When the emperor comes to modern times, history collapses!

"March through the catacombs?"

After hearing this proposal, think tank Yan Pu couldn't help but lower his head and think deeply.

Yan Pu frowned slightly, his eyes flashing with thought.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head and said, "In my opinion, Cao Cao does have a special team under his command that is good at digging ancient tombs and searching for treasures. If they really intend to use the surrounding tombs as a marching passage, theoretically it is not completely impossible. However..." Having said this, Yan Pu paused for a moment, seeming to have some concerns.

"It's okay, just speak boldly." Zhang Lu motioned Yan Pu to continue.

Yan Pu continued to analyze: "However, the number of troops outside the city is so large, a full 100,000, which is definitely not something that an ordinary-sized mausoleum can accommodate. Even those larger-scale tombs of nobles may not be able to meet the needs of so many people passing through at the same time.

I speculate that this possibility only exists in a large-scale imperial mausoleum.

But even so, there are still many difficulties in successfully implementing this plan.

After all, the imperial mausoleums are usually heavily guarded, and the internal structures are complex and changeable, so one could end up in dire straits if one is not careful.

Moreover, we don’t have any imperial tombs here.

At most there are some tombs of kings and princes.

Therefore, I believe that the probability of this plan succeeding is not high."

After listening to Yan Pu's words, Zhang Lu nodded slightly, agreeing with what Yan Pu had just said.

He sighed softly and said, "Perhaps they adopted the strategy of moving in batches. This way, they can reduce the risk of exposing their targets and can respond to various emergencies more flexibly."

At this moment, a general beside him interrupted and said, "Sir, no matter how the enemy appeared outside the city, since they have already appeared openly, they will not easily choose to retreat. We must be fully prepared to fight."

Zhang Lu nodded, a trace of worry on his face, and sighed: "Yes, I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle this time. I just hope that the soldiers in the city can fight bravely and protect our city."

Zhang Lu personally climbed up the city wall and looked towards the city gate.

Not far from the city gate, the dark mass of Cao's army stood there quietly like a tide.

Looking around, the dense crowd of figures stretched endlessly, there were at least a hundred thousand of them!

These soldiers were arranged neatly horizontally and vertically, with clear distinctions between rows and columns, and it was obvious that they were well-trained.

Moreover, everyone was wearing uniform armor, which reflected dazzling light under the sunlight, making people feel intimidated.

Zhang Lu and others looked at the densely packed, fully armed army outside the city gate, their faces full of astonishment, their eyes wide open, their mouths slightly open, as if they couldn't believe what they saw.

They had originally imagined countless possibilities in their minds, but the army before them was completely different from what they had imagined.

"What an elite army!" someone couldn't help but exclaim, his voice filled with shock and awe.

"I never thought that the Duke of Wei actually possessed such a powerful military force. It's really unbelievable." Another person murmured to himself, his eyes unable to move away from the mighty army.

"One hundred thousand heavily armored soldiers... My lord, in my opinion, these may not be Cao Cao's troops." Yan Pu frowned and said suspiciously.

You know, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the situation was changing turbulent and wars were frequent, the smelting technology at that time was quite immature and imperfect compared to later generations.

Successfully producing sufficient quantities of high-quality armor is undoubtedly an extremely difficult task.

Under normal circumstances, only generals who hold high positions and great power have the honor of being equipped with full body armor forged from metal.

As for many ordinary soldiers, they can only hope to have a layer of iron sheet as thin as paper to protect their bodies, which is already considered quite lucky.

However, at this moment, a jaw-dropping scene suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes - a full 100,000 fully armed and majestic soldiers lined up in neat rows!

They were all wearing the same standard armor.

And just from a careful observation of the sophistication and quality of these equipments, one can conclude that armaments of this standard are definitely not something that ordinary local forces can easily produce.

In order to feed and equip a hundred thousand heavily armored soldiers, one must have the solid support of an extremely powerful country.

Yan Pu thought to himself, "Based on the current actual situation in all aspects, even Cao Cao, who is so powerful and feared by the world, would find it difficult to raise such a large-scale and well-equipped army.

Even if all the forces, big and small, were united and worked together to achieve such a grand goal, it would be as difficult as climbing a ladder to heaven, and the hope would be extremely slim!"

To be honest, when he saw the huge army outside the city with his own eyes, even the usually calm Zhang Lu couldn't help but feel worried.

