Shuhan

Gangneung City.

In the Governor's Mansion.

Jiangling Governor Pang Tong looked at the secret decree in his hand. Even though he was well-educated and had excellent skills in cultivating his qi, he was still shocked at this moment.

"Butler, take him to rest."

After sending the messenger away, Pang Tong knelt back down, but his eyes were flickering.

"Your Majesty is good at using unusual forces, but this time, it was really unusual. I'm afraid that in the whole world, only Your Majesty can do this, and only Your Majesty dares to do this."

In the dead of winter, he marched thousands of miles from Guanzhong to Jiangxia.

This is a huge test for the soldiers.

It is also a huge test for the leader's prestige.

This is a risky thing.

But then again, there are always two sides to every coin, and risks and returns are often linked.

Your Majesty has taken such a great risk this time just to destroy Wu!
A few days ago, when Pang Tong received the urgent news from Jiangxia, he was very anxious and sent messengers to the four counties in southern Jing overnight to recruit soldiers and laborers to support Jiangxia and resist the State of Wu.

But now it seems.
There is no need to recruit soldiers from the four counties in southern Jing.

All you need to do is recruit civilians and militiamen.

After all, the four southern counties of Jing are not developed enough, the people are few, and the number of barbarians is large. They are not as obedient as the Han people in Han areas. If they are over-exploited, it may cause rebellion in the four southern counties of Jing.

At that time, if we want to quell the rebellion, we will have to send troops.

A lot of soldiers have already been sent out from the four counties in southern Jing. If they can be saved this time, then they will be saved.

"Somebody come!"

"Grand Governor."

The clerk on duty at the Governor's Office stepped forward immediately.

"The barbarians in Changsha and Lingling counties have rebelled. Order the officers and officials in the city to come to the Governor's Office to discuss the matter immediately!"

Because Jiangling City was crowded with merchants and had developed commerce, it was easy for both Wei and Wu states to interfere in Jiangling's business.

No matter if it's the spies from Wei's Xiaoshifu or the spies from Wu's Zhitaitun, as long as you go to catch them, there will definitely be them.

But just like weeds, you can never catch all the spies from the School Affairs Office and the spy camp.

News about Jiangling could be easily leaked.

but.
It is easy to leak information, but it may also confuse the enemy.

For example, now he wants to pass on the false news of rebellion in the four counties of southern Jing to Sun Quan's ears, so that he can lead the troops to fight more radically.

"Su San."

Pang Tong looked at the captain of his personal guards and said to him, "Send this secret decree to Jiangxia and hand it over to the Jiangxia garrison commander. Remember, even if you die, this secret decree cannot be shown to anyone else."

Su San was a strong man, a fellow villager of Pang Tong. In his early years he was a knight-errant and quite brave. It was because of this that he was promoted by Pang Tong to be the captain of his personal guards to protect him.

"Don't worry, sir. Unless Su San dies, this secret letter will never reach the hands of anyone else."

Pang Tong said with a serious face, "No, even if you die, this secret letter cannot be shown to anyone else. This matter concerns the lives of millions of people. Do you understand?"

Su San said immediately: "I will sew the secret decree into my belt. Even if I die, no one else will know the secret decree."

After hearing this, Pang Tong felt slightly relieved.

"So, very good."

Watching the captain of the personal guard Su San gradually leave, Pang Tong's face flickered.

He heard that the four counties in southern Jing were in rebellion, and the reinforcements Jiangxia expected might not arrive.

Yu Jin continued to give Sun Quan some leeway, which encouraged Sun Quan's arrogance.

In this way, Sun Quan will definitely go deep into the heart of Jiangxia and wait for your majesty's heavenly troops to arrive.
Ha ha.

How can your Wu Kingdom not be destroyed?

Three days later.

Jiangxia County.

Outside Xiling City.

From a distance, traces of Wu army scouts' reports could be seen.

Outside Xiling City, walls have been erected and the land has been cleared.

The city garrison.

In the study, Yu Jin, the governor of Jiangxia, and Ma Liang, the military advisor for the expedition to Xuzhou, sat opposite each other.

