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

"This strategy is called 'encircling the enemy's stronghold and attacking their reinforcements,' which is a strategy to force the enemy to defend."

Liu Feng's voice was calm and resolute.

"Yuanling is the southeastern gateway to Wuling, guarding the pass where the mountains meet the plains. Jiang Qin is a veteran general of Jiangdong, and he knows the importance of Yuanling better than anyone else. If Yuanling falls, the gateway to Linyuan, the capital of Wuling Prefecture, will be wide open, and our army can rush down from the mountains and directly attack the city of Linyuan. Therefore, when news of the siege of Yuanling reaches us, Jiang Qin will definitely come to its rescue."

Kou Wei stared at the map for a moment, then suddenly frowned and said, "Brother, what if Jiang Qin doesn't come to Yuanling's aid, but instead takes advantage of our main force being deployed to lead his troops westward and directly attack Wuxi Mountain Stronghold?"

Guan Ping spoke almost simultaneously, clearly having considered the same point: "General, I was just thinking the same thing. The 10,000 barbarian soldiers under the command of Chief Shamoke are the main vanguard of our army. If Jiang Qin disregards Yuanling and instead leads his elite troops straight into the heart of Wuxi, the old, young, women and children in the mountain stronghold will be in imminent danger. At that time, our army will be in a dilemma, and the morale of the barbarian soldiers will surely be thrown into chaos."

Shamoke's expression changed drastically, his thick, sharply defined eyebrows furrowed, and his tattooed knuckles turned white: "If that scoundrel Jiang Qin dares to touch the mountain stronghold..."

Ma Liang suddenly waved his feather fan, interrupting Shamoke's anger.

His voice was calm and unhurried: "Chief Shamoke need not worry. Jiang Qin will not enter the mountains. Look, everyone, Lü Meng took Jiangling by crossing the river in disguise and winning hearts and minds; Lu Xun took Yidu by surprise attack; even this time, Bu Zhi was sent as an envoy to Wuxi with gold, silver, salt, and iron, not troops. It is clear that Eastern Wu is simply incapable of launching a full-scale campaign against the newly annexed lands of Jingnan. Bu Zhi brought ten cartloads of gold, silver, salt, and iron. If he fails to win them over and then attacks the women and children in the mountain strongholds, he will be pushing the Wuxi barbarians completely into our army. Jiang Qin understands this principle, Bu Zhi understands it, and Sun Quan must understand it as well."

Guan Ping seemed thoughtful, then pressed on, "What Mr. Ji Chang said makes sense, but Jiang Qin does have ten thousand elite troops under his command. If he doesn't go into the mountains or come to Yuanling's aid, and simply remains inactive, what should our army do?"

"He won't sit idly by."

Liu Feng's finger returned to Yuanling. "Tanzhi, think about it. Jiang Qin's mission in stationing troops in Linyuan was to intimidate the Wuxi barbarians and support Bu Zhi. Now that Bu Zhi has been late for many days, and Shamoke has openly raised the banner of the Han army to counterattack Yuanling, this recruitment has already failed. Afterwards, when Sun Quan asks, how will Jiang Qin explain himself? He has 10,000 elite troops and watched the barbarian troops capture the gateway to Wuling without doing anything—he can't bear that blame. So when news of Yuanling reaches Linyuan, he will definitely send troops. As for how many troops he brings and how he will rescue them!"

He turned to look at Shamoke, a slight smile playing on his lips. "We'll see if Shamoke's insults hit his sore spot."

That night, the Wuxi Man Village was surrounded by numerous sentries.

Following Liu Feng's plan, Shamoke deployed all his hunters, setting up poisoned crossbow traps along the paths leading to the mountain stronghold and at water sources. The barbarian hunters hid in the branches of ancient trees and in the crevices of cliffs, their breath blending into the night wind.

Just after midnight, several dark figures emerged from the depths of the dense forest.

Those were scouts sent by Jiang Qin, each one lightly armed with short blades, and nimble in their movements; they were clearly veteran soldiers handpicked by the army.

By moonlight, they followed the stream toward the mountain village, intending to ascertain Shamoke's movements, unaware that they had stepped into a hunter's trap.

As a scout rounded a boulder by the stream, his foot suddenly gave way beneath him—a pit covered with fallen leaves, with sharpened bamboo sticks stuck upside down at the bottom.

The scream was swallowed by the night wind as soon as it was uttered.

Another scout, realizing something was wrong, turned to flee, but a poisoned crossbow bolt had already silently pierced the back of his neck. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the dozen or so Wu army scouts who had infiltrated were either dead or captured.

Shamoke ordered his men to bring the prisoners to the open space in front of the village. The leader was a squad leader whose right leg was pierced by a bamboo stick, bleeding profusely, and he knelt on the ground, trembling all over.

Shamoke squatted down and interrogated him in broken Chinese. The squad leader confessed in a trembling voice that Jiang Qin had only ordered them to scout out the movements of the barbarian troops and had no intention of attacking the mountain stronghold.

