Sima Fang was teaching the disciples when suddenly there was a commotion outside the house and chaotic footsteps. Someone rushed into the backyard. It was Sima Xun, the fifth son, who came in a panic.
Sima Fang was furious and shouted: "Shu Zi broke into the backyard without permission, how is it unreasonable!"
Sima Xun was sweating profusely and hurriedly replied: "Father, something bad has happened. Xu Huang has been defeated, and Ma Chao is coming to Wen County to kill."
"What?" Sima Fang's face changed slightly, and then he stroked his beard and sneered: "This must be a rumor. Although Xu Gongming is not as brave as Ma Chao, he is good at commanding troops, and he is easily defeated?"
Sima Xun said anxiously: "Xu Gai, son of Xu Huang, has led troops into the city to defend. The defeated army has reported early that Xu Huang has been captured and is about to take revenge."
Sima Lang was shocked and said: "Father, if Ma Chao comes, we will be in danger. Please evacuate quickly."
At this time, Sima Fang couldn't let go anymore and snorted coldly: "Huh, Zhongda plans for state affairs, and everyone is his own master. Life and death are determined by fate! Countless people have died in troubled times. If he becomes jealous of others because of this, he will immediately Isn’t my family the enemy of China?”
Sima Lang was still waiting to persuade him, but suddenly he heard drums beating loudly and horns blowing outside the city. This was a signal to urgently defend against the enemy. He suddenly sighed secretly, thinking that it might be too late to leave now.
Sima Fang ordered: "The prince has sent reinforcements. As long as everyone in the city works together, Wen County will be able to be defended. Boda can help Xu Gai appease people's hearts and defend against the enemy together. Allocate 70% of the money and food in the mansion to reward the three armies, and wait for it." aid."
"Yes!" At this point, Sima Lang knew he had no choice but to hope that there would be brave men under the heavy reward and that Cao Xiu's reinforcements would arrive earlier.
At this time, there were actually only three thousand cavalry outside Wenxian City. They were the elite cavalry led by Ma Chao. They galloped around the city with the four gates tightly closed. No one dared to leave the city.
Ma Chao urged his horse to the city, pointed at the guard and said: "Ma is here to capture only the Sima clan and has nothing to do with the rest. If he knows the current situation and opens the city earlier, he can avoid death! If you dare to resist stubbornly, On the day the city is destroyed, no scrap of armor will be left behind.”
The Wen County defenders were all panicked. Everyone knew that Sima Yi had set up an ambush to kill Ma Teng, his son and one hundred thousand Xiliang troops. This bloody feud would be difficult to untie.
Xu Gai came to the enemy tower and shouted: "Ma Chao, please release my father quickly, otherwise you and I will be at odds with each other."
"Hahaha!" Ma Chao heard this and laughed up to the sky, squinting at Xu Gai: "When a man takes revenge, he kills his enemies with his own hands. A certain person went straight from Xiliang to the Central Plains just to avenge his father! Since you want to take revenge, you should do it. The city is fighting with me, hiding on the city and barking wildly, I really am a tiger father and a dog son!"
"I swear to kill you!" Xu Gai blushed and was about to go down to the city for a decisive battle.
The deputy general's soldiers hurriedly stopped him. Xu Huang was no match for Ma Chao. Wasn't Xu Gai seeking death if he went out?
Ma Chao waited for a while and saw that no one was attacking the city. He said coldly: "Okay, okay, you are really willing to be Sima's lackeys, so I asked you to be buried with Sima."
Not long after, Pang De and Guo Huai arrived with a large army. Ma Chao divided his troops and surrounded Wen County on all sides. He prepared ladders, rams and other siege equipment to attack the city with all his strength.
Half an hour later, the Xiliang army began to attack. Amidst the thundering drums, the men and horses were divided into eight teams and attacked alternately. The wells and catapults were pushed to the moat. A row of behemoths shocked the Wei army.
After many battles and modifications, the siege equipment in the Han army's workshop once again became more powerful. The catapult can fire ten boulders at a time, three of which are wrapped in kerosene. The well rails are equipped with repeating crossbows and hard crossbows, which can attack the city. The defenders formed a complete suppression.
