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

The rest is easy.

Wu Jun laid down his weapons and removed his armor, and as Guan Xing instructed, put his hands behind his head and voluntarily left the camp to accept the control of the Han army.

Guan Xing then entered the camp, took control of all the food and weapons, and led them to retreat to Damo.

On the way, Guan Xing said, "Wu Jun has just surrendered and has not yet established trust with us. Taking them to attack Wushang will not only fail to strengthen our forces, but will also become a burden. So we need to find another way to deal with it."

"Old Xie, how about we split up? You stay in Damo County to reform the surrendered soldiers, and I'll go attack Wushang."

Xie Chong knew this wasn't the time to be picky, so he nodded and said, "No problem, but there's one thing: if Zhang Cheng finds out we didn't go to Shexian, he'll definitely turn around and come back. What will we do then?"

Guan Xing pondered, “Zhang Cheng’s five thousand men are all elite soldiers of the Wu army. The walls of Da Mo are low, and it is impossible to defend them with surrendered soldiers who have no loyalty. There is no need to defend them.”

"If Zhang Cheng really comes back, you should withdraw from Da Mo and fight your way back, creating trouble for Zhang Cheng while retreating to Wu Shang to join me."

Xie Chong nodded and said, "Understood. What about Zhuge Ke and the others? They can't stay in Da Mo. Otherwise, if they incite the surrendered soldiers to cause trouble, I won't be able to handle it."

Guan Xing wanted to attack Wushang, so he certainly wouldn't have many troops left to guard the prisoners. It would be easy for a small number of Han soldiers to cause trouble while guarding a large number of prisoners.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'll take them with me. Separating soldiers from their officers is a basic principle in dealing with surrendered soldiers. I won't leave such a big threat around you."

The two chatted for a while longer, and after discussing the specific details, Guan Xing turned and left. He walked up behind Zhuge Ke, put his arm around his neck, and laughed, "Brother Zhuge, let's have a chat for a bit. Tell me what you think now?"

Zhuge Ke shoved his stinking hand away and said irritably, "Get lost. I don't know you. Don't try to get close to me."

He was still in a daze, so depressed he wanted to jump into the river. Guan Xing's attempt to get close to him at this moment was clearly a way of showing off.

You've already won the battle and you still want to slap me in the face? I've already given you face, haven't I?

Guan Xing wasn't annoyed and teased, "Fine, it seems you don't want to know why I didn't go to Shexian but stayed here to wait for you. To be precise, you don't want to know why you bumped into my arms. Then forget it."

After saying that, he turned and left without stopping.

Zhuge Ke, however, was scratched where it hurt. He had indeed given up setting up camp and resting on the spot only after receiving news that Guan Xing had fled to Shexian.

He thought that Guan Xing was far away, Zhang Cheng was blocking his way, and there were no enemy troops or bandits around him who could threaten him. He thought that he could rest for a night and then leave without any problem.

But how did Guan Xing, who was supposed to go to Shexian, suddenly sneak up on him and capture him without him even noticing?

If this problem isn't resolved, Zhuge Ke won't be able to sleep well in the future. After hesitating for a moment, he hurriedly called out, "Guan Xing, Brother Anguo, please say a few words for my uncle's sake."

So now they know how to claim kinship?

Guan Xing stepped back to his side, beaming with excitement, and asked, "What are you talking about?"

What do you say?

Zhuge Ke said irritably, "Didn't you go to Shexian? Why are you back so suddenly, and so quickly?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Xing put on a show of arrogance, tilting his head slightly and laughing, "Call me 'brother,' call me 'brother' and I'll tell you."

Hey, you're putting on an act now?

Zhuge Ke snorted coldly, "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. The truth will come out sooner or later. It's only a matter of time before I figure it out. There's no need for me to beg for mercy over such a trivial matter."

"You don't want to talk about it, huh? I'm not listening anymore. Let's see how long you can keep it up."

