SFS Chapter 210 Zhang Fei's Army Approaches Jieting
Chapter 210 Zhang Fei's Army Approaches Jieting
Once you understand this in life, nothing seems so big anymore.
Hao Zhao had previously been somewhat afraid of Zhang Fei. After all, Zhang Fei was a man who could fight Lü Bu for three hundred rounds. He became famous too early and his reputation was too great. Even Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were afraid of him, let alone Hao Zhao.
Hao Zhao was also afraid of Zhang Fei, but that was in the past.
Hao Zhao is now determined to die; if he's not afraid of death, then nothing else matters.
Hao Zhao gripped his long sword and slowly walked up to Zhang Fei, bowing in accordance with proper martial arts etiquette, saying, "General, you are too kind."
Seeing his demeanor, Zhang Fei felt a surge of respect and returned the greeting with clasped hands, saying, "General Hao, please."
"Ah..." Hao Zhao no longer hesitated, roared and swung his long sword down at Zhang Fei's head.
Zhang Fei fearlessly charged forward with his spear. The spear tip and the blade collided fiercely in mid-air, sending sparks flying amidst a screeching sound.
After the exchange of blows, Zhang Fei stood still, while Hao Zhao was sore from the impact that he staggered back several steps before regaining his footing. Looking at Zhang Fei, who appeared perfectly normal, he couldn't help but think to himself, "This ring-eyed thief is really something. He chased me for twenty or thirty miles at almost sixty years old and he's still so good at fighting. How powerful must he have been when he was young?"
Shocked, Hao Zhao charged forward again, ready to fight Zhang Fei to the death. Dying at Zhang Fei's hands wouldn't be a loss, but if he could leave a wound on Zhang Fei before he died, he would be making a huge profit.
Hao Zhao knew his own limitations and never thought about defeating Zhang Fei head-on; he only thought about how to die a glorious death in battle.
Zhang Fei's admiration for him grew stronger, so he held back a bit of his strength when he made his moves.
Despite holding back a bit, Zhang Fei still kept Hao Zhao in check. Soon, the two had exchanged more than thirty blows. Hao Zhao was already injured in several places and was about to collapse. However, Zhang Fei seized the opportunity and slashed a bloody mark near Hao Zhao's right knee. Taking advantage of Hao Zhao's pain and stagger, Zhang Fei grabbed the spear shaft and spun it around, smashing the spear shaft heavily onto Hao Zhao's head.
This time, no mercy was shown. The enormous impact knocked Hao Zhao unconscious on the spot. Before he even fell to the ground, Zhang Fei immediately ordered, "Tie him up."
The guards behind him rushed over and tied Hao Zhao up hand and foot. Someone couldn't help but flatter him, saying, "General, you captured Hao Zhao so quickly. Your bravery is as good as ever."
Zhang Fei was overjoyed when he was photographed. His old face, covered in a thick beard, instantly broke into a wide smile. He humbly said, "I'm old now, and my movements are much slower than they used to be."
Despite saying that, his eyes were full of pride as he looked at Hao Zhao, muttering to himself, "Little Hao Zhao dares to try to die in my hands. If I don't kill you, do you think you can die?"
After seeing Hao Zhao off, Zhang Fei turned to the group of Hao Zhao's personal guards who were still standing and asked, "Fight or surrender? Give me a straight answer."
Still in a daze, Hao Zhao's personal guards were jolted awake by the shout. Their legs moved on their own and they knelt down, their teeth chattering as they said, "We are willing to surrender."
What can we do if they don't surrender? Hao Zhao has already lost.
Moreover, Zhang Fei defeated Hao Zhao fairly and squarely, in accordance with Hao Zhao's wishes, which meant he fulfilled his promise.
Since the other party has kept their promise, you should naturally keep yours and surrender immediately. Otherwise, if you continue to struggle, you will be considered foolish. Even if you are killed, no one will sympathize with you. Instead, they will say you deserved it.
A gentleman keeps his word; those who do not deserve sympathy.
Upon seeing this, Zhang Fei immediately ordered, "Everyone, put down your weapons, put your hands behind your heads, line up and walk out of the valley, and gather on the Longshan Road."
After saying this, he ordered the Han army to take the prisoners and leave first, while he stayed behind to cover the rear in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
Two quarters of an hour later, Zhang Fei reappeared on the Longshan Road. Before he could even stand still, he saw Fan Jiang leading several personal guards rushing out from Fenshui Post Station.
Fan Jiang ran up to Zhang Fei and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets the general. I was afraid that Fenshui Post Station might be lost, so I did not go out of the camp to provide support. Please forgive me, general."
