Lu Bu: My wife comes from two thousand years later

The Bingzhou army wanted to delay time, but the Cao army did not. They were not as rich as Yuan Shao to fight a protracted war, and Cao Cao's troops were still stationed at Sishui Pass. Compared with attacking Xiongguan Pass, it was obviously much easier to capture this camp with only 8,000 soldiers.

Therefore, after the scouts explored the surroundings of Zhang Liao's camp, Xun You formulated a plan to break into the camp and decided to completely eliminate the Bingzhou army's influence in Hanoi.

On the third day, the sun was rising and the gates of Chaoge City were wide open. Cao's army filed out to Zhang Liao's camp. The commander Cao Ren personally led 10,000 infantrymen to the east of the camp, the deputy general Le Jin led 5,000 infantrymen to the south of the camp, and Cao Cao's eldest son Cao Ang led 5,000 infantry and cavalry to the west.

Xun You's arrangement was: Cao Ren would be the main attacker, Le Jin would assist, Cao Ang's 3,000 infantrymen with bows, crossbows and shields would be lined up on the only passage in the west without trenches to prevent Zhang Liao's cavalry from attacking the camp. Another 2,000 cavalrymen were ready to provide support at any time, and 2,000 of the 3,000 Yuan troops in Chaoge City were also dispatched and lined up in the southeast, obviously to see which side was weaker and then assist in breaking through the camp.

"We're surrounded!"

On the high platform in the middle of the camp, Wei Xu looked at the Cao army that was surrounding him on three sides. Although he said he was surrounded, there was no fear on his face.

Zhang Liao surveyed the situation, his gaze finally turning eastward to Cao Ren's army formation. He ordered, "Three thousand longbowmen will be transferred eastward, and the remaining infantry will be sent south to resist Le Jin."

"Yes!" The messenger below immediately ran over to convey the order.

There were two trenches dug on the east side, each only about half a zhang deep and five or six zhang wide, with a distance of five or six zhang between the two trenches. Due to time constraints, Zhang Liao mobilized all the civilian laborers and more than half of the soldiers with the army and it took three days to dig to this extent.

Xun You had previously sent scouts to survey the area. The trench was about a hundred steps away from the deer horn formation behind, and another hundred steps from the deer horns to the main camp. At this distance, the enemy archers hiding behind the deer horn formation could barely shoot into the trench, so the distance made sense.

What puzzled Xun You was the depth and width of these ditches. Normal people would dig trenches with depth as the main consideration, and the width would be as long as it was too wide for human power to cross. However, the trenches dug by the other party were the opposite. An adult man could easily climb up to the depth of half a meter. So what was the purpose of the blocking?

He had suspected there might be barbs buried at the bottom of the ditch, but when scouts went down to investigate, they found nothing.

Although he didn't know much about Zhang Liao, Lu Bu was able to send him as the commander of an army, so he shouldn't make such a low-level mistake. He let the weakest peasant army dig, and they knew to dig deep, instead of digging like two dry riverbeds. Xun You, Cao Ren and others thought about it for two days but couldn't figure it out.

As the saying goes, there must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. Due to the vigilance against this strange trench, Cao's army attacked very slowly today. Xun You, standing on the chariot, kept an eye on the battle situation ahead.

However, what surprised Xun You even more was that the Cao army had already approached the trench within a hundred steps, but the enemy archers did not move at all. From a distance, the rows of soldiers looked like wooden men.

Xun You stood on tiptoe to look inside the camp, but did not see any catapults or other equipment.

The more abnormal the enemy behaved, the more uneasy Xun You became. As Cao's army approached the trench step by step, Xun You's heart beat faster and faster.

Finally they arrived. The soldiers in the front row had already jumped into the ditch, and the rows behind them followed suit. Then they climbed up one after another and jumped into the second ditch without encountering any danger or obstacles.

