Cao Xiu's archery skills were also among the best among all the generals in Cao's army. With the guidance of Xiahou Yuan, he had quite a lot of experience. This arrow was shot from a high position and was more powerful than Huang Gai's.
With a whistling sound, the arrow flew in front of Huang Gai. He raised his iron whip to block it, but unexpectedly the arrow split into two, and one of them shot towards his chest.
With a slight ding sound, the arrow hit the heart-protection mirror and fell to the ground. Although there was no danger, the generals of Jiangdong exclaimed in surprise.
Cao Xiu held his bow and laughed, "Haha, you are lucky, old thief. If you dare to approach the city again, watch out for my dog head!"
Huang Gai was furious and asked, "How dare you, little boy, come down to the city and have a taste of my five-lash whip?"
Cao Xiu snorted coldly, took out his arrows and drew his bow. Huang Gai did not dare to be careless, and hurriedly turned his horse back to the formation. Seeing that Cao's army was defending the city stubbornly, he ordered each camp to prepare sandbags, wood and stones to fill up the moat first.
In the evening, Sun Quan arrived with a large army and surrounded Shouchun on three sides again, setting up ladders, battering rams and other means to attack the city.
The next day, the Wu army surrounded Shouchun and attacked it. Sun Quan personally supervised the battle. From dawn to dusk, ten teams of soldiers took turns to fight, leaving the defenders no chance to breathe.
The Wu army had previously experienced the solidity of Shouchun. After being rebuilt and reinforced by Cao Ren, it was even more solid. However, the army achieved little in one day. Only the bloody corpses and billowing black smoke under the city wall bore witness to the cruelty of this war.
Half a month later, the Wu army suffered heavy casualties, but Shouchun remained unmoved. Sun Quan was furious and sent troops to recruit civilians nearby. He ordered Huang Gai, Han Dang and Zhu Huan to personally supervise the troops in front of the battlefield. This really aroused resentment among the people in Huainan, and many people fled to the seaside.
Seeing that Sun Quan was acting out his true intentions, Lu Su advised: "My lord, if you want to make a grand plan for the Central Plains, you must use Huainan as your base. You should win over the people and use them for your own benefit. You should only recruit civilians to stay in the army and then release them after the battle. This is the long-term plan. If you allow your soldiers to plunder now, I'm afraid your false intentions will become real."
Sun Quan disagreed: "Cao Ren is a famous general of the time. If I don't do this, how can I make him believe it? Most of the people in Huainan were relocated by Cao Cao and may not sincerely surrender to me."
Lu Su said: "Since the flooding of Shouchun, the people have been suffering from lack of harvest and unbearable suffering. If you treat them with leniency, they will naturally return to their hearts."
Sun Quan said with a smile: "They were drowned by Cao's army before, so they hate Cao. This time I give them a chance to take revenge. If they are unwilling to try their best, it shows that they are not willing to return. Their death is not a pity."
Before Lu Su could persuade him again, Sun Quan waved his sleeves and said, "Zi Jing may have some strategies, but he doesn't know how to be a general! A general should be decisive in killing and fighting. A real man is not particular about trivial matters when pursuing great undertakings. Haven't you heard that kindness is not good for commanding troops? Zi Ming used a strange strategy to take Xuzhou, which concerns the lives of the soldiers in Jiangdong. The great undertaking of my father and brother cannot afford any mistakes."
Lu Su sighed in his heart, but he also knew that Sun Quan's words made sense, so he had to retreat silently and discuss with Lu Fan and others how to remedy the situation afterwards.
After attacking for several more days, Cao Ren's defenses were still impenetrable. Seeing that Shouchun City had sufficient equipment and inexhaustible supplies, Sun Quan gradually became impatient. He sent Lu Meng to Guangling to recruit soldiers and pacify the people, and then urged Huang Gai and other generals to attack the city quickly.
On this day, Zhang Cheng transported grain to the army and brought a letter from Zhang Zhao, advising Sun Quan not to waste military resources. Once it was exhausted and costly, it would undermine the foundation and it would be difficult to hold Xuzhou. It would be better to retreat to Huainan and send troops when both Cao and Liu were defeated.
Sun Quan smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang is guarding Jianye, how could he know my brilliant plan? This time I will take Xuzhou and let you and your son return home in glory."
Zhang Cheng clasped his fists and said, "Recently, there have been many rumors in Jianye that are quite unfavorable to Marquis Wu. They all say that if my brother were still alive, he would have marched into Xuchang long ago..."
"Asshole!" Sun Quan was furious and said in a deep voice: "Go back and tell all the civil and military officials that I will take Xuzhou and conquer the Central Plains within half a year."
