I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

"Liu Bei! Stop talking nonsense!"

"I'll give you one last piece of advice: withdraw your troops immediately, or I'll spare your life!"

Zhang Xiu pointed his golden spear at Liu Bei and shouted insults.

Liu Bei was not surprised by Zhang Xiu's reaction. He pointed at Zhang Xiu and replied with a smile, "The traitor Cao suffered a great defeat at Guandu and has no time to care about you, General."

"General, you have devoted yourself to the traitor Cao, yet now that Wancheng is in trouble, Cao has detained your troops and is using you as a pawn. Why should you be misled by Cao's feigned efforts to win people's hearts?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu flew into a rage and roared, "Where is Hu Che'er?!"

Hu Che'er spurred his horse forward and said, "Your subordinate is here!"

"Charge into battle immediately! Take Liu Bei's head!"

"Understood!" Hu Che'er charged toward Liu Bei with his long sword.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Fei, standing behind Liu Bei, rushed forward without waiting for orders, shouting, "Don't touch my elder brother!"

Liu Bei slowly turned his horse around and returned to his formation. Hu Che'er wanted to chase after him and kill him, but Zhang Fei quickly stopped him with his spear.

The two then engaged in battle, long sword against spear, fighting for about ten rounds. Seeing that Hu Che'er could not win quickly, Zhang Xiu sounded the retreat.

Xu Shu immediately commanded his army to launch a counterattack, pursuing the enemy to the drawbridge before being driven back by a hail of arrows from the city walls.

Back in the city, Hu Che'er looked at Zhang Xiu and asked, "I was just engaged in fierce combat with that fellow, why did you withdraw your troops, my lord?"

Zhang Xiu said, "I have often heard the Prime Minister say that Zhang Fei is brave enough to defeat ten thousand men, and should not be underestimated."

Hu Che'er nodded, then stammered, "My lord, I think Liu Bei's words... also have some merit..."

Zhang Xiu turned his head, glared fiercely at Hu Che'er, and said, "How dare you disrupt the morale of my army?"

Hu Che'er lowered his head and said, "My lord, please calm your anger. Wancheng to Xudu is a day's journey. If the Prime Minister intends to rescue us, why has there been no news for so long?!"

Zhang Xiu became even more displeased by his question and replied evasively, "With the Prime Minister's army setting out, preparing supplies and provisions will take time; it's unwise to make unfounded speculations!"

Helpless, Hu Che'er turned and said goodbye, then went back to her room and drank alone in silence.

After Hu Che'er left, Zhang Xiu removed his armor, sat alone at his desk, rubbed his forehead hard, and prayed silently in his heart.

Cao Cao's reinforcements must come!

Starting the next day, Zhang Xiu closed the city gates and stopped fighting. He decided that even if he couldn't wait for Cao Cao's reinforcements, he would wear down Liu Bei's army with supplies.

Xu Shu was also anxiously waiting for the military provisions to arrive from Runan.

That evening, a letter arrived from Liu Yan of Yan County. After taking stock of the granaries and clearing the inventory, it was found that, apart from the supplies consumed by the garrison and the repair of the dikes, there was still grain in Yan County that could be used to support Wancheng, and it was already en route.

Xu Shu was overjoyed upon receiving the letter and quickly took it to Gualijin to find his lord, Liu Bei.

Since Liu Bei went out to persuade Zhang Xiu to surrender yesterday, he has been climbing the Gualijin watchtower from time to time to look out over Wancheng.

"My lord! Liu Yan has sent a letter saying that there is still surplus grain in Yancheng to support our army. It is already on its way and will arrive in less than five days." Xu Shu said as he climbed the stairs.

"Oh? That's good then." Liu Bei turned around and replied with a smile.

"Strategist, yesterday I observed Hu Che'er under Zhang Xiu's command. He is quite valiant. Do you know anything about him?" Liu Bei did not take the letter but directly started a new topic.

Xu Shu said, "My lord has a discerning eye! This man is said to be able to carry 500 catties and travel 700 li a day. Three years ago, when Cao Cao attacked this city and Zhang Xiu rebelled again, it was this man who took advantage of the fierce general Dian Wei's drunken stupor to steal Dian Wei's double halberds, ultimately leading to Dian Wei's death in battle."

Liu Bei nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Xu Shu pressed further, "What instructions does my lord have?"

Liu Bei turned around and continued looking in the direction of Wancheng, shaking his head and saying, "I have no other intention. It's just that when I saw him on the battlefield yesterday, I felt that Zhang Xiu relied on this person quite a bit, so I asked."

