The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 114 Guan Yu Goes Astray, Xianyu Fu Gets Fooled Too (5 Updates)
"Could it be Sima Guan Yu, one of General Zuo's subordinates, here?"

Looking at the large banner with the character "关" (Guan) in front of him, Xianyu Fu was startled.

Xianyu Fu's feigned trip to Ji County to join forces with Yan Rou was actually motivated by a desire to use Yan Rou's head as a pledge of allegiance.

If it really is Guan Yu ahead and you accidentally clash with him, then it would truly be like a flood washing away the Dragon King's temple, with your own people turning against each other.

Thinking of this, Xianyu Fu dared not be careless and hurriedly sent scouts to investigate in order to confirm whether it was indeed Sima Guan Yu under Liu Bei's command.

Scouts stealthily approached, cautiously observing the camp under the large banner bearing the character "关" (Guan). Suddenly, the camp gate opened, and more than ten riders rode out.

The scouts saw that the dozen or so riders were heading in the direction of Xianyu Fu, so they dared not investigate further and hurriedly reported back.

"They're coming towards me?"

Xianyu Fu was even more surprised.

Unable to ascertain the other party's identity or intentions, Xianyu Fu dared not be careless and quickly steadied himself, forming a battle formation to await them.

In a short while, more than ten riders arrived at full speed.

Xianyu Fu did not recognize Guan Yu, but after hearing Tian Yu describe Guan Yu's general appearance, and seeing the leading general: with a long beard and green robe, dragging a long sword, and being extremely strong, he made a guess.

"Is the visitor Guan Yu, the Sima under the Left General?"

Xianyu Fu stood under the banner, raised his voice and shouted, while secretly ordering his archers to be on guard to prevent them from mistaking him for someone else and being ambushed.

Guan Yu reined in his horse and looked around. He saw that Xianyu Fu's archers on either side of the banner had arrows nocked and were also on guard. He shouted in response, "It is indeed Guan Yu! Who are you and why have you come here?"

Xianyu Fu breathed a sigh of relief, ordered the archers on his left and right to lower their bows, and stepped forward, shouting: "I am Xianyu Fu, the Prefect of Dai Commandery. Entrusted by Chief Clerk Tian Yu, I have come to assist the Left General!"

Seeing that Xianyu Fu had withdrawn his archers and was going out into battle alone, Guan Yu rode up and asked, "Since you've come to help, why don't you go see General Zuo?"

Xianyu Fu hesitated for a moment, then spurred his horse forward more than ten paces, cupped his hands in greeting to Guan Yu, and lowered his voice: "It was Chief Clerk Tian who advised me to first enter Ji County and gather troops with Yan Rou to act as an inside agent for the Left General."

Guan Yu carefully observed Xianyu Fu's behavior and saw that he did not seem to be pretending. He then took more than ten steps closer, squinted his eyes and returned the greeting: "I appreciate the kindness of Prefect Xianyu on behalf of General Zuo; however, General Zuo has his own strategy for attacking Ji County. If you go to Ji County, you will ruin General Zuo's grand plan."

Xianyu Fu was immediately in a dilemma: "Does Commander Guan not believe me? I am willing to take Yan Rou's head to show my sincerity!"

Guan Yu stroked his magnificent beard and said, “If it were just about taking Yan Rou’s head, my third brother Zhang Fei alone would be enough! Why go to such lengths? It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the Left General already has a plan for this battle. If you sincerely submit to me, you can obey my orders.”

Xianyu Fu lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "In that case, I am willing to obey Commander Guan's orders."

Guan Yu glanced at the infantry and cavalry behind Xianyu Fu and asked, "How many cavalrymen do you have in your army?"

Xianyu Fu answered truthfully: "There are six hundred cavalry."

Seeing that Xianyu Fu answered decisively, Guan Yu then ordered: "Select cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Shanggu and take Juyang City within three days!"

Xianyu Fu was startled: "Commander Guan, it's not that I'm unwilling. Although this place is only a hundred li away from Juyang City, Juyang City is controlled by the Wuhuan King Nanlou. If I only take six hundred cavalry to attack Juyang City, wouldn't that be like lambs to the slaughter?"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes slightly: "If Nanlou and his main cavalry force are not in Juyang City, can you take it?"

Xianyu Fu pondered for a while, then said, "If that's the case, taking Juyang City shouldn't be too difficult. But why is Commander Guan so certain that Juyang City's defenses are weak?"

