After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 878 - 864: Encirclement and Annihilation

Heading towards Wu’an County, Shi Le felt an ominous premonition growing stronger in his heart, and he had to pause and ask, "What’s the situation in Guangnian County? Can we pass through?"

Wang Yang replied, "The scouts report that Zhao Ju’s Zhao Family Army has taken Guangnian County and is currently resting there."

So if they went to Guangnian County now, it would be like walking straight into the lion’s den. They had come across Zhao Ju before, and Zhao Ju was not someone to be trifled with.

Furthermore, Zhao Hanzhang was following behind, and in time they would find themselves attacked from both the north and south...

Just thinking about it made Wang Yang shudder, and he quickly advised, "Master, we should go through Wu’an County. Once we pass Wu’an County, we can bypass to Anping Country or head straight to Shunyang County where our main army is located."

After Zhao Hanzhang captured Shangdang County, those who survived from Shi Le’s forces fled to Shunyang County, temporarily taking it as the main base.

Shi Le lowered his eyes in thought and asked after a while, "Are there none of Zhao Hanzhang’s troops in Wu’an County?"

Wang Yang replied, "There should be none. The people Zhao Hanzhang could dispatch, like Zhao Ju, Xie Shi, Ji Ping, were all spotted by scouts. I believe she wants to form an encirclement at Nanhe or Julu with others, so as long as we break out of the circle before she completes the encirclement, we can be worry-free."

Shi Le still felt uneasy, believing he had overlooked something.

But as he couldn’t figure it out, and given they were indeed being pushed closely by the Zhao Family Army from four directions, if they didn’t escape now, once surrounded, it would be extremely difficult to break free.

Shi Le decided to suppress his uneasiness, leading his people through Wu’an County, aiming to reach Nanhe County faster than Zhao Hanzhang and Zhao Ju could encircle them.

However, as soon as they left Wu’an County, Shi Le was ambushed. The other side didn’t raise flags, they just hid on either side of the road among sparse crops and dense grass.

Shi Le couldn’t face the opponent, as they struck and retreated quickly. But looking at the arrows, armor, and tools left behind, and the corpses they didn’t have time to carry away, Shi Le couldn’t identify which group they belonged to.

Wang Yang brought two swords up and said to Shi Le, "They use two types of swords. See, here’s the standard Zhao’s Blade, and this is an ordinary sword, the quality isn’t very good, it’ll get chipped after several slashes, commonly used in regular armies."

Such weapons were also abundant in the Shi Army, mostly allocated to common soldiers.

"How can an ordinary army have so many Zhao Blades?" Shi Le asked, "What about the arrowheads and armor?"

Wang Yang’s voice lowered, "The arrowheads also have Zhao’s craftsmanship. Among the collected armor, no abnormalities were found, but during the battle, I clearly saw some of the leaders wearing armor made with Zhao’s technique. I struck with eight-tenths of force and only slightly damaged them."

Shi Le’s heart raced, "It’s the Zhao Family Army!"

"But the Zhao Family Army’s weapons and armor vary greatly. Even newly enlisted soldiers can have a Zhao Blade. How can there be mixed ordinary tools?"

Shi Le didn’t understand why, but trusted his instincts, "Even if it’s not the Zhao Family Army, the ambush means they can cooperate with Zhao Hanzhang. We should take another route."

Shi Le decided to head east.

Wang Yang felt anxious and uneasy, "But Zhao Ju is in Guangnian County, his troops are as strong as this team."

"Guangnian County is vast, if we avoid people, Zhao Ju might not find us. But the front is unclear, and that is the real danger." Shi Le insisted on turning, leaving Wang Yang to obey orders.

However, the turn was in vain, as within one day they suffered two more ambushes. Shi Le was now certain they had encountered a group from the Zhao Family Army, who knew their route and troop strength inside out...

Shi Le felt a chill throughout his body, barely resting in the wild for a night, and at dawn set out northwards, dispatching large numbers of scouts along the way to probe.

Riding his horse, Zu Ti with his army blocked their path. After two days of ambush, Shi Le finally saw the main adversary.

Of course, he didn’t recognize Zu Ti.

So he glanced at Zu Ti and looked at his banners, seeing a large "Zhao" character on one side and a "Zu" character on the other.

Shi Le stared at the "Zu" banner for a while before speaking slowly, "Zu Ti?"

Zu Ti curled his lips and nodded, "I am he. I’ve long heard of General Shi’s name, and today I come to learn from you."

Shi Le didn’t respond to his words, just grim-faced, "I did hear you joined Zhao Hanzhang, but didn’t know when you arrived here from Anping Country."

Zu Ti smiled slightly, "I’ve been waiting here. If you hadn’t come, I feared I’d have to move forward to meet you."

In a flash, Shi Le understood clearly; this explained why Zhao Hanzhang had been leisurely pursuing him from behind.

Many times, Zhao Hanzhang had gotten so close, Shi Le felt he had to fight her to leave, only for scouts to report she slowed to gather supplies.

She had planned this approach all along.

Indeed, she wanted to surround him north and south, but instead of exerting great effort for Zhao Ju, Ji Ping, and others to bypass him first, then encircle him, she had Zu Ti come directly from the south, limiting his escape routes, and surrounded him at Wu’an County during her leisure.

In mere moments, Shi Le looked back, seeing a scout rushing over to report, "General, Great General, Zhao Family Army has passed Wu’an County, trailing us by twenty miles!"

Shi Le’s face whitened, and looking around, the field was wide and flat, here even a lone person would be visible from hundreds of yards away.

It’s hard to hide, and naturally hard to escape.

This was the burial ground Zhao Hanzhang meticulously chose for him.

Zhao Hanzhang and Zeng Yue led the vanguard to hasten the arrival, while Fu Tinghan followed with the rear army.

Twenty miles was less than half an hour for the vanguard.

When she arrived, Zu Ti and Shi Le were engaged in a fierce fight. She paused slightly, scanned the battlefield, and immediately ordered to form ranks and attack, flanking left and right.

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang indeed arriving, Shi Le’s pent-up anger erupted, and he charged toward Zhao Hanzhang’s direction.

But Zu Ti was locked in combat with him, how could he let him leave easily?

With a spear blocking his path, the battle was quickly resumed.

Finally, when both sides were exhausted, Zhao Hanzhang realized she was too deep amidst the enemy, and ordered to sound the gong to retreat.

Shi Le took the opportunity to pause fighting.

Zhao Hanzhang and Zu Ti deployed troops to encircle Shi Le from afar, dividing the army into four directions. In this open field, Shi Le had nowhere to hide or escape.

Wang Yang was covered in blood, besides other’s blood, he was slashed once in the back. After fighting all day, his limbs were somewhat weak. He stabbed his sword into the ground, using it to support himself, and told Shi Le, "General, when night falls, we will protect you and break through."

Shi Le’s gaze was profound, and he did not oppose.