Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 933 Dilemma
Youzhou, Liaodong County, Xiangping City.

Although Liaodong County was originally under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, it was often invaded by the barbarians. Most of the area of ​​Liaodong County was once occupied by Goguryeo.

After Gongsun Du became the governor of Liaodong, he cracked down on the powerful, consolidated his power, reorganized the military, and went to war with Goguryeo. In a few years, he recaptured the entire county. After that, the princes rose up and the world was in chaos. He then made Xiangping City his capital, proclaimed himself Marquis of Liaodong, and became a veritable local emperor in the northeastern part of Youzhou.

Because of this, Xiangping City was repaired several times by him and turned into a solid city. Two years ago, after Tian Yu became the governor of Liaodong, he attached great importance to guarding against foreign enemies. He personally wrote a letter to Liu Yu, who was familiar with the situation in Youzhou, and asked for advice. After that, he developed the Hu market in Liaodong, recruited small and medium-sized tribes of Fuyu and some scattered Xianbei tribes, and vigorously built fortifications and trained the army. In the past two years, it has been quite effective.

In the entire Youzhou, there are only two cities with urn cities, one is Zhuo County, the capital of Youzhou, and the other is Xiangping County.

It was precisely relying on such a solid foundation that Zhao Yun, Tian Yu and Tian Chou were able to resist the sudden attack of 200,000 enemy troops in this city.

On the outer tower of the city wall, three generals were watching the fierce battle ahead with nervous expressions.

An army of 200,000 surrounded the entire city, and the South Gate in front of everyone was the main attack point of the enemy. A total of 70,000 troops gathered there, and the Goguryeo commander Li Mang was in charge of the command himself.

Tian Chou said worriedly, "We have lost several cities due to our negligence. Now Xiangping is under siege. The food and grass in the city are only enough for ten days. If Xiangping is lost, the entire Liaodong County will fall into the hands of the Hu chieftains. The people will suffer and the court will be humiliated. How can we face your majesty?"

Tian Yu also said: "I think this general of Goguryeo is also a man who is well versed in military tactics. It has been seven days since they captured several counties and approached Xiangping. The enemy's offensive is tight during the day, and the camp defense is orderly at night. Even if we want to attack at night, we can't find the opportunity. It is really a headache."

The two men were talking to each other, and both seemed to be very pessimistic about the current war. Only Zhao Yun, although with a solemn expression, kept staring at the enemy without saying a word.

Seeing this, Tian Chou and Tian Yu asked, "General Zhao has been thinking for a long time. Does he have a plan to defeat the enemy?"

Zhao Yun shook his head. "I am just a warrior, how can I talk about strategy? However, the three of us sent an urgent report to the court for help. I think it should reach your majesty in five days. I think the reinforcements will arrive soon. I am just wondering if we should do something to cooperate with the reinforcements."

"General Zilong's concerns are indeed reasonable." Tian Yu nodded and said, "I have also been thinking about countermeasures these days. However, the enemy is powerful, with multiples of our troops, and they also have generals who are good at fighting. It is not easy to find a chance to survive."

None of the three could think of any good solution, and for a moment, they fell into silence.

"Hey, it's really frustrating." After a long time, Zhao Yun couldn't help but punched the city wall.

"Rather than being trapped to death in the city, it is better to give it a try, maybe you can survive from the dead."

Zhao Yun raised his Longdan silver spear and turned to go downstairs.

Tian Chou hurriedly stopped him and said, "General Zhao, please do not act rashly. We only have 80,000 soldiers in the city, and we have to guard the four gates. There are only 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers who can rush out of the city. There are also many fierce generals in the enemy army. It is not a good idea to rush out of the city like this."

Zhao Yun thought about it and felt that it made sense, but he was still feeling angry, so he pierced a nearby pillar with his bright silver spear.

At this moment, a shout suddenly came from below the city wall.

"Han generals on the tower, listen..."

The voice attracted the three people to look over at the same time, and they saw a Goguryeo general riding his horse forward, coming to a place about 200 steps away from the city gate, and pointing a big axe at Zhao Yun and others.

"My general is grateful for your wisdom and courage, and your extraordinary military strategy. I am reporting to the emperor that I would like to give you a way out today. As long as you open the city and surrender, and submit to my Goguryeo from now on, my emperor will not only pardon your crimes, but also grant you the land of Liaodong, and order you to guard the border for our country, hereditary succession."

"Bah!" Tian Yu spat out.

"You, Goguryeo, are nothing but barbarians. How can the Han Dynasty, a great nation in the Central Plains, be bullied by you? You evil villains, even if your evil scheme succeeds for a while, don't be arrogant. When my imperial army arrives, your small nation will be destroyed."

