Five thousand men quietly crossed the river, following that small path outward until finally gathering in an open wasteland outside. Zhao Hanzhang reined in her horse and sent scouts ahead for information.

The scouts continuously reported on the battle situation ahead. When she heard that the Prince of Donghai’s forces had attacked the opposite shore and were fiercely battling Gou Xi’s main army on the bank, only then did she order the advance.

She led two thousand cavalry forward first.

Because the battle was intense, the Prince of Donghai had also come to the riverbank to personally direct operations.

Morale had recovered somewhat. Combined with their sufficient numbers, a general suggested deploying catapults and crossbow machines.

They launched stones and crossbow bolts toward the opposite shore from afar, finally temporarily relieving the opposing offensive. The Prince of Donghai’s soldiers trapped in the river seized the opportunity and attacked the shore fearlessly, risking their lives.

Having been constantly shot at, they too had developed fighting spirit. When both sides engaged in close combat, they immediately clashed fiercely.

Once one wave charged up, it became easier for those behind to follow. By the time Zhao Hanzhang received news, half of the Prince of Donghai’s forces had already reached the shore.

She knew it was time for their side to act.

Zhao Hanzhang tugged the reins, called out “Move,” and led her troops charging out, heading straight for the Prince of Donghai’s camp.

There was some distance from here to the Prince of Donghai’s camp, but cavalry was swift. They only needed to turn around that mountain corner to see his camp.

Zhao Hanzhang led two thousand cavalry in a direct assault.

The Prince of Donghai’s scouts detected them and immediately returned to report.

The Prince of Donghai demanded, “Where did they cross the river? How did you not detect them?”

Peng Mo at his side stamped his foot. “Your Highness, have you forgotten? When Zhao Hanzhang returned to the Yuzhou army, I said she must have a river crossing point. Otherwise, how could we have known nothing before she appeared in the Yuzhou army?”

What was the point of saying this now?

Would the Prince of Donghai admit his error?

Another general, Cao Wu, immediately said, “The Zhao family army is valiant and skilled at flanking maneuvers. Please, Your Highness, immediately order troops to form up before the camp to prevent their approach.”

The Prince of Donghai snapped back to attention and immediately said, “Go quickly!”

Cao Wu accepted the order and left. He would handle the troop deployment himself.

The cavalry was fast and soon killed their way near the camp. The assembled soldiers weren’t yet numerous, but Cao Wu was no pushover either. He had already organized two teams of soldiers holding spears, crowded together waiting for the cavalry to approach.

Zhao Hanzhang saw this from afar, raised an eyebrow slightly, turned her horse’s head and circled around the assembled spear troops from the side, attacking from the north instead.

The flag bearer followed behind Zhao Hanzhang. Without her even needing to give orders, the cavalry behind her streamed after her in pursuit.

Cao Wu’s brow furrowed deeply, and he immediately ordered, “Deploy another ten thousand troops. Station two thousand spear troops each on the north and east sides. The rest should hold bows and arrows. Quickly!”

Cao Wu’s orders were swift, but the Prince of Donghai’s soldiers had grown lazy during this time. The Prince also hadn’t fed them properly, so everyone usually lay around conserving energy without training. Their assembly speed was now rather slow.

Even though Zhao Hanzhang circled around the camp to the north, her speed was still slightly faster than theirs. Moreover, by sheer coincidence, when she reached the north side and charged in, Gou Chun was also leading his main force around from the east.

The two cavalry forces coincidentally both chose to attack from the north.

They were allied forces, but battle opportunities were fleeting, so Zhao Hanzhang didn’t signal Gou Chun. She only glanced from afar before taking the lead in charging into the camp with her troops. Just as they charged in, the spear troops who had received orders were running over. They hadn’t had time to organize when Zhao Hanzhang’s assault threw them into complete chaos.

Cao Wu saw at a glance that they had lost the initiative. He immediately ordered the archers following behind to retreat, then had shield troops advance to organize a defensive line, ordering the archers to shoot regardless of friend or foe.

