Chapter 211
Chapter 211 – Operation Mountain Hammer - The Ambush
The operation "Mountain Hammer" did not end with just Lu Bu force and the battle at Shangdang . The plan also involved the Julu Army in Jinyang"s territory .
Jia Xu wanted an army with at least 50,000 men to set an ambush in this designated location . Jia Xu specified that they had to use the rolling-boulder tactic when Liu Ping and his first couple battalions pa.s.sed their ambush site .
The stones and rolling rocks had to stack and disconnect the Imperial Army in half, which Liu Ping would be isolated in the frontline . The troops in the back would not be able to a.s.sist Liu Ping, who led the march on the front .
From that point, his neck would be on the chopping board . Zhang Xiu and his troops had to take over the role as the finisher to kill Liu Ping and end this war once and for all .
In the case that Liu Ping did not lead the troops on the front, Jia Xu also affirmed that they could also continue their plan, but they had to retreat after the frontal Imperial forces were wiped out .
Fortunately, Liu Ping"s action was favorable to the ambush plan . He led the troops in the very front and was an easy target to the hiding Julu Army .
Before Liu Ping arrived, Hua s.h.i.+, who had been appointed as the grand commander of this army, had taken 30,000 men to the designated location .
Unfortunately, Julu could not recruit or prepare the 50,000 men that Jia Xu had required on time, so they had to complete the job with only 30,000 men .
Hua s.h.i.+ divided the troops into three parties . The first group was the ambush party, which consisted of 5,000 men and Zhang Ji . They had to hide on top of the east hill, which was only a hundred meters away from the road . Should they spot Liu Ping, they would have to roll all the prepared boulders to severe the front battalions and the back .
The second unit with 20,000 infantries, led by Zhang Xiu, had to hide in the trenches and wait for the incoming Imperial Army five hundred meters away north of the boulder ambush point . They were in charge of clearing the front battalions .
And the last unit, the back-up unit which Hua s.h.i.+ was the leader, she and 5,000 men would provide artillery and arrow support to the other groups if they required .
Xiao Wu, AKA Friday, however, was the wild card who could only square with Liu Ping in direct combat . Thus, she was appointed as the a.s.sa.s.sin in this operation .
Alas, Friday failed to confirm her kill and sent Liu Ping into the boulder landing areas . She clicked her tongue in frustration since she knew that the c.o.c.kroach Liu Ping would not die from those injuries Hua s.h.i.+ inflicted .
…
Zhang Ji, the commander of the Boulder unit, looked at Liu Ping Army from the top of the hill .
As an abandoned commander of Dong Zhuo, he was more than happy that he could continue working as a thousand-man commander again .
His promotion came a few months after Tong integrated him into his army . Zhang Ji"s position t.i.tle changed into a colonel, and he could command over 10,000 men . His nephew was also the same, he was also appointed as a colonel .
To Zhang Ji, this position was no different than the standard general in the military . It was a huge promotion!
He was glad that his family was forsaken and sent to Julu . The pay was good . The food was delicious, and his fiancé had more friends .
Julu was his family"s paradise!
Yet, he did not understand a few strange things in Julu City as a part of it shrouded in mystery .
First, the government somehow magically procured large stocks and a variety of unique food out of nowhere . He had never seen a caravan of these stocks or transportation that took care of these products anywhere .
Secondly, Dong Bai seemed to disappear and reappear randomly within Tong"s Manor . He heard that Dong Bai had become a permanent resident in his young lord"s house and disturbingly became one of his concubines .
Zhang Ji cringed every time he thought about this relations.h.i.+p between his young lord and this little girl . She was only 5 years old, which was not old enough for this yet . Alas, it was his lord"s business that he could not interfere .
Third, the lady, Hua s.h.i.+, seemed to be famous in the city . All men fantasized her in their dreams as if she was a G.o.ddess of purity . In contrast to the local men, the veteran who survived the battle of Anping said Hua s.h.i.+ was the "G.o.ddess of Death" as her arrows never missed . At the same time, the maids who worked in the government houses claimed that Hua s.h.i.+ was the "G.o.ddess of l.u.s.t" because the maid heard the sounds of Hua s.h.i.+ servicing Tong every night when he was at home .
This young lord"s mistress had so many nicknames that confused Zhang Ji . He did not know why an ordinary n.o.ble"s wife could get so famous .
And the last mysterious was the existence of Xiao Wu, who appeared out of nowhere . She claimed herself as one of Tong"s concubines and also had a close relations.h.i.+p with the lady Hua . From the rumor, Xiao Wu was a combat maid who was also Hua s.h.i.+"s personal bodyguard .
However, Zou s.h.i.+ usually complained to Zhang Ji at home that every time she appeared, Dong Bai always disappeared . Furthermore, both Dong Bai and Xiao Wu seemed to talk in the same tone and style . Zou s.h.i.+ even suspected that Xiao Wu was the one who taught Dong Bai vocabularies .
Then, his career led him to this place, the battlefield .
