The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 146 Feint

This highlights the advantage of miniaturized artillery that Chen Er previously proposed: it ensures that at least some artillery pieces can accompany infantry in combat to provide fire support or destroy obstacles.

"Pursue for fifty meters!" some officers at the front ordered. Upon hearing their superiors' command, the soldiers in the trenches grabbed their rifles, jumped over the cover in front, and rushed forward. Seeing the enemy chasing after them, the retreating Yuan army ran even faster.

Bang! Bang! Bang! A continuous barrage of gunfire rang out. The Yuan army soldiers at the very back cursed inwardly. They were at the forefront of the attack, but at the very back of the retreat. What kind of situation was this?!

"Run! The enemy is catching up!" Yuan Jun shouted, waving his arms and legs. They didn't want to die!

"Run!"

However, the soldiers of the First Army Corps only pursued for fifty meters. When they reached that distance, they all stopped in place and fired at the Yuan army on their retreating route! Then they also withdrew to their positions.

With the area so open outside, Yuan's artillery fire could easily cause heavy casualties if it came in.

"asshole!"

Seeing the troops retreating from the front lines, Ji Ling roared at his generals, "How could you be so cowardly!"

"Cowardice! Pass on my order: anyone who shows cowardice again will be executed on the spot!" Ji Ling said to the messenger behind him.

"General, we can't blame the soldiers at the front. The enemy's firepower is too strong, their shotguns are too powerful. We must find a way to push our artillery up and suppress the enemy's artillery, otherwise the infantry will never be able to get through."

A general said to Ji Ling.

Yang Hong also stood up and said to Ji Ling, "General, I suggest we temporarily cease hostilities for a day and resume fighting tomorrow. We must find a way to suppress the enemy's artillery."

Upon hearing Yang Hong's words, Ji Ling dared not be too presumptuous. Although he was favored by Yuan Shu, Yang Hong held a higher position, being Yuan Shu's most valued strategist.

Yang Hong is a historical figure.

It was Yang Hong's series of suggestions behind Yuan Shu's back that enabled Yuan Shu to gain his current territory and power. Therefore, although Yang Hong did not hold a formal official position, his status was far higher than that of Ji Ling.

"Then I'll listen to you, sir." Hearing Yang Hong's words, Ji Ling couldn't object and had no choice but to agree.

Back in his tent, Ji Ling, seething with rage, overturned the table. He needed to vent, to let it all out. Today's battle had been far too frustrating. Under his command, the army had retreated without even touching the enemy's skin—it was utterly humiliating.

"General, I've found you two beautiful women, what do you think..."

Just then, a guard quietly walked in from outside the tent and said to Ji Ling, who was still angry just moments before. Upon hearing the guard's words, Ji Ling immediately suppressed his anger and said with a grin, "Then hurry up and bring it up to this general!"

"Yes, General!" the guard replied cheerfully to Ji Ling. According to Ji Ling's habits, they might be able to eat some leftovers later. For these guards, this might be their favorite time.

"Come, beauties, sit down here with this general." Looking at the two stunning beauties, Ji Ling patted the seat next to him with a grin.

"Sir, do you have a solution?" The next morning, Ji Ling was in a very good mood. He had enjoyed the beauty from yesterday, and his mood was quite good today.

"General Ji, in order to find a way to suppress the enemy's shotguns, I only have one clumsy method that I can try," Yang Hong said.

Upon hearing Yang Hong say he had a solution, Ji Ling didn't care whether it was a stupid or not. He said, "Please tell me, sir."

"That means preparing some large carts, and using the shields from the supply battalion and some iron armor to make bulletproof shields, which can protect against some of the enemy's artillery fire," Yang Hong said.

"Are the large carts and shields in the camp sufficient?" Although Ji Ling was a simpleton, he was still a general and had some basic common sense. In a battlefield as large as Xiapi, Ji Ling did not think that his supply battalion had enough supplies.

Yang Hong said, "The supply battalion's resources are probably insufficient, so I think we should focus our main attack on one or two directions, and only launch feint attacks on the other directions."

"Then I will leave it entirely to you, sir," Ji Ling said, turning to leave and entrusting the matter entirely to Yang Hong. Yang Hong showed no anger at Ji Ling's departure; given Ji Ling's incompetent leadership, probably everyone was hoping he would leave as soon as possible.

"Yang Hong was not particularly concerned about whether he would receive the final credit. In any case, credit was irrelevant to Yang Hong. What was most important to him was to live up to Yuan Shu's kindness in recognizing his talent. Therefore, he wanted to do his best to preserve Yuan Shu's strength."

"We cannot allow our army to suffer too many losses in this great battle. The location of Xiapi is extremely important, directly threatening the safety of Pengcheng. Otherwise, Yang Hong would never agree to start a war with Chen Er at this time. After all, Yuan Shu's conservatism means that the seemingly powerful 300,000-strong army is not actually that strong."

While Yang Hong was trying his best to persuade Yuan Shu to continue the reforms, he was also trying his best to gain a strategic advantage for Yuan Shu. For some reason, Yang Hong was willing to work so hard for Yuan Shu.

Seeing his incompetent commander leave, Yang Hong quickly addressed the surrounding officers: "You have all heard General Ji's orders. Now prepare for battle. We will attack once the armored vehicles are ready!"

"Yes, sir!"

Given Yang Hong's competence and the fact that his suggestion had saved countless soldiers, the surrounding generals bowed respectfully to him before leaving, unlike how they treated Ji Ling.

Why isn't Ji Ling attacking today?

Meanwhile, Xiahou Dun was observing the movements of Yuan Shu's army from the city wall. Since yesterday afternoon, Yuan Shu's army had stopped attacking, and Xiahou Dun felt a little uneasy. His unease stemmed from the lack of detailed intelligence support.

Xiahou Dun didn't know what Yuan Shu's army was doing, but he kept telling himself that Ji Ling was nothing to fear. He only needed to hold Xiapi and complete the established strategic plan.

With Xiahou Dun's firepower, troop strength, and ammunition reserves, he believed that no matter what tricks Ji Ling played, he would be able to prevent the yellowish-brown waves outside the city from getting within 100 meters of the city walls.

Yes, he has that confidence.

"Commander, this time General Gao has really staked everything on us."