The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

"Rong Shen is deeply respected by the Grand Tutor..."

"What Grand Tutor or not Grand Tutor?" Chen Er immediately interrupted Xu Rong, saying, "I don't need to elaborate on Ding Yuan's tyranny; General Xu should understand it too. The allied forces of the warlords have probably already breached Hulao Pass, otherwise Ding Yuan wouldn't be in such a hurry to go to Chang'an. You are from Liaodong, which has now essentially become the territory of the Northern Autonomous Region. General, you can go back and see how the North is developing. I, Cao Mengde, dare not say anything else, but at least under my rule, every person is able to eat their fill. And look at the people outside the pass; what kind of lives are they living?" Chen Er pointed to the people outside Hangu Pass.

Xu Rong frowned even more deeply, still hesitating. Finally, Xu Rong's brows relaxed, as if he had figured it out. Xu Rong knelt down on one knee before Chen Er: "Rong greets my lord!"

"General, please rise quickly. Under my command, such kneeling and bowing are not customary. Respect in your heart is enough," Chen Er said, helping Xu Rong up.

"My lord, I used to think that all the lords in the world were the same. But since you came to Youzhou, the people of Youzhou have been living better and better every day. My fellow villagers often bring letters from their families in the north. I am also deeply shocked by the changes in Youzhou. I never thought there were such nobles in the world. Now that I have met you in person, I understand that there are such people in the world!"

"Hahaha, Rong's words have really elevated me to the heavens," Chen Er said with a laugh.

"My lord, please forgive my rudeness. I am but a rough man and not good with words," Xu Rong said with a smile.

Chen Er stopped laughing at the right moment, and then told Xu Rong his plan. In Chen Er's view, one should trust those one employs. Since Xu Rong had pledged allegiance to him, he had to trust him. Moreover, he could tell from Xu Rong's eyes that Xu Rong was not flattering him. After listening to Chen Er's plan, Xu Rong sighed, "Grand Tutor, oh no, it's Dong Zhuo who thought his plan was flawless. He didn't expect that it had already been seen through by our lord. I am ashamed of my inferiority to our lord's abilities."

Hearing Xu Rong address him as Grand Tutor, Chen Er didn't take it seriously; it was normal, he was just used to it. Chen Er said to Xu Rong, "I wonder if the soldiers under your command are trustworthy?"

"Rest assured, my lord, the two thousand soldiers at Hangu Pass are all recruited by me in Yongzhou. There are no soldiers from Xiliang. You can use them with confidence."

"That's good. With these two thousand men, we should be able to hold out until the reinforcements arrive." Chen Er turned to Chen Qun and said, "Immediately send fifty cavalrymen to the west to scout and reconnoiter. We don't want to be caught off guard by enemy attacks from behind."

"Yes, my lord!"

"Come, General Xu, take me to see Hangu Pass!" "Yes, my lord!"

……

Chen Er followed Xu Rong and quickly inspected Hangu Pass, but Xu Rong said, "Ding Yuan has the Divine Martial Cannon behind him."

Hearing Xu Rong's words, Chen Er beat his chest in frustration. If only he had come a day earlier! A day earlier, he might have been able to stop those dozen or so Divine Martial Cannons and strengthen his forces. But it was too late now; Chen Er could only rely on his existing strength to set up defenses.

Chen Er led a thousand of his personal guard cavalry, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and the rest were two thousand of Zhao Yun's most elite Youzhou cavalry. All the cavalrymen carried two flintlock muskets, short-barreled carbines, but these were far more effective than the matchlock muskets used by the Xiliang musketeers. Chen Er ordered his cavalry to bring out the two thousand flintlock muskets and immediately begin training Xu Rong's men in their firearms. The flintlock muskets were much simpler to operate than matchlock muskets, and within an hour, Xu Rong's soldiers were basically familiar with their operation. While they might not be accurate, they were at least not completely helpless.

Chen Er said to Zhao Yun, "Zilong, leave a thousand cavalrymen as a mobile force, and send the rest to the city wall. Also, do not leave a single flag on the city wall."

"Yes, my lord!"

In the past, others used numerous banners to create a diversionary tactic, but today Chen Er left not a single banner for the same purpose: to prevent the Xiliang army in Luoyang from grasping the specific situation on the city walls and thus deterring them from attacking the city easily.

The strategy of displaying numerous banners had been overused, so Chen Er simply removed all the banners. This way, the Xiliang army outside the pass had no way of determining the number of troops guarding the pass, and naturally dared not make any rash moves.

"My lord, I have a suggestion, but I don't know if it's acceptable?" Xu Rong suddenly said. Upon hearing this, Chen Er turned to Xu Rong and asked, "Tell me about it."

"My lord, I suggest that all your cavalry hide, and that my original troops continue to guard the top of the city wall. As long as the passing Xiliang army does not notice anything unusual, our army should remain hidden and on standby until Li Ru's convoy arrives. Perhaps by then our reinforcements will have also arrived. This will not only catch the Xiliang army off guard, but also delay the Xiliang army from discovering the change of allegiance at Hangu Pass."

"My lord, I think General Xu's words are quite right." Zhao Yun echoed. Xu Rong's suggestion was indeed quite reliable. They were after the money that Li Ru was escorting. As for the people in the rear, they were not important to Ding Yuan. Zhao Yun also suggested, "Moreover, I think our army should find out the situation in the direction of Hulao Pass as soon as possible."

“What the two generals say is quite right. It was my oversight. Therefore, General Xu, I order you to continue guarding the city walls. Zilong, have all the mobile cavalry hide in the mountains behind Hangu Pass. The rest of the men should remain hidden in the camp at Hangu Pass and not make any rash moves,” Chen Er said to Zhao Yun. At the same time, he also ordered Xu Rong to send a few men to scout the enemy situation towards Luoyang, and sent his personal guards to gather information towards Hulao Pass.

That day, two more convoys of the Xiliang army passed through Hangu Pass. However, these were just scattered escort convoys, and Chen Er did not have Xu Rong stop them. He simply told them to let them pass normally so that the Xiliang army would not discover anything unusual about Hangu Pass.

Watching the departing Xiliang army convoy, Chen Er said to Xu Rong, "Alas, I wonder how much gold and silver treasure Dong Zhuo looted in Luoyang. There are four or five of these scattered convoys. If I wasn't afraid that Ding Yuan would notice something amiss, I would have really ordered these convoys to be stopped."

"My lord, a small act of impatience can ruin a great plan! The real battle is yet to come." Looking at Chen Er, who was showing signs of childishness, Xu Rong smiled slyly and said to Chen Er, "Dong Zhuo, even with Li Ru's meticulous plan, he probably didn't expect that the troops you deployed around Shengchi were just a feint. The real main force is already in Jia County."

Hearing Xu Rong's words, Chen Er nodded and said, "Even so, we cannot let our guard down. If the allied forces have not yet broken through Hulao Pass, we will be in big trouble."