Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

"Why would he go to that godforsaken place?"

After reading the military report, Lu Su's expression became unusually serious. He pointed to the map of Yizhou hanging beside him and said in a deep voice.

"General Yide, you may not know this. Jianwei County is located in the southern part of Yizhou. It may seem remote, but to its northeast, there is a hidden mountain road that can be used by a large army and leads directly into the heart of Ba County!"
And the core of Ba County, which is also our only remaining foundation in the entire Yi Province—Jiangzhou City—is located at the end of this road!
Cao Cao's plan was to avoid our strength and attack our weakness, bypassing our multiple defenses in the north and launching a surprise attack on our heart city, Jiangzhou!

If Jiangzhou falls, then Ba Commandery will be lost, and we will have no foothold in Yizhou!

Gu Rubing stared at the route from Jianwei County to Jiangzhou City on the map, his gaze sharp as a knife.

He finally understood why Cao Cao had been expanding his army and stockpiling grain in Chengdu. He also vaguely sensed that the appearance of the Shatuo cavalry might have been to distract him and create conditions for this unexpected strategic maneuver!
"What a brilliant scheme by Cao Mengde! What a cunning plan!"

Gu Rubing's gaze was fixed on the location of Jiangzhou City on the map, his fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure. Jiangzhou City, the throat of Ba County, was his last and most important foothold in the entire Yi Province!
If this place is lost, Cao Cao's army will be able to drive straight in and uproot all his forces in Yizhou. All his previous efforts, sacrifices, and plans will be in vain and turn into nothing!
He couldn't afford to take that risk! Jiangzhou City absolutely could not be lost!
"Zhong Hui, listen to my command!"

Gu Rubing turned around abruptly, his voice resolute and unwavering.

"The general is here!"

Zhong Hui stepped forward.

"I command you to immediately take my military tally, muster an army of 150,000, and march day and night to Jiangzhou City! Your mission is singular—"

"Defend Jiangzhou at all costs! Before Zhuge Liang's reinforcements arrive, Cao Cao must not be allowed to set foot in Jiangzhou! If Jiangzhou falls, I will answer to you with my head!"

Gu Rubing's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, fixed on Zhong Hui.

This order was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing a huge uproar in the hall!
"My lord! You mustn't!"

Lu Su was the first to stand up and object; his face was pale and his tone was urgent.

"Our army has a total strength of only 250,000 in Yizhou. If 150,000 are transferred to General Zhong Hui, only 100,000 troops will remain to defend Linjiang City! Meanwhile, Cao Ren has at least 200,000 troops in Chengdu and its surrounding areas, ready to pounce! The enemy is far more numerous than us, and the disparity in troop strength is immense. Linjiang City is in grave danger!"

Deng Ai also hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting.

"My lord, Military Advisor Lu is absolutely right! Linjiang City is the northern gateway to Yizhou. If it falls, Cao Cao's army can penetrate straight into our heartland. Even if we manage to hold Jiangzhou City, our army will be trapped in a desperate situation where we cannot defend both ends! I urge you to reconsider!"

Although Zhang Fei didn't quite understand these intricate troop deployments, he felt it was inappropriate to transfer so many people away at once, and he shouted.

"Brother, with so many people leaving at once, how can we defend this city? Why don't you let me, Old Zhang, lead the troops to Jiangzhou and I guarantee I'll twist Cao Cao's head off!"

Despite the earnest advice of the crowd, Gu Rubing remained calm and composed, but the determination in his eyes did not waver in the slightest.

How could he not know that this move was extremely risky?

This was almost a high-stakes gamble, with most of the chips bet on Jiangzhou, while Linjiang City was left with only a fragile empty shell.

"My mind is made up, you need not try to persuade me any further!"

Gu Rubing raised his hand, silencing everyone. His voice was steady, yet carried a do-or-die spirit.

"Jiangzhou is the foundation of our army in Yizhou. If the foundation is broken, the branches and leaves will wither! Linjiang City is important, but it still has the advantage of city walls, and with Zijing, Shizai, Yide, and Mengqi here, it is enough to hold the city! However, if Cao Cao succeeds in a surprise attack on Jiangzhou City, then the situation will be hopeless! This is a strategic choice, not a child's play!"

He glanced at everyone and continued.

"As for the safety of Linjiang City, I have already made a plan. I have sent a messenger with urgent news to Jingzhou, ordering Kongming to quickly mobilize troops to reinforce Linjiang."

"If we can hold out here for a while until reinforcements from Jingzhou arrive, the crisis will resolve itself!"

Seeing that Gu Rubing was determined and had even considered the possibility of reinforcements, Lu Su, Deng Ai and the others were still worried, but they knew that they could not change their lord's decision. They could only sigh inwardly and pray that Zhuge Liang's reinforcements would arrive as quickly as possible.

