The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 152 A Powerful Enemy Emerges
"You Chu did not go to Chencang City as expected."

Two days later, he secretly followed You Chu's scouts back and reported their whereabouts.

Miwei was not surprised at all.

"Did you see clearly whether he continued east after passing Chencang, or turned north to Qianshui?"

The scout said to continue east.

Miwei then carefully checked some details.

Then he said to those around him, "Judging from this, Chencang City is currently vulnerable, and there may be an opportunity to take advantage of it."

Ma Dai asked, puzzled:
"Why does You Chu not go to Chencang mean the city is undefended? Couldn't he have gone to another city to deliver a message or request reinforcements?"

Before Mi Wei could speak, Meng Da had already said:

"Chencang is the closest place to here, and it was also the seat of the former Hanxing Prefectural Governor. Why go to Chu and seek something far away instead of something nearby?"

Even without considering these factors, Chencang remains an important town in Guanzhong.

"If the defenses are adequate, he should first send a message to Chencang so that he can send troops to annihilate us as soon as possible."

Ma Dai suddenly realized and said, "So, my elder brother deliberately lost to him that day?"

Miwei shook his head and said:
"There was no intention to do it. It doesn't matter whether I win or lose."

“I observe that You Chu is a man of integrity and loyalty, and cannot be swayed by a few words.”

"So even if I win, I'll find an excuse to send him away and have him 'scout the way' for us."

"Pretending to gamble is merely to lower their guard a little."

The generals were impressed by his words.

Take a break.

The group hurried along the path You Chu had taken to Chencang.

A day later, the entire army arrived outside Chencang City.

Fifteen outposts along the Wei River are now empty.

And most of them are only occupied by the elderly and the infirm.

Miwei ignored him and headed straight for the county town.

Upon arriving at the foot of Chencang City, one sees a large number of laborers carrying supplies towards the ferry crossing through the city gate.

Grain ships also traveled back and forth between the north and south banks.

The generals were overjoyed at the sight.

Only Mi Wei and Meng Da frowned.

They exchanged another glance, realizing that the other person had the same idea.

They remained silent and seized the opportunity to spur their horses forward and charge at the city gate.

They intended to seize some grain and then leave.

Unexpectedly, the laborers collapsed as soon as they charged, abandoning their carts and bundles and scrambling to escape into the city for their lives.

Not only did it block the city's defenders' route of attack, but it also destroyed the stag antlers that were originally used to defend against cavalry.

Miwei was able to take the grain at his leisure and also took away several dozen horses.

Then, under the helpless gaze of the defending soldiers, they strode away into the distance.

That night, the group hid in a valley.

We reviewed our findings and gathered intelligence.

The good news is that, if we save money, this harvest will be enough to last us ten days.

Besides, the supplies being transferred from Chencang today were not originally intended for Longyou, but were instead transported south to Sanguan.

Although their purpose was still unknown, it did not prevent Miwei and the others from making some guesses based on the information they had.

As early as when Liu Bei marched west, he had sent a letter to Zhang Fei ordering him to lead his army north to Wudu.

They then waited for an opportunity to take the old road out of Sanguan, in order to cooperate with Wei Yan in containing the Wei army in Guanzhong.

Clearly, Chencang is transferring troops towards Sanguan.

If it's true, then it's a mixed bag of news.

On the positive side, Zhang Fei and Wei Yan were very successful in containing the Wei army in Guanzhong.

At least until today, Guanzhong has not begun large-scale reinforcements to Longyou.

But the bad side is...

Because the Wei army has already gathered towards San Pass.

This means that these several hundred people will no longer be able to return to Shu via the Sanguan Ancient Road in the near future.

"If this road is blocked, then try the next one!"

Miwei didn't dwell on it much.

"Let's rest tonight and continue east tomorrow to find out where Wei Zhenbei is!"

"His troops set out earlier than Zhang's and should have already arrived in Weinan. If we can join forces with his troops, it will be safer than taking the old route!"

……

Just as Miwei was planning to return south.

You Chu rushed eastward along the Wei River.

They passed through Mei County, Wugong, and Meiyang in succession, but did not go to any of the cities, trying to shorten the journey as much as possible.

When they were hungry, they ate dry rations; when they were tired, they slept in the open fields, and continued their journey at dawn the next day. After traveling at this pace, they finally arrived near Huaili, the seat of Fufeng County, three days later.

However, he did not go directly into Huaili County.

Instead, they went to a newly built small town in the western suburbs.

The area is known locally as "West City" and is also called "Little Huai Li".

It was the new county seat of Fufeng, which was established by Yang Fu, the governor of Wudu, on the orders of Cao Cao, to relocate the Han and Di people from Longnan.

From this perspective.

Fufeng County had two governors at the same time.

