On the second day of April, Xu You led the main force of the central army to reach outside Cangyuan City along the Bin River. At this time, Qi Xiao and Ye Min had not yet arrived at the Huatai, and the news of Xuchang's loss had just reached Mu Fan's ears.

Cangyuan was the prefecture of Yuzhou, Northern Wei Dynasty. It was once the place where Cangjie created the characters. It was also the capital of the kingdom many times prosperous. Li Fen of the Jin Dynasty once had a famous saying "The Yimen has been the emperor's prefecture since ancient times". The Yimen refers to Cangyuan.

Mu Fan, the governor of Yuzhou, was anxious. He knew that he could not resist the various armies of Chu by relying solely on the 30,000 garrisons in Yuzhou, so he gathered his troops to concentrate on defending Xuchang and Cangyuan.

Mu Fan was not surprised that Xuchang had fallen, but what was unexpected was that Xuchang fell after only two days. According to his plan, Xuchang should have held on for at least one month, but he didn't expect...

The ability of the southerners to attack and defend the city has always been above the northerners. There is no doubt that no matter how powerful it is, it should not suddenly open such a big gap. Over the past hundred years, the two sides have fought many times and are very clear about each other's advantages and disadvantages. A caterpillar turns into a butterfly, which is called having a rule to follow, but if it turns into a phoenix directly, wouldn't you think about why?

According to Xuchang's escaped team, the powerful bed crossbow used by the Chu army to attack the city, the arrows shot out were thicker than horse spears, and they could be inserted into the city wall in rows and stepped on them. If the city wall was not strong enough, these crossbows alone could destroy them, which was unheard of.

The Chu army's excellent training was unprecedented. They had strict military disciplines and advanced and retreated properly. Whenever they fought, there were at least three or five. They cooperated with each other with a tacit understanding. Some attacked and some defended each other, and they trusted each other with great trust. Almost none of them retreated in the face of the battle. When they saw the enemy, their eyes were red and they were as brave as tigers and wolves, which was completely different from the Chu army I remembered many years ago.

In addition, there are also their armor, which cannot be penetrated by arrows and cannot be cut by swords. Unless they are hammered with blunt objects, the armor and people hammer into crushed mud, it is difficult to kill. Their swords are unique in style, but they are extremely sharp, and the long spear is even more powerful. They can be pulled out without any effort when stabbing into bones. The gun rod can kill many people in a row and are not easy to break. The bow used is long, the firing speed is fast, and the accuracy is also high...

In short, the Chu army has formed a comprehensive advantage over the Wei army. Whether it is training or equipment, it is no longer the former Wuxia Ameng. Mu Fan thought silently for a long time. The only reason why the southerners have experienced these unexpected changes is that they are the newly appointed general Xu You.

Zuo Yu's Cuiyu Army was a direct line created by Xu You, and the Youdu Army of the Shanzong was also inseparable from Xu You. Xu You's own experience was legendary. He fell to the lowest point miserably, but he rose like a comet. This was simply unimaginable in the age of the aristocratic family - no one could be re-listed as a gentry after losing the protection of his family and being demoted to a commoner, and stand on the peak of the aristocratic family again. Perhaps it was this impossible that made the Chu army today unparalleled.

Standing at the head of Kuragaki, looking at the 100,000 troops outside the city, as well as hundreds of ships cruising on multiple connected inland rivers, the shiny armor and swords and guns reflected the sunlight, making people unable to open their eyes. The Xu-character flag standing on the hill seemed to invisibly contain unspeakable majesty and pressure.

Mu Fan was a military leader, good at planning, but was negligent in making decisions. So when he learned that Chu State was expeditioning the West, he was confused by his words of using Taoism. He planned to wait and see first, wait and wait for the imperial court's will, and then decide whether to fight or fight. But before the decree was enough, what he waited for was the Chu army's open fangs without any cover. The southerners were cunning and used the name of using Taoism to do their best. It was too late to adjust and deploy, so he could only decisively give up the periphery and focus on defending the three cities of Xuchang, Cangyuan and Huatai.

