Havoc in Heaven

Since awakening the system, this was the first time Gao Yuan faced such a large-scale battle.

Although he had made all the preparations, Gao Yuan couldn't help but feel nervous; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold out and would end up dying here.

"Host: Gao Yuan, Character Attributes: Feminine features, ruthless, Comprehensive Evaluation: B+ (Bottleneck);"

"Strength A, Agility B+, Endurance A-, Horsemanship C+, Intelligence B+, Leadership B, Internal Affairs C, Charisma S-;"

"Martial Arts: Saber Technique B+, Spearmanship B;"

"Skills: Leaders Aura (D), Pursue and Attack;"

"First Life Mentor: First Life Mentor;"

"Equipment: Wu Anguo's Tubular Sleeve Armor (D), Zhao Yun's bright silver spear (B);"

"Items: Random Equipment Upgrade Card."

Looking at the system panel, Gao Yuan's heart steadied a bit; he was now a B+ level powerhouse.

With elite troops by his side, holding out for a month or two shouldn't be a problem.

Giving himself a pep talk, Gao Yuan continued to inspect the city defenses with his men. The basic layout was arranged according to Huo Jun's suggestions, so there was actually limited work for Gao Yuan to do.

His primary purpose on the city walls was to tell the soldiers that he was with them, thereby boosting morale.

Sure enough, seeing Gao Yuan in the city, the soldiers' confidence in holding out grew much stronger.

"Hey, hey, hey, see that? That's Commandery Duke Gao."

"How do you know that's the Commandery Duke?"

"Is there any other man in the world who looks more handsome than our Commandery Duke?"

"Let me see, let me see. Tsk tsk, truly handsome, even better-looking than those girls in the brothels."

"Shh, don't talk nonsense. Be careful not to let your mouth get you into trouble. The Commandery Duke has a gentle face but a strong spirit."

"Exactly, those foreign tribes even call our Commandery Duke the Jade-Faced God of Slaughter."

Overhearing the soldiers discussing his nickname, Gao Yuan wasn't displeased at all; instead, he felt a bit smug.

In this era where information was scarce and everything relied on word of mouth, having a well-known nickname was quite a prestigious thing.

Especially since this nickname came from his former enemies; that was a solid achievement, not comparable to those 'pheasant' nicknames from Liangshan Marsh.

The toungoo people's siege preparations lasted for ten whole days. Looking at the bare hillsides around the city, Gao Yuan couldn't help but complain.

"They really have no environmental awareness at all. Later, I must use this as a reason to properly fine these foreigners who don't know how to protect the environment."

Complaining aside, Gao Yuan's mind was actually racing, thinking of ways to delay time. Then, his gaze fell on those newly built siege ladders and battering rams.

"I've got it! Hahaha! Ma Song, go prepare fire oil immediately, the more the better."

"Understood!"

After being busy for so many days, the woodwork was finally finished. The siege would begin the next day, and they needed to conserve their energy, so the toungoo people went to sleep very early that night.

In the darkness, looking at the heavily guarded camp in the distance, Gao Yuan couldn't help but praise.

"This Toungoo commander is a talent; he hasn't slackened at all. But unfortunately, even the most meticulous can make a mistake!"

Gao Yuan gave a cold smile and lowered his voice.

"Attention all troops, I'll emphasize it once more: our mission this time is to burn the siege equipment. Do not get bogged down in fighting. If we get separated, return to the city by the nearest route."

Through word of mouth, this command was quickly made known to all two hundred cavalrymen following him.

For tonight's operation, Gao Yuan brought along his Personal Guards cavalry as well as the Xuanjia Army officers in the city, all just to set a fire.

During the fifth watch, the toungoo people's vigilance slackened a bit, and some sentries even started to slack off and find a corner to sleep.

"The opportunity is here. Move!"

As the horses accelerated, the thundering sound of hooves echoed through the night sky, and the toungoo people were startled awake instantly.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Get up, get up!"

"On guard! Get on guard!"

By the time the Toungoo soldiers scrambled out, they found that the sound of hooves didn't seem to be getting any closer. Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, many pottery bottles were thrown in from outside the camp walls.

The toungoo people's confusion was soon answered as a volley of fire arrows flew in from outside, falling like rain onto those siege ladders.

To facilitate transport and storage, these newly built siege engines were all piled up in the open space behind the camp walls. At this moment, the toungoo people paid a heavy price for their carelessness.

"Ah, it's on fire! Put out the fire, quickly!"

"The siege ladders are on fire! Fetch water to put it out, hurry!"

Ignoring their gibberish shouting, Gao Yuan led the two hundred cavalrymen away after completing their task, heading for the next camp.

These siege engines were all made of wood, and with the fire oil helping the combustion, they couldn't be put out easily. Instead, some people accidentally set themselves on fire while trying to extinguish it.

That night, Gao Yuan used the same method to raid two camps, causing total chaos before returning to the city satisfied.

At daybreak, the Toungoo commander Bayinnaung's expression was very ugly. Losing half of the siege equipment meant their siege plan would have to be delayed again.

Glancing at the two kneeling lieutenants, Bayinnaung said in a cold voice.

"Drag these two fools out and behead them!"

"Ah, Prince, have mercy! Prince, have mercy!"

The other lieutenants also set aside their thoughts of gloating and quickly stepped forward to plead.

"Your Highness, with the great battle imminent, executing generals is truly unlucky."

"Yes, Your Highness. It's better to let them make up for their failure by leading the troops to storm the city."

Bayinnaung hadn't actually planned to kill these two beloved generals; he just needed to strictly enforce military discipline. Now that everyone had provided an out, he took it.

"Since everyone is pleading for you, the sentence is changed to twenty strokes of the cane. I order you to replace the lost siege equipment within five days."

"Thank you for your mercy, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!"

The two of them kowtowed like pounding garlic to express their gratitude and then went down to receive their punishment.

After driving away all his subordinates, Bayinnaung showed a smile.

"Interesting, interesting. It seems this opponent is no fool. This is getting more and more interesting."

Inside the city, Gao Yuan was also very happy. Last night's sortie not only destroyed a large amount of siege equipment, but his attributes had actually improved as well.

In fact, the system had notified him while he was causing havoc, but he hadn't had time to look then. Upon returning to the city, he saw:

"Congratulations to the Host, Horsemanship has increased from C+ to B-."

Although it was only a small upgrade, Gao Yuan knew it was crossing a threshold—from barely adequate horsemanship to a good level.

There was still a gap compared to a fierce general like Xia Luqi, but Gao Yuan was confident that in this Southwest region, he was definitely among those with better horsemanship.

With his personal abilities improved, Gao Yuan felt even more confident about defending the city.

The toungoo people's attack was forced to be delayed, giving the defenders inside the city more time for preparation.

Under Gao Yuan's orders, the soldiers and civilians cooperated to tear down some of the government offices and houses of wealthy families in the city, moving the wood and bricks to the city walls to serve as defense materials.

Hearing that the foreign tribes outside the city were very arrogant and cruel, these Han civilians who had just migrated here not long ago worked incredibly hard.

Soon, the top of the walls and the base of the walls were piled high with various stones and wood.

On the other side, Liu Rengui's army had just finished their rest. Leaving the prisoners behind, he led five thousand men from the Second Division and Third Division to begin their return north.

However, his goal was not to attack the main Toungoo army, but to set his sights on their grain supply route.