My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 615 Cao Ren Arrives to the Rescue
"General! The western rampart has collapsed!"

The guard crawled over, his face covered in blood, to report.

Just as Leng Bao was about to get up to check, another volley of stones came hurtling in, smashing the enemy tower thirty paces away to pieces. The flying stones swept across the city wall like shrapnel, instantly turning three or four defenders into bloody gourds.

At the same time, eighty wellheads began to advance under the cover of shield trucks.

These mobile arrow towers, each three zhang tall, were fitted with shields covered in raw cowhide at the base. The defenders' arrows, embedded in the shields like porcupine quills, could hardly harm the soldiers pushing the carts inside. When the towers were about a hundred paces away, the crossbowmen on the top suddenly lifted the shields, and a torrential rain of crossbow bolts poured down.

"Lower your head!"

Leng Bao shouted sharply, only to see a three-edged, armor-piercing arrow already piercing the throat of a personal guard.

His eyes were red as he looked out of the city. Enemy archers were approaching the moat in groups of five, under the cover of tower shields. Behind each giant shield were three powerful archers, firing accurately through the gaps in the shields.

Suddenly, a unified chanting sounded from below the city.

Hundreds of Zuo Mu soldiers, carrying sandbags, hid in hidden pits as they approached the moat. Above them, wooden planks provided cover, and siege towers provided cover as the city wall defenders exchanged fire.

Although the defenders had a high elevation advantage, each of the enemy's siege towers was equipped with twenty crossbowmen who took turns climbing the towers to provide firepower, making the firepower density far exceed that of the city walls.

Leng Bao witnessed a squad leader being shot by three crossbow bolts simultaneously piercing his chest.

"A ladder truck!"

The lookout suddenly screamed.

Leng Bao's heart trembled violently as he saw fifteen enormous machines slowly approaching from the enemy's rear. These siege ladders were more than ten feet taller than the city walls, with sloping bases to protect against arrows, and folding ladders on top that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Even more terrifying, each siege ladder was flanked by shield carts, forming a mobile steel fortress.

"Pour the kerosene! Quickly! Be quick!"

Leng Bao gave the order in a hoarse voice.

But as soon as the defenders lifted the oil cauldron, the crossbowmen on the ramparts unleashed a barrage of fire, sending the soldier holding the cauldron and the pot tumbling off the city wall. The boiling oil, however, ignited a fire at the base of the wall, obstructing the defenders' own view.

Lu Xun squinted his eyes on the command platform.

The lingering morning mist was replaced by thicker smoke, and the entire south city wall was shrouded in billowing black smoke. He noticed that the defenders' counterattacks were getting weaker and weaker, so he said to the messenger, "Order Huang Zhong's troops to prepare the battering rams. After the ladder trucks draw attention, we will attack the city gate."

Liu Feng suddenly interjected, "Boyan, pay attention to the pace. The purpose of this attack is to mobilize Cao Cao's army, not to take the city. We must not put the cart before the horse."

Lu Xun replied with a smile, "Rest assured, my lord, I will keep it in mind."

Liu Feng smiled and nodded, saying nothing more.

At this moment, the first siege ladder vehicle had approached the city wall, and the ladder at the top suddenly unfolded, slamming heavily onto the crenellations. The armored soldiers hidden inside the vehicle surged out like ants, rushing up the ladder towards the top of the city wall.

Leng Bao personally led his men to intercept them. His spear pierced the chest of the first enemy soldier who scaled the city wall, and then he slit the throat of another Left Army soldier. However, he was then knocked back by two fierce Left Army soldiers behind him with their shields.

Leng Bao's personal guards rushed forward to hold the ground and help Leng Bao regain his footing.

"Fight to the death and never retreat!"

Leng Bao threw away his spear, drew his broadsword, and cut down two Zuo Mu soldiers in succession, only to find that more flying ladders had already been set up.

The Left Guard Army was clearly well-trained, with soldiers fighting in groups of three, back to back, as the soldiers behind them continuously passed them new weapons. One platoon leader, wielding two swords, was particularly fierce, taking down two or three defenders in the blink of an eye.

Leng Bao roared and charged forward with his personal guards. A fierce battle ensued, and Leng Bao killed the enemy, along with four or five of their soldiers. However, Leng Bao's side also lost three men, and two others were wounded.

A dull thud suddenly came from below the city.

Leng Bao glanced over and saw Bao Tie's battering ram striking the city gate, each impact causing the city wall to tremble slightly. The defenders tried to block the attack with rolling logs and stones, but were suppressed by the crossbowmen on the siege towers and could not raise their heads.

"Release the Wolf Fang Mace!" Leng Bao roared, his voice cracking. The mechanism hidden beneath the parapet was triggered, and the massive mace, studded with iron spikes, came crashing down, smashing all the Zuo Mu soldiers atop a ladder truck into a bloody pulp.

Before the defenders could even cheer, a new salvo from several nearby counterweight catapults precisely destroyed the winch mechanism of the wolf-tooth slingshot.

By noon, several sections of the southern city wall had fallen, but the Shu army fought desperately to prevent the enemy from expanding further.

