Xia Pi.
"Kill!"
"Ahhh!"
Countless Huainan Army soldiers were like a black tide, pouring towards the city wall.
After several days of strong attack, although the Huainan Army soldiers suffered heavy losses, Liu Bei's army defending the city also suffered heavy losses.
There were not many soldiers and horses in the city to begin with, and as of now, there are only about 10,000 people left.
Liu Bei stood on the city wall, frowning tightly as he looked at the Huainan Army soldiers who were constantly launching attacks.
If the soldiers of the Huainan Army continue to attack the city, how long can they hold on?
Looking at the crazy attack of the Huainan Army soldiers outside, and thinking of the current situation in the city, Liu Bei only felt depressed and uncomfortable in his heart.
The newly recruited soldiers are not of much use, the strength of the troops is constantly decreasing, and most importantly, the food is also constantly decreasing.
At the current rate, the food and military strength may not last long.
what to do?
At this moment, Liu Bei really regretted why he wanted to provoke Lu Bu.
Not only did they fail to drive Lu Bu away, but they lost a lot of soldiers and food. The most important thing is that Huainan saw an opportunity and took the opportunity to attack. This is the most fatal thing.
What to do next?
Liu Bei kept pushing himself to overcome the difficulties before him.
According to the current consumption rate, I am afraid that this city will not be able to hold on for even a month, and the Huainan soldiers and horses will occupy it.
…
That night, Liu Bei immediately invited everyone to discuss the matter.
We are now at a critical juncture. If we don't think of a way to solve the current predicament, we really have no chance.
Not long after, Xuzhou generals gathered together and came to the two sides of the hall.
Liu Bei raised his head and looked around at everyone. He found that everyone was frowning and everyone bowed their heads in silence. He couldn't help but sigh again in his heart.
"Everyone, the Huainan Army is constantly launching strong attacks. Our army is in danger. Do you have any suggestions?"
Everyone had already anticipated what Liu Bei wanted to say, so they shook their heads and smiled bitterly.
Now everyone knows about the situation in the city, and it has been going on for a long time. If there was a way, I am afraid everyone would have spoken out long ago, so why wait until now.
Just when everyone bowed their heads in silence, Mi Zhu suddenly spoke, "Mr. Liu, the troops in the city are now severely depleted and must be replenished quickly, otherwise once they are exhausted, the consequences will be disastrous."
Hearing this, Liu Bei nodded, "Zizhong, you are right, the troops are indeed insufficient now."
At this point, Liu Bei's tone paused, and then he said slowly, "Second brother, your arm is injured. Recruiting troops and training them is the responsibility of the soldiers, so it's up to you to do it.
It must be done as soon as possible and must not be delayed. "
When Guan Yu heard these words, his mind felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer, and he just felt a buzzing sound.
My arm is disabled, and I am no longer needed even to defend the city. Now I can only train troops.
As a former top expert, now he has fallen to this stage, which makes him feel extremely uncomfortable.
However, at this point, he could only obey orders.
Mi Zhu cupped her hands and said, "General Guan, this matter is not trivial. Please speed up, otherwise it will be too late."
When Guan Yu saw that Mi Zhu dared to order him, his anger suddenly rose again, but thinking of the condition of his arm, he could only grit his teeth and turn his head without saying a word.
Mi Zhu saw that the number of troops defending the city was getting smaller and smaller, and she was really worried. When she saw Guan Yu turning his head, she thought he didn't hear what she said clearly, so she hurriedly spoke loudly.
"General Guan, you must remember that even if the people don't want to, don't pay attention to them. As long as they are in good health, you can finally bring them to the barracks. Only in this way can you quickly replenish your troops."
When Guan Yu heard these words, he was already extremely irritable, but he also knew that he had no right to speak at this moment, so he could only turn his head away from Mi Zhu again.
Sun Qian suddenly said, "Liu Shijun, the military strength is one thing, but the food problem, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for long."
When everyone heard these words, they all nodded, "Yes, there is indeed not much food in the army now, and we have to distribute it to the common people every day. We really can't hold on for long."
Hearing this question, Liu Bei frowned and said, "In this case, how should we solve it? Do you have any suggestions?"
After hearing this, everyone present suddenly fell silent. No one was talking. Everyone knew the reason, but they couldn't say it.
