Chapter 72: Pacify the Military's Heart!

  "My lord, once our great army withdraws, the Tiger Trap Pass will surely fall into the hands of the eighteen vassals outside the pass. Once the vassals obtain the Tiger Trap Pass, would they give our great army time to retreat?" At this point, Gao Shun's icy voice came over, pouring a basin of cold water on the generals, and their originally excited eyes suddenly dimmed.

  "Heh heh, General Gao, how could I not understand your meaning? So our army must seize the time, and withdraw before Taishi leaves Luoyang. At that time, when Taishi receives the news, there will only be two options: either abandon the wealth in Luoyang and urgently withdraw, or engage in a fierce battle with the hundreds of thousands of troops from the eighteen routes." Qiu Shui saw that the other generals looked somewhat downcast after hearing Gao Shun's words, and he sneered coldly as he spoke to the crowd.

  However, this remark did have an effect, and the generals' eyes all shone with spirit. Although Xu Rong, Gao Shun, and Lü Bu had some doubts in their eyes, after seeing the expressions of the other generals, they opened their mouths but said nothing.

  Qiu Shui saw this and knew what these people were thinking. He sternly faced the various generals and coldly said, "Where are Qiu Shun, Gao Shun, and Cao Xing?"

  "We'll be right there!" The three of them glared at each other, then quickly walked out with their fists clenched and shouted respectfully at Qiushui.

  "Now, the families of all our military leaders are in Luoyang City. You are currently on your way to Luoyang City, under the pretext of reporting to the Grand Tutor about moving the capital, and then relocating all their families to Chang'an. After leaving Luoyang halfway, abandon all luggage and hurry to Mengjin Port!"

  The three men heard this and their bodies shook with rage. In unison, they let out a loud roar: "We have received our orders! If there is any mistake, we will take off our heads to see you!"

  The various generals followed orders and prepared for their roles in the next attack by the vassals, preparing for the eighteen vassals to attack again.

  At this time, all the soldiers on Tiger Trap Pass were staring at the eighteen vassals' large camp below with a fierce and spirited gaze in their eyes, filled with fighting spirit.

  Although the soldiers were exhausted, they were filled with fighting spirit after receiving the order from their general. All the soldiers in Guan's army were filled with fighting spirit and for a time forgot the fatigue of the month-long battle.

  Originally, Qiu Shui forged an order from the Taishi to withdraw the troops two days later and move the capital to Chang'an. For a time, all the soldiers knew that they didn't have to fight to the death with the eighteen vassals of Guandong, which stirred up the passion of all the generals.

  Qiu Shui's order gave all the soldiers at Guan a sense of confidence and hope, their morale was greatly boosted, and they were filled with fighting spirit.

  Wails! The war drums sounded from the eighteen vassal states' grand camp, and instantly everyone knew that the enemy would launch another attack. However, at this moment, all the soldiers of the Western Liang army gripped their weapons tightly, staring intently at the movements of the eighteen vassal states' grand army below the pass, without a hint of fear in their hearts.

  The banners on the pass were blown by the wind, making a rustling sound. Guan Yu and Lü Bu looked at each other after seeing the morale of the soldiers on the pass, then held their halberds, shook them, pointing at the enemy army advancing slowly below the pass, and roared: "Fight!"

  A "war" character resounded on the Tiger's Mouth Pass, reverberating back and forth. The soldiers heard their general's angry roar, and all of them, like mad tigers, brandished their weapons in hand and started pounding away.

  Fight! Fight! Fight!

  All the soldiers on the top of Tiger Trap Pass roared with anger at the sound of their general, and for a time they formed a competition with obvious differences from the troops attacking below.

  "Hiss! Cao Cao's gloomy face gazed at the angry roars of the soldiers on Tiger Trap Pass, their morale changed from what it was before. He solemnly faced Yuan Shao and said: "Alliance leader, this isn't right! Our great army has been attacking Tiger Trap for many days, the defending troops on the pass have long been exhausted and demoralized, but now the Western Liang soldiers on the pass are even more ferocious than before!"

