The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 269 Incredible Range
The following day, Guo Huai personally went to Cao Zhen's army camp to encourage the troops.

Various treasures were lavishly bestowed upon the recipients.

This includes, but is not limited to, Cao Zhen's subordinates.

And the troops of Wang Zhao and Zheng Gan who were forced to join the war.

He then proclaimed to the generals the imperial edict and military strategy of Emperor Cao Pi.

They bestowed upon him all sorts of generous rewards that were beyond the ordinary imagination.

They also replenished Cao Zhen's supplies with a large amount of flint, charcoal, and dry thatch.

It can be used for both heating and fire attack.

In short, all foreseeable problems should be resolved in advance to avoid future troubles.

Even so, after returning to the city, Guo Huai still felt incredibly bored.

They then went into the city to invite a renowned old scholar to write a letter to Liu Bei outside the city, urging him to surrender.

The goal is not to actually persuade the other party to submit, but to provoke their temper as much as possible.

It would be even better if Liu Bei could be angered to death on the spot.

After all this trouble, the letter was finally written, but it hadn't been sent out of the city yet.

A series of thunderous roars suddenly came from the south of the city.

Guo Huai subconsciously walked towards Zhangtai Street.

As soon as they reached the street corner, Xiahou Mao, who was coming from the opposite direction, pulled them back.

The two stumbled and staggered until they reached the vicinity of the East and West Markets of Chang'an. Just as they were about to exit through the Hengmen Gate, Xiahou Mao finally calmed down.

But he still glanced south in panic from time to time, filled with fear.

Seeing his appearance, Guo Huai could easily guess what had happened.

He said urgently:

"The Shu bandits have started smashing the city?"

Xiahou Mao nodded vigorously at first, then froze for a moment, and hesitated before saying:
"They probably haven't officially attacked the city yet; they're just testing the catapults."

Guo Huai: "Test firing?"

Xiahou Mao:
"What I saw with my own eyes from the city wall just now was that only the northernmost row of trebuchets was throwing stones; the rest were not moving."

"Otherwise, if hundreds of planes were to fire simultaneously, the city walls would be blown to pieces."

Guo Huai was unsure whether to admire Xiahou Mao's courage or marvel at his luck.

However, recalling what he had seen and heard from the city tower yesterday, he quickly said:

"Even if it's just the northernmost row of catapults, to hit the watchtower on Anmen, the catapult would have to be moved at least two hundred paces forward, and the noise would be considerable."

Why didn't the gatekeeper at Anmen sound the alarm?

"Furthermore, since the enemy only has a small number of launchers advancing, shouldn't you immediately send troops to intercept and attempt to destroy them? Why are you only concerned with running north!"

Hearing the rebuke, Xiahou Mao, unusually, did not blush; instead, he looked fearful and said:

"Boji, we have all underestimated the skilled craftsmen under Liu Bei's command!"

"That catapult can launch stone balls five hundred paces!"

"Before the gatekeepers could give a warning, the catapults began launching stones."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sound similar to thunder came from the south of the city again.

Whether it was a misperception or not, the sound didn't seem to grow any farther away as they ran further north.

After a long silence, Guo Huai finally spoke again:
"Five hundred paces?!"

Xiahou Mao nodded heavily, but still doubted the other party's belief, so he summoned one of his personal guards and asked him to recount what he had just witnessed.

Guo Huai felt like he was having a nightmare.

A catapult with a range of 500 paces.

Simply unheard of.

This is beyond the range of ordinary crossbows.

If what Xiahou Mao and others saw is true.

Doesn't that mean.

In the ensuing battles for Chang'an, the defending Wei army could only passively endure the attacks.

Because it was so unbelievable, Guo Huai still looked at Xiahou Mao with suspicion.

The latter was quite straightforward, saying that if Guo Huai didn't believe him, he could send someone to the south of the city to check.

In any case, Xiahou Mao will absolutely never go to the south of the city again.

After this.

The Han army fired another round of tests, and then fell completely silent.

Guo Huai nervously sent men to the south of the city to assess the damage. Half a day later, his men returned with two pieces of news, one good and one bad.

