The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

"Hahahaha!" Hearing the allied soldiers' reply, Yuan Shao laughed even harder and said to those around him, "Whoever is the first to scale the city walls tomorrow will be rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold!"

Yuan Shao was in high spirits today and was indulging in a rare display of generosity. However, Yuan Shu in the allied camp was not so happy. Hearing that the allied forces had made some progress today, although it was also beneficial to him, the fact that Yuan Shao had now become the leader of the alliance immediately extinguished any remaining joy in Yuan Shu's heart. His teeth-gritting expression looked as if someone had dug up his ancestral graves.

The next day, early in the morning, everyone discussed that if they had any powerful generals, they should all go together to hold off Dian Wei so that he would not have a significant impact on the attacking army.

“My general Wu Anguo is worth a try,” said Kong Rong, the governor of Beihai Commandery.

“My subordinate Gongsun Zan is capable of fighting,” Lu Zhi said.

Liu Bei, the Prefect of Ba Commandery, stepped forward and said, "My sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are ready for a fight." After he finished speaking, the other lords looked at this unexpectedly powerful Prefect of Ba Commandery, Liu Bei. Behind him were two men. One was a burly man with wide, round eyes, who loudly proclaimed, "It's just Dian Wei! Watch me take him down!" Then, another burly man with a red face and a white beard behind Liu Bei said, "Third brother, don't underestimate your enemy."

Since the firearms units on both sides at Hulao Pass were not as advanced as the muskets under Chen Er's command, close-quarters combat remained the main mode of battle, especially in siege warfare. Dian Wei posed a significant threat, and most importantly, his indiscriminate killing greatly affected the morale of the allied forces. Now that Yuan Shao had raised this issue, the various warlords, who were still united, would certainly not hold back on this matter.

So everyone recommended their strongest generals. Dian Wei was very strong, but as the saying goes, there is no first place in literature but no second in martial arts. The generals couldn't agree, and finally Yuan Shao slammed his fist on the table and said, "In that case, each general shall lead a battalion to attack the city at the same time. If they encounter Dian Wei, they shall be intercepted and killed. If they are not able to defeat him, the other generals shall immediately provide support."

Upon hearing Yuan Shao's words, the argument among the generals ceased. Yuan Shao was now the leader of the alliance, and they had to be given the respect due to him. Moreover, Yuan Shao's suggestion was the most suitable solution at present. Therefore, all the generals bowed and said, "We respectfully obey the leader's command."

Yuan Shao was slightly annoyed. If he hadn't lost so many generals in the great battle with Chen Er, he wouldn't need to rely on these people. However, Yuan Shao wouldn't say these things aloud at this moment. He still walked up to Lu Zhi and said, "In that case, today's attack will still depend on Grand Commandant Lu's personal command."

Lu Zhi laughed heartily and said to Yuan Shao, "Alliance Leader Yuan, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to breach Hulao Pass."

"Then thank you very much, Grand Commandant."

Just as Lu Zhi was about to leave the tent, Liu Bei walked up to him and said, "Teacher, I have a suggestion, I wonder if it is acceptable?"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Lu Zhi stopped in his tracks. Liu Bei was his student and now the governor of a prefecture, so he had to show proper respect. Moreover, Liu Bei claimed to have suggestions, and although Lu Zhi didn't quite trust his uneducated student, the attack hadn't started yet, and there was still time, so listening to his advice wouldn't hurt.

Lu Zhi said to Liu Bei, "What brilliant idea do you have, Xuande?" "Teacher, Dian Wei and Hua Xiong are exceptionally skilled in martial arts. Although our allied forces have selected many generals today, I believe that Dian Wei should not be underestimated. I think we could mix some musketeers into our siege force, and if we find Dian Wei, we could kill him with muskets!" Liu Bei said.

“This…” Lu Zhi hesitated, “Isn’t this a bit too petty?”

Liu Bei stepped forward and said, "Teacher, our allied forces are a righteous army dedicated to restoring the Han Dynasty. Dian Wei is nothing but a traitor. Firearms are weapons in themselves, so how can he be considered a villain? This is a righteous and honorable act!"

Hearing Liu Bei's righteous words, Lu Zhi was also moved and nodded, saying, "I will remember what Xuande said. I have observed that your Ba Commandery musketeers are exceptionally skilled. How about we have our Bingzhou musketeers and your Ba Commandery musketeers take on this task?"

"It is an honor for the student," Liu Bei said with a smile.

"Excellent, excellent." Lu Zhi smiled as he left the tent.

An hour later, the allied forces launched their first attack of the day. The attack immediately intensified. The Xiliang musketeers on Hulao Pass were no longer firing indiscriminately with their heads down. Today, all of them were poking their heads out to fire at the enemy troops outside the pass. Lu Zhi silently calculated that there were about 10,000 musketeers on Hulao Pass, which clearly did not match their intelligence. It seemed that Luoyang had sent reinforcements again. Mengde, what are you doing? Lu Zhi thought to himself.

Chen Er had already advanced north of Luoyang via Bingzhou, so why was Luoyang still able to send reinforcements? Where was Chen Er, whom Lu Zhi longed for?

On the north bank of the river, more than two hundred miles northwest of Luoyang, Chen Er led tens of thousands of troops from the autonomous region to set up camp several days ago. However, they could not find a suitable crossing point. Chen Er was a little annoyed. Spring had just ended, and the melting snow from the upper reaches of the river had caused the water level to be high. The places marked by the spies were now impossible to cross due to the high water level. Chen Er was also a little conflicted about what to do.

Unable to find a crossing point, Chen Er had no choice but to order the search for a calmer section of the river, to find boats, and to cut down trees to build rafts for crossing. This was the only option available.

Knowing the course of history, Chen Er was extremely anxious. Based on the similarities between this world and the Three Kingdoms period of his previous life, coupled with the information relayed by spies in Luoyang, he believed that Ding Yuan definitely planned to move the capital and was already making preparations. In that case, Ding Yuan would surely plunder the wealth of the entire Luoyang. This was precisely what Chen Er was anxious about; he had come for this wealth. As long as he could cross the river, he could find a way to intercept the Xiliang army's convoy transporting treasure and take advantage of the chaos! This was Chen Er's biggest objective in launching this military campaign.

Of course, Chen Er still cared about his reputation, so he sent a message to the allied forces outside Hulao Pass, saying that the river level had risen sharply and it would be impossible to cross the river in a short time. The army was building rafts and searching for wooden boats to cross the river.

Upon receiving this news, Lu Zhi felt helpless and could only send a messenger to Chen Er to inform him of the hiding place of the boats when he crossed the river to the north.

According to the History of the Great Wei Empire, on June 1st of the 2188th year of the Yellow Emperor's reign, Emperor Taizu Chen Er personally led a large army across the river to the south, threatening the northwest of Luoyi and forcing Ding Yuan, the governor of Liangzhou, to withdraw his troops. On the afternoon of June 1st, just as Emperor Taizu Chen Er and his vanguard cavalry had crossed the river, the Guandong Allied Forces achieved a major breakthrough in the Battle of Hulao Pass, east of Luoyi, and Dian Wei, the main general of the Liang army west of Hulao Pass, was seriously wounded!