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

Chapter 274 Preparing a Grave for Han Dang

An army marches on its stomach; wars are always fought on economic fronts. Without money and supplies, you'll be stuck in one place and unable to do anything.

Just like the working class of later generations, when they have money they can travel, pick up girls and do whatever they want, but when they don't have money they can only stay at home scrolling through their phones and watching others do whatever they want.

Therefore, in order to maintain a long-term standoff with Lu Xun, Guan Xing has been continuously transferring grain and supplies to Damu. Currently, the grain and supplies in Damu are not exactly piled up like mountains, but they are enough for tens of thousands of troops for three months.

With sufficient provisions, they could set off immediately. Guan Xing quickly packed up and ordered Zhou Shan to stay and guard the county town, while he personally led 10,000 troops out of the city and headed straight for Gushui.

It is worth mentioning that, in order to facilitate passage, Shen Yi was ordered by Guan Xing to build five pontoon bridges over the Gu River before setting off on the expedition. Since Shen Yi has not yet returned, the pontoon bridges have not been dismantled and are now in use.

Guan Xing crossed the valley on a pontoon bridge and charged toward Yushan at top speed.

He had to get there as quickly as possible without delay, because Xu Sheng was waiting. Xu Sheng was sure to be in position and ready to attack from both sides with the two Han armies. If he was late, Xu Sheng would become suspicious, and if he became suspicious, Xu Sheng might take other actions, which would add many variables to the upcoming battle. This was something Guan Xing did not want to see.

In addition, there is Shen Yi. Although I told Shen Yi to stay put and block Lu Xun without counterattacking Yushan, it takes time for the scouts to relay the order. What if Shen Yi has already returned to Yushan before the scouts have found him?

If Shen Yi really doesn't stop Lu Xun but attacks Xu Sheng first, then I have to rush over quickly to join forces with Shen Yi to take down Xu Sheng before I can deal with Lu Xun. So time is of the essence.

With this in mind, Guan Xing led his army on a frantic march, continuing their journey even into the night, until they were utterly exhausted. They only slept for two hours before setting off again.

By noon the next day, the scout who had gone into the mountains to explore the way returned with a group of soldiers, saying that they were scouts sent by Shen Yi to deliver a message.

The scouts were brought before Guan Xing, who stared at the squad leader for a moment and then smiled, "I remember you. You're Zhu Hai from Li Gousheng's unit, right?"

During the reorganization, Guan Xing would talk to the soldiers every day. Although he couldn't name all the tens of thousands of soldiers, he could at least recognize their faces. The scout battalion was his elite unit that he took special care of, so it wasn't surprising that he could remember their names when they met again.

Squad leader Zhu Hai was exhausted from running for so long, but when he heard Guan Xing call his name, his fatigue vanished instantly. He took out a letter and handed it to Guan Xing with trembling hands, saying, "Yes, General, I am Zhu Hai. This is a letter from General Shen Yi, who instructed me to personally deliver it to you."

Guan Xing took the letter, opened it, and immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Shen Yi didn't counterattack Yushan but stayed behind to block Lu Xun. This kid actually thought of the same thing as me. That's really great!"

Zhu Chao said breathlessly, "So, does that mean we don't need to rush anymore and can slow down and rest for a bit?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "Not only can we not rest, but we must speed up again. Once we reach Yushan, we don't need to rush to attack Xu Sheng, but we must get to Yushan as soon as possible so that Xu Sheng can see us. Otherwise, what if Xu Sheng sees that we are late and takes the initiative to attack Shenyi from the west?"

"Keep moving. Those who can run, run! Those who can't run can rest where they are and catch up later. You stay behind and take care of any stragglers. Lead the soldiers who are weak to catch up."

Zhu Chao: "..."

I was just making a suggestion; if you disagree or don't want to take it, that's fine. Why are you abandoning me?

He dared not disobey orders, and only weakly said, "But what if we run into Wu's army while we're running like this? What I mean is, if Wu's army can infiltrate Yushan, they could also infiltrate our vicinity. What if Wu's army suddenly attacks us from the mountains while we're on our way..."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Don't worry, the area west of Yushan is Wu's territory, which is beyond our reach for the time being, but the area east of Yushan is our territory. Wu and Yue have set up ambushes at every intersection. It is impossible for Wu's army to sneak in here without Wu and Yue's knowledge. So your worries are not valid. Let's go."

The army continued their desperate journey, following Guan Xing as quickly as possible towards Yushan.

