Liaoxi County, Guanzi City.

This is a small and remote county at the confluence of Lushui (Luanhe) and its tributary Xuanshui, twenty miles to the north is the Great Wall.

Lu Shui and Xuanshui flowed out of the winding mountains of the Great Wall, leaving some passes that were relatively easy to break through - to aside, Cao Cao's counterattack against Wuhuan Wanton twenty years later in history was also the path taken. It's just that this road has been completely abandoned at that time, and it is the famous "Lulongse".

Tian Chou, a future celebrity who is only 19 years old and is still a lowest-level clerk under Liu Yu, later presented this route to Cao Cao and refused to be rewarded, leaving an idiom allusion of "not selling Lu Long" in history.

Who would have thought that twenty years before Cao Cao's counter-killing of Badun, Badun's uncle Qiu Liju took this road in reverse to break through the Great Wall and sneak attack to surround Gongsun Zhan, the chief historian of Liaodong.

Gongsun Zhan is seven or eight years older than Liu Bei, and he is already thirty-five this year, and he is a majestic middle-aged man with a handsome beard.

He stood on the tower of Guanzi City, inspecting the enemy back and forth, his eyes were cold and unwilling, his teeth were always clenched, and his expression was a little hideous, as if he had infinite resentment and unwillingness.

"Tao Qian, this waste! Liu Yu is also a waste! He Jin is a waste of waste! A bunch of fools who don't know how to soldier! Mistaken for me! If the imperial court had allowed me to set up a banquet to trap Qiu Liju a month ago, how could there be so much today!

No one knows these dogs better than I do! Those stupid pigs in Luoyang City who haven't seen blood know what a fart! How could these people be obediently transferred out of their homeland and transferred to Liangzhou? If you are afraid of spreading indiscriminately, you should kill them all in advance! Kill the whole tribe! ”

Gongsun Chan looked at the rebels gathering more and more under the city, gritted his teeth and scolded those guys in the court who didn't know how to command blindly.

He is like a firefighting captain who was transferred around the northern border by the Han Dynasty, and as the mountain fires become more and more fierce and there are more and more anti-thieves, he is already a little nervous.

So much so that when they saw a new fire breaking out somewhere, they were eager to cut down all the innocent forests in the surrounding counties that were of the same species as the burning woods to form a barrier to prevent the fire from spreading.

And in fact, thieves are always more hidden than fire. The fire is in the light, and you can't see the rebellious thoughts in people's hearts, there is an incubation period.

Dealing with an enemy with a long incubation period, after dealing with it for a long time, you will become suspicious and become tyrannical and murderous.

"Qiu Liju has set up a new battalion, and it seems that at least another tribe of five thousand people has arrived. Damn, how could they besiege the city for a long time when they gathered such a population? Won't they run out of rations? ”

Looking at the newly erected camp at the north gate outside the city, Gongsun Chan knew that it was impossible to break through the siege by armed force, and cursed again and again in his heart. The enemy's numbers are rapidly engulfing and swelling, and the disparity in strength is too great to rely on the fortified city to compete for whose military rations will be eaten first.

Directly south of Guanzi City is the confluence of Lushui and Xuanshui, and most of the east and west sides are protected by these two rivers.

Therefore, it is still easy to defend the city, as long as the enemy is prevented from rushing down from the slopes of Yanshan Mountain outside the north gate to attack the city.

The Hu people can't build ladders and catapults, not even rushing cars. At most, simple ladders and makeshift tree chops are used to allow soldiers to carry battering rams that hit the door.

After being depressed, Gongsun Chan called his staff member Guan Jing and asked: "There are still soldiers and horses and population in the city, have you counted them clearly?" How much food is left? Is there a unified distribution of food rations for the people in the city? ”

Since there is to be a war of attrition, food is the most critical indicator.

Guan Jing was also in charge of the book, and he was quite familiar with the situation, so he replied sincerely: "Our department has 5,000 men and horses, and on the way to break through to this, the loss is only three or four hundred, and now there are still 4,600 people, and the remaining two thousand seven hundred horses.

There are more than 3,000 households and 17,800 people in the city, and the actual number should be no less than 15,000. The grain stored in the city can only last until September after the autumn harvest at most, when we have not yet entered the city. Now there are nearly 5,000 more people, and even if the horses do not consume forage, they will last until August at most.

