When the sun set in the west, corpses were strewn all over Shouchun City, real blood flowed into rivers, and the moat was dyed red.
The day's siege also ended as the sun set. Shouchun City has a large number of soldiers and abundant food and grass. It is impossible to capture Shouchun City in a short time. Although Yuan Shu crossed south, this does not mean that Shouchun City will surrender without a fight.
The city's guards will be led by Chen Ji, with Li Feng, Lejiu and Liang Gang as deputy generals. They work together to defend the city. They know in their hearts that when Cao's army comes from far away, they will not have much food and grass. As long as they can hold Shouchun City for more than a month, Cao's army will inevitably retreat, and at that time, they will be the heroes.
There are 100,000 troops in the city, so there is no need to worry about soldiers and food.
There was a protracted battle to attack and defend the city inside and outside the city. The food and fodder of Cao Cao's coalition forces was deteriorating and gradually running out.
After a stalemate for more than a month, Cao Cao finally ran out of food.
Zhang Xiu's army was the first to experience a shortage of food and grass, because he not only ate it by humans, but also chewed it by horses, and he quickly ate all the food and grass he brought. He knew this result before he came to attack Shouchun City.
He also remembered that Cao Cao seemed to have killed a warehouse official named Wang Hou to quell the chaos caused by insufficient food and grass.
So, when Wei Yan came from the direction of Huoshan, he brought three thousand stones of food and grass, which solved the urgent need, but the entire coalition army was still worried about the food and grass problem.
At this time, Cao Cao beat drums to gather his generals.
Zhang Xiu, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu led people to Cao Ying.
When he arrived at Cao Cao's camp, Zhang Xiu saw a human head hanging on a high pole in the camp. It must be Wang Jie. He also saw Cao Cao's announcement on the way out of the camp: Wang Jie stole official rations because of his dendrobium cultivation. , please follow military law.
After seeing it, Zhang Xiu knew that the decisive battle was about to begin.
Entering the military tent, Cao Cao looked gloomy and asked them to sit down. He said seriously: "We have joined forces to attack the city. The stalemate has lasted for more than a month. Shouchun City is still in the hands of the rebels. The city is not broken. How can we return to the army?" Gentlemen, we don’t have much food and supplies, so please work together to break the city within three days. I will come to the city in person. If the city is not broken, I will kill them all!"
When he said the word "Zhan", Cao Cao showed a plain, scalp-numbing murderous aura.
Zhang Xiu keenly felt that Cao Cao was not targeting anyone this time, but was giving an order to treat everyone equally. After all, this was related to the survival of a hundred thousand troops, including all of them here.
The three men suddenly stood up and said solemnly: "The last general will be on the front line and use all his strength to break the city."
Cao Cao stood up with a serious look on his face: "Everyone, you will work together to attack the city tomorrow. We must defeat Shouchun City!"
The next day, the three armies prepared for war.
This time, Zhang Xiu had to order 3,000 men to dismount and attack the city in preparation for the final battle.
Looking at Shouchun City dyed red with blood, a chilling feeling filled the air, and the soldiers mustered up their courage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of drums resounded throughout the world, and everyone's hearts lifted to the beat of the drums, and their chests were filled with the passion for fighting.
Cao Cao suddenly drew out the sword from his waist and shouted: "Attack the city!"
The messenger waved the flag and passed the order, and the four gates attacked the city at the same time. The roar was mixed with the sound of drums.
Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Zhang Xiu went into battle in person, supported by hundreds of soldiers on the left and right, holding shields and filling in the almost filled moat. The defenders on the city also keenly felt that the decisive battle was imminent.
Arrows and rolling stones were fired and smashed down on the city for free. Countless soldiers were killed and wounded below the city.
Dian Wei and Xu Chu took the lead and climbed up the ladder and entered the city. With their big and round bodies, they brandished their swords and slashed left and right after entering the city. They killed Yuan Jun and fled in fear. Then countless Cao troops boarded the city, drove back the defenders on the north, cut off the gates and locked them up, opened the north gate, and a large group of people rushed in.
Once the north side was broken, the three gates were immediately powerless to resist and the city gate was breached.
Shouchun City was destroyed.
