Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

When Shi Xie's main force arrived outside Mengling City, ghost lights were burning on the top of the city walls, and the torches mixed with sulfur reflected a bleak blue. Two thousand Li prisoners were strung together in a long line with hemp ropes, dancing to the beat of drums in the wind. Their faces were smeared with green mud dug from the bottom of the moat, and they repeatedly chanted unknown Li folk songs with obscure pronunciation and strange rhythms.

"What kind of witchcraft are these Li people practicing?" Shi Hui reined in his horse. He noticed that what were fluttering between the battlements were not flags, but strings of bones - those were clearly the magical instruments used by the Li tribe to worship mountain ghosts.

He couldn't help but feel a chill on his back, but he quickly shook his head to dispel it. Although he was somewhat in awe of the witchcraft of the Li people, after all, he had killed so many Li people in Jiaozhi without receiving any retribution. Therefore, he quickly returned to normal and thought it was just a trick played by the city defenders who were desperate.

At this moment, inside the tower, Zhong Ping was staring at the system panel and calculating the time: "Mr. Fan, is the amount of Chinese tallow fruit powder added enough?"

"Time is still tight. Even if there are more than a thousand people in the city picking fruits and grinding them into powder, we can only save ten jars. If there is a heavy rain, the fruit will cause miasma." Fan A poured the crushed fruit powder into the pottery jar, "Bo Heng, be careful of the southwest wind."

Zhong Ping nodded and whispered something to Li Meng, who took the order and left.

At 2:15 a.m., the rain had stopped. The singing of the Li people on the city wall sounded like weeping, and the sobbing was endless. Only vague tones could be heard outside the city. The blue flames danced in the wind. The Li army under Shi Hui's command was slightly restless, and there was a bit of panic on their faces.

"Cross the river!" Shi Hui frowned, knowing that if he delayed any further, the morale of the army would inevitably be shaken.

The order had been given, and the Li soldiers had no choice but to carry the wood to build the bridge. The closer they got to the city gate, the louder the Li people's singing became, and one could even hear the sound of bones colliding.

Dozens of bamboo rafts floated from somewhere upstream. On each raft stood a scarecrow wearing rattan armor, with its head covered tightly with a black cloth. The Li soldiers who were building the bridge suddenly got angry: "It's a ghost! Crossing the river will bring you a curse!"

In the chaos, Zhong Ping raised the gong on the top of the city and slammed it loudly. Two thousand Li prisoners of war sang in unison. The singing was high-pitched and strange, and the wind whistled through the mountains and forests. The reeds and branches swayed constantly, and shadows were hazy. Even Shi Hui, who did not believe in witchcraft, could not help but feel a chill all over his body.

The west city gate was quietly opened at some point, and two hundred Bai Li soldiers drove several buffaloes into the enemy camp - the bodies of the buffaloes were all painted with Li patterns, and the pottery jars tied to their horns broke during the collision and running, and the tung oil fruit powder mixed with other herbs rose up strange green smoke on the river surface.

"Eyes! My eyes!" The Li soldiers in the front row threw down their weapons and scratched their faces frantically. Their limbs were cold and they vomited continuously. With the singing and the faint will-o'-the-wisp fire on the city wall, many Li soldiers thought that it was an angry mountain ghost and they threw down their weapons and knelt down to kowtow.

More pottery jars were thrown down from the top of the city wall, which were filled with nothing but wood ash. The Li people were like frightened birds, crying and fleeing. Shi Hui managed to calm down and ordered an attack on the city, but several Li captives were released from the city and shouted in broken Chinese: "Han generals can bring floods! Last night we saw a dragon circling the city with our own eyes!"

"Shoot! Shoot! Anyone who shakes the morale of the army will be killed!"

Shi Hui shouted angrily, but the formation was already in disarray. Even though the Shi family army tried their best to hold the line, they could not reverse the defeat. Shi Hui could only curse angrily: "You bastards raised by mandrills! Why are you crying? It's bad luck!"

