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

In the city of Wancheng in Lujiang Prefecture, Guan Yu paced anxiously back and forth in his residence, his hands behind his back, while Mi Zhu stood beside him, looking equally distressed.

"General Guan! General Guan!" Lei Xu shouted at the top of his lungs as soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion.

"How is it?" Guan Yu and his companion rushed forward to ask as soon as they heard that Lei Xu had returned.

"Reporting to the general, I have learned that not only is the river blocked by the Jiangdong army, but the Jiashi Pass leading to Hefei is also guarded by them. Presumably, the previous messengers have all been intercepted and killed by them," Lei Xu hurriedly reported.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu stamped his foot and sighed, "In the past, Military Advisor Pang said that this city was easy to attack but difficult to defend, so we had to move to Hefei. I still had doubts, but today, being besieged by Jiangdong, I know that his words were true."

"General Guan, I am willing to lead three thousand elite troops to defeat the bandit army at Jiashi Pass and support Hefei!" Lei Xu gritted his teeth, determined to face the challenge head-on.

"No, Military Advisor Pang once told me that this place, Jia Shi Pass, is between two mountains and a river, with a road hanging in between. Sending just one fierce general can stop a thousand troops. If you lead your troops to force your way through, you will only be courting death." Guan Yu stopped Lei Xu from requesting permission.

"But... are we just supposed to sit idly by and watch Strategist Pang, Gan Ning, Chen Lan, and the others perish in Hefei?" Mi Zhu said with a heavy heart.

Guan Yu felt as if his heart was being torn apart upon hearing this. He naturally did not want to imagine such a consequence, but Wancheng was simply not a place where he could launch a strong attack on the Jiangdong army's defenses.

The three were looking worried when a man rushed in—

"Report! General Guan! Reinforcements from Jingzhou have arrived!"

The three were overjoyed, and Guan Yu quickly asked, "Is it true? How many reinforcements have arrived?"

"Reporting to the general, there are over a hundred warships of various sizes approaching from the direction of Xiakou!" the servant reported in detail.

"Good, good, I never expected that scoundrel Huang Zu would be willing to send troops to help me!" Guan Yu muttered to himself.

"Lei Xu, listen to my command!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Guan Yu quickly began preparations.

"Your subordinate is here."

"You shall lead two thousand archers and all the catapults in the city to the riverbank to assist in the battle. I will lead cavalry shortly after."

"Yes, ma'am!" Lei Xu hurried off.

"Mr. Zizhong."

"exist."

"I will lead the troops to welcome the reinforcements, and I entrust the affairs of the city to you," Guan Yu said, bowing to Mi Zhu.

"General, please rest assured!" Mi Zhu returned the bow.

On the river, Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang, the Jiangdong naval commanders in charge of blocking the river surface of Wancheng, stood on the deck and looked at the more than 100 Jingzhou warships that suddenly appeared on the river with troubled expressions.

Xu Sheng complained, "Gongjin wrote to us with absolute certainty that Jingzhou would never send reinforcements. Now, these hundred-odd warships are a force to be reckoned with. With such a formidable enemy before us, should we fight or not?"

Pan Zhang also said, "Our lord only ordered us to blockade the river surface near Wan City, but not to engage the Jingzhou army... Perhaps we should ask General Lü?"

As the two were talking, Sun Quan's trusted minister, Lü Fan, emerged from the cabin and looked at them, asking, "Why are you in such a panic?"

Xu Sheng bowed and said, "General Lü, for some reason, more than a hundred warships have suddenly appeared in Jingzhou, coming from upstream. We are hesitating whether to fight or not..."

Lü Fan angrily retorted, "Now that the enemy has arrived, how can we not fight?"

Pan Zhang quickly added, "Supervisor! When we set off, the lord instructed us to only take Hefei and not to engage the Jingzhou army in battle easily, so as not to put General Cheng Pu in a situation where he is attacked from both sides."

"How absurd! If I were to retreat without a fight after besieging Wancheng, the Jingzhou troops and Guan Yu's forces in Wancheng would surely take advantage of the situation to move down the river and relieve the siege of Hefei. What will you have to say then?"

