Tiger Guards

Chapter 401
At dawn the following day, Sun Ce ordered his officers and soldiers to use catapults to hurl the heads of Yuan's fallen officers and soldiers into the city from various locations outside Chen County.

The density of skulls is much lower than that of stones. These skulls can fly over long distances, often crossing the city walls and falling into various parts of the city.

This caused panic among the core officials and people of Chen State who supported Yuan Shu. Qiao Rui's head was also sent by Zhao Ji and hung outside the South Gate. There were also hastily written words on one side, and the banner read "Qiao Rui's Head".

When Yuan Shu climbed the city wall to inspect the situation, he saw that Sun Ce's officers and soldiers had set up catapult positions in sections, with wooden walls erected around them to block the crossbow fire from the defenders on the city walls. Behind the wooden walls were catapults that would occasionally throw heads to continuously put pressure on the soldiers and civilians inside the city.

Yuan Shu's face was devoid of any smile. He had anticipated Ji Ling's setback, but he hadn't expected him to be defeated so quickly.

The pincer movement has been broken. If Ji Ling does not retreat, his entire army may be wiped out at any moment.

Yan Xiang, who was following Yuan Shu, suddenly felt a chill on his face. He reached up and wiped his face, then looked down and saw that it was the blood dripping from a head that had flown overhead.

Yan Xiang slowly took out a handkerchief to wipe his cheeks and palms before saying to Yuan Shu, "Your Majesty, Zhao Ji has gathered the fierce and powerful troops of Guanzhong, and their strength is unstoppable. Now they have joined forces with Sun Ce, and with Lü Bu as their successor, these three are tigers and leopards of our time, truly formidable enemies."

Yuan Shu stopped, placed his hand on the crenellation, gazed at the outside of the city for a moment, then turned to Yan Xiang: "What is the meaning of this, Minister Yan?"

"He sent envoys to Hebei again to offer the Imperial Seal of the State. Hebei then launched an uprising, making it difficult for Zhao Ji, Lü Bu, and others to attend to both sides, leaving them vulnerable to attacks from both sides."

Seeing Yuan Shu's impatient expression, Yan Xiang immediately said, "Neither Lü Bu nor Sun Ce have long-term strategies and will certainly not be willing to expend their forces in a life-or-death battle with Your Majesty. The greatest threat at present is Zhao Ji alone. If Hebei raises an army to threaten Hedong and Taiyuan, Zhao Ji will be the one to rely on, forcing him to withdraw his troops. Once Zhao Ji retreats, Lü Bu and Sun Ce will find it difficult to trust each other and will inevitably annex each other, resulting in one death and one injury. Once Your Majesty has gathered the forces of Yan, Yu, Xu, and Yang, and controls half of the southeastern lands, why worry about Hebei?"

Yuan Shu remained silent. He could distinguish between what was important and what was urgent, and he knew that Yuan Shao was ambitious. If the Imperial Seal of the State were really sent to Hebei, given Yuan Shao's personality, he would definitely try his best to get it.

After a moment's hesitation, Yuan Shu turned to look at Yang Hong: "What do you think?"

"Your Majesty, the grain reserves in Chen County can supply the entire army for more than a year. The young men and women in the city are frightened by Sun Ce and are worried that their families will not be able to survive after the city is breached. They will definitely join hands with Your Majesty to defend the city."

Yang Hong said calmly, "Our army will hold firm. In winter, Zhao Ji, Lü Bu, and Sun Ce will run out of food and supplies and will have to retreat."

"Then defend! I want to see which of these three dares to launch a full-scale attack!"

As Yuan Shu spoke, his expression turned fierce, and he clenched his fist and struck the edge of the battlement.

To annihilate the city's defenders and able-bodied men, the attacking side would lose at least 30,000 lives during the siege.

Sun Ce certainly couldn't withstand such heavy losses. Let alone 30,000 men, even if the losses were spread evenly among 10,000 men, Sun Ce would collapse.

He personally came to defend Chen County, intending to withstand Lü Bu's fierce attack.

While we dare not engage in open battle with Lü Bu, what is there to fear if we are merely defending the city?