  After hearing the enemy's roar on Guan, Yuan Shao had already noticed the changes on Tiger Trap Pass. At this time, after hearing Cao Cao's words, he scowled and gritted his teeth: "What about that? Can't our army retreat?"

  Cao Cao heard this and quietly retreated, knowing that there was no other way and that a strong attack was necessary.

  "It's all just a show of force!" Liu Bei gazed at the Tiger Trap Pass with eyes full of vengeful anger, and coldly said to the nobles.

  After hearing Liu Bei's voice, the other lords nodded in agreement, feeling that it made sense. After all, the enemy had been boosted in morale for no reason, and perhaps it was just a show of force as Liu Bei said.

  However, Cao Cao glanced at Liu Bei with a look of disdain in his eyes. How could he possibly boost the morale of all the soldiers in Guandu by just pretending to be powerful? If it were that easy, you would also pretend to be powerful and boost the morale of our eighteen vassal lords like an enemy army, hum! Childish idea!

  Let go!

  Suddenly, arrows like a dark cloud in the sky fell towards the soldiers under Guan Yu's command, and the allied forces of various princes who had been besieging the pass for many days raised their large shields to defend against the falling arrows.

  Ah! The soldiers at the gate let out a burst of mournful cries and screams! Although most of the arrows were blocked, there were still some that slipped through, and these ones paid a painful price.

  After seeing that the arrows of his own army did not cause much harm to the enemy, Qiu Shui got a headache and felt that it was not worth it. However, when he saw the siege engines slowly being pushed out from the enemy camp, he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly shouted at Hua Xiong: "Hua Xiong, quickly lead some soldiers to build several high towers inside the pass, and have the archers shoot from the top of the towers."

  "I will obey the order!" Hua Xiong heard Qiu Shui's words and respectfully reported with a double fist, then hurriedly ordered the soldiers to build a high tower.

  Lü Bu heard the order of Qiu Shui and immediately reflected on it. He looked at Qiu Shui with admiration in his heart. In this way, the archers didn't need to occupy the city wall, and the rest of the soldiers only needed to defend against the attacking soldiers. Meanwhile, our archers standing in a favorable position could completely suppress the enemy's archers.

  Kill! Kill! Kill!

  Both sides burst out in a fit of rage at the moment of contact, raising their weapons to launch an attack.

  Guan Shang's autumn water had a clear and unobstructed command, rolling wood and stone, fire oil flying towards the soldiers climbing on the cloud ladder, throwing them down like dumplings, for a time the battlefield was filled with heart-wrenching screams.

  Lü Bu narrowed his eyes and looked around to see if there were any enemy generals mixed among the soldiers, looking for an opportunity to attack the pass. Three days later!

  Pffft! With a swing of his halberd, he beheaded one of the soldiers who had climbed up onto the city wall. Autumn Water stood proudly, gazing at the dark red sun in the sky. It was already the third day since Gao Shun and Zhang Liao had left.

  "My lord, we are ready!" Xu Rong, covered in blood on his armor, panted heavily and looked at Qiu Shui with excitement.

  Qiu Shui's face was cold and stern, and he nodded slightly, looking at the city head which had been in a fierce battle for three days. He asked solemnly: "Is there any news about Gao Shun and others?"

  At this time, Xu Rong, who still had excitement in his eyes, suddenly lost his luster, shook his head silently and indicated that he didn't.

  "Urgent report! Urgent report!" Just then, a general wearing black armor rushed up to the city wall and, upon seeing Qiū Shuǐ, hastily ran over.

  A soldier rushed to the front of Qiu Shui, kneeling on one knee and raising his head with his hands clasped together, his eyes filled with excitement as he said: "General, General Gao has already led the troops and their families to Mengjin Port, while General Zhang has prepared the boats for crossing the river. We are just waiting for your arrival."

  P.S.: Thank you to [Intelligent Handsome Man] for the reward! I've noticed that everyone in the comments section thinks the Three Kingdoms story is too long, but I've already written it out and can't change it now. In order to finish the story quickly and thank everyone for their support of my book, as well as those brothers who have rewarded me with their own money, I have decided to release two chapters every day next week. Here, I bow down to thank you all for your continued support! Thank you!