My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 203: Xiao He can defeat millions of soldiers alone! Liu Bei has the best time and place, so he must cut off his arm to save his life!
The night is dark.

Nearly 70,000 soldiers of Liu's army have moved their camps to the high ground one after another, leaving only empty camps around Shouchun City.

On a high ground south of Shouchun.

Liu Bei, along with Xiao He and Pang Tong and a group of advisers, was looking towards Shouchun.

Behind him, a beacon fire was raised, ordering Liao Hua's troops on the east bank of the Feishui River to dig a dam.

About an hour later.

With the help of the moonlight above my head, I could vaguely see that there seemed to be thousands of troops approaching Shouchun from the west.

That is a rolling torrent, sweeping towards us!

"General, the flood has arrived. From now on, we can watch the excitement."

Xiao He smiled and pointed towards Shouchun City.

Liu Bei smiled and waved his hand:
"Come here, warm up a pot of wine. The military advisor and I will drink while we watch Cao Ren's excitement!"

...

Shouchun City, inside the main hall of the provincial government.

A banquet was also going on.

All the burdens in the city were packed up and thrown to Liu Bei, and Cao Ren got nearly three months' worth of food and grass out of thin air. The gloom in Cao Ren's face was lifted and he was in a good mood. He rarely held a small banquet to celebrate.

"Yang Dezu, you are truly my Cao Ren's lucky star. This glass of wine is a toast to your plan of killing two birds with one stone!"

Cao Ren raised his wine glass high and toasted Yang Xiu with a smile.

Yang Xiu felt guilty, but he dared not show it on his face, and had to smile and raise his glass.

Cao Ren drank the whole cup of wine, poured another, and raised it to the crowd:
"Everyone, without the burden of the city's civilians and with several months' worth of food and fodder, we should be able to hold Shouchun for five months."

"Prime Minister, within three months at most, you will be able to wipe out all the bandits in Xiliang and march south to relieve the siege of Shouchun."

"Then we will join forces inside and outside, attacking from both sides, and we will surely defeat the big-eared thief!"

"Everyone, rest assured. Cheer up and follow me to defend Shouchun!"

Everyone was in high spirits and stood up to raise their glasses, intending to respond to Cao Ren's inspiring words.

"Boom!"

There were hurried footsteps and a soldier rushed in in a panic.

"Reporting to General Zhendong, General Li Mancheng of the West Gate has sent an urgent report saying that a flood is heading towards the west gate of Shouchun!"

As Cao Ren drank the wine, he choked violently.

"What did you say?"

Cao Ren slammed his wine glass on the table, coughed, and shouted harshly:

"Why would a flood suddenly hit the city?"

"Is Li Dian's eyesight blurry?"

Cao Ren naturally didn't believe it.

Most of the generals in the hall did not believe it and thought Li Dian was seeing things.

Only Liu Ye rolled his eyes and suddenly shuddered.

"General Zhendong, General Li must be seeing things. There might really be a flood coming through the west gate. We have to get there!"

Without waiting for Cao Ren to speak, Liu Ye jumped up and rushed out in a hurry.

Seeing Liu Ye's reaction, Cao Ren couldn't help but become alert and immediately led everyone straight to the west gate.

When they climbed to the top of the city wall, the Cao army soldiers on duty in the city were already shouting and in panic.

"Mancheng, what's going on?"

Cao Ren stepped onto the city wall and shouted at Li Dian.

Li Dian's face turned pale as paper. He raised his hand and pointed towards the outside of the city with trembling hands.
"General Zhendong, Hong... Hong..."

Cao Ren felt a chill on his back and sensed something was wrong. He rushed to the front of the city to take a look.

In an instant, Cao Ren's body shook and his whole body became stiff as ice.

That look of astonishment and horror was as if he had seen a ghost.

flood.

Under the moonlight and firelight, outside the west gate, a surging torrent, like thousands of troops, was rolling towards the west gate.

At this moment, Cao Ren thought he was drunk, rubbed his eyes subconsciously, and continued to look forward.

He was not wrong.

The torrent was approaching, submerging Liu Jun's camp outside the city, and in an instant it had reached the city wall.

"This this…"

"Why is there such a sudden torrent rushing towards Shouchun City?"

"Although there have been autumn rains recently, they haven't been heavy enough to cause floods, have they?"

Cao Ren looked as if he had seen a ghost, and looked at the people behind him in confusion and astonishment.

Zhang Zhao, Zhou Tai, Yang Xiu and others were stunned.

Only Liu Ye suddenly woke up after taking a few breaths of cold air.

"General Zhendong, this isn't a flood caused by rain. Liu Bei has opened up the Fei River to flood Shouchun City!"

Liu Ye's voice was trembling and hoarse as he revealed the secret.

Cao Ren was startled and turned around quickly, looking towards the direction of Feishui.

That’s right, apart from the Fei River, where else could such a terrifying torrent suddenly emerge!
The Feishui Dam is as solid as a rock and has never collapsed for many years. If it was not dug by Liu Bei, what other reason could have caused the dam to collapse?
"You big-eared thief, you actually resorted to such a vicious scheme!"

