The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 365 Zhuge Jin's Reaction

After several hours of travel, Guan Xing finally led his troops to their destination, Wangjiang Village. Upon observation, he found that the surrounding terrain was flat with no rivers or forests, and there was no suitable ambush location. So he simply abandoned the idea of ​​setting up camp on the road and prepared to fight Zhuge Jin head-on.

He was certain that given Zhuge Jin's cautious nature, he would immediately retreat upon discovering something amiss at Pan Zhang's camp. He decided to block him here and refused to believe that Zhuge Jin wouldn't return.

Unfortunately, Guan Xing's prediction was wrong this time. Not long after setting up camp, a scout hurriedly returned to report: "General, something bad has happened. Zhuge Jin seems to have realized the danger and suddenly turned around and fled south when he was still twenty miles away from Pan Zhang's camp."

Deng Hong exclaimed, "How could this be? Could it be that Ning Huan's side has been exposed?"

Guan Xing calmly analyzed, "It's normal for Ning Huan to be exposed. It's understandable that Zhuge Jin would become suspicious if he couldn't hear the sounds of battle. But it's a bit surprising that Zhuge Jin didn't return the way he came but retreated south. Could it be that this old man guessed that we were blocking his retreat here?"

As the Tiger among the three talents of the Langya Zhuge clan (Dragon, Tiger, Dog), Zhuge Jin certainly possessed this predictive ability.

Deng Hong said anxiously, "Then what should we do? We can't let him retreat to Yuhan City. If he does, all our journey of dozens of miles will have been for nothing."

Guan Xing calmly smiled and said, "You already know he's going to retreat to Yuhan City, so why are you afraid he'll run away? The scouts should immediately return to the camp and give Ning Huan the order to tell him that he doesn't need to stay in the camp anymore. He should lead the bandit army to launch a full-scale attack, advancing towards Yuhan in a fan shape. It would be best if they could contain Zhuge Jin, but if they can't, they should head towards Yuhan."

"Let's continue our journey to Yuhan and try to intercept Zhuge Jin along the way. If we can't, we'll go to Yuhan City and tell the brothers that we can let Zhuge Jin go for now, but we absolutely cannot let him return to Yuhan."

"In other words, we must get to Yuhan before Zhuge Jin and block him outside the city. This way, he will not be able to use the people and supplies in the city to resist us. Without the support from the city, Zhuge Jin's thousands of men will not only be unable to attack us, but they will even have a problem eating. I don't believe that Zhuge Jin will bring too much food to support Pan Zhang. He will die within three to five days."

Deng Hong said happily, "General, you are right. In this way, we can either attack Yuhan City first and then deal with Zhuge Jin, or we can deal with Zhuge Jin first and then attack Yuhan City. It all depends on our mood. But I have two more questions."

"First of all, even if we reach Yuhan with our small force, we will be exhausted. Can we take Yuhan? Secondly, what if Zhuge Jin doesn't return to Yuhan, or if he returns to Yuhan and finds that we are blocking the city gates and he can't enter, and then simply gives up on entering the city and turns to escape? This desolate wilderness is full of roads and paths. If Zhuge Jin really runs away, we may not be able to find him."

Guan Xing shook his head and laughed, "Your worries are unnecessary. First of all, we don't need to rush to attack the city. As long as we get there before Zhuge Jin returns to the city and block him outside the city so that he can't enter, that will be fine."

"Secondly, Zhuge Jin cannot escape, because defeat means taking responsibility. He cannot bear the responsibility of losing Yuhan and cutting off Lu Xun's retreat. Therefore, once he reaches the city, he will definitely attack us desperately and try his best to defend Yuhan. So we must attack what the enemy must defend. Yuhan is Zhuge Jin's Achilles' heel, the place he must defend. He can be defeated and captured, but he will never escape without a fight. Do you know why?"

Deng Hong, like a curious child, quickly asked, "Why?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Because Zhuge Jin comes from a noble family and values ​​reputation the most. Although Sun Quan's power is declining day by day, even if Zhuge Jin really flees without a fight, they may not dare to do anything to him. But don't forget that in this world, besides power, there are also morality, ethics, reputation and word of mouth. If Zhuge Jin really ignores Lu Xun's life and death and just runs away, what will his colleagues in Eastern Wu think of him? What will the noble families in Bashu and the Central Plains think of him?"

