I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Three miles outside Langling City is Cao Cao’s main military tent.

The door curtain was opened by a sturdy hand, and Cao Hong stepped in happily. He laughed proudly at Cao Cao and said, "Brother, Kong Gongxu is really a loser. He owns a precious land, but he has accomplished nothing. Why don't we just stay here and seize Shangcai, and use this place as a base to make a comeback. What do you think?"

At this moment, Cao Cao's army has become a lost dog. Losing Xu County means they have nowhere to live. Without territory, there is no food, and without food, they cannot recruit soldiers and train the army.

After all, he is a general of the imperial dynasty with a distinguished family background. He can't just lose face and become a bandit, right?

Ru'nan was not far from Xu County, and as long as he captured this place, Cao Cao still had a chance to regroup and return to Xu County. After all, he had a large number of soldiers from Xu County under his command. If Cao Cao had not promised to bring them back home safely, the entire army would have mutinied and then collapsed.

Territory is extremely important. Without a base, it means that one cannot collect taxes and grain, and cannot recruit soldiers. Therefore, Cao Hong set his sights on Runan, a Feng Shui treasure land.

After all, the land of the world belongs to those who are capable.

Anyway, in Cao Hong's eyes, Kong Jun was a useless person who could be easily controlled.

However, Cao Cao obviously had a much longer-term vision than Cao Hong, and saw the general trend of the world more clearly, so he calmly made a judgment: "Ru'nan is by no means a treasure land for our army, it is almost a dead end."

Cao Cao's wisdom is not inferior to that of a first-rate strategist, so he has a good idea of ​​how to make strategic choices and will not be tempted by the petty gains in front of him.

Cao Hong showed a puzzled look: "Brother, could you be mistaken? Runan is a large county with a population of over three million. How can it not be a precious land?"

Runan has thirty-seven county towns and a population of over three million, making it a well-deserved large county in Yuzhou.

A large population means that a huge amount of taxes and food can be collected. At the same time, there are sufficient reserve troops. As long as we work hard, there is definitely a lot of room for development.

In Cao Hong's opinion, if such a place cannot be called a Feng Shui treasure land, then what other place in the world can be called a Feng Shui treasure land?
Not only Cao Hong, but also Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun thought that Runan County was a good place: "Yes, lord, why don't we stay here?"

They have had enough of the life of fleeing, running around, and sleeping in the open air for days. No one wants to experience such a life of being frightened by everything again, so everyone urgently needs a "new home" that can shelter them from the wind and rain.

And Runan County is the most suitable "new home" in their eyes.

Cao Cao saw that everyone was excited and wanted to occupy Runan, so he couldn't help but sigh: "Do you think I don't want to occupy this place? Although Runan is good, it is not a place for us to stay for a long time. You must know that our army has no foundation here. Even if we can kill Kong Rong and occupy this place, what should we do if Yuan Gonglu comes to kill us?"

Cao Hong was surprised: "Isn't Yuan Gonglu going to attack Xiangyang and occupy Jingzhou? Why is he attacking us?"

Cao Cao showed a disdainful expression, and then sneered: "Attack Xiangyang? That depends on whether he can take it down."

Cao Hong was even more shocked when he heard this: "Brother, are you saying that Yuan Shu will definitely lose this battle?"

"Alas, if I am right, Yuan Gonglu is doomed to fail, otherwise I would not have abandoned him. He is extremely greedy, has no talent or virtue, and even though he has a distinguished family background, he is ultimately a mediocre person who will never achieve great things. With Xiangfan being so strong, there are only a few who can break it, so how could Yuan Gonglu be able to take it?"

When Cao Cao deployed his troops, he liked to cut off the enemy's food supply, so he naturally knew how serious the consequences of having the food supply cut off would be.

At this time, Yuan Shu's army came out in full force, leaving Nanyang to attack Jingzhou, and Xu County, located to the east of Nanyang, had also been lost. If Liu Biao had had a bit of brains, he could have contacted Huang Zu and the Jingzhou nobles in Nanyang County and cut off Yuan Shu's retreat at any time.

However, Fancheng and Xiangyang had high walls and thick walls. Even with the original stone cannon, or even if Wang Jing personally led his troops to attack, it would be difficult to break through in a hurry, and the city would inevitably fall into a long stalemate.

