Not far from the northeast coast of the West Sea, there is a city called Gangcha.
This city is located south of the West Sea and north of the Qilian Mountains. It is surrounded by abundant resources and is easy to defend and difficult to attack. At the same time, it also controls the passage for the Qiang people to the west, making its geographical location extremely important.
Therefore, Ma Yi made Gangcha his new rear base to ensure that he could escape westward even after defeat.
At noon that day, Zhao Yun's raiding party, after several days of long march, finally arrived at a plain.
This place is located west of Gangcha, less than 30 li away from Gangcha.
Turning his head to look at the soldiers who looked exhausted, Zhao Yun immediately ordered the army to stop and rest for the time being, and sent out several scouts to investigate the situation in Gangcha City and the surrounding area.
About an hour and a half later, the scouts that had been sent out returned one after another.
The scout captain also located Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Zhang Liao immediately.
“Generals, according to the brothers’ reports, the city walls are covered with flags and the city guards are stationed every three steps. It is estimated that the city’s garrison is at least 20,000 men.”
There are also three large tribes nearby, each with tens of thousands of members. They seem to have just migrated here recently. It's likely that Gangcha City is too small to accommodate so many people and livestock..."
Upon hearing the scout captain's report, Zhang Liao frowned and looked at Zhao Yun, saying, "Zilong, five days have passed since our army set out. We must take Gangcha within two days, otherwise Ma Yi will lead his troops back to reinforce, and then we'll be in trouble!"
"Um!"
Zhao Yun nodded and began to ponder a strategy for attacking the city.
Lu Bu, on the other hand, was leisurely wiping his halberd, showing no inclination to think of a solution.
Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao pondered for a long time but could not come up with a good solution. They could only look helplessly at Lü Bu beside them.
Throughout history, sieges have always been a last resort, a desperate measure when the attacking side has an overwhelming numerical advantage and it takes a long time to breach the enemy's city walls.
It would be virtually impossible to capture a city garrisoned by 20,000 men in two days with only 25,000 cavalry.
"Senior brother, do you have any good methods to break through the city?"
Seeing Lü Bu's calm expression, Zhao Yun stepped forward with anticipation and asked.
"There's no good solution!"
Lu Bu replied calmly, still intently wiping his halberd.
"this……"
Upon seeing this, Zhao Yun was slightly taken aback, somewhat not understanding the meaning behind Lü Bu's words.
Zhang Liao, standing to the side, suddenly brightened up: "No matter what the method is, as long as it can break through the city, it's a good method!"
"Ah, yes, yes, as long as we can break through the city, that's fine!" Zhao Yun nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Lü Bu stopped what he was doing, glanced at the two men, and said in a deep voice, "According to the scouts' report, Gangcha is just a small city, and it can't accommodate too many people."
Therefore, both the garrison inside the city and the three tribes outside the city should be people that Ma Yi brought from his original lair.
The garrison inside the city and the tribes outside should have a close relationship…
Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao's expression shifted: "General Lü means to capture the Qiang people from the tribes outside the city and use them to breach the city?"
Lu Bu nodded: "That's right. Once the people from the tribe appear outside Gangcha City, the garrison will definitely have to think twice and won't dare to resist with all their might...!"
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea!"
Zhang Liao nodded, then looked at Zhao Yun and asked, "Zilong, what do you think?"
“This is a good idea!” Zhao Yun hesitated, “but it will inevitably damage the image of our Han army!”
"Zilong, the image of the Han army is important, but if we don't do this, we will have no choice but to launch a full-scale attack."
Our forces are not superior, and we lack logistical support. Even with a relentless attack regardless of the cost, we cannot capture the city within two days.
Compared to His Majesty's plans and the lives of our soldiers, which do you consider more important?
Seeing Zhao Yun's hesitant expression, Zhang Liao also asked him anxiously.
Hearing Zhang Liao's words, Zhao Yun no longer hesitated.
"Wen Yuan is right. Compared to His Majesty's plans and the lives of the soldiers, what does mere reputation matter?"
As he spoke, Zhao Yun looked at the messenger beside him and said, "Pass down the order: the army shall immediately assemble and launch a surprise attack on the three tribes outside Gangcha City, and capture all the herdsmen!"
"Here you go!"
The messenger agreed and then rode away.
Soon, Zhao Yun's order was relayed, and the soldiers, who had been resting for a long time, quickly got ready to set off.
Finally, after discussion, the army split into three routes: Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao each led 10,000 Xiliang cavalry, while Lü Bu led 5,000 Bingzhou wolf cavalry, and at the same time launched a surprise attack on the three tribes outside Gangcha City.
The three tribes were located to the south, west, and north of Gangcha City, respectively.
Zhao Yun was in charge of attacking the eastern part, Lü Bu was in charge of attacking the south, and Zhang Liao was in charge of attacking the north.
Soon, the army split into three and rushed towards the three tribes outside Gangcha City.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Zhao Yun led 10,000 cavalrymen to the vicinity of the target tribe.
At this point, there was less than an hour left until sunset.
Before darkness fell, the women in the tribe hurriedly began preparing dinner, while the men drove the livestock into their pens.
In the twilight breeze, the faint sound of horses' hooves suddenly drifted by, and the people in the tribe couldn't help but look up into the distance.
By this time, a small portion of the sun had already sunk below the horizon, its dark red light carrying a hint of chill.
The sound of horses' hooves, like muffled thunder, grew closer and closer. In their sight, a large dark shadow, illuminated by the setting sun, was rapidly approaching their tribe, seemingly about to drag them into darkness.
As the women screamed, the men in the tribe snapped out of their daze and hurriedly ran to their tents, frantically grabbing their knives and bows.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun's Xiliang cavalry was less than half a mile away from the tribe. In the afterglow of the setting sun, they seemed to be coated with a layer of red blood, which made people feel a chill in their hearts.
As the men of the tribe rushed out of their tents with their weapons, Zhao Yun's Xiliang cavalry also arrived at the tribe's vicinity.
Zhao Yun, who was charging at the forefront, pulled on the reins, and his white steed leaped up, jumping over the fence in front of him. His Dragon Gallant Silver Spear then pierced the chest of a Qiang man.
At the same time, the Xiliang cavalry behind Zhao Yun also followed him into the fray.
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