Xu Shu and Pan Zhang, after being reprimanded by Lü Fan, looked at each other, hesitating...

"Whoosh!" An arrow shot through the wind!

"Du" pierced straight into the mast.

"Quickly engage the enemy!" Xu Sheng shouted.

"Boom boom boom boom!" The war drums sounded, and the warships on the outer edge of the Wancheng River turned their bows to prepare to meet the Jingzhou navy.

Zhang Liao stood at the bow of the warship, holding a large bow, coldly watching the Jiangdong army ahead.

"Fire!" Zhang Liao shouted, and the soldiers on the deck drew their bows and shot arrows at the Jiangdong warships. The arrows rained down with the wind, far exceeding their original range.

The Jiangdong army was unprepared and countless soldiers fell to the volleys of arrows. Due to the strong river wind, the retaliatory arrows could not travel far and could not reach the Jingzhou warships at all.

Taking advantage of the favorable wind, the Jingzhou warships charged directly towards the flank of the Jiangdong navy, with the two leading warships displaying particularly rapid momentum.

"General Lü! Our army is at a disadvantage and our counterattack is not going well. Why don't we temporarily avoid the enemy's sharp edge?" As more and more Jingzhou warships rained arrows on the Jiangdong army, Xu Sheng, who was already lacking in fighting spirit, suggested to Lü Fan.

Seeing that Lü Fan was also hesitant, Xu Sheng continued, "Why not temporarily retreat to Ruxukou? This would both block the enemy's reinforcements from Hefei and provide a defensible position?"

Reluctantly, Lü Fan accepted this compromise, saying bitterly, "We'll defeat the enemy army again when we reach Ruxu!"

"Ding ding ding ding!" The gong sounded, and soon all the Jiangdong warships retreated downstream. Only the last two warships were unable to retreat in time and were rammed and capsized by the two fighting ships led by Zhang Liao.

When the warships entered the Wan River from the Yangtze River and docked near the city of Wan, Liu Bei, Xu Shu, and Zhang Liao were the first to disembark.

"Big Brother?! Strategist?! Wen Yuan???" Guan Gong's phoenix eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock.

"Second Brother!" Liu Bei rushed down with a smile and grabbed Guan Yu's hand.

"So it's my elder brother who's come in person! No wonder that scoundrel Huang Zu is being so enthusiastic today, hahahahahaha!" Guan Yu laughed loudly.

The group entered Wan City together. Guan Yu looked at Zhang Liao with a rather serious expression and asked, "What kind of fate led Wen Yuan to finally abandon darkness and embrace the light?"

Zhang Liao lowered his head and said, "To be honest, I failed to live up to Cao Cao's expectations in the Battle of Wancheng. I failed to capture Gualijin and was captured by Kuai Liang's navy during the retreat..."

Xu Shu laughed heartily, "If General Zhang Xiu hadn't arrived in time to turn the tide, and if Wen Yuan had taken just ten more steps forward, my head would probably already be his!"

Zhang Liao said in a low voice, "I am a defeated general, so please, Yuanzhi, do not mock me."

The group laughed again, and Xu Shu then told Guan Yu everything that had happened in Jingzhou. Guan Yu recalled how Zhang Liao had taken care of him during his time in Cao Cao's camp, and he felt a pang of sadness.

"In that case, Wen Yuan, you can realize your ambitions in Hefei and leave your mark on history," Guan Yu comforted Zhang Liao.

Guan Yu's words brought everyone back to the situation in Hefei.

"Yun Chang, what is the situation in Hefei?" Liu Bei asked anxiously.

"Since the strategist sent his letter requesting reinforcements, there has been no further news. Jiangdong has not only blocked the mouth of the Wan River, but also the Jiashi Pass, a vital land route from Wancheng to Hefei, making transportation impossible," Guan Yu said helplessly.

Xu Shu asked, "Second General, according to you, Jiangdong only blockaded Wan City and did not launch an attack?"

