Honglou: This bastard is too persuasive.

Chapter 739 Arrangement
Zhou Yu and Lu Xun responded in unison: "We will obey the Lord's orders!"

Sun Quan looked at everyone and said seriously: "This battle concerns the survival of our Dongwu. You must go all out. If we cannot repel Jia Changsheng, our Dongwu will be doomed."

Everyone said they would do their best. Then, Lu Meng quickly assembled 20,000 elite soldiers and prepared to go to war. Sun Quan personally saw Lu Meng off, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Ziming, the safety of Dongwu depends on you, so you must not be careless."

Lu Meng looked at Sun Quan and said firmly: "Don't worry, my lord. I will fight with Huang Zhong to the end and will not give up until Jingkou is recaptured!" After that, Lu Meng jumped on his horse and led an army of 20,000 to march towards Jingkou in a mighty manner.

Sun Quan was in the hall, looking at the map, silently praying that Lu Meng could win the battle and save the current decline of the Wu Kingdom. A fierce battle around Jingkou was about to begin, and the war between Sun Quan and Jia Changsheng had entered a more critical stage. Whether Lu Meng could successfully repel Huang Zhong and recapture Jingkou, the whole Wu Kingdom was eagerly waiting.

When Sun Quan sent Lü Meng to lead 20,000 elite troops to attack Jingkou, Jia Changsheng had already received the news and quickly set up a trap in Jingkou City to prepare for the attack. He knew that Jingkou, as an important city that had just been captured, had extraordinary strategic significance and must be defended.

Jia Changsheng summoned Huang Zhong and the generals in Jingkou City and said calmly: "Everyone, Sun Quan sent Lu Meng to retake Jingkou. Now that we have occupied this place, we must not give it up easily. Everyone should do their job and make sure to hold the city firmly so that Sun Quan's army will never return."

Huang Zhong clasped his fists and said, "My lord, rest assured. I will live and die with Jingkou. General Meng may be brave, but I, Huang Zhong, am no ordinary man."

Jia Changsheng nodded and said, "Han Sheng, you have been on the battlefield for a long time. I will rely on you in this battle to defend the city. When the enemy attacks, you will be responsible for the frontal defense." Then, he looked at the other generals and said, "Each of you should lead your men to strictly guard the city walls. Don't slack off. At the same time, arrange for the soldiers to prepare stones, arrows and other city defense equipment, and when the enemy approaches, give them a head-on blow."

All the generals received the order in unison and rushed to their posts. Jia Changsheng then said to his advisers, "Pay close attention to the enemy's movements and report any abnormalities in a timely manner. We must not only defend the city, but also look for opportunities to inflict heavy damage on the enemy."

Soon, Lü Meng's army arrived at the gates of Jingkou. Lü Meng looked at Jia Changsheng's army on the tower, and was secretly surprised. He did not expect Jia Changsheng to prepare for defense so quickly. But he did not retreat, and shouted to the soldiers: "Brothers, Jingkou is an important city of our Eastern Wu, and now it is occupied by Jia Changsheng. We are here to take it back. Everyone, follow me and fight bravely. Today is the day to make achievements!"

Sun Quan's army was greatly encouraged, and they rushed towards Jingkou City with shouts. On the tower, Huang Zhong gave an order: "Shoot!" Suddenly, arrows rained down on the enemy. The soldiers in the front row of Sun Quan's army fell down one after another, but the soldiers behind them were not afraid and continued to rush forward.

Soon, the enemy arrived at the city wall and began to set up ladders to attack the city. Jia Changsheng's soldiers immediately pushed down the rocks, and huge rocks rolled down and hit the soldiers of Sun Quan's army who were climbing the ladders, screaming one after another.

Seeing that the siege was blocked, Lü Meng frowned and beat the drum himself to boost the morale of the soldiers. Inspired by the drums, Sun Quan's army attacked the city even harder.

However, Jia Changsheng's army's defense was impregnable. Huang Zhong commanded the troops on the tower with confidence, constantly adjusting the defense strategy. Wherever the enemy's offensive was fierce, he would quickly dispatch troops to support them.

The two sides were fighting fiercely. Jia Changsheng stood on a high point in the city, observing the situation on the battlefield. He said to the generals around him: "Although the enemy's attack is fierce, if they can't take the city for a long time, their morale will inevitably be frustrated. We can send a surprise force to attack from the side door, disrupt the enemy's rear, and attack them from both inside and outside."

The generals took the order and quickly selected a thousand elite soldiers, quietly opened the side door, and rushed to the rear of Sun Quan's army. Sun Quan's army was attacking the city with all their strength, but they did not expect that an enemy army suddenly rushed out from the rear, and the formation was immediately thrown into chaos.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Lu Meng hurriedly divided his troops to resist the attack from the rear. At this moment, Huang Zhong seized the opportunity, opened the city gate, and led the elite troops in the city to fight out. Jia Changsheng's army attacked from both sides, and Sun Quan's army was caught in a tough battle.

