Conquering Myriad Worlds from the Mythical Three Kingdoms

"How's the investigation going?"

After Du Yu arrived at the city of Xiangyang, he simply set up camp and stationed troops, showing no sign of his previous eagerness to attack Xiangyang.

"We've already scouted the area within fifty miles of the city; there are no enemy ambushes!"

Upon hearing Du Yu's question, the scout immediately reported.

"Deploy three thousand men according to this map, and make sure they are not missed by any sign of trouble!"

Du Yu calmly handed the scout commander a map, which was marked with all the locations that Du Yu suspected.

The news inside the city was a mix of truth and falsehood. One of the rumors was that before their arrival, Ma Liang had dispatched Sha Moke with five thousand men to leave the city in a grand manner.

With five thousand men personally led by Shamoke, Du Yu had to be cautious.

They outnumbered the other group, so they weren't afraid of a mere five thousand people.

However, sometimes, if someone strikes at your vital points, it can be very dangerous.

Du Yu didn't want to take unnecessary risks, so he carefully arranged for people to conduct a thorough search.

Anyway, the enemy isn't cavalry. As long as his men are scattered across key points within a fifty-mile radius, he can adjust his forces in time, no matter where they come from.

"What's the situation in Sichuan and Chongqing?"

"The news that came today is that the enemy is still advancing towards Chengdu and there seems to be no sign of them turning back."

"Planning to seize Bashu and Jiangdong from both sides?" Du Yu glanced at the map upon hearing this, then sneered.

"That's a nice thought, but with tens of thousands of troops stationed in Sichuan and Chongqing, as long as we hold our ground and hold them off, Yang Ku will be pressing down on Jiangdong and will cut off Xiangyang's supply lines. Let's see how your isolated army in Sichuan and Chongqing will survive!"

"Since no one is coming to rescue us, then kill them!"

Du Yu narrowed his eyes, a hint of murderous intent in them. Xiangyang was built by him, and it was naturally impregnable in his hands.

Let's see how much power they can unleash in the hands of traitors like Ma Liang.

"In the past, I only simulated things in my mind. I never thought that this time I would personally attack the defenses I had set up."

Du Yu pushed all the aerial tramways, flying bridges, ladders, and catapults to the front lines.

"Attack the city!" Du Yu roared, drawing his sword, and gave the order to attack the city to the entire army.

"Three days, take turns attacking, don't stop. We can take turns resting, but they can't. Even if we can't see clearly at night, use the catapults to bombard them. It doesn't matter if we hit the traitors or not, the battle must not stop for a moment!"

Du Yu understood very well that winning hearts and minds was the most important thing when attacking a city.

Therefore, the first strategy is to exhaust the enemy.

The garrison in Xiangyang City could not possibly exceed 30,000, while they currently have 120,000, and if you include the laborers, they have a full 300,000.

Therefore, Du Yu first tested the basic qualities of the generals and commanders in the city before taking action.

If the allocation of troops and personnel is not done properly, three days of relentless attacks will exhaust the soldiers in Xiangyang.

The more panicked the soldiers inside the city become, the more disastrous the overall situation will be.

The goal is to create the impression that the rebels in Xiangyang are on the verge of collapse, thus overwhelming them. Then, whether it's launching a fierce attack or coordinating with powerful families within the city for internal and external cooperation, it will all be a natural progression.

At this moment, Ma Liang in the fortress also began to issue orders quickly. When Du Yu did not attack immediately, but prepared for two days before launching the attack, he guessed that the enemy was gathering strength and waiting for the siege equipment to arrive.

He guessed that the enemy would launch a fierce attack, which was the easiest way to break through Xiangyang City. Even the best equipment needs people to use it, so at this time, it was necessary to distinguish whether the enemy was feigning an attack or launching a main attack.

As long as they can withstand the initial wave of attacks, they have the resources to drag things out.

"Ma Su, you will lead 5,000 men as a reserve force to garrison the city center and maintain order within the city. Do not move out without my order."

Ma Liang assigned military duties level by level and adjusted the distribution of personnel throughout the city to ensure that the city could hold out until victory against the enemy's offensive.

Du Yu only chose two city gates as the direction of attack, namely the west gate and the south gate. He only maintained a poised and ready momentum at the north gate, without sending any troops there, which can be regarded as a kind of invisible restraint.

Most importantly, this semi-encirclement allowed Du Yu to sever the connection between Xiangyang and the western front, and also provided the possibility of setting up roadblocks and ambushing troops along the Yangtze River.

Du Yu still refused to believe that Sima Yi would really abandon Xiangyang, so the Yangtze River was his key defensive target, which could also contain reinforcements coming from the east.

Based on the intelligence at hand, Du Yu considered almost every possible scenario and firmly kept the situation under his control.

