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

Chapter 743 Guan Yan's Ingenious Plan

Guan Yan and Luo Feng returned to their room and sat down, but remained silent and neither of them spoke first.

Finally, Luo Feng couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Captain Zhao, I guess you're not called Zhao Yan, are you? It doesn't matter. How many men do you have under your command?"

Guan Yan sighed, "In such a hurry, we can only gather a little over a hundred people, and their combat strength varies."

There are only eight special forces members in Xiling City; the rest are all newly recruited locals, and their combat effectiveness and loyalty cannot be guaranteed.

"Uh..." Luo Feng was shocked for a long time before asking speechlessly, "You think you can take Xiling City with so few people? You must be dreaming. Even if Wen Ping is not in Xiling, there are still five thousand troops stationed in the city. You think you can wipe out five thousand people with only a hundred men?"

Xiling was both the seat of Jiangxia Commandery and the border between Wei and Han. Such an important town naturally required heavy defense. Therefore, even after Wen Ping left, he still left behind 5,000 troops, which were led by his eldest son, Wen Dai.

With these 5,000 troops at their disposal, Xiling can hold its ground even if attacked, and hold out until Wen Ping returns to reinforce it.

Guan Yan laughed and said, "Although there aren't many people, we're inside the city. Besides, we don't need to capture the city. We just need to capture the city gates and hold out until General Sun Lang arrives, or launch a surprise attack from behind the Wei army when General Sun Lang arrives and attacks the city, and open the city gates to welcome General Sun Lang into the city. However..."

"The merit of attacking a city together with General Sun Lang is different from the merit of attacking a city alone and presenting it to General Sun Lang, wouldn't you agree?"

Looking at Guan Yan's smug face, Luo Feng really wanted to punch him. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

However, Guan Yan was not wrong. Although he helped Guan Yan because his quota for the civil service examination had been taken away and he wanted to take the opportunity to get revenge, the more important reason was that he wanted to make contributions to the Han Dynasty and secure a future for himself.

You must know that the Han Dynasty valued military merit the most. Military merit could lead to being ennobled as a marquis. Compared to being ennobled as a marquis, being a filial and incorruptible official was nothing.

Military merit is rewarding, but it requires risking one's life and seizing opportunities. Most people never get such an opportunity in their lifetime, but Luo Feng has now had it. Moreover, Luo Feng knows that such an opportunity only comes once, and once missed, it is unlikely to come again. Therefore, although Luo Feng thinks it's a bit far-fetched for a hundred men to capture a city guarded by five thousand men, he still asks with anticipation, "What do you plan to do?"

Instead of answering, Guan Yan asked, "First, tell me how much effort you can put in and how many people you can mobilize. I need to know our own strength, because knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle!"

Luo Feng did not answer when he heard this. Instead, he frowned and fell into deep thought. After a long time, he muttered to himself, "You know that I am a regular at Xunhuan Pavilion. I know almost all the guests who come to the pavilion for pleasure, as well as the poor young men and clerks in the city. I guess that's why you value me."

"Although there are quite a few of these people, I estimate that not many are trustworthy. Moreover, we cannot recruit people openly and can only do so secretly, so I estimate that we can not win over many people in a short period of time."

Luo Feng knew a variety of people: poor families like him who wore long gowns but had no means of production; clerks in government offices; servants in aristocratic mansions; merchants passing through Xiling; and local thugs. After all, these were important clients of Xunhuan Pavilion, people he would see every day, so it was impossible not to know them.

Therefore, although he knew a lot of people, they were not of good quality, and few of them were good people. They wouldn't even lend him money, let alone discuss important matters like plotting rebellion or defecting to the enemy. So Luo Feng really didn't know how he could be of any help.

Guan Yan laughed and said, "More people means more strength. I'll just ask you one question: can you make connections with the garrison in the city, even just knowing the sentries in the camp would be fine."

Luo Feng laughed and said, "That's really possible. The head cook and garrison commander in the camp is my cousin. He still owes me three strings of cash. I can go to the camp to see him anytime."

Guan Yan was overjoyed and grabbed Luo Feng's shoulder, laughing excitedly, "Brother Luo, Brother Luo, Ancestor Luo, you are simply a lucky star sent by heaven to help me! Brother Luo, rest assured, as long as we successfully capture Xiling, I will definitely report your merits truthfully to Marquis Shence and His Highness the Crown Prince, so that you can receive the reward you deserve."

