Cao Ren divided into two groups to evacuate from Fancheng. Pang De's cavalry was arranged to intercept Yin Shu and Zhu Gai's troops. Guan Yu combined the cavalry from each battalion in Jingzhou into one army and handed it over to Zhang Fei, who was proficient in "guerrilla tactics".
Guan Yu asked Zhang Fei and Pang De to mainly attack and harass, and asked them to leave as many defeated troops in Fancheng as possible while preserving their strength. In short, they did not seek total annihilation, but they had to "pluck the feathers of the geese."
The mission of Yin Shu and Zhu Gai was to drive the refugees to Deng County, but they knew that this task was extremely dangerous, so when they were twenty miles away from Deng County, they abandoned the people and fled to the northwest.
Zhang Fei and Pang De launched a two-day pursuit of the deserters from Fancheng in the vast land west of Deng County. The two troops killed more than 4,000 Cao troops in total. Yin Shu and Zhu Gai's troops lagged behind in their actions, and the army's The formation was dispersed during the pursuit, and Cao Ren and Xu Huang also suffered heavy losses.
After clearing the field battlefield, Zhang Fei and Pang De returned to Deng County to report their victory. Everyone was convinced of Lan Tian's strategy, especially his use of psychological tactics to force Cao Ren away.
Guan Yu couldn't help but praise: "Soldiers are deceitful. Sun Tzu said, 'Advance troops to attack the enemy's army', 'Subjugate the enemy's army without fighting'. Ziyu really has a strategy in his chest. Guan has never heard of such tactics. I don't know where you are." In which art of war book did you read it?"
Lan Tian smiled slightly: "Uh... Yun Chang should know that Xiang Yu is surrounded and surrounded, and Han Xin is surrounded by enemies on all sides besides being ambushed on all sides?"
"I know we are surrounded by enemies, but Ziyu didn't send anyone to Fancheng to sing songs from the Central Plains. Cao Ren finally ran away." Zhang Fei scratched his head and expressed confusion.
Guan Yu frowned and said, "The art of war relies on flexibility. Han used Chu Ge and Ziyu used rumors. The principles are the same, but I don't quite understand why you didn't use arrow books earlier."
Lantian saw that everyone was thirsty for knowledge, so he explained: "This plan aims to break the guard. The process is like making wine. It needs to go through many steps such as ingredients, cooking and gelatinization, fermentation in the cellar, and wine steaming. It is not about mixing grains. Just throw it into the wine cellar, every step is essential.”
Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "I don't know how to make wine, so I'd better drink it straight away."
"Then the purpose of sending the corpse later is..." Guan Yu continued to ask for advice.
"The arrow books we put into the city may be true or false. If there is no evidence, they are all just rumors. But if we put some real evidence in, those rumors will become more credible..." Lan Tian continued to explain.
Guan Yu stroked his long beard and nodded: "True and false, false and false, true and false, true and false, true and false, I understand it when Ziyu says it..."
"Second brother, why are you working so hard? If we encounter trouble in the future, let the military advisors or Ziyu provide suggestions, and we can just follow their strategies. If we ask so many questions, we won't be able to learn..." Zhang Fei reminded from the side.
Guan Yu shook his head gently, "Even if you can't learn it, you still need to know how to identify the enemy's tactics in the future. Yide, haven't you already used the tactics of Jiangwu Hall very flexibly? It's always good to learn more. of."
"That tactic is not difficult..." Zhang Fei scratched his head and laughed.
Everyone saw that Zhang Fei was so naive, and the corners of his mouth raised and his teeth were exposed. Gao Shun then pointed at Lan Tian and said, "Sir, I just came to report from the front. Cao Cao's main force has passed Chaoyang and will reach Deng County in one day. You are the one who is retreating from the enemy." When do you use this clever trick?”
"No hurry, no rush." Lan Tian shook his head slightly.
"What's the clever idea?" Zhang Fei looked at Gao Shun and signaled. Seeing that the other party didn't seem to want to tell him, he stared at Lan Tian with expectation.
Lan Tian smiled slightly: "The clever plan must be kept secret. If you say it out loud, you won't..."
"Urgent report from Fancheng."
A high-pitched voice outside the door interrupted Lan Tian's answer, followed by a scout who entered the room and handed a letter to Guan Yu.
