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

Before night had completely faded, smoke was already rising from the cooking fires of Yuan Shu's army.

Ji Ling received the news in the tent that Liu Bei's army was indeed not going to let them go, and was following them from a distance like wolves in the forest.

After processing all the grain into dry rations, Yuan Shu's army began to break camp and retreat.

Every soldier in Yuan's army felt heavy-hearted. They weren't fools; they all had a basic understanding of how bleak their future was.

Generals like Ji Ling were helpless; everyone's lives were hanging by a thread, and no amount of morale-boosting efforts would change anything.

We can only take it one step at a time.

Ji Ling's planned retreat route was to cross the Huai River, head northwest, cross the Si River, and eventually return to Yuan Shu's occupied territory.

There are three advantages to this:

First, there were no fortified cities blocking the way, so the troops could proceed directly without worrying about siege battles.

Secondly, the distance is shorter, only a few hundred miles, which is much better than the Guangling direction, which involves passing through many swamps along the way.

Thirdly, it can quickly distance itself from Liu Bei. Ji Ling needs time to cross the river, while Liu Bei is riding a horse, so his crossing time will only be longer than Ji Ling's.

Wu Jing's 7,000 troops were responsible for assisting in the river crossing and covering Ji Ling's rear. After Wu Jing's troops joined up with Ji Ling's, Ji Ling, taking advantage of his higher military rank, directly withdrew a large portion of Wu Jing's forces, leaving him with only this small force.

Wu Jing was naturally dissatisfied: "General, this will result in heavy losses for our army."

However, Ji Ling, being a member of the central army, naturally didn't care about the feelings of the miscellaneous troops: "General Wu, our lord first appointed you as the Prefect of Danyang, and then as the Prefect of Guangling. Isn't now the time for you to repay his kindness?"

Wu Jing dared not speak out against this; when Wen Tai was still alive, he would never have suffered such humiliation.

The battle plan was approved with the support of Ji Ling, Liang Gang, and Yue Jiu.

Wu Jing didn't know how he got back to his tent. He just felt a sense of panic. He had worked for Yuan Shu for half his life, but in the end, he couldn't escape this fate.

Wentai gave him Nanyang, which he had worked so hard to conquer, and Bofu helped him conquer cities and territories. He himself was also doing his duty for the Yuan family's rule.

Now they're surrounded, and they're not even taking him with them when they retreat.

As Yuan Shu's top general, Ji Ling's attitude was an extension of Yuan Shu's attitude.

Wu Jing now finally understands why Sun Ce insisted on leading his troops away back then. Wu Jing only regrets that he did not agree to go with him at the time.

Yuan Shu was a bastard who would serve people only when they were needed and then turn on them when they weren't.

Sun Ben panicked: "Uncle...General, what should we do? If we do as they say, the lives of our soldiers will be lost right before our eyes..."

"It's alright, get them across the shore first." A sinister smile suddenly appeared on Wu Jing's face. "Go and inform the men at headquarters, and have the rest of you go with Ji Ling."

You surnamed Ji, you can do what you say, but I can't do what you say.

"Hmph, it's quite normal for us people from Wu County to get lost because we're not familiar with the geography and waterways of Guangling."

--------

Liu Bei had originally planned to launch a surprise attack on Yuan Shu's army just as they were about to cross the river and defeat their rear guard. However, he suddenly discovered that the troops in front of him not only did not cross the river, but instead abandoned their boats and marched south.

What are you doing?

Liu Bei had fought battles his whole life and this was the first time he had ever seen such behavior. Is it now fashionable to do performance art on the battlefield?

Meanwhile, the troops bearing the banners with the characters "Wu" and "Sun" continued to advance south, completely ignoring the spying of Liu Bei's army.

Soon, Liu Bei found himself facing a set of choices:

Who are you chasing?

The troops in front of us should be led by Wu Jing. They are not many in number, and seem to be a good choice.

However, compared to Wu Jing, Ji Ling's troops were in even worse spirits. The previous night raid and the subsequent siege had left their soldiers physically and mentally exhausted.

Just as Liu Bei was pondering this, he suddenly remembered that Lu Wan had previously told him about Yuan Shu's army.

