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

After discussing the matter with Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei began preparations for the Northern Expedition.

The essence of this Northern Expedition was a surprise attack, which meant that everything had to be done in secret, and the number of troops could not be too large, because the main force of the Han army also had to make the appearance of an eastern expedition to deceive Sun Quan and Cao Cao.

Therefore, the number of troops available for the Northern Expedition was very limited. Liu Bei could only spare 20,000 men, all of whom were old, weak, sick, or disabled.

The generals wouldn't be very outstanding either. Neither Zhao Yun nor Zhang Fei could be sent. They could only mobilize junior generals like Huo Yi, Yan Zhi, and Gao Xiang, as well as Wang Ping, a surrendered general, and at most, Wei Yan, the prefect of Hanzhong.

With all of this arranged, the most difficult question arises: who will take the lead?

Liu Bei couldn't go; he had to stay at the Yiling front to draw enemy fire. Otherwise, if he disappeared, it would definitely arouse Cao Cao's suspicion.

Guan Yu was an option, but he was in Jianye and couldn't come back. So, Liu Bei only had one choice left: Zhuge Liang.

Apart from Zhuge Liang, none of the other generals had the ability to lead independently, so Liu Bei really had no one else to rely on.

With preparations for the Northern Expedition complete, Liu Bei turned his attention to the three eastern commanderies, as it was time to resolve the issues concerning Liu Feng and Meng Da.

He originally intended to recall Liu Feng and Meng Da to Chengdu to punish them, but now it seems he has to postpone it.

With the Northern Expedition imminent and the need for capable men at the moment, it was unwise to allow internal strife to arise. Therefore, he ordered Liu Feng to abandon Fangling and Shangyong and focus all his efforts on defending Xicheng to prevent the Wei army from entering Hanzhong from the three eastern commanderies. At the same time, he ordered Meng Da to return to Chengdu immediately to receive orders.

Meng Da, that traitor, will definitely not come back. Liu Bei doesn't really want to recall him; he just wants to use this opportunity to force him to surrender to Cao Cao.

To catch a big fish, you need to use heavy bait. If you want to lure Cao Cao over, how can you do it without offering some benefits?

Meng Da was the bait that Liu Bei threw to Cao Cao; it was no surprise that the traitor Cao Cao wouldn't fall for it.

After making arrangements, Liu Bei, without delay, rushed back to the front line in Yiling. Before leaving, he specially took one person with him: Ma Su.

Old Liu may not have many other skills, but his eye for talent is impeccable.

He knew that Ma Su was more trouble than he was worth, and if he didn't take him with him, Zhuge Liang would take him instead. He couldn't let Ma Su ruin such an important matter as the Northern Expedition.

……

Jianye.

Guan Yu, determined to defend the city to the death, rested for only one night before starting to eliminate potential threats in the city. He then sent out all the stubborn elements who refused to surrender, including Zhang Zhao and Sun Shao, from the city with a list of them.

At the same time, he issued a notice asking other officials who were unwilling to surrender to leave on their own, and those who did not have travel expenses could ask him for travel money, thereby gaining more popularity.

Sima Wangfu was not idle either; he set up recruitment points at various city gates and began recruiting soldiers.

Guan Yu's prestige among the people was so high that people flocked to enlist upon hearing the news, and in no time, there were countless people who responded to his call.

There were definitely spies from Wu and Wei among them, but Wang Fu didn't care. He had plenty of ways to deal with mere spies.

Everyone was so busy they barely had time to breathe, but Guan Xing turned his attention to another auspicious location.

prison.

He needed to leave the city to launch guerrilla warfare to support Guan Yu, relieve the pressure on the city's defense, and also open up the Jingnan passage to establish contact with Guan Ping, which was quite difficult.

Performing high-difficulty tasks requires god-like teammates, but Guan Yu can't find any, so we have to think of other ways.

Therefore, Guan Xing turned his attention to the prison, a place where talents gathered, and prepared to select a group of talented people who were both capable and resentful of Eastern Wu to join him.

Around noon, Guan Xing entered the cell and was surprised to find it was overcrowded.

The prisoners were all disheveled and dazed, showing no interest whatsoever in a stranger like Guan Xing. Only one man pounded on the bars and said, "General, I am innocent! I am wronged!"

Guan Xing sarcastically remarked, "What are you shouting for? Do you think the person who wronged you doesn't know you're innocent?"

“Uh…” The man was stunned.

The other prisoners looked up at the same time, glaring at him angrily. "You wretched little brat, are you here to insult us?"

Guan Xing felt a little awkward under their stares and quickly introduced himself, "My name is Guan Xing, and my father is Guan Yu, the Marquis of Hanshou. You've heard of him, right?"

The prisoners were all stunned. After a moment, the middle-aged man who had cried out for justice was the first to react and exclaimed with delight, "General Guan has recovered Jianye! Does that mean my grievance can be appealed?"

As the middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise, he reached out his dirty hands, which hadn't been washed in who knows how long, and grabbed Guan Xing's collar, saying urgently, "Reporting to the young general, I am Xie Chong. Two years ago, I was recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination and competed with Zhu Hong, who came from the Zhu family of Wu County, for the position of magistrate of Wushang County."

"Zhu Hong is a worthless scoundrel with no bottom line. When he can't compete, he resorts to underhanded tactics. He killed my brother while I was drunk at a party with him, and then sent someone to kidnap my sister-in-law and throw her onto my bed. When I woke up in the morning, I was caught red-handed by the yamen runners who rushed into the room."

"Then I was imprisoned here on the charge of plotting to kill my brother because I was thinking about my sister-in-law, and I have been locked up here ever since. I have no way to defend myself against this."

"Heaven have mercy, that's my own sister-in-law. I'm a scholar who has studied the classics, how could I possibly do something so immoral?"

Xie Chong's eyes reddened before he could finish speaking; he was filled with hatred!

Guan Xing felt uneasy listening to this, and a not-so-pleasant memory welled up in his heart.

In his previous life, he was supposed to be promoted to team leader. All the procedures were completed, but the day before he was to take office, a complete stranger suddenly appeared and replaced him.

He still harbors resentment about this matter, and sighed helplessly, "Does anyone else have a grievance? Tell us about it."

The prisoners remained silent. Everyone here had suffered injustice, but not everyone was willing to expose their wounds to others.

Seeing that the prisoners weren't very interested in talking, Guan Xing laughed and said, "Just chatting isn't very interesting. Let's eat and chat at the same time."

After saying that, he beckoned to the outside, and two soldiers pushed over a cart with a dozen or so layers of steamers on it, from which steam kept rising.

The prisoners looked at the steamer with curiosity, and some of them even protested involuntarily from their stomachs.

They were hungry.

The food in prison is often insufficient; starvation is a common occurrence.

Guan Xing lifted the lid of the steamer, grabbed something from the billowing white steam, and tossed it to Xie Chong, saying, "This is a gift I made for you before dawn. Try it and see if it suits your taste."

"By the way, this thing is called a steamed bun, and it has filling inside."