hotmtlnovel Page 271
Page 271
"Father, we have wiped out all of Cao Cao's troops in Xuchang!"
Ma Tie said with a proud look that this was very different from his fate in history.
However, Matthew said with a worried look, "Father, don't forget that Lu Bu once conquered Cao Cao's territory, but in the end, he was driven out by Cao Cao. We must be careful about this!"
Ma Teng nodded: "When I came here, Brother Luo Chen also told me about this. Xiu'er, you should open the official granary later and help the poor. Also, go directly to the local tycoons and tell them that they will reward them handsomely after Cao's army is defeated!"
Ma Tie stepped forward: "Father, why do we have to listen to Luo Chen at every turn? He's not a high-ranking official. In my opinion, we should take His Majesty and return to Xiliang first!"
Ma Xiuye felt that his younger brother's words made a lot of sense, but Ma Teng shook his head.
"You're all wrong. I'm not trying to curry favor with anyone. Luo Chen is truly devoted to the cause of our Great Han. I would submit to him even if it meant my immediate submission!"
It seems that Ma Teng was an absolutely loyal subject, but the two men did not think so.
"Father, this so-called great man is now like a tree about to fall. We don't need to sacrifice so much for him!"
Ma Teng slapped Ma Tie hard across the face: "How dare you! I forbid you from saying such things again!"
Ma Tie seemed to have suffered a great injustice. He turned around and walked straight out the door. At that moment, Luo Chen, seeing the time, ordered Zhao Yun to eliminate the people in the inner city as well.
Seeing their lord's indecisive state, Cao Cao's men were anxious: "Prime Minister, if we don't go to Runan to rescue him now, we will truly lose!"
"You're right!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Cao Cao brandished his long whip, and his 100,000 men continued their grand procession to the walls of Runan.
Luo Chen, dressed in a white robe, walked to the top of the city wall, looked at the crowd that had arrived, and sighed.
"Cao Cao, it's been many days! How have you been lately?"
When Cao Cao saw the dust settling on the city wall, he already knew what had happened. He hadn't expected that this useless man couldn't even defend the city.
"Brother Luo Chen, yes, it's been a long time. What are you doing with my city? If you wanted to come and visit, you could have just told me. Why did you bring your army with you?"
Luo Chen smiled faintly. It seemed that Cao Cao wanted to test his strength!
"Prime Minister Cao, you don't know this, but I heard there's a bandit in the north who stole something, and the government can't do anything about it. So, I had no choice but to bring my 150,000 elite troops to protect you!"
"But have you ever considered just how chaotic the North would be right now if it weren't for this thief?"
Luo Chen's skill was so powerful that even Cao Cao's horse started to move wildly. Luo Chen smiled calmly and said, "I don't know how chaotic the north is, but I do know that when a person walks in this world, he has to do something that is true to his conscience. Don't you agree?"
Cao Cao cursed the hypocrite in his heart, but still wore a smile on his face.
"Then, I wonder if Luo Jingzhou would be willing to let me in to discuss with you the future plans of the family whose property was stolen!"
Luo Chen gestured for him to come in: "If the Prime Minister wants to come in, then come in, but we'll have to see if you have the ability!"
Luo Chen's words meant that the two were about to completely tear off their masks and be completely honest with each other, without any scheming or trickery.
In fact, this was the biggest blow to Cao Cao. He wouldn't be afraid if you used military strategy and tactics, but if you fought openly like this, Cao Cao was left with no way to deal with it.
"Alright, since that's how it is, then I won't hold back! Men! Attack!"
The archer, who had been aiming at Luo Chen for a long time, released his long arrows. However, Luo Chen's martial arts were terrifying. He simply waved his hand and knocked the arrows flying up one after another away.
"How hateful, how hateful!"
Cao Cao cursed inwardly, thinking, "How can this man be so ruthless, as if he's been given a cheat code?"
Chapter 181 Cao Cao's Great Defeat
Seeing that their first tactic had failed, Cao Cao's army wouldn't just stand there arrogantly on the city wall. They immediately summoned siege equipment, and flaming stones were launched into the sky.
Luo Chen smiled calmly, then leaped into the air and hovered there, like an invisible barrier that blocked all the stones thrown by the crowd.
Is this...is this even a human being?
It's unclear who first had this thought among Cao Cao's troops, but this unseen fear quickly spread among the crowd.
"I used to think that Lu Bu was the most powerful person in the world, but it seems that I underestimated Luo Chen too much!"
In truth, Cao Cao was filled with regret. If only he had sent a large force to kill Luo Chen before Luo Chen had grown up!
Regret is useless!
Luo Chen waved his hand, hurling the stones directly into Cao Cao's army. Instantly, flames spread among Cao Cao's troops. Just then, the city gates opened, and Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun led their troops out.
"Kill the traitor Cao!"
The two shouted in unison, and the soldiers behind them seemed to be infected by this invincible aura, all rushing out and engaging the enemy in fierce combat.
Cao Jun was thus put on the defensive for a time. His men stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister, we can't win now. Why don't we..."
Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately drew a long sword from his side and beheaded the man.
