Chapter 240: Inviting You to a Banquet
However, this withdrawal from Longting to Chenggu was destined to be impossible without any damage.
The heavy crossbows on the walls of Longting in the rear shot towards the retreating troops, causing countless generals who had been marching with Zhang Lu for more than a day to be unable to dodge in such a hurry.
After retreating to a distance of a thousand steps from the city wall, the team finally showed signs of being in a fully-formed formation. Just as Zhang Lu had ordered, they formed an arrow barrier to block the pursuing team.
But when they reached between Longting and Chenggu, a team suddenly rushed out from the northern hillside and headed straight for their middle and rear sections.
The leading general truly had the demeanor of a heroic and vigorous tiger general.
By the time Zhang Lu realized that the general with the silver spear and white horse was no ordinary man, the other party had already led the cavalry and cut off their team in the middle in a moment.
Even though Zhang Lu felt that he had an advantage in cavalry during his previous analysis, the surprise attack army that appeared in front of him did not give him the opportunity to play to his strengths.
The other party seemed to know that the most they could do at this point was catch them off guard.
Once a cavalry of six or seven hundred men is surrounded by a force nearly ten times its size, even the most courageous general will find it difficult to escape unscathed.
After cutting off the team, they immediately turned their horses around and attacked the rear army.
The cavalry in the front army might be able to fight back against such an enemy army, but the archers and sword and shield soldiers in the rear army definitely cannot!
Or not, in this state of their retreat!
Before the elite cavalrymen around Zhang Lu had a chance to pursue the enemy, the leading general decisively led his troops to retreat, keeping the cavalry moving as fast as the wind, and withdrew towards Longting in the east.
Zhang Lu's rear troops, who were killed and scattered, were unable to effectively stop them and disappeared from sight.
"Damn it!" Zhang Lu felt annoyed when he saw the casualties caused by the charge in the rear.
The previous arrows and crossbows from the city walls and this round of enemy attacks have caused his team to lose nearly one-third of their men.
Even Zhang Xiu, who came with him, knew that facing the current situation, the most important thing to do was not to make any sarcasm towards him, but to gain a firm foothold first and drive the powerful enemy out of the country, so he did not say anything at this moment -
As the initiator of this rescue mission to Longting, Zhang Lu must also bear the further blame for his master's poor leadership.
In the face of this distress of losing more troops and generals, Zhang Lu did not notice at all that the "young man with Badong accent" who had come to give him the news was no longer in the team.
He just thought that the other party was unlucky and became one of the casualties in these two rounds.
But in fact, this person had returned to his original team following Zhao Yun's attack just now.
After delivering the letter, the young man returned to the team, his expression still in an excited state.
"General Zhao, Jun Hou and Military Advisor Xun's move was simply amazing. So far, our casualties are less than a hundred, but Zhang Lu's troops have suffered nearly two thousand casualties!"
On the way to Hanzhong via Luogu Road, this young man from Badong, who was the one who told Qiao Yan, Xun You and others about the legend of Liu Xiu of Mangling, also witnessed with his own eyes the scene of the poisonous snake throwing itself into the hot pot.
To the relatively superstitious people of Bashu, this was more than just a good omen as perceived by other soldiers; it should be called divine help.
Driven by this idea, when he heard that Qiao Yan wanted to entrust him to deliver a letter to Zhang Lu, he agreed without hesitation.
Yang Ang, the defender of Longting County, followed Zhang Lu's orders and kept a close eye on the movements in the direction of Ziwu Road - that is, the direction east of Longting. He never thought that the enemy would appear in Chenggu quietly, and did not attack Nanzheng directly, but came towards Longting.
The Guanzhong army, which had marched from the west of Longting, took advantage of the night to capture Longting, and then began their plan to lure Zhang Lu into a trap.
It was a pity that Longting defender Yang Ang died in the siege battle, which prevented Qiao Yan from recruiting the enemy.
But thinking that the other party was Zhang Lu's confidant and had the belief of Tianshi Dao, which increased her respect for her superior, perhaps it would have been impossible to recruit him, so it did not disrupt her plan.
