Chapter 276 Xu Shu borrows arrows and is deserted by his friends and relatives Speaking of the relationship between Qin Zhen and Xu Shu, it was a very close one. However, after joining Liu Bei's army, the two of them guarded different sides and their communication became less. But even so, it does not affect their relationship. Seeing Xu Shu take the initiative to offer advice, Qin Zhen was naturally delighted and hurriedly asked for advice. After hearing this, Xu Shu gathered his words for a while and said to Qin Zhen: "At present, our army has surrounded Tan County. Although we can divert water into the river, this city is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Our army will suffer heavy casualties in the future!" "I see that this Tan County city is not where Lu Bu's troops are stationed, so there must not be many arrows!" "If we can find a way to use up all the arrows in the city, we can help with the siege!" "So in my opinion, our army might as well dig a canal from under the city."

"Use wooden boards, linen cloth and earth and stones to build a cover for the cart. Dig for a while during the day to let the enemy know that we intend to attack." "At night, we put straw men under the city to pretend to move, and let the soldiers shout from behind, pretending to capture the city!" "The enemy won't dare to leave the city. We must meet them with bows and arrows. After a few attempts, the city will run out of arrows!" "Once we can divert water to the city and the river freezes, our army can attack it!" After hearing this plan, all the generals' eyes lit up, and Chen Deng smiled and said: "Prime Minister Pei's plan is brilliant. Even if it fails, it can still consume a large number of arrows!" Qin Zhen heard this and couldn't help but laugh secretly. This time, Kong Ming didn't borrow arrows, but Xu Shu should have borrowed arrows! Thinking about this, he began to prepare according to Zang Ba and Xu Shu's ideas. In the heavy snow, their soldiers marched out of the camp and cut wood and made weapons in the forest. In order to prevent Lu Bu from leaving the city to attack, he ordered Zhao Yun to lead 3,000 troops to ambush on the important road in the north. This behavior was immediately known to the scouts on the city wall, who hurried into the city to inform Chen Gong. When Chen Gong heard this, he knew that Qin Zhen was preparing to storm the city, so he immediately went to find Lu Bu and said: "Now that Qin Zhen's army is strong, he will definitely attack us. You guys should cut wood outside the city, and we may be able to attack them!" "Our army can take this opportunity to launch an attack, but we must not let the enemy succeed!" At this time, Lü Bu had just got a wife and concubine, and he was very happy. He was about to get drunk with his wife and children. When he heard this, he frowned and said: "Qin Zhen has always been cautious in employing his troops. Now that he has ordered his soldiers to cut down trees, how could he not be prepared?" "Our army is small to begin with. If we lose soldiers and generals when we leave the city, what shall we do?" "Don't talk about this anymore. Our army will never be able to leave the city!" "Don't you want to ask for help? You can take this opportunity to send an envoy!" After saying this, he ignored Chen Gong and ordered his servants to prepare wine and meat for a feast with his wife and children. Chen Gong was helpless when he saw this, so he went to find Wang Kai and Xu Si again and said: "Now that the lord is unwilling to leave the city, you two may go directly outside the city to seek help!" When Wang Kai and Xu Si heard this, they looked at each other with fear written all over their faces.

"There are enemy troops outside the city. How can we go north? We need soldiers to protect us!" Chen Gong had no choice but to ask Lu Bu for instructions. Lu Bu was impatient and asked Cheng Lian to lead a thousand soldiers and two guards. At three o'clock in the night, Lu Bu's army quietly opened the city gate, and Cheng Lian led the soldiers and horses to escort the two men out. But just as the troops left the city and headed north, they encountered the main road when suddenly a group of soldiers emerged from the woods. Cheng Lian was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly led his troops to retreat, but asked Xu Si and Wang Kai to stay in the carriage. Xu Si was quite thin. When he heard that there were troops coming, he quickly got off the car and ran after Cheng Lian. Only Wang Kai was a little fat, so he was captured by the ambushed soldiers and handed over to the defending general Sun Guan. It turned out that Qin Zhen had long been on guard against Lu Bu's envoys heading north, and had ordered the generals under Zang Ba to guard the important roads. If Xu Si and Wang Kai really went there together, they might be able to make a breakthrough. However, the two men's intention to use a large army for protection played into Qin Zhen's hands, resulting in Wang Kai's capture. Sun Guan captured Wang Kai and took him all the way back to the tent and came in front of Qin Zhen. Qin Zhen had already gone to bed, but he didn't expect to have an unexpected gain. Looking at the plump and white Wang Kai, he smiled and said: "Isn't this the way my old friend and prince do? Why are you so busy staying up late at night that you can come and hang out in my camp?" As soon as he spoke, the officers around him burst into laughter, but Wang Kai was terrified. He was a relatively weak person, not as tough as Chen Gong. Seeing Qin Zhen making fun of him, he said ashamedly: "I wanted to deliver a message, but was caught by your army. I didn't come here to hang out. I hope Mr. Qin won't laugh at me." However, Qin Zhen saw this and stepped forward, grabbed Wang Kai's hand and said with a smile: "Zifa is an old friend of mine. I am so happy for him, how could I ridicule him?" "Speaking of which, my sister-in-law is still in the army. I wonder if Zifa is willing to surrender to our army?" When Wang Kai saw him trying to persuade him to surrender, he hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and nodded! He was not Chen Gong, and he had no deep hatred for Qin Zhen. Besides, his family was in Qin Zhen's hands, so he naturally would not resist too much. On the other side, after Cheng Lian and others returned to the city, they discovered that Wang Kai was missing. Cheng Lian was still feeling scared, but Xu Si said with a look of sorrow: "We were attacked just now. You must have fallen into the hands of the enemy!" Seeing him so sad, Cheng Lian frowned and said: "We didn't know the enemy was ambushing us, so what can we do if this person gets lost?" When Xu Si heard this, he knew that he should not blame Cheng Lian, so he just shook his head and said nothing. The two men came to find Chen Gong again and talked about everything. When Chen Gong heard that Wang Kai was missing, he sighed. He also sent someone to inform Lü Bu of the matter. Lü Bu had already gone to bed at that time. When he heard the news, he was furious. He stood up and scolded everyone. Then he ordered Chen Gong to find a way to leave the city and seek help. Seeing this, Chen Gong had no choice but to think of other strategies. But while he was thinking, Qin Zhen returned with his troops the next day.

