mtlumby2d Chapter 184 Tianshui Jiang Boyue
Chapter 184 Tianshui Jiang Boyue
While Guan Ping and Zhang Bao were getting soaked in the rain on the mountain, a Wei army bearing the character "Ma" on their banners was making a difficult march several miles away. The leader of the army was none other than Ma Zun, the prefect of Tianshui.
Upon receiving news that the Shu army had marched out of Qishan, Ma Zun dared not delay and immediately mustered his troops to come to their aid. He originally thought he could reach Lucheng by nightfall, but the weather turned against him, and a torrential rain began halfway there.
Looking at the muddy road made by the rain, Ma Zun cursed, "Damn God, are you deliberately messing with me?"
He was anxious because the news of the Shu army's deployment was given to him by Zhang He's messenger when he passed through Ji County. Along with the message, the messenger also conveyed Zhang He's order: anyone who loses Lucheng will be executed.
In other words, if Lucheng falls, not only will he lose his position as governor, but he might even lose his life. Who wouldn't be anxious in that situation?
Shangguan Zixiu, a trusted county official, was equally anxious, but he knew that being anxious would be useless, so he could only shout, "Prefect, the rain is too heavy to continue. Should we wait for the rain to stop before we go?"
Affected by the torrential rain, Ma Zun had dismounted and was walking. He struggled to pull his legs out of the mud and looked at the several pounds of mud on his boots. He said, "This is the only way. Let everyone wait here. The thunderstorm shouldn't last long. Let's wait until the rain stops before we move on."
Shangguan Zixiu immediately turned around and ordered the army to wait in place. In an instant, the thousands of soldiers who were advancing stood in the rain, like thousands of straight javelins stuck in the rain.
Suddenly, a silver-white figure appeared in the still image; it was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young general.
The young general trudged through the muddy road, which resembled a swamp, until he reached Ma Zun. Ignoring the rain on his face, he asked, "Prefect, why have you stopped?"
Ma Zun replied, "The rain is too heavy to walk. Boyue, you should go back and reassure the army. Don't stay here."
The young man's name was Jiang Wei, courtesy name Boyue. He was currently serving as a court official in Tianshui County. He was originally a civil official, but because of his proficiency in martial arts, he was noticed by Ma Zun and was urgently promoted to the rank of military officer before the expedition, commanding a thousand cavalrymen under his command.
Jiang Wei said, "We can't stop, Prefect. The road we're on is sandwiched between two mountains, and there are mountains on both sides. Moreover, landslides often occur in this mountainous area. If a mudslide comes down, we may all be wiped out."
"More importantly, things won't be much better after the rain stops. Although the rain won't last too long, the roads are terrible. They're so muddy that they won't dry for at least two days under the scorching sun. We can't wait two more days."
"Moreover, the soldiers can't hold out for two more days. They've all been caught in the rain, and a lot of them will definitely fall ill if the wind blows at night. So I suggest we continue marching and try to reach Lucheng before dark, so the soldiers can take a hot bath and get a good night's sleep."
The Han people didn't have concrete or asphalt roads; all they traveled on were dirt roads. Rain would wash them into mud instantly, and even after the rain stopped, the roads would remain muddy for a long time.
Ma Zun said with a wry smile, "I understand what you're saying, but the road is so muddy that it's impossible to walk on it."
Jiang Wei said, "We have to go even if we can't. Prefect, don't forget that the Shu army is still on the way. If the Shu army ignores the mud and continues to advance, and reaches Lucheng before us, we're doomed."
Ma Zun was terrified and stomped his foot, cursing, "Damn Shu army, why don't you stay home and live your lives instead of causing trouble? You've made us suffer along with you."
Ma Zun seemed to have forgotten where he was. He stepped on the ground and mud splashed everywhere, much of it landing on his and Jiang Wei's faces. But he didn't bother to wipe it off and turned around to order the army to continue their march.
The army set off again, but this time they moved slower than a snail. Their legs were stuck in the mud, their horses' hooves were stuck in the mud, and the carts carrying provisions were stuck in the mud and could not be pushed.
This kind of road is difficult for even a single person to walk on, let alone push a cart. Pushing the cart forward through the mud must have been incredibly difficult for this large army.
Ma Zun had walked less than two miles when he decided to stop and rest again. However, before he could give the order, a loud bang came from behind him. When he turned around, he saw that a landslide had occurred at the place where he had been talking to Jiang Wei, and the entire road had been buried.
Fortunately, the army had already passed through that area; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Nevertheless, Ma Zun was still terrified. He looked up at the towering mountain in front of him and screamed, "Speed up!"
We must get out of this area as soon as possible, otherwise we might be buried by a mudslide and die a truly unjust death.
The army continued its march through the mud, unaware that a true death trap lay ahead.
The Han army ambushed their positions.
Zhang Bao's body was half-buried in the mud, and now he could barely move a finger, but fortunately he could still move his mouth.
Zhang Bao cursed and said, "Damn it, God is really messing with us. Brother Tanzhi, the roads are so muddy that the Wei army probably won't come. What should we do? Should we retreat?"
Guan Ping cursed, "Withdraw my ass! The road is impassable now. It's better to lie here than to trek through the mud. At least it saves energy."
"Moreover, this rainstorm might be a good thing for us, at least it can delay the arrival of Wei reinforcements by two or three days."
Zhang Bao muttered, "What kind of talk is that? Does it mean that if the Wei army has a hard time, the strategist will have an easy time? Do you think the strategist and his men might slip and fall into a ditch?"
Guan Ping glared at him angrily, and Zhang Bao, frightened, wisely shut his mouth.
The army continued to lie prone in the mud and wait until late afternoon when they finally saw the Wei army.
Zhang Bao exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, they actually came! Tan Zhi, you're a prophet!"
Guan Ping turned his head and ordered, "Everyone hide and wait for my command."
The three thousand soldiers held their breath and waited patiently. After a full half hour, the Wei army finally led their warhorses and pushed their grain carts into the ambush area with great difficulty.
Seeing this, Guan Ping no longer hesitated. He used all his strength to push the stone in front of him down the mountain, then drew his sword and roared, "Attack!"
The archers, who had been preparing for a long time, immediately released their bows and fired arrows at the Wei army. Unfortunately, the arrows were greatly reduced in power due to the rain.
Seeing this, Zhang Bao abandoned his bow and arrow, stood up, and brandished his spear with his muddy hands, shouting, "Brothers, charge with me!"
After saying that, he rushed down first, but unexpectedly lost his footing and fell on his backside, then slid down the hillside to the bottom.
"Enemy attack...enemy attack..."
The Wei army never dreamed they would be ambushed here. They were completely unprepared, and the muddy roads made movement difficult. Their reactions were much slower than usual, and they were unable to withstand the sudden attack, immediately falling into chaos.
Meanwhile, Zhang Bao slid down the mountain much faster than he ran down it; he had already reached the bottom while his soldiers were still halfway down the mountain.
Then Zhang Bao was unfortunately surrounded, and to make matters worse, he was lying down. Before he could even get up after his slide, more than a dozen spears pierced through him.
Guan Ping's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. He abandoned all thoughts of running and decisively fell to the ground, sliding down the hillside just like Zhang Bao. The other soldiers followed suit and all sat on the slide.
But distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and Zhang Bao had to deal with the crisis himself. Faced with multiple spears suddenly thrusting at him, he could not get up to block them and could only quickly roll over and dodge with difficulty.
Having barely escaped the soldiers' attack, before he could even catch his breath, a young general in silver armor charged at him again, thrusting his spear forward while shouting, "Kid, remember this: the one who will kill you is Jiang Boyue from Tianshui."