dognovel Chapter 458 Yu Jin's Madness
Chapter 458 Yu Jin's Madness
Zhang Zhao was truly speechless at Guan Xing. Guan Xing had only annihilated Lu Xun a few days ago, and they had only received the news of Lu Xun's complete annihilation a few days ago, yet Guan Xing had already quietly made his way to the walls of Jiangling.
Judging from the timeline, Guan Xing led his army to Jiangling almost immediately after defeating Lu Xun. Need I say more about what this bastard was doing in Jiangling?
Even a fool could guess that they wanted to replicate the old story of Jianye, sneaking in and taking them down quietly.
Although Zhang Zhao does indeed need reinforcements right now, why is it so infuriating that Guan Xing came to his rescue?
Sun Huan touched his nose and chuckled, "You can't say that. If Guan Xing hadn't arrived in time, I might have jumped into the Yangtze River."
After giving a brief report on the battle on the riverbank, Zhang Zhao was once again stunned and speechless, saying, "You mean that the aristocratic private soldiers led by Zhu Yi and Liu Chan defected as soon as they saw Guan Xing, and Guan Xing now has nearly 20,000 troops?"
Sun Huan nodded helplessly.
Zhang Zhao was utterly speechless. Damn Guan Xing, not only was he fast, but his ability to produce troops was also so overpowered. How were others supposed to compete with him?
He suddenly regretted refusing Guan Yu's marriage proposal. When Guan Yu first arrived in Jianye, he proposed to him but was ruthlessly rejected. Now he thought how much better it would have been if he had accepted back then.
Zhang Zhao waved his hand weakly and said, "Zhou Cheng, take Shuwu to the East Gate to see the Lord. After you see him, please ask the Lord to come over and come with me to go out of the city to welcome Guan Xing."
Zhou Cheng nodded in acceptance and led Sun Huan toward the East Gate.
At this moment, the Wei army is desperately attacking the city. In addition to attacking from the city wall, they also sent soldiers to carry ladders to climb the city from inside, attempting to cross the junction of the city wall where the battle was most intense and directly climb the city tower.
Therefore, wherever Sun Huan went, there were shouts of battle everywhere. Fortunately, Sun Quan did not need to fight or command the battle. The battle at the East Gate was commanded by Hu Zong. Sun Quan's only role was to stand by and act as a mascot to boost morale.
So Sun Quan was particularly free at this moment. When he saw Sun Huan coming over, he took the initiative to greet him with a smile and said, "Uncle Wu, you've come at just the right time. How many troops did you bring this time?"
Sun Huan repeated what he had said to Zhang Zhao to Sun Quan. As Sun Quan listened, the smile on his face gradually froze, and finally he almost broke down and shouted, "No, Guan Anguo is addicted to sneak attacks, isn't he?"
Sun Quan knew perfectly well what Guan Xing had come for, and was very unwelcoming of Guan Xing's timely arrival.
Sun Huan chuckled and said, "Since they've already come all this way, does the strategist suggest we go out of the city to greet them?"
Sun Quan resolutely refused, saying, "I won't go. He doesn't come to pay his respects but instead expects me to go and greet him. What kind of logic is that?"
As for the Duke, he was a General of the Cavalry, equivalent to the Three Dukes. Guan Xing, on the other hand, was a leader. How could a leader greet his subordinate?
Personally speaking, he is Guan Xing's father-in-law. As a son-in-law, why doesn't Guan Xing take the initiative to come and pay his respects to his father-in-law? Should he expect his father-in-law to go and greet him? That would be going against the natural order!
Doesn't Sun Quan have any pride?
Sun Quan refused to greet him, and Sun Huan and Zhou Cheng tried to persuade him to no avail, so they had to go back and report to Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao understood Sun Quan's feelings and did not force him. He sighed and prepared to personally go out of the city to welcome him, and then act as a peacemaker to persuade the stubborn father-in-law and son-in-law to avoid them fighting on the spot.
While Zhang Zhao was preparing to welcome Guan Xing, Huang Yi finally returned to Jiangling and entered the city through the west gate. He went straight to the general's mansion where Sun Quan had previously lived, which had now become the command post of Jiang Ji and Yu Jin.
Upon seeing Huang Yi's miserable state, the Wei generals' expressions changed drastically. Yu Jin couldn't wait to ask, "What happened? Did you suffer a defeat?"
His heart pounded as he asked the question, and his breathing became rapid with tension. He was the one most eager to make a name for himself, so he was most afraid of any changes, especially bad ones.
Huang Yi said with a look of fear, "Guan Xing is here."
The name Guan Xing was like a boulder thrown into a lake, startling everyone in the hall. Yu Jin, his face grim, said, "Are you sure? Are you sure it's Guan Xing? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
Three confirmations in a row were enough to prove Yu Jin's nervousness, but Jiang Ji not only did not blame him, but stared at Huang Yi with a solemn expression.
