Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1153 The whole army attacks
Early in the morning of the second day, Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu and Lu Su climbed up to the city wall early.

After receiving the news yesterday, Sun Ce sent dozens of scouts to Nanzheng, Xicheng, Yin County and other places to gather information. As long as the Han army's retreat was confirmed, Sun Ce planned to send out all his forces and capture Nanzheng in one fell swoop.

After a long time, the sun gradually moved higher, and finally the first group of scouts returned.

"Report... My Lord, the enemy troops in the west city have all retreated. The city gates are wide open. There are many signs of a large army marching on the pipes outside the west gate of the city, and no traces of fire were found along the way, which shows that they were in a hurry."

A moment later, another scout arrived.

"My lord, every household in the West City is now living as usual. The people all say that the Han army is powerful. After entering the city, they did not harm anyone and even distributed food to the poor people."

A little later, the third scout also came back.

"My lord, there are obvious signs of construction in many places on the west city wall, but they left in a hurry before they were completed. There are still many bricks and tools on the tower, and the city gate has also been deliberately destroyed."

Not long afterward, several scouts from the direction of Xi County returned to Shangyong one after another, and the situations they reported were generally similar to those of Xicheng.

Sun Ce originally had some doubts, but after hearing the news, his brows were completely relaxed.

"Okay, okay, it seems that the Han army really has an urgent matter to retreat, and it is not a false trick to deceive us."

The other three were not stupid either, so they naturally understood what Sun Ce meant.

After the Han army entered Xicheng and Xi County, they distributed food, appeased the people, and built city walls. It was clear that they were prepared for long-term occupation. Otherwise, these would become the capital of the Jiangdong army to defend the city in the future, and the Han army naturally had no possibility of assisting the enemy.

In addition, after they retreated, they did not make a fire to cook on the road, which obviously showed that they were in a hurry.

"My lord, don't worry. Let's wait and see the news from Nanzheng before making a conclusion. That kid Kong Ming is very cunning. If he can lure our army to attack and set an ambush on the way, my lord and I are both injured. If we are ambushed, we will be hurt."

Zhou Yu's words helped Sun Ce, who was already ready to act, to regain some composure.

"Well, Gongjin's words make sense. If the situation in Nanzheng is similar to these two cities, then it can be confirmed without a doubt."

At this time, Lu Su shook his head and said, "My lord, in my humble opinion, if Nanzheng is also so panicked, it may be a trick of the enemy army."

Sun Ce was stunned when he heard this, but he quickly understood.

"Yes, yes. If it weren't for Zijing's reminder, Ce would have almost been fooled. Nanzheng is the gateway to Sichuan. Even though Wenchang has already marched to Chengdu, he doesn't have many troops. Even if he can get help from some local nobles in Yizhou, the other side won't abandon Nanzheng easily. Otherwise, our army will come from behind, making it difficult for them to take care of both ends, and a disaster will befall them. Wu Yi, Liu Zheng, and Kong Ming are all wise men, and they won't do such a stupid thing."

"That's right. I think the Barbarian King Meng Huo has not yet arrived near Chengdu, at least the Han army has not received the news. When Wu Yi and others rush back, they will be suddenly attacked by General Wei and the Barbarian King's army. It will be difficult to resist. That will be a good opportunity for our army to march into Chengdu and take over the entire Western Sichuan area."

Sun Ce was extremely satisfied with Lu Su's words.

"Zi Jing is truly the man God has gifted me with to accomplish great things."

While they were talking, they heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.

"Report..." The scout rushed into the city and came in front of Sun Ce.

"My lord, the entire city of Nanzheng has been sealed off since yesterday. Even merchants and civilians are not allowed to enter or leave. The number of soldiers patrolling on the city walls has more than doubled, and the security is extremely strict."

"Report... My Lord, Liu Zheng personally led 25,000 troops and left Nanzheng yesterday, heading towards Jiange. Nanzheng City is being guarded by Wu Yi himself, with Zhuge Liang as his assistant."

"Report...An additional 5,000 garrison troops have been dispatched to Jianmen Pass in Shuzhong..."

"Report... Yesterday, Nanzheng sent several messengers to the direction of Liangzhou..."

Messages continued to arrive, and the joy on the faces of Sun Ce and others became more and more obvious.

"Good, good, good!"

Sun Ce was extremely excited. He slapped the parapet in front of him, his eyes shining.

"Wu Yi knew that his troops were insufficient, so he sent people to Liangzhou for help."

Zhou Yu laughed and said, "My lord, our army should make a decisive decision and send troops immediately to capture Nanzheng within seven days."

Lu Su's expression was still a bit solemn. "I always feel that this matter is still a bit strange. The Northern Army led by Liu Zheng is much more powerful than Wu Yi's Yizhou troops. Wen Chang has only a few thousand men, and even the local Yizhou nobles help them. Their combat power is not strong after all. Why let Liu Zheng lead the elite Northern Army back to Chengdu in person? Isn't this putting Nanzheng in danger? Such a move seems to be luring the enemy."

Zhou Yu disagreed: "Zijing is overthinking. Wu Yi has a high prestige in Yizhou. If he leads his troops back to Chengdu, he may be persuaded by the Yizhou nobles to join the rebellion. There is nothing wrong with leaving him in Nanzheng and letting Liu Zheng go to Chengdu to quell the rebellion. Moreover, although Wu Yi's troops are slightly weaker, there are still more than 100,000 Han troops in Liangzhou. Once his reinforcements arrive, it will be even more difficult for our army to shake this city."

Lu Su pondered for a moment, but said no more.

Zhou Yu said anxiously, "My lord, I will avenge my arrow, your spear, and the humiliation of giving the whole army chin powder. Please send the troops as soon as possible, otherwise everything will be over when the Liangzhou troops arrive."

"Okay!" Sun Ce was in high spirits and gave the order immediately.

"Order the entire army to leave only 3,000 men and horses stationed there. The rest of the soldiers will follow me to attack Nanzheng in two hours. If we take Nanzheng within seven days, the first one to reach it will be rewarded with 100 kilograms of gold, 1,000 acres of good farmland, and a promotion of three ranks!"

With such a huge reward, the Jiangdong soldiers were all very excited and marched much faster. A journey that would have taken at least three days now took only two days to reach the outskirts of Nanzheng.

After resting for a night twenty miles outside the city, Sun Ce ordered Cheng Pu, a veteran general from Jiangdong, to personally lead 20,000 troops to begin the siege the next morning.

Originally, against a large and solid city like Nanzheng, it would always be necessary to launch one or two tentative attacks before a general could personally lead the main force.

But now Sun Ce could not wait any longer, and directly invested more than half of his troops. Even he himself, whose injuries had not yet healed, put on armor and was ready to join the battle as the second batch of troops at any time.

Although Nanzheng City was also equipped with many city defense equipment such as the stone-breaking heavy crossbow brought by Liu Zheng from Luoyang, there were not many soldiers from Luoyang in the city. Most of them were Yizhou troops commanded by Wu Yi and Meng Da. They saw these equipment for the first time, and although they had learned how to use them from the Han army beforehand, they were not proficient in them.

Therefore, this originally powerful city defense equipment now only exerted 30% to 40% of its effectiveness. In addition, the morale of the Jiangdong army attacking the city was greatly boosted by the heavy rewards, and the situation of the battle soon tilted towards the attacking side.

(End of this chapter)