In my opinion, there are more and more enemy troops outside the city, and it is no longer possible to fight, so it is better to ...... decisively kill horses and eat meat, and it will last for a while. ”

Killing horses provides more than just meat for horses, it also allows for an immediate reduction in the number of horses that need to be fed. Therefore, when the siege is destined to last and the food is insufficient, it is very wise to decisively kill some of the horses at the first time.

Gongsun Zhan has 5,000 soldiers and horses, and there are 3,000 cavalry, which is the strongest cavalry in Youzhou's official army. The future White Horse Yicong also developed from this army.

Gongsun Chan was very affectionate towards this cavalry, and of course he refused to listen: "You must not kill horses!" The horses of my righteous servants are all high-quality horses! Since the Yellow Turban, he has been fighting for three or four years and traversing Youzhou to get this force. ”

Guan Jing: "What about the grain and grass?" ”

Gongsun Chan thought about it and gritted his teeth: "Take all the people's rations!" Centralize the administration, drive these people out of the city, and let them fend for themselves. If they can consume some of the enemy's food and grass, it would be better -

Qiu Liju is here, the time to make trouble is too despicable, there will be an autumn harvest in one and a half months, and the harvest of the people in western Liaoning for a year, I am afraid that most of it will fall into his hands!

When these people go out of the city, they can eat some of the food they have grown, which can be regarded as a loss of strength and a reduction in the number of enemies. I don't think Qiu Liju will be so brutal as to directly slaughter the ordinary people who abandoned the city and surrendered. ”

It has to be said that the time before the end of the summer harvest and the autumn harvest has always been a golden time to start the army, which can often ensure the supply of military rations for the first year.

Guan Jing thought about it, and also felt that it would not be dangerous for the lives of the people to be released, so he began to prepare according to Gongsun Zhan's order.

The two lieutenant generals under Gongsun Zhan's account, Shan Jing and Fan Fang, each took a thousand cavalry to drive away the people in the city.

Although he couldn't kill people, because he wanted to take the rations and drive them out of the city, he was also complaining for a while, crying and screaming.

Gongsun Zhan called out another warrior under his command, named Wen Ze, and commanded in a low voice: "When the people go out of the city with the flag in a while, you will take a dozen horsemen and henchmen, and you must choose fast horse warriors, take advantage of the chaos to break through, go to Jixian County to report the emergency, please make sure that you are in three months...... No, you just tell him for two months!

It's going to come to our rescue in two months! Otherwise, I will have to dismiss the soldiers and horses, whether these dismissed soldiers and horses will be the enemy, let the envoy weigh and see by himself! ”

Wen Ze is a number of warriors under Gongsun Zhan, and ten years later in history, when Gongsun Chan was besieged by Yuan Shao in Yijing Tower, it was also Wen Ze who broke through the siege to find the Black Mountain thief Zhang Yan to ask for reinforcements.

Now Wen Ze is only in his early 20s, and he is in the prime of life, and he is happy to accept his order at the moment.

He chose more than a dozen righteous servants, all of whom chose the fastest white horse, and everyone feasted on the mutton, which is now very precious in the city, and made three bowls of wine, and then followed the people who were driven out of the city to break through.

The people of Qiu Liju did not know why at first, and the people disturbed the camp. When Wen Ze broke through, it was too late to organize a large army to besiege him, and only more than 100 cavalry in the vicinity chased after him.

Wen Ze and others fought to the death, killing dozens of Wuhuan soldiers, and only five of the twelve white horse elites were left alive to successfully break through.

……

Guanzicheng is in the west of Liaoxi County, so after leaving the city, it is not far west to enter Youbeiping County.

In addition, there are five people left in the white horse Yi who broke through, but there are twelve horses, which can be transferred. The messenger hurried through Beiping County and Yuyang County, and arrived in Jixian County, Zhouzhi County, within one day, and handed over Gongsun Zhan's request for help to Liu Yu's account.

All of this happened when Li Su, Guan Yu and others had just returned to Youzhou, and there was a difference of less than a day.

So much so that early the next morning, Liu Bei and the others originally wanted to go back to Liangxiang County, Zhuo County, and continue to carry out daily defense work, but they were stopped by Liu Yu and told them not to rush back, and to discuss other important matters.

Li Su was originally a civilian and didn't know how to soldier, but after Liu Yu gave him tasks several times, he also felt that he had a good strategic vision of the overall situation, so he asked Li Su to meet with him.

Of course, in terms of the overall strategic situation, Zou Jing, Wu Qiuyi and others, who are high and powerful in the military aspect, are the mainstay, and even Liu Bei is still underqualified, and only has the right to make suggestions.

