The cold wind blew bitingly, fluttering the robes of the people on the mountain.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly, his black beard fluttering in the long wind, followed by Dian Wei and Yu Jin; Guo Jia stood thoughtfully next to him.
He thought for a while and said: "Ming Gong, Zhang Xiu has a counselor named Jia Xu, who should not be underestimated. In my opinion, they may have other agendas and are definitely not defending Duyang City."
"Oh!" Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia, "If Fengxiao has any ideas, please tell me quickly."
"Ming Gong, with the talent of Jia Xu, how come you don't know that the small Duyang City can't stop Ming Gong's 150,000 troops? Since they can't stop it and they will die if they defend it, why not open the city and surrender? Since they won't surrender, it is expected that they will. A brilliant plan to turn defeat into victory.”
Cao Cao nodded and looked back at Duyang City at the foot of the mountain, wondering for a long time.
Guo Jia stroked his beard and thought about Jia Xu's clever plan.
Yu Jin stepped forward and said: "Ming Gong, I will attack the city first and test it first. Most of Zhang Xiu's soldiers are cavalry, how can they defend the city? If we attack Duyang in one go tomorrow, no matter how clever Jia Xu's plan is, there will be no way to save the city."
"Well... Wen Ze's words make sense," Cao Cao said with a smile. "Tomorrow, the general will supervise the battle and attack Duyang City."
Yu Jin was overjoyed: "I will finally obey my order."
…
Two days later.
Yu Jin ordered his sergeants to cut down trees, build arrow towers, and prepare hundreds of ladders in two days.
At the foot of Duyang City, Yu Jin was riding on his horse and looking at the four to five meter high city wall a hundred steps away with a grim look on his face.
Behind him, the charging soldiers were already carrying ladders and pushing arrow towers, ready to go.
He drew out the sword from his waist and ordered:
"Siege the city!"
On the top of the city, Jia Xu stood at the crenellation of the city wall, looking at the situation below, his face remained unchanged and cold.
Following Yu Jin's order, Cao Jun took shields and daggers and carried ladders, and attacked Duyang City with a loud killing sound. Behind him, the three arrow towers were slowly pushed towards the city wall.
When they were fifty steps away from the city wall, the soldiers on the arrow tower began to shoot arrows into the city.
In an instant, the two sides began to shoot each other.
Jia Xu was surrounded by guards to prevent him from being shot by arrows, but he still did not step off the city wall.
For a moment, screams rang out one after another, mixed with the sound of arrows piercing the air.
Under the supervision of the veterans, the new soldiers on the top of the city smashed down the rolling stones and logs, smashing the blood and flesh of Cao's troops who were going up the tower ladder from the city below.
Cao Jun held his shield and put the ladder up on the city wall, one by one.
Subsequently, countless Cao soldiers put their shields on their heads and climbed up desperately. The recruits at the crenel were frightened, their brains were blank, and they were blind and at a loss.
He was shot and killed one after another by Cao Jun soldiers on the arrow tower outside.
Jia Xu could see clearly through the gap in the shield and waited with his expression unchanged. The battle had just begun.
Fortunately, there were some veterans on the city wall who hid at the crenellations of the city wall. They picked up the stones and used the length of their arms to smash them down from the crenellations.
There were countless casualties below the city, and there were also huge casualties above the city.
In less than a stick of incense, more than a hundred people were killed or injured on the city, but it was even worse below the city.
Cao Cao stood in the distance, looking at the siege, with a calm expression.
If there is a war, there will be casualties. This is inevitable. Moreover, the first group of people who attack a city are never elites. Cao Cao will not feel sorry for these people. Their role is to help the elites pave the way.
Seeing that the ladder was put up and the arrow tower was in place, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "Let General Dian Wei come up."
The messenger conveys the order.
Dian Wei was wearing iron armor, broad-shouldered and round, and joined the battlefield with five hundred elite soldiers.
Having experienced countless sieges, Dian Wei knew where it was easiest to climb the tower and where it was easiest to avoid being hit by stones.
After all, he is here to perform meritorious deeds, not to die. If he is really hit by a stone, no matter whether you are a famous general or as strong as a tiger, you will die in one blow.
