"Bowen, come quickly."
Cao Cao smiled and waved his hand. Then, Xu Zhen hurried over with small steps and said with a smile,"My lord, we have enough troops and thirty thousand dan of rations, enough to last us for two months. We will probably retreat by spring.”
"As for Xun Lingjun, the military rations can only be delivered after spring. The snow has already sealed off the mountain.”
"Alright, there's no hurry. There's still two months.”
"Since Liu Bei can come, I will host a banquet to entertain you. If you want to reminisce, I will let you rest for three more days.”
Xu Zhen turned around to take a look. Liu Bei was pleasantly surprised and wanted to speak again."Uncle--" Xu Zhen turned around and said,"Forget it, don't be an uncle. I'm really not familiar with him."
”
"That's it."
She couldn't even be bothered to listen to an explanation.
Cao Cao smiled and entered the tent.
At night, after the banquet, the civil and military officials gathered together, but they did not drink too much. Even when it was about to end, they were still not satisfied.
As for Liu Bei, he was absent-minded. He knew that he had to find an opportunity to speak clearly with Xu Zhen. He definitely did not want to chase him away.
However, Xu Zhen knew very well in his heart that he could not act.
When Zhang Fei gave me 50 dollars, you were in the room next door! I applied for the money from you.
After that, I waited for you near Gaotang for three days, but no cavalry came looking for you. When I went to ask again, they had already turned to Youzhou to join Gongsun Zan.
Moreover, he left very quickly, afraid that someone would catch up.
Your second and third brothers are all arrogant.
Why did you have to find the number one person to assist you? I'll follow you guys for the rest of my life and work hard until I die. Then, I'll die of exhaustion in the middle of my career. In the end, all the benefits will still be yours.
Whoever did such a thing would be a fool.
He didn't have a good ending even when he died. If he failed at the brink of success in his entire life, even if it was remembered by future generations, it would only be a name behind his back.
Now that he saw Liu Bei again, Xu Zhen still felt indignant. It was mainly because of these three pits. It seemed that they wanted to recruit him back!？
This is like, I'm already a high-ranking executive of a listed company, and you want me to go back with you to start a business for my dream?
Moreover, you were the one who persuaded me to resign.
It was ridiculous.
..."Achoo!"
At this moment, a young man in a courtyard in Langya, Xuzhou, sneezed.
He rubbed his nose.
"Hmm? Is someone talking about me?"
…Shouchun, Yangzhou.
The last city of Yuan Shu's army.
Because the soldiers had attacked the city too smoothly, they encountered an unprecedented resistance after reaching Shouchun.
As a result, their morale had been affected.
"After drinking some wine, I still want to ask Xuande what you think of the current situation.”
Cao Cao and Liu Bei walked side by side in the camp, occasionally looking at the distant Shouchun City.
The city was ten zhang high, and people couldn't help but flinch.
Even though it was late at night, the city was filled with people.
"Alas, I am lacking in knowledge. I can't think of any other way other than attacking by force." Liu Bei smiled faintly and bowed slightly to Cao Cao."Or, if we can't use the ladder to attack, we can try digging.”
"Oh?"
The corner of Cao Cao's mouth curled up."Digging into the ground to attack is also a method. Brother Xuande, you are not that ignorant. I think you should be considered resourceful.”
"Ming Gong praises me too much."
Liu Bei laughed lightly and glanced at Xu Zhen.
Sigh.
He would find another opportunity to explain it in the future.
It wasn't easy to make an agreement with Third Brother to let him take the blame and apologize to Bo Wen.
In the end, I couldn't say it.
What a pity.
Fifteen days passed in the camp.
The rations in the army were getting lesser and lesser.
And after winter, the road to transporting grain was even more difficult.
Even if Xun Yu was the number one strategist on the Heaven Ranking, it was useless.
If they couldn't transport the rations to Shouchun City, then all the soldiers would have to retreat.
This battle would end in failure.
At this moment, was Cao Cao making a profit or a loss?
He didn't have a decision in his heart.
It had to be said that if they could take down Shouchun, kill Yuan Shu, and take his troops, money, and food, they would definitely make a huge profit.
If they didn't take down Shouchun, these enemies would definitely chase after them when they retreated.
He didn't know how much he would be able to defend after recovering the lost land. This was a huge gamble.
Cao Cao was already in a dilemma.
It was late winter.
Cao Cao finally called Xu Zhen over.
