My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Cao Cao's words, "How is this possible?" caused all the ministers around him to change their expressions and immediately tense up.

"This is impossible, I don't believe it—"

Cao Cao shouted excitedly and began to reread the military report.

"The traitor Hao Zhao crossed the river at Baima, and together with the cavalry coming from upstream, launched a pincer attack, severely damaging my troops and killing my deputy general Chang Diao..."

"Your Majesty, I deduce that this is a ruse by Xiao He, a feigned attack on Tongguan, but in reality, he intends to invade Hebei. I implore Your Majesty to quickly return and rescue us..."

On the silk scroll, Cao Ren's words struck Cao Cao's head like a heavy blow.

"Father, what exactly happened in Liyang?"

Cao Chong asked anxiously, his voice trembling with unease.

Cao Cao had no choice but to hand over the battle report to him.

Sima Yi and his ministers hurriedly gathered around, looking on with unease.

In the blink of an eye, an uproar erupted.

"Your Majesty, according to General Piaoji, it is highly likely that Prince Cangshu has made a mistake in his judgment!"

"That big-eared thief is just pretending to use the same old trick. In reality, he only wants to lure Your Majesty and our main force away from Liyang. This is a classic case of luring the tiger away from the mountain."

"Such a big-eared bandit can take advantage of the Yellow River waterway to turn back east within a few days, and land an army of 300,000 on the north bank in one fell swoop to besiege Liyang."

"If our army wants to return to Liyang, it will have to travel a long distance by land. Our march is much slower than that of the Chu army, and we will not be able to return to Liyang in time."

"Your Majesty, this must be Xiao He's scheme! Young Master Cang Shu has fallen for that sorcerer's trick!"

Sima Yi, speaking urgently, deduced the secret, naturally emphasizing that Cao Chong had miscalculated.

"Father...son...this...this..."

Cao Chong's mouth was wide open, his face was as pale as paper, and his forehead was soaked with cold sweat.

Cao Cao took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, saying:

"At this moment, I believe it is too early to conclude that the 'Big Ear Bandit' intends to return to Liyang simply because the Chu army crossed the river at Baima..."

Cao Cao intended to accept the facts and also wanted to cover up the truth for his son Cao Chong.

Before he could finish speaking, another rider galloped up and dismounted.

"Your Majesty, a spy from my army in Henan Province has sent an urgent report."

“The day before yesterday, a large number of Chu warships were discovered in the waters north of Luoyang. They were all coming from the direction of Tongguan and were heading east downstream.”

"When the Chu army's warships arrived at Mengjin, they made a temporary stop, loaded a large amount of grain and fodder, and continued downstream. It is unknown what their intentions were!"

Boom!

This news struck Cao Cao like a bolt from the blue.

Cao Cao swayed, his mind went blank, and the last shred of hope he had was instantly shattered.

"Your Majesty, this must be because the traitor with the large ears learned that the Chu army had captured Liyang Ferry, so he led the main force of the Chu army eastward by waterway at top speed!"

"The Chu army stopped at Mengjin to load up with grain and fodder, intending to transport the military rations stored in Luoyang to Hebei along the way."

"The situation is crystal clear: Prince Cangshu has miscalculated; the big-eared thief is indeed going to attack Hebei!"

Sima Yi delivered a fatal blow, revealing the truth contained in the intelligence report, and also emphasizing that Cao Chong had miscalculated.

Having reached this point, Cao Cao naturally could no longer deceive himself.

"Cang Shu~~"

Cao Cao was indeed provoked, letting out a furious roar as he glared at Cao Chong.

Although he didn't say it outright, his resentment was written all over his face.

If it weren't for your cleverness, Cao Chong, in believing that Liu Bei was resorting to the same old tricks, how could I have mobilized all my forces and traveled all the way to Pubanjin?
Otherwise, how could Liyang have been so sparsely defended, giving Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of the situation?

