My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Nanzheng City.

Outside the city, 50,000 Han troops stood ready, about to advance westward along the Mian River, heading straight for Yangping Pass with unstoppable momentum.

Previously, all the counties had successfully submitted through proclamations, and Yangping Pass, known as the "First Formidable Pass of Yizhou," has now become the last stronghold of Han China on this land.

"Although Yangping Pass is strategically located and easy to defend, it is now just an isolated city. Even if Zhang Lu has extraordinary abilities, he cannot defend it under such dire circumstances."

Guan Yu frowned slightly, looking at Xiao He beside him with a hint of doubt in his eyes:
"Bowen, why are we in such a hurry to attack Yangping Pass? Our soldiers have been fighting all the way and are exhausted. Why not let them rest for a few more days?"

Xiao He, with a deep gaze, slowly said:
"My soldiers have trekked through mountains and rivers, deep into the Hanzhong region. How could I not know the hardships they have endured along the way? If possible, I would naturally like to let them rest for a few more days to recover their strength."

"However, I'm afraid neither the one in the north nor the one in the south will give us that time."

Guan Yu was taken aback, a look of confusion on his face, clearly failing to understand Xiao He's implied meaning.

Seeing this, Xiao He further explained:

"Once Nanzheng falls, the morale of the Hanzhong army at Xingshi Mountain will inevitably collapse and their fighting spirit will be low. Faced with such a desperate situation, Yang Ang will either have to surrender to the Crown Prince in exchange for a way out, or he will have no choice but to flee south and retreat to the heart of Hanzhong."

"In this way, the Crown Prince's journey south will be unobstructed and without any further hindrance."

"When the Crown Prince hears that we have taken the lead and the credit for recapturing Nanzheng has already fallen into our hands, he will surely be anxious and rush south to Hanzhong day and night, wanting to take Yangping Pass before us, capture Zhang Lu alive, and thus get a share of the spoils."

"As for the south..."

Xiao He's gaze shifted towards Chengdu:

“If Zhang Lu refuses to surrender to our Han Dynasty, he will only have two options: either seek help from Cao Cao and hope that Cao Cao can lend a helping hand to relieve his urgent crisis, or seek help from Liu Zhang and hope that Liu Zhang can send troops to help him.”

"Cao Cao is currently besieged in Chang'an by my 200,000 troops. He can barely protect himself and has no time to spare. Where would he find the extra troops to spare to rescue Zhang Lu? Therefore, Zhang Lu's only chance is to ask Liu Zhang for help."

"If Hanzhong had not been lost, Liu Zhang might still have been clinging to the hope that he could stay out of it and watch from the sidelines. But now that Hanzhong belongs to our great Han Dynasty, the Emperor's sword is already hanging over Liu Zhang's head. How could he dare to turn a blind eye and pretend that nothing is wrong?"

"I predict that Liu Zhang will most likely send Shu troops north to Yangping Pass to rescue Zhang Lu."

"Yangping Pass is strategically important and easy to defend, which is a well-known fact. If the Shu army reinforcements can arrive in time and join forces with Zhang Lu's remnants in Hanzhong, it will be very difficult for our army to break through Yangping Pass quickly."

"By then, Yangping Pass will be unable to be captured after a long siege, and our hundreds of thousands of troops will be tied up in Hanzhong. We cannot sustain our supply by relying on local grain sources, so we will have no choice but to transport grain from Guanzhong."

"But if the war drags on and the supply of provisions is disrupted, we will have no choice but to abandon the attack on Yangping Pass, and even have to reduce the number of troops in Hanzhong in order to reduce the consumption of provisions."

"In this way, the recapture of Hanzhong will not be a complete success, and the Zhang-Liu allied forces at Yangping Pass are always threatened with advancing eastward."

"In this way, taking Hanzhong would become a burden, hindering our overall plan to capture Chang'an and annihilate the pseudo-Wei state. That would be a loss."

