My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 670: Just an excuse to stare at Cao Cao

Zhuge Jin's planning not only convinced Zhang Fei, but also Liu Bei, and made them willing to adopt the idea of "mainly using siege and deterrence to force a surrender in Xiangyang, and mainly using strong attack to defeat the enemy in Fancheng on the north bank" to guide our army's strategic deployment in the next stage.

After all, compared to Cao Ren, Yu Jin is more likely to be intimidated and surrender.

After all, Xiangyang was once the core of Liu Biao's rule. If this place could be taken over relatively peacefully, it would be of great benefit to Liu Bei's prestige and in winning the hearts of Liu Biao's old subordinates.

In comparison, Fancheng is not that valuable. It is more of a military fortress and a bridgehead on the other side of Xiangyang.

The relationship between Xiang and Fan is more like the relationship between Ping and Jin in later times. There are a lot of things in Pingcheng that need to be protected, and it would be painful if they were bumped or scratched, but it is relatively unimportant in Jinmen, and it is not impossible to smash some things to show off your authority.

When considering this issue, Zhuge Jin also very carefully carried out deductions based on the circumstances of the time and place, rather than simply copying the historical experience of foresight like other time travelers.

Because he knew that the current situation was completely different from the original historical situation when Guan Yu went north to Xiangfan. In the original historical situation, Jingbei had been occupied by Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi in the 13th year of Jian'an, and by the time Guan Yu went north in the 24th year of Jian'an, it had been ruled by Cao Cao's forces for more than ten years. Of course, Guan Yu could only use physical attack as the main method and psychological attack as the auxiliary method.

But the situation is completely different now. Cao Cao has occupied Xiangyang for less than half a year. There are many kind-hearted and ambitious people in the city, but they are being coerced by Cai Mao.

Liu Bei was reluctant to destroy all these forces that could be won over, so of course he would fight for them peacefully if possible.

In this process, the natural thing is to "only punish the main culprits, not to question their accomplices, and to exempt those who surrender from punishment."

After the top leaders of Liu Bei's army reached a consensus on this issue, the attack on Xiangyang was able to proceed smoothly.

……

Three days passed after the decision-making meeting.

It was already mid-September, and after three days of rest, Zhang Fei's troops finally recovered their spirits and prepared to launch the first round of deterrent siege on Xiangyang City.

Of course, during the days when Zhang Fei's troops were resting, Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's troops were not idle either. Although they did not have to undertake the main attack mission, they had to undertake the pre-war preparations.

Guan Yu and Huang Zhong each sent out a large number of auxiliary troops, carrying large rattan shields, and set up many temporary fortifications on the front line to block arrows.

They also pushed bulldozers with anti-arrow shields and dumped cartloads of soil into the moat of Xiangyang.

This work did not start after Zhang Fei arrived, but started two days before Zhang Fei arrived.

After five days of filling, several narrow gaps have been created in Xiangyang's moat. Although it has not been completely filled, as long as a trench bridge vehicle is set up at the gap, a flying ladder and a small ladder can be passed through.

When Guan Yu and Huang Zhong's auxiliary troops were operating, Yu Jin in the city of course also shot arrows to stop them.

The attackers used rattan shields, wooden plank houses and other shelters for cover, and also used a large number of crossbowmen to shoot at the top of the city walls, with both sides suppressing each other with fire.

Guan Yu also got some catapults, loaded with stone-crushing bombs, to suppress the top of the city. Before the two sides came into close combat, they had already fought fiercely at a distance.

The large military force and fierce long-range firepower of Guan Yu and Huang Zhong left a deep impression on Yu Jin and the soldiers defending the city.

Yu Jin always sighed in his heart: "Liu Bei's military strength is growing day by day, but our army has lost nearly half of its troops. I don't know how long we can hold Xiangyang City in the future... When Guan Yu came, he interrupted our army's autumn harvest.

