Conquering Myriad Worlds from the Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 985 A burst of energy, followed by a decline
Fu Tong spent a lot of time on this tactic.

Now that it has been put into practice, it is truly ingenious. The all-round suppression tactic has made the soldiers facing the Jin army equivalent to fighting multiple Han soldiers at the same time, and has fully brought out the advantage of its own combat power.

This tactic places extremely high demands on the soldiers, and Fu Tong's grasp of it was still flawed.

But even with its flaws, it's good enough.

With this tactical support, Fu Tong's troops were slaughtering the soldiers in front of them with near-efficiency.

This tactic is not difficult to counter, but on the city walls, its biggest weakness is contained, greatly enhancing the value of the three-in-one tactic.

"Form ranks and counterattack! Form ranks and counterattack!"

The Jin army commander roared loudly, and the last squad of the Archer Battalion under Fu Tong's command stepped forward. Their arrows, a combination of spirit, energy, and will, pierced the air and focused fire on the commander who was struggling to stabilize the battle line.

"General Fu, we're here!" Ma Liang called out loudly from the other side of the city wall. Seeing that Fu Tong was still fighting, he felt much more at ease.

Although the losses seemed heavy, he could still accept the situation. At least he had solved the problems inside the city. Next, he just needed to kill all the Jin soldiers on the city walls and drive all the subsequent Jin soldiers off the city walls.

"Reinforcements have arrived! Let's give it our all!"

Fu Tong laughed loudly. He realized that his side had indeed reached a lull after the outbreak of the war, and if the fighting continued, they might really not be able to hold on.

If he hadn't kept a trump card up his sleeve, he might have already been driven off the city wall.

Du Yu, who was below the city, was filled with disbelief when he saw the changes on the city wall. He had been confident of victory, but he found that the other side had launched a counterattack.

"Find out what happened inside right now!"

Du Yu was so frustrated he felt like vomiting blood. He never imagined that the final stage of the offensive he had spearheaded would run into problems.

The Jin army on the city wall is now being attacked from both sides, and the Jin army that follows cannot get onto the city wall, while the Jin army on the wall has no way to deploy.

Instead, they ended up unable to manage both ends properly.

The Jin soldiers on the city wall roared repeatedly. They thought they were about to capture the enemy city, but in the end, they were turned around and defeated. Many soldiers still don't know what happened.

They only realized this after they climbed to the top of the city wall: they were unable to form ranks and were surrounded and attacked from both sides.

Even the Jin army's elite troops, whose morale was soaring, were truly struggling to withstand such a setback.

From sunrise to midday.

Both sides fought to exhaustion, but the Jin army had the upper hand due to its larger numbers. Just as they were about to take the city in one fell swoop...

A large number of reserve soldiers, led by Ma Su, climbed onto the city wall.

This was a decision Ma Su made after his condition improved. When everyone was exhausted, he brought a fresh force into the battlefield, directly breaking the Jin army's psychological defenses.

The morale of the Jin army quickly declined. Even though the Jin army had more fresh troops and a larger number than Ma Su, their inability to quickly scale the city walls meant that their forces could not be deployed quickly.

"Sound the retreat and let them withdraw."

Du Yu calmly observed the battle on the city wall. Morale was collapsing, and they needed to create an opening, but the problem was that he couldn't open one now.

Soldiers on the front lines are, after all, human beings. Once their morale collapses, it can lead to a major problem if they turn back.

These soldiers were not elite troops he had personally trained.

We can't fight anymore; the losses would be too great. Even if we forcibly occupy the city, it would be pointless. He already knows that Ma Liang has made arrangements inside the city.

Even if they capture the city wall, the other side could simply set it on fire, causing their losses to continue to accumulate, making it a big question whether they can actually take it down.

After making a calm assessment, Du Yu ordered a retreat, even though he was well aware of the consequences of this failed siege.

But he still made the right decision.

He already knew Ma Liang's plan. Water and fire are merciless; if Ma Liang were to use fire to drag the Jin army into the abyss, that would be the most fatal outcome.

"Won!"

Watching the Jin army flee in panic, the people on the city wall cheered loudly, then ordered the laborers to quickly search for and retrieve the bodies.

Given the current climate, leaving these corpses unattended could easily lead to an epidemic, so it's best to dispose of them as soon as possible.

"We should be able to relax a lot from now on. I didn't expect it to be this easy in the end!" Ma Liang's face showed a hint of surprise. It went too smoothly.

They were worried that the Jin army would fight them to the death, and Ma Liang had even prepared to set fire to the place, but it ended up being so anticlimactic.

"After this battle, the Jin soldiers will surely collapse in morale and lose their spirit. Xiangyang will then be as solid as a rock!" Ma Liang laughed.

The losses were significant, but winning is the best outcome.

