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

An army marches on its stomach!

Zhang Cheng was led around like a dog by Guan Xing for six or seven hundred li, and the little dry food he carried had long been exhausted.

Therefore, although they were worried about the safety of Zhuge Ke and Zhou Xun and wished they could immediately return by the same route, they had no choice but to stay in Shexian to rest and recuperate, while actively raising grain.

However, Shexian was a small county with limited grain supplies, and he could not directly seize grain like Guan Xing did. He could only ask the gentry to donate, and the grain supplies he obtained were really limited.

After all, the gentry couldn't possibly use all their assets to support his campaign against Guan Xing.

Helpless, Zhang Cheng sent men to Yi County next door to collect grain. After three days of hard work, they finally managed to gather enough grain for twenty days. Then, he led his army back to Wushang without hesitation.

This time, instead of returning via the same route to Wushang via Damu, he left the city and headed east, crossing the Fuchun Mountains along the Zhe River, heading straight for Wushang.

The reason is simple: Zhuge Ke has been out of contact for several days, so he must be finished. Returning to Damo would be pointless except for making unnecessary trips. Rather than rescuing the defeated Zhuge Ke, it would be better to go back to Wushang and join Zhou Xun, so as not to be led by the nose by Guan Xing.

With this in mind, Zhang Cheng marched at full speed, heading towards Wushang at top speed.

……

Wushang City.

Just as dawn broke, the drums signaling the assembly suddenly sounded, startling the surrendered soldiers who scrambled to their feet and rushed to the drill ground.

"Attention! At ease! Right turn! Forward march!"

As the command sounded, the surrendered soldiers began their morning exercises once again.

The surrendered soldiers took this very seriously and trained very hard, but Guan Xing, standing under the eaves, looked on helplessly and felt utterly powerless.

Whether these surrendered soldiers were doing it on purpose or were genuinely stupid, after seven or eight days of training they still couldn't distinguish left from right. When one of them turned right, another would often be face to face with someone else.

No, is it really that hard to turn around?

Meng Jun was equally frustrated and said helplessly, "Captain, why don't we train them on something else instead of making things difficult for them?"

Guan Xing smiled wryly and said, "I wish they could, but they can't even tell left from right, so what kind of training can they do?"

"Besides, Zhang Cheng will be back soon, so there's really no time to mess around. I don't expect them to achieve much during this period. I'll be satisfied as long as they can understand orders and obey them."

The private soldiers of the aristocratic families were mostly farmers who would only take up arms and act as soldiers when needed. They were like toilet paper, used and discarded, and naturally could not compare with regular armies.

Guan Xing did not want to use them as toilet paper, but rather to cultivate them into elites capable of fighting against the Wu and even Wei armies.

Therefore, he divided the training into two phases, using Zhang Cheng's return as a turning point. Before Zhang Cheng's return, he only trained simple formations, and after defeating Zhang Cheng, he would conduct real tactical training.

Meng Jun smiled bitterly, resigned to his fate, "Then let's leave it at that for now, but what should we do with those people? Should we continue the reform?"

Guan Xing knew who he was talking about. After seven or eight days of ideological reform, ninety percent of Zhou Xun's surrendered soldiers had surrendered, but there were still more than two hundred stubborn elements who could not be reformed no matter what, which made Meng Jun so angry that he wanted to beat someone up.

Guan Xing said with a headache, "Forget it, let's try a different approach. You lead a team to escort them to build bridges and pave roads. They have to do some work; they can't just eat for free."

The land east of the Yangtze River is crisscrossed by waterways, and there are countless small rivers within Wushang County that are only two or three meters wide. If a Yangtze River bridge cannot be built, then building a few small wooden bridges will surely suffice.

Meng Jun's face fell immediately, and he said weakly, "Captain, I can't bear to part with you, I want to stay and keep you company."

Building bridges and paving roads? How could you even think of that? That kind of work is so tiring.

Although you don't have to do it yourself, you still have to walk your own path.

Guan Xing laughed and scolded, "Can't you, a grown man, stop being so mushy? Hurry up."

