Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 251: The city was broken, Yuan Shao cut off his beard and threw away his robe! ( words long chapter)
Following Liu Xie's order, the army outside the city began to move, and one after another extremely large and strange machines were pushed to the front.

It was the catapult that Liu Xie asked Zhen to make!
However, the time he gave was too tight. It took the Zhen craftsmen a lot of time to get the blueprints, conduct research, and then manufacture them. As a result, they only built more than 20 catapults, not the hundreds he had expected.

"Is this the trump card that Your Majesty has prepared?"

When Jia Xu, Lu Bu and other civil and military officials saw such a huge catapult, they were all filled with anticipation.

This batch of catapults was just delivered to the army yesterday. Although we don't know how powerful they are, their size alone is impressive enough.

Under the operation of many soldiers, the catapult began to tighten, and stone bullets were loaded onto the catapult, and then the direction was adjusted and aimed at Lecheng County in the distance.

On the city wall of Lecheng County.

Yan Liang and Qu Yi had already fled back in a panic, and just ran to the city wall, ready to apologize to Yuan Shao.

But at the moment Yuan Shao had no time to scold them, because his attention was also attracted by the huge catapults outside the city.

"What kind of dump truck is this? Why is it so huge?"

"Are they really planning to use catapults to attack the city?"

Yuan Shao originally thought that using catapults to attack the city was a joke, but when these catapults were pushed out and placed in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a sense of fear in his heart.

Because it's really too big.

"It's impossible. Those catapults are four or five hundred steps away from the city wall, and the stones they prepared are so heavy that it's impossible for them to be thrown over..."

Yuan Shao forced himself to remain calm and comforted himself.

However, just as this thought flashed through his mind, he saw one of the catapults suddenly throw out a huge rock, which crossed the battlefield and landed heavily on the city gate tower in front of everyone's gaze!
"boom--!"

With a loud bang, the huge stone weighing hundreds of pounds directly pierced through the roof, creating a terrifying big hole, and then fell heavily on the wooden floor inside the city gate tower, shaking the entire city gate tower!
"Lord, be careful!"

Before Yuan Shao could react, he heard Yan Liang's roar. He totally disregarded the etiquette of respect and rushed forward, pulling him down from the city gate tower and hiding under the parapet!

Because at this moment, the catapults outside the city were fired at the same time, and dozens of huge rocks with tremendous force attacked Lecheng County!
Stones fall like rain!

Some of these huge stones flew too far, over the city wall and fell into the city; some fell on the city gate tower, again making big holes in the roof and floor.

Some of them hit the city wall heavily, making a loud noise when colliding with the thick wall, causing the entire wall to tremble slightly; others hit directly on the aisle of the city wall, smashing the unlucky soldiers who had no time to dodge into meat paste!

Blood and limbs splattered everywhere!

Although the rain of arrows could be blocked by shields, the falling boulders would kill anyone who was caught by them, so the soldiers on the city wall chose to hide under the battlements.

They all looked pale and trembled with fear.

The casualties caused by the catapults were actually not that great, with only a few dozen people dying in that round of hurling. However, the deterrent and oppression it brought were unparalleled!
Watching your comrades being smashed into a pool of flesh by a huge rock, the visual impact and terror of this kind of thing far exceeds being shot to death by an arrow or hacked to death by a knife.

It's true that he died without a complete body!

Generals such as Yan Liang and Qu Yi were also in shock. They could not imagine that a catapult could throw such heavy stones from such a distance!

Is this something that can be done by throwing a car?!
Suppressing his shock, Yan Liang said to Yuan Shao in a hurried tone: "The city wall is not a place to stay for long, my lord, please retreat quickly!"

If Yuan Shao was accidentally killed by the flying stones, everything would be over and Lecheng County would be declared lost!
"I……"

Yuan Shao opened his mouth to refuse when he heard this, but at this moment a huge rock flew up the city wall and landed heavily on the aisle in front of him, breaking several blue bricks on the ground.

Seeing this scene, Yuan Shao swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and gritted his teeth and said, "Escort me to retreat!"

