My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 748

The Liaodong Army had no reason to believe they would lose. As they live in a colder climate, they were generally stronger than those from the South. Besides that, only the cream of the crop could become part of the Zhendong Army. This is also why Yue Peng was very confident they could defeat Yangzhou’s landing army and even boost morale. He was so confident that he abandoned defenses and charged towards Yangzhou’s army.

But the moment they clashed, Yue Peng found himself in tears. Why was the Yangzhou Army’s equipment so much better than their own? Their weapons could only dent Yangzhou’s armor at best while Yangzhou’s swords could easily cut through their own. Also when the swords clashed with each other, it was the Zhendong Army’s swords that chipped away. It was so bad that Yue Peng’s troops were practically unarmed men facing off against enemies fully equipped in heavy armor. It could not even be called a battle.

Yue Peng would have never made it back to Zhangyi County if it weren’t for the Zhendong Army protecting him. Even then, the number of Zhendong Army troops that managed to return was less than a thousand.

Mo Ran’s expression was dark. Of his fifteen thousand elites that was dispatched, less than eight thousand returned. Over a thousand of them were also injured. In other words, he lost half his forces in a single battle.

Then this Yue Peng went and threw away the Zhendong Army, returning with less than a thousand men.

“Good. Very good. ” Mo Ran grimly said to Yue Peng who was kneeling on the ground, trembling with fear.

“General! Please spare me!” Mo Ran had given the order for Yue Peng to cover the retreat of the main force. He told Yue Peng to focus on defense rather than engaging the enemy. But Yue Peng decided to disobey which led to this outcome. Losing the others were fine but the Zhendong Army were their strongest unit. Neither Yue Peng nor Mo Ran could handle the consequences for losing them. Each set of weapon and armor were at least a hundred gold and with thousands of troops, that value added up to a hundred thousand gold. Mo Ran wouldn’t even be able to complain if Gongsun Du wanted to blame him for this.

“Men! Take Yue Peng away and execute him!” Mo Ran roared. Yue Peng’s actions had cost them the Zhendong Army. If they had the Zhendong Army, they could have saved thousands more of their men. But now, their trump card was gone and the rest were stuck outside Zhangyi County.

“General! I was wrong! Please spare my life!” Yue Peng panicked. He did not want to die.

He had finally reached a high position after a lot of effort so he valued his life even more. Fortunately, Yue Peng had good character so the others pleaded for him. “General Yue is guilty but he does not deserve death! It is not General Yue’s fault but the Yangzhou Army was simply too strong!”

“Yes. We were defeated the moment he engaged Yangzhou’s troops. Those unscrupulous merchants sold us inferior weapons and armor! Their swords could cut through our armor but ours could not! We could not even use the swords to defend ourselves or it would break!” Another lamented.

“Huh?” Mo Ran frowned. Yue Peng also saw his way out and quickly shifted the blame to the Yangzhou Army and the merchants who sold them defective equipment.

Of course, Mo Ran did not believe it at first. He handled every piece of equipment purchased from Yangzhou and had personally checked their quality. Fortunately, Yue Peng had enough sense to steal a weapon and armor from a fallen enemy. Although Yangzhou was victorious, it did not mean that there were no casualties.

Mo Ran then tested it on the Zhendong Army’s equipment. Sure enough, Yue Peng was not exaggerating. Their weapons and armor were clearly not as powerful as Yangzhou’s. Mo Ran discarded the broken equipment on the ground. Yue Peng was right. It was not that Yangzhou sold them fakes. They simply had better ones that they did not sell.

“Yue Peng. You can escape death but not punishment! I will demote you from the position of deputy general and make you a captain on the city walls!”

“Thank you General! Thank you General!” Yue Peng was upset for getting demoted after working so hard to become a deputy general but he was happy to be alive.

“Go!” Mo Ran waved. His head began to hurt. He couldn’t understand why the weapons and armor they spend so much money on to be completely useless.

“General. The enemy may have better equipment but we still have eight thousand men and the county. As long as we hold the city and wait for reinforcements from General Zhou Hai, the Yangzhou Army will surely be defeated!” One soldier reassured Mo Ran.

Mo Ran nodded at this. The enemy may have better equipment but they have city walls. Another important point was that the enemy’s cannon have long range but Zhangyi County was dozens of miles away from the ocean.

“Have the troops stay alert. We cannot lose Zhangyi City!” Mo Ran made up his mind to live or die protecting this city. He would settle the score with Yangzhou once they attack the city.

Meanwhile, Ling Cao waited for the rest of the land troops to arrive. He may be arrogant but he was not reckless. Advancing further may lead him to an ambush so he would only advance once the others arrive.

Now, he commanded five thousand men. Aside from his losses from the turtle ships, his other losses were minimal. Even then, he frowned as he approached Zhangyi County. It was only a county in name. It’s size was as big as some prefectural cities.

“General. Should we attack directly?” The deputy general asked.

Ling Cao was not afraid of death but he did not want his men to die so stupidly. A direct attack, especially a siege, would lead to the most casualties. Above the city walls were the enemy’s banners showing that the enemy were prepared.

Ling Cao’s first thought was to build ballistae. But Liaodong did not have enough trees or boulders for it to be feasible. Just as Ling Cao was wondering if it was really necessary for a direct frontal assault, a messenger arrived.

The messenger rode over at full speed. He then got off his horse and quickly knelt down before he could even catch his breath. “Orders from General Gan Ning! Rest and wait here for reinforcements!”

“Reinforcements?” Ling Cao was puzzled. The landing troops were all here. What other reinforcements could there be? But this time, Ling Cao obeyed. Gan Ning had already given him face before. He could not disobey Gan Ning again.

“Pass the word! We set up camp here!” Ling Cao ordered.

“General! Look! With Zhangyi County here, the enemy will never be able to attack our Liaodong!” Mo Ran’s subordinate commented.

“Yes.” Mo Ran nodded. If the enemy attacked, they could just rely on the city walls. Now, the important thing was to wait for reinforcements. He did not have enough men to fight back alone. He needed Zhou Hai’s army.