By the main army tent near Jianmeng Pass… Even from afar, one could hear… Zhang Fei’s snoring.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
His snores were like thunder.
The guards outside complained. They were to march out of the pass to their deaths at dawn, yet… this night was exceptionally cold. The night wind continuously swept across this land… as if lamenting the desolation of the evening.
After finally enduring until the latter half of the night, the gate guards, unable to bear it any longer, thought Zhang Fei must have fallen deeply asleep. They quietly returned to their own tents, warming themselves by the bonfire.
Seeing the guards retreat, Zhang Da and Fan Qiang stealthily slipped inside…
Zhang Da’s hand remained tucked in his embrace, as if tightly gripping something…
Due to his nervousness, Zhang Da accidentally stepped on a dry branch, which snapped with a “crack.”
“Who?”
A voice came from the guards’ tent not far away.
Immediately after, eyes peered out from behind the tent flap.
But when they… clearly saw the heavy whip marks on the visitor’s face, they were stunned… Wasn’t this Zhang Da and Fan Qiang, who had been punished by the Grand General with a whipping earlier that morning?
“Who is it?”
Other guards inside the tent asked. The guard who had peeked out looked at Fan Qiang and Zhang Da, but said, “It’s nothing, just a wild cat… But no matter, with General Zhang’s snores, let alone wild cats, even if the sky were to fall, he wouldn’t wake up!”
The latter words seemed to be a deliberate reminder to those outside the tent…
As the words fell, the guard retreated back inside.
Zhang Da and Fan Qiang exchanged glances and slipped into Zhang Fei’s military tent.
Following the snores…
They noticed Zhang Fei’s position. He lay on his bed… reeking of alcohol, the entire tent filled with the smell of wine.
Zhang Da and Fan Qiang exchanged another look…
They crept forward step by step…
But with a “creak,” Zhang Fei turned over, and a pair of wide, round eyes stared directly at Zhang Da and Fan Qiang…
“Second Brother, I’ve come to avenge you!”
“Ah…”
The two men jolted… and both fell to the ground.
Only when Zhang Fei’s “Hoo” sound resumed did they confirm that Zhang Fei was still in his dream…
This fellow was actually sleeping with his eyes open.
“Attempting to take my life while I slumber? You dare!”
Who would have thought… Zhang Fei murmured another sentence.
It was unclear whether he was awake or in a new round of dreams…
Zhang Da could feel Zhang Fei seemingly raising his hand. Zhang Da could no longer bear the pressure. He pulled his hand from his sleeve, and with a “bang”…
A fierce sound suddenly erupted from the steel pipe concealed within his sleeve. This sound instantly startled Zhang Fei awake, but… before he could react, he felt his pupils contract, his heart clench, and his last sensation… was a burning pain in his chest.
Blood gushed out… like a spring!
“Ah… ah…”
Zhang Fei’s throat was hoarse. He tried to open his mouth, but… could only let out choked cries of “ah ah.”
Then… clutching his chest, he fell to the ground with a “thud.”
Only Zhang Da and Fan Qiang were left, dumbfounded.
At this moment… Zhang Da still remembered what Yang Xiu had told him when he opened that sandalwood box… this was called a ‘huo chong’! Aim for the chest, within ten paces, and it kills with a single blow!
Of course…
Yang Xiu’s words were conservative. The power of the huo chong was enough to reach fifty to a hundred paces, though its power would weaken with distance. Furthermore, due to the need to reload, it couldn’t be fired a second time immediately!
But… none of that mattered.
Zhang Fei, the ‘enemy of ten thousand men,’ who could decapitate generals in the midst of an army, could not survive even a single breath under the power of the huo chong.
“What was that sound…”
Following the sound of the huo chong’s explosion…
Shu soldiers in nearby tents were awakened. Tonight, they hadn’t been able to sleep soundly.
They were to march out to their deaths at dawn. Thinking of the terrifying artillery and the mangled bodies of their fallen comrades, who would willingly march to their deaths?
But… if they didn’t go, who could guarantee that the reckless Zhang Fei wouldn’t have their heads?
The current situation was…
They couldn’t advance… nor could they retreat!
“Something seems to have happened…”
Someone exclaimed, about to rush out…
“Stop!” an old soldier called out to the armored warrior, “Lie down!” he commanded in an irrefutable tone.
This…
The armored warrior was stunned. The old soldier, however, sighed with profound emotion, “At a time like this, there are things one must absolutely not see!”
Just then…
— “General Zhang is drunk to death…”
— “General Zhang drank too much and fell unconscious…”
First came sounds like these…
Then, “I surrender, I surrender…”
“Let’s go, defect to the Wei army!”
“Open Jianmeng Pass… Open Jianmeng Pass!”
