Chapter 1019: The Great Victory at Shaozhou

When he learned the exact news of the Yue army's sortie, Pan Mei finally breathed a true sigh of relief. Although he had been extremely confident in luring the Yue army out, it was still not a hundred-percent certainty—if Xu Yanzhen had not taken the bait, he would have faced a rather unpleasant situation. Changing battle tactics was secondary; the key issue was the time wasted and the opportunities missed beforehand, which, as he had told Murong Chengtai, would have been his responsibility.

Fortunately, Xu Yanzhen did not disappoint him. As long as they came out, the Han army had already won half the battle; the remaining half depended on the commanders' leadership and the soldiers' fighting. Moreover, this was cooking Shaozhou and the Southern Yue reinforcements in one pot—breaking the army and taking the city in a single stroke. It could be said that most of the troops in Southern Yue that had even a modicum of fighting strength had come, and breaking them meant breaking the state.

Compared to the Han army's intense preparations and eager advance to battle, the Yue army was filled with low morale and growing resentment. It must be said that there were still some officers in the Southern Yue army who opposed the sortie, not only based on their judgment of the situation but also voicing the sentiments of the Yue troops, who were unwilling to rush into battle. However, they could not prevail against Xu Yanzhen, and in the end, amid their discontent, they were forced to march out, heading toward defeat and ruin.

Strange to say, given the debauchery of the Southern Yue monarch and the chaos of its military and civil administration, no major upheaval had ever occurred within its army. Had this been the Central Plains, heroes would have risen long ago to raise troops and put down the disorder.

In fact, throughout the entire "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms," it was not only the orthodox dynasties of the Central Plains that were gradually suppressing the military class, reducing local power, and strengthening central authority—the other separatist regimes were doing the same, and overall, benefiting from favorable geography and a relatively peaceful external environment, their stabilizing efforts were even more effective.

This included the Yue state, and since Liu Chang had ascended the throne, his purge of meritorious officials and veteran generals had certainly greatly damaged its fighting strength and affected military morale, yet to a certain extent it had gained him control over the army. Those with prestige and ability were either demoted, killed, or forced into retirement. However, this control was fragile, unable to withstand shocks, especially under circumstances where the monarch and his ministers constantly meddled and treated military affairs as a game.

Comparing the comprehensive strength of the Han and Yue armies, if the two forces met in open field battle and clashed head-on, the only result once engaged would be rout. Moreover, Pan Mei had set his trap in advance and laid his ambush troops.

When Xu Yanzhen, smug and self-satisfied, led nearly fifty thousand Yue troops in grand procession toward Baixing Mountain, they were intercepted halfway, facing more than twenty thousand Han soldiers personally led by Pan Mei, arrayed in full readiness. The formation was solemn and imposing, with killing intent soaring to the heavens. By comparison, although the Yue army was more numerous, this did not give them much confidence or courage—they looked at each other in doubt.

It was almost laughable—this was the first time Xu Yanzhen, the Yue army's chief commander, had ever seen what the Han army truly looked like. No matter how fiercely he had bellowed before the battle, when actually facing the battle array, his true colors were revealed. From the moment he saw the Han army positioned against the mountain and forest, blocking the road to meet them, fear had already taken root in Xu Yanzhen's heart. Trimming his sails to the wind was a skill his sort of man excelled at.

It was the Han army that launched the attack first, striking while rested and without hesitation, seizing the opportunity of the Yue army's sortie—unsettled footing and unprepared formation—to deliver a blow. While the frontal assault was underway, the Han ambush troops hidden on both flanks also seized the moment, raised their banners, shouted war cries, and swept around to attack. In an instant, the Yue army, whose morale was already unstable, plunged directly into panic and chaos.

Especially after the frontal Han forces, with their strict and ferocious formation, advanced fiercely to the beat of the drums, before even making contact, morale had already sunk to its lowest point. Once engagement began, along the killing line, from point to surface, the defense line gradually collapsed.

What was truly contemptible was that while some Yue soldiers spontaneously organized resistance, Xu Yanzhen, the commander-in-chief, directly fled with his trusted confidants and personal guards, abandoning the army. Even if a pig had been in command, these tens of thousands of Yue troops would not have collapsed so quickly. The commander's banner had fallen, the chief general had abandoned the army—every unfavorable factor had descended upon this Yue force.

As Pan Mei gave the order and Murong Chengtai led the Han cavalry in their charge, the Yue army utterly collapsed like a mountain toppling. Because of Xu Yanzhen's disgraceful performance, from beginning to end, the two armies never truly engaged in fierce combat; the intensity of the fighting was very low.

