I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 932 Breakthrough
"Magic! The enemy really has magic!"

Facing Liu Yan's question, the scout said with a sad face and despair:
"That night, there was a sudden burst of fire in front of Jiameng Pass, thunder rumbled, and the earth shook."

That’s right, it’s gunpowder of course.

Now that the technology has been pointed out, it would be a waste not to use it.

For those today who had never seen the power of gunpowder, the sudden explosion at night was enough to destroy the morale of tens of thousands of troops.

The defending general Yang Huai was startled by the noise and rushed out of the mansion, only to see the whole city filled with soldiers and civilians fleeing in panic.

"Don't run! Don't run!"

Yang Huai drew his weapon and tried to reverse the situation, but how could the people, who had already been frightened, listen to his orders?

"Are you crazy? Run!"

"The general has the help of thunder from heaven, we can't win at all!"

"Heavenly soldiers, these are real heavenly soldiers!"

Yang Huai looked at the soldiers and civilians fleeing in all directions, veins bulging on his forehead. He swung his sword and knocked down a soldier who tried to rush out of the city gate, roaring: "If you dare to disrupt the morale of my army again, you will be killed immediately!" However, his intimidation seemed pale and powerless in the earth-shaking explosion. At this moment, a loud noise came from the direction of the city wall, bricks and stones flew, and gunpowder filled the air.

A guard stumbled into Yang's arms, screaming, "General! This is bad!"

"A big gap was blown out of the north gate. The enemy's 'Sky Thunder' blew the gate open!"

Honestly speaking, the power of Su Yao's black gunpowder is just average right now. It lacks the means of projection and is far inferior to the effect of cannon fire at the door at the same equivalent.

However, the city defenses during the Han Dynasty were far less solid than those in the later era of firearms.

The rammed earth walls at this time could still withstand the impact of gunpowder, but the structure and quality of the city gate were far from good enough.

After several consecutive explosions, the north gate of Jiameng Pass was successfully breached, and Lu Bu's army immediately launched a general attack.

While they used cavalry to attack the city gate, they also set up countless ladders on the city walls to launch a violent assault.

Under such a terrifying offensive, the defenders of Jiameng Pass collapsed and soon gave up control of the gate.

The army rushed in, and the streets of the city suddenly turned into a battlefield.

The rolling iron hooves crushed the stone slabs, and the dust and bloody smell spread everywhere.

Lu Bu was seen charging out from the thick smoke, his Fang Tian Hua Ji flying up and down, blood and flesh flying wherever he went. The shields and spears of the defenders were easily broken like dead branches in front of him.

In the firelight, he stared at the crowd of people running away in fear with his red eyes, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he shouted while charging:
"Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"

This roar was like a thunderous explosion. Many defenders dropped their weapons in fear, collapsed on the ground and raised their hands in surrender.

This scene shocked the guarding general Yang Huai. Only then did he remember the secret report sent to him before, which said that with the help of a mysterious alchemist in the imperial army, they could refine powerful "gunpowder" which would explode upon encountering fire and be as fast as thunder and lightning. At that time, he scoffed at it, but now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he realized that what he was facing was not an earthly force at all.

Yes, this is a dimensionality reduction attack.

Gunpowder had just appeared, and people were not prepared for its power just by hearsay. Under the attack of Lu Bu's army, Yang Huai's army collapsed at the first blow, and everyone was fleeing and surrendering.

However, as Liu Yan's confidant, Yang Huai was tasked with guarding the pass. He was unwilling to accept such an embarrassing defeat, so he gathered his last men and put up a last-ditch resistance in front of a brick and stone arrow tower.

"Shoot! Shoot!"

Yang Huai roared loudly and shot arrows like raindrops at the oncoming enemy troops.

It has to be said that the defensive fortifications within Jiameng Pass are still very effective. If one wants to take this arrow tower by force, it will obviously cost a lot.

But times have changed. Soon, several wooden carts filled with gunpowder were pushed to the foot of the tower by the soldiers. With a loud bang, the tower shook violently, and then the bricks and stones collapsed. The defending general Yang Huai was buried by the rubble before he could even say his last words.

"Asshole! Asshole!"

In the governor's mansion, Liu Yan swept all the bamboo slips and inkstones on the table to the ground, and roared unwillingly:

"It shouldn't be like this!"

"If there was a thunderbolt, it should have exploded on that traitor!"

At this moment, when the rumored thunderbolt finally exploded on his head, Liu Yan finally began to waver in his belief in destiny.

Even though he was like this, the civil and military officials under his command were obviously even more terrified:

"Jiameng Pass has been operating for several years, but it is so vulnerable?"

"What's more frightening is that if Jiameng Pass is lost, Baishui Pass may be attacked from both sides."

"Baishui Pass?"

Liu Yan suddenly exclaimed:
"Oh right! Where's Baishui Pass?!"

"Why did the enemy army break through my Jiameng Pass first? How is my Baishui Pass now?"

The Battle of Baishui Pass was the most crucial first battle for Liu Bei to capture Shu.

Back then, Pang Tong proposed three strategies for Liu Bei to enter Shu. Liu Bei chose the middle strategy to capture Baishui Pass.

The reason is very simple. In this era, if foreign armies wanted to enter Shu, they could only take the Jinniu Road through Baishui Pass, Jiameng Pass, and Jianmen Pass by land, or take the water route from Jingzhou Shuojiang to Jiangzhou.

Apart from these, the other few small paths are simply not enough to support the passage of a large army.

Now, Jiameng Pass among the three passes of Shu has been breached first, so what about Baishui Pass?
That is the first level which is more important than Jiameng Pass!

"What's going on with Gao Pei?!"

Liu Yan grabbed the scout tightly and questioned him harshly.

The scout was caught by Liu Yan and it hurt. He replied tremblingly: "Baishui Pass was lost three days ago - Gao, General Gao surrendered."

"What did you say?!"

Liu Yan was struck by lightning when he heard this. He stumbled back a few steps and fell down on the table. His face was pale and he muttered, "Gao Pei. Gao Pei, how dare he betray me?!"

Not only was Liu Yan horrified, but even Zhang Su and Zhao Wei, who had already been connected, looked at each other with shock on their faces.

Gao Pei is Liu Yan's confidant. He has been traveling with Liu Yan all over the country since his debut and is almost like a family general.

Before that, when Liu Yan was working in the court, he was transferred to the court to serve as an official. After Liu Yan came to Yizhou, Gao Pei also resigned from his official position to follow him.

Zhang Su didn't dare to ask for surrender to such a person before, for fear of exposing himself. He didn't expect that he would surrender on his own initiative?
It is no wonder that Liu Yan turned pale and fell to the ground, almost unable to get up after such a blow.

However, Zhao Wei gradually understood after thinking about it.

Speaking of confidants, isn’t Zhao Wei also Liu Yan’s confidant?

Although he was not as good as Gao Pei, when Liu Yan came to Yizhou, he also resigned from his post as Taicang Ling and ran away to follow him.

Everyone just saw that the world was about to be in chaos, and Yizhou was a precious land where they could survive. Following Liu Yan might not make them rich, but at least they would have enough food and drink and could sit back and watch the turmoil in the world.

But now, in just a few years, the situation has changed suddenly. General Su Yao has emerged as a rising star and conquered the world with thundering means. Even powerful rulers such as Dong Zhuo, Liu Yu and the Yuan brothers have surrendered. Although Gao Pei is Liu Yan's confidant, facing the imperial army approaching, how could he be so loyal as to be buried with him?
(End of this chapter)