The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 50 Old Friends and Newcomers

"The enemy has burned their camp and retreated!"

That morning, while Miwei was having breakfast, a scout suddenly came to report.

Mi Wei immediately put down his food and led his troops to investigate.

As soon as they approached Sun Huan's camp, the fire had already started.

Miwei's first reaction was that he felt a little sorry for the supplies left in the enemy camp.

But this did not stop him from immediately ordering his troops to follow the enemy.

At this time, Sun Huan's vanguard and central army had already crossed the Xia River and reached the south bank.

Only a small number of men remained at the rear, still swimming through the shallow water.

Upon seeing this, Pan Mi, who had come along, immediately said:
"Sima, should we attack while they're crossing the river?"

For a fleeting moment, Miwei really wanted to order a pursuit.

After all, being able to defeat Sun Huan in open field battles, even if it was just the rear guard covering the retreat of the central army, was enough to be considered a victory.

However, he glanced again at the enemy camp burning fiercely behind him.

The Battle of Bowangbo between Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin in the seventh year of Jian'an (208 AD) naturally came to mind.

There's no way around it; that battle is just too famous for fans of the Three Kingdoms.

But it's different from the "Burning of Bowangpo" in the fictional story.

Historically, Liu Bei himself was the mastermind behind that battle.

Moreover, the key to victory was not launching a fire attack.

Instead, after a prolonged stalemate with the enemy, Liu Bei suddenly burned his own camp to feign a retreat.

When the enemy general catches up, we will ambush and defeat him in one fell swoop.

It's all about scheming.

After a prolonged stalemate, the camp was burned and the troops retreated, then an ambush was secretly set up... How similar this is to the current situation!

Of course, to conclude that Sun Huan was deceitful based solely on these appearances would be a metaphysical error.

The key point is that Miwei believes the enemy's retreat was too suspicious:
"The enemy general has come from afar and blocked the roads. Even though our army has seen through his trick, he still does not retreat. Why is that?"

Before his attendants could respond, Miwei continued speaking to himself:
"They must still harbor the intention to continue stealing the city."

"Although Huarong is a small town, it has now become an outpost for our army's southward advance due to a series of coincidences."

It should be noted that the Jiangdong Navy has always maintained firm control over the Yangtze River waterway.

Guan Yu's Jingzhou army had to march south from Jiangling to Wuling. Whether it was a large-scale military march or a supply train transport, they could only travel by land along the north-east bank of the Yangtze River (the Yangtze River turns south at Jiangling).

Then they searched for a suitable crossing point downstream.

Let's leave aside how to cross the river.

Before this, there was a marching route that stretched for hundreds of miles.

There was almost no shelter or danger along the way.

Except for Huarong City to the east.

In other words.

Miwei is not just defending a small town at this moment.

We also need to ensure the safety and smooth flow of military and supply routes.

Conversely, if Sun Huan were to capture this city, he could effectively prevent Guan Yu's army from heading south to provide relief.

The motivation is strong!

"Moreover, although the enemy has retreated, their ranks and formations are still well-organized and they are ready for battle."

"If an army that burned its camp were truly in disarray, would it look like this?"

"I anticipate that a naval force will be on the Yangtze River to meet Sun Huan!"

Their strength is also sufficient!
Therefore, Miwei did not take any unnecessary actions and ordered all his troops to continue to strictly guard the city and fortifications.

Then he personally led his elite troops to continue to carefully follow the enemy's rear as they crossed the river.

Only when there were no more enemy troops north of the Xia River did they return to camp and clean up the battlefield.

The next morning, scouts reported that Sun Huan's forces, with the support of the navy, had withdrawn from the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Before he left, another detachment joined him from downstream, paused briefly, and then followed Sun Huan across the river.

As expected, there was an ambush!
Upon hearing this news, the Miwei tribe was overjoyed.

Pan Mi praised Mi Sima on the spot for his prudent military strategy and for anticipating the enemy's moves.

Mi Wei thought to himself, "What kind of anticipation is this? It's just that I never overestimate myself!"

Of course, high morale is always beneficial in the short term.

So I got too lazy to explain.

……

With Sun Huan gone, Mi Wei's pressure was greatly reduced.

But they did not relax because of this.

As mentioned earlier, Huarong currently bears the heavy responsibility of maintaining the smooth flow of military and supply routes.

Therefore, Miwei no longer remained entrenched in his camp and rekindled his original purpose in coming to Huarong.

Level the roads and oversee the construction of warehouses.

During this time, he took stock of the troops under his command.

The cavalry brought from Jiangling have all gone south with Guan Ping.

All that remained in the city were the old horses used for transportation.

The infantry and auxiliary troops of the five garrisons were all left behind.

Moreover, because there hadn't been much serious fighting before, there had been almost no casualties.

Then, Huarong County originally consisted of about seven villages.

Mi Wei combined the auxiliary troops and county soldiers, carefully selecting the able-bodied and weeding out the old and weak, and finally chose eight garrisons. Of course, the auxiliary troops could only be used to defend the city and run logistics.