But once time drags on and the attacking side is unable to win quickly, the issue of food and grass will become the key to victory for both sides.

In terms of food supplies, Liu Biao has the entire Jingzhou as his backing, while Yuan Shu only has one county and is heading on a long expedition. In comparison, his chances of winning are slim.

It was precisely because he foresaw this that Cao Cao dared to assert that Yuan Shu would undoubtedly be defeated.

Cao Cao pointed at the map and patiently explained to Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun and others, "If Yuan Shu is defeated and cannot return to Nanyang County, he will naturally move eastward and enter Runan. Don't forget, this is the place where the Runan Yuan family made their fortune, and Yuan Gonglu has a huge influence here. When we are attacked from both inside and outside, how can we, the foreign troops, gain a foothold here?"

After Cao Cao's explanation, everyone broke out in cold sweats.

At this time, in the eyes of Cao Cao's generals, this prosperous Nanjun was no longer a Feng Shui treasure land, but a dangerous place where people could lose their lives!

Cao Cao was still very clear-headed. If he just went to occupy a piece of land when he saw it, he would be a fool. He might not only not get any benefit, but also lose his life.

"We have been busy these days and have worked hard. Since the battle of Fancheng has not yet been decided and Yuan Gonglu has no time to be distracted, we can stay in Runan and have a good rest for a while. By the way, remember to find a way to extort more food and grass from Kong Gongxu. Once we have enough food and water, we will immediately head north."

"As ordered!"

Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun all agreed in unison and turned around to arrange the military arrangements. Organizing the transfer of tens of thousands of people and the transportation of supplies was no easy task.

Cao Cao's army rested for a full month and a half, and still refused to leave Runan, just like a wicked beggar who forcibly came to the door to beg for alms, acting like a rogue and insisting on making the host spend money to avoid disaster.

But Kong Jun was a useless person and was sick. He had no intention of dealing with Cao Cao. He tried his best to meet Cao Cao's requests and just wanted to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible.

But after Cao Cao took the money, he found various excuses and refused to withdraw until the Battle of Xiangfan was decided.

Outside the city of Xiangyang, twenty catapults were lined up and smashed the city walls.

Boom boom boom~
The huge noise made the defenders on the city wall tremble.

In the governor's mansion in the city, Liu Biao also had a gloomy expression: "Has the person who was sent out not been able to send back any news?"

The brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue looked at each other silently.

Finally, it was Kuai Liang, the elder brother, who spoke first: "My lord, don't worry too much. Xiangfan is one of the most fortified cities in the world, and the soldiers are willing to fight to the death. We have the advantage of location and people. Even if the enemy has siege weapons, it will not be easy to break the city. The walls are high and thick, and with the food and grass in the city, it is more than enough to hold out for several years."

As representatives of the local powerful families in Jingzhou, although Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue were nominally Liu Biao's advisers and subjects, in reality it was the other way around.

Although Liu Biao seemed to be the governor of Jingzhou and a high-ranking official with great power, he was actually just a spokesperson collectively elected by the Jingzhou nobles.

It's not a puppet, but it's not far from it.

Therefore, the underlying meaning of Kuai Liang's statement was that the Zhonglu Kuai family would fully support Liu Biao, so he did not have to worry about someone causing trouble within the organization and disrupting the overall situation.

Kuai Yue also took the opportunity to say, "My lord, Cao Mengde has already withdrawn, taking with him a large number of elite soldiers and generals. Although Yuan Gonglu seems to have a strong force, he is actually alone. With Yuan Gonglu's ability, it is wishful thinking to want to take Xiangyang and Fancheng. When we persuade the noble families and powerful families in Nanyang County to rebel, Yuan Gonglu will be alone. What can he use to compete with you, my lord?"

From the words of the brothers Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang, it can be heard that the Jingzhou nobles would never accept Yuan Shu's control of Xiangyang. Therefore, facing the common enemy, their will to resist was very firm, and they spared no effort in supporting Liu Biao.

After hearing the promises of the two Kuai brothers, Liu Biao's restless heart calmed down.

Boom boom boom~
"Hahaha, keep attacking! Attack!"

Yuan Shu's arrogant laughter rang out every time the catapult swung its lever, filling the entire battlefield.

