Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1228 General Attack
Dozens of counselors and generals rushed to Yuan Xi's tent, including Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun, Tian Feng, Zhang He, Zhang Liao, Wei Yan, and Huang Zhong. Yuan Xi's heart was filled with emotion. Most of these heroes who ranked at the forefront of the world now occupied most of his command. This was due to his tireless poaching over the years, and he had almost recruited most of the elites of Wei, Shu, and Wu in later generations.

Through years of operation, he was finally able to rely on the strength of these people to trap Cao's army in Yecheng. To deal with a top strategist like Cao Cao, Yuan Xi had no intention of taking shortcuts from the beginning, but to directly compete with him in strength, leaving Cao Cao no room to play.

Now, after nearly three years of attacking Jizhou, the Wei State had lost all other counties in Jizhou and was completely defeated in Wei County.

If the Jin army captured Yecheng again, it would mean the complete defeat of Wei in Jizhou. Yuan Xi would completely surpass Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu at their strongest times and occupy the Central Plains area outside the Great Wall. From then on, Yuan Xi would play the role of the Wei State in later generations and would remain invincible even when facing the alliance of other princes.

He looked around at everyone and said, "The time is ripe to break into the city."

"Now the people in the city are ready to support us at any time, just waiting for us to attack the city, and then they will launch an attack together and attack the city gate."

"What we have to do now is to attack from both inside and outside and capture Yecheng as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost!"

After hearing this, everyone turned to Yuan Xi and clasped their fists, saying, "We are willing to lead the way for our lord!"

Yuan Xi said to Zhuge Liang, "Military Advisor, explain to you how to attack the city."

Zhuge Liang stepped forward and said, "Cao's army still has tens of thousands of soldiers in the city, and each gate is guarded by at least 20,000 people. If we attack directly, even if we break in, we will suffer heavy losses."

"So the strategy we should adopt is to surround three sides and leave one side open, so that Cao's army can escape to Guanzhong and then pursue them. This is the plan with the least loss."

"At that time, the three military advisors will each take charge of one direction. Mr. Yuan Hao will take charge of the north gate, Boyan will follow the lord and take charge of the east gate, and I will go to the south gate. All parties will attack at the same time."

"Mr. Yuan Hao, please protect yourself and block the scattered Cao troops coming to the periphery, but do not participate in the direct attack on the city."

"Let's not talk about the Cao army inside the city. The Cao army outside the city will definitely come to harass and attack our troops attacking the city."

"The direction of their attack should be from the north and south. According to intelligence, Cao Zhen, Yu Jin, Ma Chao, Xiahou Shang and others are stationed in the north, so please ask Mr. Yuan Hao to lead the four generals Zhang He, Xu Huang, Wei Yan and Huang Zhong to attack the city and fight the enemy."

Tian Feng, Zhang He and the other five heard the order and responded in unison.

Zhuge Liang continued, "The next is the southern route. According to intelligence, the people coming may be Cao Hong, Cao Zhang, Le Jin, Li Dian and others, so I will bring Zhang Liao, Wen Pin, Yan Rou and Xian Yu Fu to fight against them."

The four generals heard this and responded with orders. Zhuge Liang added, "Although Cao Hong and Le Jin were injured the day before yesterday, Cao's army in Yuzhou has been continuously reinforced. When attacking the city from the south, we must guard against sneak attacks from the enemy. You must be careful."

The southern route is mainly to besiege a point and attack its reinforcements, so the generals are all good at field battles, while the northern route is to guard against Cao's defeated troops counterattacking Jizhou, so the generals used are all good at attacking strongholds. With this arrangement, everyone knows that the morale of the Jin army is high now, and they will definitely not lose to the Cao army in a head-on confrontation.

Zhuge Liang said, "Bo Yan will follow you and take charge of the central army, with General Zhao Gao as your support. This is the direction from which Cao's army is least likely to break through, but we must also guard against him making a desperate attempt to threaten your life. We can use the camps and trenches we built earlier. If we set up a defense line in advance, Cao's army should be unable to break through."

"There are still Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun and others in the city. Cao Ren is good at defense, while Xiahou Dun is not suitable for battle. However, the two military advisors on the opposite side are a bit troublesome. Xun You and Sima Yi are not easy to deal with. If the opposite side appears, we should kill them with all our strength if we have the chance."

"Of course, the most difficult one is Cao Cao himself. Although there are reports that he is in poor health, if he comes to the battlefield in person, he may use a trick to counterattack. We must be careful to deal with it and never rush into anything."

"When attacking a city, there is no need to be too impatient. Use three sides to put pressure on Cao's army in the city at the same time, so that their forces are evenly concentrated at the three gates and slowly consumed, making it impossible for them to help each other."

"The timing of breaking the city depends on, first, the effect of the tunnel at the north gate, and second, whether the field battles at the two south gates can defeat Cao's troops outside and then threaten the west gate of Yecheng."

"If Cao's army learns that the west gate is threatened, they will naturally think of retreating, and then we can force them to leave Yecheng."

“To do this we need to add a practice that will make them make up their minds at this juncture.”

"This method is currently kept secret. When the time comes, we will notify the various armies and deliver the materials that have been prepared in advance to all parties."

"According to a conservative estimate, this will happen in three days, so in these three days, please fight to the utmost and deplete Cao's army as much as possible!"

