The archers on Cao's wells can be said to be the most unlucky on the battlefield, once they find that there is a wells close to the city wall, the thunderbolts on the city will definitely be the first to greet them, in terms of accuracy, although the thunderbolts are not satisfactory, but they can't withstand the numerical advantage.

The worst of all was Cao's army, who not only had to endure the threat of thunderbolts and bed crossbows, but also had to worry about the boulders falling overhead as he climbed the ladder.

After five consecutive days of siege, the city wall of Xiapi was covered with bloodstains, and the severed arms and stumps could be seen everywhere under the city, and the situation on the city was also not optimistic, especially after the Cao army used the elite Qingzhou army, several times to attack the city wall, if it was not for Zang Ba to bring people to kill in time, I am afraid that the city wall has been broken by the Cao army.

The price paid by Cao's army was also huge, in the five days of siege, the number of soldiers who died outside the city alone reached 2,000, and the loss of the defenders reached 500, and the losses on both sides were about one to four.

If the siege is replaced by the Xuzhou army, the loss of the Xuzhou army will be greater, and Zang Ba has also seen the madness of the Cao army.

Cao Cao faced such a war situation, but did not have the slightest worry, Xiapi he was determined to win, the loss of ordinary soldiers on the battlefield, it is normal, only war and sacrifice, in order to make the soldiers in the army grow rapidly, died outside the city of Xiapi, eighty percent of the soldiers who joined the army not long ago.

Ci is not in charge of the army, Cao Cao will not care about the life or death of ordinary soldiers, what he needs is an elite army, and at this time, Picheng is the place where he trains.

The Cao army attacked regardless of casualties, which lasted for half a month, and Zang Ba could clearly feel that the Cao army outside the city was not demoralized because of the loss, but became more and more courageous the more they fought.

The defenders of the city were already at a disadvantage in numbers, and after the siege began, Cao's army gathered all the thunderbolts outside the city to the north of the city, filled in the moat, and launched an attack from the inside of the city.

This situation overstretched the defenders, and the 8,000 defenders, excluding the number of those who had been lost, were now distributed to the various walls of the city with only a thousand men, and the rest of the soldiers were used as mobile forces.

Zang Ba said worriedly: "The Cao army outside the city is so fierce, if it goes on like this, it will only take half a month at most, and the city will be broken by the Cao army." ”

Chen Gong nodded and said, "Most of Cao's army are soldiers who have just been recruited, and Cao Cao must have regarded Xiapi as a place to train soldiers. ”

Zang Ba's eyes tightened, but he had a deeper fear of Cao Cao in his heart, once such a character made up his mind to do something, he would not stop because of obstacles.

"Gongtai, if it goes down like this, the only way to do it is to give up." Zang Ba sighed, the news from the city shows that the family's heart is fluctuating, if the family is on Cao Cao's side, it will be fatal.

Chen Gong said: "Why should the general be so discouraged, I think that when the general was in Langxie, there were only thousands of soldiers and horses under his command, but he was able to achieve today's achievements, although the number of Cao troops outside the city was large, if the general could lead the cavalry to raid the Cao army successfully, it would definitely be able to raise the morale in the city, and it would be natural to hold Xiapi, but before that, the general needed to meet with the family in the city, and the family had abnormal movements during this time." ”

Zang Ba said coldly: "If the family is not honest, General Ben doesn't mind letting them taste the power of General Ben." ”

Chen Gong said: "The strength of the family should not be underestimated, if these families cannot be appeased, once they take refuge in the Cao army outside the city, it will be a huge disaster for Xiapi." ”

Zang Ba said: "Let the head of the family in the city come to the army for a banquet tonight." ”

The family in the city did not dare to slack off after receiving Zang Ba's order, during this time the Cao army attacked fiercely, and the defenders paid a lot of price, which did make the family in the city have more ideas, compared to Zang Ba, Cao Cao outside the city was more powerful, although Cao Cao's previous treatment of the Xuzhou army and civilians was cruel, but Cao Cao followed the advice of the strategists before the siege, and spread the news in the city, after breaking the city, the family and the people would not be embarrassed by the news at the beginning of the siege, and the defenders were at a disadvantage. When they show inadequacy, they are likely to betray Zang Ba.

However, at this time, Zang Ba is still the actual controller of Xiapi, and if he offends Zang Ba, it is likely to lead to the complete decline of the family.

Zang Ba glanced at the head of the family in the tent, and snorted coldly: "General Ben led the soldiers to resist the attack of the Cao army, just to avoid being slaughtered by the Cao army, but some people listened to the news spread by the Cao army in the city, if anyone dares to betray the general at such a time, even if the general can't hold Xiapi, he must let him disappear from the city." ”

The head of the family in the tent was shocked when he heard Zang Ba's words, they had no doubt about the authenticity of Zang Ba's words, Zang Ba was a long-famous figure in Xuzhou, and when he was evil, he was even more similar to a thief.

"The general can rest assured, the Zhang family will definitely stand on the general's side and help the general resist the Cao army, and now the Zhang family has five hundred private soldiers, waiting for the general's dispatch." The head of the Zhang family immediately stood up and said.

Zang Ba nodded slightly and said: "The head of the Zhang family understands the righteousness, after repelling the Cao army, this general will definitely not treat the Zhang family badly, although the Cao army has a large number, but as long as we stick to the city, why worry about not being able to repel the Cao army." ”

With the statement of the head of the Zhang family, the rest of the family also expressed their opinions.

Zang Ba also saw the strength of the family, just from the hands of these families, Zang Ba got two thousand private soldiers, the arrival of these two thousand private soldiers, can greatly relieve the pressure of the family, Zang Ba understands, this is far from the real strength of the family, they must have a lot of private soldiers hidden in the secret.

At the same time, Zang Ba was also glad that Chen Gong reminded him in time, otherwise once these families unite and cooperate with the Cao army outside the city, even if they can quell the rebellion of the families in the city, the defenders will also have heavy losses, and in this case, if the defenders have any further losses, it will be extremely unfavorable.

Outside the city, in the big tent of the Cao army, it is also brightly lit, and it has been attacked one after another, but it has not been broken, and the hearts of the Cao army are fluctuating, and in this battle, their losses outside the city have reached 5,000 people, not counting the wounded soldiers.

Cao Cao looked at Xun You and asked, "How is the contact between the families in the city?" ”

Xun You arched his hand and said: "My lord, there are three families in the city who are willing to join our army, and although the other families have been in contact, there is no clear reply. ”

(End of chapter)