The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 29 Lu Meng's Messenger

Miwei: "What do you mean?"

Jiao Zhong said, "The unit that just returned to the city said that there were too few enemy troops near Jiangjinkou, definitely not three thousand, probably not even half that number, which is why they were able to succeed so easily."

"In other words, the enemy in the southeast may take advantage of the cover of night to move to the west and cooperate with the enemy forces there to cut off Guan Junhou's retreat."

Mi Wei suddenly realized.

After all, surely the half of the enemy troops that suddenly disappeared wouldn't have run back to the other side overnight?
Thinking about it this way, the Guan brothers' night raid tonight was probably something Lu Meng had anticipated.

This feeling of being manipulated by the enemy.

More suffocating than the failed night raid
"But how did Lü Meng guess that Lord Guan would go in the direction of Ma Mu Kou?" Mi Wei asked, frowning.

“Let’s gamble,” Jiao Zhong said. “Everyone knows that it’s easier to cross the river from the west than from the east, so Lord Guan probably values ​​the west more.”

"Even if they make the wrong bet, it doesn't matter. As long as they can take down a garrison in open battle, they're still not at a loss."

Mi Wei was speechless for a moment.

Lü Meng was indeed a step ahead of the two Guan Qi.

After a moment of contemplation, Miwei could only accept this outcome and then said:

"In your opinion, should we send troops to rescue them?"

"It's too late," Jiao Zhong said, shaking his head.

"Besides, if a rescue is really needed, Mamu and Lingxi are closer."

Miwei gently patted the wall in front of him and fell silent again.

The noise from the southwest continued for another hour before subsiding.

What followed was an exceptionally agonizing silence.

Mi Wei's eyes ached from staring at the screen, but he dared not go down to rest.

They waited until dawn, when the east began to lighten and the outline of the distant battlefield gradually became visible.

By this time, the enemy had advanced a considerable distance compared to yesterday, firmly encircling the two garrison fortresses of Mamu and Lingxi.

Some small warships even sailed directly from the cleared waterway into the Lingxi River on the western outskirts of Jiangling.

Together with obstacles such as deer antlers on the shore, they form a complete defensive line.

As a result, Guan Ping's cavalry could no longer move freely as they had yesterday.

If they are not careful, they will be surrounded by Lü Meng by land and water in the narrow strip between Lingxi and Jiangling City, and then their entire army will be wiped out.

As for Guan Xing, he couldn't see the flags on Ma Mu City clearly at the moment.

But the number of people on the fortress was much greater than yesterday.

This is enough to deduce that after Guan Xing was ambushed last night, he withdrew to Ma Mu City nearby.

Looking at this city again, although it was surrounded by enemy troops like Jiangjin Garrison yesterday, it did not collapse.

This leads to the further inference that Guan Xing is most likely still alive.

It's a blessing in misfortune.

Of course, this is just speculation and conjecture.

This era is incomplete without mobile internet.

Battlefield communication can only rely on manpower, animal power, and experience.

It's normal to half-see and half-guess.

Therefore, an experienced general is especially valuable.

Unfortunately, with Guan Xing trapped, Jiangling is now effectively without a proper garrison commander.

Prefect Mi Fang is an unreliable person.

The Assistant Prefect of Nan Commandery and the Magistrate of Jiangling were even less capable of anything but obsequiousness.

That old man, Pan Jun, is quite capable.

But if he were really put in charge of defending the city now... no, he would definitely feign illness and stay away again!
He didn't show up even though there was a commotion outside the city most of last night.

Do older people really have such good sleep quality?

After much deliberation, Mi Wei could only instruct Jiao Zhong to immediately go to the second city in the northern suburbs to inform Guan Ping and Liao Hua.

Hopefully, they will send at least one person into the city to take charge of the overall situation.

He then directly showed the soldiers guarding the city the official seal left by Guan Xing and Mi Fang's sword.

This was to temporarily take over the garrison soldiers on the city wall, ensuring that the troops would not be thrown into disarray before the arrival of the next commander.

But to be honest, he had only studied the art of defeating ten thousand men under Pan Jun for a few days and had never commanded the defense of a city before.

He wasn't sure if he could win over the public or maintain order.

He could only feign composure and patrol various parts of the city wall.

