dognovel Chapter 109 Still Willing to Be Your Son-in-Law
Chapter 109 Still Willing to Be Your Son-in-Law
Upon receiving the news, Zhang Cheng dared not delay and immediately dispatched a military doctor to treat the prisoners. He also reassured them, telling them to be careful and to wait until the traps were cleared before advancing.
These prisoners are now treated like royalty, so Zhang Cheng dared not speak ill of them. He could only try to persuade them to start working while praying that Guan Xing would come quickly to take them away.
He didn't want to spend another moment with the prisoners; he was filled with anxiety and fear.
Guan Xing seemed to have heard his prayer and appeared before Xie Chongganxun just in time.
Meanwhile, Xie Chong and Gan Xun, after withdrawing from Zhuji, did not rush to retreat to Wushang. Instead, they let the wounded go first, while the two of them led the remaining troops to dig traps and retreat, sparing no effort to use delaying tactics to buy time for Guan Xing.
They retreated less than twenty li when a scout reported that Guan Xing had arrived. The two men immediately put down their work and went to greet him.
Gan Xun rushed to Guan Xing and said excitedly, "General, you're finally back! How did it go? Did you deal with Quan Cong?"
Xie Chong quickly replied, "Aren't you going to waste your breath? The general's beaming face says it all. General, now only Zhang Cheng is left. Just tell me how to fight him."
Guan Xing patted the two men on the shoulders and laughed, "Thanks to you two, the situation in Quan Cong was resolved smoothly. What's the situation on your side? Did you fail to hold Zhuji?"
Xie Chong explained, "It's like this..."
The two sides stood on the road and talked for half an hour. After understanding the situation, Guan Xing touched his nose and pondered, "Guan Yan told me earlier that no Wu army has been found in Shan County so far. It seems that Zhang Cheng has learned from the last lesson and dared not easily divide his troops again. In that case, we can attack Shanyin."
The current situation is very favorable to the Han army. They can win no matter how they fight. Guan Xing doesn't even need to think. He just needs to keep retreating, just like last time, and walk Zhang Cheng around like a dog.
Having learned his lesson, Zhang Cheng wouldn't pursue with the same intensity as last time. Using a dog-walking tactic would take too long, and Guan Xing said he didn't have the patience for that.
Moreover, defensive retreat is not his style; he always believed that offense is the best form of defense.
More importantly, we now have the conditions to attack. We can lure Zhang Cheng to Wushang first, and then launch a surprise attack on Shanyin from Shan County. Perfect.
Xie Chong pondered, "Currently, everyone's attention is on Zhuji, and Shanyin will not be on high alert. This is indeed a good opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Shanyin. After taking Shanyin, we can return to Zhuji to cut off Zhang Cheng's retreat and completely trap him in the Jinqu Basin."
"But Shanyin is, after all, the seat of Kuaiji Commandery. It has high walls and thick fortifications, so I'm afraid we won't be able to take it easily."
Guan Xing nodded and said, "Indeed, and Zhang Cheng is still in Zhuji, which is too close to Shanyin. He can return to support us at any time if he receives the news. If we want to launch a surprise attack on Shanyin, we must lure Zhang Cheng further away, preferably to Wushang or even Damu."
"But right now, the most important thing is to confuse Zhang Cheng and conceal our battle intentions. Lao Xie, send someone to arrange a meeting with Zhang Cheng. Tell him I want to meet with him."
Gan Xun asked in surprise, "Why would you want to see him?"
Guan Xing explained, "We need to let Zhang Cheng know that I'm right in front of him and haven't gone anywhere else, so that he doesn't make wild guesses and accidentally guess our strategic intentions."
Gan Xun was dumbfounded.
Xie Chong laughed and said, "I'll send someone over right away."
The messenger set off quickly, but returned shortly afterward with the letter, saying in surprise, "General, I have discovered that the Wu soldiers clearing the traps ahead are prisoners we just released, and they are very resentful about clearing the traps."
Guan Xing had already learned from Xie Chong about the release of the prisoners, and upon hearing this, he exclaimed in surprise, "These prisoners were elite troops of the Wu army. Zhang Cheng actually used them as cannon fodder. Has he gone mad? Could it be that something happened in Zhang Cheng's army that we don't know about?"
The messenger's expression grew increasingly strange as he said, "After seeing the prisoners, I did not return immediately. Instead, I called out to them from afar and asked them a few questions. I was just asking casually and did not expect the prisoners to answer, but they answered unusually readily."
