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

Chapter 353 General Guan's Pancake is Really Tempting

Bi Kui was truly astonished, staring blankly at the young general in front of him who was even younger and more handsome than he had imagined.

Guan Xing's name was legendary to him. These days, Guan Xing's name was being spread all over Jiangdong. Even the children in the fields had heard the slogan of "fighting the landlords and distributing the land." How could they, a group of well-informed bandits from Poyang Lake, not have heard of it?

Although Bi Kui had not yet received news of Han Dang and Xu Sheng's deaths, he knew that Guan Xing had captured Zhang Cheng twice, forcing Sun Quan to send Lu Xun on an eastern expedition. They dared to raise their banners in rebellion because the main force of the Wu army was drawn away by Guan Xing.

But now you're telling me that Guan Xing didn't fight Lu Xun on the front lines but instead ran to Yuzhang County and is standing right in front of me?

Everyone, including Bi Kui, was stunned, staring blankly at Guan Xing, unsure of what to say.

After a moment of stunned silence, Ning Huan pretended to be the first to react, feigning surprise as he bowed and said, "So it is General Guan in person. I was blind and did not recognize your true face. Please forgive me, General. May I ask why you summoned us here?"

He can lie without batting an eye, and he does it without even blushing.

Guan Xing smiled and said, "I know that you leaders are all busy with official duties. Since that's the case, let's not waste any more time and get straight to the point. I have only one purpose in inviting you all here, which is to join forces with you to wipe out Pan Zhang. I wonder what Second Leader Ning thinks?"

Ning Huan pretended to ponder for a moment and asked, "We also want to eliminate Pan Zhang, but the question is how to form an alliance?"

Guan Xing said, "It's very simple. Your rebel army will follow my orders. After the battle begins, you will surround Pan Zhang from the left and right flanks to prevent him from escaping. I will take on the main attack."

Ning Huan said, "Simply surrounding them is fine, but what benefits would we get?"

Guan Xing replied, "Second Master Ning should know that Lu Xun is still fighting our army in the corridor, so my target is Lu Xun, not Pan Zhang. After eliminating Pan Zhang, I will attack Yu Han's Zhuge Jin and try to enter the corridor to cut off Lu Xun's retreat. I don't have the time or energy to compete with you for the territory of Yuzhang."

"In other words, after we wipe out Pan Zhang, his head will be mine. I will take it back to my king to claim credit. The other spoils of war and the vast land of Poyang Lake will be yours. Then we will go our separate ways. I will go east to attack Yu Han to cut off Lu Xun's rear, and you will go west to attack Nanchang. After taking Nanchang, you can even go north along Huarong Road to attack Jiangling. I heard that Chief Peng has the idea of ​​becoming the new ruler of Jingzhou."

With Ning Huan around, no information about the bandit army could escape his notice, including Peng Qi's grand ambition to attack Nanchang and then seize Jiangling along Huarong Road.

Now that we know Peng Qi's ideals, there's no reason not to make empty promises, right?

Ning Huan's eyes lit up, but he hesitated and said, "I need to discuss this with my brothers."

After saying that, he turned around, pulled Bi Kui and the others aside and began to whisper among themselves. After a while, he stood up and bowed, saying, "General's proposal is very tempting. We are willing to cooperate and follow your orders while dealing with Pan Zhang."

The temptation was too great; even without Ning Huan, these bumpkin leaders couldn't resist.

First, Pan Zhang bribed his second-in-command to kill their leader. This was a blood feud that had to be avenged. Even without Guan Xing, they would still be at odds with Pan Zhang to the death.

Secondly, Guan Xing was very generous in the post-war distribution. All the spoils of war went to the bandit army, and he only wanted Pan Zhang's head to claim credit. That was very reasonable, wasn't it?

Another more important point is the strategy of defeating Pan Zhang. Pan Zhang is the only mobile force of Wu Army in Yuzhang territory, and also the biggest obstacle to the development of the bandit army. If Pan Zhang can be eliminated, the bandit army can lead the army straight to the poorly defended Nanchang City, as Peng Qi had planned, and then cross the river to the north to seize Jiangling. This is Peng Qi's ultimate goal.

Thinking of the scene of taking Jiangling, Bi Kui was so excited that he couldn't wait to go and fight Pan Zhang to the death.

The leaders were all engrossed in the grand promises Guan Xing had made, forgetting that allies are less trustworthy than enemies, and the higher the conditions offered by a partner, the less likely they are to be fulfilled after the war.

Seeing that Ning Huan had agreed on behalf of everyone, Guan Xing immediately beamed and said, "Then let's wish each other a pleasant cooperation in advance. You Chong, bring out the dishes, let's eat and chat, and discuss the specific plan to deal with Pan Zhang."

