Shuhan

The battle of the Han army to attack Xingyang had entered the third day and third night of intense fighting.

The sky was dyed gray by the smoke of war, and flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the determined and tired faces of every soldier.

The night wind howled, bringing with it the chill of early spring, but it did not in the least reduce the heat of the battlefield.

The army's gunpowder reserves were like sand in an hourglass, gradually flowing into nothingness, grain by grain.

Every roar of artillery fire was a severe test for the Han army’s logistics supplies.

However, even in such a difficult situation, Xingyang City still stands like a stubborn giant beast, as if declaring to the world its indestructibility.

On the city wall, the flags of the Wei army fluttered in the cold wind. Although their morale seemed a little low due to days of hard fighting, there was still an unyielding light in their eyes.

The four gates of Xingyang were like the tightly closed mouth of a giant beast, blocked layer by layer by the Han army, leaving no room for any escape.

The Han soldiers tried to build ladders and climb up to the top of the city wall that seemed within reach, but every attempt was like a moth to a flame, and they were quickly defeated by the Wei army who were ready for battle in the city with rain of arrows and rolling logs and stones.

The blood dyed the land under the city wall red, and the corpses of the Han army piled up like a mountain, but they still could not occupy a place on the city wall.

Xiahou Xuan stood on the tower, his eyes as sharp as torches. His voice penetrated the hustle and bustle of the battlefield and inspired every soldier: "Warriors, behind us are our homes, our wives, children, and countless pairs of expectant eyes! Today, if we take a step back, the mountains and rivers will lose a bit of their color! Let us use our flesh and blood to build an indestructible Great Wall and let the Han army know that Xingyang is a gap that they can never cross!"

Xiahou Xuan's words ignited the fighting spirit of the Wei army like a raging fire. Although they were exhausted, their morale reached its peak at this moment, and they were ready to fight to the death.

Zhao Yun, standing under the city, was wearing silver armor, holding a spear, with a solemn look on his face.

He knew very well that if this continued, the Han army would be caught in an endless war of attrition, which would undoubtedly be fatal to them.

Zhao Yun's gaze swept across the battlefield and finally stopped on the towering city wall.

A bold yet prudent plan gradually took shape in his mind.

"Since you are unwilling to leave the city for a fight, I will use time and patience to wear down your will." Zhao Yun thought to himself, and then summoned his generals and arranged new tactics.

"Pass the order down. The entire army will stop attacking and start piling up dirt under Xingyang City until the dirt covers the city wall. Although this will take a long time, at least after a few months, Xingyang will no longer be an obstacle to us."

As soon as the order was given, the Han soldiers were confused but still acted quickly.

They had a clear division of labor. Some soldiers carried loess from far away, while others used tools such as wooden boards and wooden barrels to pile up the soil.

As time went by, earthen hills began to rise quietly under the city of Xingyang. Although they were slow, they were approaching the city walls unwaveringly.

During this long process, the seasons seem to change quietly.

Winter was approaching, but even so, the clothes of the Han soldiers were soaked with sweat, but they did not stop, because they knew that this was the only way to victory. The Wei soldiers in the city were confused by the actions of the Han army at first, but as the earthen hills gradually rose, they began to feel uneasy.

Xiahou Xuan stood on the city wall, looking at the increasingly approaching earthen hills with a frown on his face.

He knew very well that once the earthen hill was higher than the city wall, the Han army would be able to climb to the top of the city wall easily. At that time, the fall of Xingyang would become an irreversible fact.

However, even so, Xiahou Xuan did not give up.

He encouraged the soldiers to strengthen patrols to prevent sneak attacks by the Han army; at the same time, he also sent people out of the city to look for reinforcements, hoping to turn the tide of the battle at this last moment.

But as time went on, the morale of the Wei army began to gradually decline due to long-term tension and depression, while the Han army's earthen hills, like an invisible giant hand, slowly strangled Xingyang's throat.

Zhao Yun stood in the distance, looking at the city gradually surrounded by loess, with great ambition in his heart: "No matter how difficult the road ahead is, for the sake of the Han Dynasty and the people of the world, I, Zhao Yun, swear to capture this strong city!"

At this critical moment, a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds came from afar, breaking the temporary tranquility on the battlefield.

A scout was covered in dust, his face showing fatigue from the long journey, but he could not hide the eagerness and excitement in his eyes. He tightened the reins, and the front hooves of his horse were raised high. In the dust, the scout's voice was loud and clear: "General, in Ao Cang, north of Xingyang City, the Wei army is secretly transporting grain and grass to Luoyang!"

Zhao Yun raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

Ao Cang, this name is like a heavy stone in his heart.

