Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 395 Sima Yi breaks through Tongguan alone!

Inside Tongguan City.

After Pang De arrived at the city with three thousand soldiers and horses, Li Kan, the defender of Tongguan, immediately led other generals to greet them.

"Meet General Pang!"

Li Kan bowed respectfully.

Although he and Pang De both worked for Ma Chao, the latter's qualifications and status were much higher than his, so it was necessary for him to take the initiative to salute.

Pang De smiled and said, "General Li, there is no need to be polite. The Major General heard that the battle in Tongguan was tense, so he sent me to lead the troops to help."

"I wonder what the current situation is in Tongguan?"

Hearing that Pang De was sent by Ma Chao to help Tongguan, Li Kan was immediately excited and said, "General Pang's arrival is really timely."

"The enemy's offensive has been fierce in recent days, and because of heavy snow blocking the roads and difficult logistics transportation, supplies in Tongguan are beginning to be scarce again."

"If the general had come ten days or half a month later, I'm afraid the morale of the soldiers would have fallen to the bottom."

Li Kan gave a brief account of the situation inside Tongguan.

The garrison at Tongguan numbered tens of thousands, which certainly made the pass impregnable, but at the same time placed extremely high demands on logistics.

Food and fodder are easy to deal with, but the key is warm clothing, firewood and other supplies, which are the most indispensable.

However, the continuous heavy snow disrupted the logistics transportation, and coupled with the enemy's fierce daily offensive, the army was full of complaints.

Now that Pound has come to their aid, it has brought them new hope.

"I see."

Pang De nodded slightly after hearing this, and then said, "General Li, don't worry. The wind and snow have eased a lot now, and the logistical supplies will be delivered soon. Then the soldiers won't have to endure the cold and hunger anymore."

"But we still can't slack off before that. I don't need to explain the importance of Tongguan. General Li should also know that we must not reveal any flaws that the enemy can seize."

"This is what the Major General repeatedly reminded me of before he sent me here."

Seeing Pang De's serious expression, Li Kan was awed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "General Pang, rest assured. How dare I be careless in this regard?"

"Although the enemy's offensive has been fierce in recent days, there are still more than 27,000 defenders inside the pass."

"Besides, with General Pang in charge, no matter how brave Lu Bu and Zhang Liao are, they can only sigh in despair!"

Li Kan flattered him as he spoke.

Pang De smiled faintly and said, "Lü Bu and Zhang Liao are both fierce generals in the world. General Li and the soldiers in the city have worked hard to fight them during this period of time."

"How about this, tonight we will kill pigs and sheep and lift the ban on alcohol to reward the soldiers and boost their morale."

Hearing Pang De's proposal, Li Kan was slightly stunned, and said hesitantly: "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? The enemy outside the city has been watching us."

"If they take this opportunity to launch an attack..."

Pound's approach could certainly boost the morale of the army, but if the enemy seized this opportunity to attack, it would be a disaster for them.

"It doesn't matter."

Pang De waved his hand nonchalantly, pointed to the three thousand men he had brought with him and said, "Let my soldiers take charge of the duty tonight. It's just a night of relaxation, it won't cause any trouble."

"And only when the soldiers are well fed and well rested can they better resist the enemy, right?"

Seeing Pang De's insistence, and that what he said made sense, Li Kan stopped objecting and nodded, saying, "I will go and prepare it."

"Go."

Pang De nodded and watched Li Kan leave.

He then ordered his soldiers to take over the defense of the entire Tongguan and firmly control this vital and dangerous pass.

……

Night falls quickly.

Pang De ordered a reward for all the soldiers and also lifted the ban on alcohol, which made the soldiers defending Tongguan very happy.

The hard fighting these days has long made them dissatisfied. Now they can finally relax and unwind. Who wouldn't want to?
Although there is still more than a month to the end of the year, Tongguan is as lively as it is during the Chinese New Year, with the aroma of wine and meat everywhere.

In the general's mansion.

Pang De was entertaining Li Kan and other city defenders. He raised his wine jar, stood up and said, "Generals, you have worked hard to resist the attacks of this villain Lu Bu. You must get drunk tonight!"

After saying this, he drank the wine in the jug in one gulp.

Seeing this, all the generals cheered and applauded.

Only Li Kan remained silent, looking worried. After hesitating for a while, he put down the wine bottle, stood up and said to Pang De: "General Pang, don't drink too much tonight. Be careful of the enemy's sneak attack at night."

