mesbooks Chapter 305 The Han army doesn't want to suffer even the slightest loss?
Chapter 305 The Han army doesn't want to suffer even the slightest loss?
What the hell?
The Han army wanted to exchange Lü Ju for prisoners?
With only so many prisoners, they still want to go back? Does the Han army really not want to suffer any loss at all?
Lu Xun's head was buzzing. He mentally launched into a tirade against the Han army's commander, while asking, "What else did the Han army say?"
Lu Yan shook his head and said, "That's all. They only said they were willing to exchange, but they didn't say when or where. I estimate they'll be coming to meet with you soon. What should we do? Should we exchange or not?"
Lu Xun looked back at the Han prisoners being taken away, then turned to look at the Han army that had already withdrawn, his brows furrowed as he became conflicted.
To be honest, he didn't really want to exchange them. Those were two or three thousand prisoners. If they were returned to the Han army, how many casualties would they suffer?
But the Han army had leverage.
You must know that the one who was switched was Lü Ju, the only son of General Lü Fan who was in charge of pacifying the south. If Lü Fan found out that he had the opportunity to save Lü Ju but did not, wouldn't he hate Lu Xun to death?
What if Lü Fan, in a fit of anger, defected to Liu Bei?
Lu Xun turned and left, agonizing over the issue on his way back to camp, trying to figure out how to bargain and use these thousands of prisoners to gain more benefits from the Han army.
They returned to the main camp smoothly. As time went by, the troops at the fourth and fifth gaps also returned one after another. Around Shenshi in the afternoon, Ding Feng also returned with the rescued prisoners. Lu Xun looked at the group of dejected surrendered soldiers and wanted to cry but had no tears.
These are the soldiers who followed Xu Sheng through Yushan and were eventually surrounded in Baopingyu. They've returned, but where is Xu Sheng?
Lu Xun exchanged a few pleasantries with Ding Feng and was about to go find the surrendered soldiers to inquire about the details of the Battle of Baopingyu when a messenger rushed over and bowed, saying, "Grand Commander, the envoy of the Han army has arrived."
Helpless, Lu Xun had no choice but to return to the main tent with Ding Feng and Lu Yan. Not long after, a Han general was escorted into the tent by two Wu soldiers.
Upon recognizing the Han general's face, Lu Yan exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be you?"
The Han general before him was none other than the one he had fought with earlier at the crevices of the cliff; both of them bore the marks of wounds inflicted on each other.
The Han general nodded to him, then bowed to Lu Xun and said, "Wang Tao, a subordinate of General Guan Xing, greets the Grand Commander. I presume the Grand Commander already knows the purpose of my visit. What is the Grand Commander's opinion?"
Lu Xun said speechlessly, "You're quite direct. Since that's the case, let's get straight to the point. An exchange is possible, but the total number of Han prisoners, wounded soldiers, and corpses is 2,879. General Lü Ju will take a small share, and you must return to me the same number of Wu prisoners for the other 2,000."
Xu Sheng's army, which had been captured by the Han army, has been recaptured, but Han Dang's army, which numbered ten thousand, was still in the hands of the Han army. Even after accounting for casualties, it still numbered seven or eight thousand. The Wu army, on the other hand, had captured less than three thousand Han prisoners.
This is equivalent to the Han army robbing the Wu army of a huge sum of money, but only returning a little over two thousand, so the Wu army still suffered a loss.
The Han army was still not happy and wanted to exchange the two thousand prisoners for them. No matter how Lu Xun thought about it, he felt that he was losing out, so he naturally did not agree readily.
Wang Tao, however, was not used to this habit and refused on the spot, saying, "That's impossible. We must exchange General Lü Ju for all the prisoners. Moreover, I am doing this for the sake of the Grand Commander. You should know that the Han army has received ideological education from General Guan Xing and has been allocated land. If they remain in the Wu army, the Wu army will inevitably be affected."
"The Grand Commander must have heard of General Zhang Cheng's deeds and know the consequences of General Zhang accepting Han prisoners. I think the Grand Commander would not want General Zhang Cheng's story to be repeated in your life, would he?"
Lu Xun's face instantly turned ashen. He had read Zhang Cheng's battle report and knew the consequences of taking in Han prisoners.
Thinking of the scene where Wu Jun was misled by the Han army and surrendered to the enemy, Lu Xun wished he could kick out this group of hidden dangers as soon as possible.
But agreeing to Wang Tao's request so readily would seem beneath Lu Xun's dignity. After a moment's thought, Lu Xun said, "Fine, but I need the remains of General Han and General Xu Sheng. I hope that won't put you in a difficult position."
