Chapter 499: Zhang Daosheng's Encirclement and Suppression
Chapter 499: Zhang Daosheng's Encirclement and Suppression
September 25, 2017
About three hours after Lu Hai Kong and his men arrived at the canyon, a system notification appeared.
【You have successfully burned 90% of the Yellow Turban's grain and forage stored in the barracks near Liangqi, earning 8 million merit points for the Han Dynasty.】
When Lu Hai Kong heard this news, he immediately felt invigorated.
He had initially thought that burning the granary would either yield no merit points or that the points would be delayed. He never expected the system to be so efficient, calculating and awarding the merit points as soon as the fire was extinguished.
With these 8 million merit points, along with the 10 million for defeating Zhang Bao, 1 million for Gao Sheng, and the remaining 750,000 Lu Hai Kong had, he now had a total of 19.75 million merit points, nearly reaching the 20 million mark.
However, although the merit points were considerable, there were still about ten days until the next merit point exchange, so these points were temporarily just for show and couldn't be used. Therefore, there seemed little reason to get excited.
Moreover, after a few more hours of rest, Lu Hai Kong and his group were almost ready to leave.
From the start, Lu Hai Kong had not planned to stay long in the canyon. He had allocated eight hours for rest, after which they would immediately relocate.
The eight hours were carefully calculated by Lu Hai Kong; any less time would not suffice for rest, and any more might risk their discovery by the enemy.
Having successfully destroyed the Yellow Turban's granary and eliminated their second-in-command, Lu Hai Kong had no intention of engaging in battle with the Yellow Turbans.
By this time, the Yellow Turban army led by Lu Zhi had already breached Ye City, and with their granary burned, the Yellow Turbans would need some time to regroup and gather more supplies before continuing their offensive towards Silizhou. This gave them the energy to focus on encircling and suppressing Lu Hai Kong.
If Lu Hai Kong's group were discovered, they would likely face a tough battle. Being deep in enemy territory, Lu Hai Kong's supplies would only last for about two days, and if the fighting continued, their situation would become dire.
Therefore, Lu Hai Kong planned to withdraw after resting. Utilizing their cavalry advantage, they would not return the way they came but instead move laterally, heading back to Bingzhou via Shangdang County and then turning towards Taiyuan County.
Lu Hai Kong's retreat plan was feasible, but he had misjudged one thing: the Yellow Turbans' control over Ji Province and their determination to capture him.
Within a few hours of the granary being burned, Zhang Daosheng sent out scouts to track Lu Hai Kong's group. After losing their trail, Zhang Daosheng gritted his teeth and used several items to finally pinpoint Lu Hai Kong's location.
Subsequently, Zhang Daosheng began gathering a massive force, surrounding Lu Hai Kong's position from all directions.
Zhang Daosheng's determination to capture Lu Hai Kong stemmed not only from the destruction of their barracks, granary, and the death of Zhang Bao but also from his desire to eliminate a formidable opponent for the Yellow Turban forces.
With Lu Hai Kong's forces currently isolated and deep in enemy territory, it was the perfect time for Zhang Daosheng to capture him. Once Lu Hai Kong escaped and returned to Bingzhou, leading his troops to attack from Changshan County, it would pose a significant threat to the Yellow Turbans at this time.
Initially, Zhang Daosheng could afford to ignore Lu Hai Kong.
However, with Lu Hai Kong burning their granary in Liangqi, the Yellow Turbans' previous strategy was stalled. They would need at least half a month, if not longer, to gather enough supplies to continue their assault on Silizhou.
But in terms of time, the Yellow Turbans were truly at a disadvantage.
At this moment, although the Yellow Turbans in Ji Province seemed to have the upper hand, they were actually in a very precarious situation.
Currently, there were five threats in Ji Province, including Lu Hai Kong from Bing Province, Gongsun Zan from You Province, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun from Yuzhou, and Lu Zhi from Wucheng.
These five forces would take some time to converge, as Gongsun Zan from You Province still needed some time, and Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun from Yuzhou were still engaged in battle with Bo Cai. However, it wouldn't take long before they could all march towards Ji Province.
Under these circumstances, if they couldn't take advantage of this window of opportunity and eliminate as many of these forces as possible before they all converged on Ji Province, the Yellow Turbans would truly face a very grim situation.
As the Mystic Lord, once Lu Hai Kong dies, the entire force under his command would collapse, which means one less threat for the Yellow Turbans.
This was why Daosheng Zhang insisted that Lu Hai Kong must not be allowed to leave Ji Province alive!
After resting for over six hours in the canyon, Lu Hai Kong was located and pinned down by Daosheng Zhang, who had made thorough preparations for the encirclement and suppression.
"My lord, three li to the left of the canyon and two li to the right, there are numerous Yellow Turban soldiers."
Ma Pin appeared behind Lu Hai Kong in the canyon and reported.
At this moment, Lu Hai Kong was drawn to the news reported by Ma Pin, completely unaware that Ma Pin's voice seemed much thinner than before.
"They've located our position so quickly and made preparations for the encirclement and suppression. It seems I've truly angered them."
In the 6191 version, there was no mistake!
Lu Hai Kong frowned, a little surprised by their reaction. Fortunately, the soldiers under Lu Hai Kong's command had already rested sufficiently, and it was time to move out."
"Pass down the order, the entire army is to prepare for departure!"
This cavalry force under Lu Hai Kong's command was the elite of the elite. With Lu Hai Kong's command, over three thousand soldiers assembled within minutes.
After the assembly, Lu Hai Kong led these three thousand cavalrymen without hesitation towards the left side of the canyon.
The left side of the canyon was precisely the direction of Weizhou, Lu Hai Kong's predetermined target.
Although Lu Hai Kong's actions were not slow, Zhang Daosheng's preparations were even more thorough. Shortly after Lu Hai Kong's group charged out of the canyon, they encountered the Yellow Turban Army, a dense and overwhelming force!
Zhang Daosheng, utilizing his status as a Daoist, summoned all the Yellow Turban Alchemists from Weizhou.
Interestingly, Zhang Daosheng did not gather the elite soldiers but instead summoned the lowest-ranking soldiers, the Yellow Turban Rebels.
The Yellow Turban Rebels had a combat strength of around ten, even lower than the Mountain Bandits' archers. In terms of combat, they were even more painful, but the Yellow Turban Rebels had the advantage of being cheap and numerous. They could recruit five hundred people per day, and any territory could easily recruit one or two hundred without effort.
Although they weren't an excellent troop type, those with any talent would not recruit too many. However, for Zhang Daosheng, they were the perfect cannon fodder...
(End of Chapter)
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