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

Chapter 90 Times Change

Unlike Xiangyang, which was engulfed in turmoil.

At this time, Fancheng on the north bank of the Han River was in good order.

This is inevitable.

Because the city was surrounded by ten layers of walls.

Each of the antlers was guarded by armored soldiers.

Those military officers, civilians, and gentry who crossed the river from the south of Xiangyang were not allowed to enter the city.

They were only allowed to bypass the city and go to the counties further north.

Anyone who offends will be shot on the spot.

Despite such strict military orders, this city has become an unyielding pillar amidst the sea of ​​people.

Among the pillars, there is a large banner with the character "Xu".

Xu Huang, also known as Xu Gongming, was granted the title of Right General with the authority to act on behalf of the emperor and was the Marquis of Luxiang. (Note)
Contrary to what most people had guessed, this half-white-haired general of Cao Wei was not busy packing up his belongings and preparing to burn the city and break camp.

Instead, he patiently inspected the various camps, checking for missing antlers and whether the soldiers were slacking off.
And so it went, over and over again.

Until a guard came to report that the envoy of the Yicheng County Magistrate was requesting an audience.

They finally paused briefly, but did not take the opportunity to return to the main tent to rest.

Instead, he found a flat, large rock and squatted down.

Soon after, the messenger arrived.

Xu Huang spoke up before the other party could speak:

"Those who surrender to the enemy will have their entire family exterminated. Those who die for their country will be granted titles and honors for their wives and children."

"I have already said this three times in the letter. Is there anything else you want to ask?"

The envoy looked embarrassed for a moment.

Xu Huang then said:

“I am extremely strict in commanding my troops, allowing no moment of leisure, to the point that even the veteran soldiers in the army sing, ‘No pay, it’s all Xu Huang’s fault.’”

"Don't let me have an empty reputation."

After saying that, he forced a smile on his face to show that he was joking and to tell the other person not to be too nervous.

However, the envoy couldn't laugh at all.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally succumbed to Xu Huang's invisible pressure and spoke in a trembling voice:
"The general's orders are absolute; how dare we disobey them?"

"But as the county magistrate, Yicheng is responsible for the lives and property of thousands of households in the county. He hopes to ask the general for an explanation."

Xu Huang's eyes flickered, but he closed them and remained silent.

But having spoken, the envoy no longer hesitated:
"As a subject, one should die for one's principles."

"But what about the thousands of households of scholars and commoners in the city? Must they all die for their principles?"

"If you do not die for your cause, when the royal army returns south next year, will you or will you return to the right path?"

"If they cannot be brought back to the right path in time, will the policy of 'surrounding and then surrendering will not be pardoned' be applied again?"

"If they return to the righteous path, will it be because they were once traitors, just like in Wancheng two years ago when they were all killed, regardless of gender or age, because they were all coerced by the criminal Hou Yin?"

The messenger became more and more excited as he spoke.

The mere mention of Wancheng made my neck turn red.

Clearly, they had disregarded life and death.

But a pity.

This risky questioning did not elicit any response from Xu Huang.

The person closed his eyes and remained silent as before.

The envoy was immediately disheartened.

The reason he dared to defy convention and come to see Xu Huang today was...

It's not that they're truly unafraid of death.

Instead, Xu Huang recalled that when Cao Cao captured Ye City, he had advised Cao Cao to treat people with leniency and not to kill too many people.

Little did they know that Xu Huang back then was not the same as Xu Huang today.

Is it still the same Xu Huang?
While they were pondering, before the messenger could probe again, a scout rushed in to report.

"The southern enemy took advantage of the chaos to seize Xiangyang."

"Guan Yu's banner has been raised atop the city wall!"

Xu Huang suddenly opened his eyes.

……

At the temple in Dangyang County, Guan Yu's banner fluttered in the wind.

Guan Yu sat comfortably in the main seat.

On the left and right sides were the incessantly noisy state officials.

Although I was getting impatient listening to it, I managed to hold back in the end.

no way.

Although the battle involved a three-pronged attack, it was clearly decided from the beginning that the main offensive would be launched along the Juzhang River.

Besides Wu Ban and Chen Shi, the two generals left behind by Liu Bei, there were no other generals along the way.

Furthermore, Pan Jun, the Prefectural Governor, was responsible for strategizing and diplomacy.

Although Guan Yu had always been at odds with this person.

But I have to admit.

After Liu Bei's visit to Jiangling, Pan Jun was much more motivated and diligent.

He doesn't take action unless he's ready to act.

From the very first move, it was a brilliant psychological warfare tactic.

Without conscripting a large army, they easily captured two small cities with minimal effort.

Such tangible achievements are ultimately beneficial to the overall situation and should not be tarnished.

So Guan Yu could only suffer in silence.

But just then, a foolish local official suddenly raised his voice:

"This summer, Lord Pan was so busy plotting to seize two cities that he missed Your Lordship's birthday banquet." "This swift and decisive capture of the two cities is just in time to celebrate Your Lordship's birthday!"

