My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 199: Unexpectedly, Yuan Shu died first

For the first time, Pang Tong used the tactic of sinking the tower ship to the bottom of the city to serve as bridge piers. He also used the waste before sinking the ship to attract enemy fire and cover his own catapults to smash the defensive facilities on the city walls. As expected, he achieved a very good first-mover effect.

These unprecedented tactics greatly weakened the defenders' long-range defensive firepower. Huang She, who was finally hit, was very angry, but he could do nothing about it.

Pang Tong did not stop there, and that night, under the cover of darkness, he ordered his soldiers to complete the final supplementary work with rattan shields. After the tower ship sank, he piled up some stones and earthen mounds in the unstable places around it.

In the second half of the night, the custom-made extended trench bridge vehicle was pushed over and placed on the bridge piers formed by the sunken ship. Dozens of bags of soil were spread on the top of the trench bridge vehicle to fill the gaps between the logs and ensure that the wheels would not get stuck when the Ge bus and the ladder truck passed through it tomorrow.

Huang She also knew that Guan Yu's army was making some small moves in the middle of the night, so he asked his soldiers to light more torches on the city wall to illuminate the other side of the moat as much as possible, so as to guide their crossbowmen and suppress the enemy who was building the bridge.

Unfortunately, there were no reflectors or any other tools for directional focusing in this era. Even if the torches were dense, you couldn't see anything at all from dozens of steps away. Instead, they pointed out the target for Guan Yu's counterweight trebuchets hiding in the dark.

Starting from the second half of the night, Pang Tong adapted to the situation and ordered the catapults to continue to hit the areas on the top of the city wall where the fire was the brightest from a long distance, causing Huang She to suffer terribly. In the end, he had to give up lighting torches, and suffered three-digit casualties in vain.

Before the battle, Huang Zu had only 14,000 troops. Later, Yi Ji persuaded the 2,000 soldiers in Xiling City to surrender and the city was opened without bloodshed. There were only 12,000 soldiers left in Shaxian and Xiakou. 5,000 were deployed in Shaxian and 7,000 in Xiakou.

Therefore, Huang's grandfather and his son actually didn't have much casualties to resist. If the death toll was a little higher, they would have to forcibly conscript the people in the north of the city to serve as able-bodied men to help defend the city. However, this kind of militia could only repair the city defenses and throw rolling logs and rocks, and their bow and crossbow combat capabilities were almost zero.

After being exhausted by Pang Tong, Huang She had to adopt a more conservative tactic to delay the battle as much as possible and preserve his strength.

After Huang She's defensive firepower decreased, Pang Tong's tactical deployment became smoother. At dawn the next day, Huang She discovered in despair that Guan Yu's army's trench bridge had been laid very firmly, and there was a trench bridge on each side of the tower more than a hundred steps away, just avoiding the coverage range of the bows and crossbows on the tower.

The biggest disadvantage of this trench bridge deployment method is that it is impossible to use battering rams to efficiently ram the city gates, but the advantage is that it can avoid the main city tower with the strongest firepower.

However, important military fortresses such as Shaxian and Xiakou originally had urn cities. After breaking one gate, there was still an inner gate, and they had to withstand the crossfire after rushing in. It can be seen that Guan Yu and Pang Tong completely gave up the strategy of breaking through the gate and focused on climbing the wall first.

After the trench bridge was built, Guan Yu's army's attack on the second day turned into a combination of Ge Gongche, ladders and catapults.

The catapults continued to suppress the crossbows and turrets on the city walls, gradually consuming all of Huang She's crossbows. In the end, Huang She could only rely on ordinary crossbows and waist-drawn crossbows to shoot and kill the advancing enemy soldiers.

"Concentrate your powerful crossbows and shoot hard at the enemy soldiers pushing the Ge bus! For those carrying large shields, use your waist-drawn crossbows to shoot!"

Huang She roared at the top of his lungs, and hundreds of waist-drawn crossbows shot wildly towards Ge Gongche, with arrows flying like locusts.

