Ji Han Liu Zhang

At night, outside the city of Lueyang, the camp of the Liangzhou heroes Ma Teng and Han Sui was located. Looking down from above, one could see that the camp was heavily fortified, with night patrols frequently coming and going, and bonfires flickering in the night breeze.

At this moment, the lights in the central army tent were on, and several black figures were reflected on the tent.

"It's a flying stone chariot. It has existed since ancient times, and there are records of it in the Spring and Autumn Period."

Cheng Gongying told us the result of his speculation. Today, when Mi Dang's troops attacked the city, they were well prepared against bows and arrows, but unexpectedly they were broken by flying stones. Everyone who was watching the battle at that time was amazed. After all, a flying stone of fifty steps was really shocking.

Therefore, at the meeting tonight, Cheng Gongying, after exploring the knowledge in his mind and his daily experiences, gave the answer to the riddle of the Shu army's flying stones fifty steps, in order to resolve the confusion in everyone's mind and also to give everyone peace of mind, so that everyone could eliminate the suspicion that the Shu army had the help of ghosts and gods.

"I heard that the Shu army attacked Chang'an, which was guarded by Li Jue and Guo Si, using the Thunderbolt Chariot, which could throw stones a hundred steps away with a sound like thunderbolt, and used the flying stones to kill the enemy and capture the city... The Shu army on the top of Lueyang City today should be using the Thunderbolt Chariot."

After revealing the true identity of the weapon used by the Shu army, Cheng Gongying shook his head in confusion and said, "But according to the spies who have seen the Thunderbolt Chariot, the Thunderbolt Chariot is very large. It is suitable to place it in the wilderness, but it is difficult to place it on the top of the city... I don't know how the Shu army put the Thunderbolt Chariot on the top of the city."

Cheng Gongying was puzzled by this, so he stroked his chin and pondered, and soon came up with a vague answer.

"Well... judging from the attack range and power of the flying rocks thrown by the Shu army's Thunderbolt Chariot today, it is far from the power of the Thunderbolt Chariot used to attack Chang'an City as described by the spy... The Shu army must have improved a version of the Thunderbolt Chariot, reducing its size so that it can be placed on top of the city walls. As its size is reduced, its power is also reduced."

Ma Teng and Han Sui, who were sitting on the left and right of the upper position, both showed worried looks when they heard this. It was a very bad thing for them as the attacking party that the Shu army had such a powerful weapon for defense.

“I wonder if the craftsmen in the army can imitate the Shu army’s Thunderbolt Chariot. If they can, even if we can’t take Lueyang City, we won’t be overwhelmed by the Shu army.” Captain Yan Xingdao thought about the possibility of copying the Shu army’s Thunderbolt Chariot.

"Difficult." Cheng Gongying shook his head. He had some understanding of the craftsmanship of the carpenters in the army and thought it would be difficult for the craftsmen in the army to build a thunder chariot of such power.

"It is difficult, but we have to try. Otherwise, it will be too disadvantageous for us to attack the city." Cheng Gongying added. He was not completely without confidence.

"Gather the craftsmen tomorrow and tell them that if anyone can build a Thunderbolt Chariot, this general will reward him with a hundred gold coins." With a desire for the Thunderbolt Chariot, Ma Teng offered a reward, hoping that this reward would urge the craftsmen to build it as soon as possible.

"One more thing. If you build the Thunderbolt Chariot, you will be promoted by the craftsmen to be the chief composer." Han Sui said loudly. He added the temptation of promotion to Ma Teng's temptation of money.

"Yes." Cheng Gongying bowed and agreed. This kind of matter would naturally fall into his hands and he would be the one to handle it.

"Oh no." After discussing the matter of the Thunderbolt Chariot, Ma Teng slapped his thigh and sighed, "It's a pity that it's October now. The cold has already come. The ground has frozen and hardened. Otherwise, it would be a good idea to have people dig a tunnel and sneak into Lueyang City."

