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

Xinpi suddenly awoke and hurriedly issued orders.

Cao Chong realized the seriousness of the situation and knew that Liu Bei would not attack the city today, so he immediately set off to rescue the grain in the city.

Soon, Xu Yi and Xiahou Chong received their orders and led the Wei soldiers stationed in the city to various granaries to put out the fires.

Liu Bei clearly did not want to harm too many civilians, so he stopped the fire attack after one round of bombardment.

Cao Chong personally rushed to a fire scene and ordered the Wei army to fetch water to put out the fire and to salvage the unburnt grain bags at all costs.

At this time, the value of provisions far exceeded that of soldiers.

Burning one soldier to death, but saving a bag of grain, would allow five soldiers to live for another ten days or half a month.

This deal is undoubtedly the best deal ever.

To entice his soldiers to risk their lives to save grain, Cao Chong offered generous rewards, tempting them with gold and silver.

Enticed by the hefty reward, the Wei soldiers risked being burned to death and rushed into the burning building to save the grain.

Unfortunately, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Of the enormous granary containing nearly 100,000 bushels of grain, only less than 3,000 bushels were salvaged; the rest were burned to ashes.

Finally, before dusk, the fire was brought under control.

More than a dozen fires within the city have been extinguished, leaving only ashes and lingering smoke shrouding the sky above Ye City.

Cao Cao wiped the ash from his face, looked into the distance, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Judging from the number of fires, most of the granaries in the city were destroyed by the Chu army's fire attack.

Only a few granaries located far from the city walls and in the city center, outside the range of the divine thunder cannons, were spared from disaster.

Before long, Xu Yi, Xiahou Chong, and others arrived on horseback to report the losses to Cao Chong.

As Cao Chong predicted, about 80% of the grain stored in the city was burned.

This means that the food supplies that were originally enough to feed 40,000 troops for a year are now only enough for less than three months!

"Only enough to last three months? Does that mean Yecheng will follow in Liyang's footsteps?"

Xiahou Chong gasped, his words and expression clearly showing panic and confusion.

Xu Yi also looked solemn and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Young Master Cang Shu, our grain reserves were originally enough to last a year, enough to hold out until the Big Ears bandits retreat, but now eighty percent of them have been burned. How can we possibly survive like this?"

"Even if the Chu soldiers of that big-eared scoundrel are at their last gasp, they should be able to besiege us for three or four months without any problem, right?"

"When our supplies run out, the morale of our soldiers will collapse. Are we really going to be forced to abandon General Xiao and eat all the food in the city—"

Xu Yi swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Cao Ren's actions in Liyang damaged the reputation of Wei and alienated the people. Everyone knew this but kept it to themselves and never dared to mention it openly.

Although Xu Yi did not dare to say it aloud, his meaning was clear:

The remaining grain and fodder won't last until Liu Bei retreats. You, Cao Chong, can't be like Cao Ren and force us to eat the people, can you?

Xu Yi's words sent a chill down Cao Chong's spine.

He raised his head, looked towards the direction outside the city, and let out a helpless sigh.

...

outside the city.

The bombardment had ceased, and the Chu soldiers on the earthen hill were already raising their arms and shouting wildly.

Liu Bei then raised his binoculars again, comparing them with the layout map of the granary, and began to tally up the spoils of war.

After some mental calculation, it was easy to figure out that at least 80% of Wei's grain depots were successfully burned down during the fire attack.

"Having lost 80% of their supplies, the Wei army can only hold out for about three months at most. With our army's current strength and morale, we can at least besiege the city for another six months."

"Hmm, Ye City can be taken..."

With a renewed sense of confidence, Liu Bei laughed heartily and strode off the city wall.

The cannons on the earthen hill began to adjust their firing angles, switching to bombarding the walls of Ye City.

The roar started again.

The city of Ye, which had just been quiet for a moment, was soon plunged back into a deafening roar...

Chu camp, royal tent.

Liu Bei personally poured Xiao He a bowl of soup and tea, praising Xiao He's plan of using earthen mounds and fire to attack.

The generals were all invigorated, and their confidence soared.

"Just now, when Your Majesty launched the fire attack on Ye City, an urgent report came from Xuchang. I was afraid that it would disrupt the morale of the army, so I did not report it to Your Majesty for the time being."

Taking advantage of Liu Bei's good mood, Xiao He promptly presented the urgent report.

After reading it, Liu Bei's smile gradually disappeared, and his brows furrowed.

"How...how could such a thing happen to A Dou?"

Liu Bei clutched the urgent report tightly in his hand, his expression instantly changing to that of a father worried about his son.

The lively and enthusiastic atmosphere inside the tent gradually subsided.

Since the eldest son was of vital importance to the nation, Liu Bei could not and had no need to hide the truth from his generals. So he told his ministers the truth about Liu Chan's fall into the water and his fright.

Everyone in the tent was astonished, and discussions immediately broke out.

"The eldest son is blessed with good fortune. Perhaps by the time His Majesty returns in triumph, the eldest son's illness will have already been cured."

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health and do not worry excessively."

Xiao He could only offer this words of comfort.

A bitter look flashed across Liu Bei's eyes, and he sighed:

"The urgent report says that Physician Hua has already treated A Dou, but he is also helpless. I'm afraid A Dou is..."

Liu Bei felt distressed and didn't say anything more, letting out another soft sigh.

Xiao wanted to offer comfort, but didn't know how to start.

However, Liu Bei was, after all, a ruler, and he inherited the magnanimity of his ancestor, so although he was saddened, he did not succumb to his grief.

"Man proposes, God disposes; it cannot be forced."

"I will instruct Doctor Hua to do his utmost to treat A Dou again. If he still cannot be cured, then it can only be that this child's fate is such, and he is destined to suffer this calamity."

