Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1003 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
"Come here, some people, reinforce this part of the city wall..."

"Also, the moat here is obviously five or six feet narrower than other places. Send someone to widen it quickly..."

"Also, the ropes of this suspension bridge were supposed to be replaced with iron chains a long time ago. Why hasn't it been replaced yet? We must do it today, otherwise you will be subject to military law."

Tian Yu, the governor of Liaodong, was outside the city of Xiangping, personally supervising the construction of defensive fortifications.

"Da da da..." The sound of horse hooves came from behind, causing Tian Yu to look back. After seeing the person coming, he hurried forward to greet him.

"This humble official greets General Zhenbei and all the generals."

The people who came were General Zhenbei Ma Chao, as well as Ma Dai, Pang De and several other generals of the Ma family. Since Ma Chao and Zhao Yun fought against the coalition forces of Wuhuan and Goguryeo in Liaodong, Zhao Yun was transferred away by Liu He not long after, but Ma Chao stayed. As the General Zhenbei, his official position was higher than that of the governor, so he was naturally in charge of the daily military affairs in the city.

Ma Chao dismounted and clasped his fists in return, saying, "You don't have to be so polite, Commander Tian. How is the city being reinforced?"

Tian Yu hurriedly replied, "The Soul-Shocking Crossbow and Stone-Breaking Heavy Crossbow sent by His Majesty have been installed on the city wall, and the iron gates have also been installed. However, there are still a few parts of the newly dug moat and the city wall that was just raised by ten feet. It is estimated that it will only take three to five days. Please rest assured, General Ma."

"Haha, Governor Tian is acting prudently and carefully, so there is nothing to worry about in the supernatural world."

"Brother, if I were to ask you, why bother with so much trouble? The Goguryeo king is said to have personally led an army of hundreds of thousands, almost all of the country's troops, but in the past year, he has not really taken any action. I think it's just bluffing. Instead of waiting for him to attack the city, why don't we take the initiative to attack and find out where his troops are stationed. I will lead the cavalry to attack at night, and we will definitely be able to capture the bird king alive and present him to the emperor."

Ma Tie patted his chest confidently.

Now he, Ma Dai, Ma Xiu and others are no longer the young men they were when they met with disaster in Xiliang. After years of fighting on the battlefield, they all look much more experienced and vicissitudes of life. However, they are young and energetic after all. After defeating the coalition forces of Goguryeo and Wuhuan here, they are inevitably a little arrogant and do not take those "barbaric and uncivilized Hu soldiers" as they call them seriously.

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao burst into laughter: "Hahaha...those barbarians are not worth a sneer at. But since Your Majesty has entrusted the heavy responsibility of Youzhou to us, we should be cautious."

"Mengqi is right." Pang De took over the conversation. "To use offense as defense is of course the best strategy, but the enemy is strong. Moreover, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei have joined forces to rebel. Goguryeo and Wuhuan were defeated in the last battle, so they will definitely take this opportunity to cause trouble. We must first prepare for defense, and then wait for an opportunity to attack. Only by making all the arrangements can we live up to your majesty's trust."

"Haha, you generals have made careful plans. You are much better than me when it comes to marching and fighting. Well, you are tired from patrolling outside. You should go back to the city and rest. I will take care of this place."

Ma Chao was not polite either: "In this case, I'm sorry to trouble you. Let's go back to the city."

After bidding farewell to Tian Yu, the few of them rode their horses towards the city.

However, after taking a few steps, Ma Chao suddenly stopped. He looked solemn and looked in a certain direction outside the city.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Ma Dai asked.

Ma Chao stared straight ahead in that direction and said in a deep voice, "There is an enemy attack."

Upon hearing about the enemy attack, Pang De and the others immediately became alert: "Enemy attack? Could it be that the Wuhuan and Goguryeo coalition forces are coming again?"

Tian Yu also became a little nervous. He looked in the direction Ma Chao was looking for a long time, but did not see anything unusual.

"No one, did General Ma hear it wrong?"

Before Ma Chao could say anything, Ma Dai interrupted him and said, "Absolutely not. My brother has been fighting on the battlefield for many years and has developed extraordinary hearing skills. What he said about a large army attacking from a distance is definitely correct."

Ma Chao shouted, "Pass the order down. All craftsmen and civilians should return to the city immediately. Order all soldiers in the city to assemble and stand by."

After a while, under the personal command of Tian Yu, the craftsmen and working people outside the city all returned to the city under the escort of the soldiers, while Ma Chao and others climbed up the city wall and looked into the distance.

Outside Xiangping City, only about six or seven hundred steps away, there is a vast plain. Further away, there are mountains and hills, dense forests and wilderness, and the sounds of beasts roaring.

"I don't see any trace of the enemy." Tian Yu asked in confusion.

At this moment, two or three miles outside the city, between the two hills closest to the city, a group of birds suddenly took off into the sky.

"It's right there!" Ma Chao pointed in that direction with his dragon knight's tip.

As soon as he said this, everyone focused their attention on the place he pointed.

