Late Han Zhao Tang

Considering that Liu Bei was imprisoned in Jinling and Cao Cao took the opportunity to attack him, causing internal strife within the group, and with Guan Yu having many conflicts with him, Li Yan was finally persuaded by Jiang Gan to choose to join Cao Cao.

Of course, for the sake of saving face, Li Yan couldn't openly surrender!
The next day, Li Yan summoned his subordinates and, citing Cao Cao's kidnapping of Liu Bei, explained that in order to prevent Liu Bei's life from being in danger, they would accept Cao Cao's demands and await his orders.

Li Yan's decision to surrender was criticized by many. For example, Jiang Wan said that Guan Yu was leading the army ahead, so how could they agree to Cao Cao's envoy's demands? It would be better to wait a few days.

Li Yan, however, spoke with righteous indignation, saying that Guan Yu's refusal to let Liu Feng succeed him and his insistence on fighting Cao Cao put Liu Bei's life at risk. Perhaps Guan Yu had ulterior motives, so how could we trust him now?

Seeing that Li Yan suspected Guan Yu of harboring ulterior motives, the officials all took sides. Those who disliked Guan Yu and those who were loyal to Li Yan all agreed with Li Yan's view, believing that Guan Yu harbored ulterior motives and that his current command of troops to fight the war showed that he had no intention of saving Liu Bei.

Jiang Wan, Jian Yong, and a few civil officials knew that Guan Yu would not betray Liu Bei, and they kept persuading Li Yan to believe in Guan Yu. They argued that the civil and military officials should be on good terms to have any chance of welcoming Liu Bei back.

However, Jiang Wan and Jian Yong had little say and could not compare with the power network that Li Yan had painstakingly built over many years, so they were rudely rejected by Li Yan.

Li Yan's attitude of surrendering to Cao Cao was resolute. How could Jiang Wan, Jian Yong, and the others not know Li Yan's intentions? They pretended to be threatened by Cao Cao to protect Liu Bei's life, but in reality, seeing that the situation was unfavorable, they took advantage of the situation to side with Cao Cao.

Seeing that the situation was beyond saving, Jiang Wan was so angry that he shut himself in and refused to participate in Li Yan's actions; Jian Yong, fearing that he would be murdered by Li Yan, hurriedly fled to Guan Yu's army.

Two days later, Jian Yong went to Guan Yu's army and told Guan Yu about Li Yan's defection to Cao Cao.

"boom!"

Guan Yu slammed his fist on the table in anger and said, “Li Yan is a wicked man, and I advised my brother to abandon him long ago. But my brother prioritized the greater good and entrusted him with heavy responsibilities. Now, in this time of crisis, he has betrayed my brother and defected to the enemy. If I had known this would happen, I would have killed this man before we set out to prevent this internal strife!”

"Return and kill Li Yan!"

Zhang Fei was furious and said, "How can we save my brother if we don't eliminate the traitor within our own ranks?"

"Second Brother, quickly muster the troops! I will lead the vanguard and we will surely retake Gong'an City!"

With that, Zhang Fei started to walk out.

"General Yide!"

Jian Yong pulled Zhang Fei aside and said, "Cao Cao's army is stationed in Yiyang, and now Li Yan has defected to Cao Cao. Our army is isolated and without support. If we attack Gong'an, we will be attacked from both sides and I'm afraid it will be difficult to retake Gong'an."

Zhang Fei angrily said, "Are we just going to sit idly by and watch Li Yan get away with this? Besides, there are still my brother's old troops in Gong'an City. We might be able to take back the city!"

"Second Brother, why haven't you given the order yet!" Zhang Fei urged Guan Yu.

Guan Yu, his expression indignant, said, "The traitor within my own ranks is hateful. I will now write to Wu Ju, inviting him to join me in attacking Gong'an. If we can capture Gong'an first, we will still have a foundation to return to our brother."

Jian Yong, Guan Ping, and other civil and military officials looked on with heavy hearts as they watched the enraged generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

The situation is dire; they face Cao Cao's massive army in front and the traitor Li Yan behind. No matter what they choose, they are caught between enemies on both sides. However, as Guan Yu suggested, returning the army to retake Gong'an still offers a chance for maneuver.

"Father, now that we've captured Gong'an, what will become of Cao Cao's troops?"