Guan Yu quickly opened the envelope and read it. Wocan's eyebrows furrowed into the character "Sichuan". Zhang Fei hurriedly asked: "Second brother, is there anything urgent in Fancheng?"
"Xingba received an urgent message from Governor Su, and that Bi Yaner was actually not honest." Guan Yu slapped his palm on the table.
Zhang Fei echoed angrily: "This guy's scar has really healed and he has forgotten the pain. We have successfully captured Fancheng anyway, so why not rush to Jiangxia with all our strength to destroy them."
Lantian took the letter from Guan Yu. It turned out that Sun Quan had assembled 30,000 soldiers. This time, Zhou Tai was the general. The warships left Chaisangtun and were stationed in E County. He wanted to use force to pressure the Jiangxia defenders to take prisoners. Sun Quan threatened Fazheng, Su Fei, and Li Yi were all unqualified, so Guan Yu or Lan Tian were asked to go to Jiangxia to negotiate terms with Jiangdong.
"It has been more than two months since Lu Meng and others defeated Jingzhou. I originally thought that Sun Quan would rest until spring, but they didn't expect that they would revive in the first month. But I don't know why they didn't take Lu Xun as their commander?" Lan Tian frowned in confusion.
"It's not because your stratagem was too powerful, Lu Xun really suffered a terrible disaster." Zhang Fei muttered.
Guan Yu stared blankly and stroked his beard, "Generals Su and Li really couldn't control the situation. In addition, there are fewer navy soldiers in Jingzhou and more ships. We are about to go to war with Cao Cao. Sun Quan's habit of taking advantage of the situation and plundering has been committed again."
Lan Tian nodded, "Yun Chang's analysis is reasonable. I also suspect that Sun Quan and Cao Cao are secretly colluding. Otherwise, this news would not have come by such a coincidence. For this plan, all the naval forces in Xiangfan can be transferred away and let Gan Xing Ba first goes to Jiangxia to stabilize them, and then we can talk about the prisoners after we have retreated from Cao Cao."
Guan Yu asked: "Including General Xiangfan Gan's troops, Jingzhou's naval force is only more than ten thousand. If Sun Quan wants to kill fish and kill net, won't Jiangxia lose again after gaining?"
"These naval forces are probably all Jiangdong's assets. General Gan and Governor Su are familiar with the terrain of Jiangxia, and they have French military advisors to help them. Even if they lose the city with all their strength in defense, Sun Quan will only end up with a tragic victory. In that case, Jiangdong There is nothing to rely on anymore, and he will never take this risk. This time he is just cooperating with Cao Cao, and he doesn't know what benefits he will get..." Lan Tian analyzed.
"In this case, I immediately asked General Gan to go south. I originally wanted to send him to defeat Cao..." Guan Yu shook his head.
Lan Tian nodded affirmatively: "Don't worry, Chief Yun. We will fight Cao Cao soon. I will write a letter to General Gan later and ask him to act according to his plan when he arrives in Jiangxia. There is no problem in delaying Sun Quan for a few days."
"This is the best." Guan Yu looked pleased, and then told Guan Ping: "Ping'er, let someone get paper and pen quickly."
"Wei." Guan Ping clasped his fists.
While Lan Tian was writing to Gan Ning, Cao Cao went berserk at the Cao Jun camp in Chaoyang South. Cao Ren, who had been running away, finally joined him, and Guan Yu's three wooden boxes were also brought here.
After scolding Cao Ren, Xu Huang, Zhao Yan and others, Cao Cao was saddened by the head of Lu Chang. He was a capable minister that Cao Cao gained in Jingzhou. He had made outstanding achievements in Xiangyang for more than ten years, but it was a pity that he was dismissed like this. Guan Yu chopped off his head.
"It seems that he fell into Xuan Owl's trick. Sun Quan said that this person is comparable to Crouching Dragon and Feng Xiao. The result of this observation is real. I will not punish you for abandoning the city. Anyway, you can get it back soon. "Cao Cao said coldly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone replied in unison.
"Zhongda, please immediately send someone to send the heads of Lu Chang and Xu Shang back to Xudu for burial. I'm lonely, so please retreat first." Cao Cao covered his head with his left hand and waved to everyone with his right hand.
