When Liu Bei's entire army arrived at Luoyang, the eastern capital, it was already August 21st. By this time, the situation in Guandong had changed again: In Youzhou, Gongsundu of Guangyang responded to the imperial court within a month, and he responded within one day.
Cao Cao killed Cao Cao, which caused a great earthquake in the whole state. Duan Xuan, the general in charge of Zhenbei, did not dare to move lightly when he heard about it. He could only stick to Juyong Pass and wait and see the movements of Cao's army. After waiting for two days, he learned that Cao Cao had led nearly 100,000 people from Hebei to the south. Now,
The vanguard has arrived at Xiaquyang, and only Bao Xin remains in the military capital.
The situation in Jizhou was also not good. After Zhong Yao said he surrendered to Sheguo, he successively recruited officials from Wu'an, Handan and other places to prepare for a city-wide response. Unexpectedly, Yecheng responded quickly, and if anything unusual was discovered, he led his troops to blockade it.
The main road between She State and the counties was blocked, so that Zhong Yao could not communicate with the cities. Then he had to kidnap all the families of the county officials and bring them to Ye City to force them not to surrender. Zhong Yao had no choice but to reluctantly lead him away.
Dispersed soldiers.
Only the situation in Yanzhou has been stabilized. After Zhang Miao captured Xiahou Dun and sent him to Luoyang, he discussed with Chen Gongbianrang to take the lead in attacking before Cao Jun could catch up. They had been prepared beforehand and had secret contacts with officials in various counties.
When the order was sent to all counties, it was like the world was turned upside down. Within ten days, they captured the five counties of Chenliu, Jiyin, Shanyang, Rencheng, Jibei, Dongjun and Taishan. Many counties also responded. Among the entire Yanzhou, only Puyang
The two isolated cities of Fenggao and Fenggao are still fighting stubbornly.
After Liu Bei heard the news, he discussed the overall situation with his staff in the government. He said: "The original plan of the army was to cross the river from Puyang and Dong'a after pacifying Yanzhou. But now that Puyang has not yet fallen, should we attack Puyang first, or should we attack Puyang first?
How about leading the army across the river?"
Xu Shu, the chief official of Cao Zuo in the General's Mansion, frowned and said: "I still remember the layout of Puyang. This city is the prefecture of Yanzhou. Cao Mengde has been running it for several years. Its walls are mostly made of bricks and stones, and there are many corridors inside. Although it is not as good as Linzi, it is still good.
Isn’t it a city that can be easily captured?”
However, Shi Fazheng, the commander-in-chief of Cao You, who admonished the army of the general, disagreed. He said: "Now that the whole state has returned to normal, only two isolated cities are left. Even if the cities are difficult to conquer, can their hearts be at peace? Why should Yuan Zhi have doubts?"
Our army only needs to approach the city and let the rebels take a look at the appearance of our king's division. Do they still dare to resist?"
After Fazheng finished speaking, all the generals agreed. After all, the main forces of the Bafu have gathered in Henan. Famous generals in the world, such as Yin Guanyu of Henan, General Zhang Fei of Liao Dynasty, General Dong Cheng of Jianping, Zhang Xian, the governor of Xuzhou, and Huangfu, the governor of Yuzhou.
Pan Xu, the governor of Sichuan, Huang Zhong, the governor of Donghai, Guo Gong, the prime minister of Pei, Liu Bao, the wise king of the left side of the Xiongnu, Liu Xuan, the wise king of the right side of the Xiongnu, Tuoba Liwei, the Shanyu of Xianbei, Tuoba Pigu, the captain of Yicong, and so on, have all been listed.
Assembled. The flags of the 300,000-strong army are like dragons rising and falling, and the sight of them can make people's hearts tremble. People said: "Is there any city that dares to be an enemy of such strong soldiers?"
Seeing that the morale of the army was available, Liu Bei made up his mind to lead his troops to surround Puyang first and recruit the defenders to surrender. Later, it would depend on the situation.
So before he marched, he had one more thing to do.
