Zhu Nao

The situation in Puzhou City was stalemate, and Tao Bei of Yedu naturally couldn't just sit and watch.How to deal with the dark horse army, he has thought of many ways.

He first reluctantly raised a sum of money and food to send to the Dark Horse Army, hoping to bribe the Dark Horse Army to retreat.But the money he raised was far from his own promise and Wei Bian's request, which only made Wei Bian more sure that he was a poor man with no money.So the Black Horse Army joked up and down, and returned the money and food to Tao Bei intact.

Soft ones won't work, so Tao Bei tried hard ones again.He asked Gao Hong to take the initiative to attack the Dark Horse Army.As he expected, as soon as the Jizhou army went out, the black horse army ran away immediately.Of course, it is impossible for the Jizhou army to pursue them for a long distance, and they will retreat after chasing for five miles.As soon as they retreated, the black horse army immediately ran back and continued to station at the border of Jizhou.It really can't be beaten to death, can't be shaken off, just like a piece of dog skin plaster.

After this back and forth, the army was still pinned down in the north and could not move.Coupled with the delay in passing the news on the road, in the blink of an eye, Puzhou City has been besieged by the Shu army for four months...

……

……

Shangguan Xian went to the bottom of the tower, where the soldiers were sitting and resting.Seeing him coming, the soldiers quickly stood up leaning on their knives.

"General." The soldiers saluted him.

Shangguan Xian looked at these soldiers.Naturally, the soldiers guarding the city shouldn't just sit and slack off, but now the Henan soldiers are all in shape, with deeply sunken cheeks, skin darkened by the sun, and chapped and white lips.If you ran into it at night, you might think it was a dark soldier coming out of some field.Under such circumstances, if they are not allowed to be lazy, it is really difficult for others.

Shangguan Xian secretly sighed in his heart, and asked, "Is there any change outside today?"

The soldiers shook their heads: "Go back to the general, no." The Shu army was still surrounded, and there was still no news of reinforcements.

Shangguan Xian stood silently for a moment, then walked up the tower.Soon, he walked to the highest point and looked at the Shu army camp outside the city.

At this point in the battle, the two sides are already comparing their wills.Whoever has more confidence in victory will be able to last longer.Even though the Shu army has a stronger treasury behind them, the consumption of the [-] army is by no means a small amount, and no matter how strong their financial resources are, they are not enough to make them squander at will.Therefore, as long as the Shu army feels that there is no hope of winning if they stick to it, they will naturally retreat.

Shangguanxian tried to see from the appearance of the barracks that the Shu army was exhausted and desperate, but what could he actually see from such a distance?Even if he really saw something, it was only his own far-fetched thinking.

After a while, he asked in a low voice, "How long have we been trapped?"

The soldiers around him were stunned for a moment, not sure whether he was talking to himself or really asking, and replied cautiously: "General, it's almost four months."

"It's been four months..."

After a while, Shangguan Xian turned around and walked down the tower, and his soldiers quickly followed.Shangguan Xian did not go to other places this time. He came to the granary again, found the quartermaster, and transferred the account of the grain and grass.

While Shangguan Xian was looking at the account book, the quartermasters stood aside trembling.They also know that the situation in the city is tense. Shangguanxian will check the accounts in person or by sending people almost every now and then, and will conduct random checks. Severe punishment.In three months, he had killed three or four quartermasters.At present, no matter how big an official is, he can't do it if he wants to get an extra bucket of rice.

But this time Shangguanxian read the accounts very quickly, and didn't embarrass the quartermaster too much."The last nineteen cows and forty-five pigs are still in the city?" he asked.

The quartermaster hurriedly said, "Yes, the cattle are raised by the river, and the pigs are in the pigsty. Will the general want to see it?"

Shangguan Xian shook his head and said: "You don't need to look at it. Divide these cows and pigs into five batches, and build a few shelves on the city tower starting tomorrow, butcher cows, pigs and roast meat every day. Catch a few more chickens and ducks and roast them together." .”