As long as they crossed these two trenches and spread out the deer horns, Cao's army could march straight into the camp. Once they entered the camp, the enemy's cavalry would be useless. However, the enemy had dug so many trenches around, and it seemed that they had no intention of using cavalry.

Just when Xun You was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw those wooden-like archers move, and then Xun You saw a rain of arrows flying towards the trench. The area of ​​the rain of arrows almost covered the range of the two trenches, and those soldiers who were in the trench or about to climb up were caught in the trap.

Nearly two hundred steps away? Xun You couldn't believe his eyes.

But at this moment, Xun You finally understood the purpose of these two ditches, and they trapped all his soldiers in one fell swoop.

At this time, the soldiers in the ditch or the area between two ditches either retreat or advance. However, because the climbing slowed down their speed, they suffered huge casualties in a short time under the cover of the enemy's rain of arrows. This wave of shooting that far exceeded the range had seriously hit the morale of the soldiers. Even if they rushed through the rain of arrows area, they could not tear through the deer antler formation.

"Retreat!" Xun You shouted to Cao Ren without hesitation.

Cao Ren recovered from his surprise and hurriedly ordered his men to call back the troops. The Cao army suffered more than a thousand casualties in the first attack and did not even reach the camp.

Back in the city, Cao Ren was still wondering where his opponent had found so many sharpshooters with amazing arm strength, but Xun You said, "It's not the people, it's the bows."

When the opponent fired the second round, his attention shifted to the archer. Although he couldn't see clearly from a distance, he could see that the bow was much longer than an ordinary bow. The problem was obviously with the bow.

"bow?"

Xun You nodded. "This bow not only has a long range, but also has very strong penetrating power."

He picked up the leather armor he had taken off a wounded soldier. "According to the soldier, he was still in the first trench at the time. I estimated the distance to be about 150 steps. It was able to penetrate two layers of leather armor and penetrate about an inch into the flesh from such a distance. This shows its lethality."

"It can indeed be called a divine bow!"

Cao Ren marveled at the power of the divine bow and said, "We were careless this time. Tomorrow, move all the sword and shield soldiers to the front. It can penetrate leather armor, but it will never penetrate shields."

Xun You shook his head. "We only have 4,000 sword and shield soldiers. Deploying them all to the front would be enough, but what about the west? Without shields, his archers could easily go west and destroy the spear formations defending the passageway before turning back east to defend against the enemy. Then, his cavalry could move out from their camp to the west and harass our rear."

The key is that the enemy's shooting range is too far. Even if our archers want to shoot back, they have to endure several rounds of arrows from the enemy before they can reach the shooting range. These rounds are enough to destroy the morale and courage of the soldiers.

"so what should I do now?"

Xun You thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait a few days. Send someone to find Benchu ​​Gong and see if he can transfer catapults from the Wei army. Five will be enough. If not, gather the craftsmen and hurry up to make them."

Cao Ren's eyes lit up, "I'll send someone to ask right away."

…………

At Sishui Pass, Cao Cao also transferred several catapults from Zhang Miao in Chenliu, preparing to bombard Song Xian's 3,000 defenders in one fell swoop.

"My lord, the enemy soldiers on the city wall are calling out, and we ask you to come forward and speak."

Early in the morning, Cao Cao put on his armor and was about to go out to fight when a soldier came in to report.

Cao Cao walked out of the tent, holding the sword at his waist. He glanced at the top of the city wall and said to the soldiers, "Go and ask him what he wants to say."

The soldiers bowed and retreated. A moment later, another rider came running up from the front. He dismounted and reported, "My lord, the third young master that Lord Yuan has been looking for is at the top of Sishui Pass."

"What?" Cao Cao's expression tightened. "Are you sure it's Yuan Shang?"

"I don't know. They said they rescued him from a bandit last year. Besides the Third Young Master, there was also Madam Liu."

"What about Ziyuan?" Cao Cao's expression grew serious. Could such a coincidence really happen? Yuan Shao's lost son was saved by Lu Bu?

