Looking at Zhang He, who had a blue and white face and a hoarse voice, Yuan Tan was stunned for a moment, then ordered someone to prepare ginger soup and hot water, and stood up to help Zhang He up again.

"Junyi, what's going on?"

Zhang He was ashamed of his own, but he still insisted on being uncomfortable and told the situation. He was ordered to go deep into Yuzhou. After passing Yongshui, he walked south for three days, more than one hundred miles, and passed many villages along the way. The settlement was very quiet, and the doors of every household were closed. Not to mention people, they could not even see a dog. The granary and rice jar were so clean that there was no grain. Only the vegetables and fruits in the vegetable bed grew wildly, and no one picked them.

The search was nothing, and Zhang He did not dare to go deeper. The dry food he carried was only enough for ten days. In addition, it rained for several consecutive days, and the soldiers were wet. Many people were sick, so he decided to retreat. But shortly after he retreated, Chen Dao led his troops to chase him. At that time, he didn't know Yan Xing, but only Chen Dao and Qin Mu had more than 3,000 cavalry. The troops on both sides were equal, but the weapons, baggage, and morale were not the same as each other. Zhang He was not sure to defeat them head-on, so he wanted to ambush, but Chen Dao was very cautious and did not give him a chance at all, but was just dispersed from afar. The scouts on both sides had more than a dozen battles. The Jizhou army did not take any advantage, and nearly a hundred casualties were injured and killed.

Zhang He knew that the combat power of both sides was not on the same level and did not have a love fight. He quickly retreated over Sui Shui and retreated all the way to Yong Shui. He originally planned to rush to Jishi City before dark, rest for a night, and then think of a counterattack strategy, but he did not expect that the soldiers were exhausted and wereted, giving Yan Xing the opportunity to attack.

But now I think about it, Yan Xing should have been waiting for him on the north bank of Yongshui. Even if it was not Ye Du, the attack in half of the Dushui could not be avoided. Seven or eight days were enough for Chen Dao and Yan Xing to deploy the action. He was already alert and asked Li Dian to prepare, but he still didn't expect Yan Xing to come from the east side.

Yuan Tan also found it incredible. There are large areas of low-lying land on both sides of Yongshui on the east side of Yu County. After it rains, it will form a swamp. It is sparsely populated. Within more than 100 miles, there is only one county in Xiayi, with a household registration of less than 10,000 yuan. Yan Xing is invisible here. Not to mention that Zhang He could not have sent people to reconnaissance even if he thought about it. Without local people, he would not be able to come out if he could go in. Besides, marching in that environment is particularly dangerous to cavalry. Mosquito bites will make the war horse unstable and even crazy. Once it can't be controlled, it will disappear into the swamp.

When talking about the swamp, Yuan Tan couldn't help but remember the scene when Sun Ce dragged him out of the swamp during the Battle of Rencheng, and was in a daze.

Guo Tu and Ju Su rushed over and were surprised to see Zhang He's appearance. Guo Tu regretted it. At the beginning, he strongly advocated sending Zhang He into Yuzhou and gave Zhang He a detailed map, hoping that he could gain something. He encouraged Lu Bu and Zhao Yun to lead his troops to go deeper. Unexpectedly, Man Chong was so decisive that he really had a strong wall and cleared the world without leaving any chance for them. If he had known this, Zhang He would not have been allowed to go. Three thousand cavalrymen were almost completely lost, and the elliptical soldiers who spent huge amounts of money to rebuild were all saved by two or three hundred, and the blow to morale was self-evident.

"How about each county?"

"The city gate is closed and the guard is very tight." Zhang He wiped his nose off and muttered. "But most county towns are not large in size. As long as there are enough troops, they should still be able to capture it. Judging from the situation of the people's homes, there should be a lot of food in the city, which can last for at least another half a year."

Ju Su looked at Zhang He. "Junyi, you have suffered from the cold and cannot be delayed. You should hurry up and take medicine and rest."

