mesbooks Chapter 408 Cao Ren Receives Lu Xun's Plea for Help
Chapter 408 Cao Ren Receives Lu Xun's Plea for Help
Although the people of the Han Dynasty lived under the same blue sky and experienced the same flow of time, they were located in different regions, separated by varying distances. As a result, there would be discrepancies in the information they received. Events in Kuaiji would take about seven or eight days to reach Jianye. This is what is known as the information gap.
Before the decisive battle with Guan Xing, Lu Xun ordered Xie Jing to cross the Huangwu Mountains to seek help from Cao Ren.
The Huangwu Mountains are nearly a thousand miles away from Wanling, the main base of the Wei army in Jiangnan. In between are several large mountain ranges such as Baiji Mountain, Huangshan Mountain, and Jiuhua Mountain. There are also Han troops stationed and patrolling in the mountains. If Xie Jing wants to get there, he can only climb the cliffs and precipices where there are no Han troops stationed. You can imagine how slow the journey will be.
Xie Jing climbed the mountain for ten days and wore out two pairs of shoes before finally arriving at Wanling. He learned that Cao Ren was confronting Guan Yu at the Shicheng-Danyang line, so he had no choice but to set off again for the Wei army's front line.
At the front line of Danyang, in the Wei army camp.
Cao Ren, Jia Kui, and Zhang Liao gathered again in the command tent for a meeting, but none of them spoke after meeting, resulting in a very oppressive atmosphere in the tent.
The reason for their repression was simple: they had suffered another defeat at the hands of Guan Yu.
That damned Guan Yu has recently taken some kind of madness, actually withdrawing from Danyang and retreating to Jianye. However, he did not retreat into Jianye city, but instead stationed his army in batches on the mountains outside the city, such as Zijin Mountain, Niushou Mountain, and General Mountain, and built a large number of camps between the mountains. Moreover, he is still building them non-stop. Now, there are deer antlers and horse traps everywhere between Cao Ren and Guan Yu, and various fortifications have blocked all the roads for the Wei army to Jianye.
It's important to understand that the Han Dynasty was not like later times. When building cities, the primary consideration was defense, not transportation. Therefore, many cities were built against mountains or in the middle of mountains, such as Chang'an and Luoyang.
Jianye was also surrounded by several mountains. Such a city surrounded by mountains is extremely advantageous to the defender but very unfriendly to the attacker, especially to the Wei army, because the mountains would cripple the Wei cavalry.
The Wei army is now only a step away from Jianye. Beyond Jianye lies the flat plain of Wu County, where cavalry can roam freely. However, Guan Yu is blocking this seemingly insurmountable distance, preventing them from crossing it.
That damned Guan Yu not only blocked all the roads leading to Jianye, but also sent out small groups of troops to harass them all day long, appearing and disappearing unpredictably and making it impossible to defend against him.
Cao Ren knew that Guan Yu was using him as a training ground for his troops, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Even Jia Kui and Zhang Liao couldn't do anything about it. Guan Yu was focused on developing his strength and was not engaging in direct combat with the Wei army. This kind of master of survival tactics is the most difficult to deal with. No matter how eloquently you speak, he just won't fall for your tricks. What can you do?
The three men in the tent remained silent for a long time. Just as Jia Kui was about to speak, a messenger suddenly entered and bowed, saying, "General, there is a man named Xie Jing outside the camp who requests an audience. He says he is on the orders of Grand Commander Lu Xun to ask for your assistance."
Cao Ren, who had been motionless for a long time as if in deep meditation, finally reacted and asked in surprise, "Lu Xun asked me for help? Are you kidding me? Could it be that Lu Xun has been defeated?"
Jia Kui chimed in, "There's no point in us guessing here. Let's invite him in and ask him first. We'll know the answer once we ask."
Cao Ren nodded in agreement and ordered his messengers to bring Xie Jing to this place.
The messenger took his orders and left. Watching his retreating figure, the three men in the tent simultaneously felt a sense of foreboding.
Lu Xun was forced to ask them for help, which shows how dire the situation was for the Wu army.
They didn't care whether Lu Xun lived or died, but they had to consider the consequences of his death. If Lu Xun was defeated, Guan Xing would lead his army north, which would definitely worsen their already unfavorable situation.
Amidst the three men's trepidation, Xie Jing was led into the tent. He walked to the center of the tent, bowed, and said, "Xie Jing, under the command of Marquis Wu, pays respects to General Cao."
Cao Ren stroked his beard and said, "General, you have come from afar, and I should host a banquet to entertain you. But you must have an important mission here, so let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point. What's the situation on your end? Why did Grand Commander Lu ask me for help?"
