Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3321 Death and Life

The sun comes out every day and life must go on.

As long as you are alive.

Older people respect life and want to live another 500 years, while young people despise life and feel that if they cannot live a great life, they must die heroically.

Cao's army's siege tactics were already at the top level of that era.

The most crucial point is not that Cao's army had an advantage in numbers, but that after Cao Cao arrived, the way of organizing the attack had changed greatly.

The city wall is so small that it is impossible for tens of thousands of people to crowd in at once. However, there is a world of difference between a well-planned one and a haphazard one.

So Anyi gained strength in a short period of time.

When Cao's army first surrounded Anyi, Cao Hong pretended to be calm and let Pei Jun mess around. Cao's army was mainly building a large camp around Anyi to guard against the sudden attack of the cavalry. Pei Jun was ambitious but incompetent, and it was obviously impossible for him to really put much pressure on Anyi. At that time, Cao Hong did not give Pei Jun much authority, and later he simply kicked Pei Jun away and threw him to Wenxi.

So generally speaking, if the intensity of the attack on Anyi at that time was considered as Pei Jun's standard, then after Cao Cao arrived, it would be doubled again and again. After all, Cao Cao climbed up the high platform, and with Cao Cao's experience, he could see clearly which troops were lazy and slippery. Even though these Cao troops had no generals to lead them, they all took it seriously.

At this point, the intensity of the attack on Anyi was roughly equivalent to that of two to three Pei Juns.

Then Bao Zhong led his troops to start attacking the city, roughly doubling the force again. Under his leadership, the attack power was about four or five times that of Pei Jun, which caught the Anyi defenders off guard. Cao's army also attacked the city wall for a time.

Afterwards, Cao Cao received an urgent secret letter from the rear, and his mood became very bad. Cao Hong also joined in supervising the battle and began to dispatch elite troops of Cao's army, such as the Central Commander and the Central Guard Army, to assist in the siege. The pressure on Anyi doubled again.

It's probably more than ten times stronger than before.

At this point, the casualties of the defenders in Anyi City began to soar, until Pei Ji could no longer bear it, and Pei Mao also took out the last of his coffins to fill it up...

But even with all the coffins added, they were still not enough. One day, when Cao Hong was supervising the battle and Bao Zhong was in the vanguard, trying their best to pry open the tortoise shell of Anyi, the private soldiers and servants of Pei Mao, Pei Ji and others were like a drop in the bucket, and disappeared in the flames of Cao's army's raging attack in the blink of an eye.

  Then, why didn’t Cao’s army try hard to attack Anyi from the beginning? Wouldn’t it be equivalent to taking over Anyi city now?

The main thing is that Anyi is just a byproduct...

In this era, unless the defenders are completely unprepared and the attackers can launch a surprise attack, or attack the city by surprise, or the defenders have no intention of defending at all and run away screaming as soon as they see the attackers' flag appearing in the distance, there is no possibility of breaking the city in a short time...

Except for the one hanging on the wall by Fei Qian.

At the beginning, Cao's army needed time to build siege equipment, time to wear down the morale and strength of the Anyi defenders, and time to dig pits everywhere to wait for the cavalry. Only now did they focus their attention on Anyi City.

Originally, Bao Zhong only climbed up the city wall on the first day to show that he was not a freeloader. He also took the opportunity of attacking Anyi to escape from Cao's army base camp.

Because Bao Zhong didn't believe that Bao Xin would simply "die in the chaos of war".

During the time when the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou marched into Yanzhou, Liu Dai, then the governor of Yanzhou, ignored Bao Xin's advice and rashly went into battle and died in battle. There is nothing to say about this. Even if Liu Dai did not die at the hands of the Yellow Turbans, he would have died at the hands of others, because most of the Yanzhou nobles at the time thought that Liu Dai was not a good son, and it would be better to replace him with someone else...

However, people had different opinions on the candidate for the post of Governor of Yanzhou. Some people preferred Bian Rang, believing that Bian Rang was extremely talented and famous, while others felt that Bao Xin had the longest qualifications and the most experience, so he would definitely be the most reliable. As for Cao Cao, he just had Yuan Shao behind him at the time.

