第44部分(第3/7 页)

ty　thousand　troops　was　appointed　Van　Leader。　The　armies　met　on　the　confines　of　the　city　of　Shouchun。　Qiao　Rui　and　Xiahou　Dun　rode　out　and　opened　battle。　But　Qiao　Rui　fell　in　the　third　bout；　and　his　troops　fled　into　the　city。

Then　came　news　that　Sun　Ce's　fleet　was　near　and　would　attack　on　the　west。　The　other　three　land　corps　took　each　one　face………Cao　Cao　on　the　north；　Lu　Bu　on　the　east；　and　Liu　Bei　on　the　south。　The　city　of　Shouchun　was　in　a　parlous　state。

At　this　juncture　Yuan　Shu　summoned　his　officers。

Yang　Dajiang　explained　the　case；　〃Shouchun　has　suffered　from　drought　for　several　years；　and　the　people　are　on　the　verge　of　famine。　Sending　an　army　would　add　to　the　distress　and　anger　the　people；　and　victory　would　be　uncertain。　I　advise　not　to　send　any　more　soldiers　there；　but　to　hold　on　till　the　besiegers　are　conquered　by　lack　of　supplies。　Meanwhile；　Your　Highness；　with　regiment　of　guards；　will　move　over　to　the　other　side　of　River　Huai；　which　is　quite　ready；　and　we　shall　also　escape　the　enemy's　ferocity。〃

So　due　arrangements　was　made。　One　hundred　thousand　troops　under　Li　Deng；　Yue　Jiu；　Liang　Gang；　and　Chen　Ji　were　appointed　to　guard　Shouchun。　Then　a　general　move　was　made　to　the　other　side　of　the　River　Huai。　Not　only　the　remained　army　went　over；　but　all　the　accumulated　wealth　of　the　Yuan　family；　gold　and　silver；　jewels　and　precious　stones；　were　moved　also。

Cao　Cao's　army　of　one　hundred　seventy　thousand　needed　daily　a　considerable　quantity　of　food；　and　as　the　country　around　had　been　famine…stricken　for　several　years；　nothing　could　be　got　there。　So　he　tried　to　hasten　the　military　operations　and　capture　the　city。　On　the　other　hand；　the　defenders　knew　the　value　of　delay　and　simply　held　on。　After　a　month's　vigorous　siege；　the　fall　of　Shouchun