Chapter 215: Harmful to Heaven and Harmony【4K】

As it turned out, Wei Zhe’s worries were not wrong.

Although the Zhen family’s caravans were spread all over Zhongshan and had acquaintances at various city gates and checkpoints, seizing checkpoints and robbing cities was certainly not their strong point.

Although Zhang wanted to take Changshan Pass and give it to Wei Zhe as her daughter’s dowry, the result was counterproductive.

The next afternoon, it was cloudy and rainy.

Despite Zhao Yun’s desperate efforts, he was still a step too late. The Changshan Pass garrison commander, Lu Hu, was caught off guard by Zhen’s forces, who ambushed and took the west gate. However, once he reacted, he quickly stabilized his position and retreated to the city wall, leaving Zhen’s forces stuck in a stalemate.

You should know that the Changshan Pass is built entirely of stone slabs and blue bricks. Although the pass is narrow, it is tall and steep. There are towers at the east and west gates, surrounded by moats. It is backed by mountains in the south and faces Tang River in the north. There are 7 enemy towers on the city wall. The most important thing is that there are urn cities on the east and west sides, with the east urn city below and the west urn city above, which is extremely dangerous.

Even though the city wall is not big, the long corridors between them are the only passage to Changshan Pass.

After seeing this scene, Zhao Yun’s face suddenly became extremely solemn.

Although it was a pity that Zhen’s troops failed to capture Changshan Pass in one fell swoop, since he had accepted the order, he would not return empty-handed.

So when the Zhen family generals who were trying to seize the pass showed fear and wanted to retreat, Zhao Yun dismounted calmly.

While calmly ordering his soldiers to string their bows, he also checked the armor and equipment in detail.

He threw aside all his horse-fighting weapons and instead picked up the ring-handled sword and iron mace suitable for close combat.

Yes, Zhao Yun is indeed better at cavalry combat, but he also knows a thing or two about infantry combat.

After all the palace soldiers were ready, the man in black armor just slowly raised his right hand, and behind him came the sound of swords being drawn out of their sheaths. Suddenly, there was an inexplicable chill in the air.

The Zhen family general standing by wanted to say a few words to defend his family, but he didn’t dare to open his mouth at this moment.

Although Zhao Yun only had 500 palace soldiers behind him, he felt more pressure than facing the 4,000 county soldiers of Zhongshan State.

But Zhao Yun didn’t care what he was thinking, he just said coldly: “Follow me and kill!”

Before he finished speaking, he rushed out with a knife in hand like a cheetah.

“kill!”

The five hundred palace soldiers behind him immediately followed closely, their armors clanging and their faces full of murderous intent!
In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people rushed towards Dongweng City like a mountain torrent going against the current.

The Zhen clan’s troops, who had been unable to capture the city for a long time, were on the verge of collapse, but with the addition of the Wei army, they immediately stabilized their position.

Many family soldiers were inspired by the bravery of Zhao Yun and others, and they actually mustered up the courage to fight again.

For a moment, people kept falling off the ladders, but people also kept rushing to the top of the city wall.

With Zhao Yun and others as the core, the more than a thousand Zhen clan troops, who were originally just a motley crowd, actually saw a huge increase in combat effectiveness.

In this situation, even though the defenders of Changshan Pass had the advantage of terrain, they still had to retreat step by step upwards.

Of course, if he had been adequately prepared, Changshan Pass defender Lu Hu would not have been so incompetent.

Not to mention more than a thousand people, he is confident that he can stop even tens of thousands of people rushing through the pass.

But since everything happened so suddenly, it was already very good that Lu Hu could achieve this.

After all, although the East Gate and Wengcheng were captured by the enemy, half of Changshan Pass was still in his hands.

Moreover, the West Gate and the city wall are located in the upwind direction, so the defenders still have the geographical advantage when attacking from above.

For this reason, Lu Hu did not abandon the pass and flee, but chose to hold on and wait for help.