Liu Bei placed the secret report back on the table, his face now heavily suppressed of sadness and anxiety, regaining the composure befitting a ruler. Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
"It is a blessing for our Han Dynasty and for all its subjects that Your Majesty possesses such magnanimity."

"I believe that the war to recover Hebei will be over soon, and Your Majesty will be able to return to the capital to visit the eldest son within this year."

Hearing Xiao He's words, Liu Bei felt even more confident.

So he regained his spirits and asked:

"Cao Chong is known as a genius. I predict he will not sit idly by and wait for his death. In my opinion, how will he respond after I burn his supplies?"

A sly glint flashed in Xiao He's eyes as he sneered:
"Your Majesty is right. With Cao Chong's wisdom and the wisdom of Xin Pi and Chen Tai, they would certainly not sit idly by and wait for death, repeating the mistakes of the Battle of Liyang."

"I predict that Cao Chong will make his move within a few days."

"His move this time can solve the king's dilemma of being hesitant to act, and perhaps we can take Ye City ahead of schedule without having to besiege the Wei army until they run out of food."

Liu Bei's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his spirits lifted.

...

Cao Chong and the Wei army's nightmare began from this point.

The Chu army's divine thunder cannons bombarded the earthen hill day and night, and stone projectiles the size of bull heads bombarded the Wei army like falling meteors every moment.

Within ten days, the upper part of the city wall was razed to the ground by the bombardment of stone projectiles.

The four city walls were also bombarded beyond recognition, leaving the area in ruins.

Cao Chong was prepared and ordered his soldiers to hide under the city wall to avoid bullets, thus avoiding unnecessary casualties.

The constant earth-shaking, the earth-shattering sounds echoing in their ears, and the occasional falling debris and rocks still kept the Wei army in a state of constant fear and apprehension.

The Wei soldiers had to be on edge at all times, praying that they wouldn't be the unlucky ones to be wounded by the Divine Thunder Cannon.

In addition to the divine thunder cannon, there was also a terrifying rain of arrows.

At Liu Bei's command, approximately 20,000 archers were deployed to the foot of the earthen hill, where they fired indiscriminately at Ye City from their elevated position.

At such close range and at such height, the Wei soldiers were like live targets for practice against the Chu archers.

But one of the foolish Wei soldiers accidentally peeked out, and a hail of arrows rained down on him like locusts, turning him into a hornet's nest.

Thus, under the combined attack of the divine thunder cannons and crossbows, Ye City quickly became a hell for the Wei army.

This is still a blow to one's morale.

Liu Bei's fire attack destroyed 80% of the Wei army's grain supplies, which was the most devastating blow.

As the siege continued, two months quickly passed, and the Wei army's food supplies were running out.

Left with no other choice, Cao Chong had to order a reduction in the rations of the Wei soldiers.

With reduced rations, the morale of the soldiers naturally plummeted, and complaints gradually arose.

Even Cao Chong's offer of gold and silver as rewards and temptations could not dispel this resentment.

There's no other reason than the cautionary tale of Liyang.

As rations dwindled, the soldiers grew increasingly worried that Yecheng would eventually become a second Liyang.

Cao Chong, as the commander-in-chief, would emulate his uncle Cao Ren by forcing them to feed on the people.

It was this anxiety that caused the soldiers' mental stress to increase day by day as time went on.

The siege lasted less than three months, and the situation in Ye City was already extremely precarious…

Inside the mansion.

Cao Chong had no choice but to summon his subordinates to discuss countermeasures.

"I've figured it out! There must be someone in Ye City who's secretly colluding with Liu Bei and has leaked the detailed layout of our granary to him!"

"Otherwise, why did Liu Bei build the earthen mound so perfectly? And why were the bombardments of his divine thunder cannons so accurate, hitting only our granaries and not the civilian houses?"

Xin Pi slammed his fist on the table in anger and finally revealed the secret.

The crowd suddenly realized what was happening and were filled with indignation, cursing the traitor.

"Minister Xin, what's the use of you figuring all this out now?"

"Our current problem is that we don't have enough food, that's what you should be thinking about."

Xu Yi complained irritably.

Xin Pi was filled with rage, but his anger was silenced by this tiger-like son, and his face turned red with suppressed rage.

After his eyes darted around a few times, Xin Pi gritted his teeth and bowed to Cao Chong:

"Young Master Cang Shu, now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to order the forced requisition of food rations from the city's inhabitants to fund the army!"

Upon hearing this, the military officers all nodded in agreement.

Xu Yi nodded in agreement.

After all, as a military general, his priority is to ensure that his soldiers are well-fed.

As for the political implications of seizing supplies and the resulting media storm, that was not something they were considering.

"No!"

Cao Chong slammed his hand on the table, his face resolute, and said:
"Even if I, Cao Chong, starve to death, I will never do what my Uncle Zixiao did in Liyang."

"Our Great Wei has already lost enough popular support; it cannot afford to lose any more."

Xu Yi and the others were shocked and all frowned as they looked at Cao Chong.

They wanted to persuade him, but seeing Cao Chong's resolute expression, no one dared to speak.

"The will of the people is certainly important, but has Young Master Cangshu ever considered whether the forty thousand soldiers in this city would be willing to starve to death with you?"

Xin Pi asked in a meaningful tone, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

Cao Chong stiffened and fell silent.

He understood Sinpi's implication, of course.

He could choose not to follow Cao Ren's old path for the sake of integrity, but those 40,000 soldiers were not as noble as him.

When they are so hungry that they can no longer endure it, that will be the time when these 40,000 people rebel and defect to the State of Chu!

After a long silence.

A glint flashed in Cao Chong's eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly said:
"Then let's give all the people of this city to Liu Bei!" (End of Chapter)