Guan Yu nodded and said, "That's right."

"It is conceivable that Hefei is now completely besieged by Zhang Xun and Jiangdong. It seems that to rescue Shiyuan, we must fight this tough battle," Xu Shu said solemnly.

"How many troops do Wancheng and Hefei have in total?" Xu Shu immediately began to plan the rescue of Hefei.

"This city has a total of 10,000 soldiers, including 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry, of whom about 3,000 are skilled in naval warfare," Guan Yu quickly reported the numbers.

"Hefei originally had 6,000 soldiers, which were the troops of Chen Lan and Lei Xu. General Lei Xu returned to this city half a month ago to prepare to lead the craftsmen to move to Hefei. Fortunately, he escaped. The strategist said in a letter that Lei Bo had rebelled, and now the remaining soldiers are probably less than 5,000," Mi Zhu reported.

"I believe the most urgent task is to establish contact with Hefei before we can devise a plan to defeat the enemy," Liu Bei suggested.

"What my lord says makes sense, General Lei!" Xu Shu immediately shouted.

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I know you know Huainan very well. If you want to get to Hefei from here, besides the waterway and Jiashi Pass, is there any roundabout way?" As the only "local" present, Xu Shu could only hope that Lei Xu could give him some surprise.

"Uh... Strategist, there is indeed a roundabout route," Lei Xu stammered.

"Why didn't you report it sooner?" Guan Yu asked angrily.

"Uh..." Lei Xu remained silent.

Liu Bei guessed the general idea, stepped forward, and put his hand on Lei Xu's shoulder, saying, "General Lei, born in chaotic times, it's inevitable that you'll make some minor mistakes. Now that you've embarked on the right path, how can you let the past bother you?"

As expected, upon hearing this, Lei Xu broke down in tears and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "My lord, this road requires going west past Jiashi Pass and passing through six counties to reach Hefei... In my younger days, when I was wandering the Jianghu, I and my companions harmed the lives of the people in those six counties, which is why I dared not report this to General Guan earlier..."

"My lord has not abandoned me and has shown me kindness and trust. I... I swear to repay my lord with my life!" Lei Xu swore with trembling lips, extremely excited.

"General Lei, please rise quickly. We are all fighting for the people of the Han Dynasty. We must never again harm the people." Liu Bei used both hands to help Lei Xu up, and then glanced at Xu Shu.

Xu Shu, Guan Yu, Mi Zhu, and even Zhang Liao, who were present, were all amazed by their lord Liu Bei's ability to judge people. He had seen through Lei Xu's unspeakable secret at a glance, and they were all extremely impressed.

"General Lei." Xu Shu looked at Lei Xu once again.

"Yes!" This time, Lei Xu's tone was much more firm.

"If we follow your suggestion and travel through six counties to reach Hefei, how many days would it take?"

"If I were to go... it would take at least five days!"

"Very well! I will write a letter by hand, and you will deliver it to Hefei. Can you do this?" Xu Shu asked loudly.

"It can be done!" Lei Xu responded loudly.

Seeing Lei Xu's resolute attitude, Xu Shu nodded in satisfaction, then walked to the map and began to study it carefully.

Although the Jiangdong navy retreated, their aim was not to besiege Wancheng, but rather to prevent any maritime aid from Wancheng to Hefei. It seemed that only one place was most suitable: Ruxukou.

If a direct assault is to be launched, Zhang Liao, as a general from the north, may not necessarily have much of an advantage over the Jiangdong army in naval warfare...

However, if the Jiangdong army is allowed to occupy the entire waterway, then Jiangdong can use the river to reach Chaohu Lake, a key passage, and continuously send troops to besiege Hefei until the city falls.

Where is the strategy to defeat the enemy? Xu Shu closed his eyes, troubled.

Without further ado, let's contact Hefei first.

Thinking of this, Xu Shu immediately went to the desk and wrote a letter to Pang Tong. In a short while, the letter was finished.

"General Lei! The fate of Hefei rests in your hands! I entrust it to you!"

"This humble general will certainly not fail in his mission!"