Chapter 297: Two hundred thousand troops confront each other! The second Battle of Guandu? Are you using the same old tricks again? Do you want to suppress me so much that I can't raise my head?
It was autumn of that year, in Xiangcheng.

Liu Bei led an army of 80,000 and advanced to Xiangcheng.

Xiangcheng was just a small city and not strong enough to defend. So, at the suggestion of Xiao Fang, Liu Bei built a barrier several miles wide, relying on Xiangcheng and using the Yingshui River and Langtang Canal as east-west barriers.

An army of 80,000 was stationed south of the fortress, waiting for the Wei army to arrive.

Seven days later.

Just as Xiao Fang had expected, Yuan Shao led 160,000 infantry and cavalry, marched south along the Ying River, and marched to Xiangcheng in a mighty force.

Seeing a barrier in front of him, Yuan Shao had no choice but to order his army to set up camp and advance.

After the army had set up camp, Yuan Shao immediately ordered a fierce attack on the Chu army's fortifications.

Xiangcheng's terrain advantage was reflected at this time.

Because the Yingshui River and the Langtang Canal converge and shrink here, the terrain in front of the Chu camp's fortress is narrow. Although Yuan's army is large in number, it cannot deploy and exert its military advantage.

Because there were two water systems that served as natural barriers to protect the flanks, the Wei army was unable to attack from both wings and could only bite the bullet and storm the narrow front.

As expected, the Wei army attacked for more than ten days, suffering thousands of casualties, but failed to shake the Chu camp in the slightest.

Yuan Shao failed to capture the city after a long siege and had to order a halt to the attack.

The armies of Wei and Chu were stuck in a stalemate at Xiangcheng.

At night, Wei camp.

"Liu Bei is arrogant and conceited. He led his army to attack our Wei first, but now he doesn't dare to fight me to the death. Instead, he built a barrier here and hid there without fighting."

"Tell me, what exactly does this big-eared thief want to do?"

Yuan Shao's face was gloomy and unhappy, and he glanced at his advisers.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ju Su was the first to stand up.

"I have observed that the terrain around Xiangcheng is not conducive to the deployment of a large army and cannot bring into play our military strength advantage. It is similar to the terrain of Guandu."

"It seems that Liu Bei's initiative to attack our Wei was not out of arrogance or pride, but was well prepared."

"He knew that his troops were inferior to ours and that he had little chance of winning a direct confrontation, so he deliberately chose to confront our army in this city with deep trenches and high fortifications."

"Liu Bei never thought of a quick battle from the beginning. He wanted to fight a protracted war with our army."

Ju Su pointed at the map and analyzed it, then pointed out Liu Bei's intention.

Yuan Shao suddenly understood and his brows furrowed.

Feng Ji smiled coldly and said disapprovingly:
"The big-eared thief wants to fight a protracted war with us, so we just fight him. Are we afraid of him?"

"We have the six states as our backing, our national strength is unfathomable, and we have countless food and grass. Let's compete with him in national strength and fight him on."

"In the end, he will be defeated like Cao Cao, who ran out of food!"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the generals of the Wei army nodded in agreement.

When it comes to fighting a protracted war, they are indeed the most experienced, and it can even be said that they have never been defeated.

Yijing outlasted Gongsun Zan, Guandu outlasted Cao Cao, and now all they can do is outlast Liu Bei.

When it comes to who has a richer financial background and who is more wealthy, Yuan Shao has never lost to anyone.

Yuan Shao remained silent, with a flash of disgust in his eyes, obviously displeased with Feng Ji's suggestion.

He fought the Battle of Guandu for almost five months.

If this happened before he crossed the river and headed south, five months would not be a big deal. After all, he had been fighting in front of Yijing for a whole year in order to destroy Gongsun Zan.

Unfortunately, today is different from the past...

After entering Xudu, he had enjoyed several months of fine wine, beautiful women, singing and dancing. His hard-working character had been almost worn away by the constant hustle and bustle.

Now, for him to stay in the army and sleep in the open air, without wine and beautiful women for five months, is simply a life worse than death, it will cost him his life.

However, Yuan Shao naturally could not state this selfish reason openly.

"Yuan Tu is wrong."

"During the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was short of food and grass. Firstly, the Central Plains had been plagued by wars and the economy was in decline. Secondly, many people in the prefectures and counties who were loyal to the king refused to pay taxes to Cao Cao."