Otherwise, how could Liu Bei's hundreds of thousands of troops have so easily landed on the north bank and besieged Liyang?

Everything is because of your miscalculation!
Cao Cao's eyes conveyed not only resentment, but also deep disappointment.

Cao Chong was covered in sweat, his eyes filled with guilt, and he stammered:
"Father, this was indeed my miscalculation. I truly did not expect that Xiao He would be so cunning, to actually..."

"enough!"

Cao Cao waved his hand to interrupt, looking disappointed, and said:

"Cangshu, Cangshu, how much I trusted you, yet you have disappointed me time and time again."

"It wasn't just this time. Back then, in the battle of Huainan and the battle of Xuzhou, wasn't it you who acted cleverly and played tricks on me by Xiao He, causing me to suffer defeat after defeat and lose troops and territory time and time again?"

"The fact that our Great Wei has fallen to this state is inextricably linked to you. How can you be worthy of being the Crown Prince of our Great Wei!"

Cao Cao was so enraged that he lost his temper and brought up Cao Chong's past transgressions in front of everyone.

He even said things like, "You are not worthy to be the Crown Prince of Wei."

How heavy is the weight of this statement?
This means that Cao Cao has publicly stated his position:

You, Cao Chong, are not qualified to be the heir apparent of Wei. I have already given up on you!

"Father~~"

Cao Chong felt both ashamed and saddened, tears welling up in his eyes, but he didn't know how to respond.

Sima Yi, standing to the side, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, a slight smile playing on his lips, and a barely perceptible glint of joy flashing in his eyes.

With Liyang besieged, the situation in Hebei is perilous, which is certainly detrimental to the country.

What may be detrimental to the country does not necessarily mean it is also detrimental to private interests.

Enraged, Cao Cao was extremely disappointed in Cao Chong. He not only publicly resented him but also directly stated that he should be removed from the list of candidates for heir apparent.

Who is the biggest beneficiary?
It was Cao Pi, of course.

With this, Cao Pi's position as heir apparent is now a certainty.

Sima Yi, secretly pleased, quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Now is not the time to pursue the responsibility for Prince Cang Shu's miscalculation."

"If Liyang is lost, the gateway to Hebei will be wide open, and there will be no natural defenses south of Yecheng. The Chu army will be able to advance north unimpeded and we will have no way to stop them."

"The only course of action now is for Your Majesty to quickly lead the army back to Hebei and rush to the rescue of Liyang!"

Cao Cao shuddered; his anger instantly turned into chill.

So, disregarding any further reprimand of Cao Chong, he hastily raised his whip and shouted:

"By my order, recall the troops that have already crossed the river immediately."

"The army shall immediately turn back east and follow me to rescue Liyang—"

Upon receiving the order, Cao Cao immediately led an army of 90,000 men eastward, marching day and night towards Liyang.

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he was still too late.

The convenience of Yellow River water transport was on full display at this moment.

Taking advantage of water transport, the Chu army arrived at Liyang Ferry five days ahead of the Wei army.

Three hundred thousand troops landed and set up camps on all sides, quickly completing the encirclement of this gateway to Hebei.

While besieging Liyang, Liu Bei dispatched nearly 70,000 troops to attack and capture cities such as Waihuang and Chaoge to the north and west, thus blocking the Wei army's route to reinforce Liyang.

Several days later, Cao Cao, who arrived late, finally led his main army back to Ye City.

After making some brief additions, Cao Cao immediately led his army south, heading straight for Liyang City.

At this time, Zhang Liao, Gan Ning, Pang Tong and others had already led 50,000 troops and taken the lead in building a defensive line to block Cao Cao's southward advance at Waihuangcheng in the north.

Cao Cao's nearly 100,000-strong army was halted a hundred miles from Liyang, unable to advance even half a step further.

With Cao Wei's reinforcements surrounded, Liu Bei was able to lead over 200,000 Chu troops to safely besiege Liyang.