Before the White Robe Crossing the River, the two of them really didn't care about Guan Xing, this playboy. But now it's different. Guan Xing captured famous generals of Eastern Wu as easily as catching chickens, and even captured Lu Xun and Lü Dai. He's definitely a living Huo Qubing. Who wouldn't be afraid of an enemy like Huo Qubing?
To put it bluntly, if Huo Qubing had rebelled, Emperor Wu of Han probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at night.
Huang Yi said with a sob in his voice, "How could I mistake such a big man? Besides... Guan Xing only shouted once when he arrived at the front, and our Huang family's private soldiers all turned against us and attacked me. If I hadn't run fast..."
Huang Yi stammered as he recounted the scene of blocking Sun Huan but being easily defeated by Guan Xing, saying, "Nearly ten thousand of our Huang family's private soldiers have all surrendered to Guan Xing, and I estimate they will arrive in Jiangling soon to attack us."
Thump...
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud crash echoed through the hall. Everyone turned to look and were shocked to find Huang Zhe lying on the ground.
Upon hearing that tens of thousands of private soldiers had surrendered to Guan Xing, Huang Zhe, the young master, could not bear the blow and fainted on the spot.
Those were the Huang family's troops, two-thirds of their private army, and they're just gone like that?
While ordering people to treat Huang Zhe, Yu Jin frowned and said, "This is a big problem. With Guan Xing arriving, it's probably impossible for us to take Jiangling quickly."
"Moreover, I am more worried about the three eastern counties. If Liu Bei knows that Sun Quan has surrendered and Guan Xing has arrived, he is very likely to concentrate his forces to break out of the three eastern counties and cut off our retreat."
Unlike Guan Xing, who was far away and blocked by the Wei army, the Wei army was too close to Hanzhong, and Xu Huang was attacking Xicheng. Therefore, they knew much more about Liu Bei's Northern Expedition than Guan Xing.
Liu Bei had already forced Cao Cao, despite his illness, to rush to Guanzhong. Moreover, before they arrived from Xiangyang, they received a battle report from Xu Huang saying that Liu Bei had finished his northern expedition and withdrawn to Hanzhong. If Liu Bei really attacked from the three eastern commanderies, not only would they be in danger, but Cao Ren would probably be in danger as well.
Jiang Ji also realized the seriousness of the problem and frowned, saying, "No, we must report the situation to the King and General Cao Ren, and at the same time write a letter to General Xu Huang, asking him to withdraw to Shangyong and switch from offense to defense, to hold Liu Bei back and prevent him from breaking out of the three eastern commanderies. But then what?"
Yu Jin pondered, "Now that Guan Xing has arrived, our chances of taking Jiangling are very slim. Therefore, we only have three options left."
"First, retreat immediately, and then ask General Cao Ren to retreat as well, abandoning Jingzhou and returning to Xiangyang to preserve our strength."
"Secondly, we ask General Cao Ren to retreat across the Xiang River, abandon Yuzhang and retreat to Nan Commandery, and join us in attacking Jiangling. This will extend Guan Yu's supply line while we take Jiangling and then hold it to the death."
"Finally, General Cao Ren, please join us in a bloodbath and do everything in our power to bleed Liu Bei and Guan Yu dry."
Jiang Ji asked in surprise, "Bloodletting? How do we do that?"
A ruthless glint flashed in Yu Jin's eyes as he said menacingly, "At the cost of our and General Cao Ren's hundreds of thousands of troops, we will massacre cities and villages, burn houses and destroy fertile fields. We will use indiscriminate slaughter to undermine the war potential of Jiangnan, thereby rendering Liu Bei unable to wage war for twenty years."
"Hiss..." Jiang Ji gasped, his teeth chattering, as he stammered, "This..."
That was vicious, but it was indeed effective.
With the population dwindling due to years of warfare, the most important resource for various warlords is no longer land but people. Only with a sufficient population can there be enough soldiers and provisions.
So if, as Yu Jin said, all the people of Jiangnan were killed, Liu Bei would probably be unable to launch a northern expedition for a short period of time, or even for the rest of his life.
Jiang Ji said, "This must be reported to His Majesty, and His Majesty should make a decision personally. At the same time, General Cao Ren should be notified in advance so that he can be mentally prepared."
Yu Jin nodded and said, "That's how it should be. Chief Clerk Jiang, I'm entrusting you with writing letters to the King and General Cao Ren. I'm going to the front lines to see if we can drive Sun Quan away and seize Jiangling before Guan Xing arrives."
After saying this, he turned and strode away without waiting for Jiang Ji's reply. Jiang Ji nodded blankly and accepted the order, completely forgetting that he was the commander-in-chief of the Wei army.