Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator.

That banner, seemingly shimmering under the setting sun, caused Ji Ling's pupils to shrink and his body to tremble.

The only one under Liu Bei's command who would raise this banner was none other than the State Pillar Marquis, Li Ji.

Liu Bei had actually sent reinforcements to Pengcheng at this time…

More importantly, Li Ji himself was leading the troops.

Almost instantly, Ji Ling felt the urge to retreat. Even before Ji Ling had set out on this campaign, Yuan Shu had privately given him some crucial instructions.

Among them was the instruction that Ji Ling should be cautious and careful when facing Li Ji. He should rather do nothing than make a mistake. If necessary, he should retreat and avoid him, and Ji Ling would be pardoned.

It could be said that in the battle of Jingxiang, Li Ji had broken Yuan Shu's back, forcing Yuan Shu to put down his arrogance and join forces with Yuan Shao, ally with Lu Bu, and even develop a large-scale psychological shadow regarding Li Ji.

"That brat Cao Cao, how could he let Li Ji appear here?"

Ji Ling couldn't help but curse Cao Cao to ease the intense fluctuations in his heart, but for a moment, he was caught in a dilemma.

If the approaching general were someone else, facing Pengcheng with its gates wide open, Ji Ling would almost certainly choose to divide his forces, temporarily resist the reinforcements, and seize Pengcheng as quickly as possible.

But it was Li Ji who had come!

Even if Ji Ling had not yet had time to investigate the number of troops, the banner with the character "Li" on it was worth a hundred thousand soldiers.

After hesitating for only three breaths, Ji Ling made a decision.

Follow the instructions of the lord, rather do nothing than make a mistake, so as not to reveal a fatal flaw in front of Li Ji.

It was like Ji Ling dared to turn his back on Chen Lan without any guard, but if Zhang Fei was standing next to him, would Ji Ling dare to turn around and bend over?

At this moment, it would be an understatement to say that Pengcheng was only one step away from being captured.

However, under Ji Ling's command, the Yuan army, which had been attacking Pengcheng fiercely, merely brushed against the wide-open city gate and quickly retreated, lowering their flags and drums.

This sudden change undoubtedly stunned the Mount Tai bandits, who were prepared to resist to the death and even fight to the end under Zang Ba's command.

Not only were the Mount Tai bandits stunned, but Chang Xi, who had captured the north gate, was also on the verge of collapse.

I am still fighting to the death, why is the general retreating?

At this moment, Chang Xi wondered if he was dreaming or if he hadn't fully woken up.

Seeing that all sides of Pengcheng were about to fall and capturing Pengcheng was about to become a foregone conclusion, the Yuan army actually retreated!

More importantly, the Yuan army retreated, but Chang Xi, who had been targeted by the furious Zang Ba, had not had time to retreat.

At this moment, Zang Ba's eyes were almost red as he looked at Chang Xi.

When Chang Xi attacked the north gate, Zang Ba finally realized why the situation, which had been barely holding on, had suddenly deteriorated to this point.

Chang Xi not only chose to leave Pengcheng but also chose to betray his lord and surrender to the enemy.

Therefore, when Zang Ba saw that the situation in Pengcheng was irreversible and that it was falling everywhere, he ordered Sun Guan and others to delay as much as possible, while Zang Ba chose to personally lead his elite troops straight to the north gate, straight to Chang Xi.

He wanted to kill Chang Xi, the dog who betrayed his lord and sought glory, and also to kill this dog who had almost destroyed the hope of many Mount Tai bandits to wash their hands and go ashore.

He also intended to recapture the north gate, leaving a passage for the Mount Tai bandits to retreat from Pengcheng.

"Ah ah hahaha, Chang Xi, you dog who betrayed his lord and surrendered to the enemy, even heaven has abandoned you. Your new master has retreated, leaving you, a spineless cur, here."

Zang Ba didn't know the reason for the Yuan army's retreat, and he didn't rush to investigate. Instead, he chose to raise his steel saber and lead his personal guards to charge towards Chang Xi, who was a hundred paces away.

Seeing Zang Ba's murderous appearance, Chang Xi's confidence, which was already less than thirty percent, added four points of fear, and he shouted repeatedly.

"Guards, quickly, quickly, block Zang Ba."

However, Chang Xi could only mobilize his three or four hundred confidants. The remaining Yuan soldiers, upon hearing the sound of the retreat, also began to retreat, treating Chang Xi, the nominal general, as if he were nothing.

And those three hundred confidants were also from the Mount Tai bandits, and they also added three points of hesitation and awe to Zang Ba before they even made a move. How could they stop Zang Ba?

Seeing Zang Ba constantly approaching, Chang Xi dared not hesitate any longer. He turned around, jumped on a fast horse, and retreated towards the outside of the city, even without bothering to greet his confidants.

"Dog thief, stop! Leave your life behind!"

The furious Zang Ba shouted out loud, ran a few steps, and suddenly felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

Pengcheng was able to persist for another day under Ji Ling's full-force attack that had been brewing for several days, all thanks to Zang Ba running around to boost morale and personally fighting to repeatedly force back the Yuan soldiers who had rushed to the top of the city.

However, Zang Ba was not an iron man after all, and he had six or seven wounds of varying sizes on his body.

Seeing that the Yuan army at the north gate was also retreating rapidly, and Chang Xi had jumped on a fast horse and fled, Zang Ba felt a sense of relief in his heart in addition to his anger.

This sigh of relief almost made Zang Ba unable to hold on.

Immediately, Zang Ba, barely managing to stand firm again, saw that the Mount Tai bandits who had been abandoned by Chang Xi had no will to fight, and he shouted angrily.

"Why don't you abandon your weapons and surrender? What are you waiting for?"

Zang Ba's reputation in the Mount Tai bandits was beyond words.

Chang Xi's departure also made these Mount Tai bandits feel disheartened. After hesitating for a moment after being shouted at by Zang Ba, they chose to surrender one after another.

Immediately, Zang Ba reluctantly reorganized the city defenses of the north gate and then hurried to the south gate where Ji Ling's central army was located.

There must be a reason for the Yuan army's sudden retreat.

As the defender of Pengcheng, Zang Ba naturally needed to find out what it was.

On the way to the south gate, Zang Ba had actually guessed an answer.

The reason why Ji Ling chose to retreat when Pengcheng was about to be captured must be because reinforcements had arrived in Pengcheng.

Where did the reinforcements come from?

Tao Qian?

Zang Ba would never count on that昏庸年迈Xu Province Governor. Then there was only one answer.

The main force of reinforcements that Zhang Fei spoke of had finally arrived.

When Zang Ba returned to the south gate, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, and Yin Li had already arrived at the south gate. They quickly greeted Zang Ba and were about to report information to Zang Ba.

Zang Ba raised his hand to interrupt Sun Guan and others, walked quickly to the top of the city, and looked at the scene outside the city.

Needless to say, the Yuan army was vast and boundless.

Even though the Yuan army had been attacking the city for many days, there were still probably 90,000 combat troops available, lined up neatly, making people feel intimidated.

In contrast, the Han army lined up opposite the Yuan army seemed quite thin.

Zang Ba, observing from a distance, made an estimate and felt a sinking feeling in his heart, feeling ominous.

Compared to the 90,000 troops of the Yuan army, even with Zhang Fei's cavalry, the reinforcements that had arrived probably only numbered 20,000.

Ninety thousand against twenty thousand…

Dangerous! (End of chapter)