Lü Meng said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have carefully inspected the city walls of Ye City and found that it is very difficult to attack by force and is almost impossible to succeed. Even though there are more than 100,000 troops and a supply of gunpowder, it is difficult to win."
"Tell me the specific reason!"
Wang Can did not expect that Lu Meng had already gone to see the situation in Yecheng, and was very satisfied.
It is said in the art of war that only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one be victorious in every battle. As soon as Lü Meng and his army arrived at Yecheng, they went to check the situation, which shows that Lü Meng had gradually matured.
Lu Meng said loudly: "As the capital of Wei State, Yecheng must have strong walls and tight defenses. A few years ago, the army attacked Xiangyang and encountered great difficulties. I can say that Yecheng is stronger than Xiangyang. In the past, we were able to capture Jingzhou.
Xiangyang, it is still up to Your Majesty to kill Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and others, otherwise it will be very difficult to capture Xiangyang."
"Now Yecheng is stronger than Xiangyang."
"The general asked the surrounding people and learned that after Cao Cao moved his capital to Yecheng, he had been working hard to strengthen the city walls of Yecheng, build urns, and send soldiers to dig moats to form the city's current scale."
"Among them, the wall of Yecheng is six feet high, the top of the wall is six feet wide, and the bottom of the wall is seven feet wide. There is an enemy tower every fifty feet on the wall. These enemy towers protrude outside the city wall, and the two enemy towers meet fifty feet apart.
You can just shoot arrows on the enemy's platform to kill the attacking soldiers. This is Yecheng's first defense."
"Secondly, Ye City has four gates in the east, south, west and north, and each gate has an urn. As long as a large army attacks the city, the soldiers standing on the urn can shoot arrows to stop it, and there is a suspension bridge outside each urn.
It is connected to the moat. The moat is thirty feet wide, enough for a small boat to travel on it."
Lu Meng sighed: "Cao Cao is sitting in the city. If he wants to shake Ye City, it will be almost as difficult as climbing to the sky."
These words made all the generals in the big tent frown.
Not only that, Wang Can frowned and felt that it was very difficult. Wang Can even felt that his attack on Yecheng was the same as the Mongols' attack on Xiangyang in history, and they both encountered tough obstacles.
Wang Can said in a deep voice: "If we fail to attack by force, are we going to fight Cao Cao and kill him?"
Jia Xu said: "Your Majesty, I believe that it must be slowly consumed. Only by simmering the fire slowly and gradually wiping out Cao Cao's power can we capture Ye City in one fell swoop. Besides, there are Zhang Liao, Tai Shi Ci, Xu Shu and others in the south. As long as they capture
Without Yanzhou and Qingzhou, it would be even easier for Cao Cao to be isolated in Yecheng."
Wang Can felt helpless and said: "In that case, let's wait for the time being. First, we will start to eliminate Cao Hong and Zhang Jaw stationed outside Ye City, and eliminate Cao Cao's power bit by bit."
For five consecutive days, Wang Can stood still.
This situation made Zhang Jaw and Cao Hong feel that something was wrong. Both of them were extremely vigilant. They kept sending soldiers to inquire about Wang Can's situation, and then passed the news to Cao Cao. They both wanted to send troops to attack Wang Can. Cao Cao got the news.
Later, he sent a message to Cao Hong and Zhang Jia, asking them to stay still and strictly ordered them to send troops.
The situation in Yecheng has temporarily reached a deadlock.
However, Yanzhou was swept by the Shu army.
On the third day of April, Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, and Zhang Liao led their troops into Chenliu County and defeated Cao Ren, who wanted to use Chenliu County to defend it. The Wei army was defeated, and Cao Ren continued to retreat. Next, Gan Ning and other generals led their troops to capture Jiyang County.
Entering Jiyin County, Yanzhou.
In half a month, the army swept through Jiyin County, captured Dongjun, and controlled half of Yanzhou.
Jiyin County, Dingtao County.
The Shu army was temporarily stationed and did not advance immediately.
According to common sense, the army should take advantage of the victory to pursue it, continue eastward, and then control the entire Yanzhou. However, after the Shu army captured Dongjun and Jiyin County, it was already bordering Wei County. In other words, the Shu army could go north to attack Yecheng.
, it was precisely because Yecheng was so close that the opinions in the army were divided.
Gan Ning stood in the hall with his helmet on.
