People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 263 Advantages
"coming!"

On the plains of Bohai County, Yan Liang and Wen Chou's 40,000-strong army marched forward in a mighty manner until they were blocked by the Yellow Turbans stationed at a key road ahead and were forced to stop.

Seeing the yellow Xuanxia flag fluttering in the wind, Yan Liang and Wen Chou's expressions suddenly became solemn.

It was still the same feeling as when I fought Xuan Xia a year or two ago. Just by looking at the opponent's formation, I could naturally feel the power and coldness behind the silence.

"The enemy has already taken a defensive stance. They must have known about our movements long ago. Generals, please be careful."

Shen Pei rode forward and gave worried instructions to Yan Liang and Wen Chou, but before he could finish his words, he saw movement in the Yellow Turban camp.

Two cavalry units of a thousand men were quickly dispatched from both sides of the Yellow Turban position. Although the size of two thousand cavalry units was still acceptable, it indicated that the enemy had begun to launch an offensive.

Shen Pei and Xun Chen both felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. The enemy general commanded decisively and, just as they had worried, took advantage of the enemy's rest and launched an attack first.

The dull sound of horse hooves quickly and continuously rang out on the plain, but what was really terrifying was actually the infantry corps following closely behind.

In a flash, the plain was covered with a black mass of armored troops rushing over. The pressure like a collapsing mountain instantly rushed towards Yan Liang and Wen Chou's positions. Although the Yellow Turbans only dispatched more than 10,000 troops, they completely suppressed Yan Liang and Wen Chou in momentum.

"All troops immediately stand guard to resist the enemy's attack!"

After Yan Liang and Wen Chou looked at each other, they immediately gave orders, and then the two of them separated to lead their armies and start fighting. At this critical juncture, they had no extra time to deal with Xun Chen and Shen Pei.

Liu Bei, together with Guan Yu, took the carefully prepared elite team and stood by behind the main army, ready to launch an attack at the critical moment to seize the opportunity.

Soon, the armies of both sides began a head-on battle. The two sides of the war on the plain were like two torrents colliding and merging in opposite directions.

The Xuanxia cavalry on both sides harassed and roamed around the flanks, constantly exerting pressure on the sides and rear of Yan Liang and Wen Chou, while the Xuanxia heavy armored soldiers in the front charged forward with shields in hand.

With their solid armor, strong physique, and more skilled combat skills, they instantly gained an overwhelming advantage on the front line of the battle.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou personally led their troops into battle, but even with their bravery, they were unable to reverse the overall situation on the battlefield. Facing the overwhelming Yellow Turban formation, the only thing they could feel was the Yellow Turbans' unremitting attacks.

The solid heavy armor of the Yellow Turbans was like a thick wall in front of them. Combined with the forest of spears and the rapid crossbows behind them, if Yan Liang and Wen Chou had not been wearing armor, they would have felt that they would be stuck in the battle and unable to return.

The intensity of the fighting on the front line far exceeded their imagination.

They always liked to fight in person, but this time they hit a wall. As the battle lasted longer, they found it increasingly difficult to persist.

No matter how you fight off the enemy, there will always be shields pressing against your face. Once you relax a little, you will be stabbed like a hedgehog by the spears behind you.

As members of the gentry, Yan Liang and Wen Chou had relatively favorable material conditions and were much taller and stronger than ordinary common people.

As powerful generals from noble families like them, they never lack sophisticated armor and equipment.

In the past, whenever they fought against a peasant army like the Yellow Turbans, who were ragged and armed with wooden sticks and hoes, it was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. Naturally, they would kill anyone who stood in their way, and anyone who stood in their way would be killed.

But now he was no longer facing a shabby peasant army, but a semi-professional army equipped with standard equipment and undergoing a rigorous training system.

In such a war, even "fierce generals" like them could not play a big role. It was even possible that they would be killed by the soldiers accidentally. The quality of Xuan Xia's soldiers was not too far behind that of "fierce generals" like them.

And this was indeed the case. As the fighting continued, Yan Liang and Wen Chou soon could not hold on any longer. More and more scars began to appear on their bodies, and there was no telling how many crossbow arrows had pierced the weak points of their armor.

The battle was very difficult, but fortunately our side still had sufficient military advantage. The Jizhou soldiers lagged behind the Yellow Turbans in terms of troop quality and equipment, but they were a local legion after all, and were still able to demonstrate considerable combat effectiveness relying on their large numbers.

The Yellow Turbans continued to intensify their offensive, and although it put a lot of strain on the officers and soldiers, with a force of more than 10,000 they were unable to completely defeat the enemy in one go.

After a long and fierce battle, with casualties gradually increasing, Lu Ping on the other side observed the battle and judged that it would be difficult to win if they continued, so he ordered a retreat. The Yellow Turbans then retreated back to the camp like a receding tide, and the officers and soldiers did not dare to pursue them and could only watch the Yellow Turbans come and go freely.

After the battle, Yan Liang and Wen Chou retreated their troops in a panic. Still in fear, they retreated another ten miles, as if that would make them feel more at ease.

