Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms as Lu Bu: I Have a Pseudo-Apocalypse System

Deputy General Wang turned and ran back to the main force of the central army several miles away, leading his troops to set up an ambush.

Before long, the Xiongnu cavalry arrived. Xubudanghe took the lead and, seeing that there were indeed only two hundred Han cavalry ahead, burst into laughter.

He spurred his horse forward and shouted in broken Chinese, "Han general ahead, state your name! You dare to come to Liu Zhong's rescue with only two hundred men? Are you here to die?"

Ma Chao spurred his horse forward and proclaimed loudly, "I am Ma Chao, commander of the Ninth Army of the Liangzhou Group Army of the Great Han! You barbarians dare to invade my Han territory and slaughter my soldiers! Today is your death day!"

Xubudanghe didn't quite understand Ma Chao's string of official titles, but he recognized the words "army commander" and knew he was a general. He sized up Ma Chao and, seeing that the other was young, only in his early twenties, he became even more disdainful.

"You callow brat, how dare you spout such nonsense!" Xubudang sneered. "My five thousand iron cavalry have already annihilated three kingdoms and breached Han City. Your two hundred men are nothing but a drop in the ocean! If you know what's good for you, dismount and surrender, and I might spare your life and make you a centurion!"

Ma Chao feigned fury, pointing his spear at Xubu Danghe: "How dare you barbarians be so arrogant! Do you dare to fight me for three hundred rounds?"

Xubudanghe was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "A duel? The Han people are so old-fashioned! But since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish!"

He turned to his men and said, "Who will go and kill this Han general?"

A burly Xiongnu commander rode forward, shouting, "Your Majesty, this humble general will go and take his head!"

This centurion, named Gulichi, was a fierce general under Xubudanghe. He had once fought wolves with his bare hands and was renowned for his strength in the tribe. Wielding a heavy axe, he charged towards Ma Chao with a roar.

Ma Chao remained calm and waited until Guli Chi rushed close before spurring his horse to meet him. The two horses clashed, and Ma Chao's spear moved like lightning, aiming straight for his opponent's throat. Guli Chi raised his axe to block, but felt an extraordinary force from the spear, which made his arm go numb.

In the second exchange, Ma Chao changed his thrust to a sweep, the spear shaft slamming heavily into Gu Lichi's waist and abdomen. Gu Lichi screamed in agony and fell from his horse. Before he could get up, Ma Chao had already turned his horse around and thrust his spear through his chest.

The whole process took no more than two steps.

An uproar erupted within the Xiongnu ranks.

Xubudanghe's face turned grim. He said to the commander of his personal guards beside him, "Tufa Hun, go!"

Tuoba Hun was the commander of Xubudanghe's personal guards, and his martial arts skills were even superior. He wielded a long spear, spurred his horse into battle, and without wasting words, went straight for Ma Chao.

Ma Chao sneered and met the attack with his spear. The two fought for three rounds before Ma Chao feigned an opening, causing the bald man to miss with his spear. Ma Chao then swung his spear backhand, knocking the bald man off his horse, and finished him off with a final thrust.

Xubudanghe was greatly alarmed. Gulichi and Tufahun, both fierce generals under his command, couldn't even withstand three rounds. This Han general's martial arts skills far exceeded his expectations.

He dared not send any more men to their deaths, and he himself was not confident he could defeat Ma Chao in a one-on-one fight. So he brandished his scimitar and shouted, "All troops, attack! Kill them!"

A thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen charged forward, howling.

Ma Chao feigned defeat and shouted, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Two hundred Han cavalrymen turned their horses around and fled eastward.

Upon seeing this, Xubudanghe excitedly shouted, "Chase them! Don't let them get away!"

The Xiongnu cavalry pursued relentlessly, and Ma Chao led his troops in a retreat while fighting, occasionally turning back to shoot arrows, killing several pursuers and leading the Xiongnu towards the eastern valley.

After chasing for about four miles, they entered a narrow valley with low earthen hills on both sides.

Ma Chao led his army through the valley entrance, and Xubu Danghe, without suspicion, led his army in pursuit.