The main force was still the original five garrison soldiers.

So Mi Wei went all out and looted all the armor, powerful bows and crossbows, cattle, horses and carts in the city to arm his troops.

As long as we can protect the supply lines and help Guan Yu win this battle, this selfishness is nothing; it's a merit without any fault.

Conversely, if he is defeated, all these things, along with himself, will fall into enemy hands, and then there will be no question of merit or demerit.

In short, after a series of preparations, Miwei had five garrisons of fully equipped archers and crossbowmen, and their armor was intact.

In addition, the eight villages also had enough armed able-bodied soldiers and ample supplies.

These thirteen garrisons, numbering approximately 1,300 men, comprised his entire army.

With well-trained troops and ample provisions, Mi Wei personally led his troops to patrol the roads, guarding against enemy spies or thieves who might cause sabotage.

With Guan Ping absent, he became the local military commander and had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

After several busy days, the roads are finally clear.

On this day, Mi Wei led his troops back to Huarong to rest and reorganize.

Suddenly, twenty or thirty riders came galloping from the direction of Jiangling.

The leading knight was none other than Zhan Sifu, the gatekeeper of the county government.

"Zhan Jun, what brings you here?"

"My lord, I have come to seek refuge with you!"

Dressed in knight's attire, James immediately stepped forward to pay his respects.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhan Sifu explained the reason.

It turned out that after he learned that Mi Wei had become a separate commander leading an army, he had the idea of ​​joining him.

He first resigned from his position as a prefectural official, and then used the silk bestowed upon him by Mi Wei to purchase armor and weapons.

Just as they were about to set off, Fei Shi led the barbarian troops from Yidu County westward to fill the void left by the southward advance of the troops from Jiangling.

When Fei Shi learned that Mi Wei was leading an independent army, he had no personal guards accompanying him.

He then selected half of his barbarian soldiers who could ride horses and had Zhan Sifu bring them to Huarong.

Mi Wei was just worried about lacking cavalry, so he was naturally delighted.

However, Zhan Sifu reminded him:
"To be honest, my lord, although we can ride horses and shoot arrows, we are far inferior to the elite cavalry in the army and lack experience in charging into enemy lines."

“But if it’s just about sending messages or scouting ahead, then I can entrust it to my servant with peace of mind.”

Miwei thought about it and agreed.

If they were truly elite cavalry capable of charging into battle, Guan Yu would certainly have deployed them to more important frontline battlefields.

How could they possibly send someone to maintain his supply lines?

However, having an additional cavalry unit capable of relaying orders and scouting is ultimately a good thing.

He immediately appointed Zhan Sifu as the squad leader and selected two experienced men as squad leaders, officially incorporating this half of the barbarian cavalry into his ranks.

Then, Zhan Sifu escorted a middle-aged man tied to a horse to Mi Wei's feet, and said with great enthusiasm:

"My lord, this is an enemy spy we captured on the road!"

A spy for Sun Quan?!

Mi Wei stared intently at the prisoners on the ground.

The man was dressed in rags and his face was covered in dirt.

But his eyes were clear and bright, with an undeniable sparkle.

He was definitely not from a poor family.

Even though he was pinned to the ground and subjected to extreme humiliation, he showed no sign of shame or anger.

Instead, he secretly observed Mi Wei.

Mi Wei had an idea and signaled Zhan Sifu to untie the other party.

He then asked, "May I ask your name?"

The middle-aged man slowly got up from the ground and said:
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking about someone else's background?"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Sifu drew his sword indignantly and said:
"You scoundrel, how dare you be so disrespectful to Commander Mi!"

However, the middle-aged man completely ignored him and showed no fear.

Instead, he glanced sideways at Mi Wei and said:
"Your surname is Mi?"

Mi Wei realized this man was no ordinary person, so he spoke frankly to him:
“I am Mi Wei, son of General Anhan, and now I am the General of the Vanguard, a separate commander under Guan Yu, the Marquis of Hanshou.”

The middle-aged man was finally moved by these words and exclaimed in surprise:

"So it is Mi Zizhong, the son of Gui Zi. What an extraordinary and dignified bearing!"

He also said, "Disrespectful, disrespectful."

The man's change of attitude was so swift that Zhan Sifu and the others were dumbfounded.

Mi Wei thought to himself that this person might be an acquaintance of his father.

Otherwise, how could there be any trace of being once under the hard control of "money power"?
"May I ask where you come from, and why you are in such a disheveled state?"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, sighed, and his eyes even reddened slightly.
"My name is Zhang Yi, courtesy name Junsi, originally appointed by the King of Hanzhong as the Prefect of Yizhou!"

Zhang Yi.

His courtesy name was Junsi.

Prefect of Yizhou Commandery.

and many more!

Mi Wei's heart skipped a beat.

Could he be Zhang Yi?!

(End of this chapter)