Three Kingdoms: I, Liu Feng, do not want to die

Chapter 53: Gratitude and Friendship, Guan Yu Leads Cao Cao into the Game
Before Guan Ping could finish, Guan Yu interrupted him and said, "Tanzhi, you are already over thirty years old. When I was your age, you could go fishing in the river."

"Don't believe Zilong's words, 'A real man only worries about not having a wife, not fame.' When the matter in Jingzhou is settled, you should go back to Chengdu and marry Zilong's daughter."

"Don't worry about me. I'm not going back to Jiangling City to die. Although I've had more defeats than victories in my life, I won't give up easily when I encounter a crisis."

"But man proposes, God disposes. I am not sure whether I can defeat Lü Meng and recapture Jiangling. If there comes a day when I am exhausted, you can continue my ambition and help your brother and Adou to support the Han Dynasty."

"You are my eldest son, you cannot behave like a daughter."

Despite Liu Feng's intervention and advice, Guan Yu was not sure he could recapture Jiangling City.

Guan Yu was very clear about how difficult it was to capture Jiangling City.

Especially the current Jiangling City, which was expanded under the supervision of Guan Yu.

There are only two ways to break into a city: there is an insider in the city who breaks the city gates and there is a shortage of food in the city.

In the past, Cao Ren was forced to abandon the city because he was attacked by Liu Bei and Zhou Yu for a year, resulting in food shortage in the city.

Given the current situation.

Although it seemed possible that the city was opened by internal forces and there was a shortage of food in the city, given Lu Meng's wisdom and Sun Quan's obsession with Jingzhou, they would certainly be on high alert.

Guan Yu’s biggest disadvantage was that he only had two months’ worth of food and fodder!
Even if 10,000 soldiers were sent to the three counties of Shangyong, the remaining food and grass would not last more than three months!

If Guan Yu's army fails to recapture Jiangling or find supplies before the food and grass are exhausted, it will collapse without a fight due to lack of food.

In this regard.

Guan Yu, who had been commanding troops for many years, knew this very well.

When he was in Xuzhou in the past, Guan Yu witnessed with his own eyes the army's defeat due to lack of food. In the end, if the Mi brothers had not used up all their wealth to support Liu Bei, there would be no Liu Bei today.

It is also for this reason that even though Guan Yu was dissatisfied with Mi Fang, he still believed that Mi Fang would defend Jiangling City.

This uncertain future forced Guan Yu to prepare in advance.

Coincidentally.

Liu Feng's plan to move his troops to Jingshan to help Guan Yu and to have some soldiers go to Shangyong Three Counties for a rotation gave Guan Yu the opportunity to keep Guan Ping.

Publicly speaking, Guan Yu wanted to leave for Liu Bei a general who understood the terrain of Jingzhou and had led troops for many years.

Personally, Guan Yu wanted to protect his eldest son, who had been separated from him for many years, from being killed outside the city of Jiangling.

Both publicly and privately, Guan Yu had high hopes for Guan Ping, so he did not want Guan Ping to follow him back to Jiangling to take risks.

Although Guan Ping was very reluctant and unwilling, he also knew that if he did not go to Shangyong Three Counties, it would not only ruin Guan Yu's deployment but would also be unfilial.

a long time.

Guan Ping gritted his teeth and agreed with tears in his eyes: "I understand what you mean, father. I will definitely defend the three counties of Shangyong."

"If things don't go well, father, don't force it. You must know that victory and defeat are common in the military. Don't follow the example of King Xiang because of a temporary failure."

Guan Yu stroked his beard and chuckled: "Just go and guard the three counties of Shangyong with peace of mind. Only if you guard the three counties of Shangyong, I will feel more at ease."

Looking at Guan Ping's departing back, Guan Yu couldn't help but sigh.

Guan Ping was sent to the three counties of Shangyong, and I don’t know if I will have the chance to see him again.

After calming down, Guan Yu called the guard general Li Ping and said, "Liu Gongzhong ordered you to come and help me. Does he have any secret orders for you?"

