I, Zhou Cang, am the number one tank in the Three Kingdoms.

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), inside the Wengcheng (outer city gate) of Runan, Liao Hua, having finished inspecting the grain carts, was standing beside his warhorse waiting for Zhou Cang.

This is not only his first battle after joining the Imperial Uncle's forces, but also the first time that many Runan youths have left their hometown to fight.

The troops heading north to Yan County were alright. Although they themselves didn't know it was a feint attack, Runan and Yingchuan counties were adjacent to each other, so they returned quickly.

Zhou Cang and Liao Hua's grain transport team, along with Guan Gongzhuli who would depart three days later, were all leaving their homes to travel to Nanyang in Jingzhou.

In particular, this grain transport team consisted of a considerable number of local laborers from Runan, who, together with the new recruits, formed a force of several hundred people.

In fact, Guo Jia was quite right. At that time, Runan had "very few skilled soldiers," not just few, but extremely few...

As Liao Hua was lost in thought, Zhou Cang's voice, "Yuan Jian, let's go!" rang out from inside the barbican before Zhou Cang even arrived.

"Brother, what brings you to the strategist?" The two rode at the head of the procession, and Liao Hua began to gossip.

Zhou Cang didn't answer, but shouted "Catch!" and threw the Mo Dao to Liao Hua.

Liao Hua was caught off guard and quickly loosened the reins to catch the horse, nearly falling off.

Seeing Liao Hua's disheveled appearance, Zhou Cang laughed and said, "How about I give you this sword?"

Liao Hua struggled to lift the knife and weighed it in his hand: "I can't use it, I can't use it." He then handed the knife back to Zhou Cang.

Zhou Cang smiled and took the Mo Dao with one hand, laughing heartily.

What do you mean by "can't be used"? This kid actually wants it?

"A few days ago, I consulted my strategist, intending to select a battalion of strongmen from the army to specialize in wielding this sword, which will surely prove invaluable in the future."

"But that strategist is so slow and he's making me very anxious, so I'm going to find him and demand an explanation."

Zhou Cang answered Liao Hua's gossip with a smile.

What is meant by "strategist"?

"It seems I misunderstood the strategist. Tomorrow, I will arrange for the craftsmen to begin forging. Not only does the strategist support this, but the lord and the second general also approve of it."

"That's good. Brother, who exactly is this strategist?" Liao Hua asked, becoming gossipy again.

"What?" Zhou Cang rolled his eyes at him.

"The military advisor who reviewed the troops today showed the demeanor of a great general. He doesn't seem like some kind of reclusive hermit. He was probably once a great ruler and a scholar who lived in anonymity."

This was a question that not only Liao Hua wanted to ask, but also Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, and everyone else, even Liu Bei himself.

"Xu..." Zhou Cang almost let slip that Xu Shu's real name.

"After the defeat at Xuzhou, our lord is eager for talent and often says that this chance encounter with a strategist is a gift from heaven. Why say more?" Zhou Cang casually found a way to shut Liao Hua up.

Xu Shu! Xu Yuanzhi! Do you know that the one who suffered the most while using this fake name was me, Zhou Cang...

After marching for two nights and a day, the grain transport team was finally only 20 li away from Zhao Yun's troops, who had just set up camp south of Yan County.

The grain convoy could then detour westward to reach the Nanyang Basin, arrive at Bowang, and then quickly approach Wancheng.

This is one of the most ingenious aspects of Shan Fu's military strategy: Zhao Yun's troops did not merely feign an attack on Yan County, but rather pretended to be a large army pressing down on the city, thus planting a thorn in Yan County's side.

By using a surprise attack to keep Cao Cao's army trapped inside the city, the time difference was used to provide space for the grain convoy and main force heading west to Wancheng to transfer.

Once the grain convoy and Guan Yu's army have passed through, Cao Cao's reinforcements heading south will be almost ready. At this point, Zhao Yun will feign defeat and retreat, while Zhang Fei will ambush him on the road and launch a surprise attack.

