The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 144: Territory does not understand division and unity, only the separation of people's hearts

Indeed, Li Yi had already filled out the technology tree for Lao Liu before the advent of the firearms era.

Huihui Cannon was the most lethal weapon in the era of cold weapons.

But after all, it can only be used as an auxiliary for siege.

If you want to truly seize the city wall and occupy the city, you still have to rely on the ant-like siege method.

Use your flesh and blood to fight your way into the city.

Xu Chu led hundreds of death-defying tiger guards and attacked the gap.

The Yuan army that was charging towards them screamed in agony, and their flesh and blood flew everywhere as they were chopped by swords and axes.

The clothes and armor were torn apart and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Xu Chu glared and roared, his steel knife was ruthless, and countless Yuan troops rushed over.

One after another, one after another.

Accompanied by bursts of shrill screams, they fell to the ground one after another.

Countless corpses fell together, piling up like a mountain.

People were crowded together, armor against armor.

Everyone was concentrating, and no one dared to be distracted.

They all had only one idea.

Either kill the opponent or be killed by the opponent.

In a flash, the young life was gone, and there was no third choice.

Zhang Xun led a group of archers and crossbowmen, stood on the top of the wall, and shot continuously at the city.

Feather arrows and crossbow bolts covered the sky and shot towards Xu Chu and other tiger guards.

As the first to climb the mountain, these tiger guards were naturally wearing heavy armor.

Although he was not killed by the arrow, it was still painful.

Ping-pong sounds were heard.

Some people were covered by the firepower and their armor was pierced, and they were instantly shot into hedgehogs.

Every living life is like a blade of grass at this moment.

It is no wonder that those who are the first to climb the mountain are regarded as those who dare to die.

The madness of troubled times is bound to be a battlefield for heroes.

The river was dyed with blood, and the flames of war spread everywhere.

Endless fame and fortune are built on piles of bones.

……

……

After one round of attack, the gap was filled with corpses.

As a result, Xu Chu, who was attacking the city, was not blocked by the city wall, but was instead blocked outside the wall by the corpses scattered all over the ground.

When the battle reached dusk, Liu Bei suspended his offensive.

But they still did not withdraw the encirclement and still surrounded Long Kang tightly.

Li Yi took Taishi Ci as his entourage, surveyed the terrain, looked around the walls, and circled the city to inspect.

The moat here was very wide and the water was deep, making it difficult to approach the city in a hurry.

He suggested that Liu Bei first order the soldiers to carry soil to fill the trench, and then use earthen bags and firewood and straw to pile them up at the edge of the city to use as ladders and stools.

Over the next two days, catapults were used to carry out continuous bombings.

As the amount of stone materials nearby gradually decreased, Liu Bei ordered Xu Chu, Taishi Ci and Xu Sheng to lead 500 elite soldiers each to attack the gap.

After fighting from day till night, both sides were exhausted and then withdrew.

That night, Liu Bei gathered civil and military officials to discuss the matter.

"Longkang is indeed a strong city in Woshui. We have concentrated our efforts and attacked for several days, but we still cannot take it."

"The gap they opened at great risk of their lives was then filled by the defenders in the city."

"If this continues, we will have to exhaust the city's raw materials and manpower before we can break the city."

"As the saying goes, a hundred thousand troops cost a thousand gold coins a day."

"Our army is blocked here, and the food and fodder consumed are huge. It is not advisable to fight a protracted war."

Li Yi said:

"During the truce today, I noticed that the defenders on the city walls looked exhausted and tired."

"You can first draft a hundred or so letters of persuasion to surrender, shoot them into the city with arrows, and promise them high positions and generous salaries."

"To disturb their mind."

"We will attack the city again tomorrow to see the effect."

Liu Bei readily agreed and ordered his soldiers to copy more than a hundred letters of surrender overnight.

The book offered generous terms for surrender.

Anyone above the rank of Shichang not only retains his original official position, but is also promoted three levels.

Anyone above the rank of Quchang who surrenders will be promoted one level.

As for the lower-level soldiers, they were all rewarded with gold, silver, wine and meat.

In a word,

As long as you are willing to surrender to the emperor's uncle, I guarantee you wealth and glory, and a lot of gold bills!