The dull sound of countless arrows piercing the wooden boards made everyone feel the murderous atmosphere of the battlefield. The powerful waist-drawn crossbows could actually penetrate the wooden shields, and the force was only slightly reduced, and it seemed that they could still hurt the enemy soldiers behind the wooden shields.

However, the brave warriors of Guan Yu's army did not slow down. Except for a few who were shot and fell, the remaining soldiers still pushed Ge Gongche firmly and accelerated to pass through the moat.

There were also reserve soldiers behind them who would immediately rush up to replace the fallen comrades pushing the carts. The archers of Guan Yu's army also kept shooting at the top of the city wall, hoping to suppress the firepower of the defenders.

After shooting a few rounds, Huang She finally found something wrong - the rate of armor worn by the warriors sent by Guan Yu's army was simply too shocking! Everyone was wearing armor made of steel!
He personally witnessed many brave warriors who were shot by bows and arrows, but they were still fine. Even if they were hit by powerful arrows from crossbows, they were often only slightly injured and had enough strength to retreat on their own. Only by hitting directly with a waist-drawn crossbow without a shield could one have a greater chance of seriously injuring or killing the enemy.

The defensive effect completely stunned Huang She.

Guan Yu came prepared! How many tricks did he have left to attack the enemy?
But things had come to this point, and Huang She had no better way than to roar numbly and let his soldiers hold on to the battle to the death.

Ge Gongche finally rushed to the base of the city wall under a hail of arrows. The sheep and horse wall and the chevaux de frise had long been cleared by the previous catapults, and the scattered remnants were also moved away by the first soldiers who risked their lives.

As the iron spikes on Ge Gongche fell down with a loud bang and hit a flat section of the wall whose battlements had been flattened by the catapult, the brave warriors of Guan Yu's army finally launched a charge and engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand fight with the defenders.

……

"Shaxian and Xiakou are indeed the strong cities of Jingzhou. After they climbed up the city walls, they were able to organize a second line of defense with spears at the crossing on top of the wall. After fighting for so long, the enemy army has not collapsed yet."

Guan Yu couldn't help but sigh as he watched the fierce fighting on the city wall that seemed to have no winner for a long time.

Pang Tong, who was standing by, consoled them kindly, "General Guan, rest assured. Our army has already established a firm foothold on the city wall! The enemy won't be able to hold out for long! If we charge a few more times, the enemy will surely loosen and collapse!"

At the moment, I think that since this siege method has been proven in Shaxian, it is time to copy it in Xiakou. It will take some time to fill the river and build a bridge there, and it will also take time to weaken and tire the enemy layer by layer before we can defeat them in one fell swoop. "

Guan Yu nodded subconsciously when he heard this. He also knew that there was no need to be anxious. With the absolute technical advantage, Shaxian and Xiakou would definitely be captured. It was important to reduce casualties at this time.

When they stormed the wall on the first day, the enemy's blood rushed to their heads and they had no time to think. They just kept killing and killing, and it was difficult for them to surrender in an organized manner out of fear.

But if they were given a day to think calmly and realize that "the end of holding on to the end is that everyone will die and nothing will change", it might lead to the collapse of enemy morale.

Many times, morale collapses after a devastating defeat, when comrades calm down to complain and take stock. As they talk, morale collapses because ordinary soldiers do not have a global perspective at the beginning. They don’t know “Are our friendly forces in the same miserable situation as mine? Is my situation an exception?”

Of course, there is a big prerequisite for doing this, that is, your absolute strength and real strength can really crush the enemy.

To defeat the strong with the weak, you must do it in one go, because you cannot give the enemy a chance to chat during a truce. Once the enemy chats, he will see through your "weakness pretending to be strong" and will not be afraid of you next time.

Using the strong to defeat the weak can give the enemy time to reflect and communicate after a small victory. Once the enemy chats, they will only find out that "it turns out that I am not the only one who thinks this strong enemy is invincible, but all the brothers think so, and today all the brothers suffered such heavy casualties", and the more they chat, the more afraid they will be.

Although Guan Yu did not summarize this rule into a military strategy, he had fought for more than ten years and still had this simple experience. Now his absolute strength is to crush the Huang father and son. It is the best choice to relax and tense up a little and strive to break through the city twice.

