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

Zhou Shan was quickly brought before him. Upon seeing Guan Xing, he knelt down with a thud and kowtowed frantically, saying, "This humble servant pays his respects to the General and begs the General to take me in."

Guan Xing asked in surprise, "Didn't I let you go back? And how did you manage to kill Zhou Qi?"

Zhou Shan dared not hide anything and told the whole truth. Finally, he said, "I have followed Zhou Qi for many years and dare not betray him easily, but I did not expect that Zhou Qi would not treat me like a human being at all. He threw porridge at me just because I did not like the food. It was hot porridge. Look how hot it burned me."

"After looking around, I realized that only you, General, treat us soldiers like human beings. I am willing to serve you, General, and be at your beck and call. Please take me in."

Guan Xing was speechless. He had asked you to stay that day, but you refused. Now that he had let you go, you were clamoring to come back. What was he doing?

However, since they had already offered their pledge of loyalty, he felt embarrassed to refuse again. He bent down to help them up and said kindly, "You must be tired after traveling all this way. Go have a meal and get some rest. After you've rested, go catch up with your comrades and comrades. After all, you've reunited."

This is a perfect example of what not to do; how can we not make good use of it?

Although the surrendered soldiers had joined the Han army, they were not completely disappointed in their former masters and still harbored some illusions. Having Zhou Shan appear as a witness would better shatter these illusions and make them wholeheartedly devote themselves to the Han army.

Zhou Shan said excitedly, "Thank you, General. I am willing to serve you with my life, even at the cost of my life."

After seeing Zhou Shan off, Guan Xing frowned and said, "Old Xie, it seems Zhang Cheng is tired of being led around by us and doesn't want to keep chasing after us."

Zhou Shan killed Zhou Qi on his way to Shanyin to deliver military orders, and the news he brought back was extremely useful to the Han army.

Xie Chong frowned and said, "It is indeed a bit troublesome. Zhang Cheng is leading the Wu army's elite troops, and although we have 8,000 soldiers, our combat strength is average. It is not advisable to fight Zhang Cheng head-on. We may have no choice but to enter Yuzhang in advance to find a way out. I don't believe that Zhang Cheng can sit still in Wushang after we retreat to Yuzhang."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "That's right. If Zhang Cheng dares to chase us, we'll run away. If he doesn't chase us, we'll raid the local tyrants in Yuzhang and see who gets anxious first. Pack up and we'll retreat to Yuzhang first thing tomorrow morning."

"Here..." Xie Chong clasped his hands and left, but soon returned in a hurry, accompanied by ten people.

Xie Chong said with a strange expression, "Captain, they are Zhou Qi's personal guards. They learned that Zhou Shan killed Zhou Qi and were afraid of being implicated, so they came to join us."

"According to their confession, they originally wanted to meet up with Zhou Shan and come over together, but Zhou Shan ran too fast and they couldn't catch up."

Guan Xing: "..."

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but it's always good to have a few more negative examples.

Guan Xing asked them a few questions and offered some words of comfort before letting them go down to rest.

No sooner had they settled in than Xie Chong returned, his expression even more peculiar, and said, “General, a man named Li Gou Dan requests an audience, saying he is here on the orders of Zhu Chao, the commander of the Zhu Qu tribe, to report an urgent military situation to you.”

Guan Xing quickly pictured Zhu Chao's face in his mind and said with a complicated expression, "Bring him in."

Li Gou Dan was led inside, and before he even reached Guan Xing, he knelt down and kowtowed, weeping and saying, "General Guan, I have finally met you."

Guan Xing looked at his body covered in wounds and asked in surprise, "What happened to you?"

"General Guan, I regret it."

Li Gou Dan began to recount his tragic experiences in Wu's camp as if he had met a relative. He concluded by saying, "Zhu Quzhang told me to tell the general that he was willing to be the general's inside man and to use beacon fires as a signal. As long as the general lights five beacon fires at Jitou Ridge, he will burn Zhang Cheng's grain supplies."

Guan Xing was dumbfounded. How did the plot suddenly start to go on a wild run like a runaway horse?

In all honesty, he only released the prisoners out of concern for his own safety, fearing they might cause trouble if they stayed by his side. He never intended to use the prisoners to cause trouble for Zhang Cheng.

How did these prisoners become Sun Wukong, who crawled into Princess Iron Fan's belly?

