Ji Han Liu Zhang

Shouchun.

"Cao Aman, you are a eunuch, and you dare to show off your power here... Don't you want to capture Shouchun City? Just come on, I will let you know what Shouchun Iron Wall is."

Li Feng, one of the defenders of Shouchun, supported the pillar of the city wall with his left hand and his waist with his right hand, and cursed loudly at the Cao army under the city. He cursed so hard and happily that the other defenders of Shouchun, including Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Liang Gang and others, burst into laughter.

"The eunuch left behind an ugly legacy."

"After the eunuchs."

Li Feng on the city wall was close to Yuan Shu. He had learned a lot of information about Cao Cao from Yuan Shu before and knew that what Cao Cao most feared was that he was born a eunuch. Therefore, Li Feng kept hitting Cao Cao's pain points and repeatedly mentioned Cao Cao's background.

Thus, from the top of Shouchun City, sounds of abuse and joy mixed together reached the ears of Cao Cao below the city.

"You good thief." Cao Ren, who accompanied Cao Cao to investigate the defense of Shouchun City, felt the same way when he heard Li Feng insult Cao Cao. He was so angry that his hair stood on end and his face turned red.

Xiahou Yuan on the side also had a bad look on his face, and his eagle eyes were fixed on Li Feng who was still cursing on the top of the city wall. If his eyes could turn into a sharp sword, Li Feng would have died many times.

'Eunuch... an ugly man...' Unlike Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ren who were furious, Cao Cao's face was slightly calmer. There was no sign of anger on his face. He just acted indifferent.

"Give me my bow." Cao Ren shouted loudly. He took the strong bow handed to him by his personal guard, drew the bow and arrow like flowing water, and with a thunderous sound, he shot an arrow at Li Feng on the top of Shouchun City.

However, Cao Ren was more than 120 steps away from the top of the city wall. In addition, the arrow he shot with accumulated power failed to reach the top of Shouchun City. Instead, it lost its forward momentum in mid-air and fell down with its head down.

"Good archery!"

"General's sharpshooting!"

Zhang Xun, Li Feng, Le Jiu, Liang Gang and other generals on the top of Shouchun City fell down helplessly when they saw that the arrows failed to reach them. They all made sarcastic remarks, and Li Feng, who was Cao Ren's target, laughed the loudest among them.

"Hateful." Cao Ren heard the ridicule coming from the top of the city wall. He said angrily and was about to stride forward to get closer to Shouchun so that he could shoot an arrow at Li Feng on the top of the city wall and kill this arrogant and rude bandit general.

Cao Cao saw Cao Ren's behavior and spoke calmly to stop him, saying, "Zixiao, I am not angry, why are you so angry... If you go forward, you will fall into the trap of Zhang Xun, Li Feng and others. When the arrows rain down from the city walls, what can you do?"

Cao Cao stopped Cao Ren from approaching Shouchun. Now they were more than 120 steps away from Shouchun City. Although the arrows could not reach the top of the city, the arrows from the top of the city could not threaten them either. It was a relatively safe distance for both of them.

But if Cao Ren went forward, regardless of whether he could hit Li Feng, Zhang Xun and Li Feng on the city wall would probably seize the opportunity and send archers to shoot arrows together. By then, with arrows raining down and concentrated fire, Cao Ren would be in danger.

After listening to Cao Cao's advice, Cao Ren sighed for a few moments and gave up the idea of ​​approaching Shouchun and shooting the bandit general. He was unwilling to give up and vowed: "If I conquer Shouchun, I will personally kill this bandit."

Cao Cao remained silent. Li Feng, who was on the city wall in the distance, was in high spirits. He was still cursing and hurling insults at Cao Cao. Although Cao Cao was determined, murderous intent also emerged in his eyes.

But at the moment, Cao Cao led Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren and others here just to investigate whether there were loopholes in the defense of Shouchun City that they could exploit. Now the military equipment, battering rams, ladders and other equipment were still being built. For a while, they could do nothing about Li Feng's unreasonable abuse on the top of the city.

"Sikong, this thief is extremely rampant, his words are unbearable to hear, and he has insulted the dignity of the court. Zhong requests that you shoot him with an arrow to make him shut up."

Just when everyone was at a loss of what to do and Cao Cao wanted to ride back, not wanting to stay here to listen to Li Feng's scolding and humiliation, Huang Zhong, who came from Jingzhou, suddenly spoke up to ask for his life.

"General Huang, the enemy is one hundred and twenty steps away from me, and they are shooting at the top of the city wall. If you want to hit the enemy, you must be a god... or you plan to go forward and shoot at close range? This is like sending a sheep into a tiger's mouth. You will not be able to shoot the enemy, but will be shot by the enemy instead." Before Cao Cao could reply, Cao Ren said unhappily. He did not have any friendship with Huang Zhong, and he was depressed at the moment, so his words were not appropriate and his tone was a little unpleasant.

