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

Wu Jun's main camp.

Lu Meng waited all night but the Han army did not arrive. At dawn, he found Zhang Zhao, yawning and cursing, "Damn Guan Yu didn't launch a night attack. When did that red-faced thief become so cautious? This is not like him."

"Strategist, did you fail to deliver the message to Guan Yu?"

Zhang Zhao, who had also been up all night, said with heavy dark circles under his eyes, "It's not that the goods weren't delivered, but that Guan Yu has learned his lesson. He must have learned from the defeat at Xiangfan and won't take any more risks."

Lu Meng's face fell instantly, and he said with a bitter smile, "That would be troublesome. If Guan Yu doesn't take the bait, no matter what moves we make, it won't be of any use."

The most difficult people to deal with in the world are not those brilliant geniuses with ingenious schemes, but those fools who are as steady as an old dog.

Even the wisest person can make a mistake, and even the most brilliant genius will err. One mistake is enough.

The fool, who is as steady as a rock, is different. Although he may not gain huge profits, he also doesn't make any mistakes.

No matter what tricks you play, I'll just play it my own way. I won't gain too much advantage by playing it safe, but I also won't suffer too much loss.

The reason why Lü Meng was able to cross the river in disguise so easily was because Guan Yu was greedy for credit and acted rashly. In other words, the biggest contributor to the crossing of the river in disguise was actually Guan Yu himself.

But now that Guan Yu is no longer reckless, he has no other options. Guan Yu's military leadership combined with Zhuge Liang's calm and collected personality makes it a truly despairing situation.

Zhang Zhao replied, "That's not what I'm worried about right now. What I'm more concerned about is..."

"You're saying Guan Yu didn't launch a night attack because he was simply aware of the danger, or because he never even considered it, or because he already knew we were blocking news of Zhang Cheng's capture?"

"If it's the latter, then things will be troublesome."

Lu Meng's expression changed slightly, and he frowned, saying, "Does the strategist mean that Guan Yu will actively spread the news to undermine our morale?"

The tent flap was lifted as soon as he finished speaking, and the veteran general Han Dang rushed in and said urgently, "Grand Commander, Strategist, something terrible has happened! News of Zhang Cheng's capture has spread throughout the army."

Lu Meng and Zhang Zhao's hearts sank simultaneously, and they lamented, "It's over."

Zhang Zhao sighed helplessly, "I'm afraid the major clans are about to stir again. Yi Gong (Han Dang's courtesy name), have Gu Hui, Zhang Wen, and others made any moves recently?"

These two were the number one rebels in Jiangdong. After Jianye fell, they began to actively contact Cao Wei, which angered Zhang Zhao to the point of wanting to kill.

But since they both came from four of the most prestigious families, Zhang Zhao really didn't dare to make a move at this time.

Han Dang said with a wry smile, "I just saw Zhang Wen go to Gu Hui's tent. It's obvious what they were discussing. Strategist, what do we do now?"

Zhang Zhao pondered, "It's not that their contact with Cao Wei is scary, but what's scary is that they might incite the garrison at Ruxukou to rebel. Many of the lower-ranking officers at Ruxukou come from the Gu and Zhang families."

"Lord Yi, you should personally go to Ruxukou and remind General Zhou Tai to strengthen defenses. The rebels inside Ruxukou are now more dangerous than the Wei army."

"After this is done, have men block all roads leading to Ruxukou, intercept all messengers heading to Ruxukou, and strictly check all caravans going to Ruxukou. In short, no letters are allowed to be sent to the Ruxukou military camp except by the Grand Commander's order."

Lu Meng added, "The same strict inspections are also carried out on waterways and ships heading north, to prevent any possible contact between the Jiangdong gentry and Cao Wei."

Jiangdong's shipbuilding industry was unparalleled in the world. The multi-storied ships they built were capable of navigating near-shore waters, and they had long established trade relations with Cao Wei and even the Gongsun family of Liaodong.

More than half of these commercial ships are controlled by the four major families.

Han Dangbai said, "Grand Commander, rest assured, this humble general guarantees that not a single bamboo slip will fall into the Ruxukou camp. However, strategist, this method of preventing thieves is not a reliable solution."