Yan Liang then breathed a sigh of relief, and then called a team of armored soldiers holding shields, and escorted Yuan Shao away from the city wall while the catapults outside the city were loading stones.

At this time in the Han army.

Everyone was shocked by the power displayed by the catapult. Being able to throw such a heavy stone from such a long distance was completely beyond their understanding.

"With this weapon, we will surely win this battle!"

Cui Yan's face was full of excitement and he exclaimed sincerely.

Under the suppression of the catapults, the soldiers on the city wall didn't dare to show their heads at all. The suppression force was much stronger than the rain of arrows!
Lu Bu was even more eager to try and said: "Your Majesty, while they dare not fight back, let's quickly send troops to attack the city!"

Now the enemy defenders were completely intimidated by the catapults and were all hiding under the battlements, unable to organize an effective counterattack. This was a good time to attack.

"No rush, just wait."

Liu Xie raised his hand to stop Lu Bu's suggestion. The catapults had just shown their power, and there were still many stored stone bullets. More could be thrown to suppress and kill the enemy.

If we rashly send a large army to attack the city now, it would be disastrous if the falling rocks accidentally hit our own people.

"Continue the attack! Bombard the gate tower, the watchtower, and the city wall!"

Liu Xie waved his hand heavily forward and gave an order in a harsh voice.

He had just observed that the city wall of Lecheng County was very thick, and the damage caused by the stone bullets was not as great as he imagined. It was unlikely that the city wall would be destroyed in a short period of time.

But you can attack the gate towers, watchtowers and battlements on the city walls, which will make it easier for the army to attack the city later.

"promise--!!"

Upon hearing this, many soldiers in charge of operating the catapults put in their best efforts, continuously carrying the stones and throwing them out.

Under round after round of stone bombardment, the surface of the city wall was covered with potholes, the watchtower responsible for reconnaissance of the battlefield was also destroyed, and many of the battlements were smashed.

In addition, the gate tower on the east city wall, which was already riddled with holes, finally had its pillars broken after being bombarded by hundreds of stone bullets, and the entire building collapsed!

And this is also the signal to attack!

"The whole army is attacking the city!!"

Following Liu Xie's order, 30,000 troops marched towards Lecheng County like a tide, under the cover and suppression of catapults and stones!

……

The battle lasted from dawn to dusk.

Although Liu Xie had a huge advantage and had the help of catapults, defending a city was much easier than attacking it.

The soldiers in Lecheng County relied on the advantage of high walls to resist round after round of attacks and defended the city tightly.

This is the disadvantage of forcibly attacking a city.

The city wall is tall, so the attacking soldiers must use ladders, siege vehicles and other siege equipment to climb the wall. The attack point is single, but the defending soldiers are spread all over the wall.

Unless there is a huge gap in numbers, and they can rely on the advantage of numbers to continuously pile up and wipe out the defending soldiers; or the attacking soldiers are much braver than the defenders and succeed in climbing the city in one fell swoop.

There is no other way.

The garrison in Lecheng County numbered nearly 30,000 troops, whose strength was not inferior to that of the Han army.

In addition, they are the elite troops under Yuan Shao, and their overall strength is not bad, so this war is destined not to be decided in a short period of time.

Night falls in the Han army camp.

Many counselors and generals gathered in the central army camp to discuss today's battle, each with a smile on their face.

"Your Majesty, although we failed to capture the city in one fell swoop today, we have caused heavy casualties to the enemy and greatly reduced their morale. In fifteen days at most, our army will be able to capture Lecheng County!"

Zhang Liao said with a firm look and full of confidence.

When the strength and number of soldiers on both sides are similar, the next challenge besides equipment is morale.

The morale on their side was very high, and they almost took the east city wall today. However, there were too many defending soldiers and a steady stream of reinforcements, so they were forced to retreat.

However, the defenders also suffered heavy casualties in order to resist their attack. Overall, they gained the advantage in this battle.

"It won't take fifteen days!"

Cui Yan stood up and said with a gleam in his eyes, "Your Majesty, today we only attacked the east wall, and the enemy was overwhelmed."

