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

Chapter 57: A battle of wits, Liu Feng and Lu Meng each use their own strategies
Maicheng is located at the confluence of the Ju River and the Zhang River, about a hundred miles away from Jiangling.

Although the city is small, its geographical location is crucial.

After Zhao Lei arrived in Maicheng, he divided his troops to seize important military facilities such as the Jinkou and the ferry bridge. He also dug deep trenches, deployed deer horns, and built arrow towers outside the city.

As a pioneer.

Attacking cities and strongholds is not the only task, making adequate preparations for the arrival of subsequent troops is also the core.

Just as Zhao Lei was actively preparing, someone reported that Liu Feng in Linju had led his troops ten miles away.

Zhao Lei was surprised: "Vice-General Liu came so quickly!"

When Zhao Lei withdrew his troops from Fancheng, he knew that Liu Feng would come, but he did not expect that Liu Feng would come so soon.

Although Guan Yu had always been dismissive of Liu Feng in the past, this time Guan Yu's family was rescued by Liu Feng's soldiers and Liu Feng personally led his troops to help Guan Yu capture Jiangling.

As one of Guan Yu's most loyal generals, Zhao Lei's attitude towards Liu Feng naturally changed.

Think for a moment.

Zhao Lei took several riders and went out of the city in person to meet Liu Feng.

Halfway through the journey.

Zhao Lei saw Liu Feng's big banner from afar, so he stopped at the intersection and waited.

Upon learning that Zhao Lei was waiting to greet him at the front, Liu Feng also went from the central army to the front army to greet Zhao Lei.

Liu Feng had met Zhao Lei before he entered Sichuan.

However, at that time, Zhao Lei was just an ordinary and honest personal soldier beside Guan Yu.

Now, several years have passed, and Zhao Lei has accumulated military merits and has been promoted to the commander-in-chief of an army.

After the greetings, Liu Feng asked Guan Yu directly about his military deployment.

Zhao Lei did not hide it and said, "Your Majesty ordered me to lead 5,000 infantry and cavalry as the vanguard to return first and seize Maicheng and Zuoyoujinkou."

"Also order the Admiral Su Fei to lead 10,000 naval forces to return to Jiangling via Jingcheng by water, and allow Admiral Su the power to act according to circumstances."

"In addition, the Lord Commander also ordered the Major General to lead more than 50 officers and 10,000 cavalry and infantry to the three counties of Shangyong."

Hearing that Guan Ping had led 10,000 men to the three counties of Shangyong, Liu Feng immediately understood Guan Yu's intention and asked, "Your Excellency, if you withdraw your troops, how will Cao Ren, Xu Huang and other troops in Fancheng react?"

Zhao Lei thought for a moment and said, "I left early, so I don't know the specific reaction. But the night before the withdrawal, Wei General Xu Huang came to the camp alone to practice for you and slept in the same tent with you. You even told your subordinates that Xu Huang was an old friend."

Liu Feng could not help but be delighted: "Xu Huang has entered the camp alone, my plan has worked!"

Zhao Lei looked at Liu Feng in confusion: "I wonder what the plan Deputy General Liu is talking about is?"

Liu Feng smiled and said, "I have written to you, Your Excellency, suggesting that you write to Xu Huang, hoping to use Cao Cao to intervene in the situation in Jingzhou. If this goes well, Cao Cao may send his generals to attack Sun Quan's Ruxukou and threaten Jianye."

"Xu Huang entered the camp alone, probably to express his stance to you, my Lord."

"Your Excellency has ordered Guan Tanzhi to lead 10,000 cavalry and infantry into the three counties of Shangyong. This way, I don't have to worry about the safety of the three counties of Shangyong, and I can transfer more troops to Maicheng."

Zhao Lei suddenly realized: "So that's it. Cao Cao and Sun Quan fought many times at Ruxukou, but failed to achieve their goal. Now that he sees Sun Quan's army entering Jingzhou, he will not miss the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Ruxukou."

Liu Feng added: "That being said, it is not certain whether Cao Cao will attack Ruxukou. Before that, I still need to compete with Sun Quan. I will write a letter immediately. Please ask the governor of Zhao to send someone to find you to deliver the letter for me."

Zhao Lei did not hesitate.

The situation is now critical, and Zhao Lei dare not hesitate.

