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

Finally back in the group, Zhang Cheng opened the wooden box and looked at the neatly arranged bamboo tubes inside. He felt a sense of disgust, like knowing they were flies but having no choice but to swallow them.

He knew Guan Xing had ulterior motives for sending the tea, but he couldn't refuse.

After tasting the delicious tea, he really couldn't bring himself to drink tap water again.

Zhang Cheng slammed the lid of the box shut with force, venting his frustration before saying, "Let's get down to business. How's the situation in Jianye?"

Sun Shao said with a wry smile, "The situation is not optimistic. The Grand Commander has gathered all his forces to launch a fierce attack on Jianye, but he has been unable to take it. Now, the people of Jiangdong are in a state of panic. Many gentry are secretly colluding with the Wei army, trying to lead the Wei army south so that they can gain the first merit of destroying Wu from Cao Cao."

"Although the strategist intervened in time and suppressed all the undercurrents, it was only temporary. If we cannot capture Jianye City, the situation may get out of control."

"Although the strategist and the Grand Commander did not say it explicitly, I think the current situation in Jianye can only last for three months at most. If there is no change in the situation within three months, we will collapse on our own."

Jianye is under immense pressure. With over 100,000 soldiers, the daily food and supplies for their horses are equivalent to a mountain of food. No matter how large a business is, it cannot withstand such consumption.

More importantly, there is no hope. Without hope, there is no confidence. Without confidence, one will find another way out, such as surrendering to Wei.

The problem is that the aristocratic families have a way out, but the Sun family of Wu doesn't. No matter who takes over Jiangdong, whether it's Cao Cao or Liu Bei, the Sun family's fate will not be good.

Zhang Cheng slammed his fist on the lid of the box and cursed angrily, "You're right, we desperately need a victory, even a small one, to boost our confidence."

Zhang Cheng turned to look at Zhuji City, which he had just come out of, and gritted his teeth, saying fiercely, "Compared to Guan Yu, who defends the fortified city, Guan Xing is easier to deal with. Destroying Guan Xing will temporarily quell the restlessness of the people and soldiers in Jiangdong."

Although the situation in Eastern Wu is critical, it has not yet reached the point of surrendering, so it must persevere. As long as it perseveres, there is a possibility of a turning point.

The longer you persevere, the greater the chance of a turnaround.

Zhang Cheng stared at the city wall for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke, you two don't go back. Go to the mountains to contact the various tribes of the Yue people, and then wait for my return so that we can attack Guan Xing together."

Although his entire army was wiped out, leaving him a general with no troops, he did not receive any orders to be dismissed.

In other words, he is still the main general of the southern expedition, and Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke are still his subordinates.

Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke bowed simultaneously and said, "Yes..."

They were both furious. This defeat was too humiliating. They were captured before the fight even started. Who could stand that?

Besides feeling frustrated, they were too ashamed to go back. What would they say if the Grand Commander asked them about the reasons for their failure?

I knew nothing. I was sleeping soundly when Guan Xing sneaked into the command tent and carried me away.

How could the two young masters say such a thing? Don't they have any pride?

Zhuge Ke, in particular, was not only snuck into the camp and carried away by Guan Xing, but was also taken from Wushang to Zhuji by Guan Xing while he was sick, almost to the point of dying.

Although his illness has been cured, his hatred has not subsided. He dreams of capturing Guan Xing and returning the humiliation Guan Xing brought him tenfold.

Therefore, the two, who neither wanted to go back to face the soul-searching questions of the Grand Commander-in-Chief nor wanted to defeat Guan Xing to wash away their shame, were very supportive of Zhang Cheng's orders.

Zhuge Ke asked, "General, it's fine for us to go to the Shanyue, but whose opinion should we take if we disagree?"

Zhang Cheng said, "Listen to Zhou Xun. You two go to Shanyin to rest first, discuss the plan, and then head south to enter the various tribes of Shanyue to form a Shanyue coalition army. Wait for my orders."

The two nodded and followed Prefect Chunyu Shi, who was escorting the grain supplies, to Shanyin. Zhang Cheng then led Sun Shao back to Jianye to report the situation.

Zhang Cheng was extremely anxious and dared not delay. He rode at full speed and arrived at the city of Jianye in just five days.

Then he rushed to the military camp and went straight to Lü Meng's command tent. Upon entering the tent, he found Zhang Zhao there as well. He bowed and said with shame, "Zhang Cheng, a defeated general, pays his respects to the Grand Commander. This humble general has disgraced his mission and begs the Grand Commander for punishment."

