Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 91: Fenggao Offensive and Defense

Fenggao County.

Zhuge Gui, supported by two guards, walked up to the city wall. Looking at the neatly arrayed soldiers outside the city, he felt dizzy.

He sighed to Zhuge Liang behind him, “Liang’er, is this what you meant by the noble family being very unlucky and Zhuge being very lucky?

The coalition forces of 30,000 aristocratic families surrounded Fenggao County and headed straight for our Zhuge family.

I don’t know whether this aristocratic family is evil or not, but our Zhuge family can’t be called auspicious at all!”

A few days ago, he rejected Bao Xin's request for a joint military operation in accordance with Zhuge Liang's proposal.

He thought that even though he had offended the Taishan family, their current primary target was the Taishan Yellow Turbans, so they would not do anything to him.

But who would have thought that this Taishan family would not play by the rules.

After sending out troops, if they didn't attack the Yellow Turbans in Mount Tai first, how could they attack his Fenggao County?

Zhuge Gui was barely competent in government affairs, but had no ability in military affairs.

Faced with the 30,000 strong troops sent by the Taishan family, he was immediately panicked and didn't know what to do.

Zhuge Liang stood behind Zhuge Gui, his delicate and delicate face also wrinkled like a bun skin.

Wise men also need to grow. Zhuge Liang was only seven years old at that time, and was not yet the extremely talented man who could plan the world in the future.

He was only able to participate in the decision-making of his fathers because of his secret skills.

But who could have imagined that things would suddenly evolve into this situation?
But the stars clearly show that the noble family is in great misfortune, while Zhuge is in great fortune?

Is there something wrong with the display of the stars, or is it that he is not well-trained and has made a mistake?
Zhuge Liang couldn't help but fall into deep confusion!

Zhuge Jin was also standing behind Zhuge Gui. Facing this situation, he was also extremely anxious. He could not help but say, "Father, given the situation in Fenggao County, we are absolutely unable to resist the aristocratic family coalition. The best plan now is to send an envoy to contact the aristocratic family coalition outside the city to see what their demands are. If we can meet their demands and make them withdraw, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"This..." Zhuge Gui couldn't help but hesitate. For now, this seemed to be the only way to save the Zhuge family.

But do we really need to use this method?

The coalition forces of the aristocratic families are already at the gates of the city. If they are asked to withdraw at this time, they must agree to extremely harsh conditions.

Zhuge Gui didn't know what conditions the Taishan families would put forward, but his many years of experience in politics told him that no matter what conditions the Taishan families would put forward, once they took this path, the Zhuge family would probably no longer have a foothold in Taishan County!
This put Zhuge Gui in a difficult decision.

Before Zhuge Gui could make a decision, Zhuge Liang spoke again, "Father, you absolutely cannot do this. If you really do this, the Zhuge family will be doomed!"

Zhuge Liang originally didn't want to speak. After all, he had already made a wrong prediction. Now, not to mention that Zhuge Gui and Zhuge Jin doubted him, even he himself began to doubt himself.

But after listening to Zhuge Jin's advice, for some reason, he felt a strong sense of fear for no reason.

He knew that this was a warning from the Wolong Tiance Secret Technique to him. If he really did this, he would surely bring about his own destruction!

He has practiced this secret art for many years and has achieved many results with it. Deep down, he still has great faith in it.

So there was no time to think about it at this moment, and I immediately spoke up to stop it.

"Why do you say that, second brother? If the coalition forces of the aristocratic families do not withdraw their troops, I am afraid that our Zhuge family will be doomed!" Zhuge Jin said dissatisfiedly.

Zhuge Gui also agreed and said, "Your elder brother is right. Although Fenggao County cannot stop the Taishan Aristocratic Family Alliance, it will take a lot of effort for the Taishan Aristocratic Family Alliance to capture Fenggao County.

They are busy dealing with the Yellow Turbans in Mount Tai and don't want to waste too much time again, so as long as we contact them, they will not refuse to resolve the matter peacefully.

Of course, the conditions they proposed would definitely be very harsh, which would cause the Zhuge family to lose their foothold in Taishan County in the future.