This time, the person he brought was not someone's family, but Wang Kai himself. At his signal, Wang Kai shouted towards the city wall; "I am Wang Kai, a subordinate of Lu Bu. I cannot bear Lu Bu's humiliation any more, so I have surrendered to Liu Zhengdong!" "All the families in the city are outside the city, why are you still resisting?" "Why not quickly leave the city and surrender, so that the family can be reunited, wouldn't that be wonderful?" Naturally, these words were said under the coercion of Qin Zhen. Wang Kai's fat body was seen facing the howling east wind, holding a megaphone and shouting three times. The sound resounded throughout the entire city, and the lingering sound continued endlessly. As soon as the voice was finished, Chen Gong climbed up the city wall and pointed at Wang Kai and cursed: "Prince Fa, Marquis Wen has treated you well, so why are you trying to persuade me to surrender?" "Your behavior is truly despised by others!" Originally, Wang Kai was forced by Qin Zhen, but when he heard Chen Gong's scolding, he shouted: "Chen Gongtai, Lord Cao treated you well in the past, why do you want to join Lu Bu's army?" "We have been defeated here, and all my family members have fallen into the hands of the enemy." "To be loyal and brave for you alone, do you mean that we should abandon our wives and children?" "Fortunately, I am outside the city now, and my family is by my side." "Look at you, a lonely man who has neglected his old mother. You are so disloyal and unfilial. How dare you humiliate me?" People are often like this. Once some bottom lines are crossed, there is no going back. As Wang Kai started to curse, he felt relieved and the more he cursed, the more excited he became. Chen Gong was not good at speaking, and he turned red in the face and trembled all over after being scolded. Suddenly he turned around and said to Lu Bu in a deep voice: "Marquis Wen, this man is disturbing the morale of our army, we cannot keep him here!" "We must march forward and kill them immediately, otherwise our army will be in chaos!" Lu Bu could also see the danger posed by Wang Kai, so he immediately ordered his troops to attack out of the city. When Wang Kai saw Lu Bu rushing out of the city, he was shocked and hurriedly hid towards Qin Zhen. Qin Zhen smiled slightly, pulled him into the car, and retreated all the way. As soon as Lu Bu rushed out, Zang Ba, Zhao Yun, Gan Ning, Zhang Liao and others led their troops to attack forward. We are not at the gates of Shouchun now, and the generals are not afraid of Lu Bu. After a fierce battle, Lu Bu was forced to retreat back into the city and stayed indoors. Upon seeing this, Qin Zhen ordered his troops to withdraw. However, the next day, he brought Wang Kai to the city to shake the morale of the troops. At the same time, the vehicles built according to Xu Shu's plan were also completed and pushed directly to the foot of the city by the soldiers to start digging canals. In fact, if the canal is dug, the vehicles will not be able to protect it at all.

