Yuan Shu advanced along the water and land, and at the same time, the strategy of attacking Zhuyi City ended in failure. Yuan's army suffered losses, which far exceeded Yuan Shu's expectations.

Yuan's army retreated five miles and set up a camp in a relatively empty area. However, the morale of the entire army camp was low, and from time to time there were screams from the wounded soldiers.

As night fell, defeated soldiers kept coming back in scattered stars, and it was not until the Xu hour that all the defeated soldiers and generals returned.

In the Yuan army camp, Zhang Xun and Sun Ce's failure also reached Yuan Shu's ears. He never expected that the Xuzhou soldiers would be so strong.

Yuan Shu was drinking wine alone in the big tent. The chief clerk Yan Xiang walked into the big tent and said with a fist, "Report to lord, I have asked someone to count it. There are still more than 45,000 people in the camp now, and the rest are either killed, captured, or unknown..."

"I personally led a large army of 70,000 and came from Huainan. I thought it was enough to flatten the entire Xuzhou, but I didn't know that I had not even stepped on the territory of Xuzhou, and I had lost so much?" Yuan Shu sneered and said to himself.

Yan Xiang said: "Lord, through today's battle, it can be seen that today's Xuzhou is no longer the Xuzhou of yesterday. The newly appointed Xuzhou governor Zhang Yan personally led the army to fight to the death here, which seems not as weak as he wrote in his letter. It seems that Zhang Yan's previous actions should be to block the speed of our army's marching in order to make full preparations for war in Zhuyi City. Although Zhuyi City is small, Xuzhou soldiers, led by Zhang Yan, are united. We fail for the first time to attack, but I am afraid that if we want to attack again, it will be even more difficult..."

"I don't care! No matter how much the price is spent, I will break through this city and kill Zhang Yan so that he can see the power of our army!" Yuan Shu said in anger.

Yan Xiang said: "The army is like water. The shape of water is avoiding the height and moving downward; the shape of the army is avoiding the solid and attacking the void. Water controls the flow according to the ground, and the army wins because of the enemy. Therefore, the army has no constant momentum and water has no constant shape; those who can win due to the changes of the enemy are called gods. This is what Sun Tzu said in the Art of War, which means that the strategy of using troops is not unchanging, and it should be like water, without a fixed shape and has many changes. If the lord wants to capture Xuzhou, since Zhuyi City cannot pass, it is better to change the strategy and pass from other places. Sui Water is so long, I don't believe that Zhang Yan can block the entire Sui Water!"

After hearing this, Yuan Shu suddenly became interested and asked, "Yan Zhubu, what do you mean..."

Yan Xiang said: "The lord can bypass Zhuyi City, enter Xuzhou by water at the downstream of Zhuyi City, and then go downstream to reach Xia Pi in Xuzhou. The lord can completely avoid Zhang Yan's main force and take Xia Pi first. Xia Pi is a place where money and grain are gathered, and the troops are relatively weak. After the attack on Xia Pi, the lord will divide his troops to capture Guangling. As long as these two places are occupied first, Xuzhou can slowly plan it."

Yuan Shu suddenly smiled happily and said to Yan Xiang: "You are right. I shouldn't be so persistent. Since I can't capture Zhuyi City, I will change my way. Xuzhou will soon become my territory, hahaha..."

Afterwards, Yuan Shu ordered the gathering of civil and military officials to discuss matters in the tent. Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Sun Ce, Liang Gang, Yuan Huan, Yuan Yin, Yang Hong and others arrived one after another, and everyone visited Yuan Shu with Yan Xiang.

After the ceremony, Yuan Shu said, "Our army suffered heavy losses today. It's just that I underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Xuzhou soldiers. However, those soldiers who fell into battle will not die in vain. I want the Xuzhou soldiers to double their repayment. Zhang Yan led the main force to defend Zhuyi City, but our army could not pass. In order to reduce unnecessary casualties, I am ready to give up attacking Zhuyi City and change the marching road. The army secretly moved to Fuli County late tomorrow night, took a raft from Fuli County, followed the Sui River, and took Xia Pi. When we captured Xia Pi, Zhang Yan would definitely send troops. At that time, we can set up an ambush, ambush the road he must pass, and completely eliminate Zhang Yan!"

Yuan Shu did not accept Yan Xiang's suggestions in a constant manner, but improved it based on Yan Xiang's suggestions, so he formulated this strategy to first capture Xia Pi and then ambush Zhang Yan. Moreover, he himself was very satisfied with this plan and was full of confidence.

After hearing this, Sun Ce immediately clasped his fists and said, "Sir, although our army has suffered heavy losses today, I believe that the Xuzhou soldiers are the same. If we launch another strong attack tomorrow, Zhuyi City may be defeated. As long as the main force of Xuzhou soldiers is eliminated in Zhuyi City, our army will be able to capture Xuzhou again and there will be no more worries. The last general thinks that our army might as well attack again tomorrow, and the last general leads the team to attack the city!"

Yuan Shu said: "Bo Fu, I can understand your mentality. However, our army has consumed too much military strength in Zhuyi City. If we attack this city again, we will probably consume more military strength. Can we ignore the overall situation just for a small city?"

"But sir, if our army attacks the city with all its might, Zhuyi City will definitely be destroyed. Once the city is broken, Zhang Yan and others will inevitably be killed by us. After killing Zhang Yan, Xuzhou will be in chaos and uneasy, and Xuzhou will also know how powerful he is. And the sir only needs to send an envoy to persuade him. Whoever dares not follow, the sir can lead the army to attack whom. In this way, I believe that it will take not long to occupy Xuzhou. Why bother to spend time and effort to change the direction elsewhere?" Sun Ce said.

