Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 124 Submissive to outsiders, but ruthless to brothers

After Cao Cao defeated the Yuzhou army, he led his army to Dingtao City in Jiyin Commandery without waiting for his soldiers to rest.

At this time, Zhang Miao's army had arrived at Juancheng, while only a few thousand soldiers remained in Dingtao.

Cao Cao ordered his troops to surround Dingtao completely, with strict orders that no one should leave or escape.

Meanwhile, Li Qian, Li Zheng, and Li Dian, the father and sons who had previously feigned surrender, also began to act according to the plan after receiving the news.

Li Zheng led 3,000 soldiers to blockade Cangting Ferry; Li Dian led 5,000 men to first recapture Dunqiu City, which had been occupied by the rebels, and then led his troops to blockade Baima Ferry.

Cao Cao's plan was to cut off Lü Bu's retreat and trap him in Yanzhou.

While Cao Cao, Li Dian, and others were working diligently to block Lü Bu's retreat, Zhang Miao led an army of 40,000 men to the outskirts of Juancheng and successfully joined forces with Lü Bu's army.

Outside Juancheng, a vast army was gathered, with tents like a forest and banners obscuring the sun, truly a formidable force.

Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, was originally a close friend of Cao Cao. They had even raised troops together to fight against Dong Zhuo, fighting side by side and sharing life and death.

However, life is unpredictable. The entanglement of interests and the struggle for power ultimately led these two former close friends to become adversaries.

After Zhang Miao joined forces with Lü Bu, he learned that his younger brother Zhang Chao had been killed by Cao Yan.

Zhang Miao was overwhelmed with grief, his eyes blazing with fury, and the flames of anger instantly consumed all reason.

His eyes were bloodshot as he roared that he would immediately muster his troops and march straight to Juancheng to seek revenge on Cao Yan for his blood debt.

Lu Bu was about to persuade Zhang Miao to calm down, but Chen Gong stopped him with a look.

Lü Bu understood and said nothing more, letting Zhang Miao act on his own.

Since Zhang Miao was eager for revenge, we could take advantage of his brute force and make him the vanguard to test the strength and weakness of Juancheng's defenses.

If Zhang Miao manages to capture Juancheng by chance, that would be a great success; even if he fails, he can still weaken Cao Yan's forces and create favorable conditions for his subsequent actions.

Therefore, Lü Bu and Chen Gong pretended to appease Zhang Miao, claiming that they would fully support his revenge and even returned Zhang Chao's 10,000 men to Zhang Miao.

But secretly, they were quietly deploying troops and waiting for the right moment to change.

Before long, Zhang Miao mustered an army of over 50,000 and marched menacingly to the walls of Juancheng.

In an instant, war drums thundered and battle cries shook the heavens beneath the three walls of Juancheng, and dust billowed, obscuring the sky.

But the sound of war drums booming and shouts of battle shaking the heavens, and dust rising everywhere, obscuring half the sky.

On the city wall, Cao Yan, clad in black armor and holding a long spear, stood behind the battlements, coldly watching the enemy troops below.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose below the city.

Cao Yan looked closely and saw that Zhang Miao was riding a tall horse and surrounded by hundreds of guards, arriving at the moat.

Zhang Miao looked up at the city wall and shouted, "You little brat Cao Yan, how dare you kill my younger brother Zhang Chao! Today I will tear you to pieces and avenge my brother!"

His voice was hoarse with anger, and the muscles in his face were contorted with extreme hatred.

Cao Yan, utterly unafraid, laughed loudly, "Zhang Miao, you fickle scoundrel! What face do you have to spout such nonsense here?"

You and my elder brother were sworn brothers, yet you betrayed your ally for your own selfish gain, leading a wolf like Lü Bu into Yanzhou and causing suffering to the people of Yanzhou.

Your brother Zhang Chao aided and abetted evil, and deserves to die!
If you know what's good for you, quickly dismount and surrender, and I might spare your life.

Otherwise, the day my elder brother returns with his army will be the day your clan is exterminated!

Enraged by Cao Yan's words, Zhang Miao trembled with rage, his riding whip cracking in the air: "You madman, don't try to win with your words! Today, my army is pressing in, and Juancheng will fall in no time. If you come out of the city now to face your death, I might spare your life. Otherwise, once I breach the city, I will grind you to dust and leave you with no place to bury your body!"

