The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 115 Ambition

In the eyes of Han Sui and Ma Teng, this strategic miscalculation might actually be a good thing. The two sides were already at odds, and if it weren't for Gongsun Zan, their common enemy, they wouldn't have stood together. Now that Li Jue and his forces have suffered losses, Han Sui is secretly laughing.

Moreover, they are always ready to incorporate any remaining soldiers that may appear.

According to Ma Teng and Han Sui's private discussion, they would be happiest to see Gongsun Zan and the original Ding Yuan faction suffer heavy losses, so that the two of them could join forces to control Liangzhou and advance on Chang'an.

It must be said that everyone has their own enormous ambitions, and once these ambitions emerge, they are unstoppable. Unless they encounter a major setback that causes them to never recover, they will never let go of them.

"My lord, our army is still a hundred li away from Tianshui. We expect to arrive at the city walls by this time the day after tomorrow," a junior officer reported to Gongsun Zan.

"Let the army rest where they are. Tomorrow will bring continuous battles, and all soldiers must maintain their strength," Gongsun Zan said to Gongsun Pu.

"My lord, it would be best to assign some flintlock musketeers to the night sentry posts," Gongsun Pu suggested to Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan was taken aback at first, but then immediately understood Gongsun Pu's plan. Matchlock musketeers were rather inconvenient as sentries, as they were slow to retaliate. Lighting the matchlock was not only wasteful but also easily exposed them. Flintlock musketeers did not have this problem; as long as they had not fired, their specific location would not be revealed.

"I'll leave this matter to you," Gongsun Zan said casually. Gongsun Pu was his cousin, and he trusted him enough. Entrusting the safety of tens of thousands of troops to Gongsun Pu was a testament to that trust.

In late October and early November of the year 2189 in the Yellow Emperor's reign, Gongsun Zan, the General Who Conquers the North and Governor of Liangzhou of the Great Han Empire, dispatched troops to Liangzhou. On November 2nd, Gongsun Zan's army arrived at a place fifty li east of Tianshui and set up camp, confronting the Western Liang army in Tianshui City.

After more than a day of sporadic skirmishes, Gongsun Zan launched a formal attack on Tianshui City on the morning of November 4th. Thirty Shenwu cannons were lined up in a row, which made the Xiliang soldiers on the city walls tremble with fear. Everyone was wondering what would happen if they were hit by the cannons outside the city.

Soon, they learned what would happen to those hit by cannon fire. At nine o'clock in the morning, the shelling began. In the first round of shelling, some unlucky Xiliang soldiers were hit directly by cannonballs. These Xiliang soldiers were all newly recruited soldiers. Instead of bending down under the wall when the cannons fired, they stood upright. Who else would the cannonballs hit if not them?

Those directly hit by the shell were instantly split in two. The lucky ones only lost a shoulder, while the unlucky ones were hit in the head and were immediately sent flying like a ball, disappearing into the distance with the shell.

The Xiliang army had many veterans. Although they had not experienced much combat with firearms, this did not prevent them from sitting calmly against the wall to conserve their energy, as if everything around them was irrelevant.

In reality, this was just a facade put on by the veterans. Many of them were still quite frightened inside, as could be seen from their slightly trembling hands; they were filled with fear. Although they had experienced many battles, the Xiliang soldiers had little experience with such large-scale firearms combat.

However, this did not diminish their fear of the Divine Martial Cannon. The booming sound of the cannon was as loud as thunder in the sky. Some people who had experienced the power of the Divine Martial Cannon up close in Luoyang and Chang'an trembled in their hearts. They had a full understanding of the power of the Divine Martial Cannon.

The moment they saw the enemy troops start to flee, they sat down at the base of the wall, where it was relatively safe.

On the walls of Tianshui City, a mere four or five cannons began to speak. These were the cannons that the Xiliang army had coerced into coming to Luoyang and Chang'an. However, the Xiliang army did not master the technology of casting cannons, nor did they take the maintenance of the cannons very seriously. Now, only four or five cannons remained in normal use.

Compared to the firepower outside the city, the firepower on the city walls was negligible.

"My lord, the enemy's firepower is truly fierce. I am worried that the city walls will not be able to hold out," a junior officer said to Guo Si as he approached him.

Guo Si was well aware of the dire situation facing Tianshui City, but he had no choice but to hold out. Due to the recent uprising, Niu Fu's army had dwindled to just over ten thousand men, and they were exhausted. Guo Si knew very well that Han Sui and Ma Teng were unreliable. If the conflict between Guo Si, Niu Fu, and Li Jue was an internal one, then the conflict between Han Sui and Ma Teng was an external one. Of course, when facing Gongsun Zan's attack, the internal conflicts of the Xiliang people seemed relatively insignificant. However, Guo Si, Niu Fu, and Guo Si were certain that Han Sui and Ma Teng would not let go of this opportunity to weaken their strength.

Guo Si asked Li Jue, who was standing to the side, "Brother Li, according to your plan, what should we do now?"

Li Jue, who was considered the more intelligent of the three, shook his head and said to Niu Fu and Guo Si, "I do have a plan, but it is somewhat risky. One wrong move and the whole game will be lost."

“Brother Li, would you like to speak first?” Niu Fu said to Li Jue, and Guo Si nodded in agreement, indicating that Li Jue should speak first.

Li Jue said to the two men, “Our army is short of firearms, and we only have four or five Shenwu cannons that are usable. It is not a good idea to keep fighting on the city wall. Gongsun Zan has the assistance of Chen Er, and his army mainly comes from Lu Zhi’s Bingzhou army, which is good at firearms warfare. The best way for our army at present is to avoid his strengths and attack his weaknesses.”

"How do we avoid it?" Guo Si asked Li Jue.

"Street fighting!" Li Jue said, "Only street fighting can render the enemy's firearms largely ineffective. Our troops can hide in every house and take advantage of our soldiers' familiarity with the terrain to kill the enemy from the shadows. We can also make use of the fact that bows and arrows are more concealed than firearms."

"Moreover, doing this will make those two old foxes, Han Sui and Ma Teng, think that our army can't hold on any longer, thus inducing them to send troops as soon as possible. After all, even if they want to weaken us through Gongsun Zan, they can't just stand by and watch Tianshui City fall like this," Guo Si continued, picking up where Li Jue left off.

Li Jue nodded: "That is one of the reasons why I considered this plan."

Niu Fu was not good at strategy, but he could see the benefits of Li Jue's suggestion. However, Niu Fu was still a little worried. He asked Li Jue, "However, what if the city's defenders can't hold out after we let Gongsun Zan into the city?"