"I only saw the third young master and no one else. I guess they are together." The soldier replied.

Cao Cao mounted his warhorse and called Xiahou Dun and the others, "Come on, follow me to the city and take a look."

The group soon arrived outside Sishui Pass. On the city wall, a soldier held a child about six years old and placed him on the parapet. The little boy cried loudly, "My father is Yuan Benchu, the governor of Jizhou. Please let me go now, or my father will not forgive you."

He saw Cao Cao and the others, and waved his hands and shouted to the crowd below, "Uncle Meng De, I'm Shang'er. My mother said you once held me in your arms. Please save me! They're going to cook me. Woo woo woo, I'm so scared..."

Cao Cao had only seen Yuan Shang when he was very young, and he had no memory of his appearance after not seeing him for several years. However, seeing the face on the top of the city wall that looked almost exactly like Yuan Shao, he had no doubt that this was Yuan Shao's youngest son who was lost in Yecheng.

Song Xian had Yuan Shang carried down and told Cao Cao, "Last year, our Bingzhou soldiers accidentally rescued this child from a bandit while patrolling at the foot of the Taihang Mountains. We had intended to send him back to Jizhou, but Cao Gong colluded with Yuan Gong and launched an attack on Bingzhou without cause. Our lord was powerless to resist, so he had no choice but to threaten us with the child. If Cao Gong wishes to protect the Third Prince, please withdraw your troops."

Cao Cao scoffed, "I've come here with tens of thousands of troops, and you think I'm joking? Retreating for a child? That's sheer absurdity!"

After he said that, he ignored Song Xian, turned around and walked back.

Xi Zhicai, who had received the news, was rushing over. Seeing Cao Cao and the others, he hurriedly rode forward and asked, "Is it really the Third Master Yuan?"

Cao Cao nodded. "The appearance and age match. It's most likely Yuan Shang."

"Is it true?" Xi Zhicai was slightly surprised, and then asked, "Will the lord take care of him?"

Cao Cao said angrily, "How can we care? Even if Yuan Benchu ​​were here today, he would never withdraw his troops for a child."

Xi Zhicai sighed deeply. "Lord Benchu ​​may not care, but you can't. You know him better than I do. If you insist on attacking the city today and the Third Young Master is cooked to death, he will hate you for the rest of his life. His hatred for you may even be deeper than that for Bingzhou. Bingzhou is already a hostile state, and you are his old friend. How can you watch his son being cooked to death?"

When Cao Cao thought of Yuan Shao's character, his face froze.

Xi Zhicai continued, "They have hostages, but instead of threatening you, they're trying to sow discord and turn Jizhou against Yanzhou. Not to mention that Benchu ​​is inherently narrow-minded, even if it were you, my lord, you wouldn't be completely free of resentment after this incident. With Lü Bu still around and Yuan Shu eyeing us covetously, we absolutely cannot allow Benchu ​​to harbor any grudges against you at this moment."

"What should we do? Are we really not going to fight anymore?" Cao Cao looked depressed and irritated.

Xiahou Dun said, "If the catapults are launched today, those defenders will be unable to resist. Sishui Pass will surely be breached. Zhang Liao and Zixiao are currently locked in a stalemate at Chaoge. After our army breaks through the pass, we can cross the river north and march straight into Henei. It would be a shame to retreat now!"

When Xiahou Dun said this, his one eye lit up. "How about we just say that the kid is an imposter? Didn't we know he was the Third Young Master?"

He said to himself, "I think this method is feasible. Ignorance is not a crime!"

Xi Zhicai said, "Wait until they send the child's head to Master Benchu, and then you'll know whether ignorance is a crime or not!"

Xiahou Dun choked and spread his hands, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Cao Cao also looked at Xi Zhicai with hope. This time they planned four fronts. The worst result could be that Lu Bu would be half-crippled. Moreover, a man as proud as Lu Bu would actually threaten him with a child. It can be seen that he was really scared this time. The opportunity was rare, and he really didn't want to give up because of a child.