His brow didn’t furrow at all as he wielded his great blade, patrolling and shouting, “No retreat! Form ranks! Shoot arrows!”

They barely managed to crowd together, form ranks, and shoot arrows. As arrows rained down, Zhao Hanzhang spun her spear, knocking down all the arrows shot at her. Then she called back to Qiu Wu, “Protect Master Fu!”

With that, she led her troops charging forward. Her horse leaped through the air, and once the horse drew close, the archers’ bows became useless.

Seeing his sister do this, Zhao Erlang naturally didn’t dare fall behind. He led his men charging forward, directly tearing open a gap in the formation Cao Wu had just established.

Seeing this, Cao Wu knew they couldn’t retreat further, or once routed, it would be impossible to recover.

He gripped his blade tightly and shouted loudly, “Form ranks! Shield troops in front, spear troops behind! Everyone, advance with me.”

He bellowed, “Attack their horses!”

They had superior numbers—attacking many with few, they might actually be able to hold. After all, there were precedents. Beigong Chun had once surrounded and killed cavalry with a small number of foot soldiers.

Cao Wu was also a fierce general, but his misfortune was that these weren’t his directly commanded troops. And at this moment, with Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Chun already bearing down on them, the soldiers in their panic found it difficult to fully follow orders.

His orders weren’t wrong, but few soldiers executed them, so when Zhao Hanzhang charged straight at him, Cao Wu found himself facing her directly.

Looking at the spear in Zhao Hanzhang’s hand, his heart trembled. This moment of fear made him retreat two steps when he raised his blade to block. Zhao Hanzhang’s spear thrust forward with extreme speed. He wasn’t prepared for a moment and was directly pierced through.

Cao Wu’s eyes widened. Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her spear and with a flick, knocked off his helmet. She caught it in her hand and raised it high, shouting loudly, “Your commander is dead! Surrender now!”

Some people threw down their weapons in panic, some turned and fled, while others continued to resist with spears and swords.

Zhao Hanzhang only killed those who resisted, making her way straight toward the Prince of Donghai’s command tent.

Gou Chun was only one step behind, splitting from Zhao Hanzhang to attack from two directions.

Their infantry had also arrived, one force from the east and one from the west, directly engaging the formations Cao Wu had previously arranged.

They couldn’t break through for the moment, but with Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Chun killing their way out from inside, they quickly broke through the formations, and the infantry immediately followed the assault.

The Prince of Donghai received reports from all directions and flew into a rage, his heart panicking. He hastily ordered, “Sound retreat! Sound retreat! Quickly have them return to protect the command tent!”

The Prince of Donghai had quite a few men remaining in his tent. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang killing her way toward them like a death god, they immediately led the remaining troops in retreat.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang immediately ordered, “Charge! Take their camp!”

Gou Chun also ordered a charge—he wanted to seize the camp before Zhao Hanzhang.

Zhao Hanzhang led troops to chase the Prince of Donghai, preventing him from rallying the remnant soldiers behind.

These people were all precious assets. If they could all be kept in Yuzhou, her vast stretches of wasteland would have people to cultivate them.

Zhao Hanzhang chased for a while, then turned back to face the remnant soldiers running out from the river, shouting loudly, “The Prince of Donghai has fled! Surrender and you won’t be killed!”

But there were still generals leading troops among them. They couldn’t very well abandon their military positions and families to surrender, so they organized their forces to try breaking through Zhao Hanzhang’s encirclement.

The scene immediately erupted into chaotic combat.

Fu Tinghan killed his way over from behind. He took a moment to survey the area and said to Zhao Hanzhang, “If you’re going to capture the ringleader, are you still going after the Prince of Donghai or not?”

Zhao Hanzhang replied, “Let them create distance. First cut off the remnant soldiers behind them, then pursue!”

She had no desire to be surrounded while in pursuit.

Fu Tinghan thought this made sense and was about to lead troops to assist her from the side when from the corner of his eye he spotted someone holding a short bow aimed in their direction. His heart tightened, and he instinctively shouted, “Hanzhang, be careful!”

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