When Cao Ang heard that Cao Cao wanted to deal with Zhang Miao and his brothers as well as Zang Hong, he worriedly said, "Zhang Miao and Zhang Chao betrayed our father, they really deserve to be killed."
"But Zang Hong has done nothing wrong. He nominally serves both my father and Lord Benchu, and has a high prestige in Dongjun. If there is no legitimate reason, I'm afraid it will cause trouble."
After hearing this, Cao Cao stroked his beard and said, "My son sees it very clearly."
"But how can I be timid when doing things for my father? I have already sent troops to Dongwuyang. If Zang Hong refuses to comply, we can only detain him temporarily."
"It's Xuzhou that worries me more."
"If Yuan Xi occupies Guangling, he will definitely link up with Liu Bei in Haixi to the north. If they counterattack Sun Ce and retake Xiapi, it will be difficult for us to intervene in Xuzhou again."
"Now you take my secret order, go with Miaocai (Xiahou Yuan), bring another army, and join Zixiao (Cao Ren) to capture Tancheng at all costs!"
Cao Ang immediately obeyed the order. When he was about to leave, Cao Cao said, "Go tell Zixiao to be careful of Yuan Xi. This man is full of tricks and is extremely hostile to our Cao family. We must be on guard against him!"
After Cao Ang left, Cao Cao fell into deep thought. The moral principles of this world have been completely corrupted, and all the princes are acting for their own selfish interests. In this case, let him clean them out one by one!
Just as Cao Cao was planning to eliminate the Sour Jujube Alliance, whom he believed to be traitors, Yuan Xi, whom he feared, was lying on the top of the city wall, watching Taishi Ci and Tian Yu fighting outside the city.
As Sun Ce's troops arrived one after another in the past few days, the strength of the two sides gradually became balanced, and Yuan Xi's army could no longer gain any advantage.
The Sun Ce army on the opposite side was full of brave generals. When they challenged each other under the city and announced their flags one by one, Yuan Xi thought of the owners of these faces, who were not far in front of him on the mountain that day, and he could not help but shivering.
He was really lucky to come back safely that time. From now on, when the enemy's situation is unclear, he would never leave the city easily even if he was killed.
What is worrying Yuan Xi right now is that Sun Ce is a talented general who can lead troops to fight personally and has many powerful generals under his command. The siege puts a lot of pressure on Yuan Xi.
Defending a city cannot be just passive defense. It is necessary to go out of the city to counterattack and boost morale in order to find a chance to win. Therefore, Yuan Xi sent Taishi Ci and Tian Yu to lead cavalry to attack and harass every now and then. However, Sun Ce and his generals defended so tightly that Yuan Xi felt like a mouse pulling a tortoise, with no way to bite it.
Now the two sides are in a standoff and neither can do anything to the other. Yuan Xi, on the other hand, is in a calm state of mind. As long as he maintains stability in the city and prevents spies from causing civil strife, it will be difficult for Sun Ce to capture Guangling City.
Of course, he had also made plans for the worst. He had already transferred all the fleets from the Yangtze River to the Jianghuai Canal north of Guangling. If something really went wrong in the city, he could evacuate in time via merchant ships.
Sun Ce was too difficult to deal with and too powerful, so Yuan Xi could only wait for changes to occur.
One was Liu Bei's reaction in the north, and the other was Cao's army's coveting of Tancheng in the west.
He just didn't believe that Sun Ce could endure it forever.
Yuan Xi's guess was indeed correct, Sun Ce could no longer hold on.
He attacked day and night and did not bring much food with him. Moreover, his plan to attack Guangling had failed after being discovered by Yuan Xi's army that day.
However, he still couldn't bear to leave. After all, there was General Qiao Rui, who was on good terms with him, in the city, as well as Madam Wu, who might have been trapped in the city!
Sun Ce couldn't be sure whether Mrs. Wu was dead, captured, or escaped!
