jdhmnovel Chapter 417 Guan Xing is going to do some tough work again?
Chapter 417 Guan Xing is going to do some tough work again?
Time is life, especially on the battlefield, where any moment can determine life or death. Therefore, speed is of the essence in warfare, and it is common to stay up for days and nights to race against the enemy.
Now is the crucial moment for the struggle for Jingzhou. After Guan Yu and Wang Fu finished their discussion, they began to prepare for the attack. But the absurdity of things in this world is that things either don't happen at all, or they come in droves.
Guan Yu received the letter from Sun Shangxiang and Bu Lianshi, sent a messenger to Jingzhou, and after checking the provisions, he was preparing to set off when the messenger reported that Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, and other prisoners had been brought back.
Guan Yu had no choice but to temporarily suspend the war and lead the civil and military officials of Jianye out of the city to welcome them and invite them into the city for a grand banquet.
After several days of warm hospitality and finally calming them down, they were ready to set off on their campaign when a messenger reported that Lü Dai, Dai Liang, Qian Bo, and others had been brought back again.
Given Lü Dai's status, Guan Yu had to personally greet him. Dai Liang was no nobody either; historically, he had succeeded Lü Dai as the governor of Jiaozhou and assisted Lü Dai in suppressing Shi Hui's rebellion. Qian Bo was the leader of the bandits in Gaoliang and a local native of Jiaozhou. In the future, stabilizing Jiaozhou would depend on such a local strongman.
Guan Yu could not neglect any of these three men, so he had no choice but to postpone the expedition again, lead his officials out of the city to welcome them, and invite them into the city for a banquet. He didn't know how many days this would take.
What's the point of this? Let's keep playing music and dancing.
Guan Yu invited Lü Dai into his mansion and held a grand banquet. Looking around, the huge banquet hall was filled with high-ranking officials of Eastern Wu, except for Guan Yu and Wang Fu. Zhu Zhi, Zhang Cheng, He Qi, Lu Xun, and Zhuge Jin were all in attendance. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that Sun Quan was hosting a banquet for his officials.
In this situation, the guests looked at their former colleagues with complicated emotions. They had thought about being captured by Cao Cao, but they never dreamed that one day they would all become Guan Yu's prisoners. This was a very unbearable situation.
……
Go back a few days.
At Lü Dai's request, Guan Xing rushed back to Wushang from the front lines to accept the surrender.
His return was tantamount to offering Lü Dai a way out: you asked me to come, and I've come; now it's your turn to fulfill your promise.
Having been surrounded, Lü Dai lost the confidence to break his promise. Seeing Guan Xing return, he decisively took the opportunity to surrender and led his army to surrender en masse.
Guan Xing then handed over the surrendered soldiers from Jiaozhou to Shen Yi for handling, and warmly invited Lü Dai, Dai Liang, and the others into the county government office for a banquet.
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.
Guan Xing subtly changed the subject, recounting to Lü Dai the entire process of encircling and annihilating Lu Xun, his plan to go to the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor to block Cao Ren's retreat but being dissuaded by Lu Xun, and Lu Xun's suggestion that he cross the Huangwu Mountains to attack Cao Ren's flank. Then he sincerely asked, "May I ask, Lord Lü, is Grand Commander Lu's suggestion feasible?"
One man's plan is short, two men's plans are long, and three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.
Although he has won many battles, he should not be arrogant. He still needs to humbly learn from others and patiently listen to their opinions. Humility makes one progress.
Otherwise, one might easily suffer a setback and become like Guan Yu, who was defeated at Maicheng.
Therefore, he always treated Lü Dai with the respect due to a junior, and his manners were impeccable.
Lu Dai was satisfied with his attitude, so he didn't act arrogantly because of his seniority. Instead, he stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before saying, "Grand Commander Lu's suggestion is correct, but there is a premise: that Cao Ren is unaware of the news of the complete annihilation of the Wu army, or that even if he knew, he wouldn't care and would still stay in Wanling waiting for you to attack. But does the young general think that Cao Ren would still stay in Wanling after receiving the news of the complete annihilation of the Wu army, or that he could still stay there?"
Guan Xing's pupils contracted as he fell into deep thought. After receiving news of Lu Xun's capture, would Cao Ren continue to stay in Wanling and confront Guan Yu?
Even a fool would know that he wouldn't. So the question is, what would Cao Ren do?
