"We’ll construct siege weapons while we wait for the scout report . We need to confirm their army placement and their number before we decide our policy . "

  Tian Feng concluded the meeting and returned to Yuan Shao alone . Meanwhile, other advisors did not like Tian Feng’s attitude since it looked like he decided everything and took all the credits alone .

  Seeing that Tian Feng had left, Feng Ji, Guo Tu, and Shen Pei surrounded Te Langpu and asked him, "Sir Te Langpu, what do you think of Tian Feng?"

  "Tian Feng? He’s a busy body, right? I’m minding my own business, but he kept dragging me around for some reason . "

  Te Langpu knew about the rivalry between Tian Feng and other strategists . As a former elite businessman, a façade or a politic stance was his nature . Dealing with these people was like having breakfast for Te Langpu .

  "Is that right? We didn’t know about this . By the way, the [Gunpowder] that you invented is awesome! Can you tell us the details about how it can be used?"

  Bootlickers swarmed Te Langpu as if he was a pile of dung and they were hungry flies . The chubby man’s face twitched, getting annoyed by these politicians . Yet, it still felt good to be the center of attention .

  Te Langpu puffed his chest, "Of course! Listen well because I’ll tell you this only once since there can be spies lurking around ……" ……

  "So, what’s the plan?" Yuan Shao asked Tian Feng .

  "We shall build trebuchets and siege towers first . The towers will have to be higher than the walls of Jia Xu’s forts . I also plan to build a tower that can carry a trebuchet on top so we can have the advantage of range . "

  "Good! Here is my army token! Use my army as you wish!"

  "Yes, Lord . " ……

  March 2nd .

  A scout team of three men, who were in tattered and covered in wounds, rushed back to Yuan Shao camp with their reports .

  "Report! We have confirmed their army number and their location!"

  Wen Chou and Yan Liang passed on the reports to Tian Feng as he was the decision maker of the entire army .

  In the report, their scout team of 200 men discovered several camps and bases behind the fortresses . On their way to return, they encountered a scout team of 100 men from the northern stronghold, and they ended up having a small battle .

  However, most of them were killed, but they could not even harm those scout team members . Most importantly, their scouts used hand crossbows, which was different than their previous repeating crossbows .

  "Hand crossbow?" Wen Chou was astonished .

  "Yes, sir! They have those little crossbows that can fire small bolts . Most of us died because they shot our horses with these weapons . "

  The scout drew a picture of a small handgun crossbow using the sand and dirt for everyone in the room .

  "Ah, it seems that they also have a new weapon as well," Tian Feng’s face was solemn, "What about their status?"

  "Yes, sir! We detected at least 5,000 men stationing inside the north fort and a camp that is a size of 10,000 men behind it . The flags inside the camp were [Zhang], [Gao], and [Li] . "

  Wen Chou touched his chin, "In other words, the north fort has about 10,000 to 15,000 men . But, does Zhang Tong has commanders with surname Gao and Li?"

  \r \r \r

  "They are not Zhang Tong’s men . Those guys are Jinyang Army men . "

  "What!?"

  The words of Tian Feng shocked Wen Chou and Yan Liang . They did not expect the Jinyang Army here .

  "That Zhang is not Zhang Tong or Zhang Jiao, but Zhang Liao . Gao stands for Gao Shun, and Li is their strategist, Li Feihong . Those three men are Lu Bu’s subordinates . "

  "Lu Bu ……"

  Wen Chou and Yan Liang had heard of this man . He was famous on the border as there was a rumor that he annihilated Xiongnu 10,000-man army by himself .

  "So, does that mean Lu Bu should be here as well?"

  "Likely so . Be prepared, you two . If possible, avoid all direct confrontation . We’ll keep our distance with their army . "

  Tian Feng walked to the strategic table and began placing their army tokens .

  Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Lan, Feng Ji, and Te Langpu were placed on the north, leading an army of 100,000 men, which consisted of half of the entire forces .

  Yan Liang and Wen Chou were surprised again . This was a declaration that their main attack would focus on the northern fort, where Jinyang Army located .

  "You want us to fight Lu Bu?"

  "We don’t have a choice . We have to set the north fort on fire so they can’t use these barricades to obstruct our march to Julu . "

  "Why fire?"

  "The fire will be carried by the wind, and it will swallow all of the forts . "

  While Tian Feng was answering Wen Chou’s doubts, he arranged more tokens on the map .

  Tokens of Qu Yi, Sui Yuanjin, Chenyu Qiong, Guo Tu, Shen Pei, and ten other generals were gathered in the south with 80,000 soldiers .

  Only Yuan Shao and Tian Feng remained in the center army with 20,000 soldiers .

  "We’ll concentrate on the wings . Use prong attacks, and put them into chaos," Tian Feng concluded the placement .

