Chapter 427 – Battle of Jiange
Jia Xu, Xun Yu, Ju Shou, and Xun You were shocked by Sima Yi's comment.
Before they could retort and debunk Sima Yi, Tong gave Zhang He another permission.
Tong: "Send a reinforcement request to Liu Baio and finish off the Xiongnu ASAP. Our men will clean up the mess that you made. It's our job."
Reading Tong's comment, Zhang He, Qu Yi, and Gao Lan were delighted. They cupped their fists and knelt before the clan chat interface by instinct.
"Thank you, your majesty!"
Their voice did not get through, nor did their words appear on the clan chat.
The chat was flooded with the four strategists trying to change Tong's mind. However, Tong's order did not change.
.
Ganling City
Sima Yi read through the clan chat with a faint smile on his face.
"This emperor is bold. [Our men will clean up the mess that you made]? So much trusting to the point that I want to puke."
Although Sima Yi's words were poisonous, deep down inside, he was impressed by Tong's way of governing.
It was well-known that the most significant obstacle when they were in the war was their politicians. Many talented generals and strategists failed to win a decisive battle against their foes because of their country's internal struggle and their civil officers' foolishness.
Whenever there was a chance to finish off a strong rival country, they should go all out regardless of the consequences.
However, there was a limit. This consequence should not affect the big picture.
'I don't hate the emperor, though. This is the right way. Still, I don't understand him.'
When Sima Yi returned to his resident that day, he reviewed the map of their country one more time.
'Sharpening our weapons before a war is ideal. However, over-preparing is so inefficient. We could have wiped out Cao Cao long ago, but the emperor keeps dragging the conflict away … This part doesn't make sense to me. What is he waiting for?'
Sima Yi had not obtained a cultivation manual yet this year, so he did not know about the power of Guan Yu and Pu Jing.
Also, he did not know that Tong was hiding other secrets that only he, Medusa, and Friday knew.
This emperor did not waste time having sex around all these years. He was preparing for another stage, which was a part of his endgame plan.
It would not take long until this game of [Heaven Festival] would be over.
.
With the support of the emperor, Zhang He dispatched a messenger to inform Liu Biao in Xiangyang.
It was a pity that Wei You and Zhou Cang had already returned from their trip. Or else, they would have relayed his messages faster.
"What's next, general?" Gao Lan was nervous about this move.
"Take Zitong down with everything we have! We may want to get Liu Biao involved, but we will only need them as a distraction to draw the Xiongnu remnants in Yi Province. Our forces will take down this city and Chengdu ASAP, so these barbarians will be crushed by the pressures from all sides."
"What about Chanyu Khan, sir?"
"Leave them to Lu Bu. If he can't defeat Khan, we'll have to accept the humiliation and call the emperor for his help."
"…"
"For now, make camps, reorganize all soldiers with guns, and build arrow towers and prepare for the siege tomorrow. Also, Gao Lan, Qu Yi … I have another task for you two. It relates to a night raid tonight."
.
.
Outskirts of Jiange County
Ma Chao avoided all traps and rushed toward Jiange like a mad dog. Even though he knew that the murderer of his father was at Zitong, Ma Chao ignored him and pursued after Zhang He's colleagues.
He did not want to kill Zhang He right away. He planned to kill every friend that Zhang He had.
Ma Chao wanted to do everything to agonize Zhang He, making him feel the same pain.
'Once I'm done with these fools, you're next! Zhang He!'
The fierce general rode at the forefront. When he reached Jiange City and saw Han Hao's banners, Ma Chao smiled.
He could siege this city right away, but he would be flanked by Lu Bu and his men.
But Ma Chao found a weakness in Lu Bu's legion and their deployment.
Beyond this Jiange City, there were no back-up troops. If they could bypass this city, their territories north of Jiange were undefended.
"Big mistake, fools! All troops! We'll keep heading northeast! Next destination, Hanzhong!"
Currently, Gao Shun and Lu Bu were chasing Ma Chao from behind after the latter had slipped through their net. Now, their city defense was the most vulnerable, as all battalions had been deployed.
Hanzhong was undefended, so this was Ma Chao's golden opportunity!
95,000 Cataphracts rushed northeast and ignored Jiange County, leaving Han Hao and his 10,000 men dumbfounded.
Han Hao stared at the departing soldiers as he reported the breaking news to Lu Bu and Gao Shun.
Han Hao: "They have ignored Jiange! The troops just now are moving northeast!"
Ju Shou: "Not good! We've been had! They're stealing our Hanzhong!"
Lu Bu: "What's our next move?"
Xun You: "I have a plan. Since we won't make a difference with our number and our speed, we'll abandon Hanzhong, but we'll focus on eliminating Khan's main forces."
Lu Bu: "And we'll be isolated in the middle of the enemy's territory without supplies?"
Xun You: "You have forgotten one thing. They had burnt down Hanzhong when we arrived. Do you remember?"
Gao Shun: "I do."
Lu Bu: "I do. What's wrong with it?"
