Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 587: Not Overcome

After Cao Xiu replaced Cao Ren in charge of the Huainan army, he learned from Cao Ren's experience of being unable to conquer the city for a long time, and asked the soldiers and civilians to build earthen mountains in the north of the city, and kept approaching the city wall, trying to use the earthen mountain method to break the city.

In order to continue to put pressure on Zhongli City, Cao Xiu asked Xia Houru to lead his soldiers to fight in turns. While ramming the city gate with rams, they also used catapults to destroy the city towers.

Xu Sheng led thousands of soldiers to fight hard day and night with the Wei army. The Wei army rammed their chariots into the city and the city soil fell off. He led his soldiers to fill the gap with mud at night. They also used stone mills and iron rings to smash the charging chariots. Even though the Wei army could charge to the bottom of the city, they could not destroy the city.

The catapults used stone bombs to hit the towers. Xu Sheng repaired the destroyed towers with wooden fences, and then counterattacked with crossbows, causing horrific damage.

In order to resist the Wei army's siege, Xu Sheng recruited a hundred people who were good archers and raised white flags. When the city tower was in danger of being attacked, Xu Sheng led a hundred people to rush to the rescue. Hundreds of archers are good at shooting. Every time they move their bows, the enemy will fall without a bow.

Xu Sheng and the hundreds of archers under his command shot no less than fifty arrows every day, killing the Wei army who was attacking the city and frightened them. Later, when the Wei army saw the white flag erected on the city tower, they knew that Xu Sheng was coming, and they all retreated in fear.

In just over ten days, the Wei army suffered as many as 2,000 or 3,000 casualties among its soldiers. Including the previously wounded Wei soldiers, the number of casualties reached as many as 7,000 to 8,000. Cao Xiu was furious at such high battle losses.

Fortunately, the earth mountain that Cao Xiu valued had been piled up, and its height was slightly higher than the Zhongli City Tower. The Wei army's crossbowmen were stationed on the earth mountain and descended, using strong bows and powerful crossbows to attack the Han army.

Seeing that the Wei army was about to build a mountain, the Han soldiers were all frightened. Xu Sheng encouraged everyone to carry the earth himself, built a high tower on the city tower, and then fired at the Wei army.

However, no matter how courageous Xu Sheng was, his skills in defending the city were outstanding. Wei was still outnumbered and outnumbered. After five or sixty days of continuous civil engineering work, in late winter in December, the Wei army finally succeeded in building the mountain.

After the Wei army built the mountain, they first set up shields and oars as walls, then sent their bowmen and crossbowmen upstairs, bent their bows and fired the crossbows. Arrows rained down, completely suppressing the Han army on the city.

The day was shrouded in darkness, with the cold wind howling, and as the arrows on the mountains gradually became sparse, the Han army officers and soldiers became active again in Beicheng.

In the city, bonfires were lit, and the soldiers sat around the bonfires exhausted, feeling depressed.

Xu Sheng had a tired face and a beard that had not been trimmed for many days. He shook his numb arms and sat down on the chair.

"General!"

Zhang Gui, with his arms covered with ribbons, slowly walked over and asked, "How long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive?"

The Wei army was on Tushan Mountain, shooting from a high position. Zhang Gui was unable to operate the Eight Ox Crossbow, and was hit in the arm by a stray arrow from the Wei army.

"almost!"

Xu Sheng took a sip of warm water, tried his best to maintain his condition, and said: "If the cold winter passes in December, it will turn into spring. The spring water will emerge, and the governor's reinforcements will surely arrive."

"It will still be dozens of days before the spring water comes. Judging from the current situation, I'm afraid our soldiers won't be able to hold on for that long!" Zhang Gui said worriedly.

"Yes!"

Some officials may ask: "The governor has not led his troops to relieve the siege yet?"

"Could it be that the Governor wants to abandon us?"

Listening to the doubts from the soldiers on the left and right, Xu Sheng scolded: "Don't talk nonsense. The governor has not relieved the siege yet, so he must have a plan."

Saying that, Xu Sheng emphasized: "Although our army is tired today, we have killed many enemy invaders and the enemy is afraid of them. If we persist for a few more days, our siege at Zhongli will be lifted!"

"promise!"

Listening to Xu Sheng's still words, the soldiers responded in low voices, no longer believing Xu Sheng's words.

For more than a hundred days, every time they asked about the status of reinforcements, Xu Sheng never told them the truth. In this critical moment, as long as the Wei army builds the earth mountain to the city wall, Zhongli City will not be able to defend it for long.

Gao Chen came up with the support of his attendants and said: "General Xu, our army has been fighting for more than a hundred days, and all the officers and men are tired. There are only more than 2,000 men available. The thieves are currently occupying the mountains, arrows are raining down, and there are many casualties among the soldiers. , fearful and fearful.”

"Our officers and soldiers have not heard about the reinforcements for a long time, and their morale is getting lower and lower. It is better to tell the truth now so that everyone can understand the commander-in-chief's intentions."