"Tomorrow we can switch to the tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open, further increasing the pressure on Yuan the thief to defend the city, and then we can focus on attacking the east wall while he is unprepared, and Lecheng County will surely fall!"

The tactic of "surrounding three walls and leaving one wall" is the most commonly used tactic in siege warfare. Simply put, it means attacking three walls of the city and leaving only one wall unattacked.

If you surround the enemy on all sides, you may force the enemy to fight to the death; on the contrary, if you deliberately leave a gap, you may make the enemy waver between fleeing or fighting to the death, and at the same time make the enemy soldiers lose their morale.

What’s more important is that leaving a gap does not mean leaving it alone, but setting up an ambush at the place where the enemy must pass to escape, so that the enemy will fall into the ambush during his hasty escape.

Especially for enemies who are besieging and defending a castle, once the enemy abandons the city and flees, the pain of siege can be avoided and the enemy can be completely destroyed on the battlefield.

In comparison, fighting a fleeing enemy is obviously much easier and less costly than fighting a determined enemy.

The strategy proposed by Cui Yan was to alternate between the real and the fake, to disperse the troops by besieging three walls, and to strengthen the attack on one of the walls by surprise. This was more clever than simply besieging three walls and leaving one wall open.

"We don't have enough troops."

Liu Xie shook his head and sighed, "It's not that I don't want to encircle Lecheng County, but our military strength is almost the same as Yuan Shao's, and we only have more than 20 catapults, which is too much to distribute."

The first condition for encircling three sides and leaving one side is to have enough troops.

But the problem is that the difference in military strength between the two sides is not that big, and adopting the tactic of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open will actually reduce the intensity of the attack.

If there were enough catapults, it would not be a problem to attack the three city walls at the same time, but there were only twenty of them.

"Then... why not build more catapults?"

Cui Yan said with some confusion, and cast his eyes towards the Zhen family steward who was responsible for transporting and assembling the catapult.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over.

Zhen was responsible for making the catapult.

Catapults are so useful that twenty are really too few. Hundreds would be more useful. They are very convenient for attacking cities.

In other words, the city wall of Lecheng County is too high and too thick. If it were a smaller city, the wall would probably be destroyed directly.

"The Tiger Guards, the Lieutenant General, don't know."

The Zhen family steward sighed and said helplessly: "It's not that we, the Zhen family, don't want to, it's just that the cost of this catapult is too high."

"It's expensive?"

Cui Yan frowned, "It's just some wood, not even much iron is used, how expensive can it be? Manager Zhen, please don't joke."

The catapult is made entirely of wood.

How expensive can wood be?

It's all over the mountains and plains.

The Zhen family’s steward explained, “Wood is worthless. We, the Zhen family, also have iron, but making a catapult requires beef tendons, even rhinoceros tendons.”

"Because time is urgent, there is no time to purchase. In order to make these twenty catapults, I, Zhen, have already slaughtered more than half of the oxen in my clan."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this.

As livestock for farming, oxen are far more valuable than war horses. It is a serious crime for civilians to kill oxen without permission. When a ox dies, they have to report to the local government office, which shows the importance of oxen.

In order to make the catapult, Zhen actually killed so many oxen?

Even Cui Yan couldn't remain calm after hearing this.

Making a catapult certainly requires the tendons of more than one oxen. The Zhen family killed so many oxen this time, which was a huge loss.

"but……"

The Zhen family's steward rolled his eyes and said to Liu Xie respectfully, "If Your Majesty needs it, I will immediately notify the clan to slaughter the remaining oxen, and purchase oxen and tendons from outside to make more catapults as soon as possible!"

"For the great cause of defeating the Yuan thieves and unifying the north, what does it matter if my Zhen family sacrifices more? This is our Zhen family's responsibility!"

These words are awe-inspiring and full of righteousness.

Although everyone present knew that the Zhen family's steward was deliberately seeking credit from the emperor, no one said anything.

Because the Zhen family was really cruel and generous, slaughtering so many oxen in one go. Few aristocratic families would dare to do this.

"No need."

Liu Xie rejected the proposal without hesitation.

He felt a little unhappy.

