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

Chapter 328 Xiao He switches to Weapon Master Mode! Liu Bei: Bowen recreates the divine weapon, I will freeze Liyang!

Night falls, at the Chu camp.

It was freezing cold outside, with howling winds that made your scalp tingle.

Inside the royal tent, however, the fire blazed brightly, making it as warm as spring.

Liu Bei was with Xiao He and other ministers, drinking wine around a stove and discussing their plan to besiege the city.

"According to our estimates, the Wei army's grain reserves in Liyang City should only be enough to last for one month."

"However, Cao Ren will probably halve the soldiers' rations and exchange large measures for small ones, which should allow them to hold out for another month."

"In short, the Wei army's food supplies will surely run out in two months at most."

Lu Xun said while sipping his wine.

The generals were all invigorated, and Ding Fengsui said:

"In that case, let's besiege him for another two months. By then, Cao Ren will have run out of supplies, and we'll see how he can continue to be a coward!"

A burst of laughter erupted inside the tent.

At this moment, Zhao Yun couldn't help but remind him:

"Don't forget that in Liyang City, besides the 20,000 Wei soldiers, there are also nearly 7,000 civilians."

"If Cao Ren is driven to desperation, he will surely plunder the people's food and supplies for military use. I'm afraid that these seven thousand people will starve to death before the Wei army runs out of food."

Inside the tent, the laughter of the crowd immediately subsided.

Ding Feng sighed and said helplessly:

"General Zilong's concerns are not without merit, but since ancient times, how can wars not affect ordinary people?"

"Should we abandon our grand plan to attack Wei and withdraw our troops just because we care about the people?"

"Then weren't all those soldiers who died fighting to reach the north bank sacrificed their lives in vain?"

Zhao Yun remained silent.

Liu Bei toyed with the wine cup in his hand, a complex expression flickering in his eyes.

As the King of Chu, how could he not know the principle that a compassionate ruler cannot command an army?

With a single thought, he could decide the lives of thousands of soldiers. Naturally, he could not treat this war against Wei as a child's play and withdraw the siege out of personal compassion, causing 300,000 soldiers to be mobilized in vain.

Yet, his compassion made it impossible for him to remain truly indifferent to the life and death of the people in that city.

After weighing his options for a while, Liu Bei looked at Xiao He:

"Bowen, do you have any good strategies to take Liyang ahead of time, instead of delaying until the city runs out of food?"

All eyes turned to their "omnipotent" Grand Commandant Xiao.

"The Wei army in the city is currently short of firewood and suffering from the freezing cold. I think it would be better to add insult to injury to the Wei army. Perhaps we can break their morale before they run out of food."

"If the morale of the army collapses, Liyang City will naturally fall without a fight."

Xiao He sipped his wine and said meaningfully.

"Adding insult to injury?"

Liu Bei sensed a confident air about Xiao He from his expression and tone, and quickly asked:

"Bowen, how can we make things even worse for the Wei army?"

Xiao He gave Deng Ai a look.

Deng Ai understood and hurriedly left, returning a moment later with a scroll.

"Your Majesty can summon the carpenters in the army and have them work day and night to make this weapon. Then we can use it to add insult to injury for the Wei army!"

As he spoke, Xiao He unfurled the scroll and laid it out in front of Liu Bei.

Liu Bei's spirits lifted, and he wondered if Xiao He had forged some kind of divine weapon.

Everyone's curiosity was piqued, and they all gathered around to look.

When Liu Bei and the others saw the picture drawn on the scroll, their eyes widened in disbelief.

"Bowen, what...what is this?"

Liu Bei raised his head and looked at Xiao He with a puzzled expression.

Xiao He smiled, cupped his hands, and said:
"It's not easy to explain in a short time. I need to see the actual object before I can explain it clearly."

"Your Majesty, please allow me to keep you in suspense for now. I will explain to Your Majesty once the first prototype is completed."

Liu Bei trusted Xiao He implicitly, so he didn't ask any more questions and immediately issued an edict to summon the carpenters in the army to build the carpentry according to Xiao He's drawings overnight.

The Great Chu Kingdom was at its peak, and its army had at least a thousand artisans and carpenters, as well as skilled craftsmen like Pu Yuan.

Within a day, the first prototype was completed according to the design.

Xiao He then invited Liu Bei to choose an open space far from Liyang so that he could personally inspect his newly crafted siege weapon.

Liu Bei and his ministers had all witnessed the power of the Divine Thunder Cannon.

Therefore, everyone naturally guessed that the item Xiao He had created this time must be a divine weapon with even greater power than the Divine Thunder Cannon, and they were all filled with anticipation.

"Shi Zai, demonstrate the effect to the King."

Xiao He nodded to Deng Ai.

Deng Ai immediately gave instructions to several soldiers who were ready a few dozen steps away.

Liu Bei, Lu Xun, and the others all raised their heads and looked into the distance.

The soldiers quickly lit a bonfire, then set up a large pot on it and began to boil snow for water.

Beside the campfire, there was an object that looked no taller than a person, covered with a cloth, so its true appearance could not be seen for the time being.

Several dozen steps ahead, several straw-made dummies had been placed beforehand as imaginary Wei soldiers.

"Wasn't Grand Commandant Xiao supposed to be testing that siege weapon? Why is he boiling water instead? What's going on here?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, their minds filled with speculation.

In a short while, the snow water had boiled.

Deng Ai then reached out and lifted the cloth.

A piece of wood, about two zhang long and shaped like a log, suddenly came into view.

A murmur rippled through the crowd. The so-called "siege weapon" that Xiao He had created was completely different from what they had imagined; there was not a trace of a catapult in it.