When Yuan Shu heard Sun Ce saying that his plan was time-consuming and laborious, he immediately showed a hint of displeasure on his face and said angrily: "I have decided. If you dare to say more, you will be killed immediately!"

Sun Ce frowned, but sighed in his heart. Seeing that Yuan Shu was stubborn and did not listen to good words, he had long wanted to leave, but he had no soldiers and power in his hands, and his old subordinates were all scattered all over Huainan. Even if he was determined to restore his father's former glory, he was powerless. He stopped talking and had to take a step and look at it.

"Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Liang Gang!" Yuan Shu suddenly shouted.

"The last general is here! What are the lord's instructions?" Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, and Liang Gang stood up one after another, clasped their fists and said.

"Tomorrow, we will strictly guard the camp. No one will be allowed to leave the camp without my orders. If anyone dares to disobey, he will be executed without forgiveness!"

"Here!" Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, and Liang Gang answered in unison.

"Sun Ce!" Yuan Shu shouted again.

Sun Ce clasped his fists and said, "The last one is here!"

"I will give you three thousand soldiers and horses. You will stay here and bluff. You must attract the Xuzhou soldiers and let him know that our army is stationed here and never moves! If you find that the Xuzhou soldiers in Zhuyi City retreat, you will drive and capture Zhuyi City."

Sun Ce said: "The last general will take the order!"

"Everyone else is with me and leave here tomorrow night, so, during the day tomorrow, just have a good rest!"

"Here!"

"Since everyone knows what to do, let's go and go, rest early and accumulate energy. Xuzhou is still waiting for us in front!"

After the meeting, Sun Ce returned to his military tent. He felt unhappy and asked someone to bring a jar of wine and drank the muffled wine.

He took several sips in a row before putting down the jar of wine, then took out a long knife from the head of the bed.

With a "swish", Sun Ce pulled out the long sword from the scabbard, and a cold light flashed quickly in front of his eyes, reflecting a faint fire. The long sword flashed with cold light, which made people feel chilling when they saw it.

This knife is a personal item of Sun Ce's father Sun Jian. It is called an ancient ingot knife, which cuts gold and jade, and cuts iron like mud, which is extremely sharp.

After Sun Jian's death, Sun Ce always carried this knife, but his sword skills were not very good. Instead, he was used to using a gun. In addition, this knife was of great significance to him, so he looked at it more precious. Although he took it wherever he went, he never carried it with him, worried that he would break the knife.

He looked at the ancient ingot sword with a cold light, and felt sad the more he looked at it. Tears suddenly appeared in his eyes and said to himself: "My father is so heroic, but I am living under someone else's roof. I have fallen to this point. If my father knows me in the spring, he will also laugh at my incompetence?"

"Your young hero has great martial arts skills. Looking at Jiang and Huai, how many people can compare to you? It's not that you are incompetent, but that you have bad luck and may be able to achieve great achievements when you wait for the time to move..."

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the tent. Sun Ce hurriedly slapped the ancient ingot knife in front of his chest and shouted sternly: "Who is outside? Come out and meet quickly, otherwise there will be no eyes on the sword and gun, so don't blame my subordinates for being ruthless!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man lifted the roller blind, walked straight into the tent, and bowed respectfully to Sun Ce: "Major General is here, please accept your respect!"

This man is nearly forty years old, with a national character face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a burly figure and a rosy complexion. He is from Danyang, with his surname Zhu and his name as Zhi, and his name is Junli.

Zhu Zhi was Sun Jian's old subordinate. He followed Sun Jian to fight south and north for a long time. After Sun Jian's death, he defected to Yuan Shu with Sun Ce and others. However, in order to restrain Sun Ce, Yuan Shu deliberately disrupted Sun Jian's old subordinates and let these old parts be scattered everywhere, so that Sun Ce and them could not meet.

When Sun Ce saw Zhu Zhi, he was overjoyed and hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Shouldn't my uncle be the county magistrate in Xia Cai? How could he come here?"

Zhu Zhi smiled and said, "I am here by order of food. I have just arrived. I have been separated from the Major General for a long time. I miss you very much. I don't want God to make arrangements for me to meet the Major General here."

Sun Ce and Zhu Zhi greeted each other and greeted each other. Sun Ce even asked about Sun Jian’s other old subordinates’ recent situation. When he learned that they were all well and were concerned about him, Sun Ce sighed helplessly.

Zhu Zhi said: "I heard that the major general was worried and could not help. Since the major general was determined to restore the glory of the old lord, he had to think of a way to leave Yuan Shu as soon as possible. At the beginning, we and the major general thought that Yuan Shu was a wise lord, and the old lord had a deep friendship with Yuan Shu. I thought that he would show his talents under Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu was so taboo about us and broke us apart, so that we could not interact with each other... Alas! If we had known this, Ning Yuan would not have come to starve to death, and we would have been so hurt to rely on Yuan Shu. The major general would have lived under someone else's roof..."

Sun Ce also sighed heavily, and he said to Zhu Zhi: "Actually, I have wanted to leave Yuan Shu, but I have never found a suitable opportunity, and I am not at ease with my uncles. How great would it be if I could think of a complete solution that would allow me to leave Yuan Shu and meet with my uncles..."

"Don't worry, Major General. Since I'm here, I'll share the worries and solve the problems of the Major General. Yuan Shu is extremely ambitious. The most critical reason why he is worried about Major General and even scatters us all over the place is that the Major General has a treasure in his hand!"

Sun Ce suddenly realized and asked in a low voice: "Are you talking about... the imperial seal?"
Chapter completed!