These three cities, from north to south, are located on a longitudinal line that runs through the entire Yuzhou, almost curbing the main roads entering and leaving the Central Plains from the east and south. He planned to concentrate his troops to defend these three cities, use the tactic of the central blossoming to hold the footsteps of the Chu army and nail them to Yuzhou. Once reinforcements from Pingcheng arrived, they could cooperate inside and outside to seek a great victory.

Mu Fan is a very strategic person. He has a hasty vision and can survive, save people and lose land, exchange space for time, and actively prepare a plan to turn defeat into victory. If Tiangongfang had not transformed the research results into actual combat power in recent years, he might have been exhausted by Mu Fan in Yuzhou. However, this is destined not to be a fair war. From the beginning of the Thunder Cannon, technological productivity will gradually dominate the outcome of the war.

"Master of the town, Xu You sent an envoy, should you let him in?"

"Take him here to see me!"

After a while, the envoy came to the city. A personal guard drew his sword and put his neck across and said, "Kneel down! Haven't you kowtow to my town lord?"

The messenger was motionless, his face was not afraid, his eyes were as clear as a flat lake, and he neither kneeled down nor answered. The guard was stunned. He was as usual to give the messenger a warning, but he could not really kill him. If he wanted to kill, he had to listen to him explain his purpose, and then the town lord gave orders. But is this person a fool? He was erect and said nothing, how could he continue to sing the play?

He was hesitating whether to put down the knife or continue to intimidate, the envoy said slowly: "I heard that the Lord of Wei restored the Zhou rituals, respected Confucius and Mencius, and regarded himself as the descendants of Huangdi. Could it be that he did not even understand the simple truth of the two countries fighting and not killing the envoys?" He said loudly: "The sword and axe add a neck to scare the barbarians who do not know the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, but the gentry who inherited the orthodox Chinese. If you want to kill, you should kill them, why should you say too much?"

The personal guard was frightened by his awesome attitude of not being suspicious, and subconsciously took a step back. When he woke up, he became angry and embarrassed. The blade pressed his neck for about a century and said sternly: "Kill you is like killing a pig or a dog. Do you dare?"

The messenger said nothing and made his personal guard unable to get up and down. He was stunned again, so angry that he almost cut off his sword. Fortunately, he didn't wait too long. The messenger said, "They look fierce but the weak on the inside. It seems to be majestic, but in fact it is the face of Lord Wei. Governor Mu, when do you want to see the ugly appearance of the noble family?"

Mu Fan exclaimed lightly, waved his hand to signal his personal guard to retreat, and said, "Look at the demeanor of the husband, you don't look like an unknown soldier who only knows how to pass messages. Can you tell me your name? Any position in the State of Chu now?"

Another embarrassing pause, the messenger bowed and said, "I am here at Yu Teng, and I am the manager of Cao Cao, the general's mansion!"

"Oh?" Mu Fan understood. The man was slow to speak and laughed: "Li Cao Dian Judicial Criminal Prison is an important position in the Bafu Mansion. It seems that Yu Li Cao is very respected by General Xu..."

Yu Teng was a young man and had to consider every time he replied to others, so he seemed slow and said, "Teng was useless, General Meng refused to abandon him, so he was reluctant to do so."

"Yeah?"

Mu Fan changed his tone and said lightly: "Maybe it is because Li Cao came from the Yu family, General Xu's current reputation is comparable to Cao Cao, but he is like duckweed. He has to win over the clans to strengthen his power, so he has over-produced famous artifacts in the court to leave his feet... Isn't it?"

These words are very provocative and disagreeable. If you encounter a foolish lord, you can't do anything about changing generals at the last minute. Yu Teng put his hands on his back and smiled and said, "My Great Chu now has a sage emperor in power. The sun and moon are in harmony with the four seasons. The general is surrounded by the common people. He is a commoner and is a common person. He is a stance outside and is planning a stance inside. Just as the king and his ministers are united, he will restore the Central Plains, moisten the wind and rain for thousands of miles, and shake the rebellion with thunder. How could he be blocked by slander? On the contrary, the general Yuan Guang of your country has great achievements and is suspicious of the master. I am afraid that the disaster of the wall will not be far away!"

