Chapter 250: Iron wall? It's just paper! Lu Bu: Chen Gong, you are a jerk! The power of psychological warfare!
"flood?"

Lu Bu wiped the wine stains from the corners of his mouth and shouted at the guard:

"You are talking nonsense. There is no rain here. How can there be a flood?"

"Besides, even if there is a flood, how can it flood Shouchun City?"

Lu Bu didn't believe it, and neither did the other generals. They all thought that the personal guard was lying about military intelligence.

Only Chen Gong's face changed, and he suddenly thought of something, and stood up and said:
"Marquis Wen, quickly check the north gate. Something might have happened!"

After saying this, Chen Gong didn't bother to explain to Lu Bu, and ran out of the hall with big strides.

Lu Bu had a doubtful look on his face. He exchanged glances with the other generals, then he had no choice but to follow Chen Gong out with full of suspicion.

Everyone ran out of the house and rushed all the way to the north gate.

"Wen Hou, you are finally here, water, water——"

Cao Xing pointed in the direction outside the city, his face as pale as paper as if he had seen a ghost, and his hands were shaking.

Lu Bu sensed that the situation was not good and rushed to the battlements in a few steps.

Just one look, a breath of cold air was taken, and the face was frozen in astonishment for a moment.

Torrent!

Outside the north city, under the light of the fire, the boundless flood, like a galloping horse, rolled towards the north gate of Shouchun.

Lu Bu was so shocked that he rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he was not dreaming.

When they looked again, the flood had overflowed Liu Jun’s camp and was heading straight for the city wall.

"why?"

“Why is there a flood outside Shouchun City?”

"There hasn't been any heavy rain, so why is there a sudden flood?"

Lu Bu's voice was hoarse, as if he had seen the most incredible scene in his life.

All the generals of Lu's army along the city were shocked and stunned, their eyes filled with panic and confusion as if they had seen a ghost.

"Xiao Fang, this must be the work of Xiao Fang!"

"This thief is so vicious, so vicious~~"

Chen Gong pounded the battlements with his fists and cursed angrily with gritted teeth.

Lü Bu's heart was shaken, and he turned towards Chen Gong and shouted:

"What is that Xiao Fang's handiwork? What is so vicious? Gongtai, what is going on?"

Chen Gong took a long breath and sighed with a bitter face:
"Marquis Wen, don't you understand? It was Liu Bei who dug the Huai River dam and wanted to flood Shouchun City."

"In the enemy camp, apart from Xiao Fang, who else could come up with such a vicious and treacherous plan?"

Lu Bu's body swayed, he took a half step back, and stood still like a stone statue.

He finally woke up.

No wonder Liu Bei, knowing that he had overcome the weakness of insufficient food and grass, still did not force an attack on the city and did not take any action for more than ten days.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei did not take no action, but secretly dug the Huai River dam!
Doesn’t your Shouchun City have high and thick walls? Don’t you, Lu Bu, have sufficient food and grass? Do you think you can defend Shouchun City as impregnable as a rock, until the end of time, until Yuan Shao comes to rescue you?

Then I will flood Shouchun with water!
No matter how strong your city wall is, it is just made of earth. Once flooded, the wall will surely loosen and collapse!

Even the iron wall can be turned into paper paste by you!
"Shouchun City is bordered by the Huai River to the north, and it is indeed a perfect place for a water attack!"

"Damn it! Why didn't we think of this? Liu Bei actually caught our weakness!"

Gao Shun pounded the battlements with his fists and gritted his teeth.

Lu Bu's eyes widened, and when he looked at Chen Gong again, his expression changed from surprise and confusion to deep resentment.

"Chen Gongtai, with your wisdom, you should have been able to predict that the big-eared thief would use such a vicious plan!"

"Why didn't you remind me earlier? Why?"

Lu Bu was in a state of panic, and at this critical juncture, he wanted to put the blame on Chen Gong.

Chen Gong's forehead was covered with sweat, and he said with a guilty look:

"It's not that Gong hadn't thought of digging the Huai River to flood the city, but although this plan could flood Shouchun, it would also bring disaster to the people of the city."

