Ji Han Liu Zhang

Shouchun.

Under Yuan Shu's command, the four generals who stayed behind in Shouchun, namely Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Li Feng, Liang Gang and others, faced with the massive attack of Cao's army and attacked from all sides. They each guarded a side of the city wall and were responsible for the area they were responsible for.

Among them, Li Feng was shot in the left arm by Huang Zhong, so Li Feng was unable to fight. He could only sit on the city wall to command, dispatch soldiers and give orders.

At this time, the sound of drums outside Shouchun City was deafening, and the sound of drums on the Shouchun city walls was also heard in the sky. The drummers on both sides beat the cowhide drums with all their might, intending to overwhelm the enemy's momentum and inspire their own soldiers.

"Shoot the arrow, shoot the arrow..."

Zhang Xun, who was guarding the west wall, kept urging the archers to launch long-range attacks on Cao's army that was rushing towards the wall. The archers of Cao's army were also pouring arrows on the top of the city wall and shooting at the archers under Zhang Xun, each of them trying to suppress the enemy so that they dared not show their heads.

Here, because the archers under Zhang Xun were in a dominant position and had the city walls as cover, most of their bodies were protected by pheasant discs, so after several rounds of shooting, the archers of Cao's army suffered heavy losses.

However, despite suffering more casualties than Zhang Xun's side, the archers of Cao's army did not retreat, but stood in formation on the spot, still firing rapid rain of arrows, showing an especially tenacious fighting will.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot for Nai Gong..." Cao Ren, wearing a helmet and armor, holding a ring-handled sword in his hand, stretched his arms straight, pointed the tip of the sword at the top of the city wall of Shouchun and shouted.

Cao Ren kept Cao Cao's instructions in mind. The army was running low on food and grass, so it would be best to capture Shouchun quickly. As for how quickly, it would be best to capture Shouchun today.

Therefore, Cao Ren became extremely ferocious before the battle, not caring about the number of casualties, and only wanted to capture Shouchun and seize the lair of the traitor Yuan Shu. Although Yuan Shu was not there, he had already crossed the Huai River and left, but by capturing Yuan Shu's lair and razing Shouchun City, this expedition could be considered a successful outcome.

Relying on their desperate fighting style, the archers under Cao Ren actually overwhelmed the archers on the top of Shouchun City. The endless rain of arrows made the archers under Zhang Xun dare not show their heads, for fear of being killed in seconds if they did.

"You boys, why aren't you shooting? Shoot arrows for Nai Gong..." Zhang Xun shouted sternly when he saw this situation, urging the archers who were cowering and afraid to show their heads to shoot to shoot quickly in order to stop Cao's battering rams and ladders from approaching.

After Zhang Xun showed his prestige as a general and personally killed two soldiers who were afraid of fighting, the timid archers knew that if they stuck their heads out they would be killed, and if they hid their heads they would also be killed, so they had no choice but to show their heads and continue shooting at the Cao army archers.

However, while the archers on the city wall were afraid and stopped, Cao's army had already pushed up the battering rams and ladders. The battering rams went towards the city gate, while the ladders ran towards the top of the city.

"Bang...bang...bang..."

As several loud noises rang out, Cao's army set up ladders on the top of Shouchun City. Among them, there were simple types of ladders, similar to the long ladders used by civilians in daily life, and there were also real ladders with wheels at the bottom, a platform for archers on top, and a hook at the top.

At this point, the attacking Cao army and the defending Yuan army were in hand-to-hand combat, and the two sides began to engage in close combat. The elite soldiers of the Cao army climbed up the ladders or long ladders, braved the battering rams and cannonballs of the Yuan army, and went up to meet the challenge, seeking the credit of being the first to reach the target.

Of course, the Cao army soldiers who served as the first team to climb the ladder did not go forward alone. They were protected by archers on the platform above the ladder. The archers on the ladder kept drawing their bows and shooting arrows at the Yuan army who were blocking the first soldiers to climb the ladder.

The Yuan army soldiers knew that if Cao's army climbed the city wall, they would be captured. As their commander, Zhang Xun was even more worried that he would be captured and killed if the city was captured. Therefore, Zhang Xun used all his skills and put all his efforts into defending the city.

For a moment, the two sides fought desperately. The situation in this siege was particularly fierce. The drums of both sides were deafening, and there were shouting, wailing and crying, and all kinds of sounds of battle were heard in the ears.

Seeing that the first soldiers were unable to reach the top of the city wall for a long time, Cao Ren became ruthless. He called the Sima in the army and asked him to take command. However, he, the main general, stepped forward regardless and was going to be the first to climb the city wall and break the city.

After Cao Ren arrived at the front line in person, the commander fought together with them. The morale of the first soldiers of Cao's army was instantly boosted, their blood boiled, and they rushed forward one by one, climbing towards the top of Shouchun City.

