The Nameless of the Common Clans

"My Lord, the Black Mountain Army's commander Zhang Yan is outside the tent asking for an audience." Just as Chen Mo and the other generals were worrying about the siege, Dian Wei came in and bowed to Chen Mo.

"Please come in!" Chen Mo came back to his senses and nodded to Dian Wei.

Soon, Dian Wei brought someone into the tent.

"I am Zhang Yan, the last general, to see you, my Lord!" The man didn't say anything polite and bowed directly to Chen Mo.

Although the Black Mountain Army is nominally independent now, its economy and family are controlled by Chen Mo. Even if Zhang Yan wants to compete with Chen Mo now, his men will not agree. Although he was calculated, Zhang Yan was convinced. The Black Mountain Army has never stopped fighting internally since the alliance at the beginning and now it has merged into one. Zhang Yan has long lost the passion and immaturity of his youth to be able to reach this point today.

To be in a high position, one must have enough skills, and one cannot accomplish anything with just courage. Besides, Chen Mo has never treated the Black Mountain Army unfairly, so there is nothing wrong with him calling him "Lord".

"No need to be polite." Chen Mo stood up, stretched out his hand to help Zhang Yan up, looked at Zhang Yan carefully, and said in surprise: "Is the general really Zhang Yan?"

It's no wonder that Chen Mo was so surprised. Although he had never seen Zhang Yan, according to rumors, Zhang Yan was a very brave man in combat, brave and good at fighting, with a heroic character. He was able to integrate and unify the former Black Mountain bandits step by step, which shows that he has good skills. In Chen Mo's expectation, Zhang Yan should be a strong man.

But today, he was quite frail, looked a little fragile, had very white skin, and was a little feminine, but not the kind of feminine charm of a woman, but gave people a sense of sharpness.

She is not a woman. Chen Mo has been active in the world for many years. Even if a woman disguises herself as a man, she cannot be hidden from Chen Mo's eyes. Chen Mo has heard that Zhang Yan is as light as a swallow, but he always thought it was just a rumor. After seeing her today, he believed it a little.

"General Zhang, please take a seat." Surprise flashed in his eyes, Chen Mo motioned Zhang Yan to take a seat, looked at Zhang Yan and smiled: "General, you came at the right time. This Yecheng has high walls and thick walls. We are discussing how to attack the city. General, you have been enemies with Yuan for a long time. The Black Mountain Army has also broken through Yecheng. I wonder if you have a strategy to help me attack the city?"

"My lord, you don't know that Yecheng was not as magnificent as it is now. When we attacked Yecheng, it was because of the internal chaos in Jizhou that we took advantage of it. Now the four gates of Yecheng are closed, and since Yuan Shao was alive, in order to avoid harassment from our army, it has been continuously expanded. We have only attacked Yecheng once. Since Yuan Shao settled here, we have never even approached Yecheng, let alone attacked the city." Zhang Yan was a little helpless when he heard this. He had just come to surrender, so he naturally wanted to build some achievements and not let people look down on him, but he was really powerless in Yecheng.

"But..."

"General, you have something to say, but it doesn't matter." Chen Mo looked at Zhang Yan and smiled.

"Yes." Zhang Yan nodded and said, "The moat of Yecheng connects to the city. If there is a weak point in the city, this may be an opportunity to defeat the enemy."

"There is a water fort?" Chen Mo was surprised.

"Yes, the moat of Yecheng is led into the turbid Zhang River, but I don't know where the water fort is." Zhang Yan nodded.

"So that's it." Chen Mo nodded, looked at the map, and suddenly looked up and said, "Go and ask Ma Jun to come to discuss matters."

"Yes!" Outside the tent, Dian Wei agreed, turned around and left, and soon, he brought Ma Jun back to see Chen Mo.

"I wonder what the lord wants to do?" Ma Jun was designing siege equipment for Yecheng. The walls of Yecheng were five meters high, and ordinary ladders could not reach them at all. It was necessary to build larger ladders, and the wells and even the catapults had to be redesigned. Therefore, he was the busiest one now. Without these things, even if Chen Mo wanted to attack Yecheng, he couldn't do it.

"Deheng, how are the engineering equipment prepared?" Chen Mo asked with a smile when he saw Ma Jun.

"We just started, and the wood brought by the army is a little insufficient. We are asking people to transport it to the rear." Ma Jun bowed.

"It is said that the moat of Yecheng connects to the city, but today the scouts explored the surroundings and found no gaps. You are proficient in the art of craftsmanship. Do you know the trend of the ground veins?" Chen Mo asked with a smile. The connection between the moat of Yecheng and the river in the city is not marked on the map. It is said that the river in the city appears in the city. There should be a natural low-lying canal. No one knows about this, including Chen Mo. Chen Mo has system help and has learned the geography of mountains and rivers, but he is not proficient in it. He has looked around the city and found nothing unusual.

"I know a little bit." Ma Jun nodded. When Guanzhong was hit by a drought, he was ordered to build water turnovers everywhere to divert water from the river to irrigate the fields. Naturally, he is proficient in this aspect.

"Can you try to find it?" Chen Mo asked with a smile.

"I am willing to give it a try, but I can't guarantee whether it will succeed." Ma Jun bowed. The river water on the ground is easy to find, but the underground water channel is not easy to find, especially hidden under the moat. Ma Jun is a pure craftsman in the court. The officials in the court have complaints about this and exclude him openly and secretly. Therefore, no matter what Ma Jun does, he is cautious and never dares to say anything.