"Bold island barbarians!"

"presumptuous!"

"The island barbarians have many tongues, so they should be killed!"

"I'll do it!"

Yu Teng said something, all the armored generals on the top of the city were disgusted and could not wait for Mu Fan's order to crush him to ashes. Yu Teng said calmly: "I heard that the Xianbei people call themselves warriors for a long time, but I didn't expect that the messenger who only dared to kill the enemy without the power of a chicken. However, I, Chu people, are different. Your heads have 100,000 elite soldiers to seize them by force in front of the formation!"

He was in the enemy camp, murderous intent everywhere, but calmed down as usual. Mu Fan felt respectful and stopped everyone and scolded: "The two armies are fighting and will not kill the envoys. Do you really want to shame the Lord? You still won't retreat!"

Everyone was angry, but they dared not ignore the general's order. They pressed the handle of the knife and slowly retreated. Mu Fan asked Yu Teng to move to the governor's mansion, and then he treated him seriously as an envoy. When asked about his purpose, Yu Teng said: "The general knows that the governor is a pillar of the Northern Dynasties and does not want to fight to hurt the harmony between the two countries. As long as the governor makes way, Da Chu is willing to use 70,000 pieces of cloth as a means of borrowing the road..."

This price is obviously insincere, Mu Fan smiled and said, "It would be better for me to give the general 70,000 pieces of cloth and ask the general to cross the Qinling Mountains and attack Qin, wouldn't it be both good?"

"The Qinling Mountains are hard to cross, and the boats are exhausted. The general only walks on the Cangyuan Road! If the governor is willing to give way, except for 70,000 pieces of cloth, the defenders, property, food, and weapons in the city can be taken away, and our army will not take any of them."

How could this be borrowed from? It was clearly forcing me to escape. Mu Fan shook his head, his eyes were as firm as a rock, and said, "Please tell the general, Mu is reluctant to obey his orders!"

The negotiations broke down, Yu Teng stood up, bowed and said, "The General has an order. From the time I left the city, I will conquer Cangyuan within six hours. The night is cool. Please ask the governor to prepare his own bedding so that he will not be frostbite when he is imprisoned."

Mu Fan laughed and said, "Please tell me that if I am here for one day, Cangyuan City will be unbreakable. When our central army comes to help and prisoners, it must be Xu You!"

When Yu Teng walked to the door, he said without looking back: "If the governor is counting on the two thousand cavalry 30 miles southeast, I might as well tell the governor that the leader of the army's garrison was called Lou Quji, who was captured by our army last night, and all the two thousand elite cavalry were captured!"

"What?"

Mu Fan was shocked all over and stared at Yu Teng's back and left, unable to speak for a long time.

Lou Fuji, whose hands were tied up by iron chains, was also very depressed. Qiantang's experience made him feel very humiliated, so after returning to the country, he cleared his relationship and left Hou Guancao, and was sent to Ruyang County, Yuzhou to become the garrison leader. He had just arrived at the office and had not yet known all the maids of the county magistrate's office. When the Chu army attacked, he was dispatched by Mu Fan, and gave up Ruyang County and led his troops to Cangyuan to assist in defense.

Mu Fan was good at using strange weapons and knew that being trapped in the lonely city was a way to die, so he boldly gave Lou Quji two thousand elite cavalry. In the name of rushing to help the sash platform, he went north first and then east, and finally hid in Liuzhuang thirty miles southeast.

The villagers of Liuzhuang were moved to the city long ago, and they were located in a remote place with no rivers and were not on the Chu army's marching route. The prepared food and grass were enough for 2,000 people to use for ten days. They just waited for the most intense war in Cangyuan to ignite the beacon fire at the top of the city. When Lou Quji saw the beacon fire, he immediately sent troops. He touched the rear of the Chu army without knowing it. Maybe he could set the victory in one battle.

