late at night.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia rested at their feet and were soundly asleep when Xiahou Dun woke them up.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia sat up and saw four or five pretty women, ranging in age from teens to 20s, standing not far away.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia looked at each other, both puzzled.
"Yuan Rang, what are you doing?" Cao Cao asked.
Xiahou Dun had a strange expression on his face and said, "It was sent by Ding Shijun, saying that he would take care of your daily life."
Cao Cao still didn't understand, so he became angry and cursed: "Old thief Ding Yuan is bullying me!"
Guo Jia picked up the wine bottle, took a sip, and said with a smile: "I think Ding Shijun may not have any malicious intentions, but mostly to please the general."
Cao Cao reacted and became even more angry and said: "The old thief looks at me like this! Yuan Rang, send these people back to me and tell Ding Yuan that he will be the main attacker tomorrow!"
Xiahou Dun responded and took these women out again.
Guo Jia drank wine, lay back and said, "General, you need to be more polite to Commander Ding tomorrow."
Cao Cao suppressed his anger, walked sideways and said, "I know."
But when Ding Yuan came out like this, Cao Cao tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. He pillowed a little higher, looked at Guo Jia, and said, "Fengxiao, I heard from the nearby villagers that there will be heavy snow in this period. What should I do?"
Hearing this, Guo Jia half sat up and said, "There is no other way but to attack by force."
Their military rations won't last long, and if there's another heavy snowfall, they'll have to die here.
Cao Cao's face was sullen and he looked thoughtful.
Naturally, he didn't want to attack by force. Except for the troops in his hands who came from the Forbidden Army camp and had been trained for several months, the rest were basically young and strong men who had been forcibly recruited. They didn't have much siege experience. They rushed forward and died in vain.
Guo Jia drank and shook his head inwardly.
Ding Yuan's delay pushed the good situation into an unpredictable situation.
"I'm worried about Jizhou." Guo Jiada said after a long while.
Cao Cao was startled, raised his head and said, "Black Mountain Army? They are just bandits, what can they do?"
Guo Jia drank wine and said: "You should be the first to arrive, and you can't suppress it. If there are some people with ulterior motives who interfere or take out ladders to add fuel to the fire, Jizhou may be even more chaotic than Yanzhou."
Cao Cao's expression became solemn, as if he had thought of something, he immediately put on his clothes and sat up, saying: "If I attack by force, how long will it take to win?"
The number of troops of Cao Cao and Ding Yuan was equal to that of Qiaomao's rebels, but if one attacked the city and the other defended it, it was difficult to say whether they would win or lose.
Guo Jia paused for a while, with a cold look in his eyes, and said: "The rebellion in Qiaomao suddenly occurred, and the people are divided. We will attack day and night, using coercion and inducement. It will take up to five days to win!"
Cao Cao remained silent.
Even if he were to win with such a fierce attack, he would have to lose at least half of his soldiers. If he won, it would be a miserable victory.
Cao Cao thought in his heart that the imperial court would definitely impeach him fiercely. After some calculations, he said in a deep voice: "Then we will attack by force!"
Guo Jia looked at him and said: "General, please think carefully. After taking it, the general may not be able to gain a foothold in Yanzhou."
Yanzhou not only had one rebellion in Qiaochao, but also had to suppress other rebellions such as the Yellow Turban bandits. Without enough troops, it would be impossible to stand.
Cao Cao hated Ding Yuan half to death in his heart, but his expression was as firm as iron and he said: "There is no other way. We must destroy the bridge before the heavy snowfall!"
Guo Jia nodded lightly and drank leisurely.
"Fengxiao, will Jizhou really be in chaos?" After deciding on the plan for Puyang, Cao Cao became concerned about Jizhou.
Guo Jia wiped his mouth and said: "Zhu Shijun forced the gold bandits to flee in Qingzhou. I heard that a considerable number of them fled into Jizhou."
Cao Cao knew this, thinking about the Black Mountain Army, the Yellow Turban Army, and Ying Shao who was not yet stable, he frowned and looked thoughtful.
The current situation seems to be back to six or seven years ago.
At that time, the Yellow Turban Army suddenly became powerful, ravaging prefectures and counties, and even approaching Luoyang, which frightened the Han Dynasty.
It took a lot of effort to suppress it, but unexpectedly, the situation of the big man did not get better, but seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, making it increasingly difficult to move forward.