After questioning Yang Ang's personal guards who were captured in the city and reviewing the correspondence in the city, Qiao Yan imitated Yang Ang's handwriting and wrote the letter for help.
Because she still had some unused skill points left, after using the book's bottom to generate skills several times by imitating them, she directly clicked on them.
But in order to prevent people from noticing loopholes in this imitation, she blurred some parts.
In addition, Zhang Lu's close follower Yang Ang might be loyal to him, but not all centurions and captains in the city were indifferent to the arrival of the royal army. They also handed the token of the Longting garrison to Qiao Yan.
This was what Zhang Lu saw at last.
Everything Zhang Lu saw deepened his impression that the news was true.
The person who delivered the letter was from Ba County, Yizhou, and he spoke with an accent in his anxiety.
The letter was written in Yang Ang's handwriting, and was accompanied by a token from the Longting garrison.
The situation described here is indeed what might happen in Hanzhong at this time.
How could he realize that this letter was actually forged by Qiao Yan, who commanded the Guanzhong Army!
In the midst of such planning, his opponent also promised to provide support in order to prevent the Yizhou people who delivered the letter from defecting to his side.
But in fact, the smooth progress of the Guanzhong Army on the Luogu Road, the auspicious sign of a flying snake entering a pot, Qiao Yan's record and status, as well as the various experiences of this Yizhou man who joined the Guanzhong Army in Chang'an, all made it impossible for the messenger to make a wrong choice in the current confrontation.
Even if there was no promise of support, Qiao Yan would still send Zhao Yun to intercept Zhang Lu's troops, targeting those archers!
Only by breaking Zhang Lu's long-range attack team can it be more difficult for him to launch an effective counterattack when he is hit by the next round of attacks.
The team she led to Hanzhong could not be considered a "large army" and every single one of them was precious.
Only such casualties in battle could make Liu Yan, the host of Yizhou, feel fear!
Zhang Lu, who had no idea that he had fallen into a cognitive misunderstanding, had not yet realized that he was the "chicken" in the "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys".
When he saw the Chenggu city wall in the distance and the support flag on the top of the city wall, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Seeing the city gate slowly opening in the night as he gave the order, someone shouted "Please come in, Master" in the flickering fire on the city wall. Thinking of the fact that he had seen Madam Lu on the city wall when they were passing through Chenggu, Zhang Lu's vigilance had already fallen to the bottom.
After the vanguard army entered the city, Zhang Lu also rode forward.
However, at the moment when the central army entered the city, a gong sounded suddenly from the top of the city wall.
From both sides of the street entering the city to the top of the city wall at the rear, hundreds of arrows flew out as the action order was issued.
Zhang Lu's soldiers thought they had entered a safe place where they could rest, and they all wanted to settle down in the city as soon as possible.
But what they received was not food and beds, but a thunderous blow.
Zhang Lu was extremely shocked.
Amid the hail of arrows and flying feathers all around him, he heard his soldiers falling one after another. Even torches were thrown down from the top of the city walls, landing at the feet of the cavalry's horses, immediately causing another chaos.
If the enemy chose to launch this attack after all of them entered the city, perhaps relying on their numbers, they could still fight to the death in the city.
But this action happened at the moment when half of their team entered the city.
The last time their team was cut in half, it was Zhao Yun's cavalry.
The team now forms a cutting line at the city gate of Chenggu County.
The defenders on the high ground on the city wall completed the transition between the enemy and our camp. The blow they inflicted increased exponentially due to the cover of night and the scarcity of archers on Zhang Lu's side.
Zhang Lu found it difficult to understand why in such a short period of time, he actually lost not only Longting but both Longting and Chenggu.
Unfortunately, with his own team in chaos and the enemy's pursuit, he had no time to think about this problem.
He also had no time to consider the current situation of his brothers and mother who were originally in this city.
What he could obviously do was not to drive out the defenders in the city, but to try his best to escape from this dangerous place.
He should also be thankful that when the attack was launched, he was not at the front of the team, which would have allowed him to go too deep into the city.
