Chapter 76 "Ambushing Reinforcements"

Almost no casualties were suffered by Guan Yu's army when they captured Licheng, greatly boosting the morale of Liu Bei's forces. However, three days later, Guan Yu's army will march to Dongpingling to join me, while I am still stuck in a dilemma in Zhaixian County.
Liubei paced anxiously in the camp, and Wangmu came to him immediately after inspecting the military camp.
"Liuxian, Guanyu will launch an attack on Dongpingling in three days. It takes at most seven days to reach Licheng from Dongpingling. We still have ten days left. Can we succeed if we forcefully attack Zha County?" Liu Bei asked Wang Mu calmly after stabilizing his excited emotions.
"A strong attack... is definitely not a good strategy. If we insist on a strong attack, we will need to start mass-producing siege weapons and then concentrate our forces to attack one place. If we attack without considering casualties, maybe we could take it, but the loss of these 20,000 people may be devastating and it may have an impact on the subsequent situation." Wang Mu shook his head, denying Liu Bei's suggestion for a strong attack.
"Then let's bypass County Zhe and take a longer route to the southeast to first rendezvous with General Zhang Fei and consolidate our forces to break through Eastpingling. Afterward, we can return and attack County Zhe. What do you think?" Liu Bei persistently asked.
"If our army attacks Dongpingling by taking a detour, the subsequent route for the supply convoy will be too long, and the security of food, forage, and military equipment transportation cannot be guaranteed. Once any accident occurs with the supply, and if we fail to capture Dongpingling for a long time, when our army runs out of supplies, it will be the moment of our defeat in fighting against the enemy."
At this moment, Xu Huang and Gan Ning hurriedly walked into the military camp from outside.
"Report to the lord and strategist, just now the scouts reported that a large number of enemy soldiers, about 30,000, have gathered in the direction of Ying County and are heading towards the county. They have already crossed the river and are expected to arrive in Ying County within two days," Gan Ning excitedly said.
"These thirty thousand or so Yellow Turban rebels are definitely reinforcements from Dongpingling and the surrounding counties. If we can send one general to repel these thirty thousand men, the Yellow Turbans in the county stronghold will see that we have not increased our troops and will surely lose their will to fight to the death. At that point, our army can turn around and launch a strong attack on the county without much effort." After listening to Gan Ning's words, Wang Mu was overjoyed and said.
"I'm here to take on the task of blocking the Yellow Turban bandits! This time, I will definitely wipe away our previous shame with a victory." When Wang Mu mentioned sending someone to intercept, Gan Ning was afraid that Xu Huang might seize the opportunity. He placed one hand on Xu Huang's shoulder and patted his chest, volunteering himself.
"Can you handle it?" Wang Mu questioned with doubt in his eyes. Although he knew Gan Ning's abilities, he still wanted to use provocation in this situation.
"The enemy is just a group of chaos-stricken people, and they have been traveling for a long time, already a weary army. If my lord grants me three thousand elite soldiers, I can surely catch them off guard. Otherwise, I will present their heads to you." Gan Ning knelt down and pleaded to Liu Bei.
Having said so, Liu Bei was somewhat moved, but still looked at Wang Mu, who also nodded.
"Xingba, this time the task of ambushing the Yellow Turban reinforcements is arduous. Considering the large number of enemy soldiers, but they are not an elite army, so I will give you 6,000 soldiers to ambush them on the official road. You must defeat the enemy army!" Liu Bei ordered, waving his hand.
"Yes!" Gan Ning, after receiving the order, immediately wanted to leave the camp and lead the troops, but Wang Mu stopped him.
"Xingba, this time you must remember to act extremely cautiously, not underestimating the enemy. Remember to deploy scouts to monitor the enemy's every move, and then make a decisive decision." Wang Mu said earnestly.
"General Xie, Xingba understands in his heart after your guidance. You and our lord can wait here for my good news!" Gan Ning patted his chest confidently and left.
"Strategist, Xingba is only facing 6,000 troops against 30,000. Can he succeed?" Xu Huang asked from the side.
"If he loses, he won't be the brave Gan Xingba who dared to attack Cao's camp with a hundred riders!" Wang Mu said with a smile.
The other two people beside him looked confused when they heard this. When they asked about Gan Ning’s raid on Cao's camp, Wang Mu gave a vague and evasive answer.