He was genuinely worried about whether he could win. The massacre of Zhu Ming and his men inside the city was one victory, and the attack on the Jin army from both sides of the city wall was another.

Ma Su's timely arrival with his troops was also a major victory.

"Please forgive me, Prefect, for I acted without orders!" Ma Su knelt down to plead guilty.

“What crime has my brother committed? If you hadn’t arrived in time, we would have had to fight even harder!” Ma Liang helped Ma Su up.

Ma Su was far superior in seizing opportunities, and his strategic vision was beyond question.

Ma Liang subconsciously attributed Ma Su's previous performance to the immense pressure of his first time on the battlefield.

Ma Su gave a wry smile; only family members know their own affairs.

He's not only terrible at practical skills, but he also has a problem with his mentality.

Without pressure, he can think calmly and can be called a wise man, but once pressure arises, he becomes a complete failure.

If Ma Liang hadn't led his troops to charge and provided him with a safe rear, he probably wouldn't have been able to make such a decision at all.

"Send someone to gather the information and pass it on to Jiangdong, urging them to see if they can send reinforcements!"

After praising Ma Su, Ma Liang and Ma Su immediately began to reorganize the various government affairs in Xiangyang.

They boasted wildly in the city about how they had once again repelled the Jin army and massacred several of its generals.

A real, tangible victory is the best way to stabilize morale.

Knowing that the Jin army could not break into the city, even those with ulterior motives could only lower their heads and continue to lie in wait.

They do admire Du Yu, but if Du Yu can't break through, they still need to make a living. Ma Liang and his men still have the upper hand and can make life-or-death decisions for them at any time.

Under such circumstances, naturally no one would be so stubborn as to jump out and rebel.

"We've lost tens of thousands of men but failed to capture Xiangyang. Hopefully, we can buy some more time!" Ma Liang thought to himself.

As if Ma Liang's wish had come true, it started raining the day after the war.

Jingzhou itself had entered the rainy season, and this rain further blocked the Jin army's possibility of attacking the city. Ma Liang was naturally happy to see this happen, and he and Ma Su even took turns using their mental power to stabilize the rainfall and make the rain last longer.

The heavy rain lasted for three days, giving Ma Liang three precious days to repair equipment, treat the wounded, and adjust the defenses.

After Ma Liang finished doing everything, a sense of unease welled up in his heart.

It was all going so smoothly that he didn't even know why things were going so well.

After the rain stopped, Ma Liang's anxiety became a reality.

"Report, Prefect, Fancheng has been captured by the enemy!"

Ma Liang immediately understood Du Yu's plan. Fancheng and Xiangyang were separated by a river. The enemy had originally concentrated their forces on dealing with Xiangyang, but had suffered repeated setbacks. Therefore, the enemy naturally took Fancheng as a point to boost morale.

The reason why we left Fancheng uneaten before was actually because of this.

Moreover, by using Fancheng as a springboard to attack Shangyong and Fangling, and then heading south to attack Yiling and Jiangling, Xiangyang would not be able to become a bridgehead. Instead, it would become an isolated city due to the fall of the surrounding cities.

The heavy rain was not formed naturally, but was actively pushed by the other party. One reason was to buy time for a buffer, and the other was to completely thwart Ma Liang's plan.

Even the most flammable substances will lose their effectiveness under continuous rain.

Of course, more importantly, the rainy season was used to conceal the movements of the Jin army's division of forces and cut off Xiangyang's connection with the outside world.

"..." Ma Liang fell silent.

He suddenly realized that he had lost terribly from a strategic perspective.

If the other side had used this plan from the beginning, he could have deployed his forces to continuously harass and guerrilla forces in conjunction with the garrisons of several other cities.

However, after several bloody battles, he had no more troops left to send out, so he could only watch helplessly as Du Yu conquered the entire Jingzhou.

No... Even if the other side had used this plan from the beginning, there would have been nothing we could have done. Once we left the city, we would have been ambushed, and then, due to insufficient troops, we would have lost Xiangyang.

It could even be said that the current situation is entirely due to Du Yu's arrogance, believing that he could take Xiangyang in just a few days.

They never took Ma Liang seriously from the very beginning.

However, after being thoroughly defeated by Ma Liang twice, Du Yu finally took Ma Liang seriously, abandoning his underestimation of him and treating him as a true opponent.

As Ma Liang had predicted, in just fifteen days, almost every place Du Yu went surrendered without a second thought, and the entire Jingzhou returned to the embrace of the Jin Dynasty.

Riding on his great victory, Du Yu recruited a large number of defeated soldiers from various places, like a snowball rolling downhill, and liberated some Jin army prisoners who had been separated and put to work and reform in different cities.

