"If we want to take the city by surrounding it, that could work, but it would take far too long. Winter will soon be upon us, so a siege is no viable strategy either. If we want to take the city quickly, our only option is a direct assault."
"I have already observed their defenses. Yuan Shao's eastern defenses are relatively weak. We can concentrate our strength on an attack from the east and have the Dare-to-Die Battalion force its way onto the walls."
Zhang Liao laid out his thoughts and plans.
That was how conventional siege warfare worked. Without encircling the city, there was only a direct assault, filling the breach with countless lives in exchange for victory.
Yet how many lives did the Han Army have to spare?
Excluding the troops left to guard Wei Commandery, they had barely more than thirty thousand men.
If Yuan Shao held fast to the city, even an immortal of warfare would struggle to storm it.
Liu Xie said nothing. He merely narrowed his eyes at Lecheng County's walls, estimating how many Torsion Catapults it would take to blast them apart.
"Lecheng County isn't particularly imposing. The hundred Torsion Catapults I had the Zhen Clan build will be more than enough. They can definitely breach its walls."
Somewhat reassured, Liu Xie instructed Zhang Liao, "Wenyuan, order the soldiers to stockpile Stone Shot. Every stone must weigh over a hundred jin. Gather as many as you can."
"The Zhen Clan will deliver the Torsion Catapults soon. Once they arrive, we will launch our attack on Lecheng County."
His words startled everyone.
Of course they knew what Torsion Catapults were, but the ones they knew could only throw Stone Shot weighing forty or fifty jin at most, and their range was short.
What sort