During this period of time, Li Kan felt that the enemy was difficult to deal with, but Pang De was so casual and careless, so he couldn't help but feel worried.

The generals at the banquet were originally in high spirits, but Li Kan's words undoubtedly dampened the mood and reduced the originally warm atmosphere.

Pang De's eyes flickered slightly. After hearing this, he pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "General Li's words make sense. In this case... let's end the banquet tonight."

Upon hearing this, the generals were immediately furious.

"The banquet has just begun, and I haven't even had enough to drink!"

"Don't end it so soon!"

"General Li, you are worrying too much. Tongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even if the enemy attacks by surprise, can they get in? There are guards on the city walls."

"That's right. Moreover, they haven't launched any attacks at night during this period. Who would attack a city in such a cold weather without taking a rest?"

"General Li is too cautious."

"We've been fighting for so long, what's wrong with enjoying yourself?"

"Keep playing music, keep dancing!"

……

All the generals spoke up in opposition and tried to persuade Li Kan. No one wanted to end the banquet so early.

It's a rare opportunity for everyone to drink and eat meat and enjoy themselves, but it ends up leaving before they have had enough fun. No one would be happy about this.

Li Kan wanted to say something else, but the generals had already surrounded him and pulled him to drink and eat meat, not allowing him to continue speaking.

An hour passed quickly.

Pang De left the banquet on the grounds that he could not hold his liquor, leaving everyone else to continue drinking, and Li Kan had already been drunk.

After leaving the general's mansion, Pang De went straight to the city wall of Tongguan.

Tonight, the soldiers in Tongguan are drinking and having fun, and all the soldiers on duty on the city wall are under his command.

"How's it going?"

Pang De inspected the city wall and then asked the deputy general.

The deputy general clasped his fists and said, "General, everything is normal. We have not found any unusual movements by the enemy."

"Ah."

Pang De nodded and continued, "Later, we will light bonfires every twenty steps on the city wall, and then open the city gates."

"Yes! Will... eh?"

The deputy general was about to agree, but he soon realized something was wrong and looked at Pang De with wide eyes, "General, what did you just say?" He wondered if he had heard it wrong.

He seemed to hear the general say to open the city gate?

Pang De repeated calmly: "We will light a bonfire on the city wall later, and then open the city gate to welcome the Han army outside the pass into the city."

"Tell the soldiers not to resist and to be captured. This way you can save your lives."

The deputy general was stunned after hearing this. He looked at Pang De with disbelief. After a moment, he asked in a trembling voice: "General, are you planning to... surrender to the enemy?"

Opening the city gates to welcome the enemy into the city, and asking them to give up resistance and surrender, what is this if not surrendering to the enemy?
"No!"

Pang De denied it without hesitation and said in a deep voice: "We have all been deceived by Ma Chao. The emperor was not held hostage by Lu Bu. The real rebel was Ma Chao!"

"The Han army outside the city is the royal army sent by the emperor to attack Ma Chao. Now we are the rebels who aided and abetted Zhou. If we want to clear our name, we have no choice but to help the imperial army capture Tongguan."

"This is our only chance!"

Pang De did not hide the truth from his deputy general, because no matter what excuse he made up, it would not be convincing, so it was better to tell the truth directly.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Moreover, this deputy general and the 3,000 troops he brought this time were all elite troops he had brought up personally, so the possibility of them betraying him is extremely low.

The deputy general was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

The amount of information contained in Pound's words was so great and so abrupt that he couldn't accept and digest it for a while.

After a long silence, the deputy general clasped his fists and said to Chong Chong: "I obey your orders!"

He had followed Pound through thick and thin for many years and knew Pound's character very well. He would not joke about such things.

And now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to believe.

……

Outside Tongguan, the Han army camp.

Tonight, the Han army soldiers did not rest at all. Each of them was fully armed and waiting for the order to march.

On the wall of the military camp.

Sima Yi, Chen Gong, Zhang Liao, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun and others were all here, looking at the impregnable Tongguan Pass in the distance.

"It's already midnight, will Pang De really open the city gate? He's not lying to us, is he?"

Lu Bu rubbed his hands and said somewhat depressedly.

He had been waiting for two hours, but there was still no movement from Tongguan, and no signal was sent out.

This made him doubt whether what Sima Yi said, that Pang De had surrendered to them and that he was planning to secretly open the city gate to let them in, was true.

