They fell for the trap.

On the first day of the siege, the defenders suffered few casualties because their supplies were plentiful.

However, as the defensive supplies ran low, the casualty figures began to rise starting from the third day.

In just that third day, the First Division lost over a hundred men killed and over a hundred wounded, which was more than the previous two days combined.

Yet, the results were glorious; according to estimates, the Bozhou Army had suffered around three thousand casualties.

The greatest gain, however, was that the new recruits of the First Division had been tempered and baptized by blood.

Gao Yuan could feel that the soldiers' gazes were becoming increasingly determined.

On the other side, the soldiers who had been resting for several days arrived at the commanders tent of Liu Rengui to request to join the battle.

"Commander, are we still not going to join the battle?"

"That's right, Commander. We've been here for so many days, just eating and sleeping; the men are all putting on weight."

"The County Duke is currently under siege, and I've truly been unable to swallow my food these past few days..."

Liu Rengui's face remained expressionless as he stared at the map, saying nothing.

Just as the others wanted to say more, the tent flap was lifted, and a Scout ran in.

"Reporting to the Commander, the Bozhou Army has diverted troops from the West City gate and the East gate to reinforce the South gate."

After several days of siege, Yang Zhao had suffered over three thousand casualties, and the heaviest losses were among his most loyal core troops.

Because they were the most aggressive in the siege, they suffered the heaviest blows; often, a single rolling log would sweep seven or eight men off the scaling ladders.

A casually thrown stone was guaranteed to strike a head.

With the highest casualties, their offensive power was insufficient, so Yang Zhao had no choice but to divert troops from the other two gates.

The moment Liu Rengui had been waiting for had arrived. He slammed his hand on the map.

"The time has come. Everyone, go back and prepare."

The group was overjoyed, cupped their fists in acknowledgment, and dispersed to begin preparations.

That afternoon, Gao Yuan saw the red flag on the distant mountain and understood that Liu Rengui was about to make his move.

Therefore, he had Xia Luqi's squad and the rotated-off soldiers prepare in advance.

At dusk, another day of the siege ended, and Yang Zhao was in a good mood.

By the afternoon, there were basically no rolling logs or heavy stones left on the city walls, which meant that breaking the city was right before his eyes.

Watching the soldiers retreating like a tide, along with the corpses and wounded being carried or supported,

Yang Zhao gritted his teeth; he now wished he could tear Gao Yuan into ten thousand pieces.

Fortunately, if all went as expected, the reinforcements would arrive tomorrow night.

If he had previously thought about capturing Gao Yuan to humiliate him and demand a huge ransom,

now he only wanted to chop off Gao Yuan's head, which was prettier than a woman's, and kick it around like a ball.

However, an unexpected change occurred at this very moment.

In the direction of the West City gate, just as the Bozhou Army began to retreat, a force of troops suddenly appeared behind them.

Taking advantage of the Bozhou Army's retreat, they not only broke through the camp but also unleashed a crushing assault on the exhausted Bozhou Army soldiers.

With no advantage in numbers or physical strength, the Bozhou Army had almost no ability to resist, and soon showed signs of breaking.

Yang Zhao reacted quickly, mobilizing troops from the South gate to reinforce them.

He also mobilized troops from the East gate to reinforce the South gate.

However, at this moment, the East gate became the weakest link, with only about a thousand men left.

The gates of Puer slowly opened, and Xia Luqi led several hundred elites out to slaughter.

The Bozhou Army soldiers at the East gate had just picked up their rice bowls when they heard the enemy had arrived.

With no choice, they had to drop their bowls and prepare to fight.

People have a certain characteristic: they are most desperate right before reaching the restroom and hungriest when they pick up their rice bowl.

Having just picked up their bowls and smelled the fragrance of the food, only to not get a single bite, the entire Bozhou Army felt so hungry that their stomachs were stuck to their spines.

With empty stomachs, panicked hearts, and weak limbs, one could imagine their combat effectiveness.

They only held out for two quarter-hours before the Bozhou Army's East gate camp was declared lost, and the soldiers and laborers scattered in a panic.

