Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 170 I Have a Good Plan to Break Through the City
Ma Yunlu's female soldiers trained according to Wei Xiaobao's methods. Each cavalryman carried a small drum on his back and had to constantly beat the drum while riding. At first, the warhorses were suddenly startled, and many female soldiers were injured as a result.

Ma Yunlu did not understand Wei Xiaobao's intentions and complained that he was being silly.

It wasn't until the gunpowder sent from Wancheng arrived that Wei Xiaobao explained the reason for such training to Ma Yunlu.

Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to fetch gunpowder and strike it into a bamboo tube. He then made small holes in the bamboo tube and stuffed them with cotton rope soaked in kerosene. After preparing ten bamboo tubes in this manner, he led Ma Yunlu and the cavalry regiment out of the city and into an open area.

Ma Yunlu was curious about the things Wei Xiaobao had prepared, and studied them along the way.

Upon arriving at the destination, Wei Xiaobao ordered his men to bring out the horse he had brought from the city, and then randomly selected a warhorse from Ma Yunlu's cavalry. The two horses were placed side by side in the open space.

As the crowd retreated to a distance, Wei Xiaobao lit the bamboo tube in his hand and threw it under the feet of two horses.

"bang"

After a muffled thud, the horse that had come from the city had already fled in fright, while the warhorse was still leisurely grazing.

Ma Yunlu exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be?"

Wei Xiaobao said with a smile, "The warhorses are already used to the sound of war drums, and I have them reinforce this stimulation every day, so naturally the thousands of warhorses under your command are not afraid of this level of explosion."

Ma Yunlu asked, "And what is this little bamboo? What are you going to use it for?"

Wei Xiaobao chuckled, lowered his voice, and whispered in Ma Yunlu's ear, "This kind of thing is very common in later generations; it's called firecrackers. But it's only used during festivals or celebratory occasions."

"My little firecracker doesn't have much gunpowder. If I used a large bamboo tube, stuffed it full of gunpowder, and threw it into the city, it would definitely scare the soldiers guarding the city to death. Who knows, the explosion might even injure someone from the bamboo fragments."

Ma Yunlu clapped his hands and praised, "I didn't expect you to have so many clever ideas. Oh, I know, you had the soldiers beat drums on horseback to train them to control their warhorses more steadily after loosening the reins, so that they can easily throw these firecrackers when they are on the battlefield."

Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "As expected of my wife, she understands immediately."

Now that she understood Wei Xiaobao's intentions, Ma Yunlu dared not be distracted by the borrowed training.

Meanwhile, Wei Xiaobao led the craftsmen to work day and night to produce an extra-large firecracker.

A month later, news came from Tianshui that the surrendered soldiers from Hanzhong who had been previously incorporated had been properly trained and re-integrated into the ranks. Together with the existing cavalry of Anding, the soldiers newly recruited by Ma Chao, the female soldiers of Chang'an, and the gentry that Zhao Yun could mobilize, there were a total of 30,000 troops available for deployment.

Zhao Yun contacted Ma Teng and Ma Chao by letter, explaining Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's plans.

General Ma Teng, who was also the governor of Liangzhou, was the commander-in-chief, while General Ma Chao, who was also the prefect of Anding, was the vanguard. Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu led the attacking forces, and they marched towards Wuwei in three separate routes.

Han Sui hadn't been idle for a month either, buying horses and recruiting soldiers from the Qiang tribes, eventually amassing a large army of 20,000 men. Adding to the remnants of the army that had escaped from Tianshui, there were nearly 30,000 troops in Wuwei City.

Han Sui learned that Ma Teng's three armies were advancing simultaneously, and he intended to seize the initiative before the enemy could combine their forces. He led a group of men to intercept Ma Chao.

Ma Teng had a fierce general named Pang De, courtesy name Lingming, also known as the White Horse General. Since Wuwei was captured by Han Sui, Pang De's family had been imprisoned in Wuwei and controlled by Han Sui.

Han Sui intended to use this as leverage to persuade Pang De to surrender, but Pang De refused. In this attack on Wuwei, Pang De led a separate cavalry unit ahead of Ma Teng.

When Han Sui launched a surprise attack on Ma Chao, Pang De happened to arrive and joined forces with Ma Chao to defeat Han Sui, who fled back to Wuwei in disarray.

When Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu arrived at the city of Wuwei, the troops led by Ma Teng, Ma Chao, and Pang De had already surrounded Wuwei from three sides, leaving only the northern side, which was backed by mountains, unblockable.

After observing the army's formation, Wei Xiaobao said to Ma Yunlu, "When I was besieging a city with Cao Cao, I heard the saying that 'when besieging an army, one must leave an opening.' It seems that your father and your elder brother's method of encirclement is not advisable. Han Sui is firmly trapped in the city and cannot escape. He can only fight to the death, and I'm afraid we will really be drawn into a protracted war in the end."

Ma Yunlu said, "The Ma family and General Pang De have an irreconcilable hatred for Han Sui, so naturally they will not allow him to escape. Of course, they will surround Wuwei and make it impassable. Besides, my elder brother brought enough food from Anding City for this attack on Wuwei, so there is no need to worry."

Wei Xiaobao felt a pang of heartache: "Wouldn't it be better to save so much grain for fighting Cao Cao later? Why waste it in this tiny Wuwei City?"

Inside the military tent, Ma Teng looked at his prospective son-in-law, Wei Xiaobao, with a loving expression.

Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu met Ma Teng and inquired about the military affairs inside and outside the city.

Wei Xiaobao asked, "General Ma, Wuwei is now in imminent danger of surrender. Have you sent anyone to the city to persuade them to surrender?"

Ma Teng shook his head and said, "Even if Han Sui were to surrender, the Ma family army would not spare his life. He knows his death is near and he certainly won't surrender. Why waste your breath on this?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "I have come here on behalf of my elder brother and strategist to assist General Ma in recapturing Wuwei, and I have also brought a precious item with me."

Ma Teng's eyes lit up with excitement as he asked, "Is it a siege weapon like a catapult? Or a new weapon with tremendous destructive power like a repeating crossbow? I know that the strategist relied on these treasures to conquer Sun Quan of Jiangdong and recover the six counties of Jiangdong without lifting a finger."

Wei Xiaobao shook his head: "Those things are too bulky and inconvenient to move. Apart from General Zhang Liao, no one else in our army finds them easy to use."

Ma Teng was somewhat disappointed: "I thought it was a catapult. If we had siege equipment, then taking Wuwei would be just around the corner. Now that we don't have such equipment, we can only wait until the military food supplies in Wuwei City run out."

Worried that things might get complicated if this dragged on, Wei Xiaobao quickly explained, "Although we don't have catapults, the things I brought can help you break through the city. But you have to follow my instructions."

Ma Teng asked, "What treasure did General Wei bring?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out when the time comes. Now, transfer General Pang De to the east gate of Zhiwuwei City to join forces with General Ma Chao. Then, have General Ma Chao and General Pang De retreat to Hanjiatan, thirty miles away, to ambush them."

Ma Teng studied the map for a long time, then shook his head and said, "With such a formation, Han Sui will probably be able to escape."

Wei Xiaobao said, "Now that Xiliang is almost entirely under your control, General, where can Han Sui escape to? Just listen to me, and we can break through the city tomorrow!"

"Really?" Ma Teng was somewhat skeptical, and quickly looked at Ma Yunlu.

Ma Yunlu nodded and said, "Father, just trust Xiaobao, we really have a way to break through the city!"

"Alright, I'll trust you this once. But I still need to send men to guard the ferry crossing, lest that brat Han Sui escapes to Jizhou from there!"

(End of this chapter)