Zhang He was indeed a little unable to hold on. Swimming over and made him soaked all over. When he arrived at Jishi, he met Li Dian who had returned from defeat. He finally changed into dry clothes, drank some ginger soup, and took medicine to suppress his condition and allowed him to return to Changyi. He was now weak and his head was dizzy, and he just wanted to have a good sleep.

Zhang He retreated, Yuan Tan, Ju Su and Guo Tu were relatively speechless. After a while, Ju Su sighed: "Liu Bei had known this situation for a long time, so Zhao Yun refused and refused to enter Yuzhou."

Yuan Tan smiled bitterly. Liu Bei was captured by Sun Ce and stayed in Yuzhou for several months. It is normal for him to have some understanding of the climate of Yuzhou. Although he is from Yuzhou, he grew up in Luoyang and is not very familiar with the geography of Yuzhou. Guo Tu lived in his hometown for a long time, but he is not an ordinary person after all, and he can't walk around and has a lot of experience.

Of course, they didn't expect Sun Ce to do this and actually withdrew half of the people in Yuzhou.

This is really hard to get out. Advance is defeat, retreat is defeat, neither advance nor retreat is defeat. Even if the attack is smooth, it will take several months to advance to the hinterland of Yuzhou, unless the county town surrenders without fighting and issuance is made.

Judging from the current situation, this seems unrealistic.

Besides, Man Chong and Chen Dao were eyeing him, so he could not have been able to attack the city with all his might. He must have devoted a lot of energy to guard against them. Man Chong had 10,000 invaders and more than 6,000 cavalry, and he had to prepare at least twice the strength, and he was a real elite. Although they were all newly recruited soldiers, the Jizhou soldiers could not be compared with the Yuzhou soldiers. Only by sending elite soldiers could they block Man Chong.

If this is the case, the only ones who attack the city will be recruits. You can't be too optimistic if you rely on these people to attack the city.

Seeing that Yuan Tan was silent again, Guo Tu and Ju Su exchanged helpless eyes. Recently, Yuan Tan was in a low mood and often distracted. Taking over Yanzhou did not bring him any motivation, but instead allowed him to see more difficulties and more pressure.

Guo Tu said: "Emister, please put the main attack on Junyi. As long as Xu Xiao can take Junyi, he can ask the emperor to cross the river and concentrate his troops to capture Yingchuan and Chen. As long as he can take over the Xuxian area, the food problem will be alleviated."

Ju Su also agreed. Xun Yan's dam construction has been basically completed and will soon be able to flood the city. Now that morale is low, they urgently need a victory to inspire people. Even if they can't take Junyi, it's okay to defeat Chenliu first.

Yuan Tan nodded but said nothing.

——

Xun Yan stood at the top of the newly completed weir, looked at Junyi City in the distance, and looked at the quiet figure on the top of the city, and felt an indescribable uneasiness.

After more than a hundred steps, he had looked at Lu Yi many times. Although he couldn't see his face clearly, he could feel the calmness and calmness of this young man, just as the cofferdam outside the city did not exist at all.

He is so confident?

Xun Yan was both curious and uneasy. He was curious because he wanted to know how Lu Yi would deal with this dilemma, but he was worried that Lu Yi would really have a way to break the deadlock. In order to build this weir, he and Dong Zhao forced the soldiers to work hard for nearly a month, and every day he could receive orders from Yuan Tan to ask about the progress. He knew very well that every day he would delay the opportunity slipped away from his hands.

"General, general." Someone shouted loudly under the weir.

Xun Yan turned his head and saw a ward waving at him, and there was someone standing beside him. Xun Yan looked closely and was a little surprised. The man was Sima Yi, the chief clerk beside Yuan Tan. Xun Yan frowned, turned around and looked at Lu Yi on the top of the city again, and hurriedly got off the dam.

Sima Yi came over and bowed to show his respect. "General Xun, Yi was ordered by the envoy to come and see the progress of the general building the dam. The envoy is looking forward to the general's meritorious service."

