Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

Why were the Han troops only feigning attacks? Why did the catapults keep making futile attempts to bombard the city walls? And why did the Han troops keep wasting the defending soldiers' arrows?

All of this was prepared for this very moment.

This thunderous offensive caught the Cao army, sluggish in the cold weather, completely off guard.

"So that's how it is..."

Yu Jin muttered in a daze.

However, Gan Ning, burdened with the important task of being the first to scale the city, had no time to waste with Yu Jin.

While having people raise Yu Jin's helmet and shout "Yu Jin is dead" to demoralize the defending soldiers as much as possible, Gan Ning continued to personally lead the Jinfan bandits to attack the city gate.

As for the captured Yu Jin, he was thoroughly tied up under Gan Ning's orders and taken away to be delivered to their Prime Minister.

From the start of the siege until now, less than two quarters of an hour had passed. The foreshadowing and advantages accumulated over many days, with the help of the snow, had turned into a one-sided victory.

Reports of the battle from the three city walls were constantly being sent to Li Ji's chariot.

Gan Ning, Zang Ba, and Xu Chu, three generals skilled in infantry combat, each personally led troops to attack one side of the city wall, in order to give the Cao army no chance to catch their breath and react, using the high ground formed by the rubble and snow to overcome the obstacles of the city walls.

Currently, under the personal leadership of the three fierce generals, the Han army had initially gained a foothold on the three city walls, which meant...the outcome was decided.

Li Ji put down the military report in his hand, understanding that there was no point in continuing to read. Next, he only needed to quietly wait for the gates of Chunyu City to open wide, welcoming him into the city.

However, the sight of five Jinfan bandits cheerfully escorting the captured Yu Jin to Li Ji's chariot was quite a surprise to Li Ji.

Yu Jin was captured so quickly?

Sitting on the chariot, Li Ji looked down at Yu Jin, who was being forced to kneel on the ground, and slightly turned his head to ask Zhuge Liang.

"What day is it today?"

Understanding his meaning, Zhuge Liang replied, "The fourteenth day."

"In that case, it hasn't exceeded the half-month agreement. I once said that I would have you bound under my command, and I haven't broken my promise."

Immediately, Li Ji continued to boil water on a small stove on the chariot while smiling and saying.

"Considering that you are somewhat versed in military strategy, are you willing to return to the Han?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Jin's face revealed a strong desire, but recalling Cao Cao's courteous treatment in his mind, after a moment of struggle, he replied.

"I only ask for a quick death."

Hearing this, Li Ji finally raised his eyes and looked at Yu Jin seriously, quite surprised by the integrity of Yu Jin, who was still in his prime.

His repeated attempts to recruit Yu Jin were not because Li Ji valued Yu Jin so much, but simply to set an example, so as to disintegrate the Cao generals' will to fight to the death as much as possible.

"Are you really not surrendering?" Li Ji asked again.

Being treated so courteously and asked again by the high-ranking Li Ji, the struggle in Yu Jin's heart was even greater.

Although the King of Wei's kindness was great, Yu Jin was undoubtedly a Han Chinese many years ago. Surrendering to the Great Han was not an unacceptable option for Yu Jin.

"I would rather die than surrender!"

Yu Jin slowly opened his mouth to refuse while trying to convince himself.

Next time, when the Prime Minister asks me one more time, I will surrender. After defending Chunyu for many days, refusing to surrender twice after being captured can be considered repaying the Great King's kindness...

Just as Yu Jin made up his mind and waited for Li Ji to open his mouth again to surrender.

Li Ji said to Zhuge Liang with emotion.

"Alas, prejudice in people's hearts is sometimes a mountain. I underestimated Yu Wenze's loyalty and righteousness. Repeatedly asking him to surrender was indeed a bit rude."

After a pause, Li Ji waved his hand at Yu Jin and said.

"I will fulfill Wenze's loyalty. Come, behead him and bury him on the spot."

Yu Jin's eyes widened, his mouth opened, but he couldn't say a word, and then he was taken away by two tiger guards.

After a few breaths, a tiger guard came over with Yu Jin's head, which Li Ji verified.

Seeing that Yu Jin's eyes were still wide open even in death, exuding a strong sense of unwillingness, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but admire him and praised.

"The pseudo-Wei is not entirely composed of rats and sparrows. Yu Jin was captured but swore not to surrender, and can be regarded as a loyal and righteous man with a backbone of steel."

At this moment, the gates of Chunyu City were opened from the inside by Gan Ning, who led his troops to the city walls, which also represented the fall of Chunyu City.

Under Li Ji's order, more Han troops who were arrayed outside the city marched into the city in a mighty manner.

In one hour.

The Cao troops in Chunyu City either fled, surrendered, or died, completely falling into Li Ji's hands, which also represented that the gate to Douchang City was completely opened, and even greatly damaged the Cao army's strength.

The speed of Chunyu City's fall was too fast, so fast that many Cao troops did not even understand what had happened.

This also led to the fact that less than 20,000 of the nearly 50,000 Cao troops in the city escaped during the fall of the city, and the weather outside the city was cold and freezing, and those thinly dressed Cao troops lacked sufficient means to keep warm.

It would be a miracle if more than 5,000 Cao troops could actually escape back to Douchang City.

However, since there were more than 20,000 Cao troops who surrendered, this temporarily hindered Li Ji's pace, forcing him to rest in Chunyu City and try to send the captured Cao troops back to the rear as laborers.

If they were foreign races, Li Ji would naturally not do such pedantic things and let the living prisoners delay his advance speed.

Although they were said to be Cao troops, in Li Ji's eyes they were ultimately Han Chinese who were involuntarily involved, and he could not bring himself to raise the butcher knife and start a massacre.

On the night of the same day that Li Ji captured Chunyu City, Wei Yan and Zhao Yun jointly defeated the Cao army, killing countless Cao generals, and the battle report of capturing Linzi in the process was also sent over...

And it was also sent to Cao Ren's desk.

The successive fall of Anqiu City, Changan City, Zhuxu City, Dongchao Ford, Linzi City, and Chunyu City, the Northern Expeditionary Army's momentum like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, its pervasive and unstoppable pace, made Cao Ren's gaze at the battle report reveal daze and powerlessness.

Qingzhou...how can it be defended!?

At this moment, Cao Ren only wanted to know how to defend Qingzhou?

In just over a month, seeing that heavy snow had fallen early, Cao Ren thought that Heaven was helping Great Wei, and that Qingzhou could finally drag through the winter.

In less than a day, the military reports of the fall of the most important Linzi City and Chunyu City were sent over, plunging Cao Ren, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, into complete despair.

Cao Ren murmured with a pale face.

"The Qingzhou battle that has lasted for more than a month has been nothing but defeat and fall..."

"The King entrusted Qingzhou to my hands. Now that the battle situation is like this, what face do I have to see the King again?!"

(End of this chapter)