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

Chapter 207 Passing by
Man Chong met Xiahou Shang's gaze without fear:

"Can that be the same?"

"In the past, when the loyal lord was in Fancheng, although the flood was raging and the enemy was rampant, the late emperor's army was stationed at Mobei in the north, and Sun Quan was secretly plotting to capture Jiangling in the south. The number of reinforcements from the Central Plains was in the hundreds of thousands."

"On the other hand, Liu Bei was far away in Shu, and his influence was limited. At that time, Guan Yu was only showing his courage temporarily. What was there to fear?"

But what about today?

"Today, Liu Bei controls three provinces, has allied with the various Rong tribes in the west, pacified the Yi and Yue peoples in the south, allied with Sun Quan in the east, and is pressing down on Guanzhong in the north. His power is sufficient to support Guan Yu."

"After Guan Yu occupied Xiangfan, he managed the area for several years. People flocked to the south every month, and his troops increased year by year. He was no longer the same as before."

"As for the reinforcements from the Central Plains, compared to back then, six or seven out of ten went to Huainan. The remaining three or four out of ten are still guarding Luoyang and have not yet arrived."

"With the tides turning against each other, General, you still don't think about retreating? Do you really want to become the next General Xiahou to die in battle?"

"If that's the case, then Man Chong has nothing to say but can only praise the general for his heroic sacrifice!"

"While the general may have gained posthumous fame, he also gave away his soldiers to Guan Yu for nothing, thus increasing the enemy's strength."

By the end, Xiahou Shang's face had turned dejected:

"Then what is the purpose of my battle?"

"What has been the purpose of bestowing favors upon the people of Jingzhou all these years?"

"Is it just so that people will laugh at me in the future for fearing Guan Yu like a tiger?"

Man Chong sighed:
"General! The outcome of this battle is not determined by a single prefecture or county, but by the overall situation of the world!"

"Although the court has not issued an official decree, it has been said in private that the plan is to use Nanyang to hold off Guan Yu and create an opportunity for victory in Huainan."

"Although we have lost a great general, we have achieved a great victory in Huainan. This is enough to show that we have not failed the court!"

"As for Nanyang, we should defend it if we can, and if we can't, we should minimize losses and preserve our strength!"

Xiahou Shang looked lost and murmured, "Let me think it over."

Man Chong was immediately disappointed when he saw that he was hesitant to make a decision.

He finally saw it.

Xiahou Shang was a brave and fierce warrior, skilled in both literature and martial arts.

But he seemed to care more about his own selfish desires than about the bigger picture.

With that in mind, he decided not to wait for Xiahou Shang.

In Jingzhou, although Xiahou Shang, as the acting governor, was nominally the supreme military commander.

However, Xu Huang, as a veteran of the previous generation and a Right General with the title of Acting General, also had a great deal of influence.

Since Xiahou Shang is unable to make a decision, I will secretly collude with Xu Huang to force him to make a decision!
Without further ado, Man Chong offered some feigned words of comfort.

He turned around and immediately left the city to board a boat, heading straight for Xinye.

Since Guan Yu's Northern Expedition, Xu Huang has been stationed at the front line in Xinye City.

Today, most of the cities have been acquired by Guan Yu for various reasons.

But Xinye remained steadfast on the front lines.

It connects to Yuyang, Wancheng, and Bowang in the north via the Yushui River.

It became the only remaining lifeline for the Wei army in Nanyang and Jingzhou.

All of this was achieved by Xu Huang.

However, misfortunes never come singly.

Just as they reached the vicinity of Yuyang, a muffled thunderous sound came from the horizon.

The boatman suddenly stopped, and Man Chong almost fell over.

After finally regaining their footing, they learned that another large embankment had collapsed in the southern suburbs of Yuyang.

The lake water is flowing back into Yuyang City.

To avoid the flood, the boatmen had to temporarily move to the other side of the shore.

Watching the murky water gradually overflow into the low-lying areas on the opposite bank.

A thought suddenly popped into Man Chong's mind.

This is a type of water storage dam built for reclaiming paddy fields.

The Yingru area probably has far more than the Yushui line, right?
……

Looking at the paddy fields flooded by the weir, Deng Ai felt a strange sense of relief.

Even though he knew it was unkind of him to think that way.

But the reality is that when he returned to Xiangcheng to recruit soldiers this time, he encountered exceptionally fierce resistance.

