Chapter 194 Final Gamble (1)
“Where is he!” Lu Bu made his horse run faster. This is Lu Bu’s horse riding skill. Lu Bu is strong in combat. He is even stronger when he is fighting on a horse. He grew up in Bingzhou, Wuyuan. Horse riding is very common in that area. It is to the extent that horsemanship is like a body instinct. Lu Bu is even capable of communicating with his horse.
With the Sky Piercer and the Red Hare, Lu Bu was fearsome even among the heroes. This was not something boasted by Lu Bu but reality. Very few could stand in the way of Lu Bu when he has Red Hare and the Sky Piercer. This is why most people rely on the city walls when fighting with Lu Bu.
“Detestable!” Sun Ce was a bit regretful of his speed. Lu Bu was more ruthless than Liu Mang. If it was not because Liu Mang shot Oolong, he would not need to worry about being chased by Lu Bu. While Lu Bu’s horse is good, it was not as good as Oolong. If he had Oolong, he need not fear Lu Bu.
Now Sun Ce could only rely on his two legs to run. He is Jiangdong’s Little Conqueror. He will strike back against Lu Bu but the time is not now. Sun Ce felt a bit depressed. Since when was he the one being chased?
“Now!” Lu Su stood up from inside the main camp.
Lu Bu was a bit slow. Sun Ce and his general reached pass the main camp’s barrier.
Countless soldiers from inside the main camp lifted their bows and arrows. Lu Bu is confident that the bows and arrows would not be able to harm him but the Wolf Cavalry would receive large casualties. Lu Bu definitely does not want that. As Sun Ce and his general were quite powerful, they would be able to stall Lu Bu long enough for the arrows to cause harm.
“Hmph!” Lu Bu stopped and strolled near the main camp. His Neptune Halberd was dazzling in his hands. He is a Wolf King. He is currently considering how to tear apart his prey.
He was truly fooled by the Sun Ce Army.
Good strategy! First, exchange armor with the soldiers to attract his attention elsewhere. He wondered why Sun Ce was so weak but the battalion of soldiers dispatched, dispelled his suspicions. They truly did not fear death. 1,000 soldiers dared to charge at 5,000 cavalries. Only the most loyal soldiers would be willing to do that!
As a result, Lu Bu really fell for the trick and lost the big fish.
In the main camp of the Sun Ce’s Army, those who looked at Lu Su all changed their impression of him. They thought Lu Su was ruthless and dared to use the fire attack on the walls of Wan Cheng was because he followed Sun Ce’s commands. They did not think it was strange because Sun Ce has always been a ruthless person.
Now Lu Su silently made 1,000 elites vanish from Sun Ce’s Army. They cannot help but be afraid.
Don’t save Sun Ce? How could Lu Su not save Sun Ce? There is no benefit for Lu Su if Sun Ce is dead. Besides that, Sun Ce is Lu Su’s master. How could the sentimental Lu Su not save him? But saving him would require a stratagem instead of giving up the main camp to fight Lu Bu’s Army to the death. Without troops, they would just be murdered by the heavy cavalry. The 10,000 troops in the main camp may be a lot but they would just scatter under the might of the heavy cavalry and be slaughtered one by one.
Lu Su stood on the watchtower. He did see ‘Sun Ce’ and ‘Taishi Ci’ and he knew that those two would not be able to escape according to their speed. However, Lu Su also knew that those two are not Sun Ce and Taishi Ci. The retreating soldier wearing the general’s armor and helmet, are not pretending to have power and prestige but are courting death to attract enemy attention.
Lu Su understood the situation from the first glance. He knew that those two were not his lord except that he did not know where. However, he kept quiet and did not say it out and watch the reaction of the others. Some are afraid to fight Lu Bu and did not want to go out. Some are anxious and wanted to take the initiative to save Sun Ce.
These are the people Lu Su chose to sacrifice. If Lu Su dispatched soldiers normally, the soldiers may be afraid and would not last long defending themselves from Lu Bu. Some may even be dissatisfied because Lu Su send them out to die. However, those that volunteered are different. They want to defend because they are not afraid of death. If they were afraid of death they would not want to stand out.
The loyalty of these soldiers were puzzling to Lu Su and the deputy general. They also confused the Wolf Cavalry outside. They all thought that the soldiers charging out were all of Sun Ce’s bodyguards. They were brave enough to attack the cavalry. They were brave enough to save their Lord. To save their Lord, any price is worth it.
The fighting spirit of the 1,000 lookout division soldiers surprised everyone even though they were eaten by the Wolf Cavalry. They also managed to stall the Wolf Cavalry long enough for Sun Ce to reach the main camp.
Most of the soldiers who died to save their ‘lord’ died in the first assault. This made Lu Su looked at Sun Ze with regret and apologized.
They are only victims to attract the attention of Lu Bu’s Army.
All the officers behind Lu Su were silent and afraid as they watched Lu Su. They are afraid Lu Su is sacrificing them without them actually knowing what is happening outside. To die without knowing anything is scary. All of these officers are now finding out how to garner favors from Lu Su.
