Ji Han Liu Zhang

Outside Xiangwu City.

"Strange, why is the attack of the Liangzhou bandits so weak today?" Deng Xian asked in confusion. In the past, the bows and crossbows shot by the Liangzhou bandits could more or less penetrate the wooden shield, and the tips of the arrows would appear in front of him through the wooden shield. But today, the arrows shot by the Liangzhou bandits could not penetrate the wooden shield. What's worse, some of them were bounced off by the cowhide on the wooden shield.

"The force is so weak, is it because they haven't eaten?" Deng Xian speculated secretly. He suspected that the Liangzhou thieves had not eaten enough, so their attack was weak and not as swift as before.

Of course, Deng Xian did not resort to speculation, he had actual evidence. According to the information passed on by the spies, the Liangzhou bandits would soon run out of food. Since the food and grass were in short supply, they would not be able to get enough food every day. It was understandable that the Liangzhou bandits would be so weak.

Just as Deng Xian was thinking, the commander Meng Da shouted to him: "Ah Xian, open the door and attack the bandits." After fighting for a while, Meng Da realized that something was wrong with the Liangzhou bandits today. That is, the Liangzhou bandits were a little weak, so he had an opportunity to take advantage of it and he didn't have to just stick to the camp.

"Yes." Deng Xian agreed generously. He led his personal guards and urged the soldiers to open the camp gate. He rushed out at the first time and faced the Liangzhou bandits who came to attack the camp.

Deng Xian's spear flew up and down, constantly attacking and killing Liangzhou bandits, tearing a hole in the Liangzhou bandit formation, and led his troops to attack. After defending the camp for a long time, Deng Xian was full of anger, and it was time to vent it out.

"Charge with me." Deng Xian thrust the spear forward and pierced through two Liangzhou bandits who were in the front and back battle lines. With one shot, he killed the two Liangzhou bandits. At this moment, he was like a killing god, leading his personal cavalry to charge back and forth in the Liangzhou bandit formation, killing them until they cried for their parents and fled in all directions.

"Kill him for me... it's so satisfying... it's really satisfying..."

Deng Xian was so carried away that he kept charging back and forth, wantonly venting his anger. After being attacked by the Liangzhou bandits for many days, everyone was full of resentment, and Deng Xian's subordinates also slaughtered the Liangzhou bandits one by one with pleasure. The Liangzhou bandits' army formation was broken and their formation was loose. Facing the Shu army, it was like a sheep encountering a tiger, and they were eaten up like a whirlwind.

"Dang...dang...dang..."

Just as Deng Xian was reckless, he heard the sound of a gong coming from the camp behind him. At the same time, the ground in front of him began to tremble. Deng Xian reacted in an instant and shouted, "Retreat to the camp."

Under the command of Deng Xian, the Shu army that had fought their way out of the camp retreated back into the camp in an orderly manner and closed the camp gates again, not giving the Liangzhou bandits any chance at all. The reinforcements of the Liangzhou bandits only arrived at the front after the Shu army closed the camp gates.

"What a pity." Yan Xing looked at the Shu army retreating back to the camp and the tightly closed gate of the camp. He shook his head in disappointment. It was rare that the Shu army broke out of the camp today. Maybe he could follow them into the camp and break this sturdy fortress.

But unfortunately, the commander of the Shu army was not greedy for merit. After killing one or two, he saw Yan Xing coming to rescue and immediately issued an order to retreat back to the camp, not giving Yan Xing any chance and keeping the Liangzhou bandits outside the camp from beginning to end.

"Retreat." After Yan Xing missed his attack, he decided to retreat. Today's battle was indeed not ideal. The soldiers under his command were very tired. He didn't know if it was caused by the continuous attacks for several days or other reasons.

As a result, today's battle between the Shu army and the Liangzhou bandits ended before noon, much earlier than in the past few days.

Looking at the Liangzhou bandits who were retreating like the tide, Meng Da showed a look of contempt on his face. He thought that the Liangzhou bandits would not last long, and that the Liangzhou hero Han Sui would not live long either.

Meng Da came to this conclusion based on the current state of the Liangzhou bandits. Their offensive was weak and not as strong as before, and it was clear that they were not well fed.

It should be noted that food and fodder must be sent ahead before the army moves.

Now the Liangzhou bandits can't even get enough food to feed their soldiers, and their offensive is weak and ineffective. It won't take long for this battle to have an outcome.

"Uncle, how am I today?" Deng Xian came in front of Meng Da and put on an attitude of seeking credit, hoping to get affirmation from his uncle and recognition from the elders.

Meng Da nodded with satisfaction. He reached out and patted Deng Xian on the shoulder, praising him calmly, "You have grown. After these few days of attack and defense, Ah Xian has far surpassed before."