Jiyang Crossing
At this time, the 30,000 strong Yellow Turban bandits have already crossed the river and landed on the other side. Almost none of these 30,000 bandits have armor, they are all dressed in plain clothes and straw sandals, carrying rusty knives and ready for battle. There are also a few leaders wearing armor and brandishing new weapons. The army briefly rests on the bank, then immediately proceeds toward the county.
And on Gan Ning's side, Liu Bei ordered to select strong soldiers from the soldiers and give them to Gan Ning, and then these six thousand soldiers set off with three days of dry food.
Thirty miles away from Zhaixian County
At this time, it was noon, and Gan Ning and the six thousand soldiers were resting on an unknown hill. The soldiers sat under the surrounding trees, nibbling on the biscuits and drinking water. Gan Ning stood on a large stone on the top of the mountain, putting dry food into his mouth with one hand, and shielding his eyes from the sunlight while observing the surrounding terrain.
A soldier in the group came forward, and soon arrived at the feet of Gan Ning.
"Boss! Boss!" the soldier whispered.
Gan Ning, after recognizing the person, swallowed the pancake in his mouth, wiped his hands on his body, and jumped off the stone.
"Don't call me 'boss' anymore. Boss is calling me. We are no longer the Jin Fan bandits." Gan Ning, who had jumped down, grabbed the person's ear and said.
"Okay, boss. The scout just arrived and reported that the bandits are very close to us now, less than three li away. However, they are not taking the official road but instead have taken a small path in the northwest direction." The person said, covering their ear.
"Great! I was worried about not being able to ambush them on the main road, but they actually took a side road. Finally, we've caught these bandits. Tell the brothers to move out immediately, munch on dry rations while running, but remember not to make any loud noise!" Gan Ning grimly drew his large cleaver.
Xian County Dongshan Trail
Xu Mu and several leaders rode on horses in the middle of the team, when one of the leaders ran over to report.
"Leader Xu, why did we suddenly change to this small path! It's much closer if we go straight to Xian County on the official road. Our brothers have been traveling day and night for several days now, and now you changed to this difficult path, which will take several more hours. Everyone in the team is complaining."
"What do you know? This mission commanded by the general is actually meant to divert us, and then launch a surprise attack on Liu Bei's rear, sandwiching him between us and the brothers in the county. This is military strategy, do you think a rustic villager like you can understand?" Xu Mu said arrogantly.
"You're not any different yourself. You just happen to have a handsome brother." the leader sneered and muttered under his breath.
Little did he know, Gan Ning had already been lying in wait among the trees on both sides of the road. The soldiers' swords were already drawn, ready to charge forward at Gan Ning's command.
When Gan Ning felt that the number of people trapped in the encirclement was almost enough, he pulled out the knife stuck in the ground.
"Brothers, follow me into battle and kill the enemies!" Gan Ning shouted aggressively before rushing out.
Following closely behind Gan Ning, soldiers on both sides rushed out and killed the enemy. The Yellow Turban thieves, who were exhausted from their siege without any defense, immediately fell into chaos. When they saw the well-equipped Plains Army coming to attack, they abandoned their weapons and fled in all directions.
Xu Mu, full of pride, turned around and saw soldiers running around and soldiers in armor on both sides of the road killing their own soldiers, immediately realizing that he had fallen into an ambush.
"Don't be afraid, brothers! We have a united army of 30,000 to counterattack them!" Xu Mu drew his sword and anxiously shouted.
When attempting to organize the soldiers for a counterattack, but everyone panicked and ran forward without listening to his orders, he knew that the situation was over. Immediately, he drove his horse and broke through the Yellow Turbans blocking the way, leaving behind thirty thousand troops and escaping towards the county.
"Xu is leading the way!" cried the injured man, watching Ninja Xu disappear.
Thirty thousand Yellow Turbans were completely desperate, fleeing in all directions. Seeing no way to escape, they dropped their weapons and surrendered. Gan Ning didn't even feel satisfied killing them; the remaining Yellow Turbans all surrendered.
More than a few thousand Yellow Turban rebels managed to escape from this battle, while 10,000 enemies were killed and 10,000 were captured. The loss of our own soldiers was only about a hundred.
As one person started yelling, it triggered the entire army of 30,000 soldiers, causing the Yellow Turban bandits to disintegrate as a force.