After saying that, he suddenly waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him immediately shouted in unison, the sound wave was like a tide, and the city wall seemed to shake.

Cao Yan sneered and retorted without backing down, "Zhang Miao, do you think your rabble can do anything to me?"

Our soldiers in the city are united and well-supplied; we will make sure you never return!

"If you don't dare to fight me one-on-one, then obediently step back and don't embarrass yourself here!" Cao Yan knew that Zhang Miao was timid and cowardly, so he deliberately used provocation to try to anger him and dampen his spirit.

Although Zhang Miao was enraged, he knew his own limitations. If he rashly engaged in a one-on-one fight, he would most likely lose his life. Therefore, he suppressed his anger and was unwilling to fall into the trap.

"How could I, the dignified Prefect of Chenliu, possibly fight a nobody like you one-on-one? Today, I will use my numbers to overwhelm you and show you the power of my army!"

After saying this, Zhang Miao turned back to his army and then ordered the army to prepare to attack the city.

Zhang Miao's army brought a lot of siege equipment from Dingtao, including battering rams, siege towers, ladders, and so on.

If it weren't for transporting these siege weapons, his army should have arrived three days ago.

With Zhang Miao's order, the siege officially began.

Immediately, the sound of war drums and shouts of battle shook the heavens and the earth. Zhang Miao's more than 50,000 troops rushed towards Juancheng in three routes.

Cao Yan had a clear view from the city wall. Once the enemy was within range, he immediately ordered, "Archers, prepare to fire!"

On the city wall, archers who were already prepared drew their bows and fired a volley of arrows at the enemy troops below.

Arrows rained down, and screams echoed everywhere.

Zhang Miao's army was thrown into disarray by this volley of arrows and retreated in disarray.

Seeing this, Zhang Miao flew into a rage, shouting, "Stop retreating! The defenders on the city walls are exhausted! Keep charging!"

Urged on by Zhang Miao, the soldiers launched another charge.

This time, they learned from their mistake and cautiously advanced, each holding their shields.

Outside Juancheng, there was a moat, which, though not wide, blocked the way.

Zhang Miao's soldiers carried ladders and set them up on the river to cross it.

Once they reached the city walls, Cao Cao's soldiers began to pelt them with stones and pour boiling oil on them.

The soldiers below the city were smashed, their heads bleeding, and their skin torn open by boiling oil; the scene was extremely tragic.

Cao Yan hid 30,000 elite troops in the city, but only allowed 10,000 of them to be stationed on three sides of the city wall to confuse the enemy.

Then Cao Yan organized the prisoners, gave them weapons, and sent them to the city to make up the numbers.

Although these prisoners were untrained, they knew that this battle was a matter of life and death, and they all fought desperately, even more frantically than the Qingzhou army.

Seeing that even prisoners were fighting on the city walls, Zhang Miao became even more certain that the city was short-handed, so he ordered an increased offensive to capture the city as soon as possible.

However, although Juancheng seemed to be in imminent danger, it was actually as solid as a rock.

Xun Yu directed operations within the city, dispatching reserve troops wherever the situation became critical, ensuring that each deployment was just the right amount to repel the enemy.

Cao Cao, Li Dian, and others are currently cutting off the rear of Lü Bu, Zhang Miao, and others. As long as they can lure Zhang Miao and Lü Bu to Juancheng and delay enough time for Cao Cao to complete the encirclement, the outcome of this war will be decided.

Anger makes people lose their minds.

Zhang Miao launched a full-scale attack right from the start, and the two sides fought fiercely until the sun began to set.

The sunset glow on the horizon was like blood, turning the battlefield crimson, making it impossible to distinguish whether it was the setting sun or fresh blood.

Zhang Miao's army withdrew like the receding tide as night fell.

Cao Yan, however, dared not relax his vigilance and ordered his soldiers to place specially made thin jars in the deep wells at the foot of the city walls.

A thin layer of cowhide was placed over the mouth of the jar, and soldiers with good hearing were chosen to lie on the jar to listen for any sounds underground, in order to prevent the enemy from digging tunnels into the city.

That night, no one in Juancheng dared to close their eyes, and the brutal siege had only just begun.

(End of this chapter)