Liu Bei saw everyone's expressions, and of course he knew what everyone was thinking, because he also knew where the problem lay and what the cause was.
Liu Bei relied on the support of local aristocratic families to securely reach this position. However, when the grain was harvested this time, the people honestly sent the grain to them, but those local aristocratic families did not do the same. It was just a token supply of a very small amount of food to cope with the problem.
When the food was distributed every day, the aristocratic families received it according to the rations of everyone in the family. In this way, more food was consumed.
Everyone knows this problem, but they can't speak out.
Liu Bei is the only one in Xuzhou who can decide how to do this, and no one else dares to say anything.
Of course Liu Bei couldn't say it, but he wanted others to say it, so this final task could only be completed by his old friends.
Jian Yong, who was standing in the crowd, sighed secretly after hearing what everyone said. He walked forward and said slowly, "Liu Shijun, I am afraid that the people are out of food now, but the hands of the local aristocratic families There should be some leftover food in there."
At this point, Jian Yong paused, raised his hands and said, "It's better to send someone to borrow some food from them to cope with the current situation."
After the voice of these words fell, the hall immediately became silent, and everyone's heads lowered even lower.
Liu Bei frowned even more when he looked at everyone's expressions. This time, he had already discussed with Jian Yong in advance, just to get everyone to take the initiative to come forward and support some food.
The local aristocratic families supported Liu Bei, and when Liu Bei actually took this position, he also promoted them vigorously. At this moment, there were many people from the Xuzhou aristocratic families standing in the hall, and the words just said were of course meant for them.
Liu Bei originally thought that these people would come forward to support him as before when they heard that he was borrowing food. However, he never expected that no one would speak up, which made him extremely disappointed.
Just when everyone bowed their heads in silence, a voice sounded in the hall.
"Liu Shijun, I am willing to donate 50 shi of food."
Everyone hurriedly followed the sound and saw Chen Gui walking out of the crowd and cupping his hands towards Liu Bei.
"Liu Shijun, there are many people in my family. Although food and clothing are quite expensive, since there is a shortage of food in the city, I am willing to donate 50 shi of food at home."
After everyone present heard Chen Gui's words, they immediately reacted and stepped forward to offer their hands.
"Liu Shijun, I am willing to donate 30 shi of food."
"Liu Shijun, I am willing to donate 20 shi of food."
"Liu Shijun, I am willing to donate 20 shi of food."
For a moment, the hall suddenly became lively, and words of initiative to donate food were heard one after another.
Although everyone enthusiastically donated food, Liu Bei's brows not only did not relax, but instead frowned even more tightly.
The person who donated the most was Chen Gui, with 50 shi of grain, and most of the others donated 30, 20, and even 10 shi of grain.
Although the scene was lively, they all agreed, so how much food could they have?
As everyone kept shouting out the amount of their donations, Liu Bei had already calculated in his mind that the total was 470 shi of grain.
470 stone grain!
If it were given to an ordinary family, it would definitely be a huge donation, but if it was donated to the military, it could only be said to last for how many days?
Everyone enthusiastically donated some food to earn money, but it was just a drop in the bucket.
Liu Bei turned his head and looked at Jian Yong, only to find that he was also looking at him, with a wry smile on his face.
According to their plan, the food supported by the local aristocratic families must cost at least several thousand dan, otherwise it will be useless.
Chen Gui stepped forward and handed over his hand, "Liu Shijun, the military situation is urgent now, so I won't delay any more. I will go back to collect food immediately. I will not miss any important events in the city."
Liu Bei was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Then thank you for the hard work."
After Chen Gui left, everyone present stepped forward and handed over their hands, "Shijun Liu, we are also going back to prepare food supplies. Please accept your permission from Shijun Liu."
"Thanks everyone for your hard work, go back."
After everyone left, only a few of Liu Bei's closest confidants were left in the hall.
Sun Qian stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said with a wry smile, "Shijun Liu, this little food is far from enough!"
After hearing these words, a sudden anger surged in my heart, but there was still a smile on my face.
"Gongyou, everyone has tried their best, don't you think?"
As soon as Liu Bei finished speaking, Zhang Fei suddenly shouted, "Brother, you must not be deceived by them. How could they only have so little food?"
Liu Bei waved his hands hastily, "No nonsense."
Zhang Fei shook his head, "Brother, if you don't believe it, I am willing to take people to search their house. You will naturally know it by then."
