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

Fueled by the pine resin, the raging fire quickly spread across the entire bridge surface, turning half the sky red.

Guan Xing and Zhang Cheng faced each other across the river, neither of them in a hurry to leave.

Looking at Zhang Cheng's motionless figure, Guan Xing felt a little suspicious. He was waiting for the grain to be transported away, but he didn't know what Zhang Cheng was waiting for.

Guan Xing summoned his generals and instructed them, "I suspect Zhang Cheng is unwilling to let us retreat smoothly with our supplies. He has probably already sent men to cut down bamboo and trees, preparing to cross the river to pursue us."

“We have too much baggage and our march is too slow. If we continue to retreat, Zhang Cheng will easily catch up with us across the river. So we must stay behind to hold them off. Xie Chong and Shen Yi, you two take the grain and go ahead. Find a place to hide the grain.”

"Meng Jun, go and cut down trees to build catapults. Ji Jie, go and cut down pine trees and bundle them into straw bales. We'll make sure to greet Zhang Cheng when he crosses the river. By the way, Lao Xie, how far is the nearest bridge from us on the upper and lower reaches of the Gu River?"

If they can't get across head-on, Zhang Cheng will most likely cross the river from another location and then circle around to their backs, which is something we must be wary of.

Xie Chong replied, "Kuaiji Prefecture is sparsely populated, and within a hundred miles of the valley, there is only this bridge that we burned down."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Then go and do it. Remember, after you hide the grain, clean up all the traces so that Wu's army can't find it."

"Understood!" The generals clasped their hands in acceptance and went about their respective tasks.

Guan Xing stayed behind to strengthen defenses and waited for the Wu army to attack. However, before the Wu army could attack, it got dark.

While they were eating, Meng Jun, Gan Xun, and the others approached Guan Xing and asked, "Captain, Zhang Cheng is very likely to cross the river at night. What should we do? Retreat or continue to wait?"

Guan Xing said, "Old Xie hasn't come back yet, so we can only keep waiting. But we can't just sit here doing nothing. I guess Zhang Chengyin will launch his attack later. You guys take turns resting to conserve your energy, and then we'll give Zhang Chengyin a good beating."

As Guan Xing had predicted, around midnight, Xie Chong and Shen Yi successfully returned after hiding the grain and fodder. Just as dawn broke, countless figures appeared on the opposite bank of the river, pushing hundreds of bamboo rafts and secretly entering the river, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the Han army.

Guan Xing hadn't slept all night and had been waiting for this moment. As soon as he saw the figure, he shouted, "Brothers, we've got work to do! Get to work!"

The battalion currently on duty is Gan Xun's second battalion. Upon hearing this, they quickly lit fires and operated catapults to launch burning bundles of straw at the Wu army. In an instant, countless fireballs floated in the sky, like a magical battle, which looked incredibly dazzling.

Faced with the roaring fireballs, Zhang Cheng was actually prepared. He ordered his men to stand on the raft with bamboo poles and knock all the fireballs into the river. Wu Jun, holding the poles, was having a great time, just like playing baseball.

Of course, some were unlucky enough to hit other bamboo rafts, but it wasn't a big problem; they were immediately knocked away by Wu's army as soon as they landed.

As for the arrows shot by the Han army, that was even simpler; just raise your shield to block them.

Seeing how much fun they were having, Guan Xing got annoyed and cursed, "Damn Zhang Cheng, he's got some skills. Gan Xun, change the stones. If you're so capable, let them use bamboo poles to knock the stones away. The rest of you, execute the second plan and evacuate quickly."

After saying this, he led his army away, leaving only Gan Xun to guard the position. Gan Xun replaced the bundles of straw with stones and continued to throw them. While throwing, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and ordered his men to wrap the stones in the bundles of straw, then light them and shoot them out to see what the Wu army would do.

This method worked! When a Wu soldier saw the fireball flying towards him, he swung his bamboo pole and smashed it. But then, tragically, he didn't knock the fireball away; instead, he fell into the river.

Under Gan Xun's flint and steel attacks, Wu's army gradually suffered casualties, but they did not stop their advance. As time went by, they got closer and closer to the other side of the river.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Gan Xun decisively abandoned the catapult and chose to retreat.

