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

Chapter 97 Seeing Through the Truth and Deception, Taking Xiangfan Completely

Yang Yi had just eaten breakfast.

Then he heard that Guan Yu was interrogating spies at the prefectural government.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the grievances were brought by the people of the city this morning.

Yang Yi was speechless with anger.

Over the past few days, I have diligently checked the census registers and assisted Commandant Mi in maintaining order in the city.

They couldn't even catch a legitimate spy.

How come spies suddenly appeared as soon as Guan Yu arrived?

Isn't this a slap in the face to your father?
So he stormed off to the prefectural government office.

However, as soon as they entered the mansion, they heard a fierce argument coming from the courtyard.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the spy claimed to be an envoy of King Meifu of the Yi Kingdom.

This represents the submission of several counties west of Xiangyang and Hanbin.

That's all.

Crucially, the other side also provided a rather startling piece of military intelligence:

Not long ago, Cao Ren heard that Guan Yu had raised an army and marched north. He was worried that Guan Yu would coordinate with the bandits in Liangjia and Luhun and attack from both the north and south.

Therefore, they hastily conscripted a large number of soldiers, intending to head north to Wancheng to avoid the enemy's advance.

Whether this was done on the orders of Cao Pi, the King of Wei, is unknown.

But for sure.

Cao Ren has ordered General Man Chong to lead the vanguard to make arrangements in Xinye and Wancheng.

He personally supervised the army to keep up steadily.

Then Xu Huang and Lü Chang were ordered to cover the rear, burn down the cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng, and implement a scorched earth policy.

However, when the army marched north to Dengcheng, news came from the south.

Guan Yu's banner appeared on the walls of Xiangyang.

Cao Ren asserted that the bandits in Jingbei were rampant, and with Guan Yu's support, their momentum would be unstoppable; only large and fortified cities could hold out.

He abandoned the baggage and the people of Deng County and led his elite troops northward at breakneck speed to Xinye.

They might have already left Xinye and gone to Wancheng by now.

In other words.

At this time, in Deng County, people, horses, and supplies had gathered, but the group was leaderless.

Unfortunately, this was the only place where Xu Huang's rearguard troops could be rendezvoused.

If Deng County is lost.

Xu Huang's troops in Fancheng were left isolated!
This envoy, who called himself Zhang Jian, was...

He even claimed that he had an inside contact in Deng County!
Upon hearing this, Yang Yi couldn't help but want to volunteer for the mission despite his illness.

There are many reasons, but the two most important ones are:

If they were to seize Deng County and take its supplies, Xu Huang would have no choice but to quickly withdraw from Fancheng.

Otherwise, if the stalemate continues, his troops will be in danger of being overthrown.

Under these circumstances, Xu Huang could no longer calmly burn the city.

Perhaps even Fancheng can be preserved intact!

Secondly, if the stalemate between the two armies continues, it will delay the autumn harvest in the rear.

Next year, there will only be more starving people and thieves, and it may even affect Nanjun and Jiangxia.

Of course, Yang Yi was only briefly excited, but ultimately did not utter a sound.

Illness was only a secondary reason.

The main reason was that Zhang Jian's intelligence came too timely and too coincidentally, to the point that one couldn't help but suspect a trap.

Besides, who knows what the situation is like in Deng County right now?
After Cao Ren left, how many soldiers, laborers, and supplies were left?
If we go rashly, and Cao Ren suddenly turns around and launches a pincer attack with Xu Huang, thereby boosting morale... wouldn't that be disastrous?
This is precisely the reason for the heated argument among the officials in the courtyard.

Yang Yi, realizing he couldn't produce any real evidence, could only remain silent.

The officials argued to no avail and gradually fell silent, turning their attention to Guan Yu at the head of the table.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and squinted, seemingly weighing the gains and losses in offense and defense.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian was filled with grief and indignation:
"The officials and people of all the counties have sincerely submitted to me, and I have even risked my life to deliver this message, yet not a single one of you believes me?!"

"I believe you!"

Just as the room fell silent, a voice came from the door.

Everyone turned to look.

But then a young officer in military uniform stepped through the door and entered.

It was none other than Mi Wei, the captain who had been on duty all night and was still wearing his armor.

Yang Yi's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward first: "What advice does the Commandant have for me?"

Mi Wei bowed briefly to Guan Yu and the others, then quickly said:
"So that everyone may know, Cao Ren is guarding against the people as if they were thieves. Recently, the garrison soldiers and laborers have been rotating their posts every other month."

“I have already questioned the people of different backgrounds in the city.”

“At this moment, the conscripts stationed in Deng County are from at least five places: Xiangyang, Fancheng, Zhonglu, Yicheng, and Caiyang.”

