C143

At dusk, the eastern fighting sounds of the Qing He City shook the sky. Under the protection of the endless waves of lithograph s and crossbows, the Youzhou Army carried the ladders and rushed towards the city wall, attempting to make one last effort before nightfall. There was a mountain of corpses beneath the tall walls, with broken arrows, unfinished wood, broken stones, blood-stained weapons, and piles of broken wooden ladders and charred clothes. There were all sorts of things that showed the brutality of the war. The earthen yellow ground had already been dyed a demonic purplish red by the blood. With a single step, one would hear a painful 'puchi' sound, and one's ankles would often be covered in mud soaked in fresh blood.

The tragic siege warfare had already lasted five days, both sides had heavy casualties, with no less than ten thousand Youzhou Army dead and injured, Yuan Shao's army had also lost a corresponding number. In the past few days, the Youzhou Army's greatest achievement was that over three hundred people managed to reach the city walls, but they were quickly chased down by Chunyu Qiong himself.

An hour later, the sky gradually darkened and the Youzhou Army began to retreat amidst the clear and bright chiming of gold. The fifth day's attack was fruitless again, or rather, other than the fact that Yuan Shao had used up a large amount of resources and troops, it still did not pose much of a threat to the city.

Gongsun Zanfuzi stood outside the camp and watched the exhausted soldiers return. Both of their faces were serious. It had been an entire five days, and yet Youzhou Army had only attacked the city wall once despite paying a huge price. Yuan Shao's stubbornness and resistance caused even Gongsun Zanfuzi to be extremely shocked.

Gongsun Xu raised his head to look at the fluttering word "Yuan" banner at the top of the city wall, and said with a muffled voice, "Father, this can't go on! We can only attack one position, and our strength cannot be used, Yuan Shao's defense is not strenuous, if we continue fighting like this, even if there is no change in our situation, I am afraid we will lose fifty to sixty thousand people in Qing He City! "

Gongsun Zan frowned: "It's just that, other than the east side of the city, the other three sides of the moat are wide and deep, it's not really a place to attack! Your son, your compassionate army knows this, but in this siege warfare, who wouldn't die a lot? As long as we can kill Yuan Shao, no matter how much of a price we pay, it would be worth it! "

"How about …" Gongsun Xu hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Should we summon the Wuhuan of Liaodong's men?"

Gongsun Zan pondered for a long time before slowly shaking his head: "Forget it! Wu Yan and Collapsing Mountain were currently quite unstable, if they took advantage of Youzhou being empty to invade, Na Li and Lou Ban would be pure trash, and Yan Rou, who was guarding the Ji County, only had a few tens of thousands of men, and would probably need to rely on Kurna's men to defend! Once Wuhuan of Liaoxi is settled in the future, it would not be too late to recruit Kurna's troops to charge into the fray. "

Gongsun Xu frowned, his heart suddenly having a tinge of regret. Back then, when he was negotiating the terms with Gongsun Kang, he should have given up some benefits to resolve the issue with the Wuhuan of Liaoxi in one go.

Just as the father and son were silent, Zhang Yan and Guo Jia came over together. After hurriedly bowing, they said: "Father-in-law, we cannot continue fighting like this! Xiao Xu has a stupid method up his sleeves, so I ask Father-in-law and the others to think it over first. "

"Oh?" Gongsun Zan's face lit up, and asked with a smile: What plans do you have, quickly tell me!

Guo Jia pointed at the moat in the distance, and said with determination: "Filling the moat, attacking from all sides!"

Gongsun Zan was startled, and said with a frown: "The moat is wide and deep, and is in the middle of a spring flood, the water in the Qing River is extremely torrential, filling up the moat is easier said than done!"

Zhang Yan was also a little stunned. He had coincidentally met with Guo Jia just now, and they had accompanied each other when they had both come together. They had not spoken very much, and he had not expected that Guo Jia would propose such a difficult method.

"Father-in-law, actually this matter isn't that difficult!" Guo Jia shook his head, he turned and looked at Xiao Qinghe, smiling as he asked: "What do you think, Zi Minxiong?"

Gongsun Xu followed Guo Jia's gaze, and suddenly understood the other party's intentions. He clapped his hands and shouted: "I understand! Father, we don't need to start from the moat. We just need to build a dam to divert the river! It should not be difficult for Trades and Crafts Camp to do this! "Wei, go call Ma Tiedan over."

Gongsun Jia replied, then sprinted towards the Trades and Crafts Camp behind him. Not long later, Gongsun Jia came over with Ma Tiedan.

After Ma Tiedan bowed to everyone, he respectfully asked Gongsun Xu: "May I know what orders General has for this subordinate to come here?"

"We are preparing to flatten the moat and need to change the course of the river. How many people do you need to do this? How long will it take for you to do so?" Gongsun Xu was not polite and straightforwardly stated his request.