But at least it can save the lives of the three of us, father and son.

But if we don’t do this, not only will the Zhuge family’s foothold in Taishan County be lost, but even the lives of the three of us, father and son, will be in danger!

To put it another way, my father’s current health condition won’t last much longer. I don’t know how many days he can live.

Once your father dies, our Zhuge family will automatically lose our foothold in Taishan County, and you will all return to your hometown in Langya.

Therefore, the Zhuge family's foothold in Taishan County is actually not that important.

It doesn't matter if you hand it over to the Taishan family!"

"Absolutely not!" Zhuge Liang's face turned pale. He felt his heart pounding even more, and he kept saying, "Father, please trust me again, you really can't do this.

I know that you don't care about the Zhuge family's foothold in Taishan County, and you only want to protect me and my brother.

But if you do this, you really can't protect me and my brother.

As long as we contact the Taishan Aristocratic Family Alliance, regardless of whether we reach a cooperation agreement or not, we will be doomed to an irretrievable end!"

"This……"

Zhuge Gui hesitated again. He had already made a decision, but Zhuge Liang's firm opposition made him hesitate.

As far as I can remember, although Zhuge Liang had the secret technique of Crouching Dragon to predict good and bad luck, he rarely made such a clear-cut decision on something.

And once his attitude becomes so clear, it often means that this matter is really of vital importance!

Zhuge Jin looked at Zhuge Liang's resolute attitude and then at Zhuge Gui's hesitant expression, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Like Zhuge Gui, he also knew what Zhuge Liang's resolute attitude meant.

So after a moment's silence, he said, "Father, since my second brother is so determined, I think we should wait a while."

"Wait a minute?" Zhuge Gui asked in surprise.

Zhuge Jin said: "Yes, although Fenggao County cannot stop the aristocratic family coalition army, it is unlikely that the aristocratic family coalition army will be able to quickly capture Fenggao County.

So, we still have time.

At the same time, even if we really want to start negotiations with the coalition of aristocratic families, I also suggest that we should fight with them.

After all, only by making them feel the difficulty of attacking Fenggao County will they offer relatively reasonable conditions for withdrawing their troops."

"Well, what you said makes sense. In that case, let's wait a while."

Zhuge Gui nodded, agreeing with Zhuge Jin's suggestion, and then said: "However, since you are determined to fight the coalition forces of the aristocratic families, you must be prepared for battle.

You must inspect the city defenses and reward the troops. Don't be stingy with money and supplies at this time. Only with generous rewards will the soldiers fight for their lives!"

"Please rest assured, father, I will do these things well!" Zhuge Jin said in a deep voice.

Zhuge Liang was only seven years old. Even though he had the secret technique of Crouching Dragon to predict the sky, he would definitely not be assigned to do these matters that only adults could handle.

Zhuge Gui's body was already extremely weak. He was able to climb the city wall today with great effort. It was impossible for him to handle these chores.

Fenggao County, which is the seat of Taishan County, actually has all the affairs on the shoulders of Zhuge Jin, a fourteen-year-old boy!
"Okay, I'm confident that you can do the job!" Zhuge Gui nodded to Zhuge Jin and smiled with satisfaction.

Then he took Zhuge Liang and walked towards the bottom of the city wall with the support of two guards.

……

Outside Fenggao City, the camp of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families.

While the Zhuge family father and son were discussing on the city wall, Bao Xin, Yang Xin and Zang Jie were also discussing in the tent.

Yang Xin hesitated and said, "Uncle, do you really think that Zhuge will send someone to negotiate peace and let us take Fenggao County without a fight?
This is unlikely!

"I'm not questioning my uncle, but Zhuge Gui is the Taishan Commandery Magistrate, commanding 10,000 elite Taishan soldiers. How could he be so cowardly as to surrender directly?"

"Hahaha, nephew, you don't know. It's not that I underestimate Zhuge Gui, but he is really not a hero.

Although he had some talent and was capable of being a civil servant in charge of civil affairs, he had no military strategy.

What's more, his health was poor and he was seriously ill, which made it even more impossible for him to lead troops in battle.

