Chapter 391 Cao Rens Miscalculation (1/2)
Chapter 391 – Cao Ren's Miscalculation
Cao Ren hesitated if he should march out to meet Kong Rong on an open field.
If they stayed in-door and waited for their arrival, Cao Ren could save his men's strength. The resource consumption would also be lower than marching out. However, they would be at a disadvantage had Kong Rong brought cannons with him.
Currently, all Cao Cao's officers knew about the potential of this siege weapon as cannons were most destructive if they were used against buildings, city walls, or large weaponry, such as siege towers, watchtowers, or trebuchets.
The only way to counter cannons were direct combat.
The number of Tong's cannons was still limited, according to Cao Cao's intelligence agencies. Furthermore, cannonballs could only kill a few dozen men per shot. Compared to repeating crossbows, this type of cannons was weaker when they were fighting against an army on a field battle. A loose formation could counter a round of cannon barrage with ease!
Judging the pros and cons, Cao Ren made up his mind.
”Gather our men! We'll meet them on the battlefield!”
Yue Jin, Cao Ren's aide, was dumbfounded by the illogical deployment order.
”Boss, it will be winter soon! We can wait for them inside the city and wait for them to freeze to death outside!”
”That's not going to happen! All of Zhang Tong's men are elites and experienced in warfare. If they're coming here, then there is a purpose! They aren't coming here to commit suicide for sure!”
”Come here with a purpose?”
Yue Jin stopped to think.
In reality, Cao Ren got tunnel vision, believing that Tong wanted to occupy Langye or destroy Cao Cao's forces. He hinted at his aide that Tong might have plotted a move that could catch Cao Ren off-guard and destroy his army with his cannons.
However, Yue Jin misunderstood Cao Ren's intention, thinking that Cao Ren wanted him to look at the big picture.
Pondering for a while, Yue Jin thought of the ambush ordered by their lord.
”Is this connected to the ambush plan? The one that we're supposed to kill Sun Jian and Tong's envoy?”
Cao Ren widened his eyes, ”What are you talking about?”
”You're not talking about the recent order?”
”I'm talking about the invasion!”
”What about the order? Don't you think it's connected?”
”What does this have to do with Sun Jian and the eunuch?”
”Well, are they trying to rescue these people?”
Cao Ren's jaw dropped, ”Is it?”
”I think Kong Rong's mobilization is a bait to draw us out of our territory so that Sun Jian and the envoy can slip through our net. Since they are coming toward Langye, their next destination will be Kong Rong's city.”
”I see! So Kong Rong is trying to help them!”
Cao Ren got goosebumps. Had Yue Jin had not warned him about Sun Jian, he would have neglected the ambush order.
”Which one should we prioritize, boss?”
Cao Ren groaned. Pondering for another minute, he made his decision.
”The city's safety comes first! We'll concentrate on the invaders!”
”Shouldn't we split our force and use a few thousand men to ambush Sun Jian?”
Cao Ren scratched his head, ”I'm not a strategist! How should I know!?”
Without a choice, Cao Ren asked for Cao Cao and others in the clan chat. Opposite of Cao Ren's initial opinion, Cheng Yu, Pu Jing, and Cao Cao had the same thought.
Cao Cao: ”Ignore the invaders. Use all your troops to kill Sun Jian.”
Cheng Yu: ”Sun Jian and the envoy's bodyguards killed Zhang Kai and his team. Using this as a measure of their skills, I don't think a few thousand men can kill everyone.”
Pu Jing: ”When a lion hunts a hare, he goes all out. Sun Jian and his men are no hare, so you'd better not looking down on them. Use everything you have to kill them even if you have to sacrifice Langye Commandery!”
Cao Ren received his order. He passed it to Yue Jin.
”Our lord and our strategists told us to ignore the invaders. We'll go after Sun Jian.”
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Meanwhile, Sun Jian, Wei You, Taishi Ci, and others arrived at the border of Langye. Because of several check-points and inspections by Cao Ren's men, their journey was delayed by many days.
Fortunately, Sun Jian and his subordinates were cool-headed enough to maintain their composure under pressure. Nobody suspected that they were the fugitives.
Still, everybody was on edge as it was apparent that Cao Ren knew about their arrival.
Taishi Ci reported their location to Tong in the clan chat.
Taishi Ci: ”We're at Langye border, half a day away from the city.”
Kong Rong: ”Our troops are at Gaomi County. Should we move further south? We haven't detected Cao Ren's movement.”
Tong: ”Kong Rong, move south to Dongwu County. If Cao Ren still refuses to move, mobilize to Langye and demand to enter the city.”Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.
Kong Rong: ”I thought we won't really attack them. Are we attacking Xu Province?”
Tong: ”Not really. Do not forget that we still have that agreement with Cao Cao. We have full authority to enter their territory since we have a master-servant relationship. In the papers, Cao Cao is my underling, so he has to open his gates to welcome us!”
Kong Rong: ”OH! I get it!”