As Yang Rui's troops were all cavalry, the news of Yang Rui's recapture of Pyrolyte County had yet to reach Dong Guang County when his troops arrived at Dong Guang County a day later. Even though the number of guards in Dongguang County was much more than that of Pyrolyte County, Yang Rui still managed to successfully take over the city using the same method as before.
In this battle, Yang Rui had wiped out more than 18000 of Yuan Shao's troops and looted more than 40000 gold coins, 70000 units of food, as well as various equipment and other items from the three prefectures. At the same time, Yang Rui had also lost more than 1000 cavalrymen. However, they were all revived by Yang Rui using his storyline points.
Over the next ten days, Yang Rui continued to lead his troops north. After recapturing Pyrolyte County, he took down Dong Guang County, Xiu County, Fu Yang County, and Zhangwu County, as well as two other small cities near Nanpi County. In total, he had captured seven cities. Yang Rui had even captured two of them twice. In the end, Yang Rui's troops had completely penetrated into the rear of Bohai County!
Yang Rui and his cavalrymen's attack route had been erratic and circuitous from the beginning. They looked like headless flies that had no idea which city would be their next target. They also looked like a mad bull that would ram into any city that stood in its way.
Throughout the entire process, Yang Rui did not seem to care about how much he had gained. He even ignored the cities that he had captured. Whenever Yang Rui had captured a city, it would immediately be taken back by Yuan Shao's troops. Yang Rui had also completely ignored this. The only thing that could arouse his interest was to inflict as much damage as possible on Yuan Shao's troops and create as much panic as possible.
Of course, other than the first few cities that Yang Rui had captured by surprise, Yang Rui's subsequent movements were completely untraceable. He would often skip one city and go to another. For example, Nanpi City in Bohai County had been bypassed by Yang Rui three times, causing his pursuers to be confused and disoriented.
In this way, Yang Rui made use of the mobility of his cavalrymen and the convenience of his flying carpet to cause Yuan Shao's rear to be in a mess. Yuan Shao's most elite cavalrymen, the [Hebei Heavy Cavalry], had been sent to the battlefield in Pingyuan County. The remaining cavalrymen in the rear were scattered in various cities and could not be reorganized. In addition, there was no general in the rear, which gave Yang Rui the opportunity to jump around.
If one were to analyze it carefully, Yuan Shao's side could also figure out some patterns. No matter how Yang Rui's attacks jumped around, in fact, he had always moved closer to Hejian County. It was not impossible to say that he had not gone deep into the east of Bohai County, but the number of times he had done so was very limited.
Yang Rui was able to ignite fires in Yuan Shao's backyard because he relied on Han Fu's territory in Jizhou. On the other hand, it was because he had completely let go of Pingyuan County. He had completely entrusted Pingyuan City to Cheng Yu, Gao Shun, Zhang Liao, Wu Anguo, and Chen Lin. This was why he was able to free up his hands to launch surprise attacks and wreak havoc in Yuan Shao's backyard.
Speaking of which, Yang Rui's biggest trump card was Zhang Ning's [Heavenly Spirit Flaming Rain] skill. It was because of this skill on the [Heavenly Spirit Set] that Zhang Ning's role in sieging a city was even greater than the average famous historical figures. Logically, it became Yang Rui's trump card to wreak havoc in Yuan Shao's hinterland.
At the same time that Yang Rui was wreaking havoc in Bohai County, Pingyuan County was practically open to him. For this, Yang Rui had to pay the price of continuously losing cities in Pingyuan County. Yuan Shao had successively conquered Pingyuan County, Pingchang County, Bo County, Leling, Yanji, and eight of the ten counties in Pingyuan County. They had also advanced to the southernmost county of Pingyuan County, Zhuah County. As long as Yuan Shao was willing, taking down Zhuah County was a piece of cake. In the entire Pingyuan County, only Pingyuan City was still under Yang Rui's control!
Actually, 'attacking' wasn't the right word. Yang Rui didn't place much of his forces in the various counties, especially the ones in the north like Pingchang County, Bo County, and Leling. They were practically empty to begin with. Yuan Shao's forces simply picked them up.
Pingyuan County was originally a territory that Yuan Shao wanted to swallow. Therefore, after Yuan Shao took over the various counties, he did what Yang Rui did in Bohai County. First, he tried to pacify the people. Therefore, Yuan Shao's military operations didn't affect the normal production and daily life of the counties in Pingyuan County.
Even though most of Pingyuan County's territory had been taken over by Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao couldn't be happy about it. On one hand, he had organized an army to attack Pingyuan City for a few days. Every time, it looked like the defenders in the city were barely holding on. They didn't seem to have any powerful generals or archers. However, Yuan Shao's forces were never able to achieve anything. They were constantly knocked back by the rocks and logs thrown from the city walls. Their losses were severe.
On the other hand, the rear of Bohai County had been turned into a mess by Yang Rui. Yuan Shao was truly furious. Based on the news from Bohai County, Yang Rui had only brought 15000 cavalry with him. Compared to Yuan Shao's 40000 Sixth Grade Hebei Cavalry, this was a far cry. Yet, it was this insignificant force that couldn't be controlled no matter what!