"That's why Cao Cao was defeated due to lack of food."

Ju Shou stood up, denied what Feng Ji said, raised his hand and pointed south:
"Although the two states of Jing and Yang controlled by Liu Bei also suffered from war, the damage they suffered was far less than that of the Central Plains."

"In addition, Liu Bei followed Cao Cao's example and vigorously promoted military farming in Jing and Yang provinces, so Liu Bei's stock of grain and grass was far beyond Cao Cao's."

"As far as I know, Jing and Yang provinces had a bumper harvest this autumn. Liu Bei collected a million bushels of grain and fodder for military use. He is not short of food at all."

"We want to emulate the Battle of Guandu and wait until Liu Bei runs out of food and collapse, but that's simply futile."

Feng Ji was speechless and glared at Ju Su with displeasure.

Ju Su's words hit exactly what Yuan Shao wanted.

So he immediately slammed the table and said firmly:
"You are right. We must not let this battle with the big-eared thief become a protracted one. We must end it quickly!"

Yuan Shao's decision set the tone for this war.

But it is easier said than done. Cao Cao was weaker than Liu Bei, and he had been fighting with them for four or five months. It would not be easy to defeat Liu Bei quickly.

Even Ju Su had no plan for a quick victory at the moment.

"Your Majesty, I do have a plan that may help us defeat the big-eared thief quickly and even save the eldest son!"

Guo Tu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up.

Everyone was shocked and their eyes turned to Guo Tu.

When Feng Ji heard that he wanted to rescue Yuan Tan, he immediately became alert.

"What ingenious plan do you have, please tell me quickly?"

Yuan Shao was cheered up and asked impatiently.

Guo Tu walked to the front of the tent, coughed a few times, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the Chu camp.

"I think, why don't we imitate the Battle of Guandu, relying on our advantage of having more soldiers and Liu Bei not daring to fight, and approach the Chu army's fortifications and build earthen hills?"

"Once we build this earthen hill, we can use our archers to shoot down the Chu army at will, and we will be able to suppress Liu Bei so much that he can't even raise his head."

"Within a month, the Chu army will be severely demoralized. Liu Bei will have to either withdraw his troops south or ask for peace with the king."

"In this way, Your Majesty can take advantage of the situation to put pressure on Liu Bei and force him to return the eldest son as a condition for peace."

"When the eldest son returns safely, the king will have no more worries. You can absolutely refuse to make peace with Liu Bei and continue to suppress Liu Bei with earth hills." "Liu Bei is helpless and can only abandon Xiangcheng fortress and retreat south. At that time, the army will certainly be in chaos and morale will fall to the bottom."

"Your Majesty, take advantage of the situation and lead your army to pursue Liu Bei. There is no need to worry that we cannot defeat Liu Bei. We can march to the Huai River and capture Shouchun!"

Guo Tu spoke eloquently and slowly explained his plan, then turned around and looked at Yuan Shao with a slightly smug smile.

Yuan Shao's eyes sparkled and he stroked his beard and nodded slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, Feng Ji sneered:
"Gong Ze, I thought you had some brilliant plan, but it turns out you are just using the same old trick again."

"Have you forgotten how our plan of building a dirt hill was foiled by Cao thieves?"

"Aren't you afraid that Liu Bei will learn from Cao Cao and use the same method to destroy your so-called earth mountain?"

Yuan Shao's heart was shocked, and the light in his eyes faded immediately.

After Feng Ji reminded him of this, he immediately remembered.

During the Battle of Guandu, he also used an earthen hill to suppress Cao Cao so much that he could not raise his head. Later, he built a thunder chariot for Cao Cao, which easily destroyed his earthen hill.

"Gongze, Yuantu is right. Your plan of building a dirt mountain is ill-considered."

There was a hint of resentment in Yuan Shao's words and expression.

Guo Tu seemed to be prepared, and looked at Feng Ji with a cold smile:

"Yuan Tu, do you think that with my wisdom, Guo Tu, I would not have thought of your concerns?"

"Then let me ask you, Cao Cao can build a thunder chariot to destroy our earthen hill, but what can Liu Bei do to break it?"

Feng Ji was stunned at first, then suddenly woke up.

Thunderbolt car!
The key lies in this Thunderbolt car.