Xu Sheng stood up from his chair and looked at the gloomy soldiers around him. He probably knew that he had reached the limit of the soldiers in the city and had to use the last resort.

Patting Zhang Gui on the shoulder, Xu Sheng said: "Let the generals above the commander come here to discuss the military situation."

"promise!"

After a while, dozens of Han army officers and soldiers came one after another and gathered in front of Xu Sheng.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xu Sheng took out the letter that had been stored for a long time from the wooden box and said: "In the past, when the rebel army besieged the city, the governor's letter had arrived in the hands of my general. The letter clearly stated the time when the reinforcements would arrive, and when our army According to the law of the city.”

"what!"

The soldiers present were both surprised and incredulous.

After saying that, Xu Sheng let everyone read the letter with Huo Jun's seal, and said: "The governor has said that our army will keep watch until May, and reinforcements will arrive; if it exceeds May, our army surrenders to the enemy or abandons the city, there will be no accountability. !”

"The enemy is besieging the city in August. It is December in the middle of winter, and there will be April. There are still forty days before the governor's May appointment, and the May appointment will arrive in just a moment."

"Great!"

"Our army has been on guard for more than a hundred days. What's the problem with another forty days?"

"General, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Everyone suddenly had a goal, their morale was greatly boosted, and some even laughed happily.

Xu Sheng maintained his demeanor and said with a smile: "If I had told you earlier, I'm afraid you would be afraid of me. I thought you could defend the city for eighty days and become dejected. Unexpectedly, you and I would defend the city for more than a hundred days. The soil is mountainous and morale is low.”

After a pause, Xu Sheng said: "Cao's thieves are brutal and kill many people wherever they go. I am in Guangling with all my wives, children, and children. If Zhongli is lost, Guangling will be lost. There is food in the city today and plenty of arrows. Although the enemy is building mountains, It's not enough to be afraid of him. I hope you can join hands with Sheng to defend the city and wait for the governor's troops to arrive."

"I am willing to live and die with the general!" Everyone responded with great morale.

The wives and children of Sergeant Jianghuai were all placed in Huainan by Huo Jun, so that when they were fighting, they would not worry about their wives, children, and children being in Huainan. In order to save their wives and children from the war, they must fight to the death.

The Han and Wei dynasties had both similarities and differences in their military systems.

For example, Cao Cao was worried that the generals and soldiers would defect, so he controlled the families of the soldiers and the generals' families around the center. Liu Bei kept the generals' families in the capital, and the soldiers' families could accompany the soldiers to their garrison.

"it is good!"

Seeing that the morale was high, Xu Sheng said, "Although the enemy has built a dirt hill, I can build a high-rise building to hold off the enemy. Tomorrow you should lead your troops to dismantle the wood of the house and reinforce and repair the high-rise building."

"The enemy will not attack the city tomorrow?" Zhang Gui asked.

I have my own strategy! "

Xu Sheng smiled and said, "Everyone, please retreat and have a good rest. Wait for my news tonight!" After everyone retreated, Xu Sheng left Gao Chen behind and said, "In today's situation, if the thieves attack by force, it may be difficult to defend." On the 40th, I want to leave the city in person and pretend to surrender, so that Cao Xiu can tolerate it for a day or two so that our army can repair the heavy towers and occupy the enemy's mountains."

Gao Chen looked shocked and said: "The general can defend the city. Now the general is out of the city and pretends to surrender. If he is captured by the leader of the thieves, what should we do?"

Xu Sheng looked serious and said: "If I don't leave the city and pretend to surrender, the thieves will not be able to trust me. If I am detained by thieves, I hope General Gao will defend the city."

"This~"

Xu Sheng interrupted and said: "The enemy does not know the true strength of our army, and the thieves have been defeated by Zhongli for a long time. Now that we see someone coming to surrender, we should be more happy than doubtful."

"good!"

Seeing Xu Sheng's firm attitude, Gao Chen had nothing to say but agreed.

When it was getting late, Xu Sheng climbed over the city wall and saw the Wei army. He claimed that he had surrendered and was taken to see Cao Xiu.

In the main tent today, when Cao Xiu, Xia Houru, Chang Diao, Du Xi and others were discussing tomorrow's attack on the city, they were surprised and delighted to hear that Xu Sheng was begging for surrender, and immediately summoned him.

"Zhongli City General Xu Sheng pays homage to General Cao!"

After entering the tent, Xu Sheng raised his hand to Cao Xiu and said, "The general's reputation is resounding throughout the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. How lucky is Sheng to see you today!"

Cao Xiu looked unmoved and asked in a deep voice: "The general came out of the city to see me and promised to surrender, but was he lying?"

"Don't dare to lie!"

Xu Sheng looked humble and said: "The general built a mountain of earth to attack the city, and it was like thunder sweeping the world. It was unstoppable. Today, the soldiers in the city from Sheng to the following have no intention of fighting to the death, so they want to surrender to the general!"

"Since the general wants to surrender, why don't you lead your soldiers out of the city now?" Cao Xiu asked.

"Return to the general!"