"None of us can make the decision on this matter," Xi Zhicai said after a moment's thought. "Since they've thrown the problem to us, we can also throw it back. My lord, why don't you inform Lord Benchu ​​about this and let him make the decision himself?"

"Brilliant!" Xiahou Dun laughed and clapped his hands. "If Yuan Benchu ​​had ordered the attack on the city himself, the boy's death wouldn't be our fault."

Cao Cao's expression remained unchanged. He asked, "What if Benchu ​​refuses to let me withdraw my troops and asks me to protect my son?"

Xiahou Dun glared slightly, "That's an unreasonable request. If we can save that kid by not withdrawing our troops, do we even need to ask him for permission?"

Xi Zhicai smiled bitterly, "You know what, he might actually make such a request."

Yuan Shao is not a reasonable man!

"Then it would be a waste of time to ask?" Xiahou Dun asked.

"It's not a wasted question. At least the lord has informed him in advance. In the meantime, we can wait and see how the battles between Zixiao and General Qu go. If everything goes well, then even if my son can't be saved, then that's fine. We should first eliminate this powerful enemy, Lü Bu. Even if Lord Benchu ​​has some grievances against the lord, we can still maintain our alliance on the surface. But if there's no progress in either of those two places, the most we can get is Henei County. Judging from the current situation, maintaining good relations with Jizhou is more important than gaining Henei County."

Cao Cao nodded and said, "Zhicai's words make sense. I will send someone on horseback to inform Yuan Benchu ​​of this matter."

…………

Before the messenger sent by Cao Cao arrived at Yuan Shao's camp, Zhang Mo in Jinyang received the news that Cao's army had suspended the siege.

"Boss Cao kicked the ball beautifully!"

Zhang Mo looked at the news sent back by Feiying and couldn't help but sigh.

Cao Cao did not attack the city immediately, which showed that he had seen through Jia Xu's plan of sowing discord. Now it was time to test human nature and interests.

"Sister, what do you think Yuan Shao will choose?" Zhuge Liang asked curiously.

He didn't understand what benefits were, but he felt that as a father, he should not watch his son being cooked and killed by the enemy!

Zhang Mo said, "It doesn't really matter what he chooses. What matters is whether there are enough benefits to tempt Cao Cao."

Based on her understanding of Yuan Shao, he would definitely not tell Cao Cao directly and clearly that he should not care about Yuan Shang's life or death and should just attack the city, but he would not ask Cao Cao to withdraw his troops either. The most likely answer would be ambiguous, such as doing his best to protect Yuan Shang and finally passing the buck to Cao Cao.

Of course, Yuan Shao's answer was not to deliberately make things difficult for Cao Cao. He simply did not want his son to die under his order, or he did not want to be branded as someone who disregarded his son's life for profit, or he did not want to make a mistake that he might regret in the future.

Zhuge Liang frowned and asked, "How big a benefit would that be?"

How big of a benefit?

A crazy idea slowly grew in Zhang Mo's mind. She walked back and forth in the hall with her hands behind her back. Zhuge Liang looked at her quietly, but saw that she frowned and smiled foolishly, nodded and shook her head, as if she was thinking about something very tangled.

After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly stopped and looked at him, as excited as a gambler in a casino ready to place a bet. "Yanmo, I want to write a letter to Fengxian."

Zhang Mo wrote down her ideas and sent someone to deliver them to Lu Bu and Jia Xu as quickly as possible.

Two days later, Lu Bu replied with a single sentence, a paraphrase of something Amo had once said to him: "Life is a gamble. If you win, we'll reach the top together. If you lose, you can just start all over again." He added: "Only if you protect yourself."

Of course, Lu Bu's decision was not made blindly by his wife's words. He discussed it with Jia Xu and evaluated the possibility of winning or losing and the consequences of failure.