Li Feng, Chen Ji, Lejiu and Liang Gang were captured alive, and Cao Cao ordered them to be killed.
After Zhang Xiu entered from the west gate, his cavalry were as fast as lightning and rushed into Yuan Shu's forged palace. Although it is a forgery, the palace is magnificent, the palaces and pavilions are magnificent, and the palace is full of luxury.
Not long after, Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Lu Bu entered the palace.
Seeing Yuan Shu's forged palace, Liu Bei finally showed an angry expression on his face, and said to Cao Cao: "Prime Minister, the traitor Yuan Shu forged the palace and desecrated the imperial power. It should be burned."
Cao Cao nodded, glanced at the palace, and said calmly: "Burn it to the ground!"
Two guys, Dian Wei and Xu Chu, took torches and ordered the soldiers to enter the palace with the igniting objects. Then they threw the torches into the palace. For a while, thick smoke billowed in the wind and the flames shot into the sky.
Outside the palace, Cao Cao, Zhang Xiu and others looked at the flames soaring into the sky. The flames were like a majestic forest, sometimes roaring, sometimes lingering and whispering. Everyone in the city was attracted by the grand fire and stopped to look at it.
Zhang Xiu looked at the fire and nodded and said: "The prime minister's fire has awakened those people in the world who have wrong ideas."
Burning Yuan Shu's fake palace protected the majesty of the Han Dynasty. Cao Cao showed a long-lost smile on his face: "Yuan Shu went against heaven, and all the princes in the world should fight against it. Although the fake palace is burned, Yuan Shu's traitor still exists. We should take advantage of the situation to pursue him and kill Yuan Shu to tell the world."
Cao Cao desperately wanted to kill Yuan Shu.
The fourth and third sons of the Yuan family have brought huge benefits to Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu. The cake in the world is so big. The more the Yuan brothers take, the less they get. If they can kill Yuan Shu, they will be able to bear a heavy burden. Destroy the reputation of the Yuan family.
At the same time, it can also hammer Yuan Shao's idea of establishing a new king.
At this time, Guo Jia immediately spoke to dissuade him: "Ming Gong, there has been a drought in the past year and food is difficult. Raising troops again will inevitably cause the army to be exhausted and the people will be damaged. Moreover, our army does not know the nature of water, and the fortunes and disasters of going south to fight are unpredictable. It is better to return to Xudu temporarily. After the spring wheat is ripe, the military rations will be sufficient to prepare for the expedition."
Zhang Xiu looked sideways and saw a man standing next to Cao Cao. This man had a thin face and a little beard. He was well-dressed and spoke like an elegant scholar. He guessed that this man was either Guo Jia or Xun Yu.
Cao Cao didn't want to give up such a great opportunity. Looking at the raging fire, he narrowed his slender eyes and hesitated.
Seeing Cao Cao's hesitation, he rolled his eyes and said immediately: "There is not much food and grass in the army. If we don't retreat in time, the three armies will fall into an abyss." As he said this, his eyes casually glanced at Zhang Xiu's eyes.
Cao Cao's mind suddenly alerted: "Abyss?"
He immediately thought of Zhang Xiu next to him. Zhang Xiu's character Boyuan, Bo, means profound. Guo Jia reminded Cao Cao not to miss the opportunity to intercept Zhang Xiu. If he pursues Zhang Xiu while he is victorious, Zhang Xiu's route of returning to the army will change.
Moreover, there are still Zhang Xiu's 10,000 horses in Lujiang, and it will be unpredictable when the time comes.
Cao Cao pretended to think for a long time and nodded solemnly: "You can't go south if you don't have enough food and grass. Just follow Feng Xiao's words and I will return to the army." Then he looked at Liu Bei and Lu Bu and said: "The two generals are stationed in Xuzhou together. I hope you can help each other." , no more invasion."
Liu Bei and Lu Bu nodded in agreement.
Cao Cao looked at Zhang Xiu with a gentle smile: "Bo Yuan, you are stationed in Nanyang and close to me. I hope you can be friends with Qin and Jin and never invade."
The conversation between him and Guo Jia just now made Zhang Xiu suspicious, and he still said with a smile: "How dare you disobey the Prime Minister's words?"
Cao Cao laughed.
