Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 247 The imperial commander’s personal expedition
Yecheng, Imperial Palace, Tai'an Hall.

After Jia Xu, Guo Jia and Cui Yan each completed the task of capturing a county, they did not follow the army to Hejian County to join forces, but returned to Yecheng to report.

"Your Majesty, I have captured Julu County. It took me eight days to capture it. I have finally lived up to your expectations and kept my promise."

Jia Xu bowed to Liu Xie and said that he had originally set the time as ten days, but in fact it only took eight days, which was two days faster than the target.

"good."

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I have read the battle report. It took no effort to make Julu City fall. Wenhe's plan is really brilliant."

Jia Xu's ability to manipulate people's hearts was fully demonstrated in the Battle of Julu. A stack of forged letters and a few words from the messenger were enough to break the impregnable Julu City.

Sun Tzu once said that the best military operation is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack his alliances, and the worst is to attack his attacks.

The best way is to capture a city without consuming your own troops.

"Your Majesty is overly complimentary."

Receiving Liu Xie's praise, Jia Xu pretended to be humble and at the same time glanced at Guo Jia on the side, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

He and Guo Jia made a bet before going into battle, to see who could capture their respective targets the fastest and with the least loss.

It took him eight days to capture Julu with zero casualties. He was confident in this achievement and believed that he would definitely be able to defeat Guo Jia.

Guo Jia naturally understood what Jia Xu meant by that look, and after a slight smile he said, "Your Majesty, it took me five days to capture Pingyuan County, and there were no casualties."

When Jia Xu heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Although Pingyuan County is small, it will take more than five days to capture without casualties. If the city is besieged, it will take at least a month to break through.

If he were to go, he might directly resort to polluting the water source, but even that would take more than ten days.

How did Guo Jia manage to capture the city in five days?
Jia Xu was puzzled.

Guo Jia did not explain. After all, it would have a bad impact if the act of dragging the relatives of officials to death with horses was made public, so he just smiled faintly and kept his merit and fame to himself.

"Jia Xu's strategy is brilliant enough, but when it comes to being vicious and ruthless, Guo Jia is still one step ahead this time..."

Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he heard this.

He knew what means Guo Jia used. Compared with Jia Xu's clever strategy of sowing discord and playing with people's hearts, Guo Jia's method was simple and direct, but extremely effective.

After praising Guo Jia a few more times, Cui Yan said, "Your Majesty, Qinghe County has been captured. It took a total of three days, and our army suffered no casualties."

This result came as no surprise to anyone.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia were also unmoved.

After all, Qinghe County is the Cui family's hometown. It would be strange if Cui Yan could not take over Qinghe County in a short period of time. The difficulty is not on the same level as the other three counties.

"good."

Liu Xie nodded and said to the ministers in the hall: "Yesterday I received a letter from Lord Wen, saying that Anping County has been captured by him. In addition, he killed a thousand soldiers sent by Yuan Shao to help and captured two thousand."

"However, although the four armies have successfully joined together, Zhang Yan failed to hold back Yuan Shao, causing Yuan Shao's army to return to Jizhou. Therefore, the plan to attack Hejian County needs to be readjusted... What do you think, my dear ministers?"

According to the original idea, the four armies would join forces to besiege Hejian County, and it would be easy to capture this important place of Yuan Shao.

But plans can never keep up with changes.

Yuan Shao broke free from Zhang Yan's control and led his entire army back to Hejian County from Yicheng, making it clear that he was determined to defend the place to the death.

Now the overall number of armies on both sides is not much different, and they even have a slight advantage, but this advantage can basically be ignored in a siege battle.

Because if you want to forcibly capture a city, you need at least three times the number of troops as the defenders, and even so, it will still suffer extremely heavy casualties.

Liu Xie did not want the tens of thousands of troops he had gathered with great difficulty to be consumed in this battle, so he summoned Guo Jia, Jia Xu and others back to discuss with them how to attack Hejian County.

Upon hearing the news, all the ministers remained silent.

Even Sima Yi, who always liked to show off in front of Liu Xie, did not stand up and speak immediately. Instead, he frowned and fell into deep thought.

"His Majesty."

After a long while, Xun Chen took the initiative to say, "Hejian County is of utmost importance to Yuan Shao. He must have made preparations to deal with the attack of the royal army when he led his troops back to defend the area. I think a strong attack is not advisable."

"Your Majesty, why don't you withdraw your troops first and retake the four counties you just conquered? Then, after the spring of next year, reorganize your troops and look for an opportunity to attack."

It was approaching winter, and the two sides had equal forces. Moreover, they were the attacking party. If they attacked by force, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses, which would not be worth the loss.

"We cannot withdraw our troops now!"

