The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 232: The Final Battle (5)

Xiahou Ba never dreamed that after finally escaping with his life, he would be blocked by Wang Ping again before he could even breathe a sigh of relief.

Now we're in trouble. We're surrounded in front and pursued from behind. There's no way out. What should we do?

Fight your way out?

Stop joking. He only has about a hundred personal guards left. That number of soldiers is probably not enough for Zhang Fei to kill alone. Even if Xiahou Ba, his father Xiahou Yuan, came, he wouldn't be able to break through Zhang Fei's grasp.

Xiahou Ba stood there, caught in a dilemma. After a struggle between his mind and body, he let out a helpless sigh, threw down his weapon, turned around, opened his arms, and walked towards Zhang Fei, saying warmly as he went, "Brother-in-law, I've missed you so much! How have you and my sister been lately?"

Now that things have come to this, what else can he do but surrender? Well, he might as well surrender. After all, they are his own relatives, and there's no need to make things too ugly.

He wanted to surrender, but Zhang Fei refused to admit it. He quickly stepped forward, held his spear to Zhang Fei's throat, and laughed, "Why are you making up kinship claims on the battlefield? Tie him up!"

Xiahou Ba: "..."

You bastard with the ringed eyes, I'm your own brother-in-law!

Zhang Fei ignored his brother-in-law and instead turned to his brother-in-law's personal guards, shouting, "You lot, give me a straight answer: fight or surrender!"

The guards looked at each other, and after a moment of hesitation, they threw down their weapons.

My general and Zhang Fei are relatives. After the fight, they immediately shook hands and made peace, and the family continued to live happily together. But I don't have any relatives who are officials in Bashu. If I die, let alone seek revenge, I probably won't even have anyone to collect my body. So why bother fighting? I should just surrender.

Seeing them surrender, Zhang Fei, without delay, roared, "Wang Ping, this is yours to handle."

After saying that, he immediately turned around and charged towards the other Wei troops. Now that the Wei army had been defeated and was fleeing all over the mountains, it was the perfect time to capture prisoners and expand the victory. Such a good opportunity could not be missed.

Zhao Yun had the same idea. Seeing that Zhang Fei had finished off Xiahou Ba and returned to the battlefield, he immediately shouted, "Yide, you continue to pursue from the rear. I will go to the front to block them and try to trap all the remaining Wei troops in the mountain pass."

How long would it take to chase after the Wei army like this? They still need to support the main battlefield; they don't have time to waste here.

So Zhao Yun seized a warhorse and quickly jumped on it, intending to take a detour to reach the Wei army in front of them, intercept them, force them to surrender, and quickly end the battle.

Zhang Fei's expression changed slightly at Zhao Yun's actions, and he quickly scolded, "Zhao Zilong, come back here! Don't go!"

Zhao Yun was puzzled and quickly rushed to Zhang Fei, asking, "Why? Why can't we go?"

Instead of answering, Zhang Fei asked, "Where are these remnants of the Wei army running off to?"

Without a second thought, Zhao Yun blurted out, "The main battlefield."

He paused suddenly after speaking, and tentatively asked, "You mean..."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "That's right. Now that we can't go to either the east or the west, the Wei army's routed soldiers can only flee south. The south is the main battlefield where the Han and Wei armies are fighting fiercely. If you listen carefully, you can still hear the shouts of battle."

"This place is only about ten miles away from the main battlefield. We can get there in no time. What do you think will happen if these defeated soldiers rush into the main battlefield?"

Zhao Yun, a veteran general who had fought for many years, replied without hesitation, "Naturally, it's to break up the enemy's formation and severely damage their morale."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "That's right. Knowing Zhang He's nature, he will definitely leave troops behind to block us while attacking. This blockade will not only slow down our advance but also cause us heavy casualties, which is something neither of us wants to see. I originally thought that we would have to fight to the death against the Wei army's blockade, but now it seems that we don't have to put in so much effort. We have the remnants of the Wei army to act as our vanguard."

"Drive the remnants of the Wei army to the blocking positions set up by Zhang He, let the remnants help us break through the Wei army's formation, and then we will lead our troops to break in. We will definitely be able to quickly break through the Wei army's blocking positions and enter the main battlefield."

