Chapter 367

In Xiapi City,

Che Zhou stood on the city gate tower. Outside the city, horns blared and armor flashed with a chilling, cold light.

Liu Bei's army had set up camp on the high slopes in the distance, with thousands of banners fluttering!

On the Yi River and Si River on both sides of the city, Liu Bei's warships were docked, creating a magnificent sight.

He was deeply worried. Liu Bei had been attacking the city for three days. If not for the fact that the Taishan generals Zang Ba and Sun Guan had led elite troops into Xiapi City before Liu Bei surrounded it, Xiapi would likely have changed hands by now!

Zang Ba and Sun Guan also came to the city wall, looking at the scene in the distance with great concern.

Zang Ba encouraged the others.

"Duke Wei's army will arrive very soon. As long as we hold out for two more days, Liu Bei will never be able to break through Xiapi City!"

Liu Bei had attacked continuously for three days. Although the defenders had the advantage, they had suffered heavy casualties, but fortunately, they had held on.

"Rumble..."

The sound of thunder in the distance shook the heavens.

Che Zhou looked at the dark clouds in the sky with great joy.

"A rainstorm is coming. In heavy rain, the moat will swell and the roads will be muddy, making it even harder for Liu Bei to attack the city!"

He was ecstatic; he had actually blocked Liu Bei's attack. Even if it was only for three days, it was enough to brag about for a lifetime!

"Liu Bei has neither the timing nor the terrain on his side; he won't be able to break the city!"

"Report~!"

A scout brought more good news.

"General, Duke Wei has sent word; Duke Wei's army will arrive tomorrow!"

"Good!"

Che Zhou said solemnly,

"Soldiers, guard the city carefully tonight. Tomorrow, when Duke Wei's army arrives, Xiapi will be safe."

The rain poured down, and thunder rumbled continuously.

Liu Bei looked at the heavy rain outside the tent, his expression not very good.

"This year, the rainy season in Xu Province has come more than half a month early!"

Pang Tong also frowned.

"My lord, it is difficult to attack the city in heavy rain. Tomorrow, when Cao Cao arrives with his main army, Xiapi will be hard to take."

Zhang Fei cursed loudly.

"Damn Zang Ba and Sun Guan. My big brother spared thousands of their soldiers back in Hedong... yet they return kindness with enmity!"

Zhang Fei ranted toward the direction of Xiapi City.

Liu Bei, on the contrary, felt better and laughed.

"Zhang Yide, rest a while; Sun Guan and the others can't hear you."

Liu Bei gave orders.

"Boil ginger soup for the soldiers so they don't catch a cold."

"Understood!"

Liu Bei called everyone to discuss matters.

"Everyone, we must face the reality that if Xiapi City is not broken, Cao Cao's reinforcements will arrive."

Guo Jia cupped his fists.

"My lord, our army has already obtained Guangling Commandery and half of Xiapi Commandery. As long as we secure the grain routes, it will not be difficult to hold a stalemate with the Cao Army at Xiapi."

Pang Tong also said,

"My lord, of the three factors—timing, terrain, and human unity—our army has human unity. However, Zhong Yao forcibly moved all the people around Xiapi, and the rainy season in Xu Province came too quickly. These are things we did not anticipate."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Scorched-earth policy—this Zhong Yao is a talent. Our army can't even find any gentry to buy grain from."

He looked to the west.

"Now our army can only pin our hopes on Lu Xun gaining an advantage, or Kongming breaking through Xuxian, which would force Cao Cao to retreat and give up Xu Province."

Many netizens from other countries flooded into the live stream, mocking him crazily.

"Big-Eared Thief, I didn't expect you to have a day like this!"

"You've been with so many girls, now you're suffering divine retribution. Even Heaven won't help you!"

"I'm so happy to see the Big-Eared Thief get frustrated!"

"What's the matter? It's just a stalemate. My Brother Bei has already occupied the south of Xu Province. What are you all excited about? Are you all collectively..." Xia netizens began to defend Liu Bei.

"Exactly. Anyone who didn't know better would think Cao Cao had already defeated Brother Bei and unified the Great Han!"

In Shouchun City,

Liu Fu, the Inspector of Yang Province appointed by Cao Cao, was filled with worry.

Lu Xun led troops to occupy the county seat of Cai in the Huai River area, cutting off the connection between Shouchun and the north.

He only knew now that Liu Bei occupied Guangling Commandery and was heading toward Xiapi State.

Cao Cao's instruction to him was to guard Shouchun well and not think about anything else.

He felt depressed; for such a large city as Shouchun, he only had 5,000 soldiers!

Le Jin had 8,000 soldiers guarding the fortress of Hefei!

Originally, their plan was that Le Jin would be Liu Bei's main target, and Shouchun only needed to guard against sneak attacks.

