Dead corpses, rotting corpses.

Thinking of this, Xu Shu hurriedly said to Li Yan: "Zhengfang, immediately send an order, from now on, all the people in the city, whether they are soldiers or ordinary people, are not allowed to drink raw water, eat raw food, store food and weapons at a high place, and concentrate plant ash to prevent moisture." ”

"Yes."

Xu Shu breathed a sigh of relief, looking worriedly at the river where the water level was rising little by little, and the stench faintly emitted from the depths of the flood approached from the northwest, affecting the uneasiness in Xu Shu's heart.

In this era, people did not know the cause of the plague, and Xu Shu was one level higher than the superstitious Aguda, and only knew that dead corpses were easy to cause diseases, and drinking boiled water was a common practice to prevent diseases.

At the same time, Xu Shu was also worried that the Sichuan army wanted to return the favor to the other way, when Xu Shu took advantage of the continuous rain to corrode the armor and arrows of the Sichuan army, and attacked, but the result was defeated, and now Xu Shu is also worried that the Sichuan army is also going to use the flood carrying the rotting corpses to corrode the grain, grass, armor and weapons of the Jingzhou army.

However, due to the special structure of Gu Xiangyang, a threat greater than the plague slowly approached Xu Shu.

The smell of fish permeated the heavens and the earth, and when the river water, mixed with thick dirty blood and rotting corpses, rolled up all kinds of micro-bacteria like mud towards the ancient Xiangyang City, the soldiers standing guard covered their mouths and noses, the people covered their doors and windows, and the pedestrians on the streets fled one after another.

In an instant, the stench that made people unable to breathe covered the entire ancient Xiangyang City, and the churning river water was like a pot of thick bone broth, and some people covered their mouths and noses to look out, and saw those severed limbs and rotten heads that floated and sank, rolling in the waves, filling the entire river.

The irresistible visual impact and the smell of corpses that were close at hand and penetrated into the body, the people were dizzy, vomited, and fainted.

The soldiers standing guard could no longer hold on, and fled behind the wall, but the stench was everywhere, and the thought of the scene in the river, even if it was only a glance, the sight of those eyes and noses being washed into the waves, made these soldiers who killed the enemy at the head of the city could not help but feel weak.

The flood control measures of ancient Xiangyang are very good, almost every household has a flood storage tank and an aqueduct, and together with each other, all of them flow into the inland river, and now the inland river water is surging, pouring into the reservoir, and the rotten corpse water spreads along the aqueduct, going to every corner of ancient Xiangyang, surrounding the entire city.

With the diversion of the reservoir, the rise of the inland river slowed down, the river impulse slowly weakened, and after two hours, the flow rate of the river was close to normal.

The "bone broth" flowed slowly, mixing with a large number of dead animal corpses, the flow rate became even slower, accumulating in the inner city, rotting, soaking tens of thousands of corpses for dozens of days, the smell of being masked by the waves completely emanated, and the stench of rancid filled the entire inner city......

Such an aura is suffocating, and its greatest lethality lies in the fact that people know what it is, and both the people and the soldiers are filled with fear.

The rancid smell is pervasive, unavoidable, and the lethality is far beyond people's imagination, almost within an hour of the slowdown of the river's flow, many elderly people with weak resistance suffocated, fainted, and died.

Those who are alive, those who cover their mouths and noses with a moist cloth, are no better, and no matter where they hide, they cannot avoid the smell entering their bodies from the seven orifices, and they are dizzy and restless.

Time passed slowly, the Sichuan army began to use the water collected a few days ago, boiled and drunk, the camp was sprinkled with grass and wood ashes, no longer attacking the city, but on the hills, on the sentry tower, quietly watching the night fall on ancient Xiangyang.

And for the soldiers and civilians of Jingzhou in the city, living like a year, experiencing the most painful purgatory in the world, in the case of rancid stench, their livelihood has completely stopped, they can't sleep, they can't eat, and their minds are full of the impression of those corpses in the river, and many people are beginning to get sick and weak.

And for those young people who are more robust and resistant, the biggest threat now is not disease, not the smell around them, but the lack of drinking water.

The special structure of ancient Xiangyang allows the corpse water to permeate every urban area and every courtyard, and the well water that is separated from the river water cannot escape the penetration of the corpse water, and many people and soldiers have become sick because of drinking the well water polluted by the corpse water, and this disease is much more terrifying than those suffocation and weakness.

The people who were sick because of drinking water began to sweat, their foreheads were hot, their limbs twitched, everyone understood what kind of disease it was, the nightmare of the plague and the surrounding corpse qi entangled Xiangyang City, and people no longer dared to drink that water, but in this way, there was no longer a drop of water available in ancient Xiangyang.

In just three days, a large number of civilians and soldiers died and fainted, and those who fainted could never wake up again.

The streets, the houses, the gardens, there are corpses everywhere, no distinction between high and low, rich or poor, just see who can't resist first, and become next.

