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

Guan Xing dared not delay after leaving the cave and led his troops down the mountain at top speed to meet up with Shen Yi at Damu.

On the way, I couldn't help but ask, "Old Xie, Old Meng, how do you think Zhang Cheng and Zhuge Ke would feel after breaking down the door and finding that we had escaped?"

Meng Jun said excitedly, "He must be furious! Zhang Cheng was certain there was no way down the mountain and we couldn't escape, so he gathered coal, built catapults, and got into position to fight us to the death. After all that effort, he looked up and saw us run away..."

"It's like you've already taken your pants off on your wedding night, but then the bride disappears. Wouldn't you feel uncomfortable in that situation?"

Guan Xing couldn't help but laugh and curse, "You're really good at making comparisons, but no matter what, the enemy's suffering is our happiness. It's always pleasant to see the enemy suffer."

"Tell everyone behind to hurry up, don't let Zhang Cheng catch up, or we'll be the ones crying."

Zhang Cheng was already furious, and Guan Xing dared not be caught, so he had no choice but to run away as fast as he could.

Xie Chong followed behind and asked, "Captain, it will take the Wu army at least half an hour to break through the stone gate and enter the cave, and then another half an hour to return to Wushang to rejoin the main force. In other words, we have at least one or two hours of downtime. Should we take this opportunity to counterattack Wushang and burn the Wu army's supplies?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "No, Zhou Xun is stationed in Wushang. He won't let us take it quickly. If a real battle breaks out, Zhou Xun won't need to hold out for long. As long as we hold out until Zhang Cheng comes back, we're finished."

“Wushang is a trap right now. Zhang Cheng and Zhuge Ke are just waiting for us to attack it. Don’t be foolish.”

Xie Chong said with shame, "Thank you for your guidance, Captain. I have learned a lot."

Guan Xing nodded to him and sped up again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Cheng led his army to finally bypass Jitou Ridge and return to the official road to meet up with Zhuge Ke.

Zhuge Ke said anxiously, "General, Guan Xing has gone towards Da Mo. What should we do?"

Zhang Cheng asked with a toothache, "How many troops are stationed in Da Mo? How many days can the Han army hold out if they attack the city?"

Zhuge Ke said with a wry smile, "How many soldiers can a county town have? Two or three hundred at most. Even including the private soldiers of the gentry, it probably can't gather eight hundred."

"Moreover, both Da Mo and Wu Shang are small towns with city walls that are only a few meters high and are practically useless. Expecting the city walls to hold off Guan Xing is just a pipe dream."

Damo is neither a strategic location nor a major transportation route, and it is located in the heart of Jiangdong. How could it possibly be garrisoned with too many troops?

Zhang Cheng frowned and said, "Then we can't rely on the troops stationed at Da Mo; we have to pursue them with all our might."

"In that case, you follow behind with the supplies, and I will lead the main force to pursue at full speed. We must catch up with Guan Xing before he breaks through Damo, otherwise we'll be in trouble once that kid breaks through the city and steals the supplies."

They didn't have much food, and they couldn't rely on the rear for the time being, so they could only collect food nearby. Da Mo was one of the places where they collected food. If Guan Xing rushed into the county town and robbed everything, what would they eat?

Therefore, we must speed up our pace and not give Guan Xing time to wreak havoc on the county.

Zhuge Ke cautioned, "Then be careful not to fall into Guan Xing's ambush."

Zhang Cheng nodded and led his army in a swift pursuit.

It was more than 200 li from Wushang to Damo. With the help of a local guide, Guan Xing arrived at the place he had agreed to meet with Shen Yi in just three days.

Someone was left at the agreed location to notify Shen Yi immediately upon seeing Guan Xing.

Shen Yi arrived quickly, cupped his fists at Guan Xing and said with a smile, "Captain, you're so fast! I thought you'd be arriving in two or three days."

Guan Xing said urgently, "Time is of the essence, let's stop the small talk and tell us about Da Mo's situation. Zhang Cheng is chasing us too closely, and he's only a day's journey away from us."

Guan Xing was not one to charge forward without regard for those behind him. On the way there, he kept a close eye on Zhang Cheng's movements and even sent men to ambush him along the way in an attempt to slow down the Wu army's march, but unfortunately, it had little effect.

Shen Yi said, "I have already hidden the grain and fodder we transported from Wushang."

"As you instructed, I sent men disguised as a merchant caravan to infiltrate the county town. As soon as we attack the city, they will immediately come out and cooperate with us from the inside."

"In addition, I have hidden many bamboo rafts by the Gu River to ensure that we can quickly cross the river and enter Danyang after the robbery."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Well done. Have you investigated the situation inside the city?"

Shen Yi nodded and said, "The magistrate of Damu County is named You Yong. He is a lazy and incompetent official. Although he does nothing, he does not harm the people like Zhu Hong. Therefore, he has a good reputation in Damu."

“There are five aristocratic families in the county. As you know, for aristocratic families, annexing land has long been an instinct ingrained in their bones. Therefore, like Wushang, most of the land in Damo is in the hands of aristocratic families.”

"It's just that the methods of the powerful clans were relatively mild, unlike Zhu Hong and Yan Zhen who were so exploitative. Overall, the common people were still barely getting by."

Guan Xing sneered, "Since you have a history of annexing land, there's no need to worry. Prepare to attack the city, then get out of here as soon as possible and rest after we cross the valley."

"Yes..." Shen Yi gathered firewood, lit the beacon fire, and notified the lurking personnel in the city to prepare. Then, he led Guan Xing in a grand procession towards the county town.

The place was less than ten miles from the county seat. Guan Xing only took half an hour to reach the city. When he looked up, he found that the city wall was only a little over two meters high, not even as high as the Wushang city wall, but the moat was five meters wide.

This is easy to understand. The county town of Damu is right next to the Gu River, so it wouldn't be too difficult to divert the Gu River into the moat.

Unfortunately, the moat could not stop the Han army. Meng Jun personally led the charge, formed a shield formation on the banks of the moat, hid behind the formation and fired arrows, waiting for an inside agent to open the gate.

The accomplices inside the city quickly arrived, seized the city gate, lowered the drawbridge, and invited Meng Jun inside.

The small county town had only a hundred or so soldiers defending it. It was no match for the Han army's attack from both inside and outside, and it fell in less than a quarter of an hour.