Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

At the foot of Jing Mountain, in the central command tent of the Wu army camp.

Sun Jiao slammed the military report presented by the scout onto the table, spilling most of the tea from the ceramic bowl and soaking a corner of the silk book.

Two thousand Jiefan soldiers pursued the remnants of Xi Zhen's forces and have not returned to this day.

The second group of scouts he sent out searched along the valley and finally found a mountain of corpses at the valley entrance. The two thousand Jiefan soldiers had been completely wiped out, and not a single one of them had returned to report the news.

"Xi Zhen," Sun Jiao spat out the name through gritted teeth. The Jie Fan Army was the elite personal guard of the Sun clan, each soldier carefully selected from the sons of Jiangdong. They had followed him in battle for many years and had never suffered such a heavy defeat.

However, after his anger subsided, this composed general from the Sun clan gradually calmed down. He sat back down at his desk, tapping his fingers lightly on the surface, his gaze falling on the military report that was damp with tea.

Xi Zhen had only a few thousand barbarian soldiers, whose armor was incomplete and whose weapons were crude. How could they possibly wipe out his two thousand regular troops?

This person was able to contact the Yi people from various caves right under Lu Xun's nose, gather 5,000 people in ten days, and maneuver within his own inescapable net for half a month without falling.

Such methods are far beyond what ordinary officers and soldiers can achieve.

If we can recruit them to our side, we can not only make up for the losses suffered by the Jie Fan Army, but also add a fierce general to Jiangdong.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when a guard outside the tent reported, "General, Assistant General Pan Jun requests an audience."

Sun Jiao frowned almost imperceptibly.

Pan Jun arrived quickly.

He straightened his armor and ordered someone to invite Pan Jun in. Pan Jun entered the tent with a worried expression. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he got straight to the point: "General Sun, in warfare, the most important thing is to win hearts and minds. Xi Zhen is now fighting like a cornered beast, at his wit's end. I believe that if we send a skilled debater into the mountains to persuade him, explaining the advantages and disadvantages, he might be able to surrender. What do you think, General?"

Sun Jiao picked up the teacup, her gaze sweeping over Pan Jun's face from above the rim.

He spoke these words frankly, seemingly without any ulterior motives. But Sun Jiao knew that Pan Jun had just surrendered to Eastern Wu and had not yet accomplished anything.

The credit for persuading Xi Zhen to surrender was more important to him than to himself.

However, Sun Jiao did not want to push Xi Zhen to the brink of despair. A cornered beast will fight to the death. If Xi Zhen was really pushed to the limit and fought to the death, how many more casualties would the Jie Fan Army suffer?

"What Pan Fujun said makes sense." Sun Jiao put down her teacup. "Pan Fujun will handle this matter."

Pan Jun bowed and thanked him before leaving the tent.

Sun Jiao watched his departing figure, his mind racing with other plans. He turned to his personal guards and whispered a few instructions: if Xi Zhen surrendered, they must bring him into the Jie Fan Army and not give Pan Jun any chance to get his hands on him.

That night, the moon was hazy, and mist rose from the mountains and forests. On the watchtower outside the gate of Wu's army camp, a sentry was dozing off with his spear in his arms when he was suddenly jolted awake—the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from the distant mountain path, and a fast horse was rushing straight toward the camp gate.

The rider on horseback was dressed in the coarse cloth short coats that barbarian soldiers were used to wearing. His face was indistinct in the moonlight, but he shouted loudly when he was a hundred paces away from the camp gate. His voice was particularly clear in the night wind.

"Don't fire the arrows! Don't fire the arrows! I am General Xi Zhen's envoy!"

The crossbowmen on the camp gate exchanged glances, their bowstrings drawn halfway before slowly releasing them. The gate captain poked his head out from behind the crenellations and shouted sternly, "Who goes there? State your name!"

The rider reined in his horse, took a silk scroll from his robes, and held it high: "General Xi's personal letter is here! He requests an audience with Pan Jun, the Assistant Commander of Jingzhou!"

The captain dared not delay and ordered someone to report to Pan Jun immediately.

Pan Jun was sitting at his desk, carefully choosing his words to write a letter to Xi Zhen, hoping to persuade him to surrender.

Upon hearing that Xi Zhen had already sent a messenger to meet him, he was overjoyed and got up to go to the camp gate to see the messenger himself.

Before long, Pan Jun, wearing an outer robe, hurried to the camp gate. He ordered his men to lower the basket, hoist the messenger up the camp wall, and bring him into the tent for a talk.

The envoy was a barbarian leader in his early thirties, with a dark face and thick arms. As soon as he entered the tent with Pan Jun, he knelt on one knee and presented the silk scroll with both hands.