By the time Yang Zhao received the news and arrived with troops, it was already too late.

The soldiers and laborers had vanished without a trace, and the provisions and military supplies had either been burned or taken away.

Finally, after managing to rally the troops and take a count, Yang Zhao was truly on the verge of tears.

The camps at the West and East gates had been destroyed, with losses of over two thousand soldiers and laborers.

The loss of provisions and military supplies was even more severe; basically, only the South gate camp had any left.

What made him feel the worst was that he knew Gao Yuan had been enduring silently; there was actually a force of troops hidden outside.

Now, what he had to worry about was no longer how to attack tomorrow, but whether Gao Yuan would counterattack tomorrow.

Twelve thousand soldiers and over ten thousand laborers; now, only over six thousand soldiers and over three thousand laborers remained.

They no longer held a numerical advantage, and after suffering a crushing defeat, morale was low.

At this moment, he finally considered the idea of retreating; he was afraid that if he continued to fight, he would lose everything he had.

What gave him an even worse headache was that the reinforcements hadn't arrived, and he didn't even dare to retreat.

He was terrified that the moment he broke camp and moved, that hidden army would appear.

Summoning his subordinates, Yang Zhao spoke with a gloomy face.

"The situation is critical now. Does anyone have a good strategy?"

These subordinates had also led troops and fought battles; how could they not see the current perilous situation? One by one, they lowered their heads and said nothing.

This ignited the anger in Yang Zhao's heart.

"It was you who persuaded me to raise an army in the first place. Why is everyone silent now?"

There was deathly silence. After a long time, someone finally spoke.

"Head of the House, why not cut off an arm to survive?"

Yang Zhao looked at the person who spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"Have the wounded and the laborers carry the banners to put on a show of strength, while the main army retreats overnight..."

Someone immediately jumped out to object.

"Wouldn't that be handing these wounded and laborers over to Gao Yuan for nothing?"

"The Han people have a saying: you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a cub. Don't worry about these peanuts right now."

The group that had been silent just moments ago began to argue, and the noise made Yang Zhao's head buzz.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and roared,

"All of you, shut up!"

Taking a few deep breaths and calming his mood slightly, Yang Zhao waved his hand.

"You all may leave. Let me think about it some more."

Gao Yuan never imagined that one day he would actually fall for an Empty Fort Strategy.

Looking at that camp, he had guarded it very cautiously for two days, and Liu Rengui's army had also been poised and ready for two days.

Unexpectedly, on the first night after the great battle, taking advantage of the darkness at the beginning of the month, Yang Zhao had taken his men and fled.

By the day of the Ghost Festival, Gao Yuan couldn't wait any longer and sent Xia Luqi to probe with an attack.

The result was that he saw a camp full of wounded soldiers and laborers; the Bozhou Army had long since vanished.

"I was careless, careless. I didn't expect this Yang Zhao to pull an Empty Fort Strategy on me."

Liu Rengui looked at Gao Yuan and asked,

"My Lord, what is an Empty Fort Strategy?"

Gao Yuan then remembered that at this moment, there was no late Han/Three Kingdoms period, let alone the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' which only appeared in the Ming Dynasty. Who would know about an Empty Fort Strategy?

"It's a story from a picture book I read before. I'll write it out when I have time."

Gao Yuan sighed helplessly and waved his hand.

"Zhengze, you are responsible for clearing the battlefield and tallying the losses and spoils. I'm heading back first."

Returning to the city dejectedly, Gao Yuan lay on the bed and opened the system panel.

Two system notifications had popped up yesterday, but he had been busy at the time and forgot about them as soon as he turned around.

Now that the fighting was over, he finally had time to see what notifications the system had given.

Opening the system panel and clicking on the notifications, as expected, his attributes had increased.

This was the improvement brought about by his long-term maintenance of exercise, combined with real combat.

"Congratulations, Host. Leadership has increased from C to C+, and Strength has increased from B- to B."

Increasing two attributes at once; this expedition was truly a huge gain.