The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 423 Zhang Liao is coming to kill us?

After so many days of fuss, all sorts of messy and trivial matters have finally been dealt with. Now that Guan Xing has left, Guan Yu can finally set off on his campaign with peace of mind.

After breakfast, Guan Yu led Xia Tong's heavily armored battalion to the front line.

It is worth mentioning that after receiving the heavy armor battalion sent by Guan Xing, Guan Yu merged the previously established Yu Battalion with Guan Xing's heavy armor battalion and renamed it Chongyu Battalion, with a fixed strength of 800 men. The extra men were sent down to the army to serve as mid-level officers such as Qu Battalion.

The commander of Chongyu Camp was Zhou Cang, and the two deputy commanders were Han Lin, Guan Yu's personal guard, and Xia Tong, who grew taller and more skilled in martial arts under Guan Yu's personal tutelage.

Xia Tong is much younger than Han Lin, and has much more room for growth. In terms of martial arts, Han Lin is no match for Xia Tong. In addition, Han Lin is the kind of lazy, easygoing person who doesn't want to think. Therefore, Xia Tong's influence in the Chongyu Camp is growing stronger, and now the huge Chongyu Camp is basically ruled by Xia Tong.

After all, Battalion Commander Zhou Cang was either in jail or delivering messages. He hadn't even come to Chongyu Battalion to report for duty since taking office. With the battalion commander absent, wouldn't Deputy Battalion Commander Xia Tong be in charge?

If that's the case, why not just appoint Xia Tong as battalion commander and instead give Zhou Cang a nominal position?

The reason is simple: Xia Tong's service time was too short and his qualifications were insufficient. If he were directly appointed as a battalion commander, Guan Yu's personal guards would not accept it.

Getting back to the main point, although Guan Yu has been preoccupied with trivial matters and unable to go on campaign recently, it doesn't mean he hasn't done anything. While receiving Lu Xun, Lü Dai, Zhuge Jin, and others, he has already ordered the army to advance westward. Currently, the vanguard Xin Fei has successfully occupied Wanling, and the follow-up troops have also advanced to Danyang Shicheng. Even the heavy armor of the Chongyu Camp has been transported there in advance. Therefore, Guan Yu no longer needs to worry about the army and logistics. He can simply ride Red Hare directly to Wanling to join the front-line army.

After arriving at Wanling and meeting with Xin Fei, Xin Fei learned that Cao Ren had established three defensive lines in Jing County, Lingyang County, and Yi County respectively. The mountains surrounding the three defensive lines were also guarded by Wei troops, and the entire position was tightly guarded by Wei troops. Xin Fei launched several probing attacks, but they were all repelled and he could not gain any advantage at all.

More importantly, Zhu Huan's navy was constantly patrolling the river, ready to land and attack the Han army's flank at any time, which put a lot of pressure on Guan Yu, who had neither warships nor a navy.

Guan Yu had only one way to deal with this: attack.

It's time to put these soldiers to the test after so much training. Besides, he also needs to support Guan Xing in capturing Jiangling, so he doesn't have time to waste with Cao Ren. He must break through Cao Ren's defenses and enter Jingzhou as soon as possible.

While organizing the attack, Guan Yu also sent men across the Huangwu Mountains to Damu, ordering Wu Yue to re-enter the Huangwu Mountains to attack Shexian, taking the opportunity to threaten Cao Ren's flank. At the same time, he ordered Zhou Xun and Ji Jie to lead the navy north into the Yangtze River to deal with Zhu Huan.

He had already received news of the Yuanxun's launch, and Lü Dai had been escorted back to Jianye. Zhou Xun's matter must be settled as well. It was time to enter the Yangtze River and embark on the battlefield.

With a combined land and naval force of nearly 200,000 men, Guan Yu is truly unafraid to confront Cao Ren head-on.

With Guan Yu's order, the Han and Wei armies began various probing attacks in Jing County, escalating the attacks further each day, increasing the intensity of the war daily.

……

Let's go back to the day Guan Xing left Jianye.

After bidding farewell to his father and wife in the morning, Guan Xing rode his horse at full speed to the South Gate. When he arrived, he found Deng Hong and Zhu Chao leading their personal guards waiting at the gate. Guan Xing hurriedly asked, "Old Deng, how is your injury?"

