"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The walls of Shouchun were dyed red with blood. The sounds of killing did not stop. Liu Bei's Army continued to attack Shouchun. The moat of Shouchun had already been filled up. As long as they could take down the walls of Shouchun, it could be said that Yangzhou would fall. As for Lujiang County, what else could it do when even Shouchun had fallen?
Liu Bei had tens of thousands of elite soldiers while Xu Shu only had ten thousand garrison soldiers. However, Xu Shu had the help of the common people. This was a match for him.
It was already the fourth day of the siege. Liu Bei had lost more than ten thousand people. The number of casualties on the walls was even more. However, they still could not take down Shouchun. "Retreat!" Liu Bei looked at Shouchun deeply. The sky was getting dark. They could not continue to attack the city.
"Hu!" Looking at the endless stream of Liu Bei's army receding like a tide, Xu Shu finally felt relieved. The intensity of the attack was too great. In just four days, Xu Shu's ten thousand garrisons had been reduced to less than two thousand. Even Xu Shu brought his own troops to help. If it were not for the support of the walls, Shouchun would have already been breached. Liu Bei's losses were not small. More than half of the Qingzhou Army and Yuzhou Army had died. It was reasonable to say that Xu Shu would benefit from this. However, Xu Shu could not smile at all.
This was because even if Liu Bei's Qingzhou Army and Yuzhou Army were half dead, he still had the other half. Xu Shu, on the other hand, had less than two thousand garrisons left. Moreover, the most important thing was the shortage of provisions in the city. This was the biggest problem.
With the help of his guards, Xu Shu finally found a place to rest for a while. After a while, a general wearing white armor walked up the walls. When he saw the corpses on the walls, he immediately frowned. There were less than three thousand people alive on the walls. Moreover, most of them had no light in their eyes. They did not even have hope. This kind of army would not last for more than a few days. "Military Advisor, let Yun join as well!" Zhao Yun cupped his fists at Xu Shu. Zhao Yun had seen how Shouchun was besieged over the past few days. Due to the lack of fierce generals, both Zhang Fei and Chen Dao were massacred the moment they reached the top of the walls. The garrison soldiers were no match for them. Even Deng Yi was injured when he tried to stop them. If not for his good luck, he would have been killed by Zhang Fei on the spot. It was not easy for the remaining two ballistae to force Zhang Fei and Chen Dao to retreat. If there was another fierce general like Zhao Yun on the walls, the situation would not have turned out this way. Therefore, Zhao Yun wanted Xu Shu to let him go up the walls. After all, he was a member of Liu Mang's Army.
"No, General Zhao Yun. You still have something important to do. Your troops must not go to the battlefield!" Xu Shu said seriously.
"What important thing? Is it more important than protecting Shouchun? " Although Zhao Yun would not directly disobey an order, he was also anxious. He wanted Xu Shu to tell him what kind of mission he needed to do.
"It is more important than protecting Shouchun!" Xu Shu looked at Zhao Yun and forced a smile. He did not want to directly tell Zhao Yun what the mission was because it would be a heavy blow to the morale of the troops. Xu Shu wanted Zhao Yun to leave with the ancient books and drawings before Shouchun was breached. These things must not fall into the hands of Liu Bei's Army. If Zhao Yun went to the battlefield now, who would take these things away?
"By the way, is there any news from Milord?" Xu Shu asked in order to divert Zhao Yun's attention.
"Yes!" Zhao Yun nodded. He did not go to the battlefield. Xu Shu let Zhao Yun be in charge of the affairs in the city. Therefore, the matter of contacting Liu Mang's main force was in Zhao Yun's hands. "Milord sent the last batch of provisions, a total of five thousand shi!" “
"Five thousand shi!" Xu Shu smiled and then became worried. He was happy because he could hold on for a while with the new provisions. He was angry because even with the provisions, he could not hold on for long.
"Where is Milord's Army in Yuzhou now?" Xu Shu continued to ask. Shouchun did not expect any reinforcements from Lujiang. Xu Shu also received news that the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was ambushed in Hefei. Lujiang could only protect itself now.
