flstandardbreds Chapter 164 Yuan Shu wants to negotiate peace with Cao Cao! Lü Lingqi wants to beat up Lü Bu.
Chapter 164 Yuan Shu wants to negotiate peace with Cao Cao! Lü Lingqi wants to beat up Lü Bu.
"Ziyang, this is a very good item. Does it have a name?"
Liu Ye smiled and said:
"I am not very talented, so I named it Thunderbolt Car."
Cao Cao nodded. The name "Thunderbolt Chariot" was not bad; it sounded quite imposing.
Without hesitation, Cao Cao immediately arranged for craftsmen to modify the catapults.
Soon, the first catapult was completed.
Cao Cao and his generals couldn't wait to test its range.
Huge rocks, like thunderbolts from the sky, crashed down on the city walls of Runan's main city from afar!
The Yuan army soldiers on the city wall were terrified.
"Success!"
"Immediately accelerate the conversion process and convert all catapults into trebuchets!"
Cao Cao was very excited.
With this thunderbolt, what's a mere mound of earth?
Let's see if Yuan Shu still dares to be arrogant!
The next morning.
A large number of modified trebuchets were brought to the foot of the city wall.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
One mound after another was mercilessly smashed by the trebuchet!
The archers who were hiding beside the mound were also crushed into mincemeat on the spot because they didn't have time to escape.
Ji Ling was so angry that she screamed.
However, the mound had been damaged and the archers had suffered heavy casualties, so close combat was the only option left.
however.
How could Cao Cao, a mere sixth-ranking official, allow Yuan Shao's army to live so comfortably?
One after another, the roar of catapults resounded.
The mound was damaged.
The city was smashed as if it had suffered a disaster.
Yingchuan's main city has completely lost its defensive capabilities.
However, since the trebuchets had not yet stopped attacking, the soldiers on both sides were not in a hurry to start a battle.
Cao Cao is not in a hurry at all.
Without cities for defense, Yuan Shu's forces were filled with anxiety.
On the other hand, the morale of Cao Cao's army was rising steadily.
Yuan Shu, who was sleeping in the city, was awakened by this and frantically searched for his sword, in which he also knocked over the bowl of honey water in the process.
"Yan Xiang! Yan Xiang! What's going on?"
Why did Cao Cao suddenly acquire the highly destructive catapult?
"Now that the mound is gone and the city is defenseless, what do you suggest we do?"
Upon learning of the situation at the front, Yuan Shu angrily questioned Yan Xiang.
Yan Xiang sighed softly, and said with a forced smile:
"We urge our lord to personally go to the front lines to oversee the battle and boost the morale of the soldiers."
Yuan Shu was so angry he laughed, and looked Yan Xiang up and down with a "Are you kidding me?" look.
This is crazy...
Before, Yuan Shu would have dared to wander around the city walls and make his presence known.
But sending him there now is practically suicide for the Thunderbolts, isn't it?
"Get out of here! Let Yang Hong come over here."
Yuan Shu scolded Yan Xiang away and replaced him with Yang Hong to offer him advice.
When facing Yang Hong, Yuan Shu's attitude became much gentler.
Yuan Shu then took Yang Hong's hand and asked:
"Minister Yang, Cao Cao's catapults are so fierce, what should our army do?"
In terms of strategic acumen, Yan Xiang was actually superior to Yang Hong.
At this moment, Yan Xiang was at a loss, so what good ideas could Yang Hong possibly have?
But Yang Hong, who knew Yuan Shu's character well, knew he couldn't tell the truth.
His eyes darted around, and he suggested to Yuan Shu:
"My lord, judging from the time, Lu Bu must have already achieved some success."
"Perhaps we should wait until Cao Cao's army is thrown into chaos by the attack on Yanzhou, and then launch a preemptive strike?"
Yuan Shu frowned and said:
"Once Cao Cao's catapults stop attacking, our army will have no choice but to engage them in hand-to-hand combat."
"I wonder when the news of Lü Bu's victory will finally arrive..."
Perhaps it was Yuan Shu's constant nagging that had an effect.
A guard entered, carrying a letter intercepted from another city gate (the one not attacked by trebuchets).