This year, the autumn grain south of Xiangyang City has not been harvested and brought into the city, so we can only rely on the stockpile left by Liu Biao. Most of the grain and grass from the Xianshan camp have also not been transported back. The food stored in the city can still last through the winter, but what about the famine next spring? "

These problems always made Yu Jin upset.

With the wealth of Xiangyang, it would have been no problem to rely on the stored grain to feed the army for more than a year. Moreover, his army was smaller now, and many troops had been wiped out when Yuliangzhou was flooded, so there were even fewer mouths to feed.

However, the autumn harvest failed to come in, and the land outside the city was occupied by Liu Bei's army during the harvest season. This was a major blow to the duration of Xiangyang's grain reserves.

Coupled with the issue of grain storage in the Xianshan camp, the double blow caused Yu Jin's expectation of food shortage to be brought forward by several months.

After several days of shooting, hundreds of Yu Jin's archers were killed or wounded. Many facilities on the city wall, as well as parapets and battlements, were also destroyed by the enemy's catapults.

Although the auxiliary soldiers and archers of Guan Yu's army must have suffered considerable casualties, Yu Jin knew that he would not be able to defeat the enemy by simply consuming lives.

In order to reduce the losses of his own troops, Yu Jin had to keep a backup plan and conscripted people in the city over the past few days.

Some civilians and local militiamen were temporarily recruited to the wall to be responsible for throwing logs and stones and repairing the parapets. This could also reduce the loss rate of the main combat troops in subsequent battles.

Now, how effective all these preparations will be will soon be put to the test in actual combat.

……

Early in the morning of September 12, Zhang Fei led tens of thousands of fresh troops and gathered outside the south gate of Xiangyang City.

They deployed a massive formation, pushed dozens of ladders, and were about to launch a violent attack.

There are also more than 10,000 troops deployed outside the East Gate. They are responsible for feinting attacks and sharing the pressure for the friendly forces outside the South Gate.

Because the temporary trench bridge was not strong enough, the Ge Gongche was not deployed for today's attack, only ladders and ants were used.

The Ge Gongche is too heavy and will collapse the moat bridge supported by thick wooden boards. It is necessary to completely fill up a section of the moat and fill it to the other side before it can be used. The current progress of filling the river does not support this weapon.

After all, Xiangyang City was once the seat of Liu Biao, and the moat here was too wide and deep. In such a short time, it was impossible to completely fill up the road leading directly to the city, so they could only narrow it a little and then put up thick wooden boards.

However, the process of gradually tightening the noose around the opponent's neck is more deterrent.

If Zhang Fei could defeat Yu Jin today with only a light ladder, then the psychological pressure on the defenders would be even greater next time when Ge Gongche came up with all his strength.

What Zhuge Jin was pursuing was this kind of psychological expectation: "Even if I can't break through this city by force today, as long as I am given enough time to fill the river, I will be able to break through it sooner or later."

Hundreds of war drums beat loudly, and thousands of trumpets emitted low but penetrating sounds that spread throughout the city.

Thousands of powerful crossbowmen and dozens of catapults rained arrows and gravel onto the top of the city walls, suppressing the young men and auxiliary soldiers who were unable to escape in time and making them unable to raise their heads.

Then, the ladder trucks rushed across the trench bridge one after another. In front of the ladder trucks, there were some auxiliary soldiers carrying large shields and mattocks, breaking through the sheep and horse walls and the remains of deer horns that had not yet been smashed, opening a path for the ladder trucks to reach the base of the wall.

"Shoot! Shoot those ladder soldiers hard!" Yu Jin personally supervised the battle on the top of the city wall. He did not dare to relax at all. He shouted at the top of his lungs to order his troops to shoot arrows to suppress the enemy.

Some auxiliary soldiers who were responsible for throwing wood and stones were originally shot so hard that they could not even raise their heads. They could only hide behind the parapets and tremble in fear. However, they were forced by Yu Jin's personal guards to stand up and be ready to throw at any time.

