It is said that Cao Cao was talking to Cao Ang when he saw a black whirring thing falling from the sky. When you look closely, it is actually a handmelon, and there are not just one but two.

Cao Ang's eyes were quick, and he used the barrel of a spear as a stick, taking advantage of the opportunity of a handmelon bouncing on the ground, and waved it with all his strength.

"Whoosh!"

At this critical juncture, he used the skills he had practiced in playing polo on weekdays, and a home run directly smashed the handmelon into the sky, and exploded in the sky without hurting anyone.

Cao Cao didn't bother to applaud Cao Ang, because at this time, another hand melon was at his feet.

Just as his heart was in his throat, the commander of his own army stood up and overthrew him to the ground. Then he jumped and fell to the ground, covering the sparkling gourd with his chest.

The huge explosive force of "Poof...... all acted on Cao Cao's personal soldiers, arching his body violently and turning into silence. The messy fragments of the handmelon pierced into the body of the pro-soldier commander, soaking blood all over the ground.

Cao Cao was the first to hear such a dull blasting sound. Seeing the scorched smoke of the commander of the pro-soldiers, and the corpse that the broken road couldn't tell who it was, he went crazy for a moment. Three steps and two steps knelt on the ground, holding the corpse of the commander of the pro-soldiers, and shouted: "Medic, where is the medics?" ”

"Cao Gong!" Yu Ban and Li Dian rushed over as soon as possible and comforted: "He's dead!" ”

"Dead?" Cao Cao trembled and recovered from the shock, with a mournful look on his face, wiping the dust from the gunpowder on the commander's face, "No, he is alive." He received eternal life. ”

"May Our Lady bless him with eternal life, and no more human suffering!" Everyone present, including Cao Ang, Yu Ban, and Li Dian, said in unison.

"What's his name?" Cao Cao then remembered that he still didn't know the name of his benefactor.

"Wang Luxury."

"Wang Luxury!" Cao Cao nodded, "Bury him!" I want to show credit to him and treat his family well. And also...... Ang'er, you can't forget Wang Hao, never! With that, Cao Cao let out a sigh of relief, and then handed over Wang Hao's corpse to his subordinates to take care of.

"Father, this place is within the reach of the Jiangdong Army, I'm afraid it's dangerous. Why don't you change your place and avoid the edge for the time being. ”

"No!" Cao Cao rejected Cao Ang's kindness on the spot, "I want to stay here and spend the crisis with the soldiers." ”

As soon as they heard this, the surrounding church guards couldn't help but raise their chests again. Even the coach is not afraid of the hand melon, they are still afraid of something.

How did they know that Cao Cao's words were a way to boost morale in his way of employing people. The reason why he did not leave the place was to take the lead and be willing to share weal and woe with his soldiers was only one aspect. What's more, he clearly knows that when the thunderbolt throws the handmelon, because it is a scatter throw, the randomness of the landing point is very large, and after a place has been dropped, the probability of being shot again is very small, so small that it is infinitely close to zero.

In other words, instead of being in place, Cao Cao was not in danger, but it was safer than a temporary relocation.

As Cao Cao expected, the subsequent handmelon attacks of the Jiangdong Army never endangered his life again.

It's just that Cao Cao's life is worry-free, but the city wall of Xiangyang has been stricken. The hand-melon bombardment continued for nearly an hour until nightfall.

Cao Cao took a closer look, obediently, the gap of more than three zhang wide widened a few points, reaching more than four zhang. The uncollapsed city wall is also full of cracks, and it looks like it is about to fall.

Thankfully, Sun Ce did not launch a siege overnight. Presumably, he was going to bomb the city early tomorrow morning, at dawn, until the city walls collapsed, and then took the city in one fell swoop.

Seeing this scene, Yu Ban was in a hurry, "According to this, in less than three days, the city wall of Xiangyang will fall tomorrow." ”

"Master Tian, don't be frustrated, but what can you do?" Li Dian's anxious group turned.

Tian Feng and Fu Zhu glanced at each other and shook their heads bitterly. It's really gunpowder for success, and gunpowder for failure. The Gunpowder Auxiliary Cult army has won numerous victories and captured countless cities, but now it has become its own trouble to be used by the enemy. "How's that for good? How to be good! ”

"Cao Gong, Cao Gong...... Good news! Zang Ba panted and came back, shouting excitedly.

"What's the good news?" Cao Cao asked.

"I found more than twenty ballistas in the city's armory!"

"Ballista?" Cao Cao didn't remember that he still had this thing. "Is it a Zhuge repeater?"

"Not really! It was a ballista built by themselves during the Liu Biao period. ”

"I don't use that rag for me...... That's good news! The pleasure that Yu Ban had just hung up was swept away.

"Brother Wen Ze don't panic. Listen to me slowly. Zang Ba said: "My archers gathered the existing materials at hand and modified those ballistas. Greatly increased strength and range. Now, although their range is not as good as that of the Thunderbolt, it should be a little farther than the stone machine of the Jiangdong Army. With them in hand, at least we won't squat in the city and be beaten, but there is no way to take the Jiangdong Army. ”

"Good!" Cao Cao patted Zang Ba on the shoulder, "I will give you credit after the war." ”

"The walls are almost gone, what's the use of a ballista." Yu Ban Rush Road.

"Uh......" Zang Ba found that the city wall was full of holes, and even if the crossbow carriage was put up, it would be a drop in the bucket.