After Zhang Cheng left, Sun Quan personally led his troops to attack the city. After a day of fighting, the Wu army suffered a loss of nearly 10,000 soldiers. Zhu Huan finally couldn't hold on any longer. More than half of his private troops were killed, so he also came to dissuade Sun Quan.
Sun Quan was furious and said, "When Cao Cao attacked Shouchun, I personally went to the front line and captured the city in a few days. We Jiangdong men are no better than the mob of Cao Cao's army back then. You must not slack off. Tomorrow I will personally lead the troops. If the three armies obey my orders, we will surely capture the city."
The next day, Sun Quan left Zhu Zhi to guard the central army and personally went to the front of the army to command. The generals were shocked and hurried to dissuade him.
Sun Quan was holding his breath at this time. Sun Jian and Sun Ce were both generals with high prestige in the army. Couldn't he go to the front line in person
He laughed loudly and said, "Do you really think I can't go to the front? A general should lead the troops in person, so as to inspire the army. My father and brothers all wore armor and held sharp weapons to break through the enemy. I will inherit their career and also their aspirations. Don't worry!"
Lu Su pulled Sun Quan aside and whispered, "The attack on Shouchun was only to contain Cao Ren and achieve a surprise victory. Why did you attack and defeat the enemy, and lose many soldiers and generals?"
Sun Quan said, "No! In any battle, the key is to win by using the normal forces. If I can really break through the city, the surprise attack will be twice as effective with half the effort!"
Lu Su was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly realized that the young man who used to accept advice and humbly seek advice on everything has grown up. It seemed that the Sun blood hidden deep inside his heart was awakening, and he didn't know whether to be happy or sad!
The morning breeze blew, drums beat loudly, and Sun Quan, wearing a bright red robe, a golden helmet, and holding an ancient ingot knife, rode out on his horse. The Wu army was shocked when they saw him, and their shouts reached the sky.
Sun Quan personally went to the foot of the city, took out his bow and arrows and shot at the city, shouting, "Attack!"
Huang Gai, Han Dang and Zhu Huan led the way and went to the front of the army to suppress the rebellion. The morale of the Wu army was greatly boosted, and the resentment of the past few days disappeared. They all rushed forward and competed to be the first to climb the city.
When Cao Ren heard the sound of fighting in the south city, he hurried over to supervise the battle. He saw Sun Quan at the end of the suspension bridge, with a sword and a bow and arrow drawn, looking very conspicuous.
At this time, Cao Xiu had already left the city to lead the navy to fight the enemy, and Sima Yi was in the city to allocate equipment. Deputy General Niu Jin said anxiously: "Sun Quan came to the front line to encourage the three armies. Wu Gouru is like crazy. What should we do?"
Cao Ren snorted coldly, "Sun Zhongmou wants to emulate the Prime Minister's conquest of Shouchun. He really overestimates his own abilities! How can a blue-eyed boy compare to the Prime Minister's heroism? We are not the withered bones in Yuan Shu's tomb!"
Niu Jin hurriedly asked, "What countermeasures does the governor have?"
As Cao Ren was observing, he saw Sun Quan shoot an arrow at his face and shouted, "Cao Zixiao, if you open the city and surrender early, I will spare your life. Otherwise, I will kill you in the city and not a single soldier will be left alive."
Cao Ren easily deflected the arrow and cursed: "You rats are fickle. I only regret that I didn't recognize your brother's ruthlessness and heartlessness back then. You made my daughter suffer. One day I will conquer Jiangdong and destroy the Sun family."
Sun Quan was furious and shot several arrows at the top of the city wall. Cao Ren simply raised his scabbard, swung it left and right, and blocked the arrows.
He turned to Niu Jin and said, "The three of Sun's father and son all died because of arrogance. Sun Jian died because he pursued the enemy recklessly, and Sun Ce died because he was too brave and rushed forward. Today, Sun Quan is alone in front of the army. Isn't this God's will?"
He then ordered Niu Jin to urgently recruit 500 archers, all of whom were extremely strong, and hid them behind the parapet. When Sun Quan was about to shoot again, Cao Ren drew his sword and shouted, "Shoot!"
In an instant, five hundred heads emerged from the battlements, aiming at Sun Quan and shooting arrows at the same time. The arrows were like a dense swarm of bees, pouring down from the top of the city with a whistling sound.
“Protect the emperor… Protect the emperor quickly!” Sun Quan’s face changed drastically. He was so frightened that he dropped his bow and arrow and hurriedly reined in his horse to turn back, but it was too late.
The rain of arrows was like a black cloud covering the top of one’s head, making one’s scalp numb!