The night was getting thicker and thicker, the sound of gold resounded in the sky, and Wen Ping commanded the army to retreat slowly.

On the city wall, the spear in Zhang Xiu's hand kept shaking, picking up the corpses of Jingzhou soldiers one after another.

"Bang!"

Raising his right foot and kicking a corpse off the city wall, Zhang Xiu wiped the fine beads of sweat on his face and let out a long sigh of relief.

"What about today's casualties?"

Zhang Xiu sat on the city wall regardless of his image and asked an adjutant beside him.

The adjutant's face was a little ugly, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Today, the Jingzhou army attacked the city very fiercely, and there were more than 200 casualties in the city. ”

"Two hundred?"

Hearing this casualty figure, Zhang Xiu couldn't help but gasp.

Two hundred people seems to be a small number, but if there are so many casualties every day, Wuguan will not be able to support it for even half a month.

However, to this day, Zhang Xiu has been holding the Wuguan for nearly two months.

Wuguan is extremely steep, only one city gate guards the natural danger, and the price paid by the Jingzhou army every time it attacks the city is several times that of the Guanzhong army.

Rao is like this, in the two-month offensive and defensive battle, Zhang Xiu felt that he couldn't support it anymore.

The adjutant looked at Zhang Xiu, who was blushing with a blue face, and said: "Today, the generals of the thief army, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, personally braved the arrows and stones to fight in the city. ”

"If it weren't for the advantage of the city wall, I'm afraid there would be no way to stop the attack of the Jingzhou army."

"Damn, the lord treats Liu Bei and the others so kindly, but he doesn't want them to be so unkind! If you catch these three men one day, you will definitely cut them with a thousand knives! ”

Zhang Xiu's face was a little distorted, and his right hand slammed into the city wall.

During this time, although Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did not have to be the first in every battle, every time the two of them went to the city to fight, they would make Guan Zhongjun pay a great price.

Therefore, Zhang Xiu now hates the three brothers of Liu Bei.

The adjutant said: "Fortunately, today the general shot Guan Yu's right arm, presumably in the short term, the two of them will definitely not lead the army to attack the city by themselves." ”

Zhang Xiu took a deep breath, tried to calm the anxiety in his heart, and then asked, "How many soldiers are there in the city?" ”

The adjutant said with a somewhat ugly face: "There are less than five hundred people left, and many of them are newly recruited young men. ”

In the two months of difficult offensive and defensive battles, although the defenders of Wuguan occupied the advantage of the city wall, they still suffered heavy casualties, if it were not for Zhang Xiu in the city to recruit young and strong men to defend the city, I am afraid that Wuguan would have been conquered long ago.

Zhang Xiu muttered to himself in a bit of distraction: "Are there less than five hundred people, if the thief army attacks for a few more days, I'm afraid Wuguan will really be overcome." ”

The adjutant swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked, "Hasn't Kasaka still brought in reinforcements?" ”

Zhang Xiu said with a wry smile: "Now that Guanzhong is in crisis, wars are raging, and the lord leads a large army to expedition to Yizhou, where will there be reinforcements?" ”

The adjutant said in horror: "If this is the case, Wuguan will definitely not be able to hold it!" ”

No matter how steep the level is, there are times when it is overcome, and Zhang Xiu can rely on 3,000 soldiers and horses to hold Wuguan City for two months, which can be regarded as a big miracle.

After all, the Jingzhou army not only has a large number of soldiers and horses, but also has excellent weapons and armor, and the siege equipment is also very complete, not a rabble.

In addition, Wen Ping, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei are not easy to match, so don't think that Zhang Xiu is very easy to defend the city.

Zhang Xiu's face changed for a while, and then he suddenly gritted his teeth and said: "If you can't keep it, you have to keep it, you will go to the city to continue to levy the people, if there are not enough strong people, the old and weak women and children can also be requisitioned to the city wall!" ”

The adjutant was extremely shocked when he heard this, and said: "There is no precedent for the old and weak women and children to come to defend the city." ”

Zhang Xiu said: "The matter is urgent, and now I can't take care of it so much, no matter what, Wuguan must not be lost!" ”

Wuguan is the southern gateway of Guanzhong, if Wuguan is lost, the entire Guanzhong will be exposed to the Jingzhou army, and there is no danger to defend.

This kind of consequence is completely beyond what Zhang Xiu can imagine.

Chen Xu handed over such an important position of Wuguan to Zhang Xiu to defend, even if he died on the battlefield, he had to defend the southern gateway of this pass.

However, he said that after Wen Ping's army withdrew to the camp, he inspected the four directions and found that all the soldiers were demoralized, and their faces couldn't help but be gloomy and a little terrible.

