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

Guan Xing explained, "Your idea is good, but there's a prerequisite: that the queen bee Yan Zhen doesn't know we've entered the city."

"If we had been able to keep the news under wraps when we entered the city, it would have been a great opportunity to wipe out the poisonous bees in one fell swoop. The problem is that we didn't plan to suppress the bandits beforehand. We made such a big fuss with public trials and killings in the city. Could we have kept it from the Queen Bee's eyes and ears?"

"Do you think Yan Zhen will continue to attack Wushang even though he knows we have already captured it? If he doesn't come, not only will your plans be wasted, but it will also delay the army's rest and affect tomorrow's attack."

Guan Xing was very excited when he learned that Yan Zhen was attacking the county town, since he wouldn't have to run away himself.

But then I thought about it again. Yan Zhen was able to annex other bandits and unify the Wushang bandit army, so he must have his own intelligence system. He couldn't possibly have missed such a big change happening in the county.

Xie Chong smiled and said, "The captain is right, but I still want to give it a try."

"I believe there are only two reasons why Yan Zhen is so eager to attack the county town. First, he must have received news that General Guan has captured Jianye and knows that Wu's army is currently preoccupied with other matters and cannot afford to pay attention to him, so he can do whatever he wants within the territory."

"Secondly, knowing that Zhu Hong was about to be transferred, they were afraid that Zhu Hong would take all the wealth he had amassed with him, so they rushed to make their move. If they were too late, this wealth would be out of their reach."

Guan Xing nodded and said, "What you said makes sense, but the risk of attacking the county town is still too great. If he really wants to seize Zhu Hong's wealth, wouldn't it be safer to ambush and kill Zhu Hong on his way to take up his post?"

Xie Chong shook his head and said, "No, to ambush someone on the road, we first need to figure out Zhu Hong's route. Secondly, Zhu Hong was transferred away because he was afraid of Yan Zhen. How could he not be on guard against Yan Zhen?"

"So, compared to ambushing him halfway, it is safest to strike when Zhu Hong is about to set off. More importantly, there are less than three hundred soldiers in the city, while the Queen Bee has more than a thousand troops. There is no pressure at all in attacking the county town."

"Wu Jun can't spare him for the time being, and the county town can't defend against him, so why bother with a halfway ambush? Wouldn't it be easier to just attack the county town and burn, kill, and loot?"

"Moreover, Ji Jie said that Yan Zhen has already begun to annex the bandits in the neighboring county. It is obvious that he is not content to be just a bandit leader."

A flash of understanding crossed Guan Xing's eyes as he pondered, "You mean there's nothing left to gain in Wushang, and Yan Zhen plans to grab the last bit and then run?"

"Or perhaps they would take advantage of the standoff between Wu Jun and my father in Jianye to rapidly develop their strength and strive to dominate the region, so even if they know we have already occupied the county town, they would still risk attacking?"

Xie Chong nodded and said, "That's right. He must think that we are exhausted from our long journey and have just arrived in the county town and are not yet settled, so he will not be on guard against us. Therefore, he is certain that tonight is the best time for him to attack the county town."

"If he succeeds, he will not only obtain the resources he wants, but he can also use the pretext of recovering lost territory to ask Sun Quan for an official position. In that case, he can transform himself from a mountain bandit into a loyal minister and general of Eastern Wu."

"Therefore, I believe he will definitely attack the county town as planned. I don't bet he's stupid, I bet he's greedy."

"Even if he doesn't attack the county town, we won't suffer any losses. We can rest, take the grain and supplies out of the city, and lure him in to rob us."

"On the contrary, if we launch a frontal assault on Fuhu Mountain now, even if we win, the casualties will be huge, since we are too exhausted."

Guan Xing slammed his fist on the table and laughed excitedly, "Old Xie, I suddenly realized you have the potential to become Zhang Liang! Let's do it your way. Send the people to the county government and the mansions of the three major families for temporary refuge. Then, keep the outside relaxed but the inside tight and wait for the queen bee to launch a sneak attack."

“Yes…” Xie Chong turned around and went to make the arrangements.