"No need to come closer, just shoot here." Huang Zhong shook his head indifferently. His pair of deep eyes were like an ancient well. Cao Ren's disgusting words did not stir up the slightest ripple.

"Hmm? Shoot here?" Cao Ren looked puzzled. He couldn't believe Huang Zhong's boast. After all, he thought he was skilled in archery and horse riding, and his strength was twice that of ordinary people. However, the arrows he shot at the top of the city wall only fell in mid-air, which only caused the thieves on the top of Shouchun City to sneer.

Although Huang Zhong was strong and tall, he did not have the ability to shoot an arrow at the top of Shouchun City which was 120 steps away.

Cao Cao sensed the confidence in Huang Zhong's words, and he replied with a try-it attitude: "General Huang, if you want to shoot, go ahead. If you can hit the enemy general, I will host a banquet for you tonight."

Huang Zhong followed the order and took the hard bow he usually used from his personal guard. Unlike the bows and arrows used by ordinary people, the bow he used was slightly larger in shape, but the arrows were the same as ordinary arrows.

Putting the arrow on the bow, Huang Zhong's eagle-like sharp eyes swept over Li Feng who was still cursing on the top of the city wall. He saw Li Feng supporting the pillar of the tower with his left hand and his waist with his right hand. His face appeared from behind the city wall from time to time, but he was shaking his head and shouting loudly.

Huang Zhong thought about it in his mind, and after a moment he made a decision. He looked straight ahead at Shouchun City and said, "Zhong, please shoot the enemy's left arm."

After saying this, under the watchful eyes of Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Zhang Ren and others, Huang Zhong pulled the bow in his hand with ease, and aimed the arrow at the left arm of Li Feng on the top of Shouchun City.

"Boom."

But after a thunderous sound, a black shadow flew out from Huang Zhong's position and shot towards the top of Shouchun City at lightning speed. Cao Cao, Xiahou Yuan and others held their breath and focused their eyes, following the afterglow of the arrow.

Li Feng did not care about the sound of bowstrings and arrows coming from Cao's army in front of the city. He was confident that the arrows shot by Cao's army 120 steps away would never hit him, and he could take advantage of the fact that Cao's arrows missed to make some sarcastic remarks.

However, Li Feng's plan failed this time. In front of Shouchun City, the arrows shot from Cao's army were like a falcon spreading its wings and swooped down to the top of Shouchun City.

Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Liang Gang and others on the top of Shouchun City first heard a "dingran" sound, and then heard Li Feng stop his verbal abuse and howl in pain. Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Liang Gang and others turned their heads and saw that Li Feng's left arm was pierced by an arrow, and the head of the arrow was nailed to the pillar of the city wall.

Seeing this scene, several people were suddenly shocked, secretly swallowed their saliva, and quickly hid their bodies behind the city wall. They did not expect that Cao's army had such a sharpshooter, and they were glad that it was Li Feng who was shot instead of them.

After hiding their bodies, Zhang Xun, Le Jue and others called on the soldiers to hold up shields to protect Li Feng, whose left arm was nailed to the tower pillar, and rescue Li Feng from the tower pillar.

With the help of the soldiers, Li Feng pulled the end of the arrow and freed his left arm from the pillar of the tower. As he was pulling and tugging, Li Feng wailed loudly. How happily he cursed Cao Cao just now, how painful his wailing was at this moment.

Looking at Li Feng's shrill wailing, Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Liang Gang and others all showed fear on their faces. Unlike Li Feng who was shaking his head and cursing Cao Cao, only his left arm was always exposed. Their heads were always exposed to Cao's army under the city.

"Fortunately, fortunately." Zhang Xun was thankful in his heart. Fortunately, Li Feng cursed the most harshly and was hated the most by Cao's army. Otherwise, if the arrow had just been shot at his head, he would have died in Shouchun today.

When Li Feng was shot, there was chaos on the top of Shouchun City for a few moments. However, Cao Cao and his entourage in front of the city cheered loudly. Everyone praised and affirmed Huang Zhong's archery skills.

"General Huang is truly a man of heaven." When Cao Ren saw Li Feng being shot by an arrow and heard a wailing sound from the top of the city wall, he felt as if he had taken a sip of rock honey, which made him feel sweet from the inside out and indescribably happy. He even boasted loudly about Huang Zhong, who shot the arrow and relieved his hatred.

Cao Cao was also happy in his heart. He had just been cursing Li Feng for being a eunuch. Although he looked calm on the surface, murderous intent was surging in his heart. Now, listening to Li Feng's wailing and crying, he felt indescribably refreshed.

