Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1236 Fire Fighting
After hearing the news from the spy, Tian Feng made a decision immediately.

He said to Xu Huang, "General, go to the east gate immediately to stop Cao's army and protect our lord."

Xu Huang jumped on his horse and asked, "Where is the military advisor?"

Tian Feng said in a deep voice: "I will ask those who entered the city to return to defend. Before that, I will lead the soldiers to guard the city gate. Go quickly!"

Xu Huang knew the situation was urgent, so he immediately led his soldiers straight to the east gate.

While Tian Feng sent people to the city to inform Zhang He and others to avoid ordering the soldiers to guard the city gate, he himself climbed to the top of the city wall with archers and saw that Cao's army was charging towards this side.

The Cao army that went to the east gate was led by Xiahou Shang and Ma Chao, and they were mainly cavalry. The ones who attacked the north gate where Tian Feng was were Cao Zhen and Yu Jin. The two were better at infantry, and they were leading nearly 10,000 Cao soldiers and rushing straight to the north gate.

When Tian Feng saw this, he shouted, "Everyone, defend the city gates, reinforcements will be here soon!"

The Jin army responded loudly after hearing this, but Tian Feng looked towards the chaotic city with worry in his heart. If the people did not panic, the current situation should be sustainable. But now that the roads are blocked, can the lord still prevent the fire in Yecheng?
The soldiers on both sides soon collided with each other, and the sound of fighting was endless. The Jin army was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower and quickly retreated behind the city gate. Yu Jin wanted to take advantage of the situation to break in, but was called back by Cao Zhen.

In response to Yu Jin's question, Cao Zhen explained: "Ming Gong asked us to block the north gate and contain the Jin army as much as possible. There is no need to attack them head-on."

"Anyway, the city is on fire now. If they can't get out, they will be burned to death in the city along with the people sooner or later."

The same situation occurred at the East Gate and the South Gate at the same time. Yuan Xi was standing on the top of the city wall, while Zhao Yun, who had rushed back from the city, was fighting with Ma Chao and Xiahou Shang.

Zhao Yun was cautious and did not walk far after entering the city. When he saw a fire in the city and people fleeing, he led the crowd out of the city. However, he met the attacking Ma Chao. Without saying a word, he led his troops directly towards Ma Chao.

The two men started fighting in an instant, and Xiahou Shang also joined the battle. Gao Lan saw this and wanted to rush forward, but was stopped by Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi said, "I think the same is true for the other two gates. This battle may not be over in one night, but if Yecheng burns all night, it will be completely over."

"You must lead your troops into the city immediately, guide the people to flee, and put out the fire. You must put out this fire."

"I will also give orders to the other divisions to prioritize putting out the fire and put the pursuit of Cao Cao aside for now."

After hearing this, Gao Lan immediately led his troops into the city. According to the plan that had been agreed upon earlier, he removed the steam engine from the crossbow cart, connected it to the water tank, transported it to the water source in the city, and began to pump water to put out the fire.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang at the South Gate was doing the same thing, and the idea itself was his.

When attacking Yecheng, Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun and several other advisers gathered together to discuss and analyze the responses that Cao's army could make. One of the worst possible scenarios was that Cao's army would set fire to the city while the Jin army entered, and use the chaos of the people to increase the number of casualties of the Jin army.

Now Cao's army really used this trick, and invested all the remaining troops in blocking the gate at all costs, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of Jin's response.

The situation at the South Gate was the best among the three gates, because the Cao army that came to block the South Gate encountered Yan Rou and Xianyu Fu who were rushing to the West Gate.

This was beyond the expectations of both sides, so they fought in a confused manner. The pressure of Cao's army on the South Gate was greatly reduced, and Zhuge Liang was able to command the battle, evacuating the fleeing crowd as much as possible and transporting water pumps into the city.

But what he did was more thoughtful than Gao Lan. He divided the street into two sides, one side for civilians to leave the city, and the other side for soldiers to enter the city, and the two sides did not interfere with each other.

Moreover, Zhuge Liang had predicted during the day that the city might be breached at night, and had connected all the steam engines to water tanks in advance. Now that a fire had broken out in the city, the soldiers of the Jin army rushed into the city with water pumps as quickly as possible to pump water and put out the fire.

But after all, there were too many fire points, and the only major water sources were a few rivers in the city. The Jin army soldiers had to guard against the enemy on one hand, and put out the fire on the other, so for a while they were short of manpower.

Zhang Liao, who was leading the battle, saw this and said to Zhuge Liang, "Military Advisor, I will go into the city to put out the fire."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "No, you go and help Yan Rou and the others, I will figure out a solution here."

Seeing Zhang Liao taking the order and leaving, Wen Pin, the only one left, began to grumble, thinking that now that everyone has left, how can the remaining people here put out the fire?

Zhuge Liang said to Wen Pin, "General, guard the city gates to prevent Cao's army from blocking the roads and killing the people."

"Leave the affairs of the city to me."

Zhuge Liang entered the city. He rode on his horse and shouted to the people fleeing along the way: "Everyone, I am under the command of the King of Jin, and I am here to rescue you from Cao's army!"

"Outside the city is the way out, you can go there!"

When the people heard this, they all praised him. Zhuge Liang said, "But you may have thought about this. Now there is a fire in the city. If you come back in the future, Yecheng will be a wasteland. Will your homes be gone?"

