Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 171 Firecrackers Break Through the City
Outside the west gate of Wuwei City, a sandstorm rose from the pale yellow to almost white earth.

The fierce wind whipped up sand and gravel that relentlessly battered the city gate, causing great suffering to the soldiers on the gate tower.

Everyone's mouth, nostrils, and even ear canals were filled with sand, but no one dared to leave their post to avoid the bad weather.

"We don't know when the siege by the Ma family army will end, and to make matters worse, it's the season for sandstorms. How are we going to survive?"

Only after the sandstorm ended did the soldiers dare to complain.

"Yes, General Han is unwilling to surrender either, and I'm afraid we will eventually starve to death."

Another soldier chimed in, but upon seeing the city gate officer approaching on patrol, he immediately shut his mouth and stepped aside, keeping his mouth tightly shut.

Suddenly, another cloud of dust rose in the distance.

"This awful weather is never going to stop!"

The soldiers cursed as they prepared for another round of sandstorms.

The cloud of dust drew closer, but unlike the previous sandstorms that swept across the sky, it moved close to the ground.

Suddenly, red spots appeared in the dust.

"Enemy attack!"

A terrified scream shattered the silence on the city gate tower.

The sounds of war drums and gongs were incessant!
Amidst the commotion, Han Sui had already climbed the city wall and was observing the enemy troops rushing towards him from outside the city.

"Pang De and Ma Chao just retreated, how come another group of people has arrived?"

Han Sui couldn't understand what kind of formation Ma Teng had set up.

The force rushing towards the city was the female cavalry regiment led by Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu.

This group of female soldiers, dressed in maroon armor and riding red warhorses, burst forth from the sandstorm like the rising sun breaking through the morning mist.

"Fire arrows!"

At Han Sui's command, arrows rained down from the city gate tower.

The cavalrymen, clad in armor and wielding short halberds, skillfully dodged incoming arrows with their superb horsemanship. Their warhorses were also clad in leather armor to protect them from arrows.

"General, arrows seem to have limited effectiveness against the enemy!"

The deputy general on the Wuwei city wall had also noticed something amiss and hurriedly reported it to Han Sui.

Han Sui raised his hand and ordered, "Stop firing arrows. When they get closer, switch to using falling rocks and boiling water. In all these years of fighting, this is the first time I've ever seen anyone use cavalry to charge a city gate."

The lieutenant said, "I'm afraid it's Ma Teng's war of attrition! He's using armored cavalry and warhorses to lure us into firing arrows, and then sending out a suicide squad to attack the city once we're short of arrows."

Han Sui said, "No matter what tricks or tactics he uses, as long as I don't leave the city, he will never be able to do anything to me."

The cavalrymen outside the city had already put away their short halberds and instead carried bamboo tubes.

Han Sui hurriedly asked, "What are they holding in their hands?"

Before the words were even finished, a bamboo tube had already flown up to the city wall.

When the soldiers saw that the thing was glowing with fire, they all stepped aside to watch.

With a "boom," the bamboo tube exploded instantly, the loud noise making the surrounding soldiers dizzy, and the flying bamboo pieces even embedded themselves in the soldiers' flesh and bones.

Before Han Sui could react, the sky was already covered by a vast expanse of bamboo tubes.

"Boom!" "Clang!" "Crash!"

The west gate of Wuwei City was filled with all sorts of strange and loud noises.

Amidst the sea of ​​red below the city, a white dot suddenly appeared—it was Wei Xiaobao, riding his flying steed, Zhaohuang Feidian.

Wei Xiaobao shouted loudly, "Whoever enters Wuwei first will be rewarded with the title of Marquis of a Thousand Households!"

At a command, a sea of ​​red surged to the city gate, and bamboo tubes rained down once more.

The soldiers on the city gate tower were already terrified by this strange and powerful thing. Even those who were lucky enough to survive jumped off the tower and fled towards the east gate.

Chaos suddenly broke out in the city. The Wuwei garrison, whose morale had already been shaken, rushed towards the east gate like a flood and fled out of the city.

After hearing the loud noise, Ma Teng had already led his troops to block the south gate. Seeing the crowds on the city gate tower, he knew that the soldiers inside the city had begun to flee. He hurriedly ordered his men to inform Ma Chao and Pang De, who were lying in ambush at Hanjiatan in the east of the city.

While Ma Teng was still relentlessly attacking the city gate, the gate suddenly opened wide, and Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu rushed out of the city.

Upon seeing this, Ma Teng hurriedly urged his horse forward and asked, "Has Han Sui already escaped from the city?"

Wei Xiaobao waved his right hand, and the soldiers behind him carried a corpse forward.

Ma Teng looked closely and saw that the man was Han Sui. However, he was no longer the same as before. His body was covered with bamboo strips, his face was covered with black dust, and he had long since lost all breath.

Wei Xiaobao said, "Han Sui didn't have time to escape; he was blown up to death by our big firecrackers on the city gate."

Ma Teng laughed loudly, "Han Sui, Han Sui, I never thought you'd end up like this. Not cutting you into a thousand pieces is a mercy in itself."

After laughing, Ma Teng's face suddenly darkened, his eyes filled with sorrow, and he even began to shed tears.

Wei Xiaobao knew that he must have been thinking of his family members and subordinates who had been killed by Han Sui.

After Ma Teng composed himself, Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu accompanied him into Wuwei City.

Ma Chao and Pang De's ambush was also easy. The soldiers of Wuwei were already demoralized and had no commander. They were just like a bunch of headless flies running for their lives. When they encountered enemy ambushes, they surrendered without any decent resistance.

Inside the Wuwei City Prefectural Governor's Mansion, Ma Teng sat in the chair he hadn't seen for several years, his heart filled with emotion.

Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu sat to Ma Teng's left, while Ma Chao and Pang De sat to Ma Teng's right.

Ma Teng said, "I never thought that after so many years, I, Ma Teng, would be able to return to Wuwei and sit here again."

Ma Chao said, "Father, back then, Han Sui took advantage of the city's weakness and colluded with my subordinates to launch a surprise attack on Wuwei. Now that we have taken control of Wuwei again and killed Han Sui, we have avenged the grudge of that year and can also comfort the spirits of our ancestors in heaven."

Ma Teng said, "This battle was largely thanks to Wei Xiaobao and Ma Yunlu. If it weren't for their brilliant plan, it would have been much more difficult to take Wuwei."

Ma Chao was indignant: "Han Sui is trapped in Wuwei like a turtle in a water tank. Even if we can't break through the city today, he has nowhere to escape and will be captured by me sooner or later!"

Ma Yunlu said, "Brother, if we drag this out for half a year, even if we exhaust all the grain in Wuwei City, our military rations will probably run out."

Wei Xiaobao knew that Ma Chao was unconvinced, so he quickly advised, "The victory over Wuwei was all thanks to the blessings of the Ma family ancestors. General Ma Teng had excellent military strategies, and Generals Ma Chao and Pang De fought bravely against the enemy, preventing Han Sui from escaping in advance."

Seeing that Wei Xiaobao was so humble despite his great achievements, Ma Teng was delighted and said to Ma Yunlu, "Now that Xiliang is stable, we should start arranging your marriage with Wei Xiaobao when we return to Tianshui tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)