What was even more fortunate was that his close followers still maintained their belief in the Tianshi Dao at this time, and were determined to get their master out of the city, and they really fought their way out of the city.
As he fled out of the city with an arrow wound on his head, he heard the defenders on the top of the city wall shouting, "The emperor has ordered the Grand Marshal of Bingzhou and the General of Yizhou to hunt in Hanzhong and kill the rice thief Zhang Lu!"
Before the shouting stopped, shouts of killing were heard again in the city.
When Zhang Lu turned around to look at the remnants at the rear, he saw a group of soldiers chasing after him out of the city. They looked like they were determined to cut off his chance of survival!
He had no time to care about the soldiers behind him. He pulled the reins without hesitation and ran as fast as he could towards Nanzheng in the west.
But as he galloped on his horse, he could not help but mutter the words that the defenders had shouted.
There is too much information in this sentence.
It's fine that Bingzhou Mu was promoted from the original General of Cavalry to the position of Grand Marshal, but what does it mean to be -
Let the Grand Marshal and the General go to Hanzhong to hunt and kill Zhang Lu?
This light tone made Zhang Lu feel a chill.
Although he had some political talent, he was still unable to figure out the intention of having Qiao Yan suppress Liu Yan in such a short period of time. He also didn't understand why he had been targeted once in Wudu County and now became that target again.
You can't just pick the soft persimmons like that!
He just vaguely felt at this moment that this series of killing moves would never have developed to this point without Liu Yan's indulgence and support!
He thought so, and his subordinates were not much different.
When the daylight gradually brightened, the pursuers were no longer behind them.
But after experiencing these three hardships, when they looked at each other, it was not difficult to see the sadness, anger and frustration on each other's faces.
Even those who managed to escape from Chenggu County were mostly injured.
As Zhang Lu looked around, he also found that Zhang Xiu, who was originally in the team, had disappeared. After asking his subordinates, he learned that when they entered the city last night, Zhang Xiu was actually still outside the city.
Logically speaking, this was the easiest position to escape, but he was hit directly by the crossbows on the city wall.
This arrow killed Zhang Xiu on the spot.
Zhang Lu felt mixed emotions about the death of the ghost leader of the Tianshi Dao who had been fighting with him.
But he knew that this might be a good thing for him.
Once Zhang Xiu died, Zhang Lu could take over his power and completely command the soldiers in Nanzheng and Mianyang under his own command. This would undoubtedly be more conducive to dealing with the enemy coming from afar than the original division of troops into two places.
Thinking of this, Zhang Lu hurriedly treated his wounds and continued to return to Nanzheng.
He rushed to Longting's aid with the idea of getting supplies in Longting. He never expected that he would face such a non-stop escape in the end. During the escape, the vehicles carrying military supplies were left on the road, so that when he arrived at the city of Nanzheng, he was already starving.
Since he took over the Tianshi Dao, Zhang Lu, as a religious leader, has never encountered such a tragic situation. Looking back at the team he led to Longting, there were only a few hundred people left, and he spoke with bitterness.
Fortunately, the defenders on the Nanzheng city wall were still the same as when he left, and they were all familiar faces to him. There was absolutely no possibility of them being replaced by the enemy.
He was also successfully welcomed into the city and had a hot meal at his residence.
But before the meal dishes were cleared away, he received news that shocked him.
No, it should be said two.
One is that Wudu County is sending reinforcements to the west of Mianyang.
The second is that on the mountain road of Micang Mountain south of Nanzheng, a group of soldiers were approaching this place.
Zhang Lu jumped up immediately.
It was because the subordinate reported that the troops attacking from the direction of Micang Mountain were wearing the uniforms of the Yizhou army.
Don't say anything. After Cheng Gu and Long Ting were captured by Qiao Yan, they should have confiscated a lot of clothes from the Yizhou army.
It couldn't be that Qiao Yan had prepared those people there long ago.
Because of the mention of a hunting party, it was hard for Zhang Lu not to think of this at the first moment. It was probably Liu Yan who came to attack his team.
