Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 727: Zhang Ma Confrontation
Liangzhou, Longxi County, Didao County, Zhang Yong sent 50,000 troops to conquer Wudu County. The road here is far less flat than that of Sili and other places, so now he has only reached the border between Longxi County and Wudu County.

Zhang Yong sat in the lobby of the county government, listening to the scouts returning to report the news from the front.

"Zhang Ren is indeed extraordinary. He dug deep trenches outside the city of Wudu Dao, and ordered the men from the powerful families whose property he had confiscated to work day and night to reinforce the city. He also built arrow towers outside the city and set up sentries on the mountain peaks. It is clear that he has set up his position and is waiting for our army to attack. There is only one road leading forward into Wudu County. Even though we know he has an ambush, we have to go there. It is really a headache."

Zhang Yong couldn't help rubbing his temples after listening to the scout's report.

"Since I started the war with my elder brother, I have never encountered such a powerful enemy. Although I have few soldiers and generals, I can adapt to local conditions and play to my strengths and avoid my weaknesses. I am truly a top-notch general. But I followed the enemy and became an enemy of the imperial court. It is hateful, lamentable, and annoying."

Zhang Yong stood up and walked to a sand table in front of him. He looked at it again and again, but still couldn't find any good solution.

At this time Ma Chao stood up. As the commander of Weiwu County and a native of Liangzhou, he was naturally recruited to the front line by Zhang Yong.

"I think if we attack with a large army, we will fall into his trap. I grew up in Liangzhou and am very familiar with the terrain. Although there is no second main road in the mountains, there are many small paths for hunters. I beg for a thousand soldiers and horses to take the small path in the mountains and take down his sentry first. This is equivalent to destroying his eyesight. The general's army can then march straight in and reach the outside of Wududao County."

Zhang Yong shook his head and said, "Zhang Ren is a famous general in Shu. Judging from his actions and deployments in Wudu County, he is as good at using troops as I am. It is not easy to quietly take down his outpost. If you are not careful, I am afraid he will destroy it. There are only four brothers left in the Xiliang Ma family, including Mengqi. How can this general bear to let you take risks?"

Ma Chao refused to retreat. "General, you are wrong. As the saying goes, a clay pot will break if it is not removed from a well. A general is bound to die in battle. A man who has made contributions to his country should die on the battlefield. Why should he care about his own life? Your Majesty's kindness to our Ma family is as high as the sky and your love is as deep as the sea. I must repay you."

Zhang Yong thought for a moment and nodded, "Since General Ma has such aspirations to serve the country, there is no reason for me to refuse. I will order you to be the vanguard general and select 1,000 soldiers who are good at mountain warfare to go with you. Pang De, Ma Dai, Ma Tie and Ma Xiu will also march with you. When you march, remember to advance step by step and don't rush. I see that Zhang Ren will not randomly choose the locations of sentries and traps. If you are too impatient, you may fall into his trap, so you must be careful."

"Thank you, General!"

Ma Chao took Pang De and others and carefully selected a thousand soldiers. They prepared chains, climbing hooks, beef jerky, coarse grain cakes, water bags and other items. They set out without delay that day. Then, when they were about to enter the territory of Wudu County, they entered the vast mountains.

One day, when Ma Chao and his companions were resting in the mountains, a soldier in charge of scouting ran back.

"General, there are many wooden houses and thatched huts built on the hillside ahead. There are many people dressed as soldiers coming in and out. Judging from the size of the place, there are about two to three thousand people."

"Really?" Ma Chao was a little surprised. He had been searching for the past few days but found nothing. He was feeling very worried, but then he got this good news. Not only him, but many of the soldiers were also very happy.

He immediately ordered: "Quick, lead the way!"

Everyone followed the soldier through the mountains and forests, and soon they saw the place he had described.

Ma Chao hid in the woods and watched for a while, then said, "There are houses and many shooting ranges here. These soldiers are very diligent in training. They must be one of the ambushes arranged by Zhang Ren. They all hold bows and arrows. If we don't eliminate them, when General Zhang leads his army to arrive, they will fire thousands of arrows from the hillside. Wouldn't that cause our army to suffer heavy losses?"

"Yes, now that we have encountered him, we must get rid of him." Pang De clenched the spear in his hand tightly.

"Of course." Ma Chao could not hide his excitement. He picked up the Dragon Rider's Point and waved his arm to shout.

"Brothers, you have worked hard for days. Now the great achievement is just around the corner. Kill!"

These one thousand soldiers were all the elite of Zhang Yong's army. They were strong and brave. After traveling through the mountains for several days without any gain, they saw the enemy appearing. Of course, they would not be polite and they all rushed out shouting.

How could the thousands of Shu soldiers who were ambushed have expected such an enemy force to suddenly appear? They were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they were in a panic.

"Oh no, the enemy is coming..."

"Why did the imperial army come here...ah..."

