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

Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy can help you win a hundred battles.

To deal with Pan Lin, we need to understand his situation first, such as where his stronghold is.

The best way to find out where Pan Lin is hiding is to ask his former subordinates.

Just like when Kublai Khan led the Han army to fight the Mongols in later generations, the Han people didn't know where the brothers were hibernating, but how could I, Kublai Khan, not know?

Gan Xun and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. How could they possibly conduct background checks on every single one of the many Han soldiers they had captured?

Seeing their demeanor, Guan Xing knew there was little hope, so he waved his hand and said, "Then go and rest. We'll find out by gathering the army tomorrow morning and asking around."

Silent all night.

At dawn, Ning Huan and Guan Yan led their scout battalion to split up and go out to gather information about the Wu army.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the city gate opened, ten beggars rushed to the city walls. The leader of the beggars shouted, "Deng Hong, a swordsman of the Yu Battalion under General Guan Yu, requests an audience with the Second Young Master."

These words startled Guan Yan, who had just left the city. He dared not delay and hurriedly invited them into the city, and sent someone to the county government office to report to Guan Xing.

Guan Xing was equally surprised when he received the news. He quickly ordered Guan Yan to bring the people to the county government office and also ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal for them.

The journey from Jianye to Zhuji is seven or eight hundred li, and the entire route is through enemy-occupied territory. Deng Hong and his men must be exhausted.

As it turned out, Guan Xing was right. Deng Hong and his entourage entered the county government office covered in dust and dirt, looking as miserable as when they had just arrived from Maicheng to Dabie Mountain. It was a pitiful sight.

Guan Xing took the initiative to greet him, grabbed Deng Hong's hand as he was about to bow, and said, "You must be exhausted from the journey. Let's not stand on ceremony and rest for a while before we have dinner."

Deng Hong was one of the two hundred remaining soldiers who rushed from Maicheng to the Dabie Mountains, and naturally knew Guan Xing.

I wouldn't dare send someone I don't know, Guan Yu. What if Guan Xing mistook him for a Wu spy and killed him on a whim?

Deng Hong stood up and took out a silk scroll from his bosom, handing it to Guan Xing. He said, "This is a letter from the Lord. The Lord instructed me to ask you, young master, why you didn't report the victory to Jianye?"

Guan Xing then realized that he hadn't reported the battle situation to Guan Yu. He had been so busy lately that he had completely forgotten about his father.

Helpless, he touched his nose guiltily and asked, "Then how did you know?"

Deng Hong replied, "It was Lü Meng who deliberately leaked this information to us, attempting to lure you out of the city to attack our camp. You noticed in time and did not fall for it."

"My lord has instructed me to tell you, my lord, that if the Wu army fails to capture Jianye, they will definitely target you and send more troops to besiege you. You should be on your guard."

"My lord also said that the morale of the Wu army is declining day by day. As long as you hold on, the Wu army will collapse on its own, giving the Wei army an opportunity to take advantage."

"The Lord also said that once the Wei army marches south, the young master should not linger and should immediately go to Jingnan to join forces with the eldest young master. This is a military order, and the young master must obey it."

Guan Xing's expression changed slightly. The Wei army did not face the same collapse crisis as the Wu army. While besieging Jianye in the south, they would definitely launch attacks in all directions. In addition, with the cooperation of the Jiangdong collaborators, if he continued to stay in Wushang, the pressure would be more than ten times greater than it is now.

Guan Yu instructed his men to run south to Jingzhou whenever they saw Wei troops. What was he planning to do?

He clearly wanted to fight the Wei army alone, let the Wei army break through Jianye City, and then die.

Was the loss of Jingzhou such a huge blow to Guan Yu that it drove him insane?

But Lao Guan, have you forgotten the saying that there are times when a ruler's orders cannot be obeyed? Why should I listen to you?

After reading the letter, Guan Xing said, "You must be tired from the journey. Let's rest for a bit and go back tomorrow."

Deng Hong shook his head and said, "This humble servant will not go back. The Lord is afraid that the young master will not report to him after the battle, so he ordered this humble servant to stay by your side and await orders, and to return to report to him after the battle is over."

Guan Xing: "..."

I just forgot because I was busy, is it necessary to keep nagging about it?