To the west of Mianyang, there are Xu Shu's troops in Wudu County; to the east of Nanzheng, there are the troops brought by Qiao Yan from Chang'an in Chenggu and Longting; to the north of Nanzheng, there are the Qinling Mountains that separate Guanzhong; to the south of Nanzheng, there are the strangling troops sent by Liu Yan who turned against him ruthlessly.
In this crisis where enemies were coming from all directions, Zhang Lu felt that the Nanzheng County where he was now was not so safe.
Even if he could hold on to this place temporarily, he would only be surrounded and killed here.
So this city cannot be defended!
He must find another way out for himself!
Where can he take temporary refuge right now, still occupy a dominant position, and not be so dependent on Liu Yan's support?
In this flash of inspiration, an answer emerged in his mind.
Guanghan vassal state!
It was a county in the northwestern corner of Yizhou, connected to Wudu County in another direction through Yinping Road to the north. It was also the route Zhang Lu took when he first entered Wudu County.
To get there, all they had to do was retreat from the southwest before Xu Shu's troops attacking from the west and Liu Yan's troops coming from the south met in Nanzheng.
The reason why that place was not too dependent on Liu Yan's support was because the terrain of this place, a vassal state of Guanghan, was relatively harsh, and the Yinping Road was known for its steepness as "the mountains are as high as the clouds, and the black cranes are afraid to fly."
When he was spreading Tianshi Dao in Wudu County earlier, because the rule of Tianshi Dao was to let those who repented do labor to build roads, he let some people participate in the construction of Yinping Road.
This was originally intended to allow reinforcements from the direction of Yizhou to quickly arrive in Wudu County, but it became an opportunity for him to establish relations with the Di tribe in Guanghan's vassal state, and now it has become his preferred place of refuge.
Zhang Lu didn't know whether this was a blessing or a curse for him, but he still made a decisive decision -
Withdraw the garrisons of Nanzheng and Mianyang together and flee with him to the vassal state of Guanghan!
At least you can't be trapped like a turtle in a jar and be killed here!
But what he failed to see was that shortly after he withdrew, Yao Chang, who came from Mi Cang Mountain, brought her Qiang troops to occupy Nanzheng and Mianyang, and joined forces with Xu Shu's troops, and then sent military reports from this place to Qiao Yan who was in Longting.
"It seems that Zhang Lu is still lucky enough." Qiao Yan sighed.
In this series of attacks, she did not deliberately show any mercy to Zhang Lu, but proceeded with the normal three-pass kill.
Even though such a religious team would often be willing to sacrifice their lives to protect their commander, there were many accidents on the battlefield, and there was no guarantee that Zhang Lu would not be killed by a stray arrow.
Although her original plan was to drive Zhang Lu towards the vassal state of Guanghan, Qiao Yan couldn't help but smile when she heard that this goal was finally achieved.
She wanted to break up the influence of Tianshi Dao in Hanzhong, but not to uproot it.
If Zhang Lu died, she would have to consider supporting Madam Lu to become the new Taoist master.
The current situation saves her a lot of effort.
What a good life...
You have to be lucky to see the good show later!
She instructed Zhao Yun, "Send someone to report the news. It's time to inform Liu Yan about the hunting trip."
This order was delivered by Zhao Yun to Chu Yan, who was stationed between Micang Mountain and Daba Mountain. He then sent someone to carry the imperial edict south to Chengdu.
When this imperial edict appeared in front of Liu Yan, he almost thought there was something wrong with his ears.
He thought it was an imperial decree asking him to send a hostage to the capital, but he did not expect it was an order for him to go hunting in Hanzhong with the newly promoted Grand Marshal Qiao Yan.
The messenger who delivered the imperial edict closed the imperial edict and said, "When my prince passed through Hanzhong, he took the four counties of Mianyang, Nanzheng, Chenggu and Longting. Zhang Xiu surrendered and Zhang Lu fled. If the general leaves quickly, probably -"
He looked at Liu Yan meaningfully and read out the words that Qiao Yan had prepared for him.
"Maybe we could use a celebratory banquet."
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