"The news said that Ruyin was captured!" Zhao Yun did not dare to hide anything and told Xu Shu everything.
"Ruyin?" Xu Shu remembered that Ruyin was a granary. There should be a lot of provisions there. If Ruyin was captured, the food crisis in Yangzhou would be reduced by more than half.
"Military Advisor, most of the provisions in Ruyin were moved away by Liu Bei's Army. When Milord reached Ruyin, Ruyin was almost an empty city! " Ruyin was a granary. A small portion of the provisions was enough for the army to use.
Zhao Yun seemed to have seen through Xu Shu's thoughts. "The remaining provisions in Ruyin were also burned by Military Advisor's good friend Pang Tong. There were a total of twenty thousand shi. Milord did not obtain any provisions in Ruyin. "Zhao Yun took out a document and handed it to Xu Shu.
"Burned!" Xu Shu held the documents and smiled bitterly. Pang Tong, Pang Shiyuan, who was outside the city, was really ruthless. He burned twenty thousand dan of provisions just like that! On the document, it was written that this was Pang Tong's plan. He wanted to use Liu Mang's Army to kill Sun Qian in Liu Bei's Army. What a big arm! Xu Shu had really underestimated Shi Yuan.
"Milord is not coming back?" Xu Shu continued to read the document in his hand. It said that Liu Mang's Army had reached Ruyin, but the provisions were not enough to reach Runan. Thus, they could only retreat. However, they did not return to Shouchun.
"Yes, Milord has turned around. They went to Yiyang!" Zhao Yun already knew about this document.
"They are not coming back?" Xu Shu muttered to himself. He was a little disappointed. After all, he was still waiting for Liu Mang's reinforcements. However, the reinforcements were not coming. However, Xu Shu immediately laughed. "They should not be coming back." Shouchun was already burdened by the lack of provisions. If Liu Mang's Army came back, they could only delay the fall of Shouchun. Sooner or later, they would collapse because of the lack of provisions. At that time, everyone would die together. Thus, it was better not to come back. On the document, it was written that they had turned around to Yiyang.
"Ziyang's plan is really good!" Xu Shu could also see that this change in route was Liu Bei's plan. It was to cut off the provisions of Liu Mang's Army. Liu Bei had already attacked Yangzhou and captured most of the cities. However, he had a huge weakness. His battle line was too long. Yangzhou was now equivalent to a strategic depth. As long as Liu Mang cut off the provisions of Liu Bei's Army, Liu Bei could only retreat.
… …
Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang? In the camp of Liu Bei's Army, there were also people thinking about this name. However, this time, it was not praise but hatred. This was because the information that Liu Bei had was obtained from the scouts in Yuzhou. For this letter, dozens of scouts had already died. It was not easy for a scout to deliver this letter. This was because the letter said that the main road from Yuzhou to Yangzhou was blocked. Most of the small roads were also cut off. The starting point of the cut was not Yiyang but Guangzhou! It was Guangzhou that Liu Bei had not been able to capture for four days. He did not expect that Guangzhou would become a nail behind Liu Bei.
"Liu Ye, Liu Ziyang! As expected of someone who could make Cao Cao chase after him during the day! " Pang Tong was also looking at this information. This Liu Ye was really not simple. From the moment Liu Mang's Army entered Yuzhou, Liu Ye had already appeared in Pang Tong's eyes. For Liu Mang to be able to capture Yingshang and Ruyin so quickly, it was not only because of his strength but also because of Liu Ye's strategy. When Pang Tong was most concerned about Liu Ye, he received news that Sun Qian, who was supposed to be killed by Liu Mang's Army, had reappeared in Runan. Although he was in a sorry state when he returned, he was still alive.
