportunity.

Recently, after quietly watching the battle in Luyang and learning that his brothers in the Liaodong Army in the north had taken action, forcing Sun Jian to attack Luyang and that Yuan Tan and others were in imminent danger, Taishi Ci finally couldn't help but decided to take action.

However, the development of the situation was more exciting than he had imagined.

He didn't expect Su Yao to come, so Taishi Ci, who originally just wanted to launch a surprise attack here to cut off Sun Jian's military rations and help Luyang hold on, decided to go all out and led his men to climb the mountain and set up an ambush here, ready to give Sun Jian a big blow.

What was even more surprising was that he never expected that Sun Jian actually had the same heroic idea as him and also came here. The two groups of people climbed the same mountain!

To be honest, when Taishi Ci and others who were hiding in the mountains this afternoon saw that Sun Jian's troops stopped at the foot of the mountain to recover, they suddenly rushed forward and rushed towards them, they almost thought they were exposed.

At that time, the soldiers on the mountain were in such a panic that some of them almost couldn't help but shoot arrows.

"madness!"

"Everyone keep quiet, no attack without my order!"

Taishi Ci gave an urgent order to stop the soldiers from panicking. As an experienced man, he could tell at a glance that Sun Jian's soldiers looked relaxed and their formation was disorganized. They rushed forward obviously not because they had discovered them, but because they had the same idea as him.

This made Taishi Ci almost laugh out loud.

So, he immediately changed the original tactic of cutting off Sun Jian's troops, and hurriedly led everyone to continue climbing to higher places, performing a unique move of the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole was waiting behind.

It's really hilarious.

Originally, Taishi Ci was worried that the combat effectiveness of his recruits was not high and they might not be able to play a big role.

As a result, this time, with Zhao Yun's pincer attack, Sun Jian's army collapsed immediately as soon as they launched the attack.

Under the influence of the collapse of Sun Jian's central army, Huang Gai and Cheng Pu's side troops were unable to play any role and were dispersed.

The soldiers cried for their parents and fled in all directions, only regretting that their parents had not given them a pair of legs.
"Run, run!"

"Our army is defeated, our army is defeated!"

In the dim night, on the plain at the foot of Funiu Mountain, Sun Jian's defeated troops were defeated by Taishi Ci and Zhao Yun and fled in all directions.

Sun Jian was filled with resentment and anger. He never expected that he would end up like this.

He was clearly just a little bit away from giving that bastard the surname Su a big blow, but in the end he was defeated in such an inexplicable way.

This is clearly the territory controlled by our army, how could Su Yao's ambush escape?

Sun Jian didn't understand, but he knew that if he wanted to take revenge, he had to stay alive.

So he and Sun Ben and others fought desperately to break out, but facing the pursuit of two large armies, they seemed powerless.

Originally, these elite soldiers from Jiangdong and Huaisi could not have been defeated by the newly recruited militiamen of Taishi Ci.

But now they were tense all day, fighting a series of battles and running all day, and the soldiers' physical strength and willpower had reached the limit.

As a result, those local warriors under Taishi Ci, who had almost never killed anyone and had taken refuge on the coast of Donglai, actually won a great victory and an amazing casualty ratio in the pursuit battle. They brandished their weapons and chased after the exhausted Sun Jian soldiers and slashed them fiercely.

Double kills and triple kills are common, and pentakill rampages are not uncommon.

"Kill!"

"Don't let that thief Sun Jian go!"

Taishi Ci was an expert in both archery and swordsmanship. He led the troops and madly killed the fleeing enemies along the way.

Under his leadership, the morale of the Qingzhou soldiers was high, and they fought more bravely and killed people in large numbers.

There's nothing we can do about it. After all, who doesn't want to be a hero?
Especially when Taishi Ci was mobilizing before the war, he promised everyone that Lord Su was generous, and as long as they fought hard and made military achievements, they would be able to get land after the war and would no longer have to be bullied by the powerful.

This promise was like a shot in the arm, greatly inspiring the fighting spirit of the local militiamen.

They knew this was a chance to change their destiny.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, almost everyone lost their land. The peasants who once owned small plots of land either fled and became serfs of wealthy and powerful families, or hid in the mountains and seaside of Donglai to make a living.

