Tiger Guards

Chapter 367: Watch the Success or Failure
Pengcheng, where Guan Yu was stationed.

Ten days have passed since the siege began. Yuan's army has set up camp along both banks of the Si River and has dug a trench outside Pengcheng City. Outside the trench, two earthen walls have been built.

Between these two earthen walls became a passageway for Yuan's officers and soldiers to travel and defend.

It can also defend against Liu Bei's reinforcements from outside.

When Guan Yu was inspecting the city wall, he saw that Yuan's army had begun to build earthen platforms around the two earthen walls, establishing a more solid defensive stronghold.

About twenty miles southeast of Pengcheng lies Hanshan Mountain.

After Zhang Xun's main force was stationed at Hanshan, and after the trenches and earthen tunnels were completed, he began to organize his troops to build water dikes and dams at Hanshan, attempting to block the Si River and launch a water attack on Pengcheng.

As long as Guan Yu refuses to break out of the city or challenge or fight outside, Zhang Xun will carry out the flooding plan to the end.

Zhang Xun was not afraid of Guan Yu, but rather disliked the fortification of Pengcheng.

Anyone with normal emotions and reason would not want to tackle a difficult task; organizing an army to tackle a difficult task is a comprehensive assessment of one's own army.

Any problem in any link will affect the outcome of the siege.

Compared to bloody battles... if it were just hard civil engineering work, most officers and soldiers in the army would be able to accept it.

The only downside was that Cao Cao's massacre at Pengcheng back then was so devastating that the Si River was almost stagnant... making it difficult for Zhang Xun to capture and conscript enough able-bodied laborers from the surrounding counties.

Fortunately, many disaster victims also accompanied the army, and they could be organized to do hard labor.

His stationing of troops at Hanshan was also intended to defend against Liu Bei downstream.

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were besieged in Xiapi, and Liu Xun, who was in charge of commanding this route, was also preparing a water attack.

Water attack is a very simple tactic; once the necessary manpower is deployed, the results will be achieved.

At the same time, water attacks require a lot of manpower and time, and the construction period is a test of the will of the defending troops.

Often, before the water attack plan is even completed, the defenders' morale collapses, and they will either open the city gates to break out or surrender.

Meanwhile, Chen Deng of Guangling was also caught up in Sun Ben's clutches, and Chang Ba, Zang Ba, and others who were stationed near Langya and Donghai Port were also implicated by Sun Ben.

The entire Xuzhou region was actually being attacked from both sides by Yuan Shu.

During the summer and autumn floods, the waters will breach Xuzhou.

Before that, if Liu Bei had taken the initiative to break out and evacuate from Xuzhou... then Chen Deng, Zang Ba and others could have switched sides to Yuan Shu.

Therefore, how long Xuzhou could hold out depended on Liu Bei's personal will in the short term, but not in the long term... because when the water attack was launched, Liu Bei's will did not play any role.

Liu Bei firmly believed that the imperial court would send troops to rescue him, while Guan Yu, Chen Deng, Zang Ba, and others who had divided their forces to defend their posts also trusted Liu Bei.

In fact, Yuan Shu was not in a hurry at this stage of the war, as he had already divided, bound and tied down various mobile forces in Xuzhou.

When the winter wheat and summer grain in Xuzhou are harvested, they will naturally fall into the hands of the front-line troops.

If the entire Yuan army were to be fed in Xuzhou, even if they retreated, leaving behind a devastated Xuzhou, Liu Bei would be rendered useless.

Having suffered such a great loss, will the people of Xuzhou still continue to support Liu Bei?
In order to harvest the grain from the military settlements near Pengcheng and Xiapi, Yuan's army is currently only carrying out the construction of dams and has not yet officially started storing water.

The dam will be officially closed and the water supply cut off only after the summer grain harvest in the suburbs is completed.

A swift capture of Xuzhou would be ideal if successful; even if not, it would solve the summer food problem for hundreds of thousands of troops.

The summer grain was delivered to the military camp, but the sweltering heat of midsummer made it impossible for either side to fight.