Of course, there are records saying that Chen Gong supported Cao Cao at that time, so Bao Xin welcomed Cao Cao to Yanzhou...

However, this kind of "welcoming" was actually something Chen Shou vigorously demonstrated in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, proving Bao Xin's admiration for Cao Cao, and also trying to prove the legitimacy of Comrade Lao Cao's rise to power.

But there is only one thing missing, which is that in most cases, this kind of "civilian election" requires three concessions and three bows.

Only Liu Bei gave up Xuzhou three times, but Cao Cao did not give up Yanzhou three times.

In history, Lu Bu did not understand this point, so when Liu Bei expressed his humility, Lu Bu accepted it without a care in the world and said that Liu Bei was a really nice person. But in fact, he planted the seeds of disaster.

So how could Bao Xin, who had been in the Han system for many years, not understand this? So no one knew whether Bao Xin's "welcoming" was a courtesy or a sincere "welcoming" of Cao Cao, because Bao Xin risked his life to save Cao Cao in a battle with the Yellow Turban Army and eventually died in the battle...

When fighting the Yellow Turban Army in Shouzhang, Bao Xin was on the front line with Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao's flag was exposed for some unknown reason, and Cao Cao's large infantry force happened to not arrive in time!

The tragedy was brought to the table.

A later official announcement stated that Bao Xin bravely fought to protect Cao Cao's retreat during the battle, but was ultimately brutally murdered by the Yellow Turban bandits.

After the war, although Cao Cao offered a large reward to find Bao Xin's body, unfortunately, he failed to find it. Cao Cao had to carve a wooden statue of Bao Xin to pay tribute to him, which also expressed his condolences and respect for Bao Xin.

Afterwards, Cao Cao naturally became the governor of Yanzhou without any refusal or bowing three times.

The situation is critical during wartime, so it is understandable that we have to handle it with discretion.

That winter, Cao Cao recruited the 300,000 Yellow Turban bandits from Qingzhou who had "killed" Bao Xin, leaving no trace of his body, and formed the famous Qingzhou Army.

Then, Cao Cao killed Bian Rang.

One reason is that Bian Rang said something he shouldn't have said, which made the entire Yanzhou gentry very dissatisfied with Cao Cao...

Then, Cao Cao killed Kong Rong.

  One of the reasons is that the old guy Kong Rong always ridiculed him, which made Mr. Cao lose face?

Later, in history, Cao Cao waited twenty years after Bao Xin's death before he remembered to commemorate Bao Xin's achievements. He presented a memorial to confer the title of Xindu Tinghou on Bao Xin's son Bao Shao, and summoned Bao Xin's son Bao Xun to serve as the prime minister's assistant.

So the question is, what is it that Cao Cao cannot tolerate and cannot speak of?

You have to know that Cao Cao tolerated Xu You, that nagging woman, for a long time before he secretly signaled others to take action.

There is no answer to these questions in official documents. Bao Zhong could not find any deeds to prove his speculation, but he felt that Cao Cao would undoubtedly benefit the most after Bao Xin's death.

Moreover, Bao Zhong felt that Cao Cao actually knew that he was suspicious of Bao Zhong, so he kept Bao Zhong by his side intentionally or unintentionally.

Bao Zhong felt uneasy under Cao Cao's command, but he couldn't tell anyone about his uneasiness, not even his own children. Because his children were so innocent, they didn't know that some people would kill someone just to look at him a little more in the crowd...

Of course, regarding this matter, you can also choose to trust in the character of Lao Cao.

As for Bao Zhong himself, he didn't believe it, so he would rather attack Anyi. Because Bao Zhong was familiar with siege warfare, but he was not good at dealing with cavalry horses. Seeing that the cavalry was coming soon, if one day the cavalry really came, and classmate Cao ordered him to go to fight the cavalry, would he go or not? At least when attacking Anyi, Bao Zhong could still decide whether to let his children stay in a safer place. Don't do the unfamiliar with the familiar? At least Bao Zhong could still grasp the rhythm of the siege, but he never expected that after receiving the urgent report from eight hundred miles away, Cao Cao would go against his usual practice and attack Anyi overnight!

