() Dong Zhuo's old troops in Guanwu County did not know that such great changes had taken place in their rear area, and they had no time to think about it because they had already encountered great trouble - the Qiang army had already engaged them in battle.

Just the day before, Zhao Yuan's troops, who were ordered to hold off the enemy, retreated in embarrassment. Not only were they seriously injured, but even the general Zhao Yuan was seriously injured and temporarily comatose. And Li Ru also gave everyone an extremely difficult to accept.

fact - the Qiang people actually attacked from the north, instead of hiding somewhere behind as they had previously judged.

After learning that Guzang was besieged by the Qiang people, everyone had already accepted the inference that the Qiang people had secretly sneaked into the Xiliang Han area through some means, so they had already focused their attention and countermeasures on this point, even facing it head-on.

They had forgotten all their resistance strategies. However, they did not expect that the situation would change in such a blink of an eye. The Qiang people actually attacked from the front again, which really made people feel caught off guard.

Moreover, Li Ru also explained the worse inference he had drawn: "The reason why we made such a judgment this time was because Guzang was attacked. Only because of this did we think of sending the Ma family ahead.

The troops returned for rescue, and then the Qiang people suddenly appeared. There is probably some kind of connection between the two, or even the Ma family has colluded with the Qiang people."

This astonishing inference made everyone even more confused, as if they were struck by lightning. Once this was indeed the case, their situation would be extremely dangerous, because the Ma family was already behind them, and if they joined forces with the Qiang people, they would surely die.

There is no burial place. But from the bottom of their hearts, they are still unwilling to accept this speculation. After all, the Ma family is also a member of the Xiliang army, and there is really no need to betray the entire Xiliang like this.

Just when they were hesitant and didn't know what to do, the Qiang army had already pressed in front of them. And this time, it was not just the three thousand cavalry that appeared, but tens of thousands of Qiang people.

The People's Army. After the Zhao Yuan army was defeated, they came to join forces with Butakong's tribe, and then brazenly launched a sudden attack on the official troops who gathered a large number of Xiliang troops.

At this time, because they had not yet judged and understood what the situation was, and felt that the main force of the Qiang people should actually be in the rear, the preparations of the Xiliang army here were still insufficient, and the Qiang people took a big advantage in the first battle.

The 20,000 troops who remained outside the city were beaten to a pulp. Except for half of the troops who fled into the city to stay safe, the rest were killed and dispersed, which cut off nearly 20% of the Xiliang army's combat effectiveness.

What made the defenders in the city even more frightened was that many Qiang people came later. For a time, the strength of the two sides was almost equal. The Xiliang Army originally planned to reverse the situation by relying on its superiority in strength after boosting morale.

It was canceled immediately. The only thing they could do was to rely on this not-so-high city to fight a tough battle with the Qiang people, hoping to use this to consume the opponent's strength and vigor, so as to regain the situation step by step.

However, everyone then had another question - since the number of Qiang people in front of them was tens of thousands, and it was possible that the number would increase depending on the situation, it meant that their previous judgment was completely wrong. But the reason for this judgment was that

It is based on the fact that Guzang County was besieged by the Qiang people. What is going on?

"This matter is indeed too strange. I'm afraid we have fallen into someone's trap." After a day of hard fighting, Li Ru told the generals in front of him after returning to the city.

"In your opinion, who's scheme did we fall into?" Even though they knew this at this time, it would be of no use to them, but the generals still wanted to know which group they fell into.

, otherwise you will really die without blinking an eye.

"You don't have to ask, of course, you fell into the trap of Ma Yue!" Li Que said with resentment: "Otherwise, why did the Qiang people come to kill them as soon as they retreated, and they haven't seen them in the past few days?

Their Ma family has troops coming to help."

Li Ru nodded and said: "This is exactly what I guessed. Everything was a trap by Ma Yue. As for how he did it, I don't know. But one thing I can be sure of is that he

They are just plotting against us and want to trap those of us who have had conflicts and entanglements with their Ma family to death!"

"It's really dangerous. This Ma Yue, I used to think he was a good person, but I didn't expect him to be so vicious!"

"I have told you before that the Ma family has never been of the same mind as us. We should have found a way to eradicate them long ago."

Thinking of the danger they faced, these generals couldn't help but cursed the Ma family, but obviously they had forgotten what they had done before, and completely forgot how they suppressed and plotted against the Ma family.