But who would have thought that Lu Fuji had just arrived and had not even launched an attack, so Lou Fuji was surrendered. Not to mention that Mu Fan was beaten and sneered, even Lou Fuji himself was in a daze, and he still didn't know where the problem was.

Last night, just as safe as a few days ago, I went to bed and rested when I entered the night. An was at the entrance of the village and did not issue a warning. In a trance, I realized that Qingming appeared in his bedroom. It was shameless to attack. The shameless thing was that Qingming used the mountain ghost. Lou Fuji fell softly to the ground without much resistance. This was the second time he had fallen into Qingming's hands. At that moment, Lou Fuji really wanted to ask, "Yes, aren't you really sent by the Great Xianbei God to torture me?"

The army without a commander was like a headless snake, and the cavalry that had not had time to get on the horse even had the birds with broken wings. After a brief battle, more than 300 people were killed. The Yuzhong was captured by all the expanded 1,000 Zhenhai led by Tang Zhijian.

The surprise soldier preset by Mu Fan became the first victim of the Battle of Kuragaki!

Squeak!

The cabin door opened, and five teams formed a team led Lou Quji to the top deck of the Hailong Boat. Although he had been sealed by Qingming with secret techniques and could not use his true energy, he was a young master after all, so he still had to give him enough respect.

The eyes were full of strong and powerful armored soldiers. When they saw Lou Fuji coming, they all made way, but their eyes were very bad. If it were others, they would not be frightened, but at least they would have their legs weak. However, Lou Fuji was born in the Xianbei family and had been in charge of the Marquis of Jiangdong for many years. He had the demeanor of being calm in the face of danger. Shi Shi walked past the crowd and came to Xu You.

"Long Bird, we're meeting again!"

Xu You smiled and said hello, apologizing: "It is time to call the Lord of the Shrine now. Qingming Festival, you must not be rude to distinguished guests. Release the Lord of the Shrine and see the seat!"

During the Qingming Festival, the iron chain was untied, and the guards brought a chair. Lou Quji sat down safely without saying a word. Xu You did not think of it and smiled and said, "Lou Shuzhu gave up the bright future of Hou Guan Cao and ran to the four battles of Yuzhou to be a small guard. He is truly loyal and commendable."

Lu Bozhi next to him sighed and said, "It's a pity..."

Lou Quji finally spoke and said, "What a pity?"

"It's a pity that Mu Fan doesn't know the strategy. If he uses the two thousand elite cavalry of the garrison leader to go around the rear to disturb our army's supplies, wouldn't it be better to be trapped in Liuzhuang and caught in a urn?"

Lou Quji looked up at Xu You. He was wearing a moon-white military uniform, without armor, a blue cloth scarf with black hair, a jade craft hanging on the leather belt around his waist, and his handsome cheeks were shining with a light that was more moist than Yuze. He was sitting on the back of a chair casually, as if he was a genius man who walked out of the painting. But not only was his literary reputation, his cultivation was unfathomable, and his power and wisdom were even more extraordinary. Otherwise, he would not have been able to climb from a commoner to a high position as a general in just ten years.

There was no such person in the Northern Dynasties, or there was only one such person in the north and south!

"Since I was captured by the general, I would like to kill and cut, I would listen to all of them. Why do you have to say these useless disagreements that make people laugh?" Lou Quji said coldly: "Governor Mu followed General Yuanguang for many years, and offered plans and made plans. He was afraid that he knew strategy better than you. However, victory and defeat were common in military affairs. The defeat of Liu Zhuang was the crime of me. I was careless and neglected to prevent it. This gave you an opportunity to take advantage of it. If you clearly fight with chariots and horses, you don't need tricks, how can the southerners be our opponent?" As he said that, he looked at Qingming, obviously dissatisfied with his two sneak attacks.

