Cao Ren was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time when he saw the three heads. It was reasonable for Lu Chang to lose Xiangyang and die, but Lu Meng and Xu Shang were beyond everyone's expectation.
"General, shouldn't General Xu be in Deng County? How could..." Niu Jin hesitated.
Xu Huang was also full of doubts after seeing this: "Previously, we used the king's plan to publicize that Sun Quan would attack Jingzhou, which greatly affected the morale of Jingzhou soldiers, so that the other side weakened their offensive. But in just two months, General Guan not only captured Xiangyang, but also Lü Meng was captured and executed..."
"During this period, Xiangyang continued to practice by the Han River. I thought this was Guan Yu's bluff, but it turned out that he had really solved his worries. Now there is no Jiangdong to restrain him. To defeat the enemy head-on, the king must come in person... " Yilang Zhao Yan put forward his own point of view.
Guan Yu withdrew to the south bank of the Han River, and the siege of Fancheng was temporarily lifted. The remaining officials were mobilized. Among them, Man Chong, the governor of Runan, also withdrew to Pingyu during this period. Because there were too many bandits in the south of Xudu to respond to Guan Yu, Cao Cao ordered him to go back and stabilize the situation. Live in Runan situation.
In addition to Man Chong who was very resourceful and resourceful in Fancheng, Zhao Yan, who was familiar with classics and history, was very insightful. His analysis made everyone nervous. After hearing this, General Yin Shu, Zhu Gai and others paced in place, and an uneasy atmosphere filled the entire place. Room.
"What Bo Ran said is true, the situation of the war must be sent to the King of Wei as soon as possible, but since Xu Shang has been crowned, Deng County may have been lost, and Gan Ning is suppressing it on the waterway, I don't know if the news can still be sent out. .." Cao Ren frowned.
Zhao Yanjin said: "The scouts did not find Jingzhou soldiers crossing the Han River. Guan Yu must have sneaked into Deng County by taking a detour by water. Maybe the news has been sent to Wancheng, but it cannot be ruled out that Guan Yu's siege speed was so fast that the news asking for help could not be sent. Go out, so we must fulfill our duties. If one scout can't be sent out, send ten. If ten can't be sent out, send hundreds or thousands. With such a vast land north of Fancheng, it will not be easy for Guan Yu to stop him even if he wants to."
Cao Ren stood up as soon as he took the case and said to his confidant Niu Jin: "We can't just sit back and wait for death, so we will do what Boran wants. Send more people to Deng County to scout, and send another 20 scouts to Wan." Deliver letters to the city.”
"The last general takes orders."
Cao Ren then ordered the generals: "You go immediately to clean up the troops. As long as the main force of King Wei goes south, we will immediately send troops to attack Guan Yu."
"Wei." All the generals replied in unison.
In a wartime state, the whole city is on alert.
Cao Ren not only implemented a curfew in Fancheng, but also required the soldiers of each battalion to sleep in their uniforms. He visited each battalion throughout the day to inspect the preparations for war. For some reason, he always felt too stressed.
After being encouraged by the generals, the officers and soldiers of each battalion seemed to be in high spirits. After all, they were not fighting alone this time. After Cao Cao's main force gathered together, they would no longer be in embarrassment. However, when Xu Huang, Yin Shu, Zhu Gai and other troops came to assist, they were prepared in a hurry. Many of their battalions are facing shortages of winter clothing.
On the evening of the next day, Cao Ren received the news from the scouts. All 20 sentinels were intercepted and killed on the way. Due to the dense security guards deployed by Guan Yu, the scouts who went to Deng County to inquire about the news returned without success.
"I'm still too conservative..." Cao Ren murmured.
Niu Jin hurriedly added: "Half a month ago, the scouts discovered that there were many more horses on the other side. I guess Guan Yu should have added a certain number of cavalry, and the interception range may have increased. Why not just follow Zhao Yilang's suggestion before, and let's go again How about sending hundreds or thousands of people out of the city?”
