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

Chapter 151 Liu Bei Withdraws, Lu Xun Has an Awakening

The way to attract attention is simple: let yourself shine like a flame, and others will naturally turn their attention to you. The brighter the light you emit, the more attention you will attract.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao were the brightest lights in the world at that time, and their every move was watched by others. In other words, wherever Liu Bei appeared, Cao Cao's eyes would be drawn to him, and vice versa.

Therefore, Liu Bei had to personally carry out the task of attracting the attention of the Wei army; otherwise, if Zhuge Liang appeared at Baoxie Road but Liu Bei did not, even a fool would see that something was wrong.

Liu Bei's feigned attack on Baoxie Road was different; his brilliance would overshadow Zhuge Liang's, because Zhuge Liang had always been in charge of logistics and had never led troops alone before. His absence would not arouse anyone's suspicion.

Zhuge Liang knew that Liu Bei was more suitable than himself for the task of attracting the Wei army's attention, so he did not refuse and nodded in agreement, saying, "Then I will trouble Your Majesty. Now that everything is ready, we can proceed."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "You should rest for a while. I'll call you when we've prepared for the retreat."

After the discussion, everyone dispersed to begin preparations. The retreat of tens of thousands of troops was no easy task; there were too many things to prepare.

First, we need to find a way to confuse the Wu army on the other side and prevent them from pursuing us and affecting our retreat. Second, Guan Ping hasn't returned yet.

We must wait for Guan Ping to return before we can retreat, because once the Han army retreats, the Wu army will definitely seize Yiling quickly to fill the void left by the Han army's retreat, and then Guan Ping will not be able to return.

Four days later, Guan Ping led generals Zhao Lei, Xi Zhen, and Sha Moke, along with 8,000 troops, back safely. Five thousand of these troops were sent by Liu Bei to support him.

With Guan Ping's return, Liu Bei had no more worries and ordered his well-prepared army to withdraw under cover of night and retreat to Yong'an City as quickly as possible.

After arriving in Yong'an, Liu Bei issued several decrees to make arrangements. First, he ordered his heir Liu Shan to oversee the country and guard the rear, and appointed General Li Yan to assist him and supervise the transport of grain and fodder.

He then left 5,000 troops with Fei Guan, the governor of Ba Commandery, and ordered him to build fortifications in Yong'an to defend against Eastern Wu. Yong'an was strategically located and easy to defend, so 5,000 troops were enough to withstand the fierce attack of Wu's 100,000-strong army.

After securing the western front, Liu Bei still faced a thorny problem: Liu Feng of Xicheng.

The three eastern commanderies are also the gateway to Hanzhong. Now that Shangyong and Fangling have fallen, only Xicheng remains as the gateway to Hanzhong. After receiving news of the Han army's northern expedition, the Wei army will definitely launch a fierce attack on Xicheng to force the Han army to return to its aid, thereby thwarting the Han army's northern expedition plan.

Therefore, Xicheng became the key to the success of the Han army's northern expedition and had to be defended. However, Liu Bei no longer trusted his adopted son Liu Feng and did not want him to continue defending the city.

However, Liu Bei knew that changing generals on the eve of battle was a major taboo in military strategy, and it would be inappropriate to rashly replace Liu Feng. Helpless, he could only transfer three thousand elite troops to Liu Feng and ordered him to defend Xicheng, even if he had to die there.

In addition, Liu Bei originally wanted to send someone to assist Liu Feng, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. Liu Feng's personality was such that he couldn't get along with anyone. If he sent someone else, what if Liu Feng treated Meng Da the same way and started fighting with his own people before even meeting the enemy? Wouldn't that be a disaster?

At this time, one cannot do anything that involves supervision or obstruction; one must unconditionally trust whomever one employs. Therefore, Liu Bei was prepared to trust Liu Feng once again.

However, even with the greatest trust, one must prepare a backup plan. After careful consideration, Liu Bei appointed Ma Liang as the Prefect of Hanzhong Commandery, to be stationed in Nanzheng, the commandery's capital, and to act as the Prefect. Ma Liang was responsible for coordinating with all parties and preparing provisions. This way, even if Xicheng fell, Ma Liang could hold Nanzheng and wait for Liu Bei's return to reinforce it.

After setting up the defenses at home, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang split their forces into two groups and officially began their Northern Expedition.

……

Yiling.

Jiangbei Wu Army Camp.

That morning, Lu Xun got up, stretched, and quickly washed up before starting his work for the day. Suddenly, his general Li Yi rushed into the tent and excitedly said, "General, the Han army has retreated."