It was Liu Ye who presented the method of making the Thunderbolt Chariot to Cao Cao, which enabled Cao Cao to build this powerful improved catapult and destroy their earthen hill.

Liu Bei could certainly build a trebuchet, but he could not build a trebuchet as powerful as the Thunderbolt Chariot. How could he emulate Cao Cao and destroy their earthen hills?

"Well..."

Feng Ji looked embarrassed and had no words to refute.

"You are absolutely right. The big-eared thief has no thunder chariot, so how can he destroy my earthen mountain?"

Yuan Shao's expression turned from gloomy to bright, and he clapped his hands and praised:

"Gong Yu, I have said before that among all the counselors in Wei State, you are the best at making extraordinary plans!"

"If you can defeat the Chu army and rescue Xiansi this time, you will be the chief meritorious official!"

"I will definitely reward you handsomely!"

Guo Tu was secretly proud of himself. He glanced at Feng Ji sideways, but pretended to be humble on his face.

Yuan Shao slowly stood up and waved his hand with a domineering look on his face:

"Pass on my order. The army will be dispatched tomorrow to build a dirt hill in front of the Chu army's fortress!"

"Within seven days, I will crush the big-eared thief so hard that he can't even raise his head!"

...

The next day.

On the Xiangcheng fortress.

Liu Bei and his ministers stood on the wall, looking down in the direction of Wei camp.

Tens of thousands of Wei troops lined up, holding large shields and spears high, forming a military formation as strong as a solid wall of steel, and marched forward in a mighty force.

When the Wei army arrived at the fortress, they did not attack the city this time. Instead, they lined up on the spot and adopted a defensive posture.

Then, they covered teams of Wei soldiers and began to unload the earth brought from the camp one truck at a time and piled it on the spot.

In less than an hour, the outlines of about twenty earth hills had taken shape.

"What is Yuan Laogou doing? Do you want to build a house right under our noses?"

Zhang Fei narrowed his eyes, his face full of confusion.

Liu Bei also looked suspicious and couldn't figure out what Yuan Shao was trying to do.

"Earth hill, Yuan Shao wants to build an earth hill!"

Pang Tong's expression changed slightly, and he raised his hand and pointed:
"During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao built earthen hills and used his archers to suppress Cao's camp from above."

"Looking at the current situation of the Wei army, Yuan Shao must be trying to repeat his old tricks and use the same method to deal with us!"

Liu Bei and his ministers suddenly realized.

Zhang Fei immediately became alert and said anxiously:

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's lead our army to attack and destroy it. We can't let the Wei army build the earthen hill right under our noses."

Liu Bei shook his head and pointed far away:
"Yuan Shao obviously came prepared, and mobilized at least 40,000 spearmen and shieldmen to form this iron wall to protect him in building the earthen hill."

"If our army attacks rashly, not only will it fail to stop Yuan Shao, but it will also play into Yuan Shao's hands and we will be dealt a heavy blow!"

When Zhang Fei heard this, he couldn't help scratching his forehead and became anxious.

"Then what should we do? If we don't send troops to destroy it, are we going to just watch Yuan Laogou build a dirt mountain right before our eyes?"

"Then the Wei army's archers will be in a superior position and can shoot us however they want, even if they want to shit or pee on our heads. How can we bear this?"

Although Zhang Fei's words were not polite, they expressed the thoughts of the generals and caused discussions everywhere.

Pang Tong stroked his short beard, frowned slightly and said:
"If we want to break this earthen hill, we can only imitate Cao Cao and use the catapult to destroy his earthen hill."

"But this ordinary catapult is not powerful enough, and its accuracy is not enough. I heard that Cao Cao also used the thunder chariot presented by Liu Ye to break Yuan Shao's earthen hill."

"As for how to build this Thunderbolt Car, that's a bit difficult..."

After hearing what Pang Tong said, a shadow fell on Liu Bei's face.

In his mind, an image seemed to have emerged of the Wei army's archers looking down from a high position and shooting arrows at will to suppress the enemy.

His soldiers could only hide under shields and barriers, trembling with fear and praying not to be hit. Their morale was destroyed bit by bit...

"To destroy Yuan's earthen hill, there is no need to use the Thunderbolt Chariot."

Xiao Fang's disapproving voice rang in my ears.

(End of this chapter)