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

One hundred thousand Han soldiers stood ready for battle.

At the front of the battle, five hundred imposing divine thunder cannons stood proudly, like silent behemoths.

Guan Yu sat upright on his red rabbit, his gaze sharp as a blade, looking into the distance at the imperial banner bearing the character "Wei" fluttering in the wind atop Chang'an city.

The flag seemed to be a provocation to the Han army.

"Let's raze Chang'an to the ground."

Guan Yu gave a cold snort and gently flicked his horsewhip.

"Boom boom boom——"

The sound of war drums suddenly rang out like thunder.

Five hundred divine thunder cannons launched an attack simultaneously.

"Uuuuuu——"

A deafening whistling sound, like the howling of ghosts and wolves, suddenly ripped through the silent air.

Five hundred giant bombs soared into the air, drawing sharp arcs as they hurtled towards Chang'an like a storm.

"Boom boom boom!"

The stones rained down, causing a deafening roar.

In an instant, a cloud of dust rose from the city wall, obscuring the sky and the sun.

All sounds in the world were swallowed up by the deafening crash.

The ground beneath my feet seemed to tremble slightly.

Chang'an City is now like a lonely city shrouded in the apocalypse.

At this moment, most of the Wei army was terrified and cowered under the inner city wall like startled birds, trying to avoid the barrage of stone projectiles.

The collapsed city gate and the shattered stones fell from above like raindrops.

Wei soldiers were constantly being hit, their screams echoing mournfully beneath the city walls, sending chills down one's spine.

Cao Cao did not flee the city walls, but hid inside the gate.

He was surrounded by a hundred Tiger Guards, each wielding a large iron shield, who protected him like an impregnable wall.

Even so, each loud bang still made Cao Cao's hands and feet tremble.

The bombardment continued unabated; within half an hour, the Han army had fired a total of 30,000 stone projectiles.

The dense barrage of stones, like locusts swarming across the land, almost leveled the area above the city wall.

Fortunately, to prevent Chang'an from suffering disaster one day, the emperor had been conscripting laborers year after year to build and thicken the city walls since he ascended the throne.

The walls of Chang'an were so strong that they could be called the best in the world.

Cao Cao firmly believed that, let alone the Divine Thunder Cannon, even a weapon a hundred times more powerful than the Divine Thunder Cannon could still withstand the attack from his Chang'an city walls.

Finally, the bombardment ended, and the world, as if having survived a catastrophe, slowly returned to calm.

Cao Cao breathed a long sigh of relief, and with a sense of relief, pushed aside the shields of the Tiger Guards and walked out of the doorway.

He surveyed his surroundings and gave a stern order:
"The Han army is about to attack the city with its infantry. Issue an edict: all battalions are to ascend the city walls and prepare to defend against the enemy!"

Cao Cao issued orders while simultaneously climbing back up the city wall.

The moment he stepped onto the city wall, his expression changed slightly, and he gasped.

As he expected, the walls of Chang'an did indeed withstand the fierce bombardment of the Divine Thunder Cannon.

Apart from surface damage to the city wall, there was no collapse or cracking.

However, the structures above the city wall, such as battlements and arrow towers, were bombed and left in a mess.

"Uuuuuu——"

A stirring bugle call suddenly rang out in the Han camp outside the city.

As Guan Yu waved his command flag, hundreds of Han army formations surged forth like a raging tide.

One hundred thousand Han soldiers began their advance towards the walls of Chang'an.

The siege is about to begin.

Seeing this, Cao Cao drew his sword, took a deep breath, and shouted:

"Soldiers of Wei, the time for a desperate battle has come!"

"I will live and die with you, and I swear to protect the capital of my Great Wei!"

"Today, let the Han army see the courage and spirit of the men of Wei!"

Cao Cao's powerful and confident shout rang out like a great bell atop the city wall, echoing in the ears of every Wei soldier. The panic and unease in the hearts of the Wei soldiers seemed to subside slightly at this moment.

They mustered their spirits, brandished their weapons, and shouted wildly, as if trying to dispel their inner fear with their cries.

Outside the city, the Han army was equally in high spirits, surging towards the city walls like a turbulent tide.

The archers from both armies began to fire arrows.

Arrows rained down like a storm, weaving a net of light above the city wall.

Hundreds of siege ladders from the Han army swiftly climbed the city walls like giant pythons.

The battering ram, like a roaring beast, crashed into the city gate...

The Wei army then launched a fierce counterattack.

Arrows, stones, and logs rained down on the Han army.

Screams rose and fell, and countless streams of blood stained the city walls.

The siege lasted for an hour, with casualties on both sides.

The Han army's numerical superiority was finally fully demonstrated.

The Han army attacking the city numbered 100,000.

They surged toward the city wall in an endless stream.

The Wei army only had about 7,000 men, while the Han army had about 15 times the number of Wei troops.

The terrain in front of the Chang'an city wall was open, which was perfect for the Han army to deploy its forces and take advantage of its superior numbers.

The siege was short-lived, and the Wei army's strength began to falter, causing their defenses to become unstable.

"Your Majesty, the Han soldiers are too numerous; we fear we cannot withstand them. We must transfer troops from another region!"

Wang Shuang arrived, panting heavily, and asked Cao Cao for orders.

Apart from this gate, each of the other gates is guarded by more than 7,000 troops, and there is currently no Han army attacking.

It seems reasonable to transfer troops from those gates to this location.

"Your Majesty, no!"

Before Cao Cao could make a decision, Jia Xu sternly rejected Wang Shuang's suggestion:

"According to my estimation, the Han army still has at least 70,000 troops that have not yet been deployed. I am worried that Guan Yu's attack on this gate is still a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"If we withdraw our troops from those three gates, and Guan Yu's remaining 70,000 men take the opportunity to attack those three gates, how will we defend against them?"

Cao Cao's heart skipped a beat, and he repeatedly agreed.

Wang Shuang sighed helplessly, knowing that Jia Xu was right, and could only retreat.

Yang Fu rolled his eyes a few times, then cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, since we cannot transfer troops from other sources, it would be better to bring the reserve corps here. We still have seven thousand men available."

Cao Cao remained silent, his brows furrowed.

Given the current battle situation, it seems reasonable to call in those seven thousand men.

"Wenhe, what do you think?"

Cao Cao did not make a decision immediately, but looked at Jia Xu.

Jia Xu, however, frowned deeply, his expression grave, and said in a deep voice:

"Bringing in those seven thousand-plus reserve troops would certainly turn the tide of the current predicament."

"However, given the current unfavorable situation, I believe there must be many wavering individuals in Chang'an who are considering secretly surrendering to the false Han."

“If we bring all the reserve troops here, the city will be left with few soldiers. If these villains take advantage of the situation to cause trouble, we will have no troops to suppress them.”

"What will we do if chaos breaks out in the city?"

Jia Xu expressed his concerns.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao was startled, his brows furrowed even more, and he became even more conflicted and uncertain.

Jia Xu's words were true; there were indeed many unstable factors within Chang'an.

When the empire was on the verge of collapse, even without Jia Xu's reminder, he knew that many people were secretly flirting with Liu Bei.

"Should I deploy this reserve corps, or not...?"

Cao Cao rubbed his forehead, his mind a jumble of thoughts, unable to make a decision. (End of Chapter)