The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

"Hahaha, good~~ good, that's so satisfying! It's a pity that Yuan Shao's camp is so close to us, otherwise the results might have been even more fruitful!"

Li and Guo, positioned on the high ground atop Chang'an city wall, had a panoramic view of the battle that had just taken place. Seeing the chaos erupting in Yuan's army camp filled them with immense satisfaction.

"Alright, don't let your guard down. Quickly collect as much gold molten metal as possible, and gather all the grain in the city together. Anyone who dares to secretly store grain will be executed on the spot. Even if Yuan Shao and his men breach the city, I will make sure they have no good days."

While overjoyed, Li Jue did not forget to come up with this wicked plan: to concentrate all the city's grain in one place, so that once the city was defeated and breached, he would burn all the grain.

At that time, Yuan Shao and Qin Xuan will be left with a mess. There are nearly 100,000 people in Chang'an. If a riot breaks out due to lack of food, it will be a major headache.

After hearing Li Jue's idea, Guo Si added, "How about we drag the city's inhabitants onto the city walls to use as shields?"

Both Li Jue and Guo Si were cruel and ruthless. As soon as Li Jue spoke, Guo Si understood his intention and even came up with an even more inhumane idea.

"Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Prime Minister Dong?" Li Jue turned his head and glanced at Guo Si, his understanding of him deepening. He then spoke:

"If you take action, you'll end up in the same situation as Prime Minister Dong after the city falls, or even worse!"

He didn't want to be burned alive and left to rot in the streets after he died.

"Alright, I'll do as you say!" Guo Si was taken aback at first, but after understanding Li Jue's meaning, he abandoned his evil idea of ​​using innocent civilians as shields.

He then left the city wall and went to gather all the people in the city to collect grain.

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Meanwhile, after Yuan Shao's camp was attacked by the Xiliang cavalry, he strengthened the camp's defenses while accelerating the production of siege equipment and the collection of boulders.

If I don't avenge this, how can I swallow this anger?

As evening approached, Qin Xuan and Cao Cao's troops finally arrived at the gates of Chang'an. Yuan Shao, furious, invited the three to his tent to discuss the attack.

After Yuan Shao recounted the morning's surprise attack by the Xiliang army, the military tent fell silent, and no one spoke first.

"Gentlemen, let's not keep quiet. Tell me, how should we fight this battle to both annihilate the Xiliang army and minimize our losses?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Yuan Shao could no longer hold back and was the first to break the awkward atmosphere.

"My lord, and my lords, in my opinion, we should wait a little longer. I have heard that Ma Teng of Liangzhou and Liu Biao of Jingzhou have already dispatched troops. We should wait until they arrive in Chang'an before launching a joint attack. During this time, we can collect a large amount of stones and manufacture countless siege weapons. I do not believe that the Xiliang army can hold out in Chang'an for long!"

The speaker was Ju Shou, an advisor to Yuan Shao, whom Yuan Shao had brought along to advise him on this military campaign.

"This...!"

Everyone thought this was a good idea, as it could reduce their losses on one side by leveraging an absolute advantage. Just as Yuan Shu and Cao Cao were about to agree, Qin Xuan spoke up:

"No, this plan is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Oh, why?"

Cao Cao, standing to the side, asked with some confusion. In his opinion, Ju Shou's approach was the safest, since their current numbers simply could not withstand the huge casualties of a siege.

Qin Xuan glanced at the crowd and noticed they were all looking at him, clearly wanting to know why he objected. He said calmly, "Right now, we only have a quick victory!"

"Firstly, our logistical supplies are simply not enough compared to the Xiliang army in Chang'an. By the time Ma Teng and Liu Biao's troops arrive, how much grain will be wasted? The grain reserves in Huayin City are far from sufficient, and how much grain can the Sili Commandant's troops collect wherever they go?"

"Secondly, once they arrive, how should we divide the spoils of victory after the war? What do you say, Brother Mengde?" When he said the second point, Qin Xuan looked at Cao Cao, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao immediately realized that Ma Teng's arrival might change his plans to occupy Chang'an. This guy had always wanted to expand into the Sili region, and if he interfered, Cao Cao would be in a passive position.

