flstandardbreds Chapter 166 Guan Yu's Shock
Chapter 166 Guan Yu's Shock
Guan Yu had nothing in common with these younger men, and knowing they had been away from home for too long and were eager to reunite with their families, he sent them away after a short chat.
Soon only Guan Yu and his son Guan Xing remained in the hall. Guan Xing said sarcastically, "Father, a withered tree sprouts new buds, and an iron tree blooms again. I didn't know you had such abilities."
Guan Yu glared at him fiercely, not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer, and said, "I'll give it to you too..."
He wanted to say that he had arranged a marriage for you, but he suddenly remembered his promise to Sun Luban and promptly shut his mouth.
Guan Yu, being worldly-wise and knowledgeable, naturally knew what Sun Luban was up to. The problem was that while the Zhou family needed him, he also needed the Zhou family; it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and he had no reason to refuse. Therefore…
Guan Xing, seeing him stop talking, asked in surprise, "Give me what?"
Guan Yu said righteously, "Let me tell you, I've confiscated your 20,000 troops. Rest in the city for a few days and then go back to Wushang."
Guan Xing asked in astonishment, "What the hell? Are you robbing me?"
"I thought you would only be interested in my heavy armor battalion, but I underestimated your greed. You actually want to confiscate all my troops, but you don't want me at all?"
How is this any different from those scumbag men and women in later generations who only want the money of honest people and not the honest people themselves?
Lao Guan, I misjudged you!
Guan Yu also felt that what he had done was somewhat dishonest, and said awkwardly, "Anguo, let your father explain. Although the Wu army has withdrawn, Sun Quan will definitely not let this go. What do you think Sun Quan will do next?"
Guan Xing spread his hands and said, "What else can we do? Just focus on stabilizing the internal situation. If we don't resolve the internal conflicts, he'll be finished on his own without us even having to fight him."
Guan Yu laughed and said, "The word 'reconciliation' is well used, but you know Sun Quan's current situation. What if the internal conflicts cannot be reconciled?"
Guan Xing's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Then the internal conflict is being shifted to the outside, so..."
Guan Yu said, "So Sun Quan will definitely attack us again, and he can't possibly attack Jianye again. With Wei troops here, Wu troops won't dare to interfere. In that case, where do you think he will attack?"
Guan Xing angrily cursed, "Is there any need to ask? The terrain of Bashu is too dangerous for him to enter. The Wei army in Xiangyang is too strong for him to attack. He doesn't dare to get involved in the battle between Jianye and the Wei army. So he can only cross the Gu River to attack Damo and pick on me, the soft persimmon."
"Besides, as you just said, Sun Quan's continued campaigns are to divert attention from other issues. Attacking me in this way is the most appropriate course of action. It can achieve the goal of diverting attention from other issues, and at the same time give the Jiangdong gentry the illusion that they can recover lost territory. It can give the Jiangdong gentry hope of returning to power, so that they will not completely turn against him."
Guan Yu said, "That's exactly the point. So you must return to Wushang and guard the rear for your father. I'm not afraid of any Wei troops in front, but I will never allow those Jiangdong rats to betray me again and stab me in the back at the crucial moment. Do you understand?"
Guan Xing understood. Old Guan was traumatized by the betrayal and wanted him to guard the rear for him.
However, Lao Guan's concerns were not without merit; the actions of those Jiangdong rats were indeed too hateful.
Guan Xing nodded and said, "Father, rest assured, as long as I live, those Jiangdong rats will not be able to set foot in the Jinqu Basin."
Guan Yu nodded and said, "I am very confident in you now. Also, I heard from Gan Xun that you built a steel mill in Wushang. Those heavy armors were all made in the steel mill. Continue to make them when you get back, and send them to me as soon as they are finished. The more the better."
"Also, shovels, hoes, and other farm tools. Send any extras to Deng Zhi. The plains of Wu County are our granary and the source of our strength in our battles against the Wei army. Do you understand?"