The only variable was the garrison inside Xiangyang.

"Fu Tong, you take the lead. Use the most forceful methods to crush the enemy's morale and inflict heavy losses on them, buying time for the defense of the city." Ma Liang assigned the task of leading the charge to Fu Tong.

With Sha Moke and the others absent, Fu Tong became the pillar of the city, serving as the legion commander of the Xinghan soldiers and theoretically the third-in-command in Xiangyang.

“Yes, leave the first battle to me, Prefect Ma, you can rest assured!” Fu Tong nodded; he was confident in that much.

In terms of sheer bravery and fierceness, he believed he was absolutely no less than anyone else, and his legionary talent was also suited to leading the charge.

"Prefect, the city gate commander reports that the enemy has begun their attack. A large amount of siege equipment has arrived at the west and south gates, and a small amount at the north gate, but no soldiers have been seen moving!"

The messenger rode up on a fine horse and relayed the message to Ma Liangtong, who was arranging the details of the mission.

As they spoke, Ma Liang could even hear the dull thud of huge rocks falling to the ground outside; clearly, the enemy had begun their attack on the city.

"Return to your posts and prepare for battle."

Ma Liang nodded to the officers and soldiers in the city, and then the group quickly rushed to their respective positions with their weapons and missions.

Meanwhile, Ma Liang quickly arranged for the temporarily conscripted laborers to transport various supplies for the city's defense.

"Fire!" When Fu Tong rushed to the top of the city wall, he saw Jin soldiers in more than a dozen teams carrying ladders and charging towards his side under the cover of crossbows. Without saying a word, he immediately ordered the arrows to be fired.

Xiangyang City may lack other things, but it has ample war supplies, allowing them to carry out brutal suppression without restraint.

A dense rain of arrows swept down on the Jin soldiers below, and men fell one after another, while more soldiers carried ladders and continued to charge.

Chen Dai and Zhu Ming, two generals who surrendered from Eastern Wu to the Jin Dynasty, withstood a volley of arrows but found no weaknesses in the city's defenses.

"What should we do?" Zhu Ming's face was distressed. Attacking a city was always a tough job, and one wrong move could easily cost you your life.

"What else can we do? Get the trucks ready, and you and I will charge in together." Chen Dai's expression was also grim, but at this point, they had no choice but to charge in.

Even with a bit of luck, and despite our great achievements today, we might not be able to become high-ranking officials or nobles!

As a surrendered general, one is already considered inferior. If one were to retreat in the face of battle at such a time, one would likely face the confiscation of one's property and the extermination of one's entire clan.

Du Yu sent the two of them to lead the charge, taking advantage of their marginalized status and their desire for advancement, confident that they would launch a fierce attack on the city. Following their commands, the siege engine corps already prepared behind them sprang into action.

Dozens of towering chariots, taller than the city walls, carrying nearly a thousand archers, rushed toward the west gate, propelled by a large number of heavily armed soldiers. The archers aimed their fire at a designated area, causing a commotion in the area on the city wall where the fire was concentrated.

Not all legions possess the kind of ability to withstand a barrage of arrows like the Royal Guard, especially archers, most of whom are inherently fragile and, even with the protection of friendly shields, are still vulnerable to being hit.

Even more critically, the ability to suppress the area being shot at is clearly decreasing.

"Changshui Battalion, wipe them all out!" Fu Tong calmly issued the order.

Nowadays, when the Xinghan army goes on an expedition, regardless of its size, it will always include some Changshui and Shesheng battalions.

They crouched below the city wall, awaiting their commander's orders and the appearance of their target.

Archers' natural abilities mean they can't withstand too much damage, so they must move around and silence the enemy with minimal losses.

The siege towers might be troublesome for other archers, but for the archers of the Changshui Camp, they were nothing.

Once the target was identified, the troops were immediately divided and concentrated their fire. The exploding arrows rang out on the building, regardless of any protection measures, and a series of explosions occurred, turning the area above the building into a bloody mess.

After firing, the Changshui Battalion immediately retreated, awaiting the next call to arms.

But at that moment, the Jin soldiers carrying the siege ladders roared and smashed them against the city wall. Then, the agile light infantrymen, armed with swords, charged up the siege ladders.

However, after rushing up less than six or seven meters, the defenders on the city wall, no longer restrained by the siege towers, immediately exerted their strength and hurled the falling rocks down.

Several Jin soldiers who were about to reach the top of the city wall screamed and fell to the ground, and then more Jin soldiers launched an attack.

Chen Dai and Zhu Ming also seized the opportunity to rush up the city wall.

"Shooting Battalion!" Fu Tong roared, and three hundred soldiers of the Shooting Battalion immediately rushed up the city wall, focusing their fire on Chen Dai and Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming was shot into a pincushion on the spot and fell from the city wall, his fate unknown.

