He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chen Zi held the notched ring-pommel sword, feeling somewhat incredulous.

Chen Zi had already prepared himself for a do-or-die situation. The area around him was packed with people; if he set fire to them, all the men he had would be wiped out.

For some unknown reason, Yuan Shu's army suddenly fell into chaos, with everyone looking behind them as if they were looking at something.

Seeing this, Chen Zi led his men straight into Yuan Shu's army. Upon seeing him, Yuan Shu's soldiers all cried out "Wow!" and ran away, actually managing to break through Chen Zi's defenses.

As soon as he rushed out, Chen Zi saw several people struggling to put a well-armored man onto a horse.

The thought that this was a high-ranking official made Chen Zi want to challenge him to a duel.

If I kill this person, how much will my compensation increase!

When the group saw Chen Zi approaching, they turned and ran. Chen Zi, of course, was not willing to give up on his hard-won credit, so he grabbed a few unclaimed horses and chased after the garrison commander.

They were desperately trying to escape while simultaneously pursuing each other.

The heated atmosphere inspired those around them. When Yuan Shu's soldiers saw their commander lying on his horse, his life hanging in the balance, and with Liu Bei's army hot on their heels, they all began to flee in panic.

The commotion spread rapidly, and everyone was fleeing. Seeing the army inside the city in such a state, the defenders on the city walls also began a tactical retreat.

Guan Yu was also surprised by the changes in Yuan Shu's army, but the quick-witted man immediately shouted, "Xuyi has fallen! Those who surrender will be spared!"

His soldiers immediately followed suit, shouting in unison:

"Xuyi has fallen! Those who surrender will be spared!"

"Xuyi has fallen! Those who surrender will be spared!"

While the slow-witted soldiers of Yuan Shu were still hesitating, the quick-thinking ones had already put down their weapons and were ready to eat.

The logistics base of the army that was conquering Liu Bei's western route was thus captured by Liu Bei's army.

Just then, the group of refugees who had just made a great contribution were preparing to retire under the leadership of their leader.

Each person secretly carried a bag of grain on their back and headed towards the wide-open north gate.

When the messenger bringing news of victory found Lu Wan and informed him that Xuyi had fallen and that General Guan had invited him into the city, Lu Wan was still unaware of what had happened and was eagerly anticipating the success of his scheme.

When they arrived, wow! Their clothes were slightly dirty! The entire army had suffered fewer than three hundred casualties, and they had captured more than a thousand prisoners.

Of all the troops, only the four hundred who launched the sneak attack suffered heavy losses; the rest fared relatively well. Even if the fighting on the city wall was intense, the battlefield was only so wide, so the casualties were not high.

"Mr. Lu is truly a brilliant strategist, no less so than Marquis Liu!" Chen Zi stepped forward and excitedly flattered Lu Wan.

Chen Zi is no longer as resentful as he was at the beginning. It turns out that Mr. Lu had laid a trap in the city, turning what was originally a doomed plan into a win-win situation for those who dare to take the risk.

When General Guan met him, he praised him for his bravery and skill in battle, and said that Chen Zi deserved the most credit for capturing Xuyi.

Four hundred men breached the city; now even someone like me can go down in history.

Thinking of this, Chen Zi felt both grateful and ashamed towards Lu Wan.

They had clearly handed him a great opportunity, but they were blind to his worth and thought Lu Wan wanted them to go to their deaths.

To think of a renowned scholar as just another mediocre person is an insult to Mr. Lu.

Say no more. From now on, whatever Mr. Lu wants to do, Chen Zi will do unconditionally.

loyalty!

Lu Wan was the last to arrive, and she praised him the most.

However, Lu Wan was not arrogant at all because of his great achievements. He simply listened calmly to everyone's report and figured out what happened between entering the city and its fall.

Everyone present praised Lu Wan for her composure and calmness, saying she had the demeanor of a famous general from ancient times.

However, Lu Wan was only thinking about when he had laid another ambush in the city. Could it be the same group of refugees from before?

