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

Chapter 110 They're all cunning foxes; nobody should play the ghost story game.

Faced with Guan Xing's persuasion to surrender, Zhang Cheng not only did not get angry, but instead showed a strange expression.

He had dealt with the Guan family father and son before and knew that Guan Yu's designated successor was always his eldest son, Guan Ping, not the Guan Xing in front of him.

In everyone's eyes, Guan Xing was a spoiled brat who had been raised to be a complete waste; no one took him seriously.

Zhang Cheng thought the same way when he last went south to suppress the rebellion. He believed that a纨绔 (a spoiled, dissolute young man) leading two thousand rabble could not amount to anything. Guan Yu's decision to have such a纨绔 provide support outside clearly indicated that he had no one else available.

However, reality slapped him in the face. He, a famous general of Eastern Wu who had fought for many years, was powerless against Guan Xing, a playboy. It seemed that Guan Xing was the experienced general, while he was the good-for-nothing who was ignorant and incompetent.

Guan Xing's forces are now several times stronger than during the last encirclement, while his own forces have suffered repeated defeats and heavy losses, making him weaker than the enemy.

In other words, Guan Xing now has the authority to persuade him to surrender, but...

Zhang Cheng crossed his arms and questioned, "You invited me out here, it's probably not just to persuade me to surrender, is it? Just say what your purpose is. Everyone's busy, we don't have time for idle chatter."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "It seems that the general is determined to be loyal to the Blue-Eyed Bandits to the death. Then let's talk about the second point. When are you going to take those three back? It's not a good idea for them to just sit here and eat for free every day."

Zhang Cheng said speechlessly, "Trying to exchange grain for prisoners again?"

Guan Xing teased, "Of course, the last cooperation was quite pleasant, there's no reason to change partners, but General Zhang, I'm a repeat customer, so you'd better give me a raise this time, how about 300,000 shi per person?"

Zhang Cheng was so choked up that his face turned red, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

Three hundred thousand shi (a unit of dry measure), why don't you just rob it?

That damn Guan Anguo, you're addicted to extortion, aren't you?

Let me tell you, I don't really want to redeem those three goods; even if I wanted to, I couldn't afford the grain.

Last time you extorted 600,000 shi from us, and this time you've raised it to 900,000 shi. Add to that what you and your son robbed, and where in Jiangdong will there be any surplus grain?

Do you really think we're Cao Cao, who has conquered the Central Plains and has unlimited supplies?

Zhang Cheng turned and left in anger. After walking quite a distance, he turned his back to Guan Xing and shouted, "Let the three of them stay with you for now. I don't trust Guan Anguo's character, but I trust the reputation of General Guan and the King of Hanzhong. I believe you won't make things difficult for them."

Guan Xing looked at Zhang Cheng's retreating figure speechlessly; this was a bit like harassment.

However, he wasn't there to make a deal; he just wanted to show his face to Zhang Cheng and let him know that he hadn't wandered off.

As for the deal, it's not too late to make the deal after we capture Zhang Cheng.

Thinking this, Guan Xing turned around and retreated back to his own group.

The scene of their meeting was witnessed by the prisoners who were working on the edge of the trap. When Guan Xing turned to leave, the prisoners were all filled with a sense of panic at being abandoned, and silently prayed in their hearts: "General Guan, don't go, turn back, take us back with you."

Unfortunately, they didn't see Guan Xing, but instead saw Zhang Cheng. Zhang Cheng stared at them for a moment and sighed, "Go back and rest. Let someone else handle it."

The prisoners cheered and left, but You Yong ran over and asked in surprise, "General, why is this? Haven't you cleared the traps?"

Zhang Cheng said with a wry smile, "You've seen what kind of people these are. None of them seem like they'd do a proper job. Expecting them to clean up the traps won't even be finished by next month."

"Moreover, I seriously suspect that Guan Xing's purpose in inviting me was not as simple as persuading me to surrender and exchanging prisoners. Rather than exchanging prisoners with me, he would rather capture me and exchange me with Sun Shao."

You Yong's expression changed slightly, and he frowned in thought, "Does the general mean that Guan Xing has other purposes?"

Zhang Cheng nodded and said, "Definitely, and it's not hard to guess. They probably want to launch a surprise attack on Shanyin through Shan County, and then circle back to Zhuji to cut off our retreat. Guanxing can't possibly not use such a big gap in Shan County."

