Cao Jun attacked Tan County all night long, and the sky was red with fire. He thought he could defeat the city in one go. Unexpectedly, Lu Meng planned well and still failed to reach the city at dawn.
It was bright in the east. There was a layer of dew on Zang Ba's armor, and his face was slightly pale. He had lost thousands of men in vain. His men and horses were exhausted, so he could only give the order to retreat temporarily.
Just after returning to the camp to rest and prepare breakfast, suddenly there was a loud shout at the west gate, but it was Ling Tong who attacked from the city. By the time Zang Ba led his troops to support, he had already returned to the city.
After repeated setbacks, the morale of Cao's army was low. Zang Ba's eyes were bloodshot, and he dragged his tired body back to the tent. He saw Sima Yi sorting documents in front of the case, his mouth opened, but he didn't know how to speak.
Sima Yi sighed lightly: "Lü Meng is as capable as Zhou Yu. It must be expected that the general is eager for revenge. The Wu army is waiting for work. This is the saying that haste makes waste!"
Zang Ba put his helmet on the table. He calmed down and realized that he was being too reckless. He cupped his fists and said, "If you have any good ideas, please enlighten me!"
From the Yellow Turban Rebellion to the present, through Tao Qian, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu, the Taishan Army has been able to stand firm because Zang Ba is good at judging the situation and knows the way to advance and retreat.
As strong as Lu Bu and as forbearing as Liu Bei, if you can't understand the current situation, you will eventually be wiped out.
"Don't dare!" Sima Yi seemed to be a little surprised by Zang Ba's attitude, and said politely: "Lu Meng is good at using troops and has a lot of strategies. Now that the arrow is on the string, he has no choice but to use it. If the general wants to defeat the Wu army, he can only take advantage of the situation."
Zang Ba's eyes gleamed slightly: "The military advisor wants me to continue attacking the city?"
"Exactly!" Sima Yi nodded and said: "We arrived from far away yesterday and attacked the city all night before we could rest. The general can make a desperate move. Seeing that our army is tired, Lu Meng will definitely go out of the city to rob the camp and defeat it in one fell swoop. "
Zang Ba nodded slightly and asked after a moment of silence: "The military advisor wants Lu Meng to come to rob the camp tonight, can we use his plan?"
"Lu Meng is very scheming. He used this trick to defraud Tan County before. How could he easily fall into the trap?" Sima Yi shook his head slightly and said with a smile: "However, he divided an army to capture Houqiu just to prepare a retreat and interact with Tan County. In order to control the situation, we can provide support at any time. I did not attack Houqiu first, just to induce him to send troops: I only need to get rid of Houqiu reinforcements, and then pretend to be the Wu Jie camp. Lü Meng thought he had a plan, and he would attack from inside and outside. It’s so broken!”
"Congratulations, military advisor!" Zang Ba suddenly realized. He stood up and bowed deeply to Sima Yi. He then went out of his tent to send orders and sent out Qingzhou soldiers to prepare to continue the attack on the city.
Sima Yi sat alone in the tent, his eyes flashing with solemnity. Zang Ba's performance today made him look at him differently. This person is no less capable than Cao's generals. If he can be reused, he can be worthy of a big task, but he is worried that Cao Pi can't suppress him. , counterproductive.
Zang Ba went to rest first after passing the order. Although Sima Yi thought that Lu Meng did not dare to leave the city, he wanted to be just in case. This was his entire family fortune. Once he had no military power, how could the Cao family reuse him?
At Chen time, Cao's army launched another attack. Twenty thousand soldiers and horses surrounded Tan County and attacked from all sides. Sun Kang, Wu Dun, and Yili each led their troops, beat drums and marched in, as if they would not give up until the city was broken.
At Tan County City, Lü Meng personally supervised the battle, while Ling Tong and Deng Guang each guarded a gate. After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Jun's siege equipment was very sharp, with ten tall wells and heavy catapults, which posed a great threat to the defenders. , even unable to resist.
Huge stones fell from the sky, flying up to the top of the city with a roaring roar, some smashed on the city wall, and some fell into the city, making a terrifying sound.
The crossbowmen on the well can not only aim at the defenders and fire arrows, but also point out the direction for the catapults, attacking from both top and bottom, making the Wu army miserable.
