Chapter 227: Joining the Game, Borrowing Arrows [Subscription Request]

"Report - Yuan's army camp is mobilizing troops, and there are signs of an attack."

When his personal soldiers came to report, Cao Cao was discussing matters with Jia Xu, Xun You and Guo Jia.

The news that Liu Yan of Yizhou was the first to send troops north was actually suddenly released by Cao's camp behind the scenes.

Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, was a descendant of Liu Yu, King Gong of Lu and son of Emperor Jing of Han.

As a member of the royal family, Liu Yanchu served in important positions such as Luoyang Magistrate, Jizhou Governor, Nanyang Prefect, and Zongzheng, and later served as Yizhou Governor.

Regardless of whether in the existing history or in this world, Liu Yan and his eldest son Liu Fan in the court, as well as the General of the Western Expedition, Ma Teng of Liangzhou, were all planning together to attack and occupy Chang'an and the Luoyang area.

They intend to carve up territory and expand their influence.

This was something that had been planned long ago, not something that came up on the spur of the moment. Otherwise, with the natural barriers blocking the way, it would have been difficult for Liu Yan to get out of Yizhou and react in time.

The role played by Cao Ying in this was to detect the plot of Liu Yan and Ma Teng in advance and suddenly reveal it at this moment.

Use it as an inducement to guide other impatient parties to take action accordingly.

As for Liu Yan's plan this time, just like in history, after the failure, his eldest son Liu Fan and second son Liu Dan were both killed.

Soon, Liu Yan himself would die of a serious illness.

"It was Zhong Yao who first discovered Liu Yan's plot and suggested exposing it."

"When the other parties heard the news, they launched their actions according to their plans without even verifying whether it was true or not," Guo Jia joked.

Cao Cao thought that if the situation in the north was not uncertain, pushing the emperor out and giving Yizhou would actually be a very ideal situation.

Liu Yan wanted to be the emperor, so he used the emperor's regulations for his carriages, chariots, and ceremonial guards, just like Dong Zhuo had done in the past.

If the emperor fell into his hands, he would force the emperor to abdicate.

If the abdication happened, there would be no imperial power in the world and Cao Cao would be the beneficiary.

Taking a step back, if Liu Bei had followed the existing history and had the opportunity to enter Shu, it would have been most interesting if he had been the emperor.

Liu Bei always fought under the banner of reviving the Han Dynasty.

If the emperor falls into his hands, it will become a huge constraint. Let's see how he can justify himself.

At this time, Cao Cao and his men discussed for a few words, and then his personal soldiers came in to report that troops were dispatched from Yuan’s camp.

"Go out and see."

The group came to the outer wall of Guandu Camp and looked into the distance.

The Jizhou army lined up their troops, with cavalry and infantry advancing in a mixed formation.

From a distance, the Jizhou army's spears and halberds were like a forest, and the ground was filled with smoke and dust because of the advance of thousands of troops!

For dozens of miles around Guandu, even the void was filled with an aura of killing.

Qu Yi and Yuan Tan were located behind the huge army, also looking at Cao's camp from afar.

Cao's army built their camp on the best high ground nearby, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The camp is large and well-fortified.

"Yanzhou is well prepared and the camp is built so solidly." Military Supervisor Guo Tu was also in the queue.

Yuan Tan said disdainfully:
"If they had seen the destructive shooting skills of my strong crossbow army, they would not have thought of using an earth camp that took months to build to stop my Jizhou army."

Qu Yi said calmly:
"After Yanzhou attacked Yecheng, they asked for our bows and crossbows in exchange, so they must have studied the power of our bows and crossbows.

But the more crossbow arrows gather, the more lethality they will have. It is impossible for Yanzhou to block the powerful crossbows with just one camp."

"It would take at most three or four shots to break through the rammed earth wall surrounding their camp."

"Crossbow ready!"

The infantry in the front marched to the designated position, and then split to the sides, making way in an orderly manner for the strong crossbow troops protecting the middle.

The crossbow of Jizhou is the most powerful weapon in the world and is invincible.

At this time, Jizhou mobilized 5,000 crossbowmen.

These crossbowmen sat on the ground, using their feet to push and pull the bow arms to string the powerful crossbows.

