HLnovel Chapter 221 Cao Cao Overthrows the Zhong Dynasty? Yuan Shu Begs for Help from His Clan Elders!
Chapter 221 Cao Cao Overthrows the Zhong Dynasty? Yuan Shu Begs for Help from His Clan Elders!
汝南
Imperial Palace
Yuan Shu's mood had just gone through a rollercoaster of emotions.
The good news is that Ji Ling and Yang Hong decisively defeated Liu Bei, driving the Jingzhou army out of Nanyang.
The anger stemmed from the fact that the news of King Chen's death and the blood-written letter he left behind somehow got out, causing unrest in the Chen Kingdom.
"No, Ji Ling has not yet returned with the main force. I must stabilize Chen State."
Yuan Shu realized that things were gradually slipping out of his control.
To prevent things from spiraling out of control, Yuan Shu planned to reinforce Chen State with troops.
But before Yuan Shu's order could even leave Runan, his subordinate general Yue entered the palace with a hesitant expression and reported to Yuan Shu:
"Your Majesty, the Chen Kingdom has rebelled, surrendered to the false dynasty, and even threatened to attack Runan and burn down the palace of my Zhong Dynasty."
"What!?"
"How dare these scoundrels oppose me!"
"General, I hereby order you to lead 50,000 troops to suppress the rebellion in Chen State County. Are you confident that you can quell it?"
After Yuan Shu declared himself emperor, all his civil and military officials rose to power.
Ji Ling was appointed Grand General, Yang Hong was appointed Prime Minister, and Yue Jiu also received the title of General of the Vanguard.
However, when faced with Yuan Shu's orders, hesitation appeared in Yue Jiu's eyes.
The original garrison of Chen State County is not a threat.
But if Cao Cao's army, which is eyeing the city covetously, seizes this opportunity to invade Chen State, what will Le use to defend against them?
Cao Cao was suffering from a headache, but that did not mean that the civil and military officials in Cao Cao's camp would go on strike.
With Chen Guo County surrendering voluntarily, how could Cao Cao's army possibly let such a golden opportunity slip by?
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the most urgent task is to defend Runan."
"The rebellion in Chen State is a minor matter. If Cao Cao's army takes the opportunity to attack Runan, the garrison in Runan will be insufficient, and we may be plunged into a bitter battle."
After Yuan Shu handed over 200,000 troops to Ji Ling and Yang Hong, he only had 100,000 troops left.
This number of 100,000 also includes the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, and new recruits.
Only about 60-70% of the troops actually dared to fight Cao Cao's army.
Le was also doing it for Yuan Shu's own good.
This Zhongchao regime was already unpopular, and this was just self-indulgent behavior.
If even the Runan Imperial Palace is lost, then destruction will truly be just a countdown away!
"Hmph, how could I not know this principle?"
"But if you, General, are brave enough to quell the rebellion in Chenguo County before Cao's army reaches it, wouldn't that save the war from spreading to Runan?"
"I???"
Le stretched out his finger and pointed at himself.
With his small frame, how could he possibly fight against Cao Cao's fierce and ruthless men?
Apart from Ji Ling, most of the generals in Yuan Shao's camp suffered from "fear of Cao Cao syndrome" to some extent.
If Yuan Shu had increased the number of troops that Yue Jiu had given him to 200,000 or 300,000, he might have had the confidence to fight against Cao Cao's camp.
But with 50,000 troops, is he really not going to send them to their deaths for a moment of pleasure?
Yuan Shu also realized that this was somewhat unreasonable, and waved his hand, saying:
"Forget it, let's hold Runan and wait for Ji Ling to come back to help."
"I do not believe that Cao Cao's army can conquer the capital of my Great Zhong in a mere half-month!"
Yuan Shu returned to the dragon throne and touched the jade seal in his arms.
He thought to himself, "He is a man of destiny, how could he possibly be defeated by a mere descendant of a eunuch!"
Cao Cao will definitely be Yuan Shu's stepping stone.
After defeating Cao Cao, Yuan Shu will launch a further counterattack on Xuchang, kill Liu Xie, and destroy the Han Dynasty!
……
Chen Guojun
Cao Cao's army mobilized a total of 120,000 troops, plus more than 20,000 surrendered soldiers from Chen State, bringing the total force to nearly 150,000.
