Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 411 Secretly crossing Chencang
In the allied camp, Yuan Shao was also reading a letter with a look of delight on his face.

"Alliance leader, what happened? Did Liu He lose or win?"

"Yes, if he wins, the leader should order him to return to the army as soon as possible. With his elite troops, he will surely be able to capture Hulao Pass within three days. Why should we linger here for so long?"

The princes stretched their necks to look at Yuan Shao, and each of them was eager to know the contents of the military report.

Yuan Shao looked up at them and said with a smile, "Liu Taishou lived up to everyone's expectations. He fought bloody battles for several days with Governor Tao, Kong Beihai, General Ma, and Liu Xuande. Although they suffered heavy losses, they finally repelled Dong Zhuo's two armies."

When he spoke, he emphasized the words "heavy losses". When the princes heard it, their faces turned from worry to joy.

"How many troops do General Liu and his men have left? Are they still... half of their troops?"

Several princes seemed extremely concerned and stared at Yuan Shao and asked anxiously.

Yuan Shao suppressed his smile, showed a hint of regret, and shook his head.

"Half is gone? Then... is there still 30% left?"

Yuan Shao continued to shake his head.

"Less than 30%? That's great. The army has been completely damaged. Let's see if that little Liu He can still be arrogant in front of us."

Yuan Shu on the side was overjoyed and laughed, clapping his thigh. Except for a few, all the other princes had the same expression.

Cao Cao glanced at him and scolded him, "Gong Lu, Liu He is our ally. He suffered such a great loss in dealing with the thief Dong. How dare you add insult to injury?"

Yuan Shu glanced at him and ignored him.

"I wonder how many troops Liu Taishou and his men still have, and whether they can continue to fight. If possible, we can send them across the river, seize Mengjin Port, and attack Luoyang from the rear, which will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Cao Cao made a suggestion.

Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes and said, "As mentioned in the letter, the total number of troops from the five parties is less than 20,000. I'm afraid they have the will but not the strength."

"For the sake of justice, Governor Liu should march forward bravely, even if he dies with no regrets. His army is so elite, even if it is less than 20,000 men, it would be a little difficult to cross the river and attack Mengjin Port, but I think it should not be a difficult task for him."

"Very good, very good. Please give the order and order them to send troops there as soon as possible."

Gongsun Zan couldn't stand it any longer. "You guys are just talking nonsense here. Governor Liu has already made such a great contribution. Now he doesn't even have time to rest and attack such a dangerous place. Even if he can win, it will be very difficult. Alliance leader, please send another 20,000 troops to help."

"No, we have been stuck in Hulao Pass for a long time, and the situation is not favorable. How can we send more troops to go there?"

"We are the main force, and Liu He is just a supporting one. How can we abandon the main force and follow the supporting one?"

"Yes, he is a relative of the Han Dynasty. Even if he died for his country, it would be his supreme honor."

Seeing that they were so numerous and powerful and were in a very aggressive mood, Gongsun Zan realized that he could not argue with them and was so angry that he said goodbye and left the tent on the spot.

Cao Cao looked at these people with a gloomy expression, and said to himself: "How can a group of rabble, selfish and self-centered, accomplish anything great?"

He stood up, clasped his fists to Yuan Shao and said, "Alliance Master, it is too risky for the 20,000 remnants of a bloody battle to attack Mengjin Port. I beg you to send troops to help us so that we can accomplish our great cause of defeating the enemy."

"This……"

Yuan Shao thought about it and hesitated.

"Benchu, don't listen to the words of the villain, and send troops quickly."

"Cao Aman, who are you calling a villain? How dare you, a descendant of a eunuch, speak so arrogantly here!"

"Yuan Gonglu, you..."

"Okay, stop arguing. The alliance has made up its mind. Liu He, Liu Bei, Tao Qian, Ma Teng, and Kong Rong are ordered to quickly send troops to capture Mengjin Port. As for reinforcements... If the battle is not going well, send a letter asking for help. It will not be too late to send, so as not to divide the troops and miss the opportunity to fight here."

"Alliance leader, you..."

Cao Cao wanted to say something, but Yuan Shao stopped him with a wave of his hand. "Meng De, there is no need to say anything more. Everyone, return to your own units and prepare for battle. We will have a tough battle tomorrow."

Cao Cao looked at them and said unhappily, "Alas, you are short-sighted. You are fighting among yourselves before the enemy is defeated. You are not worthy of being a part of this conspiracy!"

That night, the Allied forces took out almost all of their food, and more than 200,000 soldiers were all well fed and well-drinking.

The next day, just after dawn, the soldiers at Hulao Pass were awakened by deafening shouts of killing.

"Soldiers, hold on!"

"The Guandong Army is already at the end of its strength. The Grand Master has made a plan long ago. If we hold on today, we can go out and fight and win in one fell swoop!"