Before he came here, he was skeptical about having a pregnant young mistress being the grand commander of the army . To his surprise, several of Julu soldiers did not bother with it . In fact, many sergeants who had survived the Battle of Anping spoke highly of her .
Although he doubted her ability, he could not protest the order from the higher up as Hua s.h.i.+ was Tong"s wife . Defying the young lord would spell a disaster for him and Zou s.h.i.+, so he kept his mouth shut .
All doubts that he had proved him wrong when the Xiao Wu and Hua s.h.i.+ started preparing the ambush .
Xiao Wu"s supernatural strength terrified all soldiers as she could lift a ma.s.sive boulder with her finger grips . She often threw the stones around and got scolded by the mistress .
Hua s.h.i.+ also did not seem to be weaker than burly men in the army as she could easily push or pull heavy rocks, which required ten men to move, by herself .
Today, Zhang Ji"s mind went blank the moment Hua s.h.i.+ took out her composite bow and started shooting .
Magic arrows went straight to Liu Ping, who was over 200 meters away in the distance!
Though she failed to kill Liu Ping in one arrow, she did not fl.u.s.ter or panic . Hua s.h.i.+ signaled Zhang Ji to commence the operation .
"Start rolling the stones . Use the smaller ones first . "
"Y-Yes, my lady! At once!"
In a frantic, Zhang Ji and his men began pus.h.i.+ng down the prepared boulders . The stones naturally rolled down from the top of the hill by the gravity . Although the hill was not a smooth slope, it slanted down enough to make the boulder continue moving downhill .
Hua s.h.i.+ and Xiao Wu had many people cut down the trees and clear the path for the stones in advance so the boulders would not stop in mid-way .
The smallest stone was at least the size of one cubic meter, and the biggest ones were the size of a truck . All of them stacked on top of each other as Hua s.h.i.+ arranged all of it . To get these boulders rolling down, the soldier had to cut the ropes that tied the logs around the stones, which stopped them from moving downward .
Zhang Ji and his men cut ten packages of wrapped boulders at once, sending them tumbling down the hill .
The sound of many ma.s.sive rocks rolling on the uneven slope was as if the mountain was collapsing . The ground also shook to the point that the soldiers on the hill could feel it through their feet .
During his job, Zhang Ji managed to catch a glimpse of the battle below . Hua s.h.i.+ had already fired more arrows, which went over the head of the golden-armored Emperor .
He was shocked once again when the light arrows suddenly moved by themselves as if they had eyes . They turned around and penetrated into the target"s body .
Zhang Ji also spotted Xiao Wu, who had rushed at Liu Ping and exchanged two or three moves within one second . Her speed was so fast that he was not confident that he could spar with her more than one move .
"They are really immortals . This is an immortal family," Zhang Ji muttered .
The fight was over in five seconds after Xiao Wu killed the bodyguards and sent the Emperor flying toward the boulders" path . Then, he was squashed by one of his biggest rocks .
"It should be over, right?"
Zhang Ji thought that this fight should have been over once the Emperor died under their trap .
His eyes focused on the location where Liu Ping landed . He wanted to confirm the dead body of the Emperor .
His expectation was destroyed the moment he saw the eyes of Liu Ping which were glaring at his location . He was still alive!
"That c.o.c.kroach!" Hua s.h.i.+ screamed, "FRIDAY, THAT a.s.sHOLE HASN"T DIED YET! GET RID OF HIM, NOW!"
At this time, flag bearers weaved their signal flags, telling Zhang Xiu and his men to start attacking the isolated soldiers .
Julu infantries raised their iconic repeating crossbows and fired at the confused enemies . The same tactic, which was used at the battle of Anping, reappeared again . This time, there were 20,000 crossbows instead of a few thousands, and the number of arrows was incomparable to the previous battle .
The front battalions of Liu Ping were slaughtered without a chance to fight back . However, Zhang Ji did not look well .
For a second, his eyes met with Liu Ping, who had taken off all embedded arrows from his body . The killing intent of the former mafia boss and ex-prisoner of h.e.l.l sent a chill down Zhang Ji"s spine .
"Send more boulders!"
In a panic, Zhang Ji ordered his men, and ten more packages were released down the hill .
Liu Ping sat up and glared at Zhang Ji"s direction for a moment before he averted his eyes to the direction where Friday was .
The Emperor managed to stand and began running to the back of his troops, ignoring the ambush parties .
"d.a.m.n IT, FRIDAY YOU IDIOT! DON"T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Hua s.h.i.+ shouted again .
Xiao Wu managed to pa.s.s through the chaotic crowd and reached the boulder landing spots . She leaped over the rolling rocks and chased after the Emperor .
As she kept leaping over the rocks, Liu Ping did not lose sight of the pursuer . He did not glare at her because of his l.u.s.t anymore, but his eyes locked onto her as a predator .
Xiao Wu saw an opportunity, she jumped on a rolling rock and leaped at Ping .
"Big mistake, b.i.t.c.h!"