When Zang Hong was besieged in Dongwuyang City, the situation deteriorated to the point where people resorted to cannibalism, but he remained steadfast in his resolve.

If you want to become emperor, how can you succeed without being ruthless?
Seeing this, Yan Xiang stopped trying to persuade him; all he could do now was defend the city to the death.

After the city falls, none of us will have a good ending.

Chen County is difficult to attack, and Shouchun is equally difficult to attack. If these two key cities are not lost, even if there are setbacks on other battlefields, the situation will not deteriorate too much.

Since the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu has experienced several ups and downs. As long as he can hold out until Zhao Ji withdraws his troops, the situation will naturally improve.

In Ruyang, Zhao Ji had already built a pontoon bridge over the Ying River.

More catapult parts were transported downstream from Xudu, and more than fifty catapults were assembled, which began to bombard the western camp where Ji Ling was stationed.

The stones were also transported from the upper reaches of the Ying River tributary. Today there are more than fifty catapults, and tomorrow the number could surge to more than a hundred.

Catapults of this caliber are ineffective against the walls of ordinary county towns, but against temporary rammed earth walls that are only three or four feet thick, they can eventually be largely destroyed if bombarded for a period of time.

He did not stop the garrison from repairing the wall. They were willing to risk being hit by stones to repair the wall, so Zhao Ji was naturally happy to use manpower and time to slowly wear down these brave warriors of Yuan's army who were willing to risk their lives.

Trading stones and time for the enemy's soldiers seems like a very worthwhile trade.

Trapped in a desperate situation, Ji Ling's troops could not be replenished, and the wounded soldiers would exacerbate the consumption of medicines and accelerate the depletion of morale within the camp, so there was nothing wrong with this.

As for the more than 10,000 people in Xiang County downstream, would Sun Ce's cousin dare to lead troops to their rescue?
Without cavalry to shield the battlefield, Sun Xiang dared to come openly, only to be met with a well-prepared array of infantry and cavalry.

This shifted the recent variables in the war to Sun Xiang and Liu Xun, and Sun Ce naturally sent an envoy to Sun Xiang to persuade him to surrender.

Serving different factions was a way to avoid danger, but following Yuan Shu clearly meant there was no future for them.

In particular, with General Lü Bu about to support the emperor in his campaign against the rebel Yuan Shao, Sun Xiang still has room to surrender or switch sides.

If Lü Bu were to arrive and the anti-Yuan army were to become powerful, Lü Bu might not care about Sun Xiang's force of over ten thousand men, and would rather use Sun Xiang as a prize. If either Sun Xiang or Liu Xun were to turn against them first, it would hasten the other's defection.

Furthermore, Sun Xiang was allied with Sun Ben, so Zhao Ji slowed down his attack and waited for Sun Xiang and Liu Xun's response while wearing down Ji Ling.

Two days later, Lü Bu's central army had already left Wankou, and Wei Yue had also approached Ruyang and taken over the county. After joining forces with Zhao Ji, they completely surrounded Ji Ling, and Ji Ling lost his last chance to break out.

Under these circumstances, Ji Ling remained steadfast in his position, awaiting good news from the Xuzhou battlefield.

Sun Xiang, perhaps seeing Ji Ling's resolute determination to fight, refused to give a reply.

Zhao Ji also released Liu Xun's cousin, Liu Xie, who returned to Pengcheng with Qiao Rui's pickled head.

Qiao Rui was a man of considerable standing, so Liu Xun immediately convened a meeting of former generals of the Chen state.

Li Feng, Yue Jiu, and Liang Gang attended the meeting. The three arrived together, each accompanied by a dozen or so personal guards, but all remained outside the central command tent.

Inside the tent, Liu Xun suffered from insomnia for four or five days due to excessive mental stress; his eyes were yellow and his face was haggard.

Li Feng's three generals were in no better shape. Pengcheng had been flooded for seven or eight days, and the soldiers and civilians of Pengcheng followed Guan Yu and vowed to fight to the death, which made things very difficult for them.

We can only wait for the water level to rise higher before attacking the city by boat.

If the water level rises even higher, there is a risk of dam collapse; maintaining the stability of the dam requires 20,000 to 30,000 laborers to reinforce the dam every day.

