Ji Han Liu Zhang

Yellow and white city.

Xia Yu, who was loyal to Guo Si and had a deep hatred for the Shu army, patrolled the city back and forth with a cautious and meticulous attitude, not letting go of any big or small loopholes in the city defense, and not letting go of any slack soldiers.

Whenever he saw a hole in the city defense, Xia Yu would urge his soldiers to repair it and fill it up, so as to prevent the hole from becoming an ant hole in the long dike. After all, a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole, and even the smallest hole could lead to the capture of Huangbai City by the Shu army.

When he found some soldiers slacking off after fighting in the morning, or even resting with their eyes closed while leaning on their spears, he would raise the whip in his hand and whip the soldiers, so that they would suddenly wake up.

"The Shu army is right outside the city. We don't know when they will attack. You guys actually still have the mind to sleep. How dare you sleep at this stage?" Xia Yu rebuked the soldiers in disbelief, cursing.

A higher-ranking official can crush a person to death. When facing Xia Yu, who was a captain, the soldiers were naturally too cowardly to object and could only nod their heads in agreement. However, they felt resentful in their hearts. After fighting for half a day, they could not even take a moment's rest. This was not a life for human beings.

Xia Yu naturally didn't care about what happened to his soldiers. He was only focused on working for Guo Si and protecting Huangbai City for him.

After walking around the city half way, Xia Yu felt a little confused. He and Guo Pu, Wu Xi, Wang Fang and others split into two groups and went in opposite directions to patrol the city. He had already walked around half of the city, but why couldn't he see Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang?

"How lazy!" Xia Yu didn't think much about it. He just thought it was caused by the laziness of several people.

However, when encountering such a thing, Xia Yu felt a little uneasy and a little confused. As an outsider, he was doing his best for Guo Si and fighting for him to prevent his lord Guo Si from being harmed by the Shu army.

Among the generals under Guo Si's command, except Wu Xi and Wang Fang, who were outsiders like him, Guo Pu was Guo Si's cousin, and they were very close. However, he did not fight as hard as Guo Si, an outsider. It is common sense that Guo Pu should have risked his life for Guo Si.

How strange! Xia Yu sighed in his heart. He continued walking forward without stopping, inspecting the city defense fortifications everywhere.

As he walked, Xia Yu was thinking. He thought about what happened last night and today. After thinking about Li Jue and Li Huan, the cousins, he was immediately relieved and the doubts in his heart immediately disappeared.

After all, Li Jue and Li Huan, although cousins ​​in name, were as close as brothers, yet they were unable to work together in times of crisis. Li Jue sold Li Huan lightly as a token to gain Guo Si's trust, resulting in Li Huan ending up as a pile of meat.

The relationship between Guo Si and Guo Pu was not as close as that between Li Jue and Li Huan. It was no wonder that Guo Pu did not fight hard enough in today's battle. It was no wonder that Guo Si spoke rudely and threatened Guo Pu.

"Brothers!" Xia Yu sighed at the word "brothers". In today's world, people's hearts are hard to understand, and brothers are almost unreliable. It can be said that morality has declined and the world is in decline.

When Xia Yu turned his toes and inspected to the third city wall, after passing this wall and turning again, he could go to Guo Si who was resting by leaning on a pillar with his spear, return to his starting point, and report the results of the inspection to his commander Guo Si.

"Captain Xia, Captain Guo invites you to come to the city gate tower for a chat."

At this moment, Xia Yu ran into Guo Pu's personal guards. He learned from Guo Pu's personal guards that Guo Pu wanted to discuss something with him.

"Hmm?" Xia Yu was a little confused. He and Guo Pu didn't have much friendship. They just nodded to each other when they bumped into each other. It wasn't that Xia Yu didn't understand the ways of the world, but he disdained Guo Pu's character and didn't want to make friends with him.

Xia Yu believed that his position as a captain was a reward for his daring and loyal support for Guo Si. But Guo Pu was far inferior to him in bravery and loyalty. However, Guo Pu was able to hold the position of a colonel because he was Guo Si's cousin and had a closer relationship with Guo Si.

Therefore, although Xia Yu's position was lower than Guo Pu's, he did not take Guo Pu seriously and was unwilling to have a close relationship with Guo Pu.