However, Xun Chen, Shen Pei and others who were assisting the army all had grim expressions on their faces. There was no point in retreating because now it was their side that needed to take the initiative to drive the enemy out of Bohai County. No matter how much they retreated, they could not circumvent this mission.

Now, our side has not made any move yet, but has been forced to retreat by the opponent. This result is undoubtedly unacceptable.

After this battle, the entire army felt tremendous pressure, but no matter what, they had to bite the bullet and continue fighting, unless they gave up Bohai. But if they did that, when Yuan Shao returned, he would be extremely angry, and Yan Liang and Wen Chou could not afford to lose this person.

It’s not easy to fight, but we have no choice but to keep fighting!
After the armies of both sides settled down, several large and small battles took place in the following days. After the last battle, Yan Liang and Wen Chou felt the pressure and were now trying to avoid large-scale direct battles, but instead fought small battles with the Yellow Turbans. The intention was very obvious, which was to hold the Yellow Turbans here and wait for their own reinforcements.

They might not be unable to win in a head-on battle, but Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Xun Chen, Shen Pei and others all felt that they were not very confident. If they suffered a great loss here, the situation would be out of control.

For now, maintaining light fighting to restrict the actions of the Yellow Turbans is the best option they can make.

After five days, Yan Liang and Wen Chou gradually relaxed. After all, as they had the advantage in military strength, it was not too difficult for them to protect themselves without actively seeking a fight.

However, their laxity was precisely the opportunity for the Xuanxia army.

After nightfall, Lu Ping looked at the night sky. It was a time when the moonlight was brightest, which was obviously a very suitable time for action.

Even so, in the past it would have been difficult to move around at night, as night blindness was a common problem among people in times of material scarcity.

But now things are different. Xuan Xia went through a long period of training before the war, and one of the problems he solved was improving the soldiers' night blindness through a reasonable diet.

Although this method cannot completely eliminate night blindness, it can improve night vision to some extent. It doesn't need to be too much, just better than the enemy.

"Come and take a look. Can you see the big tree ahead?" Lu Ping called a personal soldier. He knew that the personal soldier had very serious night blindness. He pointed to a tree about ten meters away and asked.

The soldier blinked and finally nodded: "I can see it clearly, but not any farther away."

Lu Ping smiled when he heard this. If his personal soldier with severe night blindness could see at night to this extent, then Xuan Xia's soldiers would generally not be worse than him. In this way, they would have the conditions for a night attack.

Xuanxia has few troops and its soldiers are valuable. If they can achieve victory with more efficient means, it will obviously be more appropriate than a head-on attack.

After accurately judging the conditions, Lu Ping did not hesitate at all. So in the dark night, the army slowly gathered and marched silently towards the enemy position.

The positions of both sides were at a certain distance from each other, and marching at night was very difficult. It took them two hours to reach the destination.

After Lu Ping ordered the entire army to take a short rest to recover their strength, he slowly stood up and issued the final order to attack.

Soon, the exclamations of the sentinels of Yan Liang and Wen Chou's army were heard, and this was the best signal for the Xuanxia army to attack. They no longer concealed themselves, and the huge shouts of killing instantly filled the entire camp.

Screams, blood, and death began to appear in every corner.

The first thing the Xuanxia soldiers did when they rushed into the camp was not to kill people, but to extinguish all the flames they could see.

Lu Ping wanted to make the most of his side's slight advantage in night vision. Although fighting in the dark was not advantageous for Xuanxia soldiers, it would only make the enemy soldiers more uncomfortable.

Sure enough, as the light sources went out one by one, this night attack turned into a game of groping in the dark.

When everyone is in complete darkness, subtle differences in night vision begin to emerge.

The army of Yan Liang and Wen Chou did not have the same conditions as the soldiers of Xuan Xia. They were in a dark environment and could not see anything at all.

Although the Xuanxia soldiers also had difficulty seeing, they could at least vaguely see human figures and launch some effective attacks.

Soon, one by one the enemy soldiers began to lose their lives in the darkness. However, this was not the most terrifying thing. The most terrifying thing was that this weird atmosphere was enough to cause the morale of the entire army to collapse.

They couldn't see what was happening exactly, but they could feel the fear from the shouting and screaming all around them. When this fear continued to grow, it led to an uncontrollable defeat.

The soldiers completely collapsed. They fled around like headless flies in the darkness, pursued by death.

But it was easy for them to run and suddenly run in front of the Xuanxia soldiers, and then lose their heads for no apparent reason.

Such scenes were happening everywhere in the camp.

As the smell of blood became stronger, they finally couldn't hold on any longer and began to surrender in large numbers.

By this time, the night attack was coming to an end. Yan Liang and Wen Chou hurried out of the tent to organize the soldiers to light torches. When they saw the scene in front of them, they almost fainted.

In this situation, even a fool would know that there was no way to fight. They could only gather as many soldiers as possible, break out of the encirclement, and flee in all directions in the night, disappearing without a trace.

(End of this chapter)