The real showdown will take place in the fall.

By autumn, they had forced the surrender of Xuzhou with a water attack, and then returned to Chen to fight a decisive battle against Zhao Ji and Lü Bu.

Only the outcome of this decisive battle will determine whether or not he will formally declare himself emperor.

Of course, if he could capture the Han emperor, then whether he acted as regent, abdicated, or had two emperors coexist, it would be up to Yuan Shu to decide; he could do whatever he wanted.

As Yang Jun had predicted, Yuan Shu had begun sending envoys to Yuan Shao and Zhao Ji in order to reduce resistance.

He hoped that Yuan Shao would declare himself emperor in the north, with the Yellow River as the boundary between the two sides; while Zhao Ji proposed using Hangu Pass as the boundary, dividing the territory into east and west.

Yuan Shu was a straightforward man. His idea was simple: to emulate Xiang Yu's enfeoffment of his generals as kings in Guanzhong, and to divide up the territory among themselves so as to avoid being interfered with by the imperial court.

Even if a winner is decided in the future, the spoils will rot in the current alliance of dividers.

Even Gongsun Zan and Liu Biao were within Yuan Shu's sphere of influence, and were promised the titles of King of Yan and King of Chu, respectively.

In any case, Yuan Shu only established titles and institutions, appointing ministers and officials; he did not formally declare himself emperor. If the alliance of partitioners is successfully formed, he can call himself the King of the East, the King of Qi, the King of Xu, or whatever.

What you call them doesn't matter; the key is to foster an alliance of those who want to divide the spoils.

Dismantle the imperial court, and everyone can fight with their bare hands.

Just as Yuan Shu was pushing for the alliance of those who would divide the spoils, Sun Ce, the grandson of a melon farmer in Jiangdong, Marquis of Wucheng, General Who Destroys the Barbarians, and Prefect of Taishan, was already getting impatient.

But he continued to endure, suffering greatly.

As a military commander, every decision has far-reaching consequences. Before the situation becomes clear, any decision-maker suffers immense mental pressure.

Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Lü Bu, Zhao Ji, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce were all like this.

Even if one has complete and accurate information about the overall situation, one will still worry about whether the development and changes in the situation will meet expectations.

This war, which involves all forces in the world, is too unpredictable, and Sun Ce only has one chance to make a move.

He was shrouded in more of the fog of war, and the mental pressure was exceptionally high.

To relieve the pressure, Sun Ce put aside military affairs and led several dozen knights to climb Mount Meng, also known as Mount Dong.

From the top of Dongshan Mountain, you can see the sea.

Taishi Ci, Song Qian, Sun He, and others followed, and together they lit a fire on the mountaintop to roast the prey.

Sun Ce climbed onto a huge pine tree, which seemed to give him a better view.

Gazing at the distant, azure sea, like a sparkling sapphire, his agitation gradually subsided.

A moment later, he climbed down from the tree, sat under the makeshift awning, and said to the people drinking from the mountain spring, "Liu Bei can hold out for a long time, but Yuan Shao's attack against the current is unlikely to be effective."

Taishi Ci turned his head to look in the direction of the sea, and Song Qian asked, "How did you determine that, my lord?"

The concern was that Liu Bei's will might collapse, so whether or not to send the entire army to rescue Liu Bei became a difficult problem hanging over Sun Ce's side.

The former subordinates of the Sun family who remained in Jiangdong first attached themselves to Liu Yao. After Liu Yao died, they followed Sun Jing westward to Yuzhang and attached themselves to Hua Xin.

In other words, most of the families and hostages fell under the control of the imperial court.

Since Yuan Shao never managed to obtain their families, they were essentially not under Yuan Shao's control and could have the freedom to make their own decisions.

"sea breeze."

Sun Ce uttered two words with confidence: "After mid-May, the sea winds will rise and become unpredictable. How dare Brother Boyang send troops to harass the East China Sea, the Langya coast, and the ports?"