Because there was no need for the Zhen family to go to such lengths. Although beef tendons were relatively scarce, they could be purchased at a high price.

Zhen's decision to slaughter oxen to make the catapult was not a last resort, but a way to win credit from him through self-sacrifice.

Oxen for drafting are very scarce. As the emperor, he will have to bear the bad reputation for Zhen's actions. After all, it was he who gave the order.

"Time is running out now. It's too late to make the trebuchet and send it over. There's no need to waste so much manpower and resources, and kill so many oxen in vain."

"If we miss the farming season next year, I don't know how many people will starve to death."

Liu Xie briefly explained to everyone, and then said: "Tomorrow, continue to attack the east wall. Don't disperse your forces, and concentrate on attacking one place."

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers bowed their heads and accepted the order.

……

Lecheng County, prefectural government office.

While Liu Xie and his ministers were discussing the tactics of attacking Lecheng County, Yuan Shao was also discussing the strategy of counterattack, or... the strategy of retreat.

Yan Liang looked heavy-hearted and said worriedly, "We suffered heavy casualties today, and the morale of the soldiers is very low."

"If this continues, we may not be able to defend Lecheng County."

Yan Liang's words were not alarmist.

The fact that the emperor personally led the army to fight had already reduced the resistance of the soldiers defending the city; his subsequent defeat in the battle caused their morale to drop further.

Then the two sides started a fierce battle. After the catapults showed their power, many soldiers were frightened by the falling rocks from the sky.

If he had not led the supervision team to patrol the city walls and kill those soldiers who feared to fight, it would be hard to say whether the city could be defended today.

As a general, Yan Liang understood the importance of morale. If the defenders in the city had lost their morale and did not have the courage to fight to the death, then the city would be impossible to defend.

It was only a matter of time before it was breached.

"shut up!"

Yuan Shao slammed the table, interrupting Yan Liang's words, and said angrily: "You admit defeat before the battle! Did the old general outside the city today beat away all your courage?"

"I told you to pick a general with a weak spot to fight, but you picked a veteran who is over fifty years old! It would have been fine if you had fought a veteran, but you lost!"

"If there wasn't a big battle ahead, I would never spare you!"

Yan Liang's face turned pale and blue.

But I can't refute it.

He lost the battle today so shamefully. If it weren't for Qu Yi's help, he would probably have died outside the city.

After scolding Yan Liang severely, Yuan Shao's anger subsided a little, but his face was still gloomy.

He knew that Yan Liang was defeated not because he was too weak, but because the unknown veteran was too strong.

After all, Yan Liang and Qu Yi combined were no match for that man, and the last person who did it was Zhao Yun.

This is enough to show that the unknown veteran is as strong as Zhao Yun, or even stronger.

"Where on earth did Lu Bu and that evil beast get so many brave generals? And where did they get that terrifyingly powerful catapult?"

Yuan Shao felt that his mind was full of questions.

When did the relationship between Lu Bu and Yuan Xi, a slave of three surnames and the second son whom he never cared about, develop to this point?
What the hell is going on?

Yuan Shao frowned and thought. Inexplicably, the image of Liu Xie riding a white horse, surrounded by Lu Bu, Yuan Xi, Jia Xu and others, suddenly flashed through his mind.

He couldn't help but shudder, and a trace of deep shock and disbelief flashed in his eyes.

"Could it be him?"

Yuan Shao suddenly realized that all the changes seemed to have started from the time he left Yecheng, and since then he had lost control of the puppet emperor.

Yuan Xi held the emperor hostage... Lu Bu sent troops to station... The betrayal of the noble families and trusted advisers... Gongsun Zan sent troops to attack... Ma Chao and Han Sui attacked Bingzhou... Ju Su sent the suicide note...

"Could that refugee really be the emperor? Or has he deceived everyone?"

"If I didn't know his identity at the beginning, I would have been deceived by him!"

Yuan Shao's face changed constantly. He originally thought that those letters were forged by Yuan Xi to fool him, but now he couldn't help but have doubts.

Because everything seemed to be inseparable from Liu Xie, and from what we saw outside the city today, Liu Xie looked calm and was treated like a star by a group of people.

