amaotonovel Chapter 779 Fierce Zhang Fei
Chapter 779 Fierce Zhang Fei
The three blocking positions of the Han army were the main transportation routes in the Dahong Mountains and the only way for Lü Jian to retreat to Zhangling. Once the Han army blocked them, Lü Jian's dozens of camps and tens of thousands of troops were all trapped in the eastern part of Dahong Mountains. With no way to go up or down, he could only launch a direct attack. From this point of view, Zhang Fei's appetite was indeed very big.
"Hahaha..." Zhang Fei laughed loudly, "I've always had a good appetite. Now you're trapped like a turtle in a jar, and resistance is useless. Moreover, the fate of the world has already been decided and Liu Bei is in charge. Cao Pi's resistance is just a dying struggle. So I advise you, General, to recognize the situation and surrender as soon as possible."
Lü Jian shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, General, but I have received great favor from the late Emperor (Cao Cao) of our dynasty, and there is no reason for me to surrender on the battlefield. I, Lü Jian, am a Wei subject in life and a Wei soul in death. General, please don't bother. Farewell."
After saying that, he quickly stepped back and left.
Zhang Fei glared at his retreating figure and sneered, "Stubborn fool, Sun Lang, attack according to the original plan."
Seeing that Lü Jian refused to surrender, Zhang Fei, too lazy to argue any further, directly ordered an attack.
This was a transit camp with a relatively open terrain, so Zhang Fei chose to set it on fire again. He ordered his men to bring over a detachable catapult, quickly assemble it, and then launch wine jars filled with flaming oil as if they were stones, before igniting them with rockets.
The poor transit village, which had just been rebuilt on the ruins of the fire, was hit by another fire.
However, Lü Jian had assembled a special firefighting team this time, and dug several water pits and piled up several mounds of earth nearby specifically for firefighting. As soon as the wine jars hit the ground and broke, the Wei army firefighting team covered them with buckets filled with soil, and extinguished the fires with water.
Zhang Fei only had one catapult; it was wishful thinking for him to burn down the Wei army's camp with it.
Seeing this, Sun Lang asked anxiously, "General, what should we do? We can't just wait for them to run out of supplies and starve to death, can we?"
Although this place is more open than other camps, it is still not open enough to allow the army to move freely without any scruples.
"What's the rush? This is just the beginning." Zhang Fei sneered, glancing around before looking at the distant mountain peak and saying, "Boyue and Xingguo set fire to that mountain peak, burning down the grain supplies at the transit camp, right? Have the Wudang Flying Army take their ballistae and climb up there to await my orders."
When Jiang Wei left, he left Zhang Fei with 500 Wudang Flying Soldiers as a precaution.
In addition, although Lü Jian knew that the Han army had set the fire on the mountaintop and wanted to defend the mountaintop to prevent the Han army from repeating the same trick, the mountaintop was too far from the camp and was easy to be surrounded and trapped by the Han army. Therefore, he knew that this was a hidden danger but could not remedy it and could only watch helplessly as the Wudang Flying Army occupied the mountaintop again.
The Wudang Flying Army climbed to the top of the mountain and set up their ballistae. Zhang Fei also climbed up and observed the area before pointing to the mountain peaks on both sides of the camp and saying, "This time, don't shoot at the camp. Instead, direct your attention to the Wei troops on the mountain peaks on both sides and shoot them all down the mountain. Then, have the Wudang Flying Army climb up the mountain from behind and attack the Wei troops in the camp from above."
The ballista immediately changed direction and fired at the opposite mountaintop, firing fire arrows that set the vegetation ablaze, forcing the Wei troops defending the mountaintop to flee down the mountain.
Looking at the ballista's range of hundreds of paces, Zhang Fei patted it and chuckled, "This thing is too useful. Using it in a place like this is practically bullying people. It makes me feel embarrassed."
It was indeed a bit bullying, but the effect was surprisingly good. After driving away the Wei troops on both sides of the mountain peak, the ballistae were turned around again and shot at the rope ladder that the Wei troops had set up between the mountain peak and the bottom of the mountain to prevent the Wei troops from climbing up the mountain again after the flames were extinguished.
Meanwhile, a troop of Wudang Flying Army, carrying Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and bows and arrows, climbed up from behind the mountain. After the flames were extinguished, they quickly climbed to the top of the mountain and used entrenching tools to quickly remove the outermost layer of soil to prevent the still-hot ground from affecting their operations.
