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

Jinyang.

The sky collapsed, the earth shook, and the mountains shook.

An unprecedented bombing raid is underway.

Outside the four gates of Jinyang City, nearly five hundred divine thunder cannons were bombarding the city day and night.

The giant rocks in the sky, like fallen stars, were constantly crashing down on Jinyang City.

The Han army actually used stone projectiles to create a giant net over Jinyang City.

Bingzhou is mountainous, and the city of Jinyang was built entirely from mountain stones, so it can be said to be very sturdy.

After Xiahou Dun retreated to Jinyang, he mobilized all his soldiers to reinforce the four city walls day and night.

At this time, the fortification of Jinyang City may have surpassed that of formidable passes like Tongguan.

Even so, under the continuous bombardment of five hundred divine thunder cannons, the city wall was still blasted beyond recognition.

There were countless places that collapsed, cracked, and tilted.

Xiahou Dun could only act as a repairman, urging his generals and soldiers to constantly repair the damaged sections of the city wall, risking being hit by flying stones.

Less than seven days after the bombardment, Jinyang City was already in ruins, a sight to behold.

The casualties of the Wei army were also considerable.

Although the Wei army knew that the most effective way to deal with the bombardment of the Divine Thunder Cannon was to take cover inside the city walls.

But that was before.

The Han army is currently bombarding the area with five hundred divine thunder cannons without stopping for even a quarter of an hour.

Under such intense and continuous bombardment, the Wei army could no longer remain holed up and wait for the Han army's bombardment to pause so they could come out and repair the city walls.

The Han army has no gaps, how can you wait?
Therefore, the Wei army had no choice but to brave the barrage of stones and take on enormous risks to repair the city walls.

Given this situation, the casualties among the Wei army were predictable.

In just seven days, the number of Wei soldiers killed or wounded by stone projectiles reached two thousand.

At this rate of casualties, the Han army would not need to launch a strong attack on Jinyang; a mere one or two more months of bombardment would be enough to cripple the Wei army without a fight.

This was not just physical harm; the psychological pressure was even more unbearable for the Wei army.

Tens of thousands of Wei soldiers were on edge at all times, never knowing when they would be struck by a boulder and lose their lives.

It's like the Grim Reaper's scythe, always hanging over their necks, ready to fall at any moment.

The fear of being shrouded in the moment of death was an excruciating torment for the Wei army.

The Han army bombarded the city for half a month, yet Jinyang City still hadn't collapsed, and the Wei army was on the verge of a mental breakdown...

At nightfall.

Exhausted from a long day, Xiahou Dun finally withdrew from the city wall and retreated to a position beyond the range of the Divine Thunder Cannon.

After entering the tent, Xiahou Dun, without bothering to wipe the ash off his face, grabbed the teapot on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

Guo Huai, Wang Ling, and the others also entered the main tent one after another.

The group looked at each other, their eyes filled with gloom and despair.

Wang Ling coughed a few times and was the first to complain:
"I never expected that big-eared thief could build so many divine thunder cannons in one go. With such a relentless bombardment day and night, even if the city walls can hold, the soldiers will not be able to withstand it!"

"General, if we just passively let Liu Bei bombard us like this, sooner or later the soldiers will break down and fall into chaos without a fight."

"This isn't a sustainable solution!"

As soon as Wang Ling spoke, all the generals began to spit and complain, and all sorts of negative emotions quickly filled the tent.

"General, what my colleagues say makes sense."

"Huai Shi did not expect that Liu Bei would use such a shameless tactic against us. Not to mention the immense mental pressure our soldiers are under, we have suffered nearly two thousand casualties in just seven days."

"At this rate, we'll lose at least half our troops in less than two months." "When Liu Bei's 200,000-strong army launches a full-scale attack, we'll be utterly powerless to resist!"

"General, we cannot just sit here and wait to die; we must do something!"

Guo Huai also gave his advice with a solemn expression.

Xiahou Dun's face was ashen, his fists clenched, his lips twitched slightly, and a hint of despair could be seen in his eyes.

After being bombarded for seven days, Xiahou Dun's previous determination to live and die with Jinyang City had been completely shattered.

At this point, he had given up hope of holding Jinyang.

Faced with the cacophony of complaints from his generals, he was at a loss.

"All you do is complain, so tell me, what are we supposed to do?"

Xiahou Dun finally lost his temper, leaped up, and roared angrily at the generals.

The tent fell silent instantly.

Xiahou Dun's face was filled with grief and indignation as he sternly said:
"At this point, what else can we do but hold out?"

"Even if the city walls are breached by the big-eared thief, the worst that can happen is death. I will be loyal to the Great Wei and die for the Emperor, and live and die with Jinyang City!"

The generals tensed up and looked up at Xiahou Dun.

Clearly, this great general of Wei had given up the struggle and was determined to die.

You, Xiahou Dun, are a member of the Cao Wei imperial family. You are to be buried with the Cao family. Why should we be dragged into this?
The generals looked at each other, muttering amongst themselves, their eyes clearly revealing their dissatisfaction.

At this time.

After hesitating for a long time, Guo Huai suddenly stood up and bowed again:

"General, since Jinyang cannot be defended, why should we make a pointless sacrifice?"

"I think it would be better if the General led us to break through the encirclement, preserve our lives, and then fight for the Emperor again?"

The moment the words "break through" were uttered, all the generals were invigorated.

Even Xiahou Dun's eyes flashed with a glimmer of hope.

But that glimmer of light was fleeting, and soon it faded back into darkness.

"Breakout?"

Xiahou Dun snorted coldly and pointed outside the tent:
“We are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Han soldiers outside the city, with three trenches and two walls. Tell me, how do we fight our way out?”

Wang Ling also sighed and said:

"The General is right. Besides, even if we manage to break through, what good will it do?"

"The entire Bingzhou has been occupied by Liu Bei, and Linxian Ferry is also in his hands. If we are pursued from behind and our road ahead is blocked, how will we retreat to Guanzhong?"

The crowd whispered amongst themselves, all scoffing at Guo Huai's suggestion.

Guo Huai remained unmoved and said solemnly:
"If we don't break through, we'll only be waiting to die. In two months at most, Jinyang will fall, and we will all die without a burial place."

"Breaking through is a slim hope, but there is still a glimmer of hope!"

As he spoke, Guo Huai pointed in the direction of Yanmen:
“Liu Bei pacified the northern counties of Bingzhou, including Yanmen, Yunzhong, and Daijun, by issuing proclamations, so his garrison there must not have been too large.”

"If we can successfully break through, we can rush north and hope to break through the Han army's blockade in the northern prefectures and enter the southern grasslands."

“The southern part of the Gobi Desert is the territory of the Xianbei people. Their Chanyu, Kebineng, has not yet turned against the Great Wei. If he is willing to let us pass through, we can head west, enter Liangzhou from Juyan, and successfully escape back to the Great Wei.”

Guo Huai spoke eloquently, pointing out a way out for Xiahou Dun.

Xiahou Dun's gloomy eyes gradually brightened again, and as he listened, he suddenly jumped up and lunged at the map.

"Yanmen Pass, Yunzhong Plain, Southern Gobi Grasslands, Xianbei Territory..."

Xiahou Dun tapped the map with his fingertip, muttering to himself, a faint glimmer of hope gradually appearing in his eyes. (End of Chapter)