After two days of rest, the Tao merchant summoned his civil and military personnel to discuss the strategy of moving south to Xudu.

Xu Du's meaning is not only because it is located in the heart of the Central Plains, but is surrounded by a wealthy place in Yingchuan, but also because it is the emperor. After Cao Cao's management, it has become the heart of the Central Plains.

As long as the Tao merchant planted his battle flag at the head of Xudu City, he would wait for the heaven to announce to the people of the world that he was no longer a prince who was separating the country, but became a hero who fought for the world.

If he could take down the emperor's banner of righteousness from Cao Cao, he could replace Cao Cao and take the emperor to command the princes.

After glanced at the heroic wise men in front of the steps, the Tao Shang was full of energy and without hesitation. He immediately slapped the table and waved his hand and shouted: "If you don't take the Central Plains, you can't compete for the world. If you don't win, you can't win the Central Plains. If you pass the order, the entire army will go south immediately. No matter how much the price you pay, I will swear to take Xu Du down!"

"His wisdom is no less than Cao Cao, and he has the aura of a king. Maybe he is the king who can pacify troubled times in Jia Xu's mouth. Only when I, Zhang Xiu, follow him, can I truly achieve glory, wealth and fame last forever..."

When I heard the Taoist merchant’s bold words, I recalled how the Taoist merchant was brave and resourceful, defeated the powerful Cao Cao, and forced himself to surrender. Zhang Xiu, who was newly surrendered, was filled with emotion, and his eyes showed a stronger look of admiration.

On that day, the pottery merchants formed a large army of 30,000 and marched southward to capture Xudu.

At this moment, Cao Cao had already reduced all the troops in the Central Plains and defended Xudu. The Tao army went south, but the soldiers were not sure of the sword. He even conquered Yanling and other cities. Within three days, the troops advanced to the front line of Xudu.

Over the past few days, the Tao Shang ordered Huo Qubing and Zhang Xiu to lead the Iron Cavalry Army to clear out the outer counties and complete the siege of Xudu City.

According to the detailed information from Xu Duzhong, Cao Cao still had 7,000 troops in Xu Du.

The pottery merchant had a force of nearly five times the strength of the troops, which was enough to capture Xudu, but the only thing that made the pottery merchant afraid was that Cao Cao still had 6,000 troops on the front line of Wancheng, Nanyang.

In order to prevent Liu Biao, Cao Cao ordered Xiahou Dun to lead 6,000 elite troops to guard Wancheng.

According to detailed information, in order to defend Xudu with all his might, Cao Cao sent an envoy to Nanyang to summon Xiahou Dun back to Xudu.

Once Xiahou Dun's new force arrives, it will be able to form a horn-like force with Cao Cao's main force in Xu Du. At that time, if the pottery merchant wants to concentrate his troops to attack Xu Du, it will be difficult for Xu Du.

Once Xu Du cannot conquer for a long time and drags him to Yuan Shao to unify Hebei, the situation where the pottery merchants were originally going smoothly will be reversed.

We must never let Xiahou Dun leave Nanyang!

The Tao merchant discussed with the counselors, and then used Chen Ping's plan to send Zhang Yi, a big fool, to go to Jingzhou again, persuade Liu Biao to send troops north and attack Nanyang, and be sure to hold Xiahou Dun's troops back so that he could not return to Xudu.

After the plan agreed, Zhang Yi then took a tongue and a huge amount of money to go straight to Jingzhou.

The Tao merchant temporarily stopped moving and surrounded Xu Du without attacking, waiting for news from Nanyang.

Ten days later, the favorable news finally came back from the south.

Zhang Yi really lived up to his expectations. With a perfect tongue, he used his advantages and disadvantages to Liu Biao, and persuaded Liu Biao to set up tens of thousands of troops to go north to compete for the Nanyang land that should have belonged to him.

As soon as Liu Biao sent troops, it meant that the six thousand soldiers in Nanyang were dragged down and could no longer rescue Xu Du.

At this moment, the pottery merchant finally relaxed and could rest assured and boldly concentrate all his troops to launch a siege on Xu Du.

Xu Ducheng is strong and has enough food, and Cao Cao is more powerful and powerful. Even if he can attack with confidence and boldness, he cannot be captured in a short time.

The pottery was ready to be patient.

He started the army first, and in less than four days, two barriers were built around Xudu, which was equivalent to two new city walls outside Xudu to cut off Xudu's connection with the periphery.

Yingchuan where Xudu is located is a wealthy place, and there are several military farmlands. In addition to Xudu, the grain accumulated in the counties is also extremely abundant.

Tao Shang had many soldiers and generals, strong morale, no worries, and a wealthy Yingchuan, who could fight and raise wars, had no worries at all.

When the army besieged the city, hundreds of "sky thunder cannons" were also continuously transported to the Xudu front line.

This kind of thunder cannon is actually a catapult. After Lu Ban's improvement, the range and power have greatly increased, and the power of the siege has been greatly improved.

Every time this catapult fires, hesitates that the thunder roars in the sky and shakes the earth, so it is named "Sky Thunder Cannon" by the pottery merchant.

As early as January, the pottery merchant ordered Lu Ban to supervise the thunder cannon on a large scale in the rear, only for today's siege.

After the siege was completed, the pottery merchant built a large platform around him, placed hundreds of thunder cannons on the earth platform, and then began to bombard Xu Ducheng.

With the advantage of a high platform, coupled with the range bonus of the thunder cannon itself, its attack range doubles. The huge stone bullet can easily hit the city, and even cross the city and shoot into the city thirty or forty steps away.