How could he look like he was being held hostage?
Even the one who gave the orders in front of the battle was Yuan Xi himself. If it were him, he would definitely send that puppet emperor over instead of risking his own life.

At this point, Yuan Shao began to waver.

He found Liu Xie full of mystery. He seemed to have never seen through this refugee.

For such a long time, he knew nothing about it except the letters that were sent to him. All he saw was what Liu Xie wanted him to see.

"No! That's not right! All of this is a false illusion deliberately created for me by that evil beast Yuan Xi! I can't be fooled by him!"

"Refugees are refugees! How could he be the real Son of Heaven?"

Yuan Shao shook his head violently, driving all these chaotic thoughts and ideas out of his mind. It seemed that the pressure on him was too great, and he even started to have wild thoughts.

Generals Yan Liang and Qu Yi saw Yuan Shao sitting there in deep thought, his face sometimes confused, sometimes fierce, sometimes shocked, and sometimes determined, and they were completely confused.

My lord, what happened?
Yuan Shao took a deep breath, his expression calmed down, and he stood up and told Yan Liang and Qu Yi: "No matter what, we must defend Lecheng County to the death!"

"As long as we wait until winter comes and Guo Yuan's army comes to support us, we will be able to achieve the final victory and even counterattack!"

"Pass on my military order to increase the food supply to the soldiers of the three armies. They must have meat every day. The property in the city should also be distributed. Don't be stingy!"

"In addition, increase the number of personnel in the battle supervision team. Anyone who is lazy, cowardly, or speaks nonsense to shake the morale of the army will be executed!"

Heavy rewards and severe punishments.

This is the only and most effective means he can use now. He must defend Lecheng County at all costs and wait for the arrival of reinforcements!

……

Liu Xie was determined to take over Lecheng County, and Yuan Shao was determined to defend the city to the death. Both sides gambled their fate on this battle!
From the second day after the first day of the attack.

A brutal war broke out.

He mobilized all his troops and launched a fierce attack on the east wall; and the defenders, stimulated by Yuan Shao's death and the huge reward, also used all means to defend the city.

The two sides fought fiercely and both suffered heavy casualties.

However, facing the seemingly endless offensive of the Han army, the morale of the defenders became lower and lower, and it became increasingly difficult to defend.

Even if Yuan Shao gave more rewards, it would be difficult to motivate him.

In contrast.

Although the Han army also suffered heavy casualties, their morale was still high, and no one had any doubt that they could capture Lecheng County.

As the emperor, Liu Xie would personally visit the wounded camp every day, bandage the wounded and comfort them, and eat and live with the soldiers to boost morale.

Such behavior undoubtedly deeply moved the soldiers and made them feel more excited.

This continued until the tenth day.

The Han army’s central camp.

After living in the military camp for some time, Liu Xie lost some weight. He looked less gentle and more iron-blooded and murderous. Even his eyes became sharper and more energetic.

He flipped through the casualty list presented by Guo Jia and couldn't help shaking his head and sighing: "There are so many casualties, my Han people..."

The battle was so brutal that Yuan Shao's tenacity was far beyond his imagination, but this did not reduce his determination to capture Lecheng County.

On the contrary, every additional name on the casualty list would make him more murderous towards Yuan Shao.

"His Majesty."

Guo Jia comforted him by saying, "Although the casualties are not small, we have gained the upper hand after ten consecutive days of siege. Yuan Shao is already at the end of his strength and he won't be able to hold on for much longer!"

"I think it would be better to let the soldiers rest for a day tomorrow to recuperate and gather their strength, and then launch a general attack the day after tomorrow to capture Lecheng County in one fell swoop. What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Lecheng County is already on the verge of collapse, and all it needs is the final blow!
"Well, then..."

Liu Xie thought for a moment and prepared to agree.

But at this time, Jia Xu, Zhang Liao and others walked into the tent together, and everyone had a solemn look on their face.

Liu Xie was just about to ask them what they were doing here, but when his eyes fell on them, his expression suddenly changed and he stood up and walked out of the tent.