"Don't hide! The ladder is coming soon, hit it hard!"

Some auxiliary soldiers were too cowardly to stand up even when they were beaten and kicked in the face of a hail of arrows. Yu Jin's personal guards drew their swords and killed one or two negative examples to establish their authority.

The other auxiliary soldiers were frightened by the gleaming knives in front of them and could only fight with all their might, but the resentment accumulated in their hearts made them even more angry and afraid to speak out.

Soon, the ladders approached the base of the city wall, and the wood and stones on the top of the wall were thrown down like they were free.

Zhang Fei's first team carried some rolling logs with their shields, but their arms were numbed and some even had fractures and internal injuries. The rest of the soldiers gritted their teeth and climbed up the ladder desperately.

The defenders who were throwing wood and stones on the wall were also facing an uncomfortable situation, because they had to lean out their upper bodies to throw the wood and stones, and their chances of being hit by the attacking side's rain of arrows were greatly increased.

Moreover, most of the front-line soldiers of the attacking side wore armor, while Yu Jin's auxiliary soldiers who threw wood and stones rarely wore armor, and even if they did, it was simple, old and broken leather armor. This allowed the attacking side to cover them with a rain of arrows with greater confidence.

Anyway, even if one of their own people was hit by a stray arrow, the penetrating power of most of the stray arrows was not enough to cause armor-piercing injuries. In contrast, Cao's soldiers who threw wood and stone would lose their combat effectiveness after being hit by a single arrow.

Bloody fights soon broke out simultaneously in several places where the ladder ants were hiding, and the fighting was extremely fierce.

The attackers had no spears or halberds, so they had to rely on swords and shields or horse-slashing swords to clear the way. Their ferocious momentum shook the defenders' morale. "Capture Yu Jin! Kill Cai Mao!"

"Right General Zhang Fei leads 100,000 Yizhou soldiers to help us in the battle! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The attackers launched a fierce attack while shouting slogans given before the battle, which made the ordinary defenders on the top of Xiangyang City increasingly uneasy.

Yu Jin, the commander of the defending army, was vaguely aware that the enemy had come to reinforce him. But he also knew that if this news was confirmed and spread, it would greatly undermine the morale of his own army, so he just wanted to play ostrich and kept the army from talking about it.

Unexpectedly, as Zhang Fei personally led the army to attack, he actually brought in a lot of Yizhou soldiers. The shouts of killing with the Sichuan accent made the Xiangyang defenders truly feel the major negative news that "100,000 Yizhou reinforcements have also arrived."

Many of the veteran soldiers of Jingzhou on the city wall began to waver and become timid as they resisted.

Although relying on the high walls of Xiangyang, the number of attacking soldiers rushing up is not large for the time being, the looseness of the defending side is still obvious to the naked eye.

Yu Jin was a famous general who was strict in military discipline and responded quickly to the slightest changes in the morale of the army. He quickly noticed that the position on the city wall was loose, and hurriedly urged the Cao army's fresh troops to join the melee on the city wall.

Originally, in Yu Jin's plan, there was no need to use these Cao army veterans in the initial stage of the defense. They were his trusted backbones for long-term control. At the beginning, the enemy's offensive was not strong, and it should be enough to rely on the Jingzhou soldiers brought by Cai Mao as cannon fodder to fight in the front line.

Who knew that when the actual battle finally started, the situation would deteriorate so quickly. On the first day, he was forced to send out Cao's direct troops to participate in hand-to-hand combat.

The bloody fight between the two sides lasted for a full half hour. Because Cao's army's reserve troops invested at all costs, Zhang Fei's fierce attack was finally repelled.

Yu Jin was not happy at all when he saw the enemy army finally retreat. Instead, he was sweating all over, as if he had been fished out of the water.

The Cao army officers around him also felt as if they had been pardoned and secretly thought they were lucky.

After this day's fierce attack, everyone has a scale in their hearts.