"Report!"
"Reporting to my lord, the self-proclaimed emperor Yuan Shu has chosen to hold out in Runan and has also built many temporary fortresses around the area."
Upon receiving the report from the intelligence scout, Cao Cao nodded, his eyes filled with confidence.
Temporary fortresses can indeed serve as a defensive bulwark against the city.
But ever since Liu Ye improved the catapult.
With a siege weapon like the trebuchet in hand, even the most fortified temporary fortress is nothing but paper!
If Yuan Shu were to rely on these hastily erected fortresses to protect Runan, it would be tantamount to digging his own hole and then jumping right into it!
"All troops, follow me to Runan!"
"Down with the traitor! Kill the false emperor!"
"Yes!!!"
The shouts of Cao Cao's 120,000 troops resounded through the sky.
Chen State County is very close to Runan.
Five days later, 120,000 Cao troops descended upon the vicinity of Runan's main city like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
As for the garrison troops in those branch cities, they have been dismissed by Yuan Shu and all gathered in the main city.
On the city tower
Yuan Shu, holding a green silk parasol and wearing a black dragon robe, surveyed Cao Cao's army below the city.
In his pursuit of anti-Han sentiment, Yuan Shu deliberately adopted the style of the pre-Qin period, making his dragon robe black.
Just to avoid arguing, I'd like to mention here that the Han Dynasty dragon robes were only red and black after Emperor Wu of Han.
The reason for this was Dong Zhongshu's theory of the Five Elements, which suggested that the Han Dynasty belonged to the element of fire, and therefore the emperor should wear a red and black dragon robe.
Yuan Shu didn't care about the Five Elements theory; he admired the pre-Qin period and followed the script of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang.
Since Ying Zheng and Liu Bang wore black dragon robes, Yuan Shu naturally had to wear black as well!
"My soldiers, I am with you!"
To boost morale, Yuan Shu opened his arms and extended a friendly gesture to the soldiers on the city wall.
This move did have some effect.
In an instant, the morale on the city wall improved considerably.
But soon, under the repeated bombardment of the trebuchets, Yuan Shu's army found itself in a predicament where it was completely unable to fight back.
How to fight this?
We can't exactly charge out of the city and fight Cao Cao's army to the death, can we?
They didn't have a numerical advantage to begin with, and they didn't have trebuchets like Cao Cao's army.
Even someone who knows nothing about military affairs knows that going out of the city to fight is a dead end.
And so, Yuan Shu and the soldiers on the city wall were bombarded by trebuchets for a whole day.
Even when I try to sleep at night, I can't find peace.
Night falls
In the Runan Imperial Palace
Yuan Shu summoned the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers of Zhongchao and asked them for their strategies.
"Gentlemen, Cao Cao's army is at the gates of the capital, and his trebuchets are constantly causing trouble. What should our army do?"
The high-ranking officials looked at each other expectantly, unable to offer a single useful suggestion.
Yuan Shu glared at them a few times, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration.
"If my beloved minister Yang were here, he would certainly not be as useless as you all!"
Yuan Shu remembered Yang Hong's good qualities.
Despite Yang Hong's somewhat timid and submissive demeanor compared to other strategists, he was still a formidable figure.
But under Yuan Shu, Yang Hong was definitely the smartest person besides Yan Xiang.
Moreover, Yang Hong has high emotional intelligence and will not put Yuan Shu in an awkward position.
It is commonly known that he speaks well and can also save face for Yuan Shu.
Provoked by Yuan Shu's actions, the high-ranking officials of the Da Zhong Dynasty actually came up with a plan.
Then one of the elderly men, who was trembling with fear, stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, why not seek help from your elders?"
“As members of the royal family, they certainly wouldn’t stand idly by and watch His Majesty fight alone.”
"If they were to intervene, even if Cao Mengde were arrogant, he would have to give them some face."
"As for Runan, we only need to stall until General Ji Ling returns, and this crisis can be resolved!"
……
P.S.: Sorry for the wait~ Today's update is here~ Waaah, I noticed that there were far fewer people sending gifts today. I wonder if it's because of the National Day holiday and everyone went out to play.
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