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

Having made up his mind, Cao Cao led 60,000 troops and his civil and military officials north out of Ye City and retreated to the Liangqi line in the southern part of Zhao County.

Cao Chong, as General of the Guards, was given the authority to oversee all military affairs and command 40,000 troops to garrison Ye City.

Cao Chong then ordered the abandonment of the left camp and all fortifications outside the city, and ordered all Wei troops to retreat into Ye City for defense.

...

Chu camp, royal tent.

The spies and scouts have delivered the latest intelligence on the Wei army in Ye City to Liu Bei's desk.

"That traitor Cao actually abandoned Ye City and fled?"

Liu Bei examined the intelligence report in his hand, his face filled with disbelief.

The Chu officials in the tent were also astonished.

"Ye City is the capital of the pseudo-Wei state, and its fate is related to the gain or loss of Ji Province, which in turn is related to the survival of Hebei Province."

"Such a strategically vital location, why did Cao Cao dare not defend it simply because he lost the right camp and suffered a defeat?"

Zhao Yun was full of doubts, and his words expressed the common questions of all the ministers.

"Cao Cao did not abandon Ye City; he dared not personally defend it, fearing that Ye City would become a second Liyang. He was trapped in an isolated city, following in Cao Ren's footsteps."

"Although Cao Cao withdrew from Ye City, he left Cao Chong and 40,000 troops behind to guard it, which shows that he did not abandon Ye City."

"I predict that he will retreat to the Liangqi area, forming a north-south alliance with Yecheng, and wear us down until our supplies run out, our soldiers lose their morale and strength, and we have no choice but to retreat."

"In this way, he naturally survived this ordeal."

Xiao He spoke, and in just a few words, he exposed Cao Cao's motives.

Liu Bei and the others suddenly realized what was happening.

"Cao Chong is quite cunning, and the Wei army left to defend Ye City numberes 40,000. Ye City is far more fortified than Liyang. Even if our army has 300,000 troops, it will not be easy for us to break through the city by force."

"According to my intelligence gathering, the grain and fodder that Cao Cao has stored in Ye City are enough to support his 40,000 troops for a year!"

"This means that Cao Cao is prepared to fight us in Ye City for a year."

After analyzing the situation, Lu Xun's expression turned slightly grave.
"Our army has besieged Liyang for a full six months, and the morale and strength of our soldiers have been greatly depleted. Even if we were to besiege Yecheng again, the maximum we could do is only besiege it for another six months."

"Moreover, although our Great Chu is powerful, it is not powerful enough to supply 300,000 troops with provisions for a year and a half."

"I believe that if we cannot capture Ye City within six months, then Cao Cao's plot may very well succeed."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Lu Xun's analysis.

Liu Bei frowned slightly and stroked his fine beard.

The course of the Battle of Liyang is still vivid in my mind.

Although they eventually succeeded, it took a full six months. During that time, they also took advantage of the freezing weather, and the freezing power of the water dragon cannons crushed the morale of the Wei army.

In the end, Cao Ren abandoned the city and attempted to break out, only to be caught in a trap and his entire army was wiped out. Only then did Liyang fall without a fight.

Should we go through this whole process again in Ye City?
Nobody can stand that.

Moreover, it is already early spring, the ice and snow have melted, and the weather has warmed up, so water cannons are useless and there is no favorable weather.

Furthermore, Cao Cao had clearly learned from the lessons of the Battle of Liyang and frantically stockpiled grain, storing up provisions for more than a year.

We can't possibly besiege Ye City for another year, can we?

Soldiers are made of flesh and blood, not iron. Even if they can barely hold on physically, they can't withstand the mental strain.

"Our soldiers are not made of iron. We cannot fight another battle like the Battle of Liyang. We must capture Ye City within five months!"

Liu Bei slammed his hand on the table and said resolutely.

Everyone nodded in agreement, but their brows were all furrowed.

It is natural to take Ye City quickly and avoid a protracted war.

But how to quickly capture Ye City is the real problem.

Inside the main tent, the ministers discussed the matter animatedly, each expressing their own opinions, but no matter how much they discussed, they could not come up with a perfect solution.

The crowd gradually quieted down, and all eyes involuntarily turned to Xiao He.

When faced with a problem, consult Xiao He... This should be the consensus among everyone.

Liu Bei's gaze also turned to Xiao He, and he asked:
"Bowen, do you have a good plan for quickly capturing Ye City?"

Xiao He put down his teacup and said slowly:
"Cao Cao's confidence in defending Ye City stemmed solely from his ability to sustain himself with a year's worth of provisions."

"I believe we should start here, burn his supplies, and deprive him of the confidence to fight a fierce battle!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up instantly.

But then, Lu Xun said:
“Burning the enemy’s supplies can crush the enemy’s morale in one fell swoop, and it is indeed a quick way to win.”

"But the Wei's grain supplies are currently all stored in Ye City. If our army cannot break through the city, how can we burn their grain supplies?"

"Grand Commandant Xiao, please forgive my ignorance, and I humbly request your guidance."

Liu Bei and the others looked at Xiao He with renewed confusion.

"Boyan, don't forget, we have the Divine Thunder Cannon."

Xiao He smiled meaningfully, then stood up and went to the sand table of Ye City, pointing with his hand:
"The Wei army's provisions must be stored in granaries throughout the city."

"I think we should emulate Cao Cao's actions in the Battle of Suiyang, and learn from his strategy of building earthen mounds to force the city to surrender, and then bring our divine thunder cannons up the mounds."

"Then, taking advantage of the high ground and the range of the Thunder Cannon, they directly bombarded his granary."

"This time, we're not launching stone projectiles, but barrels of kerosene."