In the Yue army's rear, Zhi Tingxiao also led five thousand Shaozhou troops into the campaign. He had always held a pessimistic view of the sortie's prospects and had remained vigilant. When the killing cries suddenly erupted, he knew something was wrong and immediately had his men go on alert.

However, the killing cries from three sides and the wavering ahead—everything happened too fast. Limited by the constraints of battlefield visibility, although he knew the situation was unfavorable, Zhi Tingxiao could not tell exactly what was happening. He could only pull his troops together, form a defensive formation to prepare for the unexpected, and send men to inquire about the situation at the front.

By the time he learned what had happened at the front, the Yue vanguard had already been routed. Tens of thousands of troops were in complete chaos, spreading from front to back, and directly affecting the Shaozhou troops under Zhi Tingxiao's command.

Even though he knew Xu Yanzhen was unreliable, his utterly shameless performance still shattered Zhi Tingxiao's worldview. In this earth-shattering situation, although Zhi Tingxiao had courage and strategy, he could not become the hero to salvage the defeat.

All he could do was lead his men in retreat southward, toward Qujiang City. Compared to the other Yue troops, the Shaozhou army maintained a semblance of order and did not completely dissolve into chaos. For most of the Yue troops who had sortied, the course of this military operation was: leave the city, march, form ranks, flee south, be captured...

For the Han army, this battle had been almost too easy, but their fighting spirit was high. Who wouldn't be pleased to effortlessly collect military merits and reap the spoils of war? Tens of thousands of Yue troops, like pigs, were driven, chased, and captured by the Han soldiers, and from start to finish, they never encountered any proper resistance.

Across the dozens of li from Baixing Mountain to Qujiang, defeated soldiers were thick as a forest. There were no corpses strewn across the fields or rivers of blood. Apart from some soldiers killed in the early stages of the engagement, in the aftermath, those who could flee fled, and those who couldn't surrendered on their own initiative.

It was not until the evening of the ninth day that the battle concluded successfully, ending with the Han cavalry once again pounding at the gates of Qujiang City. The Han army had won a great victory; the Yue army had suffered a complete and utter defeat.

For Xu Yanzhen, in this battle, he had led the main force of tens of thousands of Yue troops out of Qujiang City, and with that, he had essentially completed his historical mission.

The Han army's main camp was set up twenty li from Qujiang City. Because they had won the battle, even though night had fallen, the atmosphere was very relaxed. The previous oppression and restlessness had been washed away by this victory. The battle results still needed detailed tallying, but the gains were abundant—over thirty thousand prisoners had been captured alone.

This single battle had clearly greatly increased Pan Mei's prestige. Even Murong Chengtai offered him congratulations and apologized for his earlier words. Pan Mei displayed his magnanimity and let it pass with a cheerful smile. Many times, victory is a sharp weapon for covering up and even eliminating contradictions.

"Eunuch Chen, in this great victory of ours, you deserve the foremost credit. I shall memorialize the court to request a reward for you!" In the commander's tent, Pan Mei said to Chen Yanshou, who had come to pay his respects, treating him with great courtesy.

Chen Yanshou was flattered and overwhelmed. Facing a great battlefield general like Pan Mei, he always felt awe and reverence, and a smile of deference appeared on his face: "This humble one was only doing his duty. To serve Your Majesty and the Great Han is also this humble one's honor!"

"Good!" Pan Mei was in an excellent mood, and with a hint of familiarity, he patted Chen Yanshou's shoulder and said to him: "When we advance on Panyu, there will be many more places where you will be needed!"

"This humble one will certainly do his utmost to assist the Commander-in-Chief in pacifying Lingnan!" Chen Yanshou immediately pledged.

As the two were conversing, a man was escorted into the tent by soldiers. The officer in charge reported to Pan Mei: "Commander-in-Chief, we've captured an important figure, who claims to be Xu Yanzhen, the Yue army's chief commander!"

"Confirm whether it's really him," Pan Mei said, showing interest, asking Chen Yanshou.

Though it is said that calamities endure for a thousand years, Xu Yanzhen's luck had clearly run out. He had fled early enough, but in the end, he could not avoid being lost amid the chaos of the routed army. His son had also died in the melee, and he himself had been captured by the Han cavalry—his gaudy, eye-catching attire had made him too conspicuous.

At this moment, however, Xu Yanzhen was covered in dust and dirt, utterly bedraggled, his gaunt face still bearing traces of panic. He was merely a eunuch—how could he have ever experienced such an ordeal? But when he saw Chen Yanshou standing beside Pan Mei in the Han camp's commander's tent, he was greatly startled, astonishment written all over his face: "Chen Yanshou, you, you..."