Shamoke stood up, his voice booming: "Go back and tell your commander that Shamoke only obeys the Han's orders, how could he surrender to the Wu dogs! I'll spare your lives today, but get back to Wuyang and report back!"

The barbarian soldiers pushed several prisoners out of the village gate. The squad leader, supported by his comrades, limped away into the night, not daring to look back.

At dawn, Shamoke led 10,000 barbarian soldiers to break camp and set off. These warriors, who had lived in the mountains for generations, moved swiftly through the mountains. The Wuxi barbarian lands were nearly a hundred miles away from Yuanling City, and it would take ordinary foot soldiers at least three or four days, but the barbarian soldiers arrived at the city of Yuanling in just one day and night.

They set up camp at midnight that night and launched a feigned attack at dawn the next day. The barbarian soldiers, following Shamoke's orders, raised five-colored flags on the west, south, and north sides of the city, beat drums and shouted, creating a deafening roar, but left the east side unattacked.

In their panic, the Eastern Wu defenders on the city wall lit beacon fires and dispatched a fast messenger to gallop out of the east gate and head towards Lin Yuan.

About twenty li north of Yuanling City lies a rolling hilly area. The official road passes between two low mountains, with dense pine forests and shrubs covering the slopes on both sides, making the terrain resemble a natural bag.

Liu Feng set up his command post behind a giant rock at the highest point of the right-hand hillside, where four thousand elite Shu Han troops had been waiting for some time. The Jade Lion Horse, tethered to a pine tree behind him, quietly grazed on the wild grass.

"General," Kou Wei said in a low voice, "the scouts report that the messenger from Yuanling who requested reinforcements has broken through the encirclement and is rushing along the official road towards Linyuan. Judging by the pace, Jiang Qin's reinforcements will pass through this area before noon tomorrow."

Liu Feng nodded: "Tell the brothers that no one is allowed to show themselves without the signal arrow."

Linyuan City, Wu army camp.

Jiang Qin lay on a camp couch in the central command tent, his face sallow, his cheekbones high, and his forehead covered with a thick layer of cold sweat. The army medic had just changed his dressing—the old wound under his right rib had repeatedly festered in the humid climate of Wuling, and the periosteum was visible deep inside the carbuncle.

He had been unable to eat properly for several days, relying only on thin porridge and ginseng soup to sustain his strength. Upon learning of the siege of Yuanling, he struggled to sit up from his bed, his voice weak yet still steady: "Pass on my order to lead five thousand elite troops to reinforce Yuanling. Although Shamoke's barbarian soldiers are brave, they lack siege equipment. As long as our army arrives in time, we can break the siege by attacking from both inside and outside. The barbarians fear power but do not appreciate kindness. I will personally meet with Shamoke then. Although Bu Zhi has not yet returned, the path to pacification must not be abandoned."

The lieutenant hesitated, "General, your health..."

"He won't die anytime soon."

Jiang Qin waved his hand and solemnly instructed, "In this rescue mission, you must exercise restraint. The barbarian soldiers can be defeated, but not slaughtered. The Wuxi barbarians are the largest source of soldiers in Jingnan. To harm their women and children is to cut off our Eastern Wu's retreat. If I cannot go in person, you must convey this message to the vanguard captain."

His gaze passed over the tent flap, looking towards the mountain ridge in the direction of Wuxi. He sighed slowly, "What my lord desires is not scorched earth, but people."

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly flung open from the outside. Pan Zhang strode into the tent, followed by two guards, still in their armor and with mud splattered on their riding boots from their journey.

He held a scroll of silk in his hand, the vermilion lacquer seal on it not yet completely dry.

"General Pan?" Jiang Qin frowned slightly. "Weren't you serving under Lu Xun? What brings you to Linyuan?"

Pan Zhang slammed the silk scroll onto the table, his voice resounding: "By order of the lord, General Jiang's old injury has relapsed, and he is no longer fit to handle military affairs. He shall immediately return to Jiangdong to recuperate. From this day forward, I shall take full command of the military affairs of Wuyang."

Jiang Qin's expression changed slightly. He reached for the silk scroll, unfolded it, and read it word by word. The scroll bore Sun Quan's seal, and although the wording was mild, it was an unquestionable order.

He slowly put down the silk scroll, remained silent for a moment, and then raised his head.

"General Pan, your arrival is timely. Yuanling is besieged, and I was just about to send troops to its rescue. If you take command of the military, you should quickly dispatch elite troops south to join forces with the city's defenders in a pincer attack. Although the barbarian troops are numerous, they lack siege equipment. As long as reinforcements arrive in time, Yuanling will be safe."

He paused here, then emphasized his words.

"But there is one thing—in this battle, the priority is to relieve the siege, and indiscriminate killing must be avoided. The Wuxi barbarians have submitted to Liu Bei, but they are not a monolithic group. If our army can show leniency, there will still be room for pacification in the future. My lord has also repeatedly instructed in Jiangling that, with the newly subjugated Jingnan, winning over the hearts of the people is the top priority."

Pan Zhang listened quietly. Then, a hint of undisguised contempt appeared on his lips.