They also knew that there were still 35,000 soldiers defending Xiangyang City. If they fought to the death and made the enemy suffer tens of thousands of casualties before the city was captured, it would be possible.

However, how many of these 35,000 soldiers would really fight to the death? If the 20,000 Cao army veterans were wiped out, would the remaining 10,000 Jingzhou soldiers still fight?
If Liu Bei's army further improved the siege facilities and filled the moat to make it easier to pass through, and sent out heavier equipment next time, everything would be unpredictable.

……

After a swift, consuming and intimidating attack, Zhang Fei let Yu Jin know how powerful he was. In the following two days, the intensity of Zhang Fei's attacks decreased.

However, every day Zhang Fei still managed to ensure that there were soldiers who could climb the city walls and engage in hand-to-hand combat, forcing Cao's army to send out its elite troops to engage in battle. At the same time, Liu Bei's army's long-range suppression firepower was becoming more and more powerful.

Every day, new catapults were set up outside the city and began to bombard the defenders' defensive facilities with heavy stone bullets.

The sheep and horse walls, deer horns, pits, and battlements were also smashed and destroyed in large areas by the continuous attacks of Liu Bei's army.

Yu Jin held on for three days, and every day he secretly observed the changes in Zhang Fei's deployment, trying to figure out Zhang Fei's intentions.

Yu Jin soon discovered that Zhang Fei's reduction of the intensity of the frontal assault seemed to be just waiting for Liu Bei's army to better complete the destruction work, such as waiting for the catapults to destroy more tower facilities and waiting for the auxiliary troops filling the trenches to fill a passage with enough heavy vehicles to reach the city.

All of this was like a heavy hammer hitting Yu Jin's heart. After he calmed down, he had to admit in his heart that once all the facilities of Liu Bei's army were ready, the casualties required to capture his Xiangyang City would be much lower than now.

However, Yu Jin did not know that while he was feeling uneasy, Zhang Fei and Liu Bei on the opposite side were also temporarily in a slightly awkward situation.

According to the plan deployed by Zhuge Jin before the war, this kind of attack was only a deterrent and attritional one. After fighting for a few days and showing off its muscles to Yu Jin, the intensity should be gradually reduced.

However, when the actual fighting begins, the battle will not end just like that.

After three days of fierce attack, although the total casualties of Zhang Fei's troops were not too great, many of them were blood-thirsty and filled with rage.

Starting from the fourth day, Zhang Fei wanted to significantly reduce the intensity of the attack and let the troops focus on construction. However, many officers and soldiers of the Yizhou army still volunteered to fight, hoping that they would be the first to climb the mountain today, which really showed that the morale of the army was quite strong.

Zhang Fei wanted to strictly implement Zhuge Jin's plan, but seeing the enthusiasm of his subordinates, he could not bear to reject everyone's good intentions, so he gritted his teeth and went to ask Zhuge Jin for instructions.

Zhuge Jin was with Liu Bei at the time, discussing the subsequent military affairs. It seemed that something big happened that day, and the two men's tones and expressions were extremely serious during the discussion.

When Zhang Fei came in, he felt a little embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before he dared to interrupt:
"Brother, Situ, the army's morale is high. Our army has been attacking for three consecutive days. Many soldiers feel that even if they fight to the death, they can still take Xiangyang in more than half a month! Everyone is eager to make a contribution!"

Zhuge Jin raised his head, seemingly completely unmoved, and his expression quickly turned cold:

"Of course we can break the city by force, but with 30,000 or 40,000 enemy troops fighting desperately, how many people will die on both sides? We agreed before the battle that we want to intimidate Yu Jin and let him see that we are capable of breaking the city by force, that's enough!"

Zhang Fei explained helplessly: "I think so too, but now both armies are killing each other. Besides, if we suddenly stop, will Yu Jin think that we are afraid and dare not fight to the death because of the high casualties?"

