flstandardbreds Chapter 402 Lu Xun is escorted to Jianye
Chapter 402 Lu Xun is escorted to Jianye
Lu Xun was taken aback upon hearing this, and a moment of confusion appeared in his eyes as he looked at Guan Xing, who was all smiles.
Isn't it normal for you to listen to advice so readily? You accepted it without even offering any explanation?
Young people are much easier to talk to than some stubborn old men.
Lu Xun continued, "Even if you block the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, Cao Ren has no reason to attack you. Cao Ren's main targets right now are Jianye and Wu County, not Yuzhang."
"Moreover, Ruxukou is still in Cao Ren's hands. He can transport grain from Jiangbei through Ruxukou, so there is no grain crisis. In other words, the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor is not a necessary route for Cao Ren at all. He has no intention of going through there. What's the use of blocking it?"
“If you really block the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor, Cao Ren can completely block you and trap himself near Wanling, slowly wearing you down with General Guan. General Guan has 100,000 new soldiers, and you have about 100,000. 200,000 people is almost all the able-bodied men in Danyang, Wujun, and Kuaiji. Without these able-bodied men to cultivate the land, how can we guarantee food for the next few years? Without food, how can we wear down Cao Ren?”
The population density in Jiangnan is much lower than that in Jiangbei, especially the young and middle-aged labor force. Cao Ren can keep 100,000 people in Wanling and do nothing, but Guan Yu can't. If you take away all the young and middle-aged people in Jiangdong, who will farm?
Lu Xun continued, "Another important point is the strategic objective. General Guan's current strategic objective is not to annihilate Cao Ren, but to drive Cao Ren out of Jiangdong and reclaim Ruxukou. Only in this way can the crisis in Jiangdong be completely resolved, allowing us to digest the gains of this period of war, restore production, and accumulate strength to prepare for the Northern Expedition."
"Therefore, my suggestion is that instead of blocking the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor, we should directly cross the Huangwu Mountains to threaten Cao Ren's flank, and then join forces with General Guan to force Cao Ren into the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor, forcing him to retreat to Yuzhang and then to Xiangyang, thereby quickly ending the Jiangdong war."
"The art of war says that when besieging an army, one must leave an opening. We must not leave Cao Ren any loopholes. If Cao Ren is truly forced to lead 100,000 troops to fight with all his might, not only you, but even General Guan might not be able to withstand it. You must know that Cao Ren is leading elite veterans, while General Guan's troops are all newly recruited, many of whom are new recruits who have never even been on the battlefield. If we really fight with all our might like we did yesterday, what do you think General Guan's chances of winning are?"
"On the contrary, if we enter the Huangwu Mountains to threaten Cao Ren's flank and leave the Anhui-Jiangxi Corridor for Cao Ren to retreat, we might be able to wipe out some of the Wei army and achieve some results. Even if we can't achieve any results, it would be good to drive Cao Ren out of Jiangdong."
"However, I suggest you write to ask the old general for his opinion. Dealing with Cao Ren is the main focus, and you can only cooperate from the side."
Guan Xing closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before getting up, clasping his hands in front of Lu Xun, bowing deeply, and saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Commander. I know what to do now. You should all get some rest."
After saying this, he clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhuge Jin and the others, then turned and left.
After returning to his tent, Guan Xing did not rest. Instead, he sat by the oil lamp, picked up his pen, and wrote a letter to Guan Yu to report on the battle situation and request instructions.
After finishing writing, he summoned Deng Hong and told him to set off at dawn to deliver the letter to Guan Yu in Jianye. Deng Hong fought hard all day and was injured in more than a dozen places, but with the protection of his armor, they were all superficial wounds. He was young and strong, so making another trip would not be a problem.
Although Guan Xing didn't want to put Deng Hong through this ordeal, he had no choice. After all, Deng Hong was Guan Yu's personal guard, and no one was more suitable than him to report the victory.
After arranging this matter, Guan Xing went to Zhou Shan's camp. He had already learned about Zhou Shan's situation from the messenger and knew that Zhou Shan was frustrated about missing the big battle, so he naturally wanted to comfort him.
Before setting off, Guan Xing specially sent a messenger to inform him, so when he arrived at the camp, Zhou Shan was already waiting outside. Upon seeing Guan Xing, Zhou Shan jogged up to him, bowed, and said, "This humble general greets the general."
Guan Xing reached out to help him up and put his arm around his shoulder. As they walked toward the camp gate, he laughed and said, "I heard you were exceptionally fast today, arriving at the front line in just half a day."
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, but Zhou Shan became even more frustrated. He sighed with a bitter face, "It's a pity that I still missed it and missed a great opportunity."