Chen Dai, on the other hand, carried a large shield and blended into the crowd. The solid shield made him less helpless when facing the concentrated fire of the Archer Camp soldiers.

As an internal energy emanation, even while wielding a large shield, one can quickly clear an area.

"I have cleared the way, follow me and kill!" Chen Dai roared repeatedly, and his soldiers climbed the city wall one after another, quickly occupying an area.

Seeing this, Fu Tong simply picked up his spear and led his personal guards to charge towards Chen Dai, his legion talent suddenly spreading to everyone nearby.

"Having accepted certain death, why harbor any thought of clinging to life?"

Killing enemy generals and slaying enemy soldiers is naturally the best way to demoralize them.

Fu Rong's Legion talent is called "Death for the Cause".

Under the glow of the red light, the soldiers' aura instantly became incredibly fierce, and their morale surged wildly.

By overdrawing one's willpower and fully unleashing the body's power, one can unleash the greatest burst of energy in the shortest amount of time.

Seeing this, Chen Dai quickly activated his Legion talent.

The emerald green light spread to the soldiers behind him, giving all the soldiers an additional emerald green barrier.

Although its defensive capabilities are somewhat lacking, it will continuously reassemble after breaking, which is very effective for protracted battles.

This is also why the Shooting Sound Battalion was unable to snipe Chen Dai; his Legion Talent ensured that he could ignore attacks to a certain extent.

Even though the Shooting Battalion was focusing their fire, they had shields on one hand, and the legion's talent was also at play on the other, since it was impossible for all the arrows to hit them at the same time.

"How can your weak defenses stop me?"

Fu Tong swung his spear down, and Chen Dai raised his shield. The violent force pierced through the shield and entered Chen Dai's body. The shield on his body shattered upon contact, then reformed, only to shatter again. This process repeated three or four times before the shield finally stabilized.

Fu Tong frowned. He knew that a spear strike was a heavy weapon attack. He had just used heavy sword techniques and power shock techniques, but his opponent didn't seem to have suffered much damage.

But he had no time to think further and continued to launch a fierce attack on Chen Dai. If he did not defeat Chen Dai, the number of Jin soldiers on this section of the city wall would only increase.

Chen Dai was spitting blood repeatedly as Fu Tong smashed him. Even with a shield to reduce the damage, he couldn't withstand Fu Tong's relentless attacks.

Every attack is far beyond the shield's maximum capacity, making him Chen Dai's most hated opponent and almost completely countering him.

On the contrary, Zhu Ming was more suitable to deal with Fu Tong, but unfortunately he had already been taken away by the Archery Battalion and his fate was unknown, so he was unable to help Chen Dai at all.

"puff!"

Chen Dai spat out another mouthful of blood. This time he realized he couldn't hold on any longer, and decisively jumped off the city wall.

Fu Tong chased after him to the city wall and hurled his spear, but it only pierced one of Chen Dai's legs.

"Fire arrows! Fire arrows!" Fu Tong shouted, giving the order to pursue and kill.

But Chen Dai broke his spear, hoisted his shield, and dashed out of the firing range.

"Damn it!" Fu Tong's face was ugly. If you don't kill someone whose internal energy leaves their body, they will be back on the battlefield alive and kicking in a couple of days.

The large number of officers and soldiers on the other side was definitely not good news for them.

Moreover, Chen Dai's legionary talent is also somewhat troublesome. Although he can counter it, if Chen Dai attacks other city gates, Chen Dai will have no way to rush over and stop him.

Du Yu witnessed everything from below the city walls. Instead of reprimanding Chen Dai, he told him to rest well and recover from his injuries before making any further decisions.

As for Zhu Ming, he had already been carried back. He wasn't dead, but his injuries were too severe, so he would have to stay in bed for ten days to half a month.

However, anyone who has seen Zhu Ming's appearance with his body riddled with thorns would not think that this took a long time; they would only think that his internal energy had left his body and that he was not human.

To survive being pierced by a thousand arrows is simply superhuman.

“Changshui Battalion…Shesheng Battalion…” Du Yu frowned; he had seen these two types of troops in ancient books.

Zhang Xiu, once the best embroiderer in the land, died at the hands of the Shooting Sound Battalion.

He had learned about the talent framework of these two military branches, but the specific training methods were not recorded. Now that he was able to witness it with his own eyes, he recognized them instantly.

During the chaotic period at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, most historical records were lost. After the Oath at Luoshui, the Sima family's knowledge of the past was further suppressed by other powerful families.

As a result, the Jin Dynasty failed to inherit many things.

Otherwise, the Jin Dynasty would naturally have possessed both types of troops. (End of Chapter)