Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

"It seems that the war situation in Donghai County is not optimistic. The only thing that can be done is for the National Marquis to dispatch 20,000 troops to support..."

This thought subconsciously emerged in Zang Ba's mind.

Previously, after Liu Bei led his army into Xia Pi State, he did not stay or enter Xia Pi City, but continued to march north to attack Cao Cao in a mighty manner. This was known to almost everyone in Xuzhou.

However, the people in Donghai County, centered on Tan County, either died or fled. In the absence of active publicity from Cao Cao or Liu Bei, the specific direction of the battle in Donghai County was hardly leaked.

Zang Ba could only judge the overall direction of the Xuzhou battlefield based on the troops led by Li Ji.

But now it was 90,000 against 20,000. Even though the commander was the famous patriot Hou Li Ji, Zang Ba did not have much confidence. He spoke almost subconsciously to Sun Guan and others behind him.

"Quick, organize the brothers who are still capable of fighting and be ready to leave the city at any time to support Guo Shihou..."

As he spoke, Zang Ba's voice couldn't help but become weaker.

As Pengcheng was almost completely captured, it was not just Zang Ba who was injured.
Including Sun Guan and other generals, only a few of the Taishan bandits were uninjured.

Zang Ba looked around and saw that almost everyone was injured and looked exhausted.

Sun Guan stepped forward and said, "General, I'm afraid there are not many brothers who are still able to fight."

Zang Ba hesitated for a moment when he heard this, but then he became firm and began to explain.

"If it weren't for the timely arrival of the Marquis of Guoshi, Pengcheng would have been attacked by Yuan's army. I'm afraid you and I would have been turned into dust along with Pengcheng."

"Now, although Guo Shihou has temporarily saved Pengcheng from danger, he is still blocked outside the city by Yuan's army."

"If we want to defend Pengcheng, the reinforcements led by Marquis Guoshi are crucial. Even if there will be sacrifices, we must find a way to get Marquis Guoshi into the city."

"As long as Guoshihou leads his army into Pengcheng, Ji Ling will no longer be able to do anything to Pengcheng."

Zang Ba was also a resolute and decisive person. He knew that if he wanted to accomplish great things, he must not be afraid to do so. Since he had decided to get closer to Liu Bei, he could not hesitate, otherwise he would be doomed to failure.

Defending Pengcheng is an attitude, and supporting Li Ji is even more of an attitude.

If the attitude is right, then even if Pengcheng is lost in the end, Liu Bei, who is based on benevolence, will definitely appreciate the favor.

Sun Guan and others were also infected by Zang Ba's attitude, and quickly selected a group of Taishan bandits who were still capable of fighting to reorganize the army and prepare to break out of the city to support Li Ji.

What Zang Ba didn't know was that the one who was feeling the enormous pressure outside the city was not Li Ji, who had a small army, but Ji Ling, who had an army of 90,000.

The strength of the two armies is by no means as great as it appears on the surface.

Li Ji had few soldiers, but his 20,000-man army had been gathering strength for a long time;

Ji Ling had a large number of soldiers, but the army had been attacking Pengcheng for most of the day, and their morale, physical strength and military spirit had all dropped to a certain level.

More importantly, the two armies had just formed a battle array when it was already dusk. The setting sun sprinkled blood-like light on the earth and on the battle formations of the two armies.

It was less than half an hour before dark.

Within half an hour, even though Ji Ling relied on his military advantage, he had no confidence in defeating Li Ji.

But when the battle dragged on to night, Ji Ling couldn't help feeling guilty when he thought of Li Ji's reputation of being invincible in every battle.

Just afraid...

He was afraid that Li Zikun would show weakness to the enemy intentionally just like he did in the last battle of Jingxiang, luring him like fishing, and then taking the opportunity to give him a fatal blow with his killing move.

For example, Li Zikun deliberately delayed until nightfall, and at a command, the ambushes were launched. Ji Ling looked at Li Ji's chariot from a distance, and sweat began to break out on his forehead unconsciously, imagining one tragic defeat after another.

Being afraid before the battle is undoubtedly Ji Ling's current mentality, which makes Ji Ling feel caught in a dilemma.

Li Ji also had some guesses about Ji Ling's mental state.

Standing on the chariot, Li Ji looked in the direction of Ji Ling. Li Ji judged that Ji Ling had begun to have a cowardly mentality and wanted to retreat.

Li Ji had anticipated this and deliberately raised his banner in order to intimidate Ji Ling and help lift the siege of Pengcheng.

Of course, all this seems to be psychological warfare, but in fact, even if Ji Ling develops some extreme rebellious psychology, he cannot escape the circle drawn by Li Ji for Ji Ling.

Whether Ji Ling fights or not, advances or not, the result will lead to the same direction.

The only variable was Chang Xi's betrayal of his master and his surrender to the enemy, which caused Pengcheng to fall earlier than Li Ji had expected, forcing Li Ji to send troops to rescue Pengcheng in advance.

It is precisely because of this that the scene of the two armies confronting each other, which would not have appeared in Li Ji's imagination, now appeared outside Pengcheng.

Li Ji's original plan was to reappear when Ji Ling was about to withdraw his troops after a day of fruitless attack, in order to begin to intimidate the exhausted Yuan army.

However, there was less than half an hour left until sunset, and even if Ji Ling was determined to start a war, he could not do anything to Li Ji.

Immediately, Li Ji waved his hand, and the chariot moved forward to the front army, allowing more Yuan troops and Ji Ling to clearly see where they were.

Li Ji spoke as his left and right guards repeated loudly.

"I am Li Zikun from Longxi, is there anyone who wants to talk to me?"

People want names, trees want shadows.

Just as everyone knows Lu Bu's name, everyone also knows Li Ji's name now.

There was almost visible chaos and noisy sounds in Yuan's army. It was obvious that some soldiers were speaking subconsciously and disregarding military discipline.

This forced Ji Ling, who originally didn't want to come forward to talk, to show up and speak loudly.

"It turns out that it was the Duke of Guo who was in person."

"But you were wise and resourceful in the past. Why are you leading a few soldiers here to fight against the enemy with an egg and seek your own death? Considering your past achievements, please retreat quickly and I will spare your life."

Li Ji could not help but smile. He did not expect that Ji Ling, a warrior, had some eloquence in stabilizing the military morale. He pointed out the difference in the strength of the two armies directly to calm the people's hearts.

However, Li Ji was not afraid that Ji Ling would not respond. On the contrary, if Ji Ling pretended to be deaf and dumb, Li Ji would not be able to use his eloquence.

Immediately, Li Ji spoke loudly.

"It's not the quantity of soldiers that matters, but their quality. And from what I can see, more than 80% of the soldiers under General Ji's command are new recruits who were recruited less than a year ago, right?"

"General Ji is a kind-hearted man. How could he bear to let these new soldiers rush to the battlefield and sacrifice their lives in vain?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of all Yuan Jun, including Ji Ling, subconsciously darkened.

It is a fact that more than 80% of Ji Ling's soldiers are new recruits who have been recruited for less than a year.

But this is undoubtedly a hell joke, especially a hell joke that is particularly ironic coming from Li Ji's mouth.

What is the reason?
It was the Battle of Jingxiang a year ago that almost destroyed most of Yuan Shu's available troops. (End of this chapter)