Lu Xun was startled and quickly asked, "Are you sure?"

Li Yi nodded emphatically and said, "I am absolutely certain. After receiving the scout's message, I personally sneaked into the Han camp and checked it out. The Han army camp was as clean as if a dog had licked it clean; they have definitely withdrawn."

Lu Xun exclaimed excitedly, "Great! Just as we predicted, that big-eared scoundrel has abandoned the eastern expedition and turned to the north. We can rest easy now. Go and call General Zhu Ran over for a meeting. At the same time, order the scouts to keep a close eye on the Han army and watch the big-eared scoundrel retreat into Yong'an City with our own eyes."

On the day Lü Meng returned to Jianye to provide reinforcements, the task of leading the Wu army on the western front to defend against the Han army fell to Lu Xun.

Upon learning that Liu Bei was leading his army on an eastern expedition, Lu Xun was very nervous and dared not move an inch while staying in the Jiangbei camp.

He was facing Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, and Liu Bei and Zhang Fei were in a state of rage. He was no match for them in a head-on battle and could only defend passively.

Cao Cao had little confidence in front of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, let alone Lu Xun. Lu Xun originally thought he couldn't beat the two brothers, but after a few battles, he found that he wasn't so bad after all.

Seeing that Liu Bei had been unable to capture Yidao City for a long time, Lu Xun gradually gained confidence and rolled up his sleeves, ready to make a big move. However, he discovered that something seemed wrong. The Han army had not used its full strength when attacking Yidao City. Otherwise, with Zhang Fei's abnormal attack power, Yidao City would have been destroyed long ago. How could it have waited until now?

Upon realizing this, Lu Xun's mind began to stir. After some thought, he quickly understood that Liu Bei's real intention was not the wine, but Chang'an, the old capital of the Han Dynasty.

Then there's nothing more to say. Just play along with Liu Bei and get rid of this old man as soon as possible.

As for whether or not to remind Cao Cao to strengthen his defenses, what a load of rubbish!

I, Lu Boyan, am not Cao Mengde's subject. Do I have an obligation to remind Cao Mengde?

Moreover, what if Liu Bei learned that Cao Cao had taken precautions and stopped his northern expedition, but instead turned around and continued his eastern campaign to beat him up?

At that time, Liu Bei and Guan Yu would attack from both the east and west, and Cao Cao would also invade from the south. The current Eastern Wu could not withstand the three-pronged attack of these three.

So let the big-eared thief fight Cao Cao. Let the dogs fight each other, and hopefully one of them will die.

Realizing that Liu Bei had ulterior motives, Lu Xun began to wait patiently. After several months, Liu Bei finally withdrew his troops, and Lu Xun was finally able to sleep peacefully.

As for whether or not to lead troops to pursue Liu Bei and stab him in the back again, forget it. He's too busy seeing off Liu Bei right now to dare to provoke him again.

Zhu Ran arrived quickly and, before he could even stand properly in the tent, asked impatiently, "Has Liu Bei really retreated?"

Lu Xun nodded and said, "It's true, but we can't rule out the possibility that this old thief is just playing tricks and will suddenly launch a counterattack when we're off guard, so we can't let our guard down yet. We can only rest after we're sure he's fighting Cao Cao."

"However, Liu Bei's Northern Expedition will once again stir up the situation in the world. While giving us a chance to catch our breath, it also gives us the opportunity to retake Jianye. Such a big matter must be known to our lord. Pack your things and return to Jianye immediately to report the situation to our lord so that he can make preparations as soon as possible."

In fact, Lu Xun wanted to return to Jiangling in person to talk to Sun Quan, but as the commander-in-chief, he could not leave his post without Sun Quan's orders. Zhu Ran was different; he could act on Sun Quan's orders.

"I'll go right away."

Zhu Ran clasped his hands in a bow and turned to leave, but unexpectedly returned less than half an hour later, carrying a messenger in his hand.

Zhu Ran threw the nearly exhausted messenger to the ground and said anxiously, "General, something bad has happened! The Grand Commander has suffered repeated defeats in Jianye and has abandoned Jiangdong, retreating back to Jiangling."

Lu Xun exclaimed in surprise, "What?"

Zhu Ran continued his barrage of attacks: "But when the Grand Commander retreated, he forgot about Madam Zhou, and the Zhou family fell into Guan Yu's hands again."

Lu Xun was completely agitated. He slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and shouted, "What? Say that again!"