If there is no signal, do they have to wait forever?

"hold on."

Sima Yi's face was as calm as water, without any fluctuations like an ancient well, and his deep gaze was fixed on Tongguan.

He placed all his hopes on Pound, and if Pound did not abide by their agreement, he would be helpless.

Just as Sima Yi was thinking this, Zhao Yun's eyes suddenly lit up, and he pointed at Tongguan and said, "Look! There's a bonfire on the city wall!"

Everyone was shocked and looked towards Tongguan.

I saw clusters of dazzling flames burning on the Tongguan city wall, and this was the signal agreed with Pang De to open the city gate!
"Good! Good! Good!"

Sima Yi was very excited when he saw this. He took out a brocade bag from his arms and handed it to Chen Gong, saying, "I will lead the troops into the city to find out the truth. If Pang De is pretending to surrender, I will sacrifice my life for my country to repay Your Majesty!"

"After I die, Gongtai, you can open this brocade bag. It contains a plan to capture Tongguan!"

Although the possibility of Pound pretending to surrender is small, it cannot be ruled out, so it is necessary to send someone to take the lead.

Sima Yi decided to take the risk himself.

If he was unlucky enough to fall into the trap, it would mean he had miscalculated. He would have no face to continue living after causing such heavy casualties to his soldiers.

The secret bag that Zhuge Liang gave him contained a strategy for defeating the enemy. When the time comes, he could let Chen Gong open it and take over his position to attack Tongguan without affecting the overall situation.

"The military advisor is going there personally?"

Zhang Liao and others were shocked when they heard this.

However, Sima Yi said firmly: "Don't persuade me anymore. I have made up my mind. No one of you should follow me."

After saying this, Sima Yi left the camp and led a troop of more than a thousand men towards Tongguan.

Looking at Sima Yi's departing back, Chen Gong, holding the brocade bag in his hand, said with emotion: "The military advisor is truly a loyal and brave man."

The generals nodded and continued to wait where they were.

Sima Yi led his troops and successfully arrived at the city wall of Tongguan. Then he saw that the gate of Tongguan was wide open and no arrows were falling.

Sima Yi rode forward, holding a torch, and said, "I am Sima Zhongda. May I ask where General Pang De is? What is the situation in the city?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Pound stuck his head out.

Pang De said: "I have ordered rewards for the soldiers guarding Tongguan. They are all drunk and unconscious. The soldiers guarding the city wall are all my men."

"Please ask Sima Changshi to lead the troops into the pass as soon as possible!"

After hearing Pang De's words, Sima Yi looked at the deep city gate in front of him and mustered up the courage to lead his troops in.

Soon he came to the city wall and met Pang De.

Pang De came up and said with a wry smile: "Since Sima Changshi wants to cooperate with me from inside and outside, why don't you trust me? You only lead such a small number of troops here."

There were only a thousand soldiers entering the pass. Pang De knew, of course, that they were just here to test the city's strength, and he obviously suspected that he had set an ambush.

"The General misunderstood."

Sima Yi shook his head and said, "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have come here in person, but this is a matter of great importance and we must be cautious."

Pang De smiled when he heard this, then waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to bring a group of people up.

It was Li Kan and other Tongguan defenders!
They were all drunk, and even though they were tied up, they still did not wake up from their sleep.

"Can Sima Changshi be trusted now?"

Seeing this scene, Sima Yi finally felt relieved. He then ordered his soldiers to send a message to Zhang Liao and others to ask them to lead their troops into the city.

Then he smiled and said to Pang De: "General Pang has helped the court capture Tongguan this time, which is a great achievement. I will definitely report to the emperor to commend the general."

Pang De's surrender saved the Han army from months of hard attacks and tens of thousands of casualties.

Pang De smiled bitterly and said, "Before that, I was deceived by Ma Chao and rebelled against the imperial court, committing the capital crime of rebellion."

"If it weren't for Sima Changshi sending the Embroidered Uniform Envoy to contact me and let me know the truth, I'm afraid I would still be kept in the dark."

"This time I helped the court capture Tongguan not for merit, but only to clear my name."

Sima Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, General Pang. As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime. As long as we capture the main culprit, Ma Chao, both General Pang and the Xiliang army will be pardoned."

Pang De was completely relieved after hearing this.

Sima Yi looked outside the pass and saw countless Han soldiers holding torches heading towards Tongguan in the dark night.

(End of this chapter)