That's a beautifully said statement; not hosting a banquet for you is out of consideration for your well-being.
"The thing is like this..."
Xie Jing neither concealed nor exaggerated, but truthfully recounted to the three people in the tent everything that happened: Han Dang committed suicide, Xu Sheng died in battle, Pan Zhang was killed, Zhuge Jin was captured, and Lu Xun was besieged.
Before they arrived, Lu Xun and Zhou Fang had specifically instructed them not to hide anything from Cao Ren and to tell the truth.
It wasn't that Lu Xun and Zhou Fang were particularly honest, but rather that they knew that everything in the world was interconnected, and that moving one thing could affect the whole situation. Regardless of whether the Wu army won or lost, it would have an impact on the Wei army. The more disastrously the Wu army's defeat, the more anxious Cao Ren became, while Guan Yu remained calm.
As expected, before Xie Jing could finish speaking, Cao Ren's hand, which was stroking his beard, trembled violently in shock, and he instantly plucked out several hairs from his beard. Ignoring the pain, he asked incredulously, "So many generals have died in battle or been captured?"
Han Dang, Xu Sheng, and Pan Zhang were all top-ranking generals of Eastern Wu.
Especially Han Dang, who was an old comrade-in-arms who fought alongside Cao Ren against Dong Zhuo, was forced to commit suicide by Guan Xing, a little brat who was old enough to be his grandson?
Xie Jing's face burned with embarrassment at the questioning, and he wished he could disappear into the ground. The Wu army's defeat had brought shame upon him, their general.
Jia Kui and Zhang Liao were also shocked by Guan Xing's terrible record. The tent fell silent again. After a long time, Jia Kui said, "General Xie must be very tired after coming from afar. Please go and rest first. We will inform you when we have discussed the results."
The meaning is clear: we're having an internal meeting, and it's not appropriate for an outsider like you to stay any longer. Get out of here.
Xie Jing was well aware of this, so he clasped his hands in a respectful bow and left, leaving the three of them alone in the tent once again.
Cao Ren then said with a shocked expression, "Lu Xun has only been on his eastern expedition for a few days, and Guan Xing has already defeated several of his generals. Isn't Guan Yu's second son too terrifying?"
He didn't say that the Wu army generals were too weak, but rather that Guan Xing was formidable, because he had been both comrades-in-arms and adversaries of these Wu army generals, and knew how capable they were.
Even Wu Jun's generals, whom he himself couldn't defeat, were either forced to their deaths, beheaded, or captured by Guan Xing. What could Guan Xing say? That Wu Jun was too weak?
Doesn't that mean you're even insulting yourself?
Jia Kui said worriedly, "I'm afraid it's not just that. When Xie Jing set off, Guan Xing had already led his troops into the corridor and surrounded Lu Xun. It took Xie Jing ten days to get from Lu Xun to Wanling, and another day and a half to get from Wanling to the front line. With so much time passing, I estimate that Lu Xun is also..."
When Xie Jing left, Guan Xing had already clipped all of Lu Xun's wings and removed all obstacles to facing Lu Xun. Now, more than ten days have passed, and Guan Xing must have dealt with Lu Xun. Even if he hasn't, Lu Xun will definitely not be able to wait for Cao Ren's rescue.
Even if Cao Ren wanted to rescue him, he would have to cross the Huangwu Mountains, which are seven or eight hundred miles long. By the time he cleared the mountains, Lu Xun's body would probably be cold.
Cao Ren sighed, "That's right, Lu Xun is already dead and there's no need to save him. Not only is there no need to save him, but we also have to prevent Guan Xing from heading north. If he crosses the Huangwu Mountains to attack our flank, we'll be in danger."
Jia Kui chimed in, "Yes, that's why we must send troops into Jiuhua Mountain in advance to seize all the mountain passes and key routes, and set up camps in the mountains to defend against Guan Xing's attack."
"But this is just a temporary measure to buy time and cannot last. While seizing Jiuhua Mountain, we must also find another way to break the deadlock. We must turn the tide of the battle as soon as possible, because the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."
"I suggest sending a detachment along the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor behind us to attack Yu Khan in the Poyang Lake Plain. After capturing Yu Khan, we should make a show of pressing towards Da Mo, forcing Guan Xing to refrain from making any rash moves, while simultaneously seizing the entire Poyang Lake Plain and turning it into our rear area. This would expand our strategic depth and war potential, especially since the autumn harvest in the Poyang Lake Plain is just around the corner."
Cao Ren was about to agree when Zhang Liao, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, suddenly spoke up, saying in a very urgent tone, "No, absolutely not."