Xu Sheng said: "Huo Jun has an order. If Zhongli City has been besieged for 120 days and no reinforcements are found, it can be surrendered as a sacrifice of the city. The family members will not be killed. Therefore, although the city is about to surrender, Lieutenant General Gao Chen and his subordinates are still there. Half of them don’t want to surrender.”

"The period of Han Dynasty's defense of the city is approaching, and I would like to give some good words to comfort Gao Chen. I hope the general can be tolerant for a few days and order me to lead my armored troops to surrender, general!"

"Ok?"

Cao Xiu frowned in thought and asked, "How many days will it take?"

"Three days!"

"Three days is too long!"

Cao Xiu was slightly moved, but for the sake of safety, he refused and said, "Gao Chen can persuade him or not. If Gao Chen doesn't surrender, the general can kill him and then welcome him into the city."

Xu Sheng knelt down and begged: "General, Gao Chen and I are related by marriage, and someone killed his relative for wealth!"

With that said, Xu Sheng kowtowed to Cao Xiu and said: "If three days is too long, I hope the general will give me one day at his discretion. Tomorrow at dusk, I will bring Gao Chen to present the city and surrender to the general!"

"One day!"

Cao Xiu was very excited. He glanced at Du Xi, who shook his head slightly at him, and asked: "General Xu said that he will surrender tomorrow evening. I don't know what to believe?"

Xu Sheng untied the seal ribbon around his waist, then offered it to Cao Xiu, saying: "There is nothing to be gained from the rich body. Now the prefect of Xia Pi has the seal here. I hope the general will accept it and present it to your majesty." With this, the prefect of Xia Pi and the governor of Zhongli City, Xu Sheng, Sheng and his deputy Gao Chen led 3,786 armored soldiers and surrendered the city to Your Majesty."

Cao Xiu reached out to take the sealing ribbon, played with it for a while, and said with a smile: "The general's offering of the sealing ribbon is enough to show the general's sincerity!"

Xu Sheng kowtowed and said gratefully: "Thank you, General, for your generosity!"

Cao Xiu put down the seal, helped Xu Sheng up, and said comfortingly: "Tomorrow evening, I hope I can have a drink with the general at the banquet, and I won't come back until I'm drunk!"

"promise!"

Cao Xiu and Xu Sheng'an talked about a lot of things, especially the secrets of the Jianghuai Army. Xu Sheng answered Cao Xiu half truthfully and half falsely.

Seeing Xu Sheng's sincere attitude towards surrender, Cao Xiu returned to Xu Sheng and agreed to surrender tomorrow evening.

When Xu Sheng retreated, Du attacked Cao Xiu, who was playing with the seal and ribbon, and said, "General, Xu Sheng has been here for a long time and refused to surrender. If he surrenders now, I'm afraid it's a fraud!"

"With the seal and ribbon here, is it a false surrender?"

Cao Xiu pointed at the seal and said with a smile: "In just one day, Xu Sheng'an can do something. At dusk tomorrow, Zhongli City will be owned by our army!"

"General, Lu Xun has stationed troops downstream, and there are reinforcements outside Zhongli City. It may be a fraud to surrender now. I hope the general will attack the city immediately tomorrow to avoid delaying the war opportunity." Du Xi persuaded again.

Cao Xiu put away the seal ribbon and said: "Our army has been attacking Zhongli City for hundreds of days. Now the defender is willing to surrender. It is not appropriate to push too hard or hurt others' feelings."

"This~"

Seeing Cao Xiu being so confident, Du Xi didn't know what to say. After all, Du Xi was not sure whether Xu Sheng was pretending to surrender, but he just vaguely felt that Xu Sheng's surrender was a bit strange.

"Come here, bring the seal and ribbon of General Xiapi to His Majesty. Report the return of Xu Sheng to Your Majesty." Cao Xiu ordered.

"promise!"

After returning to the city, Xu Sheng gathered everyone to demolish the houses in the city, and then led people to repair the heavy buildings overnight. In order to prevent stone bullets from destroying the heavy building, Xu Sheng built two floors, and the upper floor was separated from the lower floor.

Early the next morning, the Wei army did not attack the city as usual, but followed Cao Xiu's military order and called a truce for one day. In addition to seizing the time to repair the building, Xu Sheng also asked the sergeants to sleep and rest in batches to replenish their energy.

In the afternoon, Cao Xiu noticed something strange in Zhongli City and sent someone to ask Xu Sheng.

Xu Sheng replied to a letter, saying in the letter that Cao Xiu said: "Today, Xu Sheng can only die, but Xu Sheng cannot be surrendered!"

Knowing that he had been teased by Xu Sheng, Cao Xiu was furious and sent troops to attack Zhongli City. But it is a pity that Zhongli City with its heavy towers cannot compete with Tushan.

Cao Xiu attacked from noon to dusk, then ignored Du Xi's advice and ordered his soldiers to fight at night, attacking the city from dusk until late at night.

Xu Sheng led his soldiers to fight to the death with the Wei army.

The two armies fought until late at night. The Wei army soldiers were exhausted and suffered heavy casualties, so they had to retreat!

(End of this chapter)