So he agreed to Pang Tong's suggestion and sent someone to take care of the battlefield at Xiakou first, and then he could do the same and make preparations first.

As for Sha Xian, it would be fine if they failed to break through on the first day.

After resting, Guan Yu launched another powerful attack three days later. That day was the seventh day of May.

This time the enemy's will to resist was indeed much lower than the first time. This was probably what Guan Yu expected, "the defeated enemy soldiers calmed down and chatted with each other, which destroyed their morale and made them despair."

The details of Guan Yu's army's tactics and techniques did not change much, and they still used the same tactics as before. After climbing the city wall and entering the melee stage, the morale of the troops around Huang She collapsed in batches. Seeing Guan Yu's army in full armor, they had no courage to fight again, and knelt down and surrendered when they were forced to the front.

Huang She was desperate and had nowhere to go. He wanted to jump over the wall to escape, but he fell to his death under the wall. In the end, the defenders of Shaxian City finally broke through after losing about 2,000 people (including able-bodied men), more than 1,000 wounded, and nearly 2,000 prisoners. Considering that most of them were Huang's direct descendants, it was normal that they surrendered after one-third of them were killed or injured in the battle to defend the city.

After Shaxian was captured, Xiakou, which Huang Zu defended, was just an isolated city. It might take another half a month to capture it, and no longer than a month.

There is nothing worth elaborating on the specific details. Anyway, the methods and tactics for tackling tough problems have been summarized very comprehensively, so just continue to copy and optimize them.

……

While Guan Yu was conquering Shaxian, Cao's army had just resumed its full-scale attack in Xinyang area deep in the Tongbai Mountains.

Because of the previous misleading intelligence, Cao Cao focused on blocking rather than attacking, which wasted some time. Now he is eager to make up for it.

After fierce attacks day and night regardless of casualties, Cao Ren finally did not disappoint Cao Cao again. He captured Xinyang County on May 15, just eight days after Guan Yu captured Shaxian.

Because the casualties of the assault were beyond expectations, Cao Cao certainly wanted to restore the morale of his troops, so he ordered random killings and looting. Anyway, this place was Yuan Shu's temporary pseudo-capital, and in Cao Cao's view, all the local soldiers and civilians were guilty and deserved to be punished by heaven.

Cao's army rushed into the city, killing anyone they saw, and went straight to the fake emperor, Yuan Shu, and surrounded him.

Yuan Shu refused to surrender and led the last of his personal guards, brandishing his sword and fighting back. Cao's army had no choice but to shoot him with bows and arrows before disarming him and tying him up.

When Cao Cao heard that Yuan Shu had been captured, he hurried over in person to verify his identity.

Seeing Yuan Shu’s face covered in dirt and blood, Cao Cao almost didn’t dare to recognize him. This was too different from the impression he had of Yuan Shu.

"Yuan Gonglu, you have come to this day? What were you thinking back then, to actually dare to claim to be an emperor?"

When Yuan Shu heard Cao Cao's voice, he suddenly opened his eyes, which had been exhausted, and regained some energy. His eyes wandered for a while before he found Cao Cao's position:
"Cao Man, you bastard! You are a despicable and hypocritical person! Don't you want to be emperor? You are just pretending to be the prime minister of Han to eliminate dissidents, and then you will be emperor after eliminating them! I am just more straightforward than you, bah!"

As Yuan Shu spoke, he spat a mouthful of blood and spit at Cao Cao. Cao Cao dodged repeatedly but was still splashed on the face by a few bloody particles. He became furious and picked up the horsewhip to whip him hard.

Yuan Shu, however, looked indifferent. When Cao Cao was about to whip him with his whip, he suddenly came to his senses and remembered that the thief was already seriously injured. It would be bad if he was whipped to death.

However, after listening to Yuan Shu's accent and tone just now, Cao Cao was at least 100% sure that this was the real Yuan Shu, and that was enough.

Cao Cao gave a stern order: "Tie this fellow up, stuff a cloth in his mouth to stop him from talking nonsense, and take him back to Xudu for execution. Don't let him die on the way! Cut off his tongue before the execution to prevent him from talking nonsense in public!"