"Gong thought that Liu Bei always claimed to be benevolent and righteous, so he should have cared about the lives of the people and did not dare to use this trick. Who would have thought that he would be so cruel--"

Before Chen Gong could utter the word "spicy", he suddenly realized something and abruptly closed his mouth.

You said that the people in the city made Liu Bei afraid to dig the Huai River to irrigate Shouchun, but wasn't it you who suggested to Lu Bu to expel all the people in the city and relieve Liu Bei's concerns?
Aren't you slapping yourself in the face?

Chen Gong realized this and was naturally too embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Marquis Wen, we shouldn't drive the people out of the city."

"When the people were still here, Liu Bei still had concerns. Now that the people have been driven out, Liu Bei naturally has no scruples and is digging the Huai River to flood Shouchun!"

Gao Shun, however, told Chen Gong the reason that he was too ashamed to say.

Lu Bu's face suddenly changed, and he glared at Chen Gong angrily, gritting his teeth and saying:

"Chen Gongtai, oh Chen Gongtai, you are really causing me pain..."

The words of complaint were almost about to come out of his mouth, but in the end, Lu Bu swallowed them back.

The die is cast and things have come to this point. What's the point in blaming Chen Gong for his failed plan?
Besides, when Chen Gong proposed the plan to drive the people away, didn’t you happily accept it?
When Chen Gong gets slapped in the face, doesn't that mean you get slapped in the face too?
"Ah~~"

Lu Bu swallowed the bitter pill and sighed helplessly.

Chen Gong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed:

"Marquis Wen, the most urgent task now is to mobilize soldiers to carry soil and rocks to block the flood and repair the breach."

“If the floodwaters reach the city and collapse the walls, everything will be over!”

Lu Bu was suddenly awakened and hurriedly gave orders.

Gao Shun sighed and said bitterly:

"Gongtai, that's the Huai River. With such a high flow, can we block it just by wanting to?"

Lu Bu's body trembled and he looked towards the city again.

At this time, a raging torrent of water came rushing in and crashed into the city wall.

The fierce momentum actually caused the north city wall to shake slightly.

Although the magnitude was not large, it caused panic among the soldiers on the city walls. They retreated subconsciously, clinging to anything they could, fearing that the city wall would collapse and they would fall into the water.

The flood came wave after wave, the water level rose rapidly, and in a blink of an eye it was half the height of the wall.

The seemingly tightly closed city gate was now like a wall with holes on all sides, allowing the torrent to easily penetrate and quickly invade the city.

More flood water seeped into Shouchun through those invisible cracks. The city was soon affected by the flood and the water level began to rise.

The soldiers of Lu's army under the city were all like frightened birds. They either rushed to the city walls or hurriedly climbed onto the roofs to avoid the water.

Screams, panic, cries for help... one after another, echoing over Shouchun.

Looking at the sight of water flooding Shouchun, Lu Bu was stunned and then froze stiff.

Just as Gao Shun had said, the water level of the Huai River was too high and there was no time to block it, nor could it be blocked.

In less than half an hour, the entire Shouchun city, inside and outside, was submerged in floods.

"What should I do? What should I do?"

"Chen Gong, tell me what I should do."

Lu Bu turned his head tremblingly, grabbed Chen Gong's shoulders and shook him violently, and shouted at Chen Gong with both resentment and despair.

Chen Gong sighed and shook his head helplessly:
"The floodwaters flooded the city. This was beyond human control. The palace was helpless."

"The only solution now is to give an order to move all soldiers to the city walls to avoid the water."

At this point, Chen Gong was helpless and this was the only solution he could think of.

There was an added layer of disappointment in Lu Bu's desperate eyes.

He turned around and looked at Shouchun City which was gradually flooded by the flood, and shuddered violently.

At this moment, he finally smelled a hint of death.

...

South city heights, Liuying.

Liu Bei was standing with his hands behind his back, looking into the distance towards Shouchun.

The east was getting light and it was daybreak.

The situation inside and outside Shouchun has become clear.

Seeing Shouchun being flooded into a swamp, Liu's soldiers on the high ground all cheered loudly.