Yuan Shu's army appeared powerful, but in reality, it was a disorganized mess.

The army, which was formed by Yuan Shu and was completely under his command, was referred to by Lu Wan as the Central Army.

Those formed by other powerful clans, who obeyed Yuan Shu but retained a certain degree of independence, were called miscellaneous troops.

Yuan Shu and powerful clans formed alliances through marriage and other means, resulting in a very loose structure, typically consisting of a large military leader overseeing a group of smaller military leaders.

These problems were exacerbated by Yuan Shu's character flaws and personal abilities.

Yuan Shu was neither capable of establishing effective local governance nor of providing security for the people under his rule, so he could only rely on violent institutions and exchanges of benefits to maintain his rule.

Anyone with a normal mind knows how weak the foundation of such rule is. This abnormal state directly led to a large amount of power being transferred to local powerful families.

Because of the flaws in the regime, it had to rely on powerful local magnates and their private armies; in order to counterbalance these private armies, it had to maintain a large central army.

Lu Wan pointed out Yuan Shu's weakness: as long as a portion of Yuan Shu's core troops were eliminated, the remaining military leaders would help Liu Bei weaken Yuan Shu.

Old Liu fought military battles his whole life, but he had never fought a political battle.

There was nothing he could do. From the very beginning, no one taught him. The powerful families had the resources and knowledge to teach their sons, so it was just a matter of a few words from the father to the son. Liu Bei, on the other hand, had to rely on his own strength and experience.

Now that Lu Wan has helped him secure Xiapi and Xuyi, Liu Bei, after careful consideration, decided to take a gamble and bet that Lu Wan's prediction was correct.

"The entire army shall cross the river immediately and pursue Ji Ling, chasing him out of Xuzhou."

Ji Ling, on the other side, also noticed something was wrong: "What's going on? Why hasn't Wu Jing caught up yet?"

Le cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Could it be that they are currently engaged in battle with Liu Bei and haven't had time to retreat?"

"What does that have to do with us? Never mind him, let's speed things up." Liang Gang didn't care whether Wu Jing's troops were in danger: "Saving the soldiers is the most important thing."

Ji Ling agreed wholeheartedly and summoned a messenger: "Order all units to begin a forced march immediately, and stop dawdling."

Yuan Shu's army, a massive war machine consisting of tens of thousands of men, was now like a long snake, winding its way across the land of Xuzhou.

However, this long snaking formation gradually weakened during the march, as soldiers began to tire. Some left the ranks to sit on the ground and catch their breath, while others abandoned their heavy supplies and equipment to continue marching with ease. Some even deserted when their officers weren't looking!

As fewer and fewer people remained, those who were still there became increasingly distracted.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "The people from Xuzhou are catching up!"

The already chaotic formation immediately disintegrated. Some people started to abandon their supplies and run faster, just like those in front of them. Others, no longer wanting to run, sat down and waited for Liu Bei to capture them.

Ji Ling was shocked upon hearing this news: "Why did Liu Bei arrive so quickly?!"

"General, it must be Wu Jing who surrendered to Liu Bei and helped them cross the river!" the adjutant beside him replied.

Ji Ling turned to look at the soldiers who had completely lost their sense of organization and could only order, "Hurry! We'll be safe once we cross the Si River!"

It's impossible to retreat calmly now; Ji Ling only hopes to bring back some of the veterans.

Then we can recruit some more able-bodied men and have the veterans train them, which will expand our army to a reasonably capable fighting force.

Ji Ling ran with all his might, while Liu Bei chased after him with fierce determination.

Now is the best time to destroy Yuan's main force, and Liu Bei couldn't wait to fly to Ji Ling's side.

Enraged by the Yuan Shu soldiers who were sitting in the road blocking his way, Liu Bei shouted, "Get out of the way! I don't have time to capture you!"

The soldiers around him also shouted, "Make way! We don't have time to capture you!"

"Get out of the way! We don't have time to capture you!"

After saying this, Liu Bei led his troops past Yuan Shu's soldiers, leaving only a cloud of dust in their wake.

