Flame Army Camp.

In the big tent, Xu Shu sat on the main seat, listening to the generals of each battalion report the battle damage, and according to statistics, in today's battle, as many as 346 people were killed in the battle and 272 were wounded.

In one day, the Flame Army lost so much of its elite, which shows the tragic situation of the battle, which is completely inconsistent with the purpose and mission of the Flame Army's dispatch this time.

When Xu Shu heard these numbers, he felt a lot of pain.

Gan Ning stood up and said: "Military division, in today's battle, although our army has suffered great losses, but the Cao army must also have suffered heavy losses, with today's siege situation, if there are a few more days, the Cao army will definitely not be able to support it, why don't you increase the siege tomorrow and take Xudu in one go?" ”

Xu Shu shook his head: "General Gan thinks too naturally, in today's battle, the reason why our army can attack the city so quickly is not only because the soldiers are brave and well-trained, but also because the Cao army has never experienced such a tactic, and with today's battle, they will definitely sum up the lessons and lessons, and it will not be easy to attack so quickly tomorrow, there are Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Xu You, Hua Xin and other wise men in the city, they will definitely come up with a way to restrain our army's tactics!" ”

"In addition, the purpose and task of our army's trip is not to take Xudu, and it is not realistic to take Xudu, I am afraid that if we fight all these 16,000 people, we will not be able to take Xudu, and the Cao army can continue to recruit young and strong people from the city to replenish it, but our army has no soldiers to replenish in a short period of time!"

Gan Ning and other generals were silent when they heard these words, Today's losses are indeed too great, with the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Flame Army, such a big loss is also said to be tragic in battle, and in fact, this time the troops are not rushing to defeat Xudu, mainly to show Yuan Shao, and also to transfer Cao Renbu back.

Then again, if they didn't attack fiercely, if they didn't fight more fiercely, and if they didn't inflict heavy casualties on the defenders in the city, how could the defenders send messengers to Cao Cao and Cao Ren for help?

At this time, a sergeant walked in quickly and reported: "Qi Qi military division, four messengers from the city of Xu Du secretly went out of the city, and three were captured by our army's sentinels, and according to the orders of the military division, they deliberately let go of one in the east!" This is a secret letter from the three messengers."

Xu Shu took the letter from the sergeant's hand, opened it and read it one by one, and distributed it to everyone after reading it.

After reading the secret letter, Lu Meng couldn't help but ask: "Military advisor, the content of these three letters is exactly the same, they are all written to the assassins and Taishou of various states, saying that in the future, the grain and grass of the army will be directly transported to Cao Cao from all states and counties, and there is no need to transport it to Xudu, and the letter does not mention that Xudu was attacked and asked for rescue!" ”

Xu Shu had a confident expression, smiled and said: "These letters seem to be normal, and they don't mention that Xu Du was besieged and asked for rescue, but in fact, how can the news of Xu Du's attack be hidden?" Even if the city doesn't send people for help, the news will still spread, it's just that the time is fast or slow, and the purpose of sending people to send the letter is to let those who should know know the news as soon as possible, and the letter also vaguely conveys the message that Cao Cao doesn't have to go back! ”

"Actually, the defenders suffered heavy losses today, I don't believe that Xun Yu and the others will not be afraid, with the losses of the defenders today, if our army is determined to persist in the onslaught, how much confidence will they have to defend to the end? Does Xun Yu really have absolute confidence? ”

"Besides, Xun Yu is by no means a person who will only be beaten passively and does not know how to fight back, I am sure that he will definitely find a way to contact Cao Ren, compared with Liu Bei's small fight in Runan, the importance of Xu Du is self-evident! However, how much effect can Cao Ren's return play in such an open and honest way? So the news must be kept secret, otherwise the purpose will not be achieved! ”

"Therefore, I think that these letters are just a trick, Xun Yu in addition to sending these four messengers, it is likely that he sent another messenger, and these four messengers are just to hide people's eyes, and their mission is only to lure away our army's sentry cavalry, so that the real messenger can go out of the city to contact Cao Ren!"

The generals and colonels in the tent looked at each other, and Gan Ning asked, "Strategist, how can I verify that what you said is right?" ”

Xu Shu said with a smile: "It's easy, send someone to report to the lord, the lord will send someone to keep an eye on Cao Ren's army, as long as Cao Ren's army comes back, this shows that my speculation is correct!" It's getting late today, send a messenger tomorrow morning! ”

The crowd nodded.

Lu Meng asked again: "Military advisor, will the siege continue tomorrow?" As the military advisor said, our army is not here to break the city, if it is to break the city and cripple itself, then it will be cheaper for others, like today's siege, the loss is too great, it is really not worth it! ”

Xu Shu sent someone to call the head of the baggage battalion and asked: "Is there any grain, grass and ordnance delivered in the near future?" ”

The battalion head shook his head and said, "Back to the military division, there is no food, grass and ordnance!" ”

"How much grain is left in my barracks, and how many arrows are left?"

The battalion commander replied: "If you return to the army, there are only seven days of food left, and today I have shot 10,000 arrows in one day, and according to this method, the remaining arrows are only enough for three days!" ”

Xu Shu was very helpless, this battle was too poor, he would bring ten days of grain and grass for one expedition, and there was no logistical supply, in fact, he also knew that the Flame Army was very difficult now, needless to say, there was no military workshop of his own, the grain was still in the hands of the fields and the people, and the taxes had not been collected.

"Got it, let's go down!"

Xu Shu didn't think about it, so he said to the generals: "Rest tomorrow!" ”

The corpses of the soldiers killed in the battle have been carried back, and the Flame Army went to collect the corpses, and the Cao Army was not embarrassed, and the two sides converged on the corpses of their respective soldiers and did not attack each other, which has been an unspoken rule for a long time.

In Xu Shu's heart, the purpose of this dispatch has been achieved, but the army cannot be withdrawn at present, at least it will take another three days to withdraw, and it must wait until the messenger of Cao Jun's army arrives at the camp of Cao Ren's army, so that Cao Ren can lead the army back to help before withdrawing the army, so that the task can be completed.

Don't look at Liu Bei's re-entry into Runan, the number of soldiers and horses under his command has increased from more than 4,000 to more than 10,000, but the territory he controls is also large, and all cities and cities have to be garrisoned, so the troops stationed in Runan City are only 3,000 people, and these 3,000 people are not all the people he brought from the headquarters, and there are some newly recruited recruits.

And Cao Ren has 10,000 elite soldiers in his hands, Liu Bei only relies on 3,000 people, and it is not easy for more than 1,000 recruits to defend Runan City, and Cao Ren's experience in siege warfare is much richer than Liu Bei.

Therefore, this is also the reason why Qin Feng must send troops, and Liu Bei's strength alone cannot stop Cao Jun's counterattack.

Halfway up the mountain, Qin Feng and three thousand cavalry were hiding here.

At this time, a fast horse galloped over, and it was a messenger sent by Xu Shu.

"Lord, the military advisor sent a villain to report to the lord, Xu Du has sent someone out of the city to ask for help, but he is not sure whether he is coming to Cao Ren's side, so he asks for proof!"

After hearing this, Qin Feng said: "A few days ago, there was a messenger from Cao Jun riding a horse from the foot of the mountain, our army did not stop it, it must be a secret envoy sent by Xu Ducheng, but to determine whether it is true, it depends on whether Cao Ren will withdraw the army, I have sent someone to keep an eye on Cao Ren, you wait for a day or two to see the results before going back to report!" ”