"Xuande Gong, we have been attacking Wuguan for more than two months, losing nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, but we have not been able to break through the city. Now that the soldiers are tired from fighting for a long time and their morale is completely gone, what should they do? ”

Liu Bei said: "Although our army has lost troops, but the defenders in the city must have little left, and the general only needs to storm Wuguan for a few more days, and he will be able to break through the pass!" ”

Liu Bei is a person who has achieved great things, although he is grateful for Chen Xu's kindness, but once he decides to attack Guanzhong, he will bury that gratitude in his heart.

Although he does not have the talent of the world, he is also a battlefield general, and the experience accumulated over the years has already made Liu Bei see through the fact that Wuguan is extremely empty.

Wen Ping shook his head helplessly, and said: "Having said that, but the soldiers and horses have suffered too many losses, and the soldiers are afraid of war, if Wuguan comes to reinforce the army, it is impossible to break through the pass." ”

The Jingzhou army has been attacking Wuguan for so long, and it is said that the reinforcements from Guanzhong should have arrived a long time ago, but in fact, until now, no reinforcements have arrived in Wuguan.

Although the 3,000 defenders in the city are very difficult, the Jingzhou army is not short of food and grass, as long as Wen Ping is given enough time, he can conquer Wuguan sooner or later.

I'm afraid, before the Wuguan is conquered, the reinforcements in the Guanzhong have already arrived.

If that is the case, the previous sacrifice of the Jingzhou army will be completely useless.

Liu Bei was also worried about this, but he thought for a while and said, "I heard that Yuan Benchu led his troops to attack and annex the state, and Cao Mengde led the crowd to attack the fortification. ”

"None of these two people are easy to match, presumably there are no extra soldiers and horses in Guanzhong, so there have been no reinforcements coming."

Wen Ping looked up in the direction of Wuguan and said to himself: "I hope so!" ”

In the dead of night, Liu Bei came to visit him in Guan Yu's tent and asked with concern, "Yun Chang, is there a big injury on your right arm?" ”

When Guan Yu saw his brother coming, he hurriedly got up and said, "Why worry about a small injury, brother Hugh has to worry about me!" ”

The two sat on the bed and chatted for a while, and Guan Yu suddenly said: "Guanzhong has a large population, and the people are very supportive of the general, even if they face the joint attack of Yuan Benchu and Cao Mengde, it may not be that there will be an extreme shortage of troops." ”

"After all, as long as the government conscripts soldiers, presumably the people of Guanzhong will enthusiastically sign up. But for some reason, until today, there has never been a reinforcement in Wuguan. ”

Liu Bei also frowned, and said: "For this matter, I feel very strange for my brother." ”

However, it was said that Zhang Xiu had been tossing and turning even when he was sleeping in bed because of the lack of troops in Wuguan, and it was difficult to sleep for a long time.

"Wuguan has reached the moment of life and death, and it seems that it is time to open another bag."

Zhang Xiu sat up from the bed suddenly, draped her clothes on her back, and cautiously took out a brocade box.

He slowly opened the brocade box and took out a brocade bag, only to see that it was written: Wuguan can only be opened when it is in danger!

Long before Wen Zhao led his troops to attack Yizhou, he sent someone to send Zhang Xiu two tips, one of which was opened by Zhang Xiu when the Jingzhou army was in the city.

Zhang Xiu completely followed the words above the bag, and guarded the Wuguan and did not go out of the city no matter what.

In the past two months, Chinese hired and Liu Bei set up various strategies to lure Zhang Xiu out of the city, and several times Zhang Xiu was very moved and prepared to go out of the city to face the battle.

But whenever he remembered the words in the bag, he resisted this urge and did not leave the city.

It is precisely because of this that Wenpin and Liu Bei's many plans have failed, and Wuguan has been able to support it until now.

Although Zhang Xiu is brave and skillful, and he is quite disciplined in leading troops to fight, after all, his subjective judgment ability is not outstanding, but he has an advantage that other generals do not have, that is, unparalleled execution ability.

It can be said that as long as Zhang Xiu is paired with a top strategist, and the two cooperate closely, they will be able to take charge of themselves.

Just like in history, Zhang Xiu, who had Jia Xu's assistance, could repel Cao Cao's attacks several times, and even almost killed Cao Cao, which shocked the world.

If it is replaced by other generals, he may not be able to obey Jia Xu's words, and even if he obeys Jia Xu's strategy, he may not have Zhang Xiu's executive ability.

Therefore, as long as you plan for Zhang Xiu in advance and let him act according to the plan, Zhang Xiu can definitely do a good job.

Facts also proved that he used 3,000 defenders to kill the Jingzhou army, which was several times his own, and held Wuguan for two months.

Gently stroking the bag in his hand, Zhang Xiu said to himself: "I hope there is a strategy to break the enemy in the bag." ”

The string tied to the brocade bag was untied, Zhang Xiu took out the note inside, and after reading it, he was immediately overjoyed, and said: "I never thought that the lord had hidden a group of people near Wuguan. ”

In the early morning of the next day, after the rectification of the three armies was completed, he prepared to continue to attack Wuguan.