Without hesitation, Ma Tiedan replied, "Your subordinate has already investigated the river. The Qing River is about 150 meters wide and the deepest part is about 30 meters deep. It is impossible to cut off the river, so the best solution is to use a drainage method." "If you give me 5000 men, I am confident that I can change the river's route within five days!"

"Five days?" Gongsun Xu was very satisfied with this time, and nodded: "This general agrees to your conditions, and will give you eight thousand people. Five days later, at dusk, this general wants to see the moat being devoid of water!"

Ma Tiedan cupped his fist and said confidently, "General, please be at ease. Your subordinate is willing to issue a military decree!"

Gongsun Xu shook his head: "There is no need for the military order, immediately go to the auxiliary force Camp and gather people.

"Thank you for your trust, General. Your subordinate will not disappoint you!" When Ma Tiedong heard this, he was overjoyed. He was able to command 8000 men. Even if it wasn't on the battlefield, it was still worth bragging about in the future.

Gongsun Zan suddenly asked: "You are the son of Ma Jun?"

Ma Tiedan bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Marquis, I am indeed! I wonder what orders Master Hou has? "

Gongsun Zan said indifferently: "Do your best, I will not treat you unfairly in the future."

If he could hear Gongsun Zan's words, his family's prosperity would be guaranteed in the future. He immediately thanked him solemnly: "Thank you for the Marquis' consideration, this lowly one will definitely work hard!"

Gongsun Zan waved his hand, saying, "Go and do what you need to."

"Here!" "En!" Ma Tiedan answered confidently before turning around and leaving.

After Ma Tiedan left, Zhang Yan asked in astonishment, "Why does Bo Guixiong value such a small craftsman so much?"

"Haha!" Gongsun Zan laughed loudly, "Let this subject speak of this matter."

Gongsun Xu also laughed: "My foster father doesn't know, that this Ma Tiedan's father, Ma Jun, is a master craftsman with a wide range of knowledge. He can refine sea salt, refine fine steel, make weapons, and so on. This Ma Tiedan was also very talented. Perhaps, in the future, he would become a master craftsman! Your foster father should have heard of the University Hall of Youzhou, right? "

"So that's how it is! I never thought that a lowly craftsman could be so useful! " Zhang Yan nodded his head and said: "The University Hall of Youzhou is famous, it is said that the Academy has recruited teachers from various sects, who are taught various theories and have not respected Confucianism. This old man has naturally heard of it, and has heard that Liu Biao, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and the rest are all scoffing at it. "Zi Min, ever since the Martial Emperor began, you have always respected the Confucianism. If you change your mind recklessly, I'm afraid that it will attract the retribution and punishment from the rest of the Confucian disciples!"

Gongsun Xu's expression was relaxed as he said, "Father, there is no need to worry. Those words of a corrupt scholar are not worth a single cent, and I do not care at all. Whichever theory is useful will be used. As for whether it is contrary to Confucianism, I don't care about that at all! "In the future, if my father and I were to return to the time when we were at war, we would definitely not let the Confucianism dominate the world!"

"This subject speaks the truth!" Gongsun Zan laughed: "What can those corrupt people do? The only thing you can talk about is empty talk! With the exception of the royal family's impotence and corruption, this big man was now in such a state. Apart from the reasons of being defeated and having the eunuchs in power, those corrupt noblemen who claim that they are the kings and that they are the citizens of the world shall also be held accountable! "

"That is true!" Zhang Yan sighed: "The reason why this old man was willing to join the army and rebel with the great virtuous and virtuous teacher was mainly because he was forced into a corner by a local wealthy family known as the Beautiful Book Sect! That fellow had read a lot of poetry and had often recited poems filled with righteousness and morals. He had indeed deceived a lot of ignorant commoners! This old man has also seen many Confucian scholars, most of them demure hypocrites. In terms of morality, they are inferior to those slaughtering dogs on the streets! "

Guo Jia had an awkward expression as he explained with a smile, "Father-in-law, foster father, actually not all of the other Confucians are so terrible! The close ones such as the Xun's's Eight Dragons, Wang Zhongxuan, and the far ones such as Cai Zhonglang (Cai Yong) and Kang Cheng (Zheng Xuan), are all exemplary figures of high moral integrity! "

Gongsun Xu laughed coldly: "Just as Feng Xiao had said, these people are all famous true scholars, I'm afraid people like them are one in a million right? No matter which guild it was, once they formed the domineering temperament, they would fall. Falling. Defeat was just around the corner. Before Dong Zhongshu became the sole master of Confucianism, was Confucianism like this? "

Guo Jia opened his mouth to refute, but in the end, he shook his head and did not say anything. He was not a true Confucian scholar, and he had a bad impression of the Confucian school, the eight dragons of Xun's were all his friends. Moreover, from Zhang Yan's attitude, he did not have a good impression of the Confucian clan. Guo Jia was a smart person, so he would naturally not argue with Gongsun Xu about this.

"Your Lordship, lord, there's an urgent military situation!" At this moment, several scouts suddenly rushed over from the distance while shouting loudly.