The weather is currently dry, and the Sishui River is in its dry season. The daily increase in water volume is under control, and the dam can be stabilized by manpower.

The longer the flood continues, the higher the probability of the Sishui River swelling due to upstream rainfall. A single flood could potentially breach the Hanshan Dam. Furthermore, an even larger flood could sweep down, making it difficult for Zhang Xun's downstream dikes to withstand the attack, and there is even a risk of flooding Zhang Xun's troops.

Therefore, Li Feng and others have been under a lot of pressure recently, and they are all having trouble sleeping.

After everyone was seated, Liu Xun spoke: "Yesterday, a scout reported that Zhao Ji attacked the Ying River East Camp established by the former general and defeated it in one battle, with General Wen Mao killed in action. I didn't believe it at first, but Zhao Ji sent an envoy with General Wen Mao's head."

Liu Xun's tone was low as he looked at Yue Jiu's face: "General Yue, you once joined forces with Zhao Ji to defeat Cao Cao at Chenliu. Do you think this is true or false?"

Li Feng and Liang Gang also went to see Yue Jiu. After thinking for a moment, Yue Jiu replied, "The Grand Marshal achieved success at a young age and his military prowess is unparalleled. Cao Cao's military tactics are ruthless; he barely escaped with his life in the Battle of Chenliu. This shows the Grand Marshal's strategic acumen. Previously, the General and Cao Cao fought for Yanzhou, with both sides experiencing victories and defeats. Cao Cao was only able to drive the General away with the help of Hebei. This also shows that even though the General is stronger than Cao Cao, his strength is limited. Unlike the Grand Marshal, who can crush and annihilate Cao Cao's elite central army in a single battle."

No one refuted Yue Jiu's point of view, so Li Feng spoke up: "Where is General Wenmao's head?"

Liu Xun turned to look at Liu Xie, who got up and went behind the screen to bring out the salted head of Qiao Rui.

After demonstrating the details to everyone, Liu Xun said, "Sun Ce has already joined forces with the Grand Marshal. I really doubt the stance of the General of the Rear and the General Who Guards the South. If the General of the Rear joins forces with Liu Bei, then Zang Ba, Chang Ba, and Zhao Fan will join forces and attack us directly. Even if our army defeats them, it will be difficult to protect the dam. If the dam is damaged, the flood will sweep down and inundate the Grand General's camp. Then His Majesty and the Grand General will surely hold us accountable."

The dam built by Hanshan needed military protection, as well as the detention and restraint of the local laborers, and the need to defeat Zang Ba and others in open battle.

These tasks combined are quite challenging.

They are confident that they can complete any single task, but the challenge lies in completing them together.

Especially the various forced laborers who were captured, these people are difficult to control; if they take the opportunity to cause trouble or escape, who will maintain the dam afterwards?
With the dam destroyed, Zhang Xun's plan to attack downstream by water was bound to fail.

General Zhang Xun would certainly punish them, rather than plead guilty and accept punishment from the emperor.

The three men looked at each other, and Li Feng asked, "General Zuo, how did the persuasion go today?"

"Just like yesterday, the messenger was shot back by the guards before he could get close."

Liu Xun said helplessly, "Guan Yu is loyal and brave. The soldiers and civilians of Pengcheng are very hostile to our army and are not the kind of people who will easily submit."

Seeing that the three remained silent and refused to express their opinions.

Liu Xun was helpless. Perhaps these people also had concerns, fearing that Liu Xun was deliberately testing their loyalty to Yuan Zhizun.

Helpless, Liu Xun said weakly, "Let's have a meal for now. I will invite the Grand Marshal's envoy here, and you will all come with me to inquire. I am from Langya, and recently my fellow villagers have been slandering me quite a bit. If the matters of Xuzhou and Chen can be resolved amicably, and peace be restored to the people, I would rather abandon my army and apologize to His Majesty. Nothing is more difficult than death, but I... am worse than dead."

He sighed sincerely, while the other two remained silent.

Making arbitrary statements carries the risk of losing your head.

In this situation, meeting with the Grand Marshal's envoy might be a good option.

(End of this chapter)