The cold wind blows in my face.

It landed on the tip of his nose with a hint of coolness.

Liu Xie reached out and touched his nose.

Then look up at the sky.

I saw heavy snow in the sky, falling like goose feathers, dancing and circling under the north wind, and continuously falling to the ground.

Winter has arrived.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xie tightly gripped the sword at his waist, and a trace of rage appeared in his eyes.

We are only one step away from capturing Lecheng County, and now it is snowing heavily?
What a joke!
Jia Xu and the others all looked extremely ugly. With the heavy snow coming, their siege on the city would become extremely difficult, and they might fail in the end!
All the casualties suffered before will be in vain!

"Damn it!"

Lu Bu was even more furious, and he cursed directly: "The thief God has no eyes! Isn't it a waste of time to snow at this time to help the thief Yuan? What bad luck!"

This sentence really expressed everyone's thoughts.

"If Heaven doesn't help me, will it help you, Yuan?"

"Ah!"

Liu Xie also sneered, staring at the gloomy sky, his voice filled with bone-chilling coldness and murderous intent.

"Even if I don't have the right time, location, or people, I will win this battle!"

"Heaven doesn't help me! Why should I need God's help!"

Liu Xie's slightly hoarse voice sounded, and the coldness in his eyes seemed to be able to pierce the sky and reach the sky!
Behind him, all the ministers were horrified when they heard his words!

In this era that respects rituals and fears ghosts and gods, Liu Xie uttered such disrespectful words to God!
But when they looked at Liu Xie's tall and straight figure, everyone felt that this was a natural thing.

Because only the prince charming can have such courage!
"Pass the order down, assemble the entire army!"

"Launch the general attack in half an hour!"

"This is the last battle!"

"I - swear to kill Yuan Shao!"

Liu Xie left this decisive remark, then resolutely walked into the heavy snow. Even the heavy snow could not conceal his upright figure.

There is no time to rest. We must capture Lecheng County before the heavy snow blocks the road. Success or failure depends on this!
There was a burning desire in Lu Bu's eyes, and he followed closely without saying a word. Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and other generals also followed closely behind.

……

Lecheng County, Taishou Mansion,
"What a snow! What a heavy snow!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Yuan Shao, whose face was haggard and whose eyes were bloodshot, looked at the snowy sky and could no longer hold back his ecstasy, and laughed out loud.

This heavy snow came just in time!

When it snows, it will become increasingly difficult for Lu Bu and Yuan Xi's armies to attack the city; after winter, Guo Yuan will have the opportunity to leave Bingzhou to support him!

At this time, a soldier hurried over to report: "My lord, the enemy has regrouped and seems to be launching a general attack!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shao sneered.

Are you finally starting to get anxious?
"Tell General Yan Liang and General Qu Yi to hold on to this place! Victory is at hand!"

If he can hold on for just one more day, he’ll win!

……

The heavy snow was flying in the air like flying catkins.

There is even a trend of getting worse and worse.

But now all the defending soldiers on the Lecheng County wall had no time to appreciate this beautiful scenery. They were all nervous and felt tremendous pressure.

And this pressure comes from the black mass of Han soldiers standing in neat and solemn order outside the city!

In the heavy snow.

Countless Han soldiers wearing black armor and holding weapons stood in silence. Snowflakes fell on their sharp blades and armor covered with battle scars, staining them pale.

The military flag and the emperor's dragon flag were already wet with snow, but they were still flying in the heavy snow and wind, as if they were roaring silently.

More than 20,000 soldiers stood there in silence. A silent and murderous atmosphere arose spontaneously, which made those who were watching feel extremely pressured.

But what put pressure on the defenders of Lecheng County was not only the fierce and murderous Han army, but also the figure in front of the army!
In order to boost his own morale and suppress the enemy's morale to the greatest extent, Liu Xie stood at the forefront of this battle!

He was wearing armor and carrying a sword, with a scarlet cloak behind him.

There was a heart-shaking coldness between his brows.

Liu Xie let the heavy snow fall all over his body without any change in expression from beginning to end. Beside him, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Zhang He, Taishi Ci and other generals stood by his side.