Whether Cao Cao's army went deep into Runan in an attempt to achieve a permanent victory or held Yanxian, who would have thought that the main force, along with the prepared supply convoy, had already passed through this place and entered the Nanyang Basin under the cover of Zhao Yun's troops?

What Shan Fu hadn't told Liu Bei was that they would wait until they had completely repelled Cao Cao's invading troops before joining forces with the Jingzhou army to attack Yan County and advance directly towards Xuchang.

Therefore, the entire plan was a risky move. If Yanxian was not secured or Runan was defeated by Cao Cao's counter-offensive army, Guan Yu, Zhou Cang and others who were on a distant expedition to Wancheng would become an unsupported army, and there was a great possibility that the defeat in Xuzhou would be repeated.

The grain transport team bypassed Yan County and traveled westward for most of the day before finally seeing a long mountain range stretching towards the horizon.

According to the map, Zhou Cang knew that he was almost at Nanyang County. North of the mountains was Sizhou, which was Luoyang in the center of the world. Northwest of the mountains was Guanzhong, which was Yongzhou, which was Chang'an!

At this moment, a commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the procession. Zhou Cang spurred his horse to the scene and found that an official and a laborer were arguing.

"What is it?" Zhou Cang shouted.

"General, this man was lazy and uncooperative, so he was whipped!" the supervising official said indignantly.

As the inspector was speaking, Liao Hua also rode up from the rear of the troops.

Zhou Cang, seeing the laborers gripping their whips tightly, immediately halted the march, dismounted, and asked, "Why are you slacking off?"

The laborers, who had been glaring at the supervising official, released their grip and knelt down after Zhou Cang dismounted and asked them questions: "General, we have been transporting grain day and night and are utterly exhausted. This place is also muddy and impassable. We do not wish to go any further."

Upon hearing this, the supervising official immediately became dissatisfied and asked, "You have already been exempted from this year's taxes for this trip, and you have also received additional rewards. Why are you dissatisfied?!"

The laborers didn't answer, but instead kowtowed to Zhou Cang again, saying, "Please, General, let us go back!"

Upon hearing this, four or five more laborers behind him also knelt down.

Zhou Cang raised his head and looked at the kneeling laborers, asking, "Is this what you all think?"

Four or five laborers said in unison, "Please, General, let us go back."

"You all rise first. Yuanjian!"

"exist!"

"Go quickly to the team and call all those who have the same idea here."

"Yes, sir!"

Liao Hua dared not delay; if something went wrong at this critical juncture, it would ruin everything.

Soon, people stepped forward one after another, until nearly thirty people were standing in front of Zhou Cang.

After arranging the guards, Liao Hua ordered the troops to rest on the spot, and then rushed to the front of the column.

"General Zhou, all those who wish to return are here." Liao Hua said, then jumped off his horse and stood behind the crowd, gripping his sword tightly.

Looking at the laborers in front of him, dressed in patched-up clothes and with sallow complexions, Zhou Cang felt a complex mix of emotions.

We don't know the real reasons behind these people's actions yet, so we can't make any rash decisions. If we don't handle this well, they might either rebel halfway through or lose their military discipline and definitely not reach Wancheng.

"Gentlemen, how has our lord, Lord Liu, treated you?" Zhou Cang asked, placing his longsword on the ground and looking at the crowd.

One of the laborers replied, "Lord Liu treats us like his own parents."

Another laborer replied, "Prefect Liu is a good official; he treats us with great kindness."

Zhou Cang nodded and said, "Are you dissatisfied with the tax exemption and the amount of the reward?"

Three or four laborers in the middle replied, "No."

Zhou Cang then asked, "Do you know what the purpose of this trip is?"

One of the laborers replied, "Kill the traitor Cao and protect the emperor."

Zhou Cang frowned and said, "Are you all unwilling to perform this righteous act?"

The last laborer in the line replied, "The traitor Cao is cruel and ruthless; we have hated him for a long time!"

"If that's the case, why do you intend to evade your duties?"

"Don't you know that this matter, according to the law, is punishable by death?"