After seeing Li Gou Dan off, Guan Xing said excitedly, "Old Xie, this is a rare opportunity. I think we should change our strategy and deal with Zhang Cheng first. What do you think?"

If Zhu Chao could really burn Wu's army's supplies, he was confident he could capture Zhang Cheng and bring him to keep Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke company.

Xie Chong frowned and said, "The opportunity is good, but can this Li Gou Dan be trusted? What if it's just a ruse by Zhang Cheng?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "Without Zhou Shan, I definitely wouldn't have believed Li Gou Dan, but Zhou Shan's appearance makes me feel that Li Gou Dan's words are credible."

"Don't forget that Zhou Shan brought Zhou Qi's head with him. Zhou Qi is Zhou Xun's man. If Zhang Cheng uses Zhou Qi to play the victim for us, isn't the price too high? Isn't he afraid that Zhou Xun will turn against him?"

Xie Chong pondered, "General, you are right. So what should we do next?"

What else could we do but boldly go for it?

After a quick tidying up, at dawn Guan Xing ordered Xie Chong and Shen Yi to stay behind in Damu and wait for an opportunity to act. He personally led the troops of Meng Jun, Gan Xun, and Ji Jie, and with the guidance of local guides, they left the city and headed north. At the confluence of the Gu River and the Zhe River, they turned east and traveled over mountains and ridges for seven days before finally entering Wushang territory.

During the break, Guan Xing summoned his generals and unfolded a map, saying, "Gentlemen, please look. Wushang is located at the bottom of a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides. There are only two roads leading to Shanyin, the county seat."

"One is Zhuji County, which is sandwiched between Jinhua Mountain and Kuaiji Mountain, and the other is Shan County, which is sandwiched between Kuaiji Mountain and Dapan Mountain."

"As long as we take and hold these two counties, we can cut off Zhang Cheng's connection with Shanyin, preventing him from obtaining supplies from Shanyin or even Wujun. Once Zhu Chao burns the grain supplies in Wushang, Zhang Cheng will be finished."

"Furthermore, after the grain supplies are destroyed, Zhang Cheng will definitely retreat through Zhuji and Shancheng counties. As long as we hold these two counties, we can cut off Zhang Cheng's route back north, forcing him to retreat westward to Damo or southward to the Shanyue tribes. Now I order..."

Upon hearing the order, generals Meng Jun, Gan Xun, Ji Jie, and others stood up simultaneously, ramrod straight.

Guan Xing said seriously, "Meng Jun will attack and defend Shan County. Gan Xun and I will attack Zhuji County. Ji Jie, you are familiar with the terrain. Go to Jitou Ridge to seize the strategic terrain and prevent Zhang Cheng from retreating to the Yue tribes. Force him back to Damu."

The three bowed simultaneously and said, "Yes..."

Guan Xing continued, "Ning Huan and Guan Yan, you two will personally lead scouts to investigate the movements of the Wu army. I need to know every move they make."

"Qian Yun, take your men to each village and inform the people to hide their grain to prevent Wu's army from seizing it. If all else fails, they should go into the mountains to hide for a few days. From now on, I will make sure that Zhang Cheng cannot collect a single grain of grain."

"Yes..." Ning Huan, Guan Yan, and Qian Yun accepted the order.

Afterwards, everyone ate and rested, waiting for nightfall. Around midnight, the army split up and headed to their respective designated locations.

At present, the Jiangnan region has not been developed enough. Zhuji and Shanxian are small towns like Wushang, and there is a lack of troops stationed in the cities. The Han army took them easily without lifting a finger.

Ji Jie arrived at the designated location on time and, after making all the necessary preparations, lit five beacon fires to notify Zhu Chao.

Inside Wushang City, Zhu Chao had been waiting for the signal outside the city. When he saw the beacon fire, he was so excited that he almost jumped for joy. After his excitement subsided, he immediately contacted the partners he had recently recruited to start the operation.

Murder and arson should be done at night, but there is a curfew at night, and even Wu's army cannot move around freely, let alone these unwelcome prisoners of war. Therefore, they can only risk their lives during the day.

Zhang Cheng also saw the beacon fire at Jitou Ridge, but he didn't know that the danger came from within. Instead of examining and reflecting on his own actions, he sent scouts to Jitou Ridge to investigate.

Not long after the scouts were sent out, soldiers inside the camp shouted anxiously, "Something's wrong! There's a fire!"