Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 74 71. The Thief in the Water (210)
As Zhou Tai expected, when they were preparing to evacuate along the path, the shouting and killing in the Han army camp had gradually subsided. It was obvious that the Wu army that had rushed in had been systematically eliminated by the Han army.

"Fortunately, I still have at least three to four thousand manpower. It's more than enough to defend Jiangling."

Zhou Tai looked at the listless Wu army behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.

It now seems that it is impossible to fight the Han army in the field. He can only defend the city and wait for any new arrangements from Cao Wei or the King of Wu.

Zhou Tai's marching speed was also quite fast. It took him less than half an hour to see the road back to Jiangling.

"I'm afraid the Shu army is still dealing with that pretty boy at the moment, so they naturally have no time to come and deal with me."

Zhou Tai walked along the road for a while, and was overjoyed to see that there was no Han army blocking him. Although Lu Xun's fire plan failed and he was killed, the Han army was also blocked by it, and there was no time for them to leave the camp to hunt down Zhou Tai.

"Kill! Kill Wu Gou!"

Just as Zhou Tai was thinking this, countless Han soldiers rushed out from the woods on both sides of the road, shocking Zhou Tai.

"How is this possible? The Han army is clearly in the camp tonight, how could there be an ambush?"

Lu Xun had specifically inquired about this tonight. He knew that the Han army did not divide its camps outward. All the Han soldiers should be in the main camp at this moment. How could anyone come out to ambush him?
"Haha, I have been waiting for you here for a long time on the orders of Grand Commander Feng Xi."

Zhou Tai naturally did not recognize a well-mannered general who rode out. However, the Wu army, whose morale was already low due to the failure of the attack on the camp, became even more confused because of the ambush in a hurry.

"Don't panic! Even if the Shu army comes out to besiege us, they won't have too many soldiers available! Kill them! General, do you dare to fight me?"

Zhou Tai shouted, trying to restore some morale by fighting with the generals. Unexpectedly, the general just waved his hand contemptuously, and countless Han soldiers rushed out from the forest, looking like we are fighting you alone, which made Zhou Tai very annoyed.

"General Zhou... General Zhou! The Shu army seems to be lighting a fire to notify their camp!"

A soldier nearby reminded Zhou Tai, and Zhou Tai looked over and saw that many Han soldiers were waving torches towards the main camp.

At this moment, it seemed that many troops in the Han army camp in the distance were ready to rush out and hunt down Zhou Tai.

"Retreat! Don't get entangled with them! Retreat!"

Zhou Tai gritted his teeth. If he was caught by the Han army, he would be finished. Zhou Tai simply relied on his bravery to carve out a bloody path and killed his way towards Jiangling.

"Don't let Wu Jun go!"

The Han army was in high spirits and chased the Wu army all the way, with countless people falling behind or surrendering.

By the time Zhou Tai reached Tianming and arrived at the bank of the Yangtze River, there were only a few dozen riders following him, and behind them was the surging Yangtze River.

"Haha, it seems that God wants to bestow this great achievement on me. I didn't expect it to be Zhou Tai and Zhou Youping."

The general of the Han army who surrounded Zhou Tai reappeared. Looking at Zhou Tai who was surrounded by the river, he couldn't help stroking his beard and laughing.

Zhou Tai was a famous brave general in Jiangdong and had saved Sun Quan's life, so he was naturally a big fish. Whether he was captured alive or killed, it was a great achievement.

"Zhou Youping! I advise you to surrender, or you will lose your life in vain!"

The Han general loudly urged Zhou Tai to surrender, but Zhou Tai spat at him in disdain in response.

"What a shame. Release the arrows!"

When the Han general saw Zhou Tai's behavior, he understood his intention and simply ordered his soldiers to shoot him with bows and arrows.

"You bastard! I'll remember you! I'll repay you next time!" Unexpectedly, Zhou Tai jumped into the Yangtze River. The rest of the Wu soldiers were shot to death by arrows, but only Zhou Tai escaped.

The Han general was horrified and rode to the riverside, looking down, but Zhou Tai was no longer there.

Zhou Tai was a famous thief in the Yangtze River in his early years, and he was very good at swimming. At this moment, he jumped into the river, and while sinking to the bottom, he took off his armor and left only a crotch guard to cover his body.

The Han general looked and saw Zhou Tai appear in the river for a while. After a few breaths, he dived into the water again and disappeared without a trace, which made him extremely angry.

"What a pity! Zhou Tai escaped! How can I report this to His Majesty?"

In desperation, he could only lead his troops back and gather Wu soldiers along the way to record his military achievements.

……

As for Chengdu, Zhuge Liang often observed the stars to understand the situation after Liu Bei led his army to the east. After Ma Liang returned to Chengdu and told him about Liu Bei's camping in the forest, Zhuge Liang observed the stars every night to make sure the stars were clear before going to sleep.

But tonight, Zhuge Liang discovered that something was wrong.

"The displacement of Mars indicates that the enemy may attack with fire... This is not a good thing... I will write another letter to Your Majesty..."

Zhuge Liang stood up and was about to return to his study when he suddenly caught a glimpse of countless small stars twinkling in the night sky. He simply stopped and looked carefully.

I saw many generals of all sizes in the south, which represented the location of the Yiling battlefield, were flickering and tottering.

Just as Zhuge Liang was looking closely, suddenly countless big and small generals fell into the Jingxiang area like meteors. Among them were many bright big stars, which made Zhuge Liang change color furiously. He immediately turned around and was about to go out without caring about anything else.

"Brother Liang, what happened?"

Zhuge Liang's noise woke Huang Yueying up. She put on a thin dress and went out to see what was happening.

"It's not good... Sister Ying, Ma Jichang sent a letter a few days ago saying that His Majesty ordered the army to rest in the forest. Mars is shifting tonight and is as bright as fire, which means there will be a fire.

Just now, many generals from Jingxiang died like rain. I'm afraid that your majesty is not doing well in the battle and was defeated by the Wu army's fire attack. I must contact Zilong immediately to gather troops and go to support your majesty."

Zhuge Liang hurriedly gave Huang Yueying some instructions while getting dressed, then immediately rushed out of the room and asked someone to prepare a carriage to go straight to Zhao Yun's mansion.

"General... Prime Minister Zhuge wants to see you urgently."

Zhao Yun had already fallen asleep, but the guard's words made him sit up immediately. Even though he was over fifty years old, Zhao Yun still looked meticulous. He immediately changed his clothes and went to the hall to meet Zhuge Liang.

"The Prime Minister came here in the middle of the night. Is there something urgent?"

Zhao Yun knew Zhuge Liang's temper. It must be a big deal that could make him so anxious.

"That's right. Liang Ye observed the stars and found that your majesty would camp in the forest and might be defeated by the Wu army's fire attack. I hope Zilong will take the trouble to lead part of the Sichuan garrison to Yiling to escort your majesty back safely, and at the same time prevent the Wu army from taking advantage of the situation to attack Sichuan."

Zhuge Liang told Zhao Yun the general situation. Zhao Yun did not dare to delay and immediately mounted his horse to go to the military camp to gather soldiers, intending to set off immediately to meet Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang was so anxious that he was sweating profusely and could not sleep all night.

"Alas... I hope our army won't suffer too much loss. If we are defeated, it will definitely cost us the foundation of the Han Dynasty..."

Zhuge Liang thought to himself, but he could not act rashly and could only wait for news from Zhao Yun.

(End of this chapter)