Volus (End) (1/2)

Volus (End)

Tan Ji was efei Beginning as an uneducated individual, Ji was personally taughtfroeneral This in itself was not an easy task His personality was melancholic and unsociable Every tih Ji would reluctantly attend, he never touched a drop of alcohol, sitting by hi the entire mood to be depressed After several occasions, the Grand General could only cease to invite Ji Ji was severe towards his subordinates Any violators of ardless of distinction or bravery, would be executed As a result, his co death in battle, showcasing a vigorous h Ji held a high position, he retained his previous simplistic lifestyle Whenever he was conferred with rewards, he would always share theh his subordinates feared Ji, they wereto serve him to the death

—raphy of Tan Ji</eoshawk flew past the horizon under the clear sky and over the boundless brush of the wilderness by the whi the heart to feel a sense of loneliness Tan Ji sat on his horse on the banks of the Qin River, his gaze filled with cold austerity Several scouts galloped over Dropping off their horses onto their knees, one of the to the General, the enemy supply camp is located at Miaopo Rations and fodder are piled up like mountains The supply camp is located between two rivers with the rear ca where the rivers intersect There are four pontoon bridges across the Qin River and three over the shi+li River There are over a thousand boats of the navy at the Autu several days’ worth of provisions and supplies The supply ca over it, and possesses ten thousand horsemen and twenty thousand infantry with his hands AGhost Cavalry behind hiuided his horse forward and stated in a clear voice, “The General orders you to withdraw”

The scouts breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully withdrew There were very few individuals who could face Tan Ji calm and composed After the scouts had withdrawn, Tan Ji stonily spoke, “Luo Meng, tell eneral dispatched to defend the supply ca’s two best cavalry coiven an idle position and sent off to defend the supplies The Prince of Qi never did this before, even though he controlledEmperor’s trusted adviser to supervise the aruard hesitated before responding, “General, there is nowhere that power struggles do not exist Although the Prince of Qi’s authority is great, he could do nothing to Jing Chi, as he was dispatched by the Yong Eive hie towards his Imperial Brother? Now that a new person has coer important The Prince of Qi would naturally take this opportunity to deal with hie, orries about whether their subordinates are loyal or traitorous? As long as they’re useable, they’re treated as valuable as money When they’ve served their purpose, they’re tossed aside like a worn shoe That year when General was seriously injured by an assassin, didn't sos difficult for General? The Grand General did not make any effort to help you out of said predicauard of the thirty-six Ghost Cavalry had accohly trusted That hy he dared to wantonly speak so bluntly Listening to his words, Tan Ji did not get angry nor did he get surprised He indifferently replied, “That is the nature of hu I can say However, the Grand General’s grace towards me is as heavy as a e hi frank and outspoken, disapproving oftrouble for me You are not permitted to speak in such a way in the future”

Luo Meng hurriedly voiced his pro the ene Chi is a formidable opponent If we are the least bit incautious, it is likely that ill be defeated”

Tan Ji smiled ruthlessly and answered, “What is to fear about a hot-headed, discontented man like hi to transport supplies This was originally soiven me a fault to exploit I intend to transform the enemy supplies into ash; I want to see how they will have a way of continuing the conflict It is only because they want to fight a decisive battle, otherould they have set their supply cah this location is convenient for transportation, its protection cannot be compared to the deep , pass along my orders Gather all of the co was excited He knew that General Tan Ji had divine strategic planning and was rarely at a loss for ideas If Tan Ji could acco’s recent crushi+ng defeat, they would be able to redress the hu and the others over the last several years Although the general did not ard that the general had experienced As a result, Luo Meng pro all to follow their colorious deeds

In the di supply ca upon the co Chi, but rather the Prince of Qi in a set of ordinary azure ar discovered by Northern Han spies and scouts, the Prince of Qi and his bodyguards had changed into the uniform of typical soldiers In addition, twenty thousand horsemen had been hidden within the supply camp On the surface, there were only twenty thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand horsemen, while there were in fact twenty thousand foot soldiers and thirty thousand horsemen The center of the camp hadturns to reveal the the Northern Han ar Chi excitedly stated, “Your Ihness, all of the scouts e dispatched have not returned as scheduled It see’s calculations are truly divine! This tifei lose a key deputy, ill be able to inspire our army’s morale That Tan Ji has devastated Zezhou for many years If he is hacked intopopular discontent”¹

Li Xian smiled and replied, “We still don’t knoe are able to capture him alive I have heard that theas a fox when leading troops Many individuals who are cold-hearted and merciless often fear death I hope that Tan Ji won’t leaveidly, an uproar came from the soldiers outside After a short while, a soldier entered the tent to detail, “Reporting to Your I, someone released fire boats froes and the supplies on both banks In front of the ca battle”

Li Xian was startled as he stated, “They have co to the plan”

Jing Chi stood and saluted before walking out of the tent with giant strides, shouting, “Bring my weapon! I want to see who dares to oppose this oldJun, a bodyguard at his side, he told, “Make the preparations After General Jing has draay the ene a cheerful expression, Zhuang Jun replied, “Your Io and are eagerly waiting to go into battle We’ve all been badly stifled these last several days” Saying this, he turned and walked out of the tent to pass along the orders

Fro’s heavy cavalry leave the supply caor He could not help but sigh and state, “This kind of capable general and is left by thehed hueneral who can charge and break through ene these caed at the Great Yong arhly a hundred paces apart,² the Northern Han ar ar army in the flank With his thirty-six Ghost Cavalry, Tan Ji charged into the Yong formation The Ghost Cavalry was an elite unit that was the best Northern Han had for breaking through eneer-axes, carnage followed The cavalry behind the bolts in all directions This co Chi charged out, leading seven thousand horse for Chi, huered, led his troops to save the supplies Although only the tents along the riverside had been ignited, the losses were not small It took until the afternoon to be tidied up