"If you can't win, it's a matter of ability, but running away without even fighting is a matter of attitude. You, Zhuge Jin, can betray Lu Xun for your own safety today, will you betray us tomorrow? If that's the case, which aristocratic family will dare to cooperate with you in the future?"

"Now everyone can see that Sun Quan is about to be finished, but even if Sun Quan is finished, the aristocratic clans will not be finished. Not to mention Sun Quan, even if Cao Cao is finished, the aristocratic clans will not be finished. If Zhuge Jin wants to continue to work in the aristocratic circle, he will never abandon Yu Han and escape alone."

"So what we need to do now is to get to Yuhan before Zhuge Jin, and then set up camp to prevent Zhuge Jin from taking advantage of our unstable foothold and Ning Huan's absence to launch a desperate attack on us, understand?"

Deng Hong nodded and said, "Understood. I have another question. What if we arrive at the city at the same time as Zhuge Jin, or if Zhuge Jin arrives only a moment later and attacks us immediately upon seeing us, or if he contacts the city's defenders to attack us from both sides? In that case, our exhausted bodies may not be able to withstand it."

Guan Xing sneered, "Aren't we tired, but Zhuge Jin is too? Don't forget that Zhuge Jin ran from Yuhan to here and back to Yuhan. He's covered a much longer distance than we have. If Zhuge Jin really attacks us before Ning Huan arrives to encircle us, we'll ignore the city's defenders and focus on beating Zhuge Jin to death. In short, as long as I, Guan Xing, don't die this time, Zhuge Jin won't be able to enter Yuhan City. Any more questions?"

Deng Hong quickly replied, "That's all. I'll call the brothers to set off right away."

With Deng Hong's order, the Han army, which had just arrived at Wangjiang Village and hadn't even had a chance to settle in, set off again for Yuhan.

At the same time, Zhuge Jin was also speeding towards Yuhan. Unlike before, this time Guan Xing and Zhuge Jin were not heading in opposite directions but in the same direction. Moreover, Guan Xing was taking the Bowstring Road, which leads directly to Yuhan, while Zhuge Jin tragically took the Bow Back Road.

Zhuge Jin led his troops on a frantic detour, but before they had gone far, a scout rushed back and reported, "General, something terrible has happened! We have discovered traces of the Han army in Wangjiang Village. There are as many as two or three thousand of them, and it seems that they have received word of our retreat and have turned back towards Yuhan."

Liu Zan exclaimed, "What? That damned Guan Xing really did get behind us! It seems Pan Zhang is really finished. This Pan Zhang is too incompetent. We asked him to hold out for three days, but he couldn't even last three hours."

Zhuge Jin said with a bitter smile, "It's pointless to curse now. Let's talk about reality. Guan Xing has obviously received news that we are taking a detour to retreat, so he gave up blocking the enemy and rushed to Yuhan to block the city gate. And if I'm not mistaken, Peng Qi's bandit army should also be coming out of the camp to block our retreat."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the scout sent to Pan Zhang's camp for the second time returned and reported, "General, something terrible has happened! Tens of thousands of Yue bandits have appeared behind us and are advancing on us in three columns."

"See? I told you so." Zhuge Jin's tone was full of bitterness. This time, he had been thoroughly tricked by Pan Zhang.

Liu Zan asked anxiously, "Then what should we do?"

Zhuge Jin stroked his beard and pondered, "We are currently on the Gongbei Road, which is much farther than Guan Xing's route, so we cannot race against Guan Xing. We must think of another way. However, if Guan Xing really goes to Yu Han to block the city gate, it may not be a bad opportunity for us."

"Here's what we'll do: you immediately break away from the army, ride a fast horse and rush back to Yuhan City. Remember, even if you have to run your horse to death, you must get into the city before Guan Xing, and then organize the army to defend the city to the death."

"I will stay behind to deal with Peng Qi's bandit army. I don't need to annihilate them all, but at least I need to make them afraid to pursue recklessly. After forcing them to retreat, I will speed up to Yuhan to join you in a pincer attack and try to annihilate Guan Xing under the walls of Yuhan."