He swung his sword to knock down two fleeing soldiers and was about to reorganize the fleeing army, but the Bai Li soldiers who were ambushing in the reeds suddenly struck cymbals, startling the war horses so much that they raised their hooves and neighed non-stop. By the time his personal guards desperately tried to stop the horses, half of the central army's flag had been torn off by thorns.

Shi Hui returned to the camp in a huff, kneeling in the shadow of the lamp, not daring to look up. He deliberately described the defeat as "luring the enemy deep into our territory": "The defending general is just relying on the voodoo techniques of the barbarians. Tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow?" Shi Xie suddenly chuckled, his eyes sweeping across the torn corner of his robe that was covered in mud. "What are you waiting for tomorrow? As long as you can describe the appearance of the guard, you will not be considered defeated this time."

Shi Hui was speechless. He had fought in a muddle-headed way and he didn't even know how many defenders there were in the city. It was really too embarrassing. He showed some resentment in his eyes and eyebrows: "Father, these vulgar people are useless! If they hadn't been scared by their tricks, how could I..."

"That's enough." Shi Xie waved his hand. "You didn't act like this when you used the Li people to attack the city. It's okay to admit that you are outsmarted. Go down and rest first. I'll need you to lead the troops tomorrow."

Shi Hui nodded in response and lifted the curtain to go out.

Shi Xie stared at the map without looking up: "Have you found out the food route to Mengling?"

Shi Yi, who was sitting in the lower seat, stood up and said, "Brother, don't worry. Shi Youchou, who is stationed in Pingnan, has led the navy down the Li River, sunk the ships and blocked the river. He has cut off the waterway of Mengling City. No matter how smart the defenders in the city are, can they conjure up food and grass out of thin air? By then, he will have no choice but to open the city and surrender!"

When Shi Yi said this, murderous intent was evident in his eyes.

"Oh? Shi You blocked the waterway from Guangxin to Mengling?" Upon hearing this, Shi Xie turned his eyes away from the map. "Tell him to send 300 elite soldiers to fly Liu Bei's flag, load mud bags on the boats to suppress water, cover them with a layer of food and grass, and deceive the city gate."

"That guard is cunning, he may not fall for it."

With the lessons learned from Shi Wu and Shi Hui, Shi Yi became much more cautious. He stroked the hilt of the bronze animal-head sword at his waist. Outside the tent, the cries of night owls pierced through the rain, and the charcoal in the brazier occasionally burst into sparks.

Shi Xie traced a branch of the Li River with his bony fingers on the map. "Rang Shiyou tricked the city at the end of the Yin hour. At that time, the defenders are in great trouble. You lead another 8,000 people to ambush outside the city. If the trick fails, you can attack the city directly. You don't have to seek victory, just alarm the defenders in the city. There are no more than 10,000 people in Mengling City. They can't withstand repeated attacks."

"Let Shi Hui lead 50,000 men to attack Guangxin along the Li River," Shi Xie narrowed his eyes, "Mengling is an isolated city. As long as we can hold Liu Bei back for three or four days, he will run out of food and aid. Why worry about him not surrendering?"

"Here!"

Shi Yi clasped his fists and left.
It was indeed as Shi Xie had expected. After repelling two armies in one day and winning a series of morale-boosting victories, the defenders in the city, amidst excitement and fatigue, visibly relaxed their guard.

In order to prevent Shi Hui from reorganizing his troops and returning, Zhong Ping would stay on the city wall no matter how the soldiers guarding the city were rotated.

In the early morning, before the mist on the river surface had dispersed, twelve warships came breaking through the waves. The first ship had a flag with the Chinese character "Liu" on its bow, and the soldiers on the deck were all wearing leather armor decorated with white feathers and animal fur, just like the Bai Li soldiers under Liu Bei.

"Sir! It's the reinforcements from Guangxin!" The soldier on the lookout on the city wall was so excited that his voice trembled.

Zhong Ping frowned and took a quick look. He did not see any of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Chen Dao at the bow of the boat, which made him a little doubtful - given Liu Bei's temperament, if he sent troops to help, the leader would definitely be one of these three.

