The three countries are very nuclear

Chapter 562 Water Attack
In the second year of Chuping, in late July.

After experiencing the Battle of Baimadu, Cao Cao took the remaining defeated soldiers and went south into Changyuan City according to the original plan.Reported the news of the defeat to Yuan Shao, and asked for food and grass, and at the same time began to lead the army to build city defenses.

Before retreating from Linyi, the plan agreed upon by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao was to connect Changyuan, Dingtao, and Changyi into a line, so as to preserve the vitality of the entire southern Yanzhou, and consume it with Liu Bei's army that came counterattacking.

At present, if they fail to defend the Yellow River, they can only go according to this plan.

Although Cao Cao was defeated again and again, he still believed that as long as he did not go out of the city to fight, it would not be a problem to stick to it for three or two months.At that time, the Xuzhou army ran out of food and grass, so they had to retreat.

Although I don't know where Cao Cao's self-confidence comes from, but now Cao Cao has only this way to choose, so he can only choose to believe.

At this time, Guan Yu had also received the order from Lin Chao to continue to attack, joined forces with Zhang Liao, and continued to advance south. At this time, he had already reached the outside of Changyuan City, ready to attack the city.

As for Yuan Shao, after hearing the news of Cao Cao's defeat in another battle, although he was angry and frustrated, he perfectly avoided the routine process of vomiting blood and coma because he didn't have Xin Ping by his side.

It's just that the situation has deteriorated to this point, and he can't sit back and watch Cao Cao's defeat. He immediately allocated a batch of food and grass to Cao Cao, and at the same time added [-] troops to Cao Cao, led by Bao Xin.

Yuan Shao also wrote a letter to Cao Cao. The words in it were very simple, just telling him to guard Changyuan City.

As for the fate of being unable to hold on, Yuan Shao didn't say much, Cao Cao could also understand, and they both knew each other.

The two of them at this moment are like grasshoppers on the same rope.

……

Shanyang County, Jinxiang County.

"No matter how arrogant the old thief Yuan Shao is, he has been beaten back by someone now!"

At the top of the city, Liu Bei looked in the direction of Changyi, with a vigorous smile on his face. Although he marched rapidly for more than half a month, Liu Bei did not feel tired at all, but felt at ease.

A few months ago, Yuan Shao led an army of 20 troops, and he had few major generals under his command, so he had no choice but to avoid them. At one point, even the barrier of Taishan County was forced to be discarded, and Yuan Shao almost took the Xuzhou gate.

And a few months later, he not only took back Mount Tai, but also invaded the hinterland of Yanzhou, and even Yuan Shao's old nest, Jizhou, was stolen by him.

According to the current situation, as long as he can break through Yuan Shao's defense in Changyi, he can break Yuan Shao's three-point and one-line defense line, and then defeat Yuan Shao and take Yanzhou.

Thinking of how Yuan Shao knelt down begging for mercy after being captured alive, Liu Bei couldn't restrain the restlessness in his heart, and wished he could immediately lead his troops to attack Changyi County, a hundred miles away.

The overall situation has been decided, no matter how hard Yuan Shao struggles, it will be useless!

It's a pity that Xun Yu beside Liu Bei didn't think so.

Although Yuan Shao is currently trapped in the south of Yanzhou, if he cannot attack for a long time and is forced by the pressure of food and grass, he will really withdraw his troops.After he withdrew his troops, Yuan Shao would inevitably resurface, and then make a comeback.

Yanzhou will definitely not be able to stay, and Jizhou may return to Yuan Shao's hands.

When it came to food and grass, even a gentleman like Xun Yu couldn't help frowning.

Over the past few years, troops have been used abroad almost every year, and they have never stopped at all. The grain and grass collected cannot be kept at all, and they can't even make ends meet every time.

In the past two years in charge of Xuzhou, Xun Yu, who was a young man, looked much older than when he was in Luoyang, and this was all forced by food and grass.

Now, there is only one month's food left in the army.

Xun Yu knew in his heart that Tian Feng's side should also be drained. If Yuan Shao could not be defeated within a month, he might really have to withdraw his troops.

At this time, Zhao Yun brought Lin Xi over from behind.