Suddenly, a messenger rushed to the camp and shouted: "Jingzhou urgent, Jingzhou urgent!" ”

Wen Ping was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly led the messenger to the tent.

Liu Bei's eyes flickered slightly, and he secretly thought, "Finally, as Yuan Zhi expected, is it coming?" ”

However, after Wen Ping entered the camp with the messenger, he hurriedly asked, "But what happened in Jingzhou?" ”

The messenger replied: "Jiangdong Sun Ce raised troops to attack Jiangxia, Jiangxia Taishou Huang Zu was killed in battle, and Jingzhou was shaken. ”

"Now that Sun Ce's troops are pointing directly at Xiangyang, Jingzhou's civil and military forces are panicking, and the lord orders the general to quickly lead the troops back to help!"

"What?"

Wen Ping was shocked, he didn't expect that in just two months, Jiangxia had actually been conquered by Sun Ce. But he led a large army, and even a small Wuguan failed to capture.

Liu Bei's eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly stepped forward and asked, "I don't know how many soldiers and horses Sun Ce brought with him to attack Jingzhou this time?" ”

When the messenger heard this, he hurriedly said: "Sun Ce led 50,000 troops to attack Jiangxia, and after killing Zhang Shuo and Huang Zu, he received 20,000 soldiers, and the momentum was huge. ”

Liu Bei was shocked and asked, "The soldiers who just surrendered, do you dare to use Sun Bofu?" ”

Hearing this, the messenger said with some anger: "Huang Zu has made people angry and resentful in Jiangxia over the years, and the soldiers and the people have deviated from morality. ”

"It is precisely because of this that Jiangxia was occupied by Sun Cejun so quickly."

Liu Bei set his eyes on Wen Ping and said: "Even if you add the 20,000 soldiers who surrendered, Sun Bofu still has to stay behind to defend Jiangxia, and at most he can only lead 60,000 soldiers and horses to attack the rest of the place. ”

"Although General Wen led 50,000 horses to attack Wuguan, the remaining troops in Jingzhou were still no less than 50,000, supplemented by the city and dangerous passes, Sun Ce may not be able to attack Xiangyang."

"Now there are fewer and fewer defenders in the Wuguan, and it will take a few **** to break through the city and occupy this dangerous pass."

"Wuguan Ruoke, the Jingzhou army can go north to attack Guanzhong, and the retreat can rely on Wuguan to resist the Guanzhong army, which is absolutely beneficial and harmless for Jingzhou."

"At that time, it was not too late for the general to lead his troops back to Jingzhou."

When the messenger heard this, he was in a hurry, and said: "Before leaving, the lord has repeatedly explained that the two generals must quickly lead the troops back to help, and they must not be delayed here." ”

Although Wen Ping felt that Liu Bei's words were reasonable, after he heard the messenger's words, he hesitated and said: "The envoy's words are good, now is a good time to conquer Wuguan." ”

"But the lord has an order, how can I disobey the order?"

Liu Bei said: "The general is outside, the military order is not subject to it, please think twice before acting." ”

"It's only a matter of a few days to conquer Wuguan, even if you want to return to Xiangyang, you don't want to rush these days."

"If you give up the low-hanging fruit today, it will be difficult to plan in the future."

Wen Ping's face struggled for a moment, feeling that it was a pity to give up Wuguan like this, and his heart was already a little shaken. Liu Bei saw that the messenger was still going to speak, so he asked Zhang Fei to invite him down first.

"Please also consider and understand that if you want to capture Wuguan, you can storm the city day and night, so that you can break the city as soon as possible."

Taking a deep breath, Wen Ping said: "There are still tens of thousands of people in Jingzhou with armor, and there are many talented people, and it is expected that Sun Ce will not want to attack Xiangyang in a hurry. ”

"Xuande Gong said that it is very good, and now Wuguan has reached the edge of the city, if you lead the troops to retreat now, you will regret it too late. I intend to lead the army to storm Wuguan day and night, and strive to break through the city as soon as possible! ”

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this, so he and Wen Ping together ordered the three armies and went to attack Wuguan.

However, after Zhang Xiu opened the bag, he knew that Chen Xu had been near Wuguan a long time ago and secretly hid an army of 2,000 people, so he hurriedly asked people to go and requisition this army back.

Before the reinforcements arrived, they heard the dull sound of war drums outside the city, but saw Wen Pingqin leading a large army to kill.

After arriving at the city, Wen Ping shouted loudly: "The defenders in the city are only a few hundred people now, there is no need to be afraid, all the troops should fight to the death, and the city will be broken today!" ”

"As long as the Wuguan is overcome, we will lead the troops back!"

"Kill!"

On the city wall, Zhang Xiu looked at the overwhelming Jingzhou army, and his heart couldn't help sinking, and he secretly thought: "I hope that the reinforcements can come over as soon as possible." ”