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

In Yunxian County, at Wangbo Tower.

The building had three floors and was several dozen feet high. It belonged to the wealthy Zuo family in Yun County. Liu Feng and his entourage followed Fu Fang upstairs, where a banquet was already prepared. Liu Feng, Fu Fang, and their officers and subordinates followed behind. Liu Feng ordered his soldiers to stand guard in all directions, dismissed his attendants, and then went to the window and looked out.

On the calm river, sails overlapped, resembling a dark cloud. Nearly a hundred boats of all sizes were lined up in rows on the Mian River, and flags fluttered at the dock, indicating that a large number of troops were guarding it.

"There are forty-seven large and small warships here, along with more than sixty grain transport ships and yachts. In total, there are over a hundred warships, which I gathered from the entire Nanxiang Prefecture. What do you think of this fleet, Deputy General?"

Although Liu Feng initially disliked Fu Fang's character after entering the city, his attitude towards Fu Fang changed somewhat upon seeing such a fleet of ships anchored on the Han River.

"Prefect Fu has rendered great service and merit, managing to see this navy in just a few days. He has done a great service to our army. I will certainly petition my father, the King, to promote Prefect Fu to a higher rank and title."

"Hahaha. In that case, I thank the King of Hanzhong and the Deputy General. With this fleet, the General can select his elite troops and sail down the Han River to support Lord Guan."

Fu Fang wore a smug expression. As the Prefect of Nanxiang, he was naturally very concerned about the Xiangfan campaign. He had even learned of Guan Yu's great victory over Yu Jin earlier than Liu Feng himself. At that time, Fu Fang had already decided to rebel against Cao Cao and surrender to Liu Feng. Upon learning of Liu Feng's military campaign, he discussed the matter with his advisors overnight. Tian Yin, the Assistant Prefect, and others strongly advocated that since Liu Feng's campaign would inevitably pass through Xiangfan, it would be better to gather ships to provide assistance!

Therefore, Fu was able to collect these hundreds of warships of various sizes in a short period of time.

Liu Feng frowned and said in a deep voice, "Who said that I was going to sail south to Xiangfan to support Lord Guan?"

Fu Fangqi said, "I wonder what the general's intention is? Right now, General Guan is truly besieging Xiangyang and Fancheng with the momentum of his great victory. Xiangyang County is within easy reach, and the Central Plains are also in sight. Sending troops at this time is in accordance with the military strategy of attacking the enemy's defenses and eliminating evil completely. Does the general still have any doubts?"

At this moment, Kou Zun, the Shen brothers, and others also came upstairs. Hearing Fu Fang's question, they all cast questioning glances at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng, however, stood with his hands behind his back, facing the wide expanse of water outside the window. After pondering for a while, he said, "The time is not yet ripe to go south to Xiangfan."

"Oh? What do you mean by that, Deputy General? Lord Guan's advance is unstoppable; the capture of Xiangyang is imminent. We fear that if we delay even a little, we will miss out on this almost-delivered credit. Why do you say the time is not yet ripe, Deputy General?"

"Haha. General Who Conquers the North (Shen Dan's official title), do you think my father and Zhuge Liang are? Can't they see through our intentions? At this time, we are heading south to Xiangyang and Fancheng, ostensibly to support Guan Yu, but in reality, it's a preemptive attack. Even if we manage to capture Xiangyang, the credit will still go to Guan Yu. We, who led troops away from our prefectures and counties, are already doing well to have our merits and demerits balanced out and continue leading troops under Guan Yu's command. How could we possibly expect to be ennobled and appointed as generals?"

As Shen Dan listened to Liu Feng's detailed explanation, he thought about it carefully and realized that what Liu Feng said was not entirely unreasonable, so he couldn't help but show a worried expression. Shen Yi, Fu Fang, and even Tian Yin and the others at the table all had different reactions. Liu Feng's words were like a bucket of cold water being poured over their heads, making everyone somewhat disheartened.

After a long while, Shen Dan was the first to recover. He looked intently at Liu Feng, cupped his hands, and said, "Judging from the words of the Deputy General, you must have other plans in mind. We are all ready to listen."

