ebookland Chapter 299 Lu Xun's Counterattack
Chapter 299 Lu Xun's Counterattack
Under the watchful eyes of Lu Xun and Zhou Fang, Ding Feng recounted his arduous journey, beginning with his mission to deliver grain to Xu Sheng on Lu Xun's orders, and quickly moving on to the moment when he broke through the breach and fled for his life.
"After running for a long time, I realized that the Han army was not chasing me at all. I wanted to find a place to rest, but I was afraid that I would be ambushed and captured by Han scouts. So I could only continue to advance while being vigilant about my surroundings to prevent Han scouts from entering."
"Who would have thought that we would encounter another terrible trap after walking for a short while? Moreover, the road was lined with bushes on both sides, making it easy for a few people to hide. I was afraid that I would be shot by the Han army if I walked into the middle of the road, so I went into the mountains to take a detour. As a result, I did find the Han army ambushing us after entering the mountains. Fortunately, the Han soldiers were all facing your side and did not see me behind them."
“I observed that the Han army only numbered thirty or forty men. Seeing that their forces were small and they had been running in a very frustrating manner, I ambushed them from behind and killed a few of them. The rest of the Han soldiers, unaware of my background, thought that I was followed by a large force and fled in haste. It was only then that I realized they were all carrying fire arrows and had piled up a lot of branches in front of them, clearly intending to set fire to ambush you. So I lit them in advance, so that by the time you arrived, they would be almost burned out.”
He was, after all, one of the Twelve Tiger Generals of Jiangdong. He was confident he could ambush dozens of soldiers when they were caught off guard, so…
Lu Xun sighed, "After so many days, we've finally heard some good news, but it's a pity about General Xu Sheng."
Lu Xun understood Xu Sheng and knew that Xu Sheng would not surrender and would definitely fight to the death. Moreover, since the Han army had freed up its resources to deal with Ding Feng and Lü Ju, it meant that Xu Sheng was probably already dead in battle.
Although he wished he could tear Xu Sheng to pieces, what was the point of worrying about such things now that the man was dead?
Lu Xun sighed, "Chengyuan, go and get some sleep on the grain cart. The rest of you, continue on your way."
The army quickly arrived at the fire scene and found that the branches had been burned, so they began to clear the rubble and fill in the traps.
While the army was filling in the pits, Lu Xun led Zhou Fang into the mountains to inspect the battlefield where Han Dang committed suicide. Then they returned to the army and continued their advance, soon arriving at the mountain pass through which Ding Feng had escaped.
Looking at the tracks left by the Han army, Zhou Fang said, "If I'm not mistaken, General Xu Sheng entered Baoping Valley from here and was surrounded. The Han army might still be in Baoping Valley. Should we go in and attack?"
Lu Xun shook his head and said, "Forget it. The terrain inside is treacherous. The Han army can easily find a pass to block us and cover the main force's retreat from the mountains. Wait, retreat from the mountains?"
At this point, Lu Xun had a sudden inspiration, as if he had grasped something. He quickly stepped forward, grabbed Ding Feng, who was fast asleep on the grain cart, violently woke him up, and then grabbed a map, asking, "Chengyuan, tell me quickly, did the Han army retreat from the mountains or from the corridor?"
Ding Feng hadn't slept for several days. He had just dozed off when he was violently woken up. With sleepy eyes and a blank expression, he said, "I don't know. When I escaped through the gap, the Han army had just withdrawn. I was only concerned with escaping and didn't dare to look back."
Lu Xun quickly crossed the gap to check, and walked several miles before returning to say, "The corridor is blocked by mountains, making it difficult for the wind to blow in. It hasn't rained these past two days, so the footprints on the ground are still very obvious."
"There are three layers of footprints on the ground. The bottommost footprints lead from the area near the trap set by Cheng Yuan to Yushan. We saw them when we came here. Based on this, we can infer that the Han army that left the footprints came from the mountains. It is very likely that they were the Han army that besieged General Han."
"The second layer of footprints came from the direction of Yushan towards us, and it stopped at the gap. What does that mean?"
Zhou Fang pondered, "This means that the Han army that besieged General Han withdrew from this place first, and only after they withdrew did the Han army from Yushan arrive here to enter the gap and besiege General Xu Sheng."
"Great Commander, look, besides these two layers of footprints, there is a third layer of footprints. Like the first layer, it leads to Jade Mountain, but there are far fewer of them than the previous two. If I am not mistaken, it should be the Han army that brushed past General Ding Feng and was preparing to ambush us here."