No matter whether it was the Black Mountain Army or the nearby Yuan Army, as long as one of them came to support him, he would dare to protect Changshan Pass.

Gradually, the rain became heavier and heavier, and the bows and arrows were completely useless.

“puff!

As Zhao Yun raised his sword and slashed, a young head fell smoothly into the mud.

The splattered blood flowed down his handsome face, and then splashed blood on the ground.

This gave Zhao Yun, who already had a heroic temperament, an eerie beauty.

Blood had already stained his armor red, emitting a disgusting fishy smell.

However, Zhao Yun didn’t notice anything. He just kicked the limp enemy’s body away and stepped forward again.

Changshan Pass is not very big, and there is only a cross alley inside the city.

However, it took Zhao Yun a full hour to walk along this street of several hundred meters.

Amid the sound of rain, one could faintly hear strange “puff” sounds coming from all around.

Countless trickles of water gradually merged into one stream under the impact of the rain, and then rushed out of the east gate like a river of blood.

It was unknown how long it took, but as the cries of killing continued to advance tenaciously, the defenders of Changshan Pass finally couldn’t bear it anymore.

Although Lu Hu and his personal soldiers still tried to resist, the mental pressure on the other defenders had reached their limit. They felt that they had done their duty to Yuan Shao by being able to hold out until this moment with only 500 people.

So after reaching a certain critical point, some of the garrison soldiers finally collapsed on the spot, threw away everything they could, turned around and ran away.

They could have escaped to the other side of the mountain pass, so why bother staying there and waiting to die? They were garrison soldiers who were rotated out every three years. They were not the Northern Army of Luoyang, nor were they the Yuan family’s private soldiers. There was no need to throw their lives away for a few stones of salary.

Seeing this situation, even though Lu Hu still wanted to hold on, he could only sigh and flee with everyone else.

But when the sky cleared, Zhao Yun, who had rushed from the east gate to the west gate and killed his way through the entire Changshan Pass, finally stopped.

Immersed in the excitement of killing, he looked up at the corpses and remains around him and finally came to his senses.

Although he was on the battlefield, Zhao Yun didn’t know why he only felt a sense of clarity in his body and mind.

It seemed as if this bloody battle had caused some kind of transformation in him, making Zhao Yun a little different from before.

Amidst the sea of blood and corpses, Zhao Yun suddenly smiled, then raised his arms and shouted:

“The one who seized the pass is Zhao Zilong from Changshan!”

In an instant, the sound shook the valley and echoed through the peaks.

Seeing this, all the surviving Zhen clan members were filled with awe.

The Zhen family generals had only one thought at this moment, which was whether it was too late to join the Wei army now!

……

On the other hand, after Zhao Yun captured Changshan Pass, the Black Mountain Army received the news shortly afterwards.

Zhang Yan, who was stationed in Guangchang County at the northern foot of Taihang Mountain, turned pale after hearing the scout’s report.

The defense is broken, this time it is really broken.

Zhang Yan, who was usually calm, suddenly lost his composure and started cursing:

“That’s my mother! You know that these children from aristocratic families are unreliable!”

“If I had known Yuan Benchu was such a loser, you should never have left the mountain in the first place!”

There was no other way. If Zhongshan Kingdom was lost, he and his army would be completely doomed.

Zhang Yan didn’t believe that Wei Zhe, the Yellow Turban butcher, would let him go and show him leniency.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan didn’t even bother to pay attention to the beautiful woman he had just snatched from the house, and hurriedly led his troops away.

However, Guangchang County is located in the northernmost part of Zhongshan State and is also the northernmost county in Jizhou.

Even though Zhang Yan made a prompt decision without any hesitation, it was already too late to retreat.

Almost all the official roads from Zhongshan State to Changshan County fell into the control of the Wei army.

Zhang Yan had no choice but to order his Black Mountain Army to use their old skills and break up into small groups to find a way out.

