jdhmnovel Chapter 413 Guan Yu's Change
Chapter 413 Guan Yu's Change
The biggest absurdity in the world is that fate, that damn thing, always goes against you. It's the norm that you can plant flowers with care but they won't bloom, while willows planted unintentionally will thrive.
Lu Xun could never have imagined that his request for reinforcements from Cao Ren would not only fail to bring him aid, but would also allow Cao Ren to learn about the frontline situation before Guan Yu, and then react quickly to make the decision most favorable to the Wei army.
From this perspective, Cao Ren should definitely give Lu Xun credit.
However, Cao Ren clearly had no intention of rewarding Lu Xun. After sending Jia Kui away, he began to shrink his defensive line and gradually retreated to Yi County, Lingyang.
Retreat is also a skill. Cao Ren ordered the rear army to retreat first, while the front-line army continued to harass the Han army and confuse Guan Yu as usual to prevent Guan Yu from becoming suspicious.
After the main force withdrew to the designated location, Cao Ren led the front-line army to gradually retreat, setting up ambushes along the way, preparing to ambush Guan Yu when he pursued him.
Of course, Guan Yu would have wasted his time if he hadn't pursued, but in a life-or-death struggle on the battlefield, it's better to have wasted time than to be caught off guard and get beaten up at a crucial moment.
While setting up an ambush along the way, Cao Ren also sent troops into Jiuhua Mountain to seize the main road out of the mountain and guard against Guan Xing. After the battle with the Wu army ended, Guan Xing was very likely to cross the Huangwu Mountain and attack his flank. He had to be on guard!
Although Guan Xing was only a junior in front of Cao Ren, who would dare to treat Guan Xing as a junior now?
When Guan Xing captured Zhang Cheng for the first time, everyone, including Cao Ren, thought that Zhang Cheng was careless and didn't use his dodge skill, allowing the thief Guan Xing to get a great advantage. After Guan Xing captured Zhang Cheng for the second time, Cao Ren felt that Guan Xing had some talent and was a promising person. If properly trained, he could surpass his father, after all, he was young.
But now Guan Xing has completely annihilated the Eastern Wu army, wiped out all the famous generals of Eastern Wu, and even Lü Dai, who came from Jiaozhou, was not spared. With such a brilliant record, who would dare to say that it was just luck? This is clearly a living Huo Qubing!
Therefore, Cao Ren had put aside his contempt for the young man and regarded Guan Xing as a formidable opponent comparable to Guan Yu. How could he not be wary of Guan Xing at such a critical moment?
Although Guan Xing also stationed troops in the Huangwu Mountains, his sphere of influence was mainly in the Huaiyu Mountain and Baiji Mountain area near the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor. He hadn't even reached Huangshan, let alone Jiuhua Mountain further north.
Therefore, Jiuhua Mountain is still within Cao Ren's sphere of influence. Cao Ren can easily seize all the key roads leading into the mountain, and even ambush Guan Xing if Guan Xing really comes through Huangwu Mountain.
As people get older, they become more timid. Cao Ren has also begun to seek stability. The entire retreat was meticulously planned, leaving no room for the Guan family father and son to take advantage.
……
Jianye.
Let's go back to half a month ago.
Guan Yu returned to the city because He Qi had been brought back. He Qi was both the General of Andong and the Marquis of Shanyin County, a title several ranks higher than Guan Yu's Marquis of Hanshou. Guan Yu had to personally receive such an important figure.
Some people can grow; you can't teach someone by just one person, but you can learn something by just one experience.
Guan Yu suffered the biggest loss of his life when he was defeated at Maicheng. After recovering, he would naturally analyze the reasons for his failure. The biggest reason for his failure was his disrespect for the gentry and his failure to maintain good relationships with his colleagues.
Guan Yu realized this and made slight changes. These were just slight changes. He knew to nod when he saw his colleagues, and he knew to keep quiet when he was dissatisfied with something. He would no longer make sarcastic or insulting remarks that would embarrass the other party. He would never say things like "How can a tiger's daughter marry a dog's son?" again. That was all.
Although Guan Yu recognized his personality flaws, it was impossible for him to completely change and become humble and respectful to his subordinates. The best he could do was to respect different opinions and not to speak recklessly.
But that was enough for Guan Yu.