"Preposterous! Preposterous! "
Another urgent military report came from Ji Province. Yuan Shao was enraged when he read it. He tore the report to shreds and tossed it to the ground.
"My lord, Yan Liang is willing to lead the 20000 Hebei Cavalry back to Bohai County and present that Blazing Sun to my lord!"
Seeing Yuan Shao's anger, an eight foot tall burly man covered in armor stood up from behind a few tables and asked for a battle in a clear voice. From his words, one could tell that this muscular man was one of Yuan Shao's favorite generals – Yan Liang!
"My lord, Wen Chou is also willing to go!"
Another muscular man stood up as well. His height and build were similar to Yan Liang's. It was another general under Yuan Shao's command – Wen Chou!
Yan Liang's skin was red, while Wen Chou's skin was dark. Both of them were extraordinarily muscular. In addition to their outstanding height, when they stood side by side, they were like two large doors. They gave off a sense of security and stability. It was no wonder that Yuan Shao had always relied heavily on these two men.
Seeing the two generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou fighting over each other, Yuan Shao's originally gloomy face looked much better at this moment. He revealed a rare smile. If either of these two generals were to be sent to Bohai County, they would definitely be able to defeat Yang Rui in one fell swoop!
"Hm! Hm! I order the two of you to lead your troops to deal with Blazing Sun. You must get rid of the disaster that is Blazing Sun, dead or alive! "
"Yes, my lord!"
"Yes, my lord!"
“”
Actually, it was not that Yuan Shao had not thought of sending people back to Bohai County to assist in the battle. It was just that Yuan Shao had garrisoned more than a hundred thousand men in Bohai County. Furthermore, he had the advantage of the city. From Yuan Shao's point of view, Yang Rui should not be able to cause too much of a commotion.
Following that, after Yang Rui took down two or three cities, Yuan Shao still held onto some hope. From his perspective, Yang Rui did not bring too many men. There would definitely be some losses in the process. However, he did not expect that Yang Rui's losses were not serious. Furthermore, Yang Rui was willing to spend a large amount of mission points to revive his soldiers. This led to Yang Rui's repeated successful attacks on the city walls.
As such, Yuan Shao had only just sent Yan Liang and Wen Chou back to Bohai County. He was truly worried about the safety of Bohai County. In addition, he hated Yang Rui to the core. He wanted Yan Liang and Wen Chou to take down Yang Rui in one fell swoop to resolve any future problems! In any case, the use of cavalry in sieges was very limited. Unless it was Yang Rui's abnormal method.
As for Pingyuan City, Yuan Shao believed that even if he could not take down the city, he could still easily retreat! Actually, Yuan Shao had such thoughts because he subconsciously wanted to return to Bohai County temporarily. After all, Bohai County was his base! It was just that Yuan Shao still held onto a sliver of hope in taking down Pingyuan City. It was also because of Yuan Shao's actions of sending Yan Liang and Wen Chou back that led to his subsequent defeat. Perhaps, this was something that Yuan Shao did not expect.
Putting aside the fact that Yan Liang and Wen Chou were ordered to return to Bohai County, after Yang Rui took down Zhangwu County, he was surrounded by several groups of Yuan Shao's troops from the east, south, and north. A total of ten thousand soldiers surrounded him. They forced him to the vicinity of Hejian County and showed no signs of giving up. Yang Rui could only temporarily retreat into Hejian County's borders.
Yang Rui had been attacking the enemy's rear for such a long time. Although he did his best to circle around and shake off the enemy, it was inevitable that a few 'tails' were left behind. In a situation where Yang Rui did not want to fight to the death, it was normal for him to be forced out of Bohai County.
However, after Yang Rui entered Hejian County, it did not mean that he was safe. Jizhou Provincial Governor Han Fu had personally come to Hejian County and stationed himself in Lecheng County. However, to the west of Zhangwu County, he only stationed troops in various cities. He had almost completely abandoned the towns and villages! Thus, as Yang Rui fled all the way to Dongping Shu County, a few tails were still following behind him!
"Guards inside the city, please open the city gates and let us pass. I am Qingzhou Provincial Governor Blazing Sun. I have a good relationship with Provincial Governor Han Fu. Today, I am leading the cavalry to pass through, please allow us to pass!" Yang Rui rode the flying carpet to Dongping Shu County's east gate. He communicated with the guards inside the city in advance. Zhang Ning led the cavalry several dozen li behind Yang Rui.
Although Dongping Shu County's surroundings were flat, there were several tributaries of the Lingtuo River. If they did not pass through the county, it would be very inconvenient for the cavalry to move. Moreover, there were several groups of Yuan Shao's troops following closely behind.
"How can you be sure that you are Blazing Sun Provincial Governor?"
"Yes! What if you are a spy? "
“”
Yang Rui discussed with the city guards for a while, but no matter what, they could not come to an agreement. At this time, there were also soldiers who passed the news to Dongping Shu County's three prefectures.
"Miss! General Han! "
After the news reached the inner residence, for some reason, the messenger stopped outside the courtyard gate and a servant girl passed the news in. What was very surprising was that the person in charge of Dongping Shu County was actually a handsome young man. Although he was dressed in black martial attire, it could not hide his' good 'appearance.
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