Xiao He pointed in the direction of Yangping Pass and slowly explained the implications.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu suddenly understood, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

He then understood that Xiao He was in a hurry to rush to Yangping Pass for two reasons: first, to prevent Liu Shan from stealing the credit and thus ensuring that the credit for the recapture of Hanzhong would not be monopolized by Liu Shan; and second, to prevent Zhang Lu from forming an alliance with Liu Zhang, which would leave hidden dangers for Hanzhong and affect the overall situation later on.

"Bowen's words are insightful and far-sighted."

Guan Yu nodded emphatically, then raised his whip and loudly gave the order:
"By my order, the army shall immediately set out and march straight for Yangping—"

The order had barely been given when a messenger arrived at breakneck speed.

The messenger dismounted and knelt on one knee to report:
"Reporting to the General, His Highness the Crown Prince has delivered a general's order!" Guan Yu's expression darkened slightly, and he subconsciously glanced at Xiao He.

A bad feeling crept into his heart.

Guan Yu took a deep breath, accepted the command order, and slowly opened it with unease in his heart.

After glancing at it a few times, Guan Yu's eyes narrowed, a flash of anger appearing in them:

"Bowen, just as you predicted, our Crown Prince is trying to steal the credit again."

Guan Yu, his face dark with displeasure, handed the order to Xiao He.

Xiao He took a look and a cold smile crept across his lips.

As he expected, the 10,000 Hanzhong soldiers besieging Xingshi surrendered to Liu Shan after hearing of the fall of Nanzheng.

For some unknown reason, the 10,000 surrendered soldiers, led by Yang Ang, rebelled again. Liu Shan then sent troops to suppress them, and ultimately annihilated all 10,000 surrendered soldiers from Hanzhong in Xiegu Valley.

Liu Shan then led an army of 100,000 men southwards day and night, with the vanguard already reaching Xiegukou and entering the Hanzhong Plain.

In other words, Liu Shan's troops were located more than 40 li closer to Yangping Pass than their 50,000 soldiers.

Liu Shan then used this as a pretext to order Xiao He and Guan Yu to lead troops north to Guanzhong to join forces with Zhang Fei's army, in order to prevent Cao Cao in Chang'an from plotting a counterattack.

As for Zhang Lu and his remaining troops at Yangping Pass, they were left to be wiped out nearby. Clearly, the intention was to monopolize the credit for recapturing Yangping Pass and capturing Zhang Lu.

"Our Crown Prince is unwilling to let us enjoy the credit for the recapture of Hanzhong all by himself; he insists on sharing the spoils."

Xiao He smiled coldly, revealing Liu Shan's true intentions.

Zhao Yun, standing to the side, frowned slightly and said:

"That's true, but the Crown Prince's reasoning for this military order seems reasonable. There's no evidence on the surface that he's trying to steal credit. So, wouldn't he really be stealing the credit for capturing Yangping Pass and killing Zhang Lu?"

Guan Yu frowned, clearly unwilling to see this situation unfold, and quickly looked at Xiao He.

Xiao He smiled dismissively and said:

"Since His Highness the Crown Prince wants to seize it, let him seize it. I want to see how capable he is and whether he can break through Yangping Pass quickly."

"We will do as he wishes and return to Guanzhong immediately. While he is pinned down at Yangping Pass, we will seize Chang'an."

"The mere act of recapturing Yangping Pass and capturing Zhang Lu cannot compare to the achievement of conquering Chang'an!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were immediately invigorated.

They then realized that Xiao He was taking advantage of the situation to give the minor credit to Liu Shan, thus justifying his own attempt to seize the major credit.

Having figured this out, Guan Yu laughed heartily:
"Very well, Bowen is right. Let the Crown Prince attack Yangping Pass, and we'll head north to take Chang'an!"

Guan Yu immediately ordered his 50,000 troops to change course and head north to Chang'an to join forces with Zhang Fei's army.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar. Deng Ai galloped up, approached Xiao He, and whispered:
"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, my scouts just captured a wounded Hanzhong general north of the city. He claims to be named Yang Ang and requests an audience with the Grand Marshal." (End of Chapter)