Li Jue and Guo Si had already arrived at the pass. They brandished their weapons and killed several allied soldiers who had climbed up the city wall.

The two actually still had some doubts about Liu He's plan, but now in the midst of a war, they couldn't afford to think so much and could only use this to boost morale.

Not long after, Dong Zhuo, wearing armor that he hadn't worn for a long time, also came to Hulao Pass in person. However, he was now too fat to fight in person and could only supervise the battle from behind. However, his arrival more or less helped boost morale.

Both sides of this battle believed that today was the day to win, but the key person they all hoped for victory had already been traveling for two days and one night.

Liu He only took Ma Teng and Liu Bei with him. As for Kong Rong and Tao Qian, since they were old and not military generals, it was inconvenient for them to travel long distances, so they left a group of their own soldiers to wait for news there.

When Ma Teng saw the one hundred tigers transported with the army, he was very happy. He did not march with Liu He and his men, but stayed behind the army with the baggage train, and refused to come out no matter how Liu He called him.

"Hey, a few tigers, General Ma is so obsessed with them that he just kept asking me to tame one for him. His look is totally different from when he came to my valley a few days ago and ordered his army to be ready to attack me at any time."

Liu He spoke with a hint of sarcasm, which made everyone laugh.

"Hehe, big brother, don't tell me, General Ma Teng is very nice to me. I have made an appointment with him. When we get to Luoyang, he will stay for a few more days to learn from me how to train a mount. Haha, I, Cheng Liang, actually get asked for advice from others. It feels great, very great."

Cheng Liang was so delighted that his face was beaming with joy. He felt proud that the other party, a powerful lord, was willing to ask for his advice.

Zhang Yong joked, "Brother San, please stop making trouble. You are not the one who usually takes care of these 100 tigers. What can you teach General Ma? It is better to let him go back to find Xingming. Hmm... that's not right. There are not many tigers like this in Liangzhou. It's useless for him to learn. It's better for him to learn horse breeding and horse selection from Zhao Mingliang and Mo Wende. Hey, I always hear Uncle Zhang and Uncle Su praise Liangzhou's fine horses, which are unparalleled in our Han Dynasty. General Ma is really begging for food while guarding a treasure mountain."

"Mingwei, talking about people behind their backs is not good, not good."

Gao Shun said these words with a serious face.

Liu He laughed and said, "Haha, Bo Ping, I have never seen a different expression on your face. Do you have any disease? I'll ask Doctor Hua to take a look at you later."

Gao Shun was well-known throughout the army for his expressionless face. Liu He said that he never had any other expression, which was naturally an exaggeration, but he did rarely have any expression.

Gao Shun's face twitched, but he didn't refute anything in the end. He just kept his head down and continued on his way, which made everyone laugh again.

"Not only is Liu Taishou's army strong, but they march very fast and have strict military discipline. Along the way, they passed by some villages, but the Taishou ordered us not to enter the houses to disturb them, and not to trample on the fertile fields. I am really impressed and admire him very much."

Hearing the voice, Liu He turned around and looked at Jiang Huan. Seeing that Jiang Huan was indeed full of admiration, he felt happy.

"You are overpraising your virtue. Your three brothers are both talented in both civil and military affairs. They are good at governing the county and commanding troops, not inferior to my four brothers. With such abilities, it is really a waste of talent to live in a small county. If this matter is resolved, I will definitely recommend you three to important positions. There are tens of millions of people in our Han Dynasty. If there are three such loyal, brave and benevolent people to govern everywhere, why should we worry about the unrest in the world?"

"Haha, you really have a good eye for me, Old Zhang! When it comes to kindness and righteousness, in the whole world, Old Zhang only respects Big Brother."

"Third brother, don't talk nonsense. Governor Liu's reputation for benevolence and righteousness is known to the world, and his benevolent and righteous actions benefit all people. How dare you show off your skills in front of the governor? If this plan succeeds, the disaster of Dong the traitor will be solved, the people of the world will be able to return to stability, and the Han Dynasty will be able to regain its glory. This is all the credit of the governor."

Liu Bei's tone was very modest, without any falsehood in his voice. When he said the last sentence, the yearning in his eyes was evident. However, when he looked at Liu He, there was a hint of joy in his eyes, which was fleeting but did not escape Liu He's eyes.

"It seems that my promise has won Liu Bei's heart a little more. No matter what his personality is, he still has a desire for fame and fortune. It may not be easy to win his subordinates, but it should not be difficult to use them..."

Liu He thought to himself and couldn't help but quicken his pace.

"Li Ru must have guessed my plan of repairing the plank road in the open and secretly crossing Chencang. Hehe, I just went with the flow and used a counter-espionage plan. Now that Li Ru is in prison and Dong Zhuo is personally leading his army out of the city, Luoyang City is already in my hands. Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, you may be heroes of the time, but you are not as smart as I am. How can you beat me, who can foresee the future?"

(End of this chapter)