"Some of them were conscripted temporarily, and some were traveling north and south, but were temporarily stranded due to the obstruction of land and water routes, coupled with the sudden northward advance of our army." "In addition, there were the locals of Deng County."

"At this moment, even if there are not 100,000 people in Deng County, there are probably 70,000 to 80,000."

Mi Wei paused slightly, then asked in a loud voice:

"Gentlemen, just imagine, if such a large crowd were hastily gathered in a county or a city, what kind of chaos would that scene be?"

"How many troops will Cao Ren need to properly gather these people?"

"Can he really manage to bring things under control?"

"Even if they could, would their troops still have the strength to march south and rescue Fancheng?"

“That’s definitely not true!” Yang Yi was the first to clap his hands in response.

"No wonder Xu Huang has neither burned the city and broken camp nor attacked Xiangyang in the past few days, but has only resorted to deception!"

"I'm afraid he already knew he had been abandoned by Cao Ren, and had to pretend to be calm to avoid our army discovering the true situation in the north!"

“That’s exactly right!” Mi Wei picked up the subject again and turned to Zhang Jian.

"When I first entered, I thought that Cao Ren might not be able to control such a large crowd, and that there might be an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"But judging from what General Zhang (Mei Fu's subordinate) said, Cao Ren didn't even bother to suppress him; he simply fled north!"

Then he turned to Guan Yu:
"My lord, this battle is essential to taking Xiangfan!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu's tiger-like eyes widened, then slowly closed, and he sighed towards the sky:

"How those 100,000 troops were defeated at Dangyang back then, others may not know, but how could Cao Ren and Xu Huang not know?"

Then everyone in the room suddenly understood, and there was no more doubt.

……

On that day, Guan Yu urgently ordered Guan Ping to head north, and at the same time ordered Mi Wei to reorganize his naval forces in preparation for a surprise attack.

That afternoon, Mi Wei ordered Xiang Chong's troops to advance ahead and set up camp on Yuliang Island, northeast of Xiangyang.

This island is located at the major bend in the Han River where it turns from east to south.

It is said that Pang Degong once lived in seclusion on this island, commenting on Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

Unfortunately, he has passed away, and by this time, Yuliang Island was deserted.

However, some village houses still remain, which can be used to house the army, saving a lot of effort.

Subsequently, Xi Hong led the naval forces to follow suit, coordinating with Xiang Chong by land and water to block the river and protect the pontoon bridge on the Han River.

With Guan Yu's reinforcements arriving, Cao Cao's army was exposed as weak, and the balance of power in the two cities of Xiangyang and Fancheng had shifted.

These pontoon bridges should not only not be destroyed, but should be carefully preserved.

As dusk fell, Mi Wei followed Guan Yu to the top of the city wall and looked north.

Guan Yu pointed to a dilapidated earthen fortress on the east side of Fancheng and said:
That's Pinglu City.

“Last year, the floodwaters rose and submerged this flat land. Yu Jin and Pang De were unable to stand and had to retreat to this city.”

Miwei listened attentively, completely at ease.

Guan Yu then pointed to the two high slopes behind the two cities and said in turn:
“That’s a cape.”

"Those are the four tombs."

"Ten miles further north, there is another city called Yancheng, which is located on the southern border of Deng County."

"By controlling these three locations, Cao Cao's cavalry will find it difficult to exert their influence on the north bank."

At this point, Guan Yu turned to Mi Wei and said:

"If you were Xu Huang, how would you solve this problem?"

Mi Wei was taken aback upon hearing this.

But I wasn't nervous.

After all, this question has historical precedents and a standard answer.

He simply thought that Guan Yu's sudden test at this moment must be related to tomorrow's flanking attack.

After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke:

"It's nothing more than increasing troop numbers and proceeding cautiously step by step."

"The north bank has a wide and open terrain, making it an excellent place for horse racing."

"Although our army can build fortifications and walls to delay them, we will ultimately be at a disadvantage. With more troops, we can break through."

Guan Yu remained noncommittal and asked again:
"What if we can't send more troops right now?"

Mi Wei: "Then we need to carefully compare the strength of the two sides."

"If their forces are no less than ours, we should first try a fierce attack on one of the encirclements in order to maximize our strength and boost morale."

"If we don't have enough troops, then we should burn the city and break camp before our army completely encircles us, and find a way to survive as soon as possible."

Guan Yu then nodded and said:

"Therefore, whether or not we can hold Fancheng in tomorrow's battle depends on this."

"Do you know what to do?"

Mi Wei cupped his hands and said, "Wei already understands!"

(End of this chapter)