The best solution would naturally be to kill or place Gu Hui and Zhang Wen under house arrest, thus completely cutting off the source of the rebellion.

But the Jiangdong gentry were not limited to just the two of them. Killing two would only lead to others, and their deaths would even provoke other gentry, making things worse.

Ultimately, there is only one way to completely eliminate the rebellious thoughts of the gentry: defeat Guan Yu and recapture Jianye.

But they can't do it.

Zhang Zhao said, "I know. You should keep the good news confidential for now, and we can discuss the rest later."

“Look…” Han Dang turned and left.

Zhang Zhao paced back and forth for a long time before saying, "There is only one way to alleviate the current situation: separate the soldiers and generals. Find any excuse to transfer Zhang Wen, Gu Hui and others to Jiangling and make them temporarily leave Jiangdong."

"Then take the opportunity to take over the command of the private armies of the two clans, break up and reorganize the private armies, and these private armies can no longer be handed over to the gentry to command."

The aristocratic families, with their troops, could rebel at any time, but if their military power were taken away, even if these scoundrels rebelled, it wouldn't have a significant impact, at least it would be within a controllable range.

Lu Meng nodded and said, "The strategist is right, but will Gu Hui and Zhang Wen be willing to hand over their military power?"

Zhang Zhao snorted coldly, "It's not up to him. I'll handle this matter myself."

After saying that, he turned around and rummaged through his belongings, finding the secret letter that Gu Hui and Zhang Wen had intercepted some time ago, which was written to Zhang Liao. He then stuffed it into his pocket and left.

Meanwhile, in the tent where Gu Hui was staying.

Gu Hui and Zhang Wen sat across the table. After chatting for a while, Zhang Wen got straight to the point: "Brother Zitan, you've heard the news, haven't you? Zhang Cheng was captured by Guan Xing, and tens of thousands of his troops were wiped out. What a battle!"

Gu Hui knew his purpose in coming and didn't hide anything, saying directly, "Yes, it's easy to defeat the enemy on the battlefield, but to annihilate the enemy or even capture their commander requires at least three times the number of troops, and even then, success is not guaranteed."

"Guan Xing, with only a third of his ragtag army, annihilated Wu's army and captured Zhang Cheng. It's terrifying to even think about."

Zhang Wen sighed, "Who can argue with that? Guan Xing has become even stronger since he annexed Zhang Cheng, Jianye has been under attack for a long time without success, and Jiangling is in dire straits. I heard that the big-eared thief has even led his army to Yiling. The hope for Jiangdong is becoming increasingly slim."

“But Brother Zitan, we cannot let the Sun family bury our family’s thousand-year-old foundation. Moreover, the unification of the world is an inevitable trend. We cannot do something like a mantis trying to stop a chariot and turn ourselves into sinners in history.”

Gu Hui stroked his beard and said, "My opinion coincides with Brother Hui Shu's, but we are just ordinary people with little influence. What can we do for His Highness Prince Wei?"

Zhang Wen took out a letter and said, "This is a letter I wrote to General Zhu Huan, asking him to join us in an uprising to welcome the Wei army south. The letter is ready. Brother Zitan, just sign your name. Once it's signed, I'll immediately send someone to deliver it to Ruxukou."

Besides Zhou Tai, the governor of Ruxu, there were two other deputy generals at Ruxukou: Zhu Huan, the head of the Zhu family, one of the four major families in Wu County, who held the official rank of Lieutenant General; and Sun Shao, a member of the Eastern Wu imperial family and the nephew of Sun He.

If we can win over Zhu Huan, who is also one of the four great families, then great things can be accomplished.

Gu Hui frowned and said, "I'm afraid Zhu Huan won't agree, will he?"

Zhang Wen sneered, "That's not up to him. After the letter is delivered to Zhu Huan, I'll send someone to spread rumors that Zhu Huan is colluding with the Wei army, thereby arousing Zhou Tai's vigilance. Once he and Zhou Tai have a falling out, we'll decide the rest."

Gu Hui smiled and said, "That's excellent."

After speaking, he picked up a brush and wrote his name. He then picked up a silk cloth to dry it when suddenly the tent flap was lifted, and Zhang Zhao arrived uninvited with two personal guards.

Gu Huixin's hand trembled and the letter fell onto the table with a thud.