There was no one else in the room except the two of them.

"This is the secret decree of His Majesty. The governor sent his personal guards to deliver it yesterday. The military advisor is your think tank. Please read it."

Secret decree?

Ma Liang was stunned for a moment.

"Since it is a secret decree, would it be considered as overstepping the bounds if I read it?"

Yu Jin waved his hand and said, "If there is a secret decree, you can tell the military advisor."

After receiving this reply, Ma Liang opened the secret decree and examined it carefully.

But after just reading some of the first content, a look of shock appeared on his face.

"What? Your Majesty is coming to attack Wu?"

Yu Jin smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Your Majesty's use of troops is unpredictable. No one in the world can predict it. I don't know if Your Majesty has foresight. If it were any other time, even if Your Majesty led the troops personally, it would probably be difficult to fight the Wu army in the field. But this time when the Wu army rises up to attack, it is the best time to destroy Wu!"

If Sun Quan had kept his soldiers inside the city, he would not have been able to destroy Wu quickly.

If Wu could not be destroyed quickly, Liu Chan's wish to quickly defeat Wu and use Wu's army and people to launch a northern expedition against Wei would be dashed.

Instead, it will cause casualties and depletion of strength.

But now that Sun Quan has come out and has not been a coward, he can destroy the main force of Wu in a field battle. This is indeed the best opportunity to destroy Wu!
"Then should we still follow the plan?"

Is it still necessary to let Shamoke and Wen Pin attack Wu Jun from behind?

"The military order has been sent. I'm afraid Wen Pin and Shamoke have already started their war."

In this era, there was no wireless communication or telegraph, and the transmission of messages had to rely entirely on people.

This time, Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops were already marching on the mountain road. Even if they wanted to send a message, they didn't know where to send it.

"If this disturbs Sun Quan and causes him to flee back to Wu, things will not go well."

Your Majesty has sent out a surprise attack this time and led the army in person. If Sun Quan is scared away before your Majesty arrives, who can he complain to?

"Send a messenger immediately to ask Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops to stop marching. If they fail to meet, then on the last day of the agreed time, inadvertently reveal this news to the Wu army."

Since it was in the secret order, he was asked to show weakness to the enemy.

Then, Shamoke and Wen Pin's troops will serve as bait for the Wu army!

As for why Wu Jun was informed on the last day.
The reason is of course very simple.

The troops under Shamoke and Wen Pin had a combined force of more than 20,000 men. Although the barbarian troops were not elite, how could they hand over such a large number of soldiers to the State of Wu?
Informing the Wu army on the last day of the agreed time would prevent them from setting up an ambush in advance, and Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops would be able to enter Wan County as expected.

As for after
If Sun Quan knew in advance that the retreat route had been cut off, he would definitely dispatch troops to besiege Wan County.

By that time, Wen Pin and Shamoke would be surrounded by the Wu army.

This is a risky thing.

If they fail to defend Wan County, Shamoke and Wenpin's troops number 20,000 men. The annihilation of 20,000 men would be a serious blow to the Han State.

But at this time, Yu Jin chose to believe.

Yu Jin didn't know who Shamoke was, but Wen Pin had worked with him for several years, so Yu Jin knew his abilities.

If they were surrounded in Wan County, with a large number of people, they should have no problem holding out for ten days or half a month, if not one or two months.

And if we can hold out for ten days or half a month, your Majesty's reinforcements will arrive and the situation will be reversed.

Although this plan is risky, the reward is the entire Wu Kingdom.

No matter how great the risk was, Yu Jin felt that it was worth taking.

“That would be a bit too radical.”

Ma Liang was still a little worried.

"It happened suddenly, so this is the only way. If it fails, I will take all the responsibility, and it will have nothing to do with the military advisor."

"What do you mean by that?"

Ma Liang had an unhappy look on his face.

"You and I have been colleagues for a few days, but I am afraid you still don't know me, Ma Liang. If you back down when encountering problems, then do I, Ma Liang, deserve to be named Ma?"

