Ji Han Liu Zhang

Outside Huangbai City, the Shu army camp.

When the sun rose and the sky cleared, the traces of the night attack by Li Jue and Guo Si last night were revealed to Liu Zhang without any cover.

But at the entrance of the camp were corpses of Liangzhou soldiers. Swords, spears, bows and arrows were thrown casually on the ground. Flags and banners were no longer flying upright, but lying upright in the dust.

He fled in defeat and fell directly into the hands of Liu Zhang.

Peng Ying, the military officer, stood beside Liu Zhang and reported to him, "Mingsir, two armies left Huangbai City last night to launch a night attack. One went to the camp in the north of the city, and the other went to the south, which is where we are... The Liangzhou army that came to us was defeated and retreated back to Huangbai City, while the Liangzhou army that went to the camp in the north of the city was surrounded by our army, and only a few people escaped. The rear troops seemed to have no intention of launching a night attack, and fled when the front troops launched a night attack."

"Did a Liangzhou army run away?" Liu Zhang asked a key question based on Peng Ying's explanation.

Liu Zhang just felt that something was wrong. He could vaguely guess that there must be a big fish among the escaped Liangzhou army, at least a big fish at the level of Li Jue or Guo Si. Guo Si led his troops to attack the camp south of the city last night, so that big fish must be Li Jue.

If you don't remove the roots of the grass, it will grow again in the spring breeze. Remembering the warnings of the sages, Liu Zhang naturally would not let this situation happen.

"Are there any men and horses to chase them?"

"That's right. A group of troops broke through." Peng Ying nodded. He confirmed Liu Zhang's first question, and then he continued to answer Liu Zhang's second question: "At that time, Zhang Ren and Wen Pin were responsible for encircling and suppressing the front troops of the Liangzhou Army that attacked at night. Therefore, Zhang Ren assigned Zhang Xiu to chase the rear troops of the Liangzhou Army first..."

"After Zhang Ren and Wen Pin wiped out the front of the Liangzhou army, the two generals agreed that General Wen Pin would stay in the camp while Zhang Ren led the light cavalry to assist Zhang Xiu... I think with Generals Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu, they would not let the fleeing Liangzhou army escape."

"That's all right." Liu Zhang nodded indifferently. With Zhang Ren and Zhang Xiu chasing them, this Liangzhou army, which immediately fled when they saw the situation was not good, would most likely not escape his grasp.

Here Liu Zhang glanced at Jia Xu who was bowing, and slowly asked him, "Mr. Jia, who do you think the Liangzhou troops who fled last night were?"

"Except Li Jue, is there no one else?" Jia Xu's eyes flashed, and he immediately answered.

After spending some time with Liu Zhang, Jia Xu realized that Liu Zhang was not a jealous monarch, nor was he suspicious of him because of his background or past. Liu Zhang was open-minded, similar to Emperor Gaozu.

Therefore, when Liu Zhang asked for advice, Jia Xu told him everything he knew, and did not try to conceal his talents or hide himself, and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​protecting himself.

Following the above sentence, Jia Xu analyzed it carefully: "First of all, the Liangzhou army that attacked our camp in the south of the city last night raised a large flag with the surname 'Guo', so we can rule out Guo Si first..."

"Guo Si attacked the south of the city at night, so the one in the north must be Li Jue. Li Jue is cunning and slightly inferior to Guo Si in martial arts. He would not be a vanguard. Li Jue would stay in the rear of the Liangzhou army that attacked the camp in the north of the city at night. So the Liangzhou army that fled north must be Li Jue."

At this point, Jia Xu chuckled and deduced, "As for why Li Jue saw his troops in front being surrounded, he did not go forward to rescue them, nor did he retreat to Huangbai City. It is likely that Li Jue had already prepared to flee when he left the city for the night attack."

"And Guo Si was most likely deceived by Li Jue and was tricked by Li Jue into attacking our army's camp south of the city to attract the attention of our soldiers so that Li Jue, who was leading his army to flee north, could escape smoothly."

"What a cunning Li Jue!" Bing Cao Peng Ying felt as if the clouds had cleared away and he saw the blue sky, he sighed.

"Poor Guo Si, being made a fool of by Li Jue." Peng Ying then sneered. He laughed at Guo Si's short-sightedness and how he was kept in the dark by Li Jue and worked hard to make wedding dresses for Li Jue.

After analyzing the situation last night, Liu Zhang turned his attention to the Huangbai City in front of him. There was still a big fish, Guo Si, in the Huangbai City. He had to break open the city gate and cook and fry the big fish, Guo Si.

"Send the order, let the Thunderbolt Captain Yin Pu go forward first and give Guo Si a heavy bombardment, and then the entire army will attack and assault the city from all sides." Liu Zhang issued his order to the military officer Peng Ying.

Listening to Liu Zhang's order, Peng Ying asked in return: "I don't know which side is the main force when attacking the city from all four sides."

"There are main forces on all sides, it just depends on who reaches the city first." Liu Zhang was rich and powerful, he said arrogantly.