That wasn't just missing a good opportunity; it was clearly missing out on the chance to be promoted to a high-ranking position and bring glory to one's ancestors. What a huge loss!
Guan Xing laughed and said, "You can't say that. Do you know why Lu Xun personally charged into battle and was captured alive by me?"
Zhou Shan asked in surprise, "Why?"
Guan Xing replied, "That's because you came too fast. If he hadn't charged, you would have stabbed him in the backside. To give you the simplest example, if you're fighting your enemy to the death and his brother suddenly appears next to you with a big knife, wouldn't you panic?"
Zhou Shan was stunned. Of course he would panic. How could he not panic?
Guan Xing laughed and said, "Now you understand, right? Because of your appearance, Lu Xun changed his plan and launched the final charge ahead of time, which led to his defeat. So you don't need to participate in the battle. Just standing next to Lu Xun is enough to create a deadly deterrent to the Wu army. So even though you didn't participate in the big battle, no one can erase your contribution. Do you understand?"
Zhou Shan clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, General. I feel much better now that you've said that."
Guan Xing laughed and said, "It's good that you're comfortable. Then let's calm the soldiers down and patiently wait for Shen Yi to arrive. You must be tired after a long day. Get some rest and I'm going back."
After a day of fierce fighting, both the Han and Wu armies were exhausted. Soon, the camp was filled with the sound of snoring, which frightened all the wild animals in the mountains away.
The next day, everyone, including Guan Xing and Lu Xun, slept until late morning. Upon waking, they immediately prepared breakfast for Lu Xun and the others, and then sent them to Jianye after they finished eating.
Everyone else was fine during the meal, but Lu Xun's arms were so swollen they looked like thighs that he couldn't even hold chopsticks. Lu Yan fed him the whole time.
Lu Xun beat the drum too hard yesterday, and his arm is completely ruined today.
After the meal, Guan Xing appointed Wu Yue as the escort commander, leading eight hundred personal guards to escort Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, and other high-ranking Wu prisoners to Jianye, while he himself remained in the camp to continue resting.
Sending Wu Yue would be the most suitable option. Wu Yue had previously served as a military officer in the Wu army and had met Lu Xun, Zhuge Jin, and others before. They were familiar with each other and would be easy to cooperate with. Otherwise, if someone else were sent to escort him, some conflict would inevitably occur on the way.
Sending Liu Zan was an option, but Liu Zan had only recently surrendered, and Guan Xing was somewhat worried about entrusting him with such an important mission. Therefore, after much deliberation, he chose Wu Yue.
In terms of assigning tasks to specific people, Guan Xing was not as good as Liu Bei, but he was still above average.
After seeing off Lu Xun and Zhuge Jin in the morning, Shen Yi arrived at noon. Upon learning that Lu Xun had been captured and the Wu army had surrendered, Shen Yi ordered the army to rest on the spot and led more than ten light cavalrymen to rush over to meet Guan Xing.
Once the battle is over, there's no need for the army to go there. If they do, they might have to come back anyway, so what's the point?
So Shen Yi abandoned his army and came alone. Upon seeing Guan Xing, he immediately bowed and said, "General, I just saw Lu Xun. We chatted for quite a while."
Lu Xun and his group were also heading towards Da Mo, so they were bound to run into Shen Yi. Since they did run into each other, Lu Xun was determined to meet General Shen, who had blocked his way in Da Mo for more than ten days. Shen Yi also wanted to meet Grand Commander Lu. The two hit it off immediately and chatted for a good quarter of an hour before parting ways.
Guan Xing didn't ask him about the details of his meeting with Lu Xun. Instead, after exchanging pleasantries for a while, he mentioned his idea of going to the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor to block Cao Ren's retreat. Although he had already given up on the idea, he still wanted to hear Shen Yi's thoughts.
Shen Yi pondered for a long time before saying, "Grand Commander Lu just talked to me about this, and I agree with Grand Commander Lu's opinion that it is not appropriate to go and intercept Cao Ren."
"More importantly, our supplies may not be enough to support a long-distance raid and a prolonged standoff with Cao Ren. It's 400 li from Da Mo to Yu Han, and nearly 1,000 li from Yu Han to Wan Ling. The amount of supplies consumed along such a long distance is astronomical."
"Moreover, the autumn harvest is just around the corner, and we should prepare for it. This year, the Jinqu Basin has enjoyed favorable weather, and it is the first autumn harvest after the land reform, so we should have a good harvest."
"Therefore, I believe that the most urgent task is to stabilize Kuaiji by dealing with Lü Dai. I suggest that we immediately send someone to Wushang to support Cheng Sima, and then have Wang Tao do the work of entering Fujian to block Lü Dai's escape route to the south, and try to capture Lü Dai as well."