People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 28 Ambush
Gongsun Zan was very angry, but the soldiers around him were all exhausted. He wanted to use the whip in his hand to drive them to continue chasing, otherwise he could only watch the Yellow Turbans go further and further away.

He had been chasing the Yellow Turbans from yesterday afternoon until today, and had spent so much effort only to let them escape. This was something he could not tolerate.

However, when he saw that the soldiers were out of breath, he finally put away the whip in resentment. He knew that the soldiers really could not run anymore. If they still had some strength, Gongsun Zan would never let them stop.

Gongsun Zan himself could ride a horse, but these county soldiers, as local officers and soldiers, had no horses to ride, and they really couldn't keep running like that.

This is what made him angry. He really couldn't understand why the Yellow Turbans were so good at running. Did these guys have four legs? They managed to knock down all his soldiers.

Gongsun Zan didn't know that these Yellow Turbans were the young and strong men who were eliminated from the battlefield in Jizhou. They not only had good physiques, but were also excellent at running away. Otherwise, they would not have survived the battlefield and fled from Jizhou to Youzhou.

It is hard to say who has better combat skills, but when it comes to the ability to escape, they are much better than these county soldiers who are practicing death stances.

"A bunch of losers can't even catch up with the Yellow Turban bandits. I'm so angry! Seeing that he couldn't catch up with the Yellow Turban bandits at all, Gongsun Zan had to give up. After scolding the soldiers, he reluctantly issued an order: "After resting, return immediately!"

Who would have thought that this time when they went out of the city to fight, they didn't catch a single Yellow Turban.

However, for Gongsun Zan, it was not a complete loss. After all, the manor that was seized by the Yellow Turbans was still in his hands. The wealth of a powerful family was enough for him to live a well-fed life.

Of course, these riches were not taken away by me, Gongsun Zan, but were looted by the Yellow Turbans.

Thinking of this, Gongsun Zan felt relieved a little. While riding on his horse, he stroked his smooth and neat mustache, and an expectant smile appeared on his face.

They were in a hurry when they came, but they were much more leisurely when they went back. After resting, the county soldiers slowly marched in the direction they came.

When Gongsun Zan rode along on horseback, he missed his former subordinates, the White Horse Volunteers. At that time, he led thousands of elite cavalry with them and defeated the Wuhuan and Xianbei people so badly that they were at a loss as to where to go. How high-spirited they were then.

Now I am the magistrate of Zhuo County, but I only have a few hundred infantrymen. It is really meaningless.

Zhuo County is not the place for him to display his talents. He needs a wider world. It's a pity that the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou are useless, otherwise he could take this opportunity to show his talents.

After thinking about his own future for a long time, Gongsun Zan finally led his army back to the home of the powerful man who had been robbed.

As he expected, all the nobles were killed by the Yellow Turbans. Not only was he not angry about this, but he was secretly happy in his heart, as this saved him a lot of trouble.

After leading the army to "count" the property in the village, he led the army back to Zhuo County with large and small bags.

It’s a pity that I couldn’t take away the farm’s largest assets and land, otherwise I would have made a lot of money on this trip.

Naturally, these ownerless lands would not be given to others and would eventually be confiscated by the government. As the magistrate of Zhuo County, he could reap a lot of benefits.

Because they had to travel a lot more distance, it took them a long time to return, but after rushing, they finally returned to Zhuo County before nightfall.

By this time, the sky had already darkened, and the county had already closed the city gates in accordance with the curfew. Some soldiers could be vaguely seen on duty on the top of the city, and everything seemed normal.

When the guards saw Gongsun Zan leading his army back, they shouted in advance without waiting for Gongsun Zan to knock on the door: "The county magistrate is back, open the door to welcome him!" Gongsun Zan came on horseback from a distance, and saw the city gate slowly open in the dim light. A trace of doubt flashed in his eyes. It was already dark, why were there no torches lit on the city gate?
But the thought only flashed through his mind, and he thought it was probably too late because it was just getting dark.

Without giving it much thought, he led his troops into the city in a swagger. As the soldiers slowly filed in, he gradually felt something was wrong, a feeling that was hard to describe.

Suddenly, he pulled the reins hard, and the horse under him neighed twice, then turned around and stopped.

"All troops on alert, something is wrong in the city!"

Gongsun Zan reacted very quickly and immediately realized that the city was too quiet. There was no citizen on the streets and no light of a fire or cooking could be seen in the houses near the city gate!
This situation went against common sense and was obviously not right. As a veteran in the battlefield, he immediately sensed the huge danger.

Sure enough, at the moment he gave the order loudly, before the soldiers could react, they saw that the doors of the houses on both sides, which had been silent, suddenly opened, and then countless people ran out.

At the same time, countless figures suddenly stood up on the city wall, and the streets in front and on both sides were surrounded by thieves.

The county town, which had been quiet just a moment ago, was suddenly filled with shouts of killing. Torches were lit and thrown towards Gongsun Zan's army. Countless bandits rushed forward. When each of them rushed forward, the excitement and fanaticism on their faces were clearly reflected in the firelight.

"Form a formation and counterattack immediately, don't panic!"

After being distracted for a moment, Gongsun Zan immediately reacted and began to organize the army for defense.

Relying on his outstanding and brave martial arts, he drew his sword and stabbed the rushing thieves left and right, killing two of them immediately. The soldiers on both sides also quickly came over to assist him in the fight.

In such a narrow range of close combat, all tactics are meaningless. The only option now is to fight to the death!

However, when Gongsun Zan took the time to look into the distance, he took a deep breath. Every space he saw was crowded with people. The number of thieves was far more than he had imagined!

Although Gongsun Zan did not relax his fight with the enemy and it was difficult for the thieves to get close to him, he had a premonition that today might not end well.

Blood spurted out, metal clashed, and there were shouts of killing and wailing everywhere.

The Yellow Turbans and the government soldiers were completely entangled with each other, and both sides were in a state of chaos, which was undoubtedly not conducive to the government soldiers who were skilled in forming battle formations.

After a long time, the officers and soldiers were greatly outnumbered and finally gradually became exhausted. If this continued, they would either surrender or be strangled to death.

The situation was so critical that Gongsun Zan immediately jumped on his horse and roared: "Soldiers, follow me and break out of the county town, and you can survive!"

As his voice exploded, many officers and soldiers became energized, and then they closely followed Gongsun Zan and began to defend.

Gongsun Zan drove his horse and rushed towards the city gate at the head of his troops, wielding his sword and slaughtering the Yellow Turbans like chopping melons and vegetables.

The many Yellow Turbans were unable to stop the extremely brave Gongsun Zan.

(End of this chapter)