Pan Jun took the silk scroll, unfolded it, and read it line by line by the light of the torch.

In his letter, Xi Zhen wrote earnestly, essentially saying: "I have no enmity with Eastern Wu; my resistance against the royal army is out of necessity. Now trapped in the mountains, our supplies are running low, and thousands of my brothers are starving and freezing. I wish to surrender with my troops, but I am truly ashamed to kneel before Sun Jiao. Lord Pan is a former colleague and fellow minister; if he accepts my surrender, I can at peace with myself."

Pan Jun read the silk scroll twice, a smile gradually appearing on his face. He put the scroll away, personally helped the messenger up, and said gently, "General Xi is very righteous, and I am very pleased. Go back and tell General Xi that as long as he leads his troops out of Jing Mountain and lays down his weapons, I, Pan, guarantee with my life that General Xi and his men will be spared."

The envoy was extremely grateful and was escorted out of the camp by Pan Jun's trusted confidants.

However, the news spread faster than a horse could catch a whirlwind.

Before Pan Jun could put the silk scroll away, the tent flap was suddenly flung open from the outside. Sun Jiao strode into the tent, followed by four fully armed Jie Fan Army guards. The clanging of their armor was particularly jarring in the small tent.

"Pan Fujun," Sun Jiao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unspoken sense of pressure, "I heard that Xi Zhen sent an envoy to see you. May I ask what brings him here?"

Pan Jun's smile faltered slightly, then he handed the silk scroll to Sun Jiao, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "General Sun, you are wise! Xi Zhen did indeed send an envoy to surrender, but he harbors reservations and only wishes to submit to me. I intend to report this to you tomorrow..."

"No need for tomorrow."

Sun Jiao interrupted him, sat down casually opposite Pan Jun, took the silk scroll and glanced at it. "The barbarian soldiers under Xi Zhen's command, the Jiefan Army, must all be incorporated into their ranks. This time, we lost two thousand Jiefan soldiers, which can be filled by these barbarian soldiers who are good at mountain warfare. If the Assistant General of the Army wants the Lord to claim credit for this, I will write a memorial explaining this matter myself, and you will certainly get a share of the credit."

Pan Jun's lips twitched slightly.

Looking at Sun Jiao's matter-of-fact face, his mind was in turmoil—recruiting barbarian soldiers, you've already submitted a written explanation? Who gets credit, who gets blame, isn't it all up to you, Sun Jiao, to decide with a single pen?

However, Sun Jiao was Sun Quan's cousin and the commander of the Jie Fan Army. In terms of his status as a member of the imperial clan and his position in the army, he was someone who could not be openly contradicted by a surrendered general.

"Since General Sun has this intention, how dare I say more?" Pan Jun lowered his eyelids, his tone as respectful as a still pond.

Sun Jiao nodded in satisfaction, then got up and left. As the curtain fell, Pan Jun's submissive expression vanished instantly.

He sat alone in the tent for a moment, then raised his hand to summon a trusted guard.

"Set off now and catch up with Xi Zhen's envoy along the mountain path. Tell him..." Pan Jun lowered his voice and spoke very quickly, "He must not lead a large army to surrender to the main camp outside the mountain. If he returns to the main camp, Sun Jiao hates Xi Zhen to the bone and wants to annihilate him and all his barbarian soldiers to avenge the two thousand Jie Fan soldiers! Tell Xi Zhen that I will personally lead troops into the mountains to meet him and travel with him through the mountains, taking a detour back to Jiangling to meet Grand Commander Lü. I will explain everything to him."

The trusted confidant accepted the order and rode off, disappearing into the night.

Xi Zhenying.

The messenger was reporting the journey to Liu Feng and Ma Liang. He was so thirsty that he picked up his water bag and took a big gulp. Finally, he grinned and said, "That scoundrel Pan Jun really took the bait. He even sent his confidant to chase after me, saying that he was afraid Sun Jiao would retaliate against us and that he wanted to come into the mountains to pick us up in person."

Liu Feng sat by the fire, poking at the embers with a dry twig, and a slight smile appeared on his lips when he heard this.

"The rift between Pan Jun and Sun Jiao is deeper than I thought."

Ma Liang pondered for a moment and said, "Pan Jun is eager to make a name for himself, and Sun Jiao is domineering and arrogant. The two are hindering each other, which is the best entry point for Deputy Commander Liu's elaborate scheme. I think the next step is to have General Xi send another envoy into Wu's camp, turning the tables on Pan Jun and luring him to a designated location for support. Then..."

Liu Feng broke the withered branch in two and threw it into the fire: "Then let Sun Jiao see with his own eyes Pan Jun going to meet Xi Zhen."