The rain seemed to be crying for Yang Xiu. After a while, the thick clouds dispersed and the warm sun returned. Cao Cao changed his usual dejected attitude and patrolled the camp to prepare for war.
In the afternoon, Cao Cao mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and braved the cold wind to go south to Deng County to find a fight. Guan Yu had already prepared a strong formation.
Lantian had a great strategic advantage because of his vision of the situation, but he was very inexperienced in actual battles. All the battles he participated in were commanded by Gao Shun, so after Xu Shu replaced him, he cooperated seamlessly with Guan Yu.
Due to occasional rain disturbances, Cao Cao and Guan Yu basically fought for one day and rested for one day. Although Cao Cao's army had the advantage in numbers, they were suppressed by Guan Yu's side in terms of individual soldier quality, tactics, formations, etc.
After several hard-fought battles, both sides suffered considerable damage, but the balance of victory gradually tilted towards Guan Yu, and capturing Lantian Wenzhenyan gradually became a luxury.
At this time, Cao Cao remembered Yang Xiu's dying words. He found that the situation in front of him was like chicken ribs. There was no meat to eat but taste to discard. So he secretly sent Cao Xiu to the south of Wancheng and north of Deng County to Chaoyang, Xinye, Rangxian and other counties. The people of the large county moved north to make up for the depression caused by Cao Ren's Tuwan City, and Sima Yi was ordered to be responsible for cooperating with the relocated people to supply supplies.
Cao Cao adopted the same method as Huainan. When he finally had to withdraw his troops, he left a large number of empty cities and land with strong walls to clear the fields, and then used Wancheng as a stronghold to help defend Guan Yu. This was the most helpless compromise.
As for Sima Yi in the Lantian prophecy, Cao Cao was confident that he could suppress the civilian officials without military power, and would make detailed arrangements when he returned to the rear.
At the beginning of the first month of the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, Guan Yu was still fighting with Cao Cao in Deng County, and Lan Tian, accompanied by Gao Yuan, took a boat back to Jiangling to meet Liu Bei.
The transport ships shuttled back and forth in Yangshui. After inquiring, they found out that they were captured Jiangdong prisoners. Their destination was Jiangxia. It seemed that Liu Bei was preparing for negotiations.
The two of them had just stepped off the boat when they noticed that the young general riding a red horse on the pier was very eye-catching. When they got closer, they discovered that it was indeed Lan Ji.
"Father, are you here?" Lan Ji happily fell off the little red rabbit, and the Canglong Broken Army Halberd was punched to the ground, making a crisp sound.
"If you're not training in the camp, why are you wearing all your armor at the dock?" Lan Tian asked doubtfully.
Lan Ji replied with a smile: "My uncle has been transferring prisoners to Jiangxia for the past two days. He heard that I have some methods to deal with prisoners, so he asked the children to scare the prisoners at the dock so that the prisoners who were transferred to the ship would not dare to make mistakes."
"He is quite capable. Remember not to be complacent. Then you can perform your duties well now and I will go to the city first." Lantian nodded and told him. At this time, Gao Yuan had brought the horses from the dock.
"Children lead the way for father. This is the last batch today." Lan Ji showed his white teeth.
"Okay." Lan Tian waved his hand.
After Xu Shu's return, Jiangling quickly returned to its former glory, but patrols and vigilance were strengthened. The people had become accustomed to it for the sake of safety. Liu Bei's "return to his hometown in glory" caused a huge response in the city.
Liu Bei was originally having a discussion with city officials in the state capital. When he suddenly heard the news that Lantian had arrived in Jiangling, he quickly ended the conversation and went to greet him outside the palace. This "favor" made Pan Jun and others jealous with toothache.
"Ziyu." Liu Bei waved with a smile.
Lan Tian turned over and dismounted a few feet away, and then trotted in the direction of Liu Bei. Gao Yuan and Lan Ji followed closely behind him, dismounting and walking.
Walking outside the gate of the mansion, Lan Tian bowed his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty is a respected king, how dare I bother you to greet you at the door? It's really..."
Liu Bei smiled and grabbed Lan Tian's left hand and said, "Ziyu is my brother. How can a brother welcome a brother, let alone his status?"