Sima Yi suddenly rejected Xun Chen's suggestion. With a serious look on his face, he bowed to Liu Xie and said, "Your Majesty, if we wait until winter comes, Guo Yuan will have the opportunity to lead his troops back to defend the city. By then, the situation will be even more unfavorable to us!"

The reason why Guo Yuan was delayed in Bingzhou by Ma Chao and Han Sui was that most of Guo Yuan's troops were infantry, while most of Ma Teng's troops were cavalry.

But winter came, the weather was freezing cold, and heavy snow blocked the roads, making it very unfavorable for cavalry to pursue or encircle the enemy.

What's more, Bingzhou is not Jizhou or Youzhou, and there are not so many flat areas for cavalry to perform.

Without the advantage of cavalry, how could Ma Chao and his men delay Guo Yuan's army?
Once Guo Yuan's 30,000 troops returned, not to mention taking over Hejian County, the four counties that had already been captured, including Wei County, would probably be in danger.

Liu Xie knew that what Sima Yi said made sense, but the current situation made him feel powerless.

A centipede is dead but its body is still stiff, let alone this insect is not dead yet, it is just injured.

Yuan Shao's power is really too terrifying.

At its peak, it once made people feel despair.

Even though Qingzhou had been lost and was surrounded by enemies, he could still hold the city and wait for winter to come and for Guo Yuan to return to defend.

However, Liu Xie had to break through the turtle shell of Lecheng County before Guo Yuan led his troops back to defend.

"Wait, break the city?"

Liu Xie felt like he was struck by lightning. He couldn't help but tremble all over and his heart instantly became excited.

Because he suddenly thought of something he had ignored for a long time, a literal weapon for breaking into cities - the catapult!

Although this thing originated in the Zhou Dynasty, it has never been of great use due to technical reasons. The stones thrown are not big and have little power.

However, since Liu Ye under Cao Cao improved this device, its power has greatly increased. It was called the Thunderbolt Chariot and played a huge role in the Battle of Guandu.

During the Song Dynasty, catapults had evolved and improved to the extreme. A catapult required 150 to 250 people to pull it, and the stone bullets thrown could weigh hundreds of pounds!
When the Jin soldiers attacked Bian Jing, "more than a thousand artillery shells were fired in one night", forcing the soldiers defending the city to retreat to the foot of the city, making it almost impossible to withstand the rain of artillery and rocks.

"If we have an improved version of the catapult, we don't need more than a thousand, but only a hundred. The difficulty of attacking Lecheng County will be greatly reduced, and we may be able to win quickly!"

Liu Xie's eyes were shining and he was extremely excited.

After traveling through time for so long, his way of thinking gradually merged with that of this era, to the point that he almost forgot his identity as a time traveler and his knowledge.

At the moment, he felt that everything was suddenly clear. While Liu Xie was immersed in the joy of finding a solution, Jia Xu thought again and again, and stood up and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to attack Lecheng County and recapture Hejian County before winter, I think Your Majesty might as well lead the army in person to boost the morale of the whole army."

Since a frontal siege is inevitable, we should try our best to find a way to win. During a siege, the attackers will inevitably suffer heavy casualties, and morale is often the most critical link.

The emperor personally leading the army would undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of his own side, while also undermining the morale of Yuan Shao's soldiers.

"Leading the army in person? Absolutely not!"

Fu Wan's face immediately changed when he heard this, and he was the first to stand up and object, "As the saying goes, a son of a wealthy family should not sit in the hall, let alone Your Majesty, who is a king of ten thousand chariots, how can you personally go to the battlefield?"

"Minister Zhongshu, please don't joke!"

Fu Wan was very dissatisfied with Jia Xu's suggestion. He believed that the emperor should stay in the rear, and it was the job of the soldiers to fight and defeat the enemy.

The emperor is personally at the front line. If something goes wrong, who will be responsible? Who can be responsible?
His Fu family still relies on the emperor for their success!

Not only Fu Wan, but also Yang Biao, Xun Chen, Cui Yan and a group of court officials also spoke out against Liu Xie leading the army in person.

Jia Xu looked on coldly and sneered in his heart.

He knew very well what these people were thinking. Worrying about the safety of the emperor was bullshit. What they were really worried about was their own wealth and glory!
However, this group of people had no idea that if they could not capture Lecheng County, the good situation they had finally achieved would soon be overturned again.

The Bingzhou army is coming to support Yuan Shao, and his troops will reach as many as 60,000!

With 60,000 men defending the city, what can we use to attack?

If not, how could he have proposed that the emperor lead the army in person? Didn't he know the dangers of the battlefield?

"The imperial driver personally conquers..."

Liu Xie frowned and thought. He had led the army in person once before under the coercion of Yuan Shao, which indeed greatly boosted the morale of his own side and made the soldiers on Gongsun Zan's side lose all desire to fight.