"Hahaha. Shen Zhengbei is indeed a kindred spirit of mine. In my opinion, Guan Yu's victory over Xiangfan is a foregone conclusion. Although Xu Huang has led his troops to reinforce, firstly, his troops are all new recruits, and secondly, they are afraid of Guan Yu's might. They have stalled at Yanglingpo and will not amount to anything. If we advance on Xiangfan at this time, it will only be adding insult to injury and will not be of much interest."

Liu Feng laughed heartily, loudly ordered the guards downstairs to bring him a map, walked slowly to the map, drew his sword from his waist, and marked a spot on the map.

"It would be better to lead our troops straight into Cao Cao's heartland, capture Rang County, advance on Wancheng, cut off Xu Huang's retreat, and secure the Nanyang Basin in one battle. If we can capture Wancheng, our army can join forces with the Central Plains rebels to the east, with our forces pointing directly at Luoyang and Xuchang. To the west, we can take the ancient Shangyu Road and join forces with Wei Yan of Hanzhong to launch a pincer attack on Guanzhong. Such a monumental achievement would be no less than that of Guan Yu. The brilliance of this plan lies in the fact that Cao Cao's main force is tied down by Guan Yu in Xiangfan. If we advance now, we will have no worries about our rear and can take advantage of the Han River's waterways to continuously receive supplies and reinforcements from the fleet here."

Liu Feng's words were eloquent yet reasonable, and his bold and ruthless scheme made everyone present's hearts pound.

"Gentlemen," Feng said, "I have laid out my entire plan and strategy. I wonder if you are willing to follow me into Wancheng and achieve this monumental feat?"

Before anyone could react, Kou Zun and Kou Wei exchanged a glance, stood up, and replied in a deep voice, "Your humble servants are willing to follow you to the death, General!"

While Shen Dan was still hesitating, Shen Yi stood up decisively, slammed his hand on the table, and said loudly, "Deputy General, your military strategy is brilliant. It's been a pleasure fighting under your command. I, Shen Yi, am willing to follow your lead without question!"

Seeing that his brothers had already expressed their support, Shen Dan stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Now that my entire Shen clan has followed the general into battle, we must see it through to the end. There is absolutely no reason for us to abandon the general."

At this moment, everyone's gaze turned to Fu Fang's seat. Tian Yin, the Prefectural Administrator, secretly stepped on Fu Fang's foot under the table and nodded slightly at him.

"Well, well... I just said that the Nanxiang County has more than 3,800 able-bodied men who are willing to obey the orders of the deputy general."

Seeing that everyone at the banquet had expressed their allegiance to him, Liu Feng was secretly pleased, but his face remained impassive. He sheathed his sword and said loudly, "Very well! Since you all trust me, I thank you all in advance. When I achieve great things in the future, you will all be credited in the annals of merit. But if anyone is two-faced and harbors ulterior motives, don't blame me for turning ruthless."

Everyone said they "dared not".

"Issue my order." Everyone at the banquet stood up and Liu Feng said loudly, "General Shen Dan, the General Who Conquers the North, and his subordinate Tian Yin, will lead two thousand of their troops northward to take over the defense of Nanxiang City and protect the left flank of the main army."

"Here you go!"

"Where is Commander Kou? He is leading his troops, numbering over a thousand, stationed at the Zhushui Riverbank to monitor Xu Huang's army's movements and protect the right flank of the main force. The remaining allied forces are under the command of my central army. We will advance directly towards Rangcheng and capture Wancheng. The main force will rest for one day and set off at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow. There must be no delays."

With the military order given, the officers and soldiers responded in unison. Liu Feng, however, walked up to Fu Fang, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "The army has traveled a long distance for this raid, and provisions and supplies are of paramount importance. Nanxiang County has just surrendered, and it is indispensable for Prefect Fu to be stationed there. I request that Prefect Fu take up residence in Yun County and command the fleet to travel back and forth on the Han River to gather provisions and pay for the army!"

Fu Fang still felt lingering fear when he recalled how his troops had been arrayed outside the city gates, only to be overwhelmed by the momentum of Liu Feng's army and their formation had become chaotic. He thought to himself: It's best not to fight on the front lines... He immediately nodded in agreement.