However, since Guo Pu, a captain, invited him to have a chat, Xia Yu could not refuse. After all, they were facing a powerful enemy and all the generals needed to work together to fight against the Shu soldiers outside the city.

"Okay." Xia Yu nodded in response. He followed Guo Pu's personal guards and walked into the city gate tower one after another.

The gate tower of Huangbai City was not very tall, only one story high, and the space was not wide enough to accommodate many objects. In addition, there were many filth left by the night watch soldiers in the gate tower, and the smell was really unpleasant.

Feeling the stench rising straight to his head, Xia Yu couldn't help but frown as he stepped into the city gate. His face was not very good. He didn't understand why Guo Pu wanted to meet him in the city gate tower. Wouldn't it be better to meet him on the city wall?
The walls of Huangbai City are quite spacious and the smell is clean, which is much better than the stinking city gate tower.

"Captain Guo." Xia Yu tried his best to relax his face and hide the look of disdain he had for the city gate tower, in order to prevent Guo Pu from suspecting that Xia Yu disdained him, which would easily lead to misunderstanding.

"Captain Wu and Captain Wang are here too!" Xia Yu had no doubts and bowed to Wu Xi and Wang Fang on Guo Pu's left and right.

"Captain Gao." Wu Xi, Wang Fang and Xia Yu were all captains, so unlike Guo Pu who just bowed slightly in return of the greeting, they bowed in return of the greeting while slightly bending their waists, making a gesture of slight respect.

After the greetings were over, Guo Pu, who was in the middle, spoke first: "Captain Xia, how long do you think our army can hold Huangbai City?"

"Hmm." After Xia Yu pondered Guo Pu's question carefully, he slowly said, "Although the Shu army has powerful weapons like the Thunderbolt Chariot, in a siege, it is not enough to just have the Thunderbolt Chariot to take down a city. Battering rams and ladders are necessary. The Shu army has come from afar, and it will take some time to build these weapons. Within one or two months, Huangbai City should be stable."

"What about after one or two months?" Guo Pu asked hurriedly. From what Xia Yu said, he felt that Xia Yu seemed to be shaken and had no determination to defend the city.

But Guo Pu misunderstood. Xia Yu's next words showed that Xia Yu was determined to fight: "After one or two months, even if the Shu army has battering rams and ladders... they may not be able to defeat us. In the battle to defend the city, we just need to unite as one and firmly defend. Even if the Shu army is ten times larger than us, they will not be able to defeat us easily."

"Hmm?" Guo Pu raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect Xia Yu's fighting spirit to be so firm. He was determined to fight the Shu army to the end.

"Captain Xia is right, but we have no reinforcements and are defending an isolated city. This is a taboo in military strategy. I'm afraid we will be defeated by the Shu army sooner or later." Captain Wu Xi interrupted, his words revealing a dejected attitude.

Hearing this, Xia Yu frowned, his long eyebrows raised high, and he refuted: "Victory and defeat are common in the military. The advantages and disadvantages of the situation at the moment cannot determine anything. How can you relax and become cowardly when you encounter setbacks? This is not what a real man does... There are many things going on in the world. Who knows if there will be any changes in Guanzhong in three to five months."

After pinning his hopes on the possible future, Xia Yu felt that this was not enough to convince others, so he gave an example: "People like Ma Teng and Han Sui in Liangzhou, how could they sit idly by and watch Liu Zhang take Guanzhong... Maybe Ma Teng and Han Sui have joined forces to march eastward and attack Liu Zhang's rear. By then, Liu Zhang will not be able to sit still in Huangbai City, and will naturally lead his troops away, and we can escape."

"Captain Xia is right." Guo Pu first agreed with Xia Yu, and then he scolded Wu Xi and said, "Captain Wu, you have the ambition of a little Liu Zhang, destroying our prestige."

"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong. I hope Captain Xia don't take what I said just now to heart." Wu Xi nodded repeatedly when he heard it. He bowed and saluted deeply to apologize to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu leaned to one side, unwilling and not too eager to accept Wu Xi's gift. He just bowed and said, "Captain Guo, I need to go inspect the city defense. Please take your leave now."

"Captain Xia, please go now. Military affairs are more important." Guo Pu nodded. He agreed to Xia Yu's resignation.