"Well said!" Tian Chou shouted, "If you are smart, you can still save your lives by surrendering your weapons now. Otherwise, once the heavenly soldiers arrive, you little thieves will be wiped out in an instant."

The Goguryeo general became furious after being insulted by them.

"How dare the Han general talk so loudly when death is imminent. If you don't surrender, when the city is captured, everyone in the city will be slaughtered and no one will be spared!"

"you dare!"

Zhao Yun was so angry at this remark that his eyes glared, and murderous aura instantly rose to the sky.

"If you are so confident, just attack the city. I, Zhao Yun, am a man of honor. Even if I die with honor, I will never live in disgrace. How can I be so cowardly as to kneel down and serve the enemy?"

"Clap clap clap..."

Suddenly, a clapping sound came faintly from behind the Goguryeo general. The sound was not very loud, and ordinary people could not hear it at such a distance, but Zhao Yun and the other two were all skilled in martial arts and had extraordinary hearing, so they were able to hear it.

I saw a tall man in full armor riding a horse towards me from behind.

"Li Mang!"

The three of them recognized this man at the first moment. He was the general who led the Goguryeo expedition. He was proficient in halberd use and had military strategies. Even Zhao Yun and the other two were defeated by him, which showed his talent.

Seeing him coming out, the three of them couldn't help but raise their guard to the highest level.

Li Mang looked up at the three men and shouted, "You three are truly loyal and righteous. It is really enviable that you, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, have such generals."

Zhao Yun said coldly: "Let's fight, why are you talking nonsense here? We are all heroes in the Han Dynasty. If you want to persuade us to surrender with your eloquence, it will be a waste of time."

"Hey, General Zhao misunderstood."

Li Mang laughed very heartily. People who didn't know him, just looking at his expression and smile, would probably think he was a generous and honest man.

He said, "I just have some doubts in my mind, and I would like to ask the three generals to help me solve them."

Zhao Yun frowned: "What are you confused about?"

Li Mang clasped his fists at a distance, performed all the etiquette, and said: "I have read your country's poetry and books since I was young, and I know that your country has a second sage, Master Meng, who once said: The people are the most important, the country is second, and the emperor is the least important. Therefore, if you can win the support of the people, you will become the emperor, if you can win the support of the emperor, you will become a prince, and if you can win the support of the princes, you will become a minister."

Tian Yu sneered, "The words of the sage coming from a barbarian like you are really like a monkey in human form."

Li Mang didn't care about his sarcasm and continued to talk: "I am very curious. The three of you are generals of the Han Dynasty. The emperor of your country will naturally not allow you to surrender. But if the people of your country ask you to open the city and surrender, I wonder if you will obey the emperor or the people?"

The three of them were stunned when they heard this.

"What do you mean by that?"

Li Mang smiled slightly and clapped his hands three times. Immediately afterwards, a team of Goguryeo soldiers escorted a group of unarmed and ragged civilians with their hands and feet tied up from the army in the rear to the front of the two armies.

"Stop hitting me... Stop hitting me..."

"General, help me..."

"Come and save us..."

"My parents were beaten to death by those damn thieves. General, you must avenge them..."

"Wuwuwu... Mother... Mother..." These people were either screaming, crying bitterly, or wailing. Their appearance was so miserable that Zhao Yun and others felt nervous. A bad premonition arose in their hearts.

Li Mang shouted again: "There are 3,000 people here, all of them are prisoners from your city that was captured by our army a few days ago. Some of these prisoners are dead, some are forced to work, and some committed suicide because they could not bear the humiliation. Only these 3,000 people are old, weak, sick, disabled, women and children. They can't carry anything on their shoulders or hands. There is no point in keeping them."

"However, I am thinking of the mercy of God, so I will escort them here. As long as you open the city and surrender, these 3,000 people can save their lives. If you insist on not surrendering, humph, see? Every incense stick of time, I will kill 500 of them until all are killed."

"You dare, you beast!" the three shouted at the same time.

Li Mang spread his hands and said, "Whether I dare or not, you three will know after one stick of incense has passed. Okay, light the incense."

Several soldiers carried a table and placed it in front of Li Ang. They placed an incense burner on it and lit the incense.

The three thousand Goguryeo soldiers put their swords flashing with cold light on the necks of the three thousand civilians. Zhao Yun and others had no doubt that as soon as the time came, five hundred heads would fall to the ground at the same time.

"How dare this...this barbarian...how dare you do this!"