The huge stone flew over a distance of two hundred steps and fell directly on the city wall. Such inhuman power can indeed easily make people intoxicated and make their blood boil.

This made Yuan Shu feel so proud that "Although the world is big, it is all in my hands", as if the world of the Yanhan Dynasty already belonged to him, Yuan Shu.

As the saying goes, "When the sky is crazy, it will rain; when people are crazy, they will suffer disasters." Just when Yuan Shu thought he had the world under his control, he heard a loud bang, and one of the catapults seemed to be overwhelmed and fell apart. Parts fell to the ground, and the falling stones even injured several soldiers, so that Yuan Shu's laughter stopped abruptly. Then he showed a look of shock and anger and shouted, "What happened? Wasn't it just fixed? Why is it broken again? Did you cut corners and deceive your superiors and subordinates?"

Yuan Shu was furious and quickly called the craftsman in charge of the matter to question him. He thought that someone had some bad intentions in doing such a thing, so he was furious.

Seeing Yuan Shu's fury, the craftsmen below became uneasy and cried out in tears: "General, please understand, I really tried my best!"

Siege engines are, after all, artifacts, and many are made of wood, so their service life is very limited.

The imitations made by Cao Cao's craftsmen were obviously far inferior to the original stone cannon in terms of material strength and processing level. It was used so intensively by Yuan Shu, who fired stone bullets at the walls of Xiangyang and Fancheng. It would be strange if it was not broken.

In fact, it had started to malfunction and break down a long time ago, but the damage was not serious in the first few times, and after some repairs, it could still be used.

But any item has a limit to its use.

Once it reaches its limit, even Lu Ban cannot fix it.

It is obvious that the catapults obtained from Cao Cao have reached their limit.

As if the craftsmen's words were fulfilled, the catapults that were still in use began to break down one after another, and the damage was beyond repair.

Yuan Shu was angry and anxious: "Why are you still standing there? Fix it for me quickly, you bunch of idiots!"

The craftsman seemed to be used to being scolded. He did not refute, but just made a bitter face and said helplessly: "General, it's not that we don't want to repair it, but many key parts have been seriously damaged. We have no choice but to build a new one."

"In that case, go make me a new one!"

Yuan Shu was really furious. He saw that the attack was going smoothly, but the catapult suddenly broke down. How could he accept this?

He immediately ordered the craftsmen to build new catapults to support the city. Otherwise, with the defensive strength of Xiangyang City, even if all his 50,000 men died, they would not be able to take the fortified city in front of them.

The craftsman felt very aggrieved, but thinking of Yuan Shu's extreme pride and unpredictable mood, for the sake of his own life, he still asked, "General, do you have the design drawings?"

Yuan Shu was confused by the question and asked, "What design drawings?"

The craftsman was speechless, but still patiently explained: "General, the interior of this trebuchet is delicate and complicated. Without detailed drawings, it is impossible to copy it in a short time."

There is no problem with direct imitation, but I am afraid that the imitation products will be far inferior to the counterfeit products made by Cao Cao.

If this incident angered Yuan Shu and Yuan Shu thought he was playing a trick on him, wouldn't I die unjustly?

When Yuan Shu heard that he needed blueprints, he felt a headache. Where could he find the blueprints in such a short time?

It was Yuan Huan who suggested forcing Cao Cao to hand over the design drawings of the trebuchet, but Cao Cao ran away so fast that he had no time to ask for it.

"Waste, waste, all of you are a bunch of waste!"

Next to the collapsed wreckage of the catapult, Yuan Shu vented his impotent rage in vain, but what made him even more angry was yet to come.

The catapult issue had not yet been resolved when Chief Clerk Yan Xiang came to inform Yuan Shu: "My Lord, something terrible has happened!"

"Why are you so alarmed?"

Yan Xiang looked anxious, and whispered to Yuan Shu in a hurried tone, "My lord, there has been a change in the rear. Liu Jingsheng secretly sent people to Wancheng to fan the flames, spreading rumors that our army's attack was unfavorable. Now the entire Nanyang County is in a panic."

"How could this be?"

Nanyang was his rear base, so when Yuan Shu heard that his hometown had been robbed, he immediately became anxious and panicked: "What should I do? No, I will withdraw my troops. Nanyang is the base camp of our army. We cannot afford to lose it. We must not let rumors spread everywhere."