"Uncle, you're too kind." Deng Xian smiled and looked pleased.

While there were laughter and joy on this side, Han Sui's troops were retreating over there, and the soldiers under his command looked angry. At that moment, in Xiangwu City, the soldiers started to make a fuss one by one.

"We don't even have enough food to eat, but they still urge us to attack the city. How can this be justified?" someone shouted.

Soon someone responded: "Yes, we want to eat, and have enough food..."

"Have a meal……"

"Eat your fill..."

Many soldiers shouted in unison, and the sound reached the sky and reached the ears of Han Sui in the county temple. After hearing this, Han Sui did not show any panic. He only sent someone to call the grain officer Wang Hu.

As the grain officer of Han Sui's army, Wang Hu responded to the call. He carefully lifted his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his head while timidly reporting to Han Sui: "General, although using small measures can solve the crisis of running out of grain, the soldiers below are very angry. I am afraid this is not a long-term solution... and right now, the soldiers are very angry, and we need to resolve their resentment as soon as possible."

"I know this, and I have a good plan that can ease the resentment of the soldiers." Han Sui nodded, indicating that everything was under control.

Wang Hu's eyes lit up, and he quickly complimented him: "General, you are indeed very resourceful. I didn't expect that you already had a good plan, but I don't know where it came from."

Han Sui's expression became gentler, and his tone became softer. He smiled and said to Wang Hu: "If you want to vent the resentment in the soldiers' hearts, you still need to help."

"Me?" Wang Hu was somewhat puzzled. He was just a grain officer. How could he have the ability to relieve the resentment of the soldiers who were not getting enough food? Han Sui nodded seriously and said affirmatively, "It must be you... I only need you to lend me something to relieve the resentment of the soldiers. I hope you will not be stingy."

"General, please feel free to lend me anything I have." Wang Hu felt Han Sui's trustful gaze and a sense of pride rose in his heart. No matter what Han Sui needed from him, he was willing to lend it to him.

"Okay, your words are enough... What I want to borrow is your head." Han Sui nodded, and with a smile on his face, he gave orders: "Wang Hu, this thief, is a grain officer, but he uses a small measure, which makes the soldiers unable to eat enough and complain. According to the military doctrine, drag him out and behead him quickly. Show his head to the soldiers so that they will know that I am fair in my dealings."

"Ah! General..." The grain officer Wang Hu said in surprise. He had never thought that Han Sui's clever plan was to use his head to relieve the soldiers' resentment. It should be noted that the matter of carrying out the small measure was told to him by Han Sui's confidant Cheng Gongying, and it was clearly Han Sui's order.

"General, Xiao Hu..."

Wang Hu was about to shout and name the mastermind behind the Xiao Hu incident, but before he could finish his words, Han Sui's personal guard slammed his knife handle into his mouth. His mouth was suddenly covered in blood and several broken teeth popped out. Wang Hu could only babble at this time, but could not utter a word.

"Quickly kill this thief and don't give him the chance to talk nonsense. Also, imprison his wife and children and make them slaves." Han Sui's face was calm, but his words made the grain officer Wang Hu feel cold in his heart and his whole body was chilled.

"Ah Lu... Sui... Ah..." Wang Hu, whose mouth and tongue were bleeding, cursed at Han Sui incoherently. As for why he was cursing, it was because Wang Hu's face was extremely angry, and his eyes were red when he looked at Han Sui, as if he wanted to eat Han Sui alive.

But although Wang Hu wanted to eat Han Sui alive, the warriors on both sides held him very tightly. He struggled hard but could not break free. He could only be dragged out by the warriors like a dead dog. Not long after, the warriors held Wang Hu's bloody head and handed it to Han Sui.

Han Sui waved his hand calmly, signaling his personal guards to display Wang Hu's head to the public, and announced to the army that all the sins were caused by Wang Hu. He also wanted to let the soldiers have a full meal at dinner time today so that they could have a decisive battle with the Shu army tomorrow.

……

Shouchun.

"What can I do? What can I do?"

Since he proclaimed himself the Emperor Zhong, Yuan Shu has not had a single comfortable day in his life. First, Sun Ce of Jiangdong wrote to break off relations with him, and then Lu Bu of Xuzhou followed the imperial court's order, led his troops to resist him, and defeated him severely.

Now Yuan Shu heard that the court in Xudu would lead troops to attack Huainan, or that the court army would arrive in Huainan in a while. So Yuan Shu often said to himself during this period of time: "What should I do?" He told this to his advisers, hoping that one of them could give him a good plan to solve his current problem.