On the twentieth day, Du Yu, with even more troops and an even more terrifying momentum, returned to the walls of Xiangyang.

"Brother, should we retreat? Xiangyang can't be defended!"

The immense pressure caused Ma Su to lose his composure and he began to urge Ma Liang to run away.

"Retreat? Where to retreat to!" Ma Liang slapped Ma Su hard across the face.

"If you dare to spout nonsense and undermine morale again, I will execute you!"

Ma Su was brought to his senses by the slap.

They truly have nowhere else to go.

This time, Du Yu directly surrounded all four city gates, and the entire Jingzhou has been retaken by Du Yu. The current situation can be described as utter chaos.

What's worse is that Ma Liang has no ability to intervene.

It was as if Du Yu was just playing with him before; in just half a month, the situation had deteriorated several times over.

He had made many preparations during those twenty days, but they were completely meaningless in the face of such an absolute difference in strength.

"I'll have someone take you back to Luoyang to seek help!"

"Pack your things and get ready to leave!"

After a moment of silence, Ma Liang decided to send Ma Su away. After all, they were brothers, and Ma Su shouldn't have been involved in this in the first place.

"I..." Ma Su's rationality and his collapsing mentality were at odds.

He knew that staying meant death, but he left at this moment, and would just be a walking corpse from then on.

"I'm not leaving!" Ma Su ultimately decided to stay.

“You…” Ma Liang looked at Ma Su, whose face was full of struggle and even contortion, but in the end he said nothing.

"Whatever!" Ma Liang sighed.

"Report, Prefect, the enemy has retreated north!" The messenger brought good news.

"They withdrew?" Ma Liang was completely bewildered, not understanding why the enemy had withdrawn. This time, the enemy really could take Xiangyang in three days at most.

"They've all been evacuated?" Without the pressure, Ma Su's mind immediately became active.

"Brother, this is a good opportunity! We should gather our troops and pursue them relentlessly!"

"Are you crazy?" Ma Liang looked at his brother, who was a hybrid of god and demon.

"Brother, the enemy is retreating north. What do you think is the reason?" Ma Su asked Ma Liang directly.

“North... Luoyang?” Ma Liang looked around the map and finally realized that the only place that could be explained was Luoyang.

"...You mean someone will attack Luoyang?"

Ma Liang was completely bewildered; he couldn't believe that anyone would be attacking Luoyang at this time.

"Yes, and it must be one of our people. We haven't been able to contact the marshal yet, he must be attacking Luoyang!"

"You mean the marshal went north from Sichuan to attack Luoyang?" Ma Liang thought Ma Su was talking nonsense.

“Perhaps this is the real reason why the Prime Minister sent me!” Ma Su said solemnly to Ma Liang.

"Prime Minister Zhuge must have known all along, which is why he specifically asked me to deliver this message to you!"

Ma Liang took out the letter Zhuge Liang had given him and looked at it for a long time, but he still couldn't figure it out.

"The key is not in the trust, but in me!" Ma Su pointed to himself.

"The Prime Minister specifically sent me here because you and I, brothers, both share the surname Ma!"

"And Marshal Sima and Sima Yan share the same surname. Since I have come to Xiangyang where you are, I must have gone to Luoyang where Sima Yan is!"

Ma Liang looked at Ma Su with a puzzled expression. He felt that Ma Su was talking nonsense, but it also seemed to make a lot of sense.

Most importantly, with so many troops heading towards Luoyang from Du Yu's side, things must be chaotic. If they follow them, they're sure to achieve something.

"We are currently short of troops. If the enemy divides their forces to deal with us, we will be in a very passive position!" Ma Liang was reluctant to take the risk.

"Report, Prefect! News has come from the Barbarian King. He has 13,000 troops stationed northeast of Xiangyang, ready to launch an attack on the enemy at any time!"

Upon hearing this news, both Ma Liang and Ma Su's eyes lit up.

"As you say!" Ma Liang immediately made the decision and led 10,000 soldiers to pursue and kill Du Yu.

At this moment, Du Yu sat on his horse with a livid face.

He had already been stripped of his military power because he wanted to capture Xiangyang first instead of returning to Luoyang immediately. As a result, he was stripped of his military power and placed under house arrest by Sima Yan's men.

"Fools! Fools! Such a simple 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy has thrown you into complete disarray!"

Du Yu cursed inwardly, then suddenly realized that this was not a trap at all, but rather that Sima Yan was suspicious of him and worried that he would seize Jingzhou and establish a separatist regime.

The strategy wasn't a stratagem of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao, but rather a psychological tactic, betting that he wouldn't obey orders...

"What a vicious heart! How could he devise such a scheme!" Du Yu instantly realized that his opponent was no longer someone like Ma Liang, who was neither here nor there, but a truly top-tier adversary.

(End of this chapter)