The rest was easy. The Wudang Flying Army, positioned on high ground, launched long-range attacks, keeping the Wei army pinned down. Zhang Fei then commanded his main force to launch a frontal assault. The unfortunate Lü Jian, under Zhang Fei's shameless onslaught, could only hold out for less than two hours before being forced to retreat.
Zhang Fei successfully captured the transit camp and then continued the pursuit without stopping. At the same time, he also sent troops to support the Han army that was attacking other Wei camps. The Han army that had attacked the Wei camps from the front attacked from the front, while the Han army that came to support from the transit camp attacked from the rear of the Wei camps, attacking from both sides with the Han army that was attacking from the front.
As a result, the Wei camps that had not yet fallen were quickly divided and surrounded. Moreover, due to the loss of contact with Lü Jian and the lack of response after sending out beacon fires, morale plummeted, and they had no choice but to surrender one after another.
Zhang Fei ignored the other small strongholds and relentlessly attacked Lü Jian, giving him no chance to rebuild his defenses elsewhere.
It must be said that Zhang Fei's offensive ability is really strong. As long as he seizes the opportunity, he will not give the enemy any chance to breathe. Every time Lü Jian gets rid of the pursuit, he wants to stop and catch his breath and build fortifications to block the enemy on the spot, but before he can make a move, that old bastard Zhang Fei will be in front of him again, forcing him to drop his work and get up to continue running.
Building defensive positions takes time, but Zhang Fei didn't give Lü Jian that time at all, chasing after Lü Jian like a sheep.
The two sides chased each other until dusk when Lü Jian could no longer run, because he tragically discovered that he was blocked by the Han army, and the one blocking him was Jiang Wei's position.
Upon hearing the commotion, Jiang Wei quickly climbed to the top of the mountain to investigate. He was completely stunned when he saw the Wei army surging forward and Zhang Fei's army behind them. He muttered to himself in disbelief, "Wasn't it supposed to be held for at least three days, and if we could manage to hold out for five, then we'd aim for three and guarantee five? How come the three generals have already attacked after only one day? Are the Wei army really that weak?"
That being said, if it really drags on for five days, wouldn't Zhang Fei's reputation as a fierce warrior be undeserved?
It would be a pipe dream for someone else to drive Lü Jian to Jiang Wei's side and completely surround him in just one day, but it was quite easy for Zhang Fei to do.
Lu Jian looked at Jiang Wei in front of him and then at Zhang Fei behind him. Knowing that he had no way to escape, he had no choice but to send someone to negotiate with Zhang Fei, telling him to wait one more night. If Xu Huang had not defeated Jiang Wei and rescued him by tomorrow morning, he would surrender.
Surrender was not an option. We were trapped in this remote corner by the Han army, without food or even water. Without water, we really couldn't hold out any longer.
This suggestion seemed reasonable, but it was resolutely rejected by Zhang Fei. Xu Huang's army had already arrived at the front line, and Jiang Wei was being attacked from both sides by the Wei army. People were dying every moment. If they waited another night, who knew if Jiang Wei would be sacrificed?
Therefore, Zhang Fei only gave Lü Jian two quarters of an hour to consider. If Lü Jian did not surrender within those two quarters of an hour, he would launch a strong attack. Moreover, he did not idle during those two quarters of an hour. Instead, he sent the Wudang Flying Army to climb up the mountain peaks on both sides and set up crossbows. As soon as Lü Jian refused, he would immediately unleash a volley of arrows.
As Lü Jian climbed the cliff as if it were flat ground, he quickly reached the top of the mountain and aimed his bow and arrow at himself. The Wudang Flying Army soldiers were all numb and struggled for a moment before having no choice but to surrender.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Lü Jian threw away his weapon and took off his armor, raised his hands and knelt down to surrender in front of the Han army. Zhang Fei personally helped him up and comforted him with kind words.
The rest was easy. Under Lü Jian's orders, the Wei soldiers collectively threw away their weapons and took off their armor, raised their hands, lined up in an orderly fashion, and walked behind the Han army to be uniformly settled by the Han army.
With the departure of the Wei army, the open space in front of the camp was cleared for the Han army, allowing Jiang Wei to leave the camp and meet up with Zhang Fei. After exchanging greetings, Jiang Wei sincerely praised, "Third General, you are amazing! You were so fast! You forced Lü Jian to surrender in just one day. I admire you greatly."
He had originally thought he would have to hold out for several days and fight a fierce battle, but because of Zhang Fei's rapid arrival, the battle was over before he even had a chance to warm up.