Xun You: "Our backup logistic route might have been cut off after they took Hanzhong, but those men will also be short of supplies since the city was burnt."
Gao Shun: "AH!"
Xun You: "All of their men rush there with only men, horses, and weaponry. Once we leave them alone, they will have to kill their horses to feed their men."
Ma Chao's tactic was good, but he was not thorough with it. Although he took the opportunity to snatch Hanzhong from them, he went there without food. Also, Hanzhong was a burnt city, so they could not procure food or steal from the local citizens.
Karma hit them hard on this one since they were the ones that burnt the city.
Xun You: "We've stored a few of our supplies in Jiange. Furthermore, we have another logistic route via Wudou County to the northwest. It's far, but we still have a way out."
Lu Bu, Gao Shun, and Han Hao relayed these messages to their subordinates right away to maintain their morale and hope. Afterward, they turned toward the south, preparing to fight against Khan.
The three forces regrouped inside Jiange County and formed temporary 70,000-soldier arrays, getting ready to welcome another army of 95,000 cataphracts.
.
Khan arrived with 95,000 soldiers.
Upon seeing the garrison army inside Jiange County, he laughed.
"A bunch of cowards! The moment they get counter-attacked, they hole themselves behind the walls! What a joke!"
Although he mocked Lu Bu's forces, Khan no longer underestimated their knights' potential and their prowess in direct combat. Since Han Sui was pushed to the limit and Ma Chao had to force an opportunity for their armies, these two legions were formidable foes that Khan had to use every mean necessary to take them down.
'We don't have enough forces to siege a city defended by 50,000 to 70,000 soldiers. I don't have a problem dealing with food shortage since I have [Create Food]. And also …'
Khan smirked as he glanced at his skill list.
It was the skill set that Sun Fang had, [The Cultivator].
'Let's see how you deal with my power!'
That late afternoon, Khan's forces surrounded the county, planning to starve them.
He planned to use Sun Fang's skills to fly and drop several [Qi Blast] into the city that night while his men continued to stop Lu Bu from getting out.
The processed took time since Khan was the only one with a human's conscience. The rest of his men were just mindless drones.
One hour later, Khan sent 50,000 men to surround the county's east, north, and west gate.
As Khan's troops were busy forming ranks and marched to their designated position, Lu Bu appeared on top of the wall and glared at Khan, who was monitoring the county 500 meters away from the south gate.
"Haha. You appear. What are you going to do, Lu Fengxian? Stare me to death?"
Khan smirked as he mocked the god of war.
*BWOOOO*
*BWOOOO*
The sound of signal horns made Khan's smile stiffened.
From the west gate and the east gate of Jiange County, two battalions of redhare knights charged out, rushing toward the detached cataphracts.
Han Hao and 10,000 knights got out of the east gate, while Gao Shun led his 10,000 men from the west.
The two reinforced their power with their wing power as they charged into the files of cataphract's formations.
Sensing his men getting attacked by the small fries, Khan kicked his horse, trying to lead his troops to assist the other forces.
As Khan moved, he noticed a reflecting light from the corner of his eyes.
*BANG*
*CLANK*
By instinct, Khan parried a fast-moving object from hitting his face, and a small dented metal object was deflected away by his halberd.
It was a bullet head!
Khan turned around to look at the person who had attacked him.
Upon turning to the assailant, he found the soul of Lu Bu with a strange object in its hand.
The soul pointed its desert eagle at Khan and pulled the trigger again.
*BANG*
*CLANK*
*BANG*
*CLANK*
*BANG*
*CLANK*
Panicked and confused, Khan parried every bullet, thinking it was a ranged attack.
While the frantic Khan swung his halberd to swat away all bullets, three more souls from Lu Bu appeared and surrounded him from all sides.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Each soul had a desert eagle in their hands, firing at Khan without mercy.
"AAAAHHHHH!!"
Khan was in a frenzy, blocking all bullets and leaving after images.
Suddenly …
*BOOM*
A cannonball slammed onto Khan's chest and sent him flying off his horse.
Lu Bu, walking on his feet, was carrying a cannon with a cloud of white smoke from its muzzle on his shoulder.
Since the cannon had fired, Lu Bu tossed it aside and leaped down from the top of the wall. At the same time, he recalled all souls back to reinforce his physical body.
*PA*
Lu Bu landed softly on the ground with one right leg. He raised his right hand above his head and waved it down.
The south gate behind him opened, and 10,000 redhare knights charged out.
Without a horse, Lu Bu ran ahead of his men. His enhanced speed surpassed all riders with redhares!
All knights took out their hammers and swung at the front cataphracts.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The hammer knights sent the cataphracts off their horses as they broke through their ranks.
Khan managed to get on his feet after getting a direct hit by a cannonball. His left arm and three ribs were broken, and the pain paralyzed his movement.
"LU FENGXIAN!!"
Khan mustered his strength and used Sun Fang's skill [Flight] to fly backward, escaping from Lu Bu, who was charging at him.
Lu Bu glared at Khan. His four angel wings spread as he flew after the Xiongnu King.
"You're not getting away!"