Is there any trust left between a father and son?

However, he and Guan Yu did need a communication hub, so he smiled and said, "Then you go eat and rest first. I have something to do, so I won't keep you company. Old Cheng, make the arrangements."

After seeing Deng Hong off, Guan Xing ordered the army to assemble.

Soon, all three thousand people in the city had assembled. Guan Xing walked up to the group and shouted, "Are there any of you from the Shanyue tribe? To be precise, are there any of you from Pan Lin's command? Step forward so I can see."

The soldiers in front looked at each other in confusion, but no one answered. A weak voice called out from behind, "It is I."

Guan Xing turned around and was surprised to find it was Wang Tao. He asked, "Are you under the command of Pan Lin, the leader of the Shanyue tribe?"

"If I remember correctly, Pan Lin was defeated and captured by Lu Xun in the eighth year of Jian'an, when he had two thousand men. You weren't even born then, were you?"

Wang Tao rubbed the hem of his clothes and said somewhat awkwardly, "Two years ago, I followed Pan Lin down the mountain to plunder. I accidentally twisted my ankle and was captured by the He family's private soldiers. Then, the He family gave me to the Zhou family as a wedding gift for Young Master Zhou Xun."

The Jiangdong gentry were not pushovers who would stand up for themselves. While the Shanyue raided the gentry, the gentry would also fight back against the Shanyue. It was common for both sides to capture prisoners of war.

Moreover, it was common for aristocratic families to exchange captives and slaves, both men and women. It was not surprising that Wang Tao was captured by the He family of Shanyin and given away as a gift.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "No wonder you were bullied in the military. So that's where it all started. Take a rest first. I have a task for you to complete later."

After saying that, he looked at the army again and asked loudly, "Anyone else? If so, step forward."

No one answered.

Seeing this, Guan Xing gave up hope and waved his hand, saying, "That's settled then. Go back and train hard. In seven days, there will be a military competition. Those who rank at the top will be assigned to the assault battalion, given priority in all resources, and given priority in promotion. Disband."

The quality of an army is more important than its quantity. In order to better fight in the future, he planned to establish a special forces team that could traverse mountains and valleys for long-distance raids and carry out assassination and decapitation missions. The number of people did not need to be large, three to five hundred would be enough.

The number of people may be small, but their combat strength must be high. The best way to quickly form a force and put it into battle is naturally to select from the army, choosing the best of the best.

As for whether there was enough time, Guan Xing was not worried at all. It would take Zhang Cheng at least five or six days to rush back to Jianye from Zhuji, and then it would take at least a month to gather troops, allocate provisions, and bring the army to Zhuji.

After all, traveling by horseback is not the same speed as leading a large army, and Zhang Cheng, having learned his lesson, is unlikely to abandon supplies and march quickly again, thus giving him more time.

"Awoooooo..." Upon hearing this, the soldiers became collectively excited, eagerly thinking about how to perform exceptionally well in the competition and outshine all their comrades.

What man doesn't have a competitive spirit?

Guan Xing put his arm around Wang Tao's neck and laughed, "Brother Tao, the organization has a glorious but arduous task for you. I wonder if you have the confidence?"

What do you mean? You don't mean you want me to die, do you?

Wang Tao grew up in the bandit dens of the Yue tribes and had witnessed too many bandit leaders tricking their henchmen into committing suicide. He knew that when a leader was all smiles and pleasantries, nothing good came of it. So he asked weakly, "Can I refuse?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "You saw it yourself. Out of more than three thousand people, only you were chosen. If you don't go, who will?"

"It's not as complicated as you think. I just want you to go home and see your parents, and also find out Pan Lin's whereabouts and the number of troops under his command. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

Wang Tao thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a reason to refuse, so he nodded helplessly and said, "Okay."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Come on, let's talk about our mission back in the tribe, and how to deal with Pan Lin and the others' questions."

"By the way, what is your status in Shanyue? Are you able to meet Pan Lin in person?"

Wang Tao said weakly, "Actually, my name is Pan Tao, and Pan Lin is my father."

"After being captured two years ago, I was afraid that the gentry would find out my identity and retaliate, so I temporarily changed my surname to Wang."

Guan Xing: "..."