Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Chapter 48: The Li-Guan Debate

Outside Julu City.

Zhang Fei still led his cavalry, as he had done yesterday, cursing and shouting under the city walls every hour.

Zhang Fei's fearlessness further confirmed that the Han army had already laid a net of heaven and earth outside the city.

For a time, the Yellow Turban generals in Julu City undoubtedly became frightened birds, not daring to respond to Zhang Fei's "family tree summons."

Even if Zhang Fei's curses were crude and vulgar, the Yellow Turban generals pretended not to hear them, only the Yellow Turban bandits who guarded the city with faith suffered.

From initial indignation to silence, they eventually became completely numb.

It wasn't until Shen Shi (3-5 PM) that Zhang Fei, after another round of shouting, was almost completely out of words.

"A bunch of spineless turtles, Zhang Sanye is tired of cursing!"

"Remember, my eldest brother only gave you three days to consider, and today is already the second day."

"Tomorrow, I will come again to curse you awake..."

Zhang Fei shouted loudly, then turned his horse around and led his cavalry back towards the camp as before.

This allowed the Yellow Turban bandits on the city tower, whose ancestors for eighteen generations had been whipped dozens of times, and who even inexplicably felt "ashamed to be human," to finally have a glimmer of light in their eyes as they watched Zhang Fei leave.

However, thinking that Zhang Fei would come to curse under the city walls again tomorrow, the glimmer of light that had just risen dissipated a lot again.

Unfortunately, what these Yellow Turban bandits didn't know was that after Zhang Fei left the sight of the Julu City's Yellow Turban guards, he suddenly changed direction, joined another five hundred cavalry who had gathered in advance, and quickly headed straight for the northeast.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

Zhang Fei tore off a water bag and took a big gulp, moistening his somewhat dry throat, and a trace of urgency appeared in his eyes, and the face of Li Ji, who seemed to be full of smiles, unconsciously appeared in his mind.

【Yide, rest assured, even if you rush to Boluojin at the end of Shen Shi, you will definitely make it in time.】

【On the contrary, if you disappear early, it is likely to arouse the vigilance of the Yellow Turbans in Julu City. Once the Yellow Turbans in Julu City react and support Boluojin, then Xuande (Liu Bei) is likely to fall into a desperate situation of being attacked from both sides.】

Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously appeared on Zhang Fei's face, and then he suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

Mister Zikun's tone, why is it so like a neighbor's aunt coaxing a child?

It should be... an illusion, right?

......

At the same time.

In a forest less than thirty miles away from Boluojin.

Liu Bei, leading more than four thousand soldiers, was resting in the forest, allowing the soldiers to relieve the fatigue of marching and making final preparations for the upcoming battle.

Li Ji squinted slightly, feeling a little worried about the situation on Lu Zhi's side, but he tossed and turned for a while and still found it difficult to fall asleep.

Immediately, Li Ji simply got up and strolled around in the forest, observing the state of the soldiers.

Although these soldiers had not undergone much professional training, their spirit was obviously much stronger than in the past, having followed Liu Bei all the way from Zhuo County to here.

More importantly, these soldiers were mainly composed of two parts: one part was the local militia of Zhuo County, and the other part was recruited from the Yellow Turban crowd in Daxing Mountain.

The friendship of fellow villagers, or the grace of saving lives, and Liu Bei's frequent use of favors, made these soldiers extremely loyal to Liu Bei.

Therefore, even though this journey can be regarded as a wandering march, the number of soldiers who deserted privately was very few.

Suddenly, Li Ji, walking to the edge of the forest, heard a sharp whistling sound. He cautiously walked closer and saw that Guan Yu was practicing his moves in an open space.

However, when Li Ji approached to a certain distance, he was instantly noticed even though he was facing Guan Yu's back.

Guan Yu suddenly turned his head, and after discovering that the person was Li Ji, he inserted the handle of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade into the ground, and then cupped his hands and saluted.

"Mister Zikun."

Li Ji looked at the distance that was still ten steps away from Guan Yu, and said. "Yun Chang's ears are indeed sharp."

Guan Yu explained. "As a general, one naturally needs to be particularly sensitive to the sound of footsteps, the sound of drawing blades, and the sound of breaking through the air. Otherwise, it would be difficult to observe many attacks on the battlefield with just the eyes."

"Then how far can Yun Chang hear the sound of an arrow breaking through the air?" Li Ji asked curiously.

Guan Yu pondered for a moment and replied.

"Guan can hear about fifteen zhang (approximately 50 meters), and my third brother is slightly stronger than Guan, and can distinguish whether there are hidden arrows attacking within twenty zhang."

Suddenly, Li Ji understood why Guan Yu, in the ranks of top generals, had been shot more times in his life than other top generals. It turned out that this was originally Guan Yu's weakness.

If Li Ji remembered correctly, he seemed to have seen Zhao Yun, who was also a top general, claim that he could distinguish the sound of arrows breaking through the air from a hundred meters away, and Zhao Yun had never suffered an arrow wound in his life of conquest.

A hundred meters is about thirty-three zhang.

Therefore, comparing them horizontally, Zhao Yun is obviously a level stronger than Guan Yu in this regard.

However, Li Ji still found it difficult to understand how Guan Yu and other top generals did such things, even though they were all human beings.

If someone shot an arrow at Li Ji, Li Ji felt that he would have to be hit at least three inches into the flesh before he could notice a cold arrow.

