My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 590 Hidden Intentions
Thinking of this, Cao Cao's gaze grew even colder.

Cao Cao's son was still looking at him expectantly in the hall, and he finally softened. Besides, he was no longer young, and in the future he would have to rely on Zixiu himself. If he didn't cultivate Zixiu while he could still help him, what would happen to him after he was gone?
Thinking of this, Cao Cao made a decision: "In that case, I will give you this chance."

Cao Ang was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude.

Cao Cao then dismissed everyone in the hall, leaving only his eldest son, Cao Ang.

This move aroused everyone's curiosity, but Cao Cao had already told them to go about their business, so even Cao Ren, Cao Hong, and Xiahou Dun did not dare to stay and listen.

Soon, everyone in the hall dispersed, leaving only Cao Cao and Cao Ang. Cao Ang suddenly felt immense pressure, as if Cao Cao's gaze upon him was heavy and even piercing.

After a long while, Cao Cao, who had kept Cao Ang behind to say something, remained silent.

Cao Ang was getting impatient and took the initiative to ask tentatively, "Father, is there something you need to tell me if you've asked me to stay?"

Upon hearing Cao Ang's voice, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He couldn't help but think that if Liu Feng were in his place, he would probably be even more composed than he was.

However, Cao Cao quickly put this absurd idea out of his mind and asked, "Is your volunteering to share your father's burden your own idea, or did you listen to the advice of others?"

Cao Ang hurriedly replied, "Father, this was indeed my own idea, but some friends did try to persuade me to do so."

Cao Cao casually asked, "Oh, who advised you?"

Cao Ang seemed to have no intention of hiding anything and immediately replied, "Anmin, Wenlie, Zihe, Zhongda, and Dezu have all offered their advice."

Cao Cao laughed and waved to Cao Ang.

Cao Ang hesitated for a moment, then got up and sat down again in front of Cao Cao.

Cao Cao gently patted his son's shoulder. He had always been extremely fond of Cao Ang and proud of him. Even though the prodigy Liu Feng made his son seem mediocre and incompetent in comparison, Cao Cao's overall mindset remained quite peaceful.

He knew very well that a prodigy like Liu Feng might only appear once every few centuries, so why should Zixiu be compared to him?

However, one thing always lingered in Cao Cao's mind: if he could not achieve success in his generation, then in the end, his son Xiu would still have to face that monster.

"I am very pleased that you are open to suggestions."

Cao Cao suddenly praised him, which surprised and delighted Cao Ang. But then Cao Cao changed the subject and said very solemnly, "But Zixiu, you must remember one thing no matter when or where."

"No matter how reasonable other people's words are, they can never make the decision for you."

Cao Cao's eyes were sharp as he stared intently at Cao Ang, making the latter somewhat intimidated, but he still nodded firmly.

Seeing Cao Ang's reaction, Cao Cao's anger turned to joy.

“Since you volunteered, I won’t refuse you.”

Cao Cao quickly calculated in his mind, and slowly said, "Since Anmin and the others have advised you to volunteer, then take them with you on this expedition. Anmin, Wenlie, and Zihe all have their own troops now. I will appoint Zixiao as your deputy general, in charge of military affairs, and Zhongda and Dezu as your military advisors, to advise you on military matters. I will also mobilize 20,000 elite troops to help you enter Hanzhong. I will also send Zijing to Chang'an to serve as the Prefect of Jingzhao, in charge of military affairs in Guanzhong, to provide you with support."

Cao Ang was overjoyed and bowed deeply in gratitude, saying, "Your son will certainly live up to Father's expectations and take Hanzhong for you."

"well."

Cao Cao helped Cao Ang up and suddenly asked with a smile, "By the way, who built the garrison at Baima?"

Cao Ang was taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and honestly replied, "It was Sima Zhongde who advised me."

Cao Cao nodded slowly, and after a moment, he praised, "Zhongde is a man knowledgeable in military affairs. If you have any questions about military matters, you can consult Zixiao and Zhongde."

As mentioned earlier, Baima Pass is not far from Nanzheng, which is the seat of Hanzhong Prefecture and the largest city in Hanzhong. Its economy is the best in the prefecture. Located on a plain with the Han River flowing through it, the land is extremely fertile and the population is thriving.

Whoever occupies Nanzheng can exert influence over most of Hanzhong.

However, in terms of military affairs, Nanzheng is far less important than Baima Fortress.

At present, Yangping Pass is still in its infancy. Zhang Lu, who has been resisting Liu Zhang's invasion for years, has no spare capacity to carry out large-scale construction and build a fortified pass.

