Ji Han Liu Zhang

In the second year of Jian'an, the hottest day of July.

"Wait a moment, everyone. Stay strong and don't fight." Facing the many officers who came to ask for orders to attack Xiangwu City, Liu Zhang refused at first, then smiled and said kindly: "The Art of War says that to defeat the enemy without fighting is the best of all... Han Sui's troops and soldiers are about the same as ours, but his food and grass reserves are far less than ours. We should use our strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses, wait until his food is exhausted and his soldiers are exhausted, and then defeat him in one fell swoop. This is the perfect method."

"Yes." All the officers who wanted to fight bowed and agreed. When Liu Zhang made the decision, they naturally had no objection, nor did they dare to object. Although they felt that the morale of the army was high after a series of small victories, it was a good time to march, but Liu Zhang, who was in charge, had made the decision, and they, a group of people who followed orders, just followed orders.

After all the officers and soldiers dispersed, the military advisor, General Fa Zheng, said to Liu Zhang with emotion: "The morale of our army is quite high, and they are eager to fight. The army's morale can be used."

"Yes." Liu Zhang nodded in agreement. Including today's wave, it was the third wave of officers who wanted to fight and came before him. Every officer in the army was eager to have a big battle, defeat and behead Han Sui, and pacify Liangzhou for Liu Zhang.

Although the situation was favorable to his side and Han Sui's forces were already in decline, Liu Zhang still took precautions, intending to exhaust Han Sui's food supplies and then launch a large-scale attack. Only then could he claim to have won a great victory.

"Let's wait a little longer. It is Han Sui who should be anxious right now, not us. We can afford to waste time, but Han Sui can't. Let Han Sui worry about it." Liu Zhang smiled indifferently and said to Fa Zheng, showing his attitude from beginning to end, in one word - waste time.

Fa Zheng nodded upon hearing this, and looked towards Xiangwu City in the west: "The current situation is not good for Han Sui. I am afraid that he will become desperate and put all his bets on the line, fighting to the death."

"It is possible." Liu Zhang also looked westward and chuckled, "But I don't know how many people are willing to fight with Han Sui. Han Sui's own troops may be able to do so, but do you think Song Jian, Qiang Hu and others will fight with Han Sui?"

"Your Excellency is right." Fa Zheng smiled and said, "Han Sui has been recruiting people and luring many rebels such as Song Jian, Qiang Hu, etc. for several months. It seems that the situation is getting stronger and stronger, and it is very powerful... But Han Sui, as the commander, is unable to suppress Song Jian, Qiang Hu and others. He is like a headless snake, how can he move forward?"

Fa Zheng looked forward and said, "Who knows, when the food runs out, they will cause internal strife and collapse on their own, saving us a lot of effort."

"That would be the best." Liu Zhang responded casually. He did not think that the rebels gathered by Han Sui would collapse on their own. After all, Han Sui was a Han thief who had been wandering in Longyou for many years and had some tricks up his sleeve. Now that Han Sui was forced into a desperate situation, he might do something like a rabbit biting its man.

"Or maybe, Han Sui can urge the rebels to fight hard. With Han Sui's reputation in Longyou and some tricks, he might be able to persuade the rebels to fight to the death in desperation." Fa Zheng did not keep thinking about the good side. He also had some worse ideas.

After hearing Fa Zheng's words, Liu Zhang asked calmly, "In Xiaozhi's opinion, which one has a higher chance of Han Sui's defeat or Han Sui's desperate fight?"

"Although Han Sui is cunning, he also has a strong character. He certainly won't be willing to be defeated because of running out of food. The chances of him fighting for his life will be greater in this desperate situation." Fa Zheng said with certainty.

"Yeah." Liu Zhang narrowed his eyes and glanced towards Xiangwu City.

Xiangwu City, County Temple.

"How long can the army's food and grass last?" Han Sui asked, his tone revealing unstoppable worry. The current situation is not good for him. Grand Marshal Liu Zhang doesn't give him any chance. He has led his troops here but has defended the city without fighting, hanging up a banner of not wanting to fight, bent on draining his army's food supply and causing him to collapse.

Cheng Gongying heard this, his brows fell, and he sneered: "General, the food in the army is not enough to last for this month. Our army will run out of food soon. Maybe we can kill cattle and horses for food to last a few days, but there won't be much time left."

"After all, Longyou is a place with few people and poor land, and it is not enough to accomplish great things." Han Sui sighed, then he looked at Cheng Gongying seriously and asked earnestly: "Sir, now our army is about to run out of food and will soon fall into a desperate situation. Do you have a good plan to solve it and find a way out for me?"

