People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 579: Death
Although it was late at night, the noise of Zhao Yun returning to the camp still alarmed Xu Chen, Ju Su, Wang Dang and others.

A soldier had already returned to the camp to report that they had been ambushed. When King Xu Chen was about to consider sending troops to provide rescue immediately, he saw that Zhao Yun had already led most of his troops back to the camp.

After counting the number of people, although there were still two or three hundred people missing, this was already very good news. Xu Chen and others all breathed a sigh of relief.

The cost of training Yellow Turban warriors was extremely high, and if a large number of them were killed due to command errors, the consequences would naturally be unacceptable. However, if there were less than two or three hundred people, this ambush could be said to have been survived without any danger.

Even if it was a normal night attack, such casualties were within a reasonable range. It can only be said that Zhao Yun's calmness and decisiveness in the critical moment ultimately allowed him to lead the Yellow Turbans to escape safely.

In this case, Xu Chen would not blame Zhao Yun, but instead praised him. Finally, he changed the subject and took the responsibility on himself.

"Anti-tooth for an anti-tooth was my idea, but now it seems that this plan was a bit hasty. If anyone is to blame, it should be me. Fortunately, Zilong was so brave and brought the brothers back safely, otherwise I would have caused a disaster."

"My lord, you have said that there is nothing wrong with the plan of night attack and counterattack. It is just that I failed to complete and perfect this plan, which gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it. The responsibility for this lies with me. Please punish me, my lord."

Although Xu Chen took the responsibility on himself, Ju Shou, as a subordinate, could not let his lord take the blame, so he stood up and apologized.

As a qualified subordinate, he should be fully aware that one of his responsibilities is to take the blame for his lord, and Ju Su still has this awareness.

Anyone can be wrong, but the Lord will never be wrong.

Xu Chen just smiled silently when he heard that, and he didn't worry about it any more. After all, the result of this battle was still good. If he was too persistent, it would be a bit artificial.

Wang Dang was quite impressed: "This Zhou Yu is indeed not an easy man to deal with. He can really guess our army's reaction. If Zilong had not been cautious, I am afraid we would have suffered a big setback at his hands, and the casualties would not be like this now."

Ju Su agreed and said, "General, you are right. Zhou Yu is not an ordinary man, and the enemy is counterattacking in a desperate situation. We cannot let our guard down. I think our army does not need to make too many moves from now on. We only need to hold the camp and bide our time to win. Any twists and turns will only increase the risk."

Xu Chen nodded. What Ju Shou said made sense. There was really no need to move too much when one could win without doing anything.

Even if Zhou Yu successfully ambushed their night attack today and the losses were ten times more severe than they are now, it would not actually affect the overall situation of the Yellow Turbans. However, taking such a risk for no reason does not seem to be a good choice.

After thinking for a while, he said, "In this case, our army will not do anything unnecessary from now on. We will defend the camp during the day and deploy some troops outside the camp at night to guard against enemy attacks. If the enemy does not come, we will not go either."

When Wang Dang and Ju Su heard this, they both clasped their fists in response.

"My lord is wise!"

"Master, your opinion is great!"

This little disturbance also completely set the tone for the subsequent war. Since the night attack did not yield good results, the Yellow Turbans completely gave up trying and became more obedient.

They understood clearly that no matter how Wu and Shu harassed them, their ultimate goal was to lure the Yellow Turbans out of the camp to fight. As long as they were not fooled again, Wu and Shu would be helpless against the Yellow Turbans.

During their fight, the Yellow Turbans seldom fought to defend a city. Most of the time they took the initiative to attack others. Only this time they relied on the camp to fight against Wu and Shu, and they defended to the end, not giving Zhou Yu any chance at all.

The war situation changed dynamically amid constant collisions. Both sides responded to each other's moves, but in the end they found that no one could do anything to the other, and the Yellow Turbans had no intention of making any unnecessary moves.

A tacit understanding was formed in this silent contest. Both sides launched a night attack each night. After not gaining much and knowing that the other side would be prepared, they gave up the attack at the same time. The battlefield became quiet again. The rhythm of the battle once again turned into daytime offensive and defensive operations, which was obviously what the Yellow Turbans were happy to see.

In the following days, the two sides fought offensive and defensive battles around the camp, but once night fell, both sides were in a completely peaceful state.

King Xu Chen and his men also felt that Wu and Shu would not make any more futile attempts.

But as time goes by, the suspense of the war is gradually diminishing.

The entire Yellow Turban army knew that Wu and Shu would soon face the dual pressures of running out of food and grass and being attacked from the rear. At that time, Wu and Shu would collapse on their own without even the Yellow Turbans having to take action.

If nothing unexpected happens, victory is already in the pocket of the Yellow Turbans. From Xu Chen at the top to even a cook or a laborer at the bottom, everyone on the Yellow Turbans' side is ready to welcome the victory.

The time has come to the seventh day of the battle between the two sides. This time is very delicate and has approached the critical time node.

The food supplies of Wu and Shu should be almost gone, and Lu Meng and Wu Li in the rear should be arriving at the battlefield soon. Not only the Yellow Turbans knew this, but Liu Bei, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and all the others on the Wu and Shu side also understood it.

There is no time left.
So, it's time to really let go and try your best.

As night fell on that day, the gates of Changsha City slowly opened, and under the cover of darkness, the army in the city gathered with the hundreds of thousands of troops in the camp outside the city.

After seven days of fierce fighting, Wu and Shu suffered countless casualties, and as of today their force has been reduced to only over 200,000.

The army seemed to be relatively intact, but in fact the entire army's condition had reached its limit and morale had dropped to the lowest level.

This was the result of Zhou Yu's strenuous efforts to control the situation. In fact, if a different commander had been in command, the Wu and Shu armies would have collapsed in the desperate attack long ago.

But now Zhou Yu has done the limit of what he can do. Given the army's current state of negative emotions, if they attack again tomorrow, the whole army will surely be defeated, and that situation cannot be reversed by human power.

Fortunately, there is no tomorrow for Wu and Shu, because they are already standing on the edge of the cliff. If they delay for another day or two, everything will be over.

All we can do now is to make a final burst of strength in the desperate situation.

On the platform of the camp, Zhou Yu slowly drew out his sword, then held the sword tightly with his left hand. After scratching the sharp blade, bright red blood immediately flowed out from his hand and the sword. One can imagine how painful it must be to have his palm burst with flesh and blood at this moment.

But Zhou Yu's face was expressionless. To him, the severe pain was not worth mentioning. After all, if nothing unexpected happened, tonight would be the last moment of his life.

"In this battle, there is no return!" Zhou Yu's voice was cold and resolute. He walked down from the platform and headed towards the Yellow Turban camp.

Liu Bei and Sun Quan on the side looked at each other, smiled bitterly, then drew their swords and followed Zhou Yu's footsteps.

After tonight, everything will end. The country will perish and the monarch will die.

(End of this chapter)