Therefore, after learning that He Qi had been brought to Jianye, Guan Yu arranged for the army's defenses to enter the city to receive him. In any case, he was currently stationed on the mountain outside the city, just a stone's throw away from Jianye. If a battle broke out, he could quickly return to the front line. Therefore, he was not worried about Cao Ren suddenly attacking after he left.
After Guan Yu returned to the city, he led the city officials out of the city to welcome He Qi ten miles away. He warmly invited He Qi into the city and held a banquet to entertain him. He drank heavily with He Qi for three days and comforted him. After the banquet, he prepared to leave the city and return to his camp.
That morning, as Guan Yu stepped out of the headquarters and was about to mount his horse and leave, a messenger rushed over and bowed, saying, "General, General Zhou Cang has returned."
Guan Yu paused, his hand on the reins stiffening, and asked in surprise, "He didn't go with Your Majesty on the northern expedition?"
Zhou Cang had been gone for so long that Guan Yu thought he had gone on a northern expedition with Liu Bei, but it turned out he hadn't.
So here's the question: since Liu Bei didn't take Zhou Cang with him on the Northern Expedition, he must have used him as a messenger again. He must have sent Zhou Cang back to deliver a message before the expedition even started. How much time has passed? Why did Zhou Cang only return now?
Seeing that the messenger was even more bewildered than he was, Guan Yu sighed and said, "Bring him here."
Zhou Cang was quickly brought over. Upon seeing Guan Yu from afar, he trotted forward and exclaimed aggrievedly, "My lord, I'm so glad to finally see you!"
Guan Yu patted his shoulder and comforted him, "It's alright, it's good that you're back. Was something delayed on the way?"
Hearing this, Wang Fu, who was seeing him off, sighed with emotion. "The Marquis has indeed changed. In the past, he would have only asked why you were only returning in a stern tone, instead of speaking so gently and comfortingly like this now."
My lord, if you had done this sooner, you wouldn't have suffered such a defeat at Maicheng and lost Jingzhou.
"It's all that damned Pan Zhang's fault, he..."
With a sob in his voice, Zhou Cang recounted his tragic experiences and how Guan Xing rescued him, but omitted the part about Guan Xing breaking through the prison wall.
This was too shameful. Zhou Cang also had his pride, and he had already made up his mind not to mention it to anyone, including Guan Yu.
Guan Yu, however, paid no attention to his plight. Instead, he astutely grasped the key point and exclaimed in surprise, "Anguo has infiltrated Linru?"
Although he had received the news that Guan Xing had forced Han Dang to his death and shot Xu Sheng, it was just a report of victory and nothing else. This kid never reported the battle plan to him, only the results, which made him both angry and helpless.
Therefore, Guan Yu was unaware of Guan Xing's plans after he shot Xu Sheng, and thought that Guan Xing was still confronting Lu Xun in the corridor.
However, he now knew that Guan Xing had only one purpose in appearing in Linru: to attack Yu Han, cut off Lu Xun's retreat, and completely surround Lu Xun in the corridor.
The plan is good, but the problem is that there are countless mountains between Baopingyu, where Guan Xing shot Xu Sheng, and Linru. Even if they crossed the mountains and valleys, they could only bring a few people, three to five thousand at most.
On the other hand, Wu had Pan Zhang's tens of thousands of troops on the Poyang Lake Plain, and Yu Han and Zhuge Jin's seven or eight thousand men. How could Guan Xing's small force possibly defeat Wu's army, which was several times larger than his own?
There's also the problem of food supplies. They can't carry much food over mountains and valleys. Guan Xing might collapse without a fight before Pan Zhang even comes to attack because he's run out of food.
Zhou Cang replied, "Yes, and Ma Zhong has already been captured, and I was rescued from the county jail. If it weren't for the young general's timely arrival, I don't know how long I would have been imprisoned, sob sob..."
Guan Yu was preoccupied with his son's safety and had no time to listen to his complaints. Hearing this, he impatiently interrupted, "Did Anguo say what to do next?"
Zhou Cang replied, "They only said they were going to fight Pan Zhang, but nothing else."
Guan Yu angrily cursed, "That damned rebellious son, when will he get rid of his bad habit of not reporting or asking for instructions and doing things his own way? How can we cooperate with him when he acts so recklessly?"
Wang Fu rolled his eyes. So you do know that being willful is a bad habit?
Isn't this like a toad without hair, just following its roots?
Your son is looking up to you, what else could you be dissatisfied with?
He didn't want to continue the conversation, so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "What's the situation on the King's side? Are there any new orders?"