Everyone froze for a moment, suspecting that they had heard it wrong.The quartermaster asked incredulously, "What does the general mean...these cows and pigs will all be killed within five days?"

"That's right." Shangguan Xian nodded, "For five consecutive days, I can't stop for a day!"

The quartermaster was stunned.

You must know that although these dozens of cows and pigs are not too much for the entire army, there is not much meat left in each person's mouth, but this is what they have worked so hard to save.Even if the army was howling with hunger, Shangguan Xian never agreed to slaughter pigs or cattle, and would rather let the soldiers dig grass roots to eat.For this reason, the soldiers who knew about it complained secretly, saying that Shangguanxian valued these livestock more than people.

Originally, the quartermaster thought that these livestock were kept for life-saving purposes, but now Shangguan Xian suddenly ordered them all to be slaughtered? ?Is it possible that they have had enough to eat for five or six days, and the days to come will not last?Is Shangguan Xian planning to surrender to the enemy, or did he hear that reinforcements are coming?

— Actually neither.

Shangguanxian said: "Tomorrow we will barbecue in the city, and leave half of it for the soldiers to eat. The remaining half will send a few envoys out of the city to the Shu army, saying that the brothers of the Shu army have worked hard, and it is me, Shangguan Xian." comfort them."

Everyone was stunned again.After eating bark and grass roots for a month, he finally had the opportunity to eat meat, but he only left half for his soldiers to eat, and gave the remaining half to the enemy? !Is there such a reason in the world? !

Shangguan Xian's soldiers quickly understood, and hurriedly said: "The general means, let us paralyze the enemy army, so that the Shu people think that our city has plenty of food and grass, so we can last for a long time?"

Shangguan Xian nodded.

In four months, both the trapped Henan soldiers and the trapped Shu army were almost exhausted physically and mentally.Both sides have changed from firmness to wavering, so at this time, attacking the heart is the best policy.Giving meat to the enemy will make the enemy think that they are very rich, and the enemy will retreat if they can't afford it.

Although everyone was very reluctant, but the military order was like a mountain, no one dared to disobey Shangguanxian's order, so they had to go to prepare separately.

=====

The following afternoon.

The sun was shining brightly, Zhu Nao was reviewing official documents from Hanzhong in the tent, while Xie Wuji went out to inspect the military situation.After a while, the curtain was opened, and when Zhu Nao raised his head, it was Xie Wuji who had returned.

Zhu Nao asked casually, "What's going on today?"

Xie Wuji stepped forward, took out an oiled paper bag from his arms, and put it on the table in front of him.

Zhu Nao was slightly taken aback, and opened the oil-paper bag, only to see that there was a piece of beef shank inside, which was still warm in the palm of his hand.

"This is?"

"The city sent us a few roasted cows and pigs." Xie Wuji said, "It has been tested and it is not poisonous."

Junao understood immediately.He picked up the oiled paper bag and smelled it, then shook his head: "Oh, this meat is too thin, it doesn't taste good at all when it's roasted."

Xie Wuji: "..."

He couldn't laugh or cry.Do you really expect Shangguan Xian to bring them a delicious meal?

As for why Shangguanxian sent these meats?No need to ask, Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji already understood it.

In fact, this trick is very clever. If the Shu army does not know what is going on in Puzhou City, and sees the enemy sending meat to them, they will inevitably murmur in their hearts, thinking that not only is there no shortage of food and clothing in the city, but also enough to feed them. The meat is sent out.In this way, the Shu army can't help but calculate whether there is any chance of winning if they continue to siege, or whether the price paid is not worth it.

In fact, even when the Shu army was well aware of the situation in the city, the meat sent by Shangguan Xian surprised the Shu army, wondering if the Duzhi officials had miscalculated the situation in the city.After all, according to their calculations, isn't the city almost running out of water at this time?Of course, after Xie Wuji noticed that the soldiers had such confusion and doubts, he immediately asked people to stabilize the morale of the soldiers, lest the soldiers' morale would be destroyed because of a few cows and pigs.