This made Pang Tong frown. In order to kill Sun Qian, it was a series of plans. First, he let Sun Qian practice the empty city strategy. If Liu Mang's Army was mainly composed of generals, then Sun Qian would not be able to escape! Even if the empty city strategy succeeded, Sun Qian would not be able to escape. This was because Pang Tong's men would trap Sun Qian in one place. Sure enough, Sun Qian was captured. If Sun Qian wanted to live, then he would have to hand over the remaining provisions in Ruyin. Pang Tong then burned the provisions and pretended that it was Sun Qian's order. This way, once Liu Mang's Army became angry, Sun Qian would definitely die. This was killing with a borrowed knife. Sun Qian was originally going to die, but now he was alive!
His survival was definitely not what Sun Qian said. Liu Mang's Army wanted to burn him alive, but he was not destined to die. He found a water tank with great difficulty and hid in it to survive. If Liu Mang wanted to kill Sun Qian, then he would have given him a quick death. Even if Sun Qian found a water tank, with such a big fire, he would have been boiled to death by the boiling water in the tank. However, Sun Qian was still alive. This showed that Liu Mang's Army did not have the intention to kill him.
And Liu Mang's Military Advisor was Liu Ye. This was definitely Liu Ye's plan. Pang Tong would not say this out loud because he was scheming against Sun Qian. This was a secret matter. How could he say it out loud?! However, Liu Ye was remembered by Pang Tong. Now that Liu Ye saw that Runan could not be taken, he did not return to Shouchun. Instead, he went to Guangzhou to cut off Liu Bei's Army's provisions. This was truly a desperate plan! This was a plan to keep Liu Bei's Army in Yangzhou. This was because Liu Mang's Army had ten thousand soldiers. If they did not deal with Liu Mang, then they would not be able to secure their provisions. If they went to deal with Liu Mang, then they would not be able to win without twenty to thirty thousand soldiers. This would give Shouchun a chance to catch their breath.
"Milord, we should first open up the supply route. Otherwise, once the provisions are not guaranteed, the army will be finished!" When Chen Dao heard the news, he immediately stood up and cupped his fist towards Liu Bei. Without provisions, how could they fight a war? Chen Dao's expression changed.
"That's right. Brother, give me ten thousand soldiers or give me the White Eared Armor. I will help you deal with that King Of Shu Liu Mang. Not only will I open up the supply route, I will also give that King Of Shu's head to Brother!" Zhang Fei boasted shamelessly.
Ten thousand soldiers? Currently, Liu Bei's Army only had twenty thousand soldiers. Out of thirty-five thousand soldiers, they had lost ten thousand. If he gave Zhang Fei ten thousand soldiers, how would he be able to attack the city?
"Milord, this general believes that our army cannot retreat!" Liao Hua also expressed his opinion. He was currently the commander of the Yuzhou Army. Naturally, he had the opportunity to enter the tent.
"Oh?" Liu Bei was frowning. He was thinking if he should first defeat Liu Mang's Army and then deal with Shouchun. Now that Liao Hua proposed another idea, Liu Bei could not help but be interested. It must be known that the reason why Liao Hua was replaced by Liu Bei was because Liao Hua ambushed the Xiliang Cavalry. He was brave and resourceful!
"Milord. There is a saying in military law. Once the drum is strong, the second will be weak and the third will be exhausted. Our army will attack Shouchun. If we capture Shouchun in one fell swoop, then Yangzhou will be within reach. Lujiang County will also surrender. At that time, General Guan of Runan will dispatch his troops to attack Guangzhou. At that time, Liu Mang's army will have no way to escape. Liao Hua's words made Liu Bei's eyes light up. This made Liao Hua happy. "Milord, if we withdraw, then we will leave a bad impression on the Lvbu's Army. They will think that their reinforcements have arrived and their morale will be boosted. On the contrary, our army's morale will drop! Shouchun's Lvbu's Army will also be able to use this time to rest and reorganize! At that time, even if we defeat Liu Mang, it will be difficult to capture Shouchun! "
"That makes sense!" Liu Bei nodded. Withdrawing now would have a bad impression on the army's morale. Once the soldiers think that there is a problem in the rear, then the army's morale will be even more unstable. If the battle is settled, then it would be fine. If the battle with Liu Mang was delayed, then it would be hard to say. It was not easy to fill up the moat. They cannot fill it up again! "Military advisor!" Liu Bei looked at Pang Tong. Pang Tong's opinion was very important. Liu Bei would usually listen to Pang Tong's opinion.
