In the Battle of Ruxukou, for Cao Wei, the situation at Hefei could be said to have plummeted.

Although in terms of military strength alone, the two sides are still evenly matched, and even Cao Wei has a little more troops, the morale of the army has deteriorated and the advantage is no longer there.

In view of this, the officials suggested that Cao Pi would be safer if he returned to Yecheng.

Destroying Hefei City is a trivial matter, but if the Emperor of Wei were captured, it would be the end of the matter.

Cao Pi also did not want to become the first emperor in history to be captured, so he handed over the military affairs of the Hefei Front to Sima Yi, and left the government affairs to Jiang Ji.

Now that Sun Quan and Cao Wei have completely broken up with each other, it has become unrealistic to win over Sun Quan in the short term.

Sima Yi ordered the city gates to be closed tightly to prevent spies from sneaking in, and he also ordered deep trenches and high fortifications to act as a defense.

His original plan was to engage in a protracted war with Li Qi, so that Li Qi would run out of food and retreat, then regain the lost Lujiang County and return to a situation where the three parties were in a dominant position.

For now, the grain income in Spring Valley and Wuhu is simply not enough to support Li Qi's main army. Therefore, Li Qi will inevitably transport grain from the Jingzhou base camp to Hefei. This will take a long way and cause a lot of losses.

First of all, Li Qi is now fighting on the third front, using almost all the soldiers in service. The soldiers cannot collect food by themselves, and the income from food and grass will be greatly reduced.

Secondly, Li Qi is in the heart of Hefei and is far away from Jingzhou. The more grain he transports at one time, the more grain transport soldiers are needed, and the more food transport soldiers are consumed on the way. We must also consider the return of these grain transport soldiers.

Food and grass supply along the way. According to statistics, the consumption of food and grass will double approximately every 150 miles.

Of course, Li Qi can transport grain from Jingzhou to Ruxukou by waterway, and then turn to land. If he takes the waterway, he can reduce the loss of grain; however, in addition to supplying Li Qi, Jingzhou's grain and grass must also supply Fa Zheng.

It's not like repeating crossbows or spears, which can be made by working overtime overnight. They don't have to be sown and harvested according to the seasons.

I heard that Li Qi prohibited the forced imposition of official taxes, so with successive years of fighting, the stock of grain would be stretched thin.

In fact, Li Qi banned the forced collection of official taxes because he was worried about losing public support.

Although he borrowed the identity of the son of Li Quan, a son of a noble family, after all, Li Quan was just a powerful man from the remote Bashu, and was incomparable with the major families in the Central Plains. Moreover, when Li Qi entered Shu, he was under the pretext of "benevolence will last forever"

Banner, the people in Shu actually enjoyed Li Qi's preferential policies, and then they fully supported him in establishing a foothold in Shu. If he lost the support of the people, Li Qi would lose the foundation of his footing, and tall buildings would collapse in an instant.

Sima Yi seized on Li Qi's lifeline and did not attack the city or attack the army. With his super endurance and the abundant resources of the Central Plains, he slowly pulled Li Qi step by step deeper into the swamp.

Anyway, with Li Qi's one-to-one military strength, it would be a fool's errand to attack Hefei.

As time went by, it was Li Qi who was anxious, not Sima Yi.

Li Qi was indeed anxious about Sima Yi's persistence.

Li Qi knew he could sit still. It turned out that Zhuge Liang in the historical version was a lesson learned from the past!

Pang Tong advised: "Why not follow the example of humiliating Sun Quan and give him a piece of women's clothing?"

Li Qi sneered and said, "He really dares to wear it, do you believe it?"

Pang Tong was stunned: "No way..., the Sima family is also a prominent family in Hanoi, so don't you have any shame?"

Li Qi sneered and thought to himself: You don't know what Luo Shui farts or Sima Zhao crying for the emperor's spirit.

For generations of Sima family, what does face mean?

Just when Li Qi was anxious about food and grass, someone came to report: "Shi Xie, the governor of Jiaozhou, sent his son Shi Hui to deliver 100,000 stones of food and grass. It is expected to arrive at Hefei camp within three days."

Li Qi was overjoyed when he heard this. One hundred thousand shi of food was almost what the sergeants here spent for two months. This was really timely help.

You know, there are many people who are the icing on the cake, but only a few who are helping others when they need it. I didn’t expect the old man Shi Xie to be so generous.

Two days later, Li Qi personally traveled ten miles from the camp to greet Shi Hui as a token of his gratitude.

After taking Shi Hui back to the camp, Li Qi took out his treasured wine and meat to entertain him.

Shi Hui said calmly: "Cao Pi usurped the throne and destroyed our four-hundred-year-old Han Dynasty. It is simply the anger of both humans and gods. Li Yizhou acted for heaven. Our Jiaozhou is remote and we have more than enough ambition but not enough energy. We can only offer 100,000 stones of food and grass to do our best."

Li Qi smiled and said: "Last time I lent you one hundred thousand stones of food and grass, I didn't have time to pay it back. Look at this... Shigong is so polite."

Shi Hui said: "My father said that the one hundred thousand stones of grain and grass I borrowed last time, because your skills of wood, cattle and horses have been passed down from generation to generation, there is no need to pay them back, and the money is settled."

Li Qi was even more delighted. Do you think I really want to return the favor?

Afterwards, Pang Tong analyzed for Li Qi: "Jiaozhou Shixie has always been close to us. If we are defeated in the future and flee to Jiaozhou, we have to take him in because of his nature. But if we take him in, we will offend Cao Wei and put himself in a dilemma."

On the other hand, if we defeat Cao Wei and dominate the world in the future, Shi Xie's act of sending food today is like sending carbon in the snow, which is a great achievement. Therefore, Shi Xie has no choice. He can only keep his loyalty by supporting us in defeating Cao Wei.

A reputation for justice and integrity.”

Li Qi smiled and said: "Shi Yuan does not need to underestimate Shi Xie's loyalty and patriotism. I used to deal with him a lot when I was in Yizhou, especially the destruction of Zhan City and the recovery of the oak forest, which shows that he is loyal to the Han Dynasty. Now the Han Dynasty has perished.

At the hands of Cao Wei, it is inevitable that he will be filled with righteous indignation. Of course, there is some truth to what you said, maybe Shi Xie is both."

Pang Tong also smiled and said: "Tong appreciates that my lord treats people with benevolence in everything."

Li Qidao: "Shi Xie has never been an enemy. They gave you two hundred thousand shi of food for free, so why do you have to use evil to pay for it?"

Li Qi said that, in the final analysis, Shi Xie could not pose a threat to him.

There is really no need to treat a force that has always been stable and peaceful and has always been generous and helpful to you.

Of course, Shi Hui transported grain from Jiaozhou in a mighty manner, so he naturally could not escape Cao Wei's spy.

Therefore, Sima Yi soon learned about this and couldn't help but secretly sigh: "Heaven will destroy my great Wei!"

Qin, the second generation died (if you don't count Ziying).

Could it be that I, the Great Wei Dynasty, died?

Shi Xie's delivery of grain to Li Qi not only solidly supported Li Qi's campaign to conquer Wei, but also expressed his attitude and stance towards the conflict between Li and Cao, and also included his judgment of the situation -

- He has to believe that Li Qi will win, so he will send food to show his loyalty.

Sima Yi thought that with his own policy in life, he was able to cope with this era and survive to the end. However, there are various signs that he is getting further and further away from the goal he expected. He likes to travel through the Three Kingdoms, starting from "The Grass Becomes a Bandit". Please collect it.
Chapter completed!