Who knew that Liu Bei would disregard martial ethics, kill his way over from the Huai River, and occupy the north instead, making Shouchun the main target.

Fortunately, Lu Xun didn't seem to care much about Shouchun City and intended to take the Ying River to rush toward Xiangxian.

Liu Fu hurriedly asked Le Jin to lead troops back to reinforce Shouchun, leaving Zhang Xi with 3,000 men to guard Hefei. With 10,000 troops, Shouchun would be safe and sound.

Liu Fu was portrayed quite poorly in the Romance.

Boss Cao held his spear and composed the famous poem "Short Song Style."

There is a line: "The moon is bright, the stars are sparse, the magpies fly south, circling the tree three times, which branch can they rely on?"

Liu Fu muttered that these words were very unlucky, and Boss Cao casually stabbed him to death with his spear.

In reality, he was a very good official. He came to Jiujiang alone, built the new city of Hefei, and gathered the people, giving Shouchun tens of thousands of inhabitants.

Le Jin was also very depressed. He had originally intended to rely on the Hefei fortress to stop Liu Bei and become famous in one battle.

He never expected that Liu Bei wouldn't come at all!

Liu Fu asked him to reinforce Shouchun, and after thinking about it, he decided to go.

Le Jin led 5,000 elite troops along the Fei River toward Shouchun.

Le Jin was a veteran in the army. He sent out scouts far and wide to guard against sneak attacks by Liu Bei's troops, moving cautiously all the way. Fortunately, he was not ambushed.

Unfortunately, before he reached Shouchun, more than two hundred warships sailed up the Fei River, and Gan Ning and Xu Sheng led 15,000 troops to block Le Jin's path!

Le Jin had no way to reach Shouchun. He only had a few days' worth of rations and dared not hold a stalemate with Gan Ning and the others. He sent men to cover the rear and led his troops toward Hefei.

There was nearly a year's worth of rations there, so he wasn't panicked at all!

On the way back,

Suddenly, ten thousand arrows were fired from the forest by the river, falling like rain!

Le Jin's soldiers were caught off guard and were shot down in droves instantly!

"Kill!"

"Kill Le Jin!"

"Lord Liu Xuande has great rewards!"

It was Chen Lan and Lei Bo, the former subordinates of Ding Yuan Shu who had become bandits in Jiujiang!

Persuaded by their old friends, Liu Bei's subordinates Le Jiu and Qiao Rui, they raised an army to ambush Le Jin!

Liu Bei had accepted the Ding Yuan family, so he had some friendship with them.

Le Jiu and the others were living much better than Chen Lan, and they very successfully persuaded them to defect to Liu Bei.

Le Jin was ambushed and then pursued relentlessly by Gan Ning and Xu Sheng from behind. He was instantly crippled and led his remaining 2,000 soldiers to hold a mountain.

However, there were no reinforcements on the mountain, and no supplies either. Three or five days later, he ran out of food.

Le Jin was a loyal and brave man who swore never to surrender, but his soldiers couldn't endure hunger as well as he could. They tied Le Jin up together and sent him down the mountain.

Gan Ning had already had people cook a meal for them, letting them have a good feast.

Afterward, Gan Ning selected several hundred men, plus his 1,000 Jinfan Guard personal guards.

Disguised as Le Jin's retreating soldiers, and with the cooperation of two surrendered Cao Army captains, they tricked their way into Hefei City.

Gan Ning shot Zhang Xi to death with one arrow, and the surprise attack on Hefei City succeeded!

Liu Fu never expected that the Hefei fortress he had worked so hard to build would not encounter a single enemy soldier from the south, but would be stolen by enemy soldiers from the north!

Le Jin swore never to surrender and was beheaded by Lu Xun's order, his head sent to Shouchun.

The soldiers in Shouchun were shocked!

Liu Fu looked at the dense mass of troops outside the city—Lu Xun, plus Chen Lan and Lei Bo, totaled 90,000 troops. He felt fear, let alone the soldiers.

He had no choice but to surrender. Now that Hefei City had fallen, Liu Bei's army could send reinforcements from Jiangdong continuously.

The Huai River was controlled by Lu Xun, there were no reinforcements from outside, and the people in the city remembered Liu Bei's kindness and had no determination to resist.

Under the persuasion of his soldiers, Liu Fu opened the gates of Shouchun City and surrendered!

Lu Xun's line had made breakthrough progress. Everything south of the Huai River was controlled by Liu Bei. In the future, launching a Northern Expedition from Shouchun to Xuxian would be as easy as turning over one's hand!

Lu Xun sent men to report the victory to Liu Bei and left Le Jiu to guard Shouchun.

He himself led the naval forces along the Ying River toward Xiangxian!