Guo Jia saw what was on Cao Cao's mind, his eyes moved slightly, and said: "If general can establish a foothold in Yanzhou, a place surrounded by chaos, why worry about failing to achieve success?"
Cao Cao glanced at him and continued to think.
Yanzhou's geographical location is too special, blocking the main routes from east to west, north and south. Based here, you can conquer the east and west, go south and north, and there will be many battles!
But in such a chaotic place, it is extremely difficult to gain a foothold.
After a moment, Cao Cao looked determined and said: "It's not too late to calm down the bridge first!"
Guo Jia drank wine, looked out the window, and began to plan for Cao Cao's future.
…
Early the next morning, Cao Cao and Ding Yuan ordered their troops and horses to be placed in front of the south gate of Puyang City.
Ding Yuan stroked his sparse beard, glanced at Cao Cao, and said, "Mengde, how about you take the lead in attacking the city today?"
Cao Cao said with an expressionless face: "My subordinate Lu Bu is brave and invincible. Why do you need me to come? Cao Cao also wants to see Lu Bu's bravery."
Ding Yuan snorted in his heart, summoned Lu Bu and ordered him to fight.
Lu Bu rode a green-maned horse, holding a spear, and shuttled back and forth in front of the formation, shouting and cursing constantly.
"Qiao Mao, you said the sky has no eyes, but do you know that Mr. Qiao has eyes?"
"Mr. Qiao is one of the three nobles and is respected by the world. But you are plotting chaos and being unfilial and unfilial. What will you do if you don't die?"
"Old thief, you are an impenetrable wall of dirt. You stand on a high wall for everyone to see, and the stench fills the sky!"
Lu Bu didn't know whether someone taught him deliberately or he read some books on his own. He brought out all the ancestors of the Qiao family and cursed them.
Qiao Mao on the city wall remained calm and responded loudly: "Cao Cao, how can you understand justice after being eunuched? Traitors and sycophants are in power and bring trouble to the government. Why don't you work with me to eliminate the evil and establish the world again!"
"Stubborn!"
When Cao Cao saw Qiao Mao exposed his shortcomings, he looked coldly and said to Ding Yuan: "Your Majesty, Qiao Mao's people have deep roots in rebellion. I want to attack by force. Please show me."
Ding Yuan stroked his sparse beard and said, "I only have a mere ten thousand people..."
"We are surrounded by three and one is missing. I will attack the east and west, and leave the south gate to the envoy!" Cao Cao said directly without waiting for him to finish.
Ding Yuan looked serious and said: "Since Meng De has made up his mind, okay!"
Cao Cao and Ding Yuan reached an agreement and tens of thousands of troops rushed towards Puyang City like a tide.
Lu Bu attacked the south gate, Xiahou Yuan's east gate, and Xiahou Dun's west gate. The offensive was fierce, and it seemed that a battle would be decided.
The small Puyang City suddenly felt like a mountain of pressure and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
After a while, the city was crowded with people, as if soldiers were fighting hand to hand, fighting for the small city head.
Arrows rained down, logs rolled up and down, blood flowed, and corpses piled up.
Cao Cao stood in the distance with a cold expression.
Ding Yuan glanced at him, his face expressionless, but his heart ached.
He only has more than 10,000 people left and is lost here. How can he, a Yanzhou shepherd, still gain a foothold in Yanzhou?
Siege battles have always been fierce, and the fighting between the two sides has become intense in a short period of time.
Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were desperate for their lives. They took the lead and fought hard to attack the city.
The shouts of killing shook the sky, and the angry shouts were like thunder.
This battle lasted from morning, noon, evening, until dark.
The armies of both sides cleared away the corpses and cleaned the battlefield.
"Mengde!"
Xiahou Dun wiped the blood from his face and said, "More than 8,000 people were killed or injured."
Cao Cao's face twitched. It was only eight thousand on the first day.
Guo Jia came up with a wine bottle and said, "Don't stop at night."
Cao Cao nodded and looked in the direction of Ding Yuan.
Guo Jia smiled and said: "General, don't worry about Lord Ding. As long as the general attacks the city, Lord Ding can't be lazy even if he wants to."
Cao Cao understood instantly and said in a deep voice: "Yuan Rang, divide the soldiers into three, attack and rest in turn. You must capture Puyang City before the heavy snow comes!"
"Take the order!" Xiahou Dun responded in a deep voice.
The current situation is very bad for them. Once it snows heavily in Puyang, they will be unable to advance or retreat.
