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

Chapter 366 The Eastern Wu Produces Ruthless People

The battlefield is ever-changing, with advantages and disadvantages shifting constantly. Therefore, it is essential to remain calm, especially in dangerous situations. Do not relax when you have the upper hand, and do not be discouraged when you are at a disadvantage.

Zhuge Jin remained calm and, after careful consideration, was surprised to find that Guan Xing's actions in rushing towards Yu Han were remarkably similar to Xu Sheng's actions infiltrating Yushan that day.

In this way, he would become like Shen Yi, the Han army general who was blocked in the rear by Xu Sheng that day. He could do the same as Shen Yi did that day: first wipe out the bandit army supporting Guan Xing, and then turn around to deal with Guan Xing.

Sure enough, tactics are just a series of variations, but they all follow the same basic principles, always the same familiar formula and routine.

Nevertheless, Zhuge Jin still lacked confidence, because his forces were too small, while the bandits outnumbered him five to one. It was almost impossible to annihilate the bandits quickly. He could only inflict pain on them first to deter them from pursuing recklessly, thereby buying himself some time to deal with Guan Xing.

Furthermore, Xu Sheng was in the corridor that day, and once defeated, he had nowhere to escape. Guan Xing, on the other hand, was on the plain outside Yuhan City. With his limited forces, it was impossible for him to encircle and annihilate Guan Xing. He could only hope to drive him back so that he could enter Yuhan City smoothly.

Thinking this, Zhuge Jin instructed again: "Zhengming, Guan Xing is determined to stop me from entering the city, so after you return to Yuhan, secretly hide a batch of grain in Luoxia Mountain in the southeast. With this batch of grain, I can confront Guan Xing outside the city, understand?"

Liu Zan shook his head and said, "General, I should leave you to go back. Firstly, you are more useful than me. Secondly, I was injured while fighting the Yellow Turbans and my legs are not good enough to run fast. It would be a small matter if Guan Xing intercepts me on the way back to the city, but it would be troublesome if it delays your deployment. So you should go back."

"Don't worry, General, I know what to do and won't let the bandits gain any advantage."

Zhuge Jin stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement. Although he understood Liu Zan's character and knew that Liu Zan would not make the mistake of underestimating the enemy and being reckless like Xu Sheng, he still couldn't help but remind him when the time came: "Remember, even if the battle is not going well, don't race against Guan Xing because you are worried about Yu Han. You can't outrun him. If you want to win, you must do the opposite and retreat slowly to conserve your strength. That way, when you encounter Guan Xing, you will have the strength to fight or retreat."

"Besides, we don't have much food, and we may not be able to hold out until Yuhan. If we run out of food, we should rob the nearby villagers. Remember, just rob the food, don't kill anyone. We can't incite any more resentment among the people."

They only robbed grain but didn't kill anyone?

is it possible?

When it really comes down to robbery, how many officers and soldiers who are just playing the role of bandits can hold their ground?

Liu Zan nodded and said, "General, rest assured, I know what's important. But after you return to the city, don't forget to put the grain in the place you just mentioned."

Zhuge Jin nodded to indicate that he understood. Knowing that time was of the essence, he decided to leave immediately on his two warhorses and head towards Yu Han at top speed.

He returned alone without even his personal guards. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't. The army only had him and Liu Zan's two warhorses. How could his personal guards catch up with him without horses?

Watching Zhuge Jin leave, Liu Zan immediately turned around and ordered, "Send out all the scouts and have them do their best to find out information about the bandits. I need to know the bandits' troop strength, location, and the details of their commander, the more detailed the better."

"Furthermore, since Guan Xing has gone to Yu Han, there's no need for us to take the Gongbei Road anymore. Let's turn around and head back to the main road immediately, and wipe out the bandit army that is pursuing us along the main road first."

Liu Zan did not know the bandit army's troop deployment or pursuit direction, but he knew even with his own brain that the bandit army would definitely block the official road to prevent him from escaping north. Since that was the case, he would first wipe out the bandit army on the official road.

Although the Wu army had never won against the Han army, they had never lost to the Yue tribes. How dare these small Yue bandits pursue them? They were simply courting death.