Looking at the city in the distance that was lying like a sick tiger, barely gasping for life, Liu Xie drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist and gave the order in a cold voice!
"Lord Wen led the troops to storm the city gate!"

"Zhang He, Gao Shun, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci! Lead your troops to the city walls and capture them at all costs!"

"kill--!!!"

Lu Bu, Zhang He and other generals all shouted angrily, and then the war drums sounded, catapults and arrows were fired, shaking away the snowflakes in the sky!

The Han army, which had been standing silently in the heavy snow, finally took action and launched its tenth attack in these days, which would surely be the final battle to determine the outcome!

Lu Bu, Zhang He and Huang Zhong each led a group of troops and charged towards the eastern city wall. As generals, they will personally participate in the siege this time!
They had taken turns to attack the city before, and all of them were determined to die if they failed. They had to take the city and capture Yuan Shao no matter what!
"boom--!"

"boom--!"

"boom--!"

Arrows fell like rain and boulders roared.

Huge rocks fell on the city walls of Lecheng County one after another, causing the walls to groan and suppressing the numerous defenders so that they dared not show their heads.

During this period, countless troops had rushed to the outside of Lecheng County, set up chariots and ladders to climb to the top of the city, and fought their way into the city fearlessly.

Dozens of strong Han soldiers used battering rams to continuously hit the city gate of Lecheng County, trying to break open the heavy gate!

Although the city gate had been blocked with sandbags and stones, the Han soldiers had been ramming it with battering rams for ten days and the gate was almost broken.

But no matter how the Han soldiers charged.

There is always a line to go.

"Get out of the way! I'll do it!!"

At this time, Lu Bu rode over and shouted angrily.

He was seen with his eyes wide open, holding high the Fang Tian Hua Ji in his hand. He had an unparalleled aura as if the god of war had descended, and he slashed towards the city gate with a tremendous force!

The collision of metal and iron made a loud bang!
The heavy city gate was chopped into pieces by Lu Bu's halberd, collapsed with a loud bang, and was broken!

Seeing this scene, the morale of all the soldiers was immediately boosted!

"Mr. Wen is invincible!"

"Follow Lord Wen and charge! Kill!"

"Capture the thief Yuan! Kill him!"

……

All the soldiers were excited by the personal prowess displayed by Lu Bu. Since ancient times, a brave and powerful general who can defeat ten thousand troops is the most effective in boosting morale on the battlefield.

After the city gate was breached, the soldiers quickly cleared out the stones and sandbags in the passage, and then, led by Lu Bu, charged in!
Lecheng County, which was like an iron barrel and had been attacked for ten days without being broken, finally had a gap torn open!
On the other side, the Han soldiers had already carried climbing ladders and set them up at the foot of the pass. Generals such as Zhang He and Huang Zhong led their soldiers to charge onto the top of the city walls fearlessly.

The soldiers who were the first to climb the city wall this time were all soldiers from Gao Shun's trap camp. Each of them fought bravely. After jumping onto the top of the city wall, they engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy soldiers, creating opportunities for the soldiers who climbed the city wall later.

"General! We can't resist!"

"General Yan! The city wall is about to fall!"

"The city gate has been breached!"

Yan Liang was mobilizing troops to resist the enemy troops pouring into the city wall. When he heard this, he turned around and saw that a large number of Han soldiers had rushed onto the city wall without him noticing. Even Zhang He, Huang Zhong and others had climbed onto the city wall!

In addition, Lu Bu was also leading his troops to attack the gate of Wengcheng City, and was about to break through the gate!
"Gongji, we can't hold on any longer, let's retreat!"

"It's still not too late to retreat!"

Qu Yi, covered in blood, ran over breathlessly. His hands holding the gun were shaking. After continuous fighting, he was almost at the end of his strength.

Yan Liang knew that the city could not be defended, so he did not hesitate any longer and said through gritted teeth: "Go and gather the available troops in the city. I will go find the lord and gather at the north gate!"

Qu Yi said: "Okay!"

The two of them walked towards the city wall together.

In the prefect's mansion.

