Zhu Nao

Shangguan Xian walked slowly in the barracks.The camp was very quiet, and he could occasionally hear groans coming from some directions, but those groans were all weak, and if he didn't prick up his ears to listen carefully, he would have thought it was the whimpering of the wind.

This is the camp where the Henan Military Specialists place the sick and wounded, and the camp is already overcrowded.Some of them were the wounded who were recently tricked out of the city by the Shu army, and the rest were more sick. Due to the long-term lack of food in the city, new soldiers fell ill almost every day due to hunger and weakness.Now less than half of the soldiers in the whole army still have the strength to fight.

"General Shangguan is here to see you." The military doctor reminded the wounded and sick, trying to give them some encouragement.

However, most of the wounded and sick just looked at Shangguan Xian listlessly, and then continued to lie lifeless—not to mention saluting, they were so hungry that they didn't even have the strength to move.

Shangguan Xian had a panoramic view of a numb face, the expression on his face remained unchanged, but his hands hidden in his sleeves were tightly clenched into fists.

After walking for a while, Shangguan Xian asked the military doctor in a low voice: "Is there any medicine missing here?"

The military doctor smiled wryly and said, "General Shangguan might as well ask, is there any medicine that is not lacking?"

Shangguan Xian was silent.There were several medicine shops in the city, but when the war first started, they confiscated all the medicines in the city because they thought the medicines were precious.It's a pity that the situation is worse than they imagined. In the face of the wounded and sick who are constantly falling down, the medicinal materials are simply not enough.People kept coming in this wounded barracks every day, but very few people went out.

After walking a few more steps, Shangguanxian saw that there were several large pots cooking in front of him, and the white water vapor curled upwards, like several white dragons reaching the sky.

The food and grass were gone long ago, Shangguanxian stepped forward and asked, "What are you cooking?"

The soldier in charge of cooking lifted the lid of the pot, and the white mist dissipated, only to see a pile of pebbles on the bottom of the pot.

Shangguan Xian didn't understand.What are you cooking these stones for?

The soldier secretly glanced at Shangguan Xian with complicated eyes, and immediately lowered his head and said: "General, a few wounded soldiers said that they wanted to eat fish a few days ago. These stones were fished out of the river. After cooking for a long time, the soup will be rotten." It has a fishy smell...it can satisfy everyone's hunger."

Shangguan Xian was startled.There was indeed a fishy smell in the air, but it was hard to say whether it was fishy or something else.

He was silent for a while, patted the soldier on the shoulder, and continued to walk forward.

Not far away, footsteps came from behind, and it was a soldier running over.

The soldier caught up with Shangguan Xian and whispered the report, "General, the envoys from the Shu Army have arrived and are waiting outside the south gate..."

Shangguan Xian frowned fiercely.

He knew what the Shu army's envoys were doing without asking.Ever since Zhu Nao and Xie Wuji came up with the treacherous plan to keep cheating reinforcements, the number of wounded in the city has increased sharply, morale has plummeted, and the whole army is on the verge of collapse.In the past few days, the Shu army went to the tower every day to shout, urging the soldiers guarding the city to put down their weapons, open the city gate and surrender.Now another envoy is sent, and it is the head who persuaded him to surrender!

Shangguan Xian's heart was like a rock, he gritted his teeth and said: "Let that envoy come in, cut off his head, and hang him on the tower for the people of Shu to see!"

The soldier was slightly taken aback.As the saying goes, when two countries are at war, they should not be beheaded.But Shangguanxian ordered the future envoy to behead without hesitation, which shows his firm attitude - fight to the end and never surrender!

The soldier wanted to say something, but under Shangguan Xian's cold gaze, he could only swallow the words back, and said in a low voice: "Yes, General!"

The soldiers ran to deliver the order, and Shangguan Xian was about to move on, when he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere around him was not quite right—the eyes of several wounded and sick people were focused on him, and some people struggled to get together to whisper.Obviously, they heard some of the conversation just now.

Shangguan Xian frowned, and continued to walk forward coldly. After walking a few steps, someone behind him called him tremblingly: "Shang, General Shangguan..."

Shangguan Xian turned his head.It was a wounded soldier who called him. A few days ago when he went out of the city to grab food, he was cut in the leg. Because there was no medicine, his wound had already festered and was exposed to the air, making him look extremely terrifying.

The wounded soldier was swept away by Shangguan Xian's majestic gaze, and couldn't help shrinking back.But he still trembled and said, "General Tao will really, really send reinforcements to save us?"

Now, all the lying, sitting, and standing people looked at Shang Guanxian in unison.

Shangguan Xian's face remained unchanged: "Of course. The reinforcements have already set off. In ten days and a half months at most, the reinforcements will definitely arrive! And now the Henan government is trying to find ways to send us food and grass, but it's too difficult for the Shu army outside. They are still in Find a way, and food and grass will be delivered to the city soon!"

