() It has been twelve days since Li Ru left Guanwu to ask for food and aid. Today, the situation in Guanwu County has become increasingly critical, making the generals from Niu Fu extremely worried. Many people have There was a sense of precarious situation, and the morale of the army was at its lowest point.

After walking back to the temporary command post with heavy steps, Niu Fu couldn't help but sigh heavily. He had just received a report that there was no food available in the city's granary, so he rushed over with suspicion. At first glance, it made people nervous. To my surprise, the warehouse that originally stored tens of thousands of grains was completely empty, leaving only a few scattered handfuls of residual grains.

In this regard, Niu Fu really had no idea, so he had to go back to the command post with a heavy heart, and then called all the generals over. Because the Qiang people outside the city would send troops to attack from time to time, the troops in the city were scattered to all sides. To face the enemy, it is not a simple matter to summon the generals who are defending themselves together.

Half an hour later, the generals, who were all fighting for their lives and looked quite embarrassed, arrived one after another. Li Que's eyes were bloodshot, and it was obvious that he had not slept peacefully for several nights, while Guo Fan injured his arm and was hung by a cloth. When they saw Niu Fu's heavy face, they knew that there was bad news to be delivered. This made them not rush to ask anything, but just looked at him quietly, waiting for him. Tell the truth yourself.

Niu Fu smiled bitterly and said to himself: "I wonder how much food you generals still have available?"

"Huh?" Zhang Ji immediately guessed the purpose of his question: "General Niu, but the food in the city is about to run out?"

As soon as he said these words, the faces of the generals turned even darker, because this was what they were most worried about. Although they knew that the food in the city was not sufficient, they tried their best to provide food in the city as early as ten days ago. The compression was expensive, but they didn't expect problems to arise so quickly, which was hard for them to accept.

Niu Fu said in a deep voice: "It's not that it's about to run out, but it's already used up. Now, there are only a few kilograms of residual grain left in the granary. In other words, from now on, we have run out of food!"

"What?" Even though they knew the matter was serious, everyone couldn't help but scream when they heard the shocking bad news. They had also experienced many dangers, but this situation of being trapped without food was really a lesson. Not much. Even when Ri followed Dong Zhuo and was trapped in Wangyuanxia, ​​he could still hold on for a while, but now, the situation is obviously worse than then.

"Once this matter is leaked, I'm afraid that the tens of thousands of troops under our command will immediately lose their combat capabilities, so if it's not a last resort, I hope you can keep it secret for the time being." Niu Fu has thought a lot in half an hour. , so he then added: "Otherwise we will really be doomed."

"We naturally know this. There are powerful enemies outside, so how can we mess up our position? But now how should we deal with this huge problem?" Hu Zhen said very worriedly.

"Didn't Mr. Li go to ask for food and help before? Why hasn't he brought back any news until today?" Li Que suddenly thought of the past and asked immediately.

"The person he went to ask for food was the Ma family, and we have already had a feud with the Ma family. It may not be easy to get food from them this time?" Guo Fan's mind was still clear, and he immediately gave the answer Got the view.

These words immediately made everyone feel even more nervous. Naturally, they knew about the secret fights and conflicts between the two sides. In order to suppress or even get rid of the Ma family, they, Dong Zhuo's old men, did a lot of sinister things, and these Obviously, the Ma family will see through them one by one. Now, when they ask for help, will the Ma family really help them regardless of past grudges?

"But if he doesn't help us and sees us defeated by the Qiang people, I'm afraid the Ma family won't get any advantage? We have tens of thousands of troops here, and none of them are any match for the Qiang people. Only with his Ma family's strength of around 10,000 people Is it possible for my tribe to survive at the hands of the Qiang people? In my opinion, the Ma family may not die without saving them!" Zhang Ji, adhering to the point of view of losing his lips and teeth, comforted everyone.