After Liu Yu ascended the account, he took a letter and introduced it with a grim face: "Gongsun Zhan was besieged in Guanzi City, and he received the latest military information late yesterday night, saying that there are 100,000 thieves gathered in Liaoxi!" And the grain and grass in the city, according to Gongsun Zhan himself, will last until the end of August at most. And now it's late June.

Gongsun Zhan actually dared to threaten the imperial court, saying that if the siege of Guanzi City was not lifted after seventy days, his cavalry might be dispersed, and if it was won over by the rebels, it would be tantamount to being a thief! ”

"Ten...... 100,000! That's impossible! Zhang Chun rebelled in Shanggu for several months, but he only gathered 30,000 or 40,000 people, and the remaining battle losses were definitely less than 30,000 for months. Zhang Ju is in Liaoxi and Youbeiping, how can he gather 100,000 people in 20 days! Gongsun Chan is trying to cover up his incompetence and exaggerate the thief's feelings! "Captain Zou Jing is the oldest, and he is the first to think it's impossible.

If it is really 100,000 people, how can it be saved? In the surrounding counties of Jixian County, the total number of troops in the peacetime was only about 10,000, and recently the Danyang soldiers and southern soldiers were recruited again and again, and a large mouthful of blood came back, but it only expanded to 20,000.

Counting the seventy-seven-eighty-eight village braves, they can't defeat 100,000 rebels.

After Zou Jing spoke, the others didn't dare to refute the enemy's judgment, and in the end, Liu Bei, who knew the situation, reminded him euphemistically:

"Captain Zou, it's not impossible, Zhang Chun's Shanggu and other places are north of Yanshan, with grasslands and populations. On Zhang Ju's side, the key is that they will raise troops after breaking through the Great Wall, so that they can coerce a large number of peasants in the pass.

If there are Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes in various counties in eastern Liaodong who heard that the Great Wall had broken through here and that there were goods to rob, they frantically poured in, there might be 100,000 people. ”

Zhang Chun had few people before, because Zhang Chun was always blocked out of Yanshan. There is a huge difference in population density between grassland and agricultural areas. A county in the grassland area is surrounded by thousands of herdsmen, and when it comes to the agricultural area, it may be tens of thousands of farmers.

Zou Jing calmed down for a moment, and felt that Liu Bei's estimate was also possible: "If this is the case, then what else can be saved?" Let Gongsun Chan kill the horse by himself and consume food with the rebels. ”

Li Su, who had never spoken, was a little unwilling, and he cautiously proposed to Liu Yu: "Envoy, the enemy army is too strong to be defeated." But we should not sit on the grain and grass in vain, we must do something to make the enemy army lack food and grass and cannot be besieged for a long time. ”

Liu Yu didn't expect him to come up with any tricks, and asked casually, "Do you have any suggestions?" ”

Li Su: "Yesterday, I heard that Qiu Liju asked Zhang Ju to divide thousands of cavalry to Bohai County and other places to loot and fund the main army of the rebels. At the time, I didn't believe it, but now it seems that if the main force of the rebels really has 100,000 people, relying on the local autumn harvest in Liaoxi County this year alone will definitely not be enough to support it.

Youzhou is a bitter cold land, even if you grow grain, the harvest is generally not much, and it is mainly sorghum and millet. Jizhou is a fertile field, a random county, with an annual output of one million wheat. In particular, Bohai County has the largest population and the most extensive land, with 700,000 households, 3 to 4 million people, and an annual grain output of 7 million hu.

Therefore, if you want to fight the rebels, you must clear the wilderness and cut off their way back. It is absolutely impossible to allow the detached divisions that have plundered in the south to bring a large amount of supplies back to the main battalions in Youbeiping and Liaoxi. ”

Liu Yu thought about it and didn't express his opinion, but gave Zou Jing a look and asked Zou Jing to ask.

Zou Jing hurriedly confirmed: "But the people who plundered the south were all enemy elite soldiers, each of whom had war horses, and even one of them had several horses. How can our infantry catch up with and surround such a force? ”

Li Su: "But if they want to return north, they always have to cross the water." A few days ago, we only had river boats and fishing boats, which could not shield the arrows, but we could not stop a large number of elite cavalry from wading through the shallow water. But now, we have a white river and sea dual-purpose ship from the Xuzhou wealthy businessman's family, with a sturdy cabin and strict shelter. ”

Zou Jing: "But the boat is far less fast than the horse, the enemy galloped around on the shore, but fled in half an hour, we can't divide our troops along the river to defend everywhere." ”