Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

His voice was like thunder, his momentum unstoppable!

Zhang Fei, astride his Snow-Treading Black Steed and wielding his eighteen-foot-long serpent spear, stood alone on the bridge, regarding the sixty thousand enemy troops as mere clay chickens and pottery dogs, exuding a terrifying aura.

Seeing that none of the sixty thousand soldiers dared to answer, Zhang Fei, not one to give an inch once he had the upper hand, roared out again.

"Who dares to come forth and fight me to the death!"

This shout was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, its echoes reverberating in the ears of the Cao army soldiers, who had been rushing along for half a day under Cao Cao's urging, causing a commotion.

Zhang Fei's eyes, like copper bells, swiveled around and suddenly spotted Cao Cao and his generals hiding in the front ranks, peering at him.

Zhang Fei pointed his eighteen-foot serpent spear in Cao Cao's direction and roared.

"Hey! Cao thief! Why don't you quickly come up here and surrender?!"

This shout startled Cao Cao's Shadow Runner, causing it to become restless, and the steeds of the other generals also neighed incessantly.

A soldier standing in front of Cao Cao, seemingly believing that Zhang Fei's eighteen-foot serpent spear was pointed at him, was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, lifeless, scared to death on the spot.

Dian Wei, protecting Cao Cao, grabbed the Shadow Runner's reins, forcibly calming its agitation, and shouted loudly.

"This barbarian is extremely rude! My lord, please allow me to fight him to the death!"

The other generals, having recovered from their shock at being intimidated by Zhang Fei's lone figure, were filled with shame and indignation at being hesitant to advance, and they all stepped forward to volunteer.

"Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken? Please allow me to fight!"

"This Zhang Fei is hateful! He dares to shout in front of you, my lord! He must be killed!"

"Allow me to fight..."

Amidst the clamor of requests to battle, Cao Cao suddenly raised his hand to silence everyone.

Immediately, Cao Cao's gaze swept over Zhang Fei, assessing the small river less than ten zhang wide, and then looked towards the dense forest on the opposite bank, wondering if it concealed an ambush.

Dusk was approaching...

Cao Cao couldn't help but become suspicious.

After all, they had been following the tracks left by Liu Bei's army all the way, but the Liyang Bridge completely severed the trail.

With Zhang Fei blocking the Liyang Bridge, it was impossible for Cao Cao's scouts to pass through and investigate the traces of Liu Bei's army.

A bluff?

Or was there an ambush?

Cao Cao seemed to have returned to the predicament of the previous night.

With Zhang Fei, a warrior capable of facing ten thousand men, blocking the Liyang Bridge, even if Dian Wei was sent to duel him, it would be impossible to determine the victor in a short time.

But to cautiously send a small force to forcibly cross the Liyang Bridge to investigate would likely be a one-way trip.

And if the entire army pressed forward, and Liu Bei's army had not gone far and chose to ambush from the rear forest, then the Cao army would face the disadvantage of being attacked while crossing the river with inferior numbers.

Just as Cao Cao was frowning in difficulty, Zhang Fei once again shouted at the sixty thousand troops.

"You won't fight, and you won't retreat, what is the reason?"

Immediately, with Zhang Fei's roar, the morale of the Cao army visibly dropped again, and a commotion broke out in various places.

At this moment, Cao Cao realized that he was in a dilemma.

Gamble... that there was no ambush behind the bridge?

Cao Cao dared not gamble.

And Cao Cao was even more worried that if he wasted time here, and the sky completely darkened without being able to set up camp, Liu Bei's army might take the opportunity to launch a strong attack, which would also be unfavorable.

"Retreat! Retreat!! Retreat!!!"

Cao Cao shouted three times unwillingly, ignored the generals' requests to fight, and directly turned his horse's head to retreat to the rear.

Immediately, the mighty army of sixty thousand retreated slowly like a tide.

This scene made Zhang Fei's already wide eyes even wider.

They really retreated?

Was Zi Kun really right?

Am I already so powerful that I can make an army of sixty thousand retreat with a shout?

However, Zhang Fei remembered Li Ji's instructions and did not rush to leave, but remained standing on the Liyang Bridge, watching the Cao army retreat.

And not only was Zhang Fei surprised, but Xu Chu and Chen Dao, in the rear forest, looked at Li Ji with the reverence one might hold for a deity.

Originally, when Li Ji asked Zhang Fei to guard the Liyang Bridge alone, Xu Chu and Chen Dao couldn't help but feel that it was too fanciful to scare away an army of sixty thousand with just one person.

Even if the Cao army was wary of an ambush in the rear, they would at least send someone to test the waters before determining whether there was an ambush or not.

But the Cao army actually retreated in such a hurry.

Chen Dao, who was usually taciturn, now uttered a series of questions like a volley of arrows.

"Governor, I don't understand why the Cao army retreated after being frightened by General Yi De?"

"That Cao Cao is also skilled in the art of war. Even if General Yi De is brave, he could force General Yi De to retreat with a rain of arrows, and then send a small force across the bridge to investigate, naturally knowing whether there is an ambush or not."

Li Ji took off the helmet that Xu Chu had forced onto his head not long ago, stuffed it into Xu Chu's arms, and then wiped his sweat with his sleeve.

It was late summer, and even though it was close to dusk, the weather was still quite muggy.

Hiding in the dense forest, with a helmet on his head, Li Ji was also covered in sweat.

However, Xu Chu was also worried about Li Ji's safety, fearing that the Cao army would forcibly charge the bridge, and perhaps stray arrows would affect Li Ji, so he insisted that Li Ji wear a helmet.

"It's only normal that Cao Cao didn't send a small force across the bridge. After all, last night, Cao Cao cautiously sent a small force out of the camp to investigate, but it delayed the opportunity for battle."

"Furthermore, it's close to dusk, and the sky is getting dark..."

Li Ji opened his folding fan and fanned himself before continuing.

"If there is an ambush on the opposite bank, then another force will be lost in vain; if there is no ambush on the opposite bank, then the small force will waste a lot of time after investigating and reporting the results, and Cao Cao will inevitably waste a lot of time, and he will not be able to cross the bridge today anyway."

"Therefore, regardless of whether there is an ambush on the opposite bank, the final outcome is the same. Cao Cao will cautiously choose to retreat and set up camp to rest the army. This is undoubtedly the choice that a good warrior will make."

In Li Ji's calm explanation, Xu Chu listened in a daze, while Chen Dao revealed a thoughtful expression...

It seemed that Zhang Fei alone had forced back an army of sixty thousand, but in reality, what Cao Cao feared, in addition to the ambush, was the extreme use of the right timing and location.

"Shu Zhi is convinced."

Chen Dao said respectfully.

Compared to the other generals, Chen Dao had limited contact with Li Ji. After being reused by Liu Bei, he had been training the White Feather Soldiers.

Therefore, even though Chen Dao had heard countless rumors about the Marquis of the State, he had never been so shocked by a close-up experience.

An army of sixty thousand was easily played by the Marquis of the State, forcing the mighty army of sixty thousand to retreat several miles to set up camp.

Li Ji returned the greeting with a smile, and then looked again at the Cao army's figures in the distance, which were about to disappear completely.

(End of this chapter)