"My lord, the last general has found out that there are [-] guards in Changyi City ahead, led by Yuan Yi, the prefect of Shanyang, and Zhang Miao, the prefect of Chenliu."

Zhao Yun clasped his fists and said.

After a month or so of recuperation, the three sick patients have almost recovered, and now they are alive and well again.

Hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help frowning slightly: "Yuan Yi and Zhang Miao?"

"Yes, it is these two people."

Since the beginning of Linyi's retreat, all the princes of Yanzhou also understood the critical situation.But Yuan Shao was defeated in all battles, and they would never hand over all the soldiers and horses in their hands to Yuan Shao, so at this moment the two of them are leading the soldiers and horses of their own headquarters.

In the final analysis, after this great war, Yuan Shao's subordinates were almost useless.

Wang Kuang was defeated and captured, Guangling prefect Zhang Chao was also captured by Tai Shici, Jibei prefect Bao Xin was sent to support Cao Cao, Yuan Shao's men who could fight were only his cousin Shanyang prefect Yuan Yi, and Chenliu prefect Zhang Miao.

Liu Bei pretended to think for a while, then turned his head to look at Xun Yu, and said with a smile, "Wen Ruo has a clever plan to help someone defeat Changyi?"

Hearing this, Xun Yu couldn't help frowning, shook his head and sighed: "My lord, Changyi is the seat of Yanzhou. The city's defenses are solid, not inferior to Yecheng. What's more, there are [-] defenders in the city. As long as the enemy does not If you are willing to fight, if you don’t have a few months, I’m afraid you won’t be able to break through the city.”

After hearing Xun Yu's reply, Liu Bei couldn't help feeling a little toothache.

He had also been to Changyi, and thinking of the six-foot-high and three-foot-thick city wall, Liu Bei felt a deep sense of powerlessness in his heart.

If you really want to pay for the lives of soldiers, even if you wipe out all the 3 people under your command, you may not be able to capture the city defense.

Liu Bei said unwillingly: "Is there no way to take Changyi in a short time?"

"Of course there are." Xun Yu replied slowly, "There is water in the north of Changyi City, called Sishui. If my lord sends someone to build a dam to the north of Changyi, and then dig a canal from Sishui to Changyi, Just wait until the water storage is full, then divert water to irrigate the city, so Changyi can be destroyed."

After hearing Xun Yu's strategy, Liu Bei couldn't help but stare sideways at him, with a strange look in his eyes.

Wen Ruo, I seem to have heard something similar somewhere...

You and Gongda are worthy of being uncles and nephews. When you open your mouth, you will either attack with water or attack with fire. You simply do not leave any way for the enemy to survive.

It's not that Xun Yu's strategy is not innovative, but limited by the conditions of this era, fire attack is the most convenient way to wipe out the enemy army.And if you want to conquer a strong city, water attack is the most time-saving and labor-saving method.

As the saying goes, water and fire are merciless, and this is the reason.

Especially right now, it is impossible for the enemy to go out of the city to fight you decisively, and you have no internal response in Changyi City, so this is the only way left besides smashing the city.

The reason why Xun Yu didn't bring it up immediately was because when the flood came out, even the people in Changyi would inevitably suffer. This was not in line with his style of doing things, let alone Liu Bei's usual style.

Sure enough, after hearing Xun Yu's strategy, Liu Bei immediately asked, "If the city is flooded with water, how can the people in the city depend on it?"

Xun Yu thought for a while, then cupped his hands again and said, "My lord, the terrain of Changyi is a bit high, even if water is poured into the city, it is impossible to destroy the city in an instant, and we still have to continue to attack the city, so the people in the city will not flow with the water. But a little damage...is inevitable."

These words made it very clear that flooding the city with water would not immediately defeat the defensive forces in the city. After all, Changyi City was very large, and it was impossible to flood it with water all at once.

But as Surabaya rolled in, it was inevitable that the whole city would be submerged in water all day long.Moreover, the source of drinking water in this era is groundwater. After Sishui is poured into the city, it will inevitably be flooded with well water, making it difficult to obtain water.

