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

Chapter 59 Crossing the River! Crossing the River!
Actually, it's not just light-bodied.

Several nearby water outlets connect to the Lishui River.

The same problems exist at places like Shakou, Likou, Lijiangkou, and Lunshuikou.

After all, the heavy rain fell indiscriminately from all directions, and the floodwaters rose not only in the Lishui River.

The same applies to nearby tributaries and branch streams.

But this isn't necessarily all bad.

Because Ma Zhong was stationed at Shakou, while Sun Huan was stationed at "Likou" next to the Yuan River, which is adjacent to the branch canal of the Li River.

Miwei was unable to reach the shore immediately due to the high water level.

The enemy ships also found it difficult to go upstream due to the high water levels.

Not to mention that the enemy's "fighting ships" were larger, heavier, and harder to maneuver.

Suddenly, fate took a turn for the worse, and both sides were forced to suspend hostilities.

At this moment, the river is actually safer than before the war.

The problem is, storms and floods always subside eventually.

If we don't go ashore, our soldiers will become injured, cold, and exhausted, and the enemy will take advantage of our superior numbers to attack. Wouldn't that also lead to trouble?

But what exactly is the situation with Liao Hua?

At that time, Zhan Sifu, who was in charge of delivering messages, saw his predicament.

Without hesitation, he jumped into the surging Lishui River!

Miwei's eyelids twitched when he saw it.

Fortunately, Zhan Sifu lived up to his reputation as a native of the Wuling Five Streams region, possessing exceptional swimming skills.

He actually swam all the way to Miwei's boat.
Only then did Mi Wei learn about the military situation upstream.

"As my lord said, our army did win this battle, but the weather was not cooperating and we were unable to achieve complete success."

Zhan Sifu replied, panting heavily.

"However, there is another explanation from the Tang side."

"This battle has cost a lot of military resources, and we will need to make new preparations for the next river crossing operation."

"It is still unknown how long this will take."

Mi Wei: "What were the losses of Pan Zhang's troops?"

Zhan Sifu: "Definitely more. After all, the enemy formation was routed head-on, and they can only defend, not attack, but..."

Miwei: "But as the one blocking the enemy, he could have easily won by simply holding his ground, right?"

Upon hearing the words "easy win," Zhan Sifu was visibly taken aback.

However, Miwei had already completely sorted out his thoughts and continued speaking on his own:

"In the localized small battlefield of Zuotang, our army still has a good chance of winning."

"But when you look at the bigger picture and consider the entire Wuling battlefield, or even the Jingnan battlefield, Sun Quan's chances of winning actually increased."

"And in this, Pan Zhang's troops played a crucial role in influencing the balance of victory or defeat."

Leaving aside the fact that Zhan Sifu was completely confused by the concepts of balances and weights, he remained utterly bewildered.

And after confirming that the thigh was still a reliable thigh.

My mind started to wander.

The surrounding mountains and terrain kept flashing through my mind.

This is thanks to his previous diligent study of geography.

A bold idea quickly came to mind.

This idea is constantly intertwined with the knowledge and concepts of both lifetimes.

In the end, only one sentence remained:

People should give full play to their subjective initiative.

……

Xi Hong saw Zhan Sifu leave and then return.

While admiring the other party's courage and swimming skills, they did not forget to send someone forward to provide backup.

Then he hurriedly asked, "What are the military orders, Commander Mi?"

Zhan Sifu: "Sima told us not to wait for the rain to stop, but to withdraw from the camp immediately. He also told Registrar Liao to act according to the situation in the next few days."

"That's all?" Xi Hong frowned.

Seeing Zhan Sifu nodding while panting, he was even more puzzled.

"If we withdraw from our camp immediately, who will help Commander Mi and his thousand-plus men get ashore?"

But before Zhan Sifu could reply, his own warships on the river made a move.

They all turned their boats around and headed towards the southwest bank of the Li River on the opposite side!

Xi Hong was stunned.

Furthermore, this section of the Lishui River has many water outlets, but most of them are located on the northeast bank.

On the other side, there is also a Likou, which belongs to Liyuanzhi Ferry.

However, the water flow was heading towards the Yuan River, which did not prevent the boat from reaching the shore.

In other words, the southwest bank is temporarily easier to land on than the northeast bank until the floodwaters recede.

