After returning to Hefei, Taishi Ci distributed some copper coins and cloth to Lu Su.
Lu Su led the army to garrison Hefei, while Zhou Ping and Tai Shici led the soldiers to carry the gold tablets and left Hefei for Shouchun.
Zhang Fei and Li Jia led more than 6,000 troops to the city of Shouchun and called for battle, but the enemies in the city did not dare to fight. Later, Liu Bei led a large army to the city. The enemies in the city held on to the city and did not dare to fight.
Now Liu Bei's camp is outside the city east of Shouchun, and he is in a bit of a dilemma.
The enemy in the city does not go out to fight, and there are 10,000 soldiers and horses guarding the city, but you only have 30,000 soldiers and horses, so it is definitely not possible to attack the city by force.
He could not fight, he could not attack, he could not move, and Liu Bei was at a loss.
Fortunately, Zhou Ping came and brought Taishi Ci's five thousand soldiers and many golden letters.
"Sir, it's been a long time. I miss you so much!"
Seeing Zhou Ping, Liu Bei stepped forward and held his hand tightly, holding his hand for a long time.
"My lord, Ping also misses my lord day and night!"
Zhou Ping also said something to congratulate Liu Bei on being honored by the imperial court.
Zhou Ping really did not expect that the imperial court officially consecrated Liu Bei as the Muhe Zhendong General of Xuzhou and the Marquis of Yicheng.
But if you think about it carefully, this is reasonable. Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty was not a mediocre person, and he would definitely have some plans of his own.
Now among the commanders and herders of the various prefectures and counties, only Liu Bei seems to be the most trustworthy and reliable.
Liu Xie is now helpless, and really wants to have a strong and reliable helper from another state, and he will definitely choose this person to rely on, who can defeat the famous Liu Bei several times.
"Ziyi, when we parted ways in Pingyuan, I didn't expect to see you again today. This is a blessing!"
Liu Bei stepped forward again and took Tai Shici's hands, mentioning the time when he came to Pingyuan to ask for help for Kong Rong.
"General Ci Xie sent troops to rescue and relieved the siege of Kong Beihai! Now, thanks to Mr. Wen'an's plan, we have obtained a lot of Yuan Shu's money and letters. According to what Mr. Xie said, the money and cloth have been divided among the brothers. The gold and letters have been given to me. It has been shipped and dedicated to the general!"
Taishi Ci deeply felt Liu Bei's closeness and was inexplicably moved.
"You fought to the death to get these things. Just keep them for your own use. Why do you need to give them to me?"
"The general led the troops to assist Liu Shijun of Yangzhou. Ci is Liu Yangzhou's subordinate. I should express my gratitude to the general. Please accept these things, general!"
Liu Bei thought for a moment and said: "In that case, I will accept the letter. I will only accept half of the gold, and you can keep the other half."
Taishi Ci was overjoyed: "Thank you, General!"
Liu Bei asked Zhang Fei to lead his troops to the city every day to yell at them or persuade the enemy soldiers in the city to surrender, but the enemies in the city would not fight or surrender.
Zhou Ping looked at Shouchun City with a look of helplessness, unable to think of a way to break the city.
This bridge will not fight, surrender or move, so Liu Bei's troops can only guard outside Shouchun City, looking at the city and sighing.
It was already March of the first year of Jian'an.
Liu Bei had no choice but to first send Zhang Fei and Li Jia with three thousand troops each to conquer the counties of Xiacai, Ping'a, Dangtu, Chengde and others near Shouchun.
Since Yuan Shu had left, there was no need to fight in these counties. As soon as the troops arrived, the county magistrate took the county officials out of the city to ask for surrender.
In early April, Zhang Fei and Li Jia led their troops back to Shouchun. At this time, Liu Bei's troops had been stationed outside Shouchun City for more than a month.
Zhou Ping thought hard every day, but he had no good plan.
Qiao Rui has 10,000 soldiers and horses guarding the city. Shouchun City has been repaired many times since Yuan Shu came. Now the city is high and the trenches are deep. There are sufficient grain and grass reserves in the city. And looking at this posture, Qiao Rui is die loyal to Yuan Shu and has vowed to defend Shouchun. .
It is definitely not possible to attack the city by force. Liu Bei may not be able to capture Liu Bei's 30,000 troops even if he loses half of them. Even if it can be captured, it is not worth losing so many troops.
If we do not attack Shouchun, we cannot directly lead troops to attack Lujiang. We cannot leave 10,000 enemy soldiers behind us. We will be attacked from both sides by then. Let alone victory, we will most likely be defeated.
Zhou Ping couldn't help but think of those siege battles in history.
Tao Qian defended Tancheng, and Cao Cao's troops came to the city twice. Cao Cao could not fight or attack, so he had to attack other counties and massacre the people to satisfy his hatred.
Cao Cao attacked Zhang Chao at Yongqiu and surrounded him from August to December before the city collapsed.