Taishi Ci is the best archer in the army.

He ordered Taishi Ci to lead dozens of skilled archers to the foot of the city and shoot the letter of surrender into the city.

Great!
The sound of bowstrings ringing was so loud that it had already alarmed the soldiers guarding the city.

At first, everyone thought it was an enemy attack, so they quickly beat gongs and drums to call for friendly forces.

Zhang Xun and other generals quickly put on their armor and rushed to the top of the city.

But he found that there was a commotion in the city, and everyone was whispering to each other.

"what happened?"

Zhang Xun frowned and asked repeatedly.

"... General, look."

A captain handed the letter that was shot in to Zhang Xun with great trepidation.

Zhang Xun unfolded it, took a quick look, and was immediately shocked.

"How dare Liu Da'er do this!"

Zhang Xun suddenly realized that it was no wonder that there was a riot on the city wall.

It turned out that they were all tempted by the high positions and generous salaries promised by Xuzhou.

Li Yi's strategy of attacking the heart was tailored to the enemy's situation.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be crooked. The dry bones in Yuan Shu's tomb are not the leader who can bring order to the chaos.

The soldiers under his command followed him in Huainan to extort money from the people, and military discipline was corrupted.

It is difficult to develop a noble character of loyalty and perseverance.

Moreover, Li Yi was very good at choosing the time. He started his attack when the morale of the soldiers defending the city was shaken.

First, order the soldiers to attack fiercely for a few days. When the soldiers defending the city are tired and have no desire to fight, then shoot the paper notes in.

"Alright! Stop messing around! Stop messing around!"

Zhang Xun drew his sword and shouted at the soldiers to stop the riot.

After several rounds of intimidation, everyone stopped.

However, among all the armies, low-level soldiers could still be ordered to stop by their superiors.

But Lu Bu, who was also his superior, felt aggrieved at this moment.

He came to Runan to join Yuan Shu with the original intention of gaining some living space.

How could you really want to work for Yuan Shu?

Even if Yuan Shu really wanted to use him, Lu Bu was unwilling to listen to his orders.

The fact that Yuan Shu sent Zhang Xun to restrain him was enough to deeply hurt Lu Bu's heart.

Why should I die for you if you don't trust me?

"Marquis Lü Wen, Liu Xuande is a great hero in the world, and his adviser Li Yi is even more cunning and treacherous, and is good at using tricks."

"You and I must be careful and on guard next time."

Zhang Xun walked closer, but perhaps because it was dark, he did not notice Lu Bu's change of mood.

"understood."

Lu Bu ignored Zhang Xun and just passed by him.

When Zhang Xun saw this, he felt very resentful.

"How dare you, a mere slave of a third family and a stray dog, look down on me like this?"

Zhang Xun gritted his teeth and cursed angrily.

If Zhang Xun had not been afraid of Lu Bu's bravery, he would have really wanted to kill him with his sword.

But now the Xuzhou army was at the gates of the city, and Lu Bu also had thousands of soldiers under his command, so he had to join forces with Lu Bu to defend the city.

The next day, Li Yi ordered his soldiers to feint an attack on the city.

Try the defenders in the city to see how they are prepared.

Although they still encountered fierce resistance, Li Yi could clearly feel that the defenders on the city were no longer fighting so desperately.

Their mentality must have changed.

So that night, Li Yi ordered people to write letters and write notes and shoot them into the city.

This time the content of the letter was not promising high positions and generous salaries.

Instead, he listed Yuan Shu's various crimes and said that they, Xuzhou, were sending troops this time in compliance with the imperial order.

It enhances the justice and sanctity of the army.

On the contrary, Yuan Shu will be labeled a traitor, and if you soldiers help Yuan Shu defend the city, it will be tantamount to treason.

If General Liu conquers the city, I will play a game of elimination of three tribes for you~
This is also Li Yi's usual whip and candy trick.

As long as you invest, you will get promoted and make money.

If you don't vote, you will be dead.

It is conceivable what kind of psychological impact this gap would have on the soldiers defending the city.

More importantly, word of mouth spreads from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

Everyone was discussing the favorable conditions offered by the Xuzhou Army.

At this time, Li Yi suggested that Liu Bei temporarily withdraw the encirclement.