Zhao Yun said excitedly, "Not only that, the routed Wei troops marching south will also put the Wei army in a dilemma. Imagine, you are on high alert, ready to block the enemy, and suddenly you find that the troops charging towards you are your own. What do you do?"

"Go ahead and hit them. They're our own people, even brothers who've slept in the same bed or blood relatives from the same village. Who could bring themselves to do that?"

"If we don't fight, the routed soldiers who are already mentally broken and only want to escape will ruthlessly break through your position, making your hard-earned defensive position a joke, and you may even be killed by the enemy. Fighting or not fighting is wrong, so what can we do? We can only become routed soldiers as well and escape with the routed soldiers."

"Escape from the blocking position and you'll be on the main battlefield in the valley. It would be really exciting if these fleeing soldiers could break through Zhang He's rear guard."

Zhang Fei laughed loudly, "That's exactly what I meant. But based on our understanding of the strategist, when the strategist is fighting Zhang He, he will definitely send a detachment to attack Zhang He's rear and demoralize the Wei army. In other words, our men are very likely already engaged in battle with the Wei army's blocking positions."

"You're fast. Immediately ride your horse around the fleeing soldiers and head to the Baliwan Pass. See if our main force has attacked the Wei army's blocking position. If they have, make them retreat immediately to avoid being accidentally injured by the fleeing soldiers. If not, hide where you are and wait for me to come."

"Alright, I'll go right away." Zhao Yun reined in his horse, turned around, and quickly departed.

Zhang Fei then summoned Jiang Wei and instructed him: "The minds of the fleeing soldiers are muddled and incapable of thinking. In other words, they are like wild beasts, acting only on instinct. When they flee for their lives, they only run away and don't look at the road. They don't even know where they are going. So they need someone to lead the way to prevent them from going astray. Change into a Wei army uniform, find a Wei army flag, join the fleeing soldiers, and guide them in the right direction."

People only feel anxious or even desperate when they encounter unsolvable problems. At such times, no matter who it is, as long as they are given a direction, they will instinctively rush in that direction without considering whether it is a way out or a dead end.

The Wei army, terrified by their pursuers, was in the same situation. The pursuers were right behind them, ready to strike their backs at any moment. In other words, the fleeing soldiers faced the constant threat of death and had no idea where they could escape to for safety. They could only instinctively move forward, forward, and forward again.

In this situation, anyone who points out a path to the fleeing soldiers will follow without hesitation; this is the human tendency to blindly follow.

Jiang Wei understood this principle and was overjoyed upon hearing it, saying, "The Third General is wise; I will go immediately."

After saying this, he took off his armor, put on Wei army clothes, picked up a battle flag that had been thrown away by the Wei army, grabbed the flag and dragged the flagpole, and sprinted out of his own army and into the fleeing ranks at the speed of a hundred meters. He continued to sprint and overtake, running for three miles before grabbing the flagpole, raising the battle flag and charging forward.

The demoralized Wei soldiers, driven to despair by Zhang Fei's pursuit, were overjoyed to see their own flags still flying at this time and followed without a second thought.

Seeing more and more defeated soldiers following behind him, Jiang Wei's face not only showed no joy but became increasingly grim, because carrying the flag was hard labor.

It wasn't so bad when he was running with the flag tethered, but now that he's running with the battle flag raised, it's becoming quite difficult because the wind is making the flag flutter loudly, creating a lot of resistance for him as he charges forward with the flag.

In other words, besides the weight of the flagpole, the biggest opponent for the flag bearers is the wind resistance. The faster they run, the stronger the wind becomes, and the greater the physical exertion they will experience.

Therefore, those who carry the flag in the army are all strongmen; ordinary soldiers really can't do this job.

Jiang Wei was clearly not cut out to carry the flag; he turned red in the face after only a few steps, but he knew the importance of the battle and dared not slack off, so he continued to carry the flag and charge forward.

Fortunately, the distance was not far, and they quickly rushed to the vicinity of the Wei army's camp, where they saw the fires burning the Wei army's grain and fodder.

The supplies have been mostly burned, but the nearby forests are still ablaze, and the oppressive heat is preventing them from advancing.

Seeing this, Jiang Wei decisively detoured eastward. The defeated soldiers, having followed him for so long, had developed a dependence on him and followed without hesitation.