133 Eight Hundred Vanguard Troops Display Their Might

Realizing he had fallen into a trap, a prudent general would have turned back to regroup his cavalry with the infantry. However, such caution was not in Yue Jin’s nature. Knowing full well that he had been lured into a snare, Yue Jin chose the most reckless path: he walked straight into the tiger’s den.

Everything was clear now. Ju Yi and his towering commander’s banner were nothing more than bait, designed to entice Yue Jin into an over-extension so he could be surrounded. Yet, Yue Jin’s singular focus was that if he could slay Ju Yi and cut down that banner, his objective would be achieved. Whether it was a trap mattered little to him.

The reality, however, proved difficult. Ju Yi had positioned his eight hundred "First Ascenders"—his elite death-defying soldiers—directly in front of the banner, blocking Yue Jin’s path. Having been caught in the pincer movement of the ambushing forces Ju Yi had pre-deployed on both flanks, Yue Jin’s original force of seven or eight thousand cavalry had been reduced to a mere three thousand by the time they broke through the initial encirclement to confront Ju Yi. Had these been Cao Cao’s elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, they might have stood a chance against the eight hundred First Ascenders. Unfortunately, the troops Yue Jin led were far inferior to that legendary unit.

The distance between Yue Jin and Ju Yi was a mere two or three hundred paces—a distance easily covered in a single cavalry charge. Yue Jin thought to himself that with one swift charge, he would take Ju Yi’s head. Ju Yi, meanwhile, wore a cold sneer. "A mere brute," he scoffed. To Ju Yi, while Yue Jin was ferocious, he was nothing more than a hot-headed warrior. In a battle between armies, relying solely on brute courage would never lead to true greatness.

Ju Yi waved his sword, and his eight hundred First Ascenders raised their heavy crossbows. These were not standard-issue weapons; they were specially forged. Each bolt was made of refined iron, thinner than a standard arrow, and designed specifically to pierce armor. The crossbows had been tensioned and primed, waiting for Yue Jin to enter range so they could unleash a torrential rain of death.

"Fire!" Ju Yi commanded, and in an instant, the bolts were loosed.

A hail of arrows descended, and hundreds of Yue Jin’s soldiers fell. "Shield wall!" Ju Yi ordered again. A sturdy wall of shields rose, with long spears bristling through the gaps.

"Halt! Stop!" Yue Jin roared, his face flushed with fury, trying to bring his cavalry to a standstill. If they did not stop now, they would crash directly into the shield wall. Crashing was one thing, but those spears protruding from the gaps would turn them into shish kebabs. While Yue Jin issued his orders, a cavalry charge is not easily checked. Those at the front crashed into the shields and were skewered by the spears; those behind them, unable to stop, collided with their own comrades, trampling them under hooves.

Of the three thousand cavalry who had reached the front, hundreds had been felled by arrows, and hundreds more were lost in the chaotic collision. In the blink of an eye, nearly half his force was gone. Only then did Yue Jin realize that Ju Yi’s reputation was well-deserved. If he could defeat Gongsun Zan’s three thousand White Horse Yi Cong with only eight hundred men at the Battle of Jieqiao, defeating him, Yue Jin, was effortless.

Ju Yi grew amused. He looked at Yue Jin and thought he was even easier to deal with than Gongsun Zan. Once a cavalry force loses its momentum, its advantage vanishes. A stalled cavalry unit is rarely superior to elite, disciplined infantry.

Ju Yi waved his sword again. "Change formation!"

At his command, the eight hundred First Ascenders shifted. They moved in squads of eight, equipped with a mix of shields, spears, crossbows, lassos, and hook-blades. This coordinated, multi-armed approach completely baffled Yue Jin, who had never faced such a specialized unit. Had Zhang Liao’s Trap-Breaking Battalion or the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry been present, they might have held their own, but Yue Jin’s ordinary cavalry fell into total disarray. Despite their numerical advantage, they were being hunted down by the eight hundred soldiers.

It was hardly surprising. The First Ascenders were the special forces of the Three Kingdoms era, while Yue Jin’s men were mere conventional cavalry. It was like light motorized infantry trying to fight a fully equipped special forces unit—the outcome was inevitable. Yue Jin had not come to slay a general and take a banner; he had come to deliver his own head, leading his men straight into a wolf’s den.

Within half an hour, only a hundred or so of Yue Jin’s three thousand cavalry remained. They fought desperately, but were trapped and unable to escape. Suddenly, a dozen lassos were thrown toward Yue Jin’s mount. Despite his frantic efforts to dodge, several ropes caught the horse. With a thunderous crash, the beast collapsed, throwing Yue Jin heavily to the ground. Before he could recover, several large, heavy shields were slammed down upon him, pinning him so tightly he could barely breathe.

After capturing him, Ju Yi’s soldiers bound Yue Jin and dragged him before their commander. "Yue Jin, do you submit?" Ju Yi asked.

Yue Jin, unconquered in spirit, glared at him and spat, "Bah! If you have the guts, untie me and let us fight properly, man to man!"

Ju Yi shook his head slightly, uninterested in arguing. He smiled and said, "A general should not be defined by recklessness and brawling. Strategy, tactics, and command are the true paths to greatness."

He then gestured to his subordinates. "Strip him of his armor, hoist it upon a pole, and parade it before the lines. I want the Cao army to know that their general, Yue Jin, has been captured alive!"