Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1215 Attack and Defense
As Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun just left the mansion, they saw Xu Chu waiting outside on horseback. Although Cao Cao was angry, he couldn't say anything at this time. He could only snort coldly and ride towards the city gate with Xiahou Dun.

Xu Chu had been feeling very anxious because of Xu Yi's matter, but now that he saw that Cao Cao did not seem to be pursuing the matter, he felt relieved and quickly mounted his horse to follow behind.

The crowd rushed forward, only to see chaos on the road. Although there were not many rioters, the fire was getting bigger and bigger in many places. Although Cao's soldiers were putting out the fire, there was no sign of the fire abating for a while. When Cao Cao saw this, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.

You have to know that the most feared thing for defenders is a fire in the city. The smoke from the fire has a huge impact on the morale of the army. If the rear is unstable, the front line will naturally lack confidence. Moreover, if the fire spreads, not only will the houses in the city be damaged, but the granaries and water sources will also be affected, and the logistics supply will be affected. At that time, the time the defenders can hold out will be greatly reduced.

Cao Cao did not think that the entire Jin army could raid Ye City. Based on Xiahou Dun's description, he believed that the other side had at most 20,000 to 30,000 troops. With such a number of troops and at a rapid march, the siege baggage would certainly not be able to keep up, so it would be quite difficult to capture Ye City.

The biggest variable was still inside the city. Cao Cao met Cao Ren along the way and found that he was also leading troops to quell the rebellion. He shouted, "Send two lieutenants over, and you come with me to the top of the city!"

After hearing this, Cao Ren quickly took orders. They all went all the way to the foot of the city, only to find that the rebels at this city gate had already been dispersed. Upon inquiring, they discovered that it was the military advisor Sima Yi who had arrived with his troops in advance, suppressed and dispersed the rebels at the city gate, and then went to the top of the city to deploy defenses.

After hearing this, Cao Cao said to Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun: "Although Zhongda is young, he is steady and reliable, capable and loyal. He is worthy of being a loyal minister of the Wei Dynasty."

"You can use this as a yardstick and serve with all your heart and soul."

Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren looked at each other and quickly accepted the order, thinking that Sima Yi's future career might be limitless.

Cao Cao led everyone to the top of the city wall, only to see Sima Yi hiding behind the gate tower, trembling with his head in his hands. The ground around him was full of dead and wounded Cao army soldiers. Everyone was shocked to see this. Cao Ren shouted, "Military Advisor, are the enemies climbing the city wall?"

Sima Yi heard the voices, looked up and recognized the faces of the people, and immediately said in a pale face: "My king, be careful, the siege weapons on the other side are powerful!"

Before he finished speaking, a whistling sound was heard in the distant sky. Xiahou Dun looked up and realized that something was wrong. He quickly pulled Cao Cao and others to hide on the top of the city wall. Before they could stand firmly, they heard a continuous popping sound from the top of the city wall, stones flying everywhere, and arrows shot into the city wall, covering the entire top of the city wall.

After a long while, the sound of the attack from the top of the city gradually weakened, and then the shouting and killing started again. Cao Cao guessed that the enemy was going to attack the city, so he hurried to the top of the city to see the situation. As a result, he just poked his head out of the stairs and saw Sima Yi lying motionless like a dog in the distance and shouted: "My king, be careful, it's not over yet!"

Before he could finish his words, the second wave of attacks came over. A stone grazed Cao Cao's scalp and flew out. Cao Cao subconsciously stepped back, missed a step, and fell backwards.

Xiahou Dun, who was behind him, was caught off guard and reached out to pull him, but his hand was empty. Seeing that Cao Cao was about to fall down the stairs, Xu Chu, who was walking on crutches behind him, quickly threw away his crutches and held Cao Cao steadily.

Now everyone had strange expressions on their faces, they all realized that Xu Chu was pretending, but when they saw that Cao Cao didn't say anything, they all kept silent too.

Seeing that the offensive had slowed down, Cao Cao was anxious to check the situation below the city. He immediately ordered the Wei soldiers behind him to hold large shields and block them diagonally from above to form a protective barrier. Then he carefully climbed up to the top of the city wall.

It was almost dawn. Under the cover of his shield, Cao Cao looked down at the city through the arrow slits in the faint light. The scene below made him frown.

As expected, the previous few waves of attacks were not caused by human power at all, but were indeed launched by siege equipment!
The defensive position of the Jin army on the opposite side was still a shot's distance away from the moat, which made it impossible for the Wei army on the city wall to attack at all. However, the opposite side set up catapults and crossbow carts at this position, and took turns to clean up the city wall!
Cao Cao looked at the hundreds of catapults and crossbow carts below, and his head began to ache again. He turned his head and said coldly: "The siege equipment is right in front of us. Have our outer defenders been defeated?"

"Even if there was an interference from the Wei army, how could they transport so many equipment safely?"

Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren were speechless. Sima Yi crawled over on all fours and said, "Your Majesty, the siege equipment on the other side was all put together on the spot."

"The components were first made and carried by horses, and then assembled at the foot of the city. Not many components were needed for assembly, and the long and heavy base that needed to be counterweighted was replaced by nails driven into the ground, so it could function with the least amount of materials."

"The commander or military advisor of the opposing army attaches great importance to fortification equipment. This is why the Jin army can repeatedly create new equipment and come up with corresponding tactics to suppress our army in a head-on attack."

"Trench warfare is an example. They have special equipment for digging pits, so their speed is several times faster than ours. Although Ming Gong ordered to dig rivers to deal with it, the front line was full of swamps, so naturally large-scale marches were impossible, and the two sides formed a balanced defense line."