When Xia Yu turned around to leave, Guo Pu's head swung left like a pendulum, exchanged a look with Wu Xi, then right, exchanged a look with Wang Fang. They all understood each other's intentions. Just as Xia Yu was about to turn around and walk out of the city gate tower, he heard Guo Pu calling out, "Captain Xia, there is one more thing..."

"What's the matter?" Xia Yu turned around reflexively upon hearing that, but what he faced was not Guo Pu's answer, but an attack from Wu Xi and Wang Fang.

Wu Xi and Wang Fang, who were attacking Xia Yu, cooperated tacitly at this time. Wu Xi held a dagger in both hands and attacked Xia Yu's heart from bottom to top, while Wang Fang stretched out a pair of large hands like a cushion and covered Xia Yu's mouth tightly to prevent Xia Yu from making any sound.

In order to kill him with one blow, Wu Xi pointed the dagger at Xia Yu's heart. After inserting it, he immediately turned it around with such great force that it almost crushed Xia Yu's heart.

In an instant, Xia Yu, who was caught off guard, was hit. He felt the pain in his heart, his eyes widened, and he looked at Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang in disbelief. He didn't understand why the three of them wanted to harm him.

"They are planning a rebellion." Xia Yu, who was hit hard, thought of a possible reason. Soon, he turned the possibility into a certainty, and determined that Guo Pu, Wu Xi, and Wang Fang were planning a rebellion, which was why they harmed him.

This is understandable. The Shu army is strong while Guo Si is weak. His lord Guo Si is already in a precarious situation and it is unknown when he will be destroyed. Even if Guo Si's ship is about to sink, it is understandable that the people on board jump off.

Feeling the passage of life and his heart becoming increasingly heavy, Xia Yu knew that his life would end at this moment. At the last moment of his life, an idea arose in his heavy mind, or rather, a question.

Xia Yu understood why Wu Xi and Wang Fang, two outsiders, had rebellious intentions, but what he did not understand was that Guo Pu, as Guo Si's cousin, had no merit but was promoted to the position of a colonel. Guo Si treated Guo Pu so well, but Guo Pu actually wanted to rebel. It was really hateful.

"How hateful!" With hatred towards Guo Pu, Xia Yu stopped breathing and his body became like a puddle of mud. After Wu Xi and Wang Fang let go, he collapsed to the ground.

After knocking down Xia Yu, Guo Si's loyal dog, Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang did not relax. They first moved Xia Yu's body to the corner of the city gate tower, and then stepped out of the city gate tower and went towards where Guo Si was.

According to common sense, a captain would have at least a dozen personal guards following him. If these personal guards did not see Xia Yu coming out of the city gate tower, they would probably become estranged and cause a big commotion, thus exposing the plans of Guo Pu, Wu Xi, Wang Fang and others.

But this was also lucky for Guo Pu, Wu Xi and others. Xia Yu went out of the city last night to attack the northern camp of the Shu army. As the vanguard, Xia Yu was surrounded by the Shu army. In order to help Xia Yu escape, his personal guards fought desperately and died in the heavy encirclement of the Shu army. That is to say, Xia Yu's death was not a ripple at all.

Soon, Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang, who were on the other side of the city tower, saw Guo Si still leaning against the pillar of the city gate tower to rest. While Guo Si was resting, the soldiers naturally dispersed far away, not daring to approach or make any noise.

Moreover, most of the soldiers had been fighting for half a day and were as tired as Guo Si. Many of them closed their eyes to rest and were in a state of semi-sleep.

Seeing this, Guo Pu felt that this was an opportunity, so he tilted his head upwards slightly. Wu Xi and Wang Fang on his left and right immediately understood, and they took out a thick hemp rope from their waists, and each of them touched the rope at one end.

Wu Xi and Wang Fang walked lightly and with every step being extremely minute, they got close to Guo Si. They cooperated tacitly and wrapped the thick hemp rope around Guo Si again and again, intending to tie Guo Si to the pillar of the city gate.

After tying Guo Si and the pillar of the city gate together for dozens of times from top to bottom, Wu Xi and Wang Fang went behind Guo Si. They gritted their teeth and exerted all their strength in their hands to tighten the loose hemp rope from the left and right.

In an instant, the loose hemp rope was pulled tight, and Guo Si was tied tightly to the pillar of the city gate. Guo Si was naturally awakened by the tightening feeling. He lowered his head and saw the hemp rope on his body, and his sleepiness was instantly thrown away.