"Since Guan Yu intends to stop him, it won't work just to send scouts to deliver the message. We should use troops and horses to feign attack and support. Only in this way can we be foolproof." Zhao Yan continued to offer suggestions.
Cao Ren nodded and told Niu Jin: "Quickly select some shrewd scouts so that they can break out and deliver the message farther to the west. Even if Guan Yu has cavalry to intercept him, he can't pursue him towards Shandu, right?"
"Let's do it now, General Mo." Niu Jin turned around and walked out.
"General Yin, General Zhu, your troops are the latest to arrive, and the battalions are also the most complete in Fancheng. How about you being responsible for the feint attack out of the city this time?" Cao Ren asked tentatively.
"Well..."
Yin Shu and Zhu Gai looked at each other in shock. They refused to nod and did not dare to reject Cao Ren. They could only express their opinions in silence.
"Is there a problem?" Cao Ren emphasized his tone.
Yin Shu lowered his head and clasped his fists: "Reporting to the general, although our unit is full of troops, the soldiers are also determined to kill the enemy. However, when they arrived in a hurry, they did not prepare enough winter clothes. It was freezing after the heavy snow. A hasty attack might be detrimental to the army... "
"What about you?" Cao Ren looked at Zhu Gai again.
"Me too." Zhu Gai responded with an innocent look on his face.
The two of them agreed that it would be no problem to defend Fancheng, but they were so thin that they fought against Guan Yu in the wild, and they were unwilling to be the leader.
Seeing Cao Ren's gloomy expression, Zhao Yan was worried that he would make some impulsive decision, so he quickly stood up to speak for the two of them.
"Actually, a feint attack does not have to be well-organized. It only requires a few thousand soldiers and horses to be able to advance and retreat freely. Our purpose is to pass on the news. Besides, Guan Yu is already famous in China. Ordinary generals may not be his opponents. If there is damage, it will not be beautiful. ..."
Zhao Yan was originally the governor of the army, and Yin Shu and Zhu Gai had also restrained him. What he said at this time not only pointed out the facts, but also undermined the previous responses of Yin and Zhu. The original intention was to maintain harmony among the generals in Fancheng.
Cao Ren knew that Cao Cao valued Zhao Yan very much, so he paid more attention to his suggestions, but he still disliked the two men's timidity, so he sat down and snorted: "Guan Yu's injury from the poisoned arrow has not healed. Even if he has amazing martial arts, we don't have to be so nervous." Bar?"
"General, I would like to feign an attack." Xu Huang also stepped forward to relieve the siege.
Cao Ren's expression softened slightly, and then he waved his hand and said, "Gongming is still trustworthy. You all should disperse and prepare."
"only."
Yin Shu and Zhu Gai followed Xu Huang and retreated with fists clasped. They were convinced by Xu Huang's righteousness because the officers and soldiers in Xu Huang's camp were not uniform enough.
Although the deployment was completed, Cao Ren's face was still filled with sadness. Ever since he faced off against Guan Yu, the invisible pressure had made him breathless. This was a very real feeling he had felt since he sent out troops.
Cao Ren still remembered that he had accompanied Cao Cao in his expedition to Xuzhou. At that time, Guan Yu was guarding Xiapi for Liu Bei. As a vanguard, he could still defeat Guan Yu, but now the situation has been completely reversed.
Have you become weaker in the past twenty years? Or has Guan Yu become stronger? It was more intimidating than when he killed Yanliang.
Suddenly looking back, Cao Ren found that Yilang Zhao Yan had not left yet.
"Boran, do you have anything else?" Cao Ren asked doubtfully.
Zhao Yan nodded and replied: "Actually, Yin and Zhu are telling the truth. If the officers and soldiers fight in single clothes, their combat effectiveness will be greatly restricted."
Cao Ren spread his hands and said, "We have more than 100,000 soldiers in Nanyang. How can we prepare such a huge amount of supplies in a short time? Previously, only 20,000 pieces of winter clothes were shipped from the rear. King Wei still allocated 3,000 pieces to Fancheng. I can only give them part of it first..."
