Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1018: Strategists Competition
"Ding ding ding ding..."

At Hulao Pass, the sound of a gong was heard.

"Brother, the emperor has sounded the call for the troops to retreat. Let's retreat quickly." Guan Ping tried his best to resist the attacks of Dian Wei and Wei Yan while reminding Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng gritted his teeth, looking very unwilling, but he was ultimately no match for these two enemy generals. If the fight continued, within ten rounds or so, the three brothers would surely be defeated by the enemy.

"Okay, quickly withdraw the troops and return to the interior."

The three of them made a feint at the same time, coordinating with each other so well that it seemed as if they were one. Even Wei Yan and Dian Wei did not dare to be careless and they retreated quickly.

The Imperial Guards are between heavy cavalry and light cavalry, and since they can become the Imperial Guards, they must be the elite among the elite. The riding skills, coordination, and dispatch of all the soldiers are the best in all the armies. Although their army is large in number, they can still move extremely quickly, far beyond the reach of Cao's infantry.

Therefore, in just a short moment, these royal cavalry quickly broke away from the battle and turned back to retreat towards the city gate.

"Hey, you little thief, don't run away..."

Dian Wei was about to pursue the matter, but was stopped by Wei Yan: "General Dian, don't chase after a desperate enemy. The enemy is powerful. You and I have succeeded for a while by taking advantage of the surprise attack. If we continue to pursue them, I'm afraid we will surely die. It is better for us to go back and join the lord's army and follow his orders."

Dian Wei was just getting excited about the battle and on impulse wanted to chase after him, but after Wei Yan's advice, he calmed down.

"That's right, I was too excited. I should go and see the lord first."

The two men quickly changed direction and ran towards Cao's army.

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao whipped his horse whip and went forward in person.

"Lord..."

Dian Wei was so angry that he cried, but for some reason, Wei Yan's horse ran much faster than Dian Wei's at this moment. It was not like the previous battle against Liu Zheng, where four legs could not outrun two legs.

"My lord...I am late, please forgive me..."

Wei Yan was extremely excited. When he was still more than ten steps away from Cao Cao, he jumped off his horse and knelt down in front of Cao Cao.

At this time, Dian Wei also ran over and knelt down.

"My lord, Dian Wei... Dian Wei is back..."

Cao Cao immediately dismounted, held the two men in his arms, and said with tears in his eyes: "Good, good. I never thought that the two generals could escape from the clutches of the devil and come here from a thousand miles away. Your loyalty is truly commendable. I am grateful to the two generals for their help. God has been very kind to me."

"My lord...My lord, your kindness in recognizing my talents is something I will never be able to repay even if I die."

The two men were moved and kowtowed heavily to the ground.

"Come on, please get up quickly." Cao Cao personally helped the two men up.

Dian Wei's face was filled with emotion. Such a strong man was now in tears: "My lord... I thought I would never see you again..."

Xu Chu strode forward and excitedly grabbed Dian Wei's hands: "General Dian, you are finally back. How did you find Hulao Pass after traveling thousands of miles? You and General Wei Yan are amazing."

"Oh, this is..."

Dian Wei was about to explain, but Wei Yan interrupted him and said, "That night, there was a strong thunder and lightning. The enemy camp that was escorting General Dian Wei and me also had hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and grass taken away from various cities in Yuzhou. Several granaries were struck by lightning and caught fire. The enemy was busy putting out the fire, and seeing that the two of us were imprisoned in the iron prisoner cart, they were not on guard, which gave us an opportunity to take advantage of. On the way to escape, we were guided by a woodcutter who said that he saw a large army heading towards Luoyang a few days ago. We guessed that it was the lord, so we asked the woodcutter for a shortcut in the mountains, and that's how we got here."

"I see. No wonder our army didn't find any food or grass after capturing the city of Yuzhou. Liu He's strategy of clearing the countryside is a perfect example of our army's weakness. He is forcing our army to extend its food and grass transportation route."

Cheng Yu said.

"Hey, what are you afraid of? Now that General Dian Wei is back, why should we be afraid of Liu He?" Among the crowd, Xu Chu seemed the most excited. He did not notice that after he said this, Wei Yan's face instantly became a little unhappy.

Cao Cao glanced at him and said with a smile, "We just attacked the enemy army and disrupted their formation. This strategy must have been planned by Wen Chang, right?"

Wei Yan bowed his head and replied: "I dare not mention these mere tricks to my lord."

"How dare you! Do you know that you have ruined our lord's plan? What crime should you be punished for?" Xiahou Dun shouted angrily, leaving Wei Yan and Dian Wei somewhat puzzled.

"Hey, Yuan Rang. As the saying goes, ignorance is not a crime. I have already made it clear before that this is God's will. The two generals are loyal and have escaped from the dead after hardships and come here. They have only merits and no guilt. After this battle, I will immediately report to the emperor and reward you generously."

