In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos.
Liu Wei transmigrated to become a prince of the Eastern Han, initially framed by Empress Dowager He and granted the barren and dangero...
"Zhang Ju is dead. Surrender and we'll give you food!"
Liu Du had someone hold up Zhang Ju's head and shout it loudly at the rebel army.
The already defeated rebel army, upon hearing of Zhang Ju's death, completely abandoned their resistance.
Most of the rebels were refugees from Yuyang and Youbeiping. They followed Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun in their uprising, just to get a full meal.
The rebel army appeared formidable, numbering over 200,000, but they were utterly no match for the regular army of the imperial court.
With the defeats of Murong Mohuba in the northwest and Dunta in the southwest, Zhang Ju was beheaded and Zhang Chun was captured, and the great battle in which both sides had invested more than 400,000 men was gradually coming to an end.
Liu Wei's banner had already been erected beneath the city of Jixian, standing like a pillar of strength, awe-inspiring the entire battlefield.
The rebel troops in Ji County retreated one after another, and Yan Rou and others took the opportunity to recapture the city.
The remnants of the defeated army fled to Qiuliju in the northeast and regrouped.
Upon hearing that Dunta had been killed on the spot, Qiuliju spat out a mouthful of blood!
Although Dunta was his cousin, he was exceptionally capable and had always been Qiuliju's right-hand man.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Ju has been killed, and we can't hold them off anymore. What should we do?"
His subordinates, however, wanted him to make the decision.
The cavalry of Zhang Liao, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were incredibly powerful; their four thousand cavalrymen weaved through Qiu Liju's massive army.
The 20,000-strong army has been fighting since dawn, and more than 6,000 have already died.
Faced with the hook-and-sickle spears of two thousand Beiwei soldiers, the Wuhuan cavalry had no way to counter them and could only take a beating.
"Where there's life, there's hope!"
Qiuliju recited a Han proverb fiercely, then ordered, "We retreat, retreat to Lulong Pass, retreat back to the grasslands of the Xiliao River!"
"White Wolf Mountain is still guarded by Khan Lu, these Han troops can't get through!"
Once Qiuliju gave the order to retreat, large numbers of Wuhuan cavalry left the battlefield and retreated towards Yuyang and Youbeiping.
"Second brother, I didn't kill enough, why did they run away!"
Zhang Fei was covered in blood, and his spear was dripping with blood. "I promised my lord fifteen heads of foreign tribes, and I've already killed thirty more than promised. Isn't that generous enough?"
"Third brother, let's give them a chase and expand our gains!"
"It's really exhilarating to kill these alien races!"
Guan Yu immediately agreed, and the two led their troops to pursue.
Fearing a loss, Zhang Liao hurried over and joined the pursuit.
The three men tacitly agreed to pursue Qiu Liju and slaughter him, when suddenly a man in brocade robes rode up on horseback.
"Generals, our lord has ordered that you not pursue them, but quickly return to the outskirts of Ji County and wipe out the enemy on the battlefield."
Zhang Fei was unwilling, but Guan Yu pulled him back.
The three generals led their troops back to the outskirts of Ji County.
The great banner fluttered in the wind above the rebel army's central camp.
Liu Wei, along with Liu Bei, Tian Yu, Tian Kai, Qi Zhou, Murong Ping, the Seventeen Riders of Yanyun, and others, cleared out the rebel camp and set it up as the headquarters of the General of the North.
On the battlefield, troops from various units were clearing out the stubborn remaining enemy forces and dealing with prisoners.
Only on the southwestern battlefield did Zhang Yan and Murong Muyan fight to a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the defeated Murong Xianbei cavalry from the northwest corner joined Murong Muyan's army.
First his younger brother died in battle, and now his father has been killed. Murong Muyan's eyes are bloodshot, and he vows to lead his men back to avenge his father.
"Prince, the situation is hopeless now. Let's retreat quickly and preserve some of the Murong tribe's lineage!"
The guards around Murong Muyan tried to dissuade him, saying, "If we don't leave now, it will be too late!"
"withdraw!"
Despite his utter helplessness, Murong Muyan had no choice but to listen to his subordinates.
"We can't get through Juyong Pass, so we might as well head west, pass through Feihu Pass in Taihang Mountains, and enter Yanmen in Bingzhou."
"We still have 25,000 troops. We can go through them as if they were nothing."
Then someone else made a suggestion.
"Alright, let's leave quickly before the enemy discovers our intentions!" Murong Muyan made the decision through gritted teeth.
"Prince, our army's rations are only enough for one day!" someone said.
"We'll rob and plunder our way through, leaving no survivors wherever we go!" Murong Muyan said viciously.
Before long, 25,000 Murong Xianbei cavalrymen withdrew westward from the battlefield, heading towards the Taihang Mountains.
With the pressure greatly reduced, Zhang Yan had no desire to pursue the matter further.
His Taiyue Army, consisting of 3,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry, suffered a 50% loss in this battle, and those who survived were all wounded.
Zhang Baiqi's injuries from Zhenjiazhuang haven't fully healed yet, and now he's seriously injured again. You can only say he's unlucky.
However, Zhang Yan felt uneasy seeing that these Xianbei people were heading towards the Taihang Mountains.
Because his 30,000 people who had migrated to Youzhou were trapped in the Taihang Mountains due to the heavy snow a few days ago, the consequences would be unimaginable if they were to encounter these Xianbei people unexpectedly.
Therefore, Zhang Yan hurriedly gathered his men and led Zhang Baiqi, Du Chang, and other subordinates toward Liu Wei's banner.
......
The great battle slowly came to an end.
Of the 200,000 rebel coalition troops, 50,000 were annihilated, 90,000 surrendered, 60,000 fled, and countless others were trampled to death.
When Liu Wei learned that Liu Du had accidentally killed Wang Zheng, he was speechless.
To be honest, Liu Wei knew from the Embroidered Uniform Guards that Wang Zheng was not a good person, but he naturally had to keep his promise to give him the position of prefect.
Now that Liu Du has killed Wang Zheng for him, it's for the best, to avoid future trouble.
After publicly berating Liu Du, Liu Wei punished him by deducting three months' salary.
Liu Du never expected that he would kill the mole arranged by Liu Wei. When he came to see Liu Wei, he hung his head and waited for Liu Wei's punishment.
To his surprise, Liu Wei only fined him without any real consequence.
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