The good news is that the Han army was indeed just testing the waters.

They fired three rounds and then retreated.

They didn't even take the stone-throwing cart away; they just dismantled it on the spot.

Therefore, the section of the city wall near Anmen suffered virtually no damage.

Only a corner of the roof tile of the watchtower was chipped off.

But here's the bad news.

The Han army's catapults could indeed hit targets five hundred paces away!
Although it is said that the stone pellets used are relatively small and the accuracy is only so-so.

But no matter how small it is, being hit by it can still kill someone.

And accuracy, in the face of hundreds of aircraft, doesn't seem to be that important.

After all, Chang'an was not some small and exquisite destination.

With hundreds of catapults launching catapults at the same time, surely some of them will hit the target?
Not to mention, mixed in with this bad news is another layer of potentially even worse bad news:
The Han army's next two volleys of projectiles were not heavy stone balls, but rather surrender proclamations wrapped in wooden bullets and burlap sacks.

Because it is written on soft yet sturdy Miele paper, most of the paper remains intact even after being subjected to high-speed impacts.

Its range is even greater.

Of course, the accuracy is also worse.

But in any case, the frustration of having an enemy who can hit you from afar while you can't reach them at all.

This cast a shadow over the hearts of the Wei soldiers and civilians throughout the city.

That night, the numerous letters urging surrender that had been scattered at various points were, except for some that were promptly cleared away by the Wei army in the city.

Most of them were transferred to the hands of nobles and officials in the city without anyone noticing.

……

"This cannon is divine!"

Inside the emperor's tent, General Wei Yan, who was leading the Northern Expedition, recalled the scene he had witnessed during the day and was filled with excitement.

"Prime Minister, why not unleash a hundred cannons tomorrow to shake the city?"

"Such power, even if it cannot destroy the city gates, is enough to terrify the Wei army. Then, let our brave soldiers swarm in like ants, and Chang'an will fall in no time!"

Seeing Wei Yan's eagerness to try, Zhuge Liang smiled calmly and looked at Mi Wei.

The latter stepped forward and explained:

"So that the general may know, the city-capturing cannons still need further improvement, and it is not yet possible to fire all 100 cannons at once."

"In reality, only 20-30% of these 100 cannons are usable."

"Of these usable 20-30%, only 20-30% can launch the stone ball more than 400 paces."

"And none of them can be launched continuously for more than ten rounds."

Wei Yan was slightly taken aback.

But I quickly realized:
"So, Your Excellency, you're setting up cannons and cutting down trees in front of the Wei army to deceive them into surrendering the city?"

Mi Wei nodded and said:
"Chang'an is a fortified city with deep moats, backed by 100,000 Wei troops, and with Cao Pi's trusted generals personally supervising the attack. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least a year or two to take it down."

"Otherwise, how could Zhang He's troops have dared to retreat hundreds of miles earlier, directly exposing Chang'an to our army?"

"They are simply fearless because they have something to rely on."

"Therefore, if we wish to take this city quickly, we must resort to deception in war."

Upon hearing this, Wei Yan couldn't help but recall his experience of joining Liu Bei in attacking Liu Zhang when he entered Shu.

Despite having the advantage of favorable timing and popular support, Liu Bei still besieged Luo City for a year before finally capturing it.

The current Chang'an is more than ten times more difficult to attack than Luocheng was back then.
A year or two would be considered easy.

Only those in the imperial court knew that Liu Bei's days were numbered.

They also knew what Cao Pi and the others were planning.

Whether for personal gain or for personal relationships, they all longed to capture Chang'an as soon as possible.

Wei Yan temporarily ceased his activities.

Mi Wei then turned to Zhuge Liang and said:

"Prime Minister, although this cannon is not enough to forcefully attack the city walls, it is more than sufficient to launch surrender documents and proclamations into the city."

"It is no longer possible for the Wei army to isolate itself from internal and external communications and to subdue the people."

"Since we have the noble cause of restoring the Han Dynasty, why not treat them with sincerity?"

Zhuge Liang's gaze shifted, a hint of understanding dawning on him, but he didn't reveal it. He simply raised his hand and said:

"Appreciate further details."

(End of this chapter)