Currently, only Sun Ce and Zhou Yu know that Madam Wu's whereabouts are unknown. What drives Sun Ce crazy is that he dares not tell anyone else, for fear that the news will reach the enemy, which would expose Madam Wu's identity and put him in a trap.
Sun Ce narrowed his eyes and stared at the top of Guangling City. He had already learned that the person who was with Taishi Ci that day was the fierce tiger of the Yuan family!
Sun Ce felt a sharp pain in his teeth when he thought that he had missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he had captured Guangling and captured Yuan Xi, he would have certainly torn him into pieces!
But he could only think about it, because Sun Ce didn't have much time left. He had already received news that Cao Ren led his troops to attack Tancheng, and Zhou Yu was having a hard time resisting. Moreover, Cao Cao was likely to send reinforcements!
What made Sun Ce even more worried was that Liu Bei in Haixi to the north would not miss this opportunity. According to the time calculation, he would send reinforcements to cooperate with Guangling to deal with him in three days at most.
Sun Ce slammed his fist on the table, strode out of the tent, and shouted, "Follow me to attack the city!"
The screaming continued for a whole day, and finally when it turned dark, Sun Ce's army returned empty-handed and retreated back to the camp.
Seeing that Sun Ce's army was exhausted as they retreated, Taishi Ci walked up to Yuan Xi and whispered, "Do you want to raid the camp at night?"
Yuan Xi recalled that in his previous life, when Taishi Ci was under Liu Yao's command, he was captured by Sun Ce due to a trick. He said decisively, "No, they can't hold on any longer. There's no need to take risks."
Taishi Ci listened and stopped insisting. Speaking of the daytime defense of the city, he could not help but praise: "Although your martial arts skills are not very impressive, you have mastered the essence of military tactics in the art of defending the city. Just based on this point, you are on par with the famous generals of the time."
Yuan Xi's face lit up with joy. It was not easy to get Taishi Ci's recognition.
Then he automatically blocked out the comment about his own martial arts ability. He couldn't win, and he had given up his dream of becoming a powerful general.
Tian Yu came over and said, "We have finished counting. More than a dozen people died in the battle today, and nearly a hundred were injured, including more than 30 who are seriously injured and temporarily unable to fight."
After hearing this, Yuan Xi's face turned a little ugly. Sun Ce might have suffered more deaths, but most of the people guarding the city were his most loyal soldiers. So many casualties in one day was not a small number.
He said, "This is not a solution. Both sides will suffer more casualties. Why are Sun Ce's troops attacking the city so desperately?"
Tian Yu and Taishi Ci looked at each other and said at the same time: "It is indeed strange."
Over the past two days, Sun Ce had driven his soldiers, most of whom were cavalry, to attack the city, seemingly without caring about casualties. This was really abnormal and puzzled several people.
It's just a city, is it that serious?
Tian Yu hesitated and said, "Maybe there is something wrong with this city?"
"It would be nice if we could find someone who knows the inside story and review it to see what's written."
Yuan Xi reacted and blurted out: "Qiao Rui!"
He said flatly: "Don't send him food tonight. Let's eat and rest first, and then interrogate him in the middle of the night."
"Oh, by the way, ask the guard to light some more oil lamps to keep him awake."
Yuan Xi returned to his mansion and, with the help of Cao Xian, he quickly washed himself with hot water. The war was tense at the moment and it was impossible for him to take a bath every day. However, if he did not take care of himself properly after taking off his armor, he would easily get sick.
In ancient times, if one wore armor for a long time during battle, it would be easy to get a disease called armor-removing wind. It is said that Huo Qubing died young because of this disease.
That is, after a military general wears armor and engages in strenuous exercise outside, he becomes sweaty and weak. When he returns to the camp, he quickly takes off his armor to cool down. As a result, he becomes uncomfortable due to the sudden heat and cold, and eventually gets sick, which can be life-threatening.
