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

Wushang County may look small, but its actual jurisdiction is quite large, encompassing more than a dozen townships and hundreds of villages. It is a hilly and mountainous area with a sparse population, so it is not an easy task to travel around the entire county in a short period of time.

Guan Xing worked tirelessly for thirteen days straight, and only managed to distribute one-third of the land. There were still two-thirds of the townships he hadn't visited.

But he dared not divide it any further; judging by the time, Wu Jun should be arriving soon.

So after dividing up the village in front of him, Guan Xing did not continue. Instead, he called Xie Chong and Qian Yun back to the county town. When they passed by Feng Tiezhu's house, he took the father and son with him.

After being away for many days, I finally returned to the county town. Before I even entered the town, I saw many heads hanging on the city gate, which looked particularly eerie from afar.

Those were the heads of Yan Zhen and the evil bandits who had followed Yan Zhen in ravaging the people. Their deaths made the people of the whole county jubilant and celebrated for several days like it was New Year's Day.

"Let's go into the city."

Guan Xing was about to call everyone to continue forward when a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly reached his ears. He turned around and saw Guan Yan.

Guan Xing stopped to wait, and Guan Yan rushed up to him and exclaimed in surprise, "Captain, you're finally back! That's wonderful! I was just about to send someone to find you, but the Wu army is here, less than fifty li away."

Guan Xing's expression changed slightly, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly asking, "How many men does Wu Jun have, and who is leading them?"

Guan Yan replied, "A full ten thousand men. From the prisoners we captured, we learned that the commander was Zhang Cheng, along with Zhuge Ke and Zhou Xun. I heard that they were personally appointed by Grand Commander Lü Meng."

Guan Xing frowned and said, "It's actually him. Lü Meng really thinks highly of us."

As a time traveler, he naturally knew about Zhang Cheng's life. This man was not only Zhang Zhao's eldest son, but also a famous general of Eastern Wu who served as the governor of Ruxu in the later period of the Three Kingdoms.

Ruxukou was the front line for defending against the Wei army, and no one who could serve as the commander-in-chief at Ruxukou was incompetent.

With Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke also involved, this battle will be difficult.

Guan Xing pondered, "After so much time, the supplies in the city should have been transported almost completely. Guan Yan, go into the city immediately and find Gan Xun and Ji Jie, and tell them to retreat into Ji Tou Ling Mountain Stronghold according to the original plan."

"Send someone to inform Shen Yi to evacuate as soon as possible. If there is no time to return to the stronghold, hide yourself in Damo and make sure that Wu's army does not discover you or catch up with you."

Shen Yi has been busy transporting supplies towards Da Mo recently, and he is probably still in Da Mo territory at the moment, so he won't be able to get back in a short time.

Guan Yan nodded and said, "This subordinate will go right away. What about you?"

Guan Xing said, "I have other matters to attend to. Let's meet at the mountain stronghold."

After seeing Guan Yan off, Guan Xing picked up the makeshift megaphone he had specially made when the land was distributed, walked through the city gate, and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, the Wu army is attacking! We are about to make a strategic retreat. Please close your doors and windows, hide your food, and try not to go out unless necessary. Fellow villagers..."

Xie Chong rolled his eyes at these words. Wasn't it an evacuation? How did it become a strategic transfer in your mouth?

To describe evacuation in such a refined and elegant way, Captain Guan, you are truly a talent.

The streets of the county town were less than two zhang wide, so if you shouted, the pedestrians and shop owners and customers nearby could hear you. Hearing this, the local people gathered around and asked in alarm, "What? Wu's army has attacked?"

"General Guan, are you abandoning us? What will we do without you?"

They were genuinely afraid. The Wu army was not as disciplined as the Han army. Burning, killing, and looting were common occurrences. In some ways, the Wu army was even more hateful than bandits, since bandits would not massacre entire cities, but the Wu army would.