According to the normal rhythm of siege, if you surround three sides of the city, you must leave one side open, so that the people in the city will not have the determination to hold on, but will think of escaping. But now Liu Zhang is determined to get Guo Si's head. Moreover, with his army of tens of thousands, facing Guo Si's army of thousands defending the isolated city, with a ten-fold advantage, there is no need to follow the strategy of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open.

The military has no constant position, just as water has no constant shape.

"Yes." Peng Ying responded.

When the sun rose in Huangbai City, Guo Si saw the empty city outside. He couldn't help looking lonely. After feeling lonely, his face turned gloomy, and then became vicious and even cruel, like a vicious tiger ready to devour someone.

"Drag Li Huan up, drag Li Huan up..." Guo Si shouted and roared, ordering his soldiers to drag Li Huan, Li Jue's cousin, up. He gave several similar orders in succession.

At this moment, Guo Si's heart was filled with infinite anger, churning and surging. Within his chest, this overwhelming anger was directed towards Li Jue who abandoned him, towards Li Jue who deceived him, and towards Li Jue who betrayed his trust.

But now that Li Jue had fled and no one knew where to go, Guo Si had a lot of anger in his heart and had no place to vent it. So he thought of attacking Li Jue's close friends to relieve some of the unhappiness in his heart and make himself feel better.

Under Guo Si's life-threatening command, Li Huan, who looked dazed and dull, was dragged up.

In Guo Si's view, Li Jue's departure was a betrayal, which made Guo Si dissatisfied and angry. In Li Huan's view, it was difficult for him to accept the backstabbing by the person closest to him, so he showed a dazed and dull expression.

"Li Huan, you have to repay some of what Li Jue did." Guo Si raised a ring-handled sword, walked forward angrily, held the sword high in both hands, and chopped at Li Huan.

With one knife, Li Huan let out a sharp and loud scream, and his body struggled involuntarily.

After two slashes, Li Huan's voice suddenly became lower. He was seriously injured and could hardly wail. The amplitude of his struggling movements became smaller.

After three slashes, Li Huan's voice became faint and he stopped moving and struggling.

Every stroke of the sword drew blood and touched flesh. Guo Si was like a madman, wishing he could chop Li Huan and Li Jue's cousin into minced meat. Only by chopping Li Huan into minced meat could he vent some of the hatred in his heart.

Under Guo Si's powerful chopping, blood splattered on Li Huan's body, and pieces of flesh flew everywhere. Li Huan's vitality had long been exhausted. Although Guo Si chopped vigorously, Li Huan had no reaction and no pain. He was dead. After a long time, Guo Si stopped his crazy chopping. He gasped heavily for a few times, and then he turned his eyes to Li Huan, who was chopped into a pile of meat. He couldn't help but laugh a few times with pleasure.

"This is the fate of betraying your majesty." Guo Si pointed at Li Huan who was chopped into pieces. As he spoke, his eyes casually glanced at the generals under his command, such as Wu Xi, Wang Fang, Xia Yu and others.

When Guo Si glanced at each of his generals, the murderous intent unconsciously flashed in his eyes, causing the generals who met his eyes to lower their heads steadily, showing their submission and not daring to meet Guo Si's eyes.

"Drag him away and feed him to the dogs." Guo Si snorted coldly. His words were as cold as the ice in the coldest days of winter, making people shudder. Wu Xi and Wang Fang shuddered unconsciously when they heard his words, and Guo Si's cousin Guo Pu also swallowed his saliva secretly.

Only Xia Yu looked at Li Huan, who was chopped into pieces, with a look of contempt, and said in a loud voice: "These people are ruthless and have no integrity. It is appropriate to send them to feed the dogs."

At this time, Wu Xi, Wang Fang, and Guo Si's cousin Guo Pu were awakened by Xia Yu's words, and they all spoke up.

"Such disloyal and unrighteous people deserve this fate." Wu Xi said loudly.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's right." Wang Fang nodded continuously.

Guo Pu clapped his hands and sighed, "It only took a few cuts to end it, but it was a bargain for Li Huan."

Guo Si listened to the responses from his generals. He withdrew his gaze from his generals and hid the vague murderous intent in his eyes.

"From today on, we must defend the city and not let our guard down at all." Guo Si raised his voice and issued the order.

At the same time, Guo Si made a bold statement to encourage his generals: "Although Huangbai City is small, the city is strong. It was the place where the imperial court stored grain and stationed troops in the past. Although the Shu army has a large number of troops, in a critical moment, we only need to hold on well and will not be defeated by the Shu army."

"The world is in turmoil, and things are unpredictable. Within three to five months, the situation will change a lot. I am sure that Liu Zhang will not be able to stay in Huangbai City for long. We only need to hold on for a few months, and when the Shu army is worried about other places, we can take advantage of the opportunity to escape... The sky is vast and the land is vast, so we can roam freely."