"Food and fodder must be sent before troops move out." This was almost the most common practice in fighting wars during the cold weapon era, and it was also the most practical practice. The reason was that once a large-scale battle came, food and fodder, as the most important materials in the army, were directly related to the fate of the army - if the food was not guarded well, the army would starve to death.

Also because of the issue of food and fodder, many warfare tactics were developed in ancient times, especially fire attacks.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao paid great attention to the protection of food and grass throughout his life, and often burned other people's food and grass. For example, he burned Wuchao and destroyed Yuan Shao's food, which changed the situation of the war.

However, in ancient Chinese history, the most important granary was Ao Cang. This word was even synonymous with granary in ancient history. Ao Cang was involved in many key battles.

Ao Cang in ancient history refers to Ao Mountain near Xingyang, Henan Province. It is close to the bank of the Yellow River and is very suitable for ships to dock. It was also an important granary of the Wei State during the Warring States Period.

During the reign of Wei Wuhou, Wei had a large amount of grain after Li Kui's reforms. Most of the grain was stored in Ao Cang. When the six kingdoms attacked Qin, Ao Cang became an important grain transit station for the six kingdoms.

After Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, in order to ensure the northern army's resistance against the Huns, he built Ao Cang into the largest grain storage base at that time, and transported grain from Shandong countries to Qin in a steady stream. However, due to the inconvenience of water transportation above Ao Cang, the grain was concentrated in Ao Cang and then transported to various parts of Qin via land.

At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started an uprising. At the beginning, they were unstoppable and wanted to capture Hangu Pass in one fell swoop. However, when they arrived near Ao Cang in Xingyang, they were blocked by Li You's army. Because Ao Cang was the most important guarantee for the entire Qin State, it could not be lost. Therefore, it was Li You's army that was stationed in Ao Cang to ensure the food supply of Qin.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang suffered a great defeat in Ao Cang, and the rebel army fell into chaos and entered its final stage.

Another battle involving Ao Cang was also at the end of the Qin Dynasty.

Xiang Yu led his troops to attack the Qin army. At this time, the Qin army did not have many famous generals, and only Zhang Han was left to hold on. However, Zhang Han also had his own weaknesses, which was Ao Cang.

After Xiang Yu's army occupied Ao Cang, Zhang Han asked Qin II for food, but was rejected by Qin II. With his army surrounded and without food and grass, Zhang Han chose to surrender to Xiang Yu.

It was because of Ao Cang that the story of containment and being contained took place during the Chu-Han contention period.

When Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were confronting each other, the two sides started a big game of chess in Xingyang. At that time, Liu Bang had occupied Ao Cang in Xingyang, and Xiang Yu had a strong military force and understood the importance of Ao Cang, so he sent troops to attack Ao Cang and occupied the largest grain transit point at that time.

It was this battle that put Liu Bang in great trouble. He once fled to Chenggao to fight against Xiang Yu, but he was always on the defensive and was forced to flee everywhere by Xiang Yu.

At this time, Li Shiqi discovered Xiang Yu's weakness - after occupying Ao Cang, Xiang Yu did not station heavy troops in Ao Cang. This gave Liu Bang an opportunity to take Chenggao and Ao Cang in one fell swoop!
The situation immediately reversed afterwards. Without Ao Cang, Xiang Yu's situation became worse and worse, and the morale of his troops began to weaken. After that, neither side wanted to continue wasting time, so they agreed to divide the world into two.

Unfortunately, Xiang Yu was already in an extremely unfavorable situation at this time, and Liu Bang's army also realized this, and then they pursued Xiang Yu fiercely, causing the Overlord Xiang Yu to commit suicide at the Wujiang River.

Therefore, the importance of Ao Cang is self-evident.

Zhao Yun knew that it was not only an important place for storing grain and grass for the Wei army, but also the lifeline connecting Xingyang and Luoyang.

If Ao Cang can be effectively controlled, it will be equivalent to cutting off the logistical supply of the Wei army, which will undoubtedly be a crucial turning point for the current stalemate in the war.

Zhao Yun quickly figured it out in his mind. He knew very well that the reason why the Wei army in Xingyang held their ground was because they relied on Ao Cang as their backing, which provided a steady supply of material support.

Now, this sudden news undoubtedly opened a door to victory for the Han army.

His eyes were firm, and a stern smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He had already made up his mind: "Since the Wei army is holding on, I will first take Ao Cang and cut off their food supply. Once this plan is completed, Luoyang will fall without a fight."

At that moment, Zhao Yun decisively gave an order to divide his troops into two. Half of them continued to besiege Xingyang, waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out and wear down the morale of the Wei army; while he personally led the other half of the elite troops and marched non-stop towards Ao Cang.

The wind was cold and the flags of the Han army fluttered in the wind in the winter wilderness. Zhao Yun, wearing silver armor, holding a spear, riding on a tall warhorse, looked heroic, like a god of war, leading the team to gallop away.