Cao Ren, suddenly awakened, pounded the battlements with his fists and cursed with gritted teeth.

Liu Ye sighed bitterly and said helplessly:

"Such a vicious plot must have come from Xiao He. We planned everything and thought Shouchun City was impregnable, but we didn't anticipate his plan to flood Shouchun!"

Cao Ren's heart trembled again, his eyes bloodshot with anger, and he cursed with gnashing teeth:
"Xiao He, it's you again, a country bumpkin. You treacherous demon, hateful, hateful~~"

Cao Ren was furious with helplessness, but Yang Xiu beside him shuddered and suddenly woke up.

He finally understood why Xiao He asked him to deceive Cao Ren and drive the people out of Shouchun City.

The purpose was to allow Liu Bei to flood Shouchun without having to be cautious and to do so without worrying about accidentally injuring the people in the city and damaging his reputation for benevolence and righteousness!
"I was completely kept in the dark. I had no idea he was going to flood Shouchun. I was completely clueless and became his pawn."

"This person's wisdom is truly incredible, far superior to mine!"

Yang Xiu sucked in a breath of cold air, his spine felt cold, and a chilling chill surged in his heart.

The truth was known, but Yang Xiu did not dare to expose it and could only look at Cao Ren guiltily.

"That Xiao He is incredibly resourceful and has countless ingenious plans. This is a fact known to everyone. We really underestimated him."

"General Zhendong, now that things have come to this, we must immediately gather our soldiers, quickly demolish the buildings in the city, carry earth and rocks, and fill in the gaps."

"If the flood seeps into Shouchun City, the city walls will collapse and everything will be over."

Liu Ye was the first to calm down, and reminded in a serious voice.

Cao Ren suddenly regained consciousness and shouted:
"Quick, quickly pass on my order, mobilize all the men and horses, carry soil and stones, and fill the gap—"

When the order was given, all the generals and soldiers in the city became flustered.

"General Zhendong, the autumn flood season is just around the corner. The Fei River is flowing strongly, and Shouchun is located in a relatively low-lying area."

"The weather and the terrain are all on Liu Bei's side. I'm afraid it will be difficult to stop this flood!"

Zhang Liao looked at the torrent approaching outside the city and poured a bucket of cold water on it.

Cao Ren's heart trembled again, and he looked out of the city with trembling eyes. The torrent had arrived, crashing against the city walls like a raging wave.

The surging force caused panic among the soldiers on the city wall, and they instinctively retreated, as if they were afraid of being swept down the city by the torrent.

In a moment, the water level rose rapidly, submerging half of the city wall in the flood.

Soon, streams of floodwaters poured into the city through the gaps in the city gates and those cracks that were invisible to the naked eye.

Although Cao's army carried soil and stones and tried their best to block the gap, they still had to tear down the east wall to repair the west wall, and could not block it enough.

Soon, the water level in the city continued to rise, forcing Cao's soldiers to climb onto the roofs and walls to take shelter.

When the sun rose at dawn, the entire Shouchun City had turned into an isolated island in the vast ocean.

The 30,000 soldiers of Cao's army were in great chaos and fell into panic.

...

South of the city, there is Liuying on the high ground.

Liu Bei held up the telescope and had a clear view of the situation in Shouchun, which was flooded by the flood.

"Bo Wen, your plan is truly far superior to a million strong troops!"

"This strategy is similar to the one we used to flood Cao Cao's camp during the Battle of Fancheng."

Liu Bei was amazed and recalled the battle that year, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Zhang Fei pointed at Shouchun City and said sarcastically:
"That bastard Cao Ren thought that by driving all the people out of the city, he could use up our food supplies, but he actually threw away his own life-saving talisman."

"I have to praise him. This kid Yang Xiu is really capable. We should present him to the emperor and commend him for his achievements!"

Everyone laughed.

Xiao He was much calmer and said:
"Although this flood is powerful, it also arrives and goes away quickly. If we wait for Cao Ren to wait until the water level subsides, all our efforts will be in vain."

"General, we must also use a psychological attack strategy. Using a two-pronged approach, we can break the will of Cao's army within a few days."

Xiao He then offered another plan, asking Liu Bei to write a letter of proclamation in the name of the general, enumerating the crimes of the Cao family in regicide and usurpation of the Han Dynasty, and claiming that the troops besieged Shouchun only to kill Cao Ren, a member of the Cao family, and that anyone else who was willing to cross the city and surrender would not be punished.

Afterwards, he copied the edict into thousands of copies, and sent the navy to approach Shouchun City, shooting the copies into the city to undermine the morale of Cao's army in the city.

"What a great strategy to win over the hearts and minds of people! Okay, let's follow Bowen's plan!"

Liu Bei readily accepted the suggestion and immediately wrote a manifesto with his own hands. He had thousands of copies made and shot them into the city that same day.

Everything happened as Xiao He expected.

The power of Liu Bei's letter of proclamation was no less than the surging torrent outside the city.

