stonecrandall Chapter 191 Ban Chao Ding Scimitar
Chapter 191 Ban Chao Ding Scimitar
Zhang Wei disagreed with the Desert Scimitar's request for peace because he wanted to avenge Zhang He and the dead soldiers. He hated stabbing in the back the most. Even if the Sand People did not repay him, at least they were in a mutually beneficial relationship. Zhang Wei even turned a blind eye to the smuggling of the Sand People. However, what he got in return was the seriously injured Zhang He and the dead soldiers.
Yuan Shao's reason for disagreeing was even more utilitarian. He believed that this was a good opportunity to annex the Desert Scimitars. The reason why he did not support the idea of slapping the Neon Empire to death before was because for Zhang Wei's current situation, the Neon Empire was just an enclave. If they wanted to go to the eastern coast of the kingdom, they still needed the support of Duke White Tiger and Duke Dragon Wing. Even if they divided the Neon Empire with the Northern Empire, they would not be able to manage it at all.
However, the situation of Desert Scimitar is different. They are separated from Desert Scimitar by an inland sea. Moreover, they have built Xiamen Port, Shanghai Port and Jushang Town. Among them, Shanghai Port and Jushang Town are already on the peninsula of Desert Scimitar. This is a good opportunity to further annex Desert Scimitar.
Because Zhang He was still recovering from his injuries and Zhang Wei's side was short of generals, Zhang Wei took out another three hundred summoning stones to see if he could summon some good generals.
After the light, a heroic man appeared on the summoning circle.
"I am Ban Chao, meeting my lord."
This time, there was no need for Yuan Shao to introduce him; Zhang Wei jumped up directly.
"Hahahaha, God helps me!"
Everyone is familiar with Ban Chao's name. He pacified more than 50 countries in the Western Regions. It just so happened that he was also going on a western expedition this time, so Zhang Wei couldn't help but be excited.
After understanding the situation and referring to the distribution map of Desert Scimitar's villages and towns brought back by Zhang He, Ban Chao proposed to use Zhang Wei's current naval advantage to directly attack Huanglong and capture Desert Scimitar's Thun Castle in one fell swoop.
At the same time, Ban Chao also worked out a plan of division for Zhang Wei's reference. Ban Chao's plan was to appease and reuse the friendly faction among the Desert Scimitars, to intimidate and control the fence-sitters, and to strike resolutely against the die-hards with no leniency.
Zhang Wei agreed to Ban Chao's plan. In terms of the navy, Zhang Wei asked Liu Rengui to cooperate with Ban Chao, while Ban Chao was in charge of the army.
The allied forces of Ban Chao and Liu Rengui set out from Xina Port. After replenishing supplies at Shanghai Port, they headed south around the coastline of the Desert Scimitar, preparing to take Thun Castle in the Desert Scimitar.
At the same time, in order to create a false atmosphere, Ban Chao sent a special army to Jushang City, waiting for an opportunity to act.
In order to cooperate with Ban Chao's decoy troops, Liu Rengui left a fleet in Shanghai Port, cruising along the nearby coastline from time to time.
At first, when Zhang Wei's army arrived at Jushang City, it caused chaos among the Desert Scimitars. However, when they found that Zhang Wei's army was just waiting for an opportunity in Jushang Port, they quickly calmed down.
Many people in the desert took it for granted that Zhang Wei’s army, like the Northern Empire’s army, was completely helpless in the face of the desert.
Because of the change in wind direction, many friendly people have become fence-sitters, and even the number of extremists has increased.
When Ban Chao and Liu Rengui's troops appeared in Thunburg, the people of Thunburg were stunned. They tried to organize a defense in a panic, but Liu Rengui's warships broke into the spacious berth of Thunburg like a broken bamboo.
This anchorage was originally built by Zhang Wei in cooperation with the sand people of Thunberg. The plan was to open up a sea trade route with Thunberg. After all, the efficiency of transportation in the desert by camel caravans was too low.
At that time, Yuan Shao reminded Zhang Wei that he should still be vigilant and not let Thunburg build sea walls and gates like the Port of Zovia. Zhang Wei listened to him and, under the banner of greater throughput, chose a place that was easy to attack and difficult to defend to build a berth. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao's words came true.
When Ban Chao's army landed, the Sand people of Thunburg surrendered immediately. After all, the only big city of the Sand people was inhabited by powerful people, and many of these people made a lot of money by doing business with Zhang Wei, and there were many friendly people among them.
After Ban Chao captured Thun Castle, he was not in a hurry to use Thun Castle to attack nearby villages and towns. He discussed with Liu Rengui that although Thun Castle was occupied by them, many people had forgotten to resist because of the momentary panic. If they could not completely control Thun Castle, there might be hidden dangers.
So Liu Rengui pretended to lead the fleet to leave Thunburg and return to Shanghai Port, but in fact he was waiting for news from Ban Chao in the open sea.
Ban Chao boldly sent his main force to attack the town of Calcutta in Thunburg, leaving only thirty or so personal guards with him.
Some people in Thunburg saw that Ban Chao had only thirty or so people around him, and that the army and navy were not in Thunburg, so they thought of killing Ban Chao. They put pressure on the lord of Thunburg, demanding that they find an opportunity to kill Ban Chao and his guards.
"What if Liu Rengui and Ban Chao's army knew that we killed Ban Chao, how would we resist then?" The city lord felt fear in his heart.
However, the extremists who advocated killing Ban Chao said: "Liu Rengui's fleet has returned to Shanghai Port. By the time he gets the news and rushes here from Shanghai Port, we will have already made defensive preparations. Even if it is difficult to build a wall at the anchorage, the enemy's landing navy will not be our opponent if we fight a street battle."
"Moreover," the extremists continued, "even if Ban Chao's army captures Calcutta, we have tall and solid walls to stop their attack. If they want to retreat to Jushang Town, our guerrillas and the desert will send them all to hell."
After hearing this, the city lord agreed with the extremists' suggestion.
Therefore, the extremists asked the city lord to hold a banquet and invite Ban Chao to the banquet, and then kill Ban Chao and his guards.
However, Ban Chao had already grasped the whereabouts of the extremists. The night before the banquet, he led more than thirty personal guards to raid the extremists' lair. Most of the extremists were killed, and only a few were taken prisoner by Ban Chao.
At the city lord's banquet, Ban Chao said he wanted to present a gift to the city lord. The city lord was nervous but did not dare to refuse.
Ban Chao clapped his hands, and his bodyguards came up with the extremist heads and prisoners.
The city lord's face turned pale in an instant.
His teeth were chattering, and he didn't know how to explain to Ban Chao. He was afraid that Ban Chao would rush forward and kill him the next second.
However, Ban Chao did not kill the city lord. Although the city lord was a fence-sitter, he was elected by the sand people of Desert Scimitar after all. Killing the city lord at this time would not be conducive to Ban Chao's subsequent action to conquer Desert Scimitar.