The survivors found a better shelter, almost every house in Gu Xiangyang has a cellar, this is a lucky place, but the cellar only makes them delay a little longer, there is no clean water, death has been hovering over their heads, if unfortunately one of the surrounding suddenly gets the plague, then, it is a corpse in a cellar.

The attack power of the corpse water far exceeded Liu Zhang's imagination, and it was far beyond Xu Shu's expectations, and the residents and troops of Ancient Xiangyang City were in a desperate situation.

Finally, on the fifth day, Xu Shu came out of a large cellar and, with the generals of the Jingzhou army, organized a breakthrough on the ground.

But at this time, it was too late to break through, and the soldiers' combat strength and morale had dropped sharply under the condition of corpse gas, and now it was difficult for them to walk, let alone fight.

Xu Shu used the strength of the soldiers who were still aware of the survival to awaken the consciousness of the soldiers, and at the same time asked Xiangyang Cai Mao to help, but the number of soldiers who could fight was too small, how could he rush out, more than ten breakthroughs, thousands of people were lost, and it did not shake the defense of the Sichuan army at all, and those corpses were once again thrown into the Han water.

Cai Mao sent an army to help, but was defeated by the Sichuan army and fled back in embarrassment.

………… Quite spacious cellar.

Xu Shu's lips have been chapped, his head is hot because of lack of oxygen, for two days, Xu Shu only drank a small half glass of water, or purified with sand, Xu Shu didn't know if it was clean, but whether the water was clean or not, people who drank it would feel unclean.

But fortunately, in the past two days, he has not shown any signs of fever, and the two generals in the same cellar were dragged out because of the fever in their foreheads, Xu Shu still remembers the sad eyes of the two generals, both of whom made great contributions in resisting the siege of the Sichuan army, because the wounds on their bodies did not heal, and they were infected with the virus faster.

The soldiers standing guard were so weak that they were on the steps of the cellar, and their eyes were dilate, and the generals could see it when they turned their heads, but no one blamed them, because the generals were also weak, especially those civil officials, except for Li Yan and Han Song, who were all soft on the ground, lying against the wall, unwilling to do anything.

"Sir, what should I do, tell me, what should I do, please."

Zhang De said with a crying voice, he was born, he had suffered like this, now he doesn't dare to eat barbecue anymore, and even when he sees meat, he is disgusted, Zhang De just wants to drink a bowl of water now, no bee candy ginseng, no eggs, just a bowl of cold water.

Two days ago, when Zhang De said this to Xu Shu, he roared and said, "Xu Shu, what do you say, you are a military advisor, you should think of a way." ”

And now, it's like begging your own mother.

Xu Shu looked at Zhang De's chubby face, and then realized that this originally annoying face had become so pitiful that it made people feel compassionate, but what could he do?

"It's my own carelessness, dragging down the three armies." Xu Shu sighed, if the flood comes, if he organizes a breakthrough, although he will suffer heavy losses, he will definitely be able to go out, and now, lack of water, detachment, and plague will hit together, even if the immortals go down to earth, they will not be able to return to the sky.

Li Yan dragged his weak body, propped up the wall, and said to Xu Shu: "Sir, if this continues, we all have to die, are we really waiting to die?" ”

Xu Shu shook his head, looked at the dark cellar top, and sighed: "Liu Zhang didn't give us any way out, he is really a tyrant, ruthless enough, tens of thousands of troops and tens of thousands of people in the city are all finished." ”

Li Yan's eyelids drooped, he was silent for a while, and suddenly opened his eyes angrily, "Although the Sichuan army is hateful, Cai Mao is even more hateful, Cai Mao knows that we are trapped, so he should come to the aid with all his might, but he only sent a small army, and he was defeated at one touch, does he think that the ancient Xiangyang is over, and Xiangyang City can still be saved?" Because of his anger, Li Yan's face twitched a little blood.

"Forget it." Xu Shu waved his hand: "Even if Cai Mao is willing to send a large army to come and take us out, in the state of soldiers and generals, he doesn't even have the strength to swing his spear, it will only drag down the soldiers who respond to it and suffer heavy losses, and don't forget, I don't know how many people have been infected with the plague." ”

Xu Shu glanced around at the lifeless cellar, because of the lack of water, the generals were all soft everywhere, like Li Yan who could still bend over and stand, there were not a few, if he hadn't practiced martial arts since childhood, I am afraid he would not be able to support it, and now in this state, even if the Sichuan army comes in a thousand people, it can slaughter all the Jingzhou army.

"Everybody up, I announce a decision."

Xu Shu didn't have the strength to shout, and knocked on a wooden board mottled with mud.

"Sir, you have, what do you have, what order, just give it, as long as you can let me out of the city, I really, I really don't have the strength." Zhang De said weakly, he now felt that every word he said was like his throat was on fire.

I used to eat grilled meat mixed with ginger and garlic, and I never felt this way.