Ma Chao shouted to the tall sentry post at the corner of the city wall: "Report any findings immediately."

"General, there are flags appearing and disappearing in the jungle about three miles ahead."

"Hehe, just as expected, it must be the barbarian dog that invaded."

Ma Chao turned to Ma Dai and the others and said, "Call the troops immediately. Guo Rang will lead the army to defend the city. Zong Yue, Ling Ming and the others will follow me to lead the cavalry to attack."

Ma Dai was stunned: "Didn't my brother just say that we should first prepare the defense of the city before launching an attack?"

Ma Chao glared at him and said, "Stupid, this is a different time. The enemy is already here, how can we compare it to what we did just now? The enemy hasn't even reached the city gate yet, so I can just make a detour and attack from the side. Even if I can't drive the enemy away, I can still disrupt their morale."

Ma Dai was overjoyed: "Okay, I'll go and recruit the troops right away."

Tian Yu frowned slightly: "General Ma, we haven't seen the enemy yet, so if we rush out of the city, will it be..."

Before he could finish, Ma Chao said proudly: "Guorang, don't worry. There is no need to be afraid of a mere barbarian dog. If we wait until the enemy reaches the city gate, how can we use this sneak attack? Besides, my 10,000 cavalry can come and go like the wind. If there is any abnormality, we can return quickly."

Tian Yu thought about it and seemed unable to refute it: "In this case, please be careful, General."

"Brother, 10,000 cavalrymen are waiting in front of the city gate."

Ma Dai ran up and reported.

"Okay, let's go and show those barbarian dogs the might of our great cavalry."

Ma Chao shouted, and led 10,000 cavalrymen including Ma Dai and others out of the city gate.

"Da da da……"

A full ten thousand cavalrymen were galloping wildly in the wilderness and jungle, truly shaking the earth and the sky.

Ma Chao had just run a few hundred steps away when he saw a large group of soldiers marching towards him not far ahead.

"Mengqi, the enemy has a lot of people, but the percentage of them wearing armor is not high. It seems that they are indeed Hu dogs."

Even someone with Pang De's temperament became a little excited at this moment. After all, they had been stationed in Youzhou for more than a year and had never had a proper battle. Seeing that the Yuzhou and Liangzhou legions were reporting frequent victories, how could they not be eager to make achievements?
Ma Chao shouted: "Brothers, it's time for us to make achievements. Kill..."

Ten thousand cavalrymen bravely charged forward along the official road, which was only a dozen feet wide, and the wild roads on both sides. The enemy's Hu soldiers were not afraid, and a large army of tens of thousands of people also came from the official road and the mountains and forests to surround and kill them.

"Kill these Han people..."

"Hmph, you jumping clown, you don't know your own limitations." Ma Chao was very disdainful. He shook the Dragon Rider's Point in his hand, took the lead, and in just one move, he pierced an enemy general through the chest, lifted him high up, and then threw him out.

"System prompt: Ma Chao leads the cavalry to charge, triggering the special skill 'God of Cavalry'. His command and military strength are increased by 3 points each. The mobility and attack power of his cavalry are increased, and his cavalry generals have their military strength increased by 1 point."

"Ma Chao's basic military strength is 99 points, the King of Soldiers, King of Armor, and Mount have increased by 5 points in total, the basic command is 83 points, the current comprehensive command is 85 points, and the comprehensive military strength is 107 points."

"Affected by Ma Chao's special skill, the combined strength of Ma Dai, Pang De and others has become..."

Ma Chao, with Ma Dai, Pang De and others, attacked left and right and was invincible. With their charge, the 10,000 cavalrymen behind him were able to move freely.

They came and went freely among the enemy troops, and after a fierce battle, in the blink of an eye, thousands of Hu soldiers were killed by their spears.

Tian Yu was on the city wall, watching Ma Chao and others with ease, and he felt relieved.

"General Ma Chao is truly a man of heaven. He and General Zhao Yun are worthy of being called the dragon and tiger duo of the army. The cavalry led by him are truly as powerful as one's own arm. It seems that my job of defending the city will be easy."

However, after watching for a long time, he gradually showed a puzzled look on his face: "That's not right. According to the intelligence, the king of Goguryeo personally led an army of more than 200,000 and joined forces with 50,000 troops of Wuhuan to invade Youzhou. The enemy troops in front of us look like no more than 70,000 or 80,000 people. Only less than 30% of them have come. Why is that?"

After thinking for a moment, Tian Yu's face suddenly showed shock.

"Could it be... Oh no, Zitai is in danger!"

At this moment, Junmi City, Youbeiping County, the northernmost county town of Youbeiping, has been surrounded.

Tian Chou ran back and forth on the city wall, shouting and commanding the battle. Relying on the powerful force of the Jingshen Crossbow and the Stone-breaking Heavy Crossbow, although the city was temporarily preserved, the gap in military strength between the two sides was too great. It was almost impossible to stop the continuous offensive of the enemy's nearly 200,000 troops with only tens of thousands of soldiers.