"There are only two strategies at the moment that can give us a glimmer of hope. It's up to the general to choose." Cheng Gongying said calmly and indifferently.

"What are the two strategies?" Han Sui asked, his tone somewhat anxious.

Cheng Gongying did not speak immediately. He motioned Han Sui to take a seat first, and then he said: "At this moment, it is a matter of life and death for the general. Today, one thing is to abandon the others and lead your followers to Hexi. Hexi is remote and Liu Jiyu will not be able to reach it for a while. The general can observe the situation in Hexi and wait for an opportunity to act."

"Hexi?" Han Sui frowned. He thought about the first strategy given by Chen Gongying, abandoning the army and leading his followers to escape to Hexi. It seemed that they could have a chance to survive and escape from the current predicament.

But Han Sui had some doubts. He frowned and asked, "If I run to Hexi, and Liu Jiyu conquers Longyou and extends his hand to Hexi, what should I do then?"

"The Western Regions are vast, thousands of miles away from the Central Plains." Cheng Gongying did not give a detailed answer, but simply introduced the word "Western Regions".

A wry smile appeared on Han Sui's face. He understood what Cheng Gongying said. Cheng Gongying was saying that if Liu Zhang captured Hexi, he could still escape to the Western Regions, and Liu Jiyu would not send troops to the Western Regions to hunt him down. As for if Liu Jiyu really chased him to the Western Regions, it was heard that to the west of the Western Regions were the Kushans and the Daqin.

"What is your second strategy, sir?" Han Sui did not give an immediate answer, but instead asked about the content of Cheng Gongying's second strategy. He intended to listen to Cheng Gongying's strategy before making a decision.

"The second strategy is a bit riskier than the first one." Cheng Gongying first gave a prelude, which was also a mental preparation. "The second strategy is to encourage the soldiers to fight to the death with Liu Jiyu before the food runs out, and then survive."

"Hiss." Han Sui looked thoughtful. After a moment, he said in a dilemma, "Sir, if it comes to my own troops, I can still urge them to fight. However, it may not be easy to make Song Jian, Shao Dang, Xian Ling, Can Lang and others fight to the death."

While saying this, Han Sui also gave his preference on the two strategies proposed by Cheng Gongying. He intended to fight Liu Jiyu to the death, rather than running around like a chased rabbit and living in a foreign country.

"If you want to provoke Song Jian, Shao Dang, Xian Ling, Canlang and others to fight to the death, you need a strategy." Cheng Gongying knew from Han Sui's inquiries that Han Sui was more inclined to the second strategy, so he gave a corresponding strategy to promote the second strategy.

Cheng Gongying leaned forward and whispered a few words into Han Sui's ear. Han Sui's eyes gradually lit up and he nodded repeatedly. The next day, Han Sui gathered a group of heroes in the county temple of Xiangwu County. Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin, Canmuda and others were either heroes of Liangzhou or leaders of Qiang and Hu. They all gathered in the hall of the county temple.

When Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin, Canmuda and others stepped into the lobby, they immediately saw the gold, silver, jewelry, brocades and silks placed in the middle of the lobby. The jewelry and gold and silver emitted a dazzling brilliance, and the brocades and silks had beautiful and dazzling textures.

Shaodang, Diaohujin, Canmuda and other Qiang and Hu leaders all had their attention attracted. Only Song Jian, as the King of Heshou Pinghan, had some composure and did not cast too much greedy eyes on these things.

"Brother Han, what does this mean?" After everyone gathered, Song Jian, the King of Heshou Pinghan, asked Han Sui first.

Han Sui smiled sadly when he heard Song Jian's question. He sighed and said, "I have been active in Longyou for more than ten years. Today, I am trapped by the young Liu Jiyu. Now my food and grass are running out, and I cannot fight. In less than a month, I will die in Xiangwu."

"But I am unwilling to die. To die in such a cowardly way would be unworthy of a man from Liang Province. Moreover, I am unwilling to surrender to Liu Jiyu and live a miserable life as a captive of others... So tomorrow I will raise my army to fight Liu Jiyu to the death. You are innocent and do not need to follow me to die heroically."

At this point, Han Sui pointed to the gold, silver, jewels, brocades and silks in the hall and said to the crowd, "It is useless for me to keep these, so I will give them to you as a parting gift."

Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin, Canmuda and others looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this, and they had no time to respond for a while. They had not expected that Han Sui was going to fight Liu Jiyu to the death and intended to disband the allied forces.