Guan Yu sneered: "The reinforcements from Dai Commandery have been blocked, and Prince Song of Yuyang is not a close friend of Yan Rou. If Yan Rou wants to protect Ji County, he can only ask Nanlou of Juyang City for help."

Xianyu Fu finally realized: "General Zuo's intention is not Yan Rou but Wuhuan?" "Heh—" Guan Yu sneered again: "I just said that if it were just about taking Yan Rou's head, my third brother Zhang Fei alone would be enough! If it weren't for Tian Guorang's sake, I would never have given this credit to Prefect Xianyu."

Xianyu Fu hurriedly bowed and thanked him, saying, "It was my foolishness that I failed to understand Commander Guan's good intentions. I am willing to launch a surprise attack on Juyang City to enhance the reputation of the Left General. The remaining thousand or so infantrymen and supplies will all be entrusted to Commander Guan."

From the moment they met, Guan Yu acted as if "taking control of the six commanderies is a piece of cake, and Xianyu Fu's arrival has not only failed to help, but we have to give some credit to Xianyu Fu out of consideration for Tian Yu." This made Xianyu Fu both surprised and afraid.

Even now, Xianyu Fu doesn't know how many soldiers Guan Yu has; he only knows that Guan Yu dared to appear in front of his two thousand infantry and cavalry with just over ten riders.

Without a strong army to rely on, how dare they be so arrogant?

Unable to ascertain Guan Yu's true strength, Xianyu Fu dared not disobey. Moreover, Xianyu Fu had genuinely submitted to Liu Bei, so he simply handed over the remaining thousand-odd infantrymen and all the provisions and supplies to Guan Yu.

This action dispelled Guan Yu's doubts about Xianyu Fu.

If Xianyu Fu's intention to surrender was feigned, he would certainly not dare to entrust his infantry, provisions, and supplies to Guan Yu.

In particular, handing over the provisions and supplies was tantamount to entrusting their lives to Guan Yu.

Therefore, when Xianyu Fu set off to attack Juyang City, Guan Yu added to Xianyu Fu: "You can attack Juyang City with confidence. After you break through the city, reinforcements will come to your aid."

Upon hearing the words "reinforcements," Xianyu Fu's heart skipped a beat.

With reinforcements arriving, the attack on Juyang City will no longer be a solitary struggle.

As for why Guan Yu waited until the infantry and supplies were delivered before informing him, Xianyu Fu understood.

Such secrets cannot be easily disclosed.

"Rest assured, Commander Guan, I will definitely take Juyang City within three days!"

Xianyu Fu no longer had any doubts or worries. He cupped his hands to Guan Yu, then spurred his horse and led his cavalry away.

Looking at the newly added thousand-plus infantrymen and the large amount of grain and supplies, Guan Yu couldn't hide the smile on his face.

On the surface, Guan Yu's orders were to intercept and test whether Xianyu Fu was truly loyal to him.

In reality, Guan Yu was being tested by Zhuge Liang.

It tests not only intelligence and courage, but also adaptability, which is why Zhuge Liang gave Guan Yu the military order to "act as he sees fit."

As the saying goes, "People who are not family will not enter the same door."

Liu Bei persuaded Yuan Xi to hand over Jiao Chu, Zhang Nan, and their two thousand soldiers, while Guan Yu persuaded Xianyu Fu to hand over two thousand infantry and cavalry, directly increasing Liu Bei's available infantry and cavalry from two thousand to six thousand.

Zhuge Liang, who devised the overall strategy to conquer the six commanderies, was also a master charlatan, leading Yan Rou to mistakenly believe that Ji County was the first city Liu Bei intended to attack.

Yan Rou was unaware that Zhuge Liang didn't take her seriously at all.

It was just bait!
Meanwhile, Yan Rou was urgently urging Nan Lou and Wang Song to gather troops in Ji County in order to deal with Liu Bei, who had appeared outside Ji County!
Perhaps fearing that Yan Rou would give up after seeing Liu Bei arrive, Wang Song also arrived in Ji County "at the same time" as Liu Bei at dusk.

Looking towards Shanggu, Yan Rou couldn't help but feel a little suspicious: "Strange, I've already promised to give up Guangyang, why hasn't King Nanlou come yet?"

　At dawn, I'm asking for monthly votes.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)