This is equivalent to giving the soldiers defending the city an opportunity to leave the city and surrender.

Such an obvious hint immediately gave the soldiers defending the city a sense of hope.

Among them, a few people had secretly slipped out of the city and surrendered to the Xuzhou army.

Although the number of people is small, it is a good sign.

Li Yi immediately rewarded those soldiers who risked their lives to escape.

What is even more murderous is that
The next day,

Li Yi ordered the soldiers and officers who had escaped and were rewarded with high positions and generous salaries to go to the city in person to persuade them to surrender.

Firstly, it disrupts the morale of the soldiers defending the city, and secondly, it proves that surrender really has benefits.

He is absolutely different from your boss Yuan Shu. Boss Liu really gives money when he has it and he will never write a blank check.

For a time, there was unrest in Longkang City.

Zhang Xun also realized that if he allowed this kind of restlessness to spread, Longkang would be lost sooner or later.

Immediately see the move and counter it,

First, he ordered his men to burn the documents shot into the city in front of all the soldiers.

Then he issued an order that any documents shot into the city by the people of Xuzhou must not be opened.

Otherwise, you will be subject to military law.

At last,
Zhang Xun personally waited at night to see if there was anyone trying to escape from the city at night and surrender to Li Yi.

After two nights of surveillance, Zhang Xun finally caught eight people.

Zhang Xun was overjoyed and immediately ordered all the officers and soldiers in the city to come and question the eight people.

Then, all eight of them were beheaded in front of all the soldiers.

Their heads were tied to ropes and hung on the city gates.

Zhang Xun threatened:
"I want them to see with their own eyes how I defeated Liu Bei."

After all, Zhang Xun was a general under Yuan Shu, and he basically took on Li Yi's psychological attack.

After a series of swift and decisive actions, the restless mood in the city was finally temporarily suppressed.

For two consecutive days, no soldiers ran out to surrender to the Xuzhou army.

Seeing this, Liu Bei found Li Yi and said:
"The commander of Longkang seems to have stabilized the morale of the troops in the city."

"What can we do now?"

Li Yi comforted him:
"Don't worry, lord. The seeds have already been planted. How can they be easily suppressed?" "You can send soldiers to continue attacking the city tomorrow to test the defense of the city."

Liu Bei followed his advice and led his troops to attack Longkang again the next day.

Yuan's army on the city wall was still fighting hard.

The fighting lasted until sunset, and then both sides stopped fighting.

Liu Bei discussed with Li Yi:

"Today I led the troops to attack very urgently, and observed the defensive posture of Yuan's army."

“It will take at least a month.”

"But if it really comes to this, I'm afraid Shouchun's reinforcements have already arrived."

"My army is stuck here."

"I want to take the land route, bypass Longkang, and attack Cai. What do you think, military advisor?"

In Liu Bei's view, it is necessary to distinguish between primary and secondary contradictions.

They came to Huainan not to capture cities but to attack Yuan Shu.

The ultimate goal was Shouchun, Yuan Shu's capital.

As long as the Huainan crystal explodes, the rest of Yuan Shu's cities will be like headless flies and there will be no need to worry.

Li Yi shook his head and rejected Liu Bei's proposal.

"My army has been besieging Longkang for several days and is about to break through the city. How can we give up halfway?"

"Besides, traveling by land is not as convenient as traveling by water."

"All the grain can be transported from Pei County via the Wo River, with very little loss."

"Besides, if we really take a detour and capture Cai first, reinforcements from Shouchun will arrive tomorrow."

"The Longkang defenders can also send out troops to attack our rear."

"This move is too risky. It is better to proceed step by step and be cautious. It is better to go to Longkang first."

Li Yi persuaded Liu Bei who wanted to launch a detour.

Liu Bei agreed to continue the attack on Longkang, but still expressed his concerns:

"The stones nearby are running out, and Longkang City is high and the moat is deep, so it is very difficult to get them."

"Why does the military advisor say that the city will fall soon?"

The corners of Li Yi's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"During the day, I saw Lü Bu on the city wall. He kept looking at me, and there was a look of hesitation in his eyes."

"Moreover, the troops under his command were getting less and less able to shoot arrows, and their resistance was not very effective."