The so-called strong crossbow has a long crossbow arm. The bowstring is double-stranded, which makes the arrow shot out have a faster initial velocity, more fierceness, and terrifying power.

hum-

The sound of the crossbow string being stretched and the bow arm being pulled makes one's heart tighten.

Yuan Tan looked at the Cao army camp on the high ground from afar, a hint of sneer flashed across his eyes.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time, wanting to use a makeshift earthen camp to stop the Jizhou army. What a wishful thinking!
"Target - the outer wall of the Yanzhou military camp, no random shots allowed!" Qu Yi ordered.

A false shot is to aim at the sky and shoot in a large arc. The arrow will fall into Cao's camp. Whatever it can hit is considered a covering attack.

Qu Yi asked to aim at the outer wall and shoot directly, which showed that he had great confidence in the power of his crossbows.

Shooting down the earth wall head-on dealt the heaviest blow to the morale of Cao's army.

Moreover, Qu Yi judged that since Jizhou had the advantage of bows and crossbows, Cao's army must have built many strong shields. If they made arc shots, Cao's army would only need to put up shields and it would be difficult to cause direct damage.

Therefore, shooting directly at the wall is the most destructive option.

call out--

Ten thousand crossbows were fired at once.

The sky seemed to darken for a moment, covered by countless arrows.

The sharp sound of the arrow breaking through the air makes people's eardrums explode.

The outer perimeter of Cao's military camp was built with rammed earth.

This kind of wall, if reinforced, can be knocked down in three or four rounds at most, destroying the outer defense of Cao's camp.

Thousands of crossbow arrows fell, and the outer wall was splashed with earth and rocks. It collapsed and narrowed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Cum again!"

"After breaking the wall, the front troops will rush forward and anyone who cuts off the enemy's head will be rewarded handsomely!"

After the second and third volleys, the walls began to shake and some areas began to collapse.

But Qu Yi and Guo Tu frowned, feeling that something was not right.

Caoying is too quiet.

Let them shoot and attack without fighting back or any other reaction.

After the fourth salvo, the wall collapsed completely.

“It’s worse than expected…”

Yuan Tan's voice suddenly froze.

The smoke and dust from the collapsed wall cleared, revealing the scene behind the wall, where there was actually a second layer of rammed earth wall.

Yuan Tan was stunned.

Two layers of earth walls, inner and outer? Guo Tu frowned: "Did they deliberately let us shoot at the outer wall?"

Qu Yi's expression changed slightly.

Cao's army had anticipated their attack and built inner and outer walls.

"Shoot again!" said Yuan Tan.

Four more rounds of gunfire followed, and the inner wall began to collapse.

But after the inner wall collapsed, Yuan Tan, Guo Tu and Qu Yi all felt depressed.

Behind the second layer of wall, the third layer of earth wall is revealed.

When Cao built this camp, he did not require the outer wall to be strong.

Rammed earth walls are easy to build and quick to construct. They will collapse after three or four rounds of fire, but they cannot withstand multiple layers.

Is there any earth wall behind the third floor?
Guo Tu moved his lips a few times, trying to get the crossbowmen to stop shooting.

But this kind of shooting attack is like gambling, two bets have been placed. A lot of arrows have been consumed, and maybe the third wall will be the last one.

Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and shot again!

Qu Yi did not object.

Then the arrows were fired again, the void rang sharply, and the earth wall collapsed...

Then the fourth rammed earth wall was revealed.

Guo Tu's face began to turn pale.

Qu Yi no longer had the confidence he had just now.

Yuan Tan's breathing even became heavier.

Jizhou worked day and night, tightened its belt and saved money, and prepared nearly 200,000 crossbows.

The last time Cao Cao launched a surprise attack on Ye City, some of the arrows were burned.

When they arrived in Yanzhou, the entire army was equipped with a total of 170,000 powerful crossbows.

In the battles of the past few days, most of the crossbow arrows could be recovered, so the loss was not great.

But just now, three walls were shot down with 5,000 arrows each time. It took more than three rounds to shoot down one wall, and nearly 50,000 arrows were shot.