Sounds emerged one after another…
The armored warrior who had been about to leave stared at the old soldier, dumbfounded. The old soldier finally let out a long sigh, “Something has happened, don’t panic. Let things unfold for a while and see how the situation develops!”
As the words left his mouth…
The old soldier leaped from his bedding. He loudly ordered the brothers in the tent, “Quick… get dressed, brace yourselves, open Jianmeng Pass… and welcome the Wei army!”
…
…
Ba Shu, Micang Path.
“Report…”
A battalion commander rushed into the main tent. “The enemy forces have mobilized, led by Huang Quan, Yan Yan, and Wu Yi. They are vast and darken the sky!”
Suddenly… Xiahou Dun, the commander of the Wei army at Micang Path, became invigorated. He gently twitched the corners of his lips and let out a cold laugh.
He had already figured out the Shu army’s tactics.
They were extremely adept at mountain warfare and jungle combat, harassing the Wei army’s various units day and night, with the aim of tiring the Wei army… and then engaging in a fierce battle!
These damned Shu soldiers…
Fortunately, Xiahou Dun had remained sufficiently calm in this battle and did not rush ahead blindly. Instead, he did his best to contend with the rebel forces, otherwise… things might have escalated to the worst possible outcome.
“Report… the Shu army has emerged from the forest and intercepted our grain supply route!”
Hoo…
This time, Xiahou Dun could no longer remain calm. He was trembling all over…
After all, this grain supply route connected the provisions for nine army corps…
— Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Cao Chun, Cao Hong, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Le Jin, Zhang He, Zang Ba…
This force, which could be considered the full star cast of Great Wei… had limitless combat potential on paper.
But… even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice…
If the grain supply route was cut off, then…
“Why was Li Dian so careless? Losing the grain route?” Xiahou Dun asked urgently…
“It was… it was Yan Yan… he knows the terrain too well,” the scout replied truthfully. “There’s a forest around the grain route… The enemy is ambushing in the forest. If we try to search for them… they’ll hide in other parts of the forest, like playing cat and mouse.”
This…
Xiahou Dun frowned.
What the scout described was the biggest difficulty encountered on the Micang Path.
Although the roads here were narrow… precisely, there were at least three huge forests in all directions… these forests became natural barriers for the Shu army’s concealment.
Xiahou Dun’s eyes were bloodshot, his face was ashen, and his hands gripped the desk tightly. The crucial issue now was not the grain route… but that the Shu army was employing guerrilla tactics, and with the concealment of the forests, the Wei army could do nothing to them.
“Damn it all…” Xiahou Dun said coldly, “I finally understand… how exasperated the E Yellow Turban rebels must have felt when my elder brother and I were fighting them with guerrilla tactics in Yan Province back then!”
— When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue!
— When the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack!
Xiahou Dun clearly remembered that these were the “sixteen-character” maxims proposed by Lu Yu. He had also said that the inventor of this tactic was a “great man”!
But now…
With the Shu army fighting like this, he, Xiahou Dun, had become the target.
“Report… General, the Shu army has emerged from the woods again. This time they have attacked Zhang He’s army…”
“Report, General, the Shu forces that attacked Cao Hong’s army have retreated again! General Cao Hong organized his troops to search… but still couldn’t find the Shu army!”
Of course, they couldn’t find them…
These Shu soldiers had lived here since childhood. In the forests… where was every tree hollow, and which mountains could be traversed, they knew all of this like the back of their hand. The two sides were not on the same level in terms of terrain. How could they fight?
Xiahou Dun was almost in tears…
He felt like a fish, being played with by the Shu army, being led around… until his last shred of morale was worn away.
“Find any way to restore the grain route, and assign extra troops to guard each camp…”
“General, the soldiers are not afraid of the enemy, but they can’t find them, and their morale is low!”
“Damn it!” Xiahou Dun’s eyes widened in anger, “I also want to find them! If anyone has a way to move all these forests, I’ll let them be the Grand General!”
Xiahou Dun’s fury was about to erupt. He felt unwilling. “Scoundrels! A bunch of scoundrels!”
…
…
Micang Path, the Shu army launched another “extremely shameless” attack.
Strike and move, strike and move again…
But the results were remarkable… Their attacks carried a sense of desperation. They seemed to believe they had seized the opportunity. Under the leadership of Yan Liang, Wu Yi, and Huang Quan, the sound of bugles began to blow.
Countless Shu soldiers immediately launched their assault…
After a period of rapid attack, they quickly dispersed and once again concealed themselves in the undergrowth.
“Heh heh…”
At this moment, Li Yan, standing at a high vantage point on the Micang Path, witnessed this scene and murmured, “When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we pursue; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack. Heh heh… I may not be skilled at commanding troops, but I am good at logistics. Cao Yu, Cao Yu, your strategy is still effective!”