Guan Ping hesitated for a moment and said, "Our army is in a bad situation and in a critical predicament. Should we ask the Tang people for help?"

"The Tang people are enemies of our army, no different from Cao Cao. Moreover, if we rashly ask them for help now, how can the Tang army easily believe us?" Guan Yu remained silent for a long time before saying, "Break camp and withdraw the troops tonight, and take back Gong'an first!"

The situation is dire, and Guan Yu has no time to worry about much else; he has no choice but to abandon Cao Cao for now. If Cao Cao leads his troops in pursuit, that will be a matter for later.

As for seeking help from the Tang people, Guan Yu had actually considered it. However, considering the recent Battle of Jiangling, Guan Yu didn't think the Tang people would believe his plea for help. Moreover, Guan Yu had his own pride; he still believed that recapture of Gong'an would change the course of the battle.

That night, Guan Yu broke camp and fled, taking a boat upstream towards Gong'an.

The next day, upon seeing Guan Yu withdraw his troops, Cao Cao learned from Li Yan's messenger that Gong'an had fallen. Overjoyed, he adopted Liu Ye's suggestion to hold back and advance slowly, letting Guan Yu suffer a setback at the gates of Gong'an first.

After two days of sailing against the current, Guan Yu's troops arrived at Gong'an and hurriedly disembarked.

The weather was clear, with gusts of north wind and turbulent river water, creating a desolate scene.

Guan Yu's troops advanced slowly, while a scout spurred his horse and galloped away.

Suddenly, Guan Yu and his men approached. The scout quickly reined in his horse, dismounted, and said, "General, Li Yan has implemented a scorched-earth policy, driving soldiers and civilians into the city. The city walls are now filled with soldiers' families, all trying to recruit soldiers for the campaign. Three of my colleagues, misled by Li Yan, abandoned their troops and defected to Gong'an!"

Guan Yu gritted his teeth and said, "Li Yan, that treacherous dog, is truly hateful! He actually resorted to a psychological tactic!"

The officers and soldiers, worried about their families, inquired about the situation from the scouts, who readily provided all the information they knew.

"Brother, what should we do?" Zhang Fei asked, looking at the soldiers who had almost lost their morale.

"Head to the police station first!"

Guan Yu spurred his horse and rode off quickly, followed by his generals and officers.

The army marched in great numbers, but on their way to Gong'an, many soldiers had no intention of serving Guan Yu and sought opportunities to desert.

A short while later, Guan Yu led his troops to the city of Gong'an. When he saw the city walls filled with women and children of officers and soldiers, he was furious.

Where is Li Zhengfang?

Guan Yu rode out alone, hurling insults: "You have received great kindness from my brother, yet you betray that kindness and defect to Cao Cao!" Li Yan leaned over the parapet and said: "Guan Yunchang, our lord is being held hostage by Cao Cao and is in imminent danger in Jinling. My submission to Cao Cao is a last resort, but you hold military power. If you don't fight Cao Cao, where will you place our lord?"

Seeing Li Yan slander him, Guan Yu became even more furious and said, "You lowly man, stop slandering me! Our lord has worked hard to establish this foundation; how can we give it up to others?"

Li Yan said loudly, "Our lord has a son, and as his subject, you should assist him. Yet you publicly insult our lord's son. What are your intentions?"

Guan Yu's face flushed red like a pig's liver, speechless after being silenced by Li Yan's words. After all, Liu Feng was Liu Bei's adopted son, and it was indeed wrong of him to have publicly refuted Liu Feng earlier.

"Dog thief!"

Before Guan Yu could retort, Li Yan gave an order, and the archers hidden among the women and children stepped forward and unleashed a hail of arrows at Guan Yu.

Seeing this, Guan Yu held his spear and maneuvered at the arrows, then retreated back into the army formation under the protection of his guards.

Then, the soldiers' families on the city wall waved and shouted, "Stop fighting! Come back quickly!"

"Tiger, are you alright?"

"Third Brother, shall we go home soon?"

Voices rose and fell from the city walls, and soldiers below craned their necks to look up, hoping to see if their families were on the city tower.

"Archery!"

Seeing that the soldiers were motivated, Zhang Fei ordered them to return fire. However, seeing that the city walls were full of women and children, the soldiers dared not shoot, fearing that their own family members might be among them.

"Archery!"

When Zhang Fei saw that his soldiers were disobeying his orders, he became furious and whipped them.