After Xiahou Dun was captured to Luoyang, he was imprisoned in Guan Yu's mansion. At this time, Liu Bei was about to march eastward, so he prepared to see him. This was Xu Shu's advice. He suggested to Liu Bei that since he wanted to recruit Puyang to surrender, it would be better to surrender Xiahou Dun.
If he can do anything, the morale of the Hebei army will also be turbulent, and he will surely achieve the miraculous effect of defeating the enemy without fighting.
But after Liu Bei entered the palace, he took a look at Xiahou Dun from a distance and found that he was still trimming his temples in prison. He was as meticulous as usual. He knew that Xiahou Dun had a heart of stone and immediately gave up the idea of surrendering. But he still saw him.
Asked him: "I have treated you well, why did Mengde abandon me?"
Xiahou Dun said frankly: "Is there such a thing as a hero? A general does not abide by the principles of loyalty and filial piety. He plays with power and excludes ministers. He also uses military force to establish his power and conducts assassination. Although he is fake and loyal, how can he win people's trust? Meng De is a worldly person.
A hero who is not a true emperor cannot surrender. If a general does not have such equipment, why should he be aggressive?"
Liu Bei couldn't help laughing after hearing this. He thought for a while and said slowly: "Yuan Rang said that, which makes me ashamed! It's a pity that heroes don't stop with words, but thrive with swords. My army is about to go out, so let you
Let’s see the heroic style again!”
So he set off for the expedition the next day, imprisoning Xiahou Dun in a chariot, and accompanied the army. At this time, autumn was deep, the wind was a little cooler, and the land was no longer as soft as in summer. When the army marched
, the footsteps of the soldiers were like the collision of swords, which made people feel shuddering. Xiahou Dun was in the middle of the army, and when he looked to the front and back repeatedly, he could only see a sea of flags and armor, but his army looked solemn.
, and reminded him of the winding giant mountains, which made him feel frightened.
After the Han soldiers left Chenggao Pass, they walked along the river for three days, and then stopped at Suanzao. After waiting for half a day, they saw Zhang Miao, the governor of Chenliu, and Chen Gong, who was in charge of Yanzhou Zhizhong, leading thousands of people to meet them.
, as a guide for the army.
When Liu Bei saw Chen Gong, he remembered that last year he had advised to capture Cao Cao secretly, which was quite prescient. He couldn't help but feel a little emotional, and said to him: "There is nothing in Yanzhou. It is all thanks to Gongtai's care and contact. It's a pity that last year Gongtai led the way."
However, I concealed my plan and did not launch it, so there will still be a war this year."
Chen Gongzheng said: "It's not too late to mend the situation. The general will be pacified this year, and he will be able to put an end to the affairs of the world. His merits will be followed by those of his ancestors, and his name will go down in history." Liu Bei laughed when he heard this, and immediately appointed Chen Gongzheng to the general's mansion as a post.
In order to serve as the governor of the Central Government, Cao You was granted the title of Governor of Yanzhou.
Two days later, an army of 300,000 troops appeared at the gates of Puyang City.
According to the original plan, Liu Bei was not in a hurry to attack, but ordered his troops to camp grandly. The first 30,000 vanguards to arrive surrounded Puyang with their camps, and then the following troops continued to camp outside the vanguard's camps until the 300,000-strong army
When they all arrived, the defenders on the Puyang City Wall looked around and saw a crowd of people all around, stretching into the dark sky. They couldn't help but be extremely frightened. Many of Cao's army's generals had also seen the battle, and they saw it.
Seeing this spectacular scene, I can't help but feel swaying in my heart, with a vague sense of betrayal.
Fortunately, it was Cheng Yu who was defending the city. When Xiahou Dun left, he was already working on fortifying the city.
In the period before the arrival of the Bafu army, Cheng Yu expelled all the refugees from the city, leaving only the families of the soldiers in the city. In order to prevent the soldiers from rebelling, Cheng Yu gathered them in the north corner of the city and sent Danyang soldiers to guard them.