I just feel sorry for Shangguan Xian, who thought that the enemy knew nothing about their situation, and planned to tighten his trousers in the next few days to send meat to the enemy!

Xie Wuji said: "Shall we also get some cattle and sheep to roast under the tower every day?"

"Okay." Junao readily agreed.

An eye for an eye, although this trick is simple, it must be effective.It has been four months now, and it is not far from running out of food in the city. Even if there is any leftover, it must have been saved by saving food and clothing.Like those livestock, maybe the last few in the city.

If the hungry soldiers in the city could smell the aroma of barbecue outside the city every day, wouldn't they be unshakable unless their bodies were made of iron?

After making up his mind, Zhu Nao recruited the corresponding officials to make arrangements.

……

……

Five days later.

Shangguan Xian went to the bottom of the city tower, and found that the soldiers standing guard under the city tower were gathering in twos and threes to talk in a low voice, and some people were actually looking out through the cracks of the city gate.

Seeing this, he scolded: "What are you doing?"

Those soldiers were startled when they heard Shangguan Xian's voice, and hurriedly stood back to their original positions - in recent days, they have been a little dirty, and their spirits are much better than before.

The soldiers replied with a guilty conscience: "General Qi, the enemy army is also grilling meat outside the city gate."

They originally discovered this situation and sent someone to report to Shangguan Xian, but they didn't expect that Shangguan Xian came by himself before the person who reported it arrived.

Shangguan Xian was slightly taken aback when he heard the words.He did smell some spicy scent. He thought it was left over from the city tower, but it came from outside the city?

Without saying a word, he immediately boarded the tower and looked out.

They could see smoke rising from the camp of the Shu army in the distance, apparently cooking, and they could even see a lot of skeletons of cattle and sheep that had just been slaughtered in a large open space, and the bones were as high as a hill.Just below their city tower, there are still many Shu soldiers pushing a cart of roasted meat, cakes, and food, wandering outside the range.

"Food is on sale! Don't miss it when you pass by!" the soldiers of the Shu army shouted loudly.

Zhu Nao was not as "generous" as Shangguan Xian, he didn't intend to send food to the enemy soldiers in the city, he let people sell them.

"Take a look, take a look! Fresh marinated yellow beef, top-quality sangluo wine, as well as lamb with scallions, meat pancakes, walnut buns and vegetable tofu! One knife for ten taels of meat, one barrel of arrows for A jug of wine! It’s cheap, it’s cheap, let’s all come and see it!”

Shangguan Xian's face darkened instantly when he heard what the peddler was shouting.

The soldiers of the Shu army hawking also waved their hands at the top of the tower: "Brothers above, come down and have a look!"

With a sound of "pa", Shangguan Xian slapped hard on the parapet wall.

He wanted to order the soldiers to go out of the city immediately to drive away the Shu army and snatch the things of the Shu army, but the Shu army was obviously wary and only moved outside the range of the tower, and there were many bows near the soldiers selling food. pawns and spearmen for protection against enemy attacks.

I don't know if the Shu army found out that a big man came up from the city tower, and there was another item in the price they shouted.

"It's selling food! It doesn't matter if you don't have money or a knife, you can exchange your head! A soldier's head can be exchanged for a leg of lamb, and a school lieutenant's head can be exchanged for a whole cow! See, one hundred cattle and sheep are all yours!"

When the people on the city wall heard it, they were suddenly suffocated and looked terrified.

Immediately, one of his followers scolded angrily: "Shameless Shu thieves, how dare you use such despicable means to sow discord! General, I am willing to lead two hundred elite soldiers to fight and drive out the Shu thieves!"

Shangguan Xian didn't say much, just nodded.Ren Shujun's shouting outside the city too much affected his morale, and he must be expelled immediately.

The entourage immediately went down to the city tower to order troops.

Standing by the city wall, Shangguanxian looked at the Shu army camp with smoke curling up from the kitchen, his heart was filled with confusion.Didn't his means work?Did the Shu army really disapprove, or did they try their best to support it like him?

How long can he last...