"I obey your command!" Cao Ren immediately waved his hand and ordered his men to take Yuan Shu away.

Cao Cao asked anxiously, "Did you find the imperial seal?"

Cao Ren: "Please follow me, Sikong. I just found something that looks like the imperial seal in the inner room. I dare not confirm it, so I have ordered the inner room to be sealed and no outsiders are allowed to enter or leave."

Cao Ren led Cao Cao into a study room and pointed to a wooden box on the desk. Cao Cao opened it and saw a jade seal with golden horns. The eight characters on the front were "Received the Mandate from Heaven, May You Live Long and Prosper".

Looking at this thing, Cao Cao's mood finally improved a little, and he murmured to himself:

"Although I was delayed for some time by the false news, at least I didn't miss the big thing. Yuan Gonglu, oh Yuan Gonglu, thanks to your head and the imperial seal, I can sit on the throne of the General of the Cavalry with peace of mind, and don't have to worry about not being as good as Liu Bei in suppressing the rebellion."

After sighing, he ordered Cao Ren again: "The whole army will rest for three days to treat the wounded, and then we will return to Xudu. After I have executed Yuan Shu and announced it to the world, I will go to Xuzhou in person to kill Lu Bu. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry should not rest, and let Cao Chun follow me back to Xuzhou."

Cao Ren followed the order, and after the Cao army had treated the wounded, killed and looted in Xinyang and relieved their pressure, they planned to set out on their return journey.

However, on May 18, the day when Cao Cao was about to set out, two urgent military reports arrived, slightly disrupting Cao Cao's deployment.

The first message came from the south over Tongbai Mountain, and the reporter was Niu Jin, a general under Cao Ren.

Niu Jin's scout team, which was left north of Xiling to monitor Guan Yu's army, finally found out some useful information a few days ago.

"Report! Our scouts have learned about the military situation of General Annan in the south of Tongbai Mountain. Guan Yu has already conquered Shaxian about ten days ago, and is now besieging Xiakou, Huang Zu's last stronghold!"

Cao Cao was not too surprised after hearing this. He just smiled and said to his men, "In the time our army has spent capturing Yuan Shu, Yunchang has only killed Huang She and has not yet killed Huang Zu. This time he is lagging behind."

Cao Ren naturally wanted to make a joke: "Sikong's divine power is beyond comparison with Guan Yu."

Cao Cao was feeling proud when another express messenger came with news. It was Xiahou Yuan in Pengcheng who had brought the news from afar.

"Report! The military commander (Xiahou Yuan) reported that Chen Deng of Xia Pi suddenly sent someone to contact us secretly the day before yesterday, expressing his willingness to surrender to the court! The military commander immediately sent someone to meet Chen Deng and asked the Minister of Works how to arrange for Chen Deng and others after the surrender."

Cao Cao was overjoyed when he heard this: "Hahahaha! Speaking of Lu Bu, Lu Bu will be destroyed! After I killed Yuan Shu, I was going to Pengcheng to destroy Lu. I didn't expect that Lu Bu finally couldn't hold on, and a county under his command directly surrendered to the court! God is really helping me! It seems that I misunderstood Chen Yuanlong in the past two years. He is still loyal to the court!"

Unfortunately, Cao Cao’s happiness didn’t last long this time either, as he was once again hit hard by an updated piece of news.

Just two hours later, before the good news had even spread, Xiahou Yuan sent a new messenger.

This time it was an express journey of 600 miles, so although the envoy set out more than a day later than the previous one, the time he arrived at Cao Cao was only one or two hours later.

"Report to the Minister of Works! The military commander has an urgent report! He sent troops to escort Chen Deng to surrender, but he failed to catch up. Chen Deng had just started the rebellion when he was discovered by Chen Gong who was also in Xia Pi. Now his life or death is unknown!"

Cao Cao was stunned on the spot. He received many urgent military intelligence reports in one day and felt that his brain was not enough.

"What's going on? How could Chen Gong, the bastard, see through Chen Deng? Chen Deng, you incompetent man! Why didn't you act in a discreet manner?"

(End of this chapter)