If these arrows can break the camp, it will undoubtedly be worth it.

But now...it was all in vain.

Each heavy crossbow arrow is very expensive. The cost of casting the arrowhead, adding tail feathers, selecting the material of the arrow shaft, and eliminating the waste is far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Everything that is shot out is money.

The earthen walls built by Cao's army using rammed earth did not cost much except for the labor and several months of preparation.

"The Cao army is staying in the camp and not coming out. Are they trying to use the earth wall to borrow arrows?"

The arrows that hit the earth wall did not cause much damage, and if they were picked up they became Cao's army's.

Three layers of earth walls, borrowed nearly 50,000 arrows.

This is not a war, it's a money-grabbing scam!
Yuan Tan felt humiliated as if he had inadvertently stepped into the other party's trap.

He wanted to shoot again: "I don't believe there is an inner wall after the third floor!"

But Guo Tu and Qu Yi were much calmer.

They have realized that Jizhou's reliance on bows and crossbows was taken advantage of by someone in Cao's camp.

Since the other party allowed them to shoot arrows, further shooting might not be effective.

Qu Yi thought for a moment:

"No more shooting. If you want to use crossbows again, you must see Cao's troops."

"Are we just going to withdraw like this?" Yuan Tan said unwillingly.

"Why didn't Cao's army come out to fight?"

Cao Cao was waiting for others to join the game.

His goal is not only to defeat Jizhou, the timing of the battle must be coordinated with other aspects.

Borrowing arrows by building an earth wall was Jia Xu's idea.

When Zhuge Liang was at Chibi, he used straw boats to borrow arrows by taking advantage of heavy fog and limited vision.

The earth wall allows the opponent to see clearly, and the borrowed arrows are obvious, purely taking advantage of the opponent's psychology.

Guo Yi and his companions relied on the power of bows and crossbows, and before firing the first round, they had no idea that the earth wall would become a trap.

There were five layers of earth walls inside Cao's camp.

The final sixth layer is the solid wall used for combat, and it is incredibly thick. This is the benefit of being fully prepared for war.

The troops outside the city were called back and Cao's army closed their camp and refused to move out.

The Jingzhou army, which was located south of Yanzhou and bordered Yuzhou, declared war the next day and marched into Yuzhou.

They mobilized 35,000 elite troops.

At the same time, Yuan Shu of Huainan also raised troops and marched into Xuzhou from south to north.

During the Battle of Guandu in history, Yuan Shu had already collapsed due to excessive consumption of financial resources of several counties after he proclaimed himself emperor.

On the eve of the Battle of Guandu, his country was destroyed and his family was ruined. He wrote a letter to Yuan Shao to admit his mistakes and wanted to join Yuan Shao, but he died on the way.

However, the Battle of Guandu, promoted by Cao Cao, happened many years earlier than in history.

Yuan Shu had not yet fallen on hard times and still had some strength left, so he sent out 30,000 troops to attack Xuzhou.

Cao Cao received the news that Liu Biao and Yuan Shu had joined the game one after another: "The previous arrangements can be put to use. Go all out and swallow up the opponent."

On Yuan Shao's side, he also ordered a strong attack on Guo Tu and Qu Yi.

So the next day, the Jizhou army came to the outside of the military camp again and advanced to fifty feet.

The infantry prepared for a strong attack and approached Cao's camp.

In the rear, where Qu Yi, Guo Tu and Yuan Tan were stationed, the crossbowmen were ready to go.

In Cao's camp, there were more than 40 catapults with counterweights and a small number of giant crossbows, which were divided into three rows in front and back.

A trebuchet is a machine with a slingshot installed at the end of the arm, or a "spoon" installed on the arm to hold the stone bullet and "throw" it out through the principle of leverage.

With counterweights, it saves manpower, has greater speed and power, the principle is simple and it is not difficult to prepare.

The catapults in this world also incorporate the Mohist craftsmanship and have an astonishing throwing distance, so they are also called Thunderbolt Chariots!

The Jizhou army challenged the enemy outside the camp, and the commander in Cao's camp waved his flag.

Dozens of catapults threw stones out together, launching an attack on the Jizhou army outside the camp.

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(End of this chapter)