After wandering around in a daze for a while, suddenly a dozen or so riders came galloping from the south.

One of the knights even brandished the messenger's staff. Lu Meng's messenger.

Before long, the cavalrymen reined in their horses just an arrow's throw from the city walls, and one of them stepped forward and shouted:

"Yu Fan, courtesy name Zhongxiang, a cavalry captain under General Sun, requests an audience with Prefect Mi of Nan Commandery!"

On the battlefield, it's impossible to present visiting cards in the usual polite manner.

The most practical thing to do is just yell it out.

The enemy cavalry repeated the call three times.

When Mi Wei heard the name "Yu Fan" clearly, his heart skipped a beat.

He remembered that this person had served under Lü Meng in the capture of Nan Commandery and had made significant contributions.

When Fu Shiren hesitated, it was Yu Fan who went into the city alone to persuade him to surrender, and he quickly captured a city for Lü Meng.

Afterwards, when Lü Meng went north to Jiangling, it was Yu Fan who reminded Lü Meng that this battle would be fought using cunning tactics, and that he must bring (Fu) Shiren with him to prevent any unforeseen events.

Later, after Mi Fang surrendered, Lü Meng was just about to relax when Yu Fan reminded him to be wary of the pro-Liu Bei forces in Jiangling City secretly causing trouble, so as to ensure that Nan Commandery would fall steadily into Sun Quan's hands without any further setbacks.

In short, he is a formidable figure with courage and vision.

The visitor is not good.

But a direct refusal won't work either.

What if the other side refuses to see me and instead launches a full-scale attack?
Miwei never overestimated himself.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to meet with them first.

……

"Lord Yu, the city says only you are allowed to enter. What do you think of this..."

"It doesn't matter!"

A middle-aged Confucian scholar wearing a scholar's hat stepped forward from the crowd.

"If Princess Fei were still in the city, my life might be in danger."

"Now that he's gone, the city is full of swine and dogs, what is there to fear?"

Having said that, the middle-aged scholar, Yu Fan, proudly rode his horse into the city.

Led by the city guards, Yu Fan arrived at the Nanjun Prefectural Governor's Mansion and saw that the gatekeeper was actually a barbarian who was dressed like a monkey in a crown. He immediately understood Mi Fang's mentality and the situation in Jiangling City.

He felt even more disdain in his heart.

Before long, Yu Fan arrived at the main hall.

Mi Fang stepped forward and greeted him with a smile:
"I am the Prefect of Nan Commandery, and I have long admired Lord Yu's great name!"

Yu Fan sneered:
"Lord Mi is on the verge of death, so why is he still sitting motionless in the prefectural government office?"

"Could it be that you intend to use this place as your own tomb?"

Mi Fang's smile froze:
"I respect your reputation, so why do you turn around and curse me to death?"

Yu Fan said with his hands behind his back:
"You were already in cahoots with Sun Quan, and now your plot has been exposed to Guan Yu. How could he possibly forgive you?"

"Do you have any other way out but to serve my Lord?"

Upon hearing this, Mi Fang's large body trembled slightly, and she glanced to the side.

Yu Fan had been secretly observing his expression, and upon seeing this, she followed his gaze.

Then I saw a handsome young man.

His features bear a three- or four-point resemblance to Mi Fang.

It must be Mi Zhu's eldest son, and Mi Fang's nephew.

However, this child has not yet come of age and is clearly still a teenager.

Yu Fan became even more convinced that Fei Shi was the mastermind behind the previous disruption.

He then continued to intimidate Mi Fang:
"Isn't the reason why Lord Prefect is so fickle right now because Guan Yu is about to return?"

"I'll just say it straight!"

"Guan Xing was ambushed by Lü Huwei last night and was seriously injured. If he does not receive timely treatment, he will not survive for more than a few days."

"You are the only one who can save him right now!"

"But do you really dare to go out of the city and face Lü Huwei's army head-on?"

Mi Fang did not respond, but silently exchanged a glance with Mi Wei.

Seeing this, Yu Fan became even more unrestrained:

"See? You don't dare to save him at all. So Guan Xing is doomed!"

"And once he dies, when Guan Yu returns and learns that you failed to save him, he will surely exterminate your entire clan, fueled by both old and new grudges!"

(End of this chapter)