However, at this moment, fire boats floated down the shi+li River This ti aruided his horse and waited at the entrance to the ca Tan Ji Just then, Tan Ji had once again led a thousand or so horse Chi was infuriated, leading his arain At this moment, a civil official in the unifor, “General, the ene us with a fraction of their force They are clearly trying to lure us into an a to listen, Jing Chi cursed, “What does it matter if the ene made fun of by a few thousand enemy troops! If this were to spread, wouldn't people say that our Great Yong is co the cavalry out Don’t tell h to protect the ca Chi led his cavalry out

When the two ar was able to showcase its ht In a few short seconds, the losses suffered by the Northern Han arth, Tan Ji led his troops in a withdrawal This ti Chi pursued theive chase Personally leading his Ghost Cavalry, Tan Ji served as the rearguard In this fashi+on, they fled and chased for several dozen h Tan Ji had few troops, they were the best of the best In addition, Northern Han’s troops were co an arrow’s distance of separation fro force would be forced back by arrows and bolts Jing Chi was aas the Northern Han army in front slacked, he could destroy the

After nearly an hour had passed, Tan Ji reached the banks of the upper reaches of the Qin River Here, Northern Han had set up several pontoon bridges Under Tan Ji’s command, the Northern Han troops retreated across the river to the western bank of the river Jing Chi was furious, co, “Catch thee!”

It didn’t take long for the thousand or so Northern Han cavalry to cross the pontoon bridge On the opposite shore was a hill Seeing that the ene Chi was increasingly anxious However, a single pontoon bridge was not enough for the nearly ten thousand Yong arency Not bothering to wait until everyone had crossed, Jing Chi led his household troops and charged forward, circling the hill andup to the hilltop, Tan Ji raised his dagger-axe A bugle horn sounded Instantly, Jing Chi and his thousand household troops were surrounded Tan Ji divided his troops in two, one half surrounding Jing Chi while the other half blocked the re the favorable terrain

Luo Meng excitedly stated, “I had originally believed that Jing Chi would dispatch an advance guard to first scout Who would have thought that he would personally lead his household troops, allowing us to take advantage?”

Tan Ji dryly replied, “Be careful If things are unusual, so is definitely off We are the ones who need to be on our guard against a trap”

S overly anxious This is undoubtedly a result of Jing Chi’s dissatisfaction at being placed in an idle position him to suffer heavy losses In the future, if the Prince of Qi were to investigate, he would definitely be unable to escape censure It is no wonder he is so annoyed Moreover, Jing Chi is a valiant and fierce general We have not heard that he is resourceful and intelligent Hasn’t the Grand General already investigated thisservices, they all cah he has subordinates that are skilled at defense, at thisChi, he was probably left behind to defend the supply camp”

“We cannot be careless,” spoke Tan Ji apathetically “Moreover, although our army released fire boats and burned down several tents, they arranged flame retardant materials between the tents In reality, the losses they have suffered are not as disastrous as they appear Jing Chi has led out basically all of his cavalry Although this is in accordance with Jing Chi’s style, I feel as if so Chi was covered in blood Leading his household troops, he had le horn, the obstructed Yong troops began to retreat like the tide back towards the pontoon bridge Tan Ji involuntarily frowned “It is no wonder that Jing Chi is so reckless So he is this for Chi He is the lone unit We must seize this opportunity to eli, Tan Ji ordered troops to destroy the pontoon bridge and cut off the Yong ar the Chi

After pursuing for a hundred rasped the direction that Jing Chi was fleeing, seeking to return to the supply caht of victory inevitably rose in Tan Ji’sChi, this would be no s for half a day, according to the scout reports, the Yong army that had been left behind had beco Chi Exultant, Tan Ji was increasingly unwilling to give up his pursuit He had familiarized himself with the terrain on the western bank of the Qin River long ago Splitting his forces, Tan Ji had continuously intercepted Jing Chi’s troops, encircling Jing Chi in a narrow region However, there was a single fact that caused Tan Ji to frown This location was only a little over ten ten from the supply cah the pontoon bridges had been destroyed, greatly increasing the time it would take for troops to cross the river, Tan Ji was still worried that so that his intention of capturing or killing Jing Chi was approaching fruition, Tan Ji iive this kind of bait up, no matter how poisonous” Tan Ji conteeneralshad placed two ranking generals to his rear, he could only admit defeat if he fell into a trap Since he had made his decision, Tan Ji issued the order to concentrate his troops in an encircle his hand to wipe off the blood and sweat on his face, Jing Chi looked with distress at the several hundred troops who he had left by his side He thought, et somebody else to do his duty work, he will likely be successful At thisChi could not help but suspect the Prince of Qi However, after some consideration, even if the Prince of Qi had such intentions, he would not daain charged forward and took the lead to intercept the Northern Han arement to boost the morale of his household troops

Atop his azed down at the encircled and struggling Yong army Elation rose within hi in this world if he could not be filled with elation for killing and waging war?

Just then, Tan Ji saw s from the supply camp out of the corners of his eyes He unintentionally froze The distance was too close If he dispatched scouts to investigate, they would likely be killed by enemy troops before they could return He proate The sly close Tan Ji did not see the hawks return Seeing the smoke and dust concentrate and not scatter, Tan Ji knew instinctively that enereatly startled How could the enemy have crossed the river so quickly? Could it be that they hadChi sallied forth they had been building a bridge to cross the bridge? He see Chi had reinforcements