The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 220 Cutting Off the Retreat Route

Although military service is a mandatory obligation for all adult males, those who do not wish to fight can join the reserves, local garrisons, and militia.

These troops, including the reserves, will not go to the battlefield unless it is a matter of life and death. Their main task is to maintain local security.

Of course, some Yanzhou troops were not so obedient as to abandon the young men they had coerced, and the Yanzhou generals leading them believed that their own territory would not open fire.

So they wanted to take the risk and lead those able-bodied men away, hoping to gain merit from Yuan Shao once they reached their destination. However, these generals overlooked a practical problem: although the troops in their own jurisdiction had not received orders to open fire.

However, they can directly block the road, making it impossible for you to pass.

The Yanzhou army, which was blocked, did consider forcing their way through, but they dared not. Even if there was only one company on the road, they dared not open fire, because all the Yanzhou soldiers knew that there must be a large number of reinforcements deployed behind that company.

The reason they only stationed a company here was to lure us into firing the first shot, so that the self-governing region could have a legitimate excuse to directly occupy all the cities, instead of, as it is now, at least allowing them to withdraw their own property.

"General Du, what should we do?" A captain asked the general in charge of a Yanzhou army that was blocked a hundred miles north of Chenliu.

"How should I know what to do!" The general surnamed Du was furious. "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? How am I supposed to know what to do now? I don't dare to rush over. Although I have five thousand men under my command, only three thousand of them are musketeers."

Moreover, most of them were new recruits, and although the self-governing army at the front appeared to have only one battalion, no one could guarantee that they only had one battalion, even if they did.

But those two small cannons in front of him were no joke. Everyone knows the power of shotguns these days, and Du Hua wouldn't dare risk his life to try it.

He is one of the few generals in the Yanzhou army who has experience fighting against the self-governed region's army, and Du Hua has a considerable understanding of the fighting capabilities of the self-governed region's army.

The Yanzhou army is currently incapable of defeating the self-governed region's army in open battle unless it has a troop advantage of more than three times and a considerable number of artillery pieces to support it.

Du Hua was well aware of the overall strength gap between Yanzhou and the autonomous region. Even if he defeated the battalion in front of him, what difference would it make? The autonomous region still had countless battalions, while he had nothing.

If these five thousand men were lost, it would be a devastating blow to the Yanzhou army. Du Hua dared not gamble. As a general, he felt frustrated that he did not have the courage to order an attack when facing the enemy. However, he had no choice but to do so because he wanted to preserve these forces for his lord's comeback.

Not to mention that there is only one official road leading to Hulao Pass, and there are countless other troops from the autonomous region in the distance. They are marching along the river, and the road they are currently traveling on is, strictly speaking, still within the territory of the autonomous region.

However, because the Chenliu-Zhongmu area was incorporated into their lord's territory through a deal between their lord and Yuan Shu, Yanzhou would have been completely cut off from its retreat long ago by their self-governed region.

Of course, everyone knows that this narrow passage can be cut off whenever the local military wants, just like now, which is why Du Hua is blocked.

"Release those able-bodied men and women behind them," Du Hua said weakly.

Seeing that the captain did not move, Du Hua added, "Now is not the time to turn against Chen's army."

"Yes, General, I will have the brothers release the prisoners immediately."

The captain understood their predicament. Soon, the Yanzhou army released the able-bodied men and young women they had abducted. Seeing that the Yanzhou army was so sensible, the troops of the self-governing region in front immediately made way for them.

(Some people asked why not take a detour. What I want to say is that armies carry a lot of supplies when marching, and regardless of the era, armies will always choose roads with good traffic conditions first.)

(Marching in the wilderness is suicidal. Even if people can walk, vehicles can't, let alone oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages in this era. With their off-road capabilities, those wooden wheels would be considered impressive if they could travel even a mile in the bumpy wilderness.)

Upon learning that the troops of the self-governing district ahead had cleared the way, Du Hua immediately ordered the entire army to continue advancing. In fact, without the able-bodied men and women, their marching speed could have been even faster.

Looking at the self-governed areas on both sides of the road, Du Hua felt uneasy. Although he knew that the self-governed area army would not take action now, he was really unhappy about handing his fate over to others.

However, for the sake of his lord's great cause, Du Hua had to endure it. Didn't he see that his lord was also enduring it? Even his lord had endured such a great humiliation, so how could he, as a general under his lord, not be able to bear it?

The Yanzhou soldiers walking through the middle of the road didn't dare to breathe, fearing that their movements would attract attacks from the autonomous region troops on both sides. One Yanzhou soldier was so nervous that he kept an eye on the autonomous soldiers on both sides.

He accidentally stepped on a pebble and fell to the ground with a thud, drawing laughter from the soldiers on guard on both sides of the self-governing area, although the laughter was quickly interrupted by the officer's angry curses.

However, all the soldiers in Yanzhou could tell that the officers in their own jurisdiction were not truly blaming their soldiers.

What a disgrace! The anger in the hearts of all the soldiers of Yanzhou rose up, but none of them had the strength to turn against the army of the autonomous region. They could only endure it. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. They had to endure it.

Chen Er probably never imagined that some seemingly insignificant little things would arouse deeper hatred in the Yanzhou army, which would later lead to the final battle between Yuan Shao and Chen Er.

Those veterans from Yanzhou fought to the death and refused to retreat, causing great casualties to the troops in their own jurisdiction.

Later investigations revealed that the reason these veterans of Yanzhou remained so tenacious in the face of inevitable defeat was because of the ridicule they received from the soldiers of Yanzhou when the autonomous region had semi-forced the takeover of Yanzhou.

Upon hearing the investigation results, Chen Er remained silent for a long time. He couldn't blame his soldiers because they had only acted unintentionally.

The fierce fighting of those veterans from Yanzhou naturally earned the respect of all the soldiers who participated in the war in the autonomous region. Countless soldiers regretted their actions back then, but they quickly recovered because it was all in the past.