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

Lueyang City.

The sun sets and night falls.

After a day of fierce attack, the Qin army finally retreated like a tide and slowly returned to the camp to rest.

"Finally made it through another day."

Zhang He breathed a sigh of relief, looked back at Jieting, and murmured:
"Youchang, Youchang, I have held on for four days. Tomorrow is the agreed date. I am afraid I can't hold on any longer."

With 50,000 Qin troops at the gates of the city, Cao Cao was eager to save Jieting, so he urged his troops to attack day and night.

Lueyang was not a fortified city, and the Han army arrived in a hurry with only 10,000 soldiers and horses.

The disadvantage is obvious and the battle is difficult.

Zhang He could only use all his skills to motivate his 10,000 soldiers to fight to the death with all their might.

By this time, the soldiers had suffered heavy casualties, and their mental and physical strength had reached their limits.

Zhang He was not sure whether he could still hold on at this time tomorrow.

"Pass the order down, tell the soldiers to rest as soon as possible, eat if you want, take a nap if you want, don't waste time."

After the order was given, Zhang He was so tired that he squatted on the ground and took the Hu Bing handed to him by his personal guard and started to eat it madly.

The Qin army has been attacking day and night. The current retreat is only temporary, and they will surely come back in half an hour.

All Zhang He could do was to let his soldiers rest as much as possible during this brief gap.

"General, good news, good news—"

A guard held up the silk book, climbed up the tower excitedly, and shouted:
"General Ma just sent a report of victory. He has captured Nanping Mountain, annihilated the Qin army, and killed the enemy leader Cao Xiu!"

"Our army has taken Jieting! Our army has taken Jieting!"

Zhang He choked on a mouthful of Hu pancake and had to take several bites before he managed to swallow it down. Without even taking a breath, he jumped up and snatched the victory report.

Nanping Mountain has been captured, Cao Xiu has been killed, and Jieting has returned to Han!
"Good boy, Ma Youchang, ah Ma Youchang, you really are worthy of being the first number one scholar in the Han Dynasty!"

"Good, good, great, hahahaha——"

Zhang He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, holding up the victory report in his hand and laughing.

The exhausted Han soldiers on the city wall heard the good news of the victory at Jieting, and it was as if they were given a shot of adrenaline, and their morale was boosted instantly.

Cheers and shouts of joy rang out above the city walls.

"This victory news comes at the perfect time. We can take advantage of the Qin army's temporary retreat and leave!"

Zhang He stopped laughing, waved his hand and shouted:
"Pass the order down, all units immediately abandon Lueyang and leave the city at night!"

"Let's go back to Jieting!"

After the order was passed down, the Han army soldiers along the city line immediately abandoned their posts and went north quietly under the cover of night.

An hour later, Lueyang was deserted.

Outside the city, tiny fires were lit up. Fifty thousand Qin troops left the camp and gathered again towards the south of the city.

The Qin army's siege is about to begin again.

Central Army Department.

Cao Cao, sitting high on his horse, had a frown on his face and a serious expression.

Three days ago, Wang Ping, who had just returned from his defeat at Jieting, brought back the news that Cao Xiu was surrounded in Nanping Mountain and his water supply was cut off.

Cao Cao was shocked.

He never expected that his talented nephew would go against his wishes and choose to abandon the city and go to the mountains.

Cao Cao was furious at that time.

But when Wang Ping explained Cao Xiu's difficulties, Cao Cao's anger turned into anxiety.

The severity of water shortage is more serious than food shortage. As a veteran of many battles, how could he not know this?

He could imagine how exhausted and thirsty Cao Xiu and the 5,000 Qin troops were at this moment, and how they might collapse at any time.

If Cao Xiu could not hold on, it would not be as simple as the annihilation of 5,000 soldiers, but the loss of Jieting.

The loss of Jieting meant that the Longshan defense line was useless! The Han army was like a nail stuck in his doorstep in Longxi.

If Liu Bei wants, he can pass through Longshan Mountain unimpeded at any time and launch an attack on your Longxi and Liangzhou from Jieting.

With the current financial resources of your Qin State, are you going to use your heads to stop the attack of hundreds of thousands of Han troops with overwhelming superiority?

"Wen Lie, no matter what, you have to hold on to me..."

Cao Cao prayed silently in his heart, but he did not dare to delay for a moment. He whipped his whip and shouted:

"Pass on my order, the army will attack again immediately!"

"Before tomorrow morning, I want the battle flag of the Great Qin to be planted on top of Lueyang City."

"I want to see Zhang He's head!"

The decree was passed down, and the war drums roared and the trumpets sounded.

The 50,000 Qin troops, which had just rested for a short time, began to attack Lueyang City like a tide at the urging of their generals.

Cao Cao clenched the whip tightly in his hand, his heart was made up.

He has made up his mind to destroy Lueyang City tonight at all costs.

Even if all 50,000 soldiers have to fight to the death, they must capture Lueyang.

Something happened that Cao Cao could not have expected.

The Qin army's siege was surprisingly smooth.

In other words, the Han army's resistance was surprisingly weak.

No, there was no resistance at all!
There was not a single Han soldier on the city wall, and the Qin army easily captured the city wall without losing a single soldier.

The city gates were opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and 50,000 Qin troops poured into the city like a torrent.

In less than half an hour, Lueyang was captured!
Cao Cao stared with wide eyes, looking at the Qin flag rising over the city wall of Lueyang, his eyes full of disbelief.

All the generals on both sides were in high spirits, and the Qin soldiers who were raiding the battlefield cheered loudly.

"Your Majesty, our army's offensive must have been fierce, and Zhang He's resistance was at its end, so he had to abandon the city and flee!"

"Our army can march straight to Jieting without any hindrance!"

Zhang Song was also filled with joy, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

It was he who proposed to Cao Cao the strategy of guarding Jieting with 7,000 soldiers and horses.

Liu Bei had not yet pacified Guanzhong and it would take at least three months before he could attack Longxi. This was a judgment he made with confidence.

But Liu Bei slapped him in the face again.

The 30,000-strong army descended like a divine force from the sky, unexpectedly crossed the Long Mountains and arrived at the city of Jieting!
He misjudged Liu Bei again.

The defensive strategy he proposed was once again in shaky condition and on the verge of collapse.

If Jieting was lost, how would he have the face to face Cao Cao again?
Fortunately, after Lueyang was captured, Cao Cao should be able to lead the army to Jieting in time and defeat the 30,000 Han troops from both inside and outside.

"Yongnian is right. It is not surprising that Zhang He was defeated and fled after my army, which is five times larger than my own, attacked fiercely for several days."

Cao Cao's eyes flashed with arrogance, and he whipped his horse whip:
"Pass on my order. The entire army does not need to rest and immediately march north to Jieting!"

"Tomorrow morning, the vanguard must appear in--"

The word "在" was not even uttered.

A horseman came galloping over, dismounted from his horse, and fell in front of Cao Cao.

"Your Majesty, urgent news from Jieting!"

"Our army failed to break out, and all five thousand soldiers were wiped out. They were completely annihilated by the Han army!"

"General Wen Lie was defeated after fighting so hard that he was killed by the enemy general Ma Su!"

"Jieting has fallen into the hands of the Han army!"

Cao Cao's whip was suspended in mid-air, his face frozen in shock for a moment. (End of this chapter)