The sunset in July of the tenth year of Guangxi. The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled the city of Chengdu, covering this city that has never seemed so anxious and hurried.

Five days have passed since the siege of the city, and the people in Chengdu still have not heard the terrifying cannon sound of the legend. The besieging Jin and Liang armies did not seem to be in a hurry to show their fangs to the ordinary people who had already crowded into Chengdu City, but kept shouting to the defenders at the head of the city, hoping that everyone could solve the problem without using swords.

As the marshal who commanded the army all the way, Zhang He and Tai Shici were sitting leisurely on a small mound outside the west gate of Chengdu City at this time, they drank the "Long River Special Offering" that had just been transferred from Crouching Tiger City, chewed the mutton skewers cooked by the soldiers on the bamboo charcoal oven, and then reminisced about the bits and pieces of the years of enlistment, as if they had long forgotten where they were and where their township was.

Tai Shi Ci took a sip of the mellow Changhe Daqu, then turned his head and asked Zhang He and said: "Junyi, you used to work under Yuan Benchu, and you have seen Yuan Benchu go from prosperity to decline in the end. Now the Sima family in Chengdu City is also like this round of the remnant sun, there is not much time left, guess what they are thinking about at this time, and what are they busy with?"

Zhang He and Tai Shici have been friends for a long time, and the two cherish each other, and they both appreciate each other's moral skills. If others mentioned the old things under Yuan Shao's account in front of Zhang He, they were afraid that Zhang He would brush his sleeves away, but Tai Shici said this would not cause any unhappiness in Zhang He's heart.

Zhang He drank the spirits in the toast without any scruples, turned his head to the sunset that gradually sank into the sky, and said in a deep voice: "King Pingxi used to sigh at the banquet that 'the rise and fall are the suffering of the people', and now it seems that this is really the case. The mouths of all forces are benevolence, righteousness and morality, and everyone claims to occupy the great righteousness and the way of heaven, but how many people really see the poor people in their eyes and hearts?"

"The Sima clan in Hedong is the gate valve of the millennium since the pre-Qin period, no matter what dynasty or generation, they have lived the life of a human being, and they are not comparable to those of us who were born in the army recklessly. However, King Pingxi has always encouraged us to 'princely generals, rather have a kind of', and I think this really speaks to the hearts of those of us who have no background and no backers. I don't care what the Sima family in the city feels now, I just have one wish, that is, to uproot the once invincible Sima family, and let the world's wealthy families know that ordinary people are the real foundation!"

Tai Shici felt the same way for Zhang He's answer that was not what he asked, and he raised his glass and said to Zhang He: "Brother, let's drink this cup today, even if it is to celebrate the upcoming end of the Sima family in the city!"

Zhang He laughed and said, "Okay! After drinking this cup, it's time for us to launch a general attack on Chengdu City!"

With the sound of a crisp clinking of glasses, the heralds who had been waiting behind the two commanders immediately gave orders in different directions, and after a few breaths, they heard the sound of cannons outside Chengdu at the same time, dragging the screaming cannonballs straight to the city wall of Chengdu City, and at the moment of touching the city wall, there was a deafening explosion......

The battle to attack Chengdu City officially began at this moment!

As the Shenwu General Cannon outside the city sounded at the same time under the command of the light signal, the defenders and people in the city finally felt what it meant to be heartbreaking and what it meant to be in fear.

The Sima family in the city fantasized about the time when the Shenwu general's cannon outside the city would eventually run out of ammunition, but unfortunately, as the Northern Route Army of Yiyi came all the way south from Hanzhong and Wudu, the officials, business travelers, and logistics teams of the Liang and Jin Kingdoms, who had been waiting for a long time, all drove into the territory of Yizhou in a bustling manner.

Although the Shenmu Great General Cannon was difficult to forge and transport due to its huge size, the ammunition it used was not so troublesome in terms of transportation. The convoy specially responsible for logistics and transportation has continuously transported large quantities of grain, arrows, equipment, and ammunition into Shu through the road to Shu that has been opened. According to the preliminary statistics of the quartermasters of the northern and southern armies, all kinds of materials that have arrived in Chengdu are enough for the army outside the city to consume until the end of the year.

It's still July, and there are at least five months to go until the end of the year, even if Chengdu City is cast from iron to steel, it will not be able to hold out until that time.

Under the fierce shelling, the city of Chengdu was thinned layer by layer as far as the eye could see, and it was about to be turned into a papier-mâché clay sculpture. The Sima family in the city naturally did not sit idly by and watch Chengdu City being beaten into a bag of slag by the army outside the city, they mobilized the defenders in the city to demolish all the brick and stone buildings and dwellings in the city, and then saw the stones and bricks that were demolished next to the city wall to pile up and pile up, and in just a few days, the thickness of the Chengdu city wall was doubled.

It is now the hot summer season, and although the people in the city have no houses, they will not starve or freeze, and there is not much chaos for a while.