After a while, the officers and soldiers who had withdrawn formed their formation again and prepared to attack.
However, the officers and soldiers did not really attack, but feigned the same attack as last night, but the scale and momentum were larger, just like the real thing.
On the Puyang City, they were well prepared, and no one dared to bet that this was a 'feint attack'.
For three consecutive days, the offensive of the government and army continued unabated, and the fighting between the two sides at the three gates of Puyang City almost never stopped.
"Is Cao Cao crazy!?"
At the top of Puyang City, Zang Ba's eyes were red, his face was tired, and he cursed angrily.
The officers and soldiers seemed to be tireless and not afraid of death, and they were working hard to attack the city.
For three days, Zang Ba barely slept a wink. Like him, there were countless soldiers.
A military lord accompanied him and went downstairs with him.
Inside the city, there were corpses and wounded soldiers everywhere, and cries of mourning continued.
"This is what happens to deserters!"
Suddenly, not far away, a group of soldiers suppressed more than 20 shirtless men and slashed them directly in front of everyone.
Zang Ba's mind froze when he saw it, his expression became even more ugly, and he strode towards the Puyang City Government Office.
The military marquis grabbed him and whispered: "What are you doing, Captain?"
Zang Ba glared at him and said, "Go find a bridge and try to reason!"
Seeing this, the military marquis hesitated again and again, and suddenly pulled him to a corner and whispered: "Captain, don't you know yet? The families of all the officials in the city, big and small, have been picked up by the Governor of Qiao!"
Zang Ba's eyes widened angrily and he said, "My wife and children were also kidnapped by Qiaomao?"
The Marquis glanced outside and whispered: "Lieutenant, you are different from us. We were forced by the imperial court to have no choice but to rob some people. You don't need to be threatened by the bridge, so you should escape earlier." Bar."
Zang Ba's face suddenly changed and he said, "Where are my wife and children?"
Junhou shook his head repeatedly and said: "How can a villain know such a thing?"
Zang Ba looked at him and said: "Don't be afraid, as long as I don't die, you will be fine!"
The military marquis said: "My family has committed a capital crime and has nowhere to go."
Zang Ba snorted coldly and said: "I have also committed a capital crime. What is there to be afraid of? Follow me from now on!"
As Zang Ba said this, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Qiao Mao patrolling, with murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Qiaomao didn't see him, and was chatting and laughing with the people around him, saying: "Cao Cao's attack on the city must be because of the shortage of military supplies and cannot last long. I predict that it will take three days at most before we can counterattack! By then, , Yanzhou is all in my hands! We can form an alliance with the Black Mountain Army in the north, merge with Qingzhou in the east, attack Luoyang in the west, and enter Yuzhou in the south. The world is so big that it can all be a place for us to stay. Great things can be accomplished!"
Everyone listened and nodded in agreement.
Zang Ba waited for him to go away, sneered, came out from the corner, looked around, turned and walked towards Wang Hu's mansion.
Wang Gong was busy calculating food and fodder, and he was very worried.
Cao Cao didn't have much food and grass, and in fact, he didn't have much in Puyang City. The consumption of 60,000 to 70,000 people was a huge amount every day.
Seeing Zang Ba approaching in a menacing manner, Wang Gong frowned and said: "Zang Lieutenant, I will give you everything that is due to you. Any more will require the approval of the prefect."
Zang Ba snorted coldly and said, "Where are my wife and children?"
Wang Gong remained calm and secretly alert, saying: "Captain Zang, there is no need to worry. Governor Qiao has picked them up and placed them in a safe place."
Zang Ba stared at him and said: "Qiaomao promised you the governor of Dongjun, do you think you can really sit on it? Don't forget, you are Liu Dai's, and Liu Dai is from the royal family!"
Wang Hu's face sank and he said, "What does Captain Zang mean?"
Zang Ba took out a letter from his arms, threw it directly on the ground, and said coldly: "This is the letter from Cao Cao to me. Wang Gong, do you have it too?"
Wang Gong's expression suddenly changed, he stared at Zang Ba and said, "What do you want to say?"
Zang Ba drew his sword, murderous intent overflowing, and said: "Either, you help me rescue my wife and children, and we escape from Puyang together. I will return to my Mount Tai, and you find your backer. Or, the fish will die and the net will be broken, and I will expose you for the bridge risk." , then open the city gate and welcome Cao Cao into the city!"
First update, please vote~
(End of chapter)
