The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 387 Lu Xun's Doomsday (6)

Guan Xing led his troops to advance steadily through the corridor, and a few days later they successfully reached the entrance to the mountain pass where they had encircled and annihilated Xu Sheng that day.

Upon arriving here, Guan Xing felt a complex mix of emotions. He ordered the army to go ahead while he stood at the crossroads, looking into the mountains. At the same time, he used self-hypnosis to constantly remind himself that he had taken all ninety-nine steps and was only on the last hurdle. He had to be extremely careful and not fall into the same trap as Xu Sheng.

Standing at the crossroads, reminiscing about the past, Guan Xing composed himself and was about to continue forward when, in the instant he turned around, he saw several figures suddenly darting out from the opposite mountain. The leader was none other than Wu Yue, so he quickly stopped and waited.

Wu Yue walked through the advancing army and bowed before Guan Xing, saying, "General, it is so good to see you. Two important things have happened on General Shen's side that I need to report to you. First, Zhou Fang went to Da Mo alone to surrender to General Shen, but was refused. He then cut off a piece of his scalp, about the size of his palm, as a vow. It was a bloody and gruesome sight. However, General Shen always remembered your teachings and did not listen to Zhou Fang's nonsense. He threw him into prison directly."

Guan Xing said in astonishment, "They really won't give up until they're completely cornered. But why does Wu Jun keep resorting to such underhanded tricks? Is all they know besides the self-inflicted injury ruse? Do they really think they can get by with just one trick? What's the second one?"

Wu Yue replied, "Lü Dai has appeared, but he did not land at Zhang'an or Kuaiji Bay as we expected. Instead, he landed at Yongning, crossed Yandang Mountain, passed through the gap between Kuocang Mountain and Donggong Mountain, and headed to Lishui to launch a surprise attack on Wushang. Fortunately, the Yue people discovered Lü Dai's whereabouts while hunting in the mountains and reported it to the county government. Cheng Sima received the news in time and went into the mountains to intercept him. General Shen Yi also sent Hao Yu to provide support. At the same time, he reported to Prefect Xie Chong and asked Prefect Xie to order the navy to go south to recapture Yongning and cut off Lü Dai's retreat. General Shen Yi, please rest assured, he guarantees that Lü Dai will not gain any advantage."

Upon hearing this, Guan Xing turned back to look at the mountain pass where Xu Sheng was being surrounded and annihilated. He frowned and pondered, saying, "We are too far away to deal with Lü Dai's situation, so we can only leave it to Xie Chong and Cheng Li to handle. I believe in their abilities, so our primary task right now is still Lu Xun."

"After the failed self-inflicted injury ruse, Lu Xun was left with only one option: to break out. So we only need to consider one question: from which direction will Lu Xun break out? Da Mo is definitely not going to break out. Lu Xun has been attacking for more than ten days without success, and he has long lost his will to attack Da Mo. Therefore, he can only choose other directions, such as south, north, or west."

"Going south is impossible. To the south lies the Xianxia Ridge of the Wuyi Mountains, a strategically important and easily defensible location. Lu Xun couldn't even conquer Da Mo, so how could he possibly conquer the Xianxia Ridge?"

"Even if we manage to take it by a narrow margin, we won't be able to get through the narrow mountain path of Xianxia Ridge, which can only accommodate two people side by side. You have to understand that Lu Xun has more than 20,000 men. If two people are to pass side by side, how long would the column be? Besides, even if we manage to get through and enter Fujian, what will we feed them if we don't resupply them?"

"So the south can also be ruled out. All that's left for Lu Xun is the Huangwu Mountains in the north and me in the west. Lu Xun is very likely to attack me, but we can't rule out the possibility that he will attack the Huangwu Mountains or send a messenger away from the mountains to find outside help. Do you think he might go to Cao Ren?"

Lu Xun's search for Cao Ren is somewhat far-fetched, but it depends on the timing. Right now, Cao Ren is the closest person to Lu Xun, and Lu Xun, having exhausted all other options, will definitely try anything in desperation. For Lu Xun at this moment, is there any better lifeline than Cao Ren?

Guan Xing suddenly realized that Lu Xun was not so terrible. At the beginning of the war, he was intimidated by Lu Xun's historical reputation and thought that Lu Xun was invincible. Only after the battle started did he realize that Lu Xun was not much stronger than Zhang Cheng.