The other state officials echoed his sentiments.

Guan Yu answered each question with a smile, but remained silent.

However, that man went a step further and said:

"However, these two cities of Pan Gong are ultimately too narrow and not as important as Yicheng in the north."

"I wonder if Guan Dangkou has already captured Yicheng?"

"If that's the case, then today is truly a day of double happiness!"

The officials of the prefecture echoed this sentiment once again.

Guan Yu's smile had frozen.

How could he not have feelings for Yicheng?
However, after receiving a message from his eldest son earlier, informing him that Xu Huang's scouts had already headed south and the opportunity to fight had been lost, he stopped having any unrealistic hopes.

The group of people in front of me are deliberately mocking me to vent old grudges!
Very well, for the sake of His Majesty's peace of mind to recuperate, you should tolerate these lowly men...

Just then, a military officer hurriedly delivered an urgent message.

Guan Yu was getting annoyed by what he was hearing, so he immediately opened the letter and read it.

The people below initially thought it was just a routine military report.

Unexpectedly, Guan Yu, who had always been as calm and composed as a mountain, changed his expression several times in a short period of time.

Someone couldn't help but ask, "My lord, has something else happened in Yicheng?"

But Guan Yu slowly pressed down the letter and muttered absentmindedly, "Seize the city."

Everyone was immediately shocked: "Does Guan Dangkou really intend to seize Yicheng by force?"

Guan Yu snapped out of his daze upon hearing this, his gaze carrying a hint of mockery:

"It's not Yicheng, it's Xiangyang."

The officials were immediately thrown into a panic.

This says that Xiangyang is a formidable city, and it cannot be taken without a large army.

The argument that the counties and prefectures are exhausted and can no longer be mobilized is not the way of the king.

Until Guan Yu suddenly slammed his fist on the table and shouted:

"Who said we were going to attack Xiangyang?"

"They're going to defend Xiangyang!"

The crowd then calmed down somewhat, but they were even more puzzled.

How can we talk about defending a city when we haven't even attacked it yet?
But Guan Yu, while showing the handwritten letter, said with a light smile:
"The younger generation has already captured Xiangyang to celebrate his birthday."

……

Miwei swallowed a bowl of rice porridge drizzled with fish soup in one gulp.
After the initial period of excitement.

The pressure brought by the name Xu Huang is becoming increasingly heavy.

It should be noted that he was originally a transport worker.

A secondary force within a secondary force.

Who could have imagined that the military situation was so dire and time was of the essence?

He, a transport captain, suddenly became a frontline general?

Do we still have to confront Cao Ren and Xu Huang directly?

But since we're already here, there's nothing we can do but hold our ground and wait for reinforcements.

The only regret is that there are too few soldiers.

In order to seize this opportunity, he headed north overnight, taking only three soldiers with him.

Even including Xiang Chong's front part, it's only a little over two thousand at this point.

For a large city like Xiangyang, this is somewhat of a stretch.

Even more critically, he couldn't deploy all his troops on the city's defenses.

Because a city that has just experienced turmoil is itself a powder keg that could be ignited at any moment.

Soldiers need to be deployed to maintain order in the city.

This cannot be completely stabilized simply by raising a banner of Guan Yu and shouting a few slogans.

Unless Guan Yu himself is present to oversee things.

That would probably really boost morale instantly.

But wasn't this Guan Yu's original plan to only go to Dangyang to supervise the army?

Considering the time it takes to relay messages, don't expect anything in the next two days.

It's more reliable to hope that Guan Ping from Yicheng will come to our aid than to expect Guan Yu to descend from the sky.

Of course, Miwei wasn't so stubborn.

Although he did not possess any outlandish spells such as divine intervention or the Second Master.

But finding a tall, strong soldier, dressing him in general's armor, and having him sit high up in the city, with Guan Yu's banner raised there... these little tricks were planned in advance.

Let's try to fool as many people as we can.

However, it was only in the afternoon of that day...

Yang Yi hurriedly climbed the city wall and said that an old man from the village who claimed to be an old friend of General Guan requested an audience.

This old man is said to be a highly respected local figure in the surrounding area.

Mi Wei automatically interpreted this as a representative of public opinion in some kind of high-level strategy game, and dared not neglect it, so he immediately received him.

The three old men in the village have a full head of white hair, but they are still in relatively good health.

Upon meeting, he cut to the chase: "So General Guan has indeed come to Xiangyang?"

Mi Wei pointed to the actor not far away, whose back was to the crowd, and said without batting an eye:

"With a formidable enemy at hand, the general is busy with strategic planning. If there has been any negligence, I hope you will forgive him!"

……

Note: This uses the account from "The Biography of Xu Huang," in which Xu Huang is described as the Right General.

　Thank you to [清风明月暖阳] for the donation! Your ID is so poetic and picturesque.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)