Tian Chou was so angry that his face turned red and he clenched his fists tightly, but he could do nothing.

Under the city wall, the three thousand civilians kept crying and shouting for help. Not only did Zhao Yun and the other two feel like they had a thorn in their throats, but the defenders in the city were also affected and their morale was in chaos.

A stern look flashed across Zhao Yun's brows. "Good Li Mang, this is a psychological attack. If our army goes out of the city to rescue them, they will be ambushed. If we don't rescue them, not only will the reputation of the court and your majesty be ruined, but morale will also be greatly damaged, and the city will be lost."

Tian Yu and Tian Chou also understood this, but given the current situation, they were in a dilemma. If they saved him, they would die, and if they didn't save him, they would also die.

Li Mang himself retreated back under his Hualuo umbrella, got off the horse, sat in a warm carriage, and leisurely ate fruit.

"Damn it!" Zhao Yun watched the incense stick burn shorter and shorter, feeling extremely anxious.

When the incense stick was about two-thirds burned, suddenly, a fruit core was thrown over and hit the incense stick right on the spot, breaking it.

"Oh, what a coincidence! Li threw a fruit core and accidentally smashed the incense stick. This is really God's will. God wants the incense stick to burn out quickly."

"You...you are shameless!" Zhao Yun and the other two cursed.

Li Mang placed his hands on the cushion, his expression suddenly becoming fierce.

"Since the three of you refuse to surrender, don't blame me. Listen, the people of the Han Dynasty. The one who killed you today was your own general. Don't come to me for revenge after you die."

Then he used his hand as a knife and made a chopping gesture.

"Thief! How dare you..."

Before Zhao Yun could finish his words, five hundred swords fell at the same time, followed by five hundred heads rolling down.

"Ah... help..."

"General, how can you just stand by and watch someone die?"

"Surrender, surrender, General..."

"We want to live, we want to live, General, please surrender quickly..."

"You killed us. You are not worthy to be the general of the Han Dynasty. You are not worthy!"

The remaining 2,500 people shouted at the top of the city wall at the top of their lungs.

"General, please let me go out of the city to rescue them!"

"General, I am willing to go too!"

"I will go with you!"

Many generals on the city wall petitioned.

At this time, Zhao Yun had bitten his lips, and his eyes were almost spitting fire as he stared at Li Mang.

Tian Yu looked at his expression and seemed to have guessed something, so he grabbed him and said, "Zilong, don't be reckless. Let's discuss this matter carefully."

"No need to discuss it."

Zhao Yun pushed him away and said, "Tian Chou, Tian Yu, listen to my orders!"

The two were stunned for a moment, then immediately clasped their fists and said, "I am here."

"I order you two to defend the city gates and not give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage. I will lead my cavalry out of the city to rescue the people."

"What? This is absolutely not possible!" The two of them refused immediately.

"This general is not discussing this with you two, this is a military order!"

Zhao Yun's expression was extremely firm. Among the three, Zhao Yun had the highest official position. When he said this, Tian Yu and Tian Chou were all choked by his words, no matter how many words they had in their minds.

"This... Even if you need to go out of the city to rescue the people, you shouldn't go. Just give me a group of soldiers and let Tian Yu go in your place."

Zhao Yun waved his hand and said, "No. Although you and Zitai are good at spearmanship, you are still not strong enough to fight in the midst of thousands of troops. This battle must be fought by me personally. There is no need to argue anymore."

Upon hearing this, the two looked at each other, knowing that they could not persuade him at all.

"Alas... I will obey your orders."

"Zilong..." A general ran over: "Zilong wants to go out of the city to fight, how can he not take me with him?"

Zhao Yun looked at the person coming and said with difficulty: "Zi Yang, your wife is about to give birth. This battle is very dangerous. You should..."

Before he could finish, Deng Yuan turned hostile and said, "What do you mean by that? If you leave the city, you can save the people, but if I leave the city, I will be courting death. Is my spearmanship so bad? Besides, you have just become a father, and you are still criticizing me? We have known each other since we met in Shangdang. Whenever there is a war, we have always fought side by side. How can you abandon me this time? If you allow me to fight, fine. If not, I will jump off this tower."

After saying that, he pretended to really jump down, and Zhao Yun hurriedly stopped him.

"Alright, alright. Well, in that case, you come with me out of the city. But remember, be careful and make sure to protect yourself."

"Haha, this is my good brother, Deng Yuan!" Deng Yuan slapped Zhao Yun on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, these barbarians are useless. They don't have the ability to take my head. I still have to go back to Luoyang to name my second child myself."

(End of this chapter)