Han Sui took advantage of the moment when everyone was stunned and continued: "I think tomorrow will be bad, and tomorrow, when I leave, the wind will whistle and the Yishui River will be cold... After I die, Longyou will belong to Liu Jiyu, and then you will be under Liu Jiyu's rule."

"Brother Song." After Han Sui finished his long speech, he said to Song Jian: "Liu Jiyu is a member of the royal family and has a strong army. He must not like you calling yourself 'King of Heshou Pinghan'. I think I will die in battle tomorrow. Brother Song, you can't stand alone and are no match for Liu Jiyu... Brother, you can quickly give up your title of king and send an envoy to Liu Zhang to surrender. I think you may have a chance of survival."

"Brother Han." Song Jian's face suddenly became anxious when he heard that. He still understood the principle of "lips and teeth are cold". Once Han Sui fell, he would naturally be in trouble. Especially since he called himself "Heshou Pinghan King", which was a slap in the face of the Han Dynasty. Liu Jiyu would definitely not let him go.

Han Sui finished speaking to Song Jian. He did not wait for Song Jian's reply, but said to Shaodang, Diaohujin, Canmuda and other Qiang and Hu people: "I originally wanted to join forces with you to do something big, take over Longyou, and each of us would occupy a county. It would be very satisfying, but today it seems that it is difficult to achieve..."

"After I leave, you must not be as unrestrained as before, but must act with caution. This is because Liu Jiyu has a strong army, 100,000 fierce soldiers, and his power can reach thousands of miles. It is difficult to resist his army. I think you are no match for him. If you do something inappropriate in the future, Liu Jiyu may be displeased. At that time, death is a small matter, but the extermination of the clan is a big matter."

Han Sui carefully and earnestly instructed everyone, his words were sincere, like an elder. After he finished speaking, Han Sui's sad expression disappeared, his face was straight, his eyes were clear, and he regained the heroic demeanor of the Liangzhou hero in the past.

"Gentlemen, please accept my gift and bid farewell. If you have any sympathy for me in the future, please pour a glass or two of wine in front of my tomb."

Then Han Sui said no more. He waved his sleeves, turned around and left, as if he had made some kind of decision, and never looked at the people in the hall again.

"Brother Han." Song Jian was anxious. He stepped forward quickly and grabbed Han Sui's sleeve. Shaodang, Diaohujin, Canmuda and other Qiang and Hu leaders also looked anxious. From Han Sui's words just now, they understood a truth, that is, if Han Sui was defeated, their good days would be over. In the future, they could only live in Longyou with their tails between their legs and act according to Liu Jiyu's mood, instead of acting recklessly and happily like today.

"General Han, please stay."

"General Han, don't leave."

Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin, Canmuda and others stepped forward one after another and stopped Han Sui who was about to go into the back hall.

"What do you mean, gentlemen? Do you think the gift I gave you is too little?" Han Sui looked at everyone, seemingly confused. He asked, and sighed softly, "All my belongings are here, and I don't have much more."

"No." Song Jian said hurriedly, "Tomorrow I will fight Liu Jiyu to the death. I, Song Jian, am willing to go with General Han. I don't want to leave today and live a cowardly life."

"Yes, yes. I, Diaohu Jin, am willing to stand by you, General Han, and would never turn back, even if it means death." Diaohu Jin, the leader of the Xianrong Qiang, said anxiously. In the past few years, the Han Dynasty was in decline, and they, the Qiang Hu, were no longer restrained by the Han army. The dark clouds over their heads dissipated, and they were living a rare good life. He did not want to go back to the days of being slaughtered by the Han army and oppressed by the Han officials.

"Me too." Shaodang and Chanmuda each echoed.

"Why are you doing this?" Faced with everyone's request, Han Sui was unwilling to accept it. He sincerely advised: "Gentlemen, I don't want to be a captive of others. I am willing to die in battle. Why don't you be as foolish as me... Why don't you all go away today? I heard that Liu Jiyu is kind and benevolent. You just need to be humble and behave like a servant in the future. I think Liu Jiyu will not harm you."

After saying this, Han Sui wanted to leave again, but Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin and Canmuda stepped forward and stopped Han Sui.

Song Jian's face was determined. He said generously: "Brother Han, I have made up my mind. I will stand together with you. I hope you will not say anything to make me leave. I would rather follow you and die in battle than be a subject of Liu Jiyu."

"That's what we mean as well." Shaodang, Diaohujin and Chanmuda responded in unison.

"Oh." Han Sui sighed softly when he heard this, and then seemed to be moved and showed a touched expression. He stretched out his hand and shook hands with Song Jian, Shao Dang, Diao Hujin, Canmuda and others.

"How dare I refuse such kindness from you all?" (End of this chapter)