“The prisoners said they were not used to the food and living conditions in the Wu army and were looked down upon. Now they were even sent to clean up the traps. Their lives were worse than those of the miners.”
"The last prisoner asked me to inquire whether we would still accept him if he went back to mining now."
"Uh……"
Guan Xing, Xie Chong, and Gan Xun were all shocked, their mouths agape.
After a long pause, Guan Xing asked in surprise, "Have we given the miners special treatment far exceeding what is given to prisoners of war?"
Xie Chong asked doubtfully, "No, we only occasionally go into the mountains to hunt some wild game and have eaten wild boar meat a few times, but that was to eliminate potential threats and maintain public order."
"General, as you know, the wild boars in Kuaiji Mountain are almost an infestation. They frequently come down the mountain to trample on farmland and harass the people, causing them to complain to us every day. We have no choice but to get rid of them."
"That seems to be all. Is it really necessary to rebel over something so trivial? Could these prisoners be deliberately sent by Zhang Cheng to lure us into a trap?"
The messenger shook his head and said, "It doesn't look like it. The prisoners are all so lazy, like they haven't eaten for days. They're not paying any attention to clearing the traps. Even if they wanted to lure us in, they wouldn't be so lazy, would they?"
"In addition, I heard from the prisoners that they haven't drunk hot water since they went back. Yesterday they drank cold water all day, and some of them are already having diarrhea."
Guan Xing: "..."
Is she that delicate?
Didn't you all used to drink cold water? You only drank hot water for a few days at the mine and you've already developed a disease of affluence. You can't even get used to drinking cold water again?
Xie Chong was surprised to find that Wu Jun's treatment was even worse than that at the mine, and asked in astonishment, "General, what do we do now? Should we bring the prisoners back?"
Guan Xing shook his head and said, "No need. They've only been back for a day, and they haven't completely lost faith in Wu's army yet. Recalling them now won't do us any good. Let the bullets, or rather, the arrows, fly a little longer. Don't worry about the prisoners. Let's continue delivering the message to Zhang Cheng."
“Yes…” The messenger turned and left.
Guan Xing picked up a hoe to dig a trap while waiting for Zhang Cheng's reply.
The two sides were not far apart, and Zhang Cheng quickly received the letter and replied, agreeing to meet with Guan Xing.
However, the meeting between the two military commanders was not a gathering of friends, and many things needed to be explained in advance.
First, they are not allowed to bring their personal guards; they must go alone to avoid communication breakdowns and potential fighting.
Secondly, no bows or crossbows are allowed, for fear of being ambushed by the enemy.
The two points mentioned above were common concerns of both parties, so they passed smoothly without objection.
Two hours later, Guan Xing stepped through the gaps between the traps and walked forward. Zhang Cheng also stepped through the traps and walked towards him. The distance between the two became closer and closer.
The Han army's traps were obvious; the fresh soil covering the traps was very different from the unexcavated soil next to them, and anyone who wasn't blind could see it.
Zhang Cheng went to the trouble of clearing the trap because he had tens of thousands of troops behind him. Three or five people could easily bypass such a trap, but what about thirty or fifty thousand?
With so many people gathered together, they could easily get pushed into a trap if they're not careful. We have to clear them out, especially since there are supply wagons and grain carts there too.
Now that Zhang Cheng was alone, he could ignore these traps. Zhang Cheng walked to the center of the traps and stopped a hundred meters away from Guan Xing, shouting, "Let's stop here. Don't go any further."
His left arm was injured by Guan Xing, which greatly reduced his fighting ability. He was no match for Guan Xing and therefore did not want to have close contact with Guan Xing.
Guan Xing stopped and took out a cloth bag, saying, "I'll give you something first."
After saying that, he swung the rope at the mouth of the bag, swung the bag around in the air a few times, and then threw it forcefully at Zhang Cheng.
It missed, going more than ten meters off target.
Zhang Cheng picked up the cloth bag, opened it, and found that it contained jade pendants, jade knives, daggers, and other personal items belonging to Quan Cong, Zhou Xun, and Zhuge Ke.
Guan Xing laughed and said, "General Zhang should be familiar with these items. Their owners have all been captured. There's no point in you continuing to resist. You should surrender sooner rather than later."
"General Zhang, if you surrender, I'm still willing to be your son-in-law."