Sun Ce left 20,000 Chu troops to Pang Tong to defend Shouchun, while Huang Gai led 10,000 Chu troops to garrison in Rencheng and Dongping to guard against Cao Wei.
The remaining 50,000 Chu troops of the main force surrounded Xiaopei from three directions, leaving only a gap in the west. This was a standard siege of three and one missing, aiming to undermine the defenders' determination to fight to the death.
But the strange thing is that the Chu army did not launch a real attack on Xiaopei for half a month. On the contrary, the Chu army overhauled ravines, built camps, and blocked horses. They appeared to be on guard. If it weren't for the stone carts being pushed to the city every day, it would be impossible to tell who was attacking and who was defending.
When it comes to stone-making chariots, the most popular one is Wei's Pili chariot. This was improved by Liu Ye, a counselor under Cao Cao's account. It has a long range and great power. When it is activated, it will make a loud sound like thunder, so it was named "Thunderbolt Chariot" by Cao Cao.
During the Battle of Guandu, the Thunderbolt Chariot made great achievements and became Wei's exclusive siege weapon. The last Battle of Shouchun allowed the Chu army soldiers to experience its huge power first-hand.
With such a good thing, Ji Shu naturally wanted to turn it into one of the Chu army's equipment. Therefore, Ji Shu specially brought the skilled craftsmen from Tiangongyuan to make the stone car on site during this expedition.
For a long time, short range, low power, poor durability, easy damage, and slow movement were the main reasons why stone-fired vehicles were not popular. This kind of problem is also common in the stone-making vehicles produced by the Chu army in the early stage. Many of the experimental products were destroyed by Xiaopei's Han army before they entered the effective range.
The progress of improvement was very slow, and with the absence of the dean Huang Yueying, the craftsmen of Tiangongyuan lacked a backbone and seemed a little confused.
But Ji Shu was not in a hurry at all. Usually, Yueying provides the main idea, and all the craftsmen move in this direction; now it is better to say that while the genius who is pressing on them is temporarily absent, it is the time to give full play to it, and they must know that they can be selected into Tiangongyuan. The craftsmen are all leaders in the industry.
As a result, every morning, the Chu army would launch a dozen stone-making carts of different shapes, and under the cover of shield soldiers, they would approach Xiaopei and launch an attack. After they were damaged, they would immediately withdraw; at noon, the craftsmen would gather together to discuss , argued red-faced in the military camp, and then went back to design the plan; in the afternoon, the soldiers on duty would assemble a new stone car according to the new plan of the craftsmen.
Repeatedly, Xiaopeicheng became a weapons testing ground for the Chu army.
Xiaopei City Head.
Guan Yu looked at the Chu army retreating like a tide, his face full of doubts, and asked Xu Shu beside him.
"Military advisor, the Chu army is fighting with all its strength. It should be fought quickly, otherwise the country will be empty and waiting for Qin and Wei to free up and they will have no choice but to return without success. But why are they besieging and not attacking now, and coming to the city all day long to test the abilities of these children? thing?"
It is indeed a gadget now, but if he really makes a siege weapon that is not weaker than Cao Wei's thunder chariot, it will be quite difficult.
It can be seen that Ji Shu is very confident in this.
With a sigh in his heart, Xu Shu's expression and voice became very serious.
"General Guan, did you know that if this continues, our army will collapse first?"
Guan Yu was shocked. After Ji Shu's harsh words that day, he had been telling his soldiers to strictly stay at their posts and be on guard. However, for many days, the Chu army thundered loudly and raindrops were light. Guan Yu began to suspect that this was Ji Shu's plan to weaken the army. Who could I had thought that Xu Shu would say something astonishing.
"Why, please ask the military advisor to teach me."
Xu Shu turned around, took a few steps, and asked.
"General Guan, have you ever heard of the saying 'If Jiangdong is ripe, the world is rich'?"
Jiangdong has fertile land, a suitable climate, and sufficient water resources. It is a land of plenty. After Sun Ce promulgated the "One Tax Law" and "Qi Min Law", agriculture has achieved unprecedented development. On top of this, Ji Shu used guilds and chambers of commerce to invest the resources of the family into handicrafts and commerce, which greatly promoted the development of commerce and made Chu's goods and grains widely sold all over the world. Even Qin and Wei secretly exchanged war horses for food.
Seeing Guan Yu nod, Xu Shu continued.
"Ji Shu now relies on sufficient food and grass and wants to compete with us for national strength!"
Guan Yu smiled.
"Why should I, a big man, be afraid of him? Although Xuzhou is not as rich as Jiangdong, Xiaopei also has more than a year's worth of military rations, which is enough to last until Qin and Wei decide the winner."