After that, Ma Liang said to Yu Jin solemnly: "If this fails, I will be punished together with the garrison commander!" "Okay!"

With Ma Liang's strong support behind him, Yu Jin's originally worried heart was finally put at ease.

The worst that could happen is death. Anyway, he has lived enough in this life.

And if they were to win, it would be the merit of destroying a country, and being granted a title of nobility would be considered a light honor. At that time, they would have to be granted the title of Pillar of the State!

Three days later.

Xunyang.

The place where the front army of Wu State was commanded.

Sun Quan listened to the battle reports coming from various places.

"Your Majesty, our army is making very good progress. We have opened up the river channel and the infantry has surrounded Xiling. The Han army has cleared the fields and dared not come out of the city to fight. If we bypass Xiling and head straight to Jiangling, it is not impossible."

Sun Shao said on the side.

"There are at least 10,000 Han troops in Xiling. They should not be underestimated. Besides, there are Yu Jin and Ma Liang in the city. If we bypass them, we will be uneasy."

The progress of the Wu army far exceeded Sun Quan's expectations. Moreover, early in the morning, he received good news from the assassination camp in the direction of Jiangling.

just
Is this news true or false?

The four counties in southern Jing chose this time to rebel?
Is it too much of a coincidence?
Sun Quan raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Sun Shao, and asked, "This morning, the news from Cijiantun said that the barbarians in the four counties of southern Jing rebelled. Pang Tong was originally going to mobilize troops from the four counties of southern Jing to support Jiangxia. This time, not only did the support disappear, but the Han army originally in Jiangxia also had to go to southern Jing to quell the rebellion. In other words, Yu Jin's reinforcements will not arrive in the short term. Do you think this news is fake news deliberately released by the Han Kingdom in order to confuse us?"

Sun Shao thought for a moment and said, "We'll know whether it's true or not if we send someone to take a look."

Send someone to check it out?

Sun Quan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"This round trip will take at least a month. Does that mean our army has to wait for a month?"

Sun Shao said immediately: "When our Great Wu occupied the four counties in southern Jing, the Changsha barbarians and Lingling barbarians were very rampant. This time, the Han Kingdom attacked Wei with five routes and already recruited the barbarians in the four counties in southern Jing. Now they want to attack our Great Wu again. They will definitely mobilize troops and oppress the local people. It is not impossible that the four counties in southern Jing will rebel."

Sun Quan certainly knew what Sun Shao said, but he just felt uneasy.

"Just treat this news as true!"

If this is true, then God bless his Great Wu and God bless his Sun Quan.

The Great Wu still has its national destiny, it should not perish!

"Report~"

At this moment, Zhuge Ke's hurried voice came from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, we have captured a Han messenger with confidential information!"

Zhuge Ke looked very funny in his fat armor, but Sun Quan did not laugh. Instead, he asked, "What kind of confidential information is this?"

Zhuge Ke trotted forward and handed the secret letter in the bamboo tube to Sun Quan.

"Your Majesty will know it at a glance!"

Aristocratic families are fence-sitters.

Zhuge Ke was naturally a fence-sitter, indecisive.

After knowing that there was completely no hope for the crown prince, Zhuge Ke immediately moved closer to Sun Quan again. This time when his father caught a messenger, he immediately gave the credit to him, hoping that Zhuge Ke could wash away Sun Quan's disgust for him and be reused again!
“Hahahaha~hahaha~hahaha~God help me!”

After reading the secret letter, Sun Quan laughed three times.

"Your Majesty."

When had the King of Wu ever lost his composure like this?

Could it be that the content of this secret letter has irritated the king?
"I originally thought that the rebellion of the four counties in southern Jing was false, but once this letter came out, it could be mutually confirmed. However, if you want to believe this letter, you have to see that Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops are really going to take the mountain road and enter Wan County!"

"what?"

Sun Shao was horrified.

"Your Majesty, what you mean is that Wen Pin and Shamo Ke are going to enter Wan County. Wouldn't that cut off our army's retreat? Our food and supplies are in Xunyang. Wouldn't that put us in danger any day?"