Zhang Ren was patrolling at a sentry post on a hillside outside Wududao. He had set up more than ten sentries and three ambushes in the mountains of this generation. The mountain roads were the only way for the imperial army to go down from Longxi. No matter how powerful the enemy was, they would be seriously injured and their morale would be greatly damaged when they arrived at the gate of Wududao. The deputy general beside him said with worry: "General, Sanguan has come to ask for help. Zhu Ye and Zhang He are leading the troops to attack. Zhang He's halberd warrior is Liu He's personal guard. As for Zhu Ye, he is the bravest of the three armies, even more brave than Lu Bu back then. Generals Lei and Ling are afraid that Sanguan will be lost..."

Zhang Ren interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Teach them to just guard the pass safely and don't go out to fight, and they will be safe. Although Wudu Road is dangerous, it is far less than Sanguan Pass. The Luoyang court has 50,000 troops to attack this place. Sanguan Pass is such a dangerous place in the world, but there are even fewer soldiers. And although Zhu Ye is brave, he is far inferior to Zhang Yong in the way of using troops. This is enough to show that the troops along the way to Sanguan Pass are empty. If our army divides its troops to rescue, it will fall into the trap."

Upon hearing this, the deputy general nodded repeatedly: "General, what you said is very true."

Zhang Ren pointed at the traps and ambushes and said, "Come on, tie these rolling logs more securely, and..."

As he was speaking, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

"General, something terrible has happened... Two of our ambushes and four sentries have been destroyed."

Zhang Ren was shocked. "How is it possible? Although Zhang Yong is good at commanding troops, how can he hide his 50,000-man army in these mountains? I can see every move he makes. His army is now about 20 to 30 miles away from our first ambush. Can you see who is leading the troops, who is in charge, and how many people are there?"

The soldier said, "I was on a routine patrol when I discovered that these six places had been destroyed. None of our soldiers were spared. But I don't know who did it."

A young general nearby said, "It must be Zhang Yong who sent his generals with a group of troops who are good at mountain marching and fighting to sneak in. Fortunately, General Zhang, you ordered a group of soldiers to patrol the ambush site every day, so we were able to discover it in time, otherwise I'm afraid we would still be in the dark."

Zhang Ren waved his hand and said, "Now is not the time to say such things. Zhang Yong and Gao Shun are both known as the most skilled generals in commanding troops in the court. After seeing them today, they are indeed not to be underestimated. However, if he thinks that he can break Zhang Ren's net with just this little trick, he is too naive. Every ambush or sentry post was carefully selected by me. This man was able to destroy six of them in a short period of time. Although he is extraordinary, his route of action has been completely exposed. Humph, let this general go to meet him in person. Zhang Yong wants to cripple our army's eyes, so I will cripple one of his arms first!"

Ma Chao and his men marched for days and achieved repeated success, and their morale was high.

"Haha, brother, if we continue like this, Zhang Ren will set a trap and we will wipe it out completely. By then, I think we won't have to wait for General Zhang to arrive. We can kill Zhang Ren."

Ma Tie seemed very excited.

Ma Chao was quite proud at this time: "Zhang Ren is just a mere figure. He is not worth mentioning. The famous general of Sichuan and Shu is not as good as General Zhang Yong in terms of wisdom and strategy. In terms of bravery, how can I, Ma Chao, be afraid of him?"

They were on a mountain path, marching and talking at the same time. All of them were martial artists and had strong energy. Their voices echoed repeatedly in the mountain path for a long time.

At this time, a mocking voice came from the other side of the mountain road: "What a Ma Chao, I have heard for a long time that you are the bravest in Xiliang, but you are indeed arrogant and domineering. Do you really think you are invincible?"

Ma Chao's face changed. "Who? You are sneaking around like that. How can you be called a hero? If you have the guts, come out and fight me. I will let you see the power of my Ma family spear!"

An army slowly appeared on the mountain road ahead, led by a general wearing silver armor, holding a spear and carrying a bow, looking very majestic.

The man sneered a few times: "Secretly? Humph, you sneaked in and killed thousands of my soldiers. How can you say I was sneaky? It's ridiculous."

Pang De understood the meaning of his words: "Mengqi, this man is Zhang Ren. It seems that General Zhang Yong is right. We marched too hastily and exposed our whereabouts, which is why Zhang Ren blocked us."

Ma Chao was stunned at first, then he was overjoyed: "Ha, after searching for a long time, I finally found it without any effort. Isn't it just right that he blocked me? Zhang Ren, you came here to seek death, it couldn't be better, look at the gun!"

He shook the dragon knight's tip, squeezed his legs hard against the horse under his crotch, and rushed towards Zhang Ren like the wind.

"You're just in time. Let me try out the Ma family spear that is said to be very popular in Xiliang!"

There was also a fighting spirit in Zhang Ren's eyes.

(End of this chapter)