"Has the general forgotten the 100,000 refugees in the city?"
Xu Shu's words made Guan Yu's smile freeze.
Xu Shu let out a long sigh, put his hands on the battlements, closed his eyes and said.
"A few days ago, the refugees began to starve. Today, the number is so large that I have to order relief for the people. In the future, the number of people will be even greater, and we will soon face a crisis that requires more than 20,000 soldiers for more than a year. We are faced with the dilemma of having to feed 120,000 people with food and grass. General Guan, even if we restrict food rations, how many more months do you think we can hold on?"
Xu Shu's words made Guan Yu feel cold all over. He originally thought that refugees could be recruited to defend the city at the critical moment, and he was confident that he could use this city wall to consume Sun Ce's main force here alive. However, now he found that Ji Shu was parked outside doing nothing, and he would be consumed by Ji Shu here.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Guan Yu's mind.
Let the exiles leave the city and leave them alone?
no! It's unjust, and once the city gate is opened, it can't be closed. Ji Shu will take advantage of the opportunity to enter the city.
Abandon Xiaopei and lead the army to retreat to Xiapi?
no! Even though the west gate was empty, there must have been an elite group of Chu troops waiting for them in the west, and then the main force of the Chu army was chasing them. Moreover, once Xiaopei is abandoned, there will be no danger to defend the hinterland of Xuzhou, and Huaiyin, Langxie, Guangling, and Dongwu will be completely exposed to the Chu army's front. Moreover, by giving up Xiaopei, Sun Ce's main force can march eastward to join Zhou Yu's troops, which will disrupt Liu Bei's plan to resist the enemy in Xiaopei, eliminate Zhou Yu, and direct troops to Jiangdong.
Give up the advantage of the city wall and attack the Chu army camp at night?
no! Ji Shu has been building fortifications for a while now, probably just waiting for him to take the bait.
????????????
"We are already riding a tiger and can't get off, so we can only hold on to Xiaopei!"
Guan Yu turned around and looked around. Xu Shu seemed to have seen through all his thoughts.
Guan Yu said angrily as he punched the city wall hard, as if trying to make a hole.
"It's all Zhuge Liang's fault. If we had cooperated with Sun Ce to carve up Cao Wei, we could have easily taken over Yanzhou and Qingzhou. How could there be so much trouble today? I don't understand, military advisor, why you gave up your power to Zhuge Liang."
Xu Shu shook his head, but still spoke for Zhuge Liang.
"This cannot be blamed on Kong Ming. The carving up of Cao and Wei was only a temporary gain. He made a plan for his lord to pacify the world. If we are to blame, we can only blame us for failing to kill Sun Ce. If Sun Ce dies, the Chu Kingdom will be the one we talk about now. Too fat. What a pity. If Kong Ming had assisted the lord with me two years earlier, maybe I, a big man, could have competed head-on with the Chu State."
Guan Yu still said stubbornly and roughly.
"Anyway, I can't stand Zhuge Liang's arrogant virtue. He also taught his elder brother to betray his trust???????"
"General Guan must not talk about it in front of others. In the face of a powerful enemy, it is a taboo in the country for generals and ministers to be at odds with each other."
Before Guan Yu could finish speaking, Xu Shu interrupted.
"??????? I understand, let's not talk about these things. Military advisor, do you think the situation of our battle here can turn around?"
"have."
"have?!"
Guan Yu was overjoyed and listened to Xu Shu's talk.
"It was Kong Ming's plan to destroy Zhou Yu and march into Jiangdong. My strategy is different. It has the same purpose as Ji Shu. To put it simply, it is just to delay time."
Guan Yu burst into laughter.
"Military advisor, you confused me. Didn't you say we can't afford to delay?"
"Then do you think Chu can afford it? General Guan, if you have read "Spring and Autumn" for a long time, do you know why those small and weak countries were able to survive after the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period for five hundred years?"
???????
Dongping City.
"General, this is the Wei army. There are 30,000 people! The leader is Xiahou Dun. Sure enough, the Wei state is the same as Xu Han."
The deputy general pointed to the flying dust in the distance and said to Huang Gai.
Huang Gai didn't take it seriously and said easily.
"Don't worry, the military advisor's analysis is right. Wei Jun does not dare to fight us."
"Don't dare to fight us? Then what are they doing here?"
Huang Gai patted the deputy general on the shoulder and smiled.
"Even if they don't go to war with us, as long as they surround Dongping City, do you think my lord can come to save me without dividing his troops?"
The deputy general next to him was not as relaxed as Huang Gai, and asked with an anxious look on his face.
"General, how should we respond?"
"Haha, go and get the brothers together. Let's compete with him to see who is braver!"