Although he stayed in Bashu for a long time and rarely went out, he always paid close attention to the changes in the situation in the world.

He is well aware of the strength and characteristics of each prince.

However, no matter how he thought about it, Zhang Lu felt that no force had such strong military power to create such a terrifying iron lion.

Even for the once powerful Han Dynasty, at its most glorious time, it would have been extremely difficult to muster such a team.

Not to mention that at present, powerful forces in various places are acting independently and constantly fighting with each other, making the situation extremely chaotic.

Let alone one hundred thousand, being able to make ten thousand would be enough to be proud of.

"However, if it wasn't Cao Cao, then who could it be?" Zhang Lu asked in confusion.

"This humble official really doesn't understand the situation."

Yan Pu thought hard for a long time, but no possible candidate came to his mind.

Not to mention leading an army of 100,000, even if it was only 30,000 to 50,000.

Yan Pu racked his brains but could not figure out who had such strength and ability.

At this moment, a heavily armored general suddenly pointed at the allied forces of the Ten Thousand Dynasties in the distance and shouted, "How bizarre! Look, sir, they are holding long wooden sticks in their hands, and apart from these, there are almost no other people holding decent weapons."

Hearing this, Zhang Lu hurriedly looked over and saw that just as the general had said, most of the soldiers of the Wan Chao coalition were holding a long wooden stick in their hands. This scene made him frown.

It would be logical to infer that if they were able to create such a large number of sophisticated armors, then there is no reason why they couldn't even produce basic weapons.

"Perhaps... those sticks that look like they are used for making fire are the unique weapons they use to kill the enemies in battle."

Someone speculated.

"Using firewood sticks to fight? How is that possible?"

Everyone on the city wall looked at each other in disbelief.

After all, using this thing as a weapon is beyond imagination.

"Sir, the most urgent matter at the moment is to quickly send an envoy to the enemy camp to inquire about their true intentions."

"Don't worry, everyone. I have already made some arrangements for this matter." Zhang Lu responded calmly.

Ahead, there was an army of one hundred thousand soldiers lined up in a mighty force, with neat military formations and flags covering the sky. The majestic momentum was frightening.

Faced with such a powerful army and unable to distinguish between friend and foe, the defenders in the city naturally did not dare to easily open the city gates to release the messengers. After all, no one could guarantee that the other side would not take this opportunity to forcibly seize the city gates and then capture the entire city.

So, we resorted to the old method.

A huge bamboo basket was tied with a thick rope, and several messengers were arranged to sit in it. As everyone carefully operated, the bamboo basket slowly descended along the city wall and finally landed smoothly.

The messengers quickly walked out of the bamboo baskets and hurriedly ran towards the army not far away.

Among the army of one hundred thousand, Zhu Di was sitting firmly on his horse, and with the help of a telescope, he had already taken in everything that was happening in front of him.

When he saw the envoys approaching, Zhu Di waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Let them come over!"

The sound was as loud as a bell, echoing throughout the battlefield.

After hearing the order, the messengers hurriedly quickened their pace, came before Zhu Di, and bowed respectfully.

Different from those arrogant and domineering people on the Internet in later generations, they seemed particularly honest and dutiful at this moment, not daring to show any disrespect at all.

In fact, it is not difficult to understand why such a situation has occurred. The Eastern Han Dynasty is now in decline, and forces in various places are rising up and dividing each other.

In such a turbulent situation, if you continue to behave arrogantly and domineeringly, you may very likely bring disaster upon yourself.

What's more, this time they are not on a diplomatic mission to other countries, but come to pay a visit to the generals of other forces. They are all of the same ethnic group, but the strength of their loyalty is different.

He was not a prisoner who was about to be executed, so there was no need for him to act arrogantly.

"I'm Zhang Yang, a humble servant. I've come to meet the general on the orders of the prefect!" The leading envoy bowed deeply again and introduced himself.

"Not a general, but a marshal!"

"Uh, this is your humble servant Zhang Yang, nice to meet you, Marshal!"

Wan Chao Zhu Di nodded slightly, indicating his response: "Get up, Zhang Lu sent you here, I think he has something to ask. You can tell me what you want to say, I will need you to help me reply to Zhang Lu later."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang and others could not help but look at each other. It was obvious that they had not expected Zhu Di to get to the point so directly.

For a moment, they were so surprised that they almost forgot their mission.