After all, there are so many mountain roads. If the army can’t pass, can’t the small team pass?

However, Zhang Yan didn’t know how many troops he could recover after this wave of dispersion.

Of course, he couldn’t care less about these things now. Zhang Yan’s decoy troops did indeed confuse the Wei army’s attention, but who was he to blame for his bad luck?

It was obvious that Zhang Yan only brought a thousand or so confidants with him and crossed mountains and rivers with a small force.

But who would have thought that Zhao Yun had the same idea as him. Knowing the terrain of Changshan County well, he simply set up a few lookout posts at random. Unexpectedly, he discovered Zhang Yan’s trace at one of them.

So Zhang Yan was in a miserable state, and the term “a stray dog” was not enough to describe his situation.

Under Zhao Yun’s pursuit, Zhang Yan even fled alone when he was in the most dangerous situation.

If the Black Mountain Army had not long been accustomed to fighting in the mountains and forests, and the main force of the Wei Army was still attacking various places in Zhongshan, Zhang Yan might have died in Taihang this time.

But even so, less than 5,000 of the 20,000 Black Mountain bandits in Zhongshan State were able to escape into Changshan County.

As for whether those who did not escape were killed in battle or surrendered, Zhang Yan had no idea.

Even Zhang Yan himself was covered in wounds after returning to the camp in Changshan County.

It can be said that although the casualties of this wave of Montenegrin troops were not large, their morale was greatly affected.

After all, they did not fail at all this time. Instead, they made many contributions. But in the end, they were badly defeated by Yuan’s army.

From now on, if Yuan Shao wanted to command the Black Mountain Army as he did before, it would probably not be so easy.

……

Not to mention how embarrassed the Montenegrin army was.

As the Wei army captured Anxi County, other counties in Zhongshan State finally received the news.

However, it was too late. Most of Zhongshan Kingdom had fallen, and the Wei army had occupied various strategic locations.

Although the Zhen family’s role as an internal supporter has been abolished, the Zhen family still plays a huge role.

Let’s just say that there are almost no logistical problems in this expedition to Zhongshan State by Wei Zhe.

The granaries and grain stores in the Zhen family’s various forts and manors in Zhongshan State were enough to supply an army of 10,000 for more than a month.

Including the spoils captured in various counties, the Wei army can be said to have directly achieved the effect of a classical blitzkrieg this time.

Not to mention Zhongshan Kingdom, even the neighboring Changshan County was occupied by the Wei army, and Xiaquyang in Julu County was also taken into the pocket by Wei Zhe!

This made Puyin, Beiping and other counties north of Zhongshan State, which had not yet fallen, completely become enclaves.

To the west is Yanmen, to the north is Zhuojun, to the east is Hejian, and to the south is Wuji.

With Wei troops surrounding them from all directions, the seven counties north of Zhongshan State fell into despair under such circumstances.

So without much hesitation, the seven counties took the initiative to open their gates and surrender after receiving Wei Zhe’s notice of surrender.

At this point, Zhongshan Kingdom completely changed its owner!

……

Yecheng, the governor’s seat.

When Shen Pei arrived, the hall was already in a mess, with even several servants’ bodies lying there.

Not long after, Guo Tu, Xu You and Feng Ji also arrived one after another.

Looking at Yuan Shao, who was panting heavily and had a ferocious look on his face on the main seat, everyone wisely did not speak. It was Chunyu Qiong who took the initiative to hand the military report to a few people.

However, after only halfway through, Guo Tu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Zhongshan State has fallen? How is this possible?”

You must know that King Wuling of Zhao spent countless efforts and mobilized the entire country’s strength to destroy the Zhongshan Kingdom.

But even so, it took Zhao several years to conquer Zhongshan.