"I think he will hesitate and not fight hard."

"Tomorrow I will lure him into a fight with Zhang Xun. Then Long Kang will be within easy reach, right?"

Liu Bei was overjoyed, "If that's true, then the military advisor deserves the most credit!"

After a slight pause, he asked again:
"The military advisor is very far away today, how can we see his expression clearly?"

Li Yi smiled and patted the telescope in his arms and answered:
"That's because there is this thing in the middle!"

Liu Bei slapped his head and said with a smile:

"I almost forgot that the military advisor had this thing that can reach a thousand miles."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

……

The next day, early morning.

Li Yi personally led his troops to the city, but was not in a hurry to attack it.

Zhang Xun hurriedly led his troops to the city and prepared for defense.

Seeing that Li Yi was far away and did not attack the city, he didn't know what he was up to.

He could only temporarily order people to hold down the bows and crossbows and be prepared for defense.

I saw a brave cavalryman running to the foot of the city and shouting to the top of the city wall:
"I am the military advisor of Xuzhou and a knight under the command of Li Yi, the chief strategist of General Liu."

"In the name of the military advisor, I would like to invite Marquis Lü Wen to meet at the foot of the city."

When Lu Bu heard that Li Yi specifically wanted to see him, he immediately prepared to leave the city.

Chen Gong stopped him and asked in a deep voice:
"Where is Lord Wen going?"

Lu Bu was startled and replied:
"Didn't you hear just now that Li Ziyu wanted to see me?"

Chen Gong was speechless. If someone asks to see you, do you have to go and meet him?

"We are now guest generals from other states. Previously, we served as the lord in Xuzhou for a few days."

"Your identity is sensitive, so you should avoid suspicion."

"Don't make Zhang Xun suspicious."

Lu Bu raised his eyebrows and said angrily:

"Why should I be suspicious? I have the Fang Tian Ji and the Red Hare."

"Who are you afraid of?"

After saying this, he shook off Chen Gong's hand and walked down the city wall.

In Lu Bu's view, Zhang Xun was just a general under Yuan Shu.

He was the Marquis of Wen conferred by the imperial court and the General of Pingnan appointed by the emperor himself, yet he was under the control of this man.

It's really shameful!

Since Zhang Xun didn't want to see him leave the city, he insisted on going out of the city to meet Li Yi, going against Zhang Xun's wishes.

After a while, Lu Bu led dozens of riders out of the city.

Zhang Xun was surprised to see a group of soldiers suddenly appearing at the foot of the city. He opened his mouth in surprise and asked hurriedly:
"Who left the city without permission?"

The answer was Wenhou Lu Bu.

Zhang Xun was furious when he heard this:
"How dare Lu Bu leave the city without my orders?"

"Send someone quickly to bring him back!"

Over there, Lu Bu was walking farther and farther away, and stopped when he was a hundred steps away from Li Yi.

Li Yi sent someone across the battlefield and shouted to Lu Bu:
"Mr. Li wants to meet with General Lu alone!"

Lu Bu was about to go out into battle, but Cheng Lian, who was standing by, stopped him and said, "No!"

"General, Li Ziyu is very strategic and his plans are hard to predict."

"The general is going there alone, and I am afraid there will be a trap."

Lu Bu also knew that Li Yi was a man of talent and good decision-making.

He looked ahead and saw that Li Yi had already ridden out on a single horse, without any armor or weapons.

Then he said in a deep voice:
"I am invincible in the world, why should I be afraid of a little boy?"

He immediately put the painted halberd in his hand back to its original place, took off his sword and handed it to Cheng Lian who was standing beside him.

He rode his Red Hare and galloped towards Li Yi.

A moment later,

The two men's horses met, and they each held the reins and talked to each other.

"Since we parted in Xuzhou, I miss you very much. How are you doing?"

Li Yi said with a cupped hand.

Lu Bu was stunned. Before he came, he was still guessing what Li Yi would say to him.

I didn't expect that he would ask me how I was doing, so I immediately replied:

"I am ashamed that I have been wandering in Runan since I said goodbye to General Liu."

“I don’t know where to go yet.”