"How could he dare to fight against our coalition forces under such circumstances?" Bao Xin laughed.

After the coalition forces of the aristocratic families set out, they initially hesitated between whether to attack the Yellow Turbans in Mount Tai first or to attack the Zhuge family first.

In the end, it was Bao Xin who made the final decision and decided to attack the Zhuge family first.

Naturally, Bao Xin had his considerations when making this decision.

First of all, Zhuge Gui rejected his proposal to join forces or provide food and fodder, which made Bao Xin feel deeply insulted.

Don't be surprised. For someone like Bao Xin, who comes from a prominent family and has lived in the flattery of others since childhood, he is naturally conceited and thinks he is the center of the universe.

If others go against his wishes in the slightest, he will feel extremely humiliated.

If this person has a higher birth and status than him, then it’s nothing.

He thought it was normal for people of higher social status to insult those of lower social status.

But Zhuge Gui's family background was lower than his and his official position was not as high as his, so it was absolutely unforgivable for him to dare to insult him.

So he had to teach Zhuge Gui a lesson to avenge himself!

Secondly, we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression.

The Yellow Turbans of Mount Tai were clear enemies, but the Zhuge clan were, in a sense, the same kind.

At any time, heretics are more abominable than pagans.

First eliminate the Zhuge family, stabilize and integrate the internal strength of the Taishan family, and then attack with all your strength to wipe out the Yellow Turbans in Taishan. This is the right way!

Third, he believed that the Zhuge family was vulnerable.

The Zhuge family of Taishan County was called an aristocratic family, but in reality, it consisted of only three members.

And among these three people, there is only one adult, Zhuge Gui.

Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang were both children and can be ignored.

It was only because Zhuge Gui was the county magistrate of Taishan County, and Taishan County currently had no prefect or county lieutenant, and the county magistrate took over the prefect's powers, which made the Zhuge family one of the four major forces among the Taishan families.

In this situation, the Zhuge family is actually far inferior to the other three major families in terms of internal cohesion and comprehensive strength.

Bao Xin believed that as soon as the coalition forces of the aristocratic families arrived, Zhuge Gui would immediately surrender.

By then, the coalition forces of the aristocratic families will be able to win the battle and easily wipe out the Zhuge family.

This will be of great benefit both in boosting the morale of the coalition of aristocratic families and in enhancing Bao Xin's personal prestige in the coalition of aristocratic families!

Bao Xin told these reasons to Yang Xin and Zang Jie. Although Yang Xin and Zang Jie were not completely convinced, they were basically convinced by him.

So they agreed to make the Zhuge family the first target of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families!
However, they had been outside Fenggao City for some time, but Zhuge Gui had not sent any envoys to ask for surrender.

This caused Yang Xin to hesitate about Bao Xin's judgment.

Bao Xin was aware of Yang Xin and Zang Jie's doubts, but he remained steadfast in his own convictions. He offered comfort, "Don't worry, both of you. Stay calm. Zhuge Gui has been bedridden for a long time and has been isolated from the news. Perhaps he hasn't received the news yet. But I believe it won't be long before he hears the news and sends an envoy to surrender!"

"Uh, yes..."

Yang Xin and Zang Jie were still a little hesitant. They wanted to persuade Bao Xin not to wait any longer and just attack the city immediately.

In this way, we can take advantage of the fact that the defenders of Fenggao County have not yet arranged the city defense and catch the enemy off guard.

But I also felt that what Bao Xin said made sense. Perhaps Zhuge Gui really had not received the news.

So I decided to wait and see.

And this wait lasted until evening.

When they watched a large number of defenders holding torches appear on the city walls of Fenggao County and all the defense measures of Fenggao County were implemented, they finally realized that Zhuge had no intention of surrendering.

They are determined to fight to the bitter end!

The expression on Bao Xin's face at this moment was as if he had just been stabbed.

Yang Xin and Zang Jie both gave him strange looks, seeming to want to say something but stopping themselves.