Upon opening the letter, Yuan Shu felt an urge to slap Lü Bu to death!
WTF! ?
How could they lose despite receiving so much logistical support?
The army is almost completely wiped out, with only a little over two thousand defeated soldiers left.
Honestly, at this moment, Yuan Shu wanted to crack open Lü Bu's head and see what was inside!
Pig?
How was this battle fought?
How can you be so ignorant of military strategy?
Fortunately, Lü Bu was unaware of Yuan Shu's thoughts at that moment, otherwise he would have fought him to the death.
You make it sound like you, Yuan Shu, are really something!
Despite having more troops than Cao Cao, they were forced to remain holed up in the city.
The saying goes well.
Good things don't go out, bad things pass thousands of miles.
The news of Lü Bu's defeat was just the appetizer.
Soon, more news arrived.
Liu Biao dispatched Cai Mao as commander-in-chief and Liu Bei as vanguard, leading an army of 70,000 to attack Nanyang Commandery!
Liu Bei!
Yuan Shu never expected that this thing would end up with Liu Biao and even get a vanguard position.
Yang Hong's hands trembled. He took a deep breath and suggested to Yuan Shu:
"My lord, this battle can no longer be fought."
"Let's try to negotiate peace with Cao Cao."
"Nanyang must not be lost!"
Yang Hong was very clear-headed at this moment.
Faced with a pincer attack from Cao Cao and Liu Biao, Yuan Shu was simply unable to withstand it.
The only option now is to negotiate peace with one side and then concentrate our forces to defeat the other.
If we divide our forces, we will not be able to defend Yuzhou, and we will also lose Nanyang.
By then, only Huainan will be left. It will be too difficult for Yuan Shu to rise again.
Compared to the rising power of Cao Cao, Liu Biao was clearly weaker.
Making peace with Cao Cao and then defeating Liu Biao is the best course of action for Yuan Shu at present.
however.
The so-called peace talks, to put it nicely, are called peace talks; to put it bluntly, they are called the "three-piece set of a benevolent old hag".
Submitting as a vassal is not necessarily an option.
Ceding territory and paying reparations are definitely unavoidable.
That evening, Yuan Shu sent an envoy to Cao Cao's camp to discuss a ceasefire and peace talks.
Cao Cao's camp has also received the battle report from the intelligence corps.
A great victory at Yanzhou!
Lü Bu's army was utterly routed!
Upon receiving this battle report, the envoy sent by Yuan Shu was naturally subjected to humiliation by Cao Cao's generals.
But whether or not to negotiate peace was something Cao Cao needed to consider carefully.
He now holds the advantage in the war;
It was Yuan Shu who was anxious.
If we were to force a decisive battle with Yuan Shu in Yu Province, it would be possible, but the casualties would likely be considerable.
After all, Yuan Shu's military strength was undeniable.
If Yuan Shu were pushed to the brink, it wouldn't be impossible for him to pay his soldiers in the heat of battle.
If he were truly driven into becoming a gambler willing to risk everything to fight Cao Cao, the losses on Cao Cao's side would be enormous.
If we could find a way to occupy the territory without expending too many troops, that would be wonderful.
After much deliberation, Cao Cao sent an urgent letter back to Dongjun to seek advice from Su Yu.
……
东郡
Su Yu is welcoming Zhang Liao to abandon his evil ways and join the righteous cause.
When Gao Shun learned that Zhang Liao had surrendered and betrayed Lü Bu, he naturally didn't have a good attitude.
Even when Zhang Liao entered the city, he picked up a weapon and attempted to ambush Zhang Liao.
Fortunately, Zhang Liao had been on guard against Gao Shun, which prevented him from succeeding.
Su Yu's expression turned cold.
With a wave of his hand, Cao Chun made his entrance.
Gao Shun immediately became obedient.
On the other hand, another surrendered general, Lü Lingqi, immediately smiled when she saw Zhang Liao come to surrender.
He pressed Zhang Liao for answers:
"Uncle Wenyuan, how was it? Did you hang up my father—I mean, did you give that bastard Lü Bu a beating?"
"Next time you beat him up, you have to take me with you!"
……