"The irrigation has been completed. When will the city be broken, it depends on how heavy the rain is." Xun Yan looked up at the sky, and a hint of pride flashed across the corner of his mouth. The sky was gloomy and dark clouds were rolling. A heavy rain was about to come. This time he finally caught up. Although it could flood the city without rain, it would rain faster. He rushed to the scene, just to complete the construction when the heavy rain came, and now he was about to get what he wanted.

"It's raining heavily, and the general is about to make a contribution." Sima Yi said with a smile: "Yi congratulates General first. Although Lu Zheng is young, he has been by Sun Ce for many years. He is a young hero. If he can kill or capture his life, his contribution will be no less than that of destroying the city."

"Haha..." Xun Yan laughed twice and walked forward along the earth dam. Although the dam has been built, it is not solid. Whether there are any weaknesses, he needs to check it with his own eyes before he can rest assured. His morale is not high recently, and passive slackness is inevitable.

Sima Yi followed, checked with Xun Yan, and asked again: "Are these designed by the general himself?"

Xun Yan turned his head and looked at Sima Yi. "Zhongda understands geotechnical work? If you see something wrong, you might as well speak in person."

Sima Yi shook his hand repeatedly, how dare he say it? After a while, he said, "General, General Zhang He has retreated and suffered some losses."

Xun Yan was stunned and stopped. "Is the loss big?"

"It's not small. Only one-third of the three thousand knights are left. Even the elliptical soldiers have lost more than two hundred. They have been wet and suffered from wind and cold, and most of them have fallen ill. I'm afraid they can't go into battle in a short period of time."

Xun Yan understood Sima Yi's intention. Zhang He was frustrated in entering Yuzhou, which shows that he was wrong to ask Lu Bu and Zhao Yun to enter Yu. Once the news spreads, it will inevitably affect his prestige. Yuan Tan suppressed this news and waited for him to break through Junyi. It was a protection for him. Maybe Guo Tu's contribution to it. The Ruying faction needed a famous general, and he was one of the few choices.

"I understand." Xun Yan nodded solemnly. "Thank you hard for it."

"The responsibility is not hard," Sima Yi smiled and said, "I have a question, I don't know whether to say it."

Xun Yan also smiled. "Tell me, what can I say between you and me?"

"Thank you, General. I have seen a lot of sand piles along the way. Some people say that these are the remains of the old river road, are they real?"

Xun Yan nodded. "Yes, the Yellow River dam breaks and sometimes flows here. When Wang Ben leads the river to flood the beam, a large amount of silt is also silted here. Those sand piles may be left behind at that time. Zhongda, are you worried that the sand and soil will be invaded by water and the Dawei will be unstable?"

Sima Yi smiled but said nothing. He did have this concern, but since Xun Yan knew it and was sure to be prepared, he would not have to talk too much.

Xun Yan looked back at this calm and calm young man who couldn't see the depth and depth, and couldn't help but think of Lu Yi in Junyi City. The younger generation is terrifying. If there is a chance, Sima Yi might be able to fight Lu Yi. Sima seems to be developing in Wen County. Not to mention anything else, Sima Yi's eight brothers are very large, and the number of people is very high. Many children are a sign of the family's prosperity. The Xun family in Yingchuan is today, and it is closely related to the many brothers of his father. The eight dragons and Sima Bada of Xun family are comparable.

Xun Yan said a few more words. This issue was considered when Xu You built a dam. Xu You's method was to dig deeper, dig out the sand and soil in the river first, and then build a dam. Because of this, the project volume was larger than expected, and Xu You was greedy for money, which aroused public anger. In the end, the project was only half completed. This time, he built a dam based on Xu You's remaining, and the project volume was greatly reduced, so he didn't have to worry about the problem of sand and soil.

When Sima Yi heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and flattered him a few more words. The two were talking intimately, when a sudden thunder exploded and a lightning flashed across the sky. The two turned their heads at the same time, looked at each other, and smiled with their hands.
Chapter completed!