In addition to equipment, the Han army's crossbows have also been greatly enhanced. The Jiangdong navy is strong, and water warfare takes bows and arrows as the first priority. Their crossbows are the most advanced. Liu Qi has already gathered the two armies to improve them, and the range and power have been greatly enhanced.
Ma Chao, Pang De, and Guo Huai each led an army to hold down the position. Under the cover of the shield soldiers, Jinglan and catapults suppressed the position. A round of attacks was launched, and screams were heard from the top of the city, and no one was seen again.
Several defenders were shot down on the well railing. Xu Gai hid in the turret and did not dare to show his head. The huge rocks from the catapult roared down, and the arrows flew up to the top of the city like locusts. The defenders did not even have the strength to fight back.
Many stones were wrapped in oil-stained linen, and they were hit with fierce flames, as if meteorites had fallen. The oil packets exploded on the city top, and soon a wall of fire was formed. The soldiers hiding in the corner were also burned and fled in all directions. .
Ma Chao's expression was stern. Although he knew that the enemy was right in front of him, he suppressed his anger and calmly waited for the morale of the defenders to be drained away.
With such a powerful siege weapon, there is no need to let the soldiers climb the city desperately. The Xiliang army has suffered heavy casualties before, and it is not worth dying in vain after coming thousands of miles this time.
The siege lasted from noon to evening, and the weapon attack was very fierce. Ten of the rams had been damaged and burned to charcoal at the foot of the city wall. The Wenxian city wall was scorched black everywhere.
As dusk fell, another group of people rushed to the city. It was Ma Dai who came to meet them. Ma Chao ordered four of them to set up a camp each and block the city gate to prevent anyone from escaping.
…
Wenxian city was filled with mourners, morale was low, and more than half of the defenders were disabled. Xu Gai was also injured by stray arrows, and his face sank like water in the government office.
During the day, the Sima family distributed food and wages, which greatly boosted the morale of the Wei army. More than 3,000 people volunteered to join the army. After receiving the money and food, they vowed to live and die with Wen County.
But I didn't expect that the Han army's offensive was so powerful. After only half a day's attack, everyone lost confidence. The soldiers were unable to fight back. The people even withdrew from the ranks, returned their food and wages and hid in their homes.
Sima Lang was full of worries. This battle was related to the survival of his family. At this moment, he was on pins and needles and said to Xu Gai: "The weapons of the Han army are very powerful and the soldiers are afraid. If they want to defend the city, they need to destroy it..."
Halfway through his words, he saw that Xu Gai's arm was injured and still had blood stains on it. He sighed helplessly, cupped his fists and said, "I wonder if the young general has any strategies to defend against the enemy?"
Xu Gai also lost the vigor of the day. Xu Huang was captured. He led the troops alone. Only then did he realize the difficulty of facing the enemy. At this moment, he was about to cry without tears. He smiled miserably and said: "I heard that my father was defeated and rushed back to the city to support, but Henan Mengjin still has Zhang Ren’s 30,000 soldiers and horses, and they will definitely take the opportunity to cross the river. I’m afraid..."
Sima Lang's heart sank to the bottom, and he was anxious in the lobby. After a while, he stopped and gritted his teeth and said: "For the current plan, I have to settle for the next best thing."
Xu Gai asked hurriedly: "Sir, do you have any clever ideas?"
Sima Lang said: "Liu Qi has always shown mercy to others, and strictly ordered his troops not to kill innocent people indiscriminately or harass the people! The general can choose his best troops to rest for a night, and when dawn drives the people out of the west gate to surrender, he will send additional troops and horses to attack them later. The Xiliang Army They must be besieged, but we led our elite troops to break out from the east gate."
Xu Gai said in astonishment: "Since we are guarding generals, we should protect the people. Furthermore, abandoning the soldiers and leaving is not the behavior of a general. Who else will be willing to serve me in the future?"
Sima Lang said: "In an emergency, emergency measures should be used! The people of Wen County are no longer willing to help us, so what is the use of protecting them? Raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a while. At this time when the three armies are loyal, they broke through to protect the general. , it can be said that death is well deserved, why give up? If we wait for Zhang Renbing to arrive, we will undoubtedly die, and your father will be captured. How can the young general save his father and fulfill his filial piety?"
"What you said makes sense!" Xu Gai was already in a state of confusion at this time, so he had no choice but to follow Sima Lang's plan and select elite troops to prepare for a breakout overnight.
