Chapter 109 A Deadly Battle

A rain of arrows, blotting out the sky, sliced through the dawn, dividing the heavens into countless streaks.

The Qingzhou soldiers, lightly equipped and empty-handed, were marching when the sound from above reached them. As they instinctively looked up, the glinting arrowheads reflected in their pupils grew larger and larger.

Those who reacted quickly scrambled for carts and shields to hide behind, but most were too late to evade.

Arrowheads pierced chests, necks, foreheads, abdomens, and limbs, opening through-and-through wounds on unprotected bodies.

Hysterical screams erupted as men fell like bundles of wheat, still twitching.

It was barely dawn. This Qingzhou army of over ten thousand men, belonging to Tian Kai, had learned the previous night that Yuan Jun was likely encamped thirty to forty li to the south.

If both sides rested for the night and marched in the same direction the next day, they would likely encounter each other at noon.

Therefore, the Qingzhou army generals decisively made simple encampments on the mountain roads and slopes, preparing to set out early the next morning and intercept the enemy.

Although the enemy's crossing of Yu Ling City had greatly surprised the Qingzhou generals, they surmised that the enemy was now in the center of a three-sided encirclement and had nowhere to run.

However, this morning, as the entire Qingzhou army broke camp and marched less than ten li, an ambush force of the enemy silently lay in wait in the mountain forest, unleashing a volley of arrows that caught them completely off guard!

Seeing that the enemy was nowhere to be found, but the rain of arrows seemed endless, pouring down relentlessly, the soldiers, who had not yet donned armor or taken up arms, suffered heavy losses and fell into disarray. The Qingzhou army's vanguard general had no choice but to shout, "Retreat back to the camp!"

Although the camp was hastily made, it still had some wooden fences that could be used to reorganize!

But someone from the central army shouted, "Do not retreat! The enemy is few! Take up your weapons and armor, and charge forward!"

Upon hearing the voice, the Qingzhou army generals immediately shouted in unison, "Understood!"

The one who had spoken was Tian Kai, the Inspector of Qingzhou, who had personally led the troops.

This man was extremely loyal to Gongsun Zan and was a brave warrior. Every time Yuan Shao's army attacked Qingzhou, he would personally command the army to resist.

Originally, under the attack of an unknown number of enemies, the Qingzhou soldiers had lost hundreds of lives and were on the verge of collapse, but under Tian Kai's decisive command, they finally reorganized their ranks, took out their shields to protect themselves, and some of the vanguard charged up the mountain slopes on both sides.

Yuan Xi, watching the Qingzhou soldiers ascend the mountain through his binoculars, ordered the archers in front to retreat while firing arrows, and the sword and shield infantry behind them filled the gap.

Soon after, the two sides clashed and engaged in a melee.

Meanwhile, on the road below the mountain, Tian Kai, ignoring the soldiers on the mountain, directly led the entire army along the road, charging towards the plains ten li away, wanting to get away from this forest.

If they retreated back to the camp, they would only be surrounded by the enemy in the mountains, unable to break out!

Events proved him right. The supply train had also been ambushed!

Tian Kai's Qingzhou army was not a rabble. After abandoning the soldiers ascending the mountain on both sides and the rearguard supply train, they marched rapidly for seven or eight li and finally arrived at the plains north of Yu Ling City.

However, the scene before them sent chills down their spines.

The Yuan army, neat and orderly, had deployed a battle formation of over ten thousand men, with banners aligned, waiting for them!

Tian Kai frowned, ordering the soldiers to quickly form a battle formation while instructing the rear army to resist the enemy's harassment from the mountain forests on both sides.

A subordinate general said anxiously, "Inspector! We are attacked from the front and back! Fighting here is very disadvantageous for us!"

Tian Kai pondered for a moment and decisively said, "The entire army advances!"

Upon hearing this, the generals were stunned.

Tian Kai shouted, "What's the panic!"

"They marched dozens of li overnight and must not have rested well!"

"On the contrary, we rested for the night, and our soldiers are in much better condition than theirs!"

"They are watching us form a formation, which means they don't dare to attack!"

Ju Shou stood beside Yuan Tan and, seeing Tian Kai's army reorganizing, sighed, "Tian Kai is indeed a capable man. He saw through our intention to delay them."

Their original plan was to use light troops to harass and ambush, exhausting Tian Kai's army and hindering their march, allowing their own soldiers, who had been traveling overnight, to rest.

However, Tian Kai ignored the ambush and decisively charged out of the forest, putting the Yuan army at a slight disadvantage.

Yuan Tan's army had been marching day and night for two days, and the soldiers were indeed not in good condition. If the two sides attacked each other, no one knew the outcome.

The reason they were rushing so urgently was to quickly distance themselves from the other two reinforcements, creating a window of opportunity to fight Tian Kai.

They had at most one day.

If they could not defeat the enemy today, they would be caught in a three-sided encirclement!

Yuan Tan knew that the critical moment had arrived.

Both sides had over ten thousand main force soldiers. This was the key to determining the outcome of the entire Qingzhou campaign!

He raised his hand: "The cavalry attacks, charging the flanks!"

Upon receiving the order, the cavalry generals led their troops out in full force. They all understood that this was to buy time for their main force to rest. The longer they dragged it out, the greater their chances of winning!

Seeing nearly a thousand cavalrymen attacking from the left and right flanks, the Qingzhou army also sent out all their cavalry to intercept, while also placing some sword and shield soldiers on the flanks for protection.

Both sides had thousands of cavalry, colliding fiercely, with people constantly screaming and falling off their horses. But neither side could retreat. Once their own cavalry was defeated, their infantry formation would be harassed and attacked by the enemy cavalry, which would be half a defeat.