Yuan Shao besieged Zang Hong in Dongwuyang for several years. He defended the city until there was nothing left to eat. Zang Hong even killed his concubine to feed the generals, and finally the city fell.
Cao Cao attacked Lu Bu in Xiapi and won three battles in three battles. However, Lu Bu did not dare to fight again and retreated to the city to defend the city. Cao Cao besieged the city for three months and could not break it. At that time, he wanted to retreat.
Xun You and Guo Jia proposed strategies, and diverted the Yishui and Si Rivers to flood the city. Finally, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, Wei Xu and others in the city kidnapped Chen Gong and Lu Bu and surrendered, and they were able to defeat Xiapi.
When attacking Ye City, Cao Cao besieged it from February to August. Finally, Shen Rong, the son of Shen Pei's brother, opened the city gate and Cao Cao captured Ye City.
Even when Liu Bei later attacked Luocheng in Yizhou, it took him a year to defeat it, and he even had to rely on Pang Tong.
Shouchun City currently has no reinforcements and is considered an isolated city. However, it is difficult to say whether Sun Ce will cross the river to help.
If Sun Ce leads troops to help and Yuan Shu sends troops north from Lujiang, then Liu Bei's troops will probably return in vain.
There is also Cao Cao, who has defeated the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and Runan and is resting in Xu County. It is difficult to predict whether he will suddenly send troops to attack Xuzhou.
If Sun Ce is allowed to pacify Jiangdong and lead troops with Yuan Shu to help, and Cao Cao takes the opportunity to send troops to attack Xuzhou, I'm afraid Liu Bei will have to live a homeless life again.
Therefore, in terms of time, Liu Bei could not wait any longer and had to capture Shouchun as soon as possible before he could continue to lead his troops to attack Lujiang.
These days, Zhou Ping thought hard about countermeasures day and night, and drank a lot of wine, often drinking by himself.
Alcohol is generally prohibited in the army, but Zhou Ping did not lead the troops and Liu Bei allowed him to drink. There was also Zhang Fei. Liu Bei talked a lot, but Zhang Fei couldn't help but drink, so Liu Bei just turned a blind eye.
I just kept my eyes open and didn't pursue it.
Zhou Ping and Zhang Fei sometimes get together to drink.
"Hahaha... Sir, I've been drinking a lot lately, and I've been drinking to my heart's content. However, I often have a sad face, which is a bit disappointing."
On this day, Zhang Fei went to Zhou Ping's tent to drink again.
"Aren't you worried?" Zhou Ping looked at Zhang Fei and asked.
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Hey, as long as I come to your place, sir, I will have wine to drink, so there is nothing to worry about."
"Shouchun City is close in front of us, but we can't get it. The lord's troops and horses cannot move. If this continues, it will be very detrimental to both the lord and Xuzhou!" Zhou Ping sighed.
"Hahaha... It turns out that sir is worried about this matter! Sir, don't worry, Shouchun is just an isolated city. We are guarding outside the city, and Hefei is in our hands. Shouchun's food road is blocked, so we certainly can't guard it for a long time.
In a few months, there will be a shortage of food in the city, and this city will be saved."
Zhou Ping shook his head, looking helpless. At present, it seems that this is the only way.
However, Zhang Fei may not understand, but Zhou Ping knows that for Liu Bei, time is the most precious now. It is best to capture Yangzhou before Cao Cao welcomes the Han Emperor and stabilizes Xudu. Otherwise, when the surrounding areas of Xudu are stabilized,
Cao Cao will definitely raise his troops to attack Xuzhou.
"Yide, is there any way we can capture Shouchun within a month?"
Zhou Ping raised his glass to drink with Zhang Fei, and actually asked Zhang Fei for advice.
"Of course," Zhang Fei first filled Zhou Ping's wine, then filled it for himself, and replied with Zhou Ping's expectant eyes, "Assemble troops to attack the city, and I will be the first to board the city."
"It's inappropriate, it's inappropriate," Zhou Ping shook his head fiercely, "The first step is to attack the enemy, then the second is to attack the enemy, the second is to attack the army, and then to attack the city. The method of attacking the city is absolutely impossible, so we should try to win."
"Then besiege the city, surround the city on all sides, and prepare to attack. The enemies in the city will be afraid of us attacking the city and will be restless day and night. Once they are afraid, they will leave the city and ask for surrender, hehehe..."
Zhang Fei felt that the strategy he proposed was a good one, and he smiled proudly after speaking.
But Zhou Ping shook his head again: "No, the art of war has it, don't contain the enemy when you return, besiege the enemy, don't force the enemy when you are poor..."
"Sir, what's wrong?"
Zhang Fei asked quickly when he saw Zhou Ping suddenly stunned, with his eyes still and speechless, holding the wine glass in his hand.
"Hahaha...Yide, this city is in ruins."
Zhou Ping suddenly laughed again.
This time it was Zhang Fei's turn to be stunned and asked: "How to break it?"
"Let's go find the master."
Zhou Ping immediately got up and took Zhang Fei, who was already half drunk, to find Liu Bei.