He then walked up to the army with the severed head in his hand and said, "Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy. I tell you, I, Cao Cao, have seen many powerful opponents, but what about someone as strong as Lü Bu? What happened to us in the end?"
At this moment, Cao Jun suddenly remembered, "So what if you're the only one who's powerful? In the end, it was still our Cao army that won." So, while shouting, everyone charged forward and entangled with their opponents. They used every move imaginable—slashing with swords, hacking with knives, and even biting with their teeth if necessary.
But while you're a rogue, the Jingzhou army here is even more of a rogue. During the fight, the Jingzhou army mostly aimed their attacks at the eyes and groins of the people here.
However, Cao Cao's valiant fighting was not without results. In the first round, both sides lost about 10,000 men, but the remaining Cao Cao soldiers were mostly seriously wounded.
Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong walked into the camp with smiles on their faces.
"That's so satisfying! It's so satisfying! Before, when we encountered Cao Cao's army, we wouldn't have been able to win at all if it weren't for our lord's strategy. But since our lord took charge, these brothers have become so ruthless!"
It's no wonder Huang Zhong was so happy. Everyone in the world knew that the Jingzhou army was all show and no substance, but today everything changed. They didn't need to bully those southerners anymore, and they still won a great victory.
And this was an army personally led by Cao Cao!
Seeing the two of them so happy, Luo Chen's face immediately turned cold: "How dare you laugh!"
This startled Uncle Huang quite a bit. He wondered what he had said wrong, but that didn't matter anymore. Huang Zhong immediately knelt on the ground: "I'm sorry, my lord, I was wrong!"
"So where did you go wrong?"
“This…this…”
Huang Zhong stammered for a long time, unable to give a coherent explanation. Just as Zhao Yun was about to speak up to plead for Huang Zhong, Luo Chen waved his hand and said, "General Huang, then let me tell you what you did wrong!"
Huang Zhong was so frightened by Luo Chen that he dared not speak. He saw Luo Chen pull out a large piece of wood. Oh my god, was he going to use this to hit him? His old bones couldn't take it anymore!
To everyone's surprise, Luo Chen simply split the piece of wood in half and placed it directly on his face.
"Your mistake is that you lack confidence in yourself. I don't care if you don't drink all this wine today, you won't be able to leave this house!"
What? So what the lord meant was drinking! You scared me half to death.
However, when he saw the wine inside the hollow wood, he regretted it. It seemed that his lord was ruthless. So Huang Zhong simply lay down on the ground and drank it.
Unexpectedly, Luo Chen took a step forward, helped him up, and personally took a bowl to sweep.
"I've thought about it, but I think I'll pass. There's so much wine that I haven't even tried myself, and you're going to drink it all. Wouldn't I be at a disadvantage?"
Huang Zhong suddenly burst into laughter for some reason, but upon seeing Luo Chen's face, he immediately stopped laughing. At this moment, Luo Chen laughed, which showed that the relationship between the ruler and his subject was harmonious and peaceful.
However, Cao Cao's side didn't have such a good time. Cao Cao stood in front of everyone and took out all the remaining food he had.
"Gentlemen, I, Cao Cao, am here to thank you all. But if we lose this battle, our wives will only be humiliated in the future. Is that what you want?"
"In no mood!"
The Cao army on this side shouted loudly, and Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction.
"As you all saw, the opposing army is utterly useless. And look at this so-called Jingzhou army, their casualties are about the same as ours, right? But let me tell you, Luo Chen's greatest love is lying. He dares to tell the world he has 10,000 men when he only has 1,000. Now he says he has 150,000. In my opinion, he only has about 50,000 at most. So, as long as we kill their 20,000, they will run away on their own!"
Cao Jun's men all thought it must be true, so they burst into laughter, and their deadpan expressions vanished completely.
At that moment, Cao Cao calmly said, "Let's do it again later. Let's see how long this Falling Dust can withstand our siege weapons!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers shouted in unison.
Cao Cao is indeed the same Cao Cao; in just a few words, he revived the morale of the troops.
Three drumbeats sounded, and the group, having eaten and drunk their fill, went directly to the battlefield. However, this time, Cao Cao did not command the battle. Instead, he gathered several of his generals and instructed them to lead their elite troops and retreat as soon as the fighting began.
Chapter 182 The Method of Defeating the Enemy
Zhang He and Xu Huang were speechless. Seeing that the two seemed to still have questions, Cao Cao asked them.
Do you think I'm too cruel?
Neither of them dared to speak, but given Cao Cao's personality, how could he not know what these two were thinking?
"Actually, what general doesn't hate when leading troops? If we retreat like this, Luo Chen will catch up with us in the blink of an eye. Are you sure you can handle it?"
The two nodded in agreement. At this moment, Cao Cao continued, "In this way, we will definitely be defeated, but as long as they help us hold them off, we can leave!"
Hearing Cao Cao's words, everyone felt that they made a lot of sense. Regardless of how Cao Cao usually did things, they did whatever he said. So the two men withdrew. Cao Cao sighed and, when no one was around, shed tears for the 30,000 men who were responsible for launching the attack.
