Can I get to the other side?

Yecheng, Imperial Palace, Tai'an Palace.

After Jia Xu, Guo Jia, and Cui Yan completed the task of capturing a county, they did not follow the army to Hejian County to join forces, but returned to Yecheng to report.

"Your Majesty, Julu County has been captured by me. It took a total of eight days. I finally lived up to your expectations and kept my promise."

Jia Xu bowed to Liu Xie and said that he had originally set the time to be ten days, but in fact it only took eight days, which was two days faster than the target.

"Good."

Liu Xie smiled and said, "I have read the battle report. Julu City was destroyed without a single soldier. Wenhe's plan is really wonderful."

Jia Xu's means of playing with people's hearts were fully demonstrated in this battle of Julu. A stack of forged letters and a few words from the messenger broke the impregnable Julu City.

Sun Tzu once said that the best strategy is to attack the enemy's plan, the next best is to attack the enemy's alliance, and the worst is to attack the enemy's attack.

The best way is to capture a city without wasting your own troops.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind."

After receiving Liu Xie's praise, Jia Xu pretended to be humble and glanced at Guo Jia at the same time. The corners of his mouth could not help but rise slightly.

He and Guo Jia made a bet before going to the battle to see who could capture their respective targets with the fastest speed and the least loss.

It took him eight days to capture Julu with zero casualties. He was confident of this achievement and would definitely beat Guo Jia.

Guo Jia naturally understood the meaning of Jia Xu's eyes. After a slight smile, he said: "Your Majesty, it took me five days to capture Pingyuan County without any casualties."

Hearing this, Jia Xu's eyes flashed with surprise.

Although Pingyuan County is a small city, it is not five days and without casualties. If the city is besieged, it will take at least one month to break the city.

If he were to go, he might directly use the means of polluting the water source, but even so, it would take more than ten days.

How did Guo Jia manage to break the city in five days?

Jia Xu was puzzled.

Guo Jia did not explain. After all, it would be bad to publicly say that the officials' relatives were dragged to death by horses, so he just smiled lightly and kept his achievements and fame to himself.

"Jia Xu's strategy is clever enough, but compared to the vicious and vicious, Guo Jia is still better this time..."

Liu Xie couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he heard this.

He knew what methods Guo Jia used. Compared with Jia Xu's clever strategy of alienation and playing with people's hearts, Guo Jia's method was simple and direct, but extremely effective.

After praising Guo Jia a few words, Cui Yan said: "Your Majesty, Qinghe County has been captured. It took a total of three days, and our army had no casualties."

This result was not surprising to everyone.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia were also calm.

After all, Qinghe County was Cui's hometown. It would be strange if Cui Yan could not take Qinghe County in a short time. The difficulty was not at the same level as the other three counties.

"That's right."

Liu Xie nodded and said to the ministers in the hall: "Yesterday I received a letter from Lord Wen, saying that Anping County has been captured by him. In addition, he killed 1,000 troops sent by Yuan Shao to help and captured 2,000."

"However, although the four armies have successfully joined forces, Zhang Yan failed to hold Yuan Shao back, causing Yuan Shao's army to return to Jizhou, so the plan to attack Hejian County needs to be readjusted... What do you think?"

According to the original idea, the four armies would besiege Hejian County after joining forces, and it would be easy to capture this important place of Yuan Shao.

But plans can never keep up with changes.

Yuan Shao got rid of Zhang Yan's restraint and led all his troops back to Hejian County from Yicheng, making it clear that he wanted to defend this place to the death.

Now the overall number of the attacking and defending armies is not much different, and they even have a slight advantage, but this advantage can basically be ignored in the siege battle.

Because if you want to forcibly capture a city, you need at least three times the number of troops as the defenders, and even so, you will have to pay extremely heavy casualties.

Liu Xie did not want the tens of thousands of troops he had finally gathered to be consumed in this battle, so he called back Guo Jia, Jia Xu and others to discuss with them how to attack Hejian County again.

Upon hearing this news, all the ministers were silent.

Even Sima Yi, who always liked to show off in front of Liu Xie, did not stand up and speak immediately, but frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Your Majesty."

After a long time, Xun Chen took the initiative to say: "Hejian County is of utmost importance to Yuan Shao. This time he led the troops back to defend, he must have been prepared to deal with the attack of the royal army. I think it is not advisable to force the attack."

"Your Majesty, why don't you withdraw the troops first, conquer the four counties that have just been conquered, and reorganize the troops and horses after the beginning of next spring to look for an opportunity to attack."

It is approaching winter, and the forces of both sides are evenly matched, and they are the attacking party. If they force the attack, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses, which is really not worth the loss.

"You can't withdraw the troops at this time!"