"Yes, the weather is not good." Han Sui nodded. It was against common sense to send troops in the cold winter. Fortunately, it hasn't started snowing yet, otherwise if it snowed, they would have no choice but to retreat.

However, Han Sui thought from the bottom of his heart that Ma Teng's brilliant plan of digging a tunnel and sneaking into Lueyang did not have much chance. After all, Gan Ning, the main general of the Shu army in Lueyang city, was no ordinary man and would certainly be able to defend the tunnel.

Just as everyone was discussing, they heard a strong north wind outside, blowing through the sturdy tent like ghosts and wolves howling. "The wind is blowing?!" Han Sui frowned, as if he had a premonition of something, a bad premonition.

After a while, the guard outside the tent came in and reported: "General, it's snowing." As a general, he needs to grasp the weather at the first moment, so when the guard outside the tent saw the snowflakes falling, he hurried into the tent to report to Ma Teng and Han Sui.

"Hiss... What you fear will come true!" Han Sui sighed.

Ma Teng was stunned for a moment, then he stood up and walked out of the tent. When he reached the entrance of the tent, he raised his hand, and the wind and snow took advantage of the opportunity when the curtain was opened, whistling into the tent and hitting Ma Teng in the face.

"It really is snowing. We can't fight this battle..." Ma Teng's eyes were stimulated by the incoming snow and wind, and he half closed his eyes. With the chill of the snow and wind, an idea popped into his mind.

"Eh." After a slight sigh, Ma Teng closed the curtain and returned to his seat full of sorrow.

There was a brief silence in the big tent afterwards. Everyone looked worried and troubled, and no one said a word.

Only the howling sound of the wind and snow outside the tent and the crackling sound of the burning firewood in the brazier inside the tent echoed in the silent tent.

After a period of silence, Han Sui was the first to break the silence. He talked about the four Qiang and Hu tribes that they had lured here: "The troops of Shao Ge and Midang attacked the city twice yesterday and today, and suffered heavy losses. Now they are clamoring to go home and don't want to stay here."

"As for the remaining two Qiang and Hu tribes, they have also lost their will to fight and are probably unwilling to stay."

It was something that was expected. Ma Teng nodded calmly. He knew the habits of this group of barbarians too well. The Qiang, Hu and other barbarians would advance when there was an advantage and retreat when there was no advantage. They did not talk about loyalty or righteousness but only about interests.

So although Ma Teng felt that he had done a favor to the two Qiang and Hu tribes, Shaoge and Midang, he was not very sure that Shaoge and Midang would fight to the death for him. As a result, when they encountered setbacks, Shaoge and Midang thought about running away.

"Once the four Qiang tribes retreat, our strength will be weakened." Ma Teng analyzed the situation according to Han Sui's words, but he actually had something else in his heart, but he was unwilling and didn't want to say it out loud.

"Yes." Han Sui nodded, and then he sneered: "In fact, I didn't count on these Qiang and Hu. I just wanted to use them to test the strength of the Shu army in Lueyang City. Now I know that there is an elite force stationed in Lueyang City, and the garrison commander Gan Ning is a wise general, so their role has been fulfilled."

There was another short silence. After the silence, it was Ma Teng who broke the quiet atmosphere in the tent. He said hesitantly, "Brother Han, it is inconvenient to attack the city when it snows heavily. Besides, if the soldiers are stationed in the wilderness and the cold wind blows, they will fall ill and spread the plague. Then you and I will be defeated without a fight."

"Maybe... well... maybe we should consider retreating back to Tianshui and Jincheng, and wait until next spring when the cold weather leaves the country, then we can join forces and attack Lueyang City." Ma Teng expressed his true intention, he wanted to withdraw his troops.

"Perhaps by then, our craftsmen will also be able to build a Thunderbolt Chariot, which can destroy Lueyang City in one fell swoop."

"Brother Ma is right." Han Sui lowered his head and nodded in agreement. He also wanted to withdraw his troops. (End of this chapter)