"But these machines can dig pits, so they can also build dams. I guess the reason why the enemy was able to quickly break through our defense line was that they dug a dam to block the water flow in a short period of time, allowing the cut-off road to be temporarily restored to traffic, and then used a large number of cavalry to carry siege equipment and rushed to Yecheng as quickly as possible, resulting in the current situation."

Cao Cao remained silent after hearing this. Half a year ago, he had personally commanded the battle in the central army. At that time, Xiahou Dun and Zhang He were fighting against each other. Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to intercept and kill Zhang He, and almost killed him. But at the last moment, Zhuge Liang came to help, and Zhang He escaped by relying on a balloon. Xu Chu, who was determined to kill Zhuge Liang, fell into the trap and almost died.

After this, Cao Cao felt unwell, so he withdrew his defense line and handed over the front army to Sima Yi for command. For the next six months, Cao Cao was on the verge of physical collapse. In addition, Sima Yi defended well, so Cao Cao naturally did not care much about military affairs.

However, Cao Cao just realized today that after he left, the tactics of the Jin army seemed to have changed a lot. The leader of the other army seemed to be growing. If Sima Yi hadn't reminded him, Cao Cao would not have realized that his understanding of the tactics of the Jin army was outdated! He frowned and said, "Zhongda, do you know who is on the other side?"

Sima Yi said, "The most skilled weapon expert in the Tiger Army is the military advisor Zhuge Liang, but I don't know if he is here at the city gates now. After all, he is cautious in his actions, and the Jin Army's offensive this time seems like a desperate move."

When Cao Cao heard the name Zhuge Liang, his brows furrowed even more. He remembered this name; this was the military advisor whom Zhongkang wanted to kill last time but failed.

Cao Cao had heard long ago that Xionghu had two men under his command: Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun. Although they were young, their military exploits surpassed those of Tian Feng, Ju Su and others. In time, they would become a great threat to the Cao family.

Sima Yi said, "The enemy just took advantage of the surprise attack. If we can defend the city well and wait for the generals on the front line to return to support us, we can surround and destroy the enemy troops under the city!"

Cao Cao did not comment, but said: "After Zhongda came back, he did a great job for our Cao family."

"The defense of Yecheng this time will be handed over to Zhongda. Zixiao Yuanrang, you will temporarily follow Zhongda's orders!"

After hearing this, Sima Yi, Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun quickly accepted the order. Although Sima Yi knew that this was a great opportunity for him to show his abilities, he felt great pressure in his heart. After all, if the person on the other side was really Zhuge Liang, it would not be so easy for him to deal with him!
However, things had come to this point, and Sima Yi had no choice but to go ahead. He briefly explained to Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun the usual tactics of the Jin army, as well as the countermeasures he had thought of. When Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren both said they understood, Sima Yi immediately arranged for the two to go to the other two gates.

The reason for this is that if Sima Yi directly mobilized the two people, it would be difficult for Zi Shang to get through. Now that they are deployed on three sides, they can not only support each other, but also respond to changes in the city in a timely manner.

Seeing that Sima Yi had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Cao Cao could not help but feel satisfied. It could be said that Sima Fang, his son, was the most unexpected person for Cao Cao. If he could truly be loyal to the Cao family, he would be at peace even if he died.

But then a thought popped into Cao Cao's mind: what if Sima Yi had ulterior motives?
Who can control him then?
Cao Cao's face couldn't help but darken. He turned his gaze back to the city. At this time, the next wave of attacks from arrows and catapults was about to arrive.

Behind the Jin army's makeshift camp, Zhuge Liang was riding on a horse, giving orders to the troops, while tens of thousands of people were digging trenches and launching an attack line.

The reason for doing so was to guard against the Wei army's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry's sudden attack on the siege equipment. However, what surprised Zhuge Liang was that the Jin army had not yet left the city to counterattack. Zhao Yun behind him was also puzzled and asked: "Is the Wei army so willing to be beaten?"

"Logically speaking, we should at least go out of the city to test it out, right?"

Zhuge Liang said, "Indeed, this is not like Cao Cao's behavior. It reminds me of someone."

Zhao Yun asked, "Who is it?"

Zhuge Liang said, "Sima Yi."

"I saw the reaction of the soldiers on the city walls. They responded very promptly to the intermittent throwing of arrows and stones. Among Cao's camp, Sima Yi was the one who truly understood the intermittent rhythm of this attack."

Zhao Yun said, "If the military advisor is sure it's him, he must have a plan to deal with it, right?"

"As the saying goes, if you know yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. I'm afraid that military advisors are one of the few people who can do this today."

Zhuge Liang said calmly: "I am not that smart. If it weren't for the intelligence system of my lord, I would not have come this far."

"It's said to know yourself and know your enemy, but it's actually too difficult to do. If you can completely suppress the enemy, you'll be the military genius Han Xin."

In Zhuge Liang's mind, the best warrior throughout history is Han Xin, who can command an army of 100,000 at will and make accurate predictions about the enemy's movements, which is definitely not something that can be achieved by guessing.

There must be an intelligence system behind him to support his tactical thinking. Otherwise, his luck can only last for a while. How can he be as victorious as Han Xin in every battle?

So after some thought, Zhuge Liang came to a conclusion that Han Xin might be the first person to realize the importance of intelligence warfare and put it into action, thereby completely suppressing the enemy and bringing it to its full potential.

(End of this chapter)