He immediately refuted Ju Shou's suggestion and instead supported Qin Xuan.

"So what should we do?"

Yuan Shu asked anxiously.

"We can coordinate from within and without. Duan Wei is highly respected in the Xiliang army, and there are many of his trusted confidants in the Xiliang army. In recent years, they have obtained high positions in Li Jue and Guo Si's army."

"Therefore, we can send Duan Wei to persuade them to cooperate from within and without, to secretly open the city gates in the dead of night, and then the army can charge in!"

Qin Xuan said unhurriedly that this was actually Meng Guang's idea. The Black Ice Guard had many elite troops in Chang'an, some of whom were even in the Xiliang Army.

When Qin Xuan heard Meng Guang's idea, he was incredulous. The Black Ice Guard had actually planted people in the Xiliang Army. It was simply unbelievable. However, Meng Guang did not tell him the details.

"This...!"

Everyone fell into deep thought for a long time. After a while, Yuan Shao stared intently at Qin Xuan and asked seriously:

"Yichen, are you really sure you can succeed?"

It's clear that Yuan Shao was moved by Qin Xuan's idea: to eliminate the Xiliang army at minimal cost and prevent more people from sharing the spoils.

"Just follow my orders and we'll succeed. I won't enter the city after it falls, but I support Cao Cao in securing control of Chang'an!"

Qin Xuan confidently assured him.

"good!"

Yuan Shao agreed without hesitation, thinking that since he already had the young emperor, he could leave Chang'an to Cao Cao. As for Yuan Shu, well...

Thus, the general plan to attack Chang'an was decided, and Yuan Shu had no room for resistance; he had no choice but to accept it.

Two days later, under the relentless bombardment of dozens of catapults, the allied forces sounded the horn of attack, and all the infantry formations of the allied forces marched in a mighty force toward Chang'an with the support of various siege weapons.

The massive battering rams, like behemoths, were pushed by the soldiers against the city gate. The heavy impact was deafening, and large amounts of oil and scalding hot liquid splashed out from the city walls. The allied soldiers then let out cries of agony.

Even so, they showed no signs of retreating, continuing their attack regardless of life or death, constantly pushing battering rams against the city gate and carrying siege ladders up the city!

The city gate began to shake under repeated assaults, gradually showing signs of being forced open.

~~~~~~~

"Hold on! Hold on! The enemy's siege force isn't many. As long as we hold on, we'll win!"

On the city wall, Li Jue, holding a long sword, paced back and forth, braving the arrows raining down from the sky, constantly boosting the morale of his own side, and casually killing the allied soldiers who were about to climb the wall with a single stroke.

Meanwhile, Guo Si was at the city gate directing his soldiers to defend against the fierce impact of the battering rams. Huge boulders fell from the sky and crashed into the streets. Seeing this, the people cried out and fled from their houses, running to safer places and away from the harm of war.

The setting sun was like blood, the afterglow like fire, dyeing the entire battlefield a crimson hue.

The fierce siege gradually subsided as evening approached, and the allied soldiers retreated like a receding tide, leaving behind a large number of corpses and damaged siege equipment. The air was filled with a strong smell of blood and gunpowder, as if even the air itself had been torn apart by the battle.

On the walls of Chang'an, shattered shields, broken spears, and broken swords lay scattered on the ground. The crenellations of the city walls were smashed to pieces, and many places were stained crimson with blood.

The Xiliang soldiers stood or lay down; some had already died in battle, while others were still struggling to breathe. Their bodies were covered in wounds, and blood dripped from the gaps in their armor, mingling with the stones on the city wall.

"Brothers, do not let your guard down! If we can hold on until tomorrow, we will be victorious!"

"We've weathered their fiercest offensive. Now that the crisis is over, I'll let you enjoy yourselves for three days straight!"

Li Jue, dragging his exhausted body, took heavy, slow steps and loudly encouraged the troops from the city wall.

They suffered heavy losses in this fierce defensive battle, while Yuan Shao's allied forces also suffered considerable losses, with nearly two-thirds of their infantry groups wiped out, leaving them incapable of launching any significant offensives.

The exciting chapter "Chapter 59: Only by Outsmarting Them!" is now available online. Click to read it now!