Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 223 Overt Strategy First, Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount

Shouchun was a fortified city from its very inception.

Over the years, thanks to Yuan Shu's continuous expansion and fortification, it has now become a leading military stronghold in the Huainan region.

If Cao Cao were to obtain Shouchun, Jiangdong would be constantly under the watchful eye and threat of Cao Cao's army.

If Sun Ce were to occupy Shouchun, Jiangdong would have gained another bridgehead that could directly invade the Central Plains, which would make Cao Cao feel uneasy and restless.

For Yuan Shu, losing Shouchun would mean completely losing the ability to intimidate Jiangdong and covet the Central Plains.

However, by this time, Yuan Shu had been weakened by wine and women, and his ambition to dominate the world had faded.

His current thought is: if Shouchun can be defended, that would be best; if not, he will settle in Guangling and enjoy his last moments of leisure.

If Cao Cao insisted on exterminating him, he could simply abandon his title as emperor and head north to join Yuan Shao.

After all, they were both members of the Yuan family. If Yuan Shu lowered his head, called Yuan Shao "elder brother," and carefully admitted his mistake, Yuan Shao would probably still accept him out of consideration for their past relationship.

After adopting Yang Hong's suggestion, Yuan Shu left 100,000 troops to garrison Shouchun City.

He himself, along with most of his civil and military officials, moved to Guangling County with their families.

Before leaving, Yuan Shu ordered his soldiers to loot all the grain around Shouchun, hoping to wear down Cao Cao's army through a scorched-earth policy.

However, this exceptionally brutal method aroused dissatisfaction among some of Yuan's soldiers.

Among these people, the one with the highest official rank was Lei Bo, the General Who Conquers the North, who was also the garrison commander of Shouchun.

However, so far, Lei Bo has only expressed dissatisfaction and has not taken any further action.

Cao Cao was determined to capture Shouchun.
To ensure the safety of Xuzhou and to prepare for future southward expansion, it is imperative to take control of Shouchun.

But when Lao Cao arrived at the foot of Shouchun City and witnessed the city's fortifications, he suddenly felt a headache.

The Shouchun city wall is based on the city wall of the Chu capital during the Warring States period and is twelve meters high.

The base of the city wall was 20 to 25 meters wide, and the top was 8 to 10 meters wide, enough to accommodate soldiers walking side by side and also to deploy catapults.

The outer layer of the city wall was reinforced with rammed earth and blue bricks, while the inside was filled with crushed stone and clay, making it extremely resistant to impact. Even the stone projectiles launched by counterweight catapults caused very limited damage to it.

Every sixty meters or so on the outer side of the city wall, there are protruding platforms, also known as horse faces.

In the defense of city walls, when the defenders look down from the crenellations, their line of sight is blocked by the wall itself, creating blind spots for firing.

If the enemy hides at the base of the wall, whether they use ladders to climb the wall or secretly dig into the foundation, the defenders on the city wall will find it difficult to strike them directly and effectively.

The design of the crenellations is like the "arms" extending from the city wall. The soldiers guarding the city can stand on the side of the crenellations and fire parallel shots towards the base of the city wall, forming a crossfire network, which greatly enhances the overall defensive capability of the city wall.

There was also a watchtower at each of the four corners of the city wall and every 200 meters, with more than twelve watchtowers in total.

The watchtower offered a wide field of vision, allowing for early warning of enemy movements. The defending troops could coordinate their defenses using flag signals and drumbeats. Yuan Shu's army once used this to uncover Lü Bu's night attack.

Meanwhile, the top of the watchtower was equipped with arrow towers, and crossbowmen were deployed on the top floor, whose range could cover the outer edge of the moat.

Moreover, the moat outside Shouchun City was both wide and deep.

The moat was fed by water from the Huai River and connected to the city's water network, serving both defensive and transportation functions.

Its average width reaches 30 to 40 meters, and its widest point can even reach 50 meters.

During the dry season, the river is about three meters deep, while during the rainy season it rises to more than five meters.

However, the core of Shouchun's city defense is still the barbican.

All four gates of Shouchun are equipped with double-layered barbicans, with a distance of forty meters between the inner and outer gates.

Once the attacking soldiers entered the barbican, they would inevitably be subjected to a hail of arrows from all directions.

In an open space with no shelter or cover, any more people entering would be suicide.

To the west of Shouchun lies a large lake called Shaopi, surrounded by vast wetlands that are muddy and difficult to attack.

The area where Shouchun is located is largely surrounded by large wetlands on two sides, with only the eastern and northern sides being relatively dry, making it suitable for military operations and city construction.