Yuan Shu subconsciously wanted to fight back and consolidate his rule in Nanyang again.

However, in Yan Xiang's view, the so-called rumors were just fuses.

Yuan Shu had been slow to capture Xiangyang, and his heavy taxes and levies had long since aroused dissatisfaction among most of the noble families and wealthy families in Nanyang County. As a result, the rumors spread like wildfire throughout the county.

Yan Xiang smiled bitterly: "My lord, things have come to this point, and I am afraid there is no way to save the situation. Even if the army turns back immediately, it will be difficult to reverse the decline. Moreover, how can Liu Jingsheng let our army retreat safely? I am afraid that if our army makes any rash moves, the Jingzhou soldiers will follow and kill us. At that time, the retreat will surely become a rout and a complete defeat."

"What should I do? What should I do?"

Yuan Shu was anxious. Yan Xiang's words made him feel as if his defeat was imminent.

At the critical moment, Yuan Huan, who was from the Yuan family of Chen County, was more insightful. He advised Yuan Shu: "My lord, the way back to Nanyang has become a dead end. I am afraid we can't go back. For now, if we want to have a chance of survival, we can only withdraw to Xinye to rest for a while, and then divide the troops into two groups to support each other. When withdrawing, we will set up defenses layer by layer and block the enemy step by step. Only in this way can we retreat safely to Runan."

Yuan Huan's suggestion was still very correct. Now that Xinye City was still in the hands of Yuan Shu, he could leave a few generals behind to cover each other's retreat and block Liu Biao's pursuers layer by layer. At least retreating to Runan would not be a problem.

Moreover, Yuan Huan also saw the internal situation of Jingzhou and was actually not willing to fight to the end.

As long as Yuan Shu is willing to withdraw from Jingzhou's sphere of influence and return to Yuzhou, he will have a chance to catch his breath.

After Yuan Huan's reminder, Yan Xiang understood immediately and praised loudly: "What Yao Qing said is very true. Our army can smoothly retreat to Runan via the official roads of Xinye and Biyang. The lord is from the Runan Yuan family, has a deep network of contacts, and has a favorable geographical location. He will surely be able to arrange his troops calmly and stop the pursuing troops."

When Yuan Shu heard that there was a chance to survive, he was overjoyed: "Then retreat to Runan! Go, go now!"

Yuan Huan shook his head: "My lord, no, our army can retreat, but we must not retreat too quickly."

Yan Xiang also echoed: "My lord, before retreating, we should launch a feint attack. We must not let Liu Jingsheng see through our strategic intentions. Otherwise, complications will arise. Once morale collapses, the army will be defeated. Even if we can retreat to Xinye, I'm afraid only 60% to 70% of our troops will be killed, and we will suffer heavy losses."

Both of them were strategists with extraordinary wisdom and strategies. Although they were not proficient in the art of war, they still knew some of the taboos of military strategy. Therefore, when they heard that Yuan Shu wanted to run away directly, they were almost scared to death.

An army of 50,000 strong, with camps stretching for more than ten miles. The mobilization of personnel, livestock and supplies, the formulation of retreat routes, which troop to retreat first and which troop to retreat later, all need to be centrally coordinated and managed. How can you just retreat by snapping your head?
If we choose to retreat hastily without making adequate preparations and reasonable arrangements, people will be in panic and the retreat will turn into a defeat, or even a complete rout that is out of control.

Fortunately, although Yuan Shu was a useless person, he had not yet started to get sick and was still able to listen to the advice of his subordinates and advisers, so he did not make such a puzzling decision.

"Just as you two said, please give me a helping hand, sir."

"My lord, you are too kind. We are all his subjects, and we should do our best to help you plan and stake your claim."

Yan Xiang and Yuan Huan both secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time they were in a bad mood.

In fact, they were all strongly opposed to the attack on Xiangyang this time. After all, Xiangfan was one of the most fortified cities in the world, and its defense was top-notch. How could it be so easy to break through?

However, Yuan Shu insisted on his own way and mobilized his troops to attack just because of Cao Cao's deception.

Now we have suffered a great loss. Although we did not lose the battle, we have lost the base in Nanyang County, which is worse than losing the battles ten times!
At this moment, Yuan Shu was just short of having the word "miserable" carved on his face. (End of this chapter)