Lu Meng fought hard, but the situation was getting worse and worse. After a fierce battle, Sun Quan's army suffered heavy casualties. Lu Meng knew that there was no chance of winning the siege today, so he had no choice but to order a withdrawal.

Following Lü Meng's order, Sun Quan's army began to slowly retreat. Seeing this, Jia Changsheng's army was greatly encouraged and pursued the enemy. Huang Zhong led the soldiers to chase and kill the enemy for a while until Sun Quan's army retreated far away, and then he withdrew his troops and returned to the city.

Jia Changsheng watched the retreat of Sun Quan's army from the tower and said to Huang Zhong, "Han Sheng, you have played a great role in defending the city. Although Sun Quan has retreated this time, he will not give up. We must not let our guard down and must strengthen our defense."

Huang Zhong said, "Don't worry, my lord. I will take strict precautions and will never let Sun Quan take advantage of the situation again."

Jia Changsheng nodded and arranged for the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and reward the meritorious soldiers. After this fierce battle to defend the city, Jingkou City was still firmly in the hands of Jia Changsheng, and Sun Quan's plan to retake Jingkou was temporarily declared a failure.

Zhao Yun led the Western Route Army all the way forward. On the way to the western defense line of Jianye, he heard that there was a bandit group of about 3,000 people entrenched in the nearby mountains. Zhao Yun was quick-witted and immediately realized that this bandit group might be useful to him.

After discussing with his generals, Zhao Yun decided to go to the mountain stronghold where the bandits were entrenched. He brought only a few personal guards, dressed in civilian clothes, and came to the mountain stronghold without fear. The bandits guarding the stronghold saw someone coming and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into my stronghold!"

Zhao Yun stepped forward and said in a clear voice: "I am Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong, a subordinate of Jia Changsheng. I have come to talk to your village chief." The bandits were a little afraid of the name "Zhao Yun", but they still did not dare to let him go easily. One of the small leaders said: "Wait a moment, I will go and inform the village chief."

Soon, the village chief walked out of the mountain stronghold, surrounded by a group of bandits. The village chief was a burly man with a face full of flesh. He held a big knife in his hand and looked at Zhao Yun warily, saying, "Are you Zhao Yun? What do you want from me?"

Zhao Yun clasped his fists and saluted, saying calmly: "I have heard for a long time that you have occupied the mountains and become kings here. I believe that you are forced to do so because of life. Now the world is in chaos and the people are suffering. My master Jia Changsheng cares about the world and wants to save the people from the water and fire. I think you are all heroes. If you can abandon the dark and join the light, follow our army, and work together for the welfare of the people, wouldn’t it be a hundred times better than becoming a bandit here?" After hearing this, the village chief was moved, but still a little hesitant: "We are free and easy here, why should we listen to your master's orders? Not to mention whether this is your trap, even if you really invite us, how can we trust you?"

Zhao Yun saw that the leader of the stronghold was a little bit relentless, so he continued, "I, Zhao Yun, guarantee with my life that my lord has always been kind and righteous, and treats all who come to him equally. If you join our army, not only will you have a bright future, but you will also be able to do something practical for the people, which will make your life worthwhile. Besides, Sun Quan is now very powerful and is clearing out bandit troubles everywhere. You may not be able to stay here for long. Instead of sitting and waiting to die, why not join hands with us and create a great cause together."

The village chief pondered for a long time, and then discussed with several leaders around him in a low voice, and finally made up his mind: "Okay! General Zhao is so honest, we are willing to follow General Zhao and obey your orders."

Zhao Yun was overjoyed and said, "Don't worry, I will never treat you unfairly. My army is now fighting with Sun Quan and we urgently need your help. Are you familiar with the surrounding terrain?"

The village chief said, "We are very familiar with this area of ​​100 miles. General Zhao, please tell us what you want us to do."

Zhao Yun pointed to Jinheng City on the map and said, "This is Jinheng City, an important part of Sun Quan's defense system. I want to take this city, and I hope you can help me."

The village chief looked at the map and said, "The terrain of Jinheng City is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. But we know a few secret paths that can lead us to the back of the city. But how can we take down the city with the help of both inside and outside forces?"

Zhao Yun smiled and said, "I have a plan. You still pretend to be bandits and roam around Jinheng City, creating momentum and pretending to attack the city. Sun Quan's garrison will definitely strengthen their vigilance and focus their attention on you. I will lead the army to attack the city from the front when they are unprepared. When the two sides are fighting fiercely, you sneak in from the small road behind the city, open the city gate, and let my army in."

The bandits all praised the plan. So Zhao Yun agreed with the bandits on the time of action and the contact signal, then returned to the barracks to prepare for the siege.