At this moment… countless Wei soldiers were exhausted from chasing and were even terrified…
Finally…
On another mountain range, the Wei artillery had set up their positions.
The officer commanding the artillery at this time was Ma Jun, the former top scholar in the “engineering” category under the imperial examination system.
Accompanying him was Cao Anmin with a contingent of infantry to escort them.
“Deputy General Ma, General Cao… the enemy’s ambush locations have been identified, and they are all now within the coverage of our artillery fire.”
At this time, Cao Anmin… felt a knot of frustration in his chest. Looking back, when he joined the Long Xiao Battalion and followed the current Emperor on various campaigns, he had never… been so miserably beaten.
It seemed that anything… from the Emperor’s “Dao, Tian, Di, Jiang, Fa…” was incredibly important.
“General Cao…” Ma Jun looked up at Cao Anmin, “If General Cao has no further instructions, I will order the firing!”
Uh…
Are further instructions needed?
The key was that Cao Anmin didn’t know what “firing” meant.
“You fire away…”
He replied casually, actually not fully understanding why his elite infantry unit was needed to escort these metal objects.
He felt… it would have been better to go into battle himself!
“Fire!”
Without further ado, Ma Jun gave the order.
Immediately… just as the Shu soldiers successfully retreated into the concealing forest, the cannons began to roar…
The massive shells plunged into the forest, and with a roar… the exploding shells burst open, scattering countless shrapnel and iron balls in all directions. Dozens of Shu soldiers nearby instantly cried out and were blown into the air.
The roar of the cannons began… instantly changing the original landscape of the Micang Path.
Boom…
Column after column of Shu soldiers were torn to pieces.
The horses in the forest… ran wild, causing countless Shu soldiers to fall from their mounts again…
Rumble…
The entire forest was filled with roaring sounds, followed by flames that filled the sky.
Hearing the sound, Xiahou Dun hurriedly led his officers out of the camp to look… and saw that the Shu army’s hidden thickets were being bombarded…
It was like “fire raining from the sky, justice descending from the heavens”…
The entire forest was either engulfed in flames or bare. It was no longer a question of whether the Shu army’s movements could be tracked… but how many Shu soldiers had survived…
In Xiahou Dun’s eyes, the bare wasteland was filled with figures of fleeing Shu soldiers…
“Haha!” At this moment, Xiahou Dun was overjoyed. Before he could speak…
“Report… General Xiahou.” A scout reported, “The artillery battalion has arrived at Micang Path…”
“Artillery?” Xiahou Dun had no idea… what “artillery” was.
But… understanding it literally, coupled with… the roaring sounds on the scene, this artillery…
With a gulp, Xiahou Dun laughed, “Well done, artillery… Brothers, mount your horses…”
Xiahou Dun’s command to “mount your horses” startled everyone.
With such powerful artillery, they couldn’t possibly charge forward, could they?
It seemed… this artillery didn’t have eyes.
“General… the artillery doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe!”
“I know!” Xiahou Dun narrowed his eyes. He looked towards the periphery of the forest, “All of you, go to the periphery. Any Shu soldier who escapes, kill them. Damn it… they harassed me, they played guerrilla tactics on me. Today, I’ll let them know the consequences of enraging me!”
Fueled by the artillery…
The Wei army, whose morale had previously plummeted to its lowest point, now… reignited with new fighting spirit and determination.
Just like Xiahou Dun’s mood, anyone who had been subjected to “guerrilla tactics” and “harassment” for a long time would not feel good.
“By the way…”
Xiahou Dun suddenly asked, “Tell Cao Anmin, tell that Ma Jun, to stop the artillery bombardment soon enough. Leave some heads for the brothers, consider it my thanks to him!”
Saying that… Xiahou Dun took the lead and charged out with his troops.
You think you can intercept grain carts?
You think you’re so arrogant?
You think you can hide and can’t be found?
The forest has been blown up for you, let’s see where you’ll run!
…
…
Not far from Micang Path, in Hanzhong, on Mount Dingjun.
“Your Majesty…”
Dian Wei reported, “The artillery battalion has reached Micang Path…”
At this moment, Lu Yu stood before a cliff, wearing improved, brand-new, and more comfortable clothing.
Witnessing the scattering of birds and the rolling dust and smoke from the Micang Path.
Lu Yu sighed, “Zhuge Kongming, I suppose I’ve helped you out a bit, haven’t I? After these few battles, Liu Bei will likely dismiss Li Yan and re-employ you, Zhuge Kongming, won’t he?”
Speaking of this…
Lu Yu narrowed his eyes, his hands tucked into his pockets.
His proud stance on the mountaintop was like this saying:
— That year, with my hands in my pockets, I didn’t know what a rival was!
…
…