At first glance, it looks more like a log with a hole drilled in it, propped up at an angle by several supports.

"Bowen, this item..."

Liu Bei was completely baffled and had to turn his astonished gaze to Xiao He.

Xiao He pointed far away and laughed:

"Your Majesty, I have named this object the Water Dragon Cannon!"

Water Dragon Cannon?
Another name I've never heard of before.

It does share the character "cannon" with the Divine Thunder Cannon, and their names do sound equally imposing.

"Bowen, how exactly does this water...water dragon cannon work for siege warfare?"

Liu Bei squinted and looked into the distance again, his eyes full of doubt and confusion.

Xiao He's mouth corners slightly raised.

This Water Dragon Cannon was originally just called Water Dragon; he added the word "cannon" himself.

This object is actually just an ancient water-spraying fire extinguishing tool, but it appeared much later and was much smaller in size.

Xiao's water dragon cannon was made directly from a thick log, so its power was far superior to that of a water dragon that was simply used for extinguishing fires.

"Your Majesty will see it soon."

Xiao He raised his hand slightly, signaling to Deng Ai.

Liu Bei and the others all looked at the so-called "water dragon cannon" with great curiosity.

Deng Ai immediately ordered his soldiers to scoop up the boiled snow water and pour it all into the cannon's muzzle.

Deng Ai rolled up his sleeves and personally took action, working with several soldiers to push the piston at the back of the water hose.

"Ah-"

A jet of water, already cooled but not yet condensed, was instantly forced out, heading towards the dummy dozens of steps away.

"Whoosh!"

The water jet hit the dummy, instantly turning it into a soaking wet mess.

A chorus of gasps of surprise erupted.

"So this water... water dragon cannon can shoot water so far, no wonder it's called water dragon cannon."

Liu Bei's eyes widened in astonishment.

While Zhao Yun was amazed, he also looked puzzled:
"Grand Commandant, while this water dragon cannon is indeed miraculous, the power of its water attack is far inferior to the stone projectiles of the Divine Thunder Cannon. How can it possibly harm the Wei soldiers in the city?"

Liu Bei suddenly realized what was happening and turned to look at Xiao He in confusion.

Xiao He smiled slightly and pointed to where the dummy was:
"Zilong, don't be in a hurry, let's wait and talk first."

Zhao Yun and the others were bewildered, and could only turn their gaze back to the dummy.

It is the dead of winter, and the weather is freezing cold. The snow water, which was still warm, quickly froze into ice after being poured on the mannequin.

In a short time, the mannequins turned into ice figures.

The ground beneath our feet had frozen solid.

Zhao Yun suddenly understood and exclaimed with delight:

"I understand now. Grand Commandant Xiao does not intend to use this water cannon to attack the city, but rather to freeze the walls of Liyang."

"The city is currently short of firewood, and the Wei soldiers are already suffering from the bitter cold. If they are caught off guard and hit by the water dragon, their clothes and armor will freeze solid. Even if they don't freeze to death, they will suffer frostbite."

"This is exactly the plan the Grand Commandant was referring to—to make matters worse!"

Xiao He smiled but said nothing.

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and a wave of joy and excitement swept through them.

"Icebound Liyang, adding insult to injury... Brilliant! It's truly unbelievable that Bowen could come up with such an imaginative method..."

Liu Bei clapped his hands and cheered, his face filled with great amazement.

So Liu Bei led his men forward to get a closer look at the water dragon cannon, and they were all amazed by its ingenious design.

"Grand Commandant, in my opinion, this water dragon cannon doesn't seem particularly complex or sophisticated. The most crucial part is that it has a hole carved out of the middle of this tree trunk."

"In my opinion, this is not an easy task. Although the water dragon cannon is very powerful, it is not easy to manufacture it quickly."

"If this drags on for a month or two, until spring arrives and the weather warms up, I'm afraid the cannon's power will be rendered useless?"

The crowd's exclamations immediately fell silent.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, then looked at Xiao He again.

After all, he came from humble beginnings and knew a thing or two about carpentry. He knew that carving out such a channel in the middle of a log that was several meters long was quite technically difficult.

Xiao He had anticipated the doubts of the crowd, so he used his hand as a knife and made a vertical slash on the log:
“It would be difficult to carve a passage out of the middle of the tree trunk, but we can first saw the log in half lengthwise, carve out a passage in each half, then splice and tie them together, and then seal the joints with grease. Wouldn’t that be much simpler?”

Everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and their emotions surged once again.

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly, clicking his tongue in admiration:
"It has to be you, Bowen, who could come up with such a brilliant idea. Is there anything in this world that you, Xiao Bowen, cannot do?"

"Your Majesty flatters me. I have no knowledge of such matters. I merely borrowed the words of my master to express my own opinion."

Xiao He chuckled self-deprecatingly and, as usual, shifted the blame to his unfounded master.

Liu Bei was startled, only then recalling that Xiao He had a mysterious and unpredictable hermit master in the Fancheng Mountains.

"Once I unify the world and revive the Han Dynasty, I will personally visit your teacher in the mountains!"

Liu Bei turned his gaze toward Jingzhou, his eyes filled with longing.

Xiao He coughed a few times, then cupped his hands and said:
"We can discuss the matter of Your Majesty's visit to my master later. Right now, we must hurry up and finish making this water dragon cannon."

“According to Boyan, if we delay any longer and the weather warms up in the spring, even if I manage to build this water dragon cannon, it will be useless.”

Liu Bei's thoughts returned to reality, and he gladly gave the order:
"Pass down the order: have the carpenters in the camp follow Bowen's method and work through the night to produce at least five hundred water dragon cannons within half a month!"

"I will freeze Liyang!"

(End of this chapter)