"Your Excellency is truly a man of kindheartedness! You are magnanimous and open-minded, and I really admire you. In this case, I would like to ask you for some advice. If my words are inappropriate or have offended you, please forgive me!" said the messenger with a smile on his face.

"Alright, alright, stop with all that nonsense. If you have something to say, just say it directly, don't keep talking endlessly." Wan Chao Zhu Di waved his hand impatiently and interrupted him.

Seeing the general's straightforwardness, the messenger stopped beating around the bush and asked, "Excuse me, Marshal, where are you from?"

In fact, before seeing the coalition forces of all dynasties, Zhang Lu and others thought that this army might be sent by Cao Cao.

However, when they witnessed the coalition forces of all dynasties with their own eyes, they felt that this was absolutely impossible.

Even if a war really has to start, at least we should first find out who our opponent is.

General Wanchao Zhu Di slowly said, "We are a group of people from various dynasties. Our purpose in coming here is to help the Liu family quell the chaos in the world and prevent the Han Dynasty from falling into ruin."

After hearing this, the messenger looked confused and blinked his eyes, obviously a little confused by what was said.

But after a little thought, he quickly came to his senses.

The Han Dynasty's royal family had the surname Liu.

Upon learning that the other party had come to help the Han, the several envoys present secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the current Hanning County does not obey the imperial edicts, it is still a territory that was personally conferred and appointed by the imperial court.

They can be considered friendly forces to a certain extent, so the possibility of a war or conflict between the two sides naturally becomes very small.

"I wonder why the Marshal came here this time?"

Although the messenger was nervous, he still asked.

Wan Chao Zhu Di raised his lips slightly, revealing a meaningful smile: "The purpose of my coming here is very simple, it is because the court wants to take control of this place again."

Hearing this, the envoy was slightly stunned, his face full of doubts: "General, now this Hanning County has always belonged to the Eastern Han Dynasty."

Wan Chao Zhu Di snorted coldly upon hearing this, with a flash of disdain in his eyes: "Humph, it's just in name only. To put it nicely, it belongs to the Eastern Han Dynasty; but to put it bluntly, what are you doing here, and what are the differences between those separatist forces?"

The messenger's face changed slightly after hearing this. After a moment of silence, he asked a few more questions.

Zhu Di seemed to have anticipated this and remained calm. He did not hide anything from the envoy's questions and answered them all in detail.

In this way, time passed quickly, and half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

At this time, the envoy saw that he had grasped all the information he needed to know, so he stood up to say goodbye to Emperor Wan Chao Zhu Di and prepared to return to the city to report.

Seeing this, Wan Chao Zhu Di said calmly: "Wait a minute, when you return to the city, tell Zhang Lu and others that I will invite them to watch a wonderful performance later. If they are still stubborn and refuse to surrender, don't blame me for forcing the city to break through without mercy!"

After saying this, the messengers turned around and walked towards the bottom of the city wall.

When they arrived at the foot of the city, they saw them sitting in the bamboo baskets that had been prepared in advance. Then the people above slowly pulled the ropes and pulled them up to the top of the city little by little.

Zhang Lu had been waiting on the city wall for a long time. When he saw the envoy coming back, he couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? Did you find out the other party's background and true intentions?"

"Sir, the people outside claim to be from other dynasties. They were invited by Emperor Xiaojing and Emperor Xiaowu to come to this dynasty to revive the country and prevent the demise of the Han Dynasty."

Everyone who gathered around was stunned.

"Are you sure you're not joking?"

"You were invited by Emperor Jing and Emperor Wu, so why didn't you say you were invited by Emperor Gaozu?"

"Even if you're lying, you have to make up something normal!"

Zhang Yang said hurriedly: "How dare I deceive you, my lords? Not only me, but others have heard it. According to the general, they can travel to various dynasties at will, and this time they were invited by Emperor Xiaojing and Emperor Xiaowu."

The messenger dared not hide anything.

He told all the information he had obtained.

"My Lords, Marshal Zhu finally said that he would invite you to watch a performance later."

Zhang Lu and the others were stunned: "Watching a show?"

Now that we are faced with a powerful enemy, who has the heart to watch the show?

Zhang Yang quickly added: "Sir, the commander-in-chief said that if you don't surrender after watching the performance, he will forcefully attack the city."

"In that case, let's take a good look at the performance of this great commander."

outside the city.

The muzzles of dozens of cannons were aimed at a corner of the city wall.

Zhu Di signaled the gunners to get ready. (End of this chapter)