Sun He nodded upon hearing this. Sun Ben was indeed a steady person and it was impossible for him to send his navy to harass the East China Sea and the Langya coastline during a period of frequent strong winds.

Just how steady was Sun Ben's personality?

They wouldn't even bet everything on Yuan Shu. If Yuan Shu didn't have a title or official position, Sun Ben might have been able to obediently lead his troops and follow orders.

But now, Sun Ben will not go all in until Yuan Shu makes key, substantial progress.

As long as he has an army, the imperial court will open the door wide for Sun Ben.

Furthermore, Yuan Shu placed high hopes on the armies of Liu Xun and Zhang Xun. As long as he could break Liu Bei's will to resist, or successfully delay until the time to launch a water attack, Xuzhou would be his own.

During this time, Sun Ben held off Chen Deng, Zang Ba, Chang Ba, and others. Even if Sun Ben did not participate in the battle, it could be considered that he had completed his mission.

After capturing Xuzhou, Sun Ben will most likely truly follow Yuan Shu down the same path to the bitter end.

However, when the sea winds were strong, Sun Ben was objectively unable to send troops across the sea to harass the East China Sea... So the two groups of refugee armies, Changba and Zangba, were liberated and regained their mobility.

Perhaps for now, these two armies are in a phase of conserving their strength, waiting for an opportunity to severely damage Zhang Xun and Liu Xun.

In other words, the situation for Liu Bei and Xuzhou is not as perilous as it appears at present.

So, while rushing to rescue Liu Bei might earn Liu Bei's gratitude, what was the point?
Could Liu Bei really just decide to give up Langya Kingdom to Sun Ce to support his army and increase his income?
Langya Kingdom is different from other places. Zhao Ji attaches great importance to this place, and Chancellor Zhao Fan has always been implementing the Zhao family's attitude.

Zang Ba and his ilk are currently allied with Liu Bei, but in essence, Zang Ba is more inclined to side with his half-fellow villager Zhao Ji.

Liu Bei was merely the temporary commander of the allied forces in Xuzhou, in reality the same as Zang Ba; perhaps Liu Bei could influence Chang Ba of Donghai and bring Chang Ba under his control.

Currently, Zang Ba is still recognized by the imperial court as the governor of Qingzhou, but he has retreated to Langya and is waiting for an opportunity.

The recruitment documents issued by Zang Ba to the scholars of Qingzhou still held legal validity and were still enticing.

Therefore, Liu Bei could not take control of Xuzhou. He was only holding onto the ravaged Xiapi and Pengcheng, and his more than 20,000 men were surrounded. After the war, they would have to endure a miserable winter.

In other words, the gratitude from Liu Bei and the friendship from the people of Xuzhou that we gained by rescuing Liu Bei and defeating Liu Xun and Zhang Xun are insignificant and of little use.

Therefore, we should continue to observe and wait for Zhao Ji and Lü Bu to lead the imperial army to quell the rebellion before joining the army!

Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, representing the imperial court, could clear his reputation and grant him the legitimate authority to wage war and subdue rebels.

Liu Bei himself had to ask the court for these things, so how could he be qualified to promise them to Sun Ce?
As for how Zang Ba, Chang Ba, Zhao Fan, and others would resolve Liu Bei's predicament, that's their business.

So what if Xuzhou falls!
Mount Tai is high in elevation, and even if Yuan Shu's army attacks, Sun Ce is confident that he can hold out until the imperial army arrives to quell the rebellion!

After actually engaging in battle with Yuan Shu's rebel army, he was naturally loyal to the court and a loyal minister who had been tested by war!
The pent-up frustration in Sun Ce's heart dissipated, and with his inner knot untied, he even began to look forward to Liu Bei's demise and Yuan Shu's division of forces to attack Mount Tai.

So, I started to enjoy the picnic without a care in the world.

Once the knot in my heart is untied, my thoughts become more active and clear.

For example, if Liu Bei hadn't died, how would I have had the chance to become the governor of Xu Province?

(End of this chapter)