"Fine!" Meng Jun turned and left with a wronged look on his face. But he returned less than half an hour later, with Shen Yi, who looked travel-worn and exhausted, by his side.

Guan Xing asked with delight, "Old Shen, you're back! What happened?"

Shen Yi bowed and said, "Reporting to the Captain, I successfully led Zhang Cheng to Shexian as you instructed, and then returned along the Zhe River through the Fuchun Mountains. Before leaving, I left a few scouts to observe Zhang Cheng's movements."

"The scouts reported that Zhang Cheng stayed in Shexian for three days, and then followed me towards Wushang."

Guan Xing frowned and said, "So, after realizing he had been tricked, Zhang Cheng didn't return to rescue Zhuge Ke, but instead came straight at us?"

Shen Yi nodded and said, "That's right, and it's only a day or two away from Wushang. We should arrive tomorrow."

Guan Xing patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "You did a great job. You've worked so hard these past few days. Go and rest. Lao Meng, have the kitchen prepare something nice for the brothers to treat them."

Shen Yi bowed and said, "Thank you, Captain. What should we do now?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "It's not until tomorrow, so what's the rush? I guess Zhang Cheng won't have much grain in Shexian County. It'll be enough for a month at most. Besides, nearly half of the population of the six counties in Jiangdong is in Danyang County and Wu County. The further south you go, the fewer people there are and the fewer cities there are, so the less grain you can gather."

"We currently have more supplies than Zhang Cheng, so the advantage is on our side. Therefore, there is no need to worry. We should rest well and once we wake up, we will retreat to Da Mo to extend the battle line and continue to use the 'walking dog' tactic to exhaust that bastard Zhang Cheng."

“Here you go…” Shen Yi left excitedly.

Guan Xing continued, "Old Meng, forget about those diehards. You go first and send the usable items, along with Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke, to Da Mo to meet up with Xie Chong. I'll be there shortly after."

“Look…” Meng Jun left quickly.

Guan Xing then shouted to Gan Xun, who was in charge of training, "Stop training and disperse. Rest today and move out tomorrow morning."

The day passed quickly.

At daybreak, Guan Xing gave each of the stubborn elements who couldn't be reformed a steamed bun, then drove them out of the city to inform Zhang Cheng.

I need to let Zhang Cheng know where I'm going, right? How can Zhang Cheng track me down if he doesn't know where I am?

Guan Xing then quickly gathered his troops and withdrew, not forgetting to post notices to inform the people before leaving.

Upon hearing the news, the people did not stop Guan Xing as they had done before; instead, they cursed and swore at the notice.

"Damn it, Wu Jun is here again. Is this never going to end?"

"When will General Guan be able to wipe out all these annoying Wu soldiers? They're driving me crazy every day."

Poor Zhang Cheng did nothing, yet he was collectively disliked by the people of Wushang. If Zhang Cheng knew this, I wonder what he would think.

Zhang Cheng has already crossed the Fuchun Mountains and is only fifty miles away from Wushang City. He was preparing to make a final push to reach the city in one go when several scouts came up to him and bowed, saying, "General, more than two hundred men have suddenly appeared ahead. They say they are General Zhou Xun's soldiers and request to see you to report on the military situation."

Zhang Cheng's expression changed slightly, and he quickly said, "Please come in."

Soon a group of ragged soldiers were brought before him. The young man in the lead, Zhang Cheng, recognized him as Zhou Qi, a captain under Zhou Xun.

Seeing their disheveled appearance, Zhang Cheng's heart sank instantly. He took the initiative to greet them and asked anxiously, "Why is it you? Where is Zhou Xun?"

Zhou Qi cried out in grievance, "I was captured. Eight days ago, the Han army suddenly descended from the sky. That damned Guan Xing knocked my young master unconscious while he was asleep, and then all the soldiers in the city were captured."

Although Zhang Cheng had expected this result, he still found it hard to accept after it was confirmed, and asked impatiently, "Then how did you get back? Why are only you guys back? Where are the others?"