Li Yan looked at Zhang De's appearance, and couldn't wait to kick Zhang De out of the air.

Xu Shu breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice: "Everyone knows, we have reached a desperate situation, if we want to survive, we only have two ways to go, one is to break through."

On the east, west, and north, Xiangyang does not send a large army to respond, and it is impossible for us to break through successfully, but we can choose the south, and the south is Jingshan and Jingshan, although it is far away from Xiangyang, but the trees are dense, and the Sichuan army will never be ......able to annihilate us completely."

"Ah, really? That's great. Zhang De was overjoyed, and suddenly jumped up from the ground, and said happily: "Then Mr. quickly organize a force for me, and General Ben will lead the army to break through from the south." ”

The generals looked at Zhang De, and in their scattered eyes, they were disdainful, angry, sighing, and more importantly, numb.

"General Zhang listened to me." Xu Shu weakly pressed his hand against Zhang De, and the generals' eyes slowly moved to Xu Shu's face, with a little bit of undetectable hope.

"Although it may be successful to break through from the south, there is also an ambush of the Sichuan army in the south, if a thousand people go out, and we rely on the cover of the jungle, perhaps, fifty people will be able to pass through the vast mountains, that is, twenty, one may survive."

The generals' eyes darkened again.

"General Zhang, do you want to break through?" Xu Shu looked at Zhang De.

"Is hope really that small?"

"It's just going to be smaller."

"Then let's talk about the second way to live."

Xu Shu didn't say anything, straightened up, and sighed heavily.

Xu Shu looked at the exit of the cellar with confused eyes, and said slowly: "For us, the war can't go on anymore, like this, at most two days, we will have to be wiped out." ”

"What do you suggest, sir?" Zhang De asked.

"Surrender." Xu Shu slowly spit out two words.

"Oh." Zhang Demeng agreed, he was already in a coma, and he didn't realize what Xu Shu meant by the two words.

However, the other Jingzhou generals all looked at Xu Shu in surprise, especially Han Song, and those half-unconscious soldiers felt that the atmosphere was different, and they struggled to open their eyes and struggle to stand up.

Han Song, who had never spoken, shook his spirits and said loudly: "Sir, how can you have such an idea, Liu Zhang is brutal and unkind, and he goes against the sky, even if he is defeated, the big deal is death, Mr. has been entrusted with the task of military advisor by the lord, is this how to repay the lord?" Mr. is also a Jingxiang master, have you forgotten the innocent soul of Wuling in Hanzhong, Jiangzhou? How could a gentleman think of working with a butcher like Liu Zhang? ”

"Oh, I see." Han Song nodded suddenly: "Mr. is from the Shu clan, Liu Zhang killed the Shi clan, Mr. thinks he can be of great use in the Sichuan camp, right?" Sure enough, the people who came out of the Shu clan, no matter how highly educated, are also short-sighted, and there is no shame in temperance, Mr. will go to vote for your glory and wealth, and I, Han Song, will not accompany me, but Mr. Don't forget, the 30,000 people in the city are not all clans. ”

"You ......" Xu Shu suddenly felt that he couldn't catch his breath, he pressed his chest suddenly, covered his mouth with one hand, and his body shook, Li Yan hurriedly stepped forward to support him, looking at Han Song hatefully.

Is this righteous killing?

"Do you think I want to? But do we have a choice? Do you know that there are still 30,000 people in the city? Xu Shu roared, and his hideous face made the righteous and awe-inspiring Han Song feel terrified.

Xu Shu took down the hand covering his mouth, his palm was blood-red, and after roaring loudly, he felt that his whole head was empty.

The generals were silent, staying in the city was death, breaking through was death, if they did not surrender, there were only two choices, survive here, or go out and be killed by the Sichuan army.

"Surrender, surrender, surrender, I can't stand it anymore, no matter what kind of tyrant and remnant he is, I will obey his words and serve well, I don't believe that he will kill me." Zhang De, who "made a decision immediately", broke the silence.

………… On a moonlit night, the silver-white moonlight sprinkled on the head of the ancient Xiangyang City, shining with a terrifying and dead light.

Liu Zhang sat behind the handsome platform on the hill, in front of him were patches of Sichuan army torches, the guard soldiers stood silently in the moonlight, and in those dark corners without torches, one by one Sichuan army soldiers carried quivers on their backs, holding bows and arrows, quietly looking at the city walls and gates of ancient Xiangyang.

From the beginning of the embankment, the Sichuan army began to take turns to guard the city all night to prevent the Jingzhou army from breaking through.

And Liu Zhang, for some reason, always has difficulty falling asleep at night, and is annoyed in the center of the room, as if only by looking at the city of Gu Xiangyang can he feel slightly relieved.

"Report." A cavalryman galloped up the mountain, turned over and bowed: "Lord, General Yan Yan of Beicheng reported that a group of people went out of the city, how to deal with it?" ”

(To be continued)