I originally thought that the pressure could be relieved by defending, but suddenly someone came to report that Sun Ce had launched the warship and marched from the west. At this time, Lu Bu led his troops to attack the east, Liu Bei, Yu Yi and others were attacking from the south, and Cao Cao himself was attacking. Attacking the north with 170,000 troops and horses, showing a situation of being besieged on all sides.
At Liu Bei's camp, everyone was discussing important matters. Yu Yi was sitting aside casually. Liu Bei said: "We can't be careless in attacking Yuan Shu this time!"
Yu Yi smiled and said: "Now Yuan Shu is surrounded by enemies and cannot escape. We only need to attack according to the original plan. Cao Cao will naturally decide other matters."
Guan Yu said: "Although we are besieging everywhere, there are forces such as Lu Bu and Sun Ce. I am afraid they will not really attack."
Yu Yi stood up, pointed at the map and said, "Do you know why Cao Cao suddenly decided to attack Yuan Shu this time?"
"Why?" Liu Bei asked.
"I think there are three reasons. First, he openly proclaimed himself emperor, which aroused public anger. Second, there was a problem with his strategic direction. Hearing that Shouchun was short of food, he actually took advantage of Cao Cao. Third, Sun Ce's actual situation The emperor was still worried about Yuan Shu's seizure of the jade seal, so he always wanted revenge, but this time it was just an excuse."
Yuyi replied.
After hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but nod his head and said: "Sure enough, he has grown a lot, and he will be the counselor of our army in the future!"
Yu Yi thought to himself, if he had followed my advice on many things earlier, he wouldn't have taken so many detours. Now that he has become a counselor, isn't he not qualified before? In the final analysis, he has a problem with recognizing people.
In Shouchun, Yuan Shu was already panicked and quickly sent someone to summon everyone to discuss. Everyone else was silent. Only General Yang came out to speak and said: "Shouchun has been suffering from drought in recent years, and people are short of food and clothing. Now, They also mobilized troops and horses to make the people resentful, so when others come to attack, it is difficult for us to resist. For now, we can only guard in Shouchun temporarily and cannot go out to fight with the opponent. When they run out of food and grass, they will definitely There are variables. Your Majesty only needs to lead the imperial army through Huainan. Firstly, the place is familiar and secondly, it can avoid its sharp edges."
Yuan Shu accepted this suggestion and left Li Feng, Lejiu, Liang Gang, and Chen Ji with one hundred thousand troops, then packed up his belongings and left.
Although it was surrounded by four directions, Yuan Shu had been operating in Shouchun for many years. Its power was huge and it could not be captured immediately. Zhang Fei challenged the city every day, but the opponent just couldn't hold on. It was really a headache, so he Go to Yuyi and ask for help.
Yu Yi smiled and said: "Cao Cao has so many counselors who haven't come up with a good idea. How can I come up with it alone? I think it's better to wait. We came from Yuzhou and didn't bring many soldiers and horses, but Cao Cao is different. He came from Xudu with 170,000 mercenaries, and these 170,000 mouths of food are a huge expense. I think he hopes for a quick victory."
Zhang Fei sighed: "It's boring, let's go drink."
Yu Yi said: "You only fight and drink. Life is too boring. How about I teach you strategy? What do you think?"
When Zhang Fei heard this, he walked far away without looking back. Yes, it is more difficult for a general to learn strategy than to reach the sky.
There was a drought in Shouchun, and other prefectures and counties also had this problem. After a few days of attacking, Cao Cao clearly felt that he was under huge pressure on food, and the food transportation line was too long. There was sometimes a lack of food in the army. He was anxious and spent every day. They urged the army to fight quickly, but Li Feng and others stayed behind closed doors and had no other options, so they called for discussion and suggested asking Sun Ce to borrow food.
Cao Cao complied, but after all, Sun Ce's productivity was limited, and the 100,000 hu of grain and rice he borrowed were wiped out within a few days, and Cao Cao fell into depression again.
When Wang Yan, the warehouse officer under Ren Jun, the grain officer, learned about this situation, he went to ask Cao Cao personally and said, "Now that we have more troops and less food, what should we do?"
Cao Cao said: "Let's divide a small amount first, and save it for temporary needs."
Wang Yanren said: "If this happens, the soldiers will definitely complain. What should we do?"
Cao Cao shook his head. In fact, he had no good solution, but in order to reassure him, he said: "I have a solution, so don't worry about it for now."
So as required, Cao Cao distributed food to everyone in small bowls. Cao Cao also sent people to the camp to inquire about the situation privately, and found that many soldiers complained seriously, saying that the prime minister was deceiving everyone.
The whole thing was under Cao Cao's control. Knowing that the time had come, he quietly called Wang E over and said, "I want to borrow something from you to ease everyone's grievances. You must not be stingy. .”
He asked: "What does the Prime Minister want me to borrow?"
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and said, "I want to borrow your head, and then chop it off to show the public!"
When Wang Jie heard this, he broke into a cold sweat behind his back and said: "I tried my best to escort the prime minister's food and grass, and there was no problem at all. I am not guilty, prime minister, why do you want to kill me!"
Cao Cao looked very sad and said: "Of course I know you are not guilty, but if I don't kill you, my army will be disloyal. Don't worry, after you die, I will help you raise your wife. You Just don’t worry.”
Wang Jie knew that this was Cao Cao's plan and wanted to continue to defend himself and leave a way for himself to survive. As a result, Cao Cao had already called the swordsman and axeman, pulled him out of the camp and hacked him to death, so he hung his head high. Department, and made a public notice: "Wang Ge deliberately deducted everyone's food without telling the Prime Minister, and stole it while guarding. He has been beheaded in accordance with military law!"
After the sergeants saw it, they understood the truth of the matter and dispersed one after another, their resentment towards Cao Cao also reduced a lot.
On the next day, Cao Cao personally issued an order to the generals in each camp. This was a fatal order, "If the city of Shouchun cannot be broken within three days, then it will be dealt with according to military law."
This matter soon reached Liu Bei, who summoned everyone for discussion.
Zhang Fei said: "I didn't expect that Cao Cao would still have food at this time. The food supervisor was the one who deducted food before."
Yu Yi said: "Third brother, what you are seeing is superficial. In fact, Cao Cao is almost out of food. Killing the food officer is just to cover up others' eyes. The deprivation of food is all his own intention. It's just that he is a bad guy and a good guy." Just take it for granted.”
Zhang Fei opened his eyes wide and sighed: "This is too treacherous."
Liu Bei said: "Fourth brother is right. Cao Cao has fully mobilized everyone's enthusiasm for this matter to prepare for the attack on the city. Hasn't he already sent an order? If it cannot be conquered in three days, he will be beheaded."
Guan Yu said: "No matter how many there are, just follow us. We are not at the front anyway!"
So Cao Cao personally went to the city and urged the soldiers to carry soil and stones to fill the enemy's ravines.
