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 guard Cao Wei in the Dongping area.

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.

There were stone carts being pushed to the city walls, and it was hard to tell who was attacking and who was defending.

When it comes to stone-shooting chariots, the top one is Wei's Thunderbolt 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 launched, it will make a loud sound like thunder, so it was favored by Cao Cao.

Named Pili Chai.

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 equipment of the Chu army. Therefore, Ji Shu specially brought the skilled craftsmen of Tiangongyuan to make the stone car on site for this expedition.

For a long time, short range, low power, poor durability, easy damage, and slow movement have been the main reasons for the unpopularity of stone-fired vehicles. Such problems are also common in the stone-fired vehicles produced by the Chu Army in the early stage, and many experimental products are still unpopular.

It was destroyed by Xiaopei's Han army before it 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 is not in a hurry at all. Usually, Yueying provides the main idea, and 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.

You must know that the craftsmen who can be selected into Tiangongyuan 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, approach Xiaopei to launch an attack. After they were damaged, they would immediately withdraw; at noon, the craftsmen would gather together to discuss

, they argued in the military camp until they were red-faced, 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, Xiaopei City 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.

Xu Shu sighed softly in his heart, and his 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 asking the soldiers to 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 once thought that Xu Shu would say something astonishing.

"Why is that? 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 a saying that goes, 'If Jiangdong is ripe, the world will be full'?"

The land in Jiangdong is fertile, the climate is suitable, and the water is sufficient. 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 also used guilds and chambers of commerce.

The resources of the aristocratic family were invested in handicrafts and commerce, which greatly promoted the development of commerce and made Chu's goods and grain widely sold all over the world. Even Qin and Wei privately exchanged war horses for grain.

Seeing Guan Yu nod, Xu Shu continued.

"Ji Shu now relies on sufficient food and grass 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 wealthy 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.

I saw 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 has become so large that I have to order relief for the people. In the future, the number of people will be even greater. 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 he could recruit refugees to defend the city at the critical moment, and he was confident that he could use this city wall to kill Sun Ce's main force here. However, now he found that Ji Shu was parked outside and doing nothing.

If he does, he will be killed 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 rush into the city.

Abandon Xiaopei and lead the army to retreat to Xiapi?

No! Even if the west gate is empty, there must be an elite group of Chu troops waiting for them in the west. After that, the main force of the Chu army will chase them. And once Xiaopei is abandoned, the hinterland of Xuzhou will be undefeated.

Huaiyin, Lang

Xie, Guangling, and Dongwu will be completely exposed to the Chu army's front. And by giving up Xiaopei, Sun Ce's main force can move eastward to join Zhou Yu's troops, which will disrupt Liu Bei's resistance to Xiaopei and eliminate Zhou Yu.

, Bingzhi Jiangdong’s plan.

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 cannot 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 punched the city wall hard, as if trying to make a hole, Guan Yu said angrily.

"It's all Zhuge Liang's fault. If we had cooperated with Sun Ce to carve up Cao Wei, we could have easily captured Yanzhou and Qingzhou. Why would there be so many things happening 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 ago, 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 be mentioned in front of others. In the face of a powerful enemy, disharmony between generals and generals is a taboo in the country."

Before Guan Yu could finish speaking, Xu Shu interrupted.

"??????? I understand, let's not talk about these things. Military advisor, do you think there is any improvement in the situation of our war here?"

"have."

"have?!"

Guan Yu was overjoyed and just 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 are confusing 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 during 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, Wei and Xu Han are in the same league."

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. The Wei army 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?"
Chapter completed!