Ao Cang was immersed in a busy life at the moment.

The Wei army soldiers were busy loading mountains of food and fodder onto carts, preparing to transport them to Luoyang to support the defense line there.

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However, they did not expect that a sudden storm was about to hit.

When Zhao Yun led his army to Ao Cang, it was already dark and the cold wind was even more biting.

He observed the layout of Ao Cang and found that although the city walls were strong, due to the frequent need to transport food and fodder, the four gates were not completely closed, and gaps were left for vehicles and horses to pass through.

This discovery made Zhao Yun very happy. He immediately summoned his generals and formulated a detailed attack plan.

In the cover of night, the Han army quietly surrounded Ao Cang. At Zhao Yun's command, the soldiers acted quickly, gathered the remaining gunpowder, and prepared to blast the city gate.

With a deafening bang, gunpowder burst into brilliant light in the night sky, followed by the loud bang of the city gate collapsing, and dust and smoke intertwined, covering the sky and the sun.

Zhao Yun took the lead and led the Han army into the city like a tide.

The Wei army soldiers were caught off guard by the sudden attack and threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Zhao Yun was on his warhorse, his eyes were as sharp as torches, he was waving his spear, and wherever he went, the enemies were all terrified.

Under the leadership of Zhao Yun, the Han soldiers were unstoppable and quickly controlled all the key points in Ao Cang, cutting off the Wei army's retreat.

After the battle, Zhao Yun stood on the high platform of Ao Cang, looking at the busy Han soldiers below, with an indescribable sense of pride and ambition in his heart.

This battle not only captured Ao Cang, but more importantly, laid a solid foundation for the Han army's subsequent actions.

He turned his head and looked into the distance, muttering to himself: "Luoyang, sooner or later you will become a prey of my Han army."

After taking Ao Cang, Zhao Yun did not immediately immerse himself in the joy of victory, but quickly devoted himself to the intense follow-up work.

He personally led a team of people, went deep into every corner of Ao Cang, and carefully counted the remaining food and grass.

Inside the warehouse, the wooden shelves that should have been filled with grain now appear empty, with only a few scattered piles of grain on the ground, looking particularly lonely.

Zhao Yun frowned, his eyes revealing a bit of worry, but this worry was soon replaced by his inner tenacity.

"It seems that there is really not much food left in Ao Cang." Zhao Yun whispered to himself. His voice echoed in the empty warehouse with a barely perceptible sigh.

As an important logistics supply station for the Wei army, Ao Cang’s grain and grass should have been transported continuously by Shandong grain transport.

However, the Shandong region is now in a difficult situation and the food supply has long been cut off. It is fortunate that Ao Cang has these savings left.

Zhao Yun squatted down and gently grabbed a handful of remaining food. Each grain was full and seemed particularly precious.

He thought to himself that although the food and fodder were not much, they were enough to support the Han army for a period of time.

Especially in this winter, the first snow that fell yesterday has covered the whole world in silver. The sky and the earth are all white, but it also brings a biting cold.

"General, it's snowing so heavily." A soldier walked into the warehouse, shook off the snow on his body, and couldn't help but sigh.

Zhao Yun raised his head and looked at the heavy snow falling outside the window with deep eyes.

"Yes, the heavy snow has blocked the roads and the rivers will soon freeze. We must capture Xingyang within one or two months to clear the way for the army to enter Luoyang."

His voice was firm and powerful, and every word seemed to carry a heavy weight.

In the following days, Zhao Yun began to prepare intensively for the offensive against Xingyang.

He knew very well that time was pressing and there was no room for delay.

He personally supervised the battle, led the soldiers to reinforce the camp, train troops, and at the same time sent out scouts to closely monitor the movements of the Wei army in Xingyang.

The cold winter wind howled past, but the military camp was bustling with activity.

Zhao Yun, wearing heavy armor and holding a spear, shuttled back and forth in the military camp, checking every detail.

His face was slightly reddened by the cold wind, but his eyes were as bright as torches, revealing his indomitable fighting spirit and confidence in victory.

"General, when will we launch the general attack?" a general stepped forward and asked anxiously.

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment, his eyes swept over every general present, and slowly spoke: "The time has not come yet, we must wait for the best time to attack. The Wei army in Xingyang is holding out because they have Luoyang as their backing. What we have to do is to break their illusions and let them know that the Han army is invincible."

As the days passed, the snow fell heavier and heavier, and the river began to freeze over.

Zhao Yun stood on a high place in the military camp, looking at the snow-covered Xingyang City in the distance, with an indescribable feeling of heroism and ambition welling up in his heart.

He knew that the moment of decisive battle was approaching. (End of this chapter)