After hearing this, Mi Zhu hesitated for a moment, but after thinking about it, he sighed secretly and said nothing.
Jian Yong smiled bitterly and said, "General Zhang is right. How can they only have such a small amount of food? However, they are unwilling to take it out, and we really have nothing to do."
Zhang Fei sneered, "There is nothing we can do. As long as we follow my old Zhang's method, they will definitely take it out obediently."
Hearing this, Liu Bei frowned and then waved his hand, "Needless to say, since the food has been donated, it will be allocated to an army for temporary use. After the food is exhausted, it will not be too late to find a way."
After Jian Yong hesitated for a moment, he said slowly, "Mr. Liu, in order to save food, why not reduce the food provided to the people and instead distribute food every two days?"
Upon hearing this suggestion, Liu Bei immediately nodded, "Okay, this will save some food for the army, so let's do it."
Sun Qian frowned, "Liu Shijun, if this happens, will it cause dissatisfaction among the people in the city?"
Liu Bei shook his head and said with a wry smile, "There is nothing we can do about it. I just hope that the Huainan soldiers and horses will retreat as soon as possible so that the people can be safe."
Jian Yong sighed, "If the people want to blame, then blame the Huainan soldiers and horses. If they hadn't come to attack, how could this happen?"
Liu Bei nodded, "So this time we must defeat the Huainan troops and avenge the people."
…
In the Huainan Army camp outside the city, there were bonfires all over the sky, and the border of the chain of camps could not be seen at a glance.
In the Chinese army's tent, Zhang Xun sat in the middle and looked around at the people in front of him, "I didn't expect Liu Xuande to guard the city for so long. Do you have any good ideas to break the city?"
Lei Book smiled and said, "General Zhang, what good strategy can we use? As long as we continue to attack and see how many troops Liu Xuande has against us, when all his troops are lost, it will be easy for us to enter the city."
After hearing this, Chen Lan smiled bitterly and shook his head, "General Lei, how can it be that easy? Although the soldiers and horses in the city are losing, the losses of our soldiers and horses are even more serious. In addition, our army is also at a disadvantage in terms of food. , it cannot be compared with the city."
At this point, Chen Lan paused for a moment, but then continued without waiting for anyone to answer his words.
"The food in the city can barely sustain itself, but our army's food is somewhat insufficient now. If things continue like this, I'm afraid the food supply will be exhausted before we can break the city. How can it be broken?"
Zhang Xun heard what Chen Lan said and nodded, "General Chen is right. No matter what, our army must find a way to break the city as soon as possible. If it is delayed for a long time, it will be detrimental to our army."
Lei Book spread his hands and said, "There is nothing we can do about it. We have been attacking for several days in a row. The soldiers have tried their best, but they still can't break the city. Now apart from exhausting the soldiers guarding the city, there is probably no other way." method."
Chen Lan nodded, "So the general believes that on the one hand, we must seize the time to attack the city and continue to increase the intensity of the siege.
On the other hand, we must also find ways to raise food. If the food is really used up, I'm afraid we won't have to fight this battle. We have already lost. "
Zhang Xun nodded, "General Chen is right, food is the top priority, we must prepare for a rainy day, otherwise things will definitely go wrong."
At this point, Zhang Xun paused for a moment, then looked at the Lei Book and said with a smile, "General Lei, why don't we let you take care of the food issue, are you willing?"
Lei Book was stunned, "General Zhang, where should we get food?"
Chen Lan smiled slightly and said, "General Lei, there are many towns and villages outside the city. I believe there will be food there."
Hearing this, Lei Book's eyes lit up, and then he laughed, "Don't worry, General Zhang. We are just raising some food. This is too simple. I will ensure that the mission is completed."
Zhang Xun nodded, "General Lei, as long as we can ensure normal food for our army, I will be able to persist until the end. When the city is captured, I, the general, will definitely ask for credit for you."
Lei Book smiled and cupped his hands, "General Zhang, these are all trivial matters. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."
Hearing these words, Chen Lan smiled and said, "General Zhang, although there is a lot of food stored in the city, it will be used up sooner or later. As long as we can hold on until then, maybe Liu Bei will take the initiative to open the city without us fighting." The door surrendered.”
When everyone heard this, they all looked up to the sky and laughed.
"Haha, what a pleasure!"