  "We’re not waiting for more intel? We still don’t know the other troops they have . "

  "No need . If Jinyang force is here, they should have a combined force of 100,000 to 150,000 men . Since Jia Xu is hiding his men behind the fortresses, we won’t be able to know their exact numbers . We don’t need to waste our scouts to get the additional info . We’ll assume that all 50,000 to 60,000 heavy cavalry units of Jinyang are stationing on the back while Julu army stationed equally on each fort . " ……

  Meanwhile, inside Anping North Fort .

  Details of the small battle between Jinyang scout team and Yuan Shao’s scouts were being reported to Zhang Liao, Gao Shun, and Li Feihong . All 100 scout members came back in full number while the enemy scouts were routed .

  "Your weapons worked well, Feihong," Praised Zhang Liao .

  Before Li Feihong and others marched to Julu, Li Feihong developed a new weapon for Lu Bu’s heavy cavalries and Jinyang garrisons, the one-handed crossbow .

  It was a combination between a handgun and a crossbow, which had a wooden handgun grip, a trigger, and a palm-sized crossbow .

  This one-handed wooden crossbow was widely used in western countries in the medieval period . The fire-power might be lacking, and it had a short range . However, it was easy to carry and use in a close combat situation .

  With wood logs and other resources in Jinyang, Li Feihong completed the mass-product model of their own crossbows, which was more compatible with their heavy cavalries than the repeating crossbows .

  Repeating crossbows required two hands to handle, one to hold the weapon, and the other one to reload . As riders had to keep their balance on the galloping horse, they could not utilize the repeating crossbow’s potential to the fullest .

  However, one-handed crossbows worked well with them . As a nature of their jobs, they often came to a brawl with enemies in close range . Having an easy-to-use one-handed weapon that could cover their close-mid range distance allowed them to maneuver their horses and shoot with ease .

  All 60,000 horsemen were using this as their secondary weapon, and it was used in the real combat for the first time with Yuan Shao’s scouts .

  "It’s a pity that these things have limited firepower . Or else, it would have been perfect . "

  Zhang Liao saddened that the crossbow bolts could not penetrate the standard iron armor of the enemies .

  "We have to develop Tong’s guns if we want that kind of firepower . "

  "Hmm . It will take years before we can mass-produce that . First, we have to get this gunpowder formula . Without it, guns and cannons are impossible," Li Feihong stressed and stood up, "I think Tian Feng should know about us now . I’ll return to rest and monitor Yuan Shao’s movements . Please take care of the rest . "

  "Ah, will do . Anything happens, shout in the clan chat, yeah?" ……

  March 3rd .

  Two days after the preparation, Yuan Shao Army had constructed two hundred siege towers, which were 10 meters tall . The height of the archer towers exceeded the defensive battlement walls of the fortress .

  Tian Feng climbed one of the towers to observe the fortress from afar . As soon as he could see the wall of each fort, Tian Feng’s face turned grim .

  Jia Xu had added shielded rooftops that could protect the defenders from archers . Inside the forts, similar archer towers were placed inside . Instead of having archers on top, trebuchets situated there instead .

  Each fortress hid over 200 of such trebuchet towers, which overwhelmed Tian Feng’s siege towers’ firepower .

  ’They’re well protected . We will be in disadvantageous if we exchange projectiles right now . But ……’

  Tian Feng climbed down from the tower and returned to the main army tent .

  Yuan Shao was not present in the military camp as he was relaxing in his private tent with his concubines . Tian Feng had the authority to mobilize the force as he wished .

  When he reached the tent, he walked to the strategic map and moved Gao Lan and 5,000 men toward the northeast of the north fort .

  "Gao Lan, take 5,000 men, 50 new trebuchets, and 100 siege towers to this location . I want you to push into their enemy line . Yan Liang, Wen Chou, both of you prepares 3,000 heavy cavalries and get ready to move at any time in the case Lu Bu shows up . " ……

  In the clan chat, Li Feihong and Jia Xu were exchanging reports and orders .

  "Movement report! An army of 5,000 men and hundreds of siege weapons are circling our fort . They are moving to our northeast . "

  "Are they in our range?"

  "No . They are keeping a distance . "

  "What are their siege weapons?"

  "Towers and trebuchets . Their towers are higher than our wall . "

  "Deploy Gao Shun and Lu Bu . Lu Bu can take 5,000 heavy cavalries and 5,000 infantries to stare down at them from a distance . Make sure he takes a few ballistae and trebuchets with them . But don’t let him attack . You can go with him so he won’t act beyond our plans . Let Gao Shun take 3,000 heavy cavalries and ambush this Yuan Shao unit from their northern flank . " ……

  Noon .

  Gao Lan and his 5,000 infantries were moving to their designated position with their siege weapons . The distance between them and the moat, which surrounded the fortress, was 700 meters away .

  However, they came across a problem . The moat did not just surround the forts, it extended northward beyond the fortress line .

  "I see why he wants us to move there . There is this long ditch that blocks our path . Once we can secure that position, we can cross this line without worrying about ambushes . "

  Gao Lan turned to his subordinates, "Men, we’ll create a bridge for our towers and trebuchets . Go cut the woods to make a path!"