Deng Hong swung his arm and laughed, "After so many days of rest, I'm all better now. As long as the young general gives the order, I'll go wherever you point!"

He had been following Guan Xing since the surprise attack on Jianye. These days, he had won one battle after another and was extremely happy. It was even more enjoyable than when he followed Guan Yu to flood the seven armies. Following the young general, he could not only make achievements but also vent his emotions. How could he bear to fall behind?

Guan Xing laughed and said, "That's good. Let's set off then. Time is limited, so let's hurry."

After saying that, he spurred his horse and charged out of the city gate first. Deng Hong, Zhu Chao and others quickly followed, and dozens of riders rushed to Wushang at top speed.

At first it was fine, but gradually Guan Xing couldn't hold on any longer. He kept dozing off on horseback and almost fell off several times.

Instead of being surprised, Deng Hong gave a knowing look and teased, "It seems the young general and his wife had quite a fierce battle last night."

Zhu Chao chimed in, "Of course! It's been so long since we last met, isn't it normal for us to be so excited?"

Guan Xing, who vaguely heard their conversation, cried out in injustice, lamenting in his heart, "I really didn't do anything last night, you have to believe me."

He knew that explaining this mess would only make things worse, so he didn't elaborate. Instead, he said, "Deng Hong, I can't hold on much longer. Let's ride together so I can take a nap."

He didn't get a proper rest on the way back. He had been up all night and couldn't take it anymore. Helpless, he moved to Deng Hong's horse, hugged his lower back, and fell into a deep sleep amidst the swaying.

After nearly ten days of trekking, they finally arrived at Yuhan City and were invited into the city by Shen Yining, Huan, Zhou Shan, Geng Shang, and others.

Once seated at the county government office, Guan Xing asked directly, "What is Yu Han's current situation? How are the preparations going?"

Shen Yi replied, "Reporting to the general, before I even reached Yuhan, Zhang Liao's cavalry entered the Poyang Lake Plain and attacked the city of Yuhan. However, they did not have enough siege equipment, so they did not attack the city. In addition, Ning Huan's defense was good and there were no problems for the time being. But Zhang Liao's cavalry is as elusive as a viper. It will not be easy for us to get out of Yuhan and attack Nanchang."

Zhang Liao's goal was simple: to trap the Han army inside Yuhan City and prevent them from leaving, thereby buying time for Jia Kui to persuade Sun Quan to surrender and take over Jingzhou.

Guan Xing then asked, "What's the situation in Nanchang? Has Yu Fan made any moves recently?"

Geng Shang stood up and bowed, saying, "According to my merchant friends in Nanchang, Yu Fan has transported all the available supplies from outside the city into the city, but has expelled all the officials and merchants in the city who might betray him. It is clear that he is prepared to defend the city to the death. Many of my merchant friends have been expelled, and even caravans from Jingzhou are not allowed to enter the city."

Guan Xing frowned and said, "I didn't expect Yu Fan to be so loyal to Sun Quan. Have we prepared the personnel and supplies for our raid on Jiangling?"

Geng Shang bowed and said, "Everything has been transported to Linru and is ready. We are just waiting for your order. But we must hurry. I am worried that if we are too late, Zhang Liao will make a move against Linru. In addition, I suggest that the steel plant in the mountains of Linru stop production as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if Zhang Liao seizes it."

Zhang Liao's name made Guan Xing frown again. Zhang Liao himself was not scary, but the cavalry he led was terrifying. They appeared and disappeared like the wind, and could kill you even if you were flying a kite.

Cavalry was the eternal king of the cold weapon era, and only cavalry could deal with cavalry. Guan Xing had no cavalry at all, which was an inherent disadvantage that could not be cured.

Guan Xing paced back and forth in front of the table, pondering for a long time before asking, "How many cavalrymen does Zhang Liao have?"

Shen Yi replied, "Around eight or nine thousand, maybe a little over ten thousand at most. Those warhorses look really tempting."

Guan Xing then asked, "Zhang Liao attacks during the day, so he must need to rest at night. Is it possible for us to launch an attack while they are resting at night?"

Shen Yi shook his head and said, "That won't work either. Zhang Liao camps forty or fifty miles away every night, and his camp location is not fixed. We don't have cavalry to track him. Just finding Zhang Liao's location will take most of the night. By the time we get to Zhang Liao's camp, it will be dawn."