Since Li Ping's arrival, his combat performance has always been mediocre. He is neither greedy for merit nor reckless, and is very cautious.

Guan Yu initially thought that Li Ping was not brave enough because of his ordinary ability. Now, thinking about Liu Feng's deployment, Guan Yu guessed that Li Ping must have other military duties. Knowing that Jiangling had been taken by the Eastern Wu, Li Ping no longer concealed it and said, "My lord, the military duty assigned to me by the deputy general is not to help you attack Fancheng, but to preserve the military strength and protect you."

"The deputy general guessed that if Jiangling was lost, the wives and children of the generals, officials and soldiers in the Junhou army would be controlled, and tens of thousands of troops would be scattered in an instant."

"At that time, my thousand men will be the key to protecting you and your escape."

Although he had guessed it long ago, when he heard Li Ping's true military affairs, Guan Yu could not help but feel dissatisfied: "Just losing Jiangling City can make my tens of thousands of troops collapse in an instant. Liu Gongzhong underestimated me too much."

Li Ping kept silent and did not dare to respond to Guan Yu's words.

There is no way to respond to this!

You can't just say: My lord, I didn't underestimate you, it was the deputy general who said that your army would really be defeated.

If that's the case, Li Ping might as well find a crooked tree and hang a piece of white cloth on the southeast branch.

Guan Yu did not embarrass Li Ping and said, "Forget it. I wanted you to follow Tan Zhi back to Shangyong, but since you have military duties with Liu Gongzhong, you should come back to Jiangling with me."

After letting Li Ping leave, Guan Yu picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Xu Huang.

Although Guan Yu was beaten by Xu Huang, he did not hate Xu Huang.

When serving each master, one cannot show favoritism.

Guan Yu accepted Liu Feng's proposal.

On the surface, the letter was written to Xu Huang, but in fact it was conveying a message to Cao Cao through Xu Huang.

If translated into plain language, it means:
[I want to go back and fight Sun Quan. But now I have lost Jiangling, and I may not be able to defeat Sun Quan if I go back now. If I can't defeat Sun Quan, I can only retreat to Xichuan.

If you don't want to sit back and watch Sun Quan and his family occupy Jingzhou alone, then send someone to Ruxukou to stir up trouble and create some opportunities for me.

I know you will be surprised that Jiangling City was lost so quickly. To be honest, I am also surprised, otherwise I would not have conveyed the message to you through Xu Gongming.

If you don't want to send people to Ruxukou to cause trouble, that's fine. After I retreat back to Xichuan, I will only have the option of taking the Qinchuan Northern Expedition.

When Sun Quan saw that I was going to Qinchuan to march north, given his rat-like temper, he would definitely send envoys to rebuild the alliance and promise to go to Xiangfan to help in the northern expedition and return the civil and military officials and their families, etc. For the sake of the overall situation, my brother would definitely not refuse.

I have also seen your son Cao Pi. He is just an average-looking man and is far from being as wise and brave as you are.

I have heard that the only heroes in the world are Cao and Liu.

But if Sun Quan were to plot against the only two heroes of the time, the word "hero" would become a joke.

Having said that, you can decide for yourself. 】

As Guan Yu, he could not write such a letter directly to Cao Cao.

And by using Xu Huang's mouth to convey the message to Cao Cao, it would be like Xu Huang offering advice to Cao Cao, which would not only allow Xu Huang to gain merit, but also allow Cao Cao to see the current situation in Jingzhou clearly.

Guan Yu also agreed with Liu Feng's judgment.

For Cao Cao, it would be disadvantageous whether Liu Bei or Sun Quan occupied Jingzhou alone. Only when Liu Bei and Sun Quan fought to a standstill in the south would it be more in line with Cao Cao's interests.

After writing the letter, Guan Yu sent his confidant Dong Hui as the messenger. After giving Dong Hui careful instructions, he asked him to cross the river and deliver the letter to Xu Huang personally.

Guan Yu and Xu Huang's camps were separated by only a river.

Soon Dong Hui reached the other side by boat and arrived at the gate of Xu Huang's camp.

(End of this chapter)