"We are entering the city to put out the fire in order to protect your properties and houses, but we are short of manpower. If you are young and strong and have the strength to send your women and children out of the city, can you come back and help us put out the fire and save our homes?"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. They seemed to have some intention, but the fire in the city was so big, and Cao's army was taking advantage of the chaos to kill people. Who knew if they would encounter any accidents?

Zhuge Liang shouted, "This is just a suggestion, I won't force you, just be at ease!" After that, he led his men into the city, leaving behind a group of civilians. They slowed down their pace, looked back at the flames in Yecheng, and were silent for a moment.

Some people hardened their hearts and quickened their pace, while the rest walked and whispered to each other. While they were struggling, several carts came towards the city gate from the direction of the city. When everyone looked closely, they saw that they were all Jin army soldiers who were burned while fighting the fire.

Someone immediately stood up and said, "Someone is saving our house, but we are doing nothing. Are we, the people of Jizhou, so ungrateful?"

"You guys leave the city, I want to go back!"

After saying this, he gave a few instructions to his wife, then picked up the wooden barrel and rushed towards the direction of the fire.

When the others saw this, they stopped and some left the team and went back. More and more people went back. Finally, everyone turned back at the same time and started to put out the fire from the nearest place, heading all the way to the city center.

The people who were walking out soon met those who had returned. After learning about the situation, more and more people joined in, and this trend began to spread into the city. Soon, the people of Yecheng joined the firefighting efforts everywhere.

Among them were some noble families who wanted to escape. Zhuge Liang was not polite about this. He did not say much and only asked his deputy general to write down the names of the families who had escaped from the city. Those families were not stupid either. They immediately turned around and returned to join the fire-fighting efforts.

After learning about the situation, Yuan Xi, who was guarding the city wall at the east gate, said to Lu Xun beside him: "This is my biggest gain from conquering Yecheng this time. In comparison, the city of Yecheng itself is not that important."

“Bo Yan, you come from a noble family, and your talent is no less than Kong Ming’s, but in this regard, he is one step ahead.”

“This is empathy for the people of the world.”

Lu Xun opened his mouth, but heard Yuan Xi say: "I am not blaming my brother. If I were in his position, I would not do as well as him."

"But Kong Ming and I realized a truth after experiencing the division of Qingzhou and Xuzhou."

“The emperor certainly needs scholars and officials to rule the country, but if he leaves the fate of the people entirely to them, that would be irresponsible to the people.”

Lu Xun said: "Xun understands that the imperial power cannot be shaken, I..."

"No," Yuan Xi said, "It's not the imperial power, it's the fate of the people. A considerable part of it should be handed over to them to control themselves."

"Just like putting out the fire in Yecheng now, if you force them, they will only resist. Only by worrying about their concerns and thinking about their thoughts can you gain their understanding."

"The reason for this is not to make them completely submit to me, but to find their path and merge it with my path so that we are in the same direction, so that they can help me spontaneously."

"Only by mobilizing these millions of people can we broaden our future path."

Lu Xun listened thoughtfully, "My lord, I have taken note of your words. When the land in Jiangdong is divided in the future, please give it to me."

Yuan Xi laughed, "Bo Yan, the future of Jiangdong depends on you."

"In my mind, your domestic and military strategies are among the top three in the world. If you can't do it, then no one else can."

Lu Xun immediately bowed and said, "My lord, I will go to the city to put out the fire now!"

Looking at the back of Lu Xun leading soldiers and calling on the people to go into the city to put out the fire, Yuan Xi felt a sense of pride in his heart. Under his influence, the people of this era have become completely different, and the new world in the future will also have a new look!
He turned his gaze back to Zhao Yun outside the city, thinking how much this battle would reduce Cao's army's strength, which would speed up the destruction of Cao in the future. They were no longer suitable for this new era, so they could only be completely eliminated!
Not only was there a fierce fighting outside the city, but there were also a considerable number of Cao's troops left inside the city, harassing and attacking the Jin army, trying to prevent them from putting out the fire.

They took advantage of the chaos to launch sneak attacks on Jin soldiers and even hacked and killed the people of Yecheng who were putting out the fire, causing considerable trouble for the Jin army in putting out the fire. When Zhang He, Wei Yan and others who had penetrated deep into the city center saw this, they could not help but curse the Cao army for being shameless.

Huang Zhong had already rushed back to rescue Tian Feng. Zhang He saw Cao's army rushing over, and they were actually flying Cao Hong's banner. He immediately said to Wei Yan: "I will hold them back here, and you can go to the west gate to pursue Cao Cao!"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, even if we can't capture Cao Cao, we can still control the west gate and seal Cao's army in the city, so they will collapse without a fight!"

"General, just wait for my good news!"

Zhang He watched Wei Yan leave, then stepped forward with his spear in hand and charged towards Cao Hong.

The sky above Yecheng was now illuminated by fire, as bright as day. Near the west gate, Cao Cao squinted his eyes and said, "What a fire! What a fire!"

"It would be even better if we could burn all the Jin troops to death."

Xiahou Dun on the side said: "Mingsir, the Jin army has entered the city, let's go quickly."

Cao Cao waved his hand, "Don't worry, they must have known that I'm here."

"Let them all rush to kill me, ignore the fire and get stuck in it, unable to move forward or backward!"

(End of this chapter)