"If we were facing Ma Teng, this statement would naturally be enough to impress him. But in fact, we all know that Ma Yue is more in charge of the Ma family now... With his usual style of acting, it is really possible that this time Kill someone with a borrowed knife!" Zhao Yuan, whose injuries were better and could move freely, said in a voice full of hatred: "I even suspect that he has some kind of connection with the Qiang people, otherwise why would they leave from the front? Did the Qiang people attack us?"

"This..." Everyone didn't know how to answer this for a moment. Because they really didn't want the Ma family to form an alliance with the Qiang people as they said, which meant that they would never be able to stand up again. However, They couldn't help but think about this, after all, it was too coincidental.

"It is better to rely on ourselves than to rely on others. Under such circumstances, we must make a decision to deal with the current crisis as soon as possible." Niu Fu saw that no one was getting to the point, so he had to say it himself: "But if you want to solve it, In the current predicament, there are only two things we can do. It is impossible to continue to defend. Once the food is out and the soldiers have no fighting spirit, they will definitely not be able to defend the city. Then there are only two options: breakout and surrender. Do you think we should choose Which one?"

"Surrender to the Qiang people? This is impossible! Not to mention that if we do this, we will ruin everyone's reputation. Even those brothers who have fought with the Qiang people for many years will not approve of this move!" Guo Fan immediately put forward his intention. .

Zhang Ji also nodded and said: "The sergeants' ideas are a problem, and if we vote like this, the Qiang people may not be willing to accept us. Even if they accept it, they may not dare to trust us, or even treat us badly." These generals are disadvantaged in order to better control our troops. Therefore, surrender is a dead end and we must not do it!"

There is not much talk about the righteousness of the family and the country, but it can be recognized by everyone. This is the practical way of doing things in Xiliang. In their eyes, nothing is more important than their own interests. If Benefits can be guaranteed, and they are not afraid of being labeled as traitors and surrendering, but judging from the current situation, it is obviously not possible.

"Then there is only one way to break out of the encirclement." Niu Fu sighed and said: "With our current military morale and morale, can we really break out of the Qiang encirclement in one go and get rid of their subsequent pursuit? Also, what can we do? After reaching the above two points, what should we do next? I'm afraid that if we leave the city, we will have no food and no way to go."

"If we had fought openly with them when we were trapped in the city, the situation might not have been so critical. Now I'm afraid it would be really difficult to succeed." Hu Zhen said with some dissatisfaction. At that time, he had There had been such a proposal, but in the end it could not be implemented because the generals had their own agenda. Now that he brought up the old matter again, he naturally wanted to vent.

"There is no use in mentioning this matter anymore. Let's discuss how to break out of the encirclement." Seeing that several people looked unhappy, Niu Fu quickly interrupted. He knew very well that the most important thing at this time was for everyone to work together, otherwise it would really happen.

Can't live anymore.

Hu Zhen also knew that he had made a mistake, so he kept silent. The other generals also understood that everyone had no way out, so they had to accept this still dangerous-looking military strategy and break out of the encirclement.

"What we need to pay attention to now are two points. We must not only let the sergeants below maintain a certain combat effectiveness, tell them that as long as they break out of the city, they can guarantee their lives, but also let the Qiang people outside the city not think that we are escaping. Regarding this, everyone,

Do you have any good suggestions?" Niu Fu saw that the matter had been concluded, so he continued to put forward his own ideas.

In this regard, everyone put forward some opinions. Now it is for everyone's survival, so they also try their best to offer suggestions. Although the final policy may not be perfect and without loopholes.

, but at least it can help them break out of the city in a short period of time.

After summarizing all the suggestions and setting up a proper strategy, Niu Fu stood up solemnly and said to everyone: "This will be a critical moment that determines whether we, the people, live or die, so I hope you can put it aside for the time being.

Some personal thoughts can be worked together to successfully break through!"

The generals were also convinced of this, and they all nodded solemnly, saying that they would accept this strategy and implement it meticulously.

At dawn the next day, with the sound of drums, the closed east gate of Guanwu County burst open, the suspension bridge also fell, and then thousands of cavalry rushed out with shouts and attacked the Qiang camp outside the city.

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Chapter completed!