Li Yi waved his hand and said:
"General, you are wrong. General Lu is the General of Pingnan and the Governor of Runan appointed by the imperial court."

"We should have taken over Runan. Why did we come to Pei to serve Yuan Shu and oppose General Liu?"

This……

Li Yi's question stumped Lu Bu.

He didn't want to come, but the problem was that he was living under someone else's roof, so he had to come.

Li Yi continued:

"Yuan Shu is a wicked man. The imperial court has issued an order to Sikong Cao and General Liu to join forces to conquer him."

"Yuan Shu is a traitor, and the general is a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. He must not defile himself."

"To destroy one's own reputation."

What does Lu Bu like to hear the most?

Answer: Others praised him as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

in history,
After Lu Bu occupied Xuzhou, he allied with Yuan Shu. At that time, the two states of Xu and Yang were united and their power was extremely great.

In order to alienate Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, Cao Cao wrote a letter to comfort Lu Bu.

The content of the letter praised Lu Bu as a loyal minister and Yuan Shu as a traitor.

After hearing this, Lu Bu was overjoyed and actually broke off the alliance with Yuan Shu.

He also wrote a special letter to the emperor.

The content of the letter was basically an apology to the emperor.

He said that he felt ashamed that he was unable to come when the emperor summoned him to serve the country.

Now I heard that Cao Cao has taken you to Xudu. I am relieved to hear that you are safe.

I have fought against Cao Cao before, and I am worried that if I lead troops to follow you, it will arouse suspicion from others.

So I am waiting for your punishment in Xuzhou.

From this letter we can see that Lu Bu not only has a good relationship with the emperor.

And in front of the emperor, her emotional intelligence is unexpectedly high.

You know, Cao Cao had a deep hatred with Lu Bu during the battle of Yanzhou.

The result was because an emperor came out.

Lu Bu also wrote a special letter to apologize to Cao Cao.

If you say I am guilty, I am willing to follow the imperial edict and go to attack the wanted criminal Yuan Shu.

The key point is this "obeying the imperial edict".

So people often ask, who did Cao Cao control when he used the emperor to control the princes?
Lu Bu is a typical example.

If you really bring the emperor forward, he will foolishly obey the order.

It is worth mentioning that,
When Yuan Shu learned that Lu Bu had broken the alliance, he was furious.

So he gathered Yang Feng and others, forming an army of tens of thousands.

The troops were divided into seven groups to attack Lu Bu.

Lu Bu was dumbfounded at that time.

Because Lu Bu had only more than 3,000 people at that time.

Otherwise, how can people say that Lu Bu is not very smart?

Yuan Shu is right next to you, and you broke the alliance just like that, but you don’t have the strength to resist Yuan Shu.

How dare you?

Fortunately, Lu Bu adopted the strategy of Chen Gui and Chen Deng, father and son.

By using a strategy of sowing discord, he successfully made Yang Feng and Han Xian defect in the middle of the battle.

Lu Bu took advantage of the situation and rushed in, killing ten generals in a row.

The great general Qiao Rui was captured alive, and countless people fell into the water and died.

Lu Bu went straight to Shouchun with Yang Feng, Han Xian and others, advancing both by land and sea.

They fought and plundered along the way, and finally captured Zhongli, and then returned with a full load.

After returning, Lu Bu did not forget to write a letter to ridicule Yuan Shu.

Basically, although I, Lu Bu, don't have much bravery, I can still march across Huainan like a tiger.

Soon, they fled to Shouchun, not daring to show their heads again.

Where are all those fierce warriors you always like to brag about?
Where else could they be? Lu Bu killed ten generals in one breath.

Even the general Qiao Rui was captured alive by Lu Bu.

This time, Lu Bu taunts the opponent close to his face, outputs damage while standing on the opponent's face, and shows off as much as he can.

Yuan Shu was so angry that his face turned green.

He also led 5,000 soldiers to the banks of the Huai River to stage a demonstration.

As a result, he was mercilessly mocked by Lu Bu's cavalry on the other side of the river.

Lu Bu was determined to do things to the extreme, and he had a complete feud with Yuan Shu.

But later,
He would never have imagined that he would be besieged by Cao Cao, the Han court to which he represented his unwavering loyalty.

……

(End of this chapter)