As for the bandits in other directions and Guan Xing who ran ahead of them, they were not afraid for the time being because there were scouts watching them. The reason why the scouts sent to Pan Zhang's camp were wiped out was because no one expected Pan Zhang to be defeated so quickly. They were caught off guard by the Han army scouts. Now that they were prepared, even if the Wu army scouts were not as strong as the Han army, not a single one of them would not return.

With this in mind, Liu Zan sent out scouts and immediately led his army to turn around and head towards the official road to the northeast.

Meanwhile, Guan Xing was also running wildly on the official road. After nearly two hours, the scout he had sent to find Zhuge Jin's location came running from the side and rear, shouting as he ran, "General, wait! General, wait!"

Guan Xing ran so fast that even the scouts could barely keep up. Upon hearing this, he immediately raised his hand and ordered the army to stop and wait in place.

The scout ran up to Guan Xing, clutching his knees and panting, and said, "General, something terrible has happened! I saw a Wu general riding two warhorses off from the main force and heading towards Yu Han. The figure looks a lot like Zhuge Jin."

Guan Xing's expression changed slightly, and he quickly asked, "Are you sure?"

The scout, breathless, said, "I'm sure. I met Zhuge Jin when I was fighting the Yue tribes with General Zhang Cheng. I know him."

This scout was a prisoner captured during the second capture of Zhang Cheng. He was also one of the few elite soldiers in the Wu army. Although he had never dealt with Zhuge Jin, he had seen him from afar a few times while following Zhang Cheng. After all, Zhuge Jin was the father-in-law of their General Zhang Cheng.

Guan Xing frowned and said, "This is bad. Zhuge Jin must have discovered our presence and guessed our purpose in heading to Yuhan. Knowing that he is taking the back route and cannot outrun us, he has broken away from the army and is heading back to Yuhan alone. Can we catch up with him?"

The scout shook his head and said, "We can't catch up. Zhuge Jin is riding a warhorse, and I noticed that when the horse he was riding was galloping, blood was gushing from its rump. It's obvious that he saw us and, to avoid pursuit, stabbed the horse in the rump, trading the horse's life for speed. Even if we run ourselves to death, we can't catch up. You know, Zhuge Jin is riding two warhorses. If this one dies, there's still another one."

Guan Xing said speechlessly, "It seems that Zhuge Jin is really going all out to get back to Yuhan before us. Is this old man a slippery eel? He's so slippery!"

He had previously vowed that even if it meant his death, he would never let Zhuge Jin enter Yuhan City before him. Now, however, Zhuge Jin had gone to Yuhan City openly, while he could only watch helplessly. Thinking of the boast he had made earlier, Guan Xing felt his face burning with embarrassment.

Deng Hong asked, "General, what do we do now? Should we still go to Yu Han?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. Zhuge Jin knows he can't outrun us by taking the back route, so after leaving the main army, he will definitely instruct his deputy to slow down and conserve his strength, or even turn around and attack Ning Huan's water bandits first. In that case, let's join forces with Ning Huan to wipe out this Wu army and cut off one of Zhuge Jin's arms first. By the way, who will lead the troops after Zhuge Jin leaves?"

The scout replied, "According to the Wu army scouts who were captured, it was Liu Zan, the garrison commander."

Guan Xing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "It was him?!"

Liu Zan, courtesy name Zhengming, was a native of Changshan in Kuaiji. Changshan is the later Jinhua, located in the very center of the Jinqu Basin.

This is a ruthless person comparable to Zhou Fang. In his early years, he participated in the suppression of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, fought against the Yellow Turban general Wu Fan and personally killed him. However, he was also seriously injured and disabled by Wu Fan's slash to the thigh. Ordinary people would definitely actively seek treatment when injured, but Liu Zan did the opposite and actually cut his Achilles tendon in order to recover. What kind of brain circuit is this?

No one would have guessed that you were Liu Zan. After Liu Zan severed his Achilles tendon, although he bled profusely, his injury did not worsen but he miraculously recovered. Guan Xing still can't figure out what kind of folk remedy this was.

Liu Zan severed his Achilles tendon to heal his wounds; Huang Gai was beaten half to death by Zhou Yu for trying to trick Cao Cao; Zhou Fang plucked his own scalp to gain Cao Xiu's trust. Why does Eastern Wu produce so many ruthless people?

On second thought, it must have been quite remarkable that Sun Quan was able to suppress these ruthless individuals.