At this point, many Left Army soldiers were already standing on the city wall. If they could not expand their territory, continuing to climb the city wall would only increase casualties and make them easy targets for the enemy's long-range firepower.

For a time, the two sides were locked in a stalemate on the city wall. Although the defending troops were at a disadvantage, they were able to continue to resist by relying on the remaining defensive facilities such as the horse-face wall, the hidden troop caves, the corner towers, and the enemy platforms.

Leng Bao and his personal guards held the corner tower to the death. Seven or eight arrows were stuck in his iron armor, and blood dripped continuously from the armor plates.

"General! Reinforcements have arrived!"

The messenger, covered in blood, stumbled over, his face beaming with ecstasy, and shouted loudly at Leng Bao.

Upon hearing this, Leng Bao's face lit up with surprise, and his personal guards were also overjoyed.

Looking back into the city, sure enough, an armored dragon was heading south towards the city, and it would arrive at the city walls in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

"Go and tell General Zhang to climb the city walls in batches to hold back the Left Guard Army, but do not drive them off the city walls."

Leng Bao glanced at the hundreds of various siege weapons outside the city and felt a chill run down his spine.

Despite the fact that the Left Army has made multiple ascents of the city walls and the situation looks very favorable, it is precisely because the enemy's forces are entangled after they have made their superior firepower ineffective.

This very point gave the Shu army a chance to catch their breath and persevere.

Now that Zhang Ren has arrived with reinforcements, Leng Bao naturally has to remind him. Otherwise, given Zhang Ren's ingrained mindset, he would definitely concentrate his superior forces to drive the Left Guard Army out of the city first.

Leng Bao's messenger re-entered the city and conveyed the order to Zhang Ren, who had just arrived at the city walls.

The famous general from Sichuan frowned – he had already mobilized three thousand elite troops to launch a counterattack from the city walls, but upon hearing this, he had no choice but to change his strategy.

The residual oil on the arrow tower dripped down the beams and pillars, scalding Zhang Ren's iron armor and sending up wisps of white smoke.

"Order each unit to engage the enemy in echelons, in teams."

Zhang Ren gritted his teeth and drew his sword: "There's no need to force the enemy off the city wall. Just keep them occupied and prevent them from expanding their territory on the city wall."

The fighting on the city walls suddenly became strange. The Shu army deliberately abandoned several crenellations in the key areas targeted by the catapults, allowing the Left Guard troops to scale the walls, while simultaneously deploying heavy forces in key passages. The two armies tore at each other like two ferocious beasts, yet both tacitly maintained a delicate balance.

A Zuo Mu army garrison commander had just led his men through the defensive line when they were quickly forced back by the defenders who had surrounded them from three sides. The Shu army had the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and clear out the Zuo Mu army on a section of the wall, driving them off the city wall, but they deliberately gave up this opportunity.

"Report——!"

The scout, soaking wet, suddenly pounced at Zhang Ren's feet, reporting with a beaming smile, "The vanguard of the imperial army has crossed the Tuo River upstream and is less than twenty li from the north gate!"

Upon hearing that Cao Cao's army had come to their aid, Zhang Ren and Leng Bao finally showed a hint of relief.

**
North of Chengdu, at the shallows of the Tuo River, Cao Ren personally led over 8,000 elite cavalry at full speed, joining 4,000 Cao army troops stationed in Xindu on the north bank of the Tuo River, and successfully crossed the river upstream near Pixian.

Of Cao Ren's more than 7,000 elite cavalry, 3,000 were Cao's main cavalry, another 3,000 were Liang, Bing and Guanzhong cavalry under Zhang Xiu, another 1,000 were Hanzhong cavalry, and the last 1,000 or so were Shu cavalry led by Huang Quan.

Apart from the two thousand Shu cavalry remaining in Chengdu, all the allied cavalry had arrived and were rushing to the rescue of Chengdu.

After this battle, Cao Ang, Cao Ren, Sima Yi and others discovered that Luocheng also had its inconveniences.

Luocheng is about 50 or 60 li away from Chengdu, while Xindu is about 30 li away from Chengdu, and they are separated by the Tuojiang River.

Conversely, Guangdu, occupied by the Left Guard Army, was only twenty li away from Chengdu, and the Left Guard Army's main camp north of Guangdu was only ten li away from Chengdu, with no river obstructing the way.

On the contrary, the Fu River became a natural barrier for the left flank of the Left Army. Combined with the Left Army's naval advantage, it perfectly concealed and protected the left flank, allowing a large number of siege weapons to be deployed there.

Unfortunately, this place happens to be the closest to Chengdu.

The army can reach the south of Chengdu in as little as half an hour, or at most an hour, once it sets out.

However, Cao Cao's army would need to march for a whole day to reach Chengdu.

The original idea was that Liu Zhang would hold out for reinforcements. With Chengdu's strong defenses and tens of thousands of troops, holding out for three to five days shouldn't be a problem, right?
In this way, Cao Cao's army would naturally have ample time to wait for an opportunity to maneuver southward.