The order was given, and the military situation was urgent. Zhong Hui dared not delay for the slightest and immediately took the tally to muster the troops.

For a time, troops were mobilized in Linjiang City, and the atmosphere was tense.

The 150,000-strong army, carrying heavy equipment and supplies, led by Zhong Hui, moved swiftly from Linjiang City like a winding dragon, heading south towards Jiangzhou City.

With the departure of this main force, the vast city of Linjiang seemed to have its spine ripped out, leaving it empty and fragile.

The number of soldiers patrolling the city walls has decreased significantly, and a sense of impending doom hangs in the air.

However, the pace of the war was faster than anyone could have imagined!
Just a few days after Zhong Hui's army left, before Gu Rubing's messenger requesting reinforcements from Jingzhou had even arrived in Xiangyang, dark clouds were already looming over Linjiang City, threatening to crush the city!
On this day, before the morning mist had completely dissipated, the piercing sound of an alarm bell suddenly shattered the tranquility of Linjiang City!

"Report! My lord! Cao Ren... Cao Ren has personally led an army of 200,000 and is already arrayed outside the city! His army is at the gates!"

The scout scrambled into the government office, his voice filled with terror.

Upon hearing the news, Lu Su, Deng Ai, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and others immediately gathered on the city tower. Looking out, they saw that outside Linjiang City, banners covered the sky, swords and spears were like a forest, and the dark, orderly ranks of Cao Cao's army stretched as far as the eye could see.

The soldiers were clad in bright armor and exuded a murderous aura, clearly well-prepared and ready to launch a full-scale attack on the city!
The chilling atmosphere pressed down on the minds of every soldier guarding the city walls, as if it were a tangible force.

With their numbers drastically reduced, the city's defenders, facing an enemy force several times their size outside the city, couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, even among the most elite troops. Many instinctively gripped their weapons tightly, their knuckles turning white from the force, and their breathing becoming heavy.

The immense pressure from the vast disparity in troop strength between the two sides was almost suffocating.

Lu Su, with a solemn expression, quickly walked down the city wall and reported to Gu Rubing, who was studying the sand table in the government office.

"My lord, Cao Ren's army has arrived. Judging from their posture, we are likely to face a fierce battle today!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing put down the flag in his hand, his face showing little surprise, as if he had already anticipated this moment.

He straightened his armor and said calmly.

"Come, follow me to the city."

Surrounded by Lu Su, Zhang Fei, and others, Gu Rubing slowly ascended the city wall of Linjiang City.

He stood behind the battlements, his gaze sweeping calmly over the dense, menacing Cao army outside the city, finally settling on the figure under the central banner, who was also looking up at the city wall—Cao Ren.

Faced with such a critical situation, Gu Rubing showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, a mocking smile appeared on his lips. He ordered someone to bring over a folding chair and sat down behind the battlements with an air of superiority, as if he were facing not a 200,000-strong army of tigers and wolves, but a bunch of chickens and dogs.

He gathered his strength, and his voice carried clearly down from the city wall, laced with undisguised sarcasm. "Cao Zixiao, how have you been? What, has Cao Cao run out of manpower? Sending a defeated general like you with a bunch of rabble, you dare to come and swagger around under my walls?"
Have you forgotten the feeling of being burned alive by me at the foot of the new capital, crying for your parents and fleeing in terror?

He was sharp-tongued, always picking on Cao Ren's sore spots.

"Two hundred thousand people? Heh, that sounds pretty impressive."

"I wonder if you brought enough gunpowder this time? Could you at least bolster the courage of your soldiers a bit? Otherwise, like last time, they'll blow up their own camp before even seeing me, which would be truly laughable!"

Hearing their lord so calm and even mock the enemy commander, the soldiers on the city wall felt their tension ease somewhat, and some even chuckled softly.

Cao Ren, standing below the city, was enraged by Gu Rubing's sarcastic remarks in front of both armies. His face turned ashen, and veins bulged on his forehead. The defeat at Xindu was a deep humiliation for him, and Gu Rubing's re-bringing of the old story only added fuel to the fire.
"Gu Rubing! Don't be so arrogant! Today is your death day!"

Cao Ren could no longer contain himself. He suddenly drew his sword, pointed it at the city wall, and roared furiously.

"All troops, listen to my command! Attack the city! Raze Linjiang City to the ground! Whoever captures Gu Rubing alive will be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces and ennobled as a marquis of ten thousand households!"

"kill--!"