But under such circumstances, they could only indulge in the Ma family, and it was impossible to cause them any real harm. In addition, they also had no way to deal with the increasing Qiang army outside the city, or they

They can fight the Qiang people with a lot of damage, and maybe they can win the final victory, but after all, this will cause them to suffer heavy losses and make it difficult for them to gain a foothold in Xiliang. This is obviously not what they want.

The only thing that can be done next is to defend the city. Fortunately, these Qiang people have limited knowledge of the methods of attacking the city and have their own ideas. They cannot attack the city with all their strength, so the situation is temporarily reversed.

It can be considered a stalemate, and neither side can do anything to the other.

But as time passed, the cost of the war became higher for both sides. The Qiang people did not have much food to begin with, so this time they gathered all the strong men of the tribe in order to get a vote from Xiliang

, but ended up falling into a critical battle, which soon made it difficult for them to guarantee each soldier's rations.

Fortunately, they were the active party, so they had not yet sent some troops to plunder the people of Liangzhou to replenish food supplies, so they could survive for a while.

But the Xiliang army in the city was not so lucky. Because they never thought that they would be trapped in the city, their food storage here was not enough, and there were so many people and horses consuming it. Within a few days, the granary in the city was exhausted.

After reaching the bottom, it seems that they will be unsustainable. It is impossible for them to obtain food from other channels, which makes the situation even worse and they will not be able to sustain it for much longer.

"What should we do?" After looking at the few remaining granaries, Niu Fu looked at the companions in front of him with a heavy face: "Once we run out of food, we will never be able to defend this city. If we break through, it will be impossible.

We are afraid that the Qiang people will take the opportunity to pursue us and cause us heavy losses. We are really in a dilemma."

Everyone else also looked anxious. They all had their bargaining chips in the city, and they really didn’t want to lose them all like this. But neither path worked. The only way was to negotiate with the Qiang people and negotiate with the Qiang people through interests.

They came to resolve this war with them. But in this way, their reputation in Xiliang will definitely become completely bad. What will they have to fight with the Ma family?

At this moment, these people clearly felt the feeling of being a Jedi. No matter what choice they made, they would be in despair. Seeing that no one spoke, Li Ru had no choice but to stand up. He coughed and said: "Now the only thing we can rely on is

The only ones left are the Ma family. Presumably they are still in Guzang now. If we can let them lead troops to bring food in, there may be a glimmer of hope. Back then, when the Lord was trapped in Wangyuanxia by the Qiang army and had no food and grass,

It was they who brought the men and horses in to deliver food."

"It's easy for you to say that we are here today thanks to him, so why would he be so kind? And didn't you infer that the Ma family has colluded with the Qiang people? How could he send me food again?

?" Li Que shook his head repeatedly, expressing his unwillingness to accept such a proposal. But he was the only one who objected, while the others looked at Li Ru quietly, waiting for his further explanation.

Sure enough, Li Ru continued: "I have thought about it carefully these past two days, and it seems too arbitrary to say that the Ma family colluded with the Qiang people. Not to mention that it is difficult for them to reach a consensus, even with Ma Yue's mind, he cannot

It is possible that he would do more harm than good. In that case, even if he could eradicate us, he would not be able to deal with the consequences of the Qiang people entering Xiliang. Moreover, once the matter became known, the reputation of their Ma family in Xiliang would also be affected.

Once things have plummeted, it will be difficult to make a difference.

"So I think that maybe he did plot against us before, but regarding the Qiang people, the Ma family is still on the same side as us. As long as we bow our heads to him this time, we ask him to take action out of kindness in the past.

Please help, the Ma family will probably try their best to help us."

Everyone was silent for a while. It was indeed too much to ask them to bow to the Ma family again. But compared with their own lives and futures, this was not a difficult choice. What's more, they still had an idea in their hearts: Since we can...

After the first use, the Ma family refused to admit it, so naturally they can do it again this time. Anyway, as long as this time is passed, they can use the excuse of collusion between the Ma family and the Qiang people to completely get rid of them, so they don't have to be too proud.

psychological burden.

After exchanging a few glances and confirming everyone's thoughts, Niu Fu just said: "What Brother Wenyou said makes sense. After all, their Ma family are also our Xiliang comrades, and it is reasonable for us to turn to them for help. But on the other hand,

In terms of closeness and relationship, Brother Li is better than us and the Ma family. What do you think if I bother you to go to Guzang for help this time?"

Li Ru had already guessed that they would make this request, so he did not refuse. He nodded and said: "Since I came up with this idea, I naturally won't refuse. However, leaving the city is not an easy task, so I would like to ask everyone

The general can clear the way for me and send hundreds of elites to escort me there."
Chapter completed!