"The Han army's deployment is now clear. After defeating General Han in the mountains, the Han army will withdraw from there. Then, the main force of the Han army from Yushan will enter the mountains to encircle and annihilate General Xu Sheng. They will also leave a force to guard against us. After annihilating Xu Sheng, the blocking force at the breach will be ordered to retreat, while the main force that encircled and annihilated Xu Sheng will rest and recuperate in the mountains before withdrawing. Am I right, General?"
Lu Xun nodded and said, "That's right. This means we can conclude that the main force of the Han army that besieged and annihilated Xu Sheng did not retreat from the corridor, but was preparing to cross the mountain to return."
"The reason for crossing the mountain is easy to understand. They were afraid of running into us in the corridor. The Han army had traveled two or three hundred li from Da Mo to here, and they were here to pursue Xu Sheng and prevent him from escaping. Therefore, their speed must have been extremely fast. Anyone would get tired if they ran hundreds of li in a short time. In other words, while the Han army annihilated Xu Sheng, they themselves became a wounded and exhausted army. If they returned along the original route and ran into us in the corridor, it would be disastrous. So Guan Xing chose to retreat through the mountains."
“The mountain terrain is complex, and any intersection could block our way to buy time for the army to retreat. On the surface, it seems safe, but Guan Xing overlooked one problem: crossing the mountain would seriously affect the marching speed.”
"To give a simple example, if we and the Han army set off from here at the same time to head towards Damo, we take the main road while they cross the mountains, and there are no obstacles along the way, who do you think will arrive at Damo first?"
Zhou Fang answered without hesitation: "It must be us. The corridor is flat but the mountain road is rugged. Not only is it rugged, but we may also have to go around in circles. The distance is more than half of the corridor. We can travel at most two hundred li along the corridor to Da Mo, while they may have to go three hundred li by going around in the mountains."
Lu Xun said, "That's right, and the Han army also has wounded soldiers. These wounded soldiers will slow down the Han army's march again. In other words, we've already arrived at the end of the road while the Han army is still climbing uphill in the mountains."
"What if we replace Da Mo with Yu Shan? If we arrive at Yu Shan before the main force of the Han army, can we then head south into the Wuyi Mountains and get ahead of the Han army to block them?"
Zhou Fang's eyes lit up and he quickly asked, "Does the Grand Commander intend to block the Han army at Wuyi Mountain and annihilate them completely?"
Lu Xun pondered, "To annihilate the Han army completely is probably wishful thinking, but if the Han army that annihilated Xu Sheng were to withdraw back to Damo at a leisurely pace, it would be my dereliction of duty."
Zhou Fang quickly simulated the situation in his mind and said with delight, "The Grand Commander is right. The reason why the Han army retreated from the mountains is because they thought they could find any intersection to block our pursuit and withdraw at their leisure. The same applies to the other side. We can find any intersection to block the Han army and trap them in the mountains so that they cannot return to Damu smoothly."
"The Han army came in haste and must not have carried much food. If we can hold them off for three to five days, our formation will break down. But if we do that, we must be wary of the Han army returning the way they came and cutting off our retreat."
Lu Xun said, "That's right, Chengyuan, don't run with us. Here are three thousand more men. Guard this gap and prevent the Han army from breaking out from here again."
"Ziyu, go to the rear to escort the grain and fodder. We need to prepare more grain and fodder. If the Han army really infiltrates our rear and blocks our retreat, our grain and fodder must exceed the infiltrating Han army. That way, when the Han army runs out of grain and fodder, they will naturally retreat."
"Inform Zhuge Jin again, and have him send troops to patrol the corridor while he is guarding Yu Han, so as to keep the corridor as clear as possible."
After doing all this, Lu Xun changed his previous lax attitude and led his army to Yushan at top speed.
If he is not mistaken, the Han army currently stationed at Yushan should be the few thousand Han soldiers who brushed past Ding Feng and the Han army that withdrew and reorganized after annihilating Han Dang. This Han army has just fought a big battle with Han Dang and its combat strength is definitely not strong. He is very likely to be able to take Yushan easily.
After capturing Yushan, we can either enter the mountains to intercept the retreating Han army, or quickly rush to and capture Damo, and then turn around to calmly deal with and annihilate Xu Sheng's Han army in the mountains.
Crisis, crisis, danger and opportunity are often intertwined.
For example, now, although Guan Xing has destroyed Han Dang and Xu Sheng, he has also turned the entire Han army into exhausted soldiers and divided them into two parts. If he can seize the opportunity to defeat them one by one, he can turn the tide and win in an instant.
Lu Xun knew this was his only chance to win, and he also knew that the opportunity was fleeting, so he dared not delay and rushed towards Yushan at top speed.