Sima Yi suddenly spoke up to reject Xun Chen's suggestion, his face was serious, and he bowed to Liu Xie and said: "Your Majesty, if we wait until winter is coming, Guo Yuan will have the opportunity to lead the troops back to defend, and the situation will be even more unfavorable to us!"

The reason why Guo Yuan was delayed in Bingzhou by Ma Chao and Han Sui was because most of Guo Yuan's troops were infantry, while most of Ma Teng and his men were cavalry.

But winter is coming, the weather is freezing, and the roads are blocked by heavy snow, which is very disadvantageous for cavalry, whether it is pursuit or encirclement.

Moreover, Bingzhou is not Jizhou or Youzhou, and there are not so many flat areas for cavalry to play.

Without the advantage of cavalry, how can Ma Chao and his men delay Guo Yuan's army?

Once Guo Yuan's 30,000 troops come back, let alone capture Hejian County, the four counties that have been captured, including Wei County, may be in danger.

Liu Xie knew that Sima Yi's words made sense, but the current situation made him feel helpless.

The centipede insect is dead but not stiff, not to mention this insect is not dead yet, just injured.

Yuan Shao's power is really too terrifying.

At its peak, it once made people feel hopeless.

Even though Qingzhou had been lost at this time and was surrounded by enemies on all sides, he could still hold on to the city and wait for winter to come and for Guo Yuan to return to the defense.

But Liu Xie wanted to break through the turtle shell of Lecheng County before Guo Yuan led his troops back to the defense.

"Wait, Broken City?"

Liu Xie's whole body seemed to be struck by lightning. He couldn't help but tremble, and his heart suddenly became excited.

Because he suddenly thought of something that he had ignored for a long time, a literal city-breaking weapon - a catapult!

Although this thing originated from the Zhou Dynasty, due to technical reasons, it has always been useless. The stones thrown are not large and the power is also low.

But since Cao Cao's subordinate Liu Ye improved this thing, its power has been greatly increased. It was named the Thunderbolt Chariot and played a huge role in the Battle of Guandu.

During the Song Dynasty, catapults had evolved and improved to the extreme. A catapult required 150 to 250 people to pull it, and the stone projectiles thrown could weigh hundreds of kilograms!

At that time, when the Jin soldiers attacked Bianjing, "more than a thousand aircraft were deployed overnight", forcing the defenders to retreat to the city walls, making it almost impossible to withstand the rain of artillery and stone.

"If we have an improved version of the catapult, we don't need more than a thousand catapults, but only a hundred. The difficulty of attacking Lecheng County will be greatly reduced, and we may not be able to win quickly!"

Liu Xie's eyes sparkled and he was extremely excited.

After traveling for too long, his way of thinking gradually merged with this era, so much so that he almost forgot his identity as a time traveler and his knowledge.

Now he just felt enlightened.

Just when Liu Xie was immersed in the joy of finding a way, Jia Xu thought about it again and again, and stood up and said: "Your Majesty, if you want to take advantage of the winter to attack Lecheng County and regain Hejian County, I think your Majesty might as well march in person to conquer it. This will improve the morale of the entire army.”

Since a frontal siege is inevitable, try to find a way to win. In a siege, the siege party will inevitably suffer heavy casualties, and morale is often the most critical link.

The emperor's personal expedition would undoubtedly greatly boost the morale of one's own side, and at the same time, it could also dampen the morale of Yuan Shao's soldiers.

"The emperor is going to conquer it himself? Absolutely not!"

Fu Wan's expression changed immediately after hearing this, and he was the first to stand up and object: "It is said that a son of a rich man will not sit down in the hall, let alone your majesty, how can you go to the battlefield in person?"

"Zhongshu Ling, please don't joke!"

Fu Wan was very dissatisfied with Jia Xu's suggestion. The emperor should stay in the rear and fight against thieves. That was what the soldiers should do.

The emperor is personally on the front line. If something happens, who will be responsible? Who can be held responsible?

The Fu family still depends on the emperor for their rise to prominence!

Not only Fu Wan, but also Yang Biao, Xun Chen, Cui Yan and other court officials also spoke out against Liu Xie's personal expedition.

Jia Xu looked at him coldly and sneered in his heart.

He didn't know what these people were thinking. Worrying about the emperor's safety was bullshit. What they really worried about was their own glory and wealth!

It's just that this group of people have no idea that if Lecheng County cannot be captured, the good situation that has been achieved with great difficulty will be overturned again soon.

When the Bingzhou army comes for reinforcements, Yuan Shao's troops will number up to 60,000!

With 60,000 people defending the city, what should we use to attack it?

If not, how could he propose that the emperor personally conquer the country? Doesn't he know the dangers of the battlefield?

"The imperial driver personally conquers..."

Liu Xie frowned and began to think. He had been forced by Yuan Shao to conduct a military expedition before, which indeed greatly boosted his own morale and made Gongsun Zan's soldiers unable to fight.