Bao Xin's face was gloomy, and he roared fiercely: "Zhuge Gui, this bastard, actually resisted stubbornly, he really doesn't know whether to live or die!
Since he wants to die, I will grant his wish. Come, order the entire army to attack the city immediately!
Whoever can capture and kill Zhuge Gui will be rewarded handsomely! "

"Here!"

As Bao Xin issued the military order, the 30,000-strong coalition army of the aristocratic families moved in and began to attack the city.

The Fenggao defenders on the city wall were defending under the command of Zhuge Jin.

Compare the situations of both parties.

First of all, the quality of the soldiers.

Both sides are basically the same.

The soldiers of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families are all strong soldiers privately trained by the three major aristocratic families.

The defenders of Fenggao County were also strong soldiers carefully selected from the 30,000 soldiers of Taishan County.

They are even from the same powerful military branch, the Taishan soldiers!
Taishan Soldiers are one of the four great mountain military secrets of the Hannei County, and are as famous as Danyang Soldiers, Wuling Soldiers, and Southern Sichuan Soldiers.

The reason why these four secret techniques for strengthening the army are named after places is because they were specially developed by our ancestors for the people in these four regions.

Mount Tai, Danyang, Wuling, and southern Sichuan are all poor places with a lack of arable land, numerous mountains and forests, and harsh conditions.

In order to survive, local people have to rely on the mountains for food, relying on hunting and gathering fruits from the mountains.

Over time, the local people became tough and fond of martial arts and warfare.

After recruiting and forming an army in this way, with just a little training, they can become a strong army good at mountain warfare!

A strong army that is skilled in mountain warfare is not very strong in siege and defense, but it is not weak either, and is probably above average.

But now that both sides are of the same military branch, the gap in this regard has naturally been eliminated.

The second is the generals who command the troops.

Zhuge Jin is not good at defending cities, he is barely at an average level.

But Bao Xin was not a talented general who was good at attacking cities.

Although he came from a family of generals, to be honest, he did not learn many skills from his ancestors.

The main reason for my current status is my family background.

Of course, I didn't learn a lot of skills, but I did learn some.

So I have above average abilities.

Slightly stronger than Zhuge Jin.

The third is military morale.

The coalition forces of the aristocratic families are all private armies of each family, and they are the attacking party, so naturally their morale is higher.

But Zhuge Jin had always been good to his soldiers and often rewarded them. He did not suddenly show favor to his soldiers when a battle was about to begin.

Therefore, the Fenggao defenders were quite loyal to him.

Because the coalition of aristocratic families has the advantage, but the advantage is not big.

Fourth, other bonuses.

The defenders of Fenggao have the city to rely on, which is of great advantage in defense.

However, the coalition forces of the aristocratic families had an army of 30,000, giving them an advantage in terms of numbers.

Both sides have their own advantages, so it's basically a draw.

By integrating the four aspects in this way, we can finally come to an overall assessment that the coalition of aristocratic families has an advantage, but this advantage has not expanded to the level of crushing.

Perhaps if the two sides continue to fight for a long time, the coalition forces of the aristocratic families will eventually win.

But there is no such hope in the short term!

So, after three days of fierce fighting, both sides were exhausted physically and mentally, but neither side achieved any results...

Three days later, the top leaders of the coalition of aristocratic families held another meeting.

Zang Jie said, "Mr. Bao, we can't keep fighting like this. Fenggao County is incredibly strong, and the defenders are well-organized. We won't be able to take it in a short time.

Even if we are able to capture Fenggao County one day, we will have to pay a very painful price.

It may cost the deaths of more than 20,000 soldiers!
This 30,000-strong coalition army is the wealth of our three families. If we suffer heavy losses, even if we capture Fenggao County, the loss will outweigh the gain!"

"Yes, uncle, the Taishan soldiers are not good at sieges, and sieges would cause us too much damage.

The best plan for now is to negotiate peace with the Zhuge family, let them go, and end the war in Fenggao County as soon as possible.

After all, destroying the Yellow Turbans at Mount Tai is the main purpose of our expedition this time!" Yang Xin also advised.

Bao Xin was in front of the two of them, but his expression was even gloomier than it was three days ago.