"The general is right. We just need to hold on and we will win." It was Xia Yu again. This general, who hated the Shu army because his best friend Gao Shuo was killed by the Shu army, was the first to jump out and respond to Guo Si's words.

Following Xia Yu's response, Guo Si's cousin Guo Pu, Wu Xi, Wang Fang and other generals also spoke out in agreement.

"Yeah." Seeing the enthusiastic response from the generals, Guo Si nodded with satisfaction. What Guo Si did not notice was that Guo Pu, Wu Xi, Wang Fang and others looked at each other inadvertently, and then quickly looked away.

At this moment, the Thunderbolt Captain Yin Pu was also ready to attack the city. He ordered his Thunderbolt men to push the Thunderbolt chariot to the foot of Huangbai City and, as usual, fired several rounds of artillery shells at the top of Huangbai City.

"Thunderbolt Chariot!" Under the attack of Yin Pu's cannonballs, Guo Si hid behind the city wall, pressed close to it, and uttered the three words "Thunderbolt Chariot" word by word.

He found out the name given to the Flying Stone Chariot by the Shu army, and he also approved of the name "Thunderbolt Chariot". Its sound was like thunder and it fired stones like rain, so it really deserved the name "Thunderbolt Chariot".

The only hateful thing is that such a weapon is not in Guo Si's hands, and the craftsmen under his command are unable to forge such a weapon.

Even though, under the urging of Guo Si's sword, the craftsmen built a similar stone-flying cart in the style of the Shu Army's Thunderbolt Chariot, the cannonballs fired from it did not have the power of the Shu Army's Thunderbolt Chariot. Firstly, the sound of the fired cannonballs was not shocking enough, and secondly, the distance of the fired cannonballs was not far enough, only thirty or fifty steps, so they could not do much good.

Therefore, Guo Si could only passively take the beating and silently endure the attacks of the Thunderbolt Chariots of the Shu Army. He knew that although the Thunderbolt Chariots were extremely powerful, they still needed ladders and battering rams to break into the city. The Shu Army had come from afar, and for a while they would not have any ladders and battering rams, only ant-like siege methods.

Just as Guo Si expected, after a round of bombardment by the Thunderbolt Chariots, the Shu army began to attack the city. Although the Shu army's attack was like an ant attack as he expected, the direction of the attack was to advance from all sides. No side of the entire city was left behind, and the momentum was as huge as a huge wave hitting the shore.

This inevitably caused Guo Si to suffer. Facing the attack of the Shu army, he had no choice but to walk around every wall of Huangbai City as the commander-in-chief. When a certain wall encountered great pressure, he led his personal guards to resist and prevent the city from falling.

As a general under Guo Si, Xia Yu made great efforts here. He stood on the top of the city wall and fought head-on with the Shu army. No matter what he said, he would not allow the Shu army to climb up the city wall.

The battle of siege and defense did not end until noon. When Guo Si heard the call of the Shu army, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. The Shu army's attack was fierce. If it were not for him, the commander-in-chief, who led the troops himself, it would have been difficult to end the battle today, let alone hold out for several months.

With this in mind, Guo Si called in the brave warrior Xia Yu and boasted: "Captain Xia fought bravely today and deserves the first merit."

After handing out red flowers to the generals who performed well, Guo Si reprimanded Guo Pu, who performed not so well, and said: "Today is an urgent matter, but you are afraid to move forward and only command from behind. Do you want the city to fall and die at the hands of the Shu army? If it happens again, don't blame me for not considering our relationship and killing you as a warning to others."

Guo Pu did not dare to protest, he just nodded and said yes repeatedly.

Although Guo Si was disparaging Guo Pu here, Wu Xi and Wang Fang on the side felt that Guo Si was trying to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys. Guo Pu was a chicken, and they were the monkeys. Guo Si was using his own younger brother to warn them.

After all, like Guo Pu, they were all commanding from behind and did not stand on the front line like Xia Yu.

Those who deserved praise were praised, those who deserved criticism were criticized, and those who deserved hints were hinted at. After fighting for half a day, Guo Si felt a wave of fatigue coming over him, but he did not dare to go downstairs. He just stood on the top of the city wall, holding a spear in his hand, leaning against the pillar of the tower, closing his eyes and resting.

While Guo Si was resting, Xia Yu, who still had energy left, inspected the city walls. Guo Pu, Wu Xi, Wang Fang and others also inspected the city walls together. Xia Yu, who was also praised, split into two groups.

When they reached the tower on the other side of the city wall, Guo Pu gave a wink and Wu Xi and Wang Fang went into the tower with him, while their personal guards guarded the door.

Inside the tower.

"I heard that Liu Yizhou said that on this trip, only Li and Guo will be executed, and the rest of the surrendered will not be questioned." As Guo Si's cousin, Guo Pu spoke first, and the tone of his words was surprisingly meaningful.

Hearing Guo Pu's frank words, Wu Xi nodded. He licked his lips and said, "And anyone who can kill Li and Guo will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be made a marquis."

Hearing this, Wang Fang's eyes lit up. (End of this chapter)