After receiving Liu Feng's letter, Zhao Lei immediately selected two people from his left and right cavalry to quickly deliver the letter to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng also ordered the military marquis Fang Yue to quickly return to the fortifications in Fangling and the twelve strongholds in Jingshan to mobilize troops.

When Liu Feng came to Maicheng this time, he only brought soldiers from Hanzhong. The soldiers from Li Fu, Deng Xian and others in Fangling fortifications and the Zigui soldiers from the twelve strongholds in Jingshan were not mobilized.

The Zigui troops in the fortifications of Fangling were there to defend Fangling, and the Zigui troops in the twelve strongholds of Jingshan were there to help Guan Yu escape. Now the situation has changed.

Guan Yu sent Guan Ping to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry into the three counties of Shangyong, so Liu Feng no longer had to worry about the loss of the three counties of Shangyong; Xu Huang met Guan Yu alone, which meant that Cao Cao might interfere with the situation in Jingzhou, and Guan Yu no longer had only the option of "escape".

It would not be suitable for the current situation to place troops in the fortifications of Fangling and the twelve strongholds of Jingshan.

It is not possible to change the world.

Battlefield response should be flexible and not rigid.

The temporary decision to write another letter to Guan Yu was also Liu Feng's response based on the changes in the current situation.

Liu Feng did not tell Zhao Lei the specific content of the letter.

The fewer people who know military secrets, the better.

not to mention.

Whether it can be implemented or not can only be decided after Guan Yu sees the letter.

Zhao Lei was tactful and did not ask too many questions. He only exchanged with Liu Feng the information that they both knew and could tell each other in order to discuss the next battle deployment.

The news of Liu Feng's arrival in Maicheng was soon known to the Wu soldiers' spies in Jiangling City.

Upon hearing the news, Sun Quan quickly summoned all his generals to discuss the matter: "The people in Jiangling are not loyal to him. Boyan is in Zigui and Meng Da is resisting. It is difficult to surrender. Guan Yu has also called on Liu Feng to send troops. Their momentum is fierce. I am deeply worried."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

Although Sun Quan's tone was calm, his slightly trembling hands revealed his inner anxiety.

In the entire plan to seize Jingzhou, capturing Jiangling was the first step, capturing Zigui was the second step, and confronting Guan Yu was the third step.

By capturing Jiangling, the families of Guan Yu's soldiers could be taken as hostages, and by capturing Zigui, reinforcements from Xichuan could be blocked.

With no morale inside and no reinforcements outside, this two-pronged approach was enough to undermine Guan Yu's military morale.

In this way, Guan Yu can be defeated at the lowest cost.

But now.

Before Sun Quan captured Zigui, Guan Yu had already returned.

Cao Cao deliberately leaked the information that Sun Quan was going to seize Nanjun to Guan Yu, making Sun Quan more worried about the future situation.

Although Sun Quan was also taking advantage of Cao Cao's misfortune to use Cao Cao to achieve his plan of seizing Jingzhou, it was obvious that Sun Quan was now outmaneuvered by Cao Cao.

If we fail to capture Zigui before Guan Yu returns, the success or failure of the plan to capture Jing will be unpredictable.

"Cough, cough, cough."

The color on Lu Meng's face was paler than usual, and he sometimes coughed up blood.

Sun Quan felt even more anxious as he looked at Lu Meng, who was struggling to hold on to his sick body.

Now is the critical period to capture Jing. If Lu Meng can't hold on and dies, it will have a serious impact on the morale of the army.

Sun Quan could not help but console him, "Ziming, why don't you go back and rest first, and I will discuss the matter with everyone else."

Lu Meng shook his head gently: "Thanks to your concern, I will be fine. Zigui is a major city, easy to defend but difficult to attack, so it is normal for Boyan to spend some time."

"Although Pan Jun has not surrendered, he does not hate the Supreme. The Supreme only needs to inquire about Pan Jun every day. One day, he will be persuaded to surrender."

"As for Guan Yu's return and Liu Feng's sending troops to help, Your Majesty does not need to worry. Jiangling City was built by Guan Yu. The city is high and the water is deep, making it extremely difficult to break through."

"So I guess Guan Yu would not dare to attack the city directly, but would send an envoy to ask, hoping to negotiate with the Supreme. As long as Guan Yu dares to send an envoy to Jiangling City, I will have a plan to defeat Guan Yu."

(End of this chapter)