The Transmigrator Dreams of Desertion
The Yellow Turbans hadn't actually suffered catastrophic losses from Liu Bei's surprise attack. Only three hundred and forty infiltrators had slipped into their ranks to begin with, and the main camp held just a thousand men. Even with the night raid, barely a thousand soldiers had died out of their fifty thousand total force. In other words, as long as the Yellow Turbans kept their heads on straight, they could maintain their current advantageous position.
The imperial army dispatched from Luoyang had twenty thousand men defending a narrow pass, while the Yellow Turbans occupied most of Tak County except for Takhyeon itself. Even that last holdout was surrounded by fifteen thousand of their troops. On top of that, ten thousand reserves plus the four thousand soldiers that Jeong Wonji and Deung Mu had sent were hurrying back from the pass leading to Yeon State after seeing their main camp set ablaze. If the Yellow Turbans simply stayed calm and focused on defense, time was on their side.
But their leader Jeong Wonji was among the thousand dead, and his second-in-command Deung Mu was far away at the Yeon State pass. There was no one left to issue orders and quell the chaos. To make matters worse, the main camp at the base of Daeheung Mountain was burning, which only amplified the panic among the remaining forces. This was exactly the moment when officers needed to control their troops, but these so-called officers were nothing more than peasants chosen for being big and loud. They were utterly useless in an emergency.
"Wh-what the hell?! What is happening right now...!"
"Commander! It's an attack! The enemy raided us and the main camp is burning!"
"Damn it! Anyone with eyes can see that! How the hell did enemies appear from behind us?!"
"Th-that is..."
"Ugh, you idiot!"
There was no way the subordinate who'd been with him until moments ago could possibly know, but the situation was so absurd that he had no patience for such details. They had occupied every county in Tak except Takhyeon itself—so where had these enemies come from? It couldn't be imperial forces invading from another region. The province below was held by Zhang Jue, leader of the Yellow Turbans, and they themselves had already subdued Yeon State to the north before descending into Tak County. Even if volunteer armies had been raised from the occupied counties to attack, how could they have burned the main camp and annihilated the five thousand troops stationed there? It was impossible.
And even if a volunteer force large enough to threaten the main camp had somehow gathered, there were ten thousand reserves in the rear. There was no way they could have slipped past their watch. They would have been discovered and crushed long ago. Yet now the rear was in flames, the troops stationed at the main camp had been wiped out, and there had been no contact from Jeong Wonji or Deung Mu. They were likely dead as well.
To summarize: the rear was secure, the only path for enemies to enter was heavily blocked, and yet suddenly the main camp behind them was burning. ...Why? How in the world had enemies appeared from the rear? No matter how he thought about it, the pieces didn't fit. Ah, there was one possibility! The bastards who had been holding out in Takhyeon!
"Fuck, Takhyeon! Yes, it must be the ones who were surrounding Takhyeon that got hit!"
"What?! B-but the imperial forces holding out in Takhyeon couldn't have been that many..."
"They must have let their guard down and gotten ambushed too! Damn those idiots. They couldn't even break through Takhyeon when they should have taken it ages ago, and now they've gone and gotten themselves defeated?!"
"C-Commander! Then... what do we do now? If the encirclement around Takhyeon has been broken, doesn't that mean we're next?! Some of the men are already running away!"
"What! Hurry... No, never mind. Tell the men to pack up. We're heading to Giju."
"But Commander! The path to Giju goes right past the main camp, and you just said it's burning!"
"Fuck, then do you want to just sit here and get surrounded? If they've come all the way from Takhyeon, they must be exhausted too, right? If we don't move now we'll get swallowed up, so shut up and pack!"
"Ugh... understood."
While the twenty thousand Yellow Turbans who had been blocking the pass cursed their comrades who were still properly besieging Takhyeon and began to flee, the fifteen thousand Yellow Turbans surrounding Takhyeon were making similar assumptions and having nearly identical conversations. As expected of fellow Yellow Turbans.
"The pass! Fuck, it must be the unit guarding the pass that got wiped out!"
"What?! B-but there were twenty thousand men guarding that route..."
"They must have gotten careless and paid for it! Damn those morons. All they had to do was hold their position—what the hell were they doing to let it get breached?!"
"C-Commander! Then... what should we do now? If the road to Luoyang is open, doesn't that mean we're next?! If the Takhyeon bastards and the Luoyang forces hit us from both sides, we're all dead!"
"Shit... no time for this. Wake the men quickly. We're retreating to Sanggok."
"Commander, then Chief Jeong Wonji will throw a fit..."
"You think that bastard is still alive when the main camp is burning?! You want to stay here and get crushed between two forces?! Stop talking nonsense and pack up already!"
"Y-yes sir!"
And so the Yellow Turbans surrounding Takhyeon retreated toward Sanggok, cursing the perfectly intact twenty thousand of their comrades. ...If they had been even slightly calmer, they would have held their positions and sent scouts to the main camp. They would have learned that Deung Mu and the fourteen thousand troops had returned with minimal losses and continued holding their ground. They wouldn't have so pathetically abandoned their advantageous position and fled. At the very least, if the two units had sent messengers to each other, they could have retreated together instead of splitting off in opposite directions. Even the well-trained cavalry from Luoyang would have struggled to inflict serious damage then. They might even have linked up with Deung Mu's army during the retreat, forming a single force of forty-nine thousand.