"And the navy. You are in charge of taking over the shipwrights and timber transferred from Wu County. You are to build and train a navy that can rival the Wei navy as soon as possible."
Guan Xing nodded in agreement, and Guan Yu stood up and said, "You should get some rest. I'm going back to the barracks. I'll stay there for the next few days."
With a major battle imminent, he was not yet familiar with the newly arrived 20,000 troops, so he had to live and eat with the soldiers in the barracks to quickly build rapport.
Guan Xing got up and saw him out of the mansion, then turned around to greet Xiao Qiao before returning to his room to rest.
Meanwhile, Guan Yu returned to his camp and, having nothing else to do, went straight to sleep.
With a string of good news lately, Guan Yu was in a great mood and slept very soundly. He was having a sweet dream in the morning when he was suddenly awakened by a shout.
The noise triggered Guan Yu's morning grumpiness, and he rolled over and cursed, "What's all the noise so early in the morning?"
After he finished scolding them, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The soldiers in the camp usually woke up by the sound of drums. When did they get up earlier than him?
Realizing this, Guan Yu quickly got up, dressed, and stepped out of the command tent, only to be dumbfounded.
Guan Xing's 20,000-strong army was now divided into more than 20 thousand-man square formations for training, with the leading officers constantly shouting, "Left turn, right turn..."
Upon hearing the command, the thousand-man formation immediately turned and moved. Although their movements were not perfectly synchronized, they still shocked Guan Yu, who stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
He discovered that not a single person in all those formations had turned in the wrong direction, and that the entire army of 20,000 could clearly distinguish left from right.
This is incredible. You know, even the army he trained for several months couldn't do this. When he asked them to turn right, many of them would turn to the left and face their teammates.
Strict adherence to orders is a basic requirement in the military, but the most basic things are often the most difficult to achieve; it is truly not easy to do so.
It's incredible that Guan Xing's troops have initially achieved the ability to obey orders and maintain discipline. My decision to confiscate these 20,000 troops was absolutely wise.
Guan Yu didn't rush forward to ask questions. Instead, he returned to his command tent, grabbed a small stool, and sat outside to patiently observe the scene. He wanted to see what surprises the 20,000-strong army would bring him.
Guan Xing's army's training was unremarkable; it consisted of simple formation drills, marching around the training ground, and finally running laps.
After running for a while, Guan Yu thought they would disband, but to his surprise, they did not. Instead, they each scattered, squatted down, drew a square, and then walked into the square, picked up chopsticks, and wrote words on the ground.
Writing?
Guan Yu couldn't sit still any longer. He got up and strode towards the group. When he came to a young man and looked down, he was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Following his gaze, several lines of hastily written characters appeared in front of the boy.
The smoke of war rises, and the land is encircled.
The person probably didn't know how to write the last character, so they drew a circle. Behind the circle was a tadpole-like symbol, and behind that symbol was another character.
Dragon flag circles, horse circles, sword energy circles, heart circles like rivers, who can circle within twenty years of circles? Two sentences drew more than a dozen circles, making Guan Yu's teeth ache.
Nevertheless, Guan Yu was still utterly astonished. He noticed that the boy's hands were covered in calluses from his work, and judging from his attire, he was clearly an illiterate ordinary soldier. It was unbelievable that such a nobleman could write more than a dozen characters.
Looking around again, I saw that all the soldiers were engrossed in writing, not a single one slacking off. What did this mean? It meant that all 20,000 men could write a line or two! 20,000 literate soldiers! My God…
Guan Yu couldn't help but lower his head and ask, "Young brother, where are you from?"
The young man stood up and saluted, saying, "Reporting to the general, my name is Xia Tian, from Lou County. I am currently the squad leader of the 8th squad of the 7th team of the 5th detachment of the 3rd battalion of the 2nd division under General Meng Jun."
Guan Yu: “…”
What is all this about? Why are the titles so long?