But what Qin Zhen and his team wanted to dig was a small ditch, as long as it could divert the water into the moat. It does not need to be too deep or too wide, and construction can be done under the car. Chen Gong, who was on the city wall, was horrified when he saw this. He said hurriedly: "Not good, the enemy may be trying to divert water to flood the city, we must send troops to stop them as soon as possible!" The key word "water diversion to flood the city" instantly brought back bad memories for Qin Song, and he hurriedly advised Lu Bu: "Qin Zhen's plan is to lure the enemy. General, you must not send troops!" Lü Bu listened to the two people's contradictory suggestions and sneered: "It's winter now, and there's little water in the river. Even if we divert water here, it will freeze in three to five days. What's the point?" "Don't even think that he only dug a canal. Even if he really brought water to irrigate the area, I wouldn't be afraid!" After saying this, he ordered everyone not to leave the city, and he returned to the city to drink and have fun with Yan and others. Seeing Lu Bu so depressed, all the generals lost their will to fight. Also, hearing Wang Kai outside the city repeatedly urging them to surrender, many of them wanted to leave. Among them, there was one person who suddenly came to his senses, and that person was Qin Song! Because Qin Song was not originally a subordinate of Lu Bu, he was kidnapped by Lu Bu in the past and forced to join. Later, Lu Bu asked for his family to come, and as a scholar, he had no choice but to obey his orders. Didn't he also want to help Lu Bu achieve great things? Unfortunately, Lu Bu was not very powerful, and Yuan Shao and Liu Bei were too strong. So he wandered for more than a year and was finally trapped here with Lu Bu. Before this, he had been determined to persuade Lu Bu to join Cao Cao. But as Wang Kai was captured by Qin Zhen, he suddenly changed his mind. After all, he was just like Wang Kai, he had no grudge against Qin Zhen, and similarly, Lu Bu didn't have much gratitude towards him. If Lu Bu can assist, then he should naturally do his best. But now Lu Bu can't even break out, why should he continue to serve under Lu Bu? Look at Wang Kai under the city. Although what he did was a bit despicable, at least his family is reunited! He was originally captured and had no sense of belonging, so why was he trying to stay here? Therefore, when he listened to Wang Kai's words for a moment, he felt a little shaken in his heart. Also shaken were Xu Si, Hou Cheng, Cheng Lian and others. The only one who had no disloyalty was Chen Gong. Seeing the enemy soldiers under the city digging canals with wooden planks on their backs, he ordered his men to shoot immediately. After a round of shooting failed, those who were stronger threw stones at them. Under such an offensive, Qin Zhen was finally stopped from digging the canal. Although the canal digging had stopped, Wang Kai was still shouting loudly under the city. Upon seeing this, Chen Gong angrily shot an arrow and ordered his subordinates: "This man betrayed his master and joined the enemy. He is truly a despicable villain. Please do not listen to his words!" "From now on, anyone heard discussing this in the army will be killed!"

Having said this, he turned and walked down the city wall, and began to investigate the rumors in the city. But he didn't know that after he left, everyone's expressions became somewhat complicated as they looked at the soldiers and horses below the city. As the two armies were in a stalemate, the battle did not start and in the blink of an eye, it was night again. At three o'clock in the morning, a burst of shouting and killing suddenly rang out in the silent night. This frightened Lu Bu so much that he hurried out of the gentle embrace and asked: "Where is the noise coming from? Could it be the enemy attacking the city?" As soon as he asked, he saw the guard go out for a while, then come back and answer: "My lord, the enemy is shouting outside the city. I'm afraid they are about to attack the city!" When Lu Bu heard this, he was horrified and quickly gave the order: "Send your bows and arrows to stop them. Don't let the enemy get close to the city. I will follow soon!" As soon as the order was given, the imperial guards issued a message, and the soldiers on the city wall received the order and hurriedly shot down. But they heard the muffled sound of arrows from below the city, but did not see any enemy soldiers falling, and everyone was shocked for a moment. Lu Bu returned home, got his armor in a hurry, and headed toward the city again. As a result, when they arrived at the top of the city, they saw Chen Gong and others there, but there were no signs of attack below the city. Seeing this, Lu Bu frowned and asked where the enemy was. But when everyone arrived here, Qin Zhen had already ordered the troops to withdraw, so how could they know the details? Lü Bu's questioning yielded no results, so he had to order his soldiers to hold their ground and shoot at the enemy as soon as they approached the city. Then he and the others retreated from the city. Unexpectedly, only half an hour later, they heard shouting and killing sounds coming from afar. Lü Bu was greatly shocked and hurried up to the city, only to find that Qin Zhen had retreated again! Seeing Qin Zhen's two unusual moves, Lu Bu couldn't help but said angrily: "Qin Zhen came twice tonight, both times to feint and then leave. Do you know what the enemy is planning?" When everyone heard this, they all shook their heads and said nothing. Only Chen Gong pondered and said: "Who knows, maybe this is Qin Zhen's plan to tire out the enemy!" After hearing this, Lu Bu subconsciously asked: "What do you think the enemy's intention is?" But after he said this, there was no response from Qin Song. Seeing this, Lu Bu was immediately surprised. He looked around but could not find Qin Song. He asked hurriedly: "Where can you see Qin Wenbiao tonight?" As soon as he asked this question, everyone was stunned and looked at each other without saying a word. At this moment, a soldier came to report: "My lord, Mr. Qin said tonight that he had been ordered to go out, and he has already gone to the enemy camp!" After hearing this, everyone was stunned, and Lu Bu was even more stunned, with a look of surprise on his face. After Zhang Liao, Chen Deng and Wang Kai, even Qin Song left him. Could it be that God really wanted to kill Lu Fengxian here? (End of this chapter)