Free Web NovelChapter 603: 687 Jizhou Decisive Battle
A month later.
The weather was getting cooler.
Chen Mo, stationed in the Capital, received a battle report from Zhao Qianyi.
Over the past month, Chen Mo received several letters, all of which were victory reports.
The Yellow Turban Army had been beaten by the Imperial Guard to the point of fleeing in disarray. As soon as they saw the Imperial Guard, they would run away like mice seeing a cat, without even engaging in a fight.
The red-barbarian cannons, fire bottle bombs, and high-explosive bombs played a significant role in this. Whenever the rebels organized a decent attack, Zhao Qianyi would have the red-barbarian cannons brought to the front.
Initially, two rounds of bombardment were needed for the rebels to retreat, but eventually, just one round was sufficient. Sometimes, even the sound of explosions alone was enough to make them flee at the wind.
Even when reinforcement from the Five Bushels of Rice Sect came, it was of no help. Instead, it further demoralized the Five Bushels of Rice Sect.
They dared not even accept cities, as city gates were as fragile as paper against the cannons.
There wasn’t much to report in this battle report either.
However, Zhao Qianyi informed him that the shells and fire bottle bombs were almost used up. She planned to make the final resettlement and then launch a full-scale attack on the Rebel Army.
Before that, she wanted to take it upon herself to write a "self-criticism edict" on behalf of the Emperor and have it published in Jizhou.
The chaos in Jizhou was mainly due to the people’s inability to eat, the hungry stomachs, the continuous increase in taxes by the Imperial Court, and the oppression by officials, making rebellion inevitable.
Issuing a "self-criticism edict" now could both appease the public and deal a mental blow to the Yellow Turban Army.
Even the Emperor admitted his mistakes, what are you still rebelling for...
If you surrender, the Imperial Court will pardon the crimes you’ve committed in the past.
The Yellow Turban Bandits number in the millions, not to be trifled with.
If they were all killed, although the court could suppress the rebellion, Jizhou would be emptied and uninhabited.
Then what use would Jizhou be to the court?
Chen Mo did not seek Zhao Chong’s approval and let Zhao Qianyi proceed with her plans.
As for Ma Yuanyi, who was escorted over during that period, and other various rebel generals, after they confessed to their crimes, they were executed outside the Noon Gate.
Just after handling Zhao Qianyi’s matter, Chun Lan approached with a tray, "Prince, it’s getting late, should you flip the token?"
"Not tonight." After two consecutive months of late-night activities, even though Chen Mo was in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he was feeling somewhat overwhelmed. He gave Chun Lan a playful slap on her rear and said, "Prepare hot water for this prince to take a bath..."
"Yes."
...
Jizhou.
Julu.
Zhang Jiao looked gloomily at the generals below, each with their heads bowed, unable to muster any spirit.
It was so freaking frustrating.
For over two months, they had been suppressed and beaten by the Imperial Guard, unable to even raise their heads. The fiery tongues spat out by the cannons panicked both men and horses, causing them to flee in chaos. They tried to organize a counterattack, but the frightened Yellow Turban soldiers wouldn’t obey their commands at all.
They had also grasped the attacking style of the government troops.
After the booming sounds louder than thunder, the heavy cavalry would charge, killing in a three-pronged attack. When the rebels couldn’t even find their direction after being killed so much, the main forces of the government troops would advance to reap the harvest. freewebnoveℓ.com
This way of attack was simply insurmountable.
At least to the Yellow Turban Army, it was insurmountable.
They simply could not overcome their fear of the shells.
However, they knew if they did not organize a counterattack and win, they would have no hope of victory and await extermination.
Since the Emperor had issued a "self-criticism edict," which had spread throughout Jizhou with the promotion by the Imperial Guard.
The morale within the Yellow Turban Army was in turmoil, with people and horses dwindling by the day.
For the Yellow Turban soldiers, now that they could no longer fight against the government troops, the court gave them a chance to survive, which they would surely seize. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"Damn it, what sorcery are those court lackeys using, it never ends." After a long silence, a chief couldn’t help but curse.
This remark also sparked a discussion, causing the entire tent to become noisy.
"If it weren’t for that ghostly thing, those lackeys wouldn’t be so overbearing."
"If it weren’t for the government troops’ Divine Artifact support, our rebel army of several hundred thousand could drown them in spit."
"..."
Listening to his subordinates complaining, Zhang Jiao was also at his wit’s end.
If only, if only...
But the reality was that the Song Army had them.
Now, what they needed to think about was how to counter it, not to complain.
Zhang Jiao shifted his gaze to his strategic advisor Xu He: "Advisor, any brilliant strategies?"
Xu He was also in a dilemma, but since it was a matter of life and death now, they had to give it a try. After some thought, he said:
"According to my observations, the "monsters" unleashed by those court lackeys have noticeably decreased in recent days, indicating that the quantity of such things is limited. They should have almost depleted them by now. We can launch a night raid..."
Furthermore, Xu He suggested cutting off the rebel army’s retreat, forcing them to fight desperately.
Burning the boats might offer a glimmer of hope.
Finally, a message should be sent to King Yan, explaining the stakes to him.
If the Yellow Turban Army was wiped out, then he would be next.
Urge him to attack the Capital, which was currently undermanned. A full-scale attack could achieve a great victory.
This move would also pressure the Jizhou Imperial Guard.
...
"The ant rebels are desperate and want to fight us to the death."
In the Imperial Guard’s main tent, Zhao Qianyi read the battle challenge letter sent by the ant rebels, with a smile appearing on her face.
She passed the ant rebels’ challenge letter down for all the generals to read.
"These rebels can’t hold on anymore." Huangfu Hao also laughed.
"Exactly. More and more Yellow Turbans are defecting to us, and the rebel forces are dwindling. If this continues, they will crumble without us even lifting a finger."
...
This was evidently good news for them.
"Princess, should we accept the battle?" Huangfu Hao asked.
"Of course, why shouldn’t we? It saves this marshal a lot of effort."
...
Three days later.
On a stretch of Endless Plains.
The combined forces of over a million spread across the Endless Plains, creating a spectacular scene.
However, one side stood in a crooked manner, while the other side stood incredibly neat and had a thousand-man phalanx, equipped with various arms and ready for an offensive stance.
This was the Imperial Guard.
Two miles from the Yellow Turban Army’s defensive line, Zhao Qianyi raised her hand on the plains, holding Tianwen aloft.
With the waving of the command flag, over twenty thousand soldiers quickly stood by at their positions.
"Advisor, they have stopped." Xu He noticed that the government troops stopped from such a distance and couldn’t help but speak.
This was the Imperial Guard.
Two miles from the Yellow Turban Army’s defensive line, Zhao Qianyi raised her hand on the plains, holding Tianwen aloft.
With the waving of the command flag, over twenty thousand soldiers quickly stood by at their positions.
"Advisor, they have stopped." Xu He noticed that the government troops stopped from such a distance and couldn’t help but speak.