When the warships came closer, Zhong Ping noticed that the ships had a very deep draft, and under the thatched beds there seemed to be sacks of food and fodder. Could it be that the message for help had not yet reached Guangxin, and the one that came was a grain ship?

"Please open the city gate so that we can deliver food into the city!"

The two lieutenants at the bow shouted at the top of the city wall. Seeing that Zhong Ping did not move, the defenders on the city wall calmed down and waited for Zhong Ping's orders. They did not take the initiative to pay attention to the people on the boat.

Not getting a reply, the two lieutenants were obviously confused. One of them went back into the cabin, and a man dressed as a general came out a moment later: "But is there something wrong in the city? Where is the gate officer?"

There was total silence on the city wall, with only flags fluttering in the wind.

Shi Yi led his troops to ambush in the mountains outside the city. Although he had anticipated that the defender would most likely not open the city gate, he still couldn't help but curse the man in his heart as a coward who could only hide in the city and plot intrigues.

He was about to lead his troops to attack the city, but suddenly he came up with a plan. He waved his hand to summon a Li leader and gave him some instructions.

On the Yu River, Shi You knew that he could not open the city gate, so he signaled the man dressed as a general to bring the boat to the shore. He continued to shout loudly to attract the attention of the defenders on the city wall, while waiting for Shi Yi to send out troops so that he could cooperate with him in attacking the city.

Unexpectedly, Shi Yi took the enemy by surprise and divided his soldiers into two groups. One group carried siege equipment and went straight to the city gate, while the other group attacked the ships docked on the shore.

The Li people were all good at swimming and climbing, which was beyond Shiyou's expectations. There was a commotion on the boat. If Shiyi was not also a member of the Shi family, he would have almost thought that Liu Bei had great powers and instigated Shiyi to rebel.

However, he soon received a whispered message from the Li people's leader and learned of Shi Yi's intention. The several captains who had originally wanted to question him, at Shi You's suggestion, organized their soldiers in confusion to fight against the Li people.

Zhong Ping commanded the defenders on the city wall to shoot arrows, while paying attention to the fleet on the shore.

Shi Yi acted on impulse and did not inform Shi You at first, so the reactions of the soldiers on the boat were genuine. Food and fodder did leak out of the cloth bags that were pierced during the fight, which made Zhong Ping somewhat shaken in his previous doubts.

Arrows rained down from the top of the city wall, and the arrowheads were all covered with the sap of the tung tree. The whole body of the tung tree is poisonous, and they can be planted locally and are very accurate every time they are used. Originally, Shi Yi was planning to send troops to harass the city, but because of the poisonous arrows, a group of Li people who were attacking the city were killed in vain.

"withdraw!"

At Shi Yi's command, he led the remaining troops to retreat. The Li people on the ship saw Shi Yi withdrawing his troops, so they also dropped their weapons and fled in all directions.

The hulls of the ships docked at the shore were covered with knife marks, and several lieutenants were also injured, with genuine confusion and panic on their faces.

The general-dressed man stood at the bow again and said, "I don't know what happened in the city, and who attacked the city. If it is convenient, please send a brother to report. The ship is full of food and fodder, and we dare not make a decision on our own."

"Sir, do you see?"

As early as when Shi Yi attacked the city, the county magistrate ran to the top of the city wall and followed Zhong Ping. When he heard these words, his first reaction was to ask Zhong Ping for his opinion.

Zhong Ping placed his hands on the city wall and leaned over to look down. It was the first time that Chuan Zhongshi saw clearly the person in charge of Mengling City. He was surprised at his age at first, and then he was shocked.

Why does this face look so familiar?
He lowered his head to recall for a moment, and almost couldn't maintain the expression on his face.

No wonder the lord was defeated in every battle, it turned out that Liu Bei had already planted a spy beside the lord - wasn't this the person in the portrait that Xu Jing carried with him? !

(End of this chapter)