Yuan Tan, holding his binoculars, saw Zhang He and Zhao Yun on the left flank, and Yan Liang and Gao Lan on the right flank, all engaged in battle. But what concerned him was the dozens of cavalrymen Zhao Yun was leading.

Yuan Tan recognized that they were Yuan Xi's private soldiers. Except for Zhao Yun, everyone was wearing armor and wielding long halberds, with better equipment than his own cavalry.

Even more impressive, their movements were uniform, and they could cooperate with each other, indicating that their training was highly disciplined, far exceeding his own soldiers. This was the most terrifying thing.

Yuan Tan remained silent, hoping that his second brother would not become his enemy in the future. Otherwise, with comparable forces, he would have no chance of winning.

Under the Qingzhou army's desperate exchange of blows, the Yuan Shao army's cavalry also suffered heavy losses. In less than a quarter of an hour, the Yuan army's thousand cavalrymen had suffered hundreds of casualties.

The Qingzhou army's cavalry was in even worse shape, with nearly half of the thousand cavalrymen annihilated.

Tian Kai saw this from afar and sighed.

The numbers were about the same, but the four enemy generals had completely suppressed the cavalry generals on his side. After a few exchanges, all of Tian Kai's cavalry generals were killed by the enemy generals, leaving the remaining cavalry without command, forced to fight on their own, and eventually gradually consumed and killed.

At this time, some of the Shao army's cavalry had drawn their bows and were riding around, shooting arrows at the flanks of Tian Kai's army. The shield soldiers on the flanks raised their shields, desperately blocking the arrows.

Seeing that he could not wait any longer, Tian Kai ordered the remaining cavalry to desperately hold off the enemy cavalry, while the entire army charged!

There was no escape, so they would fight to the death!

On the city walls of Yu Ling County, the young man and the old squad leader were still chatting idly.

Looking at the scattered siege equipment abandoned below the city, the young man said, "Will they come back?"

The old squad leader sighed, "Who knows? It would be best if they withdrew their troops, but how is that possible?"

The young man pricked up his ears, listening to the sound of the wind in the distance, and said doubtfully, "There seems to be a very noisy sound far away to the north."

The old squad leader chuckled, "Judging by these two days, they must have left hundreds of li away. Can you hear it?"

The young man moved his ears again: "There seem to be a lot of people coming from the south too."

The old squad leader sighed, "Don't worry about anyone. Fighting and fighting, I don't know how many days we can live."

Hearing this, the young man said bitterly, "They are all not good people."

The old squad leader had long heard about the young man's situation and pushed him: "What are you thinking so much about? Live one day at a time."

The young man turned his head, looking north and then south, thinking that these people were attacking each other, and in the end, the unlucky ones were people like him. It would be best if they all died.

With a 'pochi' sound, a Yuan army cavalryman broke into the formation and charged straight at Tian Kai.

Tian Kai's guards quickly rode their horses to block in front of Tian Kai. The enemy pierced the guard's chest with a spear, and blood spurted from his back, splashing Tian Kai's face.

Subsequently, the Yuan army cavalryman's horse legs were cut off by the Qingzhou soldiers, and he rolled off his horse. Tian Kai's guards then swarmed up and hacked him to death with their swords.

Tian Kai wiped the hot blood off his face, his expression gloomy.

Both sides were attacking each other without regard for their lives, but his side had already begun to show signs of defeat.

Although the Yuan army's losses were also great, they always divided their troops into several levels, taking turns attacking and resting, maintaining a continuous offensive, leaving Tian Kai no time to rest his troops.

The tens of thousands of troops on both sides were cannibalizing each other on this plain, and the dead and wounded were already close to half.

Tian Kai, who had experienced many battles, had already seen that his side would collapse first.

Because the rear army could no longer hold on.

The force hidden in the mountain forest had become the last straw that broke Tian Kai's army.

Tian Kai had sent out a lot of rearguard soldiers, but the difference was that the enemy's vanguard consisted of hundreds of heavy infantry!

Once there were injuries or deaths, they would be dragged back by their own soldiers, who would put on the armor again.

As a result, the enemy had always maintained an equipment advantage over this side, and Tian Kai's rear army began to collapse under such cannibalization.

The subordinate general beside him approached Tian Kai and said, "Inspector, let's go! It will be too late if we don't leave!"

Tian Kai closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Tens of thousands of soldiers, all his assets.

All gone within half a day.

In the end, he did not manage to hold out until Liu Bei came to his aid.

Just a little bit more.

Two days, no, one day, as long as he held out for one day, Liu Bei's army in the south and Kong Rong's army in the northeast would arrive, but he had failed to hold out for even half a day.

The vanguard in front had already collapsed, and soldiers were already scattering and fleeing. In just a moment, the entire army formation would no longer be able to hold.

He gritted his teeth and shouted, "The entire army breaks through to the northwest!"

Led by him, the remaining thousands of soldiers of Tian Kai's army desperately broke through Yuan Tan's obstruction and fled towards Donglai County in the northeast.

Although Yuan Tan pursued with his entire army, in the end, he only managed to leave behind most of the enemy's troops, and nearly a thousand people still followed Tian Kai and escaped.

Yuan Tan wanted to pursue, but the soldiers were already exhausted, and some even collapsed and died on the ground while running.

Seeing this, Yuan Tan helplessly sounded the retreat. He knew that Tian Kai's escape was likely to involve taking a ship from Donglai County and fleeing overseas, making it difficult to catch up.

Yuan Xi commanded the soldiers to pursue from the rear. He leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily from exhaustion.

His ambush force had been fighting to the death until now and had reached its limit.

Fortunately, Tian Kai did not choose his direction to escape, otherwise, he might have been counter-killed.