Lu Meng's hair had turned white from worry lately, and he looked more than ten years older than when he crossed the river in white robes. However, he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Let's talk about the battle situation first. Why is Guan Xing so difficult to deal with?"

He truly hadn't expected that Zhang Cheng, a veteran with years of experience, would be defeated by the inexperienced Guan Xing, and thus he was eager to know the reason for the defeat.

Zhang Cheng replied, "This battle was mainly due to my underestimation of the enemy. In addition, Guan Xing's tactics were quite unique. He did not engage in direct combat with us, but instead harassed us like the nomadic cavalry of the grasslands. He would run away when we chased him and harass us when we stopped. He would exhaust us before launching a full-scale attack."

"In the final battle, I was certain that I had not made any mistakes. However, Guan Xing had dug countless traps on the road to Zhuji. Stepping into them would at most pierce the soles of the feet and would not be fatal. But these traps were everywhere, forcing me to stop and remove them, which greatly slowed down our march."

"The daytime battles were exhausting enough, and then we had to send troops to harass them at night, leaving the soldiers without a good night's sleep for several days. On the last night, even though I knew he would attack the camp and had prepared an ambush to wait for him to take the bait, the soldiers were just too tired. They were so exhausted that they could fall asleep standing up, so..."

Lu Meng and Zhang Zhao exchanged a glance and fell silent. This tactic was indeed shameless, but it was also effective.

So the question is, how do we solve this?

Zhang Cheng continued, "In my humble opinion, the only way to break this tactic is to gather forces several times larger than the enemy to encircle them from all sides, constantly compressing their living space, forcing them to have nowhere to retreat but to fight us to the death."

"This humble general has already ordered Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke to go to the mountains to contact the various tribes of the Yue people. If the Grand Commander can send two more troops, one to go south from the Zhe River to attack and capture Damo, blocking Guan Xing's westward retreat, and the other to go south from Yuhang and Qiantang to seize Zhuji and Shan County, then we will surely be able to block Guan Xing in Wushang and annihilate him."

After pondering for a moment, Lü Meng looked at Zhang Zhao and asked, "What does the strategist think?"

Zhang Zhao stroked his beard and said, "Jianye has been under siege for a long time without success, and there are undercurrents in the army. We urgently need a victory to boost morale."

"Moreover, Guan Xing has just won a great victory, and his strength and prestige have greatly increased. If he is unwilling to be idle, he will break out of Wushang, attack Shanyin, or even enter Wu County. The consequences will be unimaginable."

"Currently, all the troops in the six counties of Jiangdong are in Jianye, leaving the other counties vulnerable. If Guan Xing enters Wu County, he will sweep through the entire region. In that case, our supplies will be in danger."

Wu Commandery is one of the few plains in Jiangdong and also the largest grain-producing area in Jiangdong. More than half of the grain in Jiangdong is supplied by Wu Commandery. If Guan Xing were to destroy it, there would be no need to fight any more battles.

Zhang Zhao continued, "Therefore, I believe that since Jianye cannot be captured for the time being, we should simply accept Zhongsi's (Zhang Cheng's courtesy name) suggestion and concentrate our forces to destroy Guanxing first, so as not to give Guanxing any more chance to develop."

Lu Meng immediately decided, "Then let's do as the strategist says. Zhongsi, I'll give you another 30,000 troops. We'll march south immediately to recapture Zhuji and Shan County and force Guan Xing back to Wushang."

"I hereby order Quan Cong to lead 20,000 troops south along the Zhejiang River to recapture Damo. Quan Cong will be under your command. This time, I want you to personally bring Guan Xing before me."

Actually, he didn't really want to use Zhang Cheng. He gave him 10,000 troops and only one returned. After such a crushing defeat, how dare he lead troops again?

But what can he do? He is Zhang Zhao's son. These days, he has only been able to suppress the undercurrents in the army thanks to Zhang Zhao. Without Zhang Zhao, the Wei army would probably have already marched south.

Under these circumstances, how could he dare to offend Zhang Zhao?

Zhang Cheng was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you for your trust, Grand Commander. This humble general will certainly be able to bring Guan Xing before you this time."

Wu Junquan is currently in Jianye, so there is no need to transfer troops elsewhere. The supplies are also sufficient and can be used immediately.

Therefore, Zhang Cheng did not delay. After only two days of getting to know Quan Cong, he led an army of 30,000 south again. On the way, he secretly vowed to take back everything he had lost last time.