His eyes passed over Tai Shici, Huang Xu, Zhang Liao and others, and he said loudly: "The defeat of the Wei army is no longer possible. As long as Cao Cao is destroyed, the defeated troops in Yanzhou and Qingzhou will naturally surrender. We have the opportunity to go north, why bother?
Waste time on one or two counties. I think going north to support His Majesty is the fastest way to deal with Cao Cao."
"Captain Gan, do you agree with your suggestion?"
Taishi Ci stood up and said: "Cao Ren is still a big problem and must be taken down. Your Majesty has an army of more than 100,000, as well as advisers such as Jia Xu, Guo Jia, Fazheng, etc., as well as Dian Wei, Zhao Yun, Huang
Zhong and other fierce generals are full of talents and already have enough strength. If we go north to attack Yecheng, it will only be tens of thousands more people. What's the use? I think we should stay in Yanzhou, capture Yanzhou as soon as possible, and then join Xu Shu.
, destroy Cao Ang and Xia Houyuan in Qingzhou."
Gan Ning's eyes widened and he asked loudly: "Ziyi, don't you want to participate in the final battle?"
What moved Gan Ning was the last battle.
If he swept across Yanzhou but lost the chance to defeat Cao Cao, Gan Ning felt a little unwilling. Because of this, Gan Ning thought of going north to attack Yecheng. This was also the thought of the generals who wanted to go north.
Taishi Ci pondered for a while and said, "Of course Ci wants to go north to join the war, but he should put the overall situation first."
Lu Xun said: "Two generals, I believe that even if they sweep across Yanzhou, kill Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ang, and then go north, they still have time to participate in the final battle."
"shit!"
Gan Ning retorted unceremoniously: "Your Majesty has Jia Xu and other advisers to make plans, and Zhao Yun and other powerful generals. How can it be that you can't capture Ye City? If you go late, there will be no chance."
Pang Tong smiled and said: "Captain Gan, I also think Boyan is right."
"Oh, tell me." Gan Ning calmed down and asked.
Lu Xun replied: "When the army captured Dongjun, I sent people to inquire about the news of Yecheng and also inquired about Your Majesty's situation. Yecheng has a strong city and countless grain stores. It is a strong city. Your Majesty came to Yecheng with troops.
We are holding back for the time being and did not attack the city immediately. I think it will take a long time for Your Majesty to deal with Cao Cao, and may even require our cooperation in the end, so it is not too late to capture Yanzhou as soon as possible, destroy Qingzhou with Xu Shu, and then send the army north to Yecheng."
Gan Ning asked hesitantly: "Boy Lu, are you sure there is still time to capture Qingzhou and Yanzhou?"
Lu Xun said: "It must be right!"
Li Ru said: "Captain Gan, Ru also believes that Boyan's words are correct."
When Gan Ning saw several counselors talking one after another, he stopped insisting.
Without Gan Ning taking the lead, Huang Xu and other generals languished and obeyed orders. The army rested for a day in Dingtao County and immediately set off to continue expanding eastward.
Facing the Shu army, Cao Ren was powerless. Even if he wanted to resist, he could not succeed.
After Cao Ren led his troops to retreat to Rencheng County, he was faced with two choices.
First, Cao Ren can continue to retreat eastward, pass through Lu County and Taishan County, and then enter Qingzhou, join Xiahou Yuan in Qingzhou, and then resist the Shu army together; secondly, Cao Ren can choose to go north, pass through Dongping County, and then go north to Jizhou, quickly
He rushed towards Yecheng and returned to Yecheng to join Cao Cao's army.
There are two options, one is to assist Cao Ang and defend Qingzhou with Xia Houyuan, the other is to help Cao Cao.
In the end, Cao Ren chose to go north.
He no longer resisted the Shu army, went north to Dongping County, entered Jizhou, and rushed towards Yecheng.
Yanzhou lost the backbone of Cao Hong, and its people were shattered. It was even more difficult to organize forces to resist the Shu army. When Taishi Ci and Gan Ning led the army to approach Rencheng County, Lu County and Taishan County, everyone they passed surrendered, and no one led them.
The soldiers resisted. Such a speed was naturally what Taishi Ci, Gan Ning and others wanted to see.
When Taishi Ci and Gan Ning's army was victorious, Xu Shu also led his army to Linzi, the seat of Qingzhou Prefecture, and came to the city to confront Xiahou Yuan.