Tian Chou's eyebrows were almost twisted together.

"It's over... What should I do? The coalition forces of Goguryeo and Wuhuan suddenly descended from the sky and appeared in Youbeiping. I'm afraid that the forces of General Guo Rang and General Ma Chao must have been tied up. It's impossible to expect them to reinforce us. But... There are no other troops to ask for help at the moment. What should I do?"

While Tian Chou was directing the defense of the city, he was already feeling extremely anxious. However, he was the commander-in-chief after all, so he could not show this emotion for fear of affecting the morale of the troops. However, the more he kept this emotion in his heart, the more depressed and worried he became.

The great battle lasted for half a day. Under the city wall, countless bodies of soldiers from both sides were piled up. The wall was almost stained red with blood. The wall and gate of Junmi City were also in ruins.

"Huh...huh..."

Tian Chou was breathing heavily, using his spear as a crutch, barely supporting his body and not falling down.

At this moment, for some unknown reason, the enemy's offensive suddenly paused, and then a man outside the city rode his horse closer to the city wall.

"Where is General Tian Chou?"

When Tian Chou heard the man's call, he walked to the city wall and looked over. He saw that the man was dressed in gorgeous clothes and had no armor on. He did not look like a military general at first glance, but rather like a prince or nobleman.

"Tian is here, who are you?"

The man bowed to Tian Chou and said, "I am the ruler of Goguryeo. I have long admired your reputation. I cannot bear to see you die here, so I came here to ask for surrender."

"He is the king of Goguryeo?" Tian Chou was secretly shocked.

Seeing that he didn't answer, the other party thought that Tian Chou was a little moved and was hesitating, so he hurriedly told him his bargaining chip.

"General, you must have seen that I have nearly 200,000 troops besieging this city, and you can't escape. I'm not afraid to tell you that Tian Yu, Ma Chao and other generals in Xiangping City have fallen into my plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. They are stuck in a stalemate with the 70,000 troops led by one of my generals, and they will definitely not be able to send troops to help within a few days."

When Tian Chou heard this, it was just as he had expected. Although he had guessed it long ago, the soldiers in the city did not have such foresight. After hearing what the other party said, many soldiers became a little panicked.

"General Ma Chao is trapped by them? What...what should we do?"

"We are now an isolated city. We are doomed, doomed..."

"It's over, it's over. I haven't married yet... Dad, Mom, I am an unfilial child..."

Seeing the morale drop instantly, many generals and commanders in the army started to shout and rebuke.

"Shut up! Anyone who dares to speak nonsense and disrupt the morale of the army will be killed without mercy."

"General Ma Chao is invincible. How can a mere 70,000 barbarian dogs stop him? Don't worry. With General Ma's bravery, he will easily defeat the enemy. The cavalry will come overnight and will arrive here within three days. Everyone must persevere."

After hearing this consolation, many soldiers, either out of trust in Ma Chao or fear of military law, stopped saying anything that would undermine morale.

The king outside the city continued, "The soldiers in the city are all heroes of their time, and have experienced hundreds of battles. Now you have no way to go up to heaven or down to earth, so why don't you surrender to Goguryeo? If you are willing to abandon darkness and join the light, I can guarantee that everyone will be rewarded and promoted three levels."

He spoke with passion and confidence, believing that the other party had no other choice under such circumstances and that his acceptance of their surrender was a gesture of mercy, for which the other party would be grateful. Therefore, after he finished speaking, the king expected Tian Chou and others to open the city walls, surrender, and cheer him three times.

However, the other party's next reaction made him instantly furious.

"Bah, you shameless barbarian." Tian Chou spat at him from afar. "You are barbarians from outside the country. You have been educated by China for a long time, and now you have the civilization of the whole country. Now you take advantage of the civil strife in the Han Dynasty and collude with the rebels to invade our country. You are really the most shameless traitors and shameless people. Moreover, we are the great Han soldiers who stand tall and proud. How can we betray our country and surrender to the enemy?"

"General, you are right! We have only soldiers who died in battle, not cowards who surrender. If you are brave, come and attack the city. Although you have a large number of people, if you want to take the city, you must pile up tens of thousands of people under the city."

For a moment, the morale of the defenders in the city, which had just been somewhat depressed, was stimulated and boosted again, which made the king both shocked and angry.

"You...you are simply...you simply don't know what's good for you. You deserve to die. You all deserve to die!"

The king's expression became extremely ferocious, and he turned to look at a general beside him: "Where is Ke Bineng?"

"Reporting to the king, Ke Bineng led 30,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry and has reached less than 30 miles north of here."

"Okay." The king looked at the tower again and said, "I will not only make a feint to the east but also to the south. Pass the order down. After the city is captured, massacre the inhabitants and build a Jingguan. No one will be spared, whether they are soldiers or civilians, men or women, old or young."

When he said the last sentence, a fierce light flashed in his eyes, which made the general beside him feel a chill all over his body.

(End of this chapter)