Even though Xu Miao's wife and daughters donated their family fortune to recruit farmers, it was still a drop in the ocean.

The farmers simply couldn't bear to leave their nearly ripe rice!
As an agricultural official, Deng Ai could certainly understand.

He actually couldn't bear to do it.

Moreover, because he had read books, he knew the principle that "if the farming season is not missed, there will be more grain than can be eaten."

He actually felt a strong sense of guilt about these vast tracts of paddy fields that were about to be wasted.

But what can be done? Fortunate or unfortunate.

Just as the resistance of the settlers was at its fiercest, the nearby Mobei suddenly breached.

Furthermore, because a large number of able-bodied men had gone to Kunyang to defend the city, there were not enough people to repair and plug the leaks.

The gap widened and widened until it became uncontrollable.

Now everyone can stop worrying about it.

The only way to survive was to join the army.

So, after a delay of nearly ten days, and with the Han army reportedly having already captured Wuyang and about to turn their attention to Dingling,

Deng Ai finally managed to assemble a new army of about a thousand men, a mix of young and old.

Because the army was hastily assembled, marching and forming ranks were extremely difficult.

So they stopped and set up camp after traveling only ten miles or so.

Fortunately, Dingling is not far away.

At this pace, it will take another three or four days to reach Dingling.

The premise is that no other problems arise along the way.

Deng Ai was, after all, taking the field for the first time.

Theories are abundant.

The experience is insufficient.

After working for half the night, they barely managed to set up the camp.

For a battlefield newcomer who has not undergone systematic military training to perform like this, it is a testament to his exceptional talent.

However, at this time, he had no proper generals by his side, only a group of resentful laborers.

This kind of talent can only be appreciated in solitude.

After a long day of work, Deng Ai was exhausted and wished he could just collapse and sleep.

No sooner had they laid out a soft straw mat than a scout rushed in to report that countless Han cavalry had appeared on the opposite bank of the Ru River.

Deng Ai was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked what exactly "countless" meant.

But the scout was actually a young farmer who had just been recruited and had no military experience whatsoever.

Sometimes he says hundreds, sometimes he says thousands.

Then it was said that enemy cavalry were about to cross the river to attack, and that he should be sent to request reinforcements.

Deng Ai's head throbbed with pain as he listened, and he could only drag his weary body to the riverbank to investigate.

Upon seeing this, all sleepiness vanished instantly.

First, a Han cavalry force did indeed appear on the other side of the river.

There weren't thousands, but there were definitely several hundred.

Deng Ai recalled the military intelligence he had previously learned from Xu Miao and secretly wondered if it might be the cavalry of Wang Ping's troops who had previously been patrolling Zhinan.

If so, what does it mean that Wang Ping suddenly crossed the north bank of the Zhi River and went against the current to the Ru River?
To harass Xiangcheng in the rear?

Or is it the other side, Father City?

Or perhaps they would feign crossing the river to Xiangcheng, and then, when Kunyang's defenses were relaxed, launch a surprise attack.

In an instant, all sorts of possibilities flashed through Deng Ai's mind.

However, lacking sufficient intelligence, he could not draw any definitive conclusions other than making wild guesses.

The only certainty is that the other side must have noticed our group a long time ago.

After all, at the same time he was gazing at the opposite bank, several riders were watering their horses on the bank.

One of the knights, who was exceptionally strong, also stood on the shore, gazing into the distance.

Little did they know what the other party was plotting in this situation.
……

"Could that force have come from Xiangcheng?"

Jiang Wei pointed to the opposite bank of the river and turned to ask those around him.

Before anyone could respond, he already had his answer:

"This position, with this number of men, can only be a new reinforcement from Xiangcheng."

"It seems that the civilian settlements along the Ru River have been completely drained..."

"I wonder which city this force is going to reinforce?"

After a moment's thought, Jiang Wei decided to leave the problem to "Mi Zhaohan" in Ye County to consider.

As for him.

The main mission of this northward expedition was to investigate the movements of Cao Wei reinforcements in Luoyang and to carry out necessary raids on supply lines in order to slow down the speed at which enemy reinforcements could gather in Yingchuan.

Naturally, they wouldn't waste time and energy on these thousand-plus county soldiers.

After watering his horses, Jiang Wei returned to his camp to rest and recuperate.

(End of this chapter)