Guo Si struggled to get free from the rope, but it was in vain. He could not break free for a long time. Wu Xi and Wang Fang had already tied the hemp rope into a knot at the pillar behind him. Unless Guo Si had the power of a god, there was no possibility for him to break the hemp rope.

After tying the rope into a knot, Wu Xi and Wang Fang breathed a sigh of relief. They walked out from behind the pillar and approached Guo Si. They looked at Guo Si, who was tied up like a fat pig, and his twisted and funny struggling movements.

"Wu Xi, Wang Fang, how dare you!" Guo Si cursed.

Hearing Guo Si's scolding, Wu Xi and Wang Fang turned a deaf ear to it. They just patted their hands to remove the remaining hemp rope residue, and looked at Guo Si indifferently.

"Guo Da, Guo Er." Guo Si called out to his personal guards, wanting them to rescue him.

At this time, Guo Si's personal guards also noticed the commotion here and rushed over as fast as they could.

Just when a glimmer of hope rose in Guo Si's heart, he heard a familiar voice. It was his cousin, Guo Pu.

Guo Si was delighted at first, for he had been worried that Guo Pu had been harmed by Wu Xi and Wang Fang. Now it seemed that Guo Pu had not been harmed by the two traitors, Guo Pu and Wang Fang. However, soon after Guo Si heard what Guo Pu said, he fell into extreme despair.

All they heard was Guo Pu saying to Guo Si's guards, "Guo Da, Guo Er, do you want to live or die?"

"The Shu army has 100,000 soldiers just outside the city. Huangbai City will be conquered by the Shu army sooner or later. It is better to surrender to the Shu army to have a chance of survival. Besides, Guo Si is a man of low moral character and cowardice. He attacked last night, first abandoning the infantry who were left behind, and then closing the city gate without caring about the cavalry who had not entered the city yet..."

Upon hearing this, as witnesses of the unrighteous act that Guo Si had done last night, dozens of Guo Si's personal guards stopped and no longer moved forward. They no longer had the intention of protecting and rescuing Guo Si, but instead looked at each other, spying on their companions' thoughts.

"If you follow people like Guo Si, you will be harmed by Guo Si sooner or later. It is better for you to surrender to Liu Yizhou with me. Liu Yizhou is unparalleled in benevolence and talent. He is a rare wise leader in the world. He will definitely treat you badly..." Guo Pu said proudly.

"That's right." Wu Xi added, "Liu Yizhou has already said that only Li Jue and Guo Si will be executed, and the rest of those who surrender will not be questioned. If you and I surrender to Liu Yizhou, we can have a chance to survive. Following Guo Si is like a lonely soul following a ghost at night."

"Don't listen..." After being shocked for a moment by his cousin Guo Pu's betrayal, Guo Si came to his senses and planned to persuade his personal guards not to be misled by Guo Pu, Wu Xi and others and betray him.

But before Guo Si could say half of his words, Wang Fang stuffed a piece of rag into his open mouth, preventing Guo Si from uttering a complete sentence and terminating him from then on.

"You should quickly open the city gate and welcome the Shu army, and you will achieve great success." Guo Pu commanded Guo Si's personal guards.

Under Guo Pu's instigation, Guo Si's personal guards became shaken and abandoned their lord Guo Si. They rushed to the city gate, intending to open it and welcome the Shu army.

The news of the surrender of Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang soon reached Liu Zhang's ears. Liu Zhang did not take it lightly. He first asked Guo Pu, Wu Xi and Wang Fang to go out of the city in person to surrender, and at the same time sent his Shu army to take advantage of the opportunity to enter the city and occupy important places in the city. Then he leisurely entered Huangbai City and seized the last stronghold of the Liangzhou Army in Guanzhong.

On the city gate tower, Liu Zhang saw Guo Si, who was tied up like a dumpling. Guo Si's face was flushed, and he seemed to have a lot to say.

Liu Zhang waved his hand and asked the soldiers to remove the rag from Guo Si's mouth. After the rag was removed, Guo Si took two breaths and then asked Liu Zhang: "Mingsir, it's too tight, please loosen it a little."

Hearing this, Liu Zhang smiled faintly and said, "It is necessary to be anxious to tie up a tiger." (End of this chapter)