Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 881: Would Rather Die Than Retreat
Now, there are only two people who can nominally mobilize the Han army at will.

It's either Liu Bei or Li Ji.

Therefore, if Guan Yu wanted to mobilize the troops of Jingzhou to attack Nanyang County from the north and south, even though he was the General of Cavalry and the Governor of Jingzhou, he had to obtain the support of one of Liu Bei and Li Ji before he could actually use his troops.

……

At the same time, with the great victory in Yuzhou, the situation was different as they were preparing to counterattack Nanyang.

Outside Linzi City in Qingzhou, Wei Yan, who had been trying to attack Linzi for a long time, had no way to take Linzi City at all.

Linzi City was the former seat of Qingzhou. Not only was it a fortified city in Qingzhou, but the three Li family members guarded Linzi City so tightly that not a single drop of water could leak out.

Especially as the reinforcements from various places gradually arrived in Linzi City, including the 5,000 young and strong men forcibly recruited by Li father and son, the number of troops in Linzi City had reached 20,000. Even Cao Xiu's more than 5,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had arrived in Linzi.

Comparing with the data on paper, Linzi's military strength was not even inferior to that of the Han army.

It can be seen that Cao Ren valued Linzi, which in a sense was even more important than Chunyu City that was used to resist Li Ji. This was an important place that Cao Ren must not lose, as it was related to the food and grass problem of the Qingzhou army.

In particular, the threat posed by the more than 5,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry sent by Cao Ren made the situation of this Han army's detachment even more dangerous.

Right now, let alone taking over Linzi City, even if one wants to safely retreat from Qi State, one may have to make careful plans.

But even so, Wei Yan was still unwilling to give in. Like a gambler who would lose the whole game if he made a wrong move, his mind was still full of how to capture Linzi City.

Pang Tong, who looks at the overall situation, is quite optimistic.

It is a bit regrettable that I didn't achieve my full goal.

But Pang Tong felt that even if he had not captured Linzi City, he had already greatly tied down the Qingzhou troops and eased the pressure his teacher faced in Beihai County, so he came to Wei Yan's tent again to persuade him.

"Wen Chang, since it is impossible to capture Linzi now, we should quickly withdraw from Qi before winter comes, before the heavy snow blocks the roads, and before the army has enough food and grass, so as to avoid putting the army in trouble."

Wei Yan frowned slightly and retorted with some dissatisfaction.

"How can Shi Yuan say such words that will shake the morale of the army? In the past, the Prime Minister defeated the strong with the weak many times. Now Cao's army is only equal to ours, how can we show weakness and retreat?"

Pang Tong persuaded.

"Those who take risks will eventually fall into danger. How can Wenchang not understand this truth? Going east is a risky strategy. If we are a little late, there is nothing we can do. We must not act on our own."

Wei Yan's expression froze, and he paced back and forth in the military tent in a somewhat annoyed manner.

Wei Yan is not someone who cannot afford to lose.

It is true that Wei Yan's eagerness for quick success and instant benefits is a character flaw, but what Wei Yan is more worried about at this moment is how to face the prime minister after withdrawing his troops?
When Wei Yan thought that the Prime Minister might reveal a disappointed look or even sigh helplessly, he felt a suffocating feeling as if it was difficult to breathe.

Wei Yan could have achieved what he has today because of the Prime Minister's high regard for him, who repeatedly entrusted him with important tasks. However, due to his own selfish desires, he changed his route to the east, causing the Prime Minister's plan to capture Linzi to fail. How could Wei Yan accept this?
After a while, Wei Yan put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and said in a deep voice.

"The military order I received is to seize Linzi. If the order fails, even if I die under the city of Linzi, I will never retreat a single step."

Pang Tong, who had a different background from Wei Yan and was a disciple of the prime minister, could not understand the psychological pressure that Wei Yan was under. At this moment, he just thought it was ridiculous. He was so angry that his raised fingers trembled.

"Jian... this is simply untenable. If you, Wei Wenchang, want to commit suicide, don't bring trouble to the three armies!"

"Shi Yuan, please stop talking. I, Wei Wenchang, will either capture Linzi or die here. There is no question of retreating..."

After a pause, Wei Yan did not give Pang Tong a chance to persuade him, and turned around and said, "Shi Yuan is the Prime Minister's disciple, so I naturally respect him. Besides, Shi Yuan is very talented, and it would be a pity for a warrior like me to die here."

"I will leave a hundred elite cavalrymen with Shi Yuan. If things get out of hand, they will escort Shi Yuan away."

After saying that, Wei Yan waved his hand to call in his personal guards, and forcibly took Pang Tong away.

At this moment, Pang Tong finally realized that he had been fooled by Wei Yan. He thought he was already good enough, but he didn't expect Wei Yan to be an even worse bastard. He wanted to curse at Wei Yan.

Pang Tong thought that as long as he could lead this detachment of the Han army to evacuate safely, he would have done a great job without any fault. How could he have expected that Wei Yan, as the main general, would fight to the death with Linzi.

If Wei Yan and this detachment were completely destroyed at the gates of Linzi City, even if Pang Tong, the military advisor, returned alive, his political life would be basically equivalent to being hit by an arrow in the knee, leaving him half paralyzed.

Pang Tong was forcibly sent back to the tent by his personal guards. He felt like his whole body was about to break apart, but he could only force himself to calm down and find a way out of the predicament.

But now the city of Linzi has made up its mind to hold on, relying on the abundant food and grass in the city to fight the Han army to the end.

The Han army wanted to attack by force, but they couldn't do it at all...

No matter what Pang Tong thought, there was only one way to break the impasse, and that was to try to show weakness to the enemy and lure the snake out of its hole.

Not to mention how Cao's army would be fooled, the more troublesome thing is that this Han army's detachment is simply unable to counter the more than 5,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Even if they make some sacrifices to lure the snake out of its hole, they will probably end up being buried in the snake's belly.

No matter how Pang Tong looked at it, it was a dead end, and the only safe way was to slowly withdraw the troops.

Pang Tong was so anxious that he couldn't sleep day or night. He didn't know how much of his hair had been pulled out. His eyes were red from thinking about it, and he still couldn't figure out how to get out of his current predicament.
Even if he sent his confidant to report to the teacher immediately, and the teacher ordered Wei Yan to withdraw his troops immediately, minus the time wasted going back and forth, the Han army might not have enough food and grass to return to Zhuxu City.

Just as Pang Tong was thinking so much that his eyes were almost glazed over and he was sitting in the tent in a daze, a familiar and somewhat out-of-tune voice suddenly came from the door of the tent.

"Junior brother, do you look troubled? Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Pang Tong was stunned and turned to look at the door. An unexpected figure came into his sight.

Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao.

"boom!"

Pang Tong stood up suddenly, his face showing ecstasy, and asked anxiously, "Why is Senior Brother Fengxiao here? Could it be that General Wei is here too?"

Guo Jia smacked his lips and spoke without noticing anything else.

"A little thirsty."

Pang Tong, who had guessed something at this moment, suddenly felt relieved of his dizziness and back pain. After asking Guo Jia to sit down, he made tea for Guo Jia in a flattering manner.

For the prime minister's disciples like Pang Tong, Guo Jia's status is quite special.

Not only was he a senior brother, he often taught them on behalf of Li Ji, and was highly respected by his fellow junior brothers.

After Guo Jia sipped his tea leisurely for a while, Pang Tong had secretly figured out the situation and asked in a low voice.

"May I ask Senior Brother Fengxiao how far is General Wei from here?"

(End of this chapter)