He had been standing on the city wall watching the battle between the two armies, and had a clear view of what was happening outside the city, but instead of leaving the camp to provide assistance, he chose to continue to hold his ground.
Holding firm is not out of fear of battle, but out of fear of revealing weaknesses by rashly leaving the city, which would give Hao Zhao an opportunity to break out. If we don't move, we won't have any weaknesses!
Zhang Fei was in high spirits after capturing Hao Zhao. He patted Fan Jiang on the shoulder and laughed, "You did the right thing. You deserve the most credit for capturing Hao Zhao alive. I will report your merits to the King after the war is over."
"But now I need you to do two things. First, send someone by fast horse to inform Huang Zhizhong that Hao Zhao has been captured, so that he can speed up his journey without worry."
"Secondly, we will continue to guard Fenshui Station and watch over the prisoners. When Huang Zhizhong arrives, we will hand the prisoners over to him and then come after me."
In addition to Hao Zhao, more than two thousand prisoners were captured in this battle. He was happy when he captured the prisoners, but he had a headache when dealing with them. He was not at ease keeping them by his side, but he was unwilling to send them away on the spot. What should he do? He could not kill them all.
Killing them is definitely not an option. First, killing surrendered soldiers is considered unlucky, and the Shu Han dynasty does not have a tradition of killing surrendered soldiers. Second, these surrendered soldiers are Han Chinese, not foreigners, and they are all young and strong men, which are valuable assets. As long as they are taken back, they can fill the population gap. You should know that Hanzhong is currently an empty prefecture with a severe shortage of people.
So here's the problem: what should we do if we can neither kill nor release them?
Zhang Fei decided to leave it to Huang Quan to handle, not wanting to bother with the brains himself.
Zhang Fei then led his army into Fenshuiyi, where he ordered the troops to eat and sleep, preparing to rest for the night before setting off again.
We were all exhausted from chasing for twenty or thirty miles. Running any further would be dangerous.
As dawn broke in the east, Zhang Fei led his army, carrying Hao Zhao, who had regained consciousness but was injured in the leg, on their way to Jieting.
Others can be left out, but Hao Zhao must be taken along. Even if Zhang Fei is stupid, he wouldn't be foolish enough to leave Hao Zhao with the surrendered soldiers.
Hao Zhao didn't say anything about it; he had done his best and should accept his fate.
The road ahead was clear, and Zhang Fei arrived at Jieting, ten miles away, in just three days. Upon arrival, he dared not advance further but ordered the army to set up camp on the spot. He himself led three hundred cavalrymen as scouts and went to Jieting to check the enemy situation.
Zhang Fei quickly arrived near Jieting. Looking up, he was surprised to find a city wall about ten feet high standing on the road ahead. The soil on the wall was still wet, and the wall was obviously newly built in the last two days.
Jieting was just an ordinary pass that had been in disrepair for many years. It was unrealistic to expect the original pass to resist the Han army. The garrison inside the pass had to build a new one if they wanted to stop Zhang Fei from attacking from behind.
So some people may ask, why has Jieting, with such an important location, fallen into disrepair over the years?
That was all caused by war. Liangzhou was previously plagued by warlord conflicts, and most of the Liangzhou warlords were morally corrupt, only good at destruction and not construction. Besides, the people and soldiers of Liangzhou were all offensive, so who the hell was going to defend?
Cao Cao was indeed good at construction, but he had only taken over Liangzhou a few days ago, and after defeating Ma Chao, the Battle of Hanzhong and the Battle of Xiangfan broke out. Cao Cao simply didn't have time.
Moreover, after defeating Ma Chao, all the counties in Liangzhou submitted to him, and Jieting thus became inland. Cao Cao never expected that the important town of Jieting would turn from inland to border so quickly.
In fact, it's not just now. Historically, when Zhuge Liang launched his first Northern Expedition, Jieting was also in a state of ruin. If Jieting had been as fortified as Tongguan at that time, even if Ma Su was stupid, he wouldn't have stationed his troops on the mountain.
Zhang Fei stared at the brand-new city walls and the Wei army's battle flags fluttering inside the city for a few moments, then reined in his horse and said, "Jieting is now under defense, we no longer have the chance to launch a sneak attack. Let's go back and build siege equipment to prepare for a strong assault."
After saying this, he was about to ride back to camp when he suddenly heard someone shout from his right: "General Zhang, wait a moment."
Zhang Fei looked in the direction of the shout and saw five or six soldiers dressed in Wei army uniforms scrambling out of the forest and running toward him. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the one running in front looked like his subordinate, Zhang Da.