Drinking alcohol was prohibited during the war, so the leaders only ate vegetables but chatted with Guan Xing in a particularly pleasant manner. It was mainly Ning Huan and Guan Xing who were talking, and the other leaders, such as Bi Kui, couldn't get a word in edgewise and could only bury their heads in their food.

Half an hour later, after the discussion ended, Ning Huan got up to take his leave, and Guan Xing warmly saw him off at the camp before turning back.

With the battle urgent, Ning Huan, Bi Kui, and the others dared not delay and hurried toward the bandit camp. On the way, Ning Huan asked, "What do you think of General Guan's suggestion?"

Bi Kui immediately replied, "Of course, no problem. Even without General Guan, we would still deal with Pan Zhang. Besides, General Guan's terms are so generous, we have no reason not to cooperate."

Ning Huan, however, feigned concern and said, "It's precisely because the terms are so generous that I'm worried. What if he refuses to honor them after the war because we only cooperated and didn't contribute anything?"

Bi Kui said in surprise, "Impossible. General Guan Xing is the eldest son of General Guan. General Guan is a man of great integrity and keeps his word. His son wouldn't be such a dishonest person, would he?"

Ning Huan frowned and said, "We should always be wary of others. It's better to be safe than sorry. After all, we're not familiar with General Guan Xing."

Bi Kui asked anxiously, "Then what should we do?"

Ning Huan replied, "We can't just cooperate. We must make some contributions to match General Guan's promise. That way, General Guan will have nothing to say after the battle. He can go back and report to Commander Zong to select two thousand elite soldiers from the entire army to form an assault battalion. During the decisive battle, I will lead the assault battalion to the front to try to capture Pan Zhang. Then, we can use Pan Zhang as an exchange to force General Guan Xing to fulfill his promise."

Pan Zhang had 8,000 men, and Guan Xing alone might not be able to handle them. Therefore, the bandit army had to contribute as well. The bandit army of tens of thousands of men couldn't just be cooperating from the outside.

That's why Ning Huan used the pretense of considering the bandit army's interests to deceive them, preparing to transfer all the elite troops from the bandit army for the attack.

Bi Kui was indeed fooled, and immediately patted his chest and assured, "The strategist is right, I will listen to you."

Ning Huan patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction and led the other leaders to speed up again.

Meanwhile, Guan Xing stood outside the camp, watching Ning Huan and the others' retreating figures with a broad smile. With the cooperation of Peng Qi's bandit army, his chances of annihilating Pan Zhang were even greater.

It would be perfect if Li Tong caused some trouble at the crucial moment of the final battle.

Forget it, one shouldn't be too greedy, and one shouldn't have too much hope for Li Tong.

Thinking this, Guan Xing turned around to return to camp, but as soon as he entered the camp gate, he heard someone behind him call out, "General, wait!"

Guan Xing turned back and found a group of scouts running towards him, so he quickly stopped and waited.

The scout ran up to him, bowed, and said, "General, Pan Zhang has left Riyue Lake and is leading his army this way. But strangely, he has turned north and is currently moving northeast. However, the movement is not very obvious, giving the impression that he has unknowingly taken the wrong path."

Guan Xing simulated Pan Zhang's route in his mind and sneered, "He didn't go by mistake, he did it on purpose. It seems that Pan Zhang has realized that we are going to join forces with Peng Qi, so he is preparing to infiltrate between us and Peng Qi to cut off the connection between the two armies, and then turn around to attack us. He may have already sent someone to Yu Han to request Zhuge Jin to send troops to jointly besiege us."

Pan Zhang's marching route could not possibly have deviated. How so? If the starting point deviates by even one meter, the destination could be deviated from Shanhaiguan to Jiayuguan. Pan Zhang understood this principle and was familiar with the terrain of Yuzhang. He would never make such a basic mistake. He did it on purpose.

Moreover, Guan Xing was certain that after Pan Zhang cut off his connection with Peng Qi, he would turn around and attack him instead of Peng Qi. The reason was simple: if he attacked Peng Qi, Peng Qi would run away. If he chased after her, it would not only be a waste of his energy, but it might also free up his hands to attack Yu Han, thus putting Zhuge Jin in danger.

They wouldn't attack me, because my goal is to prevent Pan Zhang from retreating to Yuhan and joining forces with Zhuge Jin. If I run away, Pan Zhang will really run to Yuhan, so Pan Zhang will definitely attack me first and then turn around to deal with Peng Qi.

Thinking of this, Guan Xing ordered, "You all continue to keep an eye on Pan Zhang. Report any movements immediately. Deng Hong, continue to reinforce the camp to resist Pan Zhang's attack. Also, order Ning Huan to prepare to lead troops to press forward and surround Pan Zhang. This time, I want to wait for Pan Zhang to take the initiative to attack, then hold the camp to defend and counterattack, and then let Ning Huan surround him from the outside, giving Pan Zhang a central attack."