You Yong hurriedly asked, "Then what should we do? Should we send someone to go around to Shan County and block Guan Xing's way north?"

Zhang Cheng frowned and said, "It won't be of much use. Even if Guan Xing can't get through Shan County, he can still cross Kuaiji Mountain. You should know that Guan Xing has subdued all the Yue tribes in Kuaiji Mountain. He knows better than us how many paths and rivers there are in the mountains."

"Let Prefect Chunyu lead three thousand men back to Shanyin to strengthen defenses while creating the illusion of a relaxed exterior but a tense interior, thus luring Guan Xing into a trap."

"Shanyin is a prefecture city and not so easy to attack. If Guan Xing really doesn't know what's good for him and attacks Shanyin, we will take a detour to capture Shan County, cut off his retreat route to the Jinqu Basin, trap him in the Yinyu Plain (Ningshao Plain) around Shanyin and Yuyao, and then slowly advance, nibbling him away step by step."

You Yong praised, "General, you are brilliant! I will make the arrangements immediately. Should we clear the traps?"

Zhang Cheng laughed and said, "Of course, we not only need to clear it out, but we need to do it quickly. If Guan Xing really wants to launch a sneak attack on Shanyin, he will definitely lead us to Wushang or even Damu. The farther away we are, the better. Then we will do as he wishes."

No one who can rise to Zhang Cheng's position is a fool; they are all cunning and experienced. No one can play the role of a ghost story.

Zhang Cheng quickly began making preparations in response to Guan Xing's potential attack on Shanyin.

Meanwhile, Guan Xing, back at the camp, hesitated.

Seeing the troubled look on his face, Xie Chong and Gan Xun hurriedly asked, "General, is there a problem?"

Guan Xing tilted his head and pondered, "When I met Zhang Cheng earlier, I found that the old guy was particularly calm, and he always had an expression that said, 'I know what you're talking about.'"

"He seems to know that my meeting with him wasn't just about persuading him to surrender and exchanging prisoners. Do you think this old guy has guessed that we were planning to raid Shanyin?"

After listening, Xie and Gan fell into deep thought. After thinking for a long time, Xie Chong said, "It's very possible. After all, Shan County is in our hands. We can break out of the Jinqu Basin from Shan County at any time. Zhang Cheng is not blind. He can't possibly not see this."

Guan Xing continued, "If Zhang Cheng had guessed that we were going to launch a surprise attack on Shanyin, how would he have reacted?"

Xie Chong said, "First of all, we will definitely strengthen the defense of Shanyin. Shanyin is a county city, and even if there are only a thousand people defending it, we cannot take it in a short period of time. In other words, Zhang Cheng can use Shanyin to hold us back."

"Secondly, Zhang Cheng has learned his lesson from being outmaneuvered, so he's unlikely to chase after us anymore. If I were Zhang Cheng, I would definitely take advantage of the Han army's attack on Shanyin to bypass and seize Shan County, cutting off the Han army's retreat route to the Jinqu Basin. Even if I couldn't take Shan County, I would set up camp between the two mountains to sever the connection between Shan County and Shanyin."

Guan Xing added, "Then they'll force us into the coastal area where Kuaiji Bay is located and gradually nibble away at us. That area is all plains with no natural defenses, and we don't have any popular support there. It won't be long before they wear us down, right?"

There aren't many plains in Zhejiang. The largest one is the Yinyu Plain near Kuaiji Bay. If I were to leave the mountains and go to the plains, I would be entering the track that Zhang Cheng excels at.

Xie Chong nodded and said, "That's right, but this is also an opportunity for us. We might as well turn the tables on them and send a detachment to feign an attack on Shanyin. After luring Zhang Cheng there, we can send troops to subdue Zhuji, then head north to capture Yuji, and finally surround Zhang Cheng in Kuaiji Bay."

"As for the detachment that feigns an attack on Shanyin, let Wang Tao go with them. If the battle goes badly, retreat to Kuaiji Mountain immediately. With Wang Tao, the young master of Shanyue, there, the detachment will not be lost in the mountains."

Guan Xing frowned and said, "This can be considered a backup plan. Let's observe for two days and see how Zhang Cheng reacts."