Is it really possible to go to such lengths for a little bit of food? Hakimin, you bastard…

Lu Wan's understanding of the people of this era has deepened, and for some reason, Lu Wan always feels that she will meet these people again.

No longer considering other matters, Lu Wan focused her attention back on the battle summary.

In the Battle of Xuyi, over a thousand of Yuan Shu's three thousand defending soldiers were captured, while the rest either died or escaped. A large number of soldiers were taken away without participating in the battle.

The fall of Xuyi also meant that Ji Ling's 25,000 men were now surrounded. To escape this dead end, they had to either capture Huaiyin or launch a counterattack on Xuyi.

Guan Yu's side counted the spoils of war and found that they had obtained a thousand sets of armor, more than 100,000 arrows, and countless supplies of grain and provisions, enough to sustain Ji Ling's army for half a year.

Completely undamaged, it fell into Guan Yu's hands intact. When the statistical report was handed to Guan Yu, even he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

I never imagined I would be this rich one day!

However, when this news was reported to Lu Wan, he simply nodded slightly to indicate that he had heard it.

Guan Yu, who was secretly observing from the side, couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "So professional, so reliable. Truly a renowned scholar, unfazed even by a collapsing mountain. With such a capable strategist, Brother Guan has really struck gold."

However, Lu Wan was simply used to grand scenes and had witnessed modern industrial and agricultural production. Even if the current spoils were ten times greater, they would not have any impact on him.

Lu Wan considered their current situation: not only had she failed to deplete the private armies of the powerful clans, but she had also delivered a great achievement to them. Once the battle was over and rewards were distributed, the powerful clans' position in Liu Bei's army would surely be elevated once again.

This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On the one hand, the cooperation between Liu Bei and the powerful families of Xuzhou will reach a new peak; on the other hand, the powerful families have extended their reach into military power and are closer to controlling it.

I was planning to loosen Lao Liu's bindings before leaving, but I ended up causing trouble for him instead.

Now that things have come to this, let's deal with the impending counterattack first.

It is no exaggeration to say that their occupation of Xuyi is a direct hit to Yuan Shu's weak point. Going upstream along the Huai River, they can reach Shouchun via Shaopi, and going south, they can sever the connection between Guangling Commandery and Jiujiang Commandery.

This is like putting a hedgehog in Yuan Shu's crotch, something Yuan Shu's army would absolutely not tolerate.

Currently, there are only a little over two thousand people in the city, and some of them also need to be assigned to guard prisoners of war, so manpower is really stretched thin.

We won't discuss Yuan Shu's actions for now, but let's focus on Ji Ling and his group.

Lu Wan suddenly remembered a historical video she had seen before, which recorded a trick: write the news that "Xuyi has fallen" on a wooden tablet and throw it into the Huai River, so that the current would carry the news of Xuyi's fall to the lower reaches of the Huai River. As long as Yuan Shu's soldiers were fetching water, they might see the news.

Fu Youde, who was in charge of destroying the Ming Xia dynasty in Sichuan during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, used the same trick. As a person from a later era, Lu Wan had seen all kinds of conspiracies and tricks, so she could easily come up with such a dirty trick.

Lu Wan wasn't worried that the plan wouldn't succeed. The soldiers might not understand it, but what about the lower-ranking officers? Once the news got out, even if Ji Ling had extraordinary abilities, he wouldn't be able to control the army.

When Guan Yu and the others heard this plan, they could only secretly rejoice that Mr. Lu was on their side. If they had been in Ji Ling's position, they would probably have been helpless against this scheme.

Guan Yu, a future general renowned throughout China, also became curious about water. He was amazed that a stream could have so many uses, serving both as a means of passage and a means of transmitting messages to boost morale. It seemed he needed to put more effort into learning about naval warfare in the future.

At the same time, Guan Yu also sent a messenger to tell Liu Bei to prepare to begin torturing Ji Ling.