Thus began a protracted siege.

Liyang City, being the gateway to Hebei, was originally a fortified city.

When Yanzhou fell, Cao Cao retreated to Liyang and quickly mobilized a large number of people to reinforce and rebuild the city.

At this time, the walls of Liyang City were high and thick enough to withstand the bombardment of the Chu army's divine thunder cannons.

The grain and fodder stored in the city were enough to support the city's garrison for half a year.

At this time, it would not be an exaggeration to call this important town on the north bank of the Yellow River the fortified city of Hebei.

Cao Ren was known as the top general of the Cao Wei imperial family. He had fierce generals and strategists such as Yue Jin and Jia Kui under his command, and he also commanded nearly 20,000 elite Wei troops.

Under these circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the Chu army to easily capture Liyang.

The fortification of Liyang City was exactly what Xiao He had expected.

Therefore, the strategy he set for Liu Bei before the battle was not to expect a quick victory, but to prepare for a long siege of Liyang and a protracted war.

Liu Bei then displayed his greatest strategic resolve and began the siege of Liyang.

This siege has lasted from early autumn to deep winter, nearly four months in the blink of an eye.

Over the course of four months, the Chu army surrounded Liyang City, constructing two trenches and an earthen wall, making the city impenetrable, so that not even a fly could get in.

Liyang City thus became an isolated island cut off from the world.

After the initial probing attack failed in the first month, the Chu army's tactics changed to besieging without attacking.

Liyang City has nearly half a year's worth of grain stored in it, so I'll besiege you for half a year, until Cao Ren has eaten up all the stored grain, and then let's see how you defend it.

As for the Chu army, although its forces numbered nearly 300,000, they had no need to worry about food supplies.

Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, but in recent years, wherever Liu Bei went, the weather became favorable and the harvests abundant.

Last year was another bumper year. Even Yanzhou, which had just experienced the ravages of war, also had a good harvest. The grain in the official granaries and the people's granaries was piled up like mountains.

When hundreds of thousands of troops besieged Liyang, grain ships laden with provisions from Jing, Yang, Yu, Xu and other places continuously entered the Yellow River from various waterways to transport supplies to the front line at Liyang Ferry.

The Chu army alone had stockpiled over a million bushels of grain and fodder at the front lines.

Under the equal-field system, the Chu state's growing national strength was fully displayed at this moment.

There is food at home and there is no panic in the heart.

Liu Bei remained calm and composed, not in a hurry to capture Liyang. He simply led his hundreds of thousands of soldiers to eat, drink, and besiege the city peacefully.

The siege has lasted for nearly five months.

Cao Ren, however, in the city, could no longer remain calm.

Liu Bei's determination to fight him to the bitter end was something Liu Bei had never anticipated before the battle.

Cao Ren originally thought that the Chu army would besiege the city for at most two or three months, and would retreat on its own after failing to capture it.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei's siege lasted for five months.

Judging from this posture, Liu Bei clearly intends to continue the siege until the enemy runs out of supplies and their morale collapses.

During the five-month siege, most of the grain and fodder stored in the city had been used up, leaving only enough for one month.

Even if we reduce the size of the bucket to a smaller one and eat sparingly, it will only last for two months at most.

If this drags on, and we run out of supplies, won't Liyang City fall without a fight?

That's not the worst part; the worst part is that there's no firewood left in the city.

Not only do we need firewood for cooking, but now that it's the dead of winter, we also need firewood for heating.

During the five months of siege, the city's firewood and straw reserves had long been exhausted, and soldiers and civilians alike could only dismantle doors, windows, and bed boards to use as fuel.

Without a bed board, you can only sleep on the floor; without doors and windows, the house will be drafty, and you'll have to endure the cold winter winds.

Liyang City is on the verge of running out of food and firewood, and the morale of its troops is crumbling. (End of Chapter)