stonecrandall Chapter 193
Chapter 193
"Oh! It's really thrilling. Today's situation almost let that little Liu Yao break through our defense line. It was such a hard battle!"
Yuan Shao sat down slowly. The candlelight in the military tent flickered, reflecting his tired and solemn face. Sweat slid down his forehead and soaked his clothes. Just at this moment, Wen Chou walked into the tent, holding the tray steadily in his hand, and the steaming food exuded an attractive aroma.
"My lord, you haven't eaten for a day, and your physical strength has been greatly consumed. Please take care of your body."
Yuan Shao shook his head slightly, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes, and he was not in a hurry to taste the food, but asked in a deep voice: "How are our soldiers?"
Wen Chou said nothing, his face darkened, and he sighed, his voice full of helplessness.
"Alas, my lord, although our army is large, we are facing an unprecedented predicament. There is a lack of water in the coalition, just like a dry field, which is in urgent need of rain. The princes are restless and complaining. What's worse, some have already begun to retreat and clamor to disband the coalition and go back to their own homes."
Yuan Shao lowered his head and cursed: "Liu Yao, you are so despicable! You actually cut off the water and the road. You are really unscrupulous and hateful!
In this battlefield shrouded in the smoke of war, water has become a treasure more scarce than gold. Hundreds of thousands of troops drink water every day. The need for water is like the vast sea and river, which is difficult to estimate.
People say that hunger can be endured for three days without dying, but water is the source of life. Once it is cut off, it will only take two days for the iron-willed soldiers to lose their combat effectiveness and become lambs to be slaughtered. What's more, in this endless fierce battle, their demand for water will be even greater!
Yan Liang sighed lightly, his tone full of worry and helplessness, and said slowly:
"My lord, in the past, our army relied on the mountains and rivers, and with the help of the gurgling streams at the foot of the mountain and the clear springs in the mountains, 100,000 strong troops could barely support and maintain their vitality. However, the situation changed suddenly, and our army's defense line has retreated step by step until the steep place on the mountainside, and several springs of the source of life have also fallen into the hands of the enemy and become the enemy's possession. "
"All of Liu Yao's men have fought for the springs. They have surrounded the springs at the foot of the mountain with heavy troops. After the ceasefire, the soldiers need to get water to drink and wash their wounds. Now the springs are gradually drying up.
"Tomorrow, if General Shen Pei's reinforcements fail to arrive as promised, I am afraid that our army will fall into an unprecedented predicament, and there may be a mutiny."
As night fell, in the coalition camp, the tired soldiers ended a long and arduous day of fighting. They were looking for a little comfort and were washing the traces of the battlefield and their own pains by the simple campfire.
However, fate did not seem to give them a chance to breathe. Those precious springs, like the last lights of the tired travelers, were quietly extinguished, and the water sources were gradually drying up.
"Could it be that we have betrayed the glory of the Han Dynasty and angered God, and this ruthless punishment was sent down?" Another soldier took over the conversation, with complex emotions flashing in his eyes.
"Is it because we betrayed the Han Dynasty? God is punishing us!"
"Yes, I heard that the successor to the Han Dynasty, Liu Bangchang, whom the lord found, not only has no children, but is also old. What's worse, his surname is Zhang, not the orthodox Liu family."
"Yes, yes, yes! This is true, I have heard it before!"
"Oh, God! The emperor of the Han Dynasty has always been surnamed Liu. Aren't we stepping into the abyss of rebellion by doing this?"
As soon as the voice fell, many soldiers knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the cold ground, knocking again and again, mumbling to themselves, praying for God's forgiveness and mercy.
At this time of life and death, who is not afraid? Even in the face of death, they long for a piece of glory, rather than carrying the name of treason, with hatred in the nine springs, unable to close their eyes.
This emotion spread rapidly in the army like wildfire. In a moment, it spread from one person to ten directions, and then from ten people to a hundred people, until the entire military camp was shrouded in a low and depressing atmosphere.
Some people took off their weapons and armor and wanted to escape in the night. At least they could go down the mountain to seek refuge with Liu Yao to save their lives.
Liu Yao was a legitimate Han Dynasty relative. When Emperor Lingdi was alive, he personally ordered people to look up the family tree to confirm his identity. He was also given a gold medal by the emperor. He represented the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty.
However, Yuan Shao's behavior was like a jackal under the dark clouds. He actually tried to use the name of an old man to usurp power and seize the throne. When the old man was in his twilight years, he wanted to quietly transfer the imperial power to his own hands. His ambition was obvious. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Wang Mang and repeat the disaster of usurping the Han Dynasty.
The fire of riots spread like wildfire and was difficult to contain.
Even the officers in the army waved the majestic flag and shouted to stop the riots, even blood was splattered on the spot, and several were killed.The soldiers who attempted to escape could not calm the public anger, let alone extinguish the fire of rebellion from the depths of their hearts.
Some Quchang even killed several deserters, and their soldiers mutinied collectively. They directly killed their superiors and began to flee collectively.
Yan Liang, Wen Chou and others all stepped forward to stop the fleeing soldiers.
What is even more regrettable is that some Quchang, due to a moment of anger, killed several deserters who shook the army's morale, but they did not expect that this move would become the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The soldiers under his command were no longer loyal and brave, but instead were despair of the impermanence of life and death and anger at unfair fate. They mutinied collectively, pointed their swords at each other, killed their former superiors to the ground, and then, like a flood, they embarked on the road of escape.
Now, in the Yuan Shao coalition, not only the soldiers wanted to escape, but all the princes had evil thoughts when they saw that the situation was not good, and some even took the lead in their subordinates to break out in the middle of the night.
However, this seemingly carefully planned escape route did not encounter the expected difficulties and obstacles. After only a few symbolic confrontations, it was easily resolved and successfully broke through like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The mastermind behind all this is now standing leisurely at the foot of the mountain, with a bit of pride and cunning in his eyes, counting the defeated soldiers who surrendered because of despair one by one.
"Lord! God really helps me! This time we can be said to have gained a lot, hahahaha! A rough estimate is that the number of people has exceeded 8,000!" Gao Lan was on the side, his face full of joy, his voice trembling slightly due to excitement, as if he had foreseen the dawn of victory.
Liu Yao also looked at Tai'a on the side with a little excitement.
"Luowang did a good job this time. Your master Wang Yue has taught you a lot. Go down and collect the reward money."
Several Luowang members wearing coalition uniforms around Tai'a saluted one after another.
"Thank you for the generous reward, lord!"
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