Left with no other option, the soldiers could only fire sparsely back, but none of their shots hit the city wall, which angered Zhang Fei so much that he repeatedly whipped the soldiers.

"Report!"

The scout arrived on horseback and dismounted to stand before Guan Yu.

"General, Liu Feng has led his troops in a defection and has suddenly arrived at the north bank by boat."

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu was furious and cursed, "You have unjustly accepted my brother's kindness, yet now you surrender to the Tang people."

Liu Feng's surrender to the Tang was out of necessity. Guan Yu cursed him as an adopted son and, angered by Li Yan's rebellion, took his anger out on him. Li Yan sent someone to persuade Liu Feng to turn against Guan Yu, citing Guan Yu's harshness as the reason. However, Liu Feng still cherished the bond between father and son and ultimately could not bear to betray Guan Yu.

However, Guan Yu's discrimination and harshness made it impossible for Liu Feng to stay. After much consideration, Liu Feng finally listened to his subordinates' advice, crossed the Yangtze River to the north, and sought refuge with the Tang people, hoping to avenge his father Liu Bei with their help.

While Guan Yu was enraged, the soldiers, under Li Yan's psychological warfare tactics, had no will to fight. Even when the officers reprimanded them, the soldiers, thinking of their families, dared not attack the city.

After lingering outside Gong'an City for a long time, Guan Yu had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat.

"The Public Security Bureau is strong, and Li Yan is treacherous!"

Jian Yong, looking exhausted, asked, "Where should we go to stay today?"

Looking at the rolling Yangtze River, Guan Yu sighed and said, "Cao Cao's army is behind us. We should head to Xiping first to seek refuge with Prefect Wu Ju and look for an opportunity to make a comeback!"

"go!"

Unable to capture the city of Gong'an and with nowhere for his troops to settle, Guan Yu had no choice but to head to Yiling to join Wu Ju.

As the soldiers boarded the ships one after another, a force suddenly emerged from Gong'an and rushed straight towards the soldiers on the shore.

The soldiers on the shore, worried about their families, abandoned their troops and fled towards Gong'an City when they saw other soldiers charging out. Guan Yu, who was now on the ship, was both angry and heartbroken to see so many soldiers willingly joining the enemy. In the end, he could only let out a long sigh.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Guan Yu led his soldiers away from the shore by boat.

After Liu Feng's defection and defection to Gong'an, Guan Yu's 20,000 troops were reduced to less than 10,000. Such severe losses without any actual fighting demonstrate the utter demoralization of Guan Yu's forces.
As Guan Yu led his army by boat to Yiling, a naval force suddenly appeared from an island in the Yangtze River, cutting him off in the middle. Their flags displayed the character "Cao," while another flag bore the character "Zhou." Therefore, judging from the flags, they were clearly officers under Cao Cao, and the commander was Zhou Yu.

Previously, when Guan Yu returned to Gong'an to retake it, Cao Cao adopted Liu Ye's strategy of slow and deliberate advance, not sending troops to pursue him, but instead dispatching Zhou Yu to an island in the upper reaches of the river. After all, Guan Yu's hasty return to Gong'an meant he couldn't possibly capture the city. Therefore, placing Zhou Yu upstream was intended to take advantage of Guan Yu's exhausted troops to launch an attack.

Caught off guard by Cao Cao's navy, Guan Yu's troops suffered a crushing defeat, unable to coordinate their attacks from both sides. Their ships scattered and fled in disarray. Among them, Guan Yu's ship was targeted by Zhou Yu, who surrounded and pursued it with a large number of Cao Cao's ships, determined to kill Guan Yu.

Guan Ping said, "Father, Cao Cao's ships are swift and our troops are exhausted. We cannot engage them in a prolonged battle now!"

Guan Yu sighed, "Jingzhou now belongs to Cao Cao. We cannot advance into Gong'an, and the enemy is pursuing us. The situation is hopeless!"

As he spoke, Guan Yu said sadly, "I have failed my elder brother and failed to protect our legacy."

Guan Ping said, "Jiangling is north of the river. If we go there now, we can discuss our grand strategy again. Besides, my uncle is imprisoned in Jinling. If Father can use the Tang people's strength to destroy the southeast, we may be able to see my uncle again!"

Guan Yu sighed deeply and remained silent, offering Guan Ping only a silent reply. (End of Chapter)