This is going to cost Bao Zhong his life...

Because Cao Hong didn't care whether Bao Zhong did it intentionally or not, or whether he was loyal or not. Seeing that Bao Xin's child seemed eager to lead the troops to attack the city, he waved his hand and shouted, "Go!"

So Bao Pikachu rushed forward with a roar, completely ignoring his father's good intentions.

  For Cao Hong, his own children died in Hedong, so would Cao Hong care if other people's children died? Cao Hong only cared about what happened in the rear that made Cao Cao lose his composure!

Although Cao Cao finally controlled his emotions and said lightly that it was nothing, Cao Hong knew that something must have happened seriously.

For example, although Cao Pi did not die, he was injured and disabled?

Or...

Cao Hong didn't dare to think about it, so he had to do something to make himself feel at ease.

So Cao Hong drove his soldiers to attack the city at the risk of their lives!

  As for what happens in the future, we can only wait and see!

Cao Hong personally urged the soldiers to come to the front of the battle line, braving the arrows and rolling stones. Who would dare to slack off?

Anyi has now used up most of its rolling stones and battering rams. The few that remain are basically materials obtained by demolishing houses in the city. However, the more houses are demolished, the farther away they are, and the manpower will become more and more exhausted. Therefore, the threat to Cao's army climbing the city wall is still mainly based on boiling water...

Even the gold juice was gone, only water was left. The water had boiled in the pot that had been used to boil the gold juice, and now it was poured all over his head!

Generally speaking, this stuff is much less lethal than gold juice. After all, gold juice is sticky, corrosive and toxic. As long as you get a little bit of it on you, your life will be in danger. As for boiling water, as long as it doesn't hit those unlucky guys in the front, it can still be called boiling water if it's poured from the top of the city, but when it's splashed to the bottom of the city, it can only be called scalding.

Moreover, if there is a shield to protect it and it does not come into contact with the skin immediately, the threat is indeed more than one level lower than that of gold juice and kerosene.

However, talking about harm without considering the dosage is just being a hooligan.

The soldiers defending the city obviously did not think that a pot of boiling water could repel a large number of Cao's troops. They only dealt with the ladders on the top of the city and forced back those Cao's troops who were armed with swords and spears and fully armed with armor.

Therefore, when they did not put in a lot of effort to attack the city, they would often see a long line of Cao's soldiers on the ladders, and then two buckets of boiling water would be poured from above, and the Cao soldier at the front would be drenched in the face and fall down screaming. The rest of the Cao soldiers on the ladders would quickly slide down, scatter like birds and beasts, and then continue to climb the ladders after a while.

But now that Cao Hong has issued a death order to attack the city, things are immediately different.

Even though the boiling water leaked through the gaps in the shields and the exposed heads, faces and hands of the Cao army soldiers were burned to pieces, they still continued to rush forward screaming!

Bao Zhong didn't know that his son had led another team of soldiers to the other side of the wall of Anyi. He thought that his son could survive this disaster under his protection and escape the ruthless swords and guns. Bao Zhong risked his life to at least prove that he and his son were not idlers, and to make it more acceptable in front of Cao Cao. However, his son didn't think so. He always felt that Bao Zhong didn't believe him and looked down on him. He wanted to do something earth-shattering to make his father admit his strength...

But for the Anyi defenders, Bao Zhong's son led the fresh troops to launch a fierce attack on the other side of the city wall, which seemed like Cao's army was using a strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west!

So when faced with a tactic of making a feint to the east and attacking the west, should we focus on the east or the west?

  Bao Zhong still didn't understand what was going on. He felt that the people on the city wall seemed a little lax. It was impossible for him with his old arms and legs to climb the steamboat and ladder all the time. He was feeling a little smug and lazy, and when he found the time to look back, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart!

Where are his children?!

This feeling can never be felt by parents. Just like in the small broken station, some people see the parents of lost children fainting in anxiety, but they still hold their phones, which means that the blind monk has found a bright spot, and the trainee has found water. They are abnormally excited and shout out their opinions, but they don’t know that in such a moment, fainting under too much stimulation is the body’s instinctive protection. If the cardiovascular system is not good, it is possible to die on the spot!

