Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Just when Lu Bu and his men in Xingyang were in a state of panic, Sun Ce quickly walked into the Han army's tent inside Hulao Pass and reported.

"Teacher, we have confirmed that the messenger from Hulao Pass has fled to Xingyang, and the hundreds of soldiers who escorted him have been killed. Our army has suffered 157 casualties."

"The Xianzhen Camp is really powerful."

Li Ji's tone was full of emotion.

Compared with the Bai Li soldiers, the Xian Zhen Camp was undoubtedly more comprehensive, and it would not be an exaggeration to call it the strongest army in the world.

Although it was a well-prepared breakout and ambush battle, they still lost more than a hundred soldiers in the counterattack of the hundreds of trap camps. Their fighting power was truly terrifying.

It was precisely because of the Xianzhen Camp and tens of thousands of infantrymen guarding Hulao Pass that Li Ji had no intention of attacking this pass by force.

Sun Luce hesitated for a moment and asked for advice.

"Teacher, I don't quite understand why we deliberately let the messenger break out. If Lu Bu knew that Luoyang was about to be attacked, he would definitely fight to break out and return to Hulao Pass to rescue Luoyang."

After Li Ji motioned Sun Ce to sit down, he asked while dealing with paperwork.

"Does Bofu think that we should block the news as much as possible until Luoyang falls?"

Besides the purpose of achieving the strategy by dividing the troops in this way, Li Ji's main goal was to support a large number of young and strong men so that they could become the pillars of the Han Dynasty that was about to be revived.

Supporting the young and strong requires a lot of military achievements.

Where did this military achievement come from? It was undoubtedly the Wei army at Guandu.

Zhuge Liang was undoubtedly one of the young and strong men that Li Ji focused on training, so he would naturally not bring Zhuge Liang here. As a result, Li Ji had to deal with a lot more military paperwork on a daily basis.

Originally, Li Ji planned to leave Sun Ce in Guandu as well, but Sun Ce took the initiative to volunteer to accompany Li Ji and try out the abilities of Lu Bu, who had injured Zhao Yun.

Considering that Sun Ce was already one of the "Five Tiger Generals" and was a former general, he was not short of some military merits, so his request was approved.

At this moment, facing Li Ji's question with some scrutiny, Sun Ce nodded and answered.

"According to the scouts, Lu Bu still has about 30,000 cavalrymen. Including those in Xingyang, there are still 40,000 soldiers available. Even if our army has 150,000 elite troops waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, it will not be easy to stop them."

"We also have to be careful of the 10,000 soldiers in Hulao Pass. They may leave the city at any time to support Lu Bu. If that happens, our army will be caught in a dilemma of being attacked from both sides. If Lu Bu really leads his army to charge into Hulao Pass, it will be bad."

Li Ji couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh, saying with approval on his face.

"Bofu was able to think of this, which is good. I guess he has worked hard on it."

Sun Ce chuckled and answered honestly, "It was mainly thanks to Gongjin, who always selected some military books for me to read."

"But Bofu only considered one of the two, but never thought of the other."

After a pause, Li Ji said solemnly, "It's not difficult to stop the messenger. With Ma Chao and Yang Ren's troops working together in Luoyang, it won't be difficult to capture Luoyang either."

"Then, Master, let me ask you, if Lü Bu, who is stationed in Xingyang, learns that Luoyang has fallen, what will he do?"

Sun Ce frowned and thought deeply.

Once Luoyang fell, it would mean that Lu Bu's retreat and foundation would be cut off.

Even Sun Ce understood that under such circumstances he had to abandon Xingyang, and even abandon the part of Sili that was still under his control.

But in this situation, where else can Lu Bu go?
Lü Bu fled to Yanzhou, and with only a few defeated soldiers left, he was unable to hold the city.

After a moment, Sun Ce, who had figured it out, blurted out.

"If Lu Bu wants to survive, he has no choice but to return to Guandu and join Cao Cao. With the marriage relationship between the two families, he may become a subordinate of Cao Cao."

"That's right." Li Ji stood up and walked to the map, pointing to the area from Xingyang to Guandu, and spoke.

"Bofu, look at this flat terrain. If Lu Bu wants to leave and join Cao Cao, how easy will it be to stop him?"

No matter how many casualties Lu Bu suffered, he still had nearly 20,000 Bingzhou Wolf Riders and about 10,000 elite cavalry under his command. As long as he regrouped, he could still exert amazing combat power.

Moreover, once Lu Bu reunites with Cao Cao, it would be much easier for them to retreat to Jizhou with Lu Bu's fresh forces at their disposal.

At this moment, Li Ji put his hands naturally behind his back, looked at Xingyang on the map, and spoke slowly.

"Lü Bu is too strong, and the Bingzhou Wolf Riders are also invincible. They are really frightening. We must find a way to further weaken them."

"And using Luoyang as bait, no matter how highly mobile the cavalry under Lu Bu are, they will certainly fight desperately to attack our camp in an attempt to enter Hulao Pass and return to Luoyang for support."

After a pause, a smile appeared on Li Ji's face and he spoke.

"As for Bofu's concern about whether Lü Bu would break through the camp, that's a bit disrespectful to his teacher."

Sun Ce was shocked when he heard this and replied quickly.

"Disciples don't dare."

Li Ji continued.

"I may not be able to fight the enemy, but I am confident in marching and deploying troops. This... Hulao Pass, Lü Bu cannot enter."

These seemingly light words contained Li Ji's full confidence, which made Sun Ce feel fascinated.

Unfortunately, Sun Ce’s family knew their own business, and he could not learn the teacher’s skill after trying for so many years.

"Thank you, teacher, for clarifying my doubts."

Sun Ce spoke with gratitude, knowing that if it were someone else, the teacher might not have the patience to explain it so thoroughly.

Li Ji said in a gentle voice.

"Don't say such polite words. The Northern Expedition will not end yet. There may be many more places where we can use our troops in the future. Bofu will also be in charge of troops outside. Don't slack off."

"is teacher."

"Also, Bofu hasn't actually fought with Lu Bu yet, right?" Li Ji asked.

"No." Sun Ce replied.

"In that case, I will let Yide personally support Bofu tomorrow and let him boldly fight with Lu Bu. This will also allow Lu Bu to make the best use of his abilities and train Bofu on my behalf." Li Ji said.

"Yes!"

Hearing this, Sun Ce couldn't help but feel more eager to fight.

This is undoubtedly the strongest enemy Sun Ce has ever faced since he achieved perfection in martial arts.

Especially since even Zhao Yun was injured by Lu Bu, Sun Ce paid great attention to Lu Bu.

The development of the situation was just as Li Ji had expected.

In other words, not to mention that Lu Bu did not realize that Luoyang had become a bait, even if he did, it is impossible for Lu Bu not to return to rescue Luoyang with all his strength.

So, early in the morning of the second day.

With his life almost at stake, Lü Bu led his army to the outside of Hulao Pass, facing the defense lines that the Han army had already set up. He intended to break through the defense lines and enter Hulao Pass. (End of this chapter)