With Cao Ren's command, the war drums thundered like lightning! Two hundred thousand Cao troops, like a flood bursting its banks, carrying countless ladders, pushing battering rams and shield carts, launched a fierce attack on Linjiang City with deafening shouts!
Arrows rained down on the city walls like locusts, and the battle instantly intensified!
Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and others immediately commanded their troops to fight back fiercely. Rolling logs, stones, and molten oil rained down like raindrops, turning the city walls and surrounding areas into a bloody meat grinder in an instant.

Gu Rubing remained seated on the couch, calmly observing the battle situation.

However, just as the siege was at its most intense, his gaze suddenly sharpened as he noticed an unusual scene on the flank of the battlefield!
Behind Cao's army lines, near a grove of trees, a light green, veil-like mist had somehow appeared!
The mist was drifting slowly towards the city wall, carried by the wind!

The color... the shape...

Gu Rubing's pupils suddenly contracted!
He knows it all too well!
This is not naturally formed mist at all; it is a poisonous miasma unique to the Gu clan! He had personally witnessed the power of this thing when he fought against Miao Moqing, who was under Liu Zhang's command, in Jiaozhou!
The poisonous miasma is often accompanied by tiny worms that are difficult to see with the naked eye. Once inhaled or exposed to the skin, they can cause weakness or even death from festering sores. It is extremely insidious!

"It's a Gu poison!"

Gu Rubing stood up abruptly, his voice carrying a hint of sternness.

"Liu Zhang!"
He actually got involved too! Or has Cao Cao colluded with him as well?!

He didn't have time to think about the connection, and immediately shouted at the messenger.

"Pass the order! Everyone! Immediately put the miasma-avoiding and detoxifying pills secretly prepared by Master Hua Tuo into your mouths! Cover your mouths and noses with a damp cloth, or use your sleeve if you don't have a damp cloth! Hurry! The poisonous fog is about to drift over!"
-
On the city wall, Gu Rubing's orders were swiftly carried out.

The soldiers pulled out small oil paper packets from their pockets, which contained antidotes carefully prepared by the legendary physician Hua Tuo for various miasmas and poisonous fogs.

They quickly put the pills under their tongues and then tore off pieces of their clothing or used pre-prepared damp cloths to tightly cover their mouths and noses.

Almost at the same time they completed these actions, the eerie pale green poisonous fog drifted up to the sky above the city wall with the breeze.

However, the anticipated scene of soldiers falling in droves did not occur. Hua Tuo's antidote was indeed miraculously effective, and with the protection of the mouth and nose, the poison that could instantly render an ordinary person incapable of fighting was actually resisted!

Only a few soldiers who were positioned at the front and whose protection was slightly slower experienced mild dizziness and nausea, but they quickly retreated with the help of their comrades and recovered after taking more medicine powder.

"Humph, what a small trick!"

Zhang Fei looked at the futilely drifting green mist, spat, and his eyes were full of disdain.

"With Doctor Hua's miraculous medicine, what can these underhanded tricks do to me!"

Gu Rubing felt no relief whatsoever.

He stared coldly in the direction from which the poisonous fog was coming, his heart filled with even greater chill.

"Liu Zhang... to help Cao Cao, you've even gone so far as to use the Miao Jiang Gu tribe's trump card! You've really gone all out! It seems the benefits Cao Cao promised you must be substantial!"

At this moment, Cao Cao's first wave of attack crashed against the city walls like a giant wave! Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the screams of the dying resounded through the sky.

"The time has come!"

Gu Rubing shouted at Deng Ai.

"Shi Zai, let Cao Ren taste the power of our new guys!"

"Order!"

A fierce glint flashed in Deng Ai's eyes, and he immediately waved the command flag.

Behind several reinforced crenellations left in advance on the city wall, several dark cannons were pushed up, their muzzles slightly lowered, aimed at the area outside the city where Cao Cao's army formation was most dense and whose attacks were most fierce!

"Load!"

"aim!"

"ignition!"

With a series of brief commands, the fuse was lit and quickly plunged into the cannon barrel.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Several deafening explosions, like thunderclaps from a dry land, suddenly erupted atop the city walls! The sound was far more deafening than the previous test shots, because this was in actual combat!
The shells, trailing faint smoke, whistled as they crashed into the surging tide of Cao Cao's army!
"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Boom!"

Violent explosions erupted one after another within Cao Jun's charging ranks! Flames and smoke billowed up, and shattered limbs, weapons, and dirt were hurled into the air!

Each shell that landed cleared a small, terrifying death zone within the dense formation, leaving behind scorched craters and a scene of utter devastation!

However, compared to the initial panic they felt upon first encountering gunpowder, Cao Cao's army has now clearly become "accustomed" to this terrifying weapon.

Under the officer's desperate suppression, although their comrades were blown to pieces, the surviving Cao soldiers only instinctively shrank back or quickened their pace; there was no widespread collapse. (End of Chapter)