“Milord! You are back!” Lu Su’s voice interrupted the officer’s thoughts. Sun Ce and Taishi Ci was brought back while being escorted by some of Sun Ce’s soldiers.
Sun Ce and Taishi Ci were both very depressed. Especially Sun Ce who was showing an extremely blue and ugly face. Anyone who opened their mouths would probably be severely punished. Sun Ce had high aspirations and even vowed to make Lu Bu pay the debt in blood but in the end, the oath was smashed into pieces. His pride was smashed into pieces by Lu Bu’s Army. Now he does not need to talk about how to repel Lu Bu but how to escape him. He came to Wan Cheng with his main army of 100,000. Now he is only left with 10,000 soldiers and 1,000 Danyang soldiers. He no longer has the foundation to siege Wan Cheng.
Tomorrow may be the day he retreats. Where should Sun Ce put his face? He finally understood the feelings of the Western Chu King and the ancestors of Jiangdong. If it was not because he still had a mother, a little brother and a little sister, Sun Ce would also want to commit suicide in Wan Cheng.
Not only does he need to face the elders of Jiangdong but he also needs to face Zhou Yu! When he wanted to dispatch the soldiers, Zhou Yu did not agree and discouraged Sun Ce. However, Sun Ce wanted to protect his wife and considers it a great cause. Zhou Yu was very understanding and Sun Ce took 30,000 of the main army. He even took Taishi Ci but now he really made a big loss.
Just as he was about to capture Wan Cheng, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry arrived.
*Howl* The 5,000 Wolf Cavalry soldiers howled outside the main camp. They provoked the Sun Ce’s Army from outside the range of the arrow attacks.
This action made Sun Ce very sullen. Sun Ce really felt like going out of the main camp to beat up Lu Bu.
“Milord, there is still a way to win!” Lu Su said despite Sun Ce’s sullen expression. Dishonoring the lord is punishable by death and at the end of the day, Sun Ce is still Lu Su’s lord. However, if the counsellor is unable to give these kinds of advice, then what is the use of a counsellor?
“Speak!” Sun Ce said without bothering to be civil.
“Milord, did you forget what we have prepared to counter the Wolf Cavalry?” Lu Su said as he looked at Sun Ce. When Sun Ce was attacking Lujiang, he has already prepared a strategy. The first was for the nobles to revolt within every city in Lujiang. Had the revolt been successful, more than half of Lujiang will be under Sun Ce’s control. Unfortunately, Liu Mang slaughtered the nobles in Wan Cheng.
The other method involves the Zhou family in Shucheng. The Zhou family would stall Lu Bu while Sun Ce would take 100,000 of the main army to storm Wan Cheng. After that Sun Ce and the Zhou family would cooperate to drive Lu Bu away. Unfortunately, this method has also failed. Both of these methods were meant to deal with the Wolf Cavalry.
“Now Wan Cheng is not ours and Shucheng is in danger. Which part of our strategy was feasible?” Sun Ce was confused. To defeat the Wolf Cavalry, they would need to capture Wan Cheng and then cooperate with those in Shucheng to corner the Wolf Cavalry. Now that Wan Cheng could no longer be captured, was the previous method still usable?
“That would depend on our marquis Lu Bu! Look at him treating the Prince of Shu with so much affection!” Lu Su said very lightly. He has learned from Sun Ce that Dong Xi was killed by Liu Mang and that Liu Mang has sustained heavy injuries. With this information, Lu Su can plan for the next step.
“If you win, the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry will no longer exist and Wan Cheng city could be captured the next day! If you could not win, the whole army can retreat and you can start preparing the army again for war.”
What Lu Su meant was, since the situation is already like this, Sun Ce might as well gamble everything he has. If he wins, then the gamble was worth it. If he loses, it would not be as much as what is already lost.
Sun Ce closed his eyes and thought to himself. He brought his main army consisting of 30,000 soldiers and horses. The remaining 70,000 are the private army of the nobles. He has already thrown away all his soldiers including the 10,000 Danyang soldiers. His remaining soldiers amount to about 20,000. Half of the remaining army are marine troops. The remaining half are his solution to the Wolf Cavalry.
If he is going to lose most of the army, he could just throw away the noble’s private army. Sun Ce does not care about their army and he was anxious to use them anyway. As a result, the remaining troops that he actually cares about is his 10,000 marines. Although the Wolf Cavalry is strong, they are unable to fight on water. In that case, Sun Ce would be very happy. This is because Jiangdong’s Army is recognized as the best on the water and is second to none.
“Good!” Sun Ce opened his eyes and showed a grim expression. He would gamble everything. He would capture Wan Cheng after defeating the Wolf Cavalry. If he loses he just needs to retreat to the Great River. As long as he has his marines, he would not need to worry. Lu Bu’s Army is strong on land only. In the water, Lu Bu is like a sick cat!
“In that case, I will go and prepare!” Lu Su bowed his head and left.