On the appointed day, the three thousand bandits followed the plan and plundered around Jinheng City, deliberately creating chaos. When the commander of Jinheng City learned that the bandits were coming, he did not dare to be careless and immediately strengthened the city defense and sent heavy troops to defend it.

At this time, Zhao Yun led the Western Army and quickly arrived in front of Jinheng City. Wearing silver armor and holding a spear, Zhao Yun shouted loudly: "Soldiers, today is the day for us to take down Jinheng City! Follow me and charge!"

The morale of the Western Army was greatly boosted, and they rushed towards the city gate with shouts. The Sun Quan defenders on the city hurriedly fired arrows, and for a moment, arrows rained down. Zhao Yun commanded the soldiers to raise their shields, resist the arrows, and continue to advance. At the same time, he sent people to quickly set up siege ladders, and the soldiers began to climb the ladders to attack the city.

The commander of Jinheng City was fully engaged in commanding the defense, but he did not expect that there were dangers lurking behind him. While the two sides were fighting fiercely, the three thousand bandits successfully went around the city along a secret path. They took advantage of the defenders' unpreparedness, sneaked into the city, quickly eliminated the guards at the city gate, and opened the city gate.

Zhao Yun was overjoyed when he saw the city gates were wide open, and shouted, "Brothers, the city gates are open, charge into the city!" The Western Route Army poured into the city like a tide. The defenders of Jinheng City were attacked from all sides and immediately fell into chaos. They threw away their armor and fled in all directions.

After a fierce battle, Zhao Yun successfully captured Jinheng City. He comforted the people in the city, enforced strict military discipline, and strictly prohibited soldiers from harassing the people. Seeing Zhao Yun's strict military discipline, the people were grateful to them.

Zhao Yun's clever use of bandits and ingenious strategies to capture Jinheng City not only weakened Sun Quan's defenses, but also laid a solid foundation for Jia Changsheng's Western Route Army to further advance, writing a brilliant chapter in this war with Sun Quan.

When Jia Changsheng learned that Zhao Yun had successfully captured Jinheng City, he was overjoyed and immediately set out for Jinheng City. Along the way, he imagined the current scene of Jinheng City and praised Zhao Yun's wisdom and bravery.

When Jia Changsheng arrived at Jinheng City, Zhao Yun led a group of generals out of the city to greet him. Jia Changsheng looked at the heroic Zhao Yun and said with satisfaction: "Zilong, this time you used a clever strategy to subdue the bandits and captured Jinheng City in one fell swoop. It is really a great achievement! It is a great honor for our army to have a general like you."

Zhao Yun said modestly: "My lord, you are too kind. This is all the result of the bravery of the soldiers and the full assistance of the brothers who have surrendered. I just used a small trick."

Jia Changsheng smiled and shook his head, saying, "Zilong, don't be so modest. Without your wisdom and courage, how could we have come up with such a brilliant plan and how could we have made the bandits submit to us and willingly serve us. This action has fully demonstrated your military talent."

Later, Jia Changsheng entered the city accompanied by Zhao Yun and others. When the people in the city heard that Jia Changsheng was coming, they rushed to the streets to welcome him. Jia Changsheng looked at these enthusiastic people and felt a lot of emotion in his heart. He climbed a high platform and said loudly to the people: "Fellow villagers, now Jinheng City is under the control of our army, you don't have to worry anymore. I, Jia Changsheng, have always been concerned about the welfare of the people, and I will ensure that you live and work in peace in the future. In the past when Sun Quan was in power, if you had any difficulties, you can tell me, and I will definitely make a decision for you."

After hearing what Jia Changsheng said, the people cheered and shouted "General Jia is benevolent and righteous". Jia Changsheng ordered his men to open the granary to provide relief to the poor people in the city, and arranged for military doctors to treat the injured people. The people were grateful to Jia Changsheng and supported his army even more.

After pacifying the people, Jia Changsheng began to deal with the issue of prisoners. During the capture of Jinheng City, many of Sun Quan's soldiers were captured. Jia Changsheng gathered the prisoners in an open area and came to them in person.

Jia Changsheng looked at these captives with different expressions and said loudly: "Everyone! You are now our prisoners, and you may feel uneasy. But I, Jia Changsheng, always keep my word and will not embarrass you. Now, I will give you two choices. If you are willing to surrender to me, our army will definitely accept you. Our army has always been clear about rewards and punishments. As long as you are loyal and serve our army, you will have a chance to succeed in the future."

Jia Changsheng paused for a moment, observing the captives' reactions, and continued, "If you don't want to surrender, I won't force you. I will arrange for you to do some work within your ability, such as repairing the city and reclaiming wasteland. Through your own labor, you can not only exchange for food and shelter, but also contribute to the reconstruction of Jinheng City. When the war is over, if you want to go home, I will let you go."

(End of this chapter)