Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 147 Seizing Yanzhou
The farmlands outside Puyang City are still welcoming a good harvest just like a few years ago.

Xiahou Dun in the city received the news that Zhao Yun and Wei Xiaobao were coming to attack Puyang, and recalled the scene when Cao Cao broke through Puyang, so he decided to send people out of the city to rob food.

Zhao Yun's army stationed outside the city first, leaving no time for Xiahou Dun to fortify the city and clear the countryside.

Battle reports continued to arrive from Dongjun and the navy, and Cao's army suffered heavy losses on all fronts.

It is even possible that Dongjun would be conquered by Yuan Tan within half a month.

Wei Xiaobao's plan soon failed. All the grain outside Puyang City was harvested, and Xiahou Dun never left the city.

In the military tent, Wei Xiaobao looked dejected: "I didn't expect this Xiahou Dun to be so smart. He didn't fall for it."

Zhao Yun laughed heartily. "You witnessed Cao Cao defeating Lü Bu here, and Xiahou Dun was also there. How could you have fallen for his trick?"

Wei Xiaobao raised his eyebrows and asked, "Brother, did you expect this outcome a long time ago?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said nothing.

Wei Xiaobao said, "If that's the case, you still agreed to attack Puyang first. Isn't that going to cause trouble?"

Zhao Yun waved his hand and said, "That's fine! Although our plan failed, it won't be difficult to capture Puyang. I've observed that the city walls are in disrepair. If we use catapults to attack, they should be easily destroyed."

Wei Xiaobao knew that many of Zhang Liao's former subordinates were among the army going on this expedition, and Liu Ye was even a master of mechanical devices, so he was no longer worried about the siege equipment.

After more than ten days of preparation, Zhao Yun reviewed the siege troops and ordered the attack.

Since entering Xuchang, Liu Bei has implemented a military merit system in the army according to Zhuge Liang's method, and attached great importance to rewards for military exploits such as being the first to climb the enemy line, charging into battle, and beheading generals.

During the attack on Puyang, Zhao Yun repeatedly emphasized to the soldiers that those who were the first to climb the enemy lines and charge into battle would be rewarded handsomely.

Although Xiahou Dun fought to the death, Zhao Yun's subordinates were in high spirits and had been heavily rewarded. After several days of continuous attack, they destroyed a corner of Puyang's southwest city wall and entered the city.

Xiahou Dun then led his troops back into the city, using high-rise buildings and streets as a defensive perimeter, and engaged in street fighting with Zhao Yun's troops.

At this time, Zhao Yun's army could not fully deploy in the narrow space in the city and quickly lost its numerical advantage.

After several attacks, Zhao Yun saw that the casualties were increasing sharply and ordered his soldiers to retreat outside the city.

Wei Xiaobao did not expect that the highlight of the Puyang attack and defense would come after the city was broken.

Zhao Yun ordered each unit to select soldiers with strong martial arts skills, temporarily formed an elite force, and personally led it into the city.

Although Wei Xiaobao's fighting skills were somewhat weak, he had the protection of a precious robe, and his agility was more suitable for actual combat in the narrow space of the city, so he followed Zhao Yun to fight together.

In addition to guarding the important roads, the soldiers who remained outside the city also had archers climb up the city walls to suppress the high-rise buildings in the city.

The defense line set up by Xiahou Dun was repeatedly compressed by Zhao Yun, and finally he had to retreat to the prefectural mansion for defense.

Seeing that Xiahou Dun was about to be defeated, Zhao Yun prepared to send someone to deliver a letter to Xiahou Dun to persuade him to surrender. Wei Xiaobao took the initiative to take on this task.

Inside the Puyang prefectural government's mansion, hundreds of people crowded the courtyard and corner towers. Wei Xiaobao made his way through several layers of soldiers before he finally saw Xiahou Dun.

When Xiahou Dun saw Wei Xiaobao coming, he said unhappily, "Sir, you helped the Prime Minister capture Puyang that day. I never thought that we would meet in Puyang today, and we are enemies, not friends."

