After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 879 - 865: Unexpected Event

This battle lasted for three days, with Zhao Ju, Ji Ping, Wei You, and Mi Ce all successively sending troops for reinforcements, while each led their own forces to intercept the Shi Army coming to aid Shi Le.

The Shi Army also had reinforcements coming, resulting in a battlefield teeming with people, with several smaller encirclements within the larger one—encircling each other.

Zhao Hanzhang and Zu Ti were determined to kill Shi Le, but Shi Le was not easy to kill.

He himself was brave and, due to years of life as a slave and refugee, was very adept at escaping. After three days of effort, he gradually shifted the battlefield, finally breaking through at the edge with several thousand men, creating a gap to break the encirclement.

Zhao Hanzhang, blocked by Wang Yang, watched him leave, unwilling to give up. Despite her fatigue, this provoked her, and the spear in her hand moved with renewed vigor, piercing through Wang Yang with a dozen or so moves.

Lu Ming and Wu Yu, who were captured and made ordinary infantrymen in the Zhao Family Army, felt a chill in their hearts upon seeing this and, out of fear, immediately gave up pretending, killing the Shi Army soldier they were fighting and turning to flee.

Zhao Hanzhang looked up, following Shi Le’s trace, seeing a thousand-strong troop quickly bypassing the battlefield from the southwest to pursue the retreating Shi Le toward the northwest.

The battlefield was large, and they were quite far away, but seeing the fluttering flag, she immediately recognized the leader as Fu Tinghan.

Zhao Hanzhang’s pupils constricted, and she immediately turned her horse around, leading her trusted aides to break through the battlefield and pursue them, ordering a messenger to notify Zu Ti, "I’m going to chase Shi Le; let Zu Ti drive the Shi Army north and reclaim all the cities in Guangping County."

The messenger departed with orders.

Fu Tinghan had been stationed outside the battlefield, allocating logistics for her and Zu Ti, overseeing the medical camp, occasionally covering their weaknesses, and maintaining control of the overall situation.

After all, being in the battlefield, sometimes engrossed in battle, they couldn’t perceive changes on the battlefield in time.

He never intended to personally enter the fray, but Shi Le had broken free, with only Zeng Yue bringing over a hundred pursuers.

He knew that Wu’an County was chosen by Zhao Hanzhang specifically as Shi Le’s burial place; it was ideal for encircling and killing Shi Le, and this was their closest chance to success. Missing this opportunity could mean missing their chance to restore order.

Historically, Shi Le eventually established Zhao Country and proclaimed himself emperor. Though as emperor, he wasn’t as reckless as he was now, his successors plunged the entire north into chaos.

After the Yongjia turmoil, the people of the Northern Land were already living in misery; after Shi Le proclaimed himself emperor, he governed the land for a few years, but when Shi Hu ascended the throne, he ruined everything, dragging the people of the Northern Land into hell, a never-ending one at that.

After Shi Hu, the Han people of the Central Plains and the North were almost exterminated, while the Jie Clan was annihilated.

Zhao Hanzhang always wanted to prevent the north from falling into chaos again, and that required destroying the Xiongnu Khanate and killing Shi Le.

She didn’t care if there would be another Zhao Le or Zhou Le after killing them; she only knew that people like them, if not employed by her, should be eradicated early on.

She believed that as long as she was in her position, the Northern Land would not fall into the hellish scenario of history.

Fu Tinghan understood her urgency to kill Shi Le; they had sacrificed so many people, gradually driving Shi Le to this point. If Shi Le escaped, Zhao Hanzhang would be considered decisively defeated.

So upon seeing Shi Le escape the encirclement, Fu Tinghan, without much thought, immediately dispatched a thousand men to pursue him.

This was the finest number of troops he could muster; the rest had to protect the medical tents and logistics.

By the time Zhao Hanzhang broke through the encirclement, a full forty-five minutes had passed; even Shi Le’s and Fu Tinghan’s traces were out of sight.

She could only lead her troops along the trail in pursuit.

Fu Tinghan had a clear understanding of himself, so he left markings along the way, intended for reinforcements to catch up.

When Zhao Hanzhang caught up to Fu Tinghan, they had already engaged Shi Le in a fierce battle.

Shi Le didn’t want to stop and fight Fu Tinghan; now that he had escaped, he focused solely on fleeing. If he stopped and Zhao Hanzhang caught up, wouldn’t he be trapped on the battlefield again?

But he was with an exhausted army, while Fu Tinghan had brought along his guard army, who always adhered to Zhao Hanzhang’s orders, unwaveringly staying by Fu Tinghan regardless of the battlefield’s shifts.

During these three days, aside from the medical staff, everyone had gone to the battlefield, each so exhausted that even curling their fingers was difficult, yet Fu Tinghan still had a thousand lively guards by his side.

They pursued with ease, quickly catching up with Shi Le even though they had to cover a long distance.

Shi Le, glancing back at Fu Tinghan sitting on a robust horse, immediately decided to seize his horse—mainly because he couldn’t outrun them.

Thus, Shi Le stopped to set an ambush.

But Fu Tinghan was skilled in recognizing paths. Though inept at other things, his observation of traces was top-notch. Seeing no dust rises in the distance, he knew that Shi Le was hiding and not far from him.

Shi Le’s ambush on Fu Tinghan failed, leading to a direct confrontation.

The Jie cavalry were formidable, so they knew the tactics to counter cavalry too. Before Fu Tinghan could locate them, the Jie people, crouching low with curved sabers, charged out from the woods on both sides, slashing at the horses’ legs...

Placed beside Fu Tinghan by Zhao Hanzhang, Shi Hongtu and Lu Daxuan were extremely skilled guards, even superior to Qiu Wu and others. They attended troop movement and logistic courses set for commanders above platoon leaders and often served as Fu Tinghan’s assistants when he drew maps.

Whenever the Governor came to watch him map, they discussed the strategic use of certain terrains. Though lacking experience, they held much knowledge in their minds and were adept in martial arts, not intimidated by Shi Le.

Suddenly attacked, with people around them continually dismounting, they remained unflustered, knowing this terrain was unfavorable for cavalry charges. They decisively dismounted; Shi Hongtu pulled Fu Tinghan down, shielding him, while Lu Daxuan organized the formation to resist...

Seeing this, Fu An promptly dismounted, running to Fu Tinghan’s side, but before he reached him, Shi Le charged out from the woods with his men...

When Zhao Hanzhang arrived, Fu Tinghan, always well-protected, was gripping a longsword, half soaked in blood, fiercely fighting the enemy. Hearing hoofbeats, he turned, his eyes sharp as knives. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhao Hanzhang couldn’t help but smile, tugged the reins, and directly bypassed the crowd. Passing by, she speared a saber-wielding soldier, then headed straight for Shi Le.

The crowd was too dense for mounted combat. After Zhao Hanzhang’s spear claimed several heads, she closed in on Shi Le. The spear fell, blocking Shi Le’s saber slashing toward her horse’s legs. With force, she flung Shi Le aside, then dismounted...

Shi Le, being flung aside, retreated to evade her attack range. Seeing her finally dismount, he chuckled, "Governor Zhao, such audacity! Without your horse, do you think you can kill me?"

Zhao Hanzhang patted the horse, letting it leave and smilingly replied to Shi Le, "Even with a warhorse, you couldn’t defeat me. Where does your confidence come from in thinking you can beat me on foot?"