"That's why I say God helps me!"

Sun Quan's eyes had never been as bright as they were today.

The four counties in southern Jing are in rebellion, and now I have learned that your Han army is planning a surprise attack.

Ha ha
All clear.

I understand!

At this moment, Sun Quan suddenly felt as if he had seen a bright moon after a period of dark clouds. All the unreasonable things and all the things that confused him before were now clear and solved.

No wonder the Han army had almost no defenses in Xunyang, and no wonder the Wu army had made such rapid progress in recent days.

It turned out that Sun Quan was a little worried that this was Yu Jin's trick, but he didn't expect that this was really Yu Jin's trick!
You, Yu Wen, want to show weakness to the enemy and lure our Wu army into Jiangxia. Then, Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops will break out from the rear, and you can attack our Wu army from both sides, right?

unfortunately
such a pity!
Man proposes, God disposes. I finally saw through your trick.

"Take my handwritten order and order our Wu army's land and sea forces to gather in the direction of Wan County. Regardless of whether this news is true or false, gathering in Wan County will never be wrong."

An County is close to the State of Wu. If this news is false, it will not be too late to attack again.

Not short of this amount of time.

if true
That is the opportunity to break through the Han Kingdom!

Under Sun Quan's military order, except for the Wu army that besieged Xiling City, most of the rest of the Wu army gathered towards Wan County.

At this time, Wen Pin and Shamoke's troops, who had been trekking on the mountain road for more than ten days, finally came out of the mountain road.

He led his troops to quickly capture Wan County.

But it was only one day later.

However, he found that the number of Wu troops nearby was increasing, and they trapped him and Shamoke's troops in Wan County.

Seeing this situation, Wen Ping felt disappointed.

The information was leaked.

His situation is dangerous!

"General Wen Pin, we should break out quickly, otherwise the Wu army will increase in number and we may not be able to leave."

Shamoke looked anxious and advised.

I originally thought it was a sneak attack, but it turned out to be more like an ambush.

Shamoke brought all his assets with him. If he loses them all here, how will he explain to his fellow villagers?
"It's too late to leave now." Wen Ping's eyes flickered, and at this moment, he calmed down.

Without logistical support, the food and fodder would be exhausted after all the back and forth operations.

What’s more, there are pursuers?
Wen Pin was very calm and analyzed:

"The army still has more than a month's worth of food and grass. If we hold on to Wan County, the garrison commander and the governor will surely come to rescue us. If we break out now, where can we go? As soon as we leave, Lu'an will be occupied by the Wei army. If we return along the same route, we will definitely be attacked by the Wei and Wu armies. Retreating is a dead end. Only by holding on can we have a glimmer of hope. We have no other choice!"

"This..." Shamoke looked bitter.

"Hahaha~"

Wen Pin laughed loudly. Although he was surrounded at the moment, he did not show any fear.

"Didn't the Barbarian King always say that there was no chance to make merit? Now the chance to make merit is here!"

"What do you mean, General?" Shamoke was stunned for a moment, not understanding why Wen Pin could still laugh.

"As long as we hold on to An County and hold back the Wei army, once the Han army arrives, we can take the credit for destroying Wu! Isn't this a chance to make a contribution?"

"I see!"

Shamoke suddenly understood.

Together with Wen Pin, they have more than 20,000 people. Can't they hold out for a month?
Thinking of this, Shamoke became less panicked and suddenly felt more confident.

"I, Shamoke, will obey the general. If we defend Wan County, the general will get the first credit, and I, Shamoke, will be the second."

"If we succeed in destroying Wu, the Barbarian King will also be the first to achieve this!"

Wen Pin now understands that only by stabilizing people's hearts and morale can he defend Wan County.

If we can stabilize Shamoke, we can defend Wan County.

What he needs to do now is to delay time!
Must hold on!

Even if there is no life, we must bring it back to life!

And on the other side.

Jiangling.

Before dawn, a dragon flag slowly emerged from the thick fog in the northwest.

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty has already arrived in Jiangling! (End of this chapter)