Donglai and Liaodong are across the sea from each other, and the two places had close exchanges during peacetime.

Recently, with the pacification of Liaodong, they have also heard about the deeds of Guanjun Hou who sympathized with the poor, distributed land and gave women in Liaodong.

It was for this reason that even though Taishi Ci did not get help from the governor of Donglai, he still managed to recruit these two thousand local warriors here by relying on Su Yao's name.

It can be said that these people are waiting day and night for the opportunity to turn things around.

Even among their companions, many had already joined the Yellow Turbans, killing officials, rebelling, robbing money and food, and living a life that made people jealous and excited.

Although the road to rebellion means putting your head on the line, at least if you follow the leaders to fight, you are guaranteed food for every meal.

These were much better than the days of starvation and selling children they had in the mountains and at the seaside.

This made many people eager to join the Yellow Turbans.

And now, Taishi Ci's arrival has given them a new opportunity.

As long as they can perform well in this battle and make military achievements, they will have the opportunity to get their own land and live a stable life again.

This vision and desire for the future enabled these militiamen to unleash amazing fighting power on the battlefield.

They seemed to be tireless and fearless, and only knew how to wave their weapons and launch fierce attacks on the enemy.

Under the leadership of Taishi Ci, the Qingzhou soldiers were like a sharp knife, constantly chasing and killing Sun Jian's remnants and defeated generals.

Huang Gai of the vanguard army led some brave soldiers to come to support, but they were almost instantly overwhelmed by these bloodthirsty Qingzhou soldiers.

Sun Jian looked back from time to time, and his heart was broken as he watched the scene in front of him.

But he knew he couldn't stop, and he had to flee for his life with his nephew Sun Ben.

Thanks to Huang Gai's final attack and the war horses allocated to him by Sun Jing, Sun Jian was able to escape again.

Of course, the price he paid was that the last 10,000 soldiers behind him were completely scattered, and he never saw anyone again.

The whereabouts of Huang Gai and Cheng Pu are unknown.

At the foot of Duyang City, the only ones who accompanied him here were his nephew Sun Ben and a dozen or so personal soldiers.

It hurts, it really hurts.

Sun Jian was even numb from the pain.

"Open the door, open the door quickly!"

The night is deep, Duyang City.

The northeastern gate of Wancheng, with its towering city walls and bright lights, was the last ray of light in their despair.

Before Sun Jian could catch his breath, he shouted loudly and knocked on the city gate at night.

The defenders on the city wall were alarmed and leaned out to check the situation.

"Who is making noise here in the middle of the night?"

The city gate officer shouted.

"I am Sun Wentai from Jiangdong, the governor of Yuzhou! Open the city gate and let me in!"

Sun Jian shouted anxiously, revealing his identity at the same time.

However, the gate officer on the city wall did not open the gate immediately after hearing this, but looked puzzled.

"You actually said it was Envoy Sun?!"

"Do you have any proof? You are not a thief who wants to take advantage of me in Duyang City."

The city gate officer obviously did not believe Sun Jian's words. After all, a fierce battle was going on outside Luyang City, and no one dared to let strangers into the city easily.

When Sun Jian heard this, he became extremely anxious. He had lost all his armor and weapons during his escape, so how could he have any proof?
"Bastard thing!"

"I am Sun Wentai. Is there anyone in this world who dares to pretend to be me?"

Sun Jian shouted angrily, his voice full of unquestionable majesty.

However, the city gate officer remained unmoved. He shook his head and said:
"There is a nighttime curfew and the city gates cannot be opened without permission."

"Without proof, I will not open the city gates even if you say it is the emperor who is coming."

"My apologies, Lord Sun."

"you……"

Seeing that the city gate officer turned around and left, leaving him outside the gate, Sun Jian was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

At this moment, Sun Ben behind him suddenly spoke:
"Uncle, we informed him of the news, but he was so ungrateful. I think we should continue on our way and try to get to Nanyang as soon as possible, so as to avoid being tortured here!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Jian frowned and his eyes flickered in the night.

Continuing on the journey to Nanyang is certainly an option, but it is extremely risky.

Sun Jian knew his own business, and he knew very well that it was a stroke of luck that he was able to escape this time.

Although the new wave of ambush troops were well-rested and full of energy, they were all infantry and had limited speed.

