He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Guan Yu immediately issued the order: "From this day forward, a curfew will be imposed in Xuyi City. Anyone behaving suspiciously may be arrested immediately. Anyone who resists may be executed first and reported later. Where is Chen Zi?"

"Your subordinate is here!" Chen Zi immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"I order you to begin collecting supplies for the city's defense immediately, without fail!"

"This subordinate obeys!"

Where is Shi Ren?

"Your subordinate is here!" A burly man from the north stepped forward.

Upon hearing the name, Lu Wan looked at Shi Ren curiously. The man in front of her was nothing special; he had the typical appearance of a northerner.

Who could have imagined that decades later this guy would pull off such a major stunt, directly shattering the hopes of the Han Dynasty's revival?

Guan Yu, of course, had no idea what Lu Wan was thinking, and continued, "I order your troops to cut down trees outside the city, make wooden tablets, and throw them into the Huai River. There must be no mistakes!"

"This subordinate obeys!"

One military order after another was issued, setting Guan Yu's war machine in full swing. Before long, it was busy yet well-organized.

--------

Shouchun City, Jiujiang Prefecture

Yuan Shu sat in the main seat, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water, while Yang Hong, Yan Xiang, and many other strategists remained silent, not daring to utter a single word.

When news of the fall of Xuyi reached Yuan Shu, he was playing cards with his newly chosen concubine. This devastating news immediately deflated him.

More than 20,000 of their elite troops were surrounded and were in imminent danger.

He started cursing on the bed, which frightened the concubines who were attending him, causing them to cower in a corner, trembling with fear.

After cursing, Yuan Shu was still not satisfied, so he immediately ordered the execution of the entire family of the general who had fled back, as a warning to others.

As a garrison commander, he should have lived and died with the city; how dare he come back?

After dealing with the fleeing garrison commander, Yuan Shu had no choice but to begin dealing with the affairs of Xuyi.

Yuan Shu wasn't that crazy to let his own troops be destroyed, so retaking Xuyi was the inevitable test.

But no matter how hard Yuan Shu tried, he couldn't come up with an idea.

It's fine to let Yuan Shu engage in scheming and plotting, but making him think about how to lead troops into battle is somewhat of a mental overload.

Based on the idea that subordinates should think about such matters and leaders only need to direct those who can solve problems, Yuan Shu brought over all the strategists he could currently summon.

One by one, the strategists were dragged out of bed by Yuan Shu's men, and, still half-asleep, they were put into carriages and rushed to Shouchun Palace, complaining incessantly.

Why are you in such a hurry, my lord? It can't be that someone has come knocking on our door and we're already in imminent danger.

When I came over and took a look, oh, it really was.

Now everyone just wants to grab Ji Ling and ask: What were you doing? Why did so many enemies sneak into your defense zone?

Even the usually composed Yan Xiang cursed: Ji Ling's presence increased the average weight of Yuan Shu's army officers, but lowered their average IQ.

After the outburst, everyone started discussing countermeasures.

Some suggested that Liu Xun's troops from Lujiang should be immediately deployed to attack Xuyi and quickly reopen the supply line.

Some say that Liu Bei is too powerful, so it's better to avoid his sharp edge and instead stockpile heavy troops in Xia Cai and Dang Tu to strengthen the city's defenses, lest Liu Bei get addicted to stealing and come to steal the city again.

Some say that if he steals a city, I will steal a city too, and mobilize my troops to directly attack the heart of Xuzhou, and see what Liu Bei will do.

Yuan Shu also sensed his brother Yuan Shao's predicament. The only troops he could still mobilize were Liu Xun in Lujiang, and he also had to guard against Liu Biao in Jingzhou. There weren't many men he could draw upon. Moreover, he couldn't spare much grain because he had to prepare for the upcoming coronation ceremony.

His advisors listed almost every possible direction for attack, each one a direction they believed should be taken, highlighting key points throughout the entire textbook, right?

Yuan Shu, who was already in a bad mood, slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise interrupting everyone's conversation.

"The current discussion is about how to rescue these 25,000 people. Following your methods, those 25,000 elite troops will be wiped out before any progress is even made!"

Hearing this, everyone was also at a loss. The current situation was extremely bad. Since Xuyi was occupied and Ji Ling was surrounded, Yuan Shu's army had been completely exposed and had no basic defenses.

It now seems difficult to immediately deploy troops to garrison Xia Cai and prevent Liu Bei from directly attacking Shouchun.

Launching an attack rashly without understanding Liu Bei's specific troop strength could lead to an even greater defeat, something Yuan Shu cannot accept at this moment.

Now, even a child in Shouchun City knows that Yuan Shu is about to declare himself emperor. Prestige or merit is what he needs most, and attacking Liu Bei is to demonstrate his power to the world.

If something goes wrong at this critical juncture, the ruthless Yuan Shu will definitely kill them, which makes many people want to come up with ideas but are afraid of taking responsibility.

Yuan Shu was even more furious at the sight of everyone's submissive demeanor: "Weren't you all quite talkative when we discussed attacking Liu Bei earlier? Why are you all so silent today!"

To be honest, Yuan Shu didn't really want to fight Liu Bei. After all, Liu Bei was a warlord. What Yuan Shu looked down on Liu Bei was his background, not his talent.

This man, who has been active since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, is not an ordinary person you can find anywhere. It would be unwise to clash with him and end up getting bloodied. Besides, Xuzhou has recovered and is no longer in the state it was in when Cao Cao ravaged it.

In contrast, Yuan Shu preferred to attack Yu Province, which was still in a state of great chaos. Compared to the monolithic Xu Province, this target would obviously yield greater gains and less losses.

But now that the die is cast, Yuan Shu is already thinking about how to extricate himself from this war.

Yes, Yuan Shu was incompetent.

At first, Yuan Shu's advisors said that Liu Bei's Xuzhou was like a dilapidated house, which would collapse if kicked.

As a result, the fighting has continued from the middle of Jian'an 1 (200 AD) until now, and they have gained no benefits, suffered personnel losses, and, needless to say, all their supplies have been packed up and given to Liu Bei.

Yuan Shu didn't even dare to hope to recapture Xuyi; he just wanted to rescue the more than 20,000 troops.

He now sensed that Liu Xun in Lujiang was not very obedient. If he didn't have some loyal troops under his control, it was questionable whether Yuan Shu could still keep Liu Xun in check.

Ultimately, his advisors proposed a plan: Ji Ling and Wu Jing should meet up, hold their ground, and await reinforcements. The reinforcements and supplies would then bypass Xuyi to reach him. Meanwhile, they should send someone to negotiate with Liu Bei to see if a ceasefire could be reached.

In summary: if we hold firm, there will be a way.

On the other side, Yuan Shu's army was under the command of Ji Ling.

The October nights had shed their summer heat and turned cold, making it another difficult night for Yuan Shu's soldiers on night watch.

It's not just the physical cold, but also the rumors circulating in the military camp today.

Xuyi fell, they were surrounded, and there were no more supplies or reinforcements.

At first, everyone just thought it was nonsense and didn't pay much attention to it. However, the officer dealt with the person who said it directly with military law and sternly reprimanded them for not speaking nonsense.

That's a bit strange.

The officer usually only cares about drinking and having fun, and rarely even supervises training. Today, however, he's acting like he's taken some kind of poison.

Considering the dwindling amount of food available, everyone began to have doubts.

Privately, everyone was discussing what to do next, but the uncertain answers only exacerbated the anxiety.

Yuan Shu's army under Ji Ling is like a pressure cooker; if even a little more external force is applied, this pressure cooker will explode into pieces.