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

With the city falling, the defending troops readily surrendered.

Guan Xing successfully entered the city gate and loudly ordered, "Ji Jie, you lead the four battalions to guard all the city gates to prevent the gentry from escaping. The rest of you, each lead a team to attack the gentry inside the city. Remember, only plunder grain, not gold or silver, and absolutely no killing. Anyone who disobeys will be punished according to military law."

He already considered Da Mo as his own territory, so naturally he wouldn't kill so many people that he would be disliked by the people.

Moreover, his attack on the county town was simply to seize grain, and he did not want to leave any grain for the Wu army. Under such circumstances, the less disturbance to the people, the better.

"Yes..." The group clasped their hands and left quickly. Not long after they left, Shen Yi came forward and bowed, saying, "Captain, the county magistrate's guerrillas request an audience."

Guan Xing said leisurely, "Instead of thinking about running away at this time, he took the initiative to come and see me. I didn't realize that this county magistrate was quite responsible."

"Take him to the county government office, we'll meet there."

The county magistrate You Yong took the initiative to meet with the enemy general after the city fell, which had only two purposes: either to surrender and show his loyalty, or to persuade him to reduce the killing and treat the people kindly. Otherwise, he would have run away or gone into hiding long ago. Why would he rush to his death?

Guan Xing didn't believe that You Yong would defect to him. You Yong was just a bandit, weak and in danger of being wiped out at any time. Even if You Yong was stupid, he wouldn't abandon his lord and defect to him, the bandit leader, when the Wu army had an absolute advantage.

Therefore, You Yong's purpose in meeting him could only be the latter.

Guan Xing arrived at the county government office and sat down. He then instructed his men, "Bring up the bandits."

Soon a scholar in his early thirties was brought into the main hall. He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Guan Xing, saying, "You Yong, the magistrate of Damu County, pays his respects to the general. Since the general is busy with official duties, I will keep it brief. I dare to ask the general to restrain his soldiers and ensure that they do not harass the people."

Guan Xing stared at You Yong for a moment, then asked curiously, "Magistrate You, thank you for your frankness. In return, I will get straight to the point. I've heard that you are an inactive and lazy magistrate who always keeps to yourself. Why do you dare to come to see me alone today?"

You Yong's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he chuckled awkwardly, "A lazy county magistrate who does nothing, General, your words really hit the nail on the head."

"To be honest, General, although I am a county magistrate, I come from a humble background. The local gentry do not respect me at all, and my decrees cannot even be issued by the county government. Over time, I have resigned myself to my fate."

"But today is different. No matter what, I am the magistrate of Damo County. I can't just stand by and watch the people suffer. So I beg the general not to take his anger out on the people. If you want to kill someone, then kill me."

Guan Xing laughed. He suddenly found the county magistrate rather endearing and reassured him, "Don't worry, when have you ever seen the King of Hanzhong's army commit indiscriminate killing?"

"As for you, since you're unhappy with your position in Eastern Wu, are you interested in joining the King of Hanzhong?"

You Yong shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kind words, General, but a subject cannot serve two masters. I can only fail to live up to your good intentions."

The more he said that, the more interested Guan Xing became in him, and he laughed and said, "Believe me, we will definitely become colleagues, and that day will not be long."

Guan Xing had no time to chat with him, so he placed him under house arrest in the county government office and left people to guard him. Then he went out to command the army to attack the mansion of the gentry.

Da Mo is a small county, so the power of the local gentry is naturally not very strong. They are basically pseudo-gentry, somewhere between the poor and the powerful.

Such aristocratic families were naturally no match for the Han army's attack. Their mansions and granaries were quickly breached, their vehicles and livestock were confiscated, and cartloads of grain were transported out of the city.

Transporting the goods was a tedious and laborious task; it took the entire army nearly three hours to move them all.

After finishing his business, Guan Xing returned to the county office and found You Yong, smiling as he said, "Magistrate You, there's something I forgot to ask you. Many people in the city saw you come to see me. Aren't you afraid that Zhang Cheng will misunderstand and think you're colluding with the Han army, and then you'll die a violent death?"