From a modern perspective, it may be a type of stroke, but in ancient times there were different opinions, and it was often said that the general was cursed, so people were not particularly clear about how to prevent this disease.
Yuan Xi knew something about this, so no matter how tired he was, he would find a warm place to take off his armor, and take a hot bath to slow down the process of his body cooling down.
You have to know that getting sick in ancient times was much more dangerous than it is today. Chinese medicine rarely has an immediate effect, and one can only rely on one's body and conditioning to get through it in a short period of time.
If you get a serious illness, even if you don't die, you will lose half your life. So there is a reason why the ancients had a short lifespan.
Yuan Xi dried himself, put on new clothes, and then said to Cao Xian, "You've worked hard. Let's eat together."
After hearing this, Cao Xian nodded quickly.
This matter was brought up by Zhen Mi. She said that since Cai Zhaoji and Cao Xian were all family, and the food was from the same pot, there was no need to eat at two tables.
After Yuan Xi brought Cao Xianjiong into the house, Zhen Mi and Cai Zhaoji, who were waiting there, had the hot food in the pot brought up.
Yuan Xi felt hungry, so he picked up the bowl and ate some rice, then chewed some amaranth. He found the taste a bit bland, so he picked up a piece of pickled radish and put it in his mouth.
He sighed contentedly: "After a day of fighting, it's great to have a meal."
Zhen Mi picked up a piece of fish and put it in his bowl, smiling, "Seeing that my husband has returned safely, everyone is relieved."
"Today, people outside the palace kept carrying soldiers who were injured and shot by arrows. The blood was all over the ground. Everyone was very worried about my husband when they saw it."
Yuan Xi said: "There will always be casualties in war. This is already considered good."
He equipped the soldiers defending the city with armor. Normally, there should not have been so many casualties. However, Sun Ce's generals personally went to the battlefield, and each of them was a sharpshooter. They specifically shot arrows at places that the armor could not protect.
Coupled with the soldiers' desperate siege, if Yuan Xi's subordinates were not all veterans, the number of casualties would have been several times higher.
Cai Zhaoji whispered, "Do you want me and Cao Xian to help with the treatment tomorrow?"
Yuan Xi smiled and thought, "It's not time yet. There may be people in the city who have ulterior motives. It's enough for me if you protect yourselves."
"But if we calculate the time, it's almost time. As long as we can hold on for a few days, Sun Ce will naturally retreat."
The women were relieved, and after finishing their meal, Zhen Mi said, "I haven't been feeling well these past few days. Do you want Zhao Ji Cao Xian to accompany you?"
After hearing this, Cai Yan and Cao Xian lowered their heads and their faces turned red.
After hearing this, Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Let's wait until tomorrow. I have to go out tonight."
When the ladies heard this, they became worried. Zhen Mi looked worried, "My husband is going to attack the camp?"
Yuan Xi shook his head: "Don't worry, I won't take any risks. Besides, Sun Ce should be eager for me to do this at this moment, so I won't be fooled."
"I'm going to the country to ask for an interrogation. You guys can take a rest first. You don't have to wait for me."
The three girls sent Yuan Xi out, and then came back in a depressed mood. Zhen Mi sighed, "Now I know what kind of life my husband has been living these years."
"We women don't have to fight in battle, so we are much luckier than men."
Cao Xian said softly, "But the loser, both men and women, will suffer a miserable fate."
After hearing this, Zhen Mi started to worry again. Seeing this, Cai Zhaoji patted Cao Xian on the head and said, "Don't talk about this. What are you worrying about?"
Cao Xian didn't expect Cai Yan to attack him by surprise. He jumped away with a cry and crouched down to defend himself with his head in his hands.
When Zhen Mi saw this, she couldn't help laughing.
Cao Xian held his head and thought to himself, I am not young anymore. Although I am not as old as Zhao Ji, I am not much different from the lady.
And I'm almost figuring out why you two were crying at night! OO of student ooo