Looking back now, it was the two major battles of Yiling and Shiting that established Lu Xun's reputation. He won Yiling by using the strategy of attrition, which dragged on for more than a year, making Han Dang and Xu Sheng so anxious that they were almost rebelling.

The Battle of Shiting was won because Zhou Fang tricked Cao Xiu by cutting his hair; if Cao Xiu hadn't fallen for it, Lu Xun would have been the one to lose.

Besides these two major battles, what other notable achievements did Lu Xun have?

It seems not.

I was somewhat intimidated by Lu Xun, so I need to be cautious when necessary and bold when it's time to strike.

Wu Yue frowned and said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember something. Before we came, the scouts said they found traces of Wu troops in the mountains. There were only a dozen or so of them, but they were all carrying ropes and tools such as hammers and chisels. This Wu army was very quick and they avoided our scouts. They were probably messengers who were preparing to cross the mountains to ask for help, but I don't know who they were asking for help from."

All the roads in the Huangwu Mountains were blocked by Wu and Yue. Wu's messengers could only get out by climbing over cliffs, and to do so, they had to carry ropes and hammers.

Guan Xing pondered, "That makes sense. Lu Xun is very likely to ask Cao Ren for help. I can't say how many Cao Ren can do, but he can certainly send seven or eight thousand men into the mountains to capture our camps from the outside and establish contact with Lu Xun. However, Cao Ren is wandering around the Yangtze River, which is quite far from the Zhejiang-Jiangxi corridor. It will take him a lot of time to get here."

"What I mean is, is it possible for us to eliminate Lu Xun before Cao Ren's reinforcements arrive, just like we did with Zhuge Jin, and then lure Cao Ren's reinforcements into the corridor to annihilate them, thus cutting off Cao Ren's outstretched hand?"

Wu Yue: "..."

Lu Xun hasn't even dealt with him yet, and he's already eyeing Cao Ren?

General, isn't your vision a bit too far ahead?

Wu Yue excitedly said, "Absolutely! Anyway, we'll deal with Cao Ren after we take care of Lu Xun, so it's just a side job."

As the Han army achieved successive victories, Wu and Yue became more confident and no longer feared the Wei army as they had before.

Guan Xing made a decisive decision: "The Huangwu Mountain area is too large. I am afraid that your troops are insufficient and you will suffer losses. I will give you another 5,000 troops. You should immediately go into the mountains to strengthen the fortified camp and defense line. We must not give Lu Xun any opportunity to take advantage of us."

"Men, order the scouts to expand their search area and do their utmost to find out the whereabouts of Wu's army. I need to know Lu Xun's exact location. Order Deng Hong to lead five thousand men to advance faster and reach Yushan before nightfall to capture the city. I don't want to waste any more time on the siege."

"You Chong will lead two thousand men into the mountains to cut timber, set up camp here, build fortifications, and prepare to cover the army's retreat if things go wrong. The rest of you will keep a distance of ten miles from Deng Hong and advance quickly. Don't dawdle any longer."

As we all know, the larger the encirclement, the more troops are needed, and the higher the chance of being broken through by the enemy. Therefore, Guan Xing must quickly advance to shrink the encirclement and squeeze Lu Xun's living space as much as possible.

Wu Yue accepted the order and asked, "What should we say to General Shen Yi?"

Guan Xing said, "Lü Dai has only just arrived in Lishui and hasn't entered the Jinqu Basin yet. There are large mountains blocking the way between Lishui and Wushang, so we don't need too many troops. Hao Yu can provide support, but..."

"Forget it, I can't give orders without knowing the situation there in time. Tell Shen Yi that he can arrange the battle with Lü Dai himself without asking for instructions. Just let me know when he's done and keep in touch."

"Yes..." Wu Yue led five thousand soldiers into the mountains and left.

Upon receiving the order, Deng Hong and You Chong quickly took action, each fulfilling their duties. Only Liu Zan asked in astonishment, "General, is it necessary to have Captain You Chong set up camp here? This place is still far from Lu Xun."

Guan Xing said, "Let's keep it as a backup. It's best if we don't need it, but if we do, we won't be caught off guard. It's always good to be cautious, considering the possibility of failure before the possibility of victory."

Liu Zan: "..."

He finally understood why Guan Xing had won so many battles in a row. At the age of seventeen or eighteen, he was more cunning than people in their seventies or eighties, making it difficult for the enemy to attack him.

Lu Xun was incredibly unlucky to face him.