Before Guan Xing could ask any questions, Lü Dai continued, "After this battle, the young general's name has spread throughout the land. Everyone, including Cao Ren, probably regards you as a living Huo Qubing. At a time like this, who would dare to neglect you?"
"Cao Ren wouldn't dare to be negligent, so he'd definitely worry that you'd cross the Huangwu Mountains and attack his flank. General Guan alone is making Cao Ren restless. If you come over, how can Cao Ren stay put?"
"Since he can't stay here, he will definitely want to find a way out. Cao Ren has only two options: either retreat to Jiangbei and defend Ruxukou, completely abandoning the southern expedition to Jiangdong. Anyway, he has already captured Ruxukou, so retreating now is not a loss."
“But I think retreat is unlikely. Although Cao Ren is afraid of you and your son, he is certainly not willing to retreat. Moreover, retreating now would not be an explanation to Cao Cao. So, Cao Ren is left with only one option: turn east and try to take Jingzhou.”
"With our entire army wiped out, Wu Hou's elite troops are all gone, leaving him with only one option: surrender. If Cao Ren can persuade Wu Hou to surrender Jiangling to the Wei army, he can easily hold onto Jiangling with his 100,000 troops. Then, he can divide his forces to advance westward, hold Yiling and Fangling to block the King of Hanzhong's eastward advance, and then block Chaisang to block General Guan's westward advance. In that case, we can occupy the entire Hanjiang Plain, stockpile grain and cultivate land, and wage a war of attrition. In that case, it will be a long time before the King of Hanzhong and General Guan can reunite."
Guan Xing sighed, "What Elder Lü said is exactly what I was worried about. In Elder Lü's opinion, what should I do now?"
Instead of answering, Lü Dai asked, "May I ask, young general, are you planning to defend the Three Wu regions and allow them to recuperate, or are you planning to recapture Jingzhou?"
Isn't that obvious? If I wanted to recuperate and rebuild, why would I be asking you?
Guan Xing honestly replied, "Of course I want Jingzhou."
Lü Dai replied, "Then we must first capture Nanchang in Yuhan. If Cao Ren really wants to seize Jingzhou, he cannot stay in Wanling. He will inevitably retreat to the vicinity of the corridor exits such as Lingyang and Yixian to continue confronting General Guan. If you take Nanchang, you can use it as a base to harass the rear of the Wei army. You can also march north along Haihun and Liling counties to attack Chaisang, blocking Cao Ren forever on the Poyang Lake Plain and cutting off his westward advance to Jingzhou. You can even cross the Yangtze River, capture Gong'an, and rush straight to Jiangling. It all depends on what you choose, General."
Guan Xing stood up, walked to Lü Dai, bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder Lü. I know what to do now."
After the business was finished, the banquet continued until everyone was completely drunk before they were sent home.
Guan Xing, who was so drunk he was a mess and was carried back to his room on a stretcher by his personal guards, quickly sobered up as soon as he entered the room. While pinching his throat to relieve the discomfort, he said, "Let Shen Yi come to see me."
Shen Yi, who had been busy appeasing the surrendered soldiers of Jiaozhou and had not attended the banquet, rushed over upon receiving the news and said with a smile, "General, I heard you were carried back on a stretcher. You acted so convincingly! But why did you have to act?"
Yes, why act it out? Lü Dai has already been captured, what else is there that we can't let everyone know?
Guan Xing recounted in detail what he had told Lü Dai to Shen Yi, saying, "Lu Xun's capture is not the end but the beginning, because we must take back Jingzhou, and to take back Jingzhou we must face an even greater test from Cao Ren."
Shen Yi pondered, "So you didn't choose any of the three strategies that Lord Lü mentioned earlier: occupying Nanchang to harass the Wei army's rear, going north to Hunliling to seize Chaisang, or crossing the Yangtze River to attack Gong'an and Jiangling. Instead, you have a new plan?"
If we really take Lü Dai's advice, there's no need to pretend to be drunk, right?
Pretending to be drunk is to prevent information from being leaked. Preventing information from being leaked is for launching a surprise attack, striking the enemy where they least expect it. Such a surprise attack has great potential for success, but it also carries great risk. Naturally, the fewer people who know about it, the better.
Otherwise, if he were really going to lead his troops in a frontal attack, why pretend to be drunk? He could just say so directly.
Guan Xing nodded and said, "That's right. This time, I plan to use their own methods against them and, with the help of the merchants, emulate Lü Meng's crossing the river in disguise."