"Is that true?" Xu You smiled and said, "So I ask the garrison master to board the ship to accompany me and see how the blood and courage of the southerners are far superior to the northerners!"

Lou Quji's heart trembled, and was forced by the murderous aura emitted by his body, so he didn't dare to refute it!

At this moment, someone ran to report: "Report to the General, Cao Cao's clerk Yu Teng has left the water gate and is returning to our army."

Xu You nodded and said, "Send the order, the three armies prepare, and advance after hearing the drum. After six hours, I will celebrate your merits in the lobby of the governor's mansion in Yuzhou!"

The generals clasped their fists, and the sound of iron armor colliding throughout the fighting ships, shouting: "No!"

When Yu Teng returned to the front, he said that Mu Fan refused the peace talks. He also said that only the Wei people who died in battle and did not surrender Xu You ordered the fighting ship he was riding along the river to 300 meters away from the city wall, got up and stood at the head of the boat, and said, "Bow come!"

The purple jade gold-fetal bow was handed over to Qingming. This is a super-strong press-layer double-reverse composite bow specially developed by Tiangongfang for Xu You. The moderate proportion of spring steel is added to the back of the Tuomu bow, which can greatly increase the pulling force. The arrows used are also specific deflection. The ox horns and hemp rope wire bow strings are applied with multiple layers of biological glue secret material. The cold and heat force remains unchanged, and the effective range can reach 450 meters away. However, most people cannot pull it open, and those that are barely pulled open cannot be accurately shot. The cost is too high, and it is not suitable for maintenance, and basically does not have the value of large-scale promotion.

Xu You stands alone at the head of the boat, draws a bow and arrow, and the mysterious spirit of the Tao heart shines on all things. The surrounding scenery and sound suddenly fade away, and the only thing reflected in his eyes is the focus of the world.

Bang!

The arrows passed like meteors, facing the fierce north wind, and crossed a nearly perfect arc, and flew away from the white celestial of Muzi standing on the top of the city wall. The defenders on the city wall burst into laughter. It was overestimated to shoot the flag at such a long distance, but in the blink of an eye, the arrows did not hang as power as they imagined, but instead they were faster and faster, and they all changed their faces.

At this moment, everyone was watching, silently, and countless people held their breath with the track of the arrows. Seeing that they were about to hit the flagpole, a lord next to Mu Fan believed in the seventh grade, and rushed into the sky, jumped up in the air, slashed with a knife, but judged the wrong speed of the arrow. The knife slashed in the air, and was penetrated by the arrow, and was snatched into the flagpole as thick as an arm.

First, there was a crackling sound, and then there was a crackling sound. The bar cracked irregular turtle patterns, and then it broke in the terrified and at a loss in the defenders' eyes!

It’s a big bad thing to break before the battle!

The cheers of the Chu army swept a hundred miles away, and morale burst to the peak, while the Wei army was dejected, confused and lost all their fighting spirit.

Xu You threw the bow and arrow to Qingming, clapped his hands, turned around and walked back to the chair, and said, "Siege!"

More than a hundred thunder cannons were placed behind, covered with layers of dry cowhide as disguise. As the flag was waved eastward three times, the sound captain Zhang Jin shouted: "Come on the cannon!"

Zuo Qi attacked Xuchang and only used a three-bow crossbow, and did not use a Thunderbolt Cannon, just to maintain the surprise at this moment. As the most confidential and core military skill of the Chu army, the Thunderbolt Cannon has always been the object of the highest level of protection of the Sili Mansion and even the later Secret Palace. Therefore, the Wei army was only informed, but there was no definite information to verify this. And they did not believe that there were any equipment in the world that could break the strong city. At least for the Wei people, they were obsessed with powerful cavalry, attacking, not defending themselves based on the city!

The soldiers quickly removed the cowhide, put the strings on the winch, placed the stone cannon, adjusted the angle, and then made a deafening roar as Zhang Jin's blade slashed vertically. The stone cannon bigger than the cow was like a star falling from the sky, and thunder slammed on the city with great force, and even the earth was trembling.