In that case, even if they had to abandon Yuju, the imperial army that had marched up from Luoyang numbered only six thousand. They wouldn't have dared engage eight times their number recklessly. With eight times the manpower despite fewer cavalry, they might have even fought a fierce battle over control of Yuju. But because they neither held their positions nor coordinated their retreat...
The price for that foolishness would be brutal.
Late that night, at the Yuju imperial army's encampment. While Ji Ling was carefully trying to wake the sleeping Yuan Shu without startling her, Cao Cao had already donned her armor and was issuing orders to the assembled troops.
"Wonyang, take five hundred light cavalry and charge along the river! If you strike from the left bank, they won't be able to link up with the Takhyeon forces. It's more important to prevent them from joining together than to kill them, so make as much noise as possible. Hmm... maybe have them beat drums while they ride?"
"Understood! What about you?"
"If you drive them down from the riverbank, I'll charge the clustered group with the heavy cavalry. Oh my... they'll be pounded into meat paste and weeping, won't they? How pitiful~."
"Aman, that's too dangerous! You should stay here with Gonglu and lead the infantry while I take command of the heavy cavalry..."
"No, Wonyang! Haven't I been a better rider than you since we were children?! I'd love to bring up the story of how you cried your eyes out after getting bitten by a foal while feeding it carrots, but... oops~ there's no time for that! I'll tell you all about it later. For now, just do as I say."
"Damn it! That was when we were kids! And I never cried!"
"Hahahaha! ...Ah, Ji Ling has finally come out. Ji Ling? You take command of the infantry alongside Gonglu. Don't overdo it—just focus on units whose formations have been broken by the cavalry. ...Hm? Why does your face look like that?"
"Ack! Vice Commander Ji Ling!!! This humble one dared not touch the sleeping Lady Yuan and could only shake the bed until it flipped over! The merciful young miss forgave me with nothing but kicks and scratches, so with a broad heart!! I am grateful!!! The scar on my face!! It is an honor!!!"
"..."
After this so-called strategy meeting—which was really just Cao Cao unilaterally issuing commands—had concluded, and quite some time later, Yuan Shu appeared wearing what was clearly expensive armor and began the slaughter of the retreating Yellow Turbans by kicking Ji Ling in the shin.
-Thump thump thump thump!!
Xiahou Dun's light cavalry unit, having been ordered to beat drums with a small detachment, charged into the left flank of the retreating enemy.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
"Hihihihit!!"
"Jeehahahaha!!!"
-Thump thump thump!!!!
Since their primary goal was to drive the enemy downward rather than inflict direct damage, they screamed all sorts of ridiculous noises to herd their foes. Of course, light cavalry were still cavalry—their breakthrough power was nothing to scoff at.
-Hiiiiiiing!!!
-Crash!!
"Damn it, they're here again...! Aaaaaagh!!!"
"We can't stop them if we don't stay together! Just get out of the way!!"
Xiahou Dun continued driving those fleeing upward with movement and those fleeing downward with noise. When she saw the Yellow Turbans beginning to cluster tightly together as they moved, she signaled her unit.
-Piiiiiiiii!
"It's the withdrawal signal! Everyone pull back upward!"
"Don't let them escape into the mountains! Take the mountain path over there! Let the horses rest there for a bit!"
The Yellow Turban horde that had been tormented by Xiahou Dun's light cavalry throughout their retreat brightened considerably when the unit withdrew. However—
"Mmm~ Wonyang did an excellent job. Everyone! It's our turn now. Our comrades created a wonderful opportunity for us~ It would be rude to waste it, don't you think? ...Right, let's charge!!"
The heavily armored cavalry unit began their charge, slamming into the enemy with a weight that made the previous light cavalry seem like nothing.
-Kuuuung!!!!
"Graaaaaagh!!!!"
"Aaaagh!! Fuck! Stop pushing!"
"Save... me..."
"Greeeegh!"
Yellow Turbans flew in every direction as if gravity didn't exist. Many had multiple broken bones as they sailed through the air before smashing into the ground, where their twitching bodies made for a truly bizarre sight. This was the result of Cao Cao's heavy cavalry charging straight into the clustered enemy.
And there was also an infantry unit fearlessly charging the broken Yellow Turban formations.
"Ji Ling. I have no desire to step forward in such a vulgar manner like that eunuch's granddaughter and her lackey. Handle it as you see fit."
"Ack!!! Lady's trust!! It is an honor!!! Yuan Clan—Comradely Love!! Charge with spirit!!!"
It was Ji Ling's pride and joy, a unit he had carefully cultivated during the march from Luoyang to Yuju.
"Ack!!!"
"Destroy the Yellow Turbans—Ki Yeol!"
"Fight to win, die if you lose, lai lai cha cha cha!!!"
It was the Yuan Clan Brotherhood Unit.
While the Yellow Turbans were tasting hell at dawn, I was happily smiling as I moved the mountain of loot from the Yellow Turban main camp to Nusang Village. However...
"...Excuse me? What did you say?"
"With these supplies, we can feed all the people of Tak County who have been starving because of the Yellow Turbans! It's truly wonderful!"
"All of it...?"
"Yes!"
There was no time to enjoy my happiness. A different kind of hell from what the Yellow Turbans were experiencing was waiting for me.