"Amazing, amazing." Li Ji exclaimed.

In response, Guan Yu said with a little more solemnity.

"Mister Zikun has praised me falsely. Guan once thought that there were few people in the world who could match me. Unexpectedly, the Yellow Turban man I encountered last night was quite strong, and after fighting fiercely with him for dozens of rounds, it was difficult to take him down."

After a pause, Guan Yu pondered for a moment, and then said.

"Even if that man didn't escape, Guan Yu is afraid that he would have to wait until his courage was exhausted, about sixty rounds before he could take him down. Guan has underestimated the heroes of the world!"

However, Guan Yu's tone was full of reflection, but from the words, Li Ji inexplicably felt Guan Yu's soaring arrogance.

It was as if Guan Yu took it for granted that the Yellow Turban rabble should not have anyone who could withstand three of his strikes.

"So, Yun Chang is continuing to hone his martial arts?" Li Ji asked.

"That's right, Guan has gained some insights from the battle last night, so I am pondering it."

After a pause, Guan Yu said without any concealment.

"The essence of Guan's swordplay lies in the first three strikes, which coincide with the essence of military strategy in "Chunqiu Zuozhuan · Duke Zhuang's Tenth Year"."

......

Li Ji.

Here it comes, this Spring and Autumn maniac turned the topic back to "Spring and Autumn" in a few words.

Fortunately, Li Ji had completely memorized "Chunqiu Zuozhuan" during this period of time, not seeking understanding, but seeking to deal with Guan Yu, so as to avoid the embarrassment of a college student being stumped by a primary school student's problem.

Immediately, Li Ji recalled a little, turned over the relevant section of "Chunqiu Zuozhuan · Duke Zhuang's Tenth Year" in his mind, and replied in a calm tone.

"So that's how it is, Yun Chang's swordplay coincides with 'In battle, courage is important. A single drum rouses the spirit, a second weakens it, and a third exhausts it' in "Cao Gui Discusses War"?"

"That's right!"

Talking about "Chunqiu Zuozhuan", Guan Yu seemed to be radiant a lot, and said.

"Therefore, the sword that Guan Yu strikes is based on the accumulated momentum. The first three strikes are heavier than the previous one. It's just that when fighting the enemy last night, the third strike was still forcibly blocked by that man at the cost of injury."

"Guan has practiced it again just now, but he still finds it difficult to make a breakthrough, so I don't know if Mister Zikun can teach Guan anything?"

It's just that Li Ji is even afraid of cutting his hand when playing with a butterfly knife, so how would he understand the Green Dragon Crescent Blade?

"Ji, knows nothing about weapons."

Li Ji said helplessly.

This made Guan Yu a little surprised.

After all, even scholars in this era were not comparable to the weak scholars who could not lift a chicken in later generations. "The Six Arts of a Gentleman" were the most basic requirements.

In addition, almost every scholar wore a sword, and therefore the art of fencing was almost a compulsory course for every scholar.

"Could it be that Mister Zikun has never used any weapons?" Guan Yu asked.

Hearing this, Li Ji had to reply. "When I was young, I did practice a special kind of spearmanship for self-defense."

"Oh? What kind of spearmanship?" Guan Yu asked further.

"Single-shot rifle."

Li Ji, who was troubled by the questioning, told a not-so-big joke, and then added.

"Unfortunately, that is a spearmanship that can only be used with a special weapon made by an old man in the mountains. Now that special weapon has been completely lost."

"So that's how it is, Mister Zikun only specializes in one kind of weapon, so he doesn't wear a sword on purpose."

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, and also answered the doubts that had been buried in his heart for a long time, and then continued to ask.

"Then I wonder, in Mister Zikun's opinion, how should Guan make progress?"

Faced with Guan Yu's repeated humble requests for advice, Li Ji pondered for a while, and had to reply.

"If you ask about weapons, Ji doesn't know much. But for 'A single drum rouses the spirit, a second weakens it, and a third exhausts it', I do have some understanding."

"Guan is all ears." Guan Yu said with a solemn expression.

"The way of military strategy lies in change."

"A single drum rouses the spirit, a second weakens it, and a third exhausts it is naturally good, but the way of courageous battle is by no means a single-minded strong attack, but to attack its flaws during this period, and to respond to the unchangeable with change."

After a pause, Li Ji thought for a while and suggested.

"Perhaps, Yun Chang can try the first strike heavy, the second strike heavier, confuse the enemy with the first two strikes, and then change the third strike from extremely heavy to extremely fast, attacking the enemy's flaws!"

In an instant, Guan Yu's slightly squinted Danfeng eyes widened, and he felt that the clouds in his mind had dissipated, and he suddenly realized!

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Immediately, Guan Yu, unable to restrain himself, quickly retreated ten steps. He focused and calmed his breath for a moment, then began to gather momentum, and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his hand danced once more.

The sound of the first strike tearing through the air was astonishingly heavy.

The sound of the second strike tearing through the air was even louder, but Li Ji could barely discern the trajectory of the blade, just as he had with the first strike.

The third strike…

Li Ji only felt a flash of azure dragon suddenly pass before Guan Yu's face. He couldn't even make out the afterimage of the blade's passage before Guan Yu's movements were complete.

Guan Yu sheathed his blade, laughed heartily, and said.

“What Master Zikun said is truly invaluable advice! I was previously too one-sided, forgetting that whether it be swordsmanship or military strategy, the key lies in ‘change’!”