Together with Cheng Yu, they went to the tent to discuss matters.
Xu Zhen brought Zhao Yun with him. As soon as Dian Wei came in, he saw Cao Cao looking at a small map.
Then, he strode over and kept the map.
The other generals were all dumbfounded.
Especially Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun.
There were also the Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers.
One had to know that this was a map of Shouchun that he had risked his life to draw. The internal defenses were all based on his usual guesses.
Liu Bei and the others were surprised.
How did Bowen get such special privileges in Cao Cao's camp?？The map that they were discussing was covered just like that?
Aren't you afraid of being punished by Cao Cao?
"Bowen, what are you doing?"
Cao Cao asked in confusion.
"Defensive map, useless."
Xu Zhen said seriously. Today, he was wearing a white robe and a large cloak. His neck was wrapped in mink fur, making him look gorgeous and noble. His temperament was exactly the same as his clothes.
He gave people the feeling that he was a noble person who came from the family of the four generations and three dukes.
Without waiting for Xu Zhen to speak.
Zhao Yun immediately went forward and placed another map.
There were dense markings on it.
Below these markings were routes that the group of people could not understand at all.
"This","Zhang","Drawing","Up","Clear","Draw","Draw","Defense","Shouchun","Defense","Very Simple","Look","," Line ","..."Xu Zhen","Draw","Drawing","Draw","Draw","Defense","Very Simple","Draw","Draw" Draw "," Draw "
Even Cao Cao was stunned, not to mention Liu Bei, who basically knelt down to listen to the whole story.
Oh my god…You've never drawn such a detailed map for me before. You can even draw a bird's eye view of the city.
This overlooking…how did he do it?
Compared to the simple drawings from before, this map was like heaven and earth. In the past, it was just a child's drawing.
His drawing skills could be said to be top-notch.
After Cao Cao finished reading, he suddenly laughed,"Bo Wen, Bo Wen, you are really my Han Xin. No wonder Wen Ruo once said that the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains are all in your chest."”
"You flatter me." Xu Zhen waved his hand and said solemnly,""Right now, no matter how we attack this battle, whether it's scaling ladders or digging, we'll lose at least 50,000 people. We won't even be able to take Shouchun.”
"Then what are you still talking about? Just retreat as soon as possible. You are still the same as before. There is no difference. It is just that you have changed places.”
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes at Xu Zhen.
However, he was still a little shaken in his heart.
He could understand some of Xu Zhen's blueprints just now, but he couldn't understand some of them at all. He couldn't even understand what Xu Zhen was saying.
However, since Big Brother was sighing, it meant that there was really something here.
Liu Bei turned around and glared at Zhang Fei.
This third brother, why can't he learn to shut up? I've already said it many times, don't offend Bo Wen.
Sigh…If they weren't sworn brothers, and if Courage didn't need to rely on these two brothers, it would be better to…forget it.
Liu Bei gritted his teeth and continued to listen to Xu Zhen and Cao Cao's discussion.
His troops were stationed in the north, but he often came here to discuss with Cao Cao.
Firstly, he didn't get any food for free.
Secondly, he had the chance to meet Xu Zhen.
Thirdly, out of all the dukes who had come to quell the rebellion, only he had met Cao Cao.
The rest of the people, such as Sun Ce, who was in the Yangzhou area south of Hefei, were nowhere to be seen.
They were only respectful when they exchanged letters, but he would never cross the river to attack Shouchun. What he wanted was benefits.
I don't think of Cao Cao and Liu Bei.
Both of them wanted Yuan Shu to die completely!
Cao Cao quickly asked,"Could it be that we really can't take it down this winter?”
"No," Xu Zhen said firmly,""Let me command the entire army. I can give it a try. Before the end of the year, I might be able to open the city gates.”
"Bragging!"
Zhang Fei looked at him from afar with disdain.
However, Liu Bei was extremely shocked.
Commanding an entire army…If it were him, he would definitely not dare to give him such a request.
Cao Cao was deep in thought.
Moreover, Cheng Yu was also eager to give it a try.
At this moment, Xiahou Dun actually had an expectant look on his face.
After thinking for a long time, Cao Cao placed his hands on the sand table, raised his head and slowly approached Xu Zhen. He stared at him and said,"Are you confident?"
Xu Zhen narrowed his eyes."No, but we can try."”
"Hmph…" Guan Yu and Zhang Fei turned their faces away, too lazy to look.