He spoke with confidence and seriousness, as if he knew the situation outside well.But the expressions on the faces of the wounded soldiers were still skeptical.

It has been more than four months.From the first month, Shangguan Xian said that Ye Metropolis would send reinforcements.The second month, the third month, the fourth month... the reinforcements in his mouth always encountered all kinds of troubles, but it didn't matter, they were on their way, and they would arrive soon!Shangguan Xian's tone became firmer each time, only in this way can he continue to stabilize people's hearts.But the soldiers became more and more suspicious.

"General Shangguan, how do you know the news of the reinforcements?" The wounded soldier asked again, "The Shu army has completely surrounded Puzhou. Where did the news of Yedu come from?"

Shangguan Xian didn't expect him to dare to ask such a question, and his tone suddenly became a little harsher: "Could it be that the messenger is here, and I still want to inform you?!"

The wounded soldier trembled even more, but he didn't know where the courage came from, so he stood up with difficulty while supporting the wooden stake next to him.He questioned Shangguan Xian: "If a messenger really came, then General Shangguan will show you the letter! Where is the reinforcements? How long will we have to endure? Why month after month, month after month?!"

"Bold!" Before Shangguan Xian could speak, the soldiers beside him rushed up, drew their swords and pointed at the wounded soldier, "How dare you speak to General Shangguan like this! Do you still have military laws and regulations in your eyes!"

Nervousness, fear, pain, and despair pushed the wounded soldier to the gate of his emotions. Instead of shrinking from the knife, he completely collapsed.

"There are no reinforcements at all, right! The Shu army has [-] troops, and the general doesn't want to fight them at all. The general has already given up on us!!"

The people nearby who could still move all came up to pull him, trying to calm him down, but the wounded soldier struggled and shouted tearfully: "I am a soldier so that I don't have to be hungry anymore! I don't want to eat bark, I don't want to eat stones." Ah! If I want to starve to death like this, I would rather surrender to the Shu army...surrender..."

Before he finished speaking, a sharp knife stabbed into his heart!His eyes widened in disbelief, his expression contorted and struggling.He wanted to say something more, but when he opened his mouth, blood gushed up.

Not long after, he twitched and fell down.

It was none other than Shangguan Xian who stabbed this knife.He watched the wounded soldier fall indifferently, then turned his head and gave his own soldier a stern look.The soldier who had been hesitating and not making a move lowered his head in shame.

Shangguan Xian wiped off the blood on the knife, and said coldly: "Shake the morale of the army, damn it!"

He looked around, and the expressions of those wounded and sick finally came alive, but their eyes made people dare not look at them too much.Shangguan Xian gritted his teeth and said in a loud voice: "The reinforcements have entered the Henan Province. In half a month at most, the siege of Puzhou City will be relieved! Everyone cheers me up, this battle is won, everyone Everyone has merit, and everyone has a reward!"

The surrounding area was terribly quiet, and no one dared to say anything more.

Shangguan Xian came to inspect the wounded soldiers today, he wanted to boost the morale of the wounded and sick.After doing this, he couldn't stay any longer, and turned around and strode away from the camp.

After leaving the camp, Shangguan Xian slowed down when there was no one around, and asked the soldiers beside him, "Why didn't you do it just now?"

If it wasn't for the fact that the personal soldiers didn't take action for a long time, the wounded soldier wouldn't have had the chance to say so much nonsense.

The soldier hesitated to speak, but his eyes turned red after a while.He asked in a low voice: "General, why didn't the general send reinforcements to rescue us?"

The soldiers are Shangguan Xian's confidantes, and they follow Shangguan Xian all day long, so they naturally know that there is no messenger from Yedu, and there is no news of any reinforcements.They have been fighting alone, and the day of relief is nowhere in sight.The reason why Shangguan Xian said that was just to appease people's hearts.He was lying for month after month.

"Could it be that the safety of Jizhou is important, and we are not important? The general has followed the general for so many years, how can the general have the heart to abandon the general?!" The soldier asked with tears.

Shangguan Xian didn't expect that even his own soldiers would say such words, and suddenly he was furious: "The general has plans in the world, how can you doubt it?!"

The soldier bowed his head and remained silent.

Shangguan Xian only felt a ball of energy bumping in his body, making his limbs numb.He turned around and stared at the soldier.Under his deterrence, the soldiers couldn't help retreating in small steps.

Shangguan Xian warned coldly: "Take care of your own mouth. I will not forgive anyone who dares to violate the military order!" After saying that, he shook his sleeves and left viciously.