If Zhao Yun had not killed Wen Chou in front of the battle and raised the morale of Gongsun Zan's army, Yicheng would probably have been defeated in that battle.

The battle to attack Lecheng County was extremely important. It could be regarded as the final decisive battle with Yuan Shao and would determine the ownership of the entire Hebei Province. It was indeed necessary for the emperor to lead the army in person.

In troubled times, he could only be an emperor on horseback like Emperor Guangwu, and it was impossible for him to sit high on the Diaoyutai like the kings in prosperous times.

Otherwise, even if the world was unified, how could he make the noble families submit willingly if he did not establish himself as a murderous and ruthless person?

After a little thought, Liu Xie raised his hand slightly.

The whole hall suddenly became quiet.

Everyone looked at him.

Facing the gazes of the ministers in the palace, Liu Xie spoke in a deep voice: "This battle is of vital importance. Since I want to emulate Emperor Guangwu and become an emperor on horseback, how can I watch the soldiers bleed and sacrifice on the front line while I live in the palace and enjoy myself?"

"As the saying goes, the emperor punishes those who are disloyal, and the king dies for his country! I have decided to lead the army in person to defeat Yuan Shao and exterminate the traitors! To spread the great power of the Han Dynasty!"

As soon as Liu Xie said this, the faces of Fu Wan, Xun Chen and others changed.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia both looked excited, and felt their blood boiling!

The emperor punishes disobedience, and the king dies for the country!
What a majestic spirit!
Jia Xu was the first to take the lead in paying homage, shouting, "Long live His Majesty! Long live the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Xie had said so much, and although Fu Wan and the others were unwilling, they could not find any reason to refute and could only follow him in paying homage.

"Long live His Majesty! Long live the Han Dynasty!"

It was decided that the emperor would lead the army in person.

……

After retiring from court, Liu Xie returned to Xuanshi.

And sent someone to summon the elders of the Zhen family.

"See Your Majesty."

The elder of the Zhen clan walked into the Xuanshi Hall, bowed respectfully to Liu Xie, and then asked carefully, "I wonder what instructions your majesty has for me, the old minister?"

Liu Xie didn't waste time talking to him and asked directly, "How many craftsmen are there in the Zhen family now? If we rush to make catapults, how many can we make in ten days?"

"Throwing the car?"

The head of the Zhen family was stunned for a moment, then after a moment of thought, he replied, "Your Majesty, there are more than a thousand craftsmen in my clan. It is very simple to build a throwing cart. If we work day and night, it will not be a problem to make five or six hundred in ten days."

"But...please forgive me for being blunt, the stone bullets thrown by the catapults are too weak to be of much use in attacking the city."

When he heard about the catapult, he understood what Liu Xie was planning. It was obvious that he was going to use the catapult to attack Lecheng County.

But the power of this thing is really horrific, and its range is limited. The stones it throws are at most the size of a bowl. It has long been eliminated in the war.

Instead of spending time on making catapults, it would be better to make more siege equipment such as ladders and siege towers. At least the latter are very practical.

"I don't want to build a traditional catapult."

As Liu Xie spoke, he picked up the charcoal-drawn drawings and the principles written on them on the table and handed them to the Zhen clan elders. "Give these to the craftsmen in the Zhen clan, and let them study them and make imitations."

"I don't ask for too much. Just a hundred completed aircraft will be enough before the Battle of Hejian. Once they are completed, they will be sent to the front line immediately."

The drawings provided by Liu Xie were not of the Thunderbolt Chariot developed by Cao Cao's subordinates in history, but of the more powerful and advanced large catapult from the Song Dynasty.

The ultimate version of the catapult!

Thanks to his good habit of looking up information when reading history, he had a good understanding of the catapults of the Song Dynasty, so he drew a rough sketch.

Although he did not go into detail about the specific details of the structure, he wrote down the relevant principles in relatively simple terms. With these, it was not difficult for the Zhen craftsmen to make the catapult he wanted.

After all, the catapult itself is not something that requires particularly high technical skills. Those craftsmen have even mastered the iron smelting technology he provided before. How could they be stumped by a mere improved version of the catapult?

The Zhen clan elder took the drawing handed over by Liu Xie and looked at it carefully. Although he didn't quite understand it, he knew that this was different from the traditional catapult.

Not only is the structure different, but the size is also larger.

So the Zhen clan elder carefully put away the blueprint and said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will live up to your trust!"

Ever since the emperor came to power, the Zhen family has had fewer opportunities to make meritorious deeds. Now that the emperor has personally instructed him to do this, he must do it well.

After paying his respects, the Zhen clan elder turned around and left.

……

The next morning, news came that the emperor was leading the army in person.

Liu Xie, escorted by Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci and the Yulin Guards, rushed to the front line with Jia Xu, Guo Jia and others.

(End of this chapter)