Furthermore, if you soak in the water all day, people will inevitably get sick, food will inevitably become moldy, and life will be more inconvenient. When the morale in the city is low, it is the best time to break the city.

It's just that in the whole process, the people will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

After listening to Xun Yu's strategy, Liu Bei thought for a moment, and finally shook his head.

Seeing this, Xun Yu smiled as expected.

On the other hand, Ju Shou, as if he didn't see Liu Bei's face at all, walked out and cupped his hands and said, "My lord, Xun Changshi's plan is very clever, I second it!"

Everyone immediately looked sideways at him, and they couldn't help wondering why Jushou is so blind today?
Only the Xun brothers showed curiosity.

Of course Jushou is not a person without vision, so he must have something to say, but I don't know how he plans to persuade Liu Bei.

Liu Bei sighed and said, "Gong Yu, I thought that with the bravery of the soldiers under his command, he would be able to destroy the city and wipe out the thieves, but he didn't need these means of harming the people."

"My lord is benevolent, I admire you!"

Ju Shou first said something on the scene, and then continued: "But I think that the plan of diverting water to irrigate the city is to save the people in Changyi, and even the people in the entire southern Yanzhou."

Hearing this, Liu Bei and everyone immediately showed surprise.

This argument...is unheard of.

Seeing that everyone was puzzled, Ju Shou smiled slightly and said, "So that my lord will know that our army is running out of food and grass."

"Naturally, I know this, after all, we don't have much food and grass."

"No, my lord misunderstood, what I want to say is not that." Jushou shook his head and said, "Since Zichu led his army to Yecheng, he cut off the food road of the bandit army. Counting the time, it has been as many as forty days. In other words, for more than 40 days, the rebel army has been eating food stored in the army and grain and grass transported by the local government treasury in Yanzhou. As expected, there will be no more than ten days before the rebel army will run out of food.

Just think about it, my lord, after the thieves ran out of food, they still had to stick to the city. Under such circumstances, what would they do? "

Ju Shou's words were like waking up someone in a dream, but Liu Bei frowned and remained silent.

On the other hand, Xun Chen saw that the generals were puzzled, so he opened his mouth to answer: "Once the food in Changyi City runs out, if the enemy wants to continue to hold on, there is only one way left - to search for the people!"

"Yes, what Xun Zhongzheng said makes sense."

Jushou gave Xun Chen an appreciative look, expressing his gratitude for his assist.

"Gong Yu means that Zhang Miao and Yuan Yi will send troops to squeeze the people in the city when the food is exhausted?"

Although Liu Bei's words were interrogative sentences, his tone already believed in the fact that this was about to happen.

"No, in order not to lower the morale of the army, they will raid the people before the food is exhausted, not only in Changyi City, but also in the entire southern part of Yanzhou.

Therefore, the sooner you take Changyi and capture Yuan Shao, the sooner you can save the people of Yanzhou from the fire and water. Please don't hesitate to adopt Xun Changshi's good strategy!

As for the people in the city who were accidentally injured by the flood, after the war, the lord can make people pay for them, or reduce taxes and land rent, all of which can support the people's livelihood. "

Frankly speaking, Ju Shou's remarks made sense.

In an emergency, Zhang Miao and Yuan Yi would indeed do this.But they are not fools, and they will not squeeze too hard, leaving the people with no way of life. If a civil uprising is triggered at this time, it will really be difficult to protect the city.

But what Jushou said to save the people from fire and water is also true.

Because compared with the people living under the rule of Xuzhou, it is not an exaggeration for the people of Yanzhou to say that they are living in dire straits.

Seeing this, Liu Bei was a little shaken, so Xun Chen stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Xun Changshi's policy and Ju Junshi's words are all good words and best policies. I second my advice, and I implore my lord to accept it!"

Behind him, a group of generals headed by Zhao Yun and Lin Xi clasped their fists together and said in unison: "The final general seconded the proposal!"

Faced with the request of his subordinates to unite as one, Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then no longer hesitated, but nodded in the direction of Changyi and said: "Okay, I will act according to Wen Ruo's plan!"

"Follow my lord's order!"

Everyone clasped their hands together and clasped their fists together.

(End of this chapter)