Guan Xing looked at the three battalion commanders and said, "The first battalion will cooperate with Xie Chong's operation. The second and third battalions will eat and sleep immediately. The first battalion will be rotated out in two hours. Tonight, we will completely eliminate the banditry in Wushang."

"Yes..." The three men clasped their hands in a bow and turned to leave.

Two hours later, Ning Huan and Ji Jie returned safely and bowed to Guan Xing, saying, "Captain, I have successfully found the Poisonous Bees at Fuhu Mountain. There are more than 1,500 of them, and they are ready to attack."

"In addition, I have successfully contacted another spy. This person has become a squad leader in the Poison Bee organization. He is the highest-ranking person I have infiltrated into the Poison Bee organization. He said that the Queen Bee has received news that the county has changed hands, but still decided to attack the city."

Guan Xing sneered, "Old Xie really guessed right. This queen bee isn't stupid, but she's too greedy. Go and rest. Tonight, we'll make sure the queen bee is defeated."

"Here..." The two clasped their hands in greeting and left, while Guan Xing began to actively prepare.

Time flew by and it was soon 2:45 AM. Guan Xing woke up all the soldiers to prepare for the attack of the poisonous bees.

Night raids usually take place between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., which is when the poisonous bees attack the city. Guan Xing guessed that the attack would also take place during this time.

This is because it is the most tiring time of day, when people sleep the best. In addition, Yan Zhen thought that the Han army came from Jianye and was exhausted from the long journey. They must be sleeping very soundly after finally entering the city to rest.

Therefore, Guan Xingcai ordered his soldiers to take turns sleeping. Although the sleeping time was very short, the difference between sleeping and not sleeping was significant.

As it turned out, he was right. On the official road leading from Fuhu Mountain to the county town, the queen bee Yan Zhen, biting a tree branch, led his army of over a thousand people forward at high speed.

Looking at the distant Wushang County, Yan Zhen's eyes shone with an unprecedented fervor.

Having done all the dirty work for Zhu Hong for so many years, he knew better than anyone how much wealth and provisions Zhu Hong had accumulated. With the addition of the three major families, he would definitely be fed to excess.

He originally planned to seize the county town and then retreat into the mountains to join forces with the Yue people to plan something big, but before he could take action, the Han army entered the city first.

Upon receiving news of the Han army's entry into the city, Yan Zhen's instinctive reaction was to flee. As a bandit, he had a natural fear of government troops.

On second thought, something didn't make sense. This was the heart of Jiangdong. Even if the Han army came, how many people could they bring? Most likely, they would be defeated by the main force of the Wu army and fled here. What was there to be afraid of?

More importantly, if he could defeat this defeated army, he could not only obtain the city's wealth and provisions, but also curry favor with Sun Quan and get a minor official position.

Once he becomes an official, he will lead Wu Jun into the mountains and sell all the mountain tribe leaders who are on good terms with him to Wu Jun. He can use the heads of those sworn brothers to gain military merit. Isn't that better than digging wild vegetables in the mountains?

Thinking of the bright future they could achieve by washing their hands of the truth, Yan Zhen's steps became lighter with excitement. Leading his army to the city walls, he saw only a few soldiers dozing off. This further strengthened his resolve to flee. He threw away the twig in his mouth and whispered, "Brothers, charge!"

The bandits behind them rushed past quickly carrying bamboo rafts. Yes, they were carrying bamboo rafts, not ladders.

The walls of Wushang City are too low. Once the bamboo rafts are placed on the walls, they form a ramp. It is much easier to climb up the walls by stepping on the bamboo rafts than by using ladders.

The bandits rushed to the city walls and fired arrows first, felling all the Han soldiers on the walls. Then, amidst the terrified shouts of the Han soldiers, they charged up the city walls.

Queen Bee Yan Zhen stayed behind, climbed onto the city wall and shouted, "Brothers, charge! Once inside the city, don't hold back your weapons, kill and loot as you please!"

In his haste to rob the county government, Yan Zhen left no guards and led his entire army to rush towards the county government office.

As soon as the bandit army disappeared from the city wall, a Han army emerged from the bushes in the distance. Led by Battalion Commander Meng Jun, they quickly arrived, using the bamboo rafts left by the bandits to rush up the city wall and cut off the bandits' retreat.