Chapter 18: Troops Set out from Ji County
In a blink of an eye, half of April has passed.
Over the past month, the Yellow Turban Army in various places continued to rise. In addition to the Yellow Turban Army in Youzhou winning the first battle, Zhang Mancheng led his troops to attack and kill the Nanyang County Magistrate Chu Gong, and Bo Cai led his troops to defeat Zhu Jun and besieged Huangfu Song.
Other states also made small gains.
The Yellow Turban Army spread like wildfire, burning the Han Dynasty to the bone, and the people were exhausted.
However, this will also be the most glorious moment for the Yellow Turban Army. In the next two months, the situation will take a sharp turn for the worse. The Yellow Turban Army will be defeated again and again under the encirclement and suppression of the government troops, and will eventually be destroyed.
If another player adds fuel to the fire, the situation may become even worse.
…
Qin Mo doesn't pay much attention to the outside world, because that is not something he can control.
All the silver coins in the two boxes of treasures awarded by Cheng Yuanzhi were given to the soldiers of the Royal Guard Battalion who participated in the war. The other box included 20 gold coins, ten jade ornaments, cultural relics, and gold and silver utensils.
Qin Mo kept the gold coins in the dimensional space for backup, and brought the jade back to reality. He found time to sell the worst piece at the antique city, making a profit of 100,000 yuan, which he used as living expenses for the Royal Guard Battalion.
After the expansion of the Royal Guard Battalion, Qin Mo had to prepare 200 kilograms of pork every day. 100,000 yuan was only enough for a month, and the consumption was very shocking.
That’s why they say war means wasting money.
If the pork was bought in the Three Kingdoms subcontinent, it would probably bankrupt a small business.
Of course, this is just an initial investment in order to improve the physical fitness of the soldiers in the Royal Guard Battalion in the shortest possible time, and the meat supply will be gradually reduced later.
After staying in Ji County for a month, Cheng Yuanzhi finally summoned Qin Mo again.
In the past month, Qin Mo had been quite relaxed, responsible only for training his one thousand personal guards every day; however, Cheng Yuanzhi was a very busy man, dispatching troops to attack from all sides and capture the remaining counties in Zhuo County.
The Yellow Turban Army in Youzhou has expanded like a snowball, from 50,000 to 80,000.
In order to ensure the supply of food and fodder for the army, Cheng Yuanzhi also took great pains and wanted to dig out every last grain of food in Zhuo County.
In the past half month, the Yellow Turban Army that went out to look for food even crossed Zhuo County and ran to Dai County and Shanggu County in the north to look for food, causing chaos in Youzhou.
Seeing the powerful Yellow Turban Army, ambitious people in various counties and prefectures emerged from cracks in the rocks one after another. On the surface, they were responding to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but in fact they were taking the opportunity to expand their power.
It’s so lively.
Faced with such chaos, local gentry, wealthy families, and aristocratic families all chose to protect themselves, closed their doors tightly, used the fortress courtyards as their strongholds, and used servants to guard the courtyards.
It was just a pity for the people of Youzhou, who could only move forward with difficulty amidst the chaos of the times.
"Our army has already captured the entire Zhuo County, and the subsequent food and grass have also been raised in place. The next step is to send troops to Ji County to attack and destroy the troops of Liu Yan, the governor of Youzhou. What do you think?" Cheng Yuanzhi said.
Qin Mo nodded, "That's right."
"Then, General, are you willing to be the vanguard?" Cheng Yuanzhi asked tentatively.
"Since the commander-in-chief has given the order, we should go." Qin Mo roughly guessed Cheng Yuanzhi's intention. He sensed that Cheng Yuanzhi's heartbeat obviously quickened when he said this.
Qin Mo did not refuse, as it was a good opportunity to test the training results of the Royal Guard Battalion.
"Great!" Cheng Yuanzhi was overjoyed. He didn't expect things to go so smoothly. He smiled and said, "General, you are so generous. I will give you another 400 sets of armor and 100 war horses to help you achieve your goal."
After plundering for a month, Cheng Yuanzhi became rich.
"Thank you, Marshal!" Qin Mo smiled and clasped his fists. He didn't expect to have such an unexpected surprise.
In this way, the Royal Guard Battalion not only has complete armor, but also has cavalry for the first time. While being equipped with Qu Chang and Dian Jiang, it can also form a reconnaissance cavalry squad. What a good use of the place!
It's like giving me a pillow when I feel sleepy.
…
The next day.
Qin Mo led the personal guard battalion, left Zhuo County and headed straight for Ji County.
