Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2543 The Dilemma of the Plains, the Han Dynasty is on the Verge of Collapse
Looking down at the dark, imposing army of the Jin forces, Liu Bingzhong's eyes were filled with an unyielding sorrow.
Lian Po thus resolved the situation without bloodshed; with two-thirds of their forces gone, he saw no hope left.

He could do what Yuan Xi did: set fire to the plains and inflict heavy losses on both sides with the Jin army.

In this respect, he would be even more ruthless than Yuan Xi. In terms of cruelty and ruthlessness, Liu Bingzhong would absolutely surpass Yuan Xi.

Although Yao Guangxiao was known as the "Black-Robed Prime Minister," the first Black-Robed Prime Minister was none other than Liu Bingzhong.

However, he couldn't possibly do that.

Although his personality might have allowed him to do so, his lord was Liu Bei, which prevented him from doing so.

Liu Bingzhong would not allow the reputation that Liu Bei had built up over a lifetime to be ruined by his own hand.

Liu Bei would absolutely not tolerate such behavior that harmed the people of Qingzhou.

In particular, even if harming these Qingzhou civilians could kill more Jin soldiers, it still wouldn't change the final situation, making it even less likely that Liu Bei would agree.

In terms of benevolence, Liu Bei was universally acknowledged. Even his opponents had to admit his superiority in this regard.

If he really does it, he will lose not only now, but also Liu Bei's future.

"Tell Grand Commander Liu Rengui that I, Liu Bingzhong, will live and die with Pingyuan!"

"I'll leave His Majesty's affairs to him!"

The sorrow in Liu Bingzhong's eyes gradually disappeared, finally transforming into a resolute expression.

Their naval forces abandoned the Yellow River from the very beginning and went directly to the sea to join forces with the navy of Youzhou.

Xu Shiji's troops were trapped, and the naval forces made no move.

This wasn't just because the Jin navy was constantly searching for them, preventing them from making any rash moves. It was also because this navy was Liu Bei's escape route.

They could all die, but they absolutely could not cut off Liu Bei's last escape route.

Therefore, Liu Rengui's force must be preserved.

"Let's launch a general offensive!" Lian Po shouted from below.

Since Qi Jiguang's business has been completed, their progress here cannot be too slow.

Otherwise, if we continue to wait, Qi Jiguang's troops will arrive soon.

He should take all the credit for conquering a country's capital; there's no need for another person to share it with him.

"Yes, sir!" The many generals below clasped their hands in greeting.

In the previous siege battles, although a large number of elite troops were used, powerful generals such as Xuanwu and Zhao Yun did not take action, but instead conserved their strength.

Now is the time to go all out and use all our strength.

"Boom boom boom..."

More than two thousand catapults and countless ballistae were all gathered by Lian Po in one direction.

Previously, the siege equipment was from the rear and had not been fully transported up. Now that it is in place, it is natural for the Jin army to give full play to its advantages.

Despite the vast territory and abundant resources of the Jin army, and despite Qinghan's extensive production of weaponry in recent years, the Jin army had already achieved parity with, or even surpassed, their opponents with just a few moves. Lian Po did not disperse the catapults and ballistae, but instead concentrated them all in one direction, maximizing the firepower from that direction.

After all, the Han army that has been established now has less than 10,000 men.

With such a numerical advantage, Lian Po no longer needed to play the trick of surrounding three sides and leaving one side open; he could simply launch a full-scale attack in one direction.

More than two thousand catapults, countless ballistae, and a large number of siege towers were all aimed at one of the city walls, and the firepower involved was considerable.

Lian Po was not afraid that arranging these siege weapons so densely would subject them to a large-scale bombardment by enemy catapults, resulting in massive damage.

After all, the enemy had the advantage of city walls, and catapults, with their height advantage, were naturally more advantageous.

However, Lian Po, who had the support of the Jin Dynasty, did not need to consider these issues!

If this batch is damaged, there will be another batch! In fact, his next batch is already on its way.

If it comes to mutual harm, Lian Po is absolutely capable of inflicting damage. This is the advantage brought by national strength—a fair and square advantage that doesn't give you any chance to play dirty tricks.

Under such firepower, the Han army on the city wall suffered heavy casualties. In just half an hour, several hundred people lost their lives on the spot.

Among them were Wei Xiang, a civil official who went up the city wall to boost morale, and Lu Ding, a general of the Hebei army.

Catapults don't discriminate; they don't spare you just because you're of high status. Regardless of your social standing, if you get hit by a catapult, it might not kill you instantly, but it could certainly take half your life.

It's a pity about Wei Xiang. As the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, his talent was definitely among the best of the civil officials of that period.

However, he ended his life hastily under a huge rock.

"Catapults! Fire back! All of you, fire back!"

"Everyone else, get out of there!" Wang Liao, the commander on the city wall, roared hoarsely.

However, seeing that after finally destroying one catapult, the Jin army immediately pushed in a new one, killing one Jin soldier, and then another Jin soldier immediately took its place, Wang Liao felt a chill in his heart.

Apart from the cavalry on the left and right flanks protecting the city from the Han army's surprise attack on their catapult formations, the rest of the Jin army's infantry formations were hiding far behind.

It can be said that they could only hit the enemy soldiers operating these siege machines, and not the rest of the enemy soldiers at all.

However, the soldiers of the Han Dynasty could not leave the city walls.

If you start smashing things at each other, you'll be at a huge disadvantage.

Moreover, they didn't have a large cavalry force inside the city, so they couldn't go out to destroy the enemy's siege equipment.

If they wanted to rely on infantry to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's siege equipment, the enemy's cavalry on both flanks would probably rush up and stop them before they even got there.

Therefore, if we continue to stall in the current manner...

The Jin army may lose more siege equipment, but the Han army will likely suffer even greater casualties.

Would the Jin army feel sorry for these siege weapons?

Even if all of these thousands of catapults were destroyed here, Lian Po probably wouldn't feel any heartache.

As I said before, national strength is its greatest source of confidence.