Soon, the city gates opened, and tens of thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers, wearing Yellow Turbans, quickly exited the city.
They marched westward without lingering outside the city.
However, they were still discovered by scouts stationed nearby, who galloped back with the news.
Inside the Han Army's main tent, stationed below the valley, Liu Jin sat at the head, looking at the intelligence just brought by the scout.
He frowned slightly, seeing that they were flying a banner with the character 'Zhang.' Could it be that Zhang Jiao himself was leading troops to support Qu Yang?
He was silent for a moment, then shook his head. This army consisted of only a little over ten thousand men. If Zhang Jiao were leading them, it would be at least tens of thousands.
Especially Zhang Jiao, judging by the current timeline, even if he wasn't dead, he was likely incapacitated, so it was impossible for him to lead an army on an expedition.
It was clearly a general named Zhang among the Yellow Turban, very likely sent by Zhang Jiao to reinforce Qu Yang.
Thinking of this, a cold glint appeared in Liu Jin's eyes. Since they were going to support Qu Yang, he naturally couldn't let them pass.
Looking at the Generals in the hall, he immediately gave orders!
"Guan Yu, lead five hundred cavalry to intercept these Yellow Turban and prevent them from escaping."
"Zhang He, Xu Rong, Han Dang, Zhang Fei."
"You four will each lead a thousand men to pursue them from behind, determined to annihilate all ten thousand of these Yellow Turban."
"The rest of the Generals will stay with me to guard the camp and deal with the Yellow Turban within the city."
The several people who received the order showed excitement in their eyes, immediately bowed in acceptance, and quickly went to mobilize their troops out of the camp to pursue.
Several hours later.
Zhang Niujiao, riding a horse, led tens of thousands of Yellow Turban, marching westward along the official road at a very fast pace, not daring to stop at all.
After all, he knew that there were still several thousand Han Army stationed outside Guangzong City, and if they were discovered by the enemy, it would cause unnecessary trouble.
Just then, a scout on horseback galloped towards them, his face filled with panic, shouting from afar!
"General, bad news! Han Army cavalry are in pursuit from behind!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Niujiao trembled, panic appearing in his eyes, and he quickly shook his head in denial!
"Impossible! The main Han Army has already been transferred by Dong Zhuo to Qu Yang. How could there still be Han Army cavalry here?"
Chu Feiyan, who was beside him, frowned upon hearing this and immediately whispered!
"Big Brother, according to the information we gathered earlier, Dong Zhuo did indeed move his main army, but the person stationed outside the city is Liu Jin. He seems to have quite a few cavalry under his command. Could it be him pursuing us?"
Upon hearing the name Liu Jin, fear involuntarily appeared in Zhang Niujiao's eyes. This man's reputation had resounded throughout Hebei in recent days.
From Zhuo Commandery, he had marched south, winning battle after battle, slaying gods and Buddhas alike. Even Rengong General Zhang Liang had been cut down by him.
Could it be that he, the newly appointed Rengong General, was to follow in Zhang Liang's footsteps?
Chu Feiyan looked at his Big Brother's panicked expression and sighed slightly. Indeed, ever since Zhang Liang died at Liu Jin's hands, it had somewhat deterred their Yellow Turban soldiers.
He quickly stepped forward, looked at the scout, and urgently asked!
"Tell me, who is the general leading the troops?"
The messenger scout, upon hearing this, dared not conceal anything and quickly said!
"As for who is leading them, this humble one does not know, but the cavalry pursuing us are flying a banner with the character 'Guan.'"
"And there's also rolling dust behind them, so I estimate there are quite a few reinforcements coming."
Chu Feiyan frowned upon hearing this. The cavalry commander should be Guan Yu, a major general under Liu Jin.
It seems Liu Jin mistakenly thought they were going to Qu Yang to support Zhang Bao, and that's why he was pursuing them.
After a moment of contemplation, he immediately said to Zhang Niujiao beside him!
"Big Brother, there's no time to lose. We should leave a portion of our troops to cover our retreat and then quickly flee westward."
"As long as we leave this area, the Han Army will surely realize that we are not going to support Qu Yang, and they will let us live."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Niujiao completely regained his composure and quickly nodded!
"Yes, yes, yes."
"We'll follow my virtuous brother's suggestion. First, send a portion of our troops to cover our retreat, and we'll make a quick escape. As long as the Han Army knows our intentions, they won't pursue us."
Soon, these ten thousand Yellow Turban left three thousand men to guard the rear.
The remaining several thousand followed Zhang Niujiao and Chu Feiyan, fleeing westward in disarray, exerting all their might to run, not daring to stay there.
As for the several thousand Yellow Turban left to cover the retreat, seeing their main Generals flee, their hearts panicked, and they couldn't organize an effective formation. Many even deserted, fleeing into the surrounding forests.
Guan Yu led five hundred cavalry in pursuit. Looking at the chaotic Yellow Turban before him, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and he shouted in a cold voice!
"Kill them!"
After saying this, the cavalry erupted with the rumbling sound of hooves.
They charged forward, and the fleeing Yellow Turban soldiers were mercilessly trampled by the hooves, flesh and blood splattering, screams continuously ringing out.
With just one charge, these Yellow Turban had already completely collapsed, not daring to pick up their weapons to resist, only wanting to flee.
Guan Yu's great saber shone with a brilliant light, slashing horizontally forward.
The fleeing Yellow Turban soldiers were directly split in half by a single saber strike, blood flowing freely.
Throughout the battlefield, only these Yellow Turban could be seen throwing down their weapons and fleeing in disarray.
After a period of frenzied slaughter, Xu Rong, Zhang He, Zhang Fei, Han Dang, and others arrived with their troops, beginning to encircle and suppress these Yellow Turban.
Gradually, the sounds of fighting completely subsided.
The entire road was covered with corpses, and blood flowed freely.
A large number of Han Army were capturing these prisoners and guarding them.
Guan Yu and the other Generals learned from the prisoners that this army was not going to support Qu Yang, so they did not continue the pursuit.
Therefore, they escorted the more than a thousand prisoners and gradually returned to the rear.
Inside the Han Army's main tent in the valley, the Generals gradually returned.
Liu Jin, with a smile on his face, opened his mouth and asked!
"Oh."
"So, this Zhang Niujiao was not going to support Qu Yang, but rather was leading his troops to escape?"
Guan Yu quickly nodded and said!
"Indeed. This is what several of their Generals said, and this Zhang Niujiao led his troops to flee westward all the way, clearly not going north to support Qu Yang, so we did not continue the pursuit."
Liu Jin nodded slightly, not taking this matter to heart.
He knew Zhang Niujiao himself. He was not a genuine Yellow Turban by origin, and now that the general situation was against them, it was extremely normal for him to want to escape.
It was very likely that, like in later generations, he would establish the Black Mountain Army in the Taihang Mountains, plundering and harassing the surrounding areas.
However, from this incident, he could also tell that Zhang Jiao in the city probably couldn't hold on. His subordinate Generals were starting to flee one after another, and the city's fall should be in these few days.
After a moment of contemplation, Liu Jin immediately instructed!
"Everyone, prepare for battle in the coming days. Send more scouts to investigate around Guangzong City, especially the movements within the city. If there's any disturbance, report it immediately."
The Generals all bowed in affirmation, then gradually withdrew.