But now Liu Zhang can't even hold out for half a day, forcing Cao Cao's army to split into two groups, sending cavalry and the garrison in Xindu to reinforce first, followed by the main infantry force.

In this way, the Left Guard Army, which should have been the host, was now in a position to take the initiative and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out.

This time, the Left Guard Army suddenly attacked the city. Cao Cao's army not only failed to remain calm, but was also badly troubled and eventually had to risk a lot to come to the rescue.

To avoid the scouts of the Left Guard Army, this army abandoned all its baggage and even wrapped its armor in linen, carrying it on its back as it crossed the river quietly.

The largest cavalry corps of Cao Cao's army crossed the Tuo River to the north. According to military strategy, Cao Ren's move was tantamount to throwing himself into a death trap.

After crossing the river, Cao Cao's army was surrounded by rivers on the north, west, and south sides, with only the east side being a plain. The Left Guard Army was deployed on the east side.

If the Left Guard Army left behind siege equipment to suppress Chengdu and sent its main force north to attack Cao Cao's army, whether Cao Ren could retreat and cross the river in time would determine the fate of this army.

Therefore, Cao Ren ordered that the city of Chengdu must promptly report the movements of the Left Guard Army, and if there was any indication that they were heading north, the Cao army must be notified immediately.

Fortunately, the Left Guard Army seemed to be very wary of Cao Cao's army. After news of Cao Cao's army crossing the river came, the Left Guard Army began to abandon the city wall positions and retreated in an orderly manner under the cover of the siege towers.

With the withdrawal of the Left Guard Army, both the Shu army in Chengdu and the Cao army that came to their aid breathed a sigh of relief.

The Shu army was under immense pressure, and the Cao army that came to their aid also did not want to fight this battle.

After galloping for more than 30 miles, the warhorses were exhausted. Moreover, Cao Cao's army was not as wealthy as the Left Guard Army. Most of their cavalrymen had three horses per person, including a warhorse and two riding horses for carrying loads.

Cao Jun could only manage one person with two horses, and that required medium armored cavalry; light cavalry only had one horse.

It wasn't that Cao Cao's army didn't know the advantages of having multiple horses per person, but rather that they simply didn't have the financial resources to buy extra horses, let alone the extra food to feed them.

After receiving news of the retreat of the Left Guard Army, Cao Ren did not withdraw his troops. Instead, he boldly and quickly headed south, entering Chengdu directly through the North Gate.

This time, Liu Zhang did not refuse Cao's army entry into the city. He not only opened the city gates wide and took the initiative to send people to welcome them into the city, but also personally stood at the gate of the prefecture to welcome Cao Ren when he arrived.

Given the difference in status between Liu Zhang and Cao Ren, this was truly a special honor.

Although Cao Ren remained unmoved, he understood that to control Yizhou and even Shu Commandery, he would need Liu Zhang's strong support. Therefore, he expressed his deepest gratitude for Liu Zhang's kindness.

For a time, the host and guests were all happy, and the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful.

After speaking with Liu Zhang for a while, Cao Ren suggested that he wanted to go to the South City.

Liu Zhang's expression was somewhat grim as he tried to persuade Cao Ren. This was mainly because bad news kept coming from the south of the city; the Shu army suffered heavy casualties, and the Left Guard Army had repeatedly stormed the city walls, making the situation extremely precarious.

Liu Zhang was worried that if something happened to Cao Ren on his way to Nancheng, offending Cao Ang and Cao Cao would be a minor matter, but losing his external support would be a real problem.

However, Cao Ren insisted on his request, and Liu Zhang, who was somewhat weak-willed, could only reluctantly agree in the end.

Cao Ren immediately led his generals Niu Jin, Wang Shuang, Chang Diao, Zhang Xiu, and others to the south of the city.

Upon arriving at the south of the city, Cao Ren and his generals gasped in shock. Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that Chengdu's defenses had been breached to such an extent.

Before Cao Ren, although the southern city wall was still largely intact, the walls, from the gate towers to the parapets, were almost entirely covered with the marks of massive stones ravaged by the enemy.

The once towering city gate tower on the south side of the city has been reduced to ruins, with broken tiles and rubble everywhere. The catapults positioned near the tower have also been destroyed, leaving only broken wooden parts.

Chengdu was not only the first city in Yizhou, but also one of the major cities in the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, ranking among the top ten.

The highest point of Chengdu's city wall reached seven zhang, which is equivalent to 17.1 meters in modern times. If the height of the city gate tower is added, it is indeed no shorter than a modern ten-story building.

One can imagine how majestic, imposing, and indestructible it must have been when it was intact. But now, it is merely one of the most glorious victories of the Left Army.

Upon hearing of Cao Ren's arrival, Shu generals Zhang Ren, Leng Bao, and others hurriedly came down from the city to greet him.

Subsequently, accompanied by Zhang Ren and Leng Bao, Cao Ren led his generals to the top of the city wall.

Those below the city gasped in shock. Upon ascending the city walls, even the seasoned and experienced generals like Cao Ren were stunned. They understood why Chengdu had sent six or seven requests for reinforcements to Cao Ang in Luocheng within half a day.

(End of this chapter)