To this day, his previous predictions have all failed and he has been humiliated.

Although Yang Xin and Zang Jie were considerate of his reputation, they did not mock him in person.

But for him, who always thought highly of himself, it still felt extremely uncomfortable.

But the war has developed to this point, what else can he do?

Finally, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Okay, then send an envoy to negotiate peace with the Zhuge family!"

……

Just as the coalition of aristocratic families was preparing to send out envoys, inside Fenggao City, at the Zhuge residence, the Zhuge father and son were also discussing war.

But the atmosphere now is much more relaxed than it was three days ago.

Zhuge Gui smiled and said, "Jin'er fought well. I didn't expect my son to have such great talent in military strategy that he could face Bao Xin head-on!"

"Father, you are overpraising me. It's not that my military strategy is too strong, but that Bao Xin's military strategy is too poor!
This man was born into a family of generals and had a great reputation throughout the world. However, he did not expect that his reputation was not up to his expectations. His military ability was not even comparable to that of his ancestors, and he could not even be ranked among the best in his time.

"When there are no heroes, this young man becomes famous!" Zhuge Jin sighed.

Zhuge Liang curled his lips and said, "What's so strange about this? Aren't most famous people from aristocratic families like this?

Their reputations are merely a result of praising each other in order to gain official positions and dragon energy. They don't have any real abilities!"

"Liang'er, be careful with your words! Although there are indeed some bad apples among the aristocratic families, there are also many talented people.

Don't generalize and underestimate the heroes of the world!" Zhuge Gui scolded.

Zhuge Liang quickly bowed and admitted his mistake, saying, "Yes, I know I was wrong. Thank you for your guidance, father."

"Well, Liang'er's performance is also good. Three days ago, if you hadn't tried your best to stop me, I would have almost made a big mistake.

It seems that your secret technique of Crouching Dragon Measuring the Sky has become increasingly advanced through practice. You have a promising future ahead of you!" Zhuge Gui nodded in praise.

Zhuge Liang's face lit up with smiles and he said, "Thank you, father, for the compliment!"

"Father, the situation is now very different from what it was three days ago. Judging from the current situation, it is impossible for the coalition forces of the noble families to break through Fenggao County in a short time.

Even if they are able to capture Fenggao County one day in the future, they will inevitably have to pay an unbearable price.

With this change of offense and defense, the initiative on the battlefield is now in our hands.

If my guess is correct, it won't be long before the coalition of aristocratic families will send envoys to negotiate peace.

So how should we treat their envoys?" Zhuge Jin asked.

Zhuge Gui hesitated for a moment, still undecided, and asked, "What do you all think?"

"Of course I can't agree! I still say the same thing, the three great families of Mount Tai are about to have a bad omen!
The Zhuge family can only be prosperous if they firmly draw a line between themselves and the three great families of Mount Tai.

If peace is negotiated with the three great families of Mount Tai, although it will not become a bad omen like the previous surrender, it will also weaken the originally auspicious signs.

Therefore, we must be extremely resolute and fight them to the end!" Zhuge Liang said without hesitation.

Zhuge Jin hesitated for a moment, then said, "I also think that we should fight the aristocratic family coalition to the end.

No matter what, we have already fallen out with the three major families of Mount Tai.

Even if there is peace, the relationship will never go back to what it was before.

The reason why the coalition of aristocratic families is willing to negotiate peace now is simply because they are eager to eliminate the Yellow Turbans in Mount Tai.

And if they successfully eliminate the Yellow Turbans in Mount Tai, I am afraid they will immediately turn their guns and attack Fenggao County again.

Therefore, for now, the only way for us to protect ourselves is to unite with the Taishan Yellow Turbans and jointly resist the Taishan aristocratic families, forming a three-way balance of power within Taishan County!"

"Well, that makes sense. In that case, let's do it this way.

If there are any peace envoys sent by the aristocratic coalition, there is no need to bring them to see me. You can simply reject them!"

Seeing that his two sons had such clear attitudes and their respective reasons were extremely sufficient and reasonable, Zhuge Gui readily followed suit.

(End of this chapter)