Zhang Fei repeatedly stated that he had no intention of changing Zhuge Jin's pre-war plan. He just felt that the army's morale could be used, and hoped that Zhuge Jin could come up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.

Help him guide the morale of the troops, and at the same time avoid reducing the intensity of the attack and letting the enemy think they are back on track.

Liu Bei, who was standing aside, did not express his opinion at first, but frowned. After listening to his third brother's explanation of the specific difficulties ahead, Liu Bei used a tone of inquiry and spoke gently to Zhuge Jin:

"What Yide said does make some sense. After all, the soldiers at the front are fighting bloody battles, and their high spirits are rising. They have to find a place to vent... Hey, Ziyu, do you think we can make use of the secret report we received today?"

As Liu Bei spoke, he pointed to a letter on the desk. This letter was delivered early this morning. After Liu Bei received it, he immediately discussed and analyzed it with Zhuge Jin. Even Zhang Fei didn't know about it yet. When Zhang Fei came in, Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin were discussing this matter.

Zhuge Jin waved his folding fan a few times and nodded slightly: "That's exactly what I was thinking. Since the army's morale can be used, the morale of the soldiers is even higher than we expected before the war. It's a good opportunity to guide them."

Zhang Fei was listening to the conversation from the sidelines, confused, and couldn't help but interrupt: "Brother, Situ, what are you talking about? I don't understand. Where did this secret letter come from? What does it say?"

Zhuge Jin glanced at Liu Bei, who nodded slightly. Zhuge Jin then used his folding fan to pick up the letter, unfolded it gently, and explained to Zhang Fei:
"This is the secret report sent back by the spy this morning, about Cao Cao's personal return to Xudu to attend the ceremony of conferring the title of Duke of Wei.

As early as before the Mid-Autumn Festival last month, Cao Cao was granted the title of Duke of Wei in Xudu. It is said that he was also given the Nine Gifts. However, there are also reports that Cao Cao declined some of the Nine Gifts.

Counting the days, it was at least twenty days ago. After Cao Cao was conferred the title, he stayed in Xudu for only a few days before returning to Wancheng. It should be when he returned to Wancheng that Yunchang defeated Cao Ren and Yu Jin with water at Yuliangzhou.

Cao Cao should also have known about his title of duke. If the news had reached the front line, it might have led to an accelerated attack by our army, so he deliberately blocked it and delayed it for several days, causing our army to know about it only now.

My lord and I just received this news. We hadn't thought about whether to notify the whole army immediately. Now it seems that we can announce it in time. Yide can take a look first and then show it to Yunchang later."

After Zhuge Jin finished speaking, he pushed the secret letter in front of Zhang Fei. After Zhang Fei took it, he glanced at it and found that the main content was indeed similar to what Zhuge Jin said.

Xu Du is quite far from Xiangyang. As Cao Cao wanted to delay deliberately, it is normal that Liu Bei only knew about what happened more than 20 days ago now.

Moreover, before this incident, Cao Cao had performed the "three refusal" drama, so Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin were both mentally prepared, they just didn't know when this day would come.

Now, the final shoe has fallen.

Zhang Fei's strategic vision was not very good, and after reading the letter, he did not know how to use the information.

Seeing this, Zhuge Jin pointed out to him, "Didn't you think of this? Since Cao Cao has officially been named Duke of Wei, you must of course seek to fight a decisive battle with Cao's main force as soon as possible! To set the world straight.

For a mere city like Xiangyang, we can certainly slow down the attack. We can block all the gates first and then bypass them, cross the Han River directly to the north, and search for the main force of Cao's army. The key here is that we can slow down the attack on Xiangyang, but we must let Yu Jin and the soldiers defending the city know why we slow down the attack and what the reason is.

We need to let them know that it’s not that we can’t take Xiangyang by force, but that we have to prioritize things. The day we are free will be the day Yu Jin dies. This way, he will be truly afraid.”

Zhang Fei finally understood: "So that's it! I know what to do!"

(End of this chapter)