Early July.
After the rainstorm continued for more than half a month, it finally subsided.
Seeing that the rain was about to stop, Cao Cao immediately ordered the army to prepare for battle. He was waiting for the right time to charge at Shouchun City.
The morale of the 200,000 strong army was high as they sharpened their weapons and waited for that day to come.
At the same time, Cao Cao listened to Su Ran's words and ordered the archers to shoot countless pieces of silk into the city.
Compared to Cao Cao's high-spirited attitude, Yuan Shu was a little bitter.
The rain for half a month had caused the water in Shouchun City to be so deep that it almost reached his knees.
Ponds and wells everywhere were filled with water, mixing with the water in the city. Coupled with the debris and feces washed by the rain, the water source was turbid.
Not to mention humans, even the livestock in the city were difficult to feed.
The water source was dirty and difficult to drink, but there were 200,000 Cao troops surrounding the city, so it was impossible for them to go out of the city to get water.
The commoners had no choice but to bring muddy water or use utensils to catch rainwater. After simple cooking, they could barely drink it.
However, because of this, countless people fell ill. If it was light, they would suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, and diarrhea. If it was serious, they would contract a cold, feel dizzy, and feel weak all over.
Rich families could spend money to buy medicinal herbs to treat illnesses, but ordinary people had no money and could only wait for death.
In addition.
There was a limited amount of medicinal herbs in the city, and most of them were divided among the aristocratic families.
The remaining portion was not enough for the 300,000 people in the city.
Moreover, he had to be careful.
Yuan Shu still had 120,000 soldiers under his command, so the herbs were naturally given priority to the soldiers.
There was no medicine in the city to treat illnesses, let alone a mouthful of clean water.
What was even more terrifying was that the streets were flooded, and so were the houses.
The ordinary people had been in the water for a long time, and many of their legs were swollen.
Nine out of ten people were sick, all of them were yellow and thin. In addition, there was not enough food in their homes, so they starved.
Countless people died of starvation and illness.
Every day, a large number of corpses would appear in the city.
However, Yuan Shu didn't care about these commoners at all.
He only ordered his soldiers to transport the corpses of the commoners to the camp in the city and burn them as soon as they were found.
A month passed like this.
There was a deep resentment in the city. Even the soldiers on the city wall dared not speak out. They were full of resentment towards Yuan Shu.
This was because many of the soldiers 'families lived in Shouchun City.
There were also cases where family members died in the house.
This immediately caused Yuan Shu to lose the morale of the army and the people.
In the face of the lives of his family, the small amount of money that Yuan Shu had given out was nothing.
Therefore, apart from Yuan Shu's 50,000 personal guards.
The rest of the soldiers hated Yuan Shu.
In the city.
Countless commoners were driven to the outer city to gather together. They were hungry and tired, and there was no sign of life in their eyes.
Because no one knew if the people around them would suddenly die in the next moment.
No one could endure such fear and oppression.
"When will this bitter life end?”
"If we let the Cao army attack the city earlier, we wouldn't have to suffer like this.”
Many commoners leaned against the low buildings, taking shelter from the rain while sighing weakly.
"Don't say anymore. That Cao Cao isn't a good person. Didn't you hear about the evil deeds he did in Xu Prefecture?”
"Yeah, even if Cao Cao enters the city, will we have a good life?”
"As long as it's better than now, it's enough. I can eat a mouthful of rice and drink a mouthful of hot soup.”
"That's true. I haven't eaten for three days. That damned Emperor Zhong indulges in pleasure in the palace all day. He would rather the grain in the treasury rot than give it to us.”
"Such an unkind, unjust, and mean master. I really wish I could kill him.”
"Shh…Watch your words!"
"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, I'll just die. I won't be able to live for long anyway.”
"Sigh…I just hope that these days will end soon.”
Everyone was in despair.
In the face of death, no one was unafraid.
"Look, what's that?"
Suddenly, someone pointed at the sky.
Everyone looked up.
Countless arrows fell.
The commoners instinctively wanted to dodge, but when the arrows landed on their bodies, they realized that there were no arrowheads on the arrows. Instead, they were tied to a piece of silk that was neither large nor small.
Someone took down the silk and wrote a few lines on it.
"What did you write?"
"I can't read either."
Countless commoners held the silk in their hands and stared at each other.
Fortunately, some of the people present had once been servants in the gentry clan, so they could barely recognize some words and immediately read them out.
"The general idea is that the Cao army has cooked hot porridge outside the city. After the city falls, we can all go out and eat porridge for free.”
Gulp.
At the mention of porridge, everyone's stomachs growled in unison.
The people present had been starving for several days. They had not eaten a full meal. Moreover, they could only drink muddy water every day. They vomited and had diarrhea. Their stomachs were long empty.
At this moment.
Even if they were given a mountain of gold, they would not be interested.
Nothing could satisfy them more than a full meal.
"There's hot porridge outside the city."
"I want porridge!"
"But we can't get out."
Countless people sighed and hated being trapped in the city, unable to enter or exit.
Was he going to starve to death like this?
As the news spread, countless people were looking forward to the Cao army attacking the city.
At the very least, they would not starve to death outside the city, nor would they die of illness in the city. Even if they died, they would be dragged away by the soldiers and burned clean.
In the fear of death, everyone seemed to see a ray of light, and a thought deepened in their hearts.
Leave the city!
He had to leave the city!
Of course.
Among the silks shot into the city, other than those for the people, there were also those for the guards on the city.
The contents of the two were completely different.
Moreover, there were obviously more literate soldiers among the soldiers. When Cao Cao's arrows were fired, many people saw them immediately.
"We won't kill those who surrender, but we'll give preferential treatment to the captives."
"Cao Cao said that we are traitors of the country and rebels. Our crimes are unforgivable, but as long as we return from the wrong path, we will let bygones be bygones!”
"I don't want to die, and I don't want to implicate my family.”
" Your family can still live, but my parents starved to death in the city a few days ago. That damned Son of Heaven…"
" Two hundred thousand elite Cao troops won't be able to stop them. Why don't we…"
This was the opposite!
Many soldiers looked at each other and had a plan in their hearts.
Instead of risking his life for Yuan Shu, he might as well welcome Cao Cao into the city.
They had joined the army just to have a full meal and at the same time, to prevent their families from starving to death. They had never thought of becoming traitors.
Since ancient times, which traitor had a good ending?
If the punishment is light, he will be beheaded, and if the punishment is serious, he will be exterminated.
They didn't dare!
He could not implicate his family.
Moreover, he had to be careful.
Yuan Shu was living a carefree life in the Imperial Palace, partying every night, enjoying all the glory and wealth, eating fish and meat every day, but what about them? They had to stay in the rain on the city wall all day long and could barely fill their stomachs.
Such a lord was not worthy of their support at all!
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