The county town fell, and the grain and supplies were looted. Someone has to take the blame for such a big thing, right?

In such a large county, is there anyone more suitable to take the blame than You Yong?

You Yong smiled wryly and said, "I thank the general for his kindness to the people. As for myself, I'll leave it to fate. Whatever happens, happens."

This is a complete surrender.

Guan Xing said speechlessly, "I admire Magistrate You's magnanimity, but I cannot abandon you. If you were to die because of me, I would feel guilty. So, Magistrate You, in order to prevent Zhang Cheng from misunderstanding you, I have no choice but to offend you."

You Yong asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"

He soon found out that two soldiers had forcibly pinned him to the ground and tied him to a pillar.

Guan Xing drew his sword and brandished it at his body, saying, "Simply binding him isn't convincing enough. It would be best to add some bloodstains so that when you see Zhang Cheng, you can curse me to your heart's content and thus lessen your guilt. What do you say?"

You Yong thought about it and realized it made sense. He was on the verge of tears when he said, "Thank you, General, for thinking of me so thoroughly. Since that's the case, then let's go. Wait, when will General Zhang Cheng arrive? I don't want to bleed to death before he gets here!"

Although he was prepared to die before meeting Guan Xing, it didn't mean he really wanted to die. If there was a chance to live, he would naturally try to seize it.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'm very experienced in this kind of thing. I guarantee that every strike will avoid vital points."

As he spoke, he swiftly swung his knife, leaving more than a dozen bloody wounds on You Yong's body before leaving gracefully.

You Yong looked at his wound, then at Guan Xing's departing figure, and felt utterly speechless with grief, because he didn't know who to blame.

Is it because Sun Quan and Lü Meng were too incompetent that Guan Yu was able to raid their base?

It doesn't seem appropriate; neither of them wants their house to be burgled.

It's Zhang Cheng's fault for being incompetent and failing to defeat the Han army at Wushang, allowing Guan Xing to escape to Damo.

That doesn't seem appropriate either. The Guan family father and son are so formidable; they even outwitted Sun Quan and Lü Meng. It's normal that Zhang Cheng couldn't be captured, right?

So who's to blame?

Oh well, I guess I'll just blame my bad luck.

With this thought, You Yong stopped worrying and leaned against a pillar to recall his tragic life. After nearly two hours of reminiscing, a group of elite Wu soldiers suddenly rushed into the county government hall.

The leading general looked at You Yong and asked, "I am General Zhang Cheng, the Fenwei General. Who are you?"

You Yong immediately put on the expression of a wronged child seeing his parents, and cried with joy, "I am You Yong, the magistrate of Damu County. General, you have finally come! The Han army is too brave. I have no soldiers and cannot stop them."

“Those damned Han soldiers are a bunch of thugs. They stormed into the city and committed all sorts of atrocities, burning, killing, looting and plundering. I went to Guan Xing to persuade him to treat the people kindly, but he tied me to a pillar and beat me up. Look what I did to them.”

"General, you've arrived just in time! If you'd come even a moment later, I might never have seen you again, sob sob..."

Zhang Chengting's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he hurriedly asked, "Where is the grain in the treasury? Was it stolen?"

You Yong cried even louder, tears streaming down his face as he accused, "It wasn't just the county government's treasury; even the private granaries of the major clans were looted! That bastard Guan Xing, he doesn't just rob gold and silver, he robs grain!"

The worst fears came true. Zhang Chengqi broke down on the spot and asked sternly, "Which way did they go? How long have they been gone?"

No, we must find a way to get the grain back, otherwise we'll starve.

You Yong shook his head and said, "I don't know. I've been tied up here and haven't even left the house. Could you please untie me first?"

Zhang Cheng swung his sword, cut the rope, and turned to leave. You Yong scrambled to his feet and quickly gave chase, shouting as he ran, "General, wait for me!"

As soon as the two left the main hall and exited the county government office, a messenger rushed over to report: "General, the Han army has headed towards the Gu River and is currently crossing it."

Zhang Cheng gritted his teeth and said, "Chase them! We absolutely cannot let them cross the river safely."