Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Chapter 438: A heartless beast, is he worthy of being the crown prince? Two hundred thousand troops surrounded Jinyang, and it was only a matter of time before they captured it!
"puff!"

Cao Pi was so frightened that he spat out the wine he had just poured into his mouth.

When Sima Yi and the other four heard the familiar voice, their expressions changed and they hurriedly put down their wine glasses and stood up to greet him.

Before they could stand up, a middle-aged lady rushed in with an angry face.

The person who came was none other than Queen Bian.

"Mother, why are you here?"

Cao Pi threw away his wine glass, hurriedly stood up and bowed to greet him.

He glared angrily at the servants and maids who followed him in, blaming them for not informing him earlier that Queen Bian was coming.

All the servants and maids felt aggrieved and helpless. Bian had come to Prince Qi's mansion suddenly without any prior notice, and they had no time to inform her before they rushed in.

Bian went straight to the inner hall, where she ran into Cao Pi and his companions drinking and chatting.

He was grieving over the loss of his son, but when he saw his other son and his confidants drinking and having fun as if they were celebrating, how could he not be furious?

"Why can't I come?"

"Why, are you feeling guilty and afraid that I will see you? Are you and your gang of friends celebrating that your brother was killed by Liu Bei?"

Bian's face turned ashen and she started to mock him.

Cold sweat rolled down Cao Pi's forehead. He felt panic-stricken and confused, and didn't know how to respond to Bian's questioning.

If Bian went to complain to Cao Cao, saying that he knew Cao Zhi was killed but was still drinking and celebrating and laughing, Cao Cao would be furious.

How could Cao Cao possibly make such a heartless beast who disregards brotherly love the crown prince?

Even if Cao Zhang, who was only good at wielding a spear and a stick, was made the crown prince, it would be impossible for him to be made the crown prince!
Cao Pi was panicked and had no choice but to secretly look to Sima Yi and others for help.

Sima Yi rolled his eyes a few times, and then he pretended to be surprised and bowed:

"Queen, calm down. We were just chatting with Your Highness about poetry and literature, and we had a few drinks when we got excited."

"Your Majesty said that the Prince of Chenliu was murdered by Liu Bei. What is going on here? I really don't understand."

Cao Pi understood immediately and pretended to be confused:
"Yes, mother, didn't Zijian follow his uncle Zixiao? How could he be killed by Liu Bei for no reason? I don't know anything~~"

Cao Pi had no choice but to follow Sima Yi and pretend to be confused.

Those who don’t know are not guilty.

The anger on Bian's face finally faded, replaced by endless sadness, and tears rolled down like beads from a broken string.

"Don't you know yet? Your brother was killed by Liu Bei in Pingtao, and his head was hung in Pubanjin by that big-eared thief."

"Zihuan, your brother is dead. He was killed by Liu Bei. He was killed by Ma Chao~~"

Bian sat down crying.

Cao Pi touched his nose, forced out a few tears, and burst into tears of grief and anger.

"Zijian, oh Zijian, how could you abandon your mother and your brother?"

"Big-eared thief, ah, big-eared thief, you killed my eldest brother first, and then killed my fourth brother. Your hands are stained with the blood of my two brothers."

"I, Cao Pi, swear to heaven, I will tear you into pieces. I will kill you and avenge Zijian~~"

Cao Pi fell at Bian's feet, cursing in anger and swearing a poisonous oath.

Cao Pi was so sad and angry that he almost fainted from crying.

Bian, who was already extremely grief-stricken, could not cry anymore when she saw her son faint from crying, so she hurriedly supported Cao Pi.

"Zihuan, your brother is gone. Don't be too sad or you will hurt yourself by crying."

"I have already lost a son, I will never allow anything to happen to you~~"

Bian supported her son and comforted him with a look of nervous concern on her face.

Seeing this, Sima Yi and a few others on the side looked at each other secretly, their eyes full of admiration for Cao Pi's acting skills.

Not to mention Bian, the mother, even the four of them were almost deceived by Cao Pi, thinking that he was showing blood ties and was really too sad about Cao Zhi's murder.

Several people exchanged glances, then surrounded Cao Pi and tried to comfort him.

Cao Pi finally recovered, wiped away the tears from his eyes, and bowed to Bian with a generous look on his face:

"Don't worry, mother. The hatred for killing my brother is irreconcilable. I will gamble my life and kill Liu Bei and Ma Chao to avenge Zijian!"

Bian was very relieved by her son's attitude, so she gently stroked Cao Pi's shoulder and said:
"Zijian, I am very pleased that you have such a thoughtful attitude."

"Although your literary talent is not as good as Zijian's, your other abilities are all better than Zijian's. It is rare that you are so loyal and righteous. When you become the crown prince in the future, your father and I will be relieved."

What Bian meant was that once Cao Zhi died, the position of crown prince would belong to you, Cao Pi.

This was equivalent to Bian's statement of support for Cao Pi as the crown prince, so Cao Zhang had no chance at all.

Cao Pi was secretly delighted and felt reassured.

"I swear to heaven, whether I become the crown prince or not, I will avenge Zijian!"

"One day, I will personally cut off Liu Bei's head and present it to my mother, to pay tribute to Zijian's spirit in heaven!"

Cao Zhi stood up and solemnly swore an oath to Bian again with awe-inspiring dignity.

Bian nodded repeatedly, and her originally sad look was replaced by relief.

Cao Pi bowed his head and looked at Sima Yi secretly, and a tacit sneer flashed in their eyes. …

Bingzhou, Jinyang.