  Bao Zhong searched anxiously, but he couldn't see the figure that was supposed to be standing under the battle flag in the distance!

And I don’t know when the general flag in the distance changed from "Bao" to "Cao"!

"Da Lang! Where is Da Lang? !"

Bao Zhong hurried back, and the further he walked, the sadder he felt. He tried his best to sing, recite, act, and pretend to be stupid in front of others, wasn't it just to earn a better future for his child? Although his child was indeed not that smart, he was his flesh and blood, his future after all.

"Where did Dalang go? Has anyone seen Dalang? !"

Bao Zhong's helmet was askew, and he asked questions to everyone he saw. The Cao army soldiers and officers who were originally in the rear had all been replaced by a new group of people. They only responded to Bao Zhong's number, but those who they didn't know or were unfamiliar with just walked away.

Bao Zhong asked under the banner of Cao's generals, but saw Cao Hong with a sullen and fierce face, "What are you doing here? ! Go and urge the soldiers to take Anyi as soon as possible!"

Bao Zhong did not dare to retort, but he did not see his own child after all, so he asked anxiously, "Excuse me, General, where did my Dalang go?"

Cao Hong glanced at Bao Zhong from the corner of his eye, "What's wrong? Your eldest son felt that you were tired of attacking the city, and to relieve the lord's worries, he led another team of soldiers to attack the west wall! You...you retreated without orders, I will remember this for the time being, and quickly return to the front line to command! Anyi is now on its last breath! If you work harder, you can capture it! If you capture Anyi, it's fine to retreat without orders! If not... humph, you can do whatever you want!"

"But my Dalang..."

Bao Zhong wanted to fight for something, but he saw Cao Hong's eyes piercing him like a knife.

"What? You think I can't kill you?"

Cao Hong's voice was icy cold, and murderous intent leaked out from between his teeth.

Bao Zhong didn't dare to say anything else and retreated.

And at this time in Anyi, it was indeed as Cao Hong said, it had reached the final moment. Both the Pei family servants and private soldiers, as well as the conscripted laborers in the city, had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted.

The original defenders on the city walls were almost wiped out, with only one in ten left. Even the civilians who were conscripted to go up to the city were mostly killed.

Some civilians had no armor at all, and then Cao's arrows whizzed in, shooting down all men, women, and children, young and strong, old and weak, and the blood soaked every floor tile on the wall, filling all the gaps. When they stepped on it, some purple-black water surged out from under their feet, like a hand reaching out from hell.

The tools for defending the city were either used up or damaged. Even several of the pots and pans used to boil gold juice and water were burned out, and two or three of the remaining pots and pans collapsed into ashes due to lack of fuel.

Large numbers of wounded people were wailing on the city walls and under the inner walls, but no one paid any attention to them or treated them. There were also many corpses that no one had time to move or drag away, so they were left lying on their backs, incomplete and scattered all over the city walls and corridors.

At that moment, the soldiers defending the city and the civilians were just like what Cao Hong said, they were just holding on for a breath, relying on their instincts to fight and resist the attack of Cao's army.

Many people in the city died in the attack of Cao's army, including fathers and children.

When war had not come to them, the people of Hedong always thought that war was just like that, and that troubled times were just like that. But now in the face of death, no one would say a word, even the keyboard warriors who usually jumped the most were silent...

Pei Mao dragged his old body and fought against the two-sided attack of Cao's army together with Pei Ji.

The war would not give Pei Mao special treatment just because he was old and in poor health. On the contrary, the more chaotic the times, the more dangerous the old and weak would be.

The same was true for Pei Mao, but no Cao army soldier would respect and love the elderly or give way to him in a friendly manner just because he had white hair and beard. Instead, when they saw Pei Mao in full armor, they knew he was a big fish and attacked him even more fiercely!

Coincidentally, Bao Zhong's son Bao Dalang also discovered Pei Mao and thought that this old man must be a big experience bag. It was his time to make contributions. So he secretly hid in a team of Cao's soldiers and climbed towards the top of the city...