"The military advisor is right. The natural forces of water and fire are indeed the two most powerful weapons."

"Once this flood comes, even if Shouchun City is made of iron and steel, how can it withstand it?"

Liu Bei looked at the vast situation before him and couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and laughed coldly:
"That slave of the four surnames would never have expected that by driving the people out of the city, he would actually shoot himself in the foot and give his brother the opportunity to flood Shouchun."

"I think Shouchun City is leaking water everywhere, and the soldiers are in a panic. We just need to wait for the water to recede, and then we will surround the city and attack it. We will be able to break it easily!"

Liu Bei agreed with this.

Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan at Shouchun and said calmly:
"We can't be idle these few days. We should make things worse for Lu Bu and completely destroy his army's morale before we attack the city."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up and he looked at Xiao Fang.

"My Lord, you can write ten thousand copies of the manifesto and order the navy to approach Shouchun by boat and raft, and shoot into the city with strong bows and crossbows."

"In this letter, you can list all of Lu Bu's crimes and promise to kill only Lu Bu in this battle. As long as the rest of the people surrender, we will not hold them responsible."

"My lord, you can also promise a great reward. Whoever gets Lu Bu's head will be rewarded handsomely!"

"After reading this proclamation, are you still worried that the enemy troops in the city will not surrender, and that Lu Bu will not be able to sleep or eat in turmoil?"

Xiao Fang sneered and offered a plan.

Liu Bei was inspired and praised:
"Military Advisor, this plan is a strategy to attack the enemy's heart. It is the best strategy to defeat the enemy without fighting!"

"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's plan!"

Liu Bei immediately summoned the scholars in the camp, wrote an "Exhortation to Punish Lü", copied ten thousand copies overnight, and shot them into Shouchun City with powerful bows and crossbows.

As Xiao Fang said, this manifesto was indeed a blow to the morale of Lu's army.

The escape of Lu's army had already begun before the water level receded.

They used ropes to lower themselves out of the city at night, and fled across the city in groups using door panels and bamboo baskets to surrender to Liu's army.

At first there were only a dozen people, but soon it evolved into a hundred people. Within five days, nearly a thousand people jumped over the city and surrendered.

Before Liu's army attacked the city, the morale of Lu's army in the city was close to collapse!

At night, in the main hall of the provincial government.

"Despicable, shameless!"

"You big-eared thief, you first used the vicious scheme of flooding Shouchun with water, and then used such a despicable method to disrupt the morale of our army!"

"You are such a despicable and shameless person. I have never seen such a shameless person like you in my life!"

Lu Bu tore the "Exhortation to Punish Lu" in his hand into pieces and started cursing loudly.

He kept cursing and muttering, completely lacking the bearing of the world's greatest general and acting like a shrew.

Generals such as Gao Shun on his left and right all lowered their heads silently, not daring to say a word, but they shook their heads and sighed secretly.

The word "despair" was written on everyone's face.

Lu Bu cursed for a long while until he was exhausted and fell down on the seat weakly.

"Marquis Wen, Liu Bei's plan is indeed vicious. Nearly a thousand of our soldiers have already fled."

"This is not a solution. We will collapse before Liu Bei even attacks the city."

Only then did Gao Shun dare to step forward and remind him.

Lu Bu's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"Pass on my order. From today on, we will implement the collective punishment system. If one person in a squad escapes, the entire squad will be executed!"

"Also, for those soldiers who have already fled, bring out their families, behead them all, and hang their heads on the top of the city wall for me."

"Kill them, kill, kill, kill!"

Gao Shun's body stiffened and he looked at Lu Bu with fear in his eyes.

The Wen Hou in front of him had obviously lost his mind under great pressure and became almost insane.

Gao Shun wanted to persuade him but did not dare to, so he could only look to Chen Gong for help, hoping that he could dissuade Lu Bu.

Chen Gong took a deep breath and bowed:

"Marquis Wen, the situation is over. Even if we implement this collective punishment method, we can't save the army's morale."

"The only solution now is to hold on to Shouchun, which will lead to our death."

"Abandon the city and break out!"

(End of this chapter)