For the Sima family's almost hysterical behavior, the armies outside the city have long been surprised. Although there were many ways to quickly attack the city of Chengdu, for the sake of the safety of the people in the city, Tai Shici and Zhang He automatically gave up these methods.

For example, although the city of Chengdu has hoarded enough food and grass for the needs of millions of soldiers and civilians in the city, if the besieging army digs up all the surface rivers flowing into the city and diverts them, and throws highly toxic substances into the underground diving source, the defenders in the city will not support it for two months at most before dying of thirst. It's just that if you do this, the first people who will die of thirst will definitely be the ordinary people in the city, which Tai Shici and Zhang He definitely don't want to see.

For another example, if the Shenwu General cannons outside the four gates are mobilized in one direction and bombarded at the same time at a city gate hole, a passage for the army outside the city to enter the city can soon be opened. As long as the besieging army fights with the defenders in the city along this passage, with the help of the huge lethality of the Shenwei cannonball, it is believed that it will soon be able to hit the center of Chengdu.

There are many similar methods, all of which were figured out by the soldiers mobilized by various armies when they had nothing to do. However, these methods will all cause innocent casualties among the people in the city without exception, and will also cause large casualties among the siege troops, so they have not been adopted by the joint command.

Tai Shici and Zhang He's idea was very simple, that is, through fierce artillery attacks, under the seemingly endless huge deterrent effect, completely disintegrate the resistance determination of the defenders and people in Chengdu, force the defenders in the city to mess up themselves, turn the direction of guns and swords, and regard the Sima family as the culprit who really endangered everyone's safety, so that the fortress will not be attacked from the inside.

King Pingxi had just sent the latest instructions to the headquarters of the coalition forces not long ago, and in the letters sent to the soldiers fighting in the front, Zhao Xing gave great affirmation and recognition to everyone's performance in the past year. Zhao Xing encouraged the officers and men of all armies to continue to carry forward the spirit of enduring hardships and standing hard work, strictly observe the discipline of the masses and military rules and discipline, and march into the city of Chengdu with their heads held high with a dignified and upright attitude; Zhao Xing also urged the generals of all armies to guard against arrogance, completely take Chengdu with a steady and steady attitude, and eliminate the Sima family.

Although King Pingxi is far away in the rear of Crouching Tiger City, his letter is like a refreshing and sweet spring, pouring the somewhat irritable mood of soldiers from all walks of life into a comfortable and transparent way, and there is no longer a need to worry about when to capture Chengdu City.

Although Zhao Xing's instructions were only a few words, Zhang He and Tai Shici, as the coaches, had to understand them with their hearts. Although they were anxious to lead their troops to participate in the Central Plains War after completing the Battle of Yizhou, since Zhao Xing said that there was no need to rush to break through Chengdu, they had to take the most prudent way to ensure that Chengdu was taken at the least cost of casualties.

This minimum casualty cost includes both the casualties of the besieging army and the casualties of the soldiers and civilians in Yizhou in the city.

Another five days passed, and when the indestructible Shenwu General Cannon had exploded six times along the way, the vicinity of the four gates of Chengdu City had been completely bombed, and there was no obstacle to stop the movement of the besieging army.

At this time, the Sima family, who had not shown their heads in the city, finally made a move.

Sima Fang had eight sons, the eldest Sima Lang is now nearly forty years old, and the youngest Sima Min is only nine years old. Sima Fang's third son, Sima Fu, has been cut off by the soldiers of the North Route Army, and the fourth son Sima Kui is still imprisoned in Kunze City, but I am afraid that there will be no good end.

In the Yizhou Pastoral Mansion, Sima Fang looked at the six sons lined up in front of him, and he had both the pain of losing his son and an indescribable pride in his heart. After being silent for a long time, he said: "Children, Chengdu has been besieged for nearly a month now, the Liangguo army and the Yizhou army still have a steady stream of logistics materials to support, Cao Cao and Liu Bei in the Central Plains have not launched enough attacks on Zhao Guochang's forces to turn the situation in Yizhou, and the four walls of Chengdu City have now been destroyed, and all that remains is the brutal and fierce street fighting. ”

"My Sima family has been rooted in Hedong for nearly a thousand years, and has always been a world-famous wealthy lord, if it weren't for the almost demonic opponent of Zhao Guochang, we only need to develop and grow in Yizhou with peace of mind, and it is not a joke that the world will be attributed to the Sima family in a few years. Now it's all nonsense, but we can't forget the person who caused all this!"

"Children, you all have to remember that as long as our Sima family does not cut off children and grandchildren, even if we have to flee from the dark passage to the territory of the Tang and Qiang people in the west tonight, we will still have the day when we will make a comeback! After you escape, I will do whatever it takes for you to remember what your father said today, and I will do whatever it takes to make our enemies doomed!"

After Sima Fang finished speaking, the six children immediately burst into tears, and none of them wanted to leave.