Guan Xing: "..."

Damn it, we've been outmaneuvered.

But he wasn't one to back down. He thought, "You don't want to hear it? Fine, I won't say anything then. Let's see who gives in first."

The two of them were like sulking young wives, one wanting to speak and the other wanting to listen, but neither was willing to back down or lose face, so they could only torment each other.

Just when things seemed to be going well, Xie Chong stepped forward and said with a smile, "General Zhuge, you can ask me this question, but there's a condition: you have to hand over the hidden bamboo raft."

The retreat to Damo required crossing the Gu River, but Guan Xing had burned the wooden bridge and the bamboo raft built by Shen Yi. To cross the river, they would have to rebuild the raft, which was a huge waste of time.

If they didn't want to build their own rafts, they had to use the Wu army's. When Zhang Cheng crossed the river that day, he built many bamboo rafts. After crossing the river, he ordered people to row the bamboo rafts to the east bank and hand them over to Zhuge Ke.

These bamboo rafts are their only means of crossing the river.

Zhuge Ke remained silent, not really wanting to make the deal, mainly because he didn't want the Han army to have it too easy.

Xie Chong continued to persuade him: "General Zhuge, you should understand that you are not the only one among the surrendered soldiers who knows the location of the bamboo raft. We can easily find it by asking around. There is no point in you hiding it now."

Zhuge Ke agreed with his statement and said with a wry smile, "Alright, the bamboo raft is yours now. Now you can answer my question."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Is this so hard to understand? Only a portion of the Han army went to Shexian, and their purpose was simply to lure Zhang Cheng there. As for me, I've been waiting by the river for you to come and join me."

Zhuge Ke was no fool; on the contrary, he was quite clever. Upon hearing this, he instantly understood Guan Xing's intention and exclaimed in shock, "You deliberately transferred Zhang Cheng to Shexian County, and then turned around to deal with me or Zhou Xun. In other words, you will attack Zhou Xun in Wushang next?"

Guan Xing did not answer directly, but smiled at Xie Chong and said, "What did I tell you? The surname Zhuge sounds intelligent."

Although these words were meant as a compliment, they struck Zhuge Ke as particularly grating. He gritted his teeth and said, "A feint to the east while attacking the west, a diversionary tactic—I never imagined Guan Xing could be so adept at warfare. I've learned my lesson."

Guan Xing feigned surprise and said, "So this is the legendary feint attack, luring the tiger away from the mountain! I really didn't think that much about it at the time. Brother Zhuge's summary is spot on."

These words were so insulting that Zhuge Ke, already frustrated, almost exploded.

That damned Guan Anguo, you can't be so insulting! If you're so tough, let's have a manly contest, the kind where it's a fight to the death, no contest of skill.

The army returned to the banks of the valley, and Xie Chong easily found the bamboo raft that Zhuge Ke had hidden, crossed the valley, and headed to Damu County.

The county town was currently without even the county magistrate You Yong, so it was naturally undefended, and the Han army entered the town easily without encountering any resistance.

Upon seeing the Han army return, the various aristocratic families, whose homes had been looted, were so frightened that they almost collectively lost control of their bladders.

Didn't those damned Han soldiers leave? Why are they back again?

Wasn't General Zhang Cheng supposed to be pursuing the Han army? How come he let the Han army into the city again?

Damn Zhang Cheng, you led so many elite troops but couldn't even capture Guan Xing, whose forces were less than half yours. How dare you call yourself a famous general of our time?

And you, Magistrate You Yong, where the hell are you? Did you abandon the city and run away?

The gentry were uneasy, but Guan Xing had no time to argue with them. He rushed to the county government office, made some simple arrangements, left a squad of soldiers to guard the prisoners for Xie Chong, and then led the remaining soldiers and the surrendered officers of the rank of squad leader and above out of the county town to Wushang to deal with Zhou Xun who was stationed there.