The crossbows of each warship and the archers' rain of arrows, nearly 50,000 people launched a staging attack on Kuragaki from all directions at the same time. The black heads were like tides and swarms of locusts, and they were cold and ruthlessly devouring all their vitality.

As the central army of Chu, it is known as the peak of combat effectiveness. Although its cooperation, obedience and overall military literacy are not as good as that of Cuiyu Army and Chifeng Army, it is because it is both veterans and knows how to attack the enemy while avoiding damage. Especially this kind of down-wind battle with superior forces, it is brave enough to take the lead in order to achieve credit and show invincible momentum and dignity. After Xu You became the general, he intends to transfer a number of backbones from Cuiyu Army to enrich the grassroots queues of the central army, most of whom serve as military chiefs and military chiefs at the level of the garrison leader, and slowly carry out the central army transformation plan with the point to lead the whole. Today, the results are more significant than expected.

After all, this is a siege in the era of cold weapons. It can only rely on courage and flesh to compete with both sides' ability to withstand death. Whoever collapses first will accept cruel failure.

Therefore, Xu You told Lou Quji and let him see that the blood courage of the southerners does not have to be bad for the northerners!

...

The siege lasted for two full hours. Thunderbolt cannons shattered the city wall directly south, revealing a gap of four or five feet wide. General Liu Duo, the defeated general, led his troops to break in, but was blocked by the Wei soldiers with iron fences in time and fought to regain their lost ground.

Liu Duo was also one of the four top clans who joined the Western Expedition as a negotiation condition for Xu You and Yu Tsu. He was very rebellious at first, and was sent to Feng Camp by Xu You. He was tempered by Han Baoqing for three months and was brainwashed by the Supervision Department every day. After three months, he seemed to have become a completely different person. After many practical exercises, he performed outstandingly and entered the Huqin Hall for two periods. After graduation, he was awarded the eighth-rank general of the miscellaneous number.

For the top clans, the decline of the subordinates was actually a humiliation, but Liu Duo did not care. He accepted the thinking logic of Cuiyu Army. The soldiers took military achievements as their glory, and family background was just the starting point, not the reliance. Therefore, he bravely led a hundred people into the city with swords and shields. Due to the disconnection of the subsequent troops and the counterattack of the defenders, he had no choice but to retreat. But there were one and two, and he didn't believe how long the Cangyuan, where the city walls had collapsed, could last...

Cangyuan's city is tall, but the war has developed to the present day. Even fools know that no matter how tall the city is, it is vulnerable to the thunder cannon. It is impossible to rely on the city defense to defend. The Wei army's strength lies in field battles, but Cangyuan is also known as the Water City, Yellow River, Ji River, Ying River, Bai River, Jin River, Cai River, Hui River, Ming River, and formed a total of seventeen water systems with eight horizontal and nine horizontal rivers. There are countless other tributary rivers. The naval army under Mu Fan is actually not weak. No matter how big or small the ships are, it is not enough for the huge sea dragon boats to block the teeth with their teeth. If the cavalry leaves the city, large-scale attacks and detours cannot be organized in such a terrain...

Mu Fan suddenly discovered that he had committed a military taboo, and he knew himself and his enemy, and he would never be defeated in a hundred battles. Now he miscalculated the strength of the Chu army, which led to the fact that he could not advance, retreat, defend, or attack. Cangyuan had become a dead place!

What exactly does Hou Guancao eat?

He spent millions of money every year and knew nothing about the changes in the Chu army. He even had no news about the siege weapons like the Thunder Cannon. If he could return to Pingcheng alive this time, he would definitely impeach the marquis and officials, Cao, for being incompetent injuring the country.

Mu Fan decided to break through.

(It's the final stage. If you guys want to see the ending or the storyline of someone, you can leave a message to Maruko in the book review area. It's not easy to finish it, so try to be happy!)
Chapter completed!