Liu Bei's Adam's apple could not help but move up and down. He did not even dare to listen to Cao Cao's decision.
Would he really hand it over?
What did Xu Zhen do? Even if he had helped the internal affairs and allowed the people of Xuzhou and Yanzhou to obtain the convenience of the land distribution method, this was a war.
How dare they!
At this moment, Guan Yu, who rarely spoke, suddenly asked Xu Zhen,""Bowen, have you read the art of war and military strategy in recent years? Has it reached great success?"
Xu Zhen glanced at him."Second Brother, everyone reads the Spring and Autumn Annals every day like you. I never read these."”
"Then you…aren't you playing with the lives of the soldiers! How could it be convincing? Did you forget about the defeat at Gaotang?”
Xu Zhen snorted coldly."I wonder who was the one who drank and caused the failure of Gaotang.”
"Bah, it's obvious that your deduction was wrong. Those rebel soldiers only came at the fourth watch, so I couldn't help but drink some wine.”At this point, Zhang Fei suddenly thought of something and covered his mouth.
Liu Bei immediately turned around to look at him with his eyes wide open."Third Brother, when you said that the military counselor was incompetent, was this what you were talking about?”
"Big brother, hehe, no, that's indeed useless. After a quarter of an hour, I thought that the rebel soldiers would definitely not come, so…"
I should have thought that it was you who angered Bowen to leave, right and wrong!？”
Xu Zhen waved his hand."Alright, alright. If you want to quarrel, go back and quarrel. This is Cao Cao's camp."”
Liu Bei's casting was interrupted once again, and the situation became extremely awkward.
At this moment, Cao Cao made a decision. He looked deeply at Liu Bei, then grinned at Xu Zhen and said,""Yes, your Snow Dragon Riders are thirteen thousand.”
"Including my main force, 50,000 men, and Yuan Rang's 15,000 Tiger Warriors.”
"A total of 78,000 soldiers. I'll give them to you. Bowen, let's see how you take Shouchun City for me!”
Really? Moreover, there was no military pledge.
Liu Bei's back was wet. He did not have such courage yet.
However, he really couldn't figure it out.
Xu Zhen really knew nothing about the art of war, military strategies, Confucian classics, and even many ancient books since the Great Han Dynasty.
Sometimes, he couldn't even read…Why was he so important?
This is unbelievable…Xu Zhen really has no knowledge. He's not proficient in any of the Six Arts of a Gentleman, and he doesn't even know many of them.
Only Yu Ke was qualified.
Riding a horse.
But what did this have to do with the military counselor?
In essence, Liu Bei had discovered this point back then, which was why he had chosen to tacitly agree to Zhang Fei chasing Xu Zhen away.
Because he really felt that Xu Zhen was fishing for fame.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Cao Cao stepped forward and patted Xu Zhen's shoulder, saying with a relaxed expression,""Close to eighty thousand lives are now in your hands. If you suspect someone, don't use them. If you use someone, don't trust them. From today onwards, other than telling me about the big and small matters, I can plan for you.”
Xu Zhen nodded."Yes, I'll bring you back to Xuchang to have a good New Year."”
Hearing this, Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun laughed in surprise.
Then, he laughed heartily.
This scene made Liu Bei very jealous.
When Xu Zhen followed him, he had never been so happy.
Happy New Year…It was really a very warm word.
Did I really blame him wrongly?
... Ever since the handover of power.
The next day, Xu Zhen sent troops outside to threaten them. They only shouted and did not show any signs of attacking the city.
However, the soldiers in the city were so frightened that they did not dare to relax. They constantly changed their patrols, causing the soldiers on the wall to change wave after wave.
From the 3rd to the 6th to the 9th, they took turns to guard the city to investigate the movements of Cao Cao's camp.
On the seventh day, Xu Zhen began to push out the catapults modified by craftsmen from the Snowy Dragon Cavalry Camp. Fifteen catapults were used to throw boulders weighing more than a thousand pounds.
They took turns to smash down the city walls, causing the defenders on the city to be exhausted.
Then, the army pretended to attack the city, but they only circled around it, making the defenders on the city more and more confused.
Even though they had to change people in turns, they were still tortured to the point where they felt that the siege might become real.
Under such circumstances, the defense of Shouchun City slowly became less tight.
At this time, it had been one and a half months…PS: After this chapter, there will be more chapters above 4K. It is not a random deduction. The content will be detailed and not easy to break the status.
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