Facing Guo Tu’s puzzled gaze, Chunyu Qiong angrily said, “Zhongshan’s Zhen clan rebelled, luring Duke Wei of Wei to lead his troops south. The counties were caught off guard, leading to this defeat. Otherwise, our army would never have lost Zhongshan so hastily!”

“Damn it!” Guo Tu gritted his teeth upon hearing this and said, “I beg you to execute all nine generations of the Zhen family!”

But Yuan Shao ignored him because if he could kill him, he would have done so long ago.

Shen Pei didn’t say anything, but his expression was uglier than ever.

Although the population of Zhongshan State was only 500,000, its location was very important.

It borders the Bohai Sea to the east and the Taihang Mountains to the west. It is actually the intersection of You, Bing and Ji states.

Once this place is lost, the fertile land in the core of Jizhou will no longer have any natural defenses.

Shen Pei understood this principle, and Xu You naturally understood it as well.

Xu You gritted his teeth and said, “We must take back Zhongshan!”

Yuan Shao, seated at the main seat, finally reacted. His eyes were bloodshot, and he raged, “Send a message to all the counties, recruit a million soldiers! I will mobilize the entire army and crush Zhongshan—and kill that bastard, Duke Wei of Wei!”

In fact, after learning that Wei Zhe had raided Zhongshan, this idea had been lingering in Yuan Shao’s mind.

He’s had enough!

He was fed up with being constantly humiliated by Wei Zhe!
Whether it was Gongsun Zan or Wei Zhe, in Yuan Shao’s eyes they were both lowly northerners.

He could lie dormant for a while, but he couldn’t stand being insulted by Wei Zhe all the time.

If he could kill Gongsun Zan, he could naturally kill Wei Zhe as well!

Yuan Shao always believed that destiny was on his side, and that as a born noble, he would surely continue to win!
However, when Yuan Shao said this, Shen Pei, Xu You and others were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

Still mobilizing a million-strong army? Is Jizhou struggling to survive?

If Yuan Shao really played like this, even if he defeated Wei Zhe, the outcome would be mutual destruction.

Shen Pei quickly advised, “Calm your anger, my lord. A ruler should not raise an army out of anger, and a general should not attack out of resentment. If two tigers fight, the smaller one will die, and the larger one will be injured. Why let outsiders reap the benefits? This is truly unwise!”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao glared at him with murderous intent, as if he wanted to kill anyone who tried to stop him.

But Shen Pei remained firm and stood firm, sticking to his own opinion.

Although Guo Tu and others did not dare to speak, their expressions clearly showed that they agreed with Shen Pei’s opinion.

Even Xu You, who had previously taken a radical stance, couldn’t help but advise, “Benchu, don’t be impulsive! Think about Gonglu. Do you want him to become the legitimate heir of the Yuan family, with all your descendants groveling at his feet?”

I have to say that Xu You is Xu You. He hit Yuan Shao’s sore spot with just one sentence.

Yuan Shao, who had just been violent and angry, froze when he heard this.

That’s right, we can’t let Yuan Shu take advantage!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shao’s heated mind finally calmed down.

“…Keep going!”

Seeing that Yuan Shao had finally returned to normal, Xu You and others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, although they dissuaded Yuan Shao from the idea of a decisive battle, the problem before them still existed.

When the Wei army occupied Zhongshan State, Yecheng had to make a strong counterattack.

Even if they could not recapture Zhongshan State, they could not allow the Wei army to achieve its goal so easily.

Thinking of this, both Shen Pei and Xu You couldn’t help but frown.

Now that the Wei army has the upper hand, it is not easy for Jizhou to counterattack immediately.

Whether it is Bingzhou, Qingzhou, or even the front battlefield, breakthroughs can be made in a short time.

However, just as all the counselors were thinking hard, Feng Ji on the side suddenly had an idea.

However, this plan was against the harmony of nature. Even Feng Ji didn’t know whether he should offer this plan. For a moment, he couldn’t help but show hesitation…

(End of this chapter)