As soon as Cao Ren issued an order, generals such as Le Jin and Zhu Ling abandoned the strategic passes such as Jingxing and Huguan and led their troops to retreat hastily to Jinyang.

Within three days, 50,000 Qin troops gathered in Jinyang City.

After resting for several days in Pingtao, Liu Bei learned that Cao Ren had withdrawn his troops to Jinyang, so he led an army of 100,000 northward.

At the same time, Zhang Fei's Hebei Army also broke through the gates of Jingxing without bloodshed and marched towards Jinyang from three routes.

At the end of spring that year, more than 200,000 Han troops gathered at the city of Jinyang.

Liu Bei immediately gave orders for the troops to set up camps around the city, dig trenches, and build antler walls, making the city of Jinyang impenetrable.

At this point, the counties of Bingzhou were gradually recovered by the Han army, and the last 50,000 soldiers of the Qin army in Bingzhou were all surrounded in the isolated city of Jinyang.

South of the city, the Han army camp.

Inside the imperial tent, a sand table of Jinyang City had been placed inside the tent.

Liu Bei and his ministers gathered around the sand table to discuss the strategy of conquering Jinyang.

"Your Majesty, I think that before launching a large-scale attack on the city, Your Majesty should first send an urgent edict to Tongguan, ordering Yunchang to lead the army to counterattack and retreat to Shan County."

Xiao Fang pointed the feather fan in his hand to the south.

Liu Bei was startled and turned to look at Xiao Fang.

"The Prime Minister has thought it through carefully. Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is on guard against Cao Cao!"

Fa Zheng was the first to understand Xiao Fang's intention, and he explained for him:
"Pubanjin was defended by Huo Jun and Ling Tong like an iron wall. Cao Cao attacked for two months without making any progress, and watched the situation in Bingzhou take a sharp turn for the worse. Until today, Cao Zhi was killed and Cao Ren was trapped in an isolated city."

"Even if Cao Cao can't figure it out, Guo Jia will definitely see it clearly. It is impossible to capture Pubanjin and save Bingzhou. The only way is to find another way."

"The Prime Minister has calculated that Cao Cao will lead his army south to Tongguan, join forces with Xiahou Dun's troops to catch the general off guard, and unexpectedly leave Tongguan and march straight to Luoyang."

"Only in this way can we force Your Majesty to return to the south to save Luoyang and resolve the crisis in Bingzhou!"

"The Prime Minister's move is to ask Your Majesty to remind the general to avoid being caught off guard by Cao Cao. Just hold on to Shan County and wait for our army to take Bingzhou."

Liu Bei suddenly realized and understood Xiao Fang's foresight.

"The Prime Minister is indeed very thoughtful. Cao Cao's every move cannot escape the Prime Minister's control."

"Okay, I will immediately send someone south to tell Yunchang to retreat to Shan County!"

A messenger rode south with the imperial edict that day and headed straight for Tongguan.

It was just as Xiao Fang expected.

Five days later, a battle report was sent back from Hongnong. Cao Cao had indeed led his army south to Tongguan, and suddenly marched out of the pass with a force of 100,000.

Fortunately, Liu Bei's imperial edict arrived two days in advance. Guan Yu led the 50,000 Tongguan Army, abandoned the camp two days in advance, and retreated eastward to Shan County.

One hundred thousand Qin troops went out of the pass, but they came up empty-handed and only attacked an empty camp.

Cao Cao was furious and immediately led an army of 100,000 to march eastward and launched a frenzied attack on Shan County.

However, Guan Yu followed Liu Bei's edict and defended Shan County without fighting.

Cao Cao's repeated attacks failed and his army was blocked outside the city of Shan County, unable to advance eastward even a single step.

Upon learning that Luoyang was safe, Liu Bei felt relieved and concentrated on launching an offensive against Jinyang.

Nearly a hundred Hanwei cannons rose from the ground and stood in front of the four gates of Jinyang.

A bombardment of unprecedented scale began.

Bingzhou is mountainous and has an inexhaustible supply of stone bullets. The Han army collected 100,000 huge stones in just a few days.

At Liu Bei's command, hundreds of Hanwei cannons began to launch a saturation bombardment on Jinyang City day and night.

The sky collapsed and the earth broke apart, and the weather changed dramatically.

Huge rocks fell like meteors, pouring down towards Jinyang City from day to night without stopping.

Even though Cao Ren had made preparations in advance and had reinforced the city of Jinyang, it could not withstand such a horrific bombardment.

Within a few days of the bombing, the buildings on the surface of the city wall were razed to the ground.

Under the continuous bombardment, the city walls on all four sides were cracked and collapsed in countless places.

All Cao Ren could do was to urge his 50,000 Qin soldiers to guard the city wall day and night, risking being smashed by huge rocks, and constantly carrying soil and stones to repair the gaps.

After ten days of continuous bombardment, Jinyang City had been destroyed beyond all recognition. There was not a single intact city wall, making it look like a newly built city.

The Qin army also suffered thousands of casualties.

In terms of casualties, the Qin army did not suffer heavy casualties, only a few thousand people.

The most fatal thing is that this continuous bombardment has created tremendous mental pressure on the Qin army, making them highly nervous all the time, fearing that if they are not careful at some point, they will be smashed to pieces by huge rocks falling from the sky.

Under this continued high pressure, the morale of the 50,000 Qin troops gradually declined, and their morale was on the verge of collapse before the Han army launched a formal siege.

Jinyang City is already crumbling and in danger.

(End of this chapter)