All the generals accepted the order, and Zhuge Liang confirmed the responsibilities of all parties again and again. Seeing that everything that could be said had been said, Yuan Xi stood up and said, "Okay, this battle is the key battle to determine the fate of the world. Whether we can leave our names in history, pacify the world, and create a peaceful and prosperous era depends on you!"

"When we achieve a great victory and you all come back, I will personally congratulate you all!"

Everyone bowed together and said, "We obey the Lord's command!"

Yuan Xi waved his hand and said, "Tomorrow morning, watch for the rocket signal and attack the city at the same time!"

Cao Cao was startled. He sat up suddenly. He heard a noisy sound in his ears. The chaotic and frightened voices in the house rang out. His ears were buzzing. He had been sleeping poorly, and his head hurt even more. He looked out the window and saw that the sky was still only slightly light. He pulled out the knife from under his pillow in anger and shouted, "Whoever makes a sound is looking for death!"

He kicked the door open and staggered out. At this moment, more than a dozen fireworks exploded one after another in the distant sky, dotted the sky into a sea of ​​flowers, but in Cao Cao's eyes, it was so dazzling. This was the rocket signal of the Jin army!
At this time, Madam Bian came hurriedly with the messenger and said, "Your Majesty, the soldiers reported that the Jin army has launched a full-scale attack on the city!"

Cao Cao snorted coldly, "Of course I know, where is Zihuan?"

Madam Bian said hurriedly, "He led the servants to check the gates of the mansion to prevent anyone from taking advantage of this opportunity to cause trouble."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, then shook his head and said, "We don't need him at this time. What if the enemy is targeting him?"

"Tell him to come back, put on his armor, and follow me out of the house!"

"Bring me my armor, too!"

Madam Bian was surprised, "The king is going too?"

Cao Cao snorted coldly and said, "The enemy has already reached the door. If I don't go out, am I going to die here?"

Madam Bian did not dare to disobey and quickly took people to find Cao Pi. She took out Cao Pi's armor and happened to meet Cao Pi rushing over. When he saw Madam Bian, he asked, "Mother, is my father looking for me?"

Madam Bian stuffed the armor into Cao Pi's arms and said, "The king wants you to follow him out of the palace to resist the enemy."

Seeing the fear in Cao Pi's eyes, Madam Bian shouted, "This is what your brother did back then. Now that you have taken this position, you must stand firm!"

"Or do you want to hide behind this for the rest of your life?"

"Go!"

After hearing this, Cao Pi had no choice but to rush to Cao Cao with his armor. He murmured in his heart that he had just become the crown prince for a few days and now he had to do such a dangerous thing. If something unexpected happened, what would be the point of him being the crown prince!
But now he also knew that Yecheng was facing a critical moment of life and death, with shouts of killing everywhere, so he and the Jin army launched an all-out offensive this time. Cao Pi couldn't help but have a thought in his mind: if his father failed, what would happen to him and his men?
He recalled the rumors about the Yuan clan when Yecheng was conquered by Cao's army several years ago. Many women in the clan were tortured to death, or committed suicide because they could not bear the humiliation. Even those who survived became slaves and playthings of Cao's generals, and their end was miserable. Now Yecheng was being attacked by the Jin army. Was this retribution?

What if he was caught? Thinking of this, Cao Pi shuddered and quickly put on the armor in his hand.

When he arrived, Cao Cao had already put on his armor and was riding on his horse. He was quite unhappy to see Cao Pi was late, but when he saw that Cao Pi had already put on his armor, his expression softened and he shouted, "Follow me!"

The guards led a horse over. Cao Pi actually seldom rode horses. When he saw the horse snorting and digging the ground with its hooves, he felt a little scared. He climbed on the horse tremblingly, stepped on the saddle, and pulled the reins, but he failed to get on twice.

The guard wanted to go up to help, but Cao Cao stopped him with a look. He snorted coldly, "Useless thing!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Pi gritted his teeth, stiffened his limbs, and finally exerted a strong force, finally straddling the horse, and then fell on the saddle in a very embarrassed manner.

Cao Cao showed a mocking look on his face, "With your current condition, can you even defend the world, let alone conquer it?"

"If your eldest brother hadn't been in trouble, would it be your turn?"

Cao Pi cursed in his heart, but he still looked respectful, bowed and said: "Father, I will remember your teachings."

Cao Cao ignored Cao Pi, kicked his horse's belly, and led everyone out of the palace. When Cao Pi saw this, he hurriedly followed.

Madam Bian, who was standing by, watched everyone leave, and thought to herself, "Your Majesty, don't you know what kind of character Cao Pi has? Comparing him with Cao Ang will only arouse his rebellious psychology. Among the Cao family, who can compare to Cao Ang, whom you, Your Majesty, have personally taught for more than ten years?"

If the king has time to teach Cao Pi in the future, perhaps he can do a good job, but the key is, do you have the time now?

The crowd ran through the long street towards the city gate, with Cao's army running quickly with weapons in hand behind them.

The people along the street stayed indoors and secretly observed the situation outside through the gaps in the windows.

At this time, there was a commoner who, either blind or confused, opened the door and emptied the toilet into the gutter on the side of the road. He took two unsteady steps with the bucket in his hand when he was stabbed to death by several Cao army soldiers who were passing by. He fell headfirst into the gutter without even a sound.

Now the doors on both sides of the road were tightly closed. Cao Pi rode past on horseback and heard the suppressed sobbing of a woman coming from the house of the man who was stabbed to death. He thought to himself that he had learned something.

(End of this chapter)