"Ah this..." Lan Tian saw the surprised expressions on others' faces and didn't know what words to use in response.
"Let's go into the mansion. Ziyu has been working hard all the way. Please prepare some drinks to relieve your fatigue." Liu Bei took Lan Tian and walked inside. The Jingzhou officials followed him with their own agendas.
Pan Jun knew the situation and gave up the top position to Lan Tian. When Liu Bei saw everyone sitting down, he asked kindly: "How is the war in Fancheng? If I replace you with Yuan Zhi, won't I miss something important?"
Lan Tian shook his head, "Originally, Yun Chang was commanding. With the right time, place, and people, I estimate that we will be able to defeat Cao Cao in a while. Yuan Zhi is good at mobilizing troops and forming formations. He and General Guan complement each other well."
Liu Bei affirmed: "Ziyu's talents are different from those of Yuan Zhi and Xiao Zhi. They are very proficient in the use of tactics, while Ziyu is good at overall strategy. I will send you back mainly to deal with Jiangxia affairs. Among all the generals I have seen, only Ziyu is the most suitable."
"My duty is my duty." Lan Tian responded with his hands raised.
"Sun Quan is a villain and has tried to plot against us in Jingzhou many times. He wanted to raise an army to conquer the country, but all the ministers in Shu were opposed. Now Kong Ming's Longzhong has reached a critical moment. How to deal with Jiangdong in the future, I really want to hear. What's your opinion?" Liu Bei asked expectantly.
Lan Tian did not answer directly. He asked instead: "What is Military Advisor Zhuge's plan?"
"Kong Ming still insists on allying with Sun to fight against Cao. I have just communicated with Cheng Ming (Pan Jun) and the others. Everyone thinks that we should continue to form an alliance with Jiangdong to fight against Cao. After all, Cao Cao's strength cannot be underestimated, but the two sides are now in conflict. The alliances are also different bedfellows. If you want to reconcile, you may have to give in on the prisoners..." Liu Bei frowned.
"Is it Pan Zhizhong's opinion to give in on the prisoners?" Lan Tian turned around and asked curiously.
Pan Jun nodded slightly: "This time Sun Quan suffered a disastrous defeat in Jingzhou. He captured dozens of generals and tens of thousands of soldiers. If we want to resolve the hatred between the two families, we must make greater concessions, otherwise the two families may not fight to the death. If If Sun and Cao join forces to attack, Jingzhou will never have peace..."
After hearing this, Liu Bei nodded in affirmation, "Cheng Ming's worry is also Bei's worry. Ziyu's views have always been from a high level, but is there any clever way?"
Lan Tian sneered: "The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, how can there be eternal friends in politics? I neither recommend starting a war with Sun Cao at the same time, nor do I recommend sacrificing our own interests to seek peace from Sun Quan. Don't forget that we are the victorious party. ."
"But General Lan's request is really... If Sun Quan wants to redeem all the prisoners, he needs Jiangdong's output for five years without eating or drinking. This... this is simply impossible..." Pan Jun shook his head.
"Negotiation is doing business. If you ask for a high price, you have to pay back. If you pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other hand, why do you need to negotiate? We can make some concessions. I didn't let them cede territory. We always have to pay for some war losses. One year If you can't get it out, you can give it two years, if you can't take it out in two years, you can give it ten years, but those prisoners must be returned in proportion..." Lan Tian smiled slightly.
Pan Jun was stunned when he heard this. According to Lan Tian's current meaning, it seemed that the concession was just to give up time, and the compensation that should be paid did not seem to be reduced much. He wondered if this was too cruel.
"Are you pushing too hard? If Sun Quan and us are defeated, wouldn't it be worth the loss?" Pan Jun asked.
Lan Tian snorted: "The fish is dead and the net is broken? General Guan fought fiercely in Fancheng, and they didn't take action? It was just a bluff. Now Jiangxia is controlled by us. As long as we hold the mouth of the Yangtze River, it is a joke for Sun Quan to easily advance westward. If we start from Jianchang, If Luling and other places invade, no matter how hard they come, they will never come back."
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