The Cao army's fearless fighting style paid off. Several Cao soldiers broke through Yuan army's defense, climbed to the top of Shouchun City, and leaned against the city wall, making a semicircle to cover the Cao soldiers in the rear who were climbing to the top of the city.

Cao Ren was delighted when he saw this. He quickly urged his soldiers to climb the city wall and occupy an area on the top of the city wall. Then a large group of soldiers climbed up the city wall and captured the current city wall.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xun, the defending general, was no mediocre person. He led his personal guards forward and demonstrated his strength as a general, defeating several Cao soldiers who managed to climb the city walls and clearing the sphere of influence of Cao's army on the city walls.

"Hit it! Hit it hard." After Zhang Xun defeated the Cao army soldiers who were climbing the city wall, he shouted loudly and ordered his soldiers to throw down heavy objects such as battering rams and cannonballs to hit the Cao army who were trying to climb up to the top of the city wall.

Shouchun City was Yuan Shu's old nest. Although Yuan Shu led many of his troops away, there were still many people left behind. In addition, there were sufficient defensive equipment and enough food and grass to last for half a year.

Therefore, when defending the city, Zhang Xun mercilessly ordered his soldiers to use battering rams and cannonballs as much as possible. As long as they could repel Cao's army and save his life, all this would not be considered a waste.

As a result, the resistance encountered by Cao's army was extremely strong. The hammers and cannonballs that rained down like rain made it difficult for Cao's army to get close to the top of the city wall and have any chance of climbing up the city wall.

Seeing that the soldiers were unable to climb to the top of the city wall for a long time, Cao Ren became anxious. He took out his sword and intended to go forward to fight personally. He climbed the ladder himself, and the guards beside Cao Ren could not stop him, so they had to protect Cao Ren as he moved forward.

However, although Cao Ren was brave, he could display his full strength in a fight on plain ground, but in a siege battle, charging headfirst, he could only display 30% or 40% of his bravery.

Therefore, although Cao Ren was the first to climb the city wall, he was unable to reach the top of Shouchun City. Instead, he was scratched by a rolling log thrown from the top of the city wall. He had to retreat a little under the protection of his personal guards.

"How hateful!" Cao Ren said angrily as he looked at the nearby Shouchun City. Shouchun was right in front of him. He only needed to climb up to the top of the city wall and seize this wall to capture Shouchun City. However, he was not allowed to cross this wall and fight his way into Shouchun City.

From the beginning of the day to almost noon, Cao Ren just looked at Shouchun City and sighed. Just when Cao Ren thought that the attack on the city today was fruitless and he could only withdraw his troops to attack the city the next day, Cao Ren suddenly heard a cheer coming from the north of Shouchun City. The cheers were mixed with words of victory, and the momentum of Zhang Xun's defense began to weaken and became unstable.

"Han Sheng." Cao Ren started talking about Huang Zhong who was attacking the north of Shouchun City. He knew that Huang Zhong must have made great progress in attacking the north of Shouchun City, or Huang Zhong had already climbed to the top of the city wall and occupied an area and was fighting with the remaining Yuan army, otherwise the cheers from the north of the city would not be so enthusiastic.

There was no chance to give Zhang Xun the chance to reinforce the defense forces in the north of the city. Cao Ren realized what he needed to do. He swung the sword in his hand and shouted, "Whoever retreats will be killed."

"The one who retreats will be killed."

Cao Ren used the tactics of the Supervisory Team to force the soldiers, who had been fighting from the beginning of the day to the middle of the day and were now somewhat exhausted, to attack the city. The soldiers who had originally wanted to retreat had no choice but to continue attacking the city under the coercion of Cao Ren.

As time went by, Zhang Xun's troops began to collapse, and Cao Ren also received news from the north of the city that Huang Zhong would be the first to break through the city.

It was also because Huang Zhong broke through the northern city wall of Shouchun that Cao Ren's elite soldiers took advantage of the shock and uncertainty of Yuan's army and climbed up the city wall leisurely.

As Cao's army continued to attack the city walls, Yuan's army began to retreat, heading back into the city. Many of them were like headless flies, trying to find a way to survive, including Li Feng, who had an injured left arm.

However, Li Feng's fate was not very good. As he rushed left and right surrounded by his personal guards, he unfortunately ran into Cao Ren's troops. Cao Ren was delighted to see the prey, so he took the lead and rushed straight to Li Feng, killing him in battle and getting the credit of beheading a general.

Cao's army surrounded Shouchun City on all sides. After conquering Shouchun, the defenders of Shouchun were Zhang Xun, Le Jiu, Li Feng, Liang Gang and others. Li Feng was beheaded by Cao Ren, Liang Gang was killed by Zhang Ren, and the remaining two generals, Zhang Xun and Le Jiu, knew they could not escape and could not fight, so they led their troops to surrender.