They had only gone halfway into the valley when suddenly they heard a great drumbeat from the hillsides on both sides. Xubu Danghe looked up and saw countless Han cavalrymen emerging from the hillsides, wielding bows and arrows, raining down arrows.

"We've fallen into a trap! There's an ambush!" Xubudanghe exclaimed in alarm.

Before he could finish speaking, Ma Chao had already reined in his horse, turned around, and pointed his spear forward: "Kill!"

The two hundred Han cavalrymen who had just "run away" turned around and joined forces with the more than two thousand Han soldiers who rushed down the hillside to attack the Xiongnu.

The valley was narrow, and the Xiongnu cavalry could not maneuver freely, causing chaos. Arrows came from both sides, and men fell from their horses one after another. Ma Chao took the lead and charged into the enemy ranks. Wherever his spear passed, Xiongnu soldiers were either killed or wounded.

"Protect the King! Retreat, retreat quickly!" The guards desperately protected Subudangha as he broke through the encirclement.

In the chaos, the Xiongnu trampled each other, resulting in heavy casualties. Xubudanghe, under the protection of his personal guards, finally managed to fight his way out of the valley. Looking back, he saw that only about three hundred riders had followed him out; the rest had either been killed or trapped in the valley.

The battle in the valley lasted for half an hour. The Han soldiers divided and surrounded the remaining Xiongnu soldiers, annihilating them one by one. Some Xiongnu soldiers lost their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy, but were mercilessly killed by the Han soldiers.

Ma Chao rode his horse to survey the battlefield and said to his deputy general, "Inspect all the corpses, finish them off, leave no one alive."

Deputy General Wang hesitated: "General, these prisoners..."

"We came lightly armed; where would we find the surplus provisions to feed our prisoners?" Ma Chao said coldly. "Besides, the Xiongnu slaughtered our Han city and killed our garrison soldiers; this is an irreconcilable hatred. Kill them all to avenge General Huo Gu and the brothers of Wubu Houcheng!"

"promise!"

The Han soldiers began clearing the battlefield, finishing off any remaining Xiongnu soldiers who were still breathing. The screams echoed through the valley, but soon silence returned.

In this battle, Ma Chao lured the enemy with two hundred cavalry, and the ambush troops came out and killed more than seven hundred enemy soldiers. Xubu Danghe escaped with only three hundred cavalry. The Han army won a great victory.

……

Gaochangbi, also known as Wuji Xiaowei City.

This military outpost, located on the northern route of the Silk Road and adjacent to Liuzhong City, the residence of the Western Regions Prefectural Governor, was much more fortified than Jinman City. The city walls were 25 feet high and 12 feet thick, with arrow towers at the four corners.

The city originally had only about 400 garrison soldiers and 300 civilian laborers, and stored enough grain to feed 800 people for half a year.

However, after news of the Xiongnu invasion arrived, Su Yan, the Chief Administrator of the Western Regions, and Wei Bing, the Commandant of the Wuji Division, ordered the sheltering of Han officials and civilians who had fled, as well as princes and nobles who had fled from Cheshi Qianbu, Beilu, Dongqiemi and other countries. The population of the city surged to more than two thousand.

Food supplies suddenly became scarce.

On the city wall, Su Yan, the Chief Administrator of the Western Regions, and Wei Bing, the Colonel of the Wuji Division, stood side by side, their faces solemn as they looked at the continuous Xiongnu camps outside the city.

Su Yan was about fifty years old, wearing faded official robes, his beard and hair mostly white. He was originally a minor official in Luoyang, sent to the Western Regions twenty years ago, and had never returned to the Central Plains since.

Wei Bing was slightly younger, around forty-five or forty-six years old, wearing a worn-out tube-sleeved armor and a ring-pommel sword at his waist. He came from a military family; his grandfather and father had both been stationed in the Western Regions, and he was the third generation to do so.

"How long can the stored grain last?" Su Yan asked in a low voice.

Wei Bing did the math: "If we eat sparingly, we'll last at most a month and a half. If the Xiongnu continue the siege, then..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Su Yan smiled bitterly: "A month and a half... The court is in turmoil and has not been in contact for many years. I'm afraid there will be no reinforcements."

The two remained silent.