Therefore, Baima Pass, located on the opposite bank of Yangping Pass, is the most important gateway pass in Hanzhong.

Baima Pass and Yangping Pass are separated only by the Han River, but they serve the same purpose. Before Yangping Pass was built, Baima Pass was almost equivalent to two passes, thus playing a double role.

Whoever takes control of Baima Pass will be able to control the two most important passages between Guanzhong and Hanzhong, and between Shuzhong and Hanzhong.

Sima Yi accurately saw this point and advised Cao Ang to station his troops at Baima Fortress.

As long as Baima Pass is in hand, the connection between Guanzhong and Hanzhong will not be severed, and any attempt by Shu to counterattack Hanzhong will be blocked outside Baima Pass. As for Nanzheng in Hanzhong, with Baima Pass in hand and Zhang Lu having already declared his allegiance, Cao Ang can naturally take it at any time.

Cao Cao saw this at a glance, which is why he advised Cao Ang to consult with Sima Yi more often.

However, Cao Cao did not leave Sima Yi unchecked. Otherwise, he would not have appointed Cao Ren as his deputy general, included three young and promising representatives of the next generation of the Cao family in the military, and finally added Yang Dezu to the military advisor's office to divide Sima Yi's power.

Cao Ang had a vague idea about this, but he didn't know it.

After the agreement was reached, Cao Ang went to make preparations.

Five days later, Cao Cao, by imperial decree, appointed Cao Ang as a Palace Attendant, granted him the title of Commandant of the Capital Region, and sent him with 20,000 troops to reinforce Hanzhong. At the same time, he appointed Zao Zhi as the Governor of Jingzhao, stationed in Chang'an, to command the armies of Guanzhong as reinforcements.

**
After both Liu Feng and Cao Cao took action, the front line at Jiameng Pass fell silent.

Zhou Tai and Huo Du were naturally anxiously waiting, hoping that the Hanzhong army could try to attack again so that Zhou Tai could openly transfer troops from Tianxiong Pass to "reinforce" Jiameng. But Zhang Wei and Yan Pu, who were in front of them, suddenly became extremely docile, not to mention attacking the city, they even conducted very few reconnaissance operations.

Fortunately, the Hanzhong army was still cutting down trees and building various siege weapons, which gave Zhou Tai and Huo Du a glimmer of hope.

Seven or eight days later, around noon, a cloud of dust suddenly rose from the Bailong River valley in the north. Before long, a Hanzhong army emerged from it, numbering five or six thousand, which turned out to be reinforcements from Nanzheng.

With the arrival of these new reinforcements, the morale of the Hanzhong army soared. Furthermore, a large quantity of siege equipment had already been manufactured. After discussing the matter, Zhang Wei and Yan Pu decided to give it another try.

They saw the Hanzhong army, which had been waiting for a long time, finally rush out of the camp and head towards Jiameng Pass.

Zhou Tai and Huo Du were almost in tears, determined to hold back and not scare the Hanzhong army away again.

The Hanzhong army amassed a full 15,000 troops and launched an offensive from two directions.

The main attack was naturally directed towards the north of the city, as only this flat area could accommodate a large force and various siege weapons. Meanwhile, a small contingent was dispatched to Niutou Mountain to launch a diversionary attack on the west gate from its southern slope.

At Yan Pu's suggestion, Zhang Wei divided his troops into three formations, each with five thousand men. One formation attacked, another held the line, and the last formation rested in the rear.

At 3:45 AM, the first wave of the Hanzhong army had fully deployed, with the vanguard setting up several siege weapons.

At the very front were two siege towers covered in leather and iron sheets, typically with multiple wheels at the base. They were sturdy and relatively tall, with soldiers pushing them from the bottom level and the other levels carrying the fighting soldiers for the siege.

Battering rams can use their height to fire directly into the city through small windows and top railings. They can also be used to approach the city walls, destroy the parapets, and directly attack the defenders on the walls. They can also use their ramming force to destroy the city walls or gates. They are the most complex and expensive siege rams in terms of technology.

Right in the middle of these two battering rams, two rows and three columns of battering rams were arranged.

These siege hammers were fixed to a four-wheeled vehicle with a huge wooden stake. The head of the vehicle was covered with metal such as iron or copper. Soldiers pushed the vehicle and used the huge inertia to make the hammer head strike the city gate, thus achieving the purpose of breaching the city.

The Hanzhong army prepared a total of eight siege hammers, and at the beginning of the war, they took out half of them.

Following the battering ram and siege hammer, a row of siege wagons were arranged.

This siege weapon can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. It was called "chong" in the Book of Songs and "ziwen che" in Sun Tzu's Art of War.