The Cao army, which was already in a state of panic and low morale, had its last remaining fighting spirit shattered in an instant when they saw this manifesto.

The escape begins.

The Cao army soldiers from Huainan had long harbored resentment towards Cao Ren after witnessing his brutal methods of forcing the people to rob food.

As soon as Liu Bei's manifesto arrived, their remaining loyalty to the Cao family was immediately shattered.

So the soldiers from Huainan were the first to take action. They lowered themselves from the city with ropes, used door panels as rafts, and crossed the city in groups to surrender to Liu.

Within two days, nearly 4,000 soldiers from Huainan fled.

Influenced by this, those soldiers who were not from Huainan also began to surrender to Yuecheng.

The floodwaters hadn't receded, Liu's offensive hadn't begun, and the morale of the Shouchun City soldiers was on the verge of collapse...

"Big-eared thief, you are so despicable that you actually use such despicable means to shake the morale of my troops!"

"Hateful, hateful~~"

Cao Ren in the government hall tore the manifesto in his hand into pieces.

Then, still furious, he shouted at the generals:
"Pass on my command. Immediately collect all the manifestos. Anyone who dares to conceal them will be executed immediately!"

"Also, immediately implement the law of collective responsibility. If one person escapes, the entire group will be beheaded. If a group escapes, the entire group will be beheaded, and so on!"

"All guards on the four city walls will be replaced with soldiers from the north. Anyone attempting to escape will be executed on the spot, no further instructions required!"

Cao Ren issued several bloody killing orders to suppress the soldiers' escape.

The generals obeyed the order silently, and no one dared to question it.

Yang Xiu rolled his eyes a few times, then bowed and said:
"General Zhendong, please forgive me for daring to say something, but our army is currently trapped both internally and externally. The collapse of military morale is inevitable. Any means will be nothing but a drop in the bucket."

"In a few days, once the water level drops, Liu Bei's army of 80,000 will surely attack from all sides."

"Don't even mention that our soldiers are fighting desperately. I'm afraid that once Liu Bei's army arrives, they will turn against us and surrender in an instant!"

"If that really happens, not only will Shouchun City be lost, but my 30,000-man army, General Zhendong, and all of us will be killed without a burial place!"

Cao Ren's heart trembled, and his anger was immediately extinguished.

"Then tell me, what should I do?"

Yang Xiu took a deep breath and said seriously:

"The fall of Shouchun City is inevitable. Xiu believes that General Zhendong should lead our troops to abandon the city and break out immediately before Liu Bei attacks."

"Only in this way can we keep General Zhendong and the rest of us useful, and only in this way can we save the lives of 30,000 soldiers. This is a blessing in disguise!"

Cao Ren fell silent.

He did not get angry at first and denounce Yang Xiu's bad idea of ​​losing cities and land. Instead, he frowned and remained silent.

Yang Xiu saw that Cao Ren had been persuaded, so he took advantage of the situation and said:

"This battle is not because General Zhendong and I, our soldiers, are unwilling to fight. Rather, Liu Bei has benefited from the power of nature, and it is beyond our power to resist."

"Xiu believes that with the Prime Minister's wisdom and judgment, he will understand our difficulties and will definitely not blame General Zhendong."

"General Zhendong is the most powerful general of the Cao family and the Prime Minister's right-hand man. The Prime Minister would never want you to die in Shouchun City."

Yang Xiu saw that Cao Ren needed a step, so he paved the way for him with great righteousness.

Cao Ren sighed and looked at Liu Ye, Zhang Liao and others, seeking their opinions.

Everyone remained silent, obviously agreeing with what Yang Xiu said.

After weighing the pros and cons, Cao Ren waved his hand helplessly and said:

"Never mind, you're right. The fall of Shouchun wasn't our fault for not being able to fight."

"You are all the elites of the Han Dynasty. How can I, Cao Ren, allow you to die here just to save my reputation?"

"Just as Dezu said, quickly prepare for the breakout."

As soon as these words were spoken, there were sighs of relief in the hall.

Everyone took their leave and went to prepare to abandon the city.

Only one person left and came back, and returned to the hall while everyone else had left.

"Zi Yang, do you have anything else to say?"

Cao Ren, who had just picked up the wine glass and was about to drink a few glasses of wine, looked up at Liu Ye.

Liu Ye came closer and said in a low voice:

"General Zhendong, with Xiao He's wisdom, he must have anticipated our attempt to break out and ordered Liu Bei to set an ambush."

"If we rush out of the city like this, and we get ambushed by Liu Bei, wouldn't that be our own death?"

Cao Ren's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the wine glass. He asked anxiously:

"Then in your opinion, if we break out, we will be courting death. Why didn't you speak out against Yang Xiu's proposal during the military meeting?"

Liu Ye took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"General Zhendong, we must break out of the encirclement, but if we want to successfully fight our way out, I'm afraid we must sacrifice Zhang Zhao, Zhou Tai and other former subordinates of Sun Quan."

(End of this chapter)