On the eighth day of June, all preparations for the Hebei Army were completed. Following Wen Yuan's order, the Hebei Army launched an attack on Xuchang from all sides.
At the beginning, the Hebei Army still followed the old tactics used in the previous attack on Guandu. The meteorite chariot suppressed the defenders at the top of the city, and the three-bow bed crossbow nailed the five-foot-long crossbow arrow to the top of the city. This set of tactics was very effective when attacking Guandu. It has been proven to be applicable. Unless the defenders go out of the city to engage in battle, the combination of the thunder cart and the three-bow bed crossbow is almost impossible to crack.
After three days of remote suppression, the city of Xuchang was riddled with holes. Thousands of crossbow arrows were densely inserted on the outer facade of the city wall, like spikes on a hedgehog. Stretched out, these giant arrows penetrated the city wall at least a foot thick, and it was impossible to pull it out with human power. With the help of these crossbow arrows, it became easier to climb over the four-foot-high city wall.
Of course, Cao Jun now also has a way to deal with the Hebei Army's long-distance attack. When the meteorite chariot is launched, the defenders will hide behind the city wall. As long as the Hebei Army does not approach, the defenders will not board the city.
It's just that this kind of security is only temporary. The defenders are not sure whether they can stop the Hebei Army's attack once the Hebei Army attacks the city...
On June 11, the Hebei Army finally began to attack the city. Cao Cao's army resisted vigorously. The two sides fought for more than ten days at the top of the city. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The more than 30,000 sergeants who could follow Cao Cao back to Xuchang City were all Veterans who have been on the battlefield for many years, in terms of individual combat capabilities, they are no less than the Hebei Army, perhaps even better. The generals in the army also know that victory or defeat depends on one move, and they take the lead one by one. Inspired by them, The sergeants fought tooth and nail to suppress the fierce attack of the Hebei Army.
But all this is only temporary. As time goes by, the balance of victory still tilts towards the dominant Hebei Army. Although Cao Bing has put up a desperate fight, his hard power is always far inferior to that of the Hebei Army. The fighting spirit is like a weight made of water, it will eventually evaporate...
On the twelfth day of the siege, all the arrows in the city were shot, and the rolling wood and stones could only be dealt with by demolishing the people's houses. On the seventeenth day, the defenders were provided with one meal a day instead of two meals a day, and even this meal was not enough. It was just wild vegetable soup that was so thin that you could see the silhouette of a person, and a pitiful amount of black flour pancakes.
Both the strength and fighting spirit of the defenders melted away like snow in the spring.
Gradually, the encouragement of the generals became more and more difficult to have an effect, and the situation on top of the city became more and more precarious, and Xuchang City might fall at any time.
In this critical situation where the building was about to collapse, inexplicable changes began to occur in the hearts of some people in Cao's army. After all, not everyone was willing to accompany the desperate Cao Cao into the grave...
In the governor's house, Cao Cao was looking up at the sky. Cao Cao didn't understand the celestial phenomena, and he never believed in the number of days. But now, he himself had lost confidence in himself, and he turned back to look for a possible solution from the celestial phenomena.
In the night sky, purple stars hang in the northern sky. In this era, there is no air pollution in the far sea, and the starry sky at night is as clear and quiet as lake water.
Originally, Ziweixing was supposed to be the brightest star in the sky, but now the appearance of a guest star has taken away its brilliance.
Xun Yu was an expert at observing celestial phenomena. He looked up at the sky and said solemnly: "Now the Ziwei star is twice as dark and the guest star is twice as bright. The surrounding auxiliary stars are also overshadowed by the light of the guest stars, and the guest stars have occupied the heaven for a long time." If you don’t go, it seems like you are turning your back on the guests. I’m afraid there won’t be a single star in the heaven that can compete with the guest stars...”
Cao Cao nodded silently after hearing this. Of course he understood who this guest star was referring to...
A guest star is an extraordinary star. Its appearance has no permanent time, and its residence has no fixed place. It appears and disappears suddenly, may move or stop, and cannot be calculated. It lives among the stars like a guest, so it is called a guest star. This This is a piece of celestial knowledge that Xun Yu just taught Cao Cao.
Isn't this description just right when applied to Zhang Liao? He was originally a martial artist with no famous connections, but he suddenly appeared on the stage of fighting for supremacy in troubled times as if he were conjured out of thin air. His thoughts and actions were unconstrained. , you can’t figure out the traces of his situation at all, as if he is completely incompatible with this world, but he can still set off waves of uproar, bringing an unbelievable rapid accumulation of his own strength, and in the end, he gradually gradually Occupying the center of heaven.
Even Tianxiang said this, what else can he fight against?
In the midst of silence, Cao Ren suddenly came to report: "My lord, Li Jin, the captain of Jianwu School, climbed over the wall last night and ran to the Hebei military camp to join Zhang Liao."
"Just leave... There is no need to lose your life here in vain. I have already lost the confidence to defeat Zhang Liao, let alone them," Cao Cao said with a bitter smile. He had nothing to make a fuss about escaping. , In the past few days, deserters have begun to appear in Xuchang City, and more and more, starting from the soldiers at the bottom, they have spread upwards, and some middle- and high-level civil and military officers around Cao Cao have begun to appear.
Cao Renmo grumbled for a long time, and finally summoned up the courage to say: "My lord, Xuchang City cannot be defended if this continues... Why don't we also break out of the encirclement,"
Cao Cao looked at Cao Ren, waved his hand and sighed: "I'm not leaving... I'm tired. I no longer have the ambition to fight with Zhang Liao. Besides, Zhang Liao has always regarded me as a thorn in his side. He wanted to get rid of me for a long time and then quickly. Although the world is big, it can't be defeated." Where is there any place for me to stay?"
Cao Ren heard this and said anxiously: "My lord, Liu Biao retains Jingzhou and has one hundred thousand people from Jing and Xiang under his command. He has helped my lord in a righteous way before. Why don't my lord go and join him and then serve as a district officer?"
Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said: "It can't be done... one moment and another, at that time I was shouldering the important task of resisting Zhang Liao, and all the powerful families in the world who did not want to see Zhang Liao become big did their best to help, but now, I have been defeated. Even if we were surrounded, even if we were lucky enough to escape, with no soldiers and horses in hand, and no ground under our feet, why would they be willing to take in and help me? Maybe Liu Biao, that coward, wanted to exchange my head for Zhang Liao's forgiveness, and I heard Now that Liu Bei is prospering in Jingzhou, the wealthy gentry in Jingzhou may not be able to tolerate the unambitious Liu Biao anymore. In troubled times, the law of the jungle is the only way to go."
Cao Ren didn't know how to persuade him at the moment, and said anxiously: "My lord, you must not be discouraged. If you keep the green hills, you won't be afraid of running out of firewood. The eldest son is in Runan now, and there are more than ten thousand elite soldiers around him. Let's break out of the city first." Go to the eldest son and then make a long-term plan,"
"There is no use in long-term planning... After the Battle of Guandu, Zhang Liao has become a well-deserved overlord. From then on, he dominates the Central Plains and devours the world. Who else in the world can be his opponent?" When he said this, Cao Cao was not depressed, but A hint of pride flashed in his eyes, and he murmured: "I am the only one in the world who is lucky enough to be his opponent. I am afraid Zhang Liaofang will not take the rest of Yuan Shao, Liu Bei and the like in his eyes."