But the question is, what happens after we cross the river?

It should be noted that upstream on the other side of the river lies Pan Zhang's camp.

While Ma Zhong and Sun Huan downstream were unable to go upstream immediately, couldn't they split up and go ashore to catch up and intercept those behind them once the rain stopped and the water level receded?
This is practically a direct hit to the enemy's encirclement!

Could it be... that Commander Mi is planning to launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp in the rain?

If so, then that would be commendable in its courage.

However, this inevitably raises suspicions of wasting troops.

Surely it's not like they're going to defect to the enemy?
After much thought, Xi Hong decided to cross the river himself and ask.

He then instructed Zhan Sifu and others to withdraw their troops and report the incident as before.

He then led a garrison of auxiliary soldiers to load some of the supplies onto the few remaining ships, and then headed straight for Miwei.

Because the water flows out of the main channel of the Lishui River from Dankou.

Miwei's side is difficult to reach the shore, but Xi Hong's side can go downstream.

There's no need to paddle.

The only thing to worry about is capsizing, because the current is strong and swift at this time.

However, heavy items such as military equipment and provisions were used as ballast to stabilize the cargo hold.

Xi Hong's idea was very simple.

If Miwei intends to defect to the enemy, then fight him on the spot.

He firmly believed that the army's morale was still on Liu Bei and Guan Yu's side.

But if Miwei intends to go to the enemy camp to fight to the death.

Then the things I brought with me will also come in handy.

We'd rather die together!
……

A moment later, the Miwei tribe landed on the southwest bank of the Lishui River.

A quick headcount revealed that dozens of people had unfortunately fallen into the water and were beyond saving.

Xi Hong's troops arrived a little later, when the current was calmer, and they were able to move the supplies to the shore smoothly.

Miwei praised it on the spot, but did not offer any further explanation.

He simply urged the entire army to continue marching in the rain, and then raised the general's flag to lead the way.

He then ordered Xi Hong to escort the baggage train and bring up the rear for him.

Everyone was in a sorry state and just wanted to find a place to rest as soon as possible, so there was nothing more to say.

Only Xi Hong remained anxious, keeping a close eye on Mi Wei's movements.

However, he soon felt a little more at ease.

Because Miwei did not head directly towards the enemy camp upstream to the northwest, but rather further west.

At least it wasn't about defecting to the enemy or recklessly fighting.

While feeling relieved, Xi Hong's mind began to wander, wondering what Mi Wei was up to.

To go to Hanshou to meet up with Zhao Leijun?

But the direction is not quite right.

Moreover, although Zhao Lei had 5,000 soldiers, they were the second largest allied force on the Wuling battlefield after Liao Hua.

However, they were exhausted and lacked supplies.

They were then trapped in the city by tens of thousands of enemy troops.

Going anywhere will only lead to certain death.

After marching in the rain for half a day and half a night, the soldiers were exhausted and hungry by midnight.

Fortunately, Miwei finally ordered the camp to be set up.

It is a high place with hills behind and marshland in front.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, started a fire to cook, dried their clothes, and went about their own business.

Only Xi Hong stared at the hilly terrain, his expression shifting.

Others might not recognize this place, but he did.

Isn't this the safe place that Mi Sima had pointed out before, the place with "a front and a back"?

They crossed the river in the rain and ventured dozens of miles deep behind enemy lines.

Was it so that they could bypass Pan Zhang and set up camp behind him?
What is he planning?
……

"There's no need to be after anything in particular."

Sun Huan rushed over to the meeting in the rain overnight, and his armor was still dripping wet.

He thought Pan Zhang was going to discuss with him how to deal with Liao Hua and Guan Ping.

Unexpectedly, the other party started by discussing a mere thousand-man branch.

Perhaps they were stunned by the heavy rain?

My interest vanished instantly.

"It was simply because the current was too strong at the time, making it difficult to return to Dankou,"

"He was also afraid that Ma Zhong and I would attack him from both sides after the rain stopped, so he panicked and didn't know where to go."

“It was definitely not a desperate act.” Pan Zhang’s voice was hoarse and he looked quite tired.

But his tone was resolute.

"The scouts have already discovered that the place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it a truly secure location."

"This means the enemy general is heading straight for that place!"

(End of this chapter)