Zhang Cheng finally set foot on the western shore, but without taking a break, he immediately ordered a pursuit.

County Magistrate You Yong advised, "General, we only had a few hundred Han soldiers fighting us just now. Where are the rest of the Han soldiers?"

"I suspect they are lying in ambush ahead. It's too dangerous to pursue them rashly in the dark. Should we wait until dawn?"

Zhang Cheng smiled wryly and said, "I know it's dangerous to pursue them now, but if we don't, that bastard Guan Xing will probably be gone again by dawn. We should pursue them now. Even if it costs us some money, we have to keep Guan Xing here."

"But we must also be prepared that we may not be able to stay. The nearest place is Shexian. You should immediately send someone to Shexian as fast as possible and have the Shexian magistrate gather the private soldiers of the gentry to strengthen defenses. Tell the Shexian magistrate that as long as he can hold out until I lead my army to arrive, it will be a great achievement."

You Yong nodded and said, "I will go myself, General. Rest assured, even if I have to run myself to death, I will definitely get to Shexian before Guan Xing."

"Alright." Zhang Cheng saw him off and led his troops to continue the pursuit.

Meanwhile, Guan Xing had successfully retreated to a valley seven or eight miles away. He summoned his generals and instructed them, "Shen Yi, I'll have to trouble you again this time. Use my name to pretend to be the main force of our army, get to Shexian as quickly as possible, and launch a feigned attack to try and get Zhang Cheng transferred to Shexian."

"Remember to make as much noise as possible, the bigger the better. Once we reach Shexian, we should attack after dark. During the day, it will be easier for others to see through our true strength."

This task is a bit heavy. Shen Yi felt both pressure and excitement, and asked eagerly, "No problem, what about you guys?"

Guan Xing snorted coldly, "Naturally, we'll wait until Zhang Cheng arrives in Shexian County, then return to Wushang and deal with Zhou Xun."

“It’s nearly 500 li from Shexian to Wushang. Even if Zhang Cheng marches at full speed, it will take him six or seven days to get there. That’s enough time for us to take back Wushang.”

"Your forces are too small. After luring Zhang Cheng there, retreat immediately and take the back path back to Wushang to rejoin me. Do you understand?"

Shen Yi nodded emphatically and said, "Understood."

The army split up again. Shen Yi led his troops to Shexian, while Gan Xun stayed behind to continue blocking Zhang Cheng and buy time for Shen Yi.

Guan Xing then led the rest of his troops to find a place to hide, lest their large numbers attract Zhang Cheng's attention and lead to their discovery.

Less than a quarter of an hour after Guan Xing left, Zhang Cheng led his troops into Gan Xun's ambush. After a brief exchange of fire, Gan Xun quickly withdrew to the next location to continue the ambush, trying to create the illusion for Zhang Cheng that he was covering the main force of the Han army.

After all this commotion until dawn, Ganxun, led by his guide, turned into the mountains and disappeared.

At the same time, Zhang Cheng received news that Guan Xing was leading his troops to attack Shexian. He had an expression of "I knew it" on his face and chased after Guan Xing to Shexian without thinking.

With this, Guan Xing completely shook off Zhang Cheng's pursuit.

However, Guan Xing did not rush back to Wushang. Instead, he ordered his army to rest in the mountains and prepare to take action after dark.

After several days of continuous fighting, the Han army was exhausted and needed to recover.

The daytime passed quickly as the Han army rested, and Gan Xun returned safely at nightfall to reunite with Guan Xing.

Guan Xing counted the number of people, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Let's get ready to go."

Just as they were about to get up and move, Guan Yan, who was on lookout duty, suddenly returned and said urgently, "Captain, something bad has happened! Another Wu army is coming. They are currently crossing the river and are escorting supplies. Judging from their appearance, it should be Zhuge Ke."

"Uh..." Guan Xing was stunned, touching his nose in surprise, "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

Xie Chong's eyes flickered as he said, "Zhuge Ke has at most two or three thousand men with him, and their strength is about equal to ours. Should we let him pass or take him out while we're at it?"