"Milord, my opinion is that we should withdraw, but not withdraw!" Pang Tong voiced his thoughts.
Withdraw, but not withdraw? Does the military advisor mean that we should divide the army? They would leave a portion to continue attacking Shouchun and another portion to deal with Liu Mang's army. "Military Advisor's words are reasonable. I, Old Zhang, like it. Let me, Old Zhang, go. I will definitely help brother take the King of Shu's head!" Zhang Fei laughed.
"Haha!" Pang Tong looked at Zhang Fei and smiled. "Third General, you might not be able to go this time!"
"Why?"
"Because my army cannot be divided!" Pang Tong said with certainty. Liu Bei only had 20,000 soldiers left. How could he divide the army? If he divided the army, then he would be defeated. Did he really think that Liu Mang's Army in Guangzhou was weak? If they were weak, they would not have attacked Yuzhou and caused chaos in Liu Bei's Army.
"Military advisor, if we don't divide the army, how can we protect the supply line? Without food, how can we fight?"
"That's right. Military advisor, without food, not only will the army's morale be shaken, the soldiers might even starve to death!"
"Don't worry!" Pang Tong waved his hand and stopped the discussion. "We can't divide the army, but don't forget that we still have an ally!" Pang Tong said to the generals below. "Our ally, General Zhang Xiu, can divide the army!" Pang Tong spoke his thoughts. Zhang Xiu had 20,000 Xiliang Cavalry under his command. Even if he lost a few thousand men to Liao Hua's ambush and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, he still had around 15,000 men. It would not be a problem to divide a few thousand men to protect the supplies. Moreover, the Xiliang Cavalry was fast and could quickly return to reinforce Zhang Xiu.
"Invite Zhang Xiu. If we don't give him benefits, why would he come?" Zhang Fei was still unhappy with Zhang Xiu.
"Haha, those that can be bought are not expensive!" Pang Tong smiled and told Zhang Fei. If they could take Yangzhou, it would be worth it even if they used half of Yuzhou's resources. The Battle of Guandu was about to end. Time was precious.
"Military advisor, are you saying that we should continue to attack Shouchun? But what if the Xiliang Cavalry cannot take down Liu Mang's Army? We don't have much rations left! Do we really have to withdraw at that time? " If the Xiliang Cavalry could not deal with Liu Mang's Army, they would be in big trouble. Without the supply route, Liu Bei's Army would also not have enough rations.
"We don't have enough rations. Do you think that they have enough rations in Shouchun?" Pang Tong smiled indifferently. "We only have tens of thousands of men! However, in this city, there are millions of people. Who will be the one that cannot hold on? Don't forget that although we don't have enough rations, we can still borrow some! " Shouchun had more rations than Liu Bei's Army, but it was not as much as Liu Bei's Army. Their initial plan was to make Shouchun Lvbu's Army collapse due to the lack of rations.
"Borrow? Who are you borrowing it from? "Zhang Fei asked.
"Who else could it be? Of course, it's Zhang Xiu! Zhang Xiu's Army has a lot of rations. In addition to their own rations, they also have some from Liu Bei's Army. It can be said that most of the rations are from Liu Bei's Army. Zhang Xiu's Army has a lot of resources. When the Xiliang Cavalry was ambushed last time, Liu Bei gave Zhang Xiu 10,000 rations. It is still possible to borrow those rations first! "
"Asking Zhang Xiu to send out troops and borrowing rations might have to be done by Milord!" "Zhang Xiu is a master who will never spit out what he has swallowed. Didn't you see Pang Tong's plan of giving him gold? Zhang Xiu knew that it might be a trap, but he still took the bait without hesitation. He was greedy for money. This time, if he wanted to spit out the gold, he would have to pay three times the price!
"Hmm, leave it to me!" Liu Bei sighed. Although he knew that he might be blackmailed by Zhang Xiu, he had no choice but to do it. After all, the entire world paled in comparison to this little bit of profit.
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