"Go ahead and do it." Chen Mo smiled and said, "Whether you can find it or not, it's not a crime. As for the matter of making the equipment, leave it to the craftsmen under my command."

To make siege equipment, as long as there are drawings, there is not much difference between skilled craftsmen and Ma Jun.

"Yes!" Ma Jun bowed again and left.

...

Chen Mo's troops came to the city and began to prepare intensively for the attack on Ye City. On the other side, Cao Cao of the Gaotang Dynasty faced Yuan Shang's main force after occupying the plain. Although Cao's army was well-equipped and fierce, Yuan Shang led it. They were also the elite of Jizhou, and were assisted by good generals such as Gao Lan and Guo Yuan. Although the battle in Puyang was unfavorable, Yu Jin and Li Dian failed to completely defeat Jiang Yiqu and Sui Yuanjin, and the war entered a stalemate.

Originally, it was not surprising that such a big battle would last for several months or even half a year, but with the results of the Battle of Xibian'er Chaoge coming out, Cao Cao couldn't sit still.

"If Chen Mo is allowed to capture Ye City, we will lose the opportunity to seize the opportunity." Xu You hurried to the tent and saw that Cao Cao and the civil and military forces had arrived, and said anxiously.

"Don't be anxious, Ziyuan, we are also thinking about countermeasures." Cao Cao reassured with a smile.

Guo Jia glanced at Xu You, stroking his beard under his chin and said with a smile: "It's interesting. We borrowed Mr. Ziyuan's opportunity to get down to the plain, but we attracted Yuan Shang's main force, which made it difficult for our army to advance in a hurry. On the contrary, It gave Chen Mo the opportunity to create a vacancy in the west garrison, but it actually fulfilled his wish. "

Xu You's face darkened. Wasn't this a disguised way of saying that it was useless to defect? He sat down with a cold snort and said: "This matter is quite strange. Zhang He, the guard of Chaoge, is known as the Four Court Pillars of Hebei, but his ability to use troops is still above the level. In the past, Yan Liangwen Chou was the best among the three armies with his bravery, but if When it comes to commanding troops, it’s hard to compete with them. How can they be defeated so easily?”

"But the fact is that Zhang He not only failed to block Chen Mo, but was easily defeated by him." Cheng Yu on the side shook his head and smiled: "It seems that the name of Hebei's Four Court Pillars is exaggerated."

During these days, Xu You has always been proud of himself as a meritorious official, and he has not dealt with Cao Ying's civil and military personnel very much. Even Guo Jia and Cheng Yu are running against him, which shows that Xu You's popularity among Cao's army is low.

"This is a big fallacy..." Xu You was speechless after hearing the words. He snorted coldly and was about to argue with him, but was stopped by Cao Cao.

"Don't quarrel over this. Zi Yuan is right. We have all seen Gao Lan's ability. He is as famous as any general in our army. Zhang He is as famous as him. He is even praised by Zi Yuan. He is by no means incompetent. "Cao Cao knocked on the table and interrupted with a smile. Everyone quarreled: "Chen Mo is the best at deceit. He must have used some sinister strategy to break through Chaoge's defense line so easily. But now that Chen Mo has attacked Ye City, if he is allowed to break through Ye City, it will be difficult for our army to move north again." Come on, don’t be careless about this.”

"Don't worry, Meng De." Xu You said with a smile: "Ye City has been continuously expanded and strengthened since it was first entered. Today, the walls of Ye City are five feet high and eight feet thick. The food and grass in the city are enough for the army and civilians of Ye City for a year. , this kind of fortified city is not inferior to Luoyang and Chang'an. No matter how powerful Chen Mo is, it will be difficult to capture it. "

"Chen Mo can't attack such a fortified city. How can we capture it in the future?" Xiahou Dun frowned.

"General, don't worry. Although Yecheng is strong, it is not indestructible." Xu You said with a smile, confident.

"Oh?" Cao Cao smiled and said, "Ziyuan has another clever plan to help me?"

Cao Cao was also numb to Xu You calling him by his cousin's name. He could call him whatever he wanted. He would not lose a piece of meat, so long as he could help him win Jizhou.

"Of course." Xu You looked at everyone's expressions and smiled proudly.

"Can you tell me? You also want to let us know Ziyuan's abilities." Seeing that everyone was silent, Cao Cao ignored Xu You's appearance and didn't pay attention to Xu You's appearance. The situation was a bit awkward, so he smiled and helped Xu You liven up the atmosphere.

Xu You looked at these people. In his eyes, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were clearly jealous of him. He said proudly: "I know a secret passage that can lead directly to Yecheng. Then I only need to send a small force." The elite sneak into Yecheng, and then the inside and outside will be coordinated, and it will not be difficult to defeat Yecheng."

"There is a secret passage in Ye City that leads to the outside of the city. Doesn't the general of Ye City know about it?" Guo Jia took a sip of wine, looked at Xu You and said with a smile.

"Of course you don't know that this secret passage was originally a culvert. It was discovered when the city was built. The person who supervised the construction of the city at that time was a famous craftsman from Hebei. He skillfully used this culvert to divert the turbid Zhang water into it, so that Ye City had an endless supply of water. However, the culvert here is tens of feet away from the moat to the exit of the city, and it requires someone who is proficient in water skills to sneak in. Meng De needs to make preparations in advance." Xu You glanced at Guo Jia with a sneer, and then said to Cao Cao.

"Water-based?" Cao Cao scratched his head. He had many elite soldiers and generals under his command, but he didn't know how many people in the army could pick out those who were proficient in water-based generals. Moreover, it was difficult to swim through the water in this winter. , half of his life is gone, how can he still fight?