After his subordinates cleaned up the mess in Shouchun City, Cao Cao, the Sikong of the Han Dynasty and the commander-in-chief of this campaign against the bandits, rode into Shouchun City on a tall, maroon horse.

As soon as he entered the city, Cao Cao did not go to the county temple. He first got off his horse, came to Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Zhang Ren, Huang Zhong and others, and comforted them one by one.

When he reached Huang Zhong, Cao Cao reached out his hand and shook Huang Zhong's hand, saying in a dashing and cheerful tone: "If it weren't for Han Sheng, how could I have captured Shouchun today, and how could I have ridden my horse into the city today? This is all because of Han Sheng."

"Sir, you are too kind. Without the loyal soldiers under my command, it would be difficult for me to achieve success." Huang Zhong said humbly. As a foreign general, he should not be too arrogant.

Cao Cao was in the front commanding the troops, and he had seen Huang Zhong being the first to climb the Shouchun city wall. At this moment, he recalled Huang Zhong's bravery when he charged the city wall, and he seemed to be sweating as he said, "I watched the battle from behind, and saw Han Sheng not avoiding danger and bravely climbing the city wall. He was truly a man of courage."

After saying this, Cao Cao took Huang Zhong's hand and walked with Huang Zhong towards the Shouchun County Temple.

Entering the hall of the county temple, Cao Cao glanced at the two surrendered generals kneeling below him - Zhang Xun and Le Jiu. With a cold look in his eyes, he shouted, "I have already issued military orders that those who surrender after the siege will not be pardoned. Although you have surrendered today, it was actually after the siege... Moreover, you two have attached yourself to the traitor Yuan Shu and are traitors to the Han Dynasty. As the Minister of Works of the Han Dynasty, how can I pardon you and show you mercy outside the law?"

Seeing Zhang Xun and Le Jiu's panicked faces, Cao Cao said slowly, "However, considering that you two did not fight desperately and the treasury and warehouses in Shouchun City were not damaged, I will grant you two a complete body. As for your wives and children, don't worry. I will take care of them myself."

"Drag him away and behead him." Cao Cao shouted loudly, and then four warriors came forward, took Zhang Xun and Le Jiu two by two, and strangled them to death in another room.

into the night.

Wang Hu, the grain officer, met Cao Cao and said, "Mingsir, today Shouchun City was captured. I have counted the grain and grass stored in the city. The grain and grass stored in the city are very rich. Can you let go of the small amount you mentioned earlier?"

"Of course." Cao Cao smiled and nodded. Then Cao Cao said inexplicably: "You will have great fortune in the future."

Cao Cao then did not explain, he waved his hand and said: "Go down."

Although the grain officer Wang Hu was confused by Cao Cao's incoherent words, he did not dare to ask anything. When he heard Cao Cao ask him to leave, he bowed and took his leave, then took a few steps back and left.

At this time, Guo Jia walked in calmly. Without even a moment's greeting, he spoke first, "Mingsir, Liu Xuande was defeated by Lu Bu's generals Gao Shun and Zhang Liao. He is now retreating to Shouchun, and Lu Bu's troops are also heading to Shouchun."

Cao Cao was calm when he heard the news. He pondered for a moment and said, "Order Yu Jin to lead the troops to support Liu Xuande and set up camp to block Lu Bu... and tell Liu Bei that our army has just captured Shouchun and the soldiers and horses are tired. After resting for two or three days, I will lead the army to support him."

After giving the order, Cao Cao smiled and said, "Shouchun has already fallen. Lü Bu will return empty-handed if he comes here this time."

"Or maybe send a lobbyist to persuade Lu Bu to retreat?" Guo Jia had insight into the situation and people's hearts. Lu Bu came here to rescue Shouchun, but Shouchun had already fallen. Lu Bu must have hesitated when he heard about it, and was at a loss as to what to do. If Cao Cao sent a lobbyist, he might be able to defeat the enemy without fighting and persuade Lu Bu to retreat and return to Xuzhou.

Cao Cao shook his head and rejected Guo Jia's advice: "Lü Bu is fickle and impatient. If we don't confront him, and let him hit a wall once, it will be difficult to persuade him to retreat by sending only lobbyists... Besides, our army has just captured Shouchun and its morale is high. It is appropriate to use the momentum of the victory to fight Lü Bu. We should fight Lü Bu first and then send lobbyists to persuade him. Lü Bu will retreat."

"Yes." Seeing that Cao Cao had an idea, Guo Jia bowed and accepted the order, then went to issue Cao Cao's order.

On the second day, Yu Jin led his troops out of Shouchun City and headed towards Xia Cai County to meet Liu Bei and his entourage who had fled there.

Not long after, Yu Jin ran into Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. He and Liu Bei occupied Xia Cai City and waited for Lu Bu's arrival.

As for Lu Bu, who was following Liu Bei, Yu Jin didn't have to wait too long. One day later, Lu Bu's army arrived in front of Xiacai City. (End of this chapter)