Guan Xing explained, “Wu Jun is not a bandit. He will not burn, kill, or plunder without reason. As long as you keep your doors and windows closed and stay indoors, they will not make things difficult for you. If you do not wish to stay in the city, you can go home, pack your things, and temporarily go to the countryside to avoid trouble.”

"Don't worry, folks. We're just temporarily relocating for the sake of victory. We'll defeat Wu's army soon and come back to reunite with you."

Although these words sounded nice, few people understood them. Most of them shouted in unison, "General, you can't leave! What will we do if you leave?"

They didn't understand what a strategic retreat was, nor did they consider what the outcome would be if the Han army left to defend the city and clashed head-on with the Wu army. They only knew that if the Han army left, the Wu army might take their anger out on them.

Therefore, they did not want to worry about the so-called great enemy, and only wanted the Han army to stay in the city to continue to protect them.

In an effort to keep the Han army in place, they spontaneously surrounded Guan Xing, trapping him in place and refusing to budge despite his spittle flying everywhere.

This made Guan Xing worry. Wu's army was less than fifty miles away and could rush to the city at any time. If he was still surrounded, it would be a joke.

Just as Guan Xing was about to push aside the civilians and force his way out, Xie Chong grabbed the megaphone and shouted, "Wu's army is coming soon! What are you doing here instead of thinking about escaping for your lives?"

"Don't forget that Wu Jun is after Commander Guan. If he is captured, there will be no one to share your land or protect your wealth."

Upon hearing this, the people's expressions changed drastically. Some who understood the greater good quickly chimed in, "General Xie is right. General Guan is the hope of all of us. We cannot allow him to be captured by the Wu army. Moreover, I believe that General Guan is only temporarily away and will definitely come back to fight again soon. Everyone, make way and let the general pass."

Encouraged by him, the people slowly made way, and Guan Xing quickly moved forward along the human-shaped passage, calling out as he went, "Fellow villagers..."

They finally made it out of the city safely, only to find that Gan Xunji Jie, who had left earlier, was still waiting for them outside the city. They hurriedly went up to him and asked, "Why aren't you leaving yet?"

Gan Xun replied, "How could I dare to leave if you don't come out, Captain? I report to you that all the supplies in the city have been transported, and I guarantee that not a single blade of grass has been left for the Wu army."

"Let's go then." Guan Xing called out and led two battalions of men to Jitou Ridge stronghold to meet up with Meng Jun, who was guarding the stronghold.

Meng Jun invited them into the cave and said as if showing off a treasure, "Captain, I have done as you instructed to demolish and rebuild all the thatched huts in the cave, and burned and buried all the corpses in the cave. Now there is no strange smell in the cave. If you don't believe me, go in and smell it."

The bandits lived a very unhygienic life. Not only did they not bathe, but they also threw corpses into the caves to breed maggots. This was something Guan Xing could not accept under any circumstances. Therefore, he had long ago ordered Meng Jun to clean the caves again to eliminate any possibility of a plague.

Guan Xing nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Has the cave entrance been enlarged?"

The entrance to the passage is too small; even a slightly overweight person might not be able to squeeze in. In a critical moment, it would be too late to escape, so it must be expanded.

Meng Jun replied, "Don't worry, Captain. I've hollowed out the entire bedroom. Now you can ride a horse right at the entrance. The exit has also been expanded to accommodate two people walking side by side. Moreover, I've concealed it to ensure that the Wu army won't find it."

Guan Xing smiled and said, "Then let's go in and take a look."

Following Meng Jun into the stone cave where the bandits lived, Guan Xing found that the thatched huts and air inside were completely refreshed. Satisfied, Guan Xing lay down on the wooden plank bed covered with straw and comfortably called out, "Er Gou, boil some hot water for me, I want to wash my feet first."

He hadn't even taken off his shoes during the ten-plus days he spent in the countryside, and he was so dirty he almost stinked. Now that he finally had some free time, he naturally wanted to take a good shower and get some rest.

While Guan Xing was taking a bath and going to sleep, Zhang Cheng led the Wu army to the city of Wushang.