Han Dang and Xu Sheng died in battle, and it is both morally and logically necessary to bring them back for burial.
Wang Tao smiled and said, "That's no problem. We originally planned to bury Generals Han and Xu in Yushan, but considering the pain that General Xu Sheng left for the people of Yushan, we were afraid that the local people would dig up General Xu Sheng's grave after he left, so we have not buried him. If the Grand Commander wants, we can send him back at any time. After all, we also respect Generals Han and Xu."
Lu Xun said, "Then there's no problem. How do we make the deal?"
Wang Tao laughed and said, "To show our sincerity, we will first send the body back, then you release the prisoners, and finally we will return General Lü Ju. The time is set at three-quarters past 5 PM, and the place is right next to the trap. How about that?"
Lu Xun nodded in agreement and did not leave Wang Tao as a hostage. Sima Yi had not yet made any false accusations against the Luo River, and everyone was still relatively trustworthy. Therefore, Lu Xun was not worried that the Han army would not release Lü Ju after the prisoners were returned.
He even secretly hoped that the Han army would detain Lü Ju, so that he could stand on the moral high ground to criticize the Han army, and even use public opinion to attack the Han army.
The hour of You (5:45 PM) arrived quickly, and both armies appeared near the trap at the same time. The Han army laid a layer of bamboo rafts over the trap, creating a temporary passage two meters wide.
After a brief negotiation, the three coffins were brought before Lu Xun.
Lu Xun was the first to lift Han Dang's coffin. He was somewhat relieved to find that the body had been preserved. He stared at Han Dang's ashen yet familiar face for a long time before sighing, "Release the prisoner."
Soon, thousands of Han soldiers, shirtless and wearing only trousers, were brought over, leaving Wang Tao, who was receiving the prisoners, speechless.
Damn Wu army, taking away weapons and armor is one thing, but they even took away the faded coats of the Han army. Are you guys so desperate for money?
It doesn't matter, as long as we can get the person back.
Under Wang Tao's command, the prisoners carried the wounded and the dead on their backs and walked along the bamboo rafts toward their own positions. The procession was so long that it took them a full 45 minutes to pass through.
Then, without any Han soldiers escorting him, Lü Ju leisurely walked over on a bamboo raft and came to Lu Xun, saying with a complicated expression, "This sinful general Lü Ju pays his respects to the Grand Commander."
He thought he would be stuck with the Han army forever, and was even sent back to Jianye to be imprisoned. But Lu Xun managed to get him back, which made him feel very complicated. He sighed at how fast the world was changing.
Lu Xun patted his shoulder and laughed, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
After exchanging pleasantries, Ding Feng stepped forward and hugged Lü Ju tightly, exclaiming, "Brother, it's so good to see you again! I thought we were going to part ways forever. Honestly, I really wanted to lead the Han army away to cover your retreat that day."
Recalling what happened that day, Lü Ju was also somewhat amused and asked curiously, "How did you escape? I saw a lot of Han soldiers chasing after you, and the equipment of the Han soldiers chasing you was obviously better than that of the Han soldiers searching for me."
Ding Feng sighed, "Alas, it's all tears when I think about it. Let's walk and talk."
The group returned to camp side by side and began to discuss their next move. The Han army that had annihilated Xu Sheng had already retreated safely and would definitely retreat to Da Mo next. However, Lu Xun dared not pursue them. Facing the Han army that was determined to retreat, pursuing them would not only not produce much of a result, but might also lead to an ambush. Therefore, they could not pursue them, but could only advance slowly and steadily, and deal with the rest when they reached Da Mo.
Moreover, Lu Xun tragically discovered that the possibility of defeating the Han army on the frontal battlefield was extremely small, and he could only place his hopes on He Qi and Lü Dai, but he didn't know where they were now.
Some were happy while others were sad. Compared to Lu Xun's anxiety, Shen Yi was clearly in a much better mood.
Shen Yi stood at the entrance of the county town, his smile stretching almost to his ears as he looked at the Han prisoners of war who had been rescued.
Although the battle resulted in the loss of Xu Sheng's large army of prisoners, the safe withdrawal of all Han troops was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.
Shen Yi comforted the released prisoners, letting them bathe, change clothes, and retreat to Damu to rest and recuperate, while he stayed at Yushan to block the Wu army and buy them time to retreat.
As he sent the prisoners away, Shen Yi secretly vowed that he would never take advantage of the Wu army, nor would he let the Wu army take advantage of him. He would steadily and cautiously implement the strategy of "survival" to the end, and leave the rest to Guan Xing.