With a quick glance, Dian Wei chose the west entrance of the city.
Someone has climbed up there, but the person who climbed up has been killed.
Five hundred people immediately rushed over with Dian Wei.
On the top of the city, Jia Xu knew that the battle had entered a fever pitch, and immediately ordered the Xiliang army to go to the city.
Xiliang soldiers are not good at defending the city, but they are all veterans on the battlefield. They know how to kill the enemy and save themselves in battle.
The Xiliang soldiers below the city boarded the city, and the battlefield changed instantly.
The Xiliang soldiers who were good at shooting immediately shot Cao Jun on the arrow tower outside so that they did not dare to raise their heads. The new soldiers, without the obstruction of the cold arrows, lifted up the rocks and smashed them down violently.
Dian Wei boarded the city at this time.
Holding a short knife like a god of murder, he killed the new recruits with fear. When he saw Jia Xu, who was surrounded by people, he knew that this man was a big shot and immediately killed him.
When Jia Xu saw Dian Wei coming, his expression finally changed.
Chen Yu was so frightened that she wet her buttocks.
Just when Dian Wei was about to kill Jia Xu with a chopping knife, a soldier holding a short sword started fighting with Dian Wei. The two sides fought for more than ten rounds, but they were evenly matched.
Dian Wei was shocked.
He saw that the person opposite was over eight feet tall, with a strong build, a young face with raised brows, a calm and ruthless look in his eyes, and a calm and majestic sword technique, which made him a little unable to resist.
Dian Wei thought this person was Zhang Xiu and killed him even more desperately.
The man killed them all without any fear.
The Xiliang soldiers behind them surrounded them with long spears. Seeing that the situation was not good, Dian Wei retreated while fighting, turned over and slipped directly from the ladder.
The soldiers behind also retreated down the city.
When Cao Cao saw that Dian Wei was defeated even if he attacked, he knew that he could not attack today, so he ordered the gold to withdraw his troops.
On the top of the city, Jia Xu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Cao Jun retreating. His tense expression also softened, and he walked towards the man who had blocked Dian Wei just now.
The man was squatting in the corner to rest. When he saw Jia Xu coming over, he knew that the reward for today's action was coming. Just as he was about to stand up, Jia Xu immediately pressed his shoulders to signal him to sit down and asked, "It was you who defeated Dian Wei just now." ?”
The man nodded.
"What is your name?"
"The surname is Wei, the given name is Yan, the courtesy name is Wen Chang, and he is from Yiyang. He came as a soldier when the lord recruited him." Wei Yan looked at Jia Xu and said.
Jia Xu saw that he was sincere and brave, so he immediately promoted him to General Yamen, jumping three levels in a row (previously Wei Yan was promoted to Du Bo by Hu Che'er because of his good training performance).
Wei Yan was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and said, "General, I would like to thank you for your promotion."
Jia Xu patted him on the shoulder and said, "When this battle is over, I will introduce you to my lord. You should behave well."
Wei Yan was even happier.
…
Xudu, Yuzhou.
After three days of traveling, Li Tong finally arrived near Xudu at noon today. Six thousand people rested at a farm ten miles away from Xudu.
It was now noon, and the winter sun was like the lamp in the refrigerator of later generations, only bright but not warm. Li Tong was sitting on the ground of the farm, eating lunch against the cold wind.
He silently planned in his heart what to do to force Cao Cao to return to the city impatiently.
The only answer is to directly attack Xudu City.
But the city of Xudu is ten meters high, and they are all cavalry. It is impossible to attack the city. There must be some generals left by Cao Cao to guard Xudu in the city.
If there is a general in charge, as long as the city gate is closed tightly, everything will be safe, and it will be impossible to force Cao Cao to return to the army.
what to do?
Looking at a big dry tree in front of him, Li Tong thought for a long time.
When the food in his hand was finished, he already had a perfect plan in mind.
It's not that difficult, and it doesn't require fancy strategies.
Let a hundred people pretend to be ordinary people and enter the city, then seize the swords of the defenders, open the city gate, and then rush in with the cavalry, and they may be able to break through.
In order to prevent accidents, he finally decided to let 150 people sneak into Xudu City in separate groups.