The two places were only about 40 kilometers apart, so the Royal Guard Battalion traveled light and arrived at a small town 15 miles south of Ji County that evening for a rest.
Tomorrow morning, we can arrive at the city of Jixian.
…
Upon learning that the Yellow Turbans were attacking, Youzhou Governor Liu Yan was absent-minded and terrified.
He had only 3,000 elite soldiers under his command, but the Yellow Turban Army of Youzhou was said to have a force of 100,000. A single spit from each of them could flood Ji County, and there was no hope of winning at all.
There was actually another army in Youzhou, which was the 3,000 elite cavalry under the command of Gongsun Zan, Marquis of Duting.
However, taking advantage of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Qiuliju, the leader of the Wuhuan in the Liaoxi vassal state, took the opportunity to rebel. Gongsun Zan was busy fighting the Wuhuan at this time, and at the same time he had to resist the nomadic peoples in the north, so he was unable to advance westward.
Fortunately, the spies reported that the Yellow Turbans had only sent out a thousand vanguard troops. Even so, the entire Ji County was under martial law, waiting for the war to come.
…
the next day.
Qin Mo led the personal guard battalion to leave the town and set up camp near a hillside five miles away from the southern suburbs of Ji County.
Although Cheng Yuanzhi was stationed in Zhuo County, he did not ignore the Imperial Guard Battalion. He arranged for thousands of laborers to deliver food, fodder, tents and other supplies to the Imperial Guard Battalion.
Still very kind.
In the afternoon, after a full meal, Qin Mo led his personal guard battalion to the city to provoke.
"I am Qin Mo. Who dares to come out of the city and fight with me?" Qin Mo drew out the Qingfeng sword, pointing the tip of the sword forward. He was so arrogant that he wished he could trample everyone in the world under his feet.
The soldiers of the Royal Guard Battalion also kept cheering.
Qin Mo bet that the enemy would not dare to march out of the city to fight. If the Yellow Turbans set up an ambush outside, they would fall into the trap. But it was unrealistic to ask Qin Mo to lead a thousand guards to attack the city.
Ji County, as the seat of Youzhou, is a huge city.
Therefore, Qin Mo could only resort to provocation, angering the enemy to send troops out of the city to fight the general. The seeds of hatred had already been planted before, so it should be effective.
Liu Yan stood in the middle of the city wall of Ji County, with the lieutenant Zou Jing standing on his left, and Liu Bei and Guan Yu on his right. After the battle of Daxing Mountain, the two retreated to Ji County, suffering heavy casualties.
Fortunately, Liu Yan was generous and provided Liu Bei with 500 additional soldiers.
As expected, seeing that it was Qin Mo who led the attack, Guan Yu's already red face turned even redder on the top of the city wall. He was so angry that his nose was about to smoke, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Even a cunning man like Liu Bei clenched his fists.
“Brother!”
Seeing Qin Mo shouting outside the city, Guan Yu couldn't bear it any longer and kept urging Liu Bei with his eyes.
In Guan Yu's opinion, Qin Mo's killing of Zhang Fei in the battle of Daxing Mountain was a complete fraud and not a true reflection of his strength. Qin Mo was actually suppressed by Zhang Fei before.
He boasted that his strength was even better than Zhang Fei, so naturally he was not afraid of Qin Mo.
Liu Bei was also very unhappy. He was not yet the Lord Xuande in later generations who suffered from cold eyes and setbacks, repeated defeats, and fought again and again, and then developed an invincible heart.
"Sir, I am willing to lead my troops out of the city to fight the rebels and dampen the morale of the Yellow Turban rebels." Liu Bei finally couldn't help it and asked the prefect Liu Yan for permission.
Liu Bei didn't believe that he and his second brother could not subdue Qin Mo together.
"Are you sure?" Liu Yan was skeptical.
It was no wonder that Liu Yan hesitated. It was because the captain Zou Jing had exaggerated the three of Liu, Guan and Zhang too much. As a result, they lost the first battle and even lost one of their own.
No matter how you look at it, it seems to be a misnomer.
Facing Liu Yan's suspicious eyes, Liu Bei felt his blood boiling, and his mind was shocked. He clasped his fists and said, "If you don't kill Qin Mo, my two brothers will bring their heads to you."
But he issued a military order.
"That's good!" Liu Yan finally agreed. Faced with such a predicament, he could only try his best.
"Thank you, sir!"
Liu Bei and Guan Yu both clasped their fists, walked down the city wall quickly, gathered 500 soldiers and horses, and after the city gate was opened, they spurred their horses and rushed out.
Outside the city.
Seeing Liu and Guan rushing out to kill their generals, Qin Mo sneered.
