The strongest devouring system in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 267 They Surrendered

"Then let's get started!" Ma Chao waved his hand! His long-cherished wish of the past few years was finally about to come true. Ma Teng had always used Ma Chao's young age as an excuse to prevent him from leading troops alone, but now he finally had the opportunity to show his skills.

It has to be said that the teams in the self-governed area are very efficient. As soon as Ma Chao gave the order, the queue, which was just a single line, immediately split into three parts at the next fork in the road and advanced in three directions.

According to the plan discussed by Ma Chao and his two companions, they would gather in a small town on the border of Longxi in ten days, and then decide whether to directly enter Longxi to lay the foundation for the subsequent main force's attack and open up a good start.

"attack!"

Outside Wu'an County, after being rejected by the Wu'an squad leader, Ma Chao waved his hand and ordered his troops to attack the city. Although he only had one regiment with more than 3,000 men, the defending organization was even smaller. According to the intelligence he had gathered, the Wu'an defending organization had less than 1,000 men, most of whom were old, weak, sick, or disabled. It was unclear where the Wu'an squad leader got the confidence to refuse Ma Chao's offer to surrender.

Ma Chao was furious. This was incredibly disrespectful! My first battle as commander was being treated so poorly? Then don't blame me for being ruthless.

Ma Chao waved his hand, and the six generals' cannons behind him fired in turn. Originally, Ma Chao did not want to use these cannons, fearing that they would damage the city wall. After all, there were not many people guarding the city, and it could be taken down with just one charge. But now it seemed that Ma Chao had to establish his authority, otherwise any Tom, Dick, or Harry could humiliate him.

"Fire!" Ma Chao ordered the artillery to bombard the town three times before commanding the infantry to attack. At the same time, he ordered the cavalry to split into two groups to encircle and blockade the entire town, ensuring that no one could escape. He especially ordered the squad leader who refused to surrender to be found dead or alive.

"Come on!"

Accompanied by the drumbeats, the infantry regiments formed a complete line and charged toward the city wall. The defenders of the small county town had never seen such a formation before. The artillery was alright, although it was a bit intimidating, but there were only so many of them, and they were able to muster their courage and stand up.

However, when an enemy force three times their size attacked them in orderly ranks, these soldiers, who had just been converted from farmers or artisans, immediately fell into chaos. The county constable in charge of command on the city wall killed several people in succession, but he could not save the situation from collapse.

This time, the self-governing district's line infantry didn't even bother with slow-motion firing; they charged directly to within fifty meters, with half providing cover while the other half used siege ladders and ropes to climb the city wall.

In no time, two or three companies had successfully climbed the city wall. The soldiers on the wall opened fire on the soldiers of the defending forces who were trying to surround them. The smoke obstructed their vision and broke the last thread in the hearts of the Wu'an County defenders. They surrendered!

Only one infantryman was slashed in the neck by the approaching defenders. A nearby musketeer saw this and lunged forward to kill the enemy, but his comrade could not be saved.

"We surrender! We surrender!" One after another, the soldiers of Wu'an County dropped their weapons and surrendered to the infantry of the autonomous region. They hadn't wanted to fight in the first place, and seeing that there was no way to turn the tide, they surrendered immediately.

"What kind of battle can a bunch of old, weak, sick and disabled fight against these elite troops outside the city? They are outnumbered and their equipment is even more backward. The entire Wu'an County garrison has more than a thousand men, but only a little over a hundred firearms. The rest use long weapons like broadswords. This poses no threat whatsoever to the line infantry of the self-governing area."

Soon, the city gate was opened by the infantry. Looking at the opened gate, Ma Chao smiled contemptuously. They still dared to resist to the death, and didn't even block the city gate. They had no fighting spirit at all. They received the order to be safe.

Ma Chao mounted his horse and rode at the very front, as if he were conducting a victory parade. The squad leader who refused to surrender was ultimately unable to escape and was brought before Ma Chao.

"Are you the squad leader of Wu'an?" Ma Chao asked the fat man in front of him.

The portly man nodded repeatedly, much like a plump hen pecking at its food.

Ma Chao asked, "Why don't you surrender?" "Because I know I'll die if I fall into your hands," the fat man said.

Hearing what the fat man said, Ma Chao was a little surprised. Although he was not yet a formal organizer of the self-governing area, he was still familiar with the organizational rules of the self-governing area.

The autonomous district's organized teams treat prisoners of war well, and this is a well-known fact throughout the Empire. Surely this squad leader knows this?

"Don't you know that the troops under the King of Wei treat prisoners of war well?" Ma Chao asked, somewhat puzzled.

The fat man paused for a few seconds, then said, "I know."

"So you're still going to order resistance?"

Ma Chao was even more puzzled now, and even the infantry commanders watching the commotion were puzzled. They all knew why this squad leader was still resisting under such circumstances. Loyalty? No, that's unrealistic.

How loyal could a squad leader be to Han Sui? If he were a die-hard loyalist, he wouldn't have been captured alive by the soldiers of the self-governing area; he would have resisted to the end. This fat man is clean and doesn't look like he's been in a fight at all.

"Because my only son died at your hands!" the fat man said dejectedly.

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao lost interest in continuing the interrogation. He had initially thought he had encountered a tough nut to crack, but he hadn't expected such a dramatic turn of events. Ma Chao waved his hand and ordered the men to be taken away. Then he said to the commander of the Hebei Infantry Regiment, "Commander Zhong, immediately take control of the entrances and exits of the county town. Until my order is given, no one is allowed to leave the county town!"

"Yes, organize!" General Zhong accepted the order and left to arrange the guard duties and the detention of prisoners of war.

Wu'an County was Ma Chao's debut battle, and it was quite commendable. Although the difference in strength between the two sides was huge, it was still very good that Ma Chao was able to successfully capture the county with a score of three to over a thousand in his first battle.

(Not to mention that of the three men Ma Chao lost, two were wounded. Only one was truly killed in action, and all three were among the first to scale the city walls when they were injured by a surprise counterattack from the defending forces. This had nothing to do with Ma Chao's command.)

In war, people always die, and the battlefield is always full of surprises; who knows who will be unlucky in the next second?

Upon entering the city, Ma Chao saw that most of the people were emaciated and looked pale. He immediately guessed that the squad leader of Wu'an County was probably a ruthless opportunist who exploited the people.

Although the people under the jurisdiction of the Ma family organization in the more remote area were not exactly poor, it was still not enough for the entire county to be so emaciated. What was most chilling was the indifference in the eyes of the people.