When all the defenders were hiding under the city wall, Cao's army divided into two groups of cavalry to guard the flanks. The infantry pressed in from the center. The archers and crossbowmen covered the siege soldiers as they approached the city. They carried the ladders to the bottom of the city wall and climbed up like ants.
Lü Meng held his sword in his hand and stared closely at the soldiers ascending the city in the tower. At this time, the catapults were no longer in action, otherwise those huge rocks would kill Cao's troops who ascended the city without distinguishing between ourselves and the enemy.
"Beat the drums and shoot the arrows!" Lu Meng walked out of the gatehouse, drew his sword and shouted.
The Wu troops on the city tower stood up one after another. One hundred archers with accurate arrow skills aimed at Cao Jun on the well railing, while the other archers fired arrows at the bottom of the city. At the same time, the prepared rolling stones and logs fell one after another, hitting the enemies who climbed the city. Boiling water and boiling oil were also poured down, and the screams were horrifying.
After a night of offensive and defensive battles, Wu Jun's cooperation has been very tacit. The battle conditions of the other three gates are also similar. There is no need for the general to intervene too much. Each ministry acted in sequence. Arrows were fired from the city and fell to the city like locusts. Cao Jun in front instantly Throw it down.
Although the Wu army had few soldiers, they were all elite. In addition, they were in a desperate situation. Although they were exhausted, they all fought hard. Cao Jun continued to rush to the city, but no one could climb the city. Black smoke filled the outside of Tan County City, and mountains of corpses appeared.
After fighting hard all morning, Sun Kang and others saw that the attack was fruitless, so they could only rest and retreat temporarily. Seeing that Tan County was on the verge of collapse, but still unable to break through, everyone was angry and the military morale became more and more impatient.
Cao Jun retreated, and Lu Meng immediately ordered the soldiers of each battalion to rest on the spot. At this time, summer and autumn were changing, and the weather was cool. They spread straw mats and lay on the streets under the city, falling to the ground to sleep.
Ling Tong also looked exhausted. Seeing Cao's army besieging the city, he offered his advice: "It turns out that Cao's army has been fighting all night, and their morale must be low. We will rob the camp again tonight. The two of us will kill Zang Ba and Sima Yi together, and we can break the siege."
Lu Meng said: "Sima Yi is cunning and treacherous, so he must be prepared. What's more, fighting all night, the soldiers in the camp are also exhausted. Fighting alone is not a foolproof plan."
Ling Tong said anxiously: "Cao's army is attacking fiercely and has suffered nearly a thousand casualties today. If things continue like this, it may be difficult to hold on until reinforcements arrive. What should we do?"
Lu Meng sneered and said: "The Art of War says: Siege the city ten times. Cao's army will be ten times exhausted on me. The soldiers and horses outside the city are all the old Taishan Army. Zang Ba's confidants have lost thousands of soldiers in one night. I don't expect him to dare to use all his strength." Attack fiercely. After a vigorous attack, Cao Jun retreated, and his defeat has been revealed!"
Ling Tong wondered, "Since the general thinks so, I was about to take advantage of this moment to attack, so why did I miss the opportunity?"
Lu Meng glanced at the gloomy Cao army camp outside the city, and said slowly: "Don't forget Zhu Ran's army for our achievements! I ordered him to garrison Houqiu, just to relieve today's difficulties! Zang Ba relied on his own tyranny, so he didn't take Houqiu first, but went directly We came to attack Tan County and wanted to pacify the East China Sea with a single battle. If we are so arrogant, we will definitely bring shame on ourselves!"
Ling Tong frowned and said, "But we are trapped in Tan County and cut off from the outside world. How can we inform Zhu Ran of coming to rescue us?"
Lu Meng said with a smile: "Since I have expected this, what can I do and I have no arrangements? Zhu Ran had made an explanation before leaving. He must have found out the news at this time and was on his way to Tan County. He could make a surprise attack from behind Cao Jun. We should cooperate with each other inside and outside. Cao Jun was attacked from the front and back. Can An be undefeated?"
Ling Tong was overjoyed when he heard this, clasped his fists and said: "Liu Qi once said: The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead, and a new generation replaces the old. This statement is just in line with the general. This surprise attack on Xuzhou, both civil and military, predicts the enemy's opportunity, and may have surpassed the governor!" "