Although Wei Yan still didn't understand what Xiahou Dun meant by "grand plan", he was still overjoyed when he heard Cao Cao say that he would reward him handsomely for his contribution.

"Okay, pass the order down, let the two generals rest for a while, and the army will prepare to attack the city immediately." At Hulao Pass, Liu Zheng and others came to Liu He with shame on their faces.

"Father, I...I am incompetent. Please punish me."

Liu He glanced at them and said coldly, "Go down and receive fifty military sticks."

"Your Majesty..." Cui Jun was the first to stand up: "Wei Yan and Dian Wei suddenly appeared. No one could have predicted this. It is not your fault."

"Yes, now that the war is imminent, it is the time to use people. Your Majesty, please forgive the eldest prince." Xun Yu also pleaded.

Princess Wusun also shouted: "Yes, yes, your prince was so brave, and your cavalry was so powerful. If he were in our Western Regions, he could have defeated all of our twenty-odd countries. It was all because of those two guys, who were despicable and shameless, who attacked your prince. Your Majesty, you can't hit your son, otherwise I won't like you..."

"Okay, okay." Liu He slapped his forehead helplessly. He really had no idea what to do with this greedy and talkative Wusun Princess.

"Since the two military advisors and the princess of Wusun have come to plead for mercy, you should remember this beating for now. After the battle, we will calculate your merits and demerits together."

"Thank you, Father."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu He looked at the movements of Cao's army and asked, "Is Cao's army going to retreat?"

Guan Yu said, "Humph, a bunch of rabble, relying on sneak attacks, bullying Zheng'er's youth, and luckily succeeding in a few battles, but they are no match for our army after all. That Cao thief finally has some self-awareness. Big brother, let me go out and lead the cavalry to chase and kill Cao's army, and we will surely win a great victory."

"I agree with you, brother. When the enemy saw us retreating back to the pass, they knew it would be difficult to conquer Hulao Pass, so they would definitely retreat temporarily and find another way to attack the city. Now we are suddenly rushing out of the pass. With your courage and the might of the Purple Gold Dragon Riders, even if we cannot achieve a complete victory, we will definitely scare the enemy."

Zhang Yong also stepped forward to second the motion.

Gao Shun nodded slightly: "I agree."

All the generals around were eager to try, and obviously hoped to fight with Guan Yu.

However, Xun You stopped everyone: "You must not leave the pass."

Liu He looked at him: "What do you think, Gongda?"

"System prompt: Xun You is in the Spirit Tower, comprehending Zhang Liang's spirit, his intelligence has increased to 102 points, and he has gained a new skill, 'Master Strategist' - the best strategist, immune to all skills that reduce his intelligence. When making any plan, his intelligence will increase by 4 points, and the intelligence of other strategists around him who are planning the same problem will increase by 1 point."

"In addition, Xun You's original 'Operation' skill has been strengthened. The original skill: when making military plans, his intelligence increases by 4 points, and the intelligence of all the enemy camp members when they are thinking about how to deal with his plan is reduced by 1 point. Now, with the new skill, the intelligence of the assistants is increased by an additional 1 point, and at the same time, when facing a decisive battle that concerns the survival of his own side, his intelligence is increased by another 1 point."

"The current war is related to whether the host can defend Luoyang, and therefore meets the additional intelligence requirements."

"Affected by the special skill, Xun You's current comprehensive intelligence is 111 points, and the host's comprehensive intelligence is 95 points."

Xun You said, "I am sure that Cao's retreat must be a trick. He won the first battle, and Wei Yan and Dian Wei returned unexpectedly. Although such a result may not be what Cao Cao expected, it has boosted the morale of the enemy and made them want to fight. Cao is a man who is good at adapting to circumstances and will never stick to the rules. Therefore, I am sure that his withdrawal is fake, and his real intention is to gather troops and attack the city. Therefore, if we go out of the city to pursue him now, we will be ambushed. The best strategy is to rely on the natural barrier of Hulao Pass, hold on to the enemy, and then wait for an opportunity to act."

After listening to his analysis, everyone nodded in agreement.

Liu He narrowed his eyes, pondered for a while, and suddenly said: "Gongda's words make sense, but... I still have to send people out to pursue."

"Your Majesty, this..." Xun You was a little surprised, but when he looked at Liu He's expression, he suddenly understood something and then smiled.

"Your Majesty is wise and intelligent, and I am not as good as you."

"Hahaha... Gongda, there's no need to be so modest. How could you not have thought of this? You are just deliberately giving me a way out."

After saying that, Liu He waved his hand and asked, "Where is Zhu Ye?"

"Haha, I'll be here."

"I will send you to lead five hundred Thunder God Cavalry and ten thousand Flying Feather Cavalry to pursue Cao's army."

Zhu Ye was very excited: "Don't worry, big brother, I know what to do."

He smashed his hammers together making loud "bang bang" sounds, then ran down the city wall in a few strides, leaving everyone present with a look of confusion.

(End of this chapter)