The elite troops assembled quickly, and the 30,000 Cao soldiers charged out at Cao Cao's command. At that moment, Cao Cao sat directly on his steed, and 20,000 men quickly assembled together, while another 20,000 were responsible for covering their retreat in the camp.
Cao Cao and the two men both glanced behind them, reluctantly turning around.
How could Luo Chen, standing atop the city wall, not see the billowing smoke in the distance?
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao was so ruthless as to abandon all his soldiers here. This move was truly cruel; even Luo Chen might not have been able to do it.
However, the Cao army below the city did not know that their lord had left. Everyone was trying their best to cut off Luo Chen's head. Seeing their obsessive appearance, Luo Chen couldn't help but sigh.
At this moment, the crowd downstairs grew increasingly agitated. Luo Chen couldn't care less about anything else. He thought to himself that no matter what, he couldn't let Cao Cao return to Xuchang today. So, Luo Chen summoned Wei Yan and ordered him to lead a contingent of troops to set off from the other side and intercept Cao Cao.
However, Cao Cao still had 20,000 men, and these were all elite troops. Wei Yan was in a dilemma when he heard Luo Chen's order. It wasn't that he couldn't pursue Cao Cao, but these men were far too few.
However, under the influence of the Demon King's blood, Wei Yan had no choice but to accept Luo Chen's order and retreat.
The shouts were astonishing, and everyone charged around Runan City. However, Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong's martial arts were too powerful. Cao Cao's army had been waiting for the signal to retreat. But why wouldn't the Prime Minister let us retreat? Didn't he know that we had already lost a third of our brothers?
Luo Chen was the first to send his soldiers out during the city defense battle, but these Jingzhou soldiers became more and more courageous as the battle progressed, and the two armies were locked in a stalemate, with neither side able to retreat.
Just then, Pang Tong stepped forward and said, "Master, if we continue fighting like this, our losses will be far too great!"
Luo Chen turned around and looked at Pang Tong: "Tell me, what are your thoughts?"
Pang Tong looked down at the soldiers, Zhao Yun, and others; they had been drinking together just two days ago.
"Master, we still have two siege machines, and I'm absolutely confident we can smash them in front of everyone!"
Faced with such a massive battle, even Luo Chen had no better solution, so he turned his head and looked at Pang Tong in front of him.
Are you 100% sure?
Upon hearing Luo Chen's question, Pang Tong shook his head. That meant that they might all die here, and their sacrifice might be in vain.
Luo Chen naturally wouldn't allow such a thing to happen to him, so he looked downstairs and realized that it was all about catapults.
"Shiyuan, if you do this, just send a few siege weapons straight at me!"
"What!" Even Pang Tong exclaimed in surprise upon hearing Luo Chen's words, while Luo Chen nodded.
"You heard me right, and I didn't misspoke. This is the only way to defeat the enemy!"
“But, Master!” Pang Tong’s face showed a hint of worry, while Luo Chen smiled calmly.
"Don't worry, your master is incredibly powerful!"
That's what he said, but after successfully repelling several waves of Cao Cao's attacks, Luo Chen wasn't entirely confident.
Seeing his master's resolute attitude, Pang Tong went down and summoned several soldiers in charge of the catapults. He told them, "Later, you'll be hurling catapults at the city walls. Don't hold back, just smash them hard!"
Upon hearing Pang Tong's words, the officer in charge thought he had misheard.
"Um, Mr. Pang Tong, I didn't hear you very clearly. Could you please repeat it?"
Surely Mr. Pang Tong isn't crazy, and there's no reason why his lord would agree to such a bold idea!
But Pang Tong's face immediately darkened: "Just do what I tell you to do!"
Pang Tong was also extremely nervous. Besides the effects of the Demon King's blood, he was even more concerned about the benefits that Luo Chen had brought him. He had always been alone and very lonely, but Luo Chen had found him a wife, and she was a young lady from a wealthy family.
This was something he never dared to imagine in his life, but Luo Chen made it happen for him. Moreover, because of his appearance, everyone looked down on him until he met Luo Chen. So even without this thing, he would still work for Luo Chen, not for anything else but for the kindness of being recognized and appreciated.
Luo Chen had no idea what Pang Tong was thinking. He was also extremely nervous because he knew that no matter what, everyone below him would die. The only question was whether their deaths were worthwhile. If Luo Chen went down, he might be able to kill a thousand or two thousand people, but what about three thousand?
Just as he was thinking about these things, Pang Tong was already ready. He shouted "Release!" and countless flames swirled in the sky, flying directly towards Luo Chen. A great fire immediately broke out here.
Seeing the stone flying towards him, Luo Chen's movements quickened even further; the air seemed to freeze in that instant.
Chapter 183 Defeating the Enemy
This was the first time Luo Chen had mobilized all his strength. He needed to be quiet and calm down, but unfortunately, he was on the battlefield, and the surrounding shouts of battle could not calm his mind. Most importantly, the stones were about to reach him.
At this moment, Luo Chen had no other choice but to hold his breath and leap into the air. Time stood still once again, and the stones in the air seemed to be frozen in place, completely motionless.