Wei Xiaobao said, "I assisted Cao Cao that day so that he could escort His Majesty back to Luoyang. Who would have thought that Cao Cao would eventually move the capital to Xuchang and hold His Majesty hostage, doing the same thing as Dong Zhuo."

Xiahou Dun said, "The Han Dynasty is weak and no longer capable of commanding the empire. The Prime Minister has done justice to the Han Dynasty by protecting His Majesty's safety and reputation. Compared to the brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, does the Prime Minister harbor any rebellious intentions?"

Wei Xiaobao said, "What's the point of arguing between you and me now? You have no more than a thousand soldiers with you, and we're completely surrounded. My elder brother, mindful of your bravery and skill in battle, couldn't bear to take your life, so he sent me here to persuade you to surrender."

Xiahou Dun sneered twice: "I have followed the Prime Minister since Yanzhou. Now I am asked to surrender in Yanzhou. How can I stand on my own in this world?"

Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, "Dian Wei also surrendered to Cao Cao in Yanzhou. Could it be that he is also unable to stand on his own in the world?"

Xiahou Dun waved his hand and said, "Sir, there is no need to say more! I will call you sir for the last time. Please go back."

Wei Xiaobao had earned the respect of many people in Cao Cao's army thanks to the stories he had heard in the teahouse, but now when he heard the word "sir", he found it very irritating.

Before leaving, Wei Xiaobao took a last look at Xiahou Dun, sighed, and left the prefect's mansion.

When Zhao Yun saw Wei Xiaobao coming out alone, he already knew the result. He then ordered the archers to shoot arrows and led his troops to attack the prefect's mansion.

Xiahou Dun committed suicide before the prefectural government was captured, and his soldiers fought to the last man.

Zhao Yun admired the courage of Xiahou Dun and his men, so he ordered the soldiers to be buried with honor and sent someone to send Xiahou Dun's body to Yecheng.

When Cao Cao learned that Puyang City had been captured by Zhao Yun and saw Xiahou Dun's body, he was extremely sad and angry. He decided to lead his troops south to seek revenge at all costs.

Xun Yu hurriedly advised, "Prime Minister, our navy is weak. Once we leave the harbor, we will be attacked and blocked by Liu Bei's navy. Even if we manage to cross the river, we will suffer heavy losses. Not to mention how many troops we will have left to attack Yanzhou, the subsequent supply of troops and food is also a problem!"

Cao Cao calmed down and had no choice but to give up temporarily. He then ordered the navy to speed up training and vowed to cut Liu Bei, Zhao Yun, Wei Xiaobao and others into pieces.

Shortly after Zhao Yun captured Puyang, he also received news of victory from Yuan Tan.

After learning that Puyang had fallen, Cao's troops in Dongjun and other places at the junction of Yanzhou and Qingzhou voluntarily surrendered the city.

Zhao Yun immediately dispatched the navy on the river to garrison the port of Dunqiu. In this way, the entire lower and middle reaches of the river, except for the Baima Port in Yecheng and the Guandu Port in Chenliu, all other ports have been occupied by Liu Bei's army.

Dongqiu Port is not far from Baima Port and Guandu Port. The navy would go there every now and then to harass Cao Cao's navy training, which made Cao Cao very annoyed and exhausted.

Cheng Yu, who was stationed in Chenliu at this time, was in a state of panic. The grain route between Guandu and Baima was already empty nine out of ten times, and now with Liu Bei's navy stationed at Dunqiu Port, it was even more empty.

Seeing that the food supplies in the city were about to run out, Cheng Yu activated his meat jerky skill again, which caused unrest in the city, and a large-scale civil uprising broke out soon after.

Zhao Yun took the opportunity to attack Chenliu.

With the support and guidance of the people in the city, Chenliu City was quickly captured by Zhao Yun, and Cheng Yu also fled to Ye City in panic.

(End of this chapter)