It was generally a four-wheeled cart made of large logs, covered with raw cowhide, and could accommodate ten people. It was used to transport soil to fill trenches and was impervious to wood and stone. It could be used to cover soldiers as they arrived at the city walls and to carry out tasks such as digging tunnels.

Interspersed between the battering rams and the trebuchets were a row of trebuchets, also known as catapults, which were large, manpower-powered long-range weapons that used the lever principle to launch stone projectiles.

However, because it did not yet utilize counterweight technology, the range and power of this catapult were one-third to one-half smaller than those of Liu Feng's catapults. As for accuracy, it was far inferior, and the only way to improve the hit rate was to use sheer numbers for saturation attacks.

Meanwhile, these catapults also contained many large crossbows, which can be traced back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, crossbows underwent improvements in structure and performance, resulting in longer ranges and greater power. The Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, in particular, could load multiple arrows at once, greatly saving loading time and improving combat efficiency.

Finally, within a range of 30 to 300 meters radiating from the city gate to both sides of the city wall, the Hanzhong army also deployed a total of six siege ladder vehicles.

This cloud ladder is no longer a simple cloud ladder, but a cloud ladder vehicle that is said to have been invented by Lu Ban.

Not only are the ladders equipped with wheels at the bottom for easy pushing by soldiers, but they are also equipped with shields, winches, grappling hooks, and pulley lifting devices to enhance their stability and practicality, making it easier for soldiers to climb the city walls.

When soldiers approach the city wall, they can hide in or behind the ladder carts. Once the ladder carts are mounted on the city wall, they can climb the wall from inside the carts to avoid the defenders' long-range fire and molten logs.

Behind the ladder trucks, there is a row of siege towers. Once the battle begins, these siege towers will advance to a position 100 paces from the city wall and stop to form a defensive position. A large number of archers will board the towers to fight, providing long-range firepower for their own troops and covering their tactical maneuvers.

The sheer variety of siege weapons reveals that the Hanzhong army is going all out this time. If these siege weapons are destroyed, the Hanzhong army will be unable to mount a significant offensive for months, even half a year.

Seeing the Hanzhong army's overwhelming strength, Zhou Tai and Huo Du in Jiameng Pass were not alarmed but delighted. They couldn't wait to sound the horn and send a large number of troops from Tianxiong Pass to reinforce them.

Zhou Tai originally wanted to empty Tianxiong Pass directly, but Huo Du dissuaded him. Huo Du suggested that it would be better to withdraw troops in multiple stages to create the illusion that the city was in danger and had to continuously withdraw reinforcements. This would also make it easier to gain the trust of the Hanzhong army and lead them to conclude that Tianxiong Pass was undefended.

Zhou Tai found Huo Du's words to be very reasonable, and immediately followed suit, changing his decision to first send 500 men to reinforce Jiameng Pass.

Currently, there are over 2,200 garrison troops in Jiameng Pass, of which 1,900 are from the Left Guard Army, making their combat strength quite reliable.

Zhou Tai ordered Huo Du to lead 500 elite soldiers as a reserve force, and Xiang Cun to lead 300 Shu soldiers and 200 Left Guards to guard the west gate to deal with the flank of the Hanzhong army. He personally led the remaining 1,200 men to guard the north gate.

As the drums sounded in the Hanzhong army ranks, the vanguard began their assault on the city.

In stark contrast to the previous two sieges, under Yan Pu's command, the Hanzhong army displayed composure and calmness. They first advanced with the well-rails and began exchanging fire with the left-wing troops on the city wall, suppressing the firepower on the city wall.

Subsequently, catapults were used to fire, focusing their attack on the parapet area near the city gate.

Although the accuracy of these stones was quite poor, there were enough of them that some of the stones hit the parapet and broke apart, causing injury.

Even though the Left Army was well-equipped and fully armored, it still faced considerable pressure.

Fortunately, the enemy's siege equipment was still within a manageable range, and the hit rate was truly impressive, so the Zuo Mu army's casualties were not high.

As the ladder trucks gradually approached the parapet, the long-range firepower of both sides began to intensify.

On the north gate tower of Jiameng Pass, Zhou Tai, with his towering figure, stood behind the arrow emplacements, coldly watching the Hanzhong army's siege ladders approach the parapet step by step. Meanwhile, a large number of Hanzhong army elites hid behind the siege ladders, waiting for them to reach the city wall before scaling it and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Zhou Tao's rough fingers rubbed the rope wrapped around the hilt of the knife, but a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips: "Captain Huo, look at Zhang Wei, he's probably brought out his most treasured weapon."

(End of this chapter)