The blast began, day and night.

Under the bombardment day and night, within a few days, all the buildings in the city walls that ranged from thirty steps were destroyed into ruins. Xu Du's walls that were several feet thick were also bombarded with potholes and cracks everywhere, and most of the city towers were collapsed.

The soldiers and civilians in a city did not dare to show their heads under the bombardment of this stone bullet all day long, so they could only hide under the shelter all day long.

After seven days of blast, the Tao merchant decided to give Xu Du military and civilians another mental punch.

At dusk that day, more than 10,000 Tao Army infantry and cavalry approached the front line of Xudu North Gate.

The Tao army surrounded but did not attack for a long time, and finally took a large-scale attack today, which immediately made Cao Cao alert and immediately led more than 3,000 troops to the north gate to prepare to fight against the Tao army's attack.

However, the Tao army did not launch a large-scale attack. Ten thousand troops lined up outside the range of the enemy city's crossbows, waiting solemnly.

With thousands of enemy troops on the city and uneasy eyes staring, Tao Shang led more than 100 cavalry under the escort of Huo Qubing, heading straight to the moat.

The Tao merchant did not intend to attack Xu Du. The reason why he came today was still to fight a psychological war.

The best strategy is to defeat others without fighting.

Tao Shangying shot the enemy city from afar. Facing the eyes of countless Cao troops on the top of the city, he took a deep breath and said loudly: "Listen to the defenders in the city, Liu Biao in Jingzhou has sent troops to Nanyang. Your General Xiahou's six thousand reinforcements cannot come. You should just give up your heart."

As soon as this said, Cao's army on the city wall was shocked.

Cao Cao's face also darkened, and deep disgust flashed through his eyebrows.

In fact, he already knew about Liu Biao's troops, and also knew that the six thousand soldiers in Nanyang were dragged down and could not come to rescue him.

But in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Cao Cao concealed this unfavorable news to prevent the morale of the army from being hit.

To the outside world, Cao Cao only kept claiming that his general Xiahou had led 6,000 elite troops on the way to arrive, so that the soldiers mustered up the courage to stand by and wait for help.

The defenders of thousands of times believed Cao Cao's lies. Although they were surrounded, they thought that there was a reinforcement outside, so their morale would not be so low.

Cao Cao never expected that the Tao merchant would come out directly in front of the city and expose his lies with his own words.

Tao Shang's words shattered the fantasies of Cao's soldiers. They were shocked and looked at Cao Cao with suspicious eyes.

The lie was exposed, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across Cao Cao's face instantly.

The embarrassment passed away in a flash, and Cao Cao immediately shouted: "Don't listen to his nonsense. He is deliberately disturbing our morale. I promise you that General Xiahou's reinforcements are on the road and will come to Xudu City in a few days."

Cao Cao was still lying and trying to continue to deceive, but his confidence seemed not very strong.

After hearing what he said, the Cao army did not believe it anymore. The doubts and worries in their eyes continued to disperse for a long time.

"The play is realistic, but unfortunately, your soldiers don't believe it..."

Tao Shang raised a sarcastic sneer on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were like a blade shot at the top of the city again, saying coldly: "Cao Mengde, I Tao Shang respect you as a hero, and give you the last chance to leave the emperor. Lead your army to withdraw from Xudu within three days, and I will let you live. Otherwise, in three days, I will break through the city and kill all the stubborn people, including you!"

When Cao Cao was still annoyed, Tao Shang had already sent out the last disc to him and the defenders of a city with his powerful voice.

The thunderous threatening words pierced Cao Cao's heart like a knife, causing him to fight a cold war. An unprecedented chill rose from the soles of his feet and instantly stormed all over his body.

There was a chilling chill on his back. Cao Cao was shocked to find that it was the first time he had a heartfelt fear of the boy in front of him.

Even Cao Cao was like this, and the Cao army soldiers all changed their expressions and fell into panic.

At this moment, Cao Cao and his soldiers felt in a trance that their neck seemed to be tightly wrapped around their hands.

And the owner of those hands is Tao Shang.

After the pottery had finished the last disc, he had turned around and left, and tens of thousands of troops slowly retreated.

The Tao Shang did not attack the city. He seemed to have planned to leave Cao Cao for three days to consider whether to give up the emperor and leave the city and flee.

After all, although the pottery merchant was sure to win when attacking Xudu, he was worried that the soldiers would be killed or injured too much.

He didn't want to pay too much, he wanted to try his best to preserve his strength in order to prepare for a decisive battle with Yuan Shao in the future.

Cao Cao breathed a sigh of relief, dragged his tired body, and slowly stepped down from the city under the confusing gaze of the soldiers.

"Sikong, the morale of the soldiers has been shaken. I am afraid that the news that Liu Biao sent troops to Nanyang cannot be kept in the fire and could not be hidden. What should we do now?" Li Dian, who was following behind him, asked in a low voice.

A little panic appeared in his tone, which obviously shook his heart to stick to Xu Du, and hinted whether Cao Cao should consider the proposal of the Taoist merchant, give up the emperor, abandon the city and leave.

Cao Cao's face darkened and he turned around and glared at Li Dian.

Li Dian was shocked, and from that look, Cao Cao's determination was seen, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

Xun Yu around him was as quiet as a cloud, and stroked his beard and said, "Unless it is absolutely necessary, you must not give up Xu Du. Besides, the emperor is the lord of the country, so how can you easily give it to a traitor like Tao Shang?"

Xun Yu is the leader of all the ministers and has a very high prestige. Even he said this, who dares to object?
Chapter completed!