Guan Xing was busy on his way, while Shen Yi was left anxiously waiting.

After deceiving the Wu army that came to support Xu Sheng, Shen Yi continued into the mountains to quarry stones and cut timber, preparing to ambush supplies and waiting for news from Li Gousheng.

That evening, Li Gousheng finally returned and excitedly ran to Shen Yi, saying, "General, good news! Lu Xun's main force of Wu troops has split up in front of the trap. A Wu army of more than 10,000 men, carrying the banner of Han, is rushing towards us through the gaps in the trap. They are only 30 or 40 miles away from here."

Shen Yi's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked, "You mean the Wu army didn't clear the traps, but instead stepped through the gaps in them?"

Li Gousheng nodded emphatically and said, "That's right. Although we can't see the face of the leading general, he looks like an old man. Among the Wu army, Han Dang is the only one over fifty years old, and he is carrying the banner with the name Han. He is probably Han Dang himself."

Shen Yi excitedly spun around on the spot, saying, "That's great! That's great! As long as I defeat Han Dang, I, Shen Yi, will become famous overnight."

"More importantly, the situation is too favorable for us. Han Dang is still thirty or forty miles away from here. He certainly can't walk fast in the trap. It's already three quarters past 7 PM. In another half hour, it will be dark. Han Dang definitely won't be able to walk these thirty miles in half an hour."

"After dark, visibility was reduced, making it impossible to see the road and avoid traps. Han Dang had to stop and wait for dawn before setting off again, which gave us another night to prepare."

The trap is like a swamp; one must be extremely careful when walking through it, otherwise, one might accidentally step into the pit and end up in a tragic situation.

More importantly, there is no way to move or dodge in the trap. If Han Dang is attacked in the trap, he has nowhere to escape and can only stand still and passively take the beating, because if he moves randomly, he may step into the pit.

Thinking of Han Dang's inability to escape or dodge his attack, Shen Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud. He thought to himself, "General Guan's trick of digging traps is simply brilliant. The seemingly insignificant traps can turn into fishing nets at crucial moments and completely trap the enemy. It's truly ingenious."

While feeling a sense of relief, I also felt a bit of relief. Luckily, I had been diligent enough these past few days and dug a long enough trap. If I had been lazy and hadn't dug this many, Han Dang might have already escaped the trap area.

It seems that General Guan's orders cannot be disregarded from now on; we must go all out, otherwise we will definitely suffer the consequences.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi was filled with excitement at the prospect of annihilating Han Dang, but Li Gousheng poured cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "But General, I have discovered that while Han Dang is advancing by stepping on traps, he has also sent a large army to travel through Huaiyu Mountain. It seems that he is comparing whether it is faster to take the main road or to cross the mountain. If I am not mistaken, Han Dang is very likely to enter the mountain directly tonight and head towards Yushan along the road that Xu Sheng took."

That's quite possible. If you can walk through the mountains, why waste time in the trap area of ​​the corridor?

Shen Yi's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "Then what are you waiting for? Those with shovels, go into the mountains immediately and set traps on the road leading to Jade Mountain. We absolutely cannot let Han Dang get past."

Li Gousheng shook his head and said, "I'm afraid it's too late. The Wu army in the mountains will be here in another hour or two. And even if we had time, we couldn't dig anymore. The traps can prevent Han Dang from getting through, and they can also prevent us from getting through. If a real battle breaks out, Han Dang might just grit his teeth and turn back the way he came. We won't be able to catch him even if we're separated by the traps. Setting up traps is to trap the enemy, not to trap ourselves."

At this point, Li Gousheng unfolded the map and pointed to a certain place, saying, "I suggest we retreat twenty miles and ambush Wu's army at this location. At the same time, we should flank and intercept them from behind, first driving Wu's army into the corridor, and then forcing them to retreat along the corridor back to the trap area."

Shen Yi nodded and said, "That makes sense. However, we must dig another trap after retreating twenty miles away to prevent Han Dang from making a rash decision and heading straight to Yushan to meet Xu Sheng along the corridor."

In other words, instead of digging traps here, they will retreat twenty miles and then dig them, leaving a twenty-mile-long safe zone for the Wu army, while also buying them some preparation time. After the battle begins, the Wu army will be driven into this so-called safe zone, where they will be surrounded by traps and will have no way to escape.

Li Gousheng said excitedly, "I think it's possible, no problem."

Shen Yi said excitedly, "Then let's do it! Let the brothers work harder and try to turn this twenty-mile safe zone into Han Dang's burial ground."