Zhao Yun and his companions, who were the only ones with horses, had been chasing for a whole day, exceeding their limit, and countless horses had died in battle.

If not for this, he would not be able to escape.

However, since Zhao Yun's horse was in such a bad condition, Sun Jian's warhorse would naturally not be much better.

He originally had more than thirty riders following him along the way, but now there are only a dozen left because too many of them fell behind on the road.

The war horses could no longer run, and the human condition was not much better.

You have to know that it is early winter now and it is cold at night. It is extremely difficult for them to spend the night safely as they are hungry and cold.

Moreover, due to the influence of recent wars, Nanyang was in chaos and bandits were rampant.

If he didn't take a rest and replenish his supplies, he would encounter bandits on the way to Nanyang, and I'm afraid a few thieves would take their lives.

The Jiangdong Tiger was wise all his life, but in the end he was destroyed by a mere thief. It was simply a laughing stock and he became a laughing stock of the world.

"No, don't be reckless!"

"After this, there will be no suitable place to rest."

"Moreover, Duyang City is the northeastern gateway of Wan City. It has a strategic location and is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"We have been defeated in the battle ahead, and this will soon be the new battlefield."

"No matter what, we must have the local guards step up their vigilance. We can't let Su Yao take over the city in the chaos."

"But uncle, the city gate officer is so rude, how can we put our hopes on him?"

Sun Jian sighed, his eyes deep:
"The situation is critical now and we have no choice."

"That's not bad. I estimate that it will be dawn in less than two hours."

"But we can't just sit here and wait. Go find some dry firewood first. We'll build a fire at the city gate to keep warm. At the same time, I'll continue to shout to the city. Let's do our best."

Upon hearing this, although Sun Ben was unwilling in his heart, he also knew that his uncle was right, so he nodded in agreement and turned around to look for dry firewood.

Soon, Sun Ben came back with a pile of dry firewood and started a fire under the city gate.

In the light of the fire, Sun Jian and his personal soldiers sat around the fire to keep warm and ward off the cold. At the same time, Sun Jian continued to shout to the people on the city wall, hoping to get a response.

Sun Jian's unremitting efforts finally paid off.

It turned out that although the city gate officer spoke sternly at the time, he was also afraid that something might really happen, so he quickly reported to the county magistrate.

Just as Sun Jian and others were looking for dry firewood to make a fire for warmth, the magistrate of Duyang Chen was awakened from his dream and hurried over with his trusted advisers.

Immediately, County Magistrate Chen recognized Sun Jian's identity.

It turned out that more than a month ago, when Sun Jian led an army of nearly 50,000 north to attack Luyang, County Magistrate Chen personally saw him off outside the city gate.

How high-spirited and arrogant Sun Jian was at that time.

However, things are unpredictable, and no one expected that just over a month later, the once mighty Jiangdong Tiger would appear in such an embarrassed state outside Duyang City.

County Magistrate Chen looked at the exhausted and ragged Sun Jian and his entourage at the foot of the city, his eyes flickering and he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

"County magistrate, since this man is undoubtedly Envoy Sun, shall we open the city gates and release him?" the city gate officer asked cautiously.

County Magistrate Chen pondered for a moment, then looked at the counselor behind him. When he saw the man nod, he ordered the city to be opened and the people released.

The city gate slowly opened, and Sun Jian and others were overjoyed when they saw it.

"Hard work pays off, Boyang (Sun Ben's pen name), we can finally have a good night's sleep!"

After speaking, Sun Jian immediately entered the city first with his horse and sword, and everyone followed him hurriedly, without even bothering to put out the bonfire.

Thinking of the anxiety and sadness they had experienced along the way, many people wiped away their tears secretly.

This tall city wall is now like a mother's embrace, making people feel extremely at ease.

We’re here, we’re finally here, we’re safe, we’re finally safe!

Looking at the smiling face of County Magistrate Chen not far away, Sun Jian also breathed a sigh of relief. He opened his arms from a distance, wanting to give County Magistrate Chen a big hug to express his gratitude.

Then he was arrested.
"uncle!!!"

Sun Ben cried out in surprise, looking at Sun Jian who was suddenly knocked down by a big man, he kept saying "OMG" in his heart.

(End of this chapter)