"It's good if it doesn't collapse!" Cao Cao was not so much comforting everyone as he was comforting himself.

"How's that okay?" Zang Ba threw this question out again.

Cao Cao stood under the city wall with his hands in his hands, quietly holding the cracked city wall, "Don't worry, there will be a way." "I think he, Cao someone's sword mountain and sea of fire have come over, Luan Ziqi said that the exploits of Feng Wolf Juxu and Le Shi Yanran have not been reached, and he has not seen the blood red cross flag fluttering in the Mediterranean, how can he be trapped and die in such a small Xiangyang City? Can't, absolutely can't...... He had to get through it and get through these 10 difficult days.

Now, one day has passed, and there are nine days left. There are only nine days left.

With a change of thought, his mood suddenly became a lot happier. The mood is relaxed, and the body feeling is much more sensitive than when you are nervous.

Although Xiangyang is located in the south of the Qinling Mountains, it belongs to the south. However, since it is located north of the Yangtze River, the climate is very similar to that of most of the northern regions.

It is now the beginning of November, and the cold wind blowing from the north brings a bitter chill to the flag. Under the cold wind, ice floes appeared in the moat under the city, and the ice floes were one after another, and in a few days they would condense into a mass and freeze the entire river. At that time, it will lose its significance in defending against the enemy and become a smooth pathway.

"Freezing?" Cao Cao seemed to have realized that ice could play a vital role in the defense of the city, but he didn't understand it for a while. He kept repeating the word freeze in his mouth, so he followed what Luan Yi had taught him before, "When you encounter difficulties in exploring a problem, you might as well try to return to the source of the problem." ”

"Why did I think of freezing? Because the water of the moat froze. No, no...... Why am I standing here? for the walls are devastated as far as the eye can see...... Yes, ice can help repair walls? That's right, that's right......" Cao Cao was overjoyed, pulling Yu Ban and Zang Ba's sleeves and looking up to the sky and laughing.

Yu Ban and Zang Ba looked at each other, and secretly said What happened to Cao Gong, why did he suddenly laugh, isn't he crazy?

They persuaded Cao Cao one after another, "Cao Gong, don't be too anxious in case of trouble. Think widely. ”

"I'm Cao someone's heart is wide!" Cao Cao rolled his eyes, "Guys, quick, call all your subordinates." Go to the wells in the city and draw water and pour it on the walls. ”

Yu Ban looked at the city wall with a confused face, and was about to ask Cao Cao's intentions, when the peripheral eye of his eyes happened to see the frost floating on the moat, and suddenly realized. With a happy face, "I see! Prime Minister, this is going to build an ice city! That's what I'm going to do. ”

Zang Ba still didn't understand, and wanted to ask, but was pulled away by Yu Ban, "Xuan Gao, go to fetch water first, and talk about the specific reason on the road." ”

Cao Cao said to Li Dian again: "Manchester City, go and gather the corpses of the Jiangdong Army in today's World War." ”

"What are they doing? Let's kill or bury. Li Dian said murderously.

"Whoever said to bury them, pile their bodies in the gaps in the wall, remember, and water them as they go. Freeze them all for me. Today, Cao used the corpses of Jiangdong people to build a human wall for Sun Ce! ”

Li Dian couldn't help laughing, "Cao Gong's plan is clever, it's really clever!" "Using the corpses of Jiangdong people to expel a city wall, if Sun Ce wants to bomb with a hand melon, he has to wonder whether he will destroy the corpses of his compatriots.

So, with the joint efforts of tens of thousands of churches, under the cold wind of a night, an ice-covered ice city appeared in front of Sun Ce in front of Sun Ce in the light of the morning sun.

According to Sun Ce's initial expectation, after yesterday's frantic bombardment, Xiangyang City was already in danger. Today, with just a little fire, the fragile city of Xiangyang will collapse, leaving Cao Cao, a poor worm, with only one way to fall.

However, the reality was much beyond Sun Ce's expectations. Cao Cao actually repaired the city overnight, and more importantly, the walls blessed with ice in the cold winter will be stronger than the city built of earth.

"Cao Mengde can also come up with this kind of idea!" Sun Ce was so angry that he stomped on the Shuai flag several times and asked Zhou Yu, "Gongjin, how are you doing now?" ”

"There's no other way! There is only a strong attack. Zhou Yu turned to Ling Tong and asked, "How many other seized handmelons have been captured?" ”

"Qiqi Military Division, there are only three hundred left!"

"Three hundred?" Zhou Yu clenched his right hand into a fist, smashed the surface of his left hand, and rubbed his hands back and forth, "Three hundred is three hundred!" He ordered the catapult to throw all three hundred melons at once. ”

"It's gone!" Ling Tong reminded Zhou Yu. "And the wall is...... It was the corpses of our Jiangdong children who built up! ”

"I can't care so much anymore! We are running out of time, and we must take Xiangyang as soon as possible. ”

Sun Ce asked Zhou Yu, "What is Gong Jin doing in such a hurry?" Luan Ziqi is now entangled in Hanzhong by Zhang Lu, and it will take at least more than two months to return to help, according to the current situation, such a long time is enough for us to fight in Chang'an. ”

"It's not as simple as it seems." Zhou Yu pondered: "Luan Ziqi's subordinates are full of capable people, and their speed of return will definitely be faster than expected. So to be on the safe side, we have to do it quickly. ”