Chapter 1330: Shifting from Offense to Defense!【2】

The Han army camp outside Hangu Pass was divided into four sections.

With front, rear, left, and right camps, it stretched continuously for dozens of miles.

The central army camp was composed of twenty thousand infantry and cavalry led by Grand Commandant Zhang Wen from Luoyang, while the left and right flanks were garrisoned by fifty thousand troops each, led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun respectively.

As for the rear guard, it consisted of the over one hundred thousand surrendered Baibo Army troops.

Although the Baibo Army had the largest numbers, in terms of combat effectiveness, they were not even equal to the twenty thousand infantry and cavalry Zhang Wen had brought from Luoyang.

These one hundred thousand-plus men mostly served as laborers, transporting grain and military supplies.

When it came to attacking Hangu Pass, the main force remained Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song.

By this time, the news of Duan Yu's arrival at Hangu Pass had already reached Zhang Wen's central army.

Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Yuan Ji, and General of Loyalty and Righteousness Yang Feng were all seated in the lower positions to the left and right of Zhang Wen.

Upon hearing that Duan Yu had arrived at Hangu Pass, the first to be terrified was Yang Feng.

During that battle at the Fen River in Baibo Valley last month, Yang Feng had witnessed Duan Yu's ferocity with his own eyes.

The scene, which resembled a slaughter, still lingered in Yang Feng's mind.

It was rumored that when Duan Yu first made a name for himself in Jinyang, it was because of his peerless archery.

But in Yang Feng's understanding, even peerless archery meant things like piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces, never missing a shot, or firing arrows in rapid succession.

Yet the arrows Duan Yu fired were simply not human.

With golden light flashing across the sky, he had single-handedly shot down countless soldiers from the army led by Guo Tai and the others.

A single face-to-face charge had left tens of thousands of troops in complete disarray.

After the battle, Yang Feng had gone to look at the soldiers killed by Duan Yu's arrows.

Every single one of them had been killed by a single arrow that pierced through several men at once.

Gulp.

Hearing Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song say that Duan Yu had arrived, Yang Feng swallowed a mouthful of saliva involuntarily.

Zhang Wen, whose hair was already half-gray, also wore a grave expression.

"Duan Yu's prowess cannot be opposed by force," Zhang Wen said earnestly. "Hangu Pass was already difficult to attack; now that Duan Yu has personally brought troops here, I fear we will return empty-handed this time."

"Continuing to consume grain and troops like this is not a solution. I believe we should submit a memorial to the court as soon as possible to withdraw our forces to Luoyang and make plans for next year."

Hearing Zhang Wen's words, the expressions of those in the tent varied.

Yang Feng was naturally one hundred percent in favor.

Whoever wanted to fight Duan Yu could do it; he certainly did not.

Yuan Ji, dressed in white robes, kept his head lowered, his expression thoughtful.

Zhang Wen had come this time as the commander-in-chief of the three armies.

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were his deputy generals.

As for Yuan Ji, he was acting as an Army Supervisor in his capacity as Minister of the Imperial Stud.

Withdraw the troops...

"Grand Commandant."

After pondering for a moment, Yuan Ji looked at Zhang Wen and said, cupping his hands, "The Empress Dowager gave us the order to break through Hangu Pass. Although the assault on Hangu Pass has been unfavorable, if we withdraw now without even fighting a single battle against Duan Yu, wouldn't that be boosting the enemy's morale and destroying our own?"

"Submitting such a memorial to the court to withdraw would be no different from deserting in the face of battle. I fear the Empress Dowager would blame us."

As soon as Yuan Ji's voice fell, Zhu Jun, who was sitting opposite him, looked at Zhang Wen at the same time.

"Correct!"

"Grand Commandant, that Duan Yu is also human. Although we cannot take Hangu Pass, he cannot lead his troops out to kill us either."

Zhu Jun said with burning conviction, "To lead troops out of Hangu Pass, he must also cross the Hongnong River. Duan Yu is very formidable, but the troops under his command are not all Duan Yu. As long as we hold the Hongnong River or set up ambushes in the rear, if Duan Yu dares to lead his troops out of the pass, we have a chance to defeat him."

"We have over two hundred thousand troops; why fear Duan Yu?"

Huangfu Song also nodded slightly.

That was true; what Zhu Jun said was correct.

The terrain of Hangu Pass dictated that whether it was the side attacking the pass or the side defending it, moving troops was inconvenient.

Duan Yu's martial strength was formidable, but he was not a god.

As long as they set up many obstacles along the banks of the Hongnong River, Duan Yu would be unable to exit the pass.

Zhang Wen took a deep breath, then nodded and said, "Very well, in that case, let us try."

In any case, there was only a little over a month left until winter; at worst, they could wait another month before withdrawing.

The next morning.

The rising morning light struck the thick walls of Hangu Pass.

Dew that had condensed during the night formed into water droplets on the tiles of the three-story gate tower above the pass, dripping down.

As the sky brightened, it signaled that another day of slaughter had begun.

However, the morale of the soldiers on the battlements today was clearly three times higher than yesterday.

Duan Yu, wearing dragon-scale golden armor and a red cloak, was walking up the battlements of Hangu Pass alongside Dong Zhuo.

Zhao Yun, Zhao Feng, Tie Shitou, and Wang Erhu followed behind them.

"Ziyi, Chang'an has just been stabilized, and you have so many things to attend to; why bother coming here in person?"

Dong Zhuo said as they walked, "Based on them alone, they won't be able to scale the walls of Hangu Pass by this time next year."

"As long as I am here, Ziyi, you can rest easy and focus solely on stabilizing the situation in Chang'an."

Duan Yu smiled and nodded, saying, "With you here at Hangu Pass, Father-in-law, I am naturally at ease. However, I have other purposes for coming this time. If it were just to defend the pass, your presence alone would suffice."

Dong Zhuo laughed heartily and said, "How are Yi'er and Mu'er? I haven't seen them in a long time and have been missing them dearly."

"Yi'er also misses you often, Father-in-law. Mu'er has grown taller and can already call out for her grandfather. When you return to Chang'an for the New Year, our family will be reunited to celebrate."

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly, "Good, good, good. We will reunite for the New Year."

"I, Dong Zhuo, haven't done many things right in this life, but now it seems that marrying Yi'er to you was the most correct choice. Yi'er is truly blessed to have a husband like you."

Duan Yu shook his head modestly.

His achievements today were not small.

But all of this stemmed from Dong Zhuo's promotion and help back in Jinyang.

Everything he possessed now, was it not exactly what Dong Zhuo had possessed in history?

It was as if Dong Zhuo had already given him everything, including his daughter.

And now, he was even taking the initiative to help him guard the pass.

"Everything I have today is due to your favor, Father-in-law, and Yi'er's refusal to abandon me back then," Duan Yu said.

Dong Zhuo laughed and patted the armor on his chest.

The two of them laughed as they walked onto the battlements of Hangu Pass, looking out toward the direction outside the pass.

After just one glance, Dong Zhuo let out a soft sound of surprise.

"Eh!" Dong Zhuo said curiously, "Why is there no siege today?"

"In the past, by this time, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun would have already begun taking turns attacking the city. Why haven't they even assembled their troops today?"

Dong Zhuo said this while looking carefully outside the pass. ===== CHAPTER 1332 =====