Liu Bei's casual remark sent a chill down Xu Shu's spine.

To force Zhang Xiu to surrender, it was necessary to cut off any hope he might have.

Cao Cao's reinforcements were one, and Hu Che'er, whom he "relied on quite a bit," was another.

While blocking any possible reinforcements from Cao Cao, they also need to find a way to eliminate Hu Che'er.

If Zhang Xiu could do these two things, he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

Having only gone out to battle once, he immediately found Zhang Xiu's greatest weakness. His lord's insight was exceptionally sharp, even surpassing his own as a strategist in this respect.

As Xu Shu was lost in thought, his gaze unconsciously fell on the letter from Liu Yan in his hand.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him, and a plan came to mind.

"My lord, I have a brilliant plan! We can take Hu Che'er's head and present it to you!"

Liu Bei turned around abruptly, looking at the confident Xu Shu with surprise.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Xialu remained peaceful, with no sign of any approaching troops.

Zhang Xiu grew increasingly agitated, so he went up to the city wall to check.

As soon as they reached the city wall, they heard Liu Bei's soldiers below shouting in unison, "Zhang Xiu of Wancheng, a traitor to the Han, a discarded son! He should surrender now and make a name for himself in history!"

Not only that, when Zhang Xiu looked up, he saw that Liu Bei's army had written this sentence on a large flag and hung it on a flagpole about ten zhang high, standing only a hundred paces away from the city gate, as if afraid that the people in the city would not see it.

Zhang Xiu was so angry he was practically blowing his beard, and asked the soldiers around him, "How many days have these rebels been shouting?!"

"It's been two days..." the soldier whispered.

"Why didn't you report this to me?!" Zhang Xiu grabbed the soldier by the collar and shouted angrily.

"General Hu... General Hu instructed us not to cause our lord any unnecessary trouble," the soldier replied tremblingly.

"Summon him here!" Zhang Xiu released his hand and pushed the soldier away, who staggered away.

Hu Che'er quickly arrived in front of Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu pointed at the flag, glared at Hu Che'er, then threw an iron bow to Hu Che'er and turned to leave.

Hu Che'er sighed inwardly, took out an arrow, drew the bowstring taut, and shot the flag rope.

"The flag is down! The flag is down!" The soldiers who were shouting the call started yelling as they saw this.

Seeing the soldiers holding up their arrows and shields, taking the ropes, and hanging up the flags, Hu Che'er didn't fire a second arrow and left the city wall in frustration.

That evening, Zhang Xiu couldn't resist and sent more than ten riders from the north gate to Xuchang to send a message and ask for help.

This time, Liu Bei's army didn't even stop them and let the knights leave directly.

Seeing this from the city wall, Zhang Xiu cursed, "Liu Bei has gone too far! How dare he humiliate me like this!"

He picked up his weapon and was about to rush down from the city wall when Hu Che'er and his subordinates stopped him, saying, "Liu Bei must have taken precautions. My lord, you must not fall into his trap!"

Zhang Xiu then gave up.

In the dead of night, Zhang Xiu was awakened again by the shouts of Liu Bei's soldiers, and once again fell into endless distress.

The incessant shouting for three days and nights was driving Zhang Xiu to the brink of his breaking point.

On the fourth night, the shouts outside the city suddenly stopped. Zhang Xiu quickly called Hu Che'er to secretly look out from the city wall.

Outside the camp not far from the city, Liu Bei's army was carrying grain into the camp gate as if no one else was around.

The two followed the grain cart route from the north of the city to the east, and sure enough, they saw a constant stream of carts coming and going at the gate of the eastern camp, heading to the northern and southern camps respectively.

Zhang Xiu said angrily, "How can I turn a blind eye to this scoundrel's humiliation! Today I will avenge the insults he has hurled at me day and night! You lead five hundred soldiers to storm his camp and seize his provisions!"

Hu Che'er cautioned, "Our lord used to teach me the principle that all warfare is based on deception. Liu Bei's actions are so unusual; I fear he may be plotting something. We must not go rashly!"

Zhang Xiu squinted at Hu Che'er and said, "You have been undermining the morale of my troops for the past few days. What are your intentions?! If you are afraid to fight, I will go myself!"

With a cold snort, he turned to put on his armor.

Seeing Zhang Xiu's resolute stance, Hu Che'er steeled his heart, knelt on one knee, and said:

"My lord! This humble general—is willing to go!"