Therefore, if the city is to be attacked, Cao Cao's army will focus on the east gate, while Sun Ce will focus on the south gate.

Cao Cao gazed at the fortified city from afar, feeling utterly humiliated.

You must know that there are still 100,000 garrison troops and hundreds of thousands of civilians in Shouchun City!
Cao Cao only had 50,000 men under his command. Even if he had another 50,000, it's not certain he could break through the city walls. This is understandable, as there are countless examples in ancient times of sieges lasting one or two years.

……

Cao Yan was not in the military camp because he had gone out to visit and inquire about news from Shouchun.

According to some local elderly people, Shouchun is surrounded by water on all sides. To the west and north is the Huai River, which stretches for thousands of miles, to the east is the Dongfei River, and to the south is Wabu Lake.

Almost all the rivers, large and small, within a surrounding area of ​​more than 4,000 square kilometers flow through Shouchun.

At first glance, it seems somewhat unbelievable that Shouchun City was built in a relatively low-lying area.

Logically speaking, such a place is extremely prone to flooding, yet the ancients actually built Shouchun City here!

Were the ancients really fools?
of course not!

Shouchun is located on the south bank of the middle reaches of the Huai River, controlling the confluence of the Huai River and the Fei River, and is a vital passage connecting the Central Plains with the Jianghuai region.

The State of Chu moved its capital here during the Warring States period precisely because it valued the strategic influence of "connecting the Central Plains to the north and controlling Wu and Yue to the south".

Shouchun is surrounded by water on three sides, with the Huai River, Fei River, and the moat forming a natural defense system.

Despite the risk of flooding, its defensive design of "high walls and deep moats" was still able to effectively resist enemy attacks.

Moreover, as early as the Warring States period, when the capital of Chu was located, underground culverts had already been built in Shouchun City. The east and west culverts connected the internal and external water systems, which initially solved the drainage problem.

During the Song Dynasty, they built an eight-meter-wide stone embankment outside the city wall to protect it from floods.

During the Ming Dynasty, people invented a combination of culverts and moon dams, using the water level difference to achieve "inner water outward discharge and outer water inward obstruction," thus completely solving the problem of river backflow.

In 1991, when the city was besieged by floods for 50 days, Shouxian County remained safe and sound, thanks to this ingenious design.

Clearly, compared to the risk of flooding, the strategic benefits of Shouchun were far more substantial.

"Controlling the Huai and Ying rivers, and connecting the Yangtze and Tuo rivers, it serves as a vital hub in the northwest and a shield for the southeast."
Shouchun truly deserves such praise.

Three days later, Cao Yan returned to the military camp.

Cao Cao asked, "Have you gathered any information while you've been out these past few days?"

"Yes!" Cao Yan nodded, and then gave a detailed account of the situation in Shouchun and its surrounding areas, including his own views.

At this moment, Jia Xu suddenly asked, "Now that it is the dry season, is a water attack plan feasible?"

The rainy season in the Huai River basin is concentrated from June to September, and by November it has entered the dry season, with a sharp decrease in rainfall and river water volume.

Moreover, temperatures begin to drop sharply in November, with the average temperature around Shouchun being only about 5°C. Waterborne operations can easily lead to frostbite for soldiers and significantly reduce their mobility.

However, Cao Yan did not intend to attack in winter. He replied, "Before the flood season arrives next year, we will probably focus on besieging Shouchun City. We can also cooperate with Sun Ce to launch two probing attacks."

"So, you really intend to flood Shouchun?" Cao Cao asked in surprise.

“That’s right, but I’ll ‘accidentally’ leak the information to Sun Ce so he can go easy on me,” Cao Yan said with a smile.

"Hahaha! Just as I thought!" Unexpectedly, Cao Cao, Xun You, and Jia Xu all burst into laughter at the same time.

"?" Cao Yan looked blank, then suddenly realized: "So, you all guessed what I was trying to do?"

"It's not easy!"

"So, even you, Cao Zi'an, have your schemes exposed one day!" Cao Cao seemed somewhat smug.

However, Xun You suddenly said, "Since we can see it, Zhou Yu must be able to see it too."

"So, Zian, you must have other schemes up your sleeve!" Jia Xu asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Huh?" Cao Cao's smile vanished abruptly. After all this time, he realized he was the clown.

A smile finally appeared on Cao Yan's face.

He said, "Flooding Shouchun is just to put pressure on Sun Ce and the garrison in Shouchun. My real idea is to win their hearts and minds!"

"Psychological warfare?!"

(End of this chapter)