Cao Cao dismounted and stepped forward, holding Huang Zhong's hand, and said with admiration: "Han Sheng was a great archer, and no one today can match him. I think only Yang Youji in ancient times can be compared to him."

"Sir, you are too kind." People who are good at archery and chess are usually able to remain calm even though their hearts are thundering. Therefore, in the face of Cao Cao's high praise, Huang Zhong only responded modestly.

"Let's go back to the camp. I will prepare a banquet for Han Sheng to celebrate his archery skills." Cao Cao announced a decision with a smile on his face, which was also the fulfillment of his promise just now.

At night, a banquet was taking place in Cao's army camp.

Xiahou Yuan raised his cup towards Huang Zhong, with admiration in his eyes: "Han Sheng, drink this cup to the full."

"General Xiahou, please." Huang Zhong replied.

The army is strong in force, and Huang Zhong showed his unparalleled archery skills today, which won him the respect of many officers in Cao's camp. As a result, during the banquet, many people raised their glasses to salute Huang Zhong to show their admiration.

As the night deepened, the banquet could not be held too late because of the war, and there was not enough wine. When the crescent moon rose to the middle of the sky, the banquet was over.

After drinking a cup of hangover soup and taking the towel handed to him by the waiter, Cao Cao wiped his face vigorously. He immediately felt the drunkenness dissipate and he felt more energetic.

Throwing down the towel, Cao Cao smiled and said, "I thought Liu Jiyu and Liu Jingsheng were just sending some old, weak and sick soldiers to help the country, but I didn't expect that they were all first-class warriors. Zhang Ren is good at riding, and Huang Zhong is good at shooting. They are both unparalleled at the time."

"Father is right. The soldiers and generals sent by Liu Jiyu and Liu Jingsheng are all brave and sharp. It can be seen that they are sincere in helping the court." Cao Ang sighed.

Cao Cao looked a little depressed after saying this. He sighed and said, "It's a pity that Zhang Ren and Huang Zhong are both generals under the command of others. I can't use them. What a pity."

Cao Cao waved his hand and put aside his regret. He asked Guo Jia, "Did you hear back from Liu Xuande?"

"Of course there is." Guo Jia nodded. "Liu Xuande sent a letter saying that he has received the order. His troops have now turned around and are heading to intercept Lu Bu."

"Lu Bu doesn't have to worry about the journey for now." Cao Cao felt a little relieved.

Guo Jia added: "In addition to accepting the order, Liu Xuande also mentioned that the army was short of food and grass, and asked you to allocate some food and grass to supplement the army's needs."

After thinking it over, Cao Cao said, "Let's allocate food to Liu Xuande." Although Cao Cao did not have enough food due to the turmoil in all directions, he knew the importance of Liu Bei stopping Lu Bu, so he accepted Liu Bei's request.

As if remembering something, Cao Cao said worriedly: "Today, I have scouted Shouchun. The city walls are high and the moats are deep. The defenses are perfect, but it is not easy to take it."

As Yuan Shu's base, Shouchun was built very solidly by Yuan Shu, so Shouchun became a problem for Cao Cao. Cao Cao thought that Yuan Shu had fled to Huai River, and Shouchun City would be easy to fall without its commander, but it seemed that the defenders Zhang Xun, Le Jiu and others in the city had no intention of surrendering and planned to hold on to the end.

As time goes by, if Shouchun cannot be captured as soon as possible, Liu Bei will not be able to stop Lu Bu. By then, Zhang Xun, Le Jue and others in Shouchun City will be connected with Lu Bu who is rushing to Shouchun, and the situation will be somewhat unfavorable for Cao Cao.

"We can't wait any longer, we have to attack the city as soon as possible." Cao Cao made the decision.

Guo Jia nodded and said, "Time is of the essence. We need to attack the city as soon as possible. Besides, while we are attacking the city, should we send people to the surrounding counties to collect food and grass to help the army?"

"Of course." Cao Cao agreed with Guo Jia's suggestion. He believed that the counties in the Huainan area that had just been pacified should provide him with food and supplies to help him fight the enemy.

Although the newly conquered counties needed to be pacified, the military situation was urgent and Cao Cao had to make do with expediency.

On the second day, Cao's army rolled out some of the battering rams and ladders and began the attack on Shouchun. The rumbling drums sounded in front of Shouchun City, inspiring the blood of Cao's soldiers to boil.

"No main attack, surround the city from all sides." Cao Cao issued his order. He wanted to encircle Shouchun from all sides and put extreme pressure on the defenders of Shouchun City in order to capture Shouchun City as soon as possible and avoid the end of running out of food and retreating.

As a result, a great battle immediately broke out, and the Cao army and the Huainan army began a fierce battle of attack and defense. (End of this chapter)