If a rebellion breaks out, these family members will be slaughtered to death. All the rest of the houses in the city that store grain will be requisitioned for him. Basically, the grain will be moved to the army, and those pillars and door panels will either be used as wooden buildings on the city or as wooden buildings.
The fence behind the city gate.
But after all, there were only 8,000 soldiers in the city. How to stabilize people's hearts was Cheng Yu's top priority. He summoned all the officials from Dubo and above in the city to talk together and said: "Although the city has been surrounded by Liu Bei, they want to capture it."
This city is not easy. They think that the world seems to be peaceful and everyone is united, but they don't want to think that they are rebellious ministers and traitors. As long as they are defeated, they will be in trouble, just like in the new times. Cao Gong Shenwu Ying
How can he be inferior to Guangwu in the future? As the saying goes, those who win will prosper, and those who lose will perish. Liu Bei usually relies on border concessions and bullies our subordinates in Yanzhou. If we return, how can we end well? I heard that Duke Cao has captured Hebei.
, are leading the army southward, but Duke Cao’s wisdom is unmatched in the world, and God has given it to him! We only need to hold on for more than a month, and we will be able to relieve the siege and secure the place. When Duke Cao returns, we can make great contributions to the field!" Most of the people were thinking of it!
However, some people remained silent and looked sad.
At this time, Captain Yu Jin stood up and said: "Brother Zhongde said it well! Since we follow Duke Cao, we have to stick to it till the end. How can we be such half-hearted villains? From today on, I will work hard every day.
I will lead my troops to patrol the camp every day. If anyone is not concentrating on defending against the enemy and has other agendas, I will behead him in public to show military discipline!" After saying that, Yu Jin took out his knife and slashed it on the table in front of him with his hand, and the table fell in response.
At the meeting, General Zuo Wubu changed his mind and expressed his loyalty to Cheng Yu again and again.
On that day, Liu Bei sent envoys to the city to recruit people to surrender, but they were greeted with rain of arrows. All the envoys who were recruiting people to surrender were shot to death, and no one survived.
This made Liu Bei furious. So the Bafu army raised a mountain of earth and ordered the sergeants with iron pockets to climb the ladder along the mountain to attack the city. They covered their faces and necks with iron nets to guard against being cut by knives. Under the dense armor,
Hang the handle of the knife on your belt, wait for the moment when you jump out of the city wall, and then use the knife to kill. Cao Jun tied a wooden fence beside the enemy tower opposite the earth mountain, with the pointed mouth facing outward. This made the heavy iron armor
The sergeants were blocked by the fence, and had no choice but to crawl over one by one under the rain of arrows.
The sergeants of Cao's army wore light round-necked cloth shirts, rolled up their sleeves to their upper arms, and climbed up to the enemy tower nimbly. They held long wooden poles in their hands, with iron hooks tied to the tops of the poles, and hooked on the iron net of the Bafu sergeant.
They were dragged down to the gates of the city, or dragged to the watchtower, where the sergeants below beat them to death with big sticks.
At the south gate, the Han army used a pointed-headed wooden donkey to transport troops. The pointed-headed wooden donkey had a pointed cone on top, which could withstand the impact of stones. The sergeants hid underneath and pushed away, and they could transport more than a dozen troops at a time. These people
When he got to the city gate, he used a giant ax to chop down the door. The door was made of wood. Although it was a century-old jujube wood with excellent quality, it could not withstand the constant cutting and was smashed open. But Cheng Yu had already been inside the door.
Another fence was erected, layer upon layer, with the pointed mouth facing outwards, so the Han army could not get in. Arrows were fired continuously from inside the fence, and stones were thrown from the top of the city gate. They persisted for a long time, and even the pointed wooden donkeys were smashed.
, but still can't get in.
After two days, the Han army stopped attacking the city. Liu Bei rode around the city to observe, praising all the way: "Cheng Yu is very durable and a good opponent. It's a pity that I can't stop here anymore."
The time for Cao Cao to go south was getting closer and closer, and Puyang could not be broken, so the war seemed to be at a stalemate. But at this time, Liu Bei got another good news, which made him plan to cross the river first.