The soldiers of Yuan Shu's army on the road were all mesmerized. After a long while, a literate junior officer finally said, "This is what a true man should be like!"

--------

Lu Wan decided to play it safe. Xuyi was right under Yuan Shu's nose. If Yuan Shu was determined to take Xuyi, wouldn't he be doomed?

Lu Wan once heard a saying: "To be an official, one must know how to be mindful of danger, how to retreat, and how to adapt."

Now that a favorable situation has been created, why not consider retreating?

Lu Wan decided to disguise herself as Lu Paopao and run away before Yuan Shu's army arrived.

I insisted on coming to Xuyi for the sake of existence, and now I want to leave Xuyi for the sake of existence. Goals can change, but existence cannot. Existence is everything, and everything is for the sake of existence.

After telling Guan Yu his idea of ​​withdrawing from Xuyi and going to a safe area, he was actually able to.

Lu Wan was very surprised, but Chen Zi didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

General Guan may be a bit arrogant, but he still respects capable people. Lu Wan not only helped Liu Bei a lot, but also participated as an outsider.

Guan Yu knew his elder brother very well. During this period, his elder brother was so short-handed that he even wanted to borrow a cat's paw.

Finding a worthy person is not easy. A strategist like Lu Wan is one in a million. Everyone would love to hold him in their hands and protect him. When Lu Wan wanted to go on an expedition with the army, Liu Bei refused. In the end, he was persuaded by saying, "I came up with this plan. No one understands it better than me."

Now that the most difficult part is over, the next step is to get the person to safety immediately.

This is what he thought, and this is what he said: "Sir, you are a man of great strategic vision. You should know that a man of noble birth should not sit under a dangerous roof. I dare not keep you in this perilous place any longer."

This made Lu Wan a little embarrassed, but she didn't object, since she was genuinely afraid of dying.

Seeing Lu Wan's conflicted expression, Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said proudly, "Sir, you can leave with peace of mind. Yuan Shu is nothing but a nobody; I will take care of Xuyi."

"Then I shall accept your offer." Lu Wan accepted Guan Yu's kindness, but before leaving, she also suggested some ways to defend herself, as a way of thanking Guan Yu for his goodwill.

"Barricades can be set up in the shallows of the river. They can be concealed in peacetime and used to block ships from approaching the shore in wartime, thus hindering enemy ships from landing..."

Guan Yu was already prepared for a tough battle, but Lu Wan's words to him before she left gave him another jolt.

Wow, there are so many tricks to naval warfare! I've learned something new.

This further strengthened Guan Yu's determination to help Liu Bei recruit Lu Wan.

Having finally captured a useful strategist, we certainly can't let Lu Wan escape!

With this in mind, Guan Yu equipped Lu Wan with a super-luxurious guard, including three hundred veterans and more than ten warships captured when Xuyi was captured. Moreover, each veteran was equipped with captured armor and crossbows.

At the same time, Guan Yu also gave a strict order: no matter what, Lu Wan must be safely sent back to Xiapi.

Two hours later, Lu Wan had boarded the boat.

This time, Lu Wan finally had the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery.

The Si River and the Huai River meet here, swirling into a whirlpool beneath the city of Juling. The fleet's warships, like black water striders, glided close to the river's surface into the depths of the reeds. Oars churned up mud and sand, startling egrets into flight.

The city of Juling is now deserted. The garrison commander fled immediately after learning of the fall of Xuyi. Guan Yu was short-handed and did not go to take over, so it became a refuge for refugees.

Some refugees were fetching water by the river when they saw the huge fleet of boats. They threw down their carrying poles and buckets and ran away.

Lu Wan was also helpless. The army in this era was indeed terrifying to ordinary people. When they saw the army coming, running away was definitely the right thing to do.

Lu Wan suddenly lost interest in enjoying the scenery and went back to the cabin to rest for a while.

After an unknown amount of time, a series of loud footsteps jolted Lu Wan awake.

Before Lu Wanfa could even get into his morning grumpiness, Chen Zi, who was escorting him, said, "Sir, there's a large contingent of Yuan Shikai's troops on the riverbank!"