"In that case, even though we're separated by a city wall, we can still burn the Wei army's supplies." "Once those supplies are burned, what confidence will that brat Cao Chong have left to hold out against us in Ye City for a year or two?"

Xiao He pointed at the sand table and coldly revealed his entire plan.

The tent immediately erupted in excitement.

Liu Bei leaped up and rushed to the sand table with a look of surprise on his face.

Lu Xun and his ministers, as if enlightened, flocked to the sand table.

"Brilliant! Bowen's plan is truly a stroke of genius!"

"How could I not have thought of using divine thunder cannons to attack the granaries of Ye City, burning the grain without breaching the city!"

"Brilliant! This plan is absolutely brilliant!"

Liu Bei clapped his hands and laughed, looking at Xiao He with delighted admiration.

Inside the main tent, the ministers were in an uproar, all praising Xiao He's brilliant plan.

"Your Majesty, Grand Commandant, I still have some concerns, and I'm unsure whether I should speak out..."

Despite his joy, a hint of gloom still lingered between Lu Xun's brows.

The joy on Liu Bei's face faded slightly, and he gestured for Lu Xun to speak frankly.

Lu Xun coughed lightly and said:

"In Ye City, there are not only Wei soldiers, but also tens of thousands of civilians."

"If Your Majesty adopts the Grand Commandant's plan, the target of the fire will be the granary of the puppet Wei regime, not the people and soldiers in the city."

"However, the distribution of Wei's granaries is a secret. Our army does not yet have a detailed map of their distribution and cannot determine their exact location."

"Under such circumstances, if we rashly use the divine thunder cannons for fire attack, I fear that not only will we fail to accurately hit the Wei army's granary, but we may also accidentally burn down the people's houses."

"If we fail to achieve our goal and instead accidentally burn down the people's homes, wouldn't that be a case of losing more than we gain?"

Lu Xun voiced his concerns.

The joy on Liu Bei's face vanished instantly, his brows furrowed, and his gaze quickly turned to Xiao He:
“Bowen, Boyan’s concerns are quite reasonable. Your plan seems to have flaws.”

Xiao He, however, remained calm, as if he had anticipated Lu Xun's questioning, and merely smiled faintly:
"Since we are going to use divine thunder and artillery to attack the Wei's granaries, we must strike with precision and not bombard them indiscriminately, so as not to harm the innocent."

"To achieve precision strikes, we naturally need the most accurate distribution map of the granaries in Ye City."

Liu Bei was taken aback, failing to grasp the implication of Xiao He's words.

Lu Xun and his ministers were all bewildered.

"With the war having progressed to this point, I believe that there are quite a few people in the Wei camp who have lost faith in Cao Cao and wish to surrender to our Great Chu."

"Right here in Ye City, I believe there are many who do not wish to repeat the mistakes of Liyang and wish to submit to Your Majesty, including some who hold high positions."

"Therefore, before Your Majesty's army approached Ye City, I took it upon myself to secretly send messengers out of the city to actively contact and recruit those Wei ministers who were most likely to defect and submit to Your Majesty."

"In this way, we can obtain secrets such as the map of the distribution of Wei's granaries from these people."

"In this way, we can find out the exact location of the enemy's granary, and then we can use the Divine Thunder Cannon to strike it accurately without worrying about accidentally harming civilians."

Xiao He stopped beating around the bush and finally revealed his entire plan.

Inside the large tent, the atmosphere erupted once again.

Lu Xun's initial fear turned to surprise, and he asked in astonishment:
"Before our army even besieged Ye City, could it be that Grand Commandant Xiao had already planned to burn the enemy's granaries and even recruited and turned Wei officials to surrender in advance, paving the way for this plan?"

Xiao He smiled faintly and picked up his teacup again.

This is tantamount to acknowledging Lu Xun's guess.

Lu Xun gasped, immediately bowed deeply, and sighed:
"Grand Commandant Xiao's profound wisdom and foresight are truly unparalleled. I am deeply humbled and have learned a great deal from him!"

The tent was filled with admiration.

"I knew it! Bowen, once you've devised a plan, victory is assured!"

"Good, good, very good!"

Liu Bei's face cleared of its cloudiness, and he laughed heartily.
"If that's the case, what more could I possibly worry about? Let's follow Bowen's plan and use our divine thunder and cannons to attack the Wei's granaries!"

The plan was thus decided.

Liu Bei then issued an edict, and 300,000 troops crossed the deserted Wei army lines, completing the siege of Ye City.

Within a few days, the Chu army set up camps on all four sides of Ye City, completely surrounding the capital of Wei.

Liu Bei then followed Xiao He's advice and summoned craftsmen to build the Divine Thunder Cannon in advance.

At the same time, Xiao He sent a message to the spies and informants lurking in the city, instructing them to quickly persuade Wei Chen to defect and obtain the secrets of the distribution of the granaries in Ye City as soon as possible.

Five days later, spies in the city shot a map of the city's granaries out of the city with arrows.

Soon, a detailed map of Ye City was placed on Liu Bei's desk.

In addition to the distribution of granaries, the location of Wei troops, the offices of officials, and the layout of armories and military camps...

All military secrets were clearly marked.

At this moment, the Wei army in Ye City was practically transparent to Liu Bei.

"Bowen was right. Cao Cao has indeed lost the hearts of the people, and there are countless people in the city who want to defect..."

Liu Bei looked at the layout map of the granaries in his hand and sighed with admiration.

Then, holding up the layout diagram in his hand, he said happily:
"By my order, the entire army shall rise immediately and construct earthen mounds according to the layout of this map. I intend to launch a fire attack on Ye City!" (End of Chapter)