But given the situation, many advisers were at a loss. At this time, Yuan Shu turned his attention to the chief clerk Yan Xiang, hoping that this resourceful chief clerk could give one or two suggestions to somewhat alleviate the pressure he was facing.

"Master Clerk, what should we do?" Like a drowning man grasping at the last straw, Yuan Shu asked the Master Clerk Yan Xiang.

Yan Xiang stroked his beard and sighed. He shook his head and said, "In the past, I advised you not to establish a title, as this would surely be the beginning of disaster. Now the signs have already appeared, and it is too late to regret. It is indeed difficult to save the situation."

When Yuan Shu heard this, a look of displeasure flashed across his face, and then he put on a sincere look and said, "Sir, I hope you can put aside the past and give me a way to save my life."

Yan Xiang frowned, and after pondering for a moment or two, he cupped his hands and said to Yuan Shu: "It is difficult to resist the imperial army with only the land of Huainan. The only way now is to send an envoy to Xuzhou and connect with Lu Bu. Only in this way can we have a chance to resist the imperial army."

"Huh?" Yuan Shu was immediately puzzled when he heard this. He spread his hands and said, "Sir, you forgot that not long ago, Lu Bu obeyed Cao Cao's order and fought with me. How could he be connected with me now? Isn't this a big absurd statement?"

Hearing Yuan Shu rebuking him for his absurd remarks, Yan Xiang's face remained calm and did not change color. He stroked his beard and said, "Just because we fought each other in the past does not mean we cannot be allies today... Cao Cao now controls Yanyu and wants to attack Huainan. Once Huainan is captured, Cao Cao's next target will definitely be Lü Bu in Xuzhou. Huainan and Xuzhou are inextricably linked. We should send an envoy to Xuzhou immediately to persuade Lü Bu to send troops to rescue us. If we hesitate any longer, once the imperial army arrives, we will have no chance at all."

"Hmm?" This sound showed that Yuan Shu seemed to have some enlightenment. After thinking for a while, he slapped his thigh and said, "Sir, you are right. That's exactly the truth. If I fail, Lu Bu will not suffer any consequences... Cao Cao wants to take over the Central Plains, so how could he let Lu Bu go?"

The plan was decided, and now the only thing to do was to think about the selection of the envoy. After much thought, Yuan Shu was still unable to make up his mind. He thought that sending someone else might not be able to persuade Lu Bu, so he said to his chief clerk Yan Xiang: "I think it is you who must be sent to Xuzhou. Others may not be to my liking, but they can persuade Lu Bu to help me."

"As your minister, I should serve you." Yan Xiang did not refuse and accepted the mission to Xuzhou.

There was a waterway from Shouchun in Huainan to Xiapi in Xuzhou, so it didn't take Yan Xiang too long to reach Xiapi City, the capital of Xuzhou. He was summoned by Lu Bu by offering gold, silver and jewelry.

"Master, you have come from afar, why should you be so polite? Why are you offering me these gold and jade? I am not a greedy person." When Lu Bu saw the boxes full of gold, silver and jewelry, his eyes lit up and he was eager to try. He stepped forward to touch one or two, but his words seemed to show that he didn't care about these gold, silver and jewelry at all.

Seeing Lü Bu's happy face, Yan Xiang thought that the chances of success were about 50-60. He cupped his hands towards Lü Bu and said, "My master respects you very much. You killed Dong Zhuo and avenged the Yuan family. You are indeed a benefactor of the Yuan family. Therefore, he asked me to present these small gifts to express my gratitude."

"Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo not for personal enmity, but for the sake of the country. I don't deserve Lord Yuan's thanks." Lu Bu had served as a chief clerk in the past and knew a little about the way scholars talk among each other. He responded casually, his eyes still fixed on the boxes of gold, silver and jewelry.

Yan Xiang nodded and said, "General, you are a loyal minister of the country, but you did not expect that you would obey the orders of the treacherous minister Cao Cao and fight against Huainan. You have lost your duty as a loyal minister and are now in danger of losing your life."

"Well, why do you say that?" Lu Bu shifted his gaze from the gold, silver and jewelry and looked at Yan Xiang in confusion.

Yan Xiang said confidently, "Cao Cao welcomed the emperor and took charge of the government affairs. The emperor only signed the order. The orders you received from the court were issued by Cao Cao. I heard that Cao Cao had long wanted to kill you, but he didn't dare to threaten you because my master was still alive... Now Cao Cao pretended to be the emperor's order to turn our families against each other, and he planned to defeat us one by one. Now Cao Cao is planning to take Huainan. Once Huainan is taken, he will take the general. I am deeply worried for you."

"Hiss." Lu Bu frowned his heroic brows, revealing a look of deep thought. At this moment, he completely forgot about the gold, silver and jewelry in front of him. (End of this chapter)