Luo Feng asked in surprise, "You were able to see Marquis Shence and His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Guan Yan said, "Absolutely. I am a veteran who fought against the Wu army alongside Marquis Shence, and I am also a student of Marquis Shence and His Highness the Crown Prince. I have the ability to bring you before His Highness the Crown Prince. As for whether you can gain His Highness's favor, that depends on your abilities."

Luo Feng's heart raced with excitement. He grabbed Guan Yan's hand and said, "Brother, don't worry. In Xiling City, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west. If you tell me to catch a dog, I will never catch a chicken. Just tell me what you want me to do."

Luo Feng was equally familiar with the name of Liu Shan, the false crown prince of Han. Although Liu Shan had not accomplished anything earth-shattering, he was the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, and it was impossible for him to remain unknown.

If one can gain the favor of Crown Prince Liu Shan, it means a smooth official career and at least a worry-free future.

Heaven have mercy! Luo Feng is just a poor scholar who can't even get close to Prefect Wen Ping, but now he has the opportunity to meet the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty. How can he not be excited?

Guan Yan pried his hand away and took a half step back. He dipped his finger in wine and wrote a prescription on the table, saying, "This is a laxative prescription personally prepared by Doctor Dong Feng. I will find a way to provide you with the ingredients. After you get the ingredients, go to the military camp to see your cousin. When no one is looking, go down into the well that the garrison usually uses. As long as you drink this water, even a tough guy will have diarrhea."

Luo Feng asked in surprise, "You even have this kind of thing?"

Guan Yan looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with pride. The Great Han now had two divine doctors, Cheng Li and Dong Feng. Getting some laxatives would be easy.

So before they graduated, Guan Xing specially obtained the prescriptions for laxatives and sedatives from two great doctors. He made them memorize them and personally brew them, citing the possibility that they might be needed behind enemy lines. He even tested the laxatives on a wild boar, which was so badly affected that it couldn't get up for three days.

Guan Xing was afraid that the medicine would be too potent and kill people, so he asked Dong Feng to reduce the dosage.

Guan Yan originally thought this thing was useless, but who would have thought it would be useful so soon? Marquis Shence is truly wise.

After reciting the prescription several times to memorize it, Luo Feng solemnly said, "Brother Zhao, rest assured, I will definitely put the laxative into the well in the military camp, ensuring that all five thousand soldiers will be unable to get up."

Guan Yan shook his head and said, "There's no hope of turning them all down. If you can turn them down half, that would be a great achievement. However, you have to time the laxatives right. You have to administer them when General Sun Lang is about to reach the city. Otherwise, if you administer them too early, and General Sun Lang arrives just as they've recovered, then all our efforts will have been in vain."

Luo Feng nodded emphatically and said, "I'll listen to you."

Guan Yan said, "Then you should think carefully about how to ask your cousin for the money in a reasonable way. Asking for the money hastily without a proper reason will arouse suspicion."

Luo Feng laughed and said, "Don't worry about that. My cousin owes money because he's a gambler. Since soldiers can't leave the camp at will, they can't go to brothels, so most of the soldiers in the camp have gotten involved in gambling. They'll be very happy if I get involved."

Guan Yan stood up and said, "That's settled then. Let's all go about our business. We'll meet in this room if we have any news."

After saying this, Luo Feng got up and left. After a moment's thought, he grabbed his two gold coins and went downstairs to join the guests in the hall for entertainment.

With so many people in the hall, people naturally wanted to gamble when they got into the swing of things. So, under Luo Feng's deliberate guidance, the hall quickly turned into a casino. The guests, with beautiful women in their arms, played wildly at the gambling tables.

Luo Feng originally intended to lose all the money he had on him and then use that as an excuse to ask his cousin for the money back. However, for some reason, he had a stroke of luck and quickly won more than a dozen gold coins and dozens of strings of copper coins.

Looking at the pile of money on the table, Luo Feng felt terrible.

What's this? Disappointed in officialdom, but successful in gambling.

But having suddenly received such a windfall, how could he possibly ask his cousin for the money back?