Yuan Shao did not know that the city had been breached. He was still immersed in the joy brought by the heavy snow. Even though he heard faint shouts of killing coming from afar, he did not care and just thought that the enemy was fighting hard to attack the city.

"It's snowing so heavily. It seems we don't need to hold out for another day. As long as we can get through tonight, the enemy will be unable to attack again in the sudden cold weather!"

Yuan Shao was all smiles, feeling relieved.

But at this moment, a burst of messy footsteps suddenly came. He looked up and saw Yan Liang rushing into the hall in a hurry.

"Gongji, why are you here?"

Yuan Shao was suddenly shocked. Yan Liang was not on the city wall commanding the soldiers to defend, but came to find him. Did something happen?
Yan Liang said anxiously: "My lord, the city walls and gates have been lost! Lu Bu has led his troops into the city and is about to attack the city!"

"My lord, please follow me and escape from the north gate before the enemy attacks us!"

"It will be too late if we don't leave now!"

Time is running out now, and any delay would increase the danger. He believed that the army outside the city must have prepared to block other city gates!
"The city is broken?!"

When Yuan Shao heard this, his mind suddenly buzzed and his face was full of disbelief.

He had waited so long for this heavy snow, and victory was in sight, but the city was breached at this moment?
Then what was the point of his previous persistence!
"Let's go, my lord!"

Yan Liang knew that time was precious, so he stepped forward and pulled Yuan Shao out of the prefectural residence, riding his horse all the way to the north city gate.

At the north gate.

Qu Yi, Jiang Qi and Lu Xiang were already waiting here. They had also gathered all the troops that could be mobilized in the city here, with a total of only 5,000 people.

As for those soldiers who were still fighting with the Han army, they were abandoned by them. There was nothing they could do about it, as someone had to stay behind to delay the enemy.

"Get out of the city quickly! Let's go to Yicheng!"

Yuan Shao's face was gloomy. At this moment, he had already accepted the fact that the city had been broken. He glanced at the few soldiers in front of him and gave the order unwillingly.

No matter how reluctant or angry he was, the city was broken and he had to escape quickly, otherwise he would be captured by Lu Bu and Yuan Xi.

The only chance of survival is to escape back to Yicheng!
"promise!"

The generals took the order and protected Yuan Shao in the middle of the team. The group left from the north gate in a mighty manner and fled towards Youzhou.

But little did they know that Zhao Yun had already ambushed his troops here!
"It's just as Your Majesty expected!"

Zhao Yun snorted coldly. He did not participate in the siege. Instead, he led his troops to ambush at the north gate according to Liu Xie's instructions to prevent Yuan Shao from abandoning the city and fleeing.

"kill--!!"

There was murderous intent in Zhao Yunhu's eyes. With a command, he led three thousand Tiger Guards and charged towards Yuan Shao's five thousand troops with great momentum!
Yuan Shao heard shouts of killing behind him, so he turned around and saw a young general in a white robe and silver armor chasing him. He was immediately scared out of his wits!
"Why is Zhao Yun here?"

Ever since he was nearly captured by Zhao Yun amidst thousands of troops outside Yicheng last time, Yuan Shao has regarded Zhao Yun as a nightmare and is extremely wary of him.

Knowing Zhao Yun's strength well, he did not dare to let Yan Liang and Qu Yi go to fight, for fear that his last two generals would also be killed. He could only keep waving his whip to speed up his escape.

Zhao Yun chased to the front, holding a gun and shouted: "The one wearing a red robe is Yuan thief!"

There was already a lot of snow on the ground at this time. Yuan Shao was wearing a red brocade robe, which made him particularly eye-catching among the white snow.

Upon hearing this, the Huben soldiers all had a target in mind. Their eyes lit up and they drew their bows and drew their arrows towards Yuan Shao while chasing him.

"damn it!"

His identity was exposed and a rain of arrows came, which made Yuan Shao terrified.

Without saying a word, he took off his brocade robe and threw it on the ground, then blended into the crowd again.

Zhao Yun, who had been watching him, shouted again: "The one with the long beard is Yuan Shikai!"

(End of this chapter)