Ji Han Liu Zhang

"This is an elite soldier!!!"

The Qiang and Hu tribes burned their weapons and led their troops to attack the city, but Ma Teng and Han Sui stood by and watched, standing on a hill to observe the battle situation.

When he saw Shao Ge's troops rushing to the distance of Lueyang City about twenty steps away and then being killed by a rain of arrows from the top of Lueyang City, Ma Teng sighed.

Ma Teng, who had joined the army during the Zhongping period and had fought for more than ten years, knew that the Shu army in Lueyang City was able to keep its composure and allow the Qiang and Hu to get within twenty steps of the city. How could they not be elite?
Moreover, when the Qiang and Hu retreated and were seventy steps away from the city, the rain of arrows thrown down from the top of the city stopped in an instant, as if there was thunder and rainstorm in the previous moment, and turned into clear sky in the next moment. The change was so fast that Ma Teng almost cried out in surprise.

After a sigh, Ma Teng's face became gloomy. The Shu army in Lueyang City had such strict discipline and sophisticated combat skills. This was not a good thing for him. After all, it meant that Lueyang would be difficult to capture.

"They are indeed elite soldiers. The Shu general in the city is also very good at commanding. He is definitely not a mediocre general." Han Sui nodded. His face looked a little unhappy. The Shu army in Lueyang City was not simple. It might be difficult to take Lueyang City.

Ma Teng looked at the flag on the top of Lueyang City. On the white flag was a big black character "Gan", which meant that the Shu general in Lueyang City was named "Gan". He thought about the general named "Gan" under the command of Grand Marshal Liu Zhang.

"Gan Ning, Gan Xingba, the commander in Lueyang City must be this man without a doubt." Ma Teng frowned. With his majestic appearance, he raised his eyebrows and looked extremely majestic. He uttered the name of the commander of the Shu army and confirmed it.

"I heard that Gan Ning was a brave general under Liu Zhang, and he had always been the first to attack the enemy lines and break into the enemy's territory." Ma Teng recounted the stories that happened to Gan Ning.

"The reason why the Shu army captured Chencang was because Gan Ning marched in during the severe cold season and took advantage of the fact that the troops of Li Jue and Guo Si in Chencang were not on guard. He captured Chencang in one fell swoop and opened up a passage for the Shu army to enter Guanzhong."

As Ma Teng spoke, the worry between his brows grew deeper and deeper. If Chencang City had a commander like Gan Ning, and elite soldiers who obeyed orders and were flexible in advancing and retreating, then Lueyang City would be an unattainable thing for him.

"It must be Gan Ning without a doubt. If it wasn't Gan Ning, Lueyang City would not have fallen into the hands of the Shu army so quietly." Although Han Sui was far away in Jincheng, he was also very concerned about the war in Guanzhong. He had also heard of Gan Ning's name.

Worried, Ma Teng turned his gaze back to the battlefield, but saw that the Qiang and Hu were fleeing for their lives as if they wished their parents had not given them two more legs, crawling and rolling just to get away from Lueyang City.

Seeing this, Ma Teng sighed, "Today is useless."

"How can it be in vain?" Following Ma Teng's sigh, a rebuttal was heard.

"Hmm?" Ma Teng, who was refuted, looked towards the source of the voice. It was Cheng Gongying, Han Sui's confidant, who spoke.

"Mr. Cheng Gong, the Qiang and Hu people attacked the city but didn't even touch the city wall. They didn't achieve any success and instead lost a lot of manpower. How can they have achieved anything?" Ma Teng asked, pointing at the corpses of the Qiang and Hu people covering the ground in front of Lueyang City.

There were no Qiang or Hu people nearby, so Cheng Gongying had no scruples. He said bluntly: "Qiang and Hu people are not worth pitying. The saying 'one penny Qiang' is true."

Cheng Gongying also pointed to the corpses of Qiang Hu in front of Lueyang City, and explained why he had refuted before: "Using some worthless Qiang people, we consumed so many arrows of the Shu army in the city. This is the achievement today!"

"Originally, these arrows should have fallen on our heads, but now, they will not fall on our heads. Let these Qiang and Hu people take them for us. These dead Qiang and Hu people are our benefactors." A comfortable smile appeared on Cheng Gongying's face.

Hearing this, Ma Teng's frowning brows relaxed slightly, but soon frowned again. He shook his head and said, "It still can't be considered a meritorious service. These arrows that killed the Qiang and Hu are all within a hundred steps in front of Lueyang City, and we can't pick them up. After all, if we send people to pick them up, they will be shot by the Shu army." "Even if we are well prepared, there will inevitably be casualties... I think these arrows will eventually be picked up by the Shu army when we are far away and brought back to Lueyang City, and then they will fall on our heads again."

Ma Teng thought about the possibility of having his soldiers wear armor and prepare shields to snatch the arrows scattered by the Shu army in front of the city wall. After some thought, he gave up. It was not worth letting his elite soldiers take this risk.

"General, what you said is very true." Cheng Gongying said. He unexpectedly agreed with Ma Teng's words, which seemed to be a rejection of his previous words that he would make achievements today.

But soon, Cheng Gongying changed the subject, saying that what he approved of Ma Teng's words was not a denial of his previous words of meritorious service today: "The Shu army should take advantage of our army's distance to drop soldiers from the top of the city to pick up these arrows for defending the city, and this is our chance."

Speaking of the word "opportunity", Cheng Gongying's eyes sparkled, clear and bright.

Upon hearing this, Ma Teng and Han Sui looked at Cheng Gongying, and both of them became thoughtful.

After a while, Ma Teng's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he said in a loud voice: "As the saying goes, 'blessings lie within the shadows of misfortunes, and misfortunes lie within the shadows of blessings'. Mr. Cheng Gong is really a man who has a deep understanding of this truth."

"Teng is blinded by a leaf and has lost his way." Ma Teng was impressed by Cheng Gongying's strategy, but also felt envious.

For example, he did not have a strategic man like Cheng Gongying under his command, and he envied Han Sui for being able to recruit Cheng Gongying.

"General, thank you for your praise. It is just a coincidence that I have a clear insight. With your talent and strategy, even if I have not figured out the key points at the moment, I will be able to see it clearly after a while." Cheng Gongying said modestly.

Han Sui clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Since you have made the decision, we need to discuss it carefully and see how to give the Shu army a surprise."

"Yes, that's right. We should give the Shu army a big surprise." Ma Teng laughed loudly.

After saying this, Ma Teng, Han Sui, Cheng Gongying and others all looked towards Lueyang City with a smile on their lips.

At this moment, on the top of Lueyang City.

Commander Gan Jiu pointed at the arrows scattered in front of the city wall and said to Gan Ning, "General Qu, these arrows must be retrieved. Bows and arrows are indispensable in the battle to defend the city."

"Yes." Gan Ning nodded. The arrows that were just shot were probably within a hundred steps in front of the city wall. The Liangzhou bandits would not dare to approach to pick them up, so they should be retrieved and reused for them.

"The bandits are nearby, so it's inconvenient to pick up these arrows right now. Wait until later, when the bandits have withdrawn their troops and returned to their camp, and then send people down to the city to retrieve them."

Although he intended to retrieve the arrows, Gan Ning knew that now was not a good time. The bandits from Liang Province were not far from the city. Sending people to pick them up at this time was like lighting a lamp in a toilet - seeking death. Most of the people sent out would be killed by the bandits.

"That's right. It's not appropriate to pick it up now." Gan Jiu nodded and responded. (End of this chapter)