Puzhou City is now like a dead city, Shangguanxian is walking on the street, there is no living person walking on the street, occasionally one or two people lying on the side of the road are thin and skeleton-like, exuding a faint smell Qi, I don't know life or death.Shangguanxian turned a blind eye to all this.

If a battle can be fought decently, he is determined not to disturb the people.But the battle has become like this, how can it be decent?As early as the beginning of the siege, he confiscated the whole city's grain, and distributed it to the common people and soldiers according to the same share. Later, in order to ensure the strength of the army, he could only ignore the life and death of the common people, and followed the army first.

He knew that after this battle, even if he managed to hold the river, his reputation and prestige would be greatly damaged.But he didn't care about it all.

Having followed Tao Bei through life and death for so many years, he has already made up his mind that he must win the world for Tao Bei.He can betray anyone, but he will never betray Tao Bei!

Shangguan Xian gritted his teeth, put aside all distracting thoughts, and strode towards the barracks.

=====

outside the city.

After Zhu Nao finished approving the official documents sent from Hanzhong, he got up and went outside the tent to blow the air, but he saw Xie Wuji striding in from outside the camp with a dignified expression.

Xie Wuji walked up to Zhu Nao, sighed softly: "The envoy you sent was killed by Shangguan Xian."

Zhu Nao was slightly taken aback, but quickly calmed down.

"Then continue to send people to shout outside the city, every city gate, shouting from morning to night. Tell them that anyone who surrenders in Kaesong will be treated kindly; whoever takes the head of a Shangguan sage will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, and the official jumps three levels !” Zhu Nao said, “Return the captured spies and let them find a way to drive a wedge between the forces in the army.”

When they first besieged the city, the Henan army was united and it was difficult to separate them.But after being trapped for so long, the situation in the city has also changed.

Divorce is not easy to implement, mainly because it is extremely difficult for the Shu army to get in touch with the city.Their manpower could not be placed in Puzhou City at all, and the only chance for them to do so was when the Henan Army would send out some spies or messengers every now and then to inquire about outside news or try to deliver letters.If the Shu army can catch these people and use all kinds of intimidation and lure, they will have the opportunity to instigate these people.After these people returned to the city, they had to undergo strict interrogation. If they were lucky enough to pass, they might be used by them.

As for whether it will be successful, it can only be said after trying.

Xie Wuji heard that he offered a huge bounty for Shangguan Xian's head, and couldn't help saying: "I thought you wanted to surrender Shangguan Xian."

Shangguanxian is a mighty general, even Xie Wuji admitted that if this person can be used by the Shu army, he will be able to achieve great things in the future.

"Of course I want to." Junao smiled helplessly, then suppressed his smile, "But I want to end the war as soon as possible."

Xie Wuji pursed his lips.After a while, he whispered: "Okay. I will take care of this matter."

=====

Suburbs.

On the temporary school field, the soldiers were pushing heavy carts and sprinting at high speed.They were sweating profusely, but they dared not stop, because the officer never gave an order.

On the sidelines of the school, Meng Huan looked at the soldiers in training with an ugly expression.

In the past few days, he successfully led people to break through the encirclement of the Shu army twice, but in the end no food and grass could be transported into Puzhou City.The soldiers guarding the isolated city were already at war. Now as soon as someone entered the range of the tower, they would immediately shoot arrows. The enemy did not dare to approach, and even the reinforcements could not approach at all.

The mission failed, and the loss of food and grass was the second.Although Tao Bei couldn't mobilize the army, he did his best to support the food and grass.But what made Meng Huan feel distressed the most was that every time the mission failed, the manpower he carefully selected and trained hard was also lost.The rest of the soldiers are taller than the dwarfs, and the soldiers have lost confidence, are passive and sabotage, and the chances of success are getting smaller and smaller.

Meng Huan didn't know how to send grain and grass into the city.He couldn't think of a better way, so he could only bite the bullet and continue to slam into it.

I just hope that Shangguan Xian can persist for a while longer, until he successfully breaks through the south wall...

Some soldiers on the school field couldn't hold on anymore and fell to the ground with a thud.Meng Huan didn't stop, but scolded: "Get up and continue running!"

The soldiers wanted to complain but didn't dare, so they could only bite the bullet and get up and continue.

At this moment, a spy rushed towards Meng Huan quickly: "Lieutenant Meng!"

Meng Huan turned his head to see the person coming, but still did not order a pause, but walked aside with the spies.

"What new news did you find out?" Meng Huan asked.He still stared at the school field, so as not to let the soldiers be lazy and not train properly when they were away from his surveillance.So he didn't notice how ugly the spy's face was.

"Puzhou City...someone in the city rebelled and opened the city gate. Now the Shu army has entered the city..."

Meng Huan suddenly retracted his gaze, his pupils vibrated: "What did you say?!"

Has Puzhou City fallen? !