Of course, now with You Chu included, there are three.

When the prefect met the prefect, there were no excessive formalities.

You Chu went straight to the point:
"I have long heard that Yang Yishan is upright, honest, and skilled in military strategy."

"Now the Shu bandits are roaming within the pass, disturbing the people. I urge Yishan to immediately send troops to suppress them!"

Yang Fu, also known as Yang Yishan, saw that You Chu's clothes were tattered and his shoes were torn, and his feet were covered in blood. He asked You Chu to sit down first.

Cai said:

"Although I am called the Prefect of Wudu, I am merely a foreigner living in a foreign land, with no power or strength."

"Why doesn't Zhongyun go and ask the local prefect of Fufeng for help, instead of coming to me for help?"

You Chu spoke frankly:
"Because Lord Yang was from Ji County, Tianshui, and had served as an official in Longyou, he certainly wouldn't want to see the Shu bandits wreaking havoc on his hometown!"

"Although the Prefect of Fufeng is willing to punish the thieves, he will not go all out."

"Once the bandits flee westward, they will stop at most when they reach the Chencang area!"

"I fear that the thief will see through this and exploit it, causing even greater harm!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Fu's expression changed:
"Judging from Zhongyun's words, that bandit general is quite courageous?"

You Chu solemnly said:
"I believe that if he does not die, the threat of the Shu bandits will inevitably reach Guanzhong and Luoyang sooner or later!"

"However, I am not talented or virtuous enough to offer my comments as a reference for Yishan."

"But Lord Zhang once told me that he and that bandit general were evenly matched!"

That wasn't what Zhang Ji originally meant.

But You Chu believes that since Zhang is here, he will only say this.

It might be even more outrageous.

Yang Fu couldn't help but exclaim softly:
“I heard about Mi Wei’s deeds last year, but I thought he was just an ordinary talented man from a prefecture.”

"Who would have thought he would be a national hero comparable to Zhang Derong?"

You Chu nodded heavily and then told the sad news that Zhang Ji had already passed away.

Yang Fu was stunned for a long time before finally exhaling and saying:
"That's fine."

"To tell you the truth, I received an order from Cao Zhenxi (Cao Zhen) yesterday, saying that the Champion General will cross the Wei River to the south to assist the Left General (Zhang He) in resisting Zhang Fei and Wei Yan."

"Champion General Yang Qiu, you know who he is, right?"

You Chu's eyes lit up upon hearing this; "Of course!"

"Yang Qiu was a valiant general from Guanzhong. In the past, he followed Han Sui and Ma Chao to advance on Tongguan. After being defeated, he surrendered to the late emperor."

“It is him!” Yang Fu said.

"Since we are both from Guanzhong, if I were to ask him for troops to relieve the troubles in Longyou, he would most likely agree."

"Even if I don't agree, it won't stop me from leading the county soldiers to fight the bandits in my hometown."

You Chu was overjoyed upon hearing this.

In fact, he didn't care whether Yang Qiu was willing to lend troops or not.

What he cared about was that Yang Fu personally came out of retirement!
This wise man from Longyou once defeated the powerful Ma Chao with his wisdom, forcing the latter to flee south to Zhang Lu and eventually to Shu, after which he faded into obscurity.

With him involved, the chances of capturing and killing Mi Wei have greatly increased!

With his mind made up, he recalled Yang Fu's earlier statement that Cao Zhen had mobilized troops to march south, and couldn't help but ask curiously:

"Before I went to Guanzhong, Cao Zhenxi and the other generals were still fighting against the bandit Zheng Gan of Fengyi and the Lushui Hu of Anding."

"Has the fact that they have divided their forces and marched south at this time meant they have already succeeded in defeating the rebels?"

Yang Fu's face darkened, and he sighed:
"At first, they were unstoppable, but halfway there Wei Yan attacked from Xiegu, and then they heard that Zhang Fei was heading north to Sanguan."

"General Xiahou Zilin of Anxi, seeing that Chang'an is in imminent danger, requests that Cao Zhen lead the southwestern troops to its aid."

"Cao Zhenxi originally wanted to refuse, but he couldn't resist Xiahou Anxi's repeated urgent letters to Luoyang, which led His Majesty to also send a letter inquiring about it!"

Xiahou Zilin was Xiahou Mao, the son of Xiahou Yuan.

He currently holds the official positions of General of Anxi and Commander-in-Chief of Guanzhong.

Although his rank and jurisdiction were below Cao Zhen's, he was still a general who held the imperial insignia and guarded a region.

Cao Zhen could not completely ignore his plea for help.

Not to mention that Chang'an was one of the five capitals of the Great Wei Dynasty, and could not be lost.

You Chu, holding a position of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), understood the intricacies of the situation.

For a moment, all I could do was sigh.

(End of this chapter)