If Zhao Yun hadn't killed Wen Chou in front of the formation and brought back the morale of Gongsun Zan's army, Yicheng might have been defeated in that battle.

This battle to attack Lecheng County is very important. It can be called the final decisive battle with Yuan Shao. It will determine the ownership of the entire Hebei Province. It is indeed necessary for the emperor to conquer it personally.

In troubled times, he can only be a horse-riding emperor like Emperor Guangwu, and cannot sit high on the Diaoyutai like a king in prosperous times.

Otherwise, even if the world is unified, how can he make the wealthy families surrender willingly without setting up a murderous and ruthless personality?

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xie raised his hand slightly.

The whole hall suddenly became quiet.

Everyone looked at him.

Facing the gazes of the ministers in the palace, Liu Xie said in a deep voice: "This battle is very important. I want to imitate Emperor Guangwu and become the emperor on horseback, but how can I watch the soldiers bleed and die on the front line while I live in the palace and enjoy myself?" ?”

"It is said that if the emperor disobeys his ministers, the king will die in the country! I have decided to go on a personal expedition to defeat Yuan Shao and kill the rebels! I will promote the glorious power of the Han Dynasty!"

As soon as Liu Xie said this, the expressions of Fu Wan, Xun Chen and others changed.

Jia Xu and Guo Jia, on the other hand, looked excited and felt their blood boiling all over!

If the emperor disobeys his ministers, the king will die in the country!

What a majestic spirit!

I saw Jia Xu being the first to take the lead in paying homage, shouting: "Your Majesty, ten thousand years! Ten thousand years of this great man!"

Liu Xie's words came to this point. Although Fu Wan and others were unwilling to do so, they could not come up with a reason to refute, so they could only follow him and pay homage.

"Long live your majesty! Long live the Han Dynasty!"

The emperor's personal expedition was decided.

...

After leaving the court, Liu Xie returned to the Xuanshi Hall.

He sent someone to summon the elders of the Zhen clan.

"Your Majesty."

The elder of the Zhen family walked into the Xuanshi Hall, bowed respectfully to Liu Xie, and asked carefully: "I wonder what instructions your Majesty has for summoning this old minister?"

Liu Xie didn't waste time talking to him, and asked straight to the point: "How many craftsmen are there in the Zhen family now? If we rush to make catapults, how many can we make in ten days?"

"Catapults?"

The head of the Zhen family was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "Your Majesty, there are more than a thousand craftsmen in my family. It is very simple to make catapults. If we rush to make catapults day and night, it will not be a problem to make five or six hundred in ten days."

"But...please forgive me for being blunt, the stone bombs thrown by the catapults are too weak, and I'm afraid they won't be of much use in attacking the city."

When he heard about the catapult, he understood what Liu Xie was planning. It was obvious that he wanted to use the catapult to attack Lecheng County.

But the power of this thing is really terrible, and the range is limited. The stones thrown are at most the size of a bowl, and it has long been eliminated in the war.

Instead of making catapults, it is better to make more siege equipment such as ladders and well-stoves. At least the latter are very practical.

"I don't want to make the traditional catapult."

Liu Xie said, while picking up the charcoal-drawn drawings and the principles written on the table, and handed them to the Zhen clan elders, "Give these to the craftsmen in the Zhen clan, let them study and imitate them."

"I don't ask for too much, just one hundred finished products before the Battle of Hejian, and send them to the front line as soon as they are made."

The drawings provided by Liu Xie were not the thunderbolt chariots developed by Cao Cao's men in history, but the more powerful and more advanced large-scale catapults of the Song Dynasty.

The ultimate version of the catapult!

Thanks to his good habit of looking up information when reading history before, he had a good understanding of the catapults of the Song Dynasty, so he drew a rough sketch.

Although he did not go into the specific details of the structure, he wrote down the relevant principles in a relatively popular language. With these, it was not difficult for the Zhen clan craftsmen to make the catapult he wanted.

After all, the catapult itself is not something with particularly high technical content. Those craftsmen can even study and master the iron smelting technology he provided before, so how could they be stumped by the improved version of the catapult.

The Zhen clan elder took the drawings handed by Liu Xie and looked at them carefully. Although he didn't understand it very well, he knew that it was different from the traditional catapult.

Not only is the structure different, but the size is also larger.

So the Zhen clan elder carefully put away the drawings and said to Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will not let your Majesty down!"

Since the emperor came to power, they have fewer opportunities to make meritorious deeds. Now that the emperor has personally explained this matter, he must do it beautifully.

After a salute, the Zhen clan elder turned around and left.

...

The next morning, the news that the emperor was personally leading the expedition came out.

Liu Xie, escorted by Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci and Yulin Guards, rushed to the front line with Jia Xu, Guo Jia and others.