Zhongli County had been established back when Qin destroyed Chu State. Located east of Huainan, it was the gateway to Huainan.
After Lu Bu defeated Zhang Xun and the others, he had sailed downstream to seize Zhongli, then pushed into Huainan to pillage it.
Thus, long before Lu Bu reached Xutai, Qin Tian had already traveled north and entered Mount Li, south of Zhongli.
Originally, following Xu Sheng's advice, they should have entered Zhongli first after heading north and defended against the enemy there.
But Qin Tian held the opposite view, because Lu Bu did not know they had headed north.
Rather than entering the city and directly resisting Lu Bu's forces, he preferred to remain outside and wait for the right moment.
Therefore, when Gao Shun and Zhang Liao's troops reached Zhongli, they had no idea that a force was already concealed outside the city.
Seeing that Zhongli had thoroughly cleared its walls and fields, the two set up camp. On one hand, they sent word to inform Lu Bu; on the other, they had men monitor the movements within the city.
Four days passed, yet neither man ordered his troops to attack the city.
Seeing this, Xu Sheng grew somewhat anxious, for they had come here on a forced march.
They had brought only ten days' worth of dry rations. Since crossing the river and heading north, they had replenished supplies only at Quanjiao and Dongcheng.
They had then spent three days reaching the outskirts of Zhongli. Another four days had passed waiting here, and still the enemy had not attacked the city.
The weather was gradually turning cold. They had no camp to shield them from the wind, and morale was steadily sinking. This could not go on.
So, after quietly making a round of patrols through