Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1133: Pretext for War
Just as Sima Yi and Shamoke were trying their best to charge towards the top of the mountain, the Jiaozhou army on the southern slope of the mountain stopped and started, and after an hour, they had just reached the halfway point of the mountain.

The deputy general looked at the top of the hill and heard the sounds of fierce fighting coming from time to time, and couldn't help but feel worried.

"General, Sima Yi's military order clearly stated that our army must reach the top of the mountain before 3:45 pm and form a three-sided encirclement. Now an hour has passed, but we have only traveled half the distance. I am afraid that we will miss the order. I heard that Sima Yi has strict military discipline. Even his own brother was beaten to pieces because he was delayed for half a quarter of an hour in the training. We can't let that happen to us."

The commander-in-chief was named Yuan Ze, a general in his mid-thirties. He was very disdainful of the deputy commander's words.

"Although Jiaozhou is now nominally under the command of Sun Ce, it has dominated the region for decades. How can the military discipline of the Sima family control Yuan? My lord has given me these 8,000 soldiers, and I cannot let them die in vain. When the fighting on the top of the mountain is more than halfway through, our army will fight their way out and clean up the mess."

Another general beside him praised him: "General, you are smart. This is exactly the case of 'while the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman gains'. By then, Sima Yi will have suffered heavy casualties. How can he have the energy to punish us with military orders? If we anger you, the worst that can happen is that we will rebel against him and take over Guiyang County together with him."

"Hahaha, well said." Yuan Ze laughed happily.

As they were speaking, several black shadows rolled down from the mountain. There was a cliff a few dozen meters to the right of the army. These black shadows fell from the cliff and were smashed to pieces.

"Hiss... This is the rear camp of the two mountain strongholds. There are dense forests and cliffs, so there are few people guarding it on weekdays. In addition, we are now facing a large army attacking, which makes it rare for our army to have such unimpeded access. Don't you think Sima Yi will break into the mountain stronghold so quickly?"

The deputy general was extremely surprised when he saw the dark shadows that were obviously corpses.

You know, although the two routes of Sima Yi and Shamoke were relatively flat, there were many traps and secret sentries. These two mountain strongholds were always easy to defend but difficult to attack. Not to mention 60,000 or 70,000 troops, even if there were hundreds of thousands of troops, it would be extremely difficult to attack from the foot of the mountain and break into the gate of the stronghold within an hour. Otherwise, why would they have been able to plague this place for so many years?

"Impossible? Sima Yi is only in his twenties. Even if it was Sun Wu reincarnated or Rang Ju was resurrected, it wouldn't be this fast."

Although the flattering general said this, his expression clearly showed a bit more fear of Sima Yi.

Yuan Ze, however, did not care: "No matter how capable he is, it will take time to capture the two mountain strongholds. Moreover, we are sent by the governor's office. What's his rank? How can he deal with you and me?"

Having said that, he still ordered to stop resting and set off immediately.

The further up the mountain they went, the more brutal the sounds of fighting became. In the end, not only were there corpses constantly falling from the other side of the cliff, but the hillside where everyone was walking was also covered with broken limbs and body parts hanging on the branches. It was probably because the trees were too dense, and the intact corpses were blocked by the trees and could not roll down.

Everyone was a little frightened when they saw this scene.

These eight thousand men, although called soldiers, were actually just local county and prefecture soldiers, temporarily assembled together. The real elite soldiers were naturally led by Shi Xie's brothers.

These eight thousand men usually participated in small-scale bandit suppression operations involving dozens to hundreds of people. How could they have ever seen such a scene?
The soldiers originally thought that it was just a formality and did not take it seriously. But now it seems that is not the case. This makes everyone afraid before the battle, and the morale, which was already low, has dropped even more.

Yuan Ze also saw that the situation was somewhat beyond his expectations, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was thinking about how he would explain if Sima Yi questioned him. Or if the enemy army escaped from this side, how would he stop them? When the enemy wanted to escape, they would definitely fight to the death. If he stopped them, he would probably be involved in a bloody battle. If he did not stop them, it would be the biggest sin in the army.

Having missed the opportunity to fight in the past and letting the enemy go later, I'm afraid that even the governor may not be able to save himself by then. It is even possible that when Sun Ce holds him accountable in the future, the governor will push himself to be the scapegoat.

Just as he was rapidly calculating his retreat plan in his mind, the deputy general suddenly shouted: "General, there are people coming from the front!"

Yuan Ze was startled and almost fell off his horse. He hurriedly steadied himself, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and looked forward.

However, before they knew it, their army was already not far from the top of the mountain. Calculating the distance, they had already walked 60 to 70 percent of the mountain road.

Looking closely, in the dense forest ahead, there was a man in armor, who was pulling away the grass and trees, walking down the mountain towards Yuan Ze and the others. However, after a closer look, there were several people following him, but the grass and trees were so dense that it was difficult to see the number of people and their appearances.

"Be alert! The enemy is trying to escape!" Yuan Ze shouted hurriedly.

"General, they seem to be soldiers from Jiangdong." The deputy general's reminder made Yuan Ze notice that the armor the man wore was indeed the style of the Jiangdong Army.

He then calmed down and sent someone to pick up the other party. Then, he asked from a high position on horseback: "How is the battle on the mountain? I think it must be very stalemate, right? And report to General Sima, although the southern slope is steep and difficult to climb, our army has spared no effort and will soon reach the top. When the time comes, we will definitely assist the general and fight bravely to wipe out these bandits."

He spoke righteously, without any trace of the timid look he had shown before.

The other party ignored him, first adjusted his helmet and brushed off the branches and leaves scattered on his body, which made Yuan Ze a little nervous.

After everything was packed up, the man took out a black command arrow and said sternly, "Pass the order to the General Zhengnan..."

After he finished speaking, he glared at Yuan Ze. At the reminder of the deputy general, he remembered that he should dismount and receive orders. He then hurriedly jumped off the horse and bowed his head and clasped his fists.

"General's order: Today, the three armies will gather together to attack the mountain stronghold, report to the court, and protect the people. This is a great act. However, Captain Yuan Ze was careless in his march and delayed military orders, causing our army to suffer heavy losses and almost defeat. He will be beheaded in front of the army. The rest of the generals will each be given 30 military sticks and sent back to the Jiaozhou Governor's Mansion to await punishment."

"What? You..."

Yuan Ze was horrified and was about to explain when several warriors behind the messenger suddenly strode forward. One of them drew his sword. After a flash of cold light, before everyone could react, they saw Yuan Ze's head flying off his neck. Then a column of blood shot up into the sky, dyeing the armor of the surrounding deputy generals and several Jiaozhou generals scarlet.

After a while, everyone came to their senses and retreated in fear. "Murder, they... they killed the general..."

The deputy general looked at the herald with a pale face and a trembling voice: "How dare you...how dare you commit murder?"

The messenger glanced at him and sneered, "The general's order clearly states that we must reach the top of the mountain before 3:45 pm. Now we have been delayed for more than 2:45 pm. According to the order, the commander-in-chief will be beheaded, and the rest of the commanders will be punished with 60 strokes of the cane. For the sake of the governor, I will only reduce your punishment by half. This is already a favor beyond the law. Do you dare to disobey?"

After he finished speaking, several warriors behind him immediately drew their swords, stood in front of the messenger, and glared at the deputy general and others.

Looking at the figures of these people and the murderous aura on their bodies, you can tell that they are definitely not ordinary people. They must be masters who have gained experience through fighting among thousands of troops for many years.

The deputy general looked at the 8,000 troops behind him. Although they were numerous and powerful, they had little morale to begin with, and now they were all scared.

He swallowed and forced a smile: "No... I dare not... Your subordinate is willing to accept the blame..."

He had received military sticks when he was in the Jiaozhou army. Although it was hard to bear, thirty sticks was not something he could not endure. He could go home and recuperate for a dozen days and he would be fine. There was no need to turn against Sima Yi for this.

He winked at the other four generals, and they all understood immediately and stepped forward willingly, ready to accept the punishment.

Several warriors walked up to them, put away their swords, stripped the five men of their armor, then took the military sticks that had just been placed in the bushes nearby and began the execution.

"one……"

As soon as the stick came down, five people including the deputy general cried out in pain.

"Oh my god..."

The five men dodged hastily. The power of this military stick was much stronger than the ones used by the Jiaozhou army. After one blow, their bones were nearly broken and their internal organs were almost displaced by the shock. If they were to endure thirty blows, they would be half dead at least.

"No, absolutely not. If we get another thirty blows, we will all die in this desolate mountain. Please have mercy, General."

The deputy general begged for mercy repeatedly, and so did the other four.

The herald officer shouted angrily, "How dare you! There is no joking in the army! If you don't obey the law, it will be regarded as disobeying military orders and you will be beheaded."

The deputy general rolled his eyes, took off a ring from his finger, pulled the herald aside, and quietly put it into his hand.

"Hehe, this sapphire ring may not be considered expensive, but it is worth tens of thousands of dollars in the Central Plains. It is just a small token of my appreciation, please accept it."

Unexpectedly, the herald snatched the ring and threw it aside, angrily scolding: "How dare you bribe your superiors, your crime is even more serious. Come, give them sixty sticks!"

When the deputy general saw that this man refused to listen and insisted on beating him to death, he became extremely furious.

"You are such a shameless person! I have 8,000 soldiers here, and you dare to act wildly?"

He shouted behind him: "Brothers, Sima Yi clearly looks down on the soldiers of Jiaozhou and wants to kill us. Let's rebel today, kill these idiots, and go back to Jiaozhou to see what Sima Yi can do to me!"

On the top of the mountain, in the hall of one of the mountain strongholds, Sima Yi sat high in the main seat, and below him stood two middle-aged men with burly figures but very weathered faces. They were the two leaders of the stronghold here. However, they were very respectful to Sima Yi and did not seem like mortal enemies at all.

One of them asked Sima Yi, "General, we are doing everything according to your instructions. The tens of thousands of brothers in the camp, as well as hundreds of thousands of old and young people, are all in your hands. We have also arranged the fake corpses on the southern mountain. You can't go back on your promise to us."

Sima Yi was in high spirits. He walked over personally and held the hands of the two men affectionately.

"Haha, you two worry too much. I have already reported your loyalty to the emperor. I think there will be an imperial edict soon to confer titles on you two. Besides, although the people in this mountain stronghold are now nominally subordinate, I still let you lead them personally. Are you afraid that I will break my promise and enrich you? As for the houses promised to you two, I have already prepared them. After you go down the mountain, you can go to your own houses to rest. There are ten beauties in each house, and each of them is a virgin in her twenties."

After hearing this, lustful looks flashed in the eyes of both of them.

Although they have been roaming the mountains for nearly twenty years, they are now tired of it. In addition, they are getting older and their desire to compete is gradually fading.

Not long ago, Sima Yi entered the mountain stronghold alone and persuaded the two men to surrender. He promised to allocate a county to them as fiefdoms, while allowing them to continue to lead their respective forces.

Seeing that he dared to come alone, the two